Great minds...sure wish I had one.

Frank Paynter over at Listics Review is rousing the rabble...again.  Never one to let sleeping dogs lay he says, "I'm beginning to notice some improvement".  Making the audacious claim that writing blog posts might afford some noticeable improvement.  Yeah, well, maybe for you, Frank.  I can find little hope in my scribbling ever making any improvement in my unremarkable writing ability.

What struck a chord, a harmonic I have heard in other quarters, is the need to reassert our bloggishness.  To re-establish the community of scribes.  Something that I lost while "liking" Facebook memes and trying to read Twitter at the speed of #hashtags.  Lost were the developed thoughts, filled in and fleshed out.  The true discourse of rational minds.  (Wish I had one of those as well.)

Mind you this should not be a scripted conversation between like-minded people.  This should be a return to the Wild-West-Internet days of yore.  Folks finding their one forum, a place where they can blow their own tuba.  A place for intellectual exchange and sophomoric syllogisms soliloquies ...oh hell, just anything you really need to get 'writ down'.

So, if you don't mind, I won't mind if you don't read this.

"The more liberty you give away...'

"The more liberty you give away the more you will have."

This quote, attributed to Robert G. Ingersoll, made me feel uncomfortable upon first reading.  In this day of Big Government, Big Brother and seeming involuntary relinquishment of personal rights and freedoms the very thought of 'giving away liberties' appeared as the clarion call of disaster.  As one of those Quote of the Day emails I let it sit in my inbox while I mulled over my discomfort.

On the surface this quote has the air of nobility.  Perhaps Ingersoll was alluding to a "Greater Good" doctrine.  Perhaps by relinquishing my person liberty it was some how contributing to society's liberty.  Still, I felt disconnected.  Something just was not right.  So I sought out to further understand Ingersoll's possible intent.  I came upon the following quote.

"Liberty is my religion. Liberty of hand and brain — of thought and labor, liberty is a word hated by kings — loathed by popes. It is a word that shatters thrones and altars — that leaves the crowned without subjects, and the outstretched hand of superstition without alms. Liberty is the blossom and fruit of justice — the perfume of mercy. Liberty is the seed and soil, the air and light, the dew and rain of progress, love and joy."

- Robert Green Ingersoll, 1894

When I read this quote I learned two things.  It became clear that Ingersoll is a very staunch advocate of personal responsibility.  He calls upon himself with "hand and brain - of thought and labor" to break the bonds of intellectual and spiritual tyranny.  He raises Liberty as the pinnacle of personal self worth.

Still the thought of giving away Liberty was unsettling to me.  It was until I changed my perspective as a reader.  If, as a follower, I gave up something on the promise of receiving more it fell right in line with the criticism leveled at Big Government/Big Brother.  If I, as a leader, gave more liberty away, aiding in the breaking of intellectual and spiritual bonds, then as a society we indeed would become freer.

Good on ya, Bob

Center Lovell Inn, only in my dreams.

Center Lovell Inn

It is not for sale.  For an essay and $125.00 you might realize a dream.  Sadly, I do not have $125.00.

Here is my essay...

I have been to the Center Lovell Inn in my dreams. Not as a guest but as a servant and Shepard. There I am charged with the responsibility of keeping tradition alive. Here to serve the simplest of amenities. Offering warm welcome. Making comfortable the real guests. Insuring that each need is met. Fulfilling the promise of elegant escape and succulent repast.

I am called to the smallest of details. Properly turned down crisp linens. The freshest local fruits and vegetables. Engaging in rich conversations. The offer of uninterrupted silent reflections. Sparkles of porcelain and chrome. A warming fire upon the hearth. Setting the simple table, offering the feast. Leaving one light lit as a sign of welcome to the weary traveler. Being home.

Though I serve it is I who am given the gifts. Treated to the smiles of satisfaction. Shared memories fondly recounted and newly minted ones, soon to be cherished. The gifts of traveler's tales, what brought them here and where they will be lead. To be part of the adventure.

I will probably never have the opportunity or privilege to serve and to Shepard. Only in my dreams have I been to the Center Lovell Inn.

I just gave Starbucks... (with corrections)

I just gave Starbucks... a bunch of some money.

Each time I would go to Starbucks and get my favorite Mocha Latte.  Each time I would lament throwing the cup, lid and cozy away.  Great beverage but a shame to just throw the cup away.  So I watched and waited until my local Starbucks again offered their very affordable ($1.00) reusable cups.  I bought two knowing that I would need one to use and have a spare.

As I was purchasing the reusable cups I went ahead and asked the barista to fill one with my Mocha Latte.  Mmmmm, mocha goodness.

A few minutes down the road it came to me.  Starbucks, offering reusable cups, had engaged me in a great marketing scheme.  First, if I used my cup then they didn't have to use one of their cups.  This might seem like a very small matter but the economy-of-scale rule became apparent.  Their profit margin just increased a fraction because they charged me the same price as a "Venti" beverage and did not incur the cost of the cup.  While my single transaction might be the one half (or even one tenth) of one percent increase in their margin when multiplied by the bajillion cups they sell now we are talking real money, a bunch of money.  Correction: I received a $0.10 discount for bringing my own cup.

I took another sip of my tasty beverage...and the second part of their great marketing scheme became clear.  The reusable cup was modelled after their "Venti" cup.  By asking the barista to fill it with Mocha Latte I was automatically ordering the "Venti" size beverage.  Chaching!  Correction: It appears that this morning I was charged for a "Grande" and not a "Venti".

So I am pleased that I am not throwing cups and lids and cozys away.  Instead I am just giving Starbucks a bunch of some money.

Great marketing guys and I really like your Mocha Lattes.

Church, cheaper than...

On the silly sayings sign of a local church it read, "Church, cheaper than NFL tickets."

While I recognized the pastor's intent it gave me pause to reflect on the real value of Church.  Or more precisely the lack of value of Church.  Where, in my humble opinion, Church should be invaluable.  Now it is being reduced to an amount less than the exorbitant cost of Super Bowl tickets.

I can hear the greeters/scalpers now.  "I can get you in the forth row aisle for $449 or up in the nosebleed section for just $225."

On a monetary scale Church is cheaper than everything.

Church is free.  A gift freely given.  Sometimes it is referred to as Sanctuary.  A place to be exactly who and what you are.  A place of Peace and Reverence.  A place of Solace.  A place of Celebration.  A place of Nourishment.  A place of Community.  Church is a place to be Free.

Resolution: Cod Chowder

I didn't make any New Year's Resolutions.  I know better.

I am making Cod Chowder.

In the crock pot, of course.  Which means that cooking starts early in the morning.  This seems so antithetical to the cooking dinner/supper just prior to eating same.  Here it is 7:30ish (AM) and the house if filled with the perfume of sauteed onions and garlic.  But I digress...

Here's how it all started...

I use a smaller crock pot.  Maybe its 2-quart, maybe just a bit more.

Now, did I mention crock pot liners?  Best thing since sliced bread or parchment paper.  (Tip: Put the box of liners in the clean crock pot before you put it away - help you to remember how glad you have them the next time you use the crock.)

So very simple...

1 can of sweet corn, drained (If I were making Corn Chowder I wouldn't even drain it.)
4 smaller carrots cut in 1/4 inch rounds.

Goes right in the crock...

3/4 cup diced onion, set aside for the moment.

6-7 Yukon Gold mini potatoes, quartered and then cut into 1/4 inch slices.  Rinse and dry the slices.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil to shimmering (very hot)

Quickly brown the potatoes, just until they begin to show some caramel coloring, 2-3 minutes, tops.  As soon as they show add them to the carrots and corn in the crock.

In the same skillet melt two tablespoons of butter and sweat the diced onions with some garlic.  When they start to become translucent sprinkle in about 2 tablespoons of flour.  (I prefer Gold Medal Wondra for roux, but then I cheat at Pinochle too.  Oh!  Did I say that out loud.  Sorry.)

When the roux begins to color, beige approaching light tan, add 1 and 1/2 half pints of Half&Half.  Mix thoroughly and bring slowly, slowly to full bloom - this is just when the contents of the pan seems to instantly double in volume - immediately remove from the heat and add to the crock.

Set the crock to "Low" and mix the contents to insure even distribution.  Now wait.  How long?  I can't tell you.  You just have to wait.  My best guesstimation is 3-4 hours until the carrots are fully cooked.

Remember, if you get ahead of your meal schedule just turn the crock to "Keep Warm" and ... wait.

But don't wait forever.  There is still the Codfish.

I try to get the freshest possible seafood but here in the wilds of western Kentucky the only thing that you can really depend on is Catfish.  Everything else comes in from somewhere else.  If we aren't eating it that day in goes into the freezer.

About 45 - 60 minutes before meal time take the partially/mostly thawed Cod and rinse it vigorously under cold running water.  Then pat the fillet(s) as dry as possible.  Cut them into 3/4 to 1 inch cubes

Fold the Cod cubes into the soup stock (and don't forget to turn the crock back to "Low")

Occasionally gently fold the soup (do not stir - you don't want to break the Cod into small pieces.)

When you think things have gone long enough sample for done-ness.  The Cod should be firm and the carrots about the same.

Carefully ladle hot steaming Cod Chowder into bowls and garnish with chopped chive or green onions (some people call 'em Scallions, you know what I mean Joe?)

Enjoy!

(Pictures to follow.)

I still listen to radio...sorta

I still listen to radio, after a fashion.

When my commute was about 30 minutes, from home to work, it was NPR.  Plain and simple.  A good dose of the news and Morning Edition features.  I could depend on engaging banter from Steve Inskeep and Renee Montaigne.  Even the curmudgeon views of Frank DeForge were enlightening. Then a strange thing happened.

My early morning "commute" changed from work to the gym.  So my first half hour was from 0430 to just before 0500.  All is right with the world...and NPR.  Then when I get out of the gym and head to work at 0630 things begin to unravel.  NPR is repeating itself word for word from 0430.  Its like de ja news all over again.

So my alternative go to radio station is WKWC ... Kentucky Wesleyan College radio.  This turns out to be a gem.  Progressive, non-repetitive, commercial free (OK, there are a few PSAs and KWC promos) - just good ear candy.  So good in fact that I have taken to tuning in even when I know NPR is not repeating itself.

I turn into a slouch...

On the weekends I turn into a slouch.  It is part of my $WORK/$HOME balance system.  I sleep late.  I set the menu for the next week.  I do a little shopping, mostly grocery needs for the coming week.  I eat to excess (more about this later).  I spend time with my best friend my $WIFE.  (She beats me at Cribbage but I think she cheats :-) )  I get to visit with one or more of my $CHILDREN.  I may even spend some time puttering around in the yard.

The boneless short ribs went into the crock pot early, slathered with Sweet Baby Ray's Original and Sweet&Spicy BBQ sauce ... as Alton Brown is fond of saying, "Them's Good Eats."  Now splitting my time between writing posts and reading about Securing An Ubuntu Server.  While I was out snapping pics for the Yardist post I took the time to refill the feeders - they don't call this place "The Flying Pig Ranch And Thistle Farm" for nothing.

I say "slouch" because it isn't convenient to go the gym (OMHS HealthPark) on Saturday or Sunday.  They don't open until 0700 on Saturday - middle of my morning - instead of 0500 which is when I go during weekdays.  It is even worse on Sunday when they don't open until 1200.  Harrumph!  Oh well, I guess they have to have some $WORK/$HOME balance too.

In coming posts...

The Gym and Podcasts
Setting the Menu

The 99 Days of Freedom Challenge.

Ninety-one days and a couple of hours ago I took the 99 Days of Freedom Challenge.  I committed to stay completely away from Facebook for 99 days.  I stopped cold turkey.  My last post was the declaration of my having take the challenge.  Then I logged out and haven't been back since.  Spoiler alert: the world did not come to a crashing halt.

Initially I did go through withdrawls.  I got fidgety when faced with a blank address bar.  I wondered who was posting the best Kitteh pictures.  I was feeling a concerted lack of unicorns flying across rainbows sprinkling glitter.  Most of all I missed the vitriolic bantering back and forth between the left and the right.

Then just when I thought I was out of the woods ... FB started spamming me with, "Won't you come home" email messages.  "All your friends miss you."  So-and-so posted such-and-such.  "How can you be such a callus cad to ignore your friends like this?"  I felt bad, really bad for as long as it took me to delete the emails, unopened.  Sorry FB I really don't want your free crack.

Now many of you know that I am a social media animal from way back.  Chat rooms and forums before and after they were cool.  I still keep my IRC client tuned to the good old groups.  Now I started spending more time with Google+ ... much higher caliber of time wasting dabbling.  I even started paying attention, albeit short-attention, to Twitter.  But nothing seems to fill up my time as uselessly as those many hours with FB.

(So this has been my attempt at One-page-a-day.  In typical fashion it took me three days to get to this point...where I push the "Publish" button and start over.  *Sigh*)

CrossPost: Yardist Bloodsport

CrossPost: Yardist Bloodsport

OpenSource Lament - Stick-Shift Linux

I have had the pleasure over the past couple of years to see the Linux seed planted and a Linux enthusiast blossom.  Prior to my association with this fellow he had heard of Linux.  It was some cryptic difficult "thing" that seemed to hang around the periphery of his Windows-centric world.  To his credit he wanted not to just know of the back-office systems that provide services to our network he wanted to understand them.

As any sysadmin will tell you the first and most necessary component to understanding Linux is personal initiative.  The person that doesn't want-need-desire to learn Linux can't get it just by loading up the latest distro of Ubuntu.  Linux is a relationship with computing.  It requires a certain kind of passion to enter into such a relationship.  It also requires a certain level of commitment.

Reflection on my early days shows me diving into distros that came on many, many 3.5 inch floppies.  Then if I was successful I got a prompt: root@slackware: ~>  I stared at it for the longest time and then tried some DOS commands...only to be told that "dir" was not found.  I had no comforting background in any of the *nixs.  So I had to start reading TFM.  I eventually discovered "man" and midnight commander (mc).  I was underway.  At least I could see the file system.

Mr. Slackware, Patrick Volkerding was kind enough to include enough FVWM so that once I found the startx command I even got a graphical user interface.  And right there my troubles really began.  I wanted to do the cool things.  With multiple video cards I could run more than one monitor.  With a sound card I could play music.  With an ethernet adapter I could even get on the network.  RTFM.

In those heady days hard drive space and memory were at a premium.  Even worse, resources allocated to a project boxen were hand-me-downs at best.  So it became necessary to roll my own .xorg config files.  And *GASP* recompile the kernel to include the necessary modules to drive my bells and whistles.  At a time when recompiles took way more than just one cup of coffee.  (I would eventually, after a sweeping office PC upgrade, scrounge and build a 5-node MOSIX cluster that cut compile times to a manageable half pot of coffee.)

Software was a matter of downloading tarballs and ./configure ... and ... search for the dependency, download the tarball, ./configure ... and ... search for the dependency, download the tarball, ./configure ... and ... rinse&repeat ... until make && make install were successful.  Then curse and recurse back up the dependency chain until the original make && make install were successful.

So here is my lament.  Linux has become a commodity.  I can slap a DVD in a laptop (of all things) and load Linux ... and everything, everything works.  Through a GUI I can download and install software and the dependencies, if any, are handled in the background.  It all just works.  Well?!?!  If it all just works then what are you bitchin' about?  That Linux Enthusiast I mentioned earlier never got to learn how to drive a stick-shift Linux.

Just my $0.02

I've been away too long old friend(s)

Shame on me.

I drank the media frenzy kool-aid and dived head first into the deep end of the Fazebook pool.  At first it was kool.  Fluries of friends and flashy memes.  Everybody was doin' it.  Likin' this and LOL commentin' that.  Political side-takin' and snide remarkin' screeds.  Oh and did I mention the "Likes" ... like crack cocaine ... just couldn't wait to get those heady little puffs of ego boastin' positive reinforcin' click nods.  Oh I was in it deep, giving as good as I got ... you gotta like to be Liked.

...and somewhere in the back of my mind was a nagging itch.

what happened to my goals and aspirations?  What happened to my focus and concentration...lemme just check who posted the next Kute Kitty pic ... yeah, just like that.  (That didn't really happen.  I was trying to show by example.)  I used to write.  Not masterful works but fairly well thought out stuff.  I used to write poetry, again not master works but not altogether slouchy stuff.  As near as I can figure I managed to drown my muse in the deep end of the Fazebook pool.

Shame on me.

[BONUS EXTRA:  99 Days Of Freedom challenge.]

So I am intent on starting back up here and over at Yardist formally known as Pa^2.

Hope to see ya round these parts more often.

Haiku: Ballet

Coopers hawk soaring

upset crow takes deference

aerial ballet

Haiku: wind

fighting off the wind

denying winter's embrace

red oak leaves rustling

Haiku: Rosemary

rosemary blosssoms sewn

amid savory needles

a bumblebee quilt

Haiku: Rabbit

walk hopping rabbit

crossed within two feet of me

we each took a breath

Open Education

http://www.onlinecourses.com

Haiku: Lightening

warm sheets of night rain

draped across my little woods

moment bright lightening

Haiku: Iris

one lone iris stands

defiantly in silence

behind the church sign

Haiku: Washington

World torn asunder

Politicians kiss babies

Blossoms fall too soon

Creative GIFs by Aakash Nihalani

Motown Philly Back Again

This is perhaps one of the most ambitious pieces of poetry of our age.  This has the taste of the future.

Motown Philly Back Again by Harmony Holiday   We're all pagans and shamans and clap your hands     now we won't stop the beat We believe in divine healing and we hate to see that      evening sun go down We know when the sight of our women dressed in white    each ritual night, is touching, hypnotizes The animals blush and split for us as revival, as revealed    to themselves These are triumphant women. Even Sister Fame hiding out in the alley turning tricks    and singing verses from the undid scripture, is touching Thank you jesus, thank you jesus, that you jesus, baby,    is that you, she mutters up high between rocks    and lace---his eagerness---it was all night long Sometimes he'd interrupt a recording session to tell us    about his early Motown days or expand on his views of    Heaven and Hell One time he was saying how important it was to love    one's father. Do you love yours? I asked him Why don't you tell him Why don't you tell your father, he said I will if you do You go first

Have I succeeded?

  

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson 

 

 

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Warped

Warped

via Tumble Into Peace on 1/25/13

Quasars Shift Red

Hot Stars Burn Blue

Space-Time Is Warped

And So Are You

                                 - seen on bulletin board at MIT SIPB room

The Nation Needs Extremists

The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. The Nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

 

Martin Luther King, Jr.  

 

 

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Greater purpose

Greater purpose 

 

Use me, God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.

 

Martin Luther King Jr. 

 

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The Teller

The Teller

by David Mason

He told me, maybe thirty years ago,
he'd met a rawboned Eskimo named Jack
while filming polar bears on an ice floe.
Jack went out fishing in his sealskin kayak
but the current carried him so far off course
that when a Russian freighter rescued him
they signed him as a mate to Singapore.
Five years at sea it took to get back home.

The year an Englishman gave him his name.
The year of hustling on a Bali beach.
The year of opium in Viet Nam.
The year he pined for snow. The year he searched
for any vessel that would turn toward Nome.
The man who told me? I tell you, I don't know.

Active Hope

Passive hope is about waiting for external agencies to bring about what we desire. Active Hope is about becoming active participants in bringing about what we hope for. Active Hope is a practice. Like tai chi or gardening, it is something we do rather than have. It is a process we can apply to any situation, and it involves three key steps. First, we take a clear view of reality; second, we identify what we hope for in terms of the direction we'd like things to move in or the values we'd like to see expressed; and third, we take steps to move ourselves or our situation in that direction. Since Active Hope doesn't require our optimism, we can apply it even in areas where we feel hopeless. The guiding impetus is intention; we choose what we aim to bring about, act for, or express.

 

Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone

Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy 

 

 

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Wot's de idear?

RT Harrrumph!

Surface RT runs a pared-down version of Windows 8 known as Windows RT. The OS, which runs on ARM-based chips from Nvidia and others, is not compatible with standard Windows applications. It supports only software pre-installed by Microsoft or apps downloaded from the company's online Windows Store.

Failing and Flying

by Jack Gilbert
Everyone forgets that Icarus also flew. It's the same when love comes to an end, or the marriage fails and people say they knew it was a mistake, that everybody said it would never work. That she was  old enough to know better. But anything worth doing is worth doing badly. Like being there by that summer ocean on the other side of the island while love was fading out of her, the stars  burning so extravagantly those nights that anyone could tell you they would never last. Every morning she was asleep in my bed like a visitation, the gentleness in her like antelope standing in the dawn mist. Each afternoon I watched her coming back through the hot stony field after swimming, the sea light behind her and the huge sky on the other side of that. Listened to her while we ate lunch. How can they say  the marriage failed? Like the people who came back from Provence (when it was Provence) and said it was pretty but the food was greasy. I believe Icarus was not failing as he fell, but just coming to the end of his triumph.

Language and humanity

No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached.

 

Amy Tan

 

Keep your language. Love its sounds, its modulation, its rhythm. But try to march together with men of different languages, remote from your own, who wish like you for a more just and human world.

 

Hélder Câmara

 

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Donation requests without PayPay = FAIL!

There are a great many worthy causes that I would gladly support if only they would except PayPal.  Here is a great example: Toby Keith's initiative to fund critical USO functions...

Donate now. Help the USO fund critical programs including career transition workshops for our wounded troops.

Please allow us to use the currency of this new technological age.  I would be willing to bet that the first 10 PayPal contributions would cover the cost of implementation.  I betcha I can find a wagering site that would give me odds and take my PayPal payment.

Half cooked?

A one-pound female lobster that was caught by a Massachusetts fisherman last week arrives at the New England Aquarium in Boston. Officials say such rare coloration is estimated to occur once in every 50 million lobsters.

Picture: New England Aquarium, Emily Bauernseind/AP (via Pictures of the day: 1 November 2012 - Telegraph)

Incredible Illusion

What Is an Epigram?

What Is an Epigram? by Samuel Taylor Coleridge   What is an Epigram? A dwarfish whole,  Its body brevity, and wit its soul.

Degrees of love

Degrees of love

 

St. Bernard (1090-1153) said that there are four ascending degrees of love:

1) Love of self for self's sake.

2) Love of God for self's sake.

3) Love of God for God's own sake. 

4) Love of self for God's sake.

Be a yardstick of quality.

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected.”   Steve Jobs

Your level of expertise on the job may have a lot to do with how you feel about going to work.  Imagine if you were recognized as the best at that particular job.  Imagine if people came to you for answers.  You’ll enjoy work more! 

Looks like the Smiler, talks like the Beast.

"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it... And they will vote for this president no matter what…[M]y job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

-- Mitt Romney, at a recent fundraiser, sadly not fictional

Looks like the Smiler, talks like the Beast.

Raised to fear

Raised to fear

  

We have been raised to fear ... our deepest cravings. And the fear of our deepest cravings keeps them suspect, keeps us docile and loyal and obedient, and leads us to settle for ... many facets of our own oppression.

 

Audre Lourde

Meaningful work

Meaningful work

  

Happiness, peace, and fulfillment come not through carefree idle play, although that is where they are often sought. They can only be found in meaningful work, that establishes worthwhile goals and then in the struggle to achieve them. 

 

Anthony Wallace

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Grace

Postscript

Postscript
by David Lehman 

He wrote the whole novel in his head,

Sentence by sentence. It took him all day.

Then he took out a wide-ruled yellow legal pad

With three pink vertical lines marking the left margin,

And from his breast pocket he extracted

A disposable plastic fountain pen,

And near the top of the page he wrote the word ODE

In black ink, all caps. For a few minutes he did nothing. 

Then he skipped three lines and wrote,

"It was the greatest birthday present he had ever received:

The manual Smith-Corona typewriter

His parents gave him on the day he graduated from high school

After they took him to the Statler Hilton for lunch, 

Where they had cold poached salmon, his father's favorite."

On becoming...

How you treat

  

Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be. 

 

Stephen R. Covey

To have succeeded

To have succeeded

 

The definition of success: to laugh much, to win respect of intelligent persons and the affections of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give one's self; to leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm, and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived ... this is to have succeeded.

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson lost my fear

 

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My life has been the poem

My life has been the poem I would have writ
by Henry David Thoreau 

My life has been the poem I would have writ
But I could not both live and utter it.

Butterfly effect

Butterfly effect 

 

By carrying out one's duty, whether in the public service, or in business, or in employment, rightly, faithfully, honesty, and justly ... then the welfare of the general body of people of mankind is being cared for. 

 

Emanuel Swedenborg 

Leo Said

Leo Said
by Eileen M

you've gotta

write clearer
so you can
be read
when you're
dead

Poets.org

Cross of the present

 

We would rather be ruined than changed. We would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the present and let our illusions die.

 

W.H. Auden

Consumer Economy

June 7, 2012

Consumer economy   A consumer economy only works if consumption of goods provides only temporary pleasure. That is, if happiness is infinitely deferred, so that buyers continue to buy more and more goods and services. By definition, the consumer can never be satisfied, at rest or happy. Which means she will always feel lacking. The pursuit of this sort of happiness creates a vicious circle of growing anxiety and dissatisfaction.    Tirdad Derakhshani

Viva!

Why old hippies?

Collective fear...

"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd."
— Bertrand Russell, Nobel laureate

Gaining wisdom

Wisdom is not gained by knowing what is right. Wisdom is gained by practicing what is right and noticing what happens when that practice succeeds and when it fails. Wise people do not have to be certain what they believe before they act. They are free to act, trusting that the practice itself will teach them what they need to know.

  

Barbara Brown Taylor

An Altar in the World

Emergent Village

We need a huge, world-changing idea...

Go to Gapingvoid Art and get good stuff.

We don't need no...

If the evil doings of men...

"If the evil doings of men move you to indignation and overwhelming distress, even to a desire for vengeance on the evildoers, shun above all thing that feeling. Go at once and seek suffering for yourself, as though you were yourself guilty of that wrong. Accept that suffering and bear it and your heart will find comfort, and you will understand that you too are guilty, for you might have been a light to the evildoers and were not a light to them."

- Fyodor Dostoyevsky from,

The Brothers Karamazov

Do not pick the flowers...

Keepers have put up a sign telling visitors not to pick the...

by hikergirl

Keepers have put up a sign telling visitors not to pick the flowers - in the lion enclosure at Longleat Safari Park. Every spring the grassy paddock where the lions are kept gives way to a glorious display of bluebells.

Absolute power corrupts...

Russia Lawmakers Advance Bill on Penalties for Protesters

BY: SERGEI L. LOIKO | LOS ANGELES TIMES

Stiff new penalties aimed at opposition protesters were given preliminary approval Tuesday by Russian lawmakers loyal to President Vladimir Putin, the target of mass rallies and demonstrations before his March election victory.

Two Voices

Two Voices - Forward

A collection of poems written over the course of nearly 30 years. From the arrogance and innocence of youth to the vengeful musings of a crudmugeon. Romance, philosophy, death, religion, even *gasp* heartbreak are woven through these paltry offerings. In these scribblings you will find unfinished paintings. You will see the reflection of the war years... you have to choose which war - perhaps the one that best suits you. You will encounter mystical prophets and nearly naked young ladies and grumpy old men.

The title, Two Voices, is the mystique of this collection. Two Voices is the dance I don't do. Two Voices is the magic I don't do. Two Voices symbolizes the relationship between my writing and your reading. I "speak" with my one voice and you "hear" with the second voice, your own. So we collaborate. Much of the content that you will find in my work is not there in my voice. You will paint the picture. You will hear the music. You will write the poetry. I have written these pieces. They will not be rewritten - so I can say that I don't dance. I have imparted meaning to these collections of words. Yet the value comes from you reading them - so I don't do magic.

The title, Two Voices, is an insight into my writing. Seldom if ever do we hear just one voice in our world. More often than not we are subject to barrages of voices all speaking at the same time - and then there is our internal voice(s) offering continuous commentary. Many of these pieces are an attempt to capture in some small measure that multi-dimensionality of voices. Or at least two.

Birds of a feather...

Picture: Paul Miguel/Rex Features (via Pictures of the day: 22 May 2012 - Telegraph)

folding corner ladder by company & company

folding corner ladder by company & company:
a useful domestic tool is redeveloped, keeping its functional quality while making it compact and easier to store.

read more

Nine Meditations on Complexity

Nine Meditations on Complexity:
Complexity not as a mathematical concept, but as an almost intuitive sense of both complication and interconnectedness. Both are necessary components of a truly complex system or situation.

1. Complicated systems have many parts, or take many steps, or have many rules; complex systems are complicated systems connected to and interdependent with other systems (likely also complex).
   
2. There are rarely simple resolutions to complex (complicated+interconnected) problems; because a resolution must take into account the effects of changing a complex situation on the connected systems, the resolution will of necessity be at least as complex as the problem.
   
3. The associated complexity of a seemingly simple resolution generally shows up in unintended or unexpected consequences; complicated interconnections cannot be cut without repercussions.
   
4. For this reason, over time, simple solutions tend to increase complexity.
   
5. Complication can be the perverse result of simple interactions, but complexity is rarely so; because complex situations are also complicated, the two can be easily confused.
   
6. In situations where "complexity itself" is asserted to be the problem, the actual crisis is often around complication; the trick is to devise ways to reduce the complication without damaging the interconnections.
   
7. Unfortunately, that's not simple; in many cases, it may not be possible.
   
8. The only way to reduce and resolve the complexity of a given situation is to reduce its level of interconnection with other systems; doing so, however, can undermine the value or power of the given system, and will alter the systems to which it was once connected.
   
9. In other words, the opposite of "complex" is not "simple," the opposite of "complex" is "isolated."
   

[Just thinking about how the world works as I prepare for another intercontinental journey.]

Comic for May 17, 2012

Comic for May 17, 2012:

CDR Heritage

• Fear of failure is the most debilitating fear of all 
• Competence is valued far more than collar device 
• There is no more dangerous personality flaw than arrogance 
• Over-communicating the WHY behind our actions is a necessity 
• Remaining focused on helping those around oneself rise to the top is the only way to be a true leader 
• In order to inspire, one must be inspired 
• Being successful does not mean we are significant 
• Efficiency and effectiveness don't always converge 
• Erring on the side of action is admirable 
• Constructively critical feedback from a 360 degree array is desired, required, and the only way to improve

- Commander Sean Robert Heritage

Algebra?

In India, "cold weather" is...

In India, "cold weather" is merely a conventional phrase and has come into

use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish between weather

which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which will only make it mushy.

                -- Mark Twain

My simple Religion

I don't know...

... what you just gave me but it tastes... icky!  *P'teau*

Want to play?

Hunger! What is it good for?

To soften our view of others

Jesus urged his followers to learn to look at other adults as they might at children. Few things can more quickly transform our sense of a person's character than picturing him or her as a child; from this perspective, we are better able to express the sympathy and generosity that we all but naturally display towards the young, whom we tend to describe as naughty rather than bad, cheeky rather than arrogant. This is the same sort of softening we may feel towards anyone whom we see sleeping: with eyes closed and features relaxed and defenceless, a sleeper invites a gentle regard that in itself is almost love—so much so, in fact, that it can be unsettling to gaze at length at a stranger asleep beside us on a train or plane. That unmasked face seems to prompt us towards an intimacy that calls into question the foundations of civilised indifference on which ordinary communal relations rest. But there is no such thing as a stranger, a Christian would say; there is only the impression of strangeness, born out of a failure to acknowledge that others share both our needs and our weaknesses.

--ALAIN DE BOTTON, in his book STATUS ANXIETY

Blatantly borrowed from Garry's Posterous

Because I _DO_ care...

Mmmmmm...

Too Many People...

Visit WinExtra

Global May

Me too.

Where can I get one?

I didn't know it was a competition...

Broccoli

Comic for April 5, 2012

Comic for April 5, 2012: