A Creative Couple Weeks

These last couple weeks have been unusually high in creative output at our household.  First was the Mission Delicious video conceived and developed by Anna ...

Then Julie drew this Mehndi art on a lamp shade as a gift for Laura...

 Last night I made a Soma puzzle cube from 27 - 1/2" wood cubes. Which made 7 unique puzzle pieces. Then had Anna solve the puzzle before I let her decide how to paint it.

This morning at Home Depot Anna and I made a bird house together.

Picture to follow.

Today Julie painted this Seagull on Driftwood scene.
Seagull on Driftwood Key Rack/Jewelry Organizer/Leash Rack

Then she also repainted these Lobster Pot Buoys we found on our Irish Beach vacation in July.
Lobster Pot Buoy / Nautical Decor / Beach Decor / Coastal Decor

Later on Sunday I made the frame for a 36" x 60" HardieBacker board for next mosaic Julie is planning on starting in the coming weeks.

Iridium Flares, Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station

Check out Heavens Above and their Android app very cool! There's an Iridium Flare close by tonight. The ISS and Space Shuttle final mission STS-135 will be passing over head in just a few days. Should be visable with just a pair of binoculars!

Body Browser by Google Labs

Check out this great demo of WebGL & HTML5. The technology is less interesting than the usefulness for study of the human body and it's various systems! Zoom in and turn on the labels. Click on muscles and organs to isolate them...

Body Browser - Google Labs

Upgrade Your Life

 Check out this great productivity book.  You can read the first chapter for free at Amazon via their web based version of the Kindle reader or go to the books website to see the updated "Life Hacks".  Updated because computers and the internet are in a constant rapid state of change.

Mermaid Mosaic

Julie's latest mosaic piece: Mermaid Mosaic as posted by: Jayne Photo.  Check out her Etsy site and her flickr images as well as the youtube videos of how the mosaics come together.

Videos showing how these mosaics were created:
Sea Turtle Mosaic
Mosaic Sun Clock
Dragonfly Sunflower Mosaic
Long Tailed Gecko
Mosaic Table Tops
Indian Blue Peacock

Amazon's Kindle App for Android Has Arrived!

Woo! Hoo! It just arrived Monday. I've been slowly progressing through a book that is on my laptop in digital "Kindle" form, wishing I had the Kindle reader on my phone. Now I do, so I expect to get much more reading done on this book. I love they automatic syncing between my laptop and the phone. When I open the book it is always where I left off which ever device I was last reading on. Plus the software for the PC and Phone is free! So, I didn't spend any money on the Kindle reader device!

Amazon's Kindle App for Android Comes at Crucial Time

Catch 22 in awareness of our own competence.

Catch 22 in awareness of our own competence.

Time Management

The most difficult thing about time management is prioritizing tasks. Thanks to a lecture on this subject I watched by Professor Randy Pausch. I've found a logical, simple, and easy method for prioritizing tasks that both helps me get important items done while reducing or eliminating the unimportant busy work that often comes my way, thus saving me that potentialy wasted time.

Items should be organized on a 4 square table with Important / Due Soon in the upper left, Important / Not Due Soon in the upper right, Not Important / Due Soon in the lower left, & Not Important / Not Due Soon in the lower right. Here is an Example Time Management Chart. This chart / method of task prioritization came from a time management lecture by Professor Randy Pausch from Carnegie Mellon. He is also the author of The Last Lecture (book link at Amazon), here is the video of this lecture. This method struck a chord with me. Until seeing this method, I found most other systems for prioritizing tasks to be too combersome.

Nurture Shock

NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children Just picked this one up last night.  Just in the first chapter I've found several things I'm going to change about the way I encourage my daughter with her school work and life in general.  Started chapter 2 last night and found more good points for me to work on.

My first thought after reading and realizing that I need to change how I act was... back when we attended a local group called ToughLove, their main teaching was: "We can't change others. We can only change our own behavior."  By changing our selves we affect others.

Why Don't Students Like School

Maybe with this book I can be better at helping my daughter with her homework.  The first chapter was compelling so I bought a copy from Amazon.

Why Don't Students Like School: A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom