@FrancoJTorres

"Don’t give in, Tumblr. Yahoo ruins everything it touches!"

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:06:20 -0500

“Don’t give in, Tumblr. Yahoo ruins everything it touches!”

- Me, on a possible acquisition of Tumblr by Yahoo.

The Flyest Honeys (and Guys)

Sat, 11 May 2013 19:00:36 -0500

A site called misstravel.com polled 31,000 American women and 13,000 American men to determine the top 10 “sexiest” nationalities according to Gringos. Here are the results.

Brazilians place pretty high on both lists, while Americans, Spaniards, Swedes, and the French make appearances on both lists. I gotta say I agree with my brethren on Colombian women being in first place. Sofia Vergara alone is an epic super mega-babe to the third power who is still all kindsa fine even at 40 with a grown-up son. Sorry Mexicans, in my heart you are #1.

A 7-Minute work out using only a chair, a wall, and your own...

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:00:28 -0500

A 7-Minute work out using only a chair, a wall, and your own body weight could be intense enough to equal an hour at the gym according to an article that, according to its authors, is backed up by science.

Each exercise lasts only 30 seconds with 10 seconds to rest between them, but factoring in the fatigue, I’m not so sure I would last the full 7 minutes. I’ll definitely give it a try though.

Poem Life Doesn’t Frighten Me by Maya AngelouArtwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat They go very...

Sat, 04 May 2013 19:00:32 -0500

Poem Life Doesn’t Frighten Me by Maya Angelou
Artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat

They go very nicely together.

Screengrab of infographic from weightlossfoodlist.com Really? Oops, my bad! My servings usually...

Fri, 03 May 2013 19:00:32 -0500

Screengrab of infographic from weightlossfoodlist.com

Really? Oops, my bad! My servings usually look nothing like that, but it’s good to know.

This reminds me of an article I read about New York City implementing a bike-share program, like that of other large, forward-thinking cities, that is banning folks who weigh over 260 lbs from participating. The people behind the program argue that the bikes can’t take that much weight. Ouch!

Yet another reason to take these diet tips to heart.

via: Patricia Garcia

20 Years of the WWW

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:00:31 -0500

On 30 April, 1993, CERN put the world wide web into the public domain. The first web page to be published has been restored to its original URL at http://info.cern.ch/. You can see a copy of the original web site here: http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html.

It’s not much to look at by today’s standards, but its like looking back in time. It’s just plain HTML without the CSS and flash elements that make websites look modern. It’s just text and links.

If you understand how the web works, you know that the WWW is a bunch of html documents (or pages) linked to each other via links. This first page contained links to other pages and so on and so forth. Today, the WWW is made up of approximately 14.3 billion such pages worldwide.

This web page is the Adam of the web, where it all started.

True Story

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:00:26 -0500

When I was eleven, I had a friend named Ric. We did many of the things typical pre-teens do. We hit home runs in the street, we raced fast and furiously with our toy cars, and like many youngsters before us, we got ourselves into terrible mischief. One such time, however, we bit off more than we could chew.

One day at Ric’s house, when we had nothing to do, we thought it would be fun to throw chunks of mud at oncoming cars on a busy nearby boulevard. That seemed like a good idea at the time, so we found a nice spot hidden from view behind some bushes where we could fire away.

Oh, the joy we felt when we heard the splatter hitting windshield after windshield of unsuspecting targets. It was glorious! That is, until one of them stopped. I no longer remember the exact details, but I can imagine hearing the screeching tires of the car as it came to a complete stop.

What I do remember is looking at Ric with a Taylor Swift surprise face and running for our lives back to his house. We peered out the window and to our dismay, the car was heading our way and was pulling into the driveway. We looked for a place to hide and decided on under the bed. Surely, no one would find us there.

We heard the voices of my friend’s mother and that of a man, but couldn’t make anything out. Soon enough, we heard our names called out by my friend’s mom. It was all over. The gig was up.

Again, I don’t remember the exact words, but the man was furious. My heart sank as he pointed to me when he said something like “that’s the one, he threw it.” What’s more, my heart sank lower as he explained that he was a cop. He was out of uniform and his car was unmarked, so I didn’t know. We stood there listening to my friend’s mom plead our case until he was gone. Now came the hard part.

I was told to go home and tell my mom before she heard it from my friend’s mom. I took one last glance at Ric and walked away. I knew he was in for a whoopin’. I had a 10-15 minute walk ahead of me to think how I was going to explain to my mom what had happened. When I got home, I opened the door. I could see my mom and she could see me, so I let out a big ‘ol “Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Global Rich List

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:00:41 -0500

Global Rich List:

Cool. This site tells you how wealthy you are compared to every other person on the planet. For example, if you earn the median per capita U.S. income of just over $27,500, you’re in the top 1.4% of the richest people in the world. Likewise, if you earn minimum wage in the U.S. ($7.25/hour), you’re still in the top 7% of the richest people in the world.

Find out how you stack up against everyone else by clicking the title above or the link here. You’ll see, you’re much better off than you think.

via The Next Web

#MusicMonday

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:00:20 -0500

#MusicMonday

7 Reasons Positive Emotions are Good For Your Heart

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:00:44 -0500

laughter makes blood flow more freely
hugs release oxytocin and remove stress from the body
when you meet someone that your heart goes crazy for, your heart gets a workout
spending time with a loved one lowers blood pressure
love letters may lower blood cholesterol
holding hands calms nerves
a positive attitude lowers the risk of heart attack

-Frank Lipman, MD

"bag, saw the guy, looked right at me"

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:00:21 -0500

“bag, saw the guy, looked right at me”

- the note Chris Bauman, Boston Marathon bombing victim, wrote while in intensive care after the explosion took both his legs.

Well, that explains me. I’m much more than just a pretty...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:00:42 -0500

Well, that explains me. I’m much more than just a pretty face ;-p.

According to a new study, taller people tend to have a higher IQ than shorter people. The correlation isn’t as high as my amateur graph shows, but it’s there.

that mexican white girl: I remember being a freshman and sophomore in high school mariachi and...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 22:40:27 -0500

that mexican white girl: I remember being a freshman and sophomore in high school mariachi and...:

corinegarcia:

I remember being a freshman and sophomore in high school mariachi and wanting to give up. Not because I couldn’t do it but because the upper class men were so mean and hateful. I remember the note they wrote to the most awkward boy in the group confessing my “love” for him. I remember the printout one of them had in her binder that said I was a cocky little fish that thought I could sing. I remember the lemonade they poured in my backpack that ruined all my homework. But then they left. Then it was my time to shine and I took it. Suddenly I was better than they ever were. I was a music major in college and they had flunked out after a semester. Then I was a certified degreed director for an amazing program and those same upper class men suddenly want to be my friend and remember me fondly.

I’ve forgiven them. Just like I have forgiven all the people that have made my first job here so hard. Because I know I can do it, just like back then. I love music and teaching and my students. I work hard every day to teach them what I know: that winning isn’t important, learning is. That music and mariachi is fun! That you can do this all your life, and that no matter how bad things get, when you put on a traje de charro and play your heart out, everything is better.

It hurts when you finally achieve success and the same people who always derided you for losing now refuse to accept you can win. But I believe in myself and my students. When the going gets tough, I get my violin and channel the negativity into positive energy. Because some day those same people that put so much effort and energy into making my job difficult will see me shine. I don’t have to play their games or get revenge. When they see I have succeeded they’ll know who the real winner is.

Look How Quickly the U.S. Got Fat (by The Atlantic) It only took...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:00:40 -0500

Look How Quickly the U.S. Got Fat (by The Atlantic)

It only took 20 years for the U.S. to become fat. This GIF was created from the slides of a PowerPoint presentation on obesity rates found at the CDC website.

Previously, I had used the same slides for a presentation on obesity I did in my college composition class. I got an A+ ;-).

A Review of The Hobbit

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:00:00 -0500

Well, I finally got around to watching the Hobbit this past weekend. I was put off from watching it when it came out because, among other reasons, the reviews were bad. I didn’t like it for the following three reasons.

Filler, and lot’s of it. It definitely felt like they added an awful lot of padding to turn what was originally planned to be two movies into a trilogy. Some of the scenes felt unnecessary. From the very beginning, it took the characters about 45 minutes to leave Bilbo’s house and begin their “unexpected journey.”

Silliness: I understand The Hobbit was a children’s book, but there was way too much silliness in this movie. In the LOTR trilogy, all of the characters were portrayed with dignity. In those films, even the Orcs spoke more proper English than half the people I know. The Hobbits, the silliest of all the inhabitants of Middle-Earth, were funny, but not child-like. And what’s with all the singing? In this film, most of the characters were portrayed as caricature versions of themselves.

Predictability and repetitiveness. Maybe it was because I was not impressed and was picking out all the flaws, but the action scenes seemed to develop in typical Hollywood-like predictability. Like when the gang was trapped between a rock and a hard place, and you see Gandalf whisper something to a butterfly, what does it mean? It means eagles will wait until the last possible moment, and swoop in to rescue them. There was plenty more, but I’m getting angry just writing about it.

It feels like the second Star Wars trilogy all over again, only there were lots of Jar-Jars. The LOTR trilogy was not only a box office hit, it was critically acclaimed and won a total of 17 academy awards. This first of three films was nominated for 3 and won 0. Critically speaking, it was literally an epic fail.

Tacography (by strangemap) I love this. It’s a map of the...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:00:00 -0500

Tacography (by strangemap)

I love this. It’s a map of the many varieties of taco found in different parts of Mexico. Being a native of Northeastern Mexico myself, I looked around for my favorite variety, the mighty sincronisada–in my opinion, the greatest invention ever by human kind next to the internet and the Hubble Space Telescope.

I couldn’t find it, but that just means there’s too many varieties to fit in this map. I would love to be able to try all of them. Maybe one day on a taco tour of Mexico.

North Korea’s been talking a lot of smack lately,...

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 19:00:33 -0500

North Korea’s been talking a lot of smack lately, exchanging fightin’ words between the U.S. and South Korea, among others. They’re threatening with “merciless” missile attacks and nukes, but should we be afraid for our imperialist capitalist butts?

Unless you live in Alaska, the answer is no. As the above image from the Washington Post shows, their mightiest missiles would fall short about 600 miles (my own estimate) from Washington State and the rest of the U.S mainland. Even Hawaii is beyond their reach.

The people who have the most to fear are the inhabitants of the Korean peninsula and the Japanese.

Trolling a Troll

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 19:00:40 -0500

The other day I was browsing Buzzfeed and found this gem of an article. It features an incredibly spoiled and bratty teenager who calls himself “lavish” with an interesting Instagram feed. He is, as Buzzfeed puts it, the worst teenager on Instagram.

This kid needs to be slapped. He uploads photos of his extravagant lifestyle, then goes and calls his followers peasants and treats them like the feudal lords of old. At least on IG he does, I doubt he would do that in person.

Anyway, I decided to do some trolling of my own. Here’s a comment I left on one of his photos.

There, that’ll get through to him. No but seriously, check out his feed. Where are all the hot girls? Where are the parties? Where are the shots with celebrities or appearances at major events? Wherever, whenever he poses, he is always alone. That’s not quite the lifestyle of the rich and famous; just a spoiled rich kid with no idea what to do with such an extraordinary blessing.

How Fat Are You?

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:00:00 -0500

It’s no question, we’re all getting fatter. Some more than others. How do you know just how “fat” you are? Easy, you use the body mass index formula. Using the metric system, BMI = mass (kg) / (height (m))^2, or in English units, BMI = mass (lb) / (height (in))^2 x 703.

These equations lack adequate formatting. If they’re confusing, you can see them on Wikipedia here.

Below is a table for average BMI in several countries sorted by from least to most fat. Guess who’s #1?

To be fair, there were other countries left out, many of which are fatter than the U.S. This is just a sample of them.

If the above equations seem daunting, use the BMI widget below to see how you fare up:

BMI For Adults.
Flash Player 9 is required.

It Wasn't the Butler

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:00:19 -0500

Have you ever thought about what the major causes of death were during the 20th century? Of course you haven’t! Why would you? That’s just weird. Well, I have. And guess what? It wasn’t the butler!

Some weirdo uploaded a public spreadsheet (link below) onto Google Docs that shows estimates of what these causes were. Check out the summary:

So, overall, disease is enemy #1, and will probably continue to be so during the 21st century. I expected war to be higher, but I guess that’s just one of the many misconceptions we have over things we don’t bother to learn about.

@FrancoJTorres

"Don’t give in, Tumblr. Yahoo ruins everything it touches!"

The Flyest Honeys (and Guys)

A 7-Minute work out using only a chair, a wall, and your own...

Poem Life Doesn’t Frighten Me by Maya AngelouArtwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat They go very...

Screengrab of infographic from weightlossfoodlist.com Really? Oops, my bad! My servings usually...

Screengrab of infographic from weightlossfoodlist.com

20 Years of the WWW

True Story

Global Rich List

#MusicMonday

7 Reasons Positive Emotions are Good For Your Heart

"bag, saw the guy, looked right at me"

Well, that explains me. I’m much more than just a pretty...

that mexican white girl: I remember being a freshman and sophomore in high school mariachi and...

Look How Quickly the U.S. Got Fat (by The Atlantic) It only took...

Look How Quickly the U.S. Got Fat (by The Atlantic)

A Review of The Hobbit

Tacography (by strangemap) I love this. It’s a map of the...

Tacography (by strangemap)

North Korea’s been talking a lot of smack lately,...

Trolling a Troll

How Fat Are You?

BMI For Adults Widget

It Wasn't the Butler