My children will be my legacy, not my work.

It’s no secret that I enjoy my work. I love to think about new ideas, work with cutting-edge technology, and try to make a difference in the world. And in all of these thoughts, I wonder what my legacy will be. What grand company or invention will I be remembered for?

And over the last few years, I think I’ve realized that my legacy will not be about any of the above. My legacy will be my children and their future. A company or invention can only stay around for so long. A family history can last forever.

Stud finders are amazing.

For years, I’ve always resorted to the old “knock on the wall” trick for finding studs in the wall when hanging pictures or shelves. I have to admit, I’m not the best when it comes to figuring out which sound indicates I’ve found a stud. I’m probably wrong like, 99% of the time.

Then I got a stud finder. I haven’t looked back ever since

We put things off if we don’t feel the consequences. So how do we break the habit?

Sometimes we don’t just procrastinate, we actually won’t do something if we don’t immediately feel the consequences. If I don’t brush my teeth tonight, will it matter? Tomorrow I’ll feel the same, but in the long run it might make a difference.

Besides a stricter brushing regimen, one way to make people realize those long-term consequences is to show them in real-time. What if your toothbrush tracked how often you used it and could digitally render an image on your bathroom mirror of how your teeth will look in 20 years? It’s not a pretty picture. But it might motivate you.

So if we can’t make people feel the consequences of putting something off, maybe we can help them realize those consequences by showing them.

Everyone procrastinates, you and I included. But why?

One reason (of many) has to do with the felt consequences of putting something off. I can put off seeing the dentist for my checkup because I won’t feel any consequences if I don’t. The same goes for my car. I know I need to check the oil, but I can put it off since there are no immediate consequences.

But what happens if I put it off for too long? Maybe I get a cavity? Maybe my car gets engine problems? Well, now I can feel those consequences. Now I can’t put it off.

We put things off that we don’t see as affecting us now, even if doing so will affect us in the long run. There are ways to address this form of procrastination, but we’ll talk about that next time

Be careful if you’re playing a joke on people you don’t know well. They might not get it.

I love to joke around, but sometimes you have to err on the side of caution. Take Borat for example. If you don’t know the character and understand the kind of humor he’s portraying, you might get offended (which a lot of people were).

The same goes for Stephen Colbert. His character got a lot of publicity when he tried to run for President. However, many people didn’t know that his character is a parody of certain TV news personalities, not his real self… so it wasn’t that funny.

I think I tend to assume things are a joke, first. I guess you’re less likely to get offended that way

It may sound like a silly question, but it’s actually an interesting one. How do deaf people think?

At RIT, I was able to experience deaf culture in the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. It was very educational, but sometimes there are questions you’re a little reluctant to ask. One of those is: In what language do deaf people think?

It turns out, they think in sign. It’s really quite amazing and, yet, hard to comprehend. Sign is a natural language just like English or Chinese. Naturally, you think (and dream) in the language you communicate with. Do you talk in your sleep? Well, a deaf person may sign in their sleep.

The brain is a mysterious place, indeed.

I was listening to a radio station the other day that started playing “Rock the Boat” by Hues Corporation. Now, besides being an awesome song, the lyrics are what caught my ear:

(Rock the boat) Don’t rock the boat, baby
(Rock the boat) Don’t tip the boat over

If you’re someone who likes to “rock the boat”, that means you’re kind of a rebel You stand up for your own opinions which are different from the majority… and you fight for those opinions. I think it’s important for there to always be “boat rockers”. They make you think about things from a different perspective (the “accepted” perspective). They may not always be right, but it’s important to hear their voice.

So I say go ahead and rock the boat, baby.

If you can teach someone how to tie a tie without showing them, you might be cut out to be a teacher.

One thing I learned as a lab instructor in college was that being a teacher meant more than just knowing your stuff. A good teacher not only knows the material, but teaches it in such a way that it makes sense (“clicks”) for the student.

In one of my classes, our professor challenged us to describe how to tie a tie without actually showing him. It’s hard. You’ve probably experienced it when talking to someone over the phone. Not the easiest thing to do.

So when it comes to teaching, you have to walk the walk and talk the talk.

Always keep a camera with you. Pictures are one of your best links to the past.

In 2007, my New Year’s resolution was to keep my camera with me at all times and take at least 1 picture each day. The picture didn’t have to be of anything in particular. For example, I would take a picture of a tree, a cup, a sign, etc.

Although I only followed through for a few months, one thing I’ve learned is that all of these pictures tell stories that I probably would never have remembered otherwise. I think it’s great to be able to look back and recall those memories. If you have your own camera, try using it more often. You’ll be glad you did so years from now.

How do you become good at estimating? Because I’m terrible at it

Whether it’s height, weight, or time, I always underestimate. How long will it take me to drive to Newton Centre? 25 minutes would become an hour. How long will it take me to finish a project? 5 days would turn into 3 weeks. Even when I think I overestimate, I still underestimate.

I think estimation is a function of experience. The more experience I have with software projects and schedules, the better I’ll become. However, the one thing I think continues to ring true is: Always overestimate. And once you come up with another estimate, overestimate again

Underestimating is bad. Overestimating isn’t as bad.