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! 🙂

Multitasking – How Good Are You At It?

Revisions:

10-14-12: Initial release.

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Let’s face it, the world is a busy place. Even though it is the year 2012, depending on what you are doing these days compared to 5, or even 10 years ago, you are probably more busy than ever. Are you?

I know I am. Just 10 years ago, I was in high school, then 5 years later it was finishing up college, and then another 5 years I’m a working professional.

Time flies by so quick, and there are some things that I have learned the hard way (and also the smart way) that I am going to share with you so you too can help get a grip on your own life.

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).

[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!

Saying vs. Doing

When everything is boiled down to its simplest form, there are only two types of personas in this world, the talkers and the doers. The main trait that separates the two is simply, talking vs. doing. A talker is one that uncontrollably works up emotions and says he will do something or go somewhere and never acts upon it. It’s a personal empire systemically built upon lies on top of lies; a non-conclusionary set of mental gears that the user believes in every time, even after failure. The doer is one that takes explorative action upon his dreams and is often spontaneous. The talker fables about what he will do, the does speaks of what he has already done.

Speaking from experience, I know that there are some people that always speak of greatness, and never try to achieve it. It’s something that is probably that is most likely deeply rooted, and goes further than just being called a confidence issue.

There is a girl I know, and she always says what she will do, and how amazing and wonderful it will be when she does this thing. Being as observative as I am, I’ve noticed that every single thing she’s spoken of accomplishing has remained just that: words, and nothing more.

We were all about the same age, and we were all high school graduates heading into college; she said, with complete confidence, that she will be going to Western Michigan University (it’s a very prestigious college, for those of you who don’t know), but she never went. Then she mentioned taking a vacation and going to England, but she could never save her money, even though she makes so much money and has very little expenses. She has been saying she will move out for nearly a year, but never has. There are so many more examples such as these, which come from all sorts of people, not just her.

The point here being that even though it is clearly obvious that with a bit of commitment, she could’ve easily taken a vacation, got her license, moved out, or anything else she desired. All it takes is even the smallest bit of commitment. Why is it so difficult for a person to simply put some time and effort towards something they’ve wanted to accomplish for a long time? Aren’t we all supposed to chase our dreams, not let them sit?

That’s what life is all about, really. We must face the terrible fact that most of us will never be rich, or become movie stars, so we definitely ought to work with what we already wield, what we possess. Sure, something like moving out might not seem like a big deal, neither might taking a vacation. But, for the smaller people, the little things are what count the most. Each little thing, every tiny experience, it all adds up and molds together like pieces of a puzzle to form a complete picture; that picture is one’s life, and each small experience is a piece.

Remember to never take anything for granted; every experience is a treasure. Also, work on being a doer, not a sayer. You can accomplish anything you set your mind on, and you should take any opportunity that comes to you. Love who you are and be thankful for being able to accomplish everything you’ve ever wanted.

There’s Nothing Like The First

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie that had a truly deep effect on you? I’m sure everyone has, and I’m also sure that everyone says the same thing to themselves after reading or viewing it: “I wish I could be experiencing this for the first time again.”

We, as people, feel attached to feelings and experiences over anything else. You watch your favorite movie, and the one thing you’d want more than anything is to watch it again for the first time. It’s clearly logical that you can only watch something once for the first time. It’s a sad truth.

My favorite movie is Fight Club, and every single time I watch it, I wish I could be watching it for the first time. If you’ve ever repeated something that you’ve enjoyed, you desperately wish that you were experiencing it from the very beginning. And although there is no possible way to make it like the primaries and remembering it, there are some actions to take so that what you’ve done lasts a lifetime.

Remembrance. Don’t forget what it felt like by making some form of personal goals, beliefs, or life lessons that you’ve set or gained from your specific encounter. With Fight Club, for example, there are many quotes and dogmas that I take into account when I go about my daily routines, my normal life. Let what you have gained from your experience change you for better or for worse, because you might regret it if you don’t.

Let’s not forget about basic life experiences, though. Often times, we observe something that is nature at its most random, and will most likely never occur again before your eyes or ears. It can be anything from a god coming down from the heavens and talking to you, or something as simple as an eagle diving down and snatching a squirrel in your presence.

Although I highly doubt anyone has seen a god, that is of minimal importance. What is relevant is whether the observer truly believes that he was lying in his god’s presence and what sort of impact it had on him. From this, he may gain certain principles and opinions that will most likely shape the rest of his life according to what had happened to him; same goes for the smaller stuff. Just as well with the eagle snatching the squirrel, one may expand this minimal observation and press certain ideologies to his life. He might say, “The world might be more vicious than I thought;” In correlation, it might confirm certain speculations involving previous encounters: “The world is vicious, just like I guessed before.”

Every little thing that one does can have the biggest impact on him. It’s all about perception—the way one sees things. Each thing can simply be defined by how it appears or what it obviously means, or that same thing can have a deep philosophical meaning to which one can learn a life lesson from. It’s a big world, even in its tiniest specs.

[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.

First Day of Instant Messenger Freedom

Revisions:
9-7-10: Initial release.

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I thought it would be interesting to just write about what it feels like to be liberated from the wrath of technology, more so from the instant messenger programs.

Now I am not going to write about this every single day, but maybe at the end of the week I may write up a reflection post and how things went when a small distraction of my life suddenly “disappeared”.

So Another One Bites the Dust

Revisions:
9-5-10: Initial release.

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This past weekend I was checking my e-mail and I got one of those e-mails you never want to read.

I’ll summarize what happened. So I run a “Versatile Street Team”, a separate effort that was created as a way for volunteers to help me out and that I can focus on separate projects a bit easier.

You can read more about it here. http://www.tinyurl.com/VersatileStreetTeam

I got an e-mail from member Ivertusen.  He is a great member, and is one of those guys that I always relied on for giving me advice, more specifically for Modern Warfare 2. If there were any questions about the game, co-op implementation, or Alteriwnet latest news, I would redirect questions and people his way.