Lessons of Minion, Crime in the Hills

The lesson yesterday? I learned that there are a few different meanings for the word minion... and its more than a word used for henchmen in an evil organization. A Jewish Minyan is a "a quorum of Jewish adult men required to hold any sort of service."

Today delt another lession: in Beverly Hills, sometimes people will walk right into the buildings and just try every door to see if it is open. Crooks are known to nab purses during lunch breaks and bathroom stops.

Pilots, Location, Location, Location

I usually learn multiple things in a day, but I've taken to just describing the most interesting things I've learned each 24 hours.

Friday I learned about Pilates. I had always wondered what set it apart from Yoga. Apparently they were developed by a guy who wanted to control and work out his core postural muscles. Because I cannot remember the details of what I was told about Pilates, here is the current summary on Wikipedia:

Joseph Pilates developed Pilates because he preferred fewer, more precise movements, requiring control and form. He believed that mental and physical health were essential to one another and created what is claimed to be a method of total body conditioning that emphasizes proper alignment, centering, concentration, control, precision, breathing, and flowing movement, "The Pilates Principles".
Pilates classes help to build strength and flexibility, with an emphasis on lengthening the body and aligning the spine, rather than on building muscle mass. Pilates' focus is on the "powerhouse" region of the body which includes the muscles of the abdominals and the lower back. Because of its focus Pilates has become popular not only in the field of fitness, but also in rehabilitation. It can be used to progress individuals through movements that represent their day-to-day activities. The focus on strengthening the core/powerhouse muscles and improving postural awareness are especially well indicated for the alleviation and prevention of back pain.
As the popularity of Pilates has exploded, studios have been popping up all over, but so have many mediocre versions of this method, such as trainers with little or no Pilates education teaching this complex system, so keep this in mind when looking for a studio or class. Be aware of your own safety and look for a trainer with years of experience and certification, if at all possible.


On Saturday I learned things about house locations that I never knew. Apparently houses on corners are hardest to sell because they have less land and are harder to get in and out of. Also, in California living on hills means more shake when earthquakes hit, thus more break when it happens too.

Dishes, Hookahs, and T-Rexes

Tue March 6th: Somehow all my life I've escaped running a dishwasher. I've either lived at home, where I rinse and put dishes in the washer and my mom will usually start it up, at college where the dining hall dishes are done for you, or in apartments with broken washers where I would use disposable utensils and plates, rinsing and washing what ever nondisposables in the sink.

Well I taught myself how to use a dishwasher today. Apparently you get that dry soap and pour it into the largest cup that the dishwasher door has. Then you close the cup up (I think, at least thats what I did...) and lock the thing shut. Then hit the best sounding wash... like "hot heavy rinse" and press start. Dishes will be clean soon! (I'm still shakey on how much time it takes...)

Wed March 7th: I tried a Hookah this evening, which is essentially smoking flavored tabacco. The flavors aren't that strong, nor is the taste, and the only effect really is that the taco you eat that night will taste vaugely like strawberries and coconut. Yuck. It was kind of boring, actually, I wonder what everyone enjoyed so much about it.

Thur March 8th: Tyrannosaurus Rex had a lifespan of up to 28 years old. I have always wondered how long they lived. Every time I tried to ask a scientist I would never be able to phrase the question right. "How old were most T-Rexes when they died?" Often the answer was "65 Million Years Ago".

Learning of Mitsubishi and Podcasts

Well yesterday our 65+ inch Mitsubishi television has conked out little more than a year of watching. The warranties all just expired, and Mitsubishi customer support has been zero help. We hired a specialist and he broke our television even further, going from off colors, to black burns in the screen, to complete chaos. Replaced bulbs, fried chips, you name it we've got it. So if I've learned anything today it is that everyone who wants their television to last for more than a year should stay very far away from Mitsubishi rear projection large flatscreen HDTVs.

Today I learned about running podcasts. There are an entire subcategory of podcasts that are 45 minute mixes of continuous music to workout to. Brilliant! I will be running and downloading many of these. They work great for getting work done in the office and for driving to work as well! My favorite so far is the Nike/Crystal Method work out mix. Even though it feels like a little bit of a sell out, its still great.

Suns Interfere

Today I learned that Solar Interference occurs twice a year with cable systems. It happens in the beginning of March, again in September. According the the Time Warner Website:

"Each Spring and Fall, cable companies experience a technical phenomenon called "sun outages." For a period of about 2 weeks, the sun causes "solar interference" to all geostationary satellite signals. As the sun's path across the sky gets lower each day, there are times when it is in a direct line behind a communication satellite that is sending signals to a receiving satellite dish here on earth. When the dish antenna is looking into the sun, the interference from the sun overrides the signals from the satellite. This is when a sun outage occurs.

Sun outages typically occur during the months of February/March and September/October and can last as long as 15 minutes a day and take place over a period of 15 days. This will normally occur during the afternoon hours of the day. The effects of a sun outage vary in degree from minimal to total outage throughout the 15 day period. Once it reaches its peak, the interference will gradually decrease becoming less noticeable each day after."

Teachers Gather

Today I learned about teacher networking. There is still a lack of a central area where all teachers gather to share techniques, but www.tappedin.org is trying to fix that with groups, lesson plans, and chats. There are also teacher conferences like the NECC hosted by the ISTE. Don't ask me what they stand for, google it yourself!

Mag Book

Mac introduced magnetic cords to their Mac Books recently, and they work like a charm. Popping power in and out is easy as pie, and pulling the cord can actually be fun, from afar. But what I learned today is that you're actually supposed to tip the magnet out of it's slot, not pull from the cord.

Pulling from the cord causes the wires near the jack to fray and disconnect, causing them to heat up and literally melt the insides. It doesn't look or smell pretty when it happens, and reeks of a firehazard. I almost burned myself pulling it out.

Mac is redesigning their adapters to be stronger, as this has happened a lot. A google search finds plenty of pictures and articles of this happening. If it happens to you, go down to your local Apple Store and show them the melted plug. They replaced mine for free, an 80 dollar value!