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

Only 3 days left to VOTE!

VOTE!

There are only 3, that's right, T-H-R-E-E days left to VOTE on the name of my Video Physics Tutorials. VOTE. The current selections should be right about....

VOTE!

Here-------------->

VOTE!

If there are any suggestions for new names, I would love to hear them either in the comments section or at Swimerpat@gmail.com. VOTE. Remember to VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! You can vote on as many as you like, but only once daily. VOTE!

Help me solve one of the Milllineum Problems, the Riemann Zeta Function!

Any chance one of my viewers wants to help me solve one of the millineum problems? If you don't already know what they are, check out this link: http://www.claymath.org/millennium-problems

Specifically, I am interested in proving/disproving the Riemann Hypothesis. Now I know that litterally millions of mathematicians have looked at trying to solve this conundrum, but I have developed a knew conjecture on the subject and I need a stronger calculator to prove my theory. If you are interested, (and this is hardly a joke, there is a one million dollar prize waiting for the person who solves it) comment below or email me at Swimerpat@gmail.com.

Sincerely, 

Your Local (or not-so-local) Math Nut,

Patrick Fadgen.

Guess who?

A VERY famous person once said,

Can you guess who said this (thus starting the "long-cat" meme)? 

I'll give you a hint, zhe was a prominent scientist, politician, and religiously zealous. Zhe formulated the theory and model of the Static Universe (although it is most commonly called something meaning the exact opposite) based off another scientist's work, and while sitting in a train station. He played the Violin and traveled often, and as of 2011, his brain is on diplay. 

Nough said, no cheating.

Hello again, sign up for a big project today!

Hello, I disappeared this weekend as I was dragged into a canyon without reception (or chargers) but something important happened there. For my CLP (cumulative leadership project [like an eagle project for Alzar School]) I have decided on task that will put some of my most developed skills at work. I will be making tutorial videos for Physics (to start out, I hope to expand to other sciences and eventually other subjects)! My first task? Assembling a crack team of nuts with a wide-range of skills to help me out and sign-ups start today!
Do you want to see the world from a new perspective? (yes, that is cliché, but I'm not kidding) Do you want to learn how alternate realities REALLY work? Do you want to learn why gravity causes an acceleration of about 9.8 meters/second^2 and not a force? Do you want to learn what is behind all of the doors and use your learnings in a satisfying manner of tutoring others? If you answered yes to any of the above questions and are in high school, email me at Pfadgen@gmail.com with your name, favorite area of science, reason to join, and skills you can bring to the table. If I have not met you yet (hopefully you live in Memphis), include your highschool and grade-level. These are not necessarily applications, I just want to get to know (at least part of) my group for this project. Also, If I already talked to you about it, email me anyway.

Just got an email from my favorite band and I found this inspirationallittle nugget wedged in!

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy origional member, fantastic drummer, and BBVD member of the month, KURT SODERGREN 

I've been thinking about inspiration lately.  I still remember my first impulse to play the drums.  After seeing some friends playing an outdoor party I was hooked.  And wasn't that my friend playing drums?  I didn't know he played. Immediately I started renting a drum set from the local music store on weekends and playing along to my dad's record collection.  I was very motivated to get better so I would be good enough to join the group and hang with these guys