String Theory » General

Everyone has a Story – Even the Olympians!

Suraj Reddy — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:31:52 +0000

I’ve been part of a campaign at University called iCraveChange. As part of the campaign, I had the exciting opportunity of getting my story filmed. Through the many stories that were put up (you can view some of them at the facebook page -- http://www.facebook.com/iCraveChange), one of the things I learned is that everyone has a story.

Life can be busy and heavily experiential, and so I find it easy to get lost in my own world and my story, and forget that everyone else out there has a story as well. Everyone has lived on earth for X amount of years, and is shaped by their parents, friends and family, choices and life experiences around them. We all have dreams, visions, goals, desires and passions. We all crave Intimacy, Destiny, and Meaning.

Watching the Olympics, it’s easy to forget that every Olympian has a story as well. Below is the story of Olympic snow boarder Kelly Clark, who despite having everything she wanted, craved meaning.

From icravechange.com

Question: Whose story inspires you the most?

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Beta Testing the Standard Theme

Suraj Reddy — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:50:10 +0000

When developing websites, the hardest and most frustrating part for me is finding a theme that works. I can almost never find a theme that works out of the box.

This week I’ll begin beta testing the standard theme.

I’m excited, and cannot wait – this is truly a privilege for me. Part of the reasons I’m excited is that @human3rror , aka John Saddington is behind it, and I trust him enough to have faith in the theme.

Hopefully this does not lead me to Wordpress Insomnia.

Question: Has any hobby led you to Insomnia or something close?

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Video Game Addiction: Amazing Must-Watch Video

Suraj Reddy — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:21:25 +0000

Video games are a blessing and a curse. I know a gamer who lost his marriage over Counter-Strike. I also know a gamer who is still alive today because of her video gaming community. This video summarizes the two remarkably well -- props to the author!

Question: What are your thoughts on the video? Have you experienced any of this in your life, or the life of someone you know?

I hope to blog soon about some of my experiences with video gaming.

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My Story: Video

Suraj Reddy — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:17:41 +0000

Growing up, I was deeply worried about my destiny -- about what was going to happen when I died. I was also on a quest for meaning -- which one of the gods I worshiped was real?

I Craved Change.

Many of you know I am a Christian, but don’t know why or what it means to me.

This is my story.

Question: Does this resonate? Do you/did you crave change? What’s your story?

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Margin: A Day Without Internet – A Poem

Suraj Reddy — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:35:22 +0000

LifeChurch.tv is doing a series on having Margin in our lives -- I wrote a poem last fall when I didn’t have internet, and I think it fits in perfectly.

A Day Without Internet

A day without internet feels FREE.
No email to worry about, all wires unplugged.
Disconnecting is easy, and I can be fully here.
Although it won’t last, a part of me wants it to.
Oh well, I guess that’s what sabbaths are for.
Hmm… maybe I should start observing!

Other things I learnt:
-Texting is actually useful.
-I can sleep in time!

Your thoughts?

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To a future Mac: Why I succumbed to the PC

Suraj Reddy — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 19:07:25 +0000

Lately I’ve been forced to rely on my laptop a lot. A/V glitches during presentations, videos freezing and sluggishness led me on a hunt for a new laptop. Yesterday I went out to get a Mac. But I succumbed to a PC. Here’s why.

I wanted a laptop that:

Could smoothly play videos etc. on projectors for events
Could be used to take notes in class – I take notes extensively in class using Microsoft OneNote
Could run Windows, for programming purposes – Visual Studio only runs on Windows.

I was willing to compromise for a Macbook because it’s made by Apple – it should theoretically work flawlessly, and could dual boot Windows. I wouldn’t be able to use it to take notes in class, but I could compromise and go back to physical notes – Apple had me sold. Almost. I walked into an Apple store, played around with the 13″ Macbook Pro I wanted to buy, did some performance testing, and then made a decision. I couldn’t do it.

The Macbook was twice as expensive as its PC counter-parts, and did not impress me enough to warrant the price. I settled for a HP tx2 because it features:

2x the ram of the macbook
3x the Hard-Drive space
Multi-touch and a tablet surface: I can continue to take digital notes in-class
A smaller price tag compared to the Macbook pro.

Apple Tablet:

I could wait for the rumored Apple Tablet, but I needed a portable that was also powerful and could be used in a performance setting – the Apple tablet seems geared to be a secondary device. Being a student, I can’t afford to get 2 devices, especially when a convertible such as the tx2 exists.

I have a strong appreciation for all things Apple (The iPod touch I own totally pwns) and do hope to get an Apple computer someday… just not yet.

Question: Are you a Mac or a PC? What’s your #1 reason?

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WinterCon: The Great Prayer Hypocrisy #ewc09

Suraj Reddy — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:15:10 +0000

Prayer – talking with God – is huge, but in my life I’ve noticed that we can talk about the importance of prayer, but not apply it in our lives.

I’m definitely inspired in this category by my Muslim friends who make it a practice to pray 5 times a day. Being a Christian, we’re not forced to pray, and so we can definitely slack in this area of our lives.

However, I’ve been greatly challenged, moved and inspired to pray continually by the continual application of prayer at Winter Conference – I was pleasantly surprised that we’ve had moments of prayer at every one of our main session meetings so far. Back on campus, there’s prayer meetings every weekday. Today I helped organize a live online question and answer event, and the staff present prayed before and after the event, something I would have easily ignored to do.

So thank you WinterCon for the great example.

Question: What do you value and prioritize that is hard to apply in your life?

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Introducing WinterCon – #ewc09

Suraj Reddy — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:17:19 +0000

There’s tons of conferences out there – Urbana, Catalyst, Gospel Coalitions, Hillsong, Tech Conferences, _________ Conference, the list is endless.

WinterCon (short for Winter Conference) is a conference designed specially for us – the “us” being University students from across Canada with a desire of drawing closer to God.

I’ll be aloof @ WinterCon for the next few days, and so will be using the #ewc09 twitter hashtag – it’s usually annoying when I don’t know what a hashtag is about, so hopefully this post serves as a good intro.

I’ll leave you with the promo video for WinterCon.

Question: If you’ve attended conferences before, what’s your favorite and why? If you haven’t attended a conference before, which one would you like to attend, and why?

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3 Reasons to Do Things Last Minute

Suraj Reddy — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:15:18 +0000

Being a student, I need to justify my actions (or inactions). So here are 3 reasons to do things last minute:

1. Stress: If you’ve left things last minute, you’re guaranteed stress. Being under stress is like being inside an oven compared to a slow cooker. If you’re studying, stress bakes the knowledge in. If you’re working, stress acts like adrenaline and gives you a boost. Stress helps you do the impossible… because you have to get it done!

2. You learn invaluable life skills: Being forced to get a lot of work or learning done in a short amount of time teaches you how to be more productive. It teaches you to do more with less. You’re also forced to learn how to deal with stress. These are invaluable life skills.

3. The Pareto (80/20) Principle: According to the Pareto principle, 80% of the work or learning you get done in general will be completed in 20% of time you spend doing it. So you might as well plan ahead, schedule to cram, and focus on fully utilizing the 20% of time you have left.

Do you have any reasons why it is good (or not so good) to do things last minute?

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Papercraft Models… from a gaming company

Suraj Reddy — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:55:49 +0000

In case you’re wondering what a “Papercraft Model” is, so was I – I didn’t know they existed till I was pleasantly surprised by a video game newsletter.

“Papercraft Model”s are models you make out of paper instead of clay or lego. Guild Wars is giving away four build-your-own “Papercraft Model”s this Christmas for our “assembling enjoyment.”

I’m gonna try to assemble one, maybe you can join me. Crafts can be exceptionally fun!

Happy Crafting*

*Or whatever you’re gonna be doing this Christmas!

Are you planning something out of the norm this Christmas?

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