Dialogue of the Decades was the dinner conversation theme for the Macalester Golden Scots on June 8, 2018. Our table had the 1970's. We could not help but wander off into each decade since, especially how life changed from 2008 to the present.
What stands out in your memories? Who were our national and international leaders of thought and action? What kinds of music and creative arts did we hear and perform? How did we engage social justice, racism, sexism, community activism and development.
It is true that four years as a Macalester student changed my life, and began a life-long engagement in every community where I lived. Most of the grads and spouses travelled a lot.
Let me start with the 1940's. I can hear the voice of President Harry Truman, and WCCO Radio newscaster Cedric Adams. I can hear the radio soap operas and comedians.
My grandmothers Lena Warner and Ida Carlson were most influential. My Uncle David Warner, Aunt Lucille Gust, Lila Warner, Mabel Carlson, and Alice Carlson all were important.
Thanksgiving week 1949 with Mabel Carlson on her family farm in Apple River Township inspired me for fifty years. I had little awareness of my sister Diane who was born that week, November 22, in St. Paul.
Jump ahead to November 22, 1963, when President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, TX. 1964 begins my life at Macalester Collge, and our world already was changing, with a new urgency and anxiety about war. I did not wake up to the plague of racism until I went to Air Force boot camp at Gunter Airbase in Montgomery, Alabama, July-August 1966. Macalester classmates already were Freedom Marchers, and Vietnam war protesters. I avoided the draft by enrolling in Air Force ROTC Aerospace Studies at the College of St. Thomas.
Two of my Air Force instructors at boot camp in Montgomery had been in the air ready for nuclear war with Russia during Cuban Missile Crisis. Fear and anxiety, the Red Scare of McCarthyism, air raid drills and sirens, childhood memories of the 1950's.
Boot camp instructors also told the "true" story about why the Vietnam War had to be won. Natural resources, keeping the shipping lanes open, and the skies safe from the Peoples Republic of China were key. Presidents lied to America about winning the war. Presiden Eisenhower warned us about the role played by white supremist military industrial complex businessmen, who became billionaires whether the war was won or lost. We could trust Walter Cronkite on CBS News until Daniel Ellsberg, the Washington Post, New York Times, and every regional newspaper published the Pentagon Papers in 1973.
PBS presented a Ken Burns 2018 documentary on the history of the Vietnam War, included details from the Pentagon Papers. Now I hold revisionist history that colors my memories.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Revisiting Blogger
Most of the content and many of the links shown on the sidebars of Dave's Taurus ID are out of date. There must be a tutorial to relearn basic skills.
I expected the Blogger Dashboard to be my first step. Some editing features still direct me to the Dashboard, but I never see it.
When I click on Blogger on my Google apps drop-down box, "Baha'is and Friends", https://bahaimn3640.blogspot.com appears. In fact, I want to invite more authors, family and friends to post their views on climate change, social justice, community building, and neighborhood activisim.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Memory Loss - USA Today Coverage
Mary Brophy Marcus has an excellent series of articles this week in USA Today on Alzheimer's disease.
If you have followed this theme in my blog, what's new and exciting to me is the recent reports relating memory loss to depression and diabetes.
Here are links to the articles. First is a report on the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Paris. I think the article is one of the best written I've seen on any topic.
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/alzheimers/story/2011/07/Early-lapses-in-memory-shed-light-on-Alzheimers/49506150/1
Second is an article that shows images of the kind associated with treatments described in the book, "Pictures of the Mind", by Miriam Boleyn-Fitzgerald.
http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/medical/alzheimers/2011-01-19-alzheimers19_ST_N.htm?csp=obinsite
If you have followed this theme in my blog, what's new and exciting to me is the recent reports relating memory loss to depression and diabetes.
Here are links to the articles. First is a report on the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Paris. I think the article is one of the best written I've seen on any topic.
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/alzheimers/story/2011/07/Early-lapses-in-memory-shed-light-on-Alzheimers/49506150/1
Second is an article that shows images of the kind associated with treatments described in the book, "Pictures of the Mind", by Miriam Boleyn-Fitzgerald.
http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/medical/alzheimers/2011-01-19-alzheimers19_ST_N.htm?csp=obinsite
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Extreme Writing Makeover - How do you write numbers?
Pick a number, any number.
Do you believe the numbers?
I have a number in mind. If you do not have a number, we will use mine. (This line makes the difference between you, the billionaire manager, and me, the analyst).
This is week #44 of a 52-week online writing course, "Extreme Writing Makeover", led by publication coach Daphne-Gray Grant. If you have not followed up on previous mention of her course in this blog, I urge you to do so. No matter at what stage of learning you are as a writer, you will learn to write better and faster, beginning with week one of her course.
This week's headline: "Don't numb your readers with numbers".
Last week: "Why and how you must eliminate cliches".
The first line in this blog post may be a cliché. The bit about analysts and managers was like a cliché at 3M. I heard it often. I was the analyst.
Notice how many ways I wrote numbers in the preceding two paragraphs. 3M has to be written that way. The corporate name is 3M, not 3M Company, and not the name spelled out, Minnesota, Mining, and Manufacturing?
I paused in the writing here, copied and pasted my work into Microsoft Word 2010. I have the grammar and spelling checker ready to analyze as I type. There are no errors highlighted for any of my numbers. There is a problem with the spelling of cliché without a diacritical mark.
Numbers dominated my careers as a U.S. Air Force Weather Officer, and as an analyst at 3M.
When I retired from 3M , I saved a huge three-ring binder we published as a user guide. The guide explained how to use the service measurement system I programmed. More than one hundred pages displayed images of menus, criteria fields to be filled in by the user, and examples of every report the program could generate. I wrote the content of the guide. I wrote the logic in hundreds of computer programs that ran in the background. A professional IT programmer made it all work online. We hired a professional publishing service to finish the layout and print it.
Imagine an audience involving fifty-two countries. Supply Chain Management specialists, all of them managers or supervisors represented transportation, distribution, warehousing, inventory management, customs clearance, and so on. They had to understand the numbers. They communicated to executives who don't read reports past the first paragraph, and will not read anything longer than one page.
Somehow, I was a popular guy with management, because I could communicate meaning. I had the numbers they needed. A picture was worth more than a thousand words, especially in a video conference. Our Japanese team depended on the graphics projected to be the same format every month. They had the benefit of a nine-hour time difference to read the printed reports I sent before the meeting, and the reports had to have the same format every time.
Language differences were important. On one occasion our U.S. team leader sat in a video conference room in Brussels at midnight, with a German team leader at his side, while the Japanese team were assembled at 8 AM in an office near Tokyo.
Why? We had accomplishments to report. We had saved the company millions of dollars. We had reduced the time it took to move exports from the middle of the U.S. to Europe or Japan. Shipments via truck, rail, and ocean could get to Europe in nine days, where it used to take forty-five days. To Japan, we could do it consistently in thirty days, where it had been as much as seventy-two days and unreliable.
We had a story to tell. That is the lesson for this week. Try not to start a report with numbers. Tell the story.
There is more to a story. Capture the audience. Here is the lead posted on Facebook yesterday by Tom Skilling, WGN TV weatherman. He posted a colorful graphic to go with it.
"This is a stunning forecast--not one you see everyday. The immense dome of hot air, depicted on this Sunday evening upper air forecast is to take shape across a huge swath of the US. 90+ deg temps are predicted in sections of 34 states by late this weekend by our computer forecast models. Chicago's 141 yr observational record shows the area's hottest wx has historically occurred from July 16-29."
Here is the link to my publication coach:
http://www.publicationcoach.com
Do you believe the numbers?
I have a number in mind. If you do not have a number, we will use mine. (This line makes the difference between you, the billionaire manager, and me, the analyst).
This is week #44 of a 52-week online writing course, "Extreme Writing Makeover", led by publication coach Daphne-Gray Grant. If you have not followed up on previous mention of her course in this blog, I urge you to do so. No matter at what stage of learning you are as a writer, you will learn to write better and faster, beginning with week one of her course.
This week's headline: "Don't numb your readers with numbers".
Last week: "Why and how you must eliminate cliches".
The first line in this blog post may be a cliché. The bit about analysts and managers was like a cliché at 3M. I heard it often. I was the analyst.
Notice how many ways I wrote numbers in the preceding two paragraphs. 3M has to be written that way. The corporate name is 3M, not 3M Company, and not the name spelled out, Minnesota, Mining, and Manufacturing?
I paused in the writing here, copied and pasted my work into Microsoft Word 2010. I have the grammar and spelling checker ready to analyze as I type. There are no errors highlighted for any of my numbers. There is a problem with the spelling of cliché without a diacritical mark.
Numbers dominated my careers as a U.S. Air Force Weather Officer, and as an analyst at 3M.
When I retired from 3M , I saved a huge three-ring binder we published as a user guide. The guide explained how to use the service measurement system I programmed. More than one hundred pages displayed images of menus, criteria fields to be filled in by the user, and examples of every report the program could generate. I wrote the content of the guide. I wrote the logic in hundreds of computer programs that ran in the background. A professional IT programmer made it all work online. We hired a professional publishing service to finish the layout and print it.
Imagine an audience involving fifty-two countries. Supply Chain Management specialists, all of them managers or supervisors represented transportation, distribution, warehousing, inventory management, customs clearance, and so on. They had to understand the numbers. They communicated to executives who don't read reports past the first paragraph, and will not read anything longer than one page.
Somehow, I was a popular guy with management, because I could communicate meaning. I had the numbers they needed. A picture was worth more than a thousand words, especially in a video conference. Our Japanese team depended on the graphics projected to be the same format every month. They had the benefit of a nine-hour time difference to read the printed reports I sent before the meeting, and the reports had to have the same format every time.
Language differences were important. On one occasion our U.S. team leader sat in a video conference room in Brussels at midnight, with a German team leader at his side, while the Japanese team were assembled at 8 AM in an office near Tokyo.
Why? We had accomplishments to report. We had saved the company millions of dollars. We had reduced the time it took to move exports from the middle of the U.S. to Europe or Japan. Shipments via truck, rail, and ocean could get to Europe in nine days, where it used to take forty-five days. To Japan, we could do it consistently in thirty days, where it had been as much as seventy-two days and unreliable.
We had a story to tell. That is the lesson for this week. Try not to start a report with numbers. Tell the story.
There is more to a story. Capture the audience. Here is the lead posted on Facebook yesterday by Tom Skilling, WGN TV weatherman. He posted a colorful graphic to go with it.
"This is a stunning forecast--not one you see everyday. The immense dome of hot air, depicted on this Sunday evening upper air forecast is to take shape across a huge swath of the US. 90+ deg temps are predicted in sections of 34 states by late this weekend by our computer forecast models. Chicago's 141 yr observational record shows the area's hottest wx has historically occurred from July 16-29."
Here is the link to my publication coach:
http://www.publicationcoach.com
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Pictures of My Mind - Dreams and Rumination
Here is a story I may include in my memoir, Pictures of My Mind. I don't pretend to be a rigorous scholar. What I have in mind here reminds me of what Emmanuel Swedenborg might have recorded in his journal in the 1740's. He was a scholar and a scientist. He was convicted of heresy by the Swedish Lutheran Church for promoting such thoughts. Here is how my mind thinks. Here are my experiences of thought and memory functions today.
It is July 13, 2011, 5:10 AM. A robin is on the lawn on the lakeside of our house. I put on my glasses to see the robin that was just a dark object I knew was not usually there on the lawn. I take note that the Sun has not risen. A week from today will be a month after the Summer Solstice already. The Sun had risen by 5:10 AM a month ago.
It may be an accomplishment in training my mind to record such observations. Awareness of a flood of creative thoughts appears to be a separate function, distinctly different from the dream state function. Images and stories from the dream state appear to be different from the flood of words coming through rumination.
Lucid dreaming practices
The 90-minute cycle caught my attention. I followed that cycle during my workday at 3M. It helped meet deadlines. It was essential for me to take a break while writing user guides, fiscal procedures, and computer programs for data analysis. I would stop working on a high priority, and do something else to refresh my mind.
For my dream work, I do not set an alarm to wake up. A thought is enough to pre-program myself to wake up. I learned from a man who practiced Sufi meditation that we can make use of those middle-of-the-night waking periods to accomplish many things. Once I bought an Oreck Vacuum Cleaner after watching an infomercial at 2 AM. Mostly likely, I will be aware that I am dreaming at the end of the first 90-minute cycle around 12:30 AM, and again after 5 AM.
Bedside Journals
It is July 13, 2011, 5:10 AM. A robin is on the lawn on the lakeside of our house. I put on my glasses to see the robin that was just a dark object I knew was not usually there on the lawn. I take note that the Sun has not risen. A week from today will be a month after the Summer Solstice already. The Sun had risen by 5:10 AM a month ago.
I observe such changes as the rising time of the Sun, the quality of daylight at any moment, what is happening in Nature, and what is happening on the lake. Any of these observations support my creative writing practice. Professional writing coaches make money telling you to practice such observations.
Before I pulled back the covers and left the warmth of my bed in our guest room, I think I was in a peculiar state of awareness. I think I was awake. I think I was ruminating. I know I had been dreaming. I congratulated myself for observing so many creative thoughts. I thought I should allow that flood of creative imagination to flow uninterrupted. I already had forgotten the dream content by the time I was aware that I had been dreaming. It did no good to follow lucid dreaming practice, to have a journal at hand to write out the dream. In fact, I had prepared myself for lucid dreaming last night. I had been writing about it, typing and quoting a lucid dream website into one of my memoir documents on Microsoft Word.
It does not work every time to write out my thoughts immediately after waking up. I have not recovered the dream content. I have not recovered the content of the flood of creative thoughts. I conclude that that hour may have lasted only a few minutes. The flood of creative thoughts was like a different level of consciousness, still in the dream state. Not every memory training practice overcomes memory loss.It may be an accomplishment in training my mind to record such observations. Awareness of a flood of creative thoughts appears to be a separate function, distinctly different from the dream state function. Images and stories from the dream state appear to be different from the flood of words coming through rumination.
“Lucid dreaming is the experience of being completely aware within a dream that you are, in fact, in a dream.”
“First, tell yourself before you go to sleep that you WILL remember your dreams.”
“Sleep cycles are 90 minutes long on average and REM sleep occurs at the end of the cycle. So if you set your alarm for any 90 minute interval after you fall asleep, you will most likely end up waking up during a dream, making it easier to remember.”
I took these quotes from a website called High Existence. The complete “Lucid Dreaming” topic may appeal to you for memory training. http://www.highexistence.com/lucid-dreaming/The 90-minute cycle caught my attention. I followed that cycle during my workday at 3M. It helped meet deadlines. It was essential for me to take a break while writing user guides, fiscal procedures, and computer programs for data analysis. I would stop working on a high priority, and do something else to refresh my mind.
For my dream work, I do not set an alarm to wake up. A thought is enough to pre-program myself to wake up. I learned from a man who practiced Sufi meditation that we can make use of those middle-of-the-night waking periods to accomplish many things. Once I bought an Oreck Vacuum Cleaner after watching an infomercial at 2 AM. Mostly likely, I will be aware that I am dreaming at the end of the first 90-minute cycle around 12:30 AM, and again after 5 AM.
Bedside Journals
Most important for remembering dreams, I keep a journal on my bedside table. Most of my journals are general purpose. For several years I set aside a plush orange-colored journal specifically for dreams. The touch and feel of the soft cover makes it easy to find in the dark. I can always find a pen on my dresser. Dreams recorded in my general purpose volumes can be detailed, but often are fragmentary. No matter what kind of journal I use, if I have recurring dream themes or dream images, I make note of them at the end of the dream record.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
What's Blossoming?
Remember my posts based on Reverb10 prompts? I still get a prompt from Reverb each month. "What's blossoming?" is today's prompt.
Today we toured Thomas Jefferson's Monticello at Charlottesville, VA. Last week we walked the Capitol Mall twice at the beginning of Cherry Blossom Festival. We toured Historic Jamestown and Williamsburg this past weekend. In that brief span of time, the temperature jumped from the 40's to the 80's, and trees leafed out in a hurry. Suddenly we were washing tree pollen off the windows of our van.
Here are a few samples of photos. If you happen to make it to the Cherry Blossom Festival sometime, the best views are from the Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial, looking across the Tidal Basin toward the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument. You don't want to miss the FDR memorial anyway.
Jefferson Memorial
FDR Memorial
Monticello
Monticello
Historic Jamestown
Today we toured Thomas Jefferson's Monticello at Charlottesville, VA. Last week we walked the Capitol Mall twice at the beginning of Cherry Blossom Festival. We toured Historic Jamestown and Williamsburg this past weekend. In that brief span of time, the temperature jumped from the 40's to the 80's, and trees leafed out in a hurry. Suddenly we were washing tree pollen off the windows of our van.
Here are a few samples of photos. If you happen to make it to the Cherry Blossom Festival sometime, the best views are from the Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial, looking across the Tidal Basin toward the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument. You don't want to miss the FDR memorial anyway.
Jefferson Memorial
FDR Memorial
Monticello
Monticello
Historic JamestownFriday, January 28, 2011
Extreme Writing Makeover - The Artist's Way
How many first-thing-in-the-morning assignments can you squeeze into your day? Can you get out of bed half an hour earlier for each new self-help program that wants a commitment?
Oversubscribing to everything continues in my learning mode. We're not even half way through the 52-week online writing course, "Extreme Writing Makeover".
Last week I started back-to-back ten week art classes, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at the Grand Marais Art Colony. The first time I took a Life Drawing class was a year ago this month. Until now, January through March was all the time I had for creativity courses. Life Drawing has no instructor, but Neil Sherman, a very busy artist, monitors the evening, and he draws.
A course based on the book, The Artist's Way, subtitle: "A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity", is instructed - by Kelly Dupre. You also may find her at work at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais. Only four students registered. That fits the definition of a Sacred Circle, according to the author, Julia Cameron.
As the instructor and we students introduced ourselves for the first time, I agreed that our coming together was meant to be. Like synchronicity, unlikely circumstances bring people together, and in this case can be explained by common interests in creativity.
I read Julia Cameron's books more than fifteen years ago. I immediately followed The Artist's Way by reading The Vein of Gold. I studied both on my own. I also studied Drawing On The Light From Within, by Judith Cornell, about the same time.
I hadn't thought about The Artist's Way as a recovery program. I got with the program right away the first evening. "The Morning Pages" task wants that extra half hour first thing in the morning, three handwritten pages in a journal. I've been doing that for over twenty five years. Now I have some useful recovery tasks to write about. I have some unlearning to do.
I blurt. I write about those negative responses. Go to the top of this blog post to read one of my blurts. Did I write three pages every morning this week? Why not? I had good reasons why I didn't. I won't beat myself up for missing the mark. That's a recovery step. I always wrote something. The time required to write three pages ranged from 40 to 55 minutes.
Extreme Writing Makeover wants me to write better and faster. That first in the morning journal writing I do in 20 minutes. This week my Publication Coach, Daphne Gray-Grant, wants only five minutes.
I drift off in my own thoughts while writing. I'm in Dave's World. When that happens during a conversation, one my friends sometimes brings me back by saying, "Earth to Dave!" Returning to focus also is a recovery step. Intense focus happens for me during a life drawing exercise. I'm in the zone. That's healthy. At home, working with intensity the other night, the sound of my wife cutting a sheet of gift wrapping paper was like a shotgun going off. That's not healthy. I'm irritable.
Among my blurts, there were two things I was unwilling to share within my new Sacred Circle that first night. The level of trust we established was amazing, but we must trust each other much more deeply to get past the intimate darkness.
Oversubscribing to everything continues in my learning mode. We're not even half way through the 52-week online writing course, "Extreme Writing Makeover".
Last week I started back-to-back ten week art classes, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at the Grand Marais Art Colony. The first time I took a Life Drawing class was a year ago this month. Until now, January through March was all the time I had for creativity courses. Life Drawing has no instructor, but Neil Sherman, a very busy artist, monitors the evening, and he draws.
A course based on the book, The Artist's Way, subtitle: "A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity", is instructed - by Kelly Dupre. You also may find her at work at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais. Only four students registered. That fits the definition of a Sacred Circle, according to the author, Julia Cameron.
As the instructor and we students introduced ourselves for the first time, I agreed that our coming together was meant to be. Like synchronicity, unlikely circumstances bring people together, and in this case can be explained by common interests in creativity.
I read Julia Cameron's books more than fifteen years ago. I immediately followed The Artist's Way by reading The Vein of Gold. I studied both on my own. I also studied Drawing On The Light From Within, by Judith Cornell, about the same time.
I hadn't thought about The Artist's Way as a recovery program. I got with the program right away the first evening. "The Morning Pages" task wants that extra half hour first thing in the morning, three handwritten pages in a journal. I've been doing that for over twenty five years. Now I have some useful recovery tasks to write about. I have some unlearning to do.
I blurt. I write about those negative responses. Go to the top of this blog post to read one of my blurts. Did I write three pages every morning this week? Why not? I had good reasons why I didn't. I won't beat myself up for missing the mark. That's a recovery step. I always wrote something. The time required to write three pages ranged from 40 to 55 minutes.
Extreme Writing Makeover wants me to write better and faster. That first in the morning journal writing I do in 20 minutes. This week my Publication Coach, Daphne Gray-Grant, wants only five minutes.
I drift off in my own thoughts while writing. I'm in Dave's World. When that happens during a conversation, one my friends sometimes brings me back by saying, "Earth to Dave!" Returning to focus also is a recovery step. Intense focus happens for me during a life drawing exercise. I'm in the zone. That's healthy. At home, working with intensity the other night, the sound of my wife cutting a sheet of gift wrapping paper was like a shotgun going off. That's not healthy. I'm irritable.
Among my blurts, there were two things I was unwilling to share within my new Sacred Circle that first night. The level of trust we established was amazing, but we must trust each other much more deeply to get past the intimate darkness.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Reverb10 - Things for 2011
I have another list of things. We're coming to a deadline tomorrow. Bring the review of 2010 to an end. Plan 2011.
Looking back on the daily reverb10 Prompts since December 10, I can't answer many of them with one-liner responses. Some commenters on Twitter thought there was too much repetition in the Prompts. Two of the Prompts wanted a list of Things - 11 Things I don't need to do again in 2011, and 5 minutes of memories from 2010 I don't want to lose.
Twenty years ago, a good friend and massage therapist was working me over on the table. She said, "There are too many shoulds in life." She also described what she is, a psychic surgeon. Be careful what you tell someone on a massage table. It can become embedded in your memory forever.
My list of Things as 2011 begins are not just shoulds, they are musts and must sees. It's like Death and Taxes time for me. I expect to live another 25 years. If not, I have a good spiritual philosophy to take care of an early departure.
I mentioned in answer to another Prompt, that I am among the first wave of Baby Boomers to turn 65 in 2011. I must do certain things beginning in February, three months before Medicare takes over my health care. If I don't follow up on the assumption that my 3M Retiree benefits automatically do certain things when I become eligible for Medicare in May, it will be very difficult to do over later. Here's one case where doing it right the first time matters.
There are things I always must do in January and February for tax preparation. I could do the whole thing myself, but a good, trustworthy accountant in St. Paul gets a bundle of paperwork from me every year. There hasn't been a time in the past twenty five years when significant changes in the tax laws, or life changes, didn't require an expert tax accountant.
Travel was the subject of another reverb10 Prompt. The negative Thing in 2010, nothing worked out as planned. It was our 40th wedding anniversary year. We took one very good road trip to Branson, MO., and Bull Shoals, AK in the Spring. We had planned a romantic get-away in July at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, an upgrade to the way we saw the island on our honeymoon. Death and near-death of family members canceled that trip. We already canceled a cruise to Norway for June 2011. We can't afford it.
Travel plans for 2011 are more flexible. The big ones are a Spring road trip to Williamsburg, VA, and Savannah, GA., and The Circle Tour of Lake Superior in the fall. Norway could come into play. A friend who lives there says she can do the cruise for 1/10th of the cost of the one we had booked, plus airfare.
Not everyone who reads my blogs is aware of the Baha'i Faith, unless you click on the links listed on the sidebars. Planning is a major part of Baha'i life. We all just got a 16-page Message from the Universal House of Justice. It prepares us for two Five-Year Plans that will influence spiritual and social development in every community, Baha'i or not, through 2021. I must read it, study it, and actively engage with a global community. Between now and the end of April, this is a major commitment. Must or what? It's as important to my spiritual reality as breathing, eating, and sleeping are physically.
Ultimately, all of the creative arts, writing, and community action I'm committed to doing in 2011 are in the context of the Baha'i Plan.
Looking back on the daily reverb10 Prompts since December 10, I can't answer many of them with one-liner responses. Some commenters on Twitter thought there was too much repetition in the Prompts. Two of the Prompts wanted a list of Things - 11 Things I don't need to do again in 2011, and 5 minutes of memories from 2010 I don't want to lose.
Twenty years ago, a good friend and massage therapist was working me over on the table. She said, "There are too many shoulds in life." She also described what she is, a psychic surgeon. Be careful what you tell someone on a massage table. It can become embedded in your memory forever.
My list of Things as 2011 begins are not just shoulds, they are musts and must sees. It's like Death and Taxes time for me. I expect to live another 25 years. If not, I have a good spiritual philosophy to take care of an early departure.
I mentioned in answer to another Prompt, that I am among the first wave of Baby Boomers to turn 65 in 2011. I must do certain things beginning in February, three months before Medicare takes over my health care. If I don't follow up on the assumption that my 3M Retiree benefits automatically do certain things when I become eligible for Medicare in May, it will be very difficult to do over later. Here's one case where doing it right the first time matters.
There are things I always must do in January and February for tax preparation. I could do the whole thing myself, but a good, trustworthy accountant in St. Paul gets a bundle of paperwork from me every year. There hasn't been a time in the past twenty five years when significant changes in the tax laws, or life changes, didn't require an expert tax accountant.
Travel was the subject of another reverb10 Prompt. The negative Thing in 2010, nothing worked out as planned. It was our 40th wedding anniversary year. We took one very good road trip to Branson, MO., and Bull Shoals, AK in the Spring. We had planned a romantic get-away in July at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, an upgrade to the way we saw the island on our honeymoon. Death and near-death of family members canceled that trip. We already canceled a cruise to Norway for June 2011. We can't afford it.
Travel plans for 2011 are more flexible. The big ones are a Spring road trip to Williamsburg, VA, and Savannah, GA., and The Circle Tour of Lake Superior in the fall. Norway could come into play. A friend who lives there says she can do the cruise for 1/10th of the cost of the one we had booked, plus airfare.
Not everyone who reads my blogs is aware of the Baha'i Faith, unless you click on the links listed on the sidebars. Planning is a major part of Baha'i life. We all just got a 16-page Message from the Universal House of Justice. It prepares us for two Five-Year Plans that will influence spiritual and social development in every community, Baha'i or not, through 2021. I must read it, study it, and actively engage with a global community. Between now and the end of April, this is a major commitment. Must or what? It's as important to my spiritual reality as breathing, eating, and sleeping are physically.
Ultimately, all of the creative arts, writing, and community action I'm committed to doing in 2011 are in the context of the Baha'i Plan.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Reverb10 - Prompt December 25 - Photo Op
The Prompt:
Photo - a present to yourself. Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words.
This photo has been my Facebook Profile for months.
Paul M. Walsh, professional photographer, spent an entire day at Split Rock Lighthouse Historic Site.
Brendan Anderson from the Minneapolis area is Jack Sparrow, the Pirate.
On the left, Pete Dunda, my coworker, tour guide, historic site interpreter, had many more photo ops than I that day.
More often than not this Centennial season, I too was in a U.S. Lighthouse Service, 1920's era uniform.
More than 5,000 visitors attended the big birthday party on July 31, 2010, including several hundred descendants of the Keepers who served there from 1910 to 1969. A candle light procession of Keepers and families was followed by the lighting of the beacon at sunset.
Hundreds of amateur and professional photographers crowded the rocky beach a quarter mile away below the 130 foot cliff. More were in boats and yachts in Little Two Harbors. A grand display of fireworks behind the tower over Lake Superior, and all the blue digital camera displays made a magnificent scene.
Of course, the Centennial celebration included events from January through November. I was on the job from late April through October. More than 135,000 visitors attended. The final day of the regular season was October 24. It was the end of my tenth season. Again, I was in uniform, and I lit the beacon at sunset one last time.
Photo - a present to yourself. Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words.
This photo has been my Facebook Profile for months.
Paul M. Walsh, professional photographer, spent an entire day at Split Rock Lighthouse Historic Site.
Brendan Anderson from the Minneapolis area is Jack Sparrow, the Pirate.
On the left, Pete Dunda, my coworker, tour guide, historic site interpreter, had many more photo ops than I that day.
More often than not this Centennial season, I too was in a U.S. Lighthouse Service, 1920's era uniform.
More than 5,000 visitors attended the big birthday party on July 31, 2010, including several hundred descendants of the Keepers who served there from 1910 to 1969. A candle light procession of Keepers and families was followed by the lighting of the beacon at sunset.
Hundreds of amateur and professional photographers crowded the rocky beach a quarter mile away below the 130 foot cliff. More were in boats and yachts in Little Two Harbors. A grand display of fireworks behind the tower over Lake Superior, and all the blue digital camera displays made a magnificent scene.
Of course, the Centennial celebration included events from January through November. I was on the job from late April through October. More than 135,000 visitors attended. The final day of the regular season was October 24. It was the end of my tenth season. Again, I was in uniform, and I lit the beacon at sunset one last time.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Reverb10 - Prompt December 26 - Soul Food
The Prompt: What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth & touched your soul?
Another photo I might have posted as a memorable moment was a local event at Round River Farm, near Finland, MN. My wife and I get half a share per week of locally grown veggies. Community Supported Agriculture.
Not only does locally grown lettuce, carrots, potatoes, kohlrabi, and squash taste fresher, the healthy feeling is noticeable. Knowing the friends involved feeds the soul.
The growing season in Northeast Minnesota runs from mid-June to early October. Along the North Shore of Lake Superior, master gardeners can do it, but I have failed miserably at gardening. My gardens have been located in sunny spots 200-300 feet away from the shore. Three miles away from the lake at elevations more than 900 feet above the lake, rich soil can be found. Round River Farm uses wind power, solar power, and reclaimed waste water. I volunteered to help with the planting (hoop houses) and soil preparation starting next April.
The hosts, David and Lis Abazs explain.
Chard
Community Support
Hoop houses
Another photo I might have posted as a memorable moment was a local event at Round River Farm, near Finland, MN. My wife and I get half a share per week of locally grown veggies. Community Supported Agriculture.
Not only does locally grown lettuce, carrots, potatoes, kohlrabi, and squash taste fresher, the healthy feeling is noticeable. Knowing the friends involved feeds the soul.
The growing season in Northeast Minnesota runs from mid-June to early October. Along the North Shore of Lake Superior, master gardeners can do it, but I have failed miserably at gardening. My gardens have been located in sunny spots 200-300 feet away from the shore. Three miles away from the lake at elevations more than 900 feet above the lake, rich soil can be found. Round River Farm uses wind power, solar power, and reclaimed waste water. I volunteered to help with the planting (hoop houses) and soil preparation starting next April.
The hosts, David and Lis Abazs explain.
Chard
Community Support
Hoop houses
Reverb10 Prompt - December 27 - A Moment of Joy
In September I posted on Facebook a photo album of the Amery Fall Festival. The birthplace of both my parents was on farms withing five miles of Amery, Wisconsin. Many of my cousins were present for the annual festival. I hadn't been there recently. After the festival, many more of us gathered at my cousin's farm near Balsam Lake, about ten miles north, for a reunion. The reunion may become an annual event. We're all getting old.
The moment was at the food fair after the parade. Thousands swarmed the stands; churches, small town community clubs offered their best. Besides the sight and the aromas, I saw a wide community that had revived. It wasn't that great ten years ago.
The Reverb10 assignment:
December 27 – Ordinary Joy
Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year?
The moment was at the food fair after the parade. Thousands swarmed the stands; churches, small town community clubs offered their best. Besides the sight and the aromas, I saw a wide community that had revived. It wasn't that great ten years ago.
The Reverb10 assignment:
December 27 – Ordinary Joy
Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year?
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Reverb10 - December 21st Prompt - Winter Solstice
The heading for today's Reverb10 Prompt says "Future Self".
Here is the writing assignment:
"Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead? (Bonus: Write a note to yourself 10 years ago. What would you tell your younger self?) (Author: Jenny Blake)"
Why did I change the title for my blog post today? Winter Solstice is what Reverb10 is all about. I do this every year; reflect on the past, review long-term goals and personal values, and plan the short-term year ahead. My experience tells me that if a resolution is made on New Years Day, will it be broken immediately.
Life circumstances change rapidly. Rapid change could be the theme of my life. Even more in the next five years, I think.
I am among the first year Baby Boomers. We turn 65 in 2011.
It's Medicare time, but politicians may repeal the new Health Care Bill. Add uncertainty to what I expect in the next five years.
The quickest way to solve the Social Security and Medicare problem is to kill us all off. Take away our ticket in the door to every medical facility, not to mention the imposition of extreme increases in out of pocket co-payments for those of us who manage to get supplemental coverage.
Sixty years ago, men were physically worn out by age 65. Life expectancy was only 73 for a male, as I recall. Ten years ago, my wife and I made a financial plan, and we made an early retirement decision based on investments and projected income. We would never run out of money if we lived to be 90. We are among the lucky who did not have a mortgage. We own our home. There will be no foreclosure in our future.
Ten years ago, I had already lost a significant amount in the stock market when the tech bubble burst. I didn't learn my lesson. I lost twice since that time. Blame the politicians again, and corruption in business, hedge funds in particular. I didn't invest in hedge funds, but the market was manipulated in away that normal investment reasoning couldn't anticipate. My investment advice to myself, keep it simple. Buy low, sell high. Ignore the talking heads on CNBC.
A year from now Worldshift 2012 will have happened. Right about now at the Winter Solstice, according to some doomsdayers. I see Worldshift 2012 as a positive outlook. I think it's a plan that will take us to 2021. I'm an idealist. I plan to be healthy and happy five years from now.
Here is the writing assignment:
"Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead? (Bonus: Write a note to yourself 10 years ago. What would you tell your younger self?) (Author: Jenny Blake)"
Why did I change the title for my blog post today? Winter Solstice is what Reverb10 is all about. I do this every year; reflect on the past, review long-term goals and personal values, and plan the short-term year ahead. My experience tells me that if a resolution is made on New Years Day, will it be broken immediately.
Life circumstances change rapidly. Rapid change could be the theme of my life. Even more in the next five years, I think.
I am among the first year Baby Boomers. We turn 65 in 2011.
It's Medicare time, but politicians may repeal the new Health Care Bill. Add uncertainty to what I expect in the next five years.
The quickest way to solve the Social Security and Medicare problem is to kill us all off. Take away our ticket in the door to every medical facility, not to mention the imposition of extreme increases in out of pocket co-payments for those of us who manage to get supplemental coverage.
Sixty years ago, men were physically worn out by age 65. Life expectancy was only 73 for a male, as I recall. Ten years ago, my wife and I made a financial plan, and we made an early retirement decision based on investments and projected income. We would never run out of money if we lived to be 90. We are among the lucky who did not have a mortgage. We own our home. There will be no foreclosure in our future.
Ten years ago, I had already lost a significant amount in the stock market when the tech bubble burst. I didn't learn my lesson. I lost twice since that time. Blame the politicians again, and corruption in business, hedge funds in particular. I didn't invest in hedge funds, but the market was manipulated in away that normal investment reasoning couldn't anticipate. My investment advice to myself, keep it simple. Buy low, sell high. Ignore the talking heads on CNBC.
A year from now Worldshift 2012 will have happened. Right about now at the Winter Solstice, according to some doomsdayers. I see Worldshift 2012 as a positive outlook. I think it's a plan that will take us to 2021. I'm an idealist. I plan to be healthy and happy five years from now.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Reverb10 - Prompts 19 and 20 - Avoidance and Healing
Like burning the candle at both ends, I'll jump to the most recent Reverb10 Prompts, on avoidance and healing.
The details are too personal to post on a public blog. What I should have done is water under the bridge. I can't do it over, and I hope there isn't a next time. The consequences were painful. The prescribed healing suggested by my counselor was in fact avoidance.
What I have going for me in 2011 includes a loving companion, and strong friendships. Avoidance contributes positively. New social networks are developing in creative arts. Soft pastels and drawing are new to me. More art workshops, and opportunities to display new works already are on my agenda. Writing faster and better, the goal of Extreme Writing Makeover, a 52-week online writing course, has 37 more lessons.
One thing we can all avoid in 2011, already on many political agendas, is short-term thinking. Everything I mentioned in the previous paragraph is relatively short-term. Ongoing, life-long goals and commitments remain the long-term framework. I don't mind lofty ideals and the label of idealist as part of my Taurus Id.
The details are too personal to post on a public blog. What I should have done is water under the bridge. I can't do it over, and I hope there isn't a next time. The consequences were painful. The prescribed healing suggested by my counselor was in fact avoidance.
What I have going for me in 2011 includes a loving companion, and strong friendships. Avoidance contributes positively. New social networks are developing in creative arts. Soft pastels and drawing are new to me. More art workshops, and opportunities to display new works already are on my agenda. Writing faster and better, the goal of Extreme Writing Makeover, a 52-week online writing course, has 37 more lessons.
One thing we can all avoid in 2011, already on many political agendas, is short-term thinking. Everything I mentioned in the previous paragraph is relatively short-term. Ongoing, life-long goals and commitments remain the long-term framework. I don't mind lofty ideals and the label of idealist as part of my Taurus Id.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Reverb10 - Catching up, One-liners
One way I can catch up with Reverb10 Daily Prompts are some one-liners I worked up as potential titles for blog posts. Five days have passed since I posted on the December 1 prompt. Among other things, what I have been working on with Microsoft OneNotes to support Reverb10 deserves its own post. I created an electronic notebook just to capture the daily prompts, and my first impressions. I also used the new notebook to compile 76 highlights from a review of my 2010 handwritten journals.
Here are the results for Daily Prompts through December 2nd through the 10th.
Here are the results for Daily Prompts through December 2nd through the 10th.
| Active membership Grand Marais Art Colony |
December 10 – Wisdom Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?
| Mavis Staples Old Town School of Music |
December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.
| Being there |
December 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful.
| Round River Farm |
December 7 – Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?
| I Make Art |
December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?
| Deaths of Friends and a Nephew |
December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?
| Impulse |
December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?
| Centennial July 31 Split Rock |
December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).
| Facebook games |
December 2 – Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
Reverb10 - Prompt for December 2 - Writing
Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
Much more could be said about how Facebook has changed the way I communicate with friends. At first glance, it all contributes to writing.
Zynga Games became an obsession. Mafia Wars was the first one I detached from, and it wasn't easy. How do you let go of fantasy wealth, billions of dollars a day accumulating whether you play or not? Then I noticed teams of high tech players had organized. Just by making a play and drawing attention to myself, I would be attacked hundreds of times in one second. Someone had discovered a secret unavailable to me.
I also noticed that in my relatively small Mafia Family of 76 players only three were active. I got out, and removed the application from my account. I had my wife look at it from her account a couple of months later. My character name was still in play, but I was anonymous.
I'm still active in FarmVille. The same obsessive detachment issues apply. I have active farming neighbors. Not as many social, ethical identity conflicts plague me as in Mafia Wars.
I just started playing a new game CityVille. The start of a game is a pleasurable challenge.
I have discipline and a priority method for dealing with communications of any kind, whether Facebook, email, or phone calls. This morning, I had been away from the pc for more than 48 hours. None of my highest priorities suffered.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Reverb10 - One Way to Summarize 2010
Thanks go to my daughter for providing a link to Reverb10 in her blog a few days ago. I made the commitment this morning, but I spent a lot of time yesterday preparing for it. Refreshing my Twitter account was the final step this morning.
The header #Reverb10 says "Reflect on this year & manifest what's next". "See what comes next" has been an ongoing theme for me for at least ten years. I have retired at least three times during that period. "Laugh when you say 'retired'" is another theme. The process I follow is Plan, act, and reflect. Sometimes I need a reminder like Reverb10.
As I dug into Reverb10 yesterday, I noticed not very many participants, thousands already, have posted comments. Maybe that's because I hadn't committed myself. I'll go back and see what opened up.
The prompt for December 1st wants one word to summarize the year 2010. Someone said, "catchup". Cute, and that's what I have to do, catch up on fifteen days of prompts.
This morning the word I chose is "One". Too easy? No, it's profound. Yesterday I would have chosen the word "creativity". Today's December 15 prompt has author Patti Digh saying "Creative is a verb: If you're alive, you're creative." The assignment for today is tougher, I may take another fifteen days to imagine it.
Why "One"? On the first page of my January 2010 handwritten journal, I quoted a Baha'i Prayer. My highest level goal for the year was to focus on God. If you know anything about the Baha'i Faith, you should remember the word "unity". The highest level principle; God is One. Divine Unity. "Creative": The Primal Point; all creation proceeds from a single point.
As soon as I stated that goal, another theme for the year developed, estrangement in the community. Estrangement infected me personally, and every aspect of my community, local to global.
When I write my summaries of 2010, and there will be several, I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life. How can I not mention earthquakes? I avoid partisanship like the plague, but I engage the political process. How can I not be infected by the process?
I saved the link to Reverb10 to the end. You may lose this page when you click it.
http://www.reverb10.com/the-prompts/
The header #Reverb10 says "Reflect on this year & manifest what's next". "See what comes next" has been an ongoing theme for me for at least ten years. I have retired at least three times during that period. "Laugh when you say 'retired'" is another theme. The process I follow is Plan, act, and reflect. Sometimes I need a reminder like Reverb10.
As I dug into Reverb10 yesterday, I noticed not very many participants, thousands already, have posted comments. Maybe that's because I hadn't committed myself. I'll go back and see what opened up.
The prompt for December 1st wants one word to summarize the year 2010. Someone said, "catchup". Cute, and that's what I have to do, catch up on fifteen days of prompts.
This morning the word I chose is "One". Too easy? No, it's profound. Yesterday I would have chosen the word "creativity". Today's December 15 prompt has author Patti Digh saying "Creative is a verb: If you're alive, you're creative." The assignment for today is tougher, I may take another fifteen days to imagine it.
Why "One"? On the first page of my January 2010 handwritten journal, I quoted a Baha'i Prayer. My highest level goal for the year was to focus on God. If you know anything about the Baha'i Faith, you should remember the word "unity". The highest level principle; God is One. Divine Unity. "Creative": The Primal Point; all creation proceeds from a single point.
As soon as I stated that goal, another theme for the year developed, estrangement in the community. Estrangement infected me personally, and every aspect of my community, local to global.
When I write my summaries of 2010, and there will be several, I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life. How can I not mention earthquakes? I avoid partisanship like the plague, but I engage the political process. How can I not be infected by the process?
I saved the link to Reverb10 to the end. You may lose this page when you click it.
http://www.reverb10.com/the-prompts/
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Read, Writing, and Research
For weeks my Extreme Writing Makeover lessons have been about research. This week the assignment wants research on something I know nothing about.
An earlier assignment had me create an electronic booklist. The purpose, read widely, and keep track. I explored a simple PC application called Evernotes. I didn't like it, so I went back to something I knew, I created an Excel spreadheet. Another assignment encouraged us to take electronic notes while browsing the Internet, or simply to collect inspirations as we write. Last week, as I looked through my Windows Explorer Documents folder, I found OneNotes. A month ago I tried an Internet browser called Opera. It's Norwegian, so I liked it right away. In the narrow left side panel of the browser I found a Notes icon, similar to one of the features in OneNotes. Facebook has Notes.
Zero in on OneNotes. The first time in you find a Personal Notebook, a Work Notebook, and another devoted to Getting Started with OneNotes. Each Notebook has tabs across the top. Your Personal Notebook has tabs for private information nobody else should see, and others for recipes, books, movies, travel, and so on. Guess what? The notebook and each of the tabs is a Microsoft Template. Click a link to Microsoft online for more templates. I was overwhelmed by all the people who create templates. I did what I always do, I took the template and adapted it to things I want to track.
Research something I don't know about? I'm familiar with most of the features in OneNotes. Many are common to each Microsoft Office product. I simply haven't used them.
I did come to the same dead end both with Opera and OneNotes. If you want to synchronize notes files between two or more PC's you must send a link by email. Try it. You need to be your own IT administrator to finish. Both want to know the Pop address and the SMTD address from your Internet Service provider for sending and receiving email. Now try to find those addresses for gmail or Yahoo mail. Things have changed since the last time I had to know how to do this. My first try to set up gmail to work with OneNotes froze the PC, and I had to reboot. Having spent a whole evening with my family IT expert (I'm supposed to be that at home) trying to restore the settings in the Dlink Router that serves the Internet to all PC's in our house, setting Pop and SMTD addresses gets into a level of IT expertise I don't enjoy.
Simply put, Microsoft and Opera both work with the Cloud. You should not have to send a link via email. You should not have to know about advanced settings. You should store the files out there on the cloud.
Let's try the cloud here. I could have done the same with a link from OneNotes had I prepared the review there. Following is a book review I posted on Goodreads this afternoon. In a sidebar to my review, HTML code was provided. I insert it here.
Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 by Mark Twain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read only the free ebook sample from the Amazon Kindle Store.
I may purchase the printed hardcover edition.
More importantly, I registered online to http://marktwainproject.org.
As you will find on the home screen, they have the latest electronic edition of the entire first volume of the autobiography, complete with annotations, commentaries, and appendices. It's free.
The sample I read prepared me for the online features. Besides the text of the autobiography, you get highlighted links to every supporting document. Every Mark Twain electronic book prepared by the Project is available.
Read the Introduction. You will learn that Twain worked on autobiographical materials for nearly forty years. What appear to be many starts and stops, became a valuable resource, thousands of pages. Every work of fiction is autobiographical, as are the travelogues, such as Innocents Abroad. Each autobiographical topic has an original annotated version that was published in magazines or newspapers. Each book he published allowed for extension of the copyright by adding fresh material to newly released editions from expanded versions of the original autobiographies.
If you hold a bias against historical fiction as a reliable interpretive resource, put your bias aside. The background supporting material is here. For example, I have an Edison Amberola (cylinder record player), a 1908 model. Mark Twain wanted to use a much earlier version of an Edison recording device, but Edison told him to wait his turn to get one. Eventually, Twain used one for dictation, but gave up after a few days, having already recorded over four dozen cylinder. Each cylinder holds only about 3-5 minutes.
My real interest is in writing my own memoirs. Like Twain, I have all kinds of autobiographical material published already in five blogs. I have more than twenty years of handwritten journals. Should I emulate Twain or Benjamin Franklin for storytelling? Either might be a smart move and good practice. Twain hated Franklin's style. I wouldn't try to emulate Twain's Eastern Tennessee dialogue.
View all my reviews
An earlier assignment had me create an electronic booklist. The purpose, read widely, and keep track. I explored a simple PC application called Evernotes. I didn't like it, so I went back to something I knew, I created an Excel spreadheet. Another assignment encouraged us to take electronic notes while browsing the Internet, or simply to collect inspirations as we write. Last week, as I looked through my Windows Explorer Documents folder, I found OneNotes. A month ago I tried an Internet browser called Opera. It's Norwegian, so I liked it right away. In the narrow left side panel of the browser I found a Notes icon, similar to one of the features in OneNotes. Facebook has Notes.
Zero in on OneNotes. The first time in you find a Personal Notebook, a Work Notebook, and another devoted to Getting Started with OneNotes. Each Notebook has tabs across the top. Your Personal Notebook has tabs for private information nobody else should see, and others for recipes, books, movies, travel, and so on. Guess what? The notebook and each of the tabs is a Microsoft Template. Click a link to Microsoft online for more templates. I was overwhelmed by all the people who create templates. I did what I always do, I took the template and adapted it to things I want to track.
Research something I don't know about? I'm familiar with most of the features in OneNotes. Many are common to each Microsoft Office product. I simply haven't used them.
I did come to the same dead end both with Opera and OneNotes. If you want to synchronize notes files between two or more PC's you must send a link by email. Try it. You need to be your own IT administrator to finish. Both want to know the Pop address and the SMTD address from your Internet Service provider for sending and receiving email. Now try to find those addresses for gmail or Yahoo mail. Things have changed since the last time I had to know how to do this. My first try to set up gmail to work with OneNotes froze the PC, and I had to reboot. Having spent a whole evening with my family IT expert (I'm supposed to be that at home) trying to restore the settings in the Dlink Router that serves the Internet to all PC's in our house, setting Pop and SMTD addresses gets into a level of IT expertise I don't enjoy.
Simply put, Microsoft and Opera both work with the Cloud. You should not have to send a link via email. You should not have to know about advanced settings. You should store the files out there on the cloud.
Let's try the cloud here. I could have done the same with a link from OneNotes had I prepared the review there. Following is a book review I posted on Goodreads this afternoon. In a sidebar to my review, HTML code was provided. I insert it here.
Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 by Mark TwainMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read only the free ebook sample from the Amazon Kindle Store.
I may purchase the printed hardcover edition.
More importantly, I registered online to http://marktwainproject.org.
As you will find on the home screen, they have the latest electronic edition of the entire first volume of the autobiography, complete with annotations, commentaries, and appendices. It's free.
The sample I read prepared me for the online features. Besides the text of the autobiography, you get highlighted links to every supporting document. Every Mark Twain electronic book prepared by the Project is available.
Read the Introduction. You will learn that Twain worked on autobiographical materials for nearly forty years. What appear to be many starts and stops, became a valuable resource, thousands of pages. Every work of fiction is autobiographical, as are the travelogues, such as Innocents Abroad. Each autobiographical topic has an original annotated version that was published in magazines or newspapers. Each book he published allowed for extension of the copyright by adding fresh material to newly released editions from expanded versions of the original autobiographies.
If you hold a bias against historical fiction as a reliable interpretive resource, put your bias aside. The background supporting material is here. For example, I have an Edison Amberola (cylinder record player), a 1908 model. Mark Twain wanted to use a much earlier version of an Edison recording device, but Edison told him to wait his turn to get one. Eventually, Twain used one for dictation, but gave up after a few days, having already recorded over four dozen cylinder. Each cylinder holds only about 3-5 minutes.
My real interest is in writing my own memoirs. Like Twain, I have all kinds of autobiographical material published already in five blogs. I have more than twenty years of handwritten journals. Should I emulate Twain or Benjamin Franklin for storytelling? Either might be a smart move and good practice. Twain hated Franklin's style. I wouldn't try to emulate Twain's Eastern Tennessee dialogue.
View all my reviews
Monday, December 6, 2010
What to do in January? Ski or Sun?
Yesterday we drove MN Highway 1 to Ely. Fresh, deep powdery snow covers the ground just seven miles north of Finland, MN. From a railroad crossing called Murphy City to about 12 miles west of Isabella, the highway follows the continental Laurentian Divide, about 2200 feet above sea level. That's about 1600 feet above Lake Superior, where my wife and I live on the North Shore. We have less than an inch of snow on the ground at the shore. A mile east along Highway 61, more snow; it seems each small river emptying into the lake attracts its own lake effect accumulation.
Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, six miles from our place, and 1000 feet higher elevation, offers one of closest places to go cross country skiing. Easy trails follow Sawmill Creek to the Baptism River. Nearly 1500 school children travel to Wolf Ridge every week, staying there for three or four days. The trails are groomed for them.
The City of Silver Bay, 12 miles west of our place, grooms trails that link to miles of trails in Tettegouche State Park. Skiing from the Penn Blvd access reminds me of the slopes of Mt. Bachelor near Bend, Oregon, minus the 13,000 foot volcano. The trails are lined with spruce and birch. You can ski a short loop for half an hour, a mid-range loop for an hour, or a difficult loop for two hours. To ski all the way to the Trail Center at Tettegouche, you want a vehicle parked at both ends. It will take you all day one way.
A Superior National Forest Lodge (you can't stay there) on Lake Gegoka, 8 miles west of Isabella on Highway 1, offers the best cross country skiing in the area, I think. The loops of various lengths are groomed. You can ski the loops for an hour or all day, ski across the lake or around it. Not exactly virgin timber, but close.
When we returned home from our day in Ely, we hit the Internet, and were ready to click the submit button to spend our Travelocity Hotel Gift Card for a few days in Sedona, Arizona in January. We were there in February 2007, but only for two nights and one day. We want to take a road trip this time in our new Honda Odyssey. Total cost, about two weeks to see everything we want to see on the way, and roughly $2000. You easily could spend twice that much in Sedona alone at one of the nicer resort hotel/spas. We also have a cruise of the Norwegian coast in mind for June, which would cost the equivalent of five trips to Sedona. We can't do both. Besides, the trip to Arizona would be a gathering with friends from the Chicago and Los Angeles areas.
My wife has been second guessing the Arizona trip. She likes January in Minnesota. We have an active social life here. I will register for a ten week series of sessions at the Grand Marais Art Colony, 45 miles further north on Highway 61. We ski once a week at least. Normally, the third week in January is the coldest and snowiest. Most years I have spent two hours a day that week plowing our 300 foot driveway with my John Deere lawn tractor. Last year it was warm and it rained.
The National Weather Service in Duluth just reported the second snowiest November on record, 29 inches. Only five inches fell here in Little Marais on the shore of Lake Superior, but less than a mile inland at elevations more than 600 feet above the lake, more than a foot of snow is on the ground. Cold and snowy is my forecast guess for this winter.
For more information on cross country skiing, see the internet links below. Andrew Slade publishes "There and Back Guides." He published Skiing the North Shore in 2007. His earlier guide published in 1997 shows how quickly the fees for a ski pass have risen. Individual season pass, $5 in 1997; husband/wife three-year pass $21. 2007 individual season pass $15, no discount for couples. Now, $55 for an individual three-year pass. You'll want read Andrew's blog, and the Minnesota DNR link for information about trails and fees.
Andrew's blog There and Back
The DNR link MN DNR Ski Pass and Trails info
Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, six miles from our place, and 1000 feet higher elevation, offers one of closest places to go cross country skiing. Easy trails follow Sawmill Creek to the Baptism River. Nearly 1500 school children travel to Wolf Ridge every week, staying there for three or four days. The trails are groomed for them.
The City of Silver Bay, 12 miles west of our place, grooms trails that link to miles of trails in Tettegouche State Park. Skiing from the Penn Blvd access reminds me of the slopes of Mt. Bachelor near Bend, Oregon, minus the 13,000 foot volcano. The trails are lined with spruce and birch. You can ski a short loop for half an hour, a mid-range loop for an hour, or a difficult loop for two hours. To ski all the way to the Trail Center at Tettegouche, you want a vehicle parked at both ends. It will take you all day one way.
A Superior National Forest Lodge (you can't stay there) on Lake Gegoka, 8 miles west of Isabella on Highway 1, offers the best cross country skiing in the area, I think. The loops of various lengths are groomed. You can ski the loops for an hour or all day, ski across the lake or around it. Not exactly virgin timber, but close.
When we returned home from our day in Ely, we hit the Internet, and were ready to click the submit button to spend our Travelocity Hotel Gift Card for a few days in Sedona, Arizona in January. We were there in February 2007, but only for two nights and one day. We want to take a road trip this time in our new Honda Odyssey. Total cost, about two weeks to see everything we want to see on the way, and roughly $2000. You easily could spend twice that much in Sedona alone at one of the nicer resort hotel/spas. We also have a cruise of the Norwegian coast in mind for June, which would cost the equivalent of five trips to Sedona. We can't do both. Besides, the trip to Arizona would be a gathering with friends from the Chicago and Los Angeles areas.
My wife has been second guessing the Arizona trip. She likes January in Minnesota. We have an active social life here. I will register for a ten week series of sessions at the Grand Marais Art Colony, 45 miles further north on Highway 61. We ski once a week at least. Normally, the third week in January is the coldest and snowiest. Most years I have spent two hours a day that week plowing our 300 foot driveway with my John Deere lawn tractor. Last year it was warm and it rained.
The National Weather Service in Duluth just reported the second snowiest November on record, 29 inches. Only five inches fell here in Little Marais on the shore of Lake Superior, but less than a mile inland at elevations more than 600 feet above the lake, more than a foot of snow is on the ground. Cold and snowy is my forecast guess for this winter.
For more information on cross country skiing, see the internet links below. Andrew Slade publishes "There and Back Guides." He published Skiing the North Shore in 2007. His earlier guide published in 1997 shows how quickly the fees for a ski pass have risen. Individual season pass, $5 in 1997; husband/wife three-year pass $21. 2007 individual season pass $15, no discount for couples. Now, $55 for an individual three-year pass. You'll want read Andrew's blog, and the Minnesota DNR link for information about trails and fees.
Andrew's blog There and Back
The DNR link MN DNR Ski Pass and Trails info
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Do You Still Play Zynga Games?
A November 18, 2010 USA Today article about Zynga branching out on its own caught my attention. Do a Google Search on Zynga and USA Today, and there is more to read and wonder about. Yahoo and Zynga have had a new business relationship since May. Mafia Wars and Fishville are available on several Yahoo apps.
I learned one memorable thing as a result of my simple search on Google. Zynga's profile statement appears in any search result, "Connecting the world through games". That's a positive profile.
Social gaming is why I liked Zynga games. Then they became obsessive time wasters. I began to question my own ethical values. I became very good at Mafia Wars. Maybe I learned something from the Godfather movies. On the dark side, maybe my game skills are innate. Often I would get wiped out by 60 powerful abusers in less than a second, as soon as I made a move.
I played Zynga Mafia Wars on Facebook until two months ago. I still play Farmville, but have cut way back on the time spent.
Any recent headline article about Zynga mentions millions of players.
Look a little deeper before you invest in the proposed Zynga IPO on the stock market. I had 76 family members on Mafia Wars when I removed myself from the application on Facebook. I played the game for almost two years. Only three of my family members actively played the game when I dropped out. Others were listed as Unknown, but I could see who they were by their character names. My wife was in my Mafia Family. I recruited her just to accept any gifts I sent her. I was still listed as a member of her Mafia Family after I removed myself from action. Now she is listed as Unknown. Active participation by 5% of the millions quoted as players would be a guess on the high side, I think. Maybe a higher percentage of players are active on Farmville, but I don't have 76 neighbors actively farming.
I would like to see more published research on Zynga. How do we find the reviews and complaints by Zynga players who left because they felt abused by other players? How many players experienced identity theft on Facebook after using a credit card to buy Facebook Credits, or Farmville Cash, or Mafia Wars Reward Points? How many pay cash directly to Facebook for anything? How many simply left the games due to slow response time on the Zynga network servers?
Last night we watched the movie "Letters To Juliet". One of the leading actors, Amanda Seyfried, played Sofie, a Fact Checker for the New Yorker Magazine. Who are the fact checkers for USA Today, or Gallup News? How can I become a fact checker for my blog posts? Research before I publish makes sense.
I learned one memorable thing as a result of my simple search on Google. Zynga's profile statement appears in any search result, "Connecting the world through games". That's a positive profile.
Social gaming is why I liked Zynga games. Then they became obsessive time wasters. I began to question my own ethical values. I became very good at Mafia Wars. Maybe I learned something from the Godfather movies. On the dark side, maybe my game skills are innate. Often I would get wiped out by 60 powerful abusers in less than a second, as soon as I made a move.
I played Zynga Mafia Wars on Facebook until two months ago. I still play Farmville, but have cut way back on the time spent.
Any recent headline article about Zynga mentions millions of players.
Look a little deeper before you invest in the proposed Zynga IPO on the stock market. I had 76 family members on Mafia Wars when I removed myself from the application on Facebook. I played the game for almost two years. Only three of my family members actively played the game when I dropped out. Others were listed as Unknown, but I could see who they were by their character names. My wife was in my Mafia Family. I recruited her just to accept any gifts I sent her. I was still listed as a member of her Mafia Family after I removed myself from action. Now she is listed as Unknown. Active participation by 5% of the millions quoted as players would be a guess on the high side, I think. Maybe a higher percentage of players are active on Farmville, but I don't have 76 neighbors actively farming.
I would like to see more published research on Zynga. How do we find the reviews and complaints by Zynga players who left because they felt abused by other players? How many players experienced identity theft on Facebook after using a credit card to buy Facebook Credits, or Farmville Cash, or Mafia Wars Reward Points? How many pay cash directly to Facebook for anything? How many simply left the games due to slow response time on the Zynga network servers?
Last night we watched the movie "Letters To Juliet". One of the leading actors, Amanda Seyfried, played Sofie, a Fact Checker for the New Yorker Magazine. Who are the fact checkers for USA Today, or Gallup News? How can I become a fact checker for my blog posts? Research before I publish makes sense.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Now That Midterm Elections Are Over
I took the title of this blog post from a headline news article in Gallup Daily News. "Now that midterm elections are over...".
I made three interesting discoveries of news sources this past weekend. How did I find the Gallup website? My first new discovery was The Daily Beast; a hotspot on one of their headlines took me to Gallup. Another discovery was the Huffington Post.
http://www.gallup.com/Home.aspx
http://www.thedailybeast.com/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
I don't see the word "poll" in the website identity statement "About Gallup",
"Gallup Daily News reports empirical evidence to leaders and decision makers worldwide about how the world's 6 billion citizens think and behave."
As if I didn't have enough headlines and commercial news blogs to capture my attention via Google Reader, but there I oversubscribe to everything, deliberately.
The Daily Beast and Huffington Post have attention grabbing, sensational, and controversial twists on the news. If I believed the headlines, I might have changed my vote in the general election. Now that the general election is over, I fearlessly read between the lines. I think I'm knowledgable about most current events, based on print subscriptions I receive in the mailbox at the end of my driveway; USA Today and The Economist. I have an opinion.
TMI - too much information. How many times have you heard that phrase recently?
The description "sea change" has become cliche. My observation looking at the inland sea in front of me - wave patterns on the water change hours ahead of a major storm on the lake. My 10th grade World History teacher taught me to read between the lines. In my opinion, the midterm elections may have been the sea change. Telltale signs suggest the storm has just started.
Remember what a telltale is? In Moby Dick, a current read for me, the telltale is a lamp above Captain Ahab's table. Ahab doesn't have to leave his quarters to know a sea change has happened. Dictionary.com and Answers.com give a nautical meaning as a piece of thread or ribbon revealing the wind direction relative to the motion of the boat.
Another change making headlines on The Daily Beast and elsewhere is the new messaging features offered by Facebook. Apparently, I'm one of 400 million people who are waiting for authorization to try it. Will Facebook replace email? I don't think so. Will the demographic of everyone over age 30 be cast aside, ignored by Facebook? Will I be sorry I didn't spend $9000 more for my new Honda Oddysey to get every imaginable electronic gadget to deal with social networking?
I made three interesting discoveries of news sources this past weekend. How did I find the Gallup website? My first new discovery was The Daily Beast; a hotspot on one of their headlines took me to Gallup. Another discovery was the Huffington Post.
http://www.gallup.com/Home.aspx
http://www.thedailybeast.com/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
I don't see the word "poll" in the website identity statement "About Gallup",
"Gallup Daily News reports empirical evidence to leaders and decision makers worldwide about how the world's 6 billion citizens think and behave."
As if I didn't have enough headlines and commercial news blogs to capture my attention via Google Reader, but there I oversubscribe to everything, deliberately.
The Daily Beast and Huffington Post have attention grabbing, sensational, and controversial twists on the news. If I believed the headlines, I might have changed my vote in the general election. Now that the general election is over, I fearlessly read between the lines. I think I'm knowledgable about most current events, based on print subscriptions I receive in the mailbox at the end of my driveway; USA Today and The Economist. I have an opinion.
TMI - too much information. How many times have you heard that phrase recently?
The description "sea change" has become cliche. My observation looking at the inland sea in front of me - wave patterns on the water change hours ahead of a major storm on the lake. My 10th grade World History teacher taught me to read between the lines. In my opinion, the midterm elections may have been the sea change. Telltale signs suggest the storm has just started.
Remember what a telltale is? In Moby Dick, a current read for me, the telltale is a lamp above Captain Ahab's table. Ahab doesn't have to leave his quarters to know a sea change has happened. Dictionary.com and Answers.com give a nautical meaning as a piece of thread or ribbon revealing the wind direction relative to the motion of the boat.
Another change making headlines on The Daily Beast and elsewhere is the new messaging features offered by Facebook. Apparently, I'm one of 400 million people who are waiting for authorization to try it. Will Facebook replace email? I don't think so. Will the demographic of everyone over age 30 be cast aside, ignored by Facebook? Will I be sorry I didn't spend $9000 more for my new Honda Oddysey to get every imaginable electronic gadget to deal with social networking?
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