Beach Photos from Australia

Really, some of the most awesome beach photography I've ever seen.

Estelucy's beach photos

I have got to find some way to get to Australia. Thanks to the Flickr blog for pointing out this wonderful artist's work.

Weight Watchers

You’re a fickle exerciser.

You become bored easily, dislike the monotony of exercise, and are easily distracted. Make sure you include variety and some interaction in every workout, and change your workouts often to avoid burnout. You might do well with a personal trainer who could keep you focused.

Most importantly, don’t hammer away on a single exercise machine for too long; jump around. Choose a health club where there are plenty of classes, but make sure they’re challenging and won’t let you daydream in the back. “Join a spinning class where a leader is guiding you,” advises Shawn Arent, PhD, CSCS, director of the human performance laboratory at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Try to make exercise intellectually stimulating; walking tours are a perfect option for you, says Jeremy Shore, CPT, a weight management specialist in New York. A dog would also likely be a boon for you.

Seems it takes me about two weeks to get bored with any given workout and stop permanently. Even DDR no longer addicts me the way it used to. Personal trainers are out - I don't have the money and hate the gym. Dogs are out due to housing and messiness.

What physically active things do you guys find entertaining? If anyone wants to do sports, hiking, backpacking, whatever - gimme a call.

Desktop VR

This will blow your mind.

How come all the cool stuff seems to be happening at Carnegie Mellon?

Journaling: worthwhile?

I have read Gretchen's post over at The Happiness Project - about a year or so after I started keeping a one-sentence journal. Well, it wasn't so much a one-sentence-per-day journal as a few bullet points representing the major events of the day.

My last post was in November. I completely ran out of time for personal enterprises, and dropped a number of good habits in favor of sleep and sanity-retention practices. I haven't yet picked it up again - I'm trying to establish some other habits, and as the Zen Habits folk say, one habit at a time. When I think back on the journal, though, I can't remember ever using it as a reference or pouring through it in a huge nostalgia trip. I think I only looked through it once or twice, ever.

So my question is - besides reviewing the events of the day, is a journal really a useful, worthwhile habit to keep? What is its purpose? Do I need it to help remember my life, or are pictures, posts, and friends enough?

The Final Project

I went to CGT 411 today - the start of my last project at Purdue. Well, apart from my other classes anyway. I'm really excited about what we're doing. Our team is awesome - we've already got action items, research, and development going. We're two steps ahead and hoping to accelerate.

Wish us luck!