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"When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the
conclusion that the gift
of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge."
- Albert Einstein
Take a look at many of the great minds of our time and you will discover that most of them have very interesting hobbies and interests outside of their profession. To be good at something, you need to keep that creative spark and imagination alive. So you must remember to have a life outside of work! (Make a note of that.) I don't consider myself a great mind, but I do try to follow the examples of others and try to keep myself interested in other things.
This page is mostly for me as I needed a common place to store some of these bookmarks. (Incidentally, I do welcome any feedback on links or more information regarding the topics below. If you have a common interest, let me know!) But it's also for you because you may discover something new.
Explore and Enjoy!
| Quick Section Jump: | My Hero (Feynman), Community, Super Heroes, Sci-Fi, Radio, Origami, Astronomy, Computers, Inspiration. |
My HeroRichard P. Feynman. Visit the official site at: http://www.Feynman.com/ |
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Richard Feynman means so much to so many people, and yet there are still so many people who have yet to discover this curious character. I first learned of him in my first year at University. One of my Physics professors showed us an old black and white filmstrip of Feynman giving a lecture at Caltech back in the 1960's. I was amazed! I had never met anyone who was as excited about Science or Physics as this Feynman guy was. What a hoot! I had to learn more about him.
Turns out that he had a few books out: "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" and "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" So I bought them and read them. (I highly recommend these books to anyone and everyone!!)
My perspective on scientists as being these stuffy-types with no life outside of research was changed forever. (Sigh of relief!) Actually, the amazing thing was that this was all Non-Fiction! The stories contained within these two books alone would make any Novelist very rich by developing such a character. The truth of the matter was that Feynman was real, he was a genius, he sought adventure at every turn, never shied away from hard work, he changed the way we think about some things, and he made Science and learning fun!
One of the surprising things to me years later was how much Feynman thought like a true tester. He questioned everything and poked every aspect of an idea in order to better understand it. Doubt is the one of the best traits of a good scientist, he would say. I believe that it is also one of the better qualities of a good Software Tester too. Feynman's book ("Surely You're Joking..") was even required reading in one of the first-year Philosophy courses the last time I checked.
If you don't have the time to pick up one of his books, which I recommend that you do, then at least browse through his official site and read through some of the stories there. It won't take long, and it just may change your mind too.
Communities can be small or large. I often give presentations to the local QA community on Software Testing and QA-related topics, as well as volunteer for other events in town when I can. I also think about the global community and what we can do to help each other and the environment. The world's a big place and yet sometimes it can be very small and fragile too. Here are just a few links of interest to me. I would be interested to learn about some other community links that you find interesting or get involved with.
Local Community:
The Global Community:
Okay, so I still collect comics. There are a lot of great Fan sites out there that I can get lost on all day. Here's a short list of some good links:
With what little free time I have left, I don't usually spend it in the real world. I mean, why bother right? ;-) So I let myself get whisked away to other worlds, times, and places. (The comics links above should have been your first clue.) Mostly, this is an opportunity for me to recharge my imagination and keep my ideas fresh when I think about work.
I don't consider myself a connoisseur of the genre, but I know what I like. There are a few well-made TV shows on right now, and a few authors that I think are particularly talented, but I'm always open for new adventures... when I can find the time.
On TV:
BOOKS:
MOVIES:
Get into the groove! Whenever I'm testing, I like to listen to the beat of some good music. I usually tune into Z103.5 that's based out of Toronto, Ontario (Canada, eh!). Gotta love streaming radio!
If this station's not for you, then swing on over to either Iceberg Radio or Live365 Internet Radio and choose something a little more to your liking. There's bound to be something that will keep your fingers tapping and help you drown out the noisy distractions from all around you.
If you happen to be visiting the Emerald Isle, then tune into RTÉ Radio.
The Japanese art of paper folding is alive and well in our household. No scrap of paper goes unexplored for new 3-dimensional possibilities. Here are some good resource sites:
Word of caution: when browsing the various origami sites out there, regardless of project complexity, you may want to be careful with the hand-drawn instructions pages. I find that they often miss a key step or fold that leads to hours of frustration.
My son developed an interest in Astronomy when he was 5, so I got him a beginner's telescope and some beginner star charts and books. This is still just an interest and not a full-time hobby for us (yet). To shortcut the process, I like to show him cool pictures of space already available on the web. Here are some links we like to browse every now and then:
Tinker, tinker. We learn by doing and making mistakes is a part of learning, so it's best to try things at home first so you look smart in front of others!
I have an on-again, off-again relationship with Linux. There are many great resources on the web if you are interested in Linux. Here are a few that I have found helpful:
I like Open Source software because I can tweak settings here and there to get them to look and work the way I want. Two places you should have bookmarked (if you don't already) are: SourceForge.net and Freshmeat.net
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor ( http://www.php.net/ )
It's the best thing to happen to the web since HTML. I picked up the basics one night by following a few online tutorials. There are a few pretty good ones out there. Here are a few sites I've been to:
Mozilla Firefox ( http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ ) is a superior web browser to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. It has none of the Security flaws that you get with IE, and has some cool and indispensible "extensions" or "add-ons" for any software tester or web jockey.
Some of the Extensions ( https://update.mozilla.org/extensions/ ) I use include:
Download Firefox today! Click the icon here and give it a try:
Last section on the page but certainly not least. This one is tough to write about because we all find inspiration in different ways. It might come from a person, a place, a thing or an idea. We need to remind ourselves every now and then of the important things that keep us happy, motivated and creative.
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©2008 Paul Carvalho. Contact me at: paul [at] staqs [dot] c o m
