Journey of a Lifetime
Authored by T. Jerome Baker

Available on Kindle, here and Amazon: http://amzn.to/wYlJtK

Each of the stories in this collection of short stories is a story, within a larger story. Though each story is entirely fictional, nonetheless, closer inspection is revelatory.

I have not managed to keep myself, the Storyteller, from appearing in each story.

Had I done so, I would have denied the tremendous influence that you, dear reader, has on each telling of the story. For this reason, it has been my unique honor, pleasure and privilege to write for you.

I leave you by asking the only question that every Storyteller has ever asked since time began:

Did you like your story?

Welcome to CS 101! (from left to right: David Evans & Gabriel Weinberg)

**
Udacity: We believe university-level education can be both high quality and low cost. Using the economics of the Internet, we’ve connected some of the greatest teachers to hundreds of thousands of students all over the world.
**

Dear Thomas Baker,

Thank you for joining CS101!

The wait is over, Homework 1 is now posted! You will find it, along with course lectures and quizzes, in the “Course Content” tab. The homework for CS101 is due at 23:59 UTC on Tuesdays, starting this Tuesday, February 28. (23:59 UTC is as early as 13:59 depending on your time zone).

If you haven’t already begun, just log into your Udacity.com account and click on “Start Your Course” below the CS 101 panel. Within the “Course Content” tab, you will find the video player with the first lecture video already loaded.

After each video, click the “Next” button to move onto the next video or corresponding quiz. You can take the class anytime you want–it’s not necessary to finish it all at once.

Stop whenever you want and the next time you log into Udacity, just pick up where you left off.

We’re pleased to see so many students have already correctly solved all the quizzes, but there is plenty of time to complete Unit One if you haven’t started.

We’ll be recording our first office hours on Friday (around midnight UTC).

Please post your questions for CS101 and CS373 so that we can answer as many questions as possible!

In the meantime, we’ve posted answers to some frequently asked questions in the FAQ tab in “Course Overview.”

Since this is our first class, we invite you to send us your feedback on everything from course content to your experience using the course site.

Our favorite tweet so far is from @thechaz:

“I never liked school, but man, I loved CS101 so much. I already
did the first unit. I’m excited.. for homework, what is wrong here?”

Happy hacking,
Dave, Sebastian, and the rest of Udacity Course Staff

Congratulations Thomas!

Hello from Amazon KDP!

The book “Teacher Talking Time” you recently submitted to KDP and enrolled in KDP Select has been published to the Kindle Store and is already available for readers to purchase here.

KDP Select allows you to enjoy benefits, such as earning a share of a monthly fund when readers borrow your book from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library and a promotional opportunity to offer your book as free to readers for up to 5 days every 90 days to expand your reach.

For more details on KDP Select, check out this page.

You can check on the current month’s KDP Select fund by visiting your Bookshelf.

Also, you can find your book’s number of borrows in real time through your Month-to-Date Unit Sales report here.

Now that your KDP Select-enrolled book is live, you can manage its free promotion days in your Bookshelf by clicking the “Manage Promotions” link from the “Actions” menu or from the “Edit book details” page.

Your book’s initial enrollment in KDP Select lasts for 90 days. For your convenience, your book’s enrollment will be automatically renewed for another 90 days, unless you cancel automatic renewal by un-checking “Automatically renew this book’s enrollment in KDP Select for another 90 days” box under “Enrollment Details” of your book before your book’s current enrollment term expires.

Take a peek below at other great author resources to help you sell more books:

Create a Dedicated Author Page for Yourself

If you are this book’s author, increase your sales potential on Amazon by creating an Author Central account and share your most up-to-date information via a dedicated author page. Publishers, be sure to work with your authors to set up their Author Central accounts, as well. Click the links below to create author pages on different marketplaces.

Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.fr Amazon.de
Create a Print Book with CreateSpace (a member of the Amazon group of companies)

Create print editions of your book using CreateSpace’s full array of services to help you self-publish and make your book available for sale to millions of potential customers on Amazon.com and other channels by visiting here.

Join Our KDP Community

We host KDP Forums, which are a great place to learn from others and share your experiences about independent publishing. Click here to check them out.

If you need to update the price of your book, click here, or its descriptive information, such as title, author, or description, click here.

For additional ideas on how to merchandise your book, be sure to check out this page.

Thanks again for choosing KDP to publish your work; we wish you the best of luck in promoting and selling it!

Regards,

Kindle Direct Publishing

“Isn’t there a rule of thumb that teachers are supposed to speak something like a ratio of 20:80? Don’t we call this the
80/20 Rule?” From someplace, somewhere, somehow – that number is hardwired into my brain.

Teacher Talking Time…

“Who is responsible for that?”, I wonder.

Jeremy Harmer?

Scott Thornbury?

Penny Ur?

Lindsay Clandfield?

Hugh Dellar?

Jim Scrivener?

Shelly Terrell?

Marisa Constantinides?

My CELTA teacher (what was her name?) (I remember: Lise Bell, what a great teacher she was.)

My DELTA teacher?(Christine Ng, also a superb teacher)

I got up and looked at the numerous “How to Teach” books on my bookshelf by these and many more authors. No, no, and
yet no again. I couldn’t find a specific mention of an 80-20 rule.

So I thought, “That’s strange. There’s something hardwired in my brain, and it’s apparently something that no one has written
about at any length. At least, not in ELT.” That’s why this book is necessary, to fill this gap in our knowledge.

Teacher Talking Time

Hello from Amazon KDP!

The book “Connectivism for EFL Teachers: A Theory of Learning For A Digital Age” you recently submitted to KDP and enrolled in KDP Select has been published to the Kindle Store and is already available* for readers to purchase here.

KDP Select allows you to enjoy benefits, such as earning a share of a monthly fund when readers borrow your book from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library and a promotional opportunity to offer your book as free to readers for up to 5 days every 90 days to expand your reach.

For more details on KDP Select, check out this page.

You can check on the current month’s KDP Select fund by visiting your Bookshelf.

Also, you can find your book’s number of borrows in real time through your Month-to-Date Unit Sales report here.

Now that your KDP Select-enrolled book is live, you can manage its free promotion days in your Bookshelf by clicking the “Manage Promotions” link from the “Actions” menu or from the “Edit book details” page.

Your book’s initial enrollment in KDP Select lasts for 90 days. For your convenience, your book’s enrollment will be automatically renewed for another 90 days, unless you cancel automatic renewal by un-checking “Automatically renew this book’s enrollment in KDP Select for another 90 days” box under “Enrollment Details” of your book before your book’s current enrollment term expires.

Take a peek below at other great author resources to help you sell more books:

Create a Dedicated Author Page for Yourself

If you are this book’s author, remember to create a dedicated author page for yourself and increase your sales potential on Amazon by sharing your most up-to-date information. Publishers, be sure to work with your authors to set up their dedicated author pages, as well. Click on the links below to set up author page on different marketplace.

Amazon.de Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com Amazon.fr

Create a Print Book with CreateSpace (a member of the Amazon group of companies)

Create print editions of your book, “Connectivism For EFL Teachers“, using CreateSpace’s full array of services to help you self-publish and make your book available for sale to millions of potential customers on Amazon.com and other channels by visiting here.

Join Our KDP Community

We host KDP Forums, which are a great place to learn from others and share your experiences about independent publishing. Click here to check them out.

If you need to update the price of your book, click here, or its descriptive information, such as title, author, or description, click here.

For additional ideas on how to merchandise your book, be sure to check out this page.

Thanks again for choosing KDP to publish your work; we wish you the best of luck in promoting and selling it!

Regards,

Kindle Direct Publishing

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007AZ99DW

Hi Thomas,

Hello from Amazon KDP!

The book “Looking For Catarina” you recently submitted to KDP has been published to the Kindle Store and is already available* for readers to purchase here.

Now that your book is live, we would like to highlight a great program called KDP Select available to KDP authors and publishers, such as yourself.

KDP Select allows you to enjoy benefits, such as earning a share of a monthly fund when readers borrow your book from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. You will also be able to promote your book as free to readers for up to 5 days every 90 days. When you choose KDP Select, you make your book available in digital format exclusively through KDP for at least 90 days.

For more details on KDP Select, check out this page.

It’s easy to opt in — just visit your Bookshelf and select the books you’d like to enroll.

Take a peek below at other great author resources to help you sell more books:

Create a Dedicated Author Page for Yourself

If you are this book’s author, remember to create a dedicated author page for yourself and increase your sales potential on Amazon by sharing your most up-to-date information. Publishers, be sure to work with your authors to set up their dedicated author pages, as well. Click on the links below to set up author page on different marketplaces.

Amazon.de Amazon.fr
Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com

Create a Print Book with CreateSpace (a member of the Amazon group of companies)

Create print editions of your book using CreateSpace’s full array of services to help you self-publish and make your book available for sale to millions of potential customers on Amazon.com and other channels by visiting here.

Join Our KDP Community

We host KDP Forums, which are a great place to learn from others and share your experiences about independent publishing. Click here to check them out.

If you need to update the price of your book, click here, or its descriptive information, such as title, author, or description, click here.

For additional ideas on how to merchandise your book, be sure to check out this page.

Thanks again for choosing KDP to publish your work; we wish you the best of luck in promoting and selling it!

Regards,

Kindle Direct Publishing

Chile is simply extraordinary! (Credit: Google images)

Chile: A Story For Tomorrow

Information From GnarlyBay (Video Producer):

“This video was written and produced while traveling through Chile & Patagonia with my girlfriend.

We spent 5 weeks exploring this amazing country, and this is how we chose to document it. Thanks so much for checking it out.

Special Thanks to:

LensProToGo, for helping us out with cameras and lenses. They are an awesome company, and the perfect place to rent DSLR’s and lenses.
website: lensprotogo.com

…Castulo Guerra for helping out with the voice over. He is an extremely talented man, who was great to work with…and I am so grateful he decided to take on this project…thank you very much Castulo.

…and also, to my girlfriend Nina for putting up with my nerdy ways, and for making this such an awesome trip…you’re the best.

Equipment used:
Canon 1D mark IV + full Canon lens package – 17 tilt shift, 24, 50, 70-200, polarizer, gradient filter, monopod, tripod.

Music:
Bowspirit by: Balmorhea
Skeletons by: Yeah Yeah Yeahs…”

Cueca Chilena - Viva Chile

I live in Chile, the most beautiful country in the world.

As I say these words, I want you to know that I come from the United States of America, a country that stretches from sea to shining sea, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The USA is indeed a magnificent country, but it isn’t Chile.

I’m sure there are many countries, all of them great, all of them wonderful. Nonetheless, Chile is the best when it is beauty that we speak of.

What makes Chile stand so high above all the rest?

There are three things I narrow this down to. I know, there are many, many ways of determining beauty. Yes, you’re right, who says my way, is THE only way?

Nobody, but this is how I see a country, my country, my Chile, that stole my heart, that takes my breath away every single day, and gives me a feeling of absolute serenity that I have never encountered any other place on Earth.

What are those three things I speak of?

People, Diversity, Humility

First of all, you will notice I do not mention beauty, yet insist, nevertheless, that Chile is the most beautiful country in the world. So what definition of beauty am I working with? What is beauty, as it applies to a country, rather than a person?

Beauty is people, beauty is diversity, beauty is humility. These three I speak of, people, diversity, and humility.

People, yes, there’s been some pretty great people born in Chile. Yes, there’s been some pretty horrible people born in Chile. All countries, however, have good people and bad people, heroes and anti-heroes. Nonetheless, the Chilean people are collectively imbued with a sense of solidarity that is invisible, intangible, yet palpable.

For example, watch two Chileans greeting each other. If they are men, they come together, hug, and pound each other on the back, affectionately. They are saying to one another:

“You are my brother. Whether or not you deserve to be my brother, I still care for you, and in times of trouble, in times of adversity, you will never be alone. I will always be there for you.”

And the women? It’s the same thing, except they give each other a kiss on the cheek instead of pounding each other’s back. Within the kiss is the same depth of sincerity, a bond of sisterhood that transcends everything.

Now, it took me a while to really understand this, a long time actually. I just thought these customs were cool, just a different way of saying Hello. It is an astounding discovery one makes that this is an evolutionary, centuries old ritual that has its roots in some long-forgotten ancestral rituals.

Nowadays, it’s just DNA.

So, that’s people. Let’s move on and look at diversity. Obviously, we are talking about the country in a more Earthly, naturalistic way. Chile, in this sense, is easily the most diverse country ever created. There’s something of everything here.

From the driest desert in the world, the Atacama in the north of Chile to the coldest region in the world, the Antarctic in the south of Chile and in between the longest mountain chain in the world, the Andes, Chile simply has got it all.

I rest my case on diversity, there simply isn’t anything else I can say. Let’s move on to a surprising characteristic, humility. What makes a country humble?

It has been my experience that adversity makes both people and countries humble. Here, I mean the things that you can’t control, that bring you to your knees, that show you, in the end, that you’re only human, and not invincible.

Chile, as a country and as a people, have had more than its share of such events throughout its history. From wars to floods, from volcano eruptions to devastating earthquakes to deadly tsunamis, disaster continually, constantly strikes at the heart of this country.

Again and again, this country rises as one, to bury their dead, and to rebuild their dreams, and to take on new aspirations to meet the challenge of the hour. Chile constantly lives in that hour, one of cyclical birth and rebirth, requiring a resilience of the human spirit that is indomitable. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is enough to make the people of Chile surrender their claim to the majestic abundance of God’s gift to these people, my brothers and sisters.

You see, since Chile is so far away from the rest of the world, God decided to bring bits and pieces of the rest of the world – to Chile.
In this sense, leave no doubt in your mind, dear reader, that Chile is… the most beautiful country in the world!

Here is a link to a video for you to click. I invite you to watch the video you find on the page about the inherent beauty of Chile…

My dear friend(s), welcome to Chile…

http://bit.ly/xGnhlh

http://bit.ly/yBoPq3

In conversation with my wife and inspiration, Gaby.

Publish Your Words, Your Way

That’s the motto of CreateSpace, my publisher. In one week, I became a three time published author:

Teaching Debate in Chile

Teaching Academic Writing

Celestial Games: The First Pot of Gold

I still can’t believe it. If you click on the three links above, like I did, you have to believe it. It’s true: I am a published author.

It’s a dream come true, really. Maybe that’s why the people at CreateSpace say: “Authors are at the heart of what we do.”

It’s that simple. Our innovative free tools and top-notch professional services make publishing and distribution easier than ever. Plus it pays to self-publish with CreateSpace. Our royalty structure provides industry-leading economics, putting more in your pocket.

Just think, manufacturing and shipping is taken care of. Your book remains in-stock, without inventory, made on-demand when customers order. And with an array of options, including our free Interior Reviewer and Cover Creator, together we can create the book you’ve always wanted.

Simple from the Start

Teaching Academic Writing

Inventory Freedom

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Teaching Debate in Chile https://www.createspace.com/3784907

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Celestial Games: The First Pot of Gold https://www.createspace.com/3785138

Expand Your Reach

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On Amazon:

Teaching Debate in Chile

Teaching Academic Writing

Celestial Games: The First Pot of Gold

Also, you can sell from your website through a link to your CreateSpace eStore.

Expanded Distribution

Broaden your distribution to online retailers, bookstores, libraries, academic institutions, and distributors within the United States.

Wait a minute. Yes, I can. As I recall now, I was 6 years old at the time. The teacher who so enthusiastically welcomed me was Mrs. Johnson, my first grade teacher.

Come to think of it, she was also my mother’s first-grade teacher, my brother, and all my sisters too: Bernice, Kathy, and Linda.

I owe her an eternal debt of gratitude for the things she taught me that year, and in particular, for her dedication to the teaching profession.

I’m going to try to make her proud of me in CS101. I’m going to learn how to build a search engine, and I’m going to name it after her.

Now that I’ve publicly made such a bold claim and pre-dedicated my efforts to her, I have no choice but to do the work.

It’s a self-motivational trick I use. I mean, how can I possibly let someone down who has meant so much to my family and me. And to top it all off, she’s in heaven, and she might just tell my mother if I don’t follow through…

Let’s see what my course instructor is talking about in his welcome message to me:

**

Welcome Thomas Baker!

Welcome to CS 101! (from left to right: David Evans & Gabriel Weinberg)

Thank you for signing up for CS101: Building a Search Engine. I’m looking forward its start, Monday, February 20!

We’ve posted a new video introducing the class, that features Gabriel Weinberg, creator of the popular DuckDuckGo search engine.

There is no expected background for students in CS101. By the end, you will have learned many important concepts in computer science and will be able to understand and create your own programs in a language called Python. You will also have built a search engine, which includes a web crawler that automatically collects content from the web, an efficient way to respond to queries, and a way to select the best page (similar to the way Google ranks pages).

The course will run for 7 weeks. Each week, there will be a new unit that is made up of lecture videos, embedded quizzes, and answer discussions. Along with the lecture, we will be posting class notes and links to extra material. We also have two assistants for this course, Peter and Michael, who will help answer your questions. At the end of each unit, there will be a homework assignment with some problems for you to solve on your own, and the final week there will be an exam. Students who complete the course will receive a certificate and a grade.

I am very excited to have the opportunity to introduce all of you to the wonder and power of computing in CS101. If you have friends who haven’t signed up yet, please encourage them to join! Enrollment will be open until February 27.

See you soon!

— Dave
dave@udacity.com

David Evans
Udacity Professor and VP of Education
Associate Professor, University of Virginia