Stay Strong Dream Big

Minetest is a game similar to Minecraft except that it’s free and open source. This is Part 2 in the Learning Minetest series. If you missed Part 1 you can read it at Minetest for the Absolute Beginner Finding your way home. One of the first things you need to do when playing Minetest is build a home base. As you go exploring and mining, your inventory will fill up and you need a place to store your excess items.

Minetest is a game similar to Minecraft except that it’s free and open source. My grandson loves playing Minecraft but I’ve never played the game. When I came across Minetest, I decided to check it out and then get my Grandson to tell me what it was like compared to Minecraft. I am an advocate of open source programs and use them almost exclusively. My computer runs on Linux (MX Linux) and I like to promote open source software whenever I can.

“Most people begin their day in neutral.” We are told it’s important to start our day with a healthy breakfast. And I won’t argue with that. But it’s more important to start our day by providing our mind with a nourishing feed. And when I say “mind”, I don’t mean “brain”. Scientists can scan, probe, and even operate on our brain. It is a physical organ like our heart and kidneys.

What is a Filter Bubble? From Google’s privacy policy: “We also use this information to offer you tailored content – like giving you more relevant search results and ads.” And again: “Our automated systems analyze your content (including emails) to provide you personally relevant product features, such as customized search results, tailored advertising, and spam and malware detection.” And that, my friend, is a Filter Bubble.

There’s a scene in the film Secondhand Lions where Hub tells Walter “If you want to believe in something then believe in it. Just because something isn’t true that’s no reason you can’t believe in it.” It’s up to you to decide what you believe in. There are plenty of people who delight in telling you what you should believe. Many will get quite angry if you express doubts about their pet theory.

5 Activities to Stir Your Curiosity The cure for boredom is curiosity. ~ Ellen Parr Without curiosity life becomes very boring. Curiosity drives us to explore new things. It urges us to ask questions and to seek answers. Below are five activities that I encourage you be a little bit curious about. As you read through them, ask questions such as: Why do people do this? Who does this?

Update (October, 2017) This article was posted about 12 months ago. Joost now has his new site (freesewing.org) up and running and is shutting down the MakeMyPattern site. Not wanting to leave broken links on the page, I have edited out any links to the old site. There are many improvements on the new site and I suggest you check it out. ~Richard. Back to the article … When my eldest son was about three years old, he wanted a pair of jeans.

Not so very long ago, there was an old fashioned farm supplies business in my town. A place where you could buy anything from a pair of socks to a windmill. But one day the bully boys in hardware moved into town with their big new store. And it wasn’t long before the owner of the old fashioned business decided it was time to retire. So he closed the door, put on his Akubra and rode off into the sunset.

Cheerfulness is just as contagious as surliness. Have you noticed that when you’re around grumpy, complaining people, it’s hard to stay cheerful? Their mood and attitude infects you and, if you’re not careful, you end up complaining and moaning too. But … being with a group of happy, friendly people gives you a lift. A smile is as infectious as a scowl. Without being aware, it’s easy to allow other people and circumstances to control your mood.

It’s a personal tradition of mine that, every year, a few weeks before Christmas, I read Charles Dickens’ little book “A Christmas Carol”. After reading it this year, I decided to share 3 things I learned about Christmas. It’s never about the presents. We ask children “What did Santa bring you?” We take them to visit Santa in the shops so they can tell him what they want for Christmas.