Busy in a Healthy Way

I have been very busy working on my goal to find my passion. I have created a second blog site called Robot Passion. The first blog for that has been posted. I was elected Secretary of Riverside Robotics Society. As such, I take minutes for the meetings, I am assisting with monitoring the charter that was created by the previous secretary, I have been encouraged to write blog about robots and I still function as a liason whenever needed. I have invited members of several Linkedin groups to read and leave a comment on the blog site. I look forward to reading everyone's comments. If you would like to read it, go to http://robotpassion.blogspot.com/ and do. not forget to comment of the blog site. I accepted a position to teach algebra 2 at a local homeschool tutorial center. I have only one student and this is good because it gives me an opportunity to refresh my own knowledge about the subject. I have not tutored algebra 2 in the past. I am getting into the swing of things. I am utilizing all of the wonderful resources that I can find online. MOOCs are awesome! My son's basketball coach asked me to make cold calls to acquire advertisement in their March Gladness tournament magazine. I really feel like I dropped the ball on that one, because I did not realize that the due date to get orders in was coming up so quickly and I did not get even one call done. During the time I was preoccupied trying to get my son enrolled into junior college, plus he tore a ligament on his left ankle. And because I am still his learning coach, I have to inspire him to bring his GPA from a 3.40 to a 4.00 by the end of sophmore year. I actually have been leaving the house almost everyday to take care of one thing or another, but it is all for healthy reasons. Since taking meat out of my diet and increasing fruits, vegetables, and teas I actually have the energy to get through these busy days without feeling sick or fatigued like I was before. The change in diet has made a big change in my physical stamina and emotional outlook. I am trying to be true to myself by including forms of exercise that I look forward to and not forms of exercise that other people insist that must do. So far, I like walking, but that is about it. I danced one day to for about an hour to heavy metal music. I included a lot of stretching exercises that I have learned over the years, and some aerobic dance moves. That was fun and I lost a lot of weight, but it is really not something that you want to tell people about out loud (ha, ha). For those of you who are laughing at my exploit, try it for yourself. You really end up using a lot of muscles. Ouch! All in all, I have a slightly more optomistic view of life. It is easier to accept somethings that I cannot change, and to get up and do what I must to change things that I feel capable of changing. The change of diet has been instrumental. For a while I forced myself to stick to a oatmeal, fish and vegetable diet. That's it. If it wasn't oatmeal, fish or vegetables, I was not allowed to touch it. Needless to say, while that diet did a lot for me it was short lived. After 2 weeks I had extreme starch and glucose cravings. I lost about 15 pounds in those 2 weeks and was more active than I had been in a really long time. I like the change. The best part is that I think I may have found my passion. I like being a doer. I like getting out in the world (with or without pay) and becoming involved in projects, events, learning and research. I am becoming quite passionate about getting involved and doing.

NO PROFIT IN PASSION STILL

by Korho

NOT GOING  BACK TO OLD PASSIONS

Where am I in my “Finding My Passion” quest?  I decided that I like writing well enough.  I do not have a mad love for it as I did in my teens, but I am an proficient writer and have maintained the rules of grammar as I was taught back in high school (English honors all the way).  I have tried my hand at seeking a path back to Astronomy and Engineering , which is what I was studying before  I decided to just take the bachelor’s  degree in what I was capable of completing it in. In my efforts to rekindle my fondness and the thrill of physics, astronomy and math, I have come to understand Thomas Wolfe statement that you can’t go home again. What once gave me assuredness and self -satisfaction now leaves me with a bottomless pit of despair in my soul. There were five upper level math classes that I would have to complete and general chemistry (I hate chemistry).  At my age, I do not see the point of struggling to study something that I have no interest in anymore.

RESEARCHING PASSIONS

MOOCs are not as plentiful or helpful as they once were. I used to love that I could go online to watch lectures on just about any topic for free. No more. Capitalism has caught up to the world of Massive Open Online Courses. There are fees for even the simplest of subjects. My sister called me to tell me that her college in Portland, Oregon has linked with one of my favorite MOOC sites. I thought that was courious. So, I attempted to sign into the site just get a look at their new format. However, my account no longer is available. I am locked out of their site, more than likely, because I am not paying fees to a college or institute with a connection to the MOOC site. Only time will tell if this is a healthy move for colleges to make in the U.S. Meanwhile, I am going to drink half a shot of whiskey on the site’s grave.

PASSION OF LOVE (STORIES)

That does not mean that I have given up the idea of learning more while I am out of work. I am seeking out courses on less complex topics, such as writing and Inkscape. I doubt seriously that I have any talent for art, but I am hoping that digit art proves to be cathartic. The writing lectures I am exploring because I have come to realize that I have developed a very costly addiction to romance novels since I have been out of work. I have read novel after novel and have cringed at the cost of my guilty pleasure. Then I started calculating potential profits for the authors of the such books and realized I am on the wrong end of the spectrum. If I could develop an addiction to writing –as opposed to reading other peoples writings—then I might be able to turn that into a profit.  It would be healthier then reading trashy love novels at such a high cost. At least it would give me the means to continue paying for my guilty pleasure. Can you get paid for reading trashy romance novels? If so, count me in.  I would be the best employee EVER for that job. I can go through as many as two novels in a day. Cigarette smokers have nothing on me. Okay, that is not true. Smoking is still a very expensive habit. One that I am glad I do not have. Just think, I would not be able to afford any novels if I smoked. 

I have been trying to get up the courage to use blogs to test out my writing skills. What better way to get feedback.  Every time I try to do it, writers block engulfs my mind. How is that even possible? I am going to do it one of these days. I just hope I do not wait too late.  If anyone has a request for a trashy love story to start me off, feel free to comment. I look forward to hearing your ideas. Personally, I do not think there are enough science fiction novels out there.  I have discovered that I am intrigued about love stories surround brilliantly intelligent science geeks. Go figure! How many of those do you see on sale? Not many, I can assure you. 

Leave a comment. 

Fishing for Passion

Fishing for Data
Korho

I was doing a little  data fishing today and decided to look into Lockhead & Martin.  I came across the picture of this robot. 

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/content/dam/lockheed/data/corporate/photo/innovation/IWP-Robotics-DARPA-video.jpg

DARPA  

Introducing DARPA.  I watched the video, but it told me nothing. The speakers spat out techy words and phrases like “Seeking full autonomy…”, “A future where robots are truly autonomous”, “Mobility and manipulation for humanoid robotics” and “Cooperative autonomy approach”.  None of their words answer the common questions your average person would likey ask about DARPA and this cool looking robot.  I have an issue with articles that make no sense or fail to be informative.

At CSUF, Professor Radcliffe  used to tell us that  when ran into a line of research that leads into a dead end, look at what the data is NOT telling you, and that is where you will find your research paper.  So I am trying the same approach with this article.  I want to start with the biggest clue available: DARPA.  A google search of the acronym leads me to the words Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.  Well, this just got a little more interesting.

One of the first links that the google search engine gives me is to this url (http://www.darpa.mil/). Note the dot mil tag. That means this is a military or military related site. To the right  is part of the picture that the site shows. It is a robot turning a large valve. He could be turning something on or turning off the flow of water or gas or anything. It also looks like the valve is too much for most mento deal with.  Wouldn’t that be helpful in emergency situations.

DARPA was established in 1958 to make sure that the Nation was not caught with it’s military might down ever again.  The agency is the proverbial net that catches any nasty surprises that may impact US national security. DARPA is the primary  innovative engine for the Department of Defense (DoD).  It is an agency that gives birth to not one, but many technological projects. Not all of the projects are dealing with robots. However,  isn’t it amazing how cool your robot could come out if you worked under a contract of a two million dollar per year budget. I am sure that I am reading the budget information wrong, as I have no head for finance.  No matter, though, because it is all open source information  (http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Budget.aspx) for anyone who wants to audit the government’s spending habbits. Unofficially, ofcourse. 

By The Way

Just to make it clear, I am posting this blog simply  to document the efforts I am taking to pursue a passion in life. Robots are cool and I needed a way to start writing articles and blogs about them.  I figure detailing my research approach is a unique way to go about learning how to write articles about robots.

I will continue this blog later.  I will find my passion next time.

Please leave a comment below.

No Passion To Hold On To

Approaching midlife does not mean everything becomes a crisis. For me, it also has come with no passion for just about anything. Two years after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree and almost a year after being fired from my first job after graduation, I have not made an honest effort to go back into the workforce, and simply dread the thought of doing so.

RUNNING ON EMPTY

 Spending more than ten years chasing after dream majors, dream jobs and the things I thought I had a passion for with the ‘can do’/’must work harder’ attitude of youth, has left me feeling disillusioned and empty.  I have so many people pushing me to just do anything, because gritting your teeth through something that brings the money in is apparently better then … whatever the alternative may be.  I do not know how to explain that without feeling any connection to my job, you may as well tie my hands behind my back and tell me I have ten minutes to perform surgery on myself with no direction or  the world is doomed. The fear and pressure is immense and unbearable.

WHAT TO DO, NOW

So, I explored new adventures in life. I took on my first officer position in a club. I became a learning coach for my third and youngest son.  I am getting involved (actively) in an association that promotes sports for homeschoolers. I am forcing myself to sit down and write this blog, because I used to enjoy writing. And out of all of that, only one thing feels me with a passion and excitement that comes close to what I used to chase after in my 20s, and 30s. The learning coach position for my son.

I realize that I have one passion.  I am willing to work hard to help the people I love and care for realize their potential, become doers,  and follow the path that leads them to success.  I do not think that I am always good at it, and I have too many “Why do I bother?” days.  It is different, though, because I latch on to an idea of something that would ease my loved ones life bashing struggles, and I feel a renewed energy to help in any small way.

HERE IS WHERE I AM AT

I do not expect to get rich. In fact, I doubt I can ever get paid. It is something to stick with for as long as life lets me, though. It is something I do not have to grit my teeth through. The learning coach position has expanded. I am now a learning coach for my sister, who struggles through her online classes. I am trying to encourage my niece to go into a four year university when she graduates.

The club officer position has become a chance to help new friends approach their goals from a new perspective. I function as a sounding board when the club president and the other officers have an idea  or some new direction they want the club to go in. I am more often surprised and pleased to find that they listen to my opinion and respect it. They do not always go with what I suggestion, but I can live with that. Their respect and acknowledgements mean more than I can say. It does not pay the bills, it is not leading to a 401K, it has no stock options, but it is what I need for now.