Multitasking – How Good Are You At It?

Revisions:
5-4-13: Initial release.

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So here we are 5 months into year 2013, and if there is one thing I know that will continue to be a good skill for any person, that is learning how to multitask.

Why is this such an important skill to know? By knowing how to multitask properly, you will not only save time, but you will become a more efficient person of your time and efforts.

So how do you properly multitask? The best advice I can say is start simple, and then work your way up.

Let’s say that you are busy studying for school. So while you are studying, you could be eating a snack, downloading your latest TV show, backing up the contents of your laptop, and listening to your favorite song. The possibilities of what you can do all at the same time is endless.

But you got to be smart about it. You don’t want to text and drive at the same time, as that is highly dangerous, and could get you into an accident, or even worse, hurt or even killed.

How do I multitask in my busy life? After all, I contribute to two blogs, manage a youtube channel, play videogams, and make video tutorials. Oh yes, I work a full-time job outside of the Internet, and manage a personal life as well. You got to be careful to never let work take over your personal life, or vice versa. There must be an adequate balance among everything.

So what do I do to manage this craziness? I just do it in small steps. If I know there is a new game tutorial I want to do, I make sure to research the methods while I am listening to latest TV show or news on TV. If I am writing a blog article, I do it while I wait for my dinner to cook.

The more tasks you can do simultaneously, the better off you will be in terms of getting more stuff done. The only time you may want to do things sequentially or in order is when you want to devote 100% of your attention at the task at hand.

If you are at work, if you spend 100% of your time during a two hour block to get all your emails done, you will do better than if you take a break and answer a few phone calls.

How about you? What kind of multitasking activities do you normally find yourself doing? How do you manage it all? Tell us, and maybe we too can laern! 🙂

Why Problems such as Abortion, Global Warming, Wealth Distribution, and Many Others are far from Being Solved

Well, there are indeed a wealth of problems:

 

Abortion

Global Warming

Wealth Distribution

Women being unequal to men

Censorship

Birth Control

Existence of God

Life Support

And anything else you can think of

 

In any case, it’s blatantly obvious why I’m composing this article. Because a writer possesses a duty to write on subjects of great controversy in our society as to attract the public’s eye, thus people will agree or disagree but either way the writer achieves what he so cleverly desired: to obtain publicity for his piece and stir things up a bit more, causing a ripple effect. This, my friends, is a very diminutive explanation as to what a writer attempts to gain from writing; that and the pleasure of writing, of course.

So you’re asking by now, “What’re you getting at?” Well here’s the gist, these issues (as some consider them) are light years away from being solved because it’s all about moral OPINION. And as much as I believe that individuals have the right to express their opinions, they belong nowhere in the “real world.” One may say, “Abortion is wrong because only God is allowed to take a life,” and another may counter-argue with, “It really comes down to each individual who decides to do it or not do it.” Well, it’s a long line of opinions, and no one can get anything done with mere beliefs. There has to be evidence, persuasion.

Everything goes hand-in-hand, and so if one were to argue that abortion is the work of the Devil, because God would never permit such a malevolent act, then one has to prove the existence of God. And even that, to this day, is debatable. What your religious inclinations are I have no interest in; what I’m simply attempting to state is that there isn’t concise evidence as to whether or not God(s) exist(s). And then scientists come in and say it was the Big Bang, and then various religious folk come in and say it was God and attempt to give reasons, and both sides war over who is the victor, the correct one. The truth of the matter is that there is no victor, because there is a lack of evidence. Now, if Jesus came from the clouds and walked on water and transformed it into wine afterward, then you’d bet your sweet ass I would bow down and worship him.

That hasn’t happened up until now, so I remain skeptical. It’s the same with everything else; it all boils down to morals. Some say global warming is caused by us, the inhabitants not taking proper care of our Mother, but some scientists have theorized that due to global warming we’ve prevented a mini-ice age from dooming us all! (By mini I mean a couple thousand years) Others are also attempting to relate the peak of the periods in which the Sun ejects sun spots and relate that to global warming: the highest period of sun spots results in much higher temperatures, basically. They have evidence, but is it enough to prove it? The answer is no, and whatever you believe in, make sure to stick with it because no one is really right (so far).

One thing I must mention though, is that people should mind their own business. Whether or not someone gets an abortion or recycles, or is richer than you, or has a different religious denomination than yours, just leave that person alone. You have your beliefs and they have theirs; you believe yours are right and vice versa. Don’t mistake your duties as a member of society with a false duty to “save” individuals from whatever you believe in, that a person is living a misconstrued path and he should follow yours because yours is “right.” No one likes an over-exaggerative, bible thumping bigot, so piss off and let others be. Of course this is just my moral opinion, so you shouldn’t really listen to me, either. He he.

 

In any case, comment and share your mind (there’s me doing my job as a writer).

Take a Couple of Minutes to Protect Your Rights

If you haven’t heard about ACTA, you’ve obviously been cut off from the world with no interaction whatsoever. However if this is the case, let me clarify: ACTA, in essence, will censor the Internet, and will prohibit many websites such as Megaupload.com (which has already been shut down, FYI) and will not allow you to exercise your basic human right to view the internet without governmental interference. If you do truly care about your rights, please sign this petition on the official White House website that tells government officials that the people do not wish to be censored.

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/end-acta-and-protect-our-right-privacy-internet/MwfSVNBK

It honestly takes a couple of minutes of your time, and I promise you that down the road that one e-signature will be worth your weight in gold when you are allowed to exercise your rights freely.

I also have a few other links that I will be posting below, which all relate to Anonymous or your rights in some way. Anonymous fights for your rights, which are more valuable than anything else, because you cannot enjoy life without them.

If you’re unsure of who Anonymous is, then I, once agian, assume that you’ve been living somewhere in a dark cave that has no access to the outside world (only a joke). Here is a WikiLink that roughly explains what Anonymous is. I also recommend that you scavenge for more Youtube videos and perform more Google searches, while the law still allows it…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(group)

Very true and reliable source for Anonymous news:

http://youranonnews.tumblr.com/

 

Video showing that Anonymous (and the people) are a force to be reckoned with:

Dear PIPA and ACTA, I Hate You

Piracy is an enormous problem, without a doubt. So I’m just going to jump into things right off the bat and begin by stating something that I haven’t heard anyone say so far regarding PIPA and ACTA: There are numerous other problems that are exponentially worse. Sure, piracy is a crime, but if it gets “omitted,” will that change the world for the better? I can, off of the top of my head, dish out a list of better causes that drops to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

1. Solve world hunger

2. Shelter the homeless

3. Solve global warming issues

4. Stop aids

5. Stop breast cancer

6. Stop any disease

7. Increase literacy rates

8. Stop oil starvation

9. Population control

10. Solve poor/rich distribution of wealth

This, I will not deceive you, is a list conjured from a pile of rubbish I thought up in thirty seconds. Although all of the above can be debated widely, the point is nonetheless clear: THERE ARE NUMEROUS AMOUNTS OF GREATER PROBLEMS THAN PIRACY!

Now, let me begin with the comparisons. There is a vast array of countries that prohibit piracy, and America is one of them (obviously). Now, my question to you, the reader, is “what is the only major country that piracy is not frowned upon?” Allow me to give you a hint or two: It’s a world superpower, it’s located in Asia, and over 95% of the goods sold in America derive from there. That’s right, you’ve guessed it! China!

Amazingly, real copies of things are harder to find than burnt ones! If one were to walk into a video store and attempt to browse their selection, you could find any movie without a doubt. Why? Because everything is burned, my good friend! Every movie you could possibly imagine, burned on a previously blank DVD that is now titled with a sharpie. Same goes for video games, programs, and just about any other form of data. What’s more amazing is that if the price is put into equivalent of the United States economy, the average movie would only cost you a whopping fifty cents! That’s right, the latest and greatest for only half of a dollar. Prices vary depending on how big the file is and how difficult it was to burn; still, the most expensive piece of data (if applied to our economy, once again) would be no more than five dollars.

Now, could you even possibly imagine how excellent it would be if you were only asked to dish out fifty cents for the newest blockbuster hit? Well I’d say that you don’t need to pirate whatsoever, because data doesn’t cost ridiculous amounts. Doesn’t it chafe you at least the tiniest bit knowing that a Chinese citizen only spends eight minutes out of his minimum-wage paycheck to purchase the newest release while you work for three plus hours to buy the “original” copy of that same exact movie? I assume it does. And the list doesn’t end there! Xbox 360 games, PS3 games, PC games, all programs, operating systems, and just about anything else you can imagine, all for under five dollars.

China, considered to be one of the most communist and controlled countries on Earth, condones piracy while America, said to be one of the freest and most prosperous countries in the world, does not? My fellow reader, if there is one thing I ask of you it is that you at least consider the possibility of betrayal by the American system and that you will also consider making a stand for yourself.

Long live free-world.

[Life] How Important Is the Virtue of Trust?

Revisions:
3-3-11: Initial release.

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Today at work an email was passed around the office. One of the guys that work in our department, his mother just passed away last night.

All I know is that he wasn’t at work yesterday, and he stayed by her side all day and night until she passed away. Thankfully, it was a peaceful passing.

A Summing Up

Let us consider where our rapidly accumulating store of knowledge about the universe is leading us. That it provides satisfaction to a host of curiosity-motivated physicists and astronomers is beyond dispute. However, some view it as a humbling experience in that each increase in knowledge seems to reveal more clearly our own relative insignificance in the grand scheme of things. Thus, in chronological order, we humans have come to realise that

• Our Earth is not the center of the solar system.
• Our Sun is but one star among many in our galaxy.
• Our galaxy is but one of many, and our Sun is an insignificant star in it.
• Our Earth has existed for perhaps only a third of the age of the universe and will surely disappear when our Sun burns up its fuel and becomes a red gaint.
• Our species has inhabited Earth for less than a million years – a blink in cosmological time.

Although out position in the universe may be insignificant, the laws of physics that we have discovered (uncovered?) seem to hold true throughout the universe and – as far as we know – have held since the universe began and will continue to hold for all future time. At least, there is no evidence that other laws hold in other parts of the universe. Thus, until someone complains, we are entitles to stamp the laws of physics “Discovered on Earth.” Much remains to be discovered: “The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” That declaration allows us to answer one last time the question “What is physics?” Physics is the gateway to those magical things.

I love Physics. I love Science. Even now, when I open up a new chapter, a new topic, excitement bubbles inside of me (impatience?) to learn new things and better understand the world around me. Physics is to me like The Underground is to Versatile or  NBA is to Toughtrasher 😉

What do you like? What thing matters most to you? What is it that excites that curious little brain of yours? Share it with us, and we might be able to learn from each other! On this note, I would like to end the 1000^th article created on the Underground Blog. I would also like to use this opportunity to congratulate Versatile, Voltaire and all the other authors due to whom we have come this far! Lets spread knowledge!

What Makes People Unique

Well, to start things off with a little fact: Humans and dolphins are the only two animals that have sex for pleasure. This doesn’t mean that other animals don’t get pleasure from it; it just means they don’t start it for pleasure. It’s for reproduction. And to add to this newfound knowledge, no animal goes and does it after it has experienced it because it’s pleasurable. Just putting it out there.

I think that this one’s pretty obvious; it’s our brains. Put a man and a tiger in a cage together and surely the tiger would win through sheer force. But give a man a knife while he’s in a cage with that tiger and he might win that fight. Now give him a machete. A gun. A tank? You get the point.

Even our knowledge of using basic tools and simple machines is what puts a person at the top of a food chain. What we lack for in strength, speed, vigor, etc, we make up with our minds. Instead of running around chasing a rabbit for six hours a day to get our meal, we invented a car, which lets us go faster than any living creature. Instead of punching the same rabbit to death after all that running, we invented arrows and guns so we can simply shoot it and. And so on and so forth.

It doesn’t matter how far you trace human history back to, because we’ve all evolved the same way, regardless of where we may lie. Thousands of years ago, when continents had no contact with one another, each and every culture evolved some sort of weapon, armor, and trap. The Chinese invented gun powder and other things that went on from that. The Europeans invented the sword, which became the strength of leading armies across the globe. Even Native Americans invented bows.

A long time ago, many ideas became developed as tools to our advantage. Giving someone something for something else became known as trading, or bartering. Bird calls became signals for stealth and human evasion. There’re hundreds, if not thousands, of examples such as these. The possibilities are endless.

But although man may possess an infinite pool of creativity, he also comprises a head filled with negativity, and hands to put it into physical form. For the specifics of the topic- putting that into simpler words: For every weapon that exists, a defense is brought to the table to match, and vice versa. Swords to shields, gun to bulletproof glass/vests; even nuclear warfare has an opposite (nuclear bomb shelters).

The evolution of whatever we were before, to man is the worst thing that could’ve possibly happened to Mother Nature, ever. Why do I make such outlandish statements, you ask? Well, because it’s true. We’ve caused global warming, chopped down too much greenery, completely derailed the natural ecosystem, and worst of all, we were the ones who created nuclear arms. I hope now you see (maybe even a tiny bit) why I think humans are heinous.

To sum this article as a whole in a nutshell, “Man possesses good and bad qualities, but most of them are bad.” But who am I to argue, I’m sure as hell never going to live in the woods and get killed by bears because I believe in natural predatorism and think that the world should be about survival of the fittest. To be honest, I’m the complete opposite of that! But I did feel the need to dish the facts out, make others conscious of whom they may be. So just make sure you know that every day that you drive your car, every day that you work, and every day that you embrace the title of “Human,” you are destroying everything that this earth has and keeping it for yourself. But why would you care, you’re greedy from nature!

Debatable Subjects You Shouldn’t Stick Your Nose In

Abortion

Everyone has their opinions about abortion; it’s a touchy subject. But nonetheless, it is a subject that most people would not like for others to get involved in, speaking of those that are going through with the procedure. If I were a female that was getting the procedure done, I’d already feel bad about it. I wouldn’t need any protesters there, telling me that abortion is bad. My day is a horrid one as it is without you screaming like a lunatic outside of the abortion clinic.

[Logic 101] Thinking Like A Human, and Less Like a Robot

Revisions:
9-10-10: Initial release.

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I really had no intentions to write an article like this, but due to the amount of silly questions and comments I am reading here in the blog, as well as on Youtube, I just had to say something.

So let’s look at the general picture first. We are living in the 21st century, and there is technology all around us.  You will be hard pressed to not go to a university, and see students with laptops, iPods, iPads, or smart phones.   Everywhere we go, circuit chips surround our lives.  There are circuits in your phone, computer, car, airplane, coffee machine, and even as simple as your bluetooth headset.

Do Not Underestimate the Power of School

Revisions:

8-21-10:  Initial release.

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For many of our readers, we are going back to school whether that is going back to to elementary, middle, high school, college, university, or other type of training.  Regardless of what you are learning, or studying, there is an important message that I want to relay to all of my viewers:   Do not blow off school.

Why?  Do you hate school because of the homework?  Maybe its the essays or the assignments?  Do you have bullies at school that boss you around? A teacher that is notoriously known to be “evil”?

Whatever the reasons may be, I ask of you to just find a way to deal with it.  Sure, while you are at school everything seems like a pain, but in the end it has a better purpose.

Let me illustrate.  When I was going through school as a kid, the teacher made us do all kinds of reading assignments. They say that the more you read, the better writer you become?  Why is that?  This is because you are exposed to new vocabulary, as well as different writing styles and ideas. Through reading, you immerse yourself into how others are expressing their ideas, and then you slowly start to adapt this type of knowledge into your subconscious without you even knowing it.

Now fast forward about 10 years or so and here I am graduating from a university debt free. Yes, that is right. No loans, and no debts. How is that possible? Well, I filled out several scholarship forms (which were a pain), and I had to not only write a personal statement, but I had to get 3 letters of recommendation from my teachers and within the community where I had done volunteer work.  Long story short, I won enough scholarships that paid for my tuition throughout school, and all I had to cover was my textbooks and living expenses which were nothing compared to the 10K+ tuition fee I had.

So what is the moral of my story?  Everyone knows that school is important, but why do some students begrudge it?  It is at school where you are given the chance to practice your reading, writing, and arithmetic skills.  It is the place where you start to do public speaking, and learning how to do research. Are these skills useless?

Absolutely not. As a working professional, I can tell you right now that communication skills (verbally and written), as well as people skills are the most important skills to have. Sure, you need to some kind of intellect and reasoning skills, but learning how to talk and write really is at the top of personal self-development list.

If you find yourself at school and wishing you can just go back home and play that newest game, or just skipping your homework, I ask that you do not. Look up how to stay motivated if you must.  School is always number 1. I ‘ve seen people leave their jobs, their girlfriends, and even their families to go back to school because honestly, it is the gateway to other doors.

Got a bully problem? Report it to the counselor.  Schools take student violence very seriously, and if you are trying to learn and your education is being distruped by others, then report it!  It is your money! You paid (or your parents did) good money so you can go to school to learn to better yourself and one day have a successful and lucrative job. 🙂

More knowledge = more skills = more jobs.  What do you think?  Are you in school and find it useless or beneficial?  Let us know!