December 31st, 2008 by Matt Pat
Conversely, 2008 is going to be the year of learning to let go, one of the hardest things in the world. I have problems letting go— too bad I’m going to have to do so much of it. I need to let go of the school I love, I’m going to college. Let go of living at home, with your parents who do more than they probably should for you. Let go of a comfortable pseudo-life for one in the real world. Let go of the ones we love, for our own good or theirs, even if it’s just so they can fall on their ass and realize what life really is. Let go of the Bad Stuff. Welcome the new Good… and definitely appreciate the old Good more than I have. I’m gonna’ miss you guys. I really, really am. This year’s going to be exciting, but it isn’t going to be an easy one. Let’s all try to keep our heads on straight, shall we?
That was my “Ode to ‘08” from the blog post I wrote last year. You know, it really was funny looking back on my perception of ‘07, and my prediction of what ‘08 would be like. (more...)
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December 31st, 2007 by Matt Pat
If there’s just one thing I’ve learned from having to write Mr. Lawrence’s one-page essays, it’s that it takes a lot of effort to sum a complex concept up into a short space. The results have the potential to be beautifully simple, though, and that is always what I strive for. Thus, I present to you my opinion of 2007, and my expectation for 2008, in one (longish) paragraph each.
I’m not sure if it’s the same for other people, but in my recollection, I hit the ground sprinting in 2007— what a work load there was! And what intense confusion: relationships were a mess in the beginning, both with friends and with more, but they ironed out eventually. There wasn’t much coasting until about mid-year,... (more...)
Posted in Thought Provoking, School, Family & Friends | 1 Comment »
November 17th, 2007 by Matt Pat
Once upon a time, Apple had a poem on their website called Here’s to the Crazy Ones — in short, a salute to those who look at things differently, as Apple always professed to do.
The poem was taken down sometime in 2004, much to my deep sadness.
I thought that Apple had lost the dream, forgotten where they came from.
One of the nice parts about the new version of Mac OS X, Leopard, however, is that all icons are incredibly high-resolution — 512x512. On a whim, I thought I’d take a look at the full resolution icon for TextEdit, their default text editor. Imagine my surprise when I saw this.

Well waddaya’ know.
Posted in Thought Provoking, Apple | 2 Comments »
May 27th, 2007 by Matt Pat
After two years of work on Tux CMS in total (a year and a half of “official” work), I’ve learned a lot, both about life, and about software development. That little penguin friend of mine has taught me more than I ever thought possible, and for anyone interested out there, I thought I’d share what I’ve learned with you. (more...)
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January 15th, 2007 by Matt Pat
It’s amazing how much people change over the years. Things that we wouldn’t give a second thought to years ago are now the most important things in our lives, and vice versa. So, my goal is to create a series of articles and comments to look back at what’s changed in our lives. I’ll start it off.
In elementary school, every homework assignment was a life-or-death mission. I can remember one time going in half an hour early and sitting in the library to finish a silly little worksheet I had left at school, petrified that I wouldn’t be able to turn it in on time. Now, in high school, a homework assignment is just one of hundreds— if you miss one, it’s no big deal.
Good... (more...)
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