Words of Wisdom by MrWes » Fun

NorCal 100-year Jamboree

Wes Johnson — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 07:37:16 +0000

I just got back from the 2010 Northern California Jamboree. The theme was 100 years of Boy Scouting. It was held at the Alameda County Fair grounds. There were an estimated 20,000 scouts and scouters in attendance from 11 Boy Scout councils. It was pretty amazing to see that many Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venture Scouts, Sea Scouts, and the Order of the Arrow in the same place. I believe I saw some brownies and some Girl Scouts there as well. Our Venture Crew, Crew 515, had a great time watching and participating in the scouting exhibits. One of the exhibits I enjoyed most was the Scouting Museum. Many scouting memorabilia collectors had items that spanned the early years of scouting to now. This really brought back some great memories of my childhood in scouting.

Finally, we had a celebration in the stadium, there was music presented by the Air Force Rock Band Mobility, Venture Drum and Bugle Corps, San Francisco Boys Choir and an acrobatics group called Kinetic Arts Center.

The Jamboree was a great opportunity for all scouts in Northern California to get together and celebrate this great organization.

NorCal 100-year Jamboree is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

Board game facelifts

Wes Johnson — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 06:17:14 +0000

Over this past weekend, my family insisted that we play some board games. I’ve played these games hundreds of times before and was getting myself prepared for what I thought would be a boring time. But instead of bringing out one of the old games from the closet, my daughter brought out a brand new game she had just bought from a department store. However, it wasn’t really so new at all. The name of the game was a familiar one but the rules had been changed to make it more interesting.

The game was “Clue.” Apparently Clue has been updated to make the characters and the gameplay a little more interesting. They’ve added more weapons, chance cards and a few other twists that were not in the original. A quick look at the copyright date on the game box showed the prior version was released in 1996. The latest version was released in 2008. A lot changed in 12 years. I am so glad they changed it. Our family had a great time playing the new version of Clue.

I wonder how many other games have gone through a similar kind of facelift.

Board game facelifts is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

Watch “Entry Level” the movie

Wes Johnson — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 07:05:19 +0000

If you know someone who is unemployed or has been through a long job search process, tell them MrWes says to watch a movie on DVD called “Entry Level”. They’ll be laughing like crazy. “Entry Level” is available on instant download from NetFlix. It was produced in 2007 so I’m sure it’s not in high demand.

It’s about a restaurant owner who loses his business due to circumstances beyond his control. He eventually ends up going through unemployment system. He’s searching for an “Entry Level” position in the corporate world. The characters he meets on his journey and the interviewing situations are priceless. I’m sure many people who see this video will be able to relate to the situations

The best part about the movie is that it has a happy ending. I am definitely recommending this video to my friends that have been through this process before.

Watch “Entry Level” the movie is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

Google Calendar saved my Farm

Wes Johnson — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:23:39 +0000

The other day I wrote a post titled “Google Calendar does SMS Reminders.” I was excited about setting up events and letting Google Calendar remind you via text message at predetermined times before the event occurs. I really love the fact that you can setup several reminders before the event occurs. I’m already using it to remind me of appointments, but I discovered an unusual application for this tool.

I only play three Facebook Applications; FarmTown, FarmVille, and Cafe World. These games provide a little entertainment and some friendly competition between neighbors. However, there has been some frustration involved with trying to play these games when you have a very busy schedule.

Old Strategy: For the farm games, I usually plant a crop that takes 2 or 3 days to grow. In Cafe World, I usually select a dish that takes 1 or 2 days to cook. This strategy works most of the time when I have a normal schedule. But when life gets crazy, time seems to disappear without a trace. By the time I remember to visit the farm the crop has gone to waste. When I remember to get back to the Cafe the food has spoiled and flies are buzzing around the pots and pans.

New Strategy: My strategy has changed a little. Now after I plant the crops or select a dish to cook, I set a Google Calendar Event with reminders to let me know when I need to harvest my crops or serve up my dishes.

It has brought the fun back into playing these games again.

Google Calendar saved my Farm is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

9 ways to keep your mind sharp

Wes Johnson — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:35:44 +0000

In our daily rush to get things done we sometimes forget our brain needs to be worked out too. If we don’t do anything mentally challenging, our brains have a tendency to forget those skills we once knew so well. Those skills are still there, they’re just getting weaker from lack of use. This is especially important for anyone that is in a career transition.

While doing research for this post, I stumbled across a few interesting websites I will mention in this post.

9 Ways to keep your mind sharp:

Mental Arobics - If you want to get a mental workout, visit www.lumosity.com/brain-games
Math Word Problems - www.purplemath.com/modules/translat.htm
Verbal Fluency – lookup the words you don’t know manually, you know that thing called the dictionary. I know you could look it up on the web, but it won’t give your brain the same kind of workout.
Play sudoku – www.websudoku.com
Play a strategy game – (Chess, Go, Othello)
Learn a new skill – something you’ve never done before
Read a non-fiction book – perhaps on the new skill you’re learning
Teach a skill – you really need to understand the skill in order to teach someone else that same skill
Feed your brain healthy diet – www.fi.edu/learn/brain/index.html

Remember: Your brain is a precision instrument, keep it sharp by providing it with daily challenges.

9 ways to keep your mind sharp is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.