John Frusciante's New Online Releases

I recently received an email from John Frusciante describing how he's decided to create some web pages on which to release some previously unreleased music and to dispel a recent rumor that he would no longer produce music for public consumption. You can read his email on johnfrusciante.com as well as subscribe to email updates (on the top-right of the homepage).

Here are his new web pages for all of us to enjoy:

 jfdirectlyfromjf.bandcamp.com

 soundcloud.com/jfdirectlyfromjf

How to Take Care of Your Smartphone

Sometimes I get really into something and read all about it just for the sake of learning about it. Additionally, I have always been someone that takes very good care of my possessions. I have a mildly irrational fear of things breaking or malfunctioning, so I always do my best to ensure their safety and well-being. I recently got a new iPhone, and I spent a hefty amount of time perusing various articles about how to properly care for smartphones, cross-checking helpful tips, and finding answers to contradictions. What I have for you is a compilation of the most current tips I could find on how to care for newer smartphones with newer lithium-ion batteries. Please comment or let me know if you see something that you believe is way off.

Things you should do:

• Charge your phone when the battery gets to around 20%
• Unplug the charger when the battery gets to around 80 or 85% (if you need to unplug it before that's fine too)
• It's also fine to charge it for a bit whenever you want, say for 10-20 minutes
• Let the battery go down nearly all the way (around 5% perhaps) and then charge it all the way to 100% once a month to reset its cycle (the beginning of each month is a good time for this)
• Keep Wi-Fi on when it's readily available (at home or work maybe), but turn it off when you are away from wireless internet so your phone isn't straining itself searching for a network
• Turn off Bluetooth and GPS/Location Services unless you are actively using them and/or need them
• Disable background activity, background app refresh, or background updating when possible or at least for certain apps (the Siri Spotlight feature for iPhones is an example)
• Only update apps while connected to Wi-Fi
• Close apps you aren't using
• Adjust the phone's settings (like brightness, motion features, vibration, etc.) to minimize how hard the phone is working and thus maximizing performance and battery life
• Turn off your phone every so often (once a day or every two days)

Things you should not do:

• DO NOT CHARGE YOUR PHONE OVERNIGHT! Even though there are many recent reports that newer phones aren't negatively affected by this, it still puts too much strain on the battery
• Let the battery stay below 20% too often (except for once a month)
• Charge your phone all the way to 100% (except for once a month)
• Leave features on that you aren't using (Wi-Fi while out and about, Bluetooth, GPS/Location, etc.)
• Let your phone get too hot or too cold (charging it overnight heats it up, for example)
• Use your phone for every media need, such as listening to music, watching videos, etc. (if you can avoid it)
• Download and use apps that claim to increase battery life or auto kill apps — they simply make your phone work harder
• Leave your phone on all the time

Republicans, Syrian Refugees, and Veterans' Benefits

This scenario is all too common: U.S. Republicans or conservatives complain about something, while being ignorant to the fact that Republican politicians—the people they voted for—are the ones at fault. 

While there are always several examples of these at any given time, one of the big issues being discussed right now is that of Syrian refugees being allowed into the United States. Thousands of Syrians are fleeing the state of war in their home country brought on by extremist groups and the Syrian civil war itself (now in its fifth year) and entering European nations. (Keep in mind though how dangerous these journeys are, with lengthy and cold water crossings, border checks, food and drinking water shortages, and discrimination.) In the wake of jihadist attacks on several locations in the Middle East and North Africa, and the particularly cowardly attacks on Paris, other countries have started discussions about allowing these innocent refugees entry into their nations. Naturally, these discussions have sparked heated debates from politicians and citizens alike.

As the opening of this post mentions, many Republicans/conservatives are citing another problem that they believe we should work on fixing first, but they fail to see that the reason that problem exists in the first place is basically their own fault. The problem I'm referring to is the lack of care and support of U.S. military veterans here in the United States.

Here's an example of what's been circulating around the web and social media:

Okay, I think we could reasonably say that veterans should not be treated this way in the country that they risked their lives defending. Here's another one (notice how the number of homeless veterans is different in the two images):

Of course, many uneducated (but of course opinionated) social media users are blaming President Obama. Hmm, nope. Obama doesn't make laws; Congress does. Let's looks at who's really at fault.


Here's an article titled "The GOP on Veterans Issues." It breaks down how 2016 presidential hopefuls have dishonored America's veterans by constantly voting against their best interests: http://correctrecord.org/the-gop-on-veterans-issues/

This is a particularly sad article explaining how all but two Republican senators voted against increased benefits for veterans. Did you know that Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman? https://bootheglobalperspectives.com/article/1440873828WBG143316144/all-but-two-republicans-vote-against-increased-benefits-for-veterans

Another: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/h-a-goodman/republicans-va-funding_b_5395698.html

Another one from Military Times: http://archive.militarytimes.com/article/20140227/NEWS05/302270033/Senate-blocks-huge-vets-benefits-bill

And here's another recent one from November 11, 2015: http://usuncut.com/politics/happy-veterans-day-5-times-republicans-in-congress-screwed-veterans/


I could continue, but I think you see the point. So, Republicans who think how we treat veterans is wrong and who think it's Obama's fault, but who keep voting for money-crazed conservative politicians: please learn to ask the question "Why?" before jumping to conclusions.

Why are veterans treated this way? Why are there not laws or policies that help them? Why are certain politicians voting this way? Why do I vote the way I do? Why did I not know the truth before?

Finally, I would like to add some thoughts to consider about the Syrian refugees.

- First of all, I'm sensing a lot of contempt towards them, even though they are innocent people who are suffering and who are victims of unspeakable violence due to a warped interpretation of religion. I think Americans should have more empathy and imagine if their roles were reversed.

- Secondly, the U.S. screening process is quite rigorous as it is, with 18- to 24-month waits being common.

- Third, the fear that some jihadists might disguise themselves as refugees and slip into the U.S. is legitimate, but not likely to be a common occurrence. These young men have promises from their leaders of apartments and cars and are currently receiving benefits they can't get in other places. For instance, there is a sex trade that exists among these extremist militants and access to sizable amounts of money. Realistically, the threat of one of these fighters slipping into the U.S. to commit an act of terror is probably no more or even less than the threats that have plagued U.S. society for decades now: domestic terror committed by right-wing extremists or mentally unstable gun owners (think of the Aurora, CO theater shooting, the black church murders in South Carolina, and the numerous school shootings, to name but a few).

- Fourth, people are not considering why these young men (and some young women) are turning to jihadism. It's primarily because of hopelessness; they have a lack of hope for a decent life due to dysfunctional governments that fail to provide basic needs, security, rule of law, education, and a functioning economy with job opportunities. With this in mind, the fact that some of the Paris attackers were from a poor town in Belgium called Molenbeek makes more sense. Moreover, other fighters have come from war-torn Syria, the essentially governmentless Libya (there was seemingly no plan for a new government after rebels killed Gaddafi in the streets), and other poorly functioning regions. When this world seems hopeless, one is much more susceptible to following a path that will lead to paradise in another world, thus being sucked into warped and grossly misinterpreted religious dogma. So, if refugees do come here and have a decent living situation, with the above-mentioned needs met, defecting to extremism will be less likely.

- Lastly, don't choose to live in fear.

Signed Picture from Manu Bennett

My Painfully Accurate Dating Discovery

Dating* can be a horrible, soul-crushing, faith-reducing thing. I'm not an expert on dating, but there's something that I finally realized that I decided to share. My first real relationship began when I was 18, so it's somehow taken me ten years to realize this, but I guess that's how it goes sometimes. It's very simple, and when you read it you'll think it's pretty obvious, but, so many people, including me, have tried or are trying to make things work with the wrong person. If I had realized this earlier, I would have saved myself lots of time, energy, and pain (and gas and money). It should also be noted that I am probably one of the most negative, cynical, and jaded people you could meet when it comes to dating (because I've dated some awful female human beings and actually gave them chances for some reason), so you can trust me on this one. Here it is:

If the person you're interested in isn't OBVIOUSLY interested in you, then he/she IS NOT INTERESTED. Let me say it another way: If it's not obvious that the person likes you back, more often than not, it's not going to happen. It needs to be obvious. Simple as that.

She isn't texting you back even though we all know her phone never leaves her side? Yeah, she doesn't like you. He keeps backing out on plans and making up excuses? He doesn't like you. Just suck it up move on.

There are situations in which attraction develops over time, but the best, most natural-feeling relationships are so easy at the beginning; everything just falls into place and there's not much of that uncomfortable feeling. All the things you hear or read about dating, such as "tips" that say wait three days before texting/calling, play hard-to-get, don't act too interested for a while, etc. are all bad pieces of advice. You shouldn't have to change who you are or play games.

The most ironic thing about dating is that once you finally find a good person, it doesn't even feel like you've been doing the whole "dating" thing. And then before you know it you're together. When it feels like you're doing the whole dating thing is when you're dating someone with whom it's probably not going to go anywhere, thus the awkwardness, the discomfort, the constant wondering if he/she likes you or not, the overthinking, the overanalyzing, the annoyingness of deciding whether to call or text first or if that will make you seem desperate, planning stupid dates that are hopefully entertaining enough, etc. So, ironically, when you've found the right person, you didn't even really go through the terrible thing that is modern dating.

So, what I'd like to emphasize is that if you've started seeing someone and there's a lot of wondering and insecurity and mixed signals, I would say that it's not a promising start and to start considering your options. Additionally, and very importantly, don't date until you're over your last boyfriend/girlfriend. You need to give yourself lots of time to heal and recover. Being single is an important phase to go through (or a conscious lifestyle choice) to really discover who you are and to learn to be happy with who you are and your life. Another person cannot make you happy — only you can do that.

Finally, if a relationship doesn't work out, there's a high probability that it had much more to do with the other person than with you (the old George Costanza saying is actually 100% accurate sometimes). Of course, it is possible that is was because of you (I mean, you could be a real weirdo... what if I'm the weirdo???), but based on what I've seen and read, it usually has to do with the issues and circumstances in that person's life, which is something we all face.

So, to put it simply, if it doesn't work out, it usually doesn't mean that you did something wrong or that there's something wrong with you. Read the quote below, focus on you, and stay positive.

*The process of dating multiple people over time in the hopes of establishing a relationship with someone, not so much the act of going out with one person regularly.

Senior Ditch Day 2015

A fascinating social phenomenon is allegedly taking place tomorrow at my school: the so-called "Senior Ditch Day," in which adolescents aged 17 to 18—including those who may or may not graduate from a U.S. high school in June—plan to skip school for the day in the hopes of achieving some level of satisfaction by engaging in a semi-planned escapade wherein the participants' social needs and basic need for belonging will ostensibly be fulfilled. While on the surface level one may understand their collective desire to have fun on a day when they should be in school, however when examined by the more astute among us, we find a few if not a multitude of flaws.

Firstly among said flaws: these young scholars seem to have overlooked or ignored the fact that they will be done with high school forever in a few short weeks, giving them ample time (i.e., the rest of their lives) to "hang out."

Secondly, perhaps in the their collective excitement they've over-romanticized this experience, hoping that some sort of epic outing will occur in which all of the seniors will be in attendance and they'll all actually know/care about each other and will have the most fun day ever, when in reality, the seniors who do attend will likely realize within minutes that they, in fact, (a) don't know most other seniors, and (b) don't care about most other seniors.

Thirdly, once flaw number two (see above) is realized and accepted, this would-be glorious adventure will fizzle out and leave a number of small factions of friends/sort-of-friends, which will largely resemble their daily routine at school during lunch (only in a different geographical location), thereby making the outing significantly less exciting than originally semi-planned. Furthermore, the seniors who attend that have fewer friends will then be thrust into a state of awkwardness far surpassing what they regularly experience on a daily basis, which is, admittedly, quite sad, because they're probably decent-enough kids.

Fourthly (that's kind of fun to say/write, since it's kind of rare, you know?), the seniors that attend this overly hyped misadventure will most likely realize that, in fact, it's just a let's-show-off-our-best-outfit convention, which isn't unlike any normal day at school anyway.

The fifth flaw is as follows: If this ditch day were to somehow achieve some semblance of success in one way or another (despite significant shortcomings in planning and communication), the seniors would discover that their years-long addiction to smart phones has dramatically impaired their social faculties, thus crippling the would-be and hoped-for fun that they all kind of wished for, leaving in its stead short, uncomfortable, small-talk-based conversations which will resemble elevator conversations or conversations you might be forced to have with a cousin's new boyfriend or something. Plus the sun will make it hard to see the screens, and we all know that's like, totally annoying.

Lastly, the potential graduates may well go through the entire day not realizing that the seniors who just stayed home had more fun than them.

In conclusion, I wish the members of the Class of 2015 well. May tomorrow be a memorable experience for them all.

Habits of Successful High School Students

After teaching for about a year and a half, I finally realized something very important: people need to have good habits in order to be successful. As a high school teacher, I also realized that if my students had good habits (or were taught good habits) they could be much more successful and it would actually make school easier. Each semester I’ve taught so far I’ve had to fail several students. The reason these students failed (and are now not on track to graduate on time) is not because they weren’t smart or capable of succeeding in school. The reason they failed is because each one of them had bad habits.

Life is a never-ending process of learning, growing, and improving, and high school is an extremely important phase of your life where you grow a great deal as a person. At times it may seem tedious, stressful, pointless, boring, or even like a waste of time, but I promise you that if you have a positive attitude about high school and realize how much it teaches you, high school can be one of the best times of your life. High school teaches you much more than math, science, social studies, and language arts: it teaches you how to be a person who can take care of yourself, get things done, work with others, and many other life skills.

These twelve habits are some of the most important habits high school students need to have in order to be successful in school. A habit is something you do almost without thinking about it; it’s something that you do regularly and often. Habits can either help you immensely or hurt you (think of a drinking or drug habit). If you have good habits, life will be easier and you’ll have much more success. If you can begin to make these twelve habits your own habits, I guarantee high school will become easier, more beneficial, and even more fun.

Posters of the twelve habits created by my student.

1. Being organized

• Organize your bedroom, bathroom, other rooms in your house, and your car.
• Organize your backpack, materials for each class (binders and/or folders), school supplies (pencils, pens), etc.
• Make sure your notes from class are organized (if you aren’t sure how to do this, ask Mr. Ortiz, another teacher, a friend, or a classmate).
• Consider using a planner to write down obligations for school and life.
• Organize files on your computer in folders so you always know where things are.
• Organize and save your files online somewhere (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) so the risk of losing your work doesn’t exist and you won’t have to rely on flash drives.
• Delete files you don’t need, and keep an eye on where downloaded files go and delete them if no longer needed.
• Organize your email inbox and settings.
• You should have a Gmail (it’s free) with an appropriately professional email address (e.g., antonio.ortiz@gmail.com, or antonioortiz19@gmail.com; not lilcutieswagg27@gmail.com or anything that is similarly unprofessional).
• Download the Gmail app for your phone as well.
• In addition, you can use other features offered by Google, such as Google Drive (we will be using this, so plan on this one), Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Translate, and more to help with your organization and with school work.
• Get all of your teachers’ email addresses and email them whenever you need to – it’s our job to help you and we will respond to emails.
• Use Google Drive for assignments, papers, and group projects. It saves your work automatically and can easily be shared, printed, and even downloaded as Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents.

2. Using time effectively and efficiently

• Being on time to school and having good attendance is vital to your success in high school. In addition, you must use your time outside of school productively to succeed.
• School is your number-one priority: you should only miss school if you are very sick, have a medical appointment, or a family emergency (“I didn’t feel like coming yesterday” is not an acceptable excuse).
• At night, figure out a schedule and a routine that helps you get everything done and allows you to get to bed on time (maybe this includes taking a shower a night, deciding on tomorrow’s outfit before going to bed, etc.).
• Getting enough sleep is one of the most important things you can do for yourself.
• In the morning, you must get in the habit of waking up on time, as well as getting ready for school in a timely manner (don’t take too long).
• Schedule time to do homework, study, and organize your school materials (be disciplined enough to actually get these done without distractions).
• And remember: we all need some free time, but free time cannot be what you strive for. Don’t let laziness win – stay focused and work on what’s most important.

3. Having the right priorities

• A priority is what is most important at this moment. Setting priorities is one of the most important things you can do to be successful because you will learn to focus on the most important tasks first and get to others only after your top priorities are met.
• School, grades, and attendance should be your top priorities. Friends, social media, and free time should be lower priorities.
• Successful students have their priorities in the correct order. They do not try to impress friends, gain extra free time, or only focus on what will be fun right now. They put school first and demonstrate great self-control.
• You must begin to think more about short- and long-term goals and how your choices today either lead you in the direction of those goals or lead you away from them.
• You have to make sacrifices. A little less free time now could mean much greater success later.
• What choices are you making today? Will they help you or hurt you?

4. Persistence

• To persist means to continue on a course of action despite challenges.
• There will always be challenges, difficult situations, and even failures in life, but one must always move forward and persist.
• Focus on the task at hand, and complete it to the best of your ability.
• School may be challenging in many ways, but successful students don’t let those challenges stop them from achieving their goals. They always find ways to push themselves, get help when needed, get better, and ultimately succeed. They persist.
• College, career, and life will require you to develop great persistence, and life rewards those who push forward. Life does not reward laziness.
• As the great adventurer Bear Grylls says, “Struggle develops strength and storms make you stronger.”

5. Managing impulses

• An impulse is a strong, often unthoughtful urge or desire to do something.
• High school students typically think in the moment and have a difficult time considering how their actions now will have consequences later.
• You need to learn how to control yourself, consider all potential consequences of your actions, and do what you know is right in any situation.
• Be a leader, not a follower. If you need to change yourself to impress a “friend,” that person is not a true friend.
• Did a friend just suggest skipping class? Control your impulse and say “no.”
• Feeling lazy? Think about your priorities and what’s important, and get focused.
• Did you wake up and think about staying home from school? Fight that impulse and consider how missing school will affect your grades and attendance, and think about the work you will have to make up later.

6. Taking control of phones

• To be successful, you must take control of your phone and not let it control you.
• Get in the habit of taking breaks from your phone once in a while.
• At school, your phone needs to be silent and put away during class.
• During class I highly recommend putting your phone in Airplane Mode – this turns off all connectivity features of your phone (cellular service, data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, etc.) and, as you might guess, saves a ton of battery.
• Finally, spend less time on social media. Studies have shown that too much time on sites like Facebook and Instagram can actually decrease happiness because we are constantly (and subconsciously) comparing our lives to the lives of hundreds of other people.

7. Focusing on being the best version of you

• Perhaps one of the most important habits for all people to have (not just students) is worrying less or not worrying at all what others think about them.
• Get in the habit of thinking less about what other students at school think of you, your clothes, your style, or anything, and focus on being you.
• Be respectful and kind to everyone, but don’t try to impress everyone or give in to negative peer pressure, because believe it or not, in a few years, you will still be in touch with maybe three to five people from high school.
• Don’t give in to doing things you shouldn’t do or things you know are wrong – be strong enough to say “no” when you need to.
• As one example, when your friends pressure you to ditch class, it’s the perfect time to say “no.”
• And remember: the only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday.

8.  Paying attention to your words

• Be mature enough to not talk bad about people behind their backs, gossip, spread rumors, or create drama.
• Talking negatively about other people is a very negative and harmful process, and it only lowers you down (tearing others down doesn’t build you up).
• If you have a conflict with someone, you should simply set up a time to talk to that person in a calm manner, express your feelings, and try to solve the problem.
• Remember: the only reason a person speaks negatively about other people is because he or she is insecure.
• You are free to talk however you want outside of class, but in class you should speak only in a professional and academic way (this means no swearing (cussing) and not saying anything disrespectful to your teacher or classmates).
• This habit will help you greatly in life because you’ll have a low risk of accidentally saying something inappropriate at your job, in front of your boss, around your older family members, etc.
• Finally, be careful about what you write and post online – one day a potential job or college might search for you on the Internet.

9. Balancing your relationships

• Relationships with friends, significant others, teachers, classmates, and family are all very important factors in your life right now; you must get in the habit of balancing all of them in addition to Habit #7 (Being the best version of you).
• First of all, friends are important and we all want to have lots of friends. I would advise, however, to actually be choosy with your friends. You should choose friends who make you better, have good goals, want to succeed, encourage you, support you, accept you, and are trustworthy.
• The trap most of us fall into is letting our desire to be accepted in a group overrule our need for true friends. Just remember that having a few good friends is worth way more than having a lot of fake friends (and again, one day you will likely lose touch with 99% of your classmates from high school).
• Girlfriends and boyfriends in high school can be very exciting and they can add a lot to your life, but keep in mind that you are still very young and things can change. Just be careful with your feelings.
• Having good relationships with your teachers is extremely important for you. Keep in mind that teachers must go through lots of school and training to become teachers, and the reason they are in this profession is to help you. Also remember that they are authority figures. They are your bosses right now and they make the rules (and give you grades). Give them the respect they deserve and you shall receive respect in return.
• Counselors, other school staff, and classmates are other people with whom you should have good relationships. Be kind, respectful, and honest with all of them, and they will be much more likely to help you with the inevitable challenges you will face during school.
• Getting along with your parents can sometimes be difficult. Always keep in mind that although your parents may not be perfect, they have worked very hard and sacrificed much to get you where you are right now. They deserve your utmost respect. If you’re having issues with your parents, try setting up a time to talk to them in a calm and mature manner. Remember, like teachers, they too are authority figures and they’re in charge.

10. Advocating for yourself in school

• This one is a challenge for many students, but you need to advocate for yourself, meaning you need to let your voice be heard sometimes.
• First of all, never be afraid to ask questions in school – raise your hand in class, talk to your teacher for a minute after class or set up a time to get help, ask classmates and friends, etc.
• If you think there is a way for you to complete an assignment, project, or presentation in a way that’s more comfortable for you or that aligns better with your learning style that’s different than what your teacher has assigned, let him or her know (there’s a good chance he or she will say “yes”)
• If you think something was graded unfairly, let your teacher know
• Be proactive in checking your grades often (you should use the myportal website and/or the Infinite Campus mobile app)
• Ask for extra credit to boost your grade
• Tying back to Habit #7 above, stick up for yourself and do what’s best for you when you need to (saying “no” to negative peer pressure, for example)

11. Managing metacognitive processes

• Metacognition means awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes.
• Although it looks like a complicated word, it simply means thinking about how you think. So, ask yourself: “How do I think about things? Do I spend enough time thinking about how I go about life?”
• This habit involves learning how to recognize how you solve problems and make decisions.
• Students with this habit make effective mental plans, monitor their thinking, and evaluate and modify their processes in life (how they do things in general).
• They also learn from past experiences and from this determine new, more-effective ways to proceed.  

12. Trying your best

• In all aspects of life, what you do (or don’t do) says a lot about you.
• The work you do in school and at your job represents you: when you do good work at school, it represents you in a positive manner, and when you don’t do well on something, that represents you negatively (this then affects how you feel about yourself).
• If you get in the habit of just always trying your best – always putting enough effort and thought into your work – it will make such a positive difference in your life (better grades, better college, better job, better relationships with people, better life).
• Find your inner strength and motivate yourself to always try your best at whatever it is you’re doing.
• Lastly, remind yourself daily that to be great, it takes time and hard work. The greatest leaders, athletes, musicians, artists, scientists, and other highly successful people didn’t become great overnight – they put in countless hours of hard, focused work to get where they are now. This takes great discipline and focus, but if you have good habits and believe in yourself, you can, and will, accomplish your goals.