日历

Friday, August 29, 2014

08/29 家庭作业 homework

Axi,

Yesterday, we have something leftover.

When you are ready, please use ~5 sentences to describe the story.  It should take less than 10 minutes.

Then, I have some questions for you:
- Has Shan told David clearly what she wanted?  Why?
- Do you think David understand Shan?  Why?
- Do you think that David's posters are pretty?  Why?

Please spend no more than 15 minutes on them.  I will discuss with you.

If you were David, would you design a different poster?  Can you show us?

Daddy

爷爷奶奶多让阿西说话。让她交代一些事情。另外,中国的成语是个好东西。我今天的问题是根据昨天的文章来的。文章的中译给你们发过微信。

Thursday, August 28, 2014

08/28 家庭作业

Axi,

Daddy is a person who can not work/learn well when he feels sleepy.  In general, it is not viable for human beings to keep working when they are tired. 

For Daddy, the best way to get his tired body fell asleep is to go to bed after having some fruits and drink some water.  It is in that a hungry stomach will keep him awake even when he is in bed.

When you wake up, plan your time and work on your tasks.  After that, go for the backyard exercise before dinner.

Tonight, you need to pick up some conversations from your heroine.  We can discuss together.

Daddy

==============
睡醒了才能往下看。晚上爸爸回来跟你讨论。














From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.15am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Poster

Hi
I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon.



This is the only photo of her I have she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number.
Thanks Shan. From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.26am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
That is shocking news. Luckily I was sitting down when I read your email and not half way up a ladder or tree. How are you holding up? I am surprised you managed to attend work at all what with thinking about Missy out there cold, frightened and alone... possibly lying on the side of the road, her back legs squashed by a vehicle, calling out "Shannon, where are you?" Although I have two clients expecting completed work this afternoon, I will, of course, drop everything and do whatever it takes to facilitate the speedy return of Missy.
Regards, David.
From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.37am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Poster

yeah ok thanks. I know you dont like cats but I am really worried about mine. I have to leave at 1pm today.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
I never said I don't like cats. Once, having been invited to a party, I went clothes shopping beforehand and bought a pair of expensive G-Star boots. They were two sizes too small but I wanted them so badly I figured I could just wear them without socks and cut my toenails very short. As the party was only a few blocks from my place, I decided to walk. After the first block, I lost all feeling in my feet. Arriving at the party, I stumbled into a guy named Steven, spilling Malibu & coke onto his white Wham 'Choose Life' t-shirt, and he punched me. An hour or so after the incident, Steven sat down in a chair already occupied by a cat. The surprised cat clawed and snarled causing Steven to leap out of the chair, slip on a rug and strike his forehead onto the corner of a speaker; resulting in a two inch open gash. In its shock, the cat also defecated, leaving Steven with a wet brown stain down the back of his beige cargo pants. I liked that cat.
Attached poster as requested.
Regards, David.


From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.24am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah thats not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie and how come the photo of Missy is so small?

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.28am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
It's a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space.
Regards, David.
From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.33am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Thats just stupid. Can you do it properly please? I am extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. you seem to think it is funny. Can you make the photo bigger please and fix the text and do it in colour please. Thanks.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.46am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
Having worked with designers for a few years now, I would have assumed you understood, despite our vague suggestions otherwise, we do not welcome constructive criticism. I don't come downstairs and tell you how to send text messages, log onto Facebook and look out of the window. I am willing to overlook this faux pas due to you no doubt being preoccupied with thoughts of Missy attempting to make her way home across busy intersections or being trapped in a drain as it slowly fills with water. I spent three days down a well once but that was just for fun.
I have amended and attached the poster as per your instructions.
Regards, David.


From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.59am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

This is worse than the other one. can you make it so it shows the whole photo of Missy and delete the stupid text that says missing missy off it? I just want it to say lost.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.14am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.21am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah can you do the poster or not? I just want a photo and the word lost and the telephone number and when and where she was lost and her name. Not like a movie poster or anything stupid. I have to leave early today. If it was your cat I would help you. Thanks.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.32am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Awww

Dear Shannon,
I don't have a cat. I once agreed to look after a friend's cat for a week but after he dropped it off at my apartment and explained the concept of kitty litter, I kept the cat in a closed cardboard box in the shed and forgot about it. If I wanted to feed something and clean faeces, I wouldn't have put my mother in that home after her stroke. A week later, when my friend came to collect his cat, I pretended that I was not home and mailed the box to him. Apparently I failed to put enough stamps on the package and he had to collect it from the post office and pay eighteen dollars. He still goes on about that sometimes, people need to learn to let go.
I have attached the amended version of your poster as per your detailed instructions.
Regards, David.



From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.47am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Awww

Thats not my cat. where did you get that picture from? That cat is orange. I gave you a photo of my cat.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.58am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Awww

I know, but that one is cute. As Missy has quite possibly met any one of several violent ends, it is possible you might get a better cat out of this. If anybody calls and says "I haven't seen your orange cat but I did find a black and white one with its hind legs run over by a car, do you want it?" you can politely decline and save yourself a costly veterinarian bill.
I knew someone who had a basset hound that had its hind legs removed after an accident and it had to walk around with one of those little buggies with wheels. If it had been my dog I would have asked for all its legs to be removed and replaced with wheels and had a remote control installed. I could charge neighbourhood kids for rides and enter it in races. If I did the same with a horse I could drive it to work. I would call it Steven.
Regards, David. From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.07pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Please just use the photo I gave you.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.22pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww


From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.34pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

I didnt say there was a reward. I dont have $2000 dollars. What did you even put that there for? Apart from that it is perfect can you please remove the reward bit. Thanks Shan.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww



From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Fine. That will have to do.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

08/27 家庭作业

后院有我画的线
1)斑马线:小步快跑。每线一步。越快越好。
2)跳绳方块:在方块里跳绳,不能出来。
3)十字:用来做前后快速小步运动。
4)双腿并住在后院跳台阶。从最低到最高。

News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/emp/embed/smpEmbed.html?playlist=http%3A%2F%2Fplaylists.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Ftechnology-27685867A%2Fplaylist.sxml&title=Jyrobike%3A%20First%20auto-balancing%20bicycle%20unveiled&product=news

- What is shown?
Describe what surprise you the most with colorful and tasteful language.

Journal
What is the most exciting/surprising thing happened in school?

Axi owes me something.  I am still waiting.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

08/26 家庭作业

Axi需要睡觉。她的睡眠严重不足。
可以给她吃点儿东西。水果/西瓜什么的。然后让她睡觉。
醒了以后让她控制时间做自己该做的事情。

To Axi,

I found that you were quite sleepy yesterday.  Therefore, I would like to ask you to have some fruits and then, to sleep.  Before sleep, make sure that the room is ready for sleeping.

When you woke up, make sure you will keep track on your time.  Figure out what you need to do.

I will be with you tonight.

Daddy

奔儿可以让他吃完水果学习或者去后院跳绳。奶奶可以搬把车库里的折叠椅看着他。晚上我回来安排一些事儿让他做。

我今天会晚点儿回来。你们保重。奶奶把该做的事儿写在纸上。

Sunday, August 24, 2014

08/24 To do list

How to find lyrics?
How to find music scores?
How to find history of music pieces?

Friday, August 22, 2014

乔布斯2005年斯坦福大学毕业演讲中文版

乔布斯2005年斯坦福大学毕业演讲中文版
 
  你必须要找到你所爱的东西

  很荣幸和大家一道参加这所世界上最好的一座大学的毕业典礼。我大学没毕业,说实话,这是我第一次离大学毕业典礼这么近。今天我想给大家讲三个我自己的故事,不讲别的,也不讲大道理,就讲三个故事。
  第一个故事讲的是点与点之间的关系。我在里德学院(Reed College)只读了六个月就退学了,此后便在学校里旁听,又过了大约一年半,我彻底离开。那么,我为什么退学呢?
  这得从我出生前讲起。我的生母是一名年轻的未婚在校研究生,她决定将我送给别人收养。她非常希望收养我的是有大学学历的人,所以把一切都安排好 了,我一出生就交给一对律师夫妇收养。没想到我落地的霎那间,那对夫妇却决定收养一名女孩。就这样,我的养父母─当时他们还在登记册上排队等著呢─半夜三 更接到一个电话: “我们这儿有一个没人要的男婴,你们要么?”“当然要”他们回答。但是,我的生母后来发现我的养母不是大学毕业生,我的养父甚至连中学都没有毕业,所以她 拒绝在最后的收养文件上签字。不过,没过几个月她就心软了,因为我的养父母许诺日后一定送我上大学。
  17 年后,我真的进了大学。当时我很天真,选了一所学费几乎和斯坦福大学一样昂贵的学校,当工人的养父母倾其所有的积蓄为我支付了大学学费。读了六个月后,我 却看不出上学有什么意义。我既不知道自己这一生想干什么,也不知道大学是否能够帮我弄明白自己想干什么。这时,我就要花光父母一辈子节省下来的钱了。所 以,我决定退学,并且坚信日后会证明我这样做是对的。当年做出这个决定时心里直打鼓,但现在回想起来,这还真是我有生以来做出的最好的决定之一。从退学那 一刻起,我就可以不再选那些我毫无兴趣的必修课,开始旁听一些看上去有意思的课。那些日子一点儿都不浪漫。我没有宿舍,只能睡在朋友房间的地板上。我去退 还可乐瓶,用那五分钱的押金来买吃的。每个星期天晚上我都要走七英里,到城那头的黑尔-科里施纳礼拜堂去,吃每周才能享用一次的美餐。我喜欢这样。我凭著 好奇心和直觉所干的这些事情,有许多后来都证明是无价之宝。我给大家举个例子:
  当时,里德学院的书法课大概是全国最好的。校园里所有的公告栏和每个抽屉标签上的字都写得非常漂亮。当时我已经退学,不用正常上课,所以我决定 选一门书法课,学学怎么写好字。我学习写带短截线和不带短截线的印刷字体,根据不同字母组合调整其间距,以及怎样把版式调整得好上加好。这门课太棒了,既 有历史价值,又有艺术造诣,这一点科学就做不到,而我觉得它妙不可言。当时我并不指望书法在以后的生活中能有什么实用价值。但是,十年之后,我们在设计第 一台 Macintosh 计算机时,它一下子浮现在我眼前。于是,我们把这些东西全都设计进了计算机中。这是第一台有这么漂亮的文字版式的计算机。要不是我当初在大学里偶然选了这 么一门课,Macintosh 计算机绝不会有那么多种印刷字体或间距安排合理的字号。要不是 Windows 照搬了 Macintosh,个人电脑可能不会有这些字体和字号。要不是退了学,我决不会碰巧选了这门书法课,个人电脑也可能不会有现在这些漂亮的版式了。当然, 我在大学里不可能从这一点上看到它与将来的关系。十年之后再回头看,两者之间的关系就非常、非常清楚了。你们同样不可能从现在这个点上看到将来;只有回头 看时,才会发现它们之间的关系。所以,要相信这些点迟早会连接到一起。你们必须信赖某些东西─直觉、归宿、生命,还有业力,等等。这样做从来没有让我的希 望落空过,而且还彻底改变了我的生活。
  我的第二个故事是关于好恶与得失。幸运的是,我在很小的时候就发现自己喜欢做什么。我在 20 岁时和沃兹(Woz,苹果公司创始人之一 Wozon 的昵称─译注)在我父母的车库里办起了苹果公司。我们干得很卖力,十年后,苹果公司就从车库里我们两个人发展成为一个拥有 20 亿元资产、4,000 名员工的大企业。那时,我们刚刚推出了我们最好的产品─ Macintosh 电脑─那是在第 9 年,我刚满 30 岁。可后来,我被解雇了。你怎么会被自己办的公司解雇呢?是这样,随著苹果公司越做越大,我们聘了一位我认为非常有才华的人与我一道管理公司。在开始的一 年多里,一切都很顺利。可是,随后我俩对公司前景的看法开始出现分歧,最后我俩反目了。这时,董事会站在了他那一边,所以在 30 岁那年,我离开了公司,而且这件事闹得满城风雨。我成年后的整个生活重心都没有了,这使我心力交瘁。
  一连几个月,我真的不知道应该怎么办。我感到自己给老一代的创业者丢了脸─因为我扔掉了交到自己手里的接力棒。我去见了戴维帕卡德(David Packard,惠普公司创始人之一─译注)和鲍勃;诺伊斯(Bob Noyce,英特尔公司创建者之一─译注),想为把事情搞得这么糟糕说声道歉。这次失败弄得沸沸扬扬的,我甚至想过逃离硅谷。但是,渐渐地,我开始有了一 个想法─我仍然热爱我过去做的一切。在苹果公司发生的这些风波丝毫没有改变这一点。我虽然被拒之门外,但我仍然深爱我的事业。于是,我决定从头开始。
  虽然当时我并没有意识到,但事实证明,被苹果公司炒鱿鱼是我一生中碰到的最好的事情。尽管前景未卜,但从头开始的轻松感取代了保持成功的沉重 感。这使我进入了一生中最富有创造力的时期之一。 在此后的五年里,我开了一家名叫 NeXT 的公司和一家叫皮克斯的公司,我还爱上一位了不起的女人,后来娶了她。皮克斯公司推出了世界上第一部用电脑制作的动画片《玩具总动员》(Toy Story),它现在是全球最成功的动画制作室。世道轮回,苹果公司买下 NeXT 后,我又回到了苹果公司,我们在 NeXT 公司开发的技术成了苹果公司这次重新崛起的核心。我和劳伦娜(Laurene)也建立了美满的家庭。
  我确信,如果不是被苹果公司解雇,这一切决不可能发生。这是一剂苦药,可我认为苦药利于病。有时生活会当头给你一棒,但不要灰心。我坚信让我一 往无前的唯一力量就是我热爱我所做的一切。所以,一定得知道自己喜欢什么,选择爱人时如此,选择工作时同样如此。工作将是生活中的一大部分,让自己真正满 意的唯一办法,是做自己认为是有意义的工作;做有意义的工作的唯一办法,是热爱自己的工作。你们如果还没有发现自己喜欢什么,那就不断地去寻找,不要急于 做出决定。就像一切要凭著感觉去做的事情一样,一旦找到了自己喜欢的事,感觉就会告诉你。就像任何一种美妙的东西,历久弥新。所以说,要不断地寻找,直到 找到自己喜欢的东西。不要半途而废。
  我的第三个故事与死亡有关。17 岁那年,我读到过这样一段话,大意是:“如果把每一天都当作生命的最后一天,总有一天你会如愿以偿。”我记住了这句话,从那时起,33 年过去了,我每天早晨都对著镜子自问: “假如今天是生命的最后一天,我还会去做今天要做的事吗?”如果一连许多天我的回答都是“不”,我知道自己应该有所改变了。
  让我能够做出人生重大抉择的最主要办法是,记住生命随时都有可能结束。因为几乎所有的东西─所有对自身之外的希求、所有的尊严、所有对困窘和失 败的恐惧─在死亡来临时都将不复存在,只剩下真正重要的东西。记住自己随时都会死去,这是我所知道的防止患得患失的最好方法。你已经一无所有了,还有什么 理由不跟著自己的感觉走呢。
  大约一年前,我被诊断患了癌症。那天早上七点半,我做了一次扫描检查,结果清楚地表明我的胰腺上长了一个瘤子,可那时我连胰腺是什么还不知道 呢!医生告诉我说,几乎可以确诊这是一种无法治愈的恶性肿瘤,我最多还能活 3 到 6 个月。医生建议我回去把一切都安排好,其实这是在暗示“准备后事”。也就是说,把今后十年要跟孩子们说的事情在这几个月内嘱咐完;也就是说,把一切都安排 妥当,尽可能不给家人留麻烦;也就是说,去跟大家诀别。
  那一整天里,我的脑子一直没离开这个诊断。到了晚上,我做了一次组织切片检查,他们把一个内窥镜通过喉咙穿过我的胃进入肠子,用针头在胰腺的瘤 子上取了一些细胞组织。当时我用了麻醉剂,陪在一旁的妻子后来告诉我,医生在显微镜里看了细胞之后叫了起来,原来这是一种少见的可以通过外科手术治愈的恶 性肿瘤。我做了手术,现在好了。
  这是我和死神离得最近的一次,我希望也是今后几十年里最近的一次。有了这次经历之后,现在我可以更加实在地和你们谈论死亡,而不是纯粹纸上谈 兵,那就是: 谁都不愿意死。就是那些想进天堂的人也不愿意死后再进。然而,死亡是我们共同的归宿,没人能摆脱。我们注定会死,因为死亡很可能是生命最好的一项发明。它 推进生命的变迁,旧的不去,新的不来。现在,你们就是新的,但在不久的将来,你们也会逐渐成为旧的,也会被淘汰。对不起,话说得太过分了,不过这是千真万 确的。
  你们的时间都有限,所以不要按照别人的意愿去活,这是浪费时间。不要囿于成见,那是在按照别人设想的结果而活。不要让别人观点的聒噪声淹没自己 的心声。最主要的是,要有跟著自己感觉和直觉走的勇气。无论如何,感觉和直觉早就知道你到底想成为什么样的人,其他都是次要的。
  我年轻时有一本非常好的刊物,叫《全球概览》(The Whole Earth Catalog),这是我那代人的宝书之一,创办人名叫斯图尔特&S226;布兰德(Stewart Brand),就住在离这儿不远的门洛帕克市。他用诗一般的语言把刊物办得生动活泼。那是 20 世纪 60 年代末,还没有个人电脑和桌面印刷系统,全靠打字机、剪刀和宝丽莱照相机(Polaroid)。它就像一种纸质的 Google,却比 Google 早问世了 35 年。这份刊物太完美了,查阅手段齐备、构思不凡。斯图尔特和他的同事们出了好几期《全球概览》,到最后办不下去时,他们出了最后一期。那是 20 世纪 70 年代中期,我也就是你们现在的年纪。最后一期的封底上是一张清晨乡间小路的照片,就是那种爱冒险的人等在那儿搭便车的那种小路。照片下面写道: 好学若饥、谦卑若愚。那是他们停刊前的告别辞。求知若渴,大智若愚。这也是我一直想做到的。眼下正值诸位大学毕业、开始新生活之际,我同样愿大家:
  Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.好学若饥、谦卑若愚。

Steve Jobs 2005 Commencement Transcript

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

This is a prepared text of the Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, on June 12, 2005.


I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

08/22家庭作业homework

My dear Axi,

At the end of week, it is always great for us to review what we learn.

1) So far, get your old papers back and re-write the FUN stuff (not everything) in good sentences.

2) Draw a really good airplane.  How about a Dream Lifter?  It has a fun shape.

3) There are 3 songs.  I really hope that you can play some tunes from them.  :-)
    Well, have you figure out a way to find their scores?  :-)

4) I love you so much.

Daddy

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

08/21 家庭作业 homework

Axi, I hope you can write beautiful letters.

1. News: 
 
=
 
=
 The Five Biggest Art Heists of All Time

 The Five Most Bizarre Products to Buy For Your Pet

2. Watching the following video:
- What does the video show?
- What can this do?
- How does it work?
- If you have it, what do you want to use it for?

3. Read a story and tell 爷爷奶奶
一千零一夜

4. Yesterday, you have some country/city names.  Today, please find them on map.  :-)

5. Exercise

Warm up drills

Write down the names and move your body.



Monday, August 18, 2014

掰玉米问题,The Marriage Problem

(ZT)假设玉米长度的分布是已知正态分布 (mu = 1 ft, sigma = 0.3 ft),地里一共有100个玉米,一个一个看, 每看一个玉米,当时就要决定要不要掰了带走(没掰的不能再回头掰哦)。一共可以掰走最多5个玉米。

如何掰,能使的带走的玉米总长度最大。

====================
这样思路对吗?
2选一,we know that n1, n2, i.i.d normal. Our goal is to choose n1=m if P(m > n2) > 0.5. otherwise, choose n2.

With P(m > n2) > 0.5 , m can be found numerically by looking into erfc table.

3选二,we know that n1, n2, n3, i.i.d normal.
- If we choose n1=m1, we will choose n2=m2 if P(m2 > n3) > 0.5. This is the same as 2选一.
- We shall choose n1=m1 if P(m1 < n2 and m1 < n3) < 0.5. otherwise choose n2 and n3.
With i.i.d, P(m1 < n2 and m1 < n3) = P(m1 < n_i)^2 < 0.5. Thus, we will pick n1 = m1 when P(m1 < n_i) < \sqrt(0.5) ~0.36.
====================
The Marriage Problem

http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/issue.aspx?id=5783&y=0&no=&content=true&page=2&css=print

人大录取通知书,海水江崖

人大录取通知书

注意了,“海水江崖”纹


08/18 家庭作业 Homework



1. watching 20min news
- remember country/city/people names if possible
- write down. :-)

2. watching this youtube video
- An airplane consists of many parts.  For instance, wing/tail/nose,
  write down the part name shown in the video. 
  draw a picture and show these parts.

- Boeing 787 parts are from many places
  write down the country/city names
  write down the dates
 
3. There are two books on the washing machine.  One is fairy tales from Grimm Brothers.
Axi can read a story and then, tell it to berber and 爷爷奶奶。

4. Indoor/Outdoor exercise
Indoor:
sit up
ankle tap
push up
30 seconds plank
crunch

If you do not know what these are, use youtube to figure out.



Sunday, August 17, 2014

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014

http://artnaz.com/gopro-photos-2014/

20 exciting shots from and for people who like to tickle own and others nerves.

For fans of extreme sports GoPro camera has become the same essential attribute as special equipment. The process of conquering another “height”, whether water, sky or mountain range, certainly accompanied by shooting photos and video from the first person view.
Artnaz.com brings to your attention the most spectacular moments made by ​​adrenaline junkies using GoPro.

Flip

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Ralph Turner
(19 more)

Rafting on the lake in Italy

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Cristian Perrella
~~~

Don’t slip!

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Cooper Richardson
~~~

Good night

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Axel Tritton
~~~

Under wave

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Harley Ingleby
~~~

On the top of the world

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Dean Carriere
~~~

Underwater love

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Austin Brawner
~~~

Awesome dive!

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Kash Shaikh
~~~

Good start of a day

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Cort Muller
~~~

Hiding from sharks under wave

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Chase Olson
~~~

Gator bait

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Justin Duke
~~~

Climbed a palm tree

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Loic Bonin
~~~

Miracles cornering

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Zak Shelhamer
~~~

Together more fun!

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Shawn Perreault
~~~

Epic selfie

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Caryn Asherson
~~~

Caribbean dream

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Jorge Oppenheimer
~~~

Riding with friends

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© 秉融 謝
~~~

Through traps of sharks

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Dan VanDyck
~~~

Superman

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Caleb Farro
~~~

Taking shortcut

Best Photos Made with GoPro, 2014, Inspiration, Photography, Sports, Adrenaline, Artnaz.com
© Travis Burke

Exercise

a short list for the family

sit up
ankle tap
push up
30 seconds plank
crunch

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Imaginative 3D Illustrations Made From Everyday Objects by Victor Nunes

http://www.thisismarvelous.com/i/89-Imaginative-3D-Illustrations-Made-From-Everyday-Objects-by-Victor-Nunes



Imaginative 3D Illustrations Made From Everyday Objects by Victor Nunes
Artist Victor Nunes gives a new purpose to everything he touches. By surrounding different objects with simple line drawings, he creates playful illustrations. Popcorn turns into faces, lettuce into hair and dresses, scissors into animals and pencil shavings into mohawks and wings.

Artist: Victor Nunes – Facebook
Scissors

Razor Handle

Pencil Shavings


Popcorn

Clothespin

Plier

Pumpkin Seeds

Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower Seeds 2

Candy Wrappers

Pretzel Sticks

Pretzels


Lentils

Measuring Tape

Rubber Bands

Rubber Bands 2

Pringles

Balloon

Thread

Lettuce

Paper Clip

Walnut