techno.blog("Dion")

We make decisions based on assumptions all the time. Some of the time this makes sense (e.g. survival skills). However, I have been talking to people from various walks of life, and issues that come up often come down to assumptions that are made.

As a white male, I am fortunate in may ways, in our current culture. Although even being a white male has its own baggage.

After thinking about the assumptions I make, it has been really interesting to try to capture those moments. Normally they are totally unconcious decisions and mini-thoughts. When you bring them into the concious brain you see how screwed up your thinking can be. It is an interesting little quest.

I apologise for the assumptions that I have made :)

I saw Shrek 2 yesterday evening. They managed to do a great job, and it was just as good as the first in my opinion.

It is different. You already know some of the characters. So you get right to it.

The CG is fantastic. There are some scenes in which it looks so real. They have done a great job there.

The new characters are fun, especially Antonio’s Puss in Boots character. Jennifer Saunders (From Ab Fab, and French and Saunders) was really good as the fairy godmother.

The fun comes from the small side gags, like having a “Sir Justin” poster, FarBucks, and the like. They somehow make a movie that is fun for kids, and that adults can get something out of.

I heard that they are already working on Shrek 3 and 4. Wow.

I found this quite funny :)

Proof that girls are evil:

First we state that girls require time and money:

Girls = Time * Money

And as we know that “time is money”:

Time = Money

Therefore:

Girls = Money * Money = (Money)2

And because “money is the root of all evil”:

Money = sqrt(evil)

Therefore:

Girls = (sqrt(evil))2

Which leads to:

Girls = Evil

The only part that we haven’t solved is why guys don’t care and do it anyway… or maybe that problem is too obvious ;)

I saw this here

After celebrating Emily’s last class at Harvard, we swaggered into the cinema in Harvard Square to see Super Size Me.

The movie is a documentary that is very much in the style of Michael Moore. Morgan Spurlock (mini-michael) wrote and directed this piece, which delves into the issue of diet in America.

Just like the Michael Moore movies, it uses humor to cut close to the vein. Morgan decides to go through an experiment on his body. He eats MacDonalds 3 times a day for a month. He puts on 20 pounds in a matter of days (he limits his exercise to that of “normal” americans). By the end, all of his vital numbers are crazy (cholestral etc).

The scariest part is when he delves into the kids of today, and how they are brainwashed. The majority of school lunches are painful to see. Really scary.

So, if you want to shock your system into not wanting a Big Mac (or even the salad or parfait) for a looooong time, then this will do the trick.

I went to see Howard Gardner speak at the Harvard Ed School on Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing Our Own and Other People’s Minds. This is the topic in his new book.

It was really interesting to learn about how to change someones mind (including your own).

He used many examples, including Margret Thatcher. It is interesting to learn about the techniques…. and to try to relate them to the my world.

Who in the tech industry is good at changing people’s minds? What happens to change the industries mind (e.g. movement from C -> C++).

One thing that wasn’t mentioned was the “backing the winner” phenomenon. It is always interesting how people want to jump on a particular bandwagon.

A good mate from Colorado, Luc Nadeau, just published a new online magazine named Purgatorius.

About the Mag

Purgatorius is an organization of artists dedicated to creating ideas, images, and writings that inspire a progressive evolution of human socialization

I love living in an urban-ish area. There is a small asian tea shop called SweeTea, near Porter Square in Cambridge, MA.

They sell Bubble Tea, which I had for the first time today. How do I explain it…. well, take an iced green or black tea, add some flavour (e.g. mango, pineapple, [insert fruit]).

Sounds refreshing at this point… but what is special about it. For that my friends… you need to take a wide straw and suck. You will then get the surprise of the bubbles. These are small squidgy balls. Tapioca black pearls, or maybe lychee. You can also get grass jelly or choobees whatever they are! (have to try next time).

The reason that I heard about this was via Emily. She was turned onto it by a friend from Singapore. Apparantly it is all the rage there.

Try one in your area today! Savour the bubbles :)

Tonight I was at the JFK School of Government listening to a keynote from the secretary of education, Rod Paige.

It was really dissapointing. The reason is that it felt like the Bush speechwritters had written everything for Rod to say. I am sure he is a caring, learned man… but if you did a search and replace on education for terrorism it would be the same as the Bush speeches.

The reason for the keynote was the fact that it is the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education (as I have mentioned in an earlier blog).

The secretary harped on about how No Child Left Behind (ingenious name, got to give them that) was THE issue of today. The speech had no content. OF COURSE we all want equal education rights in the USA. Noone is disputing that, yet he was making it seem like “you are either with us (NCLB), or against us”. Sound familiar?

These forums always allow for questions to be asked. Some were good, and some were not so good…. yet no real answer was given to any of them. It really is amazing how a good politician can leave you thinking “huh?” when you try to work out how that “answer” had anything to do with the question.

- Is vouchers really going to help?
- Does testing every 5 minutes do anything for us (other than have us teach to the test?)
- You keep mentioning the funding increases, yet most of it goes to administrating the damn tests!
- What happens to all of these “failing” schools?
- Houston had a 20% increase? Based on what! How is it possible to keep up with that?
- Isn’t it obvious that schools will lower standards to allow for this increase in growth?
- What about the math: If you are a top school, how the hell can you keep increasing your performance by 20%!
- What about all of the studies that show this is a load of cock and bull?
- How come you have a lot of demands, yet the states have the burden. If there is a success it is due to NCLB, if there is a failure it is due to the fact that the states have all of the power. Come on. If this is the #1 civil rights issue, lets have a revolution!

We all want better schools. We all know that education is key to freedom and to the future of this country (we need to stay at the top of the wave guys). We are behind the theory of a lot of what you say, but as one person asking a question said “the devil is in the details”, and NCLB’s details suck.

Standards good. Testing every 3 seconds bad.
Statistics/Data can be good. Lies are bad (and it is easy not to get lies with statistics!).

I went to a talk at the Cambridge Forum where Elizabeth Warden talked about her book The Two Income Trap. I saw her on Bill Moyers NOW on PBS, and was really impressed.

A lot of these problems come down to education. When are we going to have a revolution in the way we “do” education.

We do not have public education. It is all private. You just “pay” for a good school by buying a house in a good location, OR you send your kid to a private school. This isn’t an equal education for all.

Imagine a world where all kids are highly educated. I know it scares the old white men, but it would create an amazing world.

As soon as I saw The Apprentice with Donald Trump, I thought it would be a no-brainer to copy the show in the UK, using Richard Branson (Mr. Virgin).

It turns out that he has gone 1 step further and will be involved in another US reality show Branson’s Big Adventure.

On a side note, I used to know someone who worked at Virgin and he had the business title: “Chief Virgin Converter” :)