Notations On Our World: Vision in Action (Bravo!!!)

It has been a challenging week here in #Outsiders as key members of our team were down with the Flu.  One lesson that we urge all is to get a flu shot if you have not done so already!!!

As we are working away on key initiatives, we were blown away by what this young man did here in our Community of Orange County.   We typically feature such stories on our Community Property--however this particular is so appropriate and the honor given by the Capistrano Unified School District So Well Deserved!!!

Board Recognition of Tesoro High School Junior Shalin Shah

Tesoro High School junior Shalin Shah was recognized at Wednesday night's Board of Trustees meeting. Shah created and built an app that helps visually impaired and blind individuals. His app can be found in the iTunes store when searched under "Voice OCR".
 

"Voice" allows individuals to take pictures of documents, books or anything with words. It then processes the photo and reads it out loud.
 

Shalin's mission is to spread the word to the community and increase the independence, equality of opportunity and quality of life for all blind and visually impaired citizens.
 

The app has been presented to many institutions such as the San Diego Center for the Blind, the Hatlen Center for the Blind, California School for the Blind, the Braille Institute of America, the Summit School, Blindness Support Services, Inc., and the EASI Foundation.

Voice has been downloaded by more than 15,000 users and 250,000+ documents have been read as of today.
 

Shalin is a wonderful example of CUSD students and the Board trustees were honored to celebrate his great work. More information can be found here:  http://www.shalinshah.me/voice/ and
http://www.shalinshah.me/voice/blog/. 

Notations From the Grid: On the State of the Interent in the United States

What we received today courtesy of the team at the +Business Insider was truly shocking--Not addressing this profoundly hampers the idea of creating the ultimate Vision of the Possible as we see it:

Americans are already way behind the rest of the world in super high-speed internet technology 

A handful of companies, like Google and Comcast, have been working on bringing super high-speed, fiber-optic internet connections to the US, but the penetration rate is still lagging behind the rest of the world.

The US ranks 18th among countries in the OECD, a group of the world's largest economies, in fiber-optic penetrations rates, as this chart from Statista shows. Its 9.4% penetration rate is nearly half of the OECD average, and almost an eighth of what the top-ranked Japan has.

Fiber optic connections are several times faster than the speeds you get with your standard broadband connection. It's usually fast enough to download a full two-hour movie in just a few seconds.

The low fiber-optic percentage doesn't come as a big surprise, given the US has some of the slowest internet speeds in the world. But the results show the US may have a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the world in next-generation internet technology as well. 

View of the Week (weekend edition): On #Peace & Our Obligation

Our team has been on the prowl as it finished a special Sunday edition of Notations.     It led the team during the daily review to assess the ultimate obligation we all have to have peace so that we can work together to create the ultimate "Vision of the Possible".     The message underscored in this compilation by +Jonathan Huie was quite timely--The question is whether we all have the courage or  not?  

Onward to the new week with all its' possiblities.....

Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances. - Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi When you pray for anyone, you tend to modify your personal attitude toward them. - Norman Vincent Peale If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another. - Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama Guide our feet into the way of peace. - Luke 1:79

Notations From the Grid (weekend edition): On the Visioner Movie//Watch

Our team had an opportunity to preview the Visioner Movie recently which we have invested in.  The movie is very inspirational in reflecting upon the possibilities in creating the ultimate Vision of the Possible. Our team decided to invest in a Digital Copy of the Movie specifically because we believe such stories must be told--including the Iranian-American  Entrepreneur Anouseh Ansari.       Here is the link for the preview that will be available thru Midnight EST tonight in the United States:   Watch

The Friday Musical Interlude: @twentyonepilots w/ Car Radio

Welcome to Friday here in the #Outsider Network.   We hope all enjoy this selection from @twentyonepilots as we wish all a fabulous Friday and a fabulous weekend:

View of the Week: On Listening to Teams

One of our must reads here in #Outsiders is Verne's Insights.    We ran across
 this excerpt which we thought was of particular significance:

Fear of Speaking Up -- this is what killed Nokia, according to research published in INSEAD's magazine. Once a leader, this is a brand that has quickly decayed due primarily to senior leadership bravado and an unwillingness to hear and face the brutal facts. Middle management, which could see the problems, were too fearful to speak up. Take 3 minutes to read this sobering account of what killed an iconic brand and then reflect on your own organizational health. Thank you to Georg v. Laffert, our coaching partner in Germany, for pointing me to this article. 

When there is that "fear", it forestalls the creation of the ultimate vision of the possible.     This is a lesson that is to be learned by all.

Notations From the Grid (Special Edition): Do You Want to be an Astronaut?

If interested, here you go!!!

If you were considering it, now's the time to put the final touches on your resume. Applications to #BeAnAstronaut in...
Posted by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Notations On Our World: An #outsider newsflash on the World Humanitarian Summit

Our team reported on the World Humanitarian Summitt and the report of by the UN Secretary General as this got under way.   There is a major event coming up tomorrow which we also wanted to report on which will also be live-streamed for all who have attend:

‘City Haven: People on the Move/Harboring the Displaced’ On Thursday 18 February 2016, the World Humanitarian Summit is hosting a panel discussion on the urban nature of displacement. Organized in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the UN and UN-Habitat, and with the support of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the discussion will focus on concrete actions to support towns and cities in managing humanitarian crisis in an urban setting. Panel members include: •    Mr. David Miliband, President International Rescue Committee (IRC); •    Dr. Aisa Kacyira, Assistant-Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director UN Habitat; •    Mr. Daniel Zarrilli, Senior Director for Climate Policy and Programs, Office of the Mayor of New York City. The panel will be moderated by Ms. Miriam Elder, Foreign Editor of Buzzfeed. If you are in New York City and would like to attend, you can get your free tickets at: http://bit.ly/city_haven   Attend the event! Live webstream! If you cannot join us, you can stream into the session taking place from 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm (NYC time). Watch the online webstream at: webtv.un.org! Participate in the conversation online!  How can we better prepare & respond to emergencies in urbanized world? #ShareHumanity, #ThinkUrban, #CityHaven Follow Twitter accounts for live-tweeting: @WHSummit @UNHABITAT @UKUN_NewYork @UNHABITAT_NY   Watch live stream

Tip of the Week: On Success

For this edition of "Tip of the Week", we selected this we hope all enjoy that is at the heart of all who strive to create "A Vision of the Possible":

February 16, 2016 FEATURED [Infographic] 6 Habits of Highly Successful Millennials Millennials have gotten a bad rap as entitled, impatient, self-serving individuals. People tend to think this generation, born between the early 80s and early 2000s, is coddled, narcissistic and thin-skinned. But as the largest section of the U.S. population—83.1 million in all—it’s hard to argue that their voice doesn’t matter. So maybe it’s time for a second glance. This infographic shows the 6 things Millennials do best.

On this Presidents' Day 2016: Remembering John F.Kennedy..........

On This Valentine's Day 2016.....

Our team received this from +Pandora that was quite cool and hope all check out it--Happy Valentine's Day to all!!!

Set the mood with the perfect Valentine's Day soundtrack.

Pop Love Songs Beats Between the Sheets

Country Love Songs Alt Indie Love Songs

R&B Love Songs Reggaeton Romantico

© Copyright 2016, Pandora Media, Inc. All rights reserved. 2101 Webster St. Ste. 1650, Oakland, CA 94612

On This Valentine's Day Week-End 2016....

It is Valentine's Day Week-End here in the United States.    In honor of this day, we wanted to feature thoughts curated by +Jonathan Huie  & Rumi...

Happy Valentine's Day To All!!!!

  

The bond of our common humanity is stronger

than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices.

God gives us the capacity for choice.

We can choose to alleviate suffering.

We can choose to work together for peace.

We can make these changes - and we must.

- Jimmy Carter

For me, an area of moral clarity is:

you're in front of someone who's suffering

and you have the tools at your disposal

to alleviate that suffering or even eradicate it,

and you act.

- Paul Farmer

Helping someone is what life is all about.

- Willie Stargell   

If you are healthy, support those who are sick.

If you have a job, support those who have lost theirs.

If you are strong, support those who are feeble of body or mind.

- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

We also leave you all with this:

 “We live in deeds, not years:
In thoughts not breaths;
In feelings, not in figures on a dial.
We should count time by heart throbs.
He most lives who thinks most,
feels the noblest,
acts the best.”
~ Aristotle

View of the Week (Weekend Edition): On #TechWatch w/Valuations

As we have been assessing the state of our World, we were taken aback by some of the statistics that was reported by the team +Business Insider--it is telling as we have also noted the comments underscored the challenging times before us: 

Here's how investors reacted to the latest crop of tech earnings 

The stock market is in turmoil, and the tech industry is far from immune. But some companies are faring better than others.

This chart from Statista shows how investors judged eight of the most prominent tech companies the day after they reported earnings for the last quarter of 2015. Facebook was a clear winner, and Microsoft did quite well also, although it's sincegiven up those gains. LinkedIn's steep drop was the  most alarming — even its CFO says he was "surprised" — and the clearest signal that we're at the start of a correction in tech stock valuations. 

The Friday Musical Interlude; Hozier Sings "Someone New"

Welcome to Friday here in #Outsiders as we share selections from our artist of the week, Hozier as we wish a fabulous President's Day Week-End:

Notations On Our World: "VISIONEER"

Our team just received this at our Virtual HQ courtesy of Verne's Insight that we hope all check out--it reminded us of this admonition from Milton Berle!!


Visioneer -- for the next 10 days (starting today) there is a free online pre-screening of Emmy Award winner Nick Nanton's movie about the life of Peter Diamandis, the founder of the X-Prize and Singularity U (and author of Bold, one of my favorite books). Titled "Visioneer" grab some popcorn and watch this 53-minute documentary with your family - it's excellent and will inspire everyone to be bolder! Here's a link to access which includes a 2-minute trailer.

View of the Week: Lessons Learnt From Nelson Mandela

Welcome to Wednesday here in #Outsiders.

We wanted to share this as a recent "blast from the Past" on lessons learnt from Madiba which we hope enjoy:

Notations On Our World: Amazing Scenes From Space....

This blew us away as we shared it earlier during our Daily Social Curation and could not help but share it--please enjoy!!!!

Amazing how much lightning can strike our planet in a short time #Principia #timelapsehttps://t.co/XijV5E1pI0

— Tim Peake (@astro_timpeake) February 9, 2016

Notations On Our World (Special Edition): The UN Secretary General @ the World Humanitarian Summit

Livestream: Launch of UNSG report for WHS View this email in your browser

Stay tuned! Live webstream from the launch of the UNSG's report for WHS Tomorrow, 9 February 2016, the United Nations' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will launch his report for the World Humanitarian Summit. Join us via webstream while the future of humanitarian action is being unveiled! Go to webtv.un.org and watch the launch online.  Watch live-stream Live Web Broadcast Schedule New York:     11.00 AM - 12.30 PM  London:           4.00 PM -  5.30 PM Dubai:             8.00 PM -  9.30 PM Bangkok:      11.00 PM - 12.30 AM Moscow:         7.00 PM -  8.30 PM Sydney:          3.00 AM -  4.30 AM   Thanks for reading. For general inquiries about the World Humanitarian Summit, contactinfo@whsummit.org

Notations On Ourr World: A Happy Birthday to someone who was a pioneer

182 Years ago, The Father of the Periodic Table, was born.     We here @ #Outsiders salute this person who was one of the many who have helped create the Vision of the Possible as we also feature the "Doodle" thanks to the ever creative folks at @Google/

Happy Birthday Dmitri Mendeleev

Notations From the Grid (W-End Edition): "Not Being a Bystander".....

It is SuperBowl here in the United States.     One of our recently featured Artists of the Week, ColdPlay will be performing at the half-time show which is one of the most spectacular shows ever produced--and it gets better every year.     

As Super Bowl 50 got under way, the team +Global Citizen which we support wholeheartedly sent this call to action out to take the pledge which we are privileged to share:

What do Beyoncé and Coldplay have in common? They’re both Global Citizens. Beyoncé is a champion for girls’ education and co-founded CHIME FOR CHANGE for girls and women around the world. Coldplay’s Chris Martin is the musical curator of the Global Citizen Festival until 2030: the world’s deadline for ending extreme poverty. Oh yeah, and they both headlined the Global Citizen Festival in September. The commitments made on stage that day are set to improve the lives of more than 92 million people. Here's more from Chris:   We don’t know which team you want to win the Super Bowl. But we’re all on the same team when it comes to the Global Goals to tackle the world’s biggest challenges: stopping climate change, fighting injustice and inequality, and ending poverty. Don’t be a bystander. Join Beyoncé and Coldplay. Take action and sign the pledge.