Tuesday, September 27, 2011

One Dang Attractive Author


I have a favorite book. It's author is pretty dang cool, and attractive. But the book is even better. It makes me laugh almost every page. It's pages inspire me to greatness. It helps me understand where I've come from. And where I want to go.

And guess what? It's still being written.

 It's called my Journal. 

You can look back and remember forgotten lessons and wisdom from the past. You can relive the hilarious times and wonderful moments, and with new perspective, learn from the pain.
Also, it helps you not take yourself too seriously haha. Cause looking on my past self, I always feel a little ridiculous. =D

Boss people that kept a Journal: Nephi, Lehi, Moses, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Carnegie, Winston Churchill, John Adams, General Patton, Ronald Reagan, T and many many more.

"A journal is the literature of superiority. Each individual can become superior in his own humble life...Get a notebook, a journal that will last through all time, and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity. Begin today and write in it your goings and comings, your deepest thoughts, your achievements and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies" - Spencer W. Kimball


http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=96aa51e4b66fb010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____

And now I head off to sleep, but before that, I shall write in my journal. Maybe I'll even write about me writing about me writing about me writing about my Journal. In any case. I'll do it because. I know how much it'll help me.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Fractals-Who knew math could be this cool?


          What is a fractal you may ask? Well basically fractals are designs and really art created by math. Fractals are found throughout nature from snowflakes to lightning to DNA. But my favorite part about them is the incredible art they can create, not to mention the extremely trippy 3d fractals.


           Fractals are created through sometimes simple and sometimes very complex math formulas. The Mandelbrot set, one of the most famous fractals is zn+1 = zn2c a relatively simple equation though how it works is a little more complex. But basically they'll color the areas for different values they get. But the coolest thing is that you can zoom in and keep zooming in and you'll keep uncovering new designs new patterns in what you thought was a cut and dry area. Try it out with this http://neave.com/fractal/ it's pretty cool. But anyways you can make some pretty amazing designs and art with fractals.








My favorite of all however are 3D fractals. Very likely the trippiest thing on the planet. 



All of it created with just a few simple math formulas. Math can be beautiful.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

What Seniority Means

      Throughout the summer and even now three weeks into school I often hear "Whoah it's so weird that we're seniors now!" I think I've gotten pretty used to the idea, or at least familiar with the label being placed on me. But what I constantly wonder in my head is:

     What does being a senior really mean?

Does it mean we have the right to be respected above lower class-men?
Does it mean that we are better than others?
Cooler than others?

       As I thought about these questions I saw seniors of years past, of the seniors I loved and respected the most. Some names popped into my head, Joe Lambson, Ryan Adair, David Bean, Ben Jacob, among so many others. These seniors I respected not because they were seniors, but because they were leaders. Leaders among their friends, their groups and really the whole school. They saw and brought their groups and the school toward the potential they knew it had. Ben Jacob made such a difference in the school. He unified it. He energized it. Even without barely ever talking to him he made a sizable difference in my life. Joe, Ryan and David and so many others all likewise made huge differences in the lives of others. And sure they could do and did do this to some degree when they weren't seniors. But being a senior and being in the leadership positions they were in, they had an even larger circle of influence with which to make an impact and to lead.
      In the end that's all that being a senior is. It means you have greater opportunity to be a leader in the school, to help others and bring the groups you are in to a greater potential. In the words of President Hinkley: (with a few additions in brackets)


"Do we really comprehend, do we understand the tremendous significance of that which we have? This is the summation of the generations [grades] of man , the concluding chapter in the entire panorama of the human [high school] experience. "But this does not put us in a position of superiority. Rather, it should humble us. It places upon us an unforgiving responsibility to reach out with concern for all others in the spirit of the Master, who taught, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself' (Matthew 19:19). We must cast out self-righteousness and rise above petty self-interest."
--Gordon B. Hinkley, "The Dawning of a Brighter Day," Ensign, May 2004, 83-84