Facebook De-activation Experiment (pt. 2)

Day 3:
     - Found a profound and moving TEDx video, and felt compelled to share it with people. I didn't have an active facebook, so it went unshared. The video was brought to my attention through an email from my girlfriend. Thanks Mi ;)

Here's that video though:

     - I also want to express outrage for the cop who gunned down the unarmed father of 4 who was running away from him. That's outrageous. I wonder why I feel the urge to express that to others. Ended up doing that in face-to-face interaction eating with a friend. Better than being a computer screen.





Day 5 of detox:
     - Early start to my day. I got the urge to complain yesterday when I got 2 shots in the butt at the doctor. It was very unpleasant, and an annoying pain (literally) in the butt. I guess funny stories are fun to share on social media. The doctor diagnosed me with Bronchitis and ordered my leave from work until Monday.

(I didn't write much that day, went to Doctor's, pharmacy, bank, errands, etc.)


Day 7: The proceeding Sunday (4/12) after Detox

Conclusions:
     - Though I've been doing other activities, I find myself no more productive than normal. If I don't distract myself with facebook, I distract myself with something else, and work is procrastinated and rushed eventually. That needs a fix, and I don't think it's a problem with FB. It's a problem with me, I've been feeling so much in a funk, not depressed, but I feel unmotivated to work, along with sadness and longing... also tired lately. I feel burned out from work. Reflections reflections... I gotta push through.

    -  The main benefits of social media, for me, are:
1) Being updated and connected to events - Knowing event details, FB events is helpful for that. Getting invited and inviting people to events, sessions.
2) Sharing media, engaging in discourse about current events, topics of concern

Essentially, it's a tool for connection with the world around you. Not disconnection. Social media can be both, and causes many to be disconnected. Gotta be aware of the borders.


   - The main benefits of not being on a screen, for me, are:
1) Enjoying the present moment, awareness of surroundings;
2) Alignment of the mental and physical states (mind is in the moment, connected, not distracted by cyberthoughts);
3) Allowing the moment the happen without judgment; taking in the nuances of the immediate environment and finding joy from simple observation. That's pretty much it.

Facebook De-activation Experiment (pt. 1)

Last Sunday (4/5) I deactivated my Facebook! I was out for a week, and it felt great! It was the first time I had done that in the 9 years I've been on Facebook. I found some other things to do. These are the notes I took on Day 2 of 7.

4/7 Blog: Facebook de-activation experiment (pt. 1)

    Why:
    ⁃    Someone introduced the idea of a "social media detox" to me a few months ago. I liked the idea, because it implied that social media, like water, can be a toxin at high enough levels, though useful at moderate levels.
    ⁃    More recently, I've felt my interest in facebook decreasing, yet time spent on it continued. My posts have felt half-assed, and my productivity has stagnated. Facebook thus became less useful and more of a timezap. Detox was in order.


        Results:
    ⁃    Immediately after de-activation, it felt like a weight off my shoulders. No notifications to anticipate or wonder about (is that even normal? or a sign of disorder?). No need to update people with stati (though I enjoy doing that because of my geographical separation from home)
    ⁃    My deactivation began on Sunday, for 7 days. But on the same day, I needed to reactivate it because there was an event I wanted to attend, but didn't know the address! First incident where I needed facebook.
    ⁃    Also, I wanted to invite people to join me for an event, and I found facebook to be the easiest way to invite a bunch of people. Don't gotta pick up the phone or anything.
    ⁃    Also noting a change in my web-use, because one option (facebook) was eliminated, it allowed me to focus on other things. That's why you see a new blog. I should keep off facebook so that I can keep up with other things.
    ⁃    Though I find my motivation to get things done has not changed, still don't enjoy doing unenjoyable work, BUT my ability to get things done HAS changed due to a decrease in time/energy allocation toward facebook.


Findings:
    ⁃    I found the most useful thing about facebook is quick and easy communication with my network. Whether that's inviting, updating, or direct messaging...I only wish this communication was more in MY control (i.e. sending a message to everyone in a 20 miles radius, or to everyone in my SoCal networks), rather than relying on facebook's algorithm for what appears on someone's feed. I don't trust that algorithm, but I do enjoy the communicative infrastructure that facebook allows.
    ⁃    In the instance where I needed to find an address to an event, I found facebook to be necessary. In another instance, I wanted to search for someone, to see if they have a facebook. I could not access the search databases because my account was deactivated.
    ⁃    But damn, I got more shit done, and thankful just 2 days in, so far.
    

2 Recordings at 2am from my Car Studio

I just bought a recording mic!!!

Enjoy these free MP3s!!

∞Beginning Blessings.zip (3.1mb)
   § 01_Just Beginning (prod. by DJ Premier)
   § 02_What A Blessing (prod. by DJ Premier)

Download ^that while you read this, it's only 2 song files.

I grab the microphoneme, hold it tight.

I recently got a mic to record higher quality audios for my audience. Though not a typical sound booth, it turns out that a CAR, while in park, has naturally good acoustics. The vibes are contained without dissipation, that's why music sounds great in the car.

Not my car, but the scene set-up looked something like this, but at 2am.

The beats are not mine, they are instrumentals from the 2012 album KOLEXXXION by Bumpy Knuckles and DJ Premier, so I'm not gonna charge money for Premo's production.

The first track is an opening verse, my first real audio release to the world, so it's just the beginning! The verse is legit though (no bias), starting with the first 2-4 bars til the end... PEEP, DON'T SLEEP.

And the 2nd recording... It really inspired this whole thing. After I got home from session on Monday, I had this rhyme come to my head, went like this:

I miss that old feeling of having a first kiss.

Thinking back to moments of bliss, I reminisce

About girls once really cool with... now we're through with.

We vibed together like music and our love was deep-rooted.

I cared for them all...

I wrote the whole thing, then recorded it immediately, along with a few other tracks Monday night. Finished my recording session in the early AM hours.

Disclaimer though, I haven't had that many girlfriends (I count 3 real ones), but that's from the heart! I'm not with them now, but when I was, I really cared a lot for them. They were my world, joy and inspiration at the time. I hope I was a decent bf; if I had yelp reviews, I think they'd be mainly positive. And the last 6-7 bars are for my current gf, Mi Amore. I made her a song about 9 months into our relationship, and she still inspires me to write. Peace love.


Now that you've downloaded the songs, I recommend you listen to it in the car, or on headphones, because this music isn't meant to be played on a laptop/computer or while multi-tasking. At least don't judge it til you give it a good listen.


 This is the journal entry I wrote right after writing "What a Blessing":

2/23/15
I just made one of the best verse I ever made. Brand new from pure inspiration. What a blessing. And it's almost a letter to my exes, but in a positive way, not a usual misogynistic hip hop way, which turns off a lot of people. I make a note to refer to all the women as queens and nothing less. I will share in the mp3 shortly.

Enjoy!

Re-vised material from 2010 and new 2014 @4:00am

I thought it was whatever so I never shared it. It's not bad though, but it's still whatever. I just revised it and made it a little better. Have it for free. Wrote this early 2010, in my 4th year at college.



Spare Me the Hype

Break beats, break stereotypes.
I'm not a passive child,
Developed my rapping style
so i don't get smoked
like a joint or a roach, or a black and mild.
i like boo's, shoes, and acting wild.
it's been a long and lasting while
since an Asian brother like me,
got the chance to get free. I can't mask my smile.
so like the Nile, I flow and give life.
i bring peace/piece like a paper or a pipe.
and, i like melons when they ripe.
but Bite? not quite. stay polite with insights
hide when you within sight.
I'm the son, I been bright.
First came matter, and then light.
Don't get shocked like Dendrites*

 Ooooh thunderous! I like that one now. I remember exactly where I was, and what was going on, the day/moment I wrote the original.

 Also written just earlier that year. I was asked to write a short bio for myself:

Tom T. Nguyen
is not good at writing biographies for himself. He has been a difficult person since the womb. He is not easy to put up with, or understand. He grew up in in the Garden Grove School District when it was bad, and believes that this is what makes him a little bit cool and "Mexican-washed." After moving to the Fountain Valley School District, he became a dork, and has remained that way since. This has allowed him to do well in school and be awkward around girls. In 2003, he thought learning to dance would make him cool, but it didn't. Sometimes he will devilishly advocate, and this causes arguments.  He grew up atheist, but lately he has been feeling spiritual. He is now good friends with God.

Hell yeah! I find that sh!t hilarious, and it's actually very true. It's not a bad sum-up of me, in the style that I would do it, back in 2010. I guess that "style that I would do it" changes constantly. Something I would write in 8th grade would be different from what I would write now, right now. So the message is to write! Just write! Always be writing. I have so much written. "Write anything you don't want forgotten." At least keep a journal, but personal recording sake!




Also wrote this this morning:

10/17, Friday morning, 4:00-4:30am

I think I'm gonna be Wolverine for Halloween.
It's my second year in New Orleans.
Gettin that green, got myself into the scene.
I know my royal lineage so I found myself a queen.
It's easy to be lazy, and nothing's what it seems.
What you need to do is find a winning team.
And then work hard and never give up on your dream.
That's how you rise about the average, if you know what I mean.

I'm backed by statistics, play with linguistics
When I'm feeling uplifted, Young, Fresh and Gifted.
Wicked slickness, get wit this and bear witness.
Love the bare wetness. Don't compare weakness,
Just peep this. Make the main point, my thesis.
If we ALL work TOGETHER, it's harder to defeat us.

So let's not be cheaters, let's be high achievers.
I expand like the Uni-verse, stay balanced like Libras.

That is all for now. Have a great day!

Blood Moon Eclipse

Written Wednesday night 10/8:

Lucky I caught this.

So stepping out my door at 6:19am this morning, I saw the moon. I said "Oh shit! The eclipse!" And I hurried my backpack and bookbag and all my workstuff into my car, then tried to take a picture of the moon on my phone. The picture turned out looking like straight bullpoo, cuz you can't take pictures of celestial bodies with a phone. I was running kinda late too, so I RAN back into my house, pulled out the Nikon, ran back out, put it on zoom and higher exposure, and snapped a few shots!

This first shot came out right!

I had not expected to catch this so-called "impossible lunar eclipse," because I read it was only visible from the East Coast, at 6:25am EST, and only for 9 minutes. So not fitting the viewing criteria in both space and time, I had settled into thinking I was not going to see this eclipse. Apparently it's the 2nd, in a series of 4 consecutive, and an impossible occurrence of the Sun rising and Moon setting at the same time in a less than 180° view of the sky, only possible because the atmosphere refracts light and yada yada.. But I saw it anyway, and it lasted for a while too. Throughout my entire commute to work, the moon was eclipsed, made for distracted driving on the overpass, and even when I got to the school, I was still able to snap some pictures of it.

The 2nd picture:

2nd shot came out tricky.

3rd shot, using the powerlines as reference, shows how fast the moon was setting/moving/
relative to Earth rotating (compared to 1st shot)

They say these celestial events coincide with shifts on earth. I don't think causation is provable, but with many new advances in technology and progressive changes in society, human civilization is at a pivotal and extreme point. We are also shifting from an industrial-based political-economy to an information-based political-economy (that's a topic for another day). Also there are at least 2-3 major wars/political conflicts going on right now... Turning my awareness toward celestial bodies in the heavens brings about calmness in the present, excitement for the future, as well as connectedness to the ancients, in a world that's really crazy these days.

Worst come to worst, look up.

Seeing Saturn in a Telescope O_O

Something trippy. I don't look through nice telescopes often, so when I went to the Gretna Observatory last night, which is open for public viewing on Monday/Wednesday nights after dark, I was BAHLOWN away by the real image of Saturn!

It's crazy! You can just look out there in the darkness, point the telescope at the right spot, and there it is. A bright, ringed planet. Real image in real time. Not some video playback.

This image was the closest I could find, to compare to what I actually saw.

And another crazy thing is that it appears to be MOVING. And rather QUICKLY! After you fix the telescope to get it in view, it moves across the scope in less than a minute, looks like it's flying.

At first glace, the planet looks like a "flying star," so I asked the 2 astronomers I was with: "is it really moving that fast? Why is it moving so fast?" Instead of answering my question, they told me to think about it. Then I understood it was because Earth was also rotating. It's a higher level of thought, to grasp that, every perspective is a relative perspective; it's understandable how past astronomers could have gotten it wrong, thinking geocentrically. But from Earth, the planet Saturn is still beautiful.

You can see Saturn in the sky with your naked eyes, but you'd need a slightly attuned eye to distinguish it from a star. Planets are actually visible in the sky often throughout the year, especially Venus, Jupiter, and Mars, but most people just think they're stars. This thing is also in the sky throughout the year, but often obscured from view, by light pollution and atmosphere.

We live in this shit, and it's in the sky every night.

I also saw Mars in real time, which was cool to see, thinking we have some SUV-sized rovers up there, taking pictures and collecting samples. One day might have people out there. Pretty far out. A mission to Mars is pretty crazy.... exciting to think about. New frontiers.


The local astronomer guy also pointed the telescope at some globular clusters. He called some "deep space objects." Not like the planets nearby, further out, but still a part of the Milky Way. In fact, I learned that there are a lot of globular clusters (big clumps of stars, gravitationally attached) going around our galactic center, what many believe to be a SMBH (Super Massive Black Hole).

M11, or Messier 11

Pretty crazy that you can just look out and see this shit. I am fascinated by space.

9/20 SPILL Rhymes for the Day

Wrote these today.


9/20
Look around, that's using eyesight.
Look back, that's using hindsight.
Look ahead, that's called foresight.
Look within, that's gaining insight.




Check this out, you got quarters and dimes.
Make up 2 equations, can you solve it on time?
It's easy and it's challenging, you gotta use your mind.
That's how you climb. - It's called an incline.

Rise over run, you should rise and become
A positively-minded person, not one that's dumb.
Yo that wouldn't be right. - So just do right.
If you ask me, then I'll tell you that I do write.

 - But I kick flows, free style of poetry.
I'm the one who knows. Guess that's why y'all blowing me
When You Act Outta Line, and try to avoid ya problems.
That's no real solution, you should really try to solve 'em.

---
The original problem was:
If you have a total of 100 quarters and dimes, with a value of $14.05, how many quarters do you have?

Linear systems, solve 2 equations at once.


Video with music coming soon,  I'm about to update it. But gonna go to session first, get my rock on. Peace!