Young at Heart

Who said old people can't sing? When we reverse the rules, anything is possible and applying unusual circumstances or unusal people you can create something special and meaningful. So everyone over 70 go ut and sing now, you don;t have to be in a wheel chair.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u6k-99qcCE&feature=related

Foundations

Today I go this email from my Chinese teacher:

First, we are going to finish Lesson 23. Then we won't start another book, instead, we are going to review a lot.
Good news is that there won't be any major test. An even better news is that we will still have Ting1xie3 plus oral presentation. The oral presentation takes place of those exams and each of you will be expected to do at least 6 or 7 of it. The topics will cover pretty much everything we learned in fall and winter. What you are also going to do is to improve your handwriting. Don't expect to get a 4 or a higher grade if you can't even write your name in Chinese...
I will help you through some basic grammars.
There won't be too many new stuff to learn while I believe a better foundation is better than tons of new knowledge for you at this moment.

This is exactly what language programs in he USA need to teach. Strong overlearned foundations so that all the basic stuff sticks real well. When you travel to a foreign country, what you want to do is communicate in the most simple way. You do not need all those ridiculous subjunctive tenses. Trust me I speak Spanish. You only need to know what you would actually really want to say.

Small = Big

Small things equal big things. The right handshake. That humble smile. The small things all add up. Once in a while, all those small things add up to a world of change. This article in the Washington Post details how a little shave off the printer margins can save scores of trees. This is what life is about these small improvements that bring about those huge results.

On Seth's Godin Placebo Affect

This weekend while I skied at Stratton I genuinely thought lines moved faster because they told us their lines were the fastest in the nation. That they could be better than other resorts. Sometimes saying things actually makes customers appreciate the experience around them. Don't try to let customers discover things for themselves, show them.

However don't say something without being able to back it up. If the lines at Stratton happened to be long, I would have been angry at them relative to other experiences.

Blind Beliefs

While watching the Superbowl many of the kids in my dorm just knew the Patriots were going to win. They didn't.

There's always a possibility, disregarding it means you fall from great heights, possibly never come up again.

Always believe you can get back up on your feet. That's what it's all about.

It ain't over till it's over...

The Giants won the Superbowl. Unexpected, surreal for some. Nightmare for others.

There is always one game that counts. The last one. You can always get there like the Braves, however 10 years from their accomplishments many of us forget how good they were because the Yankees took the trophy home. To win, is to win the last one, not everything before that.

On another note, wagering on the Giants was an awesome idea with the odds stacked again. Especially when there's a 14 pt spread.