Happy Soul Food Friday!
This week, education, attention, tricking your brain for happiness, an extraordinary musical instrument and the masters of disguise in nature.
But first, let’s lighten the mood with some Punography
Punographics
I changed my iPod’s name to Titanic. It’s syncing now.
When chemists die, they barium.
Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.
I know a guy who’s addicted to brake fluid. He says he can stop any time.
I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.
This girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I’d never met herbivore.
I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can’t put it down.
I did a theatrical performance about puns. It was a play on words.
They told me I had type-A blood, but it was a Type-O.
We’re going on a class trip to the Coca-Cola factory. I hope there’s no pop quiz.
I didn’t like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.
Did you hear about the cross-eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn’t control her pupils?
When you get a bladder infection urine trouble.
Broken pencils are pointless.
I tried to catch some fog, but I mist.
What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary? A thesaurus.
England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.
I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest.
I dropped out of communism class because of lousy Marx.
All the toilets in New York’s police stations have been stolen. The police have nothing to go on.
I got a job at a bakery because I kneaded dough.
Haunted French pancakes give me the crêpes.
Velcro — what a rip off!
A cartoonist was found dead in his home. Details are sketchy.
Venison for dinner again? Oh deer!
The earthquake in Washington obviously was the government’s fault.
(thanks Beth)
On Education-
Can Teacher Expectations Influence How Students Perform?
This 8 minute NPR story is compelling…
Breakthroughs that are Occurring from Online Education- Getting the best content from the best teachers FOR FREE!
An inspiring Ted talk covering what is both desperately necessary AND what is suddenly possible…
http://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_koller_what_we_re_learning_from_online_education.html
(Thanks Rex)
Quiet Time
In the 2002-2003 school year, there were 41 murders in the neighborhood of Visitacion Valley Middle School. Young students were playing “cops and robbers” with real guns, and many suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. In 2007, the principal instituted a program called “Quiet Time” to teach meditation to every student in the school, with dramatic results. Truancy rate fell by more than 7 percent (while the average for the State rose to 30 percent) and suspensions fell by more than 50 percent. Twelve minutes at the beginning and twelve minutes at the end of school day have given these children a coping mechanism to deal with the many stresses of poverty and violence in their lives.
http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=3091
(Thanks Beth)
How to Trick Your Brain for Happiness with Rick Hanson
“We do not know what a thought is, yet we’re thinking them all the time.”
(Thanks Dan)
An Extra-Ordinary Musical Instrument
This incredible machine was built as a collaborative effort between the Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory and the Sharon Wick School of Engineering at the University of Iowa.
Please note, the balls don’t fall on the floor, they return to the machine… All of the balls wind up in catcher cones. Amazingly, 97% of the machine’ components came from John Deere Industries and Irrigation Equipment of Bancroft, Iowa
Yes, farm equipment! It took the team a combined 13,029 hours (6.26 years) of set-up, alignment, calibration, and tuning before filming this video but as you can see, it was WELL worth the effort. It is now on display in the Matthew Gerhard Alumni Hall at the University and is already slated to be donated to the Smithsonian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_K48e8z9-k
(Thanks Mohit and Kali)
Masters of Disguise
Enjoy these Amazing photos from Nature at its Best…
(thanks Larry)
Pay it Forward!
Love,
Neville
Happy Soul Food Friday! 