Chocolate What...

The coolest thinkg I've ever seen....Take look:
http://www.chocolateatlas.com/Sushi/Sushi.htm
http://www.kookisushi.com/gift/gift.htm

This is definitely an all time favorite and next time (I mean first time) I have a party...this is what you'll get. How I love being a food connosieur(e).

Just to write...

So I searched my blog b/c I didn't feel like typing in the URL and I got to my blogshares, which somehow calculates the value of your blog. Surprisingly, my blog had value at all so someone must be reading (even if it's just me reading it all day;)!
Given this info, I decided to write just so I wouldn't be abandoning my blog. So here's my first effort to jump start my always fledging blogging career! I hope this works...
~Jazz

Don't ever take life and the love of family for granted!

Hundreds pay respect to Colts coach and son
LUTZ, Fla. (AP) -

Tony Dungy blinked back tears, straining to compose himself. Dungy remembers his son Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy thanks his supporters and speaks of his son James who was found dead in his apartment last week. "Parents hug your kids every chance you get," he said. "Tell them you love them every chance you get because you don't know when it's going to be the last time." The Indianapolis Colts coach buried his eldest son, James, on Tuesday, lovingly recalling the 18-year-old who died in an apparent suicide last week as a "mama's boy" with a "compassionate heart." Someone who loved to smile and have fun. ...

Click here for the full article

College Advice

MESA (Math Engineering Science Achievement) put on an alumni luncheon last week for current college studetns. My colleague, Justin, and I presented some material and advice that someone may find helpful so I'm posting it here. Soon I'll have a site dedicated to educational tools that will hopefully be useful enough to teach and expedite learning.
BTW- I'm working on a documentary, also with the vision that it will change the way we pursue our passions...more as a lifestyle and less as a hobby.
Anyway, here's the college advice handout. ENJOY!

I couldn't help it...

I couldn't help but post this! Being the modern day geek that I am I had to inform the masses of one of the coolest/funniest/weirdest things you can buy this holiday season. In fact you can buy it for me if you so please!
Presentd by ThinkGeek...Desktop Carnivorous Plant Set.



















And as quoted from the website:
Each Complete Kit Includes:
Growing Dome
Planting Mixture
Carnivorous Seed Pack:
Venus Fly Trap
Yellow Trumpet
Hooded Pitcher Plant
Purple Pitcher Plant
Pale Trumpet
Temperate Sundew Plants
Cobra Lillies
3 Photo Decals
3 Bog Buddies
Swamp Rocks
Instructions and Information Manual
NOTE: Unlike Insta-Pets(TM)like Sea Monkeys or Triops, your carnivorous plant set will take several weeks to get started. But have patience friends, the blood-curdling plant-on-insect action will be worth the wait! We guarantee it or pay us double!

Let them eat to their stems' content...teehee!

Happy News...

So some time ago, I wrote about putting actually good, uplifting news on this this. But we all know that's potentially a full time job....so, I refer you to HappyNews.com! I think you'll definitely enjoy. One of today's stories:
"Japanese get fat penguins to exercise"














Enjoy!

My first site

Well,
Thanks so to my very amazing computer scienctist friend, Justin, I've built my first site. Now it's crude (so don't clown) but I don't care becuase it's the first thing I've built CS wise since I was a freshman in college! DIG IT!?!

Tax savingss

This is a message froma friend regarding Tax Savings. Worth looking into.

For tax information, I recommend you get Sandy Botkin's book Lower Your Taxes Big Time.
Also, check out his web site http://www.taxreductioninstitute.com/. His CD series Tax Advantages for your Home based Business is excellent. If you can attend one of his workshops, it is well worth it. I saved over $4000 the first year I used his system.

I recommend the SOHO TaxSaver 3.1 to track your business. You can find it at http://www.alliancemarketing.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=browse&id=15497&pageid=76.

This Brilliant Man...

This guy, Paul English has a cheat sheet of how to reach a human voice on phone calls. You know how you call any bank and get sent through a slew of teleprompters?! Well, have at it. Check out The Cheat Sheet!

Sites to see...

These are some sights worth looking at.

eLance Marketplacehttp://www.elance.com
eLance.com is as much a site for companies looking to outsource projects to independent contractors as it is for free agents looking for new projects. Think of this site as the matchmaker that even allows you to see how much different vendors are earning.

Young and Successfulhttp://www.youngandsuccessful.com/
Y&S is a media and education company dedicated to giving young people the
critical tools, insights and strategies they need to succeed at an early age.
I receive a weekly newsletter from this site from which I learned about eLance.

December 1, 2005 - 50th Anniversary of Rosa Parks Sit-in

Today is the 50th anniversary of the dar Rosa Parks kept her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, AL. I need a PowerPoint presentation to commemorate. Check it out...
The Life and Legacy of Rosa Parks

Ugly Dog just died

In case you didn't know...the worlds ugliest dog, Sam, just died; just a few days short of his 15th birthday.

The Associated Press described Sam thusly:
The tiny dog has no hair, if you don't count the yellowish-white tuft erupting from his head. His wrinkled brown skin is covered with splotches, a line of warts marches down his snout, his blind eyes are an alien, milky white, and a fleshy flap of skin hangs from his withered neck. And then there are the Austin Powers teeth that jut at odd angles. He's so ugly that even the judges recoiled when he was placed on the judging table . . .
(http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/uglydog.asp)

I like the picture below just because he (Sam) doesn't look quite so bad in it. I mean he's a sweet pup right. Plus, the poor guy was suffering from cateracts and old age, hence the cloudy eyes.

But I must say, I'm quite impressed to have found Sam & Suzie's (the owner's) actual site...check it out http://samugliestdog.typepad.com/
View to your heart's content pictures of the amazing Sam. May he rest in peace (Scary grill and all!)

A note on taxes...

We all need to know more about tax structures. So here's a quick read for us lay people.

Progressive & Regressive taxes/taxation explained.
Progressive & Regressive taxes describe the tax table, not a political opinion. It's like a mathematical function. Most often these are called progressive or regressive tax tables or taxes. In a progressive tax, the more you earn, the higher your tax rate.In a regressive tax, the less you earn, the higher your tax rate.
Sound confusing? Read more here...

A site for you...

So I've heard of people who make hundreds of thousands of dollars selling random/weird things on the internet. Well I found one. Is anyone interested in "bacon bandades"?!? check it out... http://www.mcphee.com/index.html

Please check him out...

Someone...Anyone!
Please check out this comedian Dane Cook. I mean for real, out of control white men don't usually tickle my fancy but this is one of the funniest dudes I've ever heard it my life. His new cd/dvd Retaliation just made #4 on the Billboard 200! Please Please Please...take a minute and laugh your butt off 'cause this dude is crazy funny! If I was little more posting savvy, I'd have a little clip here but since I'm not, here ya go...http://www.danecook.com/ .

from another Libra

From a fellow Libran (if that's a word. Maybe I should just say another "Libra") regarding our thinking patterns; I couldn't have said it better myself:

From a 'textbook' Libra, I feel your pain. All that extra thinking will pay off. We Libras are a motivated type not to be stepped to lightly. I've found goals aren't worth having if it's just about time, they've got to be about something a little bit more (ideology, progress, enlightenment, etc) in order to be worth OUR precious time.

From the brilliant,started college at 15 and is now working on her PhD (damn she's more brilliant that I thought now that I actually think about it)....Lauren.

uhhhhhhh......

So unlike most who selflessly comment on the affairs of the world...I am commenting on me. Yes, it's my site and I can do what I want....uh, I'm a big girl now (just to take it back). So after posting that last log, I went back and read what I'd written on my 24th Birthday and just to bring it all in my face, I'd made a 1-year goal to purchase a home, upgrade my car and start a small business...and well I'm not too pleased to report that it ain't going so great. I've got the business, but it's not like I'm rolling in the dough! I guess you have to start somewhere eh?
As for the house and the car...I finally managed to move from my parents house just a few months ago effectively breaking the umbilical chord on the way out. The car-well, let's just say I'm saving up for something big LOL! ie., I'm still rocking my old one. But hey at least I'll appreciate the good life when I decide to get it right? Riiiiight...that's what they all say.
That joy of infancy really is wonderful...induldge yourself TODAY'S THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!

25...

Well,
I'm 25 now and I hate to write such an anticlimatic and uninteresting piece after such a long hiatus; however, tragically that's how I feel and that's definitely how my debut to the 1/4 century club went. As a Libra (and yes I have found fierce (def #3: Extremely intense or ardent) validity in the whole zodiac thing)... I've found like most (Libras) I definitely think too much. In fact the whole thing is quite exhausting...the thinking that is. I have friends who really just take life as it comes or moreso enjoy life as they live it, while I on the other hand not just plan, but over-analyze each phase that I'm going through. I'm not sure if most libras plan so intensely (not that it's really working for me as I'm not even good at that part of my character) but I've found that we are definitely some of the most intense people I've ever met. Recently, I've found that a few folks I know share the scales (Libra sign for those that don't know) and it always seems to explain why they/we are the way they/we are.
In an attempt to not incriminate myself, December will make three years since I've been back in Tacoma (after graduating) and I'm definitely ready for what's out there!
On a lighter note...I was googling dictionary.com and misspelled dictionary as dictioanry. Now that tragedy comes in the fact that not only were there websites related to a misspelled word but that there was one that actually had a ton of content on grammar, etc....Now is it really completely sane to trust a site on grammar and essay writing that already starts out wrong? I'm not sure...you be the judge. www.dictioanry.com. At least I got a chuckle for the day LOL.

...Back to me; you can see how all is going. It took me more than a week to even write about my birthday. Remember this time last year (minus 9 days), on my 24th birthday, I inaugurated this site. Oh the bliss of infancy....BRING IT BACK!

Now, Disover your strengths, A MUST READ...Must DO! This book will change your life.

Have you ever wondered why we do things we hate to do, aren't even good at and zap our energy? I mean we do them just in general. But I especially speaking about those who do them for work! 8, 9, 10, maybe even 11 or more hours per day, we sit, stand, direct, calculate, whatever it is, just to get a paycheck or just to feel halfway accomplished. Well, I know everyone has been asked this question before, but what if you really could and DID do what brought you at least a tolerable amount of joy?! See, the problem is not that we (as people) don't want to experience joy, it's that we don't even know how. If someone told you, " I want to give you the perfect job, the perfect life, something that you love to do every second you're doing it...now tell me exactly how to do it. What's the perfect job for you?" Would you be at a loss for words? Do YOU even know what you like to do?!?!?! - Therein lies the root of the problem. How are we going to seek what we love, when we ourselves don't even know our loves? Huh...how ya gonna do it?!?!

Yes- a long intro to my original intent for posting, but sometimes I just have to get the thoughts out.

So, I was praying (as we all should do) asking God to reveal what I like to do. I mean, I know what I like to do, but how could I ever make a living of it? What are my real talents? What are my strengths? Help me put everything together. I've heard that we should do what we love everyday to be most happy, but what the heck does it mean if I just want to sit and read magazines, learn random stuff, [insert what you love to do but doesn't pay the bills]. So what are my talents?!

While in Borders, I came across a book in the management section, NOW, DISCOVER YOUR STRENGTHS, by Marcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton, PhD. The premise of this book is: capitalizing on your talents brings success...personal, emotional, spiritual and financial. Our talents are what we should focus our lives around.
Again, we know this. The problem is often WHAT are our talents and HOW do we use them daily?

NOW, DISCOVER YOUR STRENGTHS gives you the insight to find your talents, so you can first discover what you brings you inherent joy, build our talents into strengths and focus our lives around them. (The book explains the difference between stenghts and talents.)

Here's an excerpt from Marcus Buckingham's bio:

In a world where efficiency and competency rule the workplace, where do personal strengths fit in?
It’s a complex question, one that intrigued Cambridge-educated Marcus Buckingham so greatly, he set out to answer it by challenging years of social theory and utilizing his nearly two decades of research experience as a Sr. Researcher at The Gallup Organization to break through the preconceptions about achievement and get to the core of what drives success.

The result of his persistence, and arguably the definitive answer to the strengths question, can be found in Buckingham’s trio of best-selling books, First, Break All the Rules (coauthored with Curt Coffman, Simon & Schuster, 1999); Now, Discover Your Strengths (coauthored with Donald O. Clifton, The Free Press, 2001); and The One Thing You Need to Know (The Free Press, 2005), in which the author gives important insights to maximizing strengths, understanding the crucial differences between leadership and management, and fulfilling the quest for long-lasting personal success.

What would happen if men and women spent more than 75% of each day on the job using their strongest skills and engaged in their favorite tasks, basically doing exactly what they wanted to do?

AND...
A piece of the book's intro:

"The simplest explanation is that most organizations' basic assumptions about people are wrong...Most organizations are built on two flawed assumptions about people:
1. Each person can learn to be competent in almost anything.
2. Each person's greatest room for growth is in his or her areas of weakness.
Presented so baldly, these two assumptions seem too simplistic to be commonly held, so let's play them out and see where they lead....

- Your organization spends more money on training people once they are hired than on selecting them properly in the first place.

- Your organizations spends most of its training and money on trying to plug the gaps in employees' skill or competencies. It calls these gaps "areas of opportunity." Your individual development plan, if you have one, is built around your "areas of opportunity" or weaknesses.

...As long as an organization operates under these assumptions, it will never capitalize on the strengths of each employee....These are the two assumptions that guide the world's best managers:
1. Each person's talents are enduring and unique.
2. Each person's greatest room for growth is inthe areas of his or her greatest strength.

...However, we don't start there. We start with you. What are your strengths? How can you capitalize on them? What are your most powerful combinations? Where do they take you? What one, two or three thinkgs can you do better than ten thousand other people?

GET THIS BOOK! NOW, DISCOVER YOUR STRENGTHS

Self Enhancement, Inc. - Youth Potential Realized

Self Enhancement, Inc. - Youth Potential Realized

I just found out that this exists! This is more than a mentorship program or a "get kids off the street" type organization. This institute exposes youth (ages 8-25) to various avenues of life so God's given talents and gifts can be tapped into and developed. This is what life is about...discovering and being exposed to what God put you on earth for so you can do it. It takes exposure. It takes teaching. It takes encouragement. It takes vision. And it takes allowing people to be who they really are! Please take a look. Hopefull this model will spread across the world. It like a human development institute. Since, somehow, we humans are the best and developing ourselves and our specific constituents, we have a model to be used along with the Bible and God's teaching. Take a look!

Also,
PARTNERS IN DIVERSITY invites you to attend the next quarterly reception to welcome new Professionals of Color to Oregon/SW Washington. This fun summer event is one not to be missed! It is supported by a growing coalition of major employers and community partners working together to support diversity in the workplace and community.

The place to meet, greet and connect! All supporters of diversity in the workplace and community are welcome!

Thursday, August 11th, 2005
5:30 to 8:30 PM
Location: Self Enhancement, Inc.
3920 N. Kerby Avenue
Portland, OR 97227 Phone: 503-249-1721
www.selfenhancement.org (directions)

For TriMet directions: www.trimet.org or 503-238-RIDE

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
-Plan to attend and share the invitation with your networks! This is a multicultural gathering and we want the word to get out far & wide.

-Refer new professionals of color, who have relocated to this area in the last 18 months or less, to be introduced and welcomed at the next event on August 11th.

-Support the event by including information from your organization in the packets handed out to each person attending the event.

-Request information about how your organization can become a sponsor of Partners In Diversity.

-For information: Vicki Nakashima, vicki@partnersindiversity.org or 503-203-5624 Your suggestions, referrals and inquiries are welcome!