Awakening

Siddhartha left behind him not only the grove in which Buddha remained, but also who he was and all his former life. He became a  man and realized that he needed to learn by  himself what no one could teach him, "It was the Self, the character and nature of which I wished to learn. I wanted to rid myself of the Self, to conquer it, but I could not conquer it, I could only deceive it, could only fly from it, could only hide from it". (Pg. 31) He understood through this awakening,  that  in order to find who he was, he had to stop being afraid of himself as this made him fly away and seek for answers in others, but they were truly and only inside  him. Everyone he knew or thought he did, had to be released, and he felt alone.

Personally, I consider that in order to understand who you are and your inner Self, you do need time alone to think about your real nature. But being surrounded by others is also  important because as we talk, we think,  and we understand more about our personal thoughts and feelings. That is why I  have never liked being alone all the time. If I was Siddhartha, I would not have let go of everyone and everything I was, because all that I have lived with will be inside me. I cannot get rid of  how I was raised, or my experiences.   If I had to change that, then I would be another person.

Siddhartha the Great?

As I read Siddhartha, I took some time to identify some words I did not know.

1. Abode: a home  

2.Ascetics: Leading a life of self-discipline and self-denial, especially for spiritual improvement. 

In this section, I had a couple of questions as well. When Siddhartha and Govinda arrived at the garden where they would meet Buddha, why did Siddhartha see Buddha first? He was an ordinary man, wearing exactly the same clothes as all his monks, though Siddhartha recognized him.

"Look, said Siddhartha, there is the Buddha. Govinda looked attentively at the monk with yellow cowl, who could not be distinguished in any way form the hundreds of other monks, and yet Govinda soon recognized him. " (pg 22). Why is Siddhartha that perfect? He has control and devotion but why? Also, when Siddhartha talks to the Buddha and tells him his opinion, Gotama says that opinions mean nothing, though arent his teachings opinions? In one point in the conversation, Siddhartha says: "you are right saying that opinions mean little...You have learned nothing from teachings, and so I think, Ilustrious One, that nobody finds salvation through teachings."(pg 27) With this I answered my own question. Siddhartha is one step before everyone because he does not follow, he leads himself. He travels his own path, to find his own salvation in his own way.  Afterwards, Siddhartha says that, "I also, would luke to smile, sit and walk like that"(pg 29). Is he then not following his own self by saying this?

Siddhartha the Perfect

Questions in Mind? 

As I started to read Siddhartha, I was struck by many different questions. At the beggining of the story, Hesse tells us how Siddhartha grows up into a handsome,  intelligent young man. Govinda his friend and companion, as well as everyone in town, loves him: "That was how everybody loved Siddharta. He delighted and made everybody happy" (Pg.2). It was said that he was a pure spirit and would become a god someday.

While I read this I wondered how would life be for Siddhartha?

Why was he loved so much?

Did he ever make mistakes, and if he did were they recognized?

Siddhartha started to feel "the seeds of discontent" rise beneath him. He started to question everything he new: religion, family, rituals, the meaning of life etc.

If he was so unhappy with himself, how could he make others happy?

Did he not show his bad energy?

How could a person that is so magnificent be questioned by their own existence?

Gilgamesh and Siddhartha:

Gilgamesh and Siddhartha:

Through the story, I did some connections from the books Siddhartha and Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh and Siddhartha are both magnificent characters. "He wanted to follow Siddartha, the beloved, the magnificent"....That was how everybody loved Siddharta. He delighted and made everybody happy" (Pg.2). Both have companions: Enkidu and Govinda. "Govinda, his friend, the Brahmin's son, loved him more than anybody else. He loved Siddharta's eyes and clear voice...and above all he loved his intellect..." (Pg.2). Their story revolves  not only around their magnitude but also around the gods. "And if he ever became a god, if he ever entered the All-Radiant, then Govinda wanted to follow him...." (Pg. 2). These characters also share one question, what is the meaning of life? Gilgamesh searched for it and Siddhartha questions its essence, as he tries to understand the meaning of the Self, the only important thing. "...where did His eternal heart beat, if not within the Self, in the innermost, in the eternal which each person carried within him? But where was this Self, this innermost? It was not flesh and bone, it was not thought or conciousness." (Pg. 2) Though the story, both characters enrich themselves with experience, though sacrifice and tolerance. "We have learned much, Siddharta. There still remains much to llearn. We are not going in circles, we are going upwards. The path is spiral; we have already climbed many steps."(Pg.14).

Google Day #1

3 goals for the day

1. What career is good for me?
2. What classes does Duke offer?
3. What are the benefits of studying in Duke?

Links with description of why they are useful to your goals

  

1. What Career is right for me:

http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/mmdi/questionnaire/

I took a couple of test to see what I would be good at. At the end, I did not get clear results. Right now I feel like I need direction, since I don't know what would suit me best. I am not looking for something in specific, though I like physiology a lot. I was hoping my results matched  to something concerning human understanding. 

2.What classes does Duke offer?

http://admissions.duke.edu/education/majors

Here I can see the careers and classes that Duke has to offer. Seeing the classes can help me choose something I like. This university offers physiology, something I am very interested in (enjoy though I could be flexible to other careers). 

3.What are the benefits of studying in Duke?

http://admissions.duke.edu/ask

My cousin is studying in Duke. She is always talking about how great it is and that she is really happy. 

Duke offers summer programs. This would be a good idea to get to know the campus and university better. 

Duke enriches its students emotionally, socially and mentally. 

Due to the campus and areas of study, Duke is an inspiring setting in which students can express themselves and be different/special.

Dukes admissions are very low. Though I love this university, and being from Colombia gives me positive points, it is almost unrealistic to be accepted. 

Duke also looks not only at exams, but also at GPA's considering the fact that some schools count GPA scores differently than others. Due to the "enrichment" of the campus, Duke as well as other university looks for people that are different and can stand out.

OTHER INFO:

 ""We recommend four years of English and at least three years of mathematics, natural science, foreign language and social studies. We also encourage you to enroll in advanced-level work in as many of these areas as possible. We generally expect students to enroll in five academic courses per year, and if a student does not take four years in a particular subject area, it should be replaced with an academic course of equal rigor. If you are applying to the Pratt School of Engineering, calculus is required before you enroll. We also strongly recommend, but do not require, that you have taken physics."

(http://admissions.duke.edu/ask)

I should be planning my classes and focus on taking as many as I can to be prepared. This can also help me to be prepared for other universities in the future that might want a area of thinking that is more concrete and formed due to these classes.

One thing that you want to learn next Google day

Next time I will explore my area of interest and see what other universities have to offer me. 

I would also like to take another test for "person type" to see what suits me. 

Virtualization

-Topic name: Virtualization

-What you know  about the topic before your research:

• Sims is a virtual world
• You can have virtual profiles on the internet
• Virtual is something that is not in shape (you cannot touch it)

-What you wonder or questions you have about the topic before researching (at least 2):

1. What is virtualization
2. How does the use of virtualization affect people around the world. 

-Links to where you found the most useful information (at least 2, NOT Wikipedia, although you can use it to help you)

• to create a virtual version of a device or resource, such as a server, storage device, network or even an operating system where the framework divides the resource into one or more execution environments. http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/V/virtualization.html
• This link talkes about how industries should convert into virtual world because it would have a larger impact on more people. http://www.itworld.com/nls_windowsserver050411
• This link might seem as very unreliable (for dummies) though it really sais, in simple worlds, why virtualization is important for saving money, energy, and space. http://www.dummies.com/store/product/Virtualization-For-Dummies.productCd-0470148314.html
• http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/virtualization-pro/several-ways-to-explain-virtualization-to-a-non-techie-person/ These are analogies on what virtualizaion is, to get your mind around it. This page is for non tech people, who are just understanding a basic overview.  

-Bullet list of things you learned about the topic (at least 5)

• Analogy taken from http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/virtualization-pro/several-ways-to-explain-virtualization-to-a-non-techie-person/Imagine you are a parent of four teenage daughters. All your life you have wanted to provide your daughters with their very own “resources,” like their own bedrooms, their own bathrooms, their own computers, their own clothes, etc., but you just could not afford to do it.What if I could tell you how to give them all everything they wanted and they really believed that they each had their own bedrooms and bathrooms, but in reality you only had to build one bedroom and one bathroom? You would be well within your budget, your daughters would be very happy, and you would not be using space, materials and money to build all those separate rooms. 

This is an analogy taken from the same webpage, where you can see the idea por virtualization in a more precise way.  

In the past, the server was a like a very expensive hotel. It was the worst kind of hotel. It only had one big room and only one person could stay there. However, all employees, whether they were the CEO or copy-boy, had to stay there if they were away on business.

This is like the guest operating system being installed to a physical server. Half the time the occupant is out doing other things, asleep, or just lying on the bed surfing up and down the channels looking for the type of channels his wife wouldn’t let him have at home. This is like when Linux or Windows is idling and only using 5% – 10% of CPU or memory. It became considered too costly to build such hotels and filling them with one occupant was very wasteful – because they consume heat, water and power – and most of the time the single occupant either wasn’t there or was asleep!

So someone had the idea of a better hotel, one which was divided into a series of different rooms. Each could be different sizes and offer different qualities of service. It didn’t matter what one guest did in one room, as it could not affect others. This hotel had really thick sound insulation so you couldn’t hear the wedding party downstairs or the newlyweds doing newlywed things next door.

On the top floor beyond the bridal suite, were the penthouse suites which were reserved for the high rollers, specifically for Mr. Exchange, Miss, SQL and Mrs. SAP – but in other floors the rooms were barely large enough to swing a small furry animal – this is where Mr. DHCP and Dr. DNS resided. The old hotel was so expensive only people like Howard Hughes could afford a room there – but this new, more efficient, hotel cost the same to build and maintain – and everyone could find a room that was suitable for their needs – from the odd billionaire to the business man on an overnight stay before catching a flight. It also meant we had to build fewer hotels.

The other thing we discovered was when Mr. Exchange or Miss SQL weren’t around or sleeping – as they were consuming less resources – their resources could be divvied out to the residents in the hotel to improve their experience. It would be easier to get that table in the fancy restaurant, and it was quicker to get served in the bar. Finally, the old hotel model died a swift and untimely death when the economy fell off the end of a cliff. It became increasingly regarded as a luxury no company could afford. The Hotel Virtualization model ruled the roost because it offered the most flexible model of accommodating guest operating systems with their wildly different resource demands.

•  People can do something virtual and gain money as well as time. Since it is easy to access and understand, it can satisfy many peoples needs
• The using of virtualization involves less resources for the same or better result. 

Definition of VIRTUAL

1

: being such in essence or effect though not formally recognized or admitted <a virtual dictator>

2

: of, relating to, or using virtual memory

3

: of, relating to, or being a hypothetical particle whose existence is inferred from indirect evidence <virtual photons>— compare real 3

4

: being on or simulated on a computer or computer network<print or virtual books> <a virtual keyboard>: as

a : occurring or existing primarily online <a virtual library><virtual shopping>

b : of, relating to, or existing within a virtual reality <a virtualworld> <a virtual tour>

-A short summary of how this topic connects/relates to you or your life

Virtualization is a big part of my life, as well as the wold in general. We are constanty connected to different servers, all composed by virtual influences. Propaganda on the interntet is a large part that happens while we are connected. We are affected by this even in a way that we dont know. Stimulation  on the internet can lead you to a larger personal development (positive or negative). 

-Questions you still have (at least 1)

IS THERE A WAY TO HAVE A CLEAR IDEA OF THIS?

I don't feel I understand this idea completely. 

Design project-day 5

TO DO-day 5LEARN phase3. On your blog, reflect on the following questions 

-What was the biggest problem you encountered? How did you solve it?One of the biggest problems we had was the day of building the game, we had to work really had since our model was complicated to make. We had to figure out how to re create the ducks as well as the water. At the end we improvised and made the water with some blue paper and the ducks with lots of creativity! -When did you get your biggest "AH HA" idea? What was it?The best idea stared at the begging, when we planned the math involved in the game. I thought it gave the game a deeper meaning and a fun way to learn problems. The children would be interested not only in the prize, but also in the problems that they had to solve.  -Who in your group resisted new ideas the most and why?The person who resisted more was me. I had an initial idea of the fishing booth with another shape and the idea of the problems differed  Throughout the process, I changed the game the other members wanted to do and at the end, the game was almost as my initial idea. -What doubts did YOU have about the project and how did you overcome those doubts?I had lots of doubts about this project. One of them was the making of the game. Since the model was very complicated to make, we planned to get together in one house. At the end, we could not do it. We came to class with the fear that we would not be able to finish it in time, but at the end we did and had a wonderful product. -Who in your group played "devil's advocate" (a person who questions everything, even good ideas) and how did that help the process?-I was the devils advocate because I had several doubts about the plan we had done. Lots of things did not make sense to me (not realistic). One of them was to put water in the box. I did not know how that would be possible in the first place. Only the filling of the box would be very heavy to carry and the presentation would be a mess. This made the game change and at the end we replaced the water for paper. -What did you learn about yourself, teamwork, and the design process?
What I leared about myself is that I can really work better under pressure. I did not know that (I did not feel comfortable). The learning process done in class helped me on the non-pressure. In the day of the creation of the project there was a lot to do and I think I produced in one hour what normally I would have done in 2. Team work made everything easier. I liked my group and we all coped with each other all the time. I think this affected the good product at the end (we all were friends and gave lots of effort on it).

Amazon CWW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT8-Ftcc798