Paying Homage to an Elementary School Teacher

Introduction

One day while waiting for the bank to write a cashier’s check for me, I thought back to a precious moment that was so endearing to me, I just have to blog about it. I recalled a particular day in elementary school – 5th grade to be exact – about one teacher who taught me how to write a personal check and balance my checkbook. Her name was Ms. Cody at the time, but now, she’s Susan Heard.

Most teachers I know typically have their lessons plan outlined in such a way that it met the state’s requirements for education and the school board’s guidelines, etc.  Perhaps education was different when I was younger, but even then, only one classroom stood out from the rest.

In a single year, Ms. Heard taught me a myriad of skills that I have continued to use every single day and in every single aspect of my life. Such an educator should not only be commended, but honored. So this is my homage to you Susan… although, it’s weird to call you by your first name.

First Meeting

In fourth grade, I had a knack for mathematics, so I was severely bored all the time. The teacher decided to let me skip a grade in math and that was the first time I saw Ms. Heard. Because I had entered the classroom around early December, I had missed several chapters of the fifth grade’s math curriculum. I had no idea what was going on in the class and the teaching style was completely different to me.

A week after being transferred, there was a math quiz. I sweated bullets for the duration of that test, and when I got the test back… big fat “F”, circled in red ink. My first F-grade ever. Until then, I had nothing less than 90%. I was devastated, but the lesson here? I wasn’t academically invincible and challenges were meant to be overcome. That winter break, I studied the math book from the beginning and reviewed the lessons from the chapters I had missed. I wanted to arm myself with enough academic ammo so that when the next assignment was given, I would have my game face on and ready to be play the zone.

We came back from Winter break and in a couple of weeks, there was another quiz. Results? 92% with a big red arrow pointing up! Best. Feeling. Ever. The rest of my fourth grade year was a blur, but this was only the beginning.

Fifth Grade in a Nut Shell

I am not sure if Ms. Heard was experimenting with our class, but that year was a blast. Together, she had the classroom formed a community with laws and rules that governed our community, which we named: Peaceful Valley.

The rules were not just for show. There were consequences for breaking the rules, and then you were to be tried by your peers. They will listen to your case and then assess the appropriate punishment in the form of chores, if it applied.

This gave us the opportunity to collaborate as a team, otherwise, the community would struggle to function as a unit. I remember one particular example where Ms. Heard told us that there may be times when we have to take matters within our own hands if we wanted things to be done the right way. She was referring to the heights of our desks. There were brackets on the legs of the desk to adjust the height, however, some desks were too high for us and others were too low. Instead of asking the maintenance guys to customize the adjustment of every desk to our liking, we took upon ourselves and adjusted our own desks.

While repairing the desks and tables, my fingers got pinched in between one of the brackets while I was tightening it. In pain, I cursed out loud. Ms. Heard got mad at me and told me that such language wasn’t necessary… and she was right. The world would be horribly ugly if everyone cursed when something went wrong.

The teamwork philosophy continued when she taught us the habit of reading the newspaper every day. She talked to the Los Angeles Times newspaper and somehow got them to donate papers for us once a week, if I’m not mistaken. She showed us the different sections and how the front page articles were continued in the later pages.

After several months, the papers piled up and Ms. Heard suggested that as a community, we should be conscientious about our environment. One way was to recycle. And we did just that. I believed we made over $60 the first time and $30 the second time. With the new income, we bought Peaceful Valley T-shirts for everyone and I think there was food too. It taught us the value of hard-earned money, but reminded us to remember to reward ourselves once in a while too.

The Challenges

Ms. Heard continuously challenged us to think differently and really stayed to help us figure it out. She told us that if you really want to learn more, then we should read and to read a lot. She started a book reading club and asked us to report the number of books we read in a week or month. I remember one of our classmates was a huge Goosebumps series fan. He would read 2-3 books a week!

To improve our writing skills, she taught to use descriptive adjectives and action verbs instead of using words like “nice” and various forms of the verb “to be”.  So instead of “I had a nice time tonight;” a better way to phrase would be, “I enjoyed the delightful time this evening.”  Another simple example: “She is pretty” versus “She looked amazing.” Today, written prose is a lost art for students after texting came along.

She taught us that schoolwork and education was just as important as cultural diversification. She showed us how to embrace and celebrate different cultures as well. She showed us sign language and invited a classmate’s mother who was a sign language professional who came to teach us a few things. In fact, our Peaceful Valley T-shirts had sign language on it too.

During physical education, instead of sports, she taught us how to dance. Yes – that’s right. DANCE. And not the swaggering hip-hop or the fancy tango like on “Dancing with the Stars”. Oh no – that would be too cool for school. She taught us the electric slide, square dancing, line dancing, the bunny hop, etc…  Although it’s embarrassing to admit, do you know what the best part is? At a wedding, I can REALLY throw down these moves. I still remember them to this day; I can do the tush-push like it’s nobody’s business.

The Influences

Toward the end of my fifth grade year with Ms. Heard introduced our class to computers. Intel was big at that time and announced the launch of the Intel Pentium I processor. Our classroom wasn’t fortunate to have one of those, but we had an IBM 386 PC, running at 16-Mhz with 4MB of RAM, I think??

Well, regardless of what PC I used in her class, I’ve kept it up throughout the years. I built my first computer after I graduated from high school. I was a work-study student in college and was a systems administrator assistant for the university.  Today, I run a computer consulting business to help people bridge the gap between technology and its applications.

Thinking back, I remember how my teacher used the overhead project every day. It conveyed how raw the teaching process can be sometimes in order to get instructions across. Now, when I tutor folks, I realize that anyone can explain things that they already know. However, teaching takes a step further by not only helping students remember what they learn, but also showing them how to apply it in the future.

The Homage

Ms. Heard – thank you teaching me to be humble and not to swear.

Thank you for teaching me to be worldly and how to explore the things I don’t understand.

Thank you for introducing music into my life and letting me express it awkwardly through the means of dance.

Thank you, thank you, and thank you!   No one deserves it more.

Mrs. Cody – Class members of Peaceful Valley

My fifth grade report card

Parenting – Can You Handle It?

Parenting. No one ever said it was easy, but I’m always at the crossroads of asking myself when is the right time to have children and bring them up. This becomes especially difficult for those who have children during their teenage years. There can be several challenges that a teenage mom or dad can face besides money and life experience (emotionally/spiritually), but more importantly, the notion of being “intellectually” prepared. What does this mean? I personally believe that when a child asks you a question, you should be knowledgeable enough to answer that question to the best of your ability. Likewise, however, if you don’t know the answer, admit that you don’t know, and encourage your child to find the answer together.

The primary concern I have is when parents lie to their children out of pride in order to save face when they don’t know something. Not only will the children be misinformed, but it will convince children that the behavior of making up answers is acceptable.

This topic came about when I overheard a mother and her daughter talking while waiting in line at a grocery store. It had just rained, and as the sky cleared up, a gorgeous rainbow appeared behind the clouds, shining triumphantly through the store windows. As the mom pointed it out to her daughter, the little girl asked her mom where rainbows came from.

The mother told her daughter that clouds made the rainbow and people don’t know where rainbows end. So if people were to follow the path of the rainbow, they will be able to find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The mom’s answer bothered me because the daughter was older than a toddler, so I felt that this was a serious question that deserved a serious answer. Now, I am a college graduate and my field is in the sciences. After thinking about the girl’s question, I realized that the explanation is not a simple one. However, a good explanation could as simple as: After it rains, there are still a lot of water droplets floating in the air. When the sun comes out and shines through those water drops, the white light from the sun gets refracted into all those colors you see in the rainbow. What does refracted mean? It means that water has some special ability to separate colors of light. After the explanation, I would probably show an experiment using a garden hose and spraying water on a sunny day.

The index of refraction of water droplets in the air break up the white sunlight into the colors we see in the rainbow.

Okay, so maybe that wasn’t as simple as one would hope, however, the child will at least know that water and sunlight is what makes rainbows and not clouds with pots of gold behind them. I’m worried that children would be misled and perhaps be embarrassed if they decide to share what they learn and propagate false information.

What would happen if the questions were harder? Like why do planets move around the sun the way they do? Where did dinosaurs come from? Or what is the meaning of life? Will we be able to steer our children straight?

The education that we go through as children will definitely shape the way we think, but the things that our parents teach us will model how we think. Personally, I feel like the bad habits are so much easier to pick up than the good habits. In the examples above, lying is a lot easier than being honest and telling the truth. Such notions are sometimes dangerous because it can propagate itself through adulthood for some people.

I remember a former girlfriend who attended a private high school and although she is a sharp and intelligent woman, there were some things that surprised me. We met in college and one night she told me that the church explained to her that medications such as the “morning-after pill” or “Plan B” are made to kill the developing embryo and that embryo will be aborted through your next menstrual cycle. In actuality, these medicines are designed to suppress ovulation in hopes to prevent pregnancy by 90-95% if taken within the first 24 hours. If taken after 24 hours, your chances of emergency contraception reduces to like 60-70%.

Aside from the fact that she was misinformed, there is another impact that is overlooked. There was an instance where she had to use an emergency contraceptive in the past, and she lived with the guilt thinking she had killed her own baby. After I gave my explanation of what those pills actually did, she was incredibly relieved. I was glad she even had the courage to bring it up. If she never told anyone the story of what happened and how she felt about it, that trauma could have stayed with her for a long time.

I understand that when it comes to parenting, there will be unexpected things and we can’t prepare for everything. However, I do feel nervous about whether I am capable and ready to raise children to the best of my abilities. We all love our kids; no question about that. That is why we want the best for them. But lying shouldn’t be the way to do it. If something doesn’t have an answer, let’s take their hand, and go explore the answer… together, as parent and child.

Samsung Galaxy S4 – Email Sync Issues

Thanks to my Australian cousin who asked me this question, I have now officially provided tech support internationally!  I hope this helps anyone who has this problem.

For issues regarding your email syncing improperly on your Samsung Galaxy S4 running on Android OS 4.3, please try the following methods below.

ENABLE SYNC:
The first thing to check is to make sure that syncing is enabled for your device.  This was the most common solution because people disabled it accidentally without realizing it.  *Update:  You can also use this method to “reset” the syncing feature because sometimes software updates can interrupt the syncing process.

1.  Swipe down from top of screen to pull down the notification menu.
2.  Turn on the “Sync” toggle button.
3.  Note:  If you don’t see it, then look in the upper right hand corner of the screen.  There should be an icon with three little boxes to expand/collapse for additional icons to appear.

ENABLE SYNC FOR EMAIL SETTINGS:
Next, we will enable syncing for all email accounts in your email settings.

1.  Go to:  Settings > “Account” tab > Email > Email Account (i.e. abcd@domain.com)
2.  Then select the “Sync Email” check box.
3.  Repeat this if you have multiple email accounts.
4.  Return to:  Settings > “Account” tab > Email
5.  At the bottom of the “Email” area, there should be a button to Sync All your email accounts.
6.  Press on “Sync All” to see if your email accounts have synced.

ENABLE SYNC FOR INDIVIDUAL EMAIL ACCOUNTS SETTINGS:
Finally, we will go through each separate account to adjust sync settings, sync schedules, etc…

Go to:  Settings > “Account” tab > Email > Settings > Email Account (i.e.  abcd@domain.com), don’t go to General Settings  > Look under Sync Settings to enable syncing and how often you want it to update the sync by adjusting the sync schedule.

I hope this able to resolve your problems.  If I have left out any pertinent information or other methods to solve this issues, please feel free to let me know.  Cheers!

HTPC Setup – Fast, Cool, Looks Good, and Somewhat Affordable

Over the past few years, the number of Home Theatre PCs (HTPCs) has grown tremendously as more media are digitalized.  Whether it is photos, music, videos, movies, or TV shows, we often save it on our computers instead of CDs or DVDs.   So how can an HTPC help you?  It will act has a bridge for you to access all of your digital content from another computer or server at home right on your HDTV.

I have built quite a number of these HTPCs, using everything from tiny ITX motherboards all the way up to standard ATX motherboards, but the one I want to discuss today is rather unique.  This setup is somewhat challenging in that it is extremely simple!  Space is tight, but if planned carefully, this HTPC will be a great addition to your home theatre.

Let’s start with specifications:

Component	Description
Case	Moneual Moncaso 312 (Black):  Driver CD ( .iso  |  .zip )
Case Fans	Scythe Mini Kaze Ultra 40mm x 20mm Silent Mini Fan (SY124020L)
Power Supply	Cooler Master GX Series 450W 80+ Bronze (RS450 ACAAD3 US)
Motherboard	MSI G41M-P34 775-pin
CPU	Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz LGA 775
CPU Cooling	Scythe Shuriken Rev.B SCSK-1000
Memory	Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333MHz (PC3-10666) CMX6GX3M2A1333C9
Hard Drive	Intel 330 Series – 240GB Solid State Drive, SSDSC2CT240A3K5, SATA 6Gb/s
Optical Drive	LG UH12LS29 – 3D Playback & M-Disc Support with LightScribe

I’ll skip all the details of these parts because if you’re reading this article, you may have an idea already.  Instead, I shall jump to the reasoning and concept behind this build.

First off, the most expensive purchase for this set up is the case.  The Moneual Moncaso 312B  is unique for its low profile, the optical drive being mounted in the center, the large volume control knob, and has the capabilities of mounting a mATX motherboard along with an ATX power supply.  Furthermore, it has a built-in IR receiver so you can use the included remote control to access your computer.  Overall, this case will blend in well with the rest of your receivers, amplifiers, blu-ray players, etc…

Secondly, this case has been out for a long time, and people have reviewed it a lot.  However, I am taking advantage of using popular quality parts of the previous generation in order to maximize the cost-to-performance ratio.  The Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 runs fast, stays cool, and if you search for a used one online, it will cost you about $50-60.  The reason why you don’t want to buy a new one is because it will come with the OEM heatsink (which you won’t need), and it will cost more.  In addition, a lot of users paired this processor with DDR2 memory, but I’ll be using DDR3 memory instead.  To top it off, I tossed in a solid-state hard drive, so the thing boots up insanely fast – within 13-15 seconds or so.  Again, I’m simply taking advantage of the old and the new to maximize system potential.

Finally, due to the confinement of space inside the case, careful planning is required so that you can have a nice clean case.  You will want to plan your cable management and perhaps get a modular power supply to reduce cable clutter for ample air flow to keep temperatures down.  The last few tips for building this system would be:

• The Scythe Shuriken Rev. B SCSK-1000 heatsink is worth the cost and fits the case design perfectly.  I highly recommend it.
• Try not to use memory with the tall heatsinks because it may interfere with the installation of your optical drive.  If the memory is low profile with heatsinks like the ones I’m using, then that is okay.
• LG Blu-ray drives seem to work better than other brands because they are shorter in length.  See pictures for the gap between the drive, heatsink, and memory.  The length of my drive is 6.75 inches (~17.2cm).
• Install the CPU processor heatsink last, you may have to remove the power supply (but keeping all the cables plugged in), in order to get your hands in there.
• The “Blu-ray Disc” front panel cover should be done second to last, because once you stick it on, you don’t want to have to take that thing off again.
• The three 40mm case fans are tricky.  Some people say that they are noisy and not able to pull much air, so it’s not worth the trouble.  Personally, I think it would be better to have at least two fans to have a little circulation.  Having a little bit of air current is better than nothing – especially if the machine is left on for extended periods of time.
• For the push-button to eject the CD tray… it is kind of a funky design.  When I line up my drive, the button isn’t able to reach when depressed.  So I cut out a thin piece of rubber and glued it to back side to increase the reach by 1-2mm.  That did the trick.

So, how much did all of this cost?  In September 2012, the total cost was around $700.  Before anyone gets mad at me, please know that the majority of the costs went into the case (~$250) and the solid state drive (~$160).  I also know that there are better processors out there – i3, i5, and I’ve even seen i7s built using this case with SLI graphic cards and triple-channel DDR3 memory. Or other types of HTPC that uses nettops or similar smaller profiles with a tiny footprint.  Although these other systems definitely run faster, I want to remind folks that this set up is nice in that the case design will fit into your home theatre equipment and not be easily detected as an HTPC.  In addition, it’s a fully capable computer so you won’t be concerned with it being under-powered or not having enough memory.

Results of the system:

• The system is using up about 105 watts, and runs relatively cool thanks to the 45nm Wolfdale processor using only 65W at 1333Mhz FSB.
• Processor at idle is about 31-32C (88-90F), and levels at 57-59C (134-138F) under full load when running Prime95 for torture testing.
• The hottest thing in the computer right now is the south bridge, which is around 40-41C (104-106F).  It’s not bad, but can be easily fixed.
• I currently have it connected to my home network in order to access all media content from remote servers in my room.

If you have any questions or inputs, please feel free to let me know.  It always helps to receive feedback or constructive criticism – so don’t be shy!

Clever Advertising – KP Duty Ad

It’s one of those strange occasions where I find a magazine delivered to my home, under my name, yet I do not recall subscribing to.  On top of that, it’s a fitness magazine – a woman’s magazine.  So, how does that work if I’m a man?  […shrugs…]  Oh well, I never miss the opportunity to see what women are reading today.

As I’m thumbing through the articles about the latest exercise fashion, new diet/meal plans, and workout equipment, I landed on an advertisement for keratosis pilaris – a common skin condition characterized by the appearance of small, rough bumps on the skin, usually on outer sides of upper arms and back.  Roughly half of the population is both adults and children are affected by keratosis pilaris.  To me, it’s nothing new, but I upon a closer look, I definitely have to admit that the ad is surprisingly clever.

Here, the product being advertised is DERMAdoctor’s KP Duty.

Fair enough, I thought.  With “DermaDoctor,” it’s a term for “skin doctor.”  I get it.

KP Duty is an abbreviation for Keratosis Pilaris.  I understood that too.  Then there’s the word “duty” attached.  I thought maybe they’re talking about “heavy duty,” but then I saw the picture which portrayed actual “KP duty”.

For those who aren’t familiar with the term “kp duty,” it simply is military slang for “kitchen patrol”.  This means that whoever gets kp duty or is on kp duty will have the wonderful pleasure of scrubbing pans, slinging slop, and serving in the mess halls.  I remember hearing this term when I was in the Boy Scouts at the age of 11-12 years old.  KP duty is hard work and I don’t mind it, but it can be pain if you’re doing dishes at night and hot water isn’t available.

The ad did a collage of images where you see an attractive woman, who is in a military uniform, with a big grin and an “attend-hut!” salute to all the awesome soldiers who serve our country.  She has on a lab coat as well – perhaps to demonstrate that she’s a doctor who serves for the military and she’s recommending KP Duty will help those who suffer from keratosis pilaris, but at the same time providing a visual illustration of KP duty with a kitchen backdrop and potatoes all over the place.

So what did I do?  I went online and ordered myself a bottle of this stuff.  I don’t have KP, but I’m curious as to what it can do.  When you use the product, it has those microbeads that is normally found in skin exfoliating creams, so assuming you have to scrub it on your body, it feels as if your doing kitchen patrol on yourself.  How great is that?!

Obviously, quite a bit of thought went into the name of the product and the design of the entire ad.  Everything seems to connect, so it makes some sense more or less.  It’s not like other products where you see a woman on a bicycle or a couple walking along the beach, and they’re advertising anti-acid calcium tablets or bandaids.  Anyway – just thought I shared.

External 3TB Hard Drive Size Not Detected – Formatting Shows Only 349GB or 746GB

Today is the day after Thanksgiving – otherwise known as Black Friday. A friend found a good deal on a Seagate 3TB external hard drive with USB 3.0 speeds. Since he did not have a USB 3.0 port on his computer, he wanted to move his files via SATA, but when he removed it from the external enclosure and connected the hard drive straight into the computer, it only showed 349GB (or sometimes 746GB if it is a WD hard drive).

Here’s a quick explanation of what is going on and how to format the drive so that it is usable with 3TB or roughly 2.7TB due to allocation of drive space. We’ll go through the difference between MBR and GPT formats, discuss how it originally recognizes with USB and not SATA, and finally how to format the drive in Windows.

MBR vs. GPT

First, hard drives are typically formatted in MBR (Master Boot Record) or GPT (GUID Partition Table). When you install your operating system, like Windows XP or Windows 7, the drive needs to be formatted as MBR because that drive needs to be bootable in order to load an operating system. The MBR system will allow you to create a partition of 2TB in size, while the GPT system will allow you to go beyond the 2TB limit. So in theory, if you have an 8TB hard drive, you can only make four 2TB partitions with MBR, whereas with GPT, you can make one 8TB partition or a hundred 80GB partitions.

USB vs. SATA

When you used your external hard drive, the 3TB hard drive was recognized without any problems, but when you installed it into your computer, hard drive size detection became an issue. One possible explanation is that the device is originally intended to be operated as an USB device, so the controller board is designed to get past that 2TB limit, so without the additional hardware, you didn’t see the entire 3TB as one volume.

Formatting the 3TB Hard Drive in Windows

*** NOTE: Please back up information you want to keep before formatting drive. ***
1. Go to “My Computer,” right-click on it, and select “Manage” from the menu.
2. Look for your drive at the bottom of the screen (Disk 1.. Disk 2… Disk 3.. etc..)
3. Right-click on the partition of selected drive and Delete Volume… to delete the partition.
4. The drive should show up as “unallocated partition” and may show up as two separate partitions. (One partition will be 2048GB and the other as 746GB or something like that)
5. On the left, click on the Disk # part, and click on “Convert to GPT Disk”.
6. Then proceed to format the drive as NTFS by right clicking on the partition and “Create New Simple Volume…” and go through the wizard to create a new simple volume, which will ultimately end with the options to format your drive as NTFS.
7. Open My Computer to see if you drive shows up in Explorer.
8. If it doesn’t show up, go back to Disk Management and see if the drive has been made into an active partition and also check to see if it has been assigned a drive letter. All of this can be done by right-click on the partition of the drive.

** Convert to GPT Disk is grayed out because my disk partition is not unallocated yet.**

This technique should help you utilize the maximum capacity of your 3TB hard drive. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to let me know!

*Supplementary Information*
Added October 11, 2013

There are many of people who are encountering a problem where their 3TB hard drive can only format 2TB, and no other partitions are seen to be deleted or altered.  This could be due to several factors, but the following steps should help you recover the missing partition(s) beyond the 2TB, and hopefully allow your hard drive to return to its original unallocated state.

We need to wipe the drive clean and restore it.  After plugging in the hard drive, please do the following:

1. Start > right-click on Computer > go to Manage…
2. Choose Disk Management on the left hand side of the menu and check what number the drive is detected as in your list of disks.
3. The hard drive should appear in a list in the lower part of the window.
4. Remember the disk number of your hard drive.  (Disk 0, 1, 2, etc…) It’s bolded next to the partitions of the drive.
5. You can now now close this window and we will begin clearing the drive.

**All data on the hard drive will be wiped from here on.  Please back up important data.**

1.  Start > type in “cmd” in the search box below All Programs and press Enter.
2.  A black window opens up, this is your DOS command line.
3.  Type “diskpart” and press Enter to launch the Disk Partition window.
4.  Type “list disk” and press Enter to show the all the hard drives in the computer.
5.  Type “select disk #” where # is the drive disk number determined in Disk Management, and press Enter.  (i.e. “select disk 2” and pressing enter will tell the program to select the hard drive you would like to wipe clean.
6.  Type “clean” to restore the hard drive by writing zeroes for all sectors.
7.  Once finished, go back to Disk Management and check to make sure that hard drive partition is now “unallocated”.
8.  Initialize Disk if the drive isn’t initialized already, and follow the above procedures to convert the disk to a GPT disk and proceed with formatting the drive for use.

Sex and Ice Cream

So now that I have your attention, I want to discuss about sexuality, communication, and gender behavior.   Originally, I wanted to write about each of these topics separately, but the more I thought about it, the more they seem to intersect with one another.

Previously, we talked about communication and the language barrier that exists between men and women.  This wall impedes on getting accurate messages across.  Our goal is to try to reduce as much misunderstandings as possible, without being redundant or patronizing.  Moving beyond the conception of verbalized language, the popularized “body language,” shows us that certain forms of communication are done subconsciously.  And there are times when certain emotions are too strong for us to express which will tend to lead to kissing, touching, and then the crème de la crème, sex.

I remember a quote which said, “A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.”  It was a simple way to say that words can’t always define a situation when you have a multitude of emotions rushing through you.  Whether it’s the way you feel about someone or the way they make you feel, there will a time when you can no longer describe that wonderful, overwhelming emotion.

However, we need to be careful.  Much is said in the context of communication and sex because the two can go hand-in-hand, but at the same time, it can be disastrous.  Do you communicate through sex or do you let sex do the communicating?  You wouldn’t want to be blabbing during sex, yet at the same time, remaining quiet to let sex do the talking is not right either.  So there is this balance between when to talk and when not to talk.

To make sure I’m explaining this clearly, the point is that communication and sex are different for men and women.  Since focusing on a task, like reading the newspaper or talking on the phone, is a relaxing task for men, most men are able to drop everything and focus on sex.  Guys can leave the emotional and mental drama out of it.  On the other hand, women are great at multi-tasking, like driving while putting on makeup and eating a slice of pizza.  Often times, it is harder for women to get “in the mood” because they are emotionally oriented.  If something bad happened at work, they probably aren’t feeling very kinky.  I think that is what women mean when they say they don’t “feel” like being intimate.

Basically, the point is that we all come across situations where things were going good and then suddenly, everything goes wrong.  Most of the time, it’s all about communication.  Whether it is during a meal or during sex, communication is able to bring about a sense of comfort.  With that in mind, both partners will be able to enjoy their activities, both outdoors and in the bedroom, a little bit more.

Miscommunication: “The Break-Up”

Over the past couple of months, I have heard many discussions from my friends about their significant others and the recurring theme is either the lack of communication, or having difficulty communicating well.  I started thinking back to the summer of 2006 when my girlfriend at the time went to the theatres to watch the movie, “The Break-Up,” with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston.  I thought it was a comedy, but it turned out to be more dramatic than I had anticipated.  However, something had materialized toward the end of the movie when I looked over and saw my ex-girlfriend crying.

I felt like there was something that I didn’t understand that my ex-girlfriend was feeling.  Perhaps the source of the her emotions was due to previous  experiences in which she could relate to Aniston’s situation?  On the other hand, I was unable to conceive what was going on.  At that moment, it dawned upon me that interpretation is important when it comes to communicating effectively.  With this introduction, we will launch into an analysis relationships and communication using the film to set examples.

When I saw the film, the first thing I related it to was the book, “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus”.  It goes without saying that there has always been miscommunications between the two genders.  Girls “expect” certain things from guys without telling them.  In the end, it’s the guy’s fault for not being a mind reader.  Guys want women to be direct and stop hinting.  But women don’t think it is romantic when they have to give “commands” or “instructions” for their men.  After a while, this becomes tiring for both partners.

“The Break-Up” provides a story in which Vaughn is a typecast for the “regular guy,” and Aniston is the stereotypical “every day woman”.  From the beginning, we see that both of them have  trouble expressing what they wanted to say to each other.  An example would be doing the dishes.  Aniston wants him to “want to do the dishes,” and Vaughn responds with, “Why would I want to do the dishes?”  I’m sure most of the women audience understood what Aniston meant to say.  I’m also sure that most guys would understand Vaughn’s defense.

At times like these, it is crucial to understand that the art of communication is not universal.  If an individual say a sentence to a group of people, there can be 3-5 different interpretations of that statement.  It is not to say that one is better than the other, but simply that men and women talk on different levels.  Trying to make the other person understand a man or woman’s  “dialect” is extremely difficult.  It is a vain attempt that could lead to separation or divorce, as seen in the movie.

An interesting point to note is that both Vaughn and Aniston subconsciously know that deep down, they might have a good thing going besides the mortgage on the house.  However, the current dynamic has reached an unbearable limit, which led the fight scene where Aniston just broke down to tears.

So… possible solutions?  I think it’s best that we come up with our own ways of interpreting and expressing what we think and how we feel.  From the book, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,” there were several main points.  The first is “communication styles.”.  Women talk to share stories in order to bond and/or vent.  Men often do it to find solutions and not sympathy.  Next is the “point system” – where men assign value to each item, and women assign value to the quality of items instead of the quantity of the item.  The third point is “expose and retreat”.  When conflict arises, men will withdraw until they find a solution, whereas women want to discuss about it.

In short, no one ever said relationships were easy.  Love and hate will happen because those emotions are real, and a relationship is real.  We can’t expect everything to be constantly beautiful.  That is just… too perfect.

Things the Near Future Will Bring

On any given day, this topic won’t be as significant as today.  With six 1s that represent a date that happens once every century, it’s quite amazing that Veteran’s Day happens to land on 11-11-11.  But more importantly what does this mean?  This means it’s been over a decade since the Y2K concern, and all of us seem to be doing all right.  This means that despite the fact that people are hurting with incomes are declining, job loss, poverty and inequality rising, we’re still hanging on.  This means that despite the fact that mortgage foreclosures and credit card debt increasing and a spike in cost of utility, food, and gasoline prices, we manage to struggle day by day.

So the question is… what will the future bring?  What’s the outlook like?  Will the weather forecast be bright or gloomy?  What are some of the next few obstacles people and industry will face?   All very tough questions to answer.

In terms of science and healthcare, there may be some very drastic changes.  It’s not only about policies and insurances that govern healthcare, but the entire field as a whole.  With new supercomputers, robotics, and telecommunication devices, we’re starting to see human and machines merging.

In the field of  computers, there’s a plateau in performance.  Despite the fact that the processors are getting more complex, the problem of heat dissipation and processor architecture are still limiting obstacles.  Moreover, the main bottleneck in my opinion, is the chipset.  Processors, memory, hard drives, and graphic cards are getting faster and faster, but the chipset technology has not changed drastically enough to keep up with speed that other components deliver.

In technology, the future will most likely bring us a new trend in the way we interface with our digital devices.  Apple devices and their iCloud is such an example.  However, the direction things seem to be heading toward is simplification.  We need to be able to access a lot of data and information very quickly, therefore, our operating systems will change in order to update us on weather, emails, calendars, pictures, music, etc.. at a quick glance.  A system will also develop in order to integrate all these devices so that data content will be more centralized.

The Internet will also change.  Network speeds are getting faster and faster, because the volume of data we’re transferring is increasing.  Instead of regular media with moderate file sizes, consumers want high definition media, which requires faster speeds to handle larger file sizes.  As more and more devices are moving toward 3G or satellite communications, people will want the convenience to access the Internet anywhere and everywhere at anytime.

The energy crisis is starting to change with the develop of hybrid cars and solar panels.  However,  it won’t stop there.  Companies are developing ways to harness wasted energy so that we can recycle that energy to operate basic machinery.  The problem hurdle is that nuclear power plants are still more efficient in per square mile to power output than any other natural source such as sunlight, wind, or water current.  This energy revolution will change the way we approach conservation of power and energy in order to maximize retention of resources.

Transportation and cargo shipping will be redesigned as well.  The methods used now are decades old, and with the advent of computer technology, automated systems can now be integrate to manage containers that come off ships and boats that the ports.  Furthermore, transportation for humans will require a shift because with an increasing population, the roads are crowded.  High speed bullet trains and other modes of public transportation will be developed in order to create quick and affordable travel, while saving the environment by lowering emission byproducts.

Finally, there needs to be a change in market globalization.  Despite the fact that it’s growing, there needs to be a standard in regulation so that there is consistency in policies and regulations.  At the moment, there are still too many factors that have not been resolved, therefore leaving loopholes in that system which people are exploiting.

As we can see, there are quite a bit of challenges that lie ahead of us, and some of these problems and its developments can be more complex than we can imagine.  The future of children growing in a world of iPhones and iPads, Blu-Ray, HDTVs, and electric hybrid cars, who knows what the next generation will bring.

Hard Disk Recovery: How to Fix a Broken Hard Drive

There are several situations that may indicate a problem with your hard drive.  The methods listed here are not guaranteed ways to save the hard drive, but rather an attempt to recover information before tossing out the hard drive.  If you do not feel comfortable doing this yourself, please refer it to professionals.  Naturally, the best way to prevent this is to make sure the information is backed up elsewhere.

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Problem:
The hard drive is making audible “clicking” or “ticking” noises.  This is “click-click-click” or “tick-tick-tick,” … pause… “tick-tick-tick”.  Do not confuse this with the regular “rrr-rrr-rrr” sound the hard drive makes when it is reading normally.  The clicking is very distinctive and you should notice a dramatic decline in performance.  The computer may shut down unexpectedly too.

Cause:
Also known as the “click of death,” the hard drive’s head on the reading arm is making contact with the surface of the metal disk.   The arm could also be hitting me the rotor and repetitively loading and unloading.

Possible solution(s):
First, attempt to back up whatever data you can IMMEDIATELY.  If you don’t have an external hard drive or flash drive, turn off the computer and go get one.  Because once the computer starts clicking, you typically have very little time left to backup and your computer will only work for 10-15 minutes at a time, or maybe shorter.  The reason is that metal to metal contact creates friction which causes heat to increase and then the drive will shut down.  Essentially, as you are backing up, the life of the drive will degrade and die very soon.

Now, if you search online, you will find the “freezer” method discussed, where people put the hard drive into a zip lock bag and throw it in the freezer for a few hours.  By doing this, people hope that metal parts would shrink inside, temporarily disengaging physical contact of the metal pieces, thus reducing heat.  It does work in some cases, but unfortunately, not all the time.

Another method that might work is to replace the logic board on the hard drive with another one from an identical drive.  See below for instructions for changing logic boards due to loss of power.

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Problem:
The hard drive is making an audible screeching sound.  It is one continuous screeching sound as like nails on a chalkboard.

Cause:
This is when the reading arm is broken or dislocated, and now the head is making complete contact with the surface of the hard drive.  It’s like putting a screwdriver against the side of a bench grinder.

Possible solution:

***WARNING***   I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS METHOD BECAUSE THE CHANCES FOR SUCCESSFUL RECOVERY IS LESS THAN 5%!  ****

Wear gloves and remove the top cover off the hard drive carefully with a torx screwdriver (T-8).  You see the location of the arm by a ring created on the surface of the disk that looks like the arm has carved into the disk and discolored it by leaving a deep groove.

If you see this, the arm is broken, and probably not repairable.  If you don’t see that ring, perhaps the arm is dislocated due to shock or something, and you can try to move it to dislodge it back into place.  Try powering up the drive and see if it moves properly again.  If it does, then good news and start backup immediately.  If it doesn’t, you may want to identify the problem, if possible, and see if the drive will be recognizable.

Essentially the drive is going to be destroyed once the cover comes off in a short period of time.  So, please use this as a last resort.

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Problem:
The drive on the computer disappears.  You check that your drive is plugged in, but it’s not receiving any power.  It’s like a dead drive – doesn’t spin up or make any whirring sounds at all.

Cause:
Most likely, this is due to a defective, faulty, or broken logic board.  The logic board is the “brain” to control the hard drive and provide power management.

Possible solution:
Usually, the solution for when a hard drive does not power up, or acts up intermittently is to swap out the logic board with another one.  Listed below are the steps to swap logic boards.

Make sure the drives are same.  Same manufacturer, model, capacity, speed (rpm), and firmware.  If the firmware is not the same, it will display an error.

       

Use a torx screwdriver and remove the screws from the bottom side of the hard drive.

        

Swap the logic board, and put the screws back.

        

Your drive should have power and work without any problems.  If everything is fine, start backup immediately.  If you hear clicking sounds, still start backup as soon as you can because the drive is in bad shape.  Good luck!