Better Motivation than Caffeine and Heavy Metal

“As you keep these standards [from For the Strength of Youth] and live by the truth in the scriptures, you will be able to do your life’s work with greater wisdom and skill and bear trials with greater courage” (For the Strength of Youth, page 2). Those words meant very little to me when I first read them in high school, mostly because I had relatively little work to do. But now that finals are approaching, big decisions abound, and I often wonder if I can get everything done, this promise has taken on greater meaning. What’s more, I’ve already experienced this in my life. Often I’ve spent hours working on a project half-heatedly, but when I’m filled with hope and the Spirit I'm much more effective with my time. I especially find starting my homework sessions with a scripture study session to be helpful. Not necessarily because Nephi wrote much about programming in Ruby, but because scripture study helps me be more optimistic and motivated. Some programmers’ best fuel is caffeine and heavy metal; mine is hope and the Spirit.

The iPad: So Easy a 2.5-Year-Old Can Use It

The iPad is just a big iPod, right? And yet it’s the way of the future. As I write this, I keep getting this nagging feeling, saying “You dinosaur! Look at you with your mouse, keyboard, and clunky laptop… get with the program! Get an iPad!” Why is this so? The iPad’s interface is incredibly intuitive, as this 2.5-year-old demonstrates.

It will be great for typing when you don’t want the noisy keyboard-chatter. It can simultaneously be your textbook and notebook. Artists will use it for sketching. You can watch movies on it on road trips, and use the Internet and email comfortably on this Goldilocks-sized device. But does the iPad have its killer app? To be honest: I haven’t seen one yet and am personally unconvinced I need an iPad for now. But with the open-market app store the possibilities are limitless, and many killer apps are surely on the way; in 5 years expect to throw your laptops, books and GPSs with the rest of your junk and use the iPad for everything.