Blog of Josh Hall

On July 4th, 2012, Gulf Tower debuted the new light display on the top of the building.  Many people didn’t realize that the light had indicated the weather since the 1970s, and it was all controlled manually by the receptionist.  There’s a Rick Sebak documentary that highlights it well.  Along with the weather, the new LED lights will be able to be animated for celebrations or any other kind of information.  Here’s what the colors mean now:

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Tower#Lighting

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/gulf-tower-beacon-to-rekindle-pittsburgh-skyline-643404/

Don’t replace things that aren’t broken.

You don’t need that flat screen TV if you have a perfectly fine TV that is meeting your needs.  only upgrade when something is broken or lacking necessary functionality.  If you’ve ever plated the video game The Sims, think about all the money you wasted in furniture buying through the tiers of upgrades.  It’s smarter just to save up and buy what you really want.

I’m not looking to be famous, but I want a story to tell.  Not even a story for me to tell, but for my great grandchildren or something.  I’d love to be an extra in a movie or have my name in the liner notes of a popular CD.  Just something very subtle, but when I’m gone people can say, “hey, did you know that Josh was the guy in the grocery store in that one movie?” and then they can pop in that movie and just see me standing there making fake conversation.

My 10th grade English teacher, Mrs. Stone, was a lady standing in a fur coat in the movie Flash Dance.  That’s awesome.

If you are not the customer, you are the product.

Facebook doesn’t care about its website.  It cares about the content it can get from you.  Social media has created a market for selling users.  Bloggers, tweets, and mobile apps are all valued by how many followers they have.

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”

 – Jimi Hendrix

Don’t keep your personal struggles secret.

That’s what’s making it a personal struggle.  Share it.  Expose it.  The only way to get rid of the dark is to bring in the light!  Don’t be ashamed!  Don’t assume you can handle it on your own!  The sooner you tell friends the sooner you can get rid of those friends who don’t want to help.  To me, this is specifically true with depression.  If you are feeling like not talking to anyone, call everyone.  If you don’t feel like going out, go out.  If you don’t want to go outside, go for a walk.