The Fallacy of Leaving Your Comfort Zone

photo from Motive Weight

There are a lot of sayings that tell us it’s better to leave our comfort zone.  They say it is necessary for growth and development.  It seems right especially with the “fact” that nothing is permanent except change. 

They have a lot of tips that they think can help you to leave your “box”.  Some of these are going on travels, meeting new set of people, breaking your routine; basically they try to tell you to try new or unusual things.

I accepted this advice until I realized that our lives’ purpose is null.  If we really do have just one shot in life, why should we go out of our comfort zones instead of enjoying it?

A Simple Proposal to “Save the Planet”

Image from Freshome

They keep on saying that our planet is dying and that we could prevent it from happening.  There’s a lot of approach regarding this issue.  Some are direct like planting trees, conserving water, and proper waste management.  Others need further explanations like reducing electric consumption and being vegetarian.

I want to focus on our clothing.  Clothing is considered one of our basic needs.  I think this is one of the reasons why it is popular on the market.  You need it; you must buy it.  It’s logical but here’s the problem: they ended the statement with buying it.  They did not mention anything about the quantity of clothes, pants and shoes to buy.

Life’s Purpose is Null

Photo from: Pleasurable Weight Loss

Today, we wake up; we eat; we drink; we go to school; we go to work; we go shopping; we go home; we watch tv; we surf the net; then we sleep.  Repeat this everyday with some variations like watching movies, playing sports, going on trips and that’s it.  We keep on struggling, hoping to experience tomorrow or at least finish the day but for what purpose?

I reflected on this idea and concluded that life has no purpose.  We do the things we do and then what? We invent things; we solve problems, but then what? We try our best to survive or to adapt but for what? We fall in love but end up hurting them or ourselves, so why fall in love in the first place? Even after we die, we leave legacies like our children or our works but why is it significant? We keep on advancing but towards where? In the end of time, everything will perish so why bother to struggle?

Afterlife: Heaven, Hell, Reincarnation and the Cease of Existence

source: Facebook Post

This post is the reason why I started asking about the forgiveness and perfection of the Christian God.  If God is forgiving, why would He condemn all sinners to Hell? They say the answer is in the Bible but I’m still looking for it.  Suppose I found an answer, how can I be sure that it is true?  Christian beliefs are deeply rooted in the Bible and they say that questioning it is like questioning the history.  What’s wrong with questioning history? 

It’s possible that the Bible is not the ultimate book of moral.  Take the Christian crusades as an example.  They kill in the name of God.  What kind of excuse is that? Though some says that most of these crusaders are not Christian; it’s still questionable.  That’s one point for questioning history.  Let’s have an example closer to my home, Spaniards’ invading the Philippines.  As they force Christianity here, God knows what they did to the natives.  That’s at least 300 years of history.

Another answer I got: just accept Jesus Christ with all your heart.  It doesn’t make any sense.  Didn’t that mean God is not forgiving? Unless I do what He wants, I won’t be forgiven?

Academics: What did You Get from Being on Top?

image source: Washtenaw Community College

It’s been years since we graduated from high school.  One time at a small gathering, my friends asked me what did I get from being in the first section during high school.  I smiled.  I cannot think of an answer.  They asked me again but still, nothing.

They paused for a while and then switched to a new topic.  I asked myself, why can’t I give them a response?  There could be something but for that moment, I can’t think of a good answer.  Fame? Pride? Self fulfillment? Recognition? Money? These things can be achieved by students from other sections; even those who didn’t receive any academic awards or honor.  They could even surpass any achievement done by those students with honors.

On my way home until the following day, I’m still pondering about that question and still got no answers.  Suddenly I thought: maybe, the reason why I can’t find an answer is because being on top is already the answer! I think the question shouldn’t be what did I get; maybe it should be, why did I got there or why did I tried my best to stay there.

Beginners' Guide for Creating an Audio Visual Presentation II

This serves as an example or elaboration of part 1.

For this tutorial, we’ll be using Windows Movie Maker.  It’s the most basic video editing software for me that’s why I chose this software to demonstrate the tips I discussed from my previous post.  Another thing that I want to point out; whenever it comes to creativity, we shouldn’t be limited by the tools we use.  For editing sounds; I chose Audacity because it’s free and so far, it’s the only audio editing tool I know.  Cheers!

Creating a Sound Track

Why start with the soundtrack? It’s easier to sync transitions and animations to the soundtrack rather than the other way around.  Good timing will give your presentation more impact especially if the soundtrack is fast.  For slow soundtracks, I think timing won’t be much of a deal but your choice of transitions and presentation flow should depend on your choice of music.

Audacity 2.0.2: For features, tutorials, and tips; you can view their wiki here

Beginners' Guide for Creating an Audio Visual Presentation

image source: Technology Personalized

When I was asked to host a video editing seminar, I said yes; I don’t have any idea on what to say yet but  I took it as a challenge.  Another reason is the fact that I am an alumnus of the organization that invited me: The UPLB Grange Association; as a former Publicity Committee Head (PubCom Head), I’m just returning the favor for helping me develop my video editing skills.

When I was the current PubCom Head, I’m already planning on having this sort of seminar. The problem with my idea is that I only focused on the new PubCom members. It is not even arranged formally so I only told my members to watch and learn from the tutorials in the internet.  After that, I gave them tasks and it turned out fine.

Video Game Developer: A Useless Opportunity?

Image source: How stuff works?

As a game developer, I've been troubled by these questions: what can I do for the society? How can I serve my country? I think graduating from a state university gives me those kinds of challenge. My witty response: I am a tax payer. It seemed reasonable but the problem is, so does everyone else.  They might be sharing even greater taxes than me.  The worse part is they're not just tax payers but they're actually serving the country! How lame is that? That's why I thought of another excuse: we, the game developers, create possible sources of entertainment.

Grammar Police Seems To Lack Common Sense

I was browsing stumbleupon and I ended up on this site: If Liberals are more Intelligent than Conservatives, why are Liberals ridiculous sometimes? Sadly, psychologytoday seems down for now. Basically, it explains why sometimes ‘intelligent’ people act ridiculous. The author describes two ways of how we think. One is using general intelligence on which we think logically or academically. The other is emotional thinking or acting based on our gut feel; usually referred to as common sense. Based on the article’s explanation, an intelligent mind seems to override common sense with logic or academic thinking.

Movie Enthusiasts might have Better Imagination than Book Readers

Source: GeekDad

Relax. I'm not here to ruin the books' reputation. Just like you, I do enjoy reading but I'm also a movie enthusiast and the debate for which is better makes no sense to me. I'm still wondering why some book lovers can't take it if someone thinks or states that a movie is better than a book or vice versa. We can think about it like this: if someone preferred ice cream rather than a cake for dessert, would you get mad or think less of that person? You see, both movies and books are great sources of ideas and entertainment just like any sweets are good for dessert. It all depends on their content and how you absorbed it.

Anime Insight: Naruto's Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu

Naruto vs Kimimaro

If I remember it right, I've been watching Naruto since 2004 but the efficiency and danger of Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu or multiple shadow clone technique just dawned on me a while ago. The first time I saw this technique, I wondered what's so special about it? He just created more Kage Bunshin or shadow clones than usual. I don't know why is it even a kinjutsu or a forbidden technique? I thought it's better if every ninja learns about it because it's a great source of man power.