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Ping Fu is the Founder and CEO of American Company GeoMagic. She describes herself as an artist and a scientist whose chosen expression is business. Ping co-founded Geomagic, a leading US software company which pioneers 3D technologies that fundamentally change the way products are designed and manufactured around the world.
I love this Creative Mornings Talk given by Ping on her personal recipe for Happiness. It is simple and straight forward and I like the way that she doesn’t talk about balance being necessary across all three of her elements – what is necessary is the presence of the three – Pleasure, Flow and Meaning.
I really hope that this video strikes a chord with you.
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The thing about teaching young people is that you get caught up totally by their passion, their imagination and their level of commitment to such a wide variety of causes. Often their frustration that the world is facing the challenges it is can be overwhelming for both them and you. Do Something is a site that harnesses all the energy and passion that is so unique to young people and asks them to put that energy towards a good cause.
It has elements of the Student Army but is aimed at a younger audience. Do Something has three rules: no money, no cars, no adults. They never fundraise from teens. They go where teens are and don’t ask them to travel out of their communities or comfort zones. They never require an adult advisor or chaperone. Yes - like many good ideas it is a US based project but with a goal of attracting 15 million members and dreams of international expansion Do Something may be the perfect solution for your social studies class looking for a cause to that incredible kid in your class who is just overflowing with leadership loveliness.
Personally I’m prepared to lie about my age just so I can be part of the endangered ladybird survey.
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”If you do not change direction, you may end up where you’re heading.
~ Lao Tzu -
Done with holidays and kids in mind
ZigZag City Guides was created to enrich the educational experience of travel for kids ages 5 and up. This project began as my graduate thesis project and now I want to make them available to kids. Each guide is a three-part kit that includes a deck of 20 city cards, a map and folder to hold a day’s worth of cards.
(Source: kickstarter.com)
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Done with months and dates in mind
It’s nearly Christmas, you’ve spent all your money on presents , you still need things to make your home more festive. That said, these are perfect for all year round & I for one will be logging on and creating my own each month.
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Common Ground Projects to make you smile #
The Fühl-o-meter/Public Face is an interactive art installation that calibrates the mood of the city in which it has been erected with a monumental illuminated Smiley. The work of artists Richard Wilhelmer, Julius von Bismarck, and Benjamin Maus, the urban emoticon accurately communicates its host city’s gefühlszustand according to “mood data” obtained using integrated software which analyzes photos of the faces of passing pedestrians and processes emotions out of them. Mechanical armatures modulate the face’s expression in real-time, making it appear by turns happy, sad, or apathetic with corresponding gestures (smiley, frown, and blank).
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DIY
It is a little strange in NZ with the Christmas Light thing. We love it, obviously. Everybody loves twinkly, sparkly, gorgeous little lights but because it is summer it takes so damn long to get dark and for them to get their twinkle on.
I can remember as a child waiting and waiting for it to be dark enough for our christmas tree lights to even be visible. At the moment the streets are full of cars driving round full of drowsy “out way past their bedtime” children to view houses decked out in their christmas cheer.
But - putting all of that aside - this is hands down the best christmas light project I have seen. DIY - without delay and regardless of which hemisphere you live in.
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Done with putting a book down in the middle of the night
What I could probably do with is one of these book rest lamps? The top of the lamp is shaped for you to rest your book on solving a lighting issue and the bookmark v folding the corner of the page dilemma (is it just me that has that?) in one. I also like how it looks like a little house when there’s a book on it.
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Done with decorating the table in mind
This is either one of the prettiest things I’ve seen, or complete sacrilege: my book loving brain can’t make up its mind.
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Done with Soviet Science Magazines in mind.
I bought stamps once that commemorated the space exploration of the Soviets. They were for sale (for almost nothing I might add) in a gift shop at a Malaysian beach resort.
Of all things they focussed on each of the dogs that went to space for the good of the Soviet Space Exploration Programme.
It is hard to know just what to do with this highly treasured item once you return home from holiday. That said these science magazines are just a fabulous and just as purchasable in my opinion.
Just saying.
