Calendar 2012

2012 Calendar

“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”

~ Bill Vaughn 


“ The New Year, like an Infant Heir to the whole world, was waited for, with welcomes, presents, and rejoicings.”

~ Charles Dickens


“ For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning."

~ T.S. Eliot


“ Be at war with your vices; at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.”
 

~ Benjamin Franklin

“ The new year begins in a snow-storm of white vows.”

~  George William Curtis

“Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!”

~ William Arthur Ward

“ With a new year, comes bigger challenges and opportunities. Beat the challenges and grab the opportunities, with an equal zeal. Happy New Year.”

~ Blogging Prince

Hilary Erhard Duff

Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in the The Lizzie McGuire Movie. With the success of the Lizzie McGuire franchise, she established herself as a teen idol. Duff subsequently ventured into motion pictures and has appeared in many successful films, including Agent Cody Banks, Cheaper by the Dozen, A Cinderella Story and Cheaper by the Dozen 2.

Duff has expanded her repertoire to include pop music and has released three RIAA-certified platinum albums. Metamorphosis, her debut studio album, was certified triple platinum. She followed it up with two more albums, Hilary Duff and Most Wanted, which were also certified platinum. In 2007, Duff released her third studio album, Dignity, which was certified gold and spawned her highest charting US single to date, "With Love". Best of Hilary Duff, a compilation of her greatest hits, was released in the last quarter of 2008. Duff has sold over thirteen million records worldwide.

She has also made a foray into the fashion industry by launching her own clothing lines, Stuff by Hilary Duff and Femme for DKNY Jeans. She has also signed with IMG Models and released two exclusive perfume collections with Elizabeth Arden. Her other business ventures include writing a young adult novel, Elixir, and working as an executive producer for According to Greta and as a producer for Material Girls and Beauty & the Briefcase.

Music career

Hilary Duff at the MuchMusic Video Awards in 2007

In 2002, Duff recorded a cover version of Brooke McClymont's "I Can't Wait" for the Lizzie McGuire soundtrack, and "The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room" for the first DisneyMania compilation album. She also released her first album, titled Santa Claus Lane which was a collection of Christmas songs which included duets with her sister, Haylie, Lil' Romeo, and Christina Milian. Accompanied by the Disney Channel-only single "Tell Me a Story (About the Night Before)", the album peaked at 154 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart and was certified gold.

Duff's second studio album, Metamorphosis (2003), reached number one on the U.S. and Canadian charts and sold over 3.9 million copies in the U.S by January 2007. The lead single, "So Yesterday" was a top ten hit in several countries; its follow-up was the Laguna Beach theme song "Come Clean". The third single, "Little Voice", was not released in the U.S. and was a minor hit in Australia. In late 2003, Duff embarked on her first concert tour, the "Metamorphosis" tour, and later the "Most Wanted" tour. Most shows scheduled in the major cities were sold out.

Duff's third studio album was the self-titled Hilary Duff, for which she co-wrote some songs. It was released on her seventeenth birthday (in September 2004) and debuted at #2 in the U.S. and at #1 in Canada.

 The album sold over 1.8 million copies in the U.S. Most Wanted, her first compilation album, was released in August 2005. Most Wanted included songs from her previous two albums, remixes and three new songs which included "Wake Up" written by Joel Madden and his brother, Benji, both members of Good Charlotte. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and became her third number one debut in Canada. It sold over two hundred thousand copies within its first week of release and was certified platinum by the RIAA a month after its release. In 2006, an Italy-only compilation, 4Ever was released. Duff also recorded a cover version of Madonna's "Material Girl" with her sister for their movie, Material Girls.

Duff co-wrote the material for her fourth studio album Dignity, along with Kara DioGuardi, who co-produced the album with Rhett Lawrence, Tim & Bob, and Richard Vission. She stated that compared to her previous music, it was "more dancey" and made use of more real instruments. She said, "I don't know exactly how to explain what we're doing, but it's fun and funky and different, something new for me. It's really cool". In November 2008, Duff's first greatest hits album, Best of Hilary Duff was released and the album's first single "Reach Out", which samples Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus", was released in the preceding month. The song became Duff's third #1 dance hit. She then parted ways with Hollywood Records after six years of service and then announced to MTV that she would begin work on her new album in December 2008. In October 2011, Duff mentioned plans of a possible new album to E! Online

How to make vodka cocktails for delicious drink..?

The following are a few cocktails that taste best with Absolut Vodka..They also go fine with other vodka but I prefer them with Absolut or Blue Smirnoff

#Moscow Mule

60ml Vodka

30ml Fresh Lime

Ginger Beer

Build ingredients over ice into a Collins glass

#Vespa

50ml Absolut Vodka

25ml Banana Liqueur

Top up with Ginger Ale

Stir with ic e in a tall glass

#Somthing Wonderful!!!

3 ounces of Vodka

1 Teaspoon Sugar

3-4 Mint Leaves

1 ounce of water

Shaker Full of Ice

#Salty Dog

60ml Vodka

125ml Grapefruit juice

Build ingredients over ice into a salt rimmed glass

#Watermelon Martini

60ml Absolut Vodka

A dash of sugar syrup

A slice of Fresh Watermelon

Muddle the watermelon with the sugar syrup in the bottom of the shaker

Add the Vodka and ice then shake and strain into a frozen Martini glass

Garnish with a small wedge of Watermelon

#Sex on the Beach

60ml Absolut Vodka

30ml Peach Schnapps

200ml Fresh Cranberry juice

100ml Orange Juice

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a tumbler filled with fresh ice

Garnish with orange and lime slices

#Madras

60ml Vodka

200ml Cranberry juice

100ml Fresh orange juice

Shake with ice and strain into a highball filled with ice

Garnish with an orange slice

# Vodka apple

Ingredients

30 ml vodka

8 tsp apple cider

# Vodka and Tonic

Ingredients

30 ml Vodka

60 ml tonic

1lime wedge

Pour the vodka in a high glass with ice, add the glass with tonic add the lime wedge as garnish.

# Vodka collins

Ingredients

30 ml vodka

juice of ½ lemon

1 tsp sugar

8 tsp club soda

1 orange slice

1 lemon slice

Combine everything but club soda in a shaker and add ice , shake well, pour in a high glass with ice, fill the glass with club soda and add the lemon and orange as garnish.

# Vodka Daisy

In gredients

30 ml Vodka

juice of ½ lemon

½ tsp sugar

1 tsp grenadine

Combine everything into a shaker with ice and pour in a high glass.

# Vodka Orange Punch

Ingredients

3 liters Vodka

36 tsp frozen orange juice concentrate

16 tsp cointreau

3 sliced oranges

Combine everything in a punch bowl. Stir well and serve.

#Vodka Paralyzer

Ingredients

6 tsp milk

1 tsp Vodka

1 tsp Kahlua

6 tsp Coke

Combine everything in a high glass in the order given above.

# Vodka Sling

Ingredients

30 ml Vodka

juice of ½ lemon

1 tsp water

1 tsp sugar

Orange twist

Combine the lemon juice, water and sugar in a glass, stir until sugar dissolves add ice and the vodka. Use the orange twist as garnish.

Identify Your Generation

Generations X,Y, Z and the Others.


Post-War Cohort
Born: 1928-1945
Coming of Age: 1946-1963
Age in 2004: 59 to 76
Current Population: 41 million (declining)
This generation had significant opportunities in jobs and education as the War ended and a post-war economic boom struck America. However, the growth in Cold War tensions, the potential for nuclear war and other never before seen threats led to levels of discomfort and uncertainty throughout the generation. Members of this group value security, comfort, and familiar, known activities and environments.
Boomers I or The Baby Boomers
Born: 1946-1954
Coming of Age: 1963-1972
Age in 2004: 50-58
Current Population: 33 million
For a long time the Baby Boomers were defined as those born between 1945 and 1964. That would make the generation huge (71 million) and encompass people who were 20 years apart in age. It didn’t compute to have those born in 1964 compared with those born in 1946. Life experiences were completely different. Attitudes, behaviors and society were vastly different. In effect, all the elements that help to define a cohort were violated by the broad span of years originally included in the concept of the Baby Boomers. The first Boomer segment is bounded by the Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinations, the Civil Rights movements and the Vietnam War. Boomers I were in or protested the War. Boomers 2 or the Jones Generation missed the whole thing.
Boomers I had good economic opportunities and were largely optimistic about the potential for America and their own lives, the Vietnam War notwithstanding.
Boomers II or Generation Jones
Born: 1955-1965
Coming of Age: 1973-1983
Age in 2004: 39 to 49
Current Population: 49 million
This first post-Watergate generation lost much of its trust in government and optimistic views the Boomers I maintained. Economic struggles including the oil embargo of 1979 reinforced a sense of “I’m out for me” and narcissism and a focus on self-help and skepticism over media and institutions is representative of attitudes of this cohort. While Boomers I had Vietnam, Boomers II had AIDS as part of their rites of passage.
The youngest members of the Boomer II generation in fact did not have the benefits of the Boomer I class as many of the best jobs, opportunities, housing etc. were taken by the larger and earlier group. Both Gen X and Boomer II s suffer from this long shadow cast by Boomers I. 


Generation X
Born: 1966-1976
Coming of Age: 1988-1994
Age in 2004: 28 to 38
Current Population: 41 million
Sometimes referred to as the “lost” generation, this was the first generation of “latchkey” kids, exposed to lots of daycare and divorce. Known as the generation with the lowest voting participation rate of any generation, Gen Xers were quoted by Newsweek as “the generation that dropped out without ever turning on the news or tuning in to the social issues around them.”
Gen X is often characterized by high levels of skepticism, “what’s in it for me” attitudes and a reputation for some of the worst music to ever gain popularity. Now, moving into adulthood William Morrow (Generations) cited the childhood divorce of many Gen Xers as “one of the most decisive experiences influencing how Gen Xers will shape their own families”.
Gen Xers are arguably the best educated generation with 29% obtaining a bachelor’s degree or higher (6% higher than the previous cohort). And, with that education and a growing maturity they are starting to form families with a higher level of caution and pragmatism than their parents demonstrated. Concerns run high over avoiding broken homes, kids growing up without a parent around and financial planning.

Generation Y, Echo Boomers or Millenniums
Born: 1977-1994
Coming of Age: 1998-2006
Age in 2004: 10 to 22
Current Population: 71 million
The largest cohort since the Baby Boomers, their high numbers reflect their births as that of their parent generation..the last of the Boomer Is and most of the Boomer II s. Gen Y kids are known as incredibly sophisticated, technology wise, immune to most traditional marketing and sales pitches...as they not only grew up with it all, they’ve seen it all and been exposed to it all since early childhood.
Gen Y members are much more racially and ethnically diverse and they are much more segmented as an audience aided by the rapid expansion in Cable TV channels, satellite radio, the Internet, e-zines, etc.
Gen Y are less brand loyal and the speed of the Internet has led the cohort to be similarly flexible and changing in its fashion, style consciousness and where and how it is communicated with.
Gen Y kids often raised in dual income or single parent families have been more involved in family purchases...everything from groceries to new cars. One in nine Gen Yers has a credit card co-signed by a parent.
Generation Z
Born: 1995-2012
Coming of Age: 2013-2020
Age in 2004: 0-9
Current Population: 23 million and growing rapidly
While we don’t know much about Gen Z yet...we know a lot about the environment they are growing up in. This highly diverse environment will make the grade schools of the next generation the most diverse ever. Higher levels of technology will make significant inroads in academics allowing for customized instruction, data mining of student histories to enable pinpoint diagnostics and remediation or accelerated achievement opportunities.
Gen Z kids will grow up with a highly sophisticated media and computer environment and will be more Internet savvy and expert than their Gen Y forerunners. More to come on Gen Z...stay tuned.
Next time we will start to take a more in-depth look at the most significant and impactful of the generational cohorts and what implications there might be for libraries and librarians.

Good Habit or Bad Habit

Habits are to your life pretty much what gas is to your car. They keep you moving along – but whether they carry you to a better place or not depends entirely on the habit.

Bad habits can hold talented people back while good habits carry less talented people on ahead.

Many, many posts can be written on bad habits (in fact, they have), but essentially, we’ll get rid of our bad habits when we’ve finally had enough of them. I don’t want to spend too terribly much time with bad habits in this post, I’d rather approach habits with another tactic.

How about this? Let’s apopt so many great habits that we put the squeeze play on bad habits. I’m thinking that if we add about 10, that’ll leave less room for the bad crowd. I remember a television special about healthy eating that aired a few years ago. A nutritionist pointed out that if you fill your plate up with healthy vegetables and fruit, you actually get to eat more food. All you have to do is replace the unhealthy food with healthier alternatives – and you almost always get to enjoy more of the healthy food.

The good squeezes out the bad, so you’re left with a double-sided win: You get rid of things that are bad for you and you make room for things that are good for you.

So what sort of healthy habits could we bring to our life’s plate? Below’s a buffet of suggestions, I know you’ll be able to come up with more. Come up with as many as you want, of course, but remember that “bite-sized” portions are always easiest to handle. Don’t put more on your plate than you’ll actually be able to eat!

1. Start getting up a little earlier.  I realize that when the weather’s cool it’s really tough to start getting up earlier.  The body wants to sleep later, for crying out loud!  But, I’ve been on both sides of the 6:00 am, and I can say without hesitation that every corner of your day will be better if you get a running start at it.  Also, the quiet hours of the morning are the perfect way to glide into your day.  Rushing around after being summoned by a hateful alarm clock isn’t good for the psyche.  Mornings just weren’t meant to be so hectic.
2. Read more.  When you open a book, you open your mind and literally pour knowledge into it.  Knowledge is power.  Knowledge is power.  Knowledge is power.
3. Laugh more.  Laughter is great for you – body and soul.  It doesn’t matter if anyone laughs with you, it doesn’t matter if anyone laughs at you.   Just laugh! 
4. Complain less.  Starting tomorrow, do a little self improvement exercise:  Each time you feel tempted to say something negative, make yourself say something positive instead.  I’ve never understood why anyone would want to spread misery and gloominess.  I always wonder, “Do they hate life that much?” 
5. Drink more water.  I read a lot of articles and books about health and there are several things they all agree on (the other is right on this one’s heels at #6!).  One of the things every physician, health expert, nutritionist, and great aunt tells us is this:  Drink more water.  There has to be something to it.   
6. Get at least 30 minutes of activity each day.  Bronchitis has had me in a choke hold for weeks, but I was feeling a lot better today. So I did some intense work around the house.  I expected to feel like I’d been hit by a bus afterwards, but I feel great.  I’ve been sitting and sipping soup for so long I’d forgotten how good it feels to be active.
7. Stop assuming people know how you feel.  Even if they have an idea, do you know how much it will mean to them if you tell them?   Most of us can recall certain things that our loved ones have said to us that meant the world.  In fact, the words meant so much that we still carry them around with us today.  Maybe it was a dad saying, “I’m SO proud of you.”  Maybe it was a mother telling us that we’re just the daughter/son she’d always hoped for.  Why is it that so often it’s when we’re in the middle of altercations that these sentiments come out?  Then, they’re often followed with a “But…”  Any sentiment followed by a but isn’t much of a sentiment!  This tactic is simply the art of putting conditions on the words.  They certainly aren’t the sentiments we carry with us.  It’s the ones that come out of the blue – not as a prerequisite to what all we’re doing wrong and not to soften any blows.  If you love someone, tell them every single day.  If you’re proud of them, tell them – WITHOUT BUTS!
8. Put yourself in time-out.   In the same way we put children in “time out” when they show signs of being stressed out or overly tired, we could benefit just as much.  Last week, my husband did something that I thought was pretty cute.  Our daughters and I were gathering in the living room to watch Survivor – a Thursday night ritual we’ve enjoyed for years.  I make the special snacks, then we all watch a show that never disappoints.  However, my husband had had a week from hell and a particularly long, stressful day – so he opted out.  He put himself in a sort of “time out” in our home office in a chair in front of baseball.  He sat quietly in his pajamas, reminding me of a 2 year old boy who was trying to calm down!  I thought about telling him that, but I just headed to the living room. (I wasn’t born yesterday.)  Sometimes our nerves just need to unravel and they can do that better when there isn’t a lot going on.
9. Become a more aware and cautious driver.   My poor guardian angel must be a basketcase.  Not only am I accident prone, I’m one of the most ridiculous drivers on earth.  But, years ago, I began to slow down and drive oh so much more carefully when I looked around me to see my vehicle surrounded by future drivers.  They’re watching.  What do they see?  Even if there aren’t future drivers with you, paying attention to what’s going on around you can save lives at best, headaches at worst.  Texting while driving, speeding, road rage, playing mind games (“Oh, yeah, if you want to get on my bumper, I’ll just slow down… You wanna hit me? Why, you can just buy me a new car, sucker…”) - these are all things that can get you killed, hurt, ticketed, or arrested.  I don’t think we’re interested in any of those, are we?
10. Be thankful.  People are filled to their eyeballs with negative thoughts and words lately – but we still have it amazingly good.  I know I don’t have to tell you that – but I’m pretty sure we all need a reminder every now and again.  I remember a shallow little wake up call I got one time while we were living in Florida.  I had put on a tank top and shorts and was complaining to one of my daughters (oh, heck to anyone who’d listen) about my arms.  They weren’t “tank top arms…” etc.  I was cutting them up pretty good.  Then we walked over to the beach and the first person I saw made me, literally, cry with shame.  She was around 20 and only had one arm.  I’ve never forgotten that day.  And I honestly don’t believe I’ve complained about my arms since.  Either of them.

Types of Lock

A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object (such as a key, keycard, fingerprint, RFID card, or security token) or secret information (such as a keycode or password), or combination of more than one of these.

Typically, in pin-tumbler and wafer-tumbler applications, a lock in the rest position is closed. The key has a series of grooves on either side of the key (the key's blade), which limit the type of lock the key can slide into. As the key slides into the lock, the grooves on the blade of the key align with the wards in the keyway allowing or denying entry to the cylinder. Then, a series of pointed teeth and notches on the blade called bittings allow pins or wafers to move up and down until they are in line with the shear line of the inner and outer cylinder, allowing the cylinder or cam to rotate freely inside the lock and the lock to open.

Types of locks

Locks may be entirely mechanical, or electromechanical. They may be operated by turning some form of removable key, by keying or dialling in a combination which directly or via electromechanical means operates the lock, with some form of magnetic or other card reader, or by moving a part on a safety lock intended to prevent accidental operation rather than to prevent unauthorized access.

Warded lock

The warded lock is one of the earliest types of locks. It said to have been developed in China.

Tumbler locks

Pin-tumbler lock

The Pin tumbler lock is the most widespread lock in the western world. Pin-tumbler locks have been around in some form since 2000 BCE. The Egyptian form of this lock was large, heavy, and made of wood, with pins made of metal, usually bronze, but sometimes iron. This design in its modern form was first patented in 1805 in England. The patent holder was an American named A.O. Stansbury. In the middle of the 18th century, the American locksmiths Linus Yale Sr. and his son, Linus Yale Jr., refined the lock design into the form recognizable today. These early versions of the pin-tumbler lock were expensive to produce, and did not become widely available until mass production became feasible.

Wafer-tumbler lock

The first patent for the wafer lock was issued in the United States in 1868 to P.S. Felter. The wafer lock is relatively inexpensive to produce and is often used in automobiles and cabinetry. This type of lock is generally made of die-cast zinc alloy.

Lever locks

Lever locks were invented in Europe in the 17th century. This is a popular lock type for safes and North American prisons today, as they are generally built of strong materials. They are also used as door locks in some countries. This is the type of lock that replaced the medieval warded lock in the 19th century. Robert Barron of England patented the double-acting lever in 1778. Jeremiah Chubb would follow with his own detector lock in 1818.

Disc tumbler lock

The disc tumbler lock or Abloy lock was invented in 1907, and is widespread in Finland. The mechanism contains no springs and is durable. Picking the lock is too hard compared to alternative means of gaining entry.

Other types

There are also many other types of lock, such as warded locks, tubular locks, electronic locks (itself a huge area) and also many variations of the various types, such as dimple locks, which are a variation on Yale's original cylinder lock in which the pins interact with the side of the key rather than the edge, "laser track" car locks, which are a variation on wafer locks, and some higher security lever locks also include the types of warding found on warded locks.

List of common locks

Bicycle lock

Cam lock

Child safety lock

Combination lock

Cylinder lock

Deadbolt Lock

Liver Lock

Disc tumbler lock

Warded lock

Cruciform (or Zeiss) lock

Biometric lock

Chastity Belt Lock

Chubb detector lock

WindowsXP OS Lock

Electric strike

Electronic lock

Keycard lock

Luggage lock

Magnetic lock

Padlock

Police Hand Cuff Lock 

Protector Lock

RFID Lock

Time lock

Chamber lock

Top Ten Ways to Improve Your Technical Skills

In 10 Reasons to Develop Your Technical Skills, I explained why it’s important to develop your technical skills as an integral part of your personal development efforts.  Strong technical skills can save you time, increase your income, and enable you to extract the most bang-per-buck from your technology purchases.

I promised you an article on the how, so here are 10 things you can do to improve your technical skills, regardless of your current skill level:

1. Read technical books

One of the best ways to improve your technical skills is by reading books.  As a teenager I used to buy computer books at the local bookstore.  Today it’s far better to shop online because you can more easily find the true gems and avoid the lemons.  Visit Amazon.com, search for a book on a particular topic you wish to learn, and check the reviews and ratings.  Look for books with at least 4 out of 5 stars (I usually don’t buy any with less than 4.5 stars).  Take advantage of Amazon’s browsing features to quickly find the best books in any field.

Even when you opt to buy technical books locally (such as for an easy return if it doesn’t suit you), you can still check the online reviews to rule out the bad ones.  Take your time previewing books in the bookstore or online, especially if cost is a concern.  If you can’t understand the first chapter, don’t waste your money.

Although technical books can be expensive and are often padded with lengthy code listings and other fluff, the good ones make up for it with clearly organized, well-edited, well-indexed content.  Books in their second edition or later are a great choice because they’ve already been through at least one round of testing in the marketplace.

2. Read online tutorials

The advantage of online tutorials over books is that they’re accessible, timely, and of course free.  The disadvantage is that they usually aren’t professionally edited, which can leave them lacking in completeness and/or clarity.  However, they often sport other features like abundant interlinking, user comments, and interactive demos.  Sometimes the comments are better than the original information, since they can contain lots of additional tips and suggestions.  I find this is particularly true of reference sites like php.net (a reference site for PHP).

My favorite way of finding online tutorials is to use Google.  If I need a CSS tutorial, I’ll search on CSS tutorial.  I usually find something halfway decent in the top 5 results this way.  Other variations that work well include how to XXX, XXX reference, and simply XXX, where XXX is whatever you wish to learn.

3. Hang out with geeks

If you spend enough time with technical people, some of their knowledge will rub off on you.  Even geeks learn from other geeks, but if you aren’t much of a geek yourself, a great way to accelerate the development of your technical skills is to join a local computer club or users group.  Use APCUG (Association of Personal Computer User Groups) and/or WUGNET (Windows Users Group Network) to find a group near you.  Such groups usually welcome new members of any skill level.  Contact one of them and attend a meeting as a guest to see if you like it.

Once you join a computer club or other geek-ridden association, volunteering is a great way to make fast friends.  These nonprofit associations are frequently in need of volunteers for committee and project work; even if your technical skills are weak, they often just need raw manpower.  When I decided to become active in the Association of Shareware Professionals during the late 90s, I put a lot of energy into volunteering.  I wrote articles for their newsletter and served a year each as vice-president and president of the association.  It was a lot of work to be sure, but I learned a great deal from working closely with the other volunteers.  Many of those lessons have proven invaluable in running this personal development web site.  In fact, writing those articles, which gradually became less technical and more motivational, contributed to my 2004 career switch from software development to personal development.

4. Subscribe to technical magazines

Technical magazines used to be one of my favorite outlets for learning, but I cancelled all my magazine subscriptions years ago.  During the early 80s, I spent many long hours typing in BASIC programs from Family Computing and similar magazines (it took me a long time because I hadn’t yet learned to type).  While I think print magazines are less useful today — the same info can often be found online for free – they’re an inexpensive way to improve your general technical skills, especially if you’re unlikely to push yourself in other ways.  The professional editing and experienced writers are a big plus.

5. Take classes

If group learning is your thing, look for college extension courses and other classroom and workshop offerings in your area.  Periodically I get catalogs in the mail from UNLV, and while I lived in Los Angeles, I received them from UCLA, Learning Tree University, Pierce College, Santa Monica College, and others.

A key advantage of classroom learning is the opportunity to interact with an experienced educator.  Teachers with decades of experience know plenty of educational distinctions you won’t find in books or online tutorials.  And unlike many technical writers, they know how to teach.

If you really want the degree, consider going to college and majoring in a technical subject.  I earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics.  But given my path after college, these degrees were unnecessary busywork rather than practical skill building.  I started learning to program when I was 10 years old, and while I did pick up some additional distinctions in college, it would have been a better use of my time to skip college altogether and learn the info on my own.  In the long run, I found my math and physics classes far more useful than my computer science ones — my knowledge of the former didn’t become obsolete so rapidly.

6. Create your own web site

Long-term readers of this site know I’m a big fan of experiential learning.  Setting a goal to create a basic web site is a great way to learn practical skills like HTML and CSS.  When you have a compelling reason to learn, your goals will accelerate your learning, and you’ll learn with a focus on practical application.

I learned HTML in 1995 when I wanted to make my first web site.  I created the site as I learned the HTML language, gradually evolving it from the basic “Hello, world” example.  Later I learned CSS, PHP, MySQL, and RSS, so I could do more interesting things than plain vanilla HTML would allow.

Erin learned web programming in the same manner.  She wasn’t a technically adept person when we first met, but attempting to create her first web site got her in motion.  Eventually she started a web consulting practice, creating dozens of small business web sites.  She also built her own sites including VegFamily.com and ErinPavlina.com and generates most of her income from them.  So the simple decision to make some basic web sites eventually led to generating abundant sustainable income from online businesses.  We learned by doing.

7. Build your own PC

If you want to develop better hardware skills, a great project is to build your own PC from scratch.  I did this in 2004 and found it very rewarding.  You’ll save money, learn a lot about how your computer works, and end up with a nicely customized machine that you can easily upgrade.  After all the components arrived, it took me about a day to assemble everything and install the necessary software.  This may or may not be a good use of your time, but I found it worthwhile for the experience.  I still use this same PC today, and it’s plenty fast enough for my needs.

A detailed, novice-friendly, step-by-step tutorial I used can be found at My Super PC.  I used PriceWatch.com to find the best online prices for all the components, which beat local retail prices by about 30% on average.  I remember buying several components from NewEgg.com.

If this project makes you nervous, I wouldn’t recommend it.  But if you feel comfortable researching and selecting components and carefully following assembly directions, it’s a rewarding way to spend a day.

8. Embrace a variety of software

General software productivity improves with breadth of experience, so use many different software programs (online or offline) to improve your overall ability to get things done through software.  I started using software in 1981, and such broad experience makes it easy for me to learn new applications quickly.  I usually dive in and start using them without going through the tutorials or reading the manual.  This saves me a lot of time and makes it easier for me to justify the effort of installing new software and upgrading old software.

When Erin has trouble figuring out how to do something in one of her applications, I’m often able to solve her problem in seconds even if I’m not familiar with the program.  After using hundreds of different software programs, you eventually learn to think like an interface programmer, so you intuit how certain features are likely to be implemented.  Think of it as technical intuition.

Branch out from software myopia, and experience the full richness of using many different interfaces.  You’ll learn a lot about interface design from image editing programs, programming tools, and of course computer games.  The greater the variety of interfaces you experience, the faster you’ll be able to learn and master each new program you use.

9. Learn to program

Programming is the art of instructing a computer to perform a task.  The key to accomplishing this feat is learning to think like a computer.  Programming is one of the most mentally challenging tasks a human being can perform, but nothing compares to the satisfaction of engineering a piece of code to solve a specific problem.  Ask any programmer. 

I learned to program in BASIC at age 10 and later went on to learn over a dozen programming languages.  The challenge of developing my logic and analytical skills at such a young age has served me well my entire life, even in seemingly non-technical pursuits.

For example, I tackle many personal development problems with a programmer’s mindset.  How do we define the problem?  What are the possible solutions?  Which solution best meets our constraints?  What are the instruction steps to implement the solution?  Does the solution produce the desired output?  Can we make this solution more elegant or optimal?  I’ve taken the common programming process of requirements gathering, architecture, design, coding, debugging, and optimization and applied it to personal development.

While humans certainly aren’t as precise or predictable as machines — we have major compatibility issues, sometimes even with ourselves — a programmer’s mindset can generate effective solutions to very human problems.  Intuition is a big factor in both personal development and programming, but I like that there’s a structured fallback process that works in both fields.  It’s much harder to use this process in personal development though because we know how a computer thinks, but we’re still figuring out how humans think.

10. Marry a geek

Your final salvation on the road to geekdom is to – gasp – marry a geek.  I shudder to think of the technical purgatory Erin would be wallowing in right now if we’d never met.  I almost cried when I first saw her slogging away on a 10″ monochrome Mac in 1994, and I soon gave her a pity upgrade to a PC with a 14″ SVGA monitor.  I told her that if I die first, she’ll need to marry another geek right away – an easy task for someone with her social skills.

If you aren’t a geek yourself, then do what you can to recruit one into your family.  If that’s too much to ask, at least find a geek you can befriend.  They can really save you in a jam, and they’ll keep you from falling too far behind the rest of the world.

Be kind to your geek friends, and offer them fair value in exchange for their help.  Creative trades are often welcome.  For example, Erin and I are both inept when it comes to fashion and home decorating (my colorblindness certainly doesn’t help), so someone who can teach us how to dress and buy furniture that matches would be a welcome ally.  Right now the best we’ve got is our six-year old daughter.  She’s very sure of herself, but I’m not sure her advice can be trusted.

In case you haven’t noticed yet, geeks are taking over the world.  How many geek billionaires are there now, including the richest person in the world?  Technical skills are of major importance these days, and the technical have-nots are more estranged than ever.  As hockey legend Wayne Gretzky says, “Skate where the puck is going, not where it’s been.”

Kimberly Kardashian Humphries

Kimberly "Kim" Kardashian Humphries (née Kimberly Noel Kardashian; October 21, 1980) is an American businesswoman, socialite, television personality, model, and actress. She is the daughter of late attorney Robert Kardashian, and is known for a sex tape with her former boyfriend Ray J as well as her E! reality series that she shares with her family, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Kardashian's prominence has increased as of January 2011 with the premiere of Kourtney and Kim Take New York, the second spin-off of Keeping Up with the Kardashians (the first being Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami), debuting on E!, with the series following Kim and sister Kourtney Kardashian as they leave Los Angeles to open a third D-A-S-H store in New York City.

Kardashian has launched multiple fragrances, guest starred on numerous shows, competed on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, and has had roles in movies such as Disaster Movie and Deep in the Valley. In 2010, Kardashian, along with her sisters Kourtney and Khloé, released an autobiography, Kardashian Konfidential.

Early life

Kardashian was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of late attorney Robert Kardashian and Kris Jenner (née Houghton). Her father was a third generation Armenian American and her mother is of Dutch and Scottish descent. Her paternal great-grandparents immigrated to Los Angeles from Armenia. Her last name in Armenian (spelled Քարտաշեան in Armenian) means "son of a stonemason." Although only half Armenian, she states that she "was raised with a huge Armenian influence, always hearing stories of Armenia, eating Armenian food and celebrating Armenian holidays".

Kardashian has two sisters, Kourtney and Khloé, and one brother, Robert. She has stepbrothers Burton Jenner, Brandon Jenner, and reality TV star Brody Jenner, step-sister Casey Jenner, and half-sisters Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner.

She attended Marymount High School.

Career

2007–present: Reality television

Kardashian first rose to fame in February 2007 when she starred in a sex tape with R&B singer Ray J. In October 2007 she along with her two sisters, mother, brother, half-sisters, and stepfather starred in the E! television series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The series has aired five seasons to date,[when?] with two spin-off series.

Her first acting role was in the television series Beyond the Break. She then starred in the 2008 disaster film spoof Disaster Movie as Lisa. Kardashian appeared in the How I Met Your Mother episode "Benefits". She also appeared on the Season 3 premiere of the series 90210 with her sisters Khloé and Kourtney; they all played themselves.Kardashian was a guest hostess of WrestleMania XXIV and appeared as a guest judge during Cycle 13 of America's Next Top Model.On December 16, 2009, Kardashian made a guest star appearance on CBS's CSI: NY with Vanessa Minnillo.

Kardashian was one of 13 participants on the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with Mark Ballas and was the third contestant voted off the show on September 30, 2008, finishing in 11th place overall.

Controversy

In May 2009, Kardashian caused controversy over the way she held a cat for a photograph. In 2010, animal rights organization PETA criticized Kardashian for repeatedly wearing fur coats, and named her as one of the five worst people or organizations of 2010 when it came to animal welfare.

A mainstream UK national newspaper, The Guardian, has commented on her ability to attract payments of up to US$10,000 from sponsors for each tweet that she broadcasts, noting that she is "an American reality TV star whose sole talent lies in her large rump".

Cookie Diet lawsuit

Dr. Sanford Siegal, the creator of the Cookie Diet, sued Kardashian, claiming she defamed him on Twitter. According to Siegal, Kardashian tweeted in October that he was "falsely promoting" that she was on the cookie diet. Siegal filed a claim in a Florida state court claiming the statements are false and defamatory. He also alleges that Kardashian was on QuickTrim's payroll when she posted the tweet. Kardashian's tweet appears to stem from an article on CookieDiet.com, that named Kardashian as one of many celebrities who saw positive results on the diet. Kardashian sent a cease-and-desist order to Siegal, demanding the link be removed.