A poem a day

It has been a long time 

Since I posted anything here,

But I may be back!

To write poems for a year

In english class, 

Or so I was told,

That poems can help

One's mind grow bold.

Daily poems, 

No break, no 'cut,

For over a year

Can raise your IQ

And as for Science time? Well that is in the works for now, but if anyone has a subscription to PC, Windows OS compatable, Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 that they are willing to share, it would speed up the process. I plan on making the rest of my videos without actors and possibly without voice from here 'on out so that they can be watched and understood anywhere (or in that study hall right before your physics exam). Other than that, have fun and keep making science!

Picture from Wolfram Mathworld, http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Limit.html

Comic by Bill Amend

On with my life, a poem about the book of my life from Salt Lake City.

Just to put it out there, I just landed in Salt Lake City, and I will arrive in Memphis at 11:59 p.m. tonight (May 31, 2014) for anyone who would like to greet me at baggage claim.

I know it has been a long time, and I have begun to miss this blog (yes it has only been a week, but whatever), so I decided to write a poem about what I will do to move on, yet I missed the window of time to upload it in Idaho. 

I have made great friends,

This great semester,

And I'll miss them all,

Yet somewhat merrily.

From students to staff, 

Y'all have been so kind,

Without rythem or rhyme,

To host me, even joyfully.

Yet now is finally the time,

To make a rhyme,

To speak of the future,

And take a chance for goodbyes.

Goodbyes are not forever,

However permanant they seem,

They only make the love grow,

Until next time we meet.

Yet I will miss my friends,

The crazy Alzar Schooligans,

The funny Alzar teachers,

And the wonderfull Alzar Admin.

Goodbye, Goodbye.

Live long and prosper.

Just get out of my sight,

Before you make me cry.

The future holds,

Many a mystery,

For I know I will meet,

You all again.

Which brings me to the next subject,

What will happen next?

Will we keep in touch?

Or move on with our life?

How will we still be happy?

This reminds me of a certain writing prompt that was something along the lines of, "Does holding on to the past help make people happy?" I never really answered the question, as I only said that it can both help and hurt your success, but now I aim to give my opinion on the topic. 

As we remember our past, our future-once-ago, we begin to let our minds wander about "what would have happened if...?" or "I remember the good 'ole days when..."

And this is great every once in a while. But do it too much, and one will start to truely question their motives, their decisions, even their current position until they lose their sense of present happiness and only find discontent with the future. For to dwell in the past will cause only saddness if done in excess and poor decisions and regret for them later. To live without a past will cause great joy, yet poor decisions will still be made. 

To a certain degree, it is acceptable to look back, to reflect, on what once was, but to be happy that way, experiences must be shared to others. This will cause joy for many, and you in the process, however an even better use of the past is to make better decisions for the future. For example, after kayaking the Salta La Leona (that waterfall video ), I was asked "If you had the choice to do it again or getting GoPro footage of it, what would you choose?"  I quickly responded that I would choose doing it again 10/10 times because this time I would know how to run the waterfall without my skirt imploding upon impact. But my big mouth didn't stop there, I continued on to say that I would love GoPro footage also, to share with all my friends and family. This is the way to be truely happy. To have your cake and eat it as well, To have your second, clean run, and film it as well. This is the way to be happy, and is where my poem continues on...

I will be happy again, 

By using my experiences, 

To make more friends,

If not as cool as the last,

I will be happy again,

By sharing my experiences,

By empowering others,

To follow their ambitions.

I will be happy again,

By following my goals,

And setting many new,

To occupy my time free.

I will be happy again,

I will be happy soon,

I miss my friends,

Yet still I am happy.

I will miss the Alzar School Semester IV family. The semester of many firsts, and hopefully many lasts. The semester were I learned how to race and relax, how to say "hi" and fly, how to enter a new culture unanounced and get along without verbal communication. Can't wait for a reunion and a chance to use my new skills productively.

Once again, I just landed in Salt Lake City, and I will arrive in Memphis at 11:59 p.m. tonight (May 31, 2014) for anyone who would like to greet me at baggage claim.

Can't wait to return!

Farewell until May, 30th!

It is time to leave

for a short time

I hope you all remember

My humble little blog

I am kayaking

for the next week

and nothing rhymes with kayaking

even remotely.

I will go down the Gran Gene,

North fork and South,

And will gopro the whole

But I now leave Internet.

The suspension was fun

But now it is back to life,

And kayaking for 7 days straight

Will surely bring me back. 

It is finally time 

To bring out the big boats,

With a duckying Jose

And a monsterous raft. 

So with this I say,

Goodbye, bye bye,

I will post a post 

right before I leave Alzar!

So don't call me! I'm going to be out for a while! The earliest I will be in touch is the 30th after noon, otherwise I am halting this blog! I'm soooo ready to go home but I'm going to miss this! 

I'm only going to post photos if people comment and videos only if y'all share this so I will have an easier time with my CLP when I get back!

¡Chao! See you soon!

I have three new announcements and a Pseudo-Science Time with P-Daddi!

Got some sweet news today so stick around!

The first is to all fellow high school students who still have finals! Sure, classes are over, but that doesn't mean school is! Finals can count for so much of your grade! Those study packets your teacher gave you? Don't use them to start the grill for prefinals weekend like I did last year! Those little packets are often the final exam with the answers shuffeled around a little bit, and with only an hour or two of studying everyone in class can make a 100!

Second, The poll has one day left and the current leader is "Operation: all the Doors" (irony). But I left one option off! How could I have forgotten the famous "Science Time with P-Daddi (& Friends)". If you like this more than the other options then click that share button to death and tell your friends! 

Which brings me to my third and most important announcement, I fixed the commenting system! thats right, try a few comments here or share with a personalized message and it WILL show up here!

Now for something a bit more interesting, Science Time with P-Daddi! In particular, Yay Physics!

"Top Ten Reasons Why You Should Take Physics Poster." Top Ten Reasons Why You Should Take Physics. American Physical Society, n.d. Web. 08 May 2014. <http://www.aps.org/programs/education/highschool/teachers/why-physics.cfm>.

Above are ten resons why to sign up for a physics class next year! This is a short list of reasons why everyone should take at least one year of high school physics! (hint: there is no way to escape a black hole!) Need another reason to sign up for that extra science class next year? I will be facilitating the creation of informative videos, primarily for physics, that will coincide with standard class schedules! My hopes are to expand the program to other science classes and possibly even other subjects, but I need more people to take charge of any extra programs! By joining up you would get a chance to learn more about some of the most interesting topics in the world! The only requirement is a sincere love for science, enrollment in a science class, or you believe you have another skill that can help (and are currently enrolled in high school)!

Get your name in the science world this upcoming year by emailing me at Swimerpat@gmail.com today! 

I want You!

Why haven't you dropped everything to fill out that email?  Did I mention that every hour spent on this project can be signed off as totally legitimate service hours? Email me at Swimerpat@gmail.com now! I won't bite! 

My goal is to surpass the Limit of Science/Class as Lessons approach informative!

Happy science!

Extention of the Poll!

The poll for what to name the CLP (cumulative leadership project) will be opening up again Thursday! If there are any suggestions then let them be heard now or forever hold your peace! If you have forgotten what the idea of it was, check out this sweet video I created!

(http://youtu.be/sZBeuIGxRO8)

The current winner is Operation: All the Doors, with Physics; Opening the World One Mind at a Time in a close second. The poll closes Saturday for the last time so Vote Now!!!!

Comment below any suggestions!

Science Time with P-Daddi, Memory Methods!

How do people memorize Pi (π)? The irrational number that follows a non-repeating pattern in the decimal? Well, there are several really cool methods, some derived just for this task and others that have remained secret for centuries. 

The first, and most common method is telling a story to the digits. One variation involves the connection of each number (1,2,3,4...) to an object, and each time that number comes up it creates part of a story. For example, 1 would be a key, 3 would be a bird, and 4 a grape, and the first 3 digits, 3.14 would become "The bird grabbed the key in exchange for the grape."

 

Another variation of this method is much more compact. Every word in the story dirrectly corresponds with a number of pi by means of word length. For the first digit, 3, it would correspond with a three letter word, such as "the" or "pie". An example of the first few digits would be, "How I know I could dirrectly..." would become 3.14159... Pretty cool, but the WORLD records are set with another method altogether. 

The Method of Loci (plural of locus) is an advanced memory technique used origionally by the Greek traders and later by the Romans. It is also called 'Memory Palace' due to its... interesting method. It works (from what I understand) by visualizing a place that you have been to a lot and has memorized every nook and cranny of. The next step is to visualize a set path that you will mentally take every time you go through it. Following that path, if there is something you want to remember, you put a trigger object on things in the room. For example, if you wanted to remember to head left at Old Poplar Pike, you could put a left arrow on the door, and a "do not disturb" sign with the picture of an Old Poplar on it. While it sounds difficult, with practice it is possible to place 20+ things at a time in your long-term memory quickly and easily. 

And to close, Happy Mother's Day!. 

That Million Dollar Question; Progress

So a couple days ago, I mentioned the Riemann Zeta Function, one of the Millineum Problems (if you haven't dropped everything and checked it out, look here: http://www.claymath.org/millenium-problems/riemann-hypothesis). In the past couple of days, I have been playing around with some ideas and have stumbled upon an interesting theory that involves something else I found on Numberphile, circle inversions (the video for this is called "Epic Circles" on youtube). My approach is trig-based and unique to the mathematical world, surprisingly. While this is just an update on the topic, if anyone is interested in learning more about my approach, comment below or email me at swimerpat@gmail.com