Music and Inspiration

For those who know me - they also know that I like music and have very eclectic tastes in music. For the most part my tastes go towards the music that I am exposed to - and I am not a radio listener (at least not much). Most of my favorite songs; ranging from Pete Townshend (Slit Skirts), Rush (Manhattan Project, Red Barchetta), Supertramp (C'est Le Bon), The Alan Parson Project (Don't Let it Show, One More River, Siren Song), Elvis Costello (Veronica) are not going to show up in any top ten countdown. These are the songs I find both inspiration and enjoyment in - and they have not been overplayed by any radio station.

One of the reasons for why music inspires me is I play music (primarily guitar - but I can play most C based instruments). But it goes beyond that - in music your mind makes the translation and finishes the story. Most of my favorite songs tell part of a story - but leave just enough to allow your mind to fill in the blanks. Those blanks are the source of inspiration - I am free to fill them in any way we wish depending upon my current mood. Good music tellls a story, pleases the ear, creates an emotion, and leaves with your mind just a bit more stimulated than before you started listening. A story that is concluded may be satisfying - but the story left unfinished is much more stimulating - because you become part of the story in order to bring about the conclusion.

Honors Seminar - Post 1

I am really enjoying teaching the UCF Engineering Honors Seminar. I've diverged some from the original class - which had a more rigid structure of teaching and lecturing on research methods. Each day the class actively engages in discussion - and I was surpirsed to learn how few classes at UCF had previously placed the students into an active discussion format where they were allowed to control the flow and direction of the discussion. The students are doing a great job of running the class - and I am bringing in the guests that allow them to start taking different perspectives of their degree and education - while at the same time learning the basic material.

During the course of the semester I hope to be able to see some of the truer personalities of the students in course. For them - the light at the end of the tunnel (graduation) is getting pretty close. The decisions that go with that, (small business, corporate America, grad school, ...) are also getting pretty close. For many these decision are shaped only by the opportunities that present themsleves "the loudest". When these students finish - they should have the skills necessary to pick out, what for them is the best opportunity.