How To Install Firefox OS On Linux & A Quick Demo
- Download b2g and extract the package
- Download and install Gaia
- Open terminal from the dash home: git clone git://github.com/mozilla-b2g/gaia
- make -C gaia profile
- Run Firefox Mobile B2G
- In terminal run: PATH/TO/B2G-foder/b2g -profile gaia/profile
- I downloaded b2g and extracted it under ~/home/jeremy/b2g/, so I ran: /home/jeremy/b2g/b2g -profile gaia/profile
Finding Vivian Maier – Official Movie Trailer
Life’s Obstacles
My son was at a trampoline park a few months ago, and I took this picture because it made me think of a concept I learned in a gamification class from Mario Herger last year. As humans, we love challenging ourselves with obstacles. Often times we find obstacles so engaging we will intentionally give ourselves challenges in order to see how far we can push ourselves, as well as how we compare to others when presented with obstacles. Sometimes we enjoy obstacles so much, we will find overcoming such obstacles is the most rewarding part of what we are looking to accomplish. The designers of golf courses create sand traps in locations of the course that create obstacles to make a difficult game even more difficult. When the kids in the photo were given a foam pit to jump into, they found merely jumping into the pit wasn’t fun, or challenging enough, so they built a foam wall to try and jump over. In life, do you have a foam wall to challenge you? If you do have a wall, is it challenging enough to push yourself to heights you didn’t know you were capable?
Please Don’t Help My Kids
One parent’s plea to the other parents at the playground: please don’t help my kids.
“They’re not here to be at the top of the ladder; they are here to learn to climb. If they can’t do it on their own, they will survive the disappointment. What’s more, they will have a goal and the incentive to work to achieve it.
In the meantime, they can use the stairs. I want them to tire of their own limitations and decide to push past them and put in the effort to make that happen without any help from me.
It is not my job — and it is certainly not yours — to prevent my children from feeling frustration, fear, or discomfort. If I do, I have robbed them of the opportunity to learn that those things are not the end of the world, and can be overcome or used to their advantage.
If they get stuck, it is not my job to save them immediately. If I do, I have robbed them of the opportunity to learn to calm themselves, assess their situation, and try to problem-solve their own way out of it.
It is not my job to keep them from falling. If I do, I have robbed them of the opportunity to learn that falling is possible but worth the risk, and that they can, in fact, get up again.”
All I Want for President’s Day is My Two Front Teeth
Last weekend Tyler lost one front tooth. Last night we were brushing his teeth and the other front tooth fell out. All I want for President’s Day is my two front teeth doesn’t really work like it does for Christmas but oh well.
Elizabeth: 14 Weeks
NPR On Learning: Struggle For Smarts? How Eastern And Western Cultures Tackle Learning
I loved this piece from NPR from November 2012. Whether you have kids or not, this makes a lot of sense.
Dr. Soram Khalsa’s Wants to Revolutionize Your Health
I’m not a doctor, but I play one on the Internet. I think we all do these days, though, don’t we? We Google our symptoms, and we find out we either have cancer and need to get to a doctor right away because we have a year to live, or we just need a Tylenol. Someone will tell me their symptoms and I will come back after 2 minutes and tell them what my diagnosis is for them. I went to a doctor here in the Bay Area a few years ago at a local clinic, but before I did, I made sure to Google and Yelp for reviews. I ended up picking a doctor who has been practicing for over 30 years who received insanely good reviews. He only practiced medicine when I last saw him two days a week. When he came into the examination room, the first thing he said to me is, “OK, so what in the world are you doing here?” “You are too young to be in here.” I told him my ailments and then proceeded to tell him my diagnosis. He laughed a bit at me and said something like, “well now, you’re quite the scientist type, aren’t you?” He then said, “without even looking at you, I think you’re right”. I then told him about all the reviews I read online, and he said, “you really do your homework, don’t you? Did the reviews tell you I used to be the personal doctor for The Who?” I said “no” and I’m sure he could tell I was thinking he was a rockstar at this point. He then sat down and asked if he minded if he drank a 5-Hour Energy and then pounded it right in front of me. I asked, “aren’t those bad for you?” He then said, “what, caffeine?” “Eh, all in moderation and look at me, I’ve made it this long.” He then subscribed me an insanely strong dose of antibiotics and said, “this will get you all better, and we won’t be seeing each other after this”. He was right.
That experience is one of the few positive experiences I’ve had in my life with a doctor. With all the theories of what is good and bad for us, I have learned to take it all in stride and try to use some common sense. I know Doctor Oz has been recently getting some controversy for doing more harm than good at trying to dramatize health to the public, but in most episodes I like what he has to say. He also puts it in terms the public can understand. True intelligence is explaining complicated topics in simplistic ways that anyone can understand. At least in my opinion. About a month ago, I was watching the episode below where he featured Dr. Soram Khalsa. I think Doctor Oz even had “controversial” in the title of the episode, which sparked my interest. Dr. Khalsa is a big advocate of vitamin D and after watching the segment I have been taking his recommended levels of supplements. Not only have I not gotten sick when everyone around me is getting the flu, colds, and feeling run down, but I am feeling especially great. I have been running and eating better as well, so that can’t and doesn’t hurt either. I’ve been drinking detox tea every night as well. I am the only one in the office who hasn’t been sick with everything going around, my son and wife are sick as we speak, and I’m doing great (knocking on wood). A mixture of western and alternative medicine seems to make a lot of sense to me. At the end of the day, do what your body tells you to do. If you click the images below, it will take you to each episode from the Dr. Oz site (the third is the best).
Donny Deutsch: Often Wrong, Never in Doubt
I’m trying to burn through my stack of library books and wanted to recommend one of my latest reads called Often Wrong, Never in Doubt: Unleash the Business Rebel Within by Donny Deutsch. Every time I go to the library I always bee-line to the Computer Science section first, quickly followed by Business (just like my pursuit of education, both in those fields). I don’t think there are a lot of new concepts in the book but the inside and back cover do a great job summarizing the key areas which I’ve included below.
Inside Cover
It’s not a question. It is a philosophy to live by. It’s Donny Deutsch’s motto. And it is the secret possessed by every person with the right stuff—the one-in-a-hundred who gets to the top of their team, their company, their business, their industry.
If there is an assignment or a promotion up for grabs, a client or account looking for new answers, do you know how to go for it? Donny Deutsch built a billion-dollar media business asking himself the basic question, “Why Not Me?” Once the reader asks—and answers—that question, a world of opportunity opens up. It is a tool to motivate people, build a business, and create a business culture.
Often Wrong, Never in Doubt is an inspirational book from one of America’s most colorful and exciting entrepreneurs. It’s Donny’s story. In a fun conversation with the reader, Donny lays out the core principles that propelled him to create tremendous wealth, build a huge and influential business, and become a national personality. Using inside stories of the media, the advertising industry, and a youth spent growing up on the streets of New York, Donny gives the commonsense bottom line that he has learned along the way, broken down into real, relevant, and inspiring lessons that will be useful to everyone from the front-line salesperson to the middle manager to the successful corporate executive. (It’s also a useful guide for dating.)
Back Cover
SUCCESS: The key to success is not purely who’s the smartest, who’s the best, but also who can say with conviction, “I deserve it.” The entire concept is wrapped up in one phrase: Why not me? You can’t just say it, you’ve got to own it.
BEING A LEADER: The equation for successful advancement is entitlement plus self-branding.
HIRING: The real G-spot for turbo-creativity is the man or woman who hasn’t really accomplished breakthrough work yet. They are just almost there. There’s an extra level of anger, an extra level of passion, an extra level of need – they want their work to be that much better because they are on the line.
FIRING: A good firing can be one of the most motivational, uplifting tools around. The weakest link is eliminated, quality work is rewarded, and the survivors feel better about themselves. It’s a perp walk and sometimes you just need to do it.
MANAGING PEOPLE: To run a good crew you need to put your ego aside for a moment and concentrate on a person other than yourself. If your people feel their win means something to you – that you get actual joy from it – they will walk through fire for you.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING IN SHAPE: It’s nice to know that you can kick the ass of anyone at the table. What more do you need to know? That image of yourself extends to all areas of your professional and personal life. Physical well-being says you are disciplined, you are a winner.
HIS PERSONALITY: It’s a constant. Throughout my life I’ve always had people who don’t know me say, from a distance, “I don’t really like that guy.” How do I know? Because sooner or later they meet me and tell me. I’d be more concerned if the people who did know me though I was a schmuck.