Life, the universe and everything - Technical Ambitions

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
--Randy Pausch

The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch

I have just heard one of the most amazing lectures ever. It was delivered by Randy Pausch and is available for you to hear on the interent. When Randy realised that he had pancreatic cancer he realised that he could do nothing with the cards he was dealt, it was how he played the hand that has made his lectre so popular. Millions of people the world over have heard his inspiring lecture. It is all about living life and what is needed to ensure you get something out of life.

The one big lesson I have taken from it is that when you dream, you must not dream small little dreams. DREAM BIG. It is only when you dream big that your life takes on a more significant meaning. You have to fulfil those dreams ad it is too easy to fulfil small little dreams. These are also needed to allow you to focus on the smaller little more achievable goals.

A man without a dream is a lost man. Wandering around without purpose or passion. So go ahead now and start dreaming big. The dreams are your minds way of telling you that you can achieve them. Your mind will never set you up for a fall. So dream big and trust in your dreams. It is probably the most important thing you can do for yourself.

Thank you to Randy Pausch for teaching me so much in so little time. Even though the lecture was meant for your kids, it has inspired me in my life and I feel great that I was able to listen this life changing lecture and hope that you (the reader) also take the time out of your life to listen to it. It might just be the first act in your changed life.

The lecture, even though Randy does not talk about his impending death is charged with sadness and life. Randy shows little or no sadness throughout but you as the listener is charged with the knowing that he will die soon and that the positive attitude that he is exuding is about to change a lot of peoples lives.

ENJOY.

It is extremely frustrating now that Google shows the revenue that one earns in the currency for the country you reside in. Due to the exchange rate for the Rand for instance the amount changes per day. It is never stable and one really never knows the exact stats for the month since the figures change so drastically from day to day.

I rather preferred the fact that it showed in US Dollars and not ZA Rands.

The other thing that I have noticed that was changed for the worse on Google Adsense program was the fact that you could view the revenue you have made since the last payment. This feature is no longer visible and it really is a crying shame since it was actually quite a nifty feature.

A short while ago, Google held an opinion poll regarding the service they were delivering via Adsense and I am guessing that the rework they did was based on that research. It just goes to show that research is also just one way of measuring satisfaction of service. There should be many more ways used to judge satisfaction of a service or site.