$5,000 Photo Contest in Taipei!

Idle-Free Taipei’s “What a Waste!” Photo Contest!!!

Last year, Idle-Free Taipei’s idea to turn off scooter engines at traffic lights was entered in a “Carbon Reducing Contest” hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Energy. We took third place in the contest and were given NT$5,000 in prize money.

Over here at Idle-Free Taipei, we’ve already saved a lot of money by going “idle-free,” so we thought we’d give the NT$5,000 back to YOU in the form of a PHOTO CONTEST!!

Leave your guns at home, kids.

This past holiday season, my Christmas Wish was for every gun to turn into a Kiss Gun.

Last week was a perfect example of people who would have benefited from my wish:

In Texas, a 15 year old kid brought a pellet gun to school and assaulted another student. According to this New York Times brief, he not only didn't tell anyone it wasn't a "real" gun, but he also pointed it at police officers on the scene. After not complying with the police officers' multiple demands to drop the gun, he was shot twice and killed.

Have a dreary day!

pathetic fallacy

noun

the endowment of nature, inanimate objects, etc., with humantraits and feelings, as in the smiling skies; the angry sea.

My Christmas Wish: A Kiss-Gun

Myth 6. There are no studies linking violent video game play to serious aggression. 

Facts: High levels of violent video game exposure have been linked to delinquency, fighting at school and during free play periods, and violent criminal behavior (e.g., self-reported assault, robbery). (found here)

Spot the difference

One thing I'll always remember from sixth grade was my social studies teacher, Mrs. Diamond. She looked old enough to have witnessed the crossing of the Delaware river and she ran a tight ship. Especially when compared to the cool, new, young math teacher who was closer to my age than to most of her colleagues, Mrs. Diamond scared kids.

Scary Jack o' Lantern!

Check out this Jack o' Lantern I carved at my school's Halloween party.
I Google'd "scary jack o' lantern" and found one I liked and made improvements on it.

Happy Halloween!

I don't teach. I liberate.

"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."

  - Michelangelo 

The Duck Hunt Incident

Approximately fifteen years ago I was sitting in my house playing the game "Duck Hunt" on my Nintendo Entertainment System. For those who don't remember, instead of the traditional rectangular controller, Duck Hunt had a special controller that was actually a gun, or the "NES Zapper."

Parenting Awards

Can you think of a word to describe a person who has the following thought process:

When Blogs Attack

Man, I love blogging.

But honestly, if there's one thing I love more than blogging, it's when people blog about me and don't even tell me! Especially when somebody challenges me to do something! How unfair is that?

Recently, on his blog, a scientist named Bruno