I did note that, one week ago today, a Best Buy manager gave two iPads to the gals who had set up a tent in anticipation of the great deals today. Wonder if they stayed in line?
Are you heading out or coming home from shopping? Where did you go?
Black Friday Deals
I did note that, one week ago today, a Best Buy manager gave two iPads to the gals who had set up a tent in anticipation of the great deals today. Wonder if they stayed in line?
Are you heading out or coming home from shopping? Where did you go?
Thankful for You!
It may seem a bit trite to say but, on this day of giving thanks, I am so thankful for you. Over these past six years of blogging I have met some of the most amazing and inspiring people. So when I count my blessings I include those of you who visit here.
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Do You Really Need Antivirus Software?
Here the answer from a ZDNet article of the same title:If you’re not sure of the answer to that question, then the short answer is yes. The longer answer is that security software is only one piece of what should be a simple, straightforward, and systematic approach to your PC’s health.Here are his security steps along with my geeky comments:
- Use a modern operating system.
He says that XP has security problems. Both of our laptops have Win 7. - Keep your OS up to date and backed up.
Good idea to weekly back up your data to an external drive using something like the Back2zip freeware product. Also be sure to use the Windows update process. - Keep applications updated also.
I always specify update notifications on all of my apps. - Be suspicious of any new software.
Good idea to Google any new app before downloading to your PC. - Set up standard (non-administrator) accounts for unsophisticated users
This is a really good idea if you have kids at home. Of course some kids know more about the PC than their parents. - Use a modern browser.
Older browsers have serious security issues. I use Chrome but I think that other newer browsers like Firefox and IE 8 are ok. - Install an antivirus program and keep it up to date.
I have been using the free version of avast! for about a year now and it seems to be pretty painless. It automatically updates the data files a few times a day and talks to me when it does. Have had no problems with it.
How many of his steps do you follow? What antivirus are you using these days?
The 3s of Me
My Facebook friend Annie tagged me in a note with the same title as this post.
I haven't dones one of these in a while so here it is:
3 nicknames
And in closing I want to tell you how thankful I am for your visits here. The virtual friendships that I have made over the years is so precious to me. Have a great day!
I haven't dones one of these in a while so here it is:
3 nicknames
- Bobby: My dad call me this until the day he passed on.
- Eggy: Known by this one in junior high after my hair was buzzed.
- Eddy: Some folks at work called me this in the early 80s.
- Soldier: Worked on a Nike missile firing site for 2 of my 3 years.
- Software Designer: Started as a computer programmer in 1976.
- Pastor: Loved providing care and counseling for people at church.
- New York: Grew up on Staten Island in 5 houses on the same street.
- New Jersey / Texas: Spent my early marriage years in these places.
- Kansas City: Have lived in 4 different houses in the area since 1976.
- Coffee: Currently sipping on a 50-50 Starbucks breakfast blend.
- Tea: My afternoon decaf drink of choice - English style like my mom.
- Wine: I occasionally enjoy a Cabernet with lunch or supper.
- Seinfeld: The depth of the characters on this show was matchless.
- House: Last season's portrayal of addiction and recovery was amazing.
- Morning Joe: My favorite news program. Enjoy the friendly banter.
- Hong Kong/China: My bible smuggling trip was an adventure for sure.
- Niagara Falls: Much more majestic and awe inspiring than I imagined.
- British Columbia: This and the northwest area of the USA is spectacular.
- Pizza: I especially love NYC style pizza but like deep dish Chicago style too.
- BBQ: Love the KC version but also enjoy Carolina pulled pork sandwiches.
- Steak: Not much out their that matches a Kansas City Strip steak.
- Palm Pre: Calendar, email, RSS feeds, camera, games and even a phone.
- Faith: Gets me through my days and lifts me up when I am sad.
- Glasses: Don't always wear them but I always have them with me.
- Vacation: Ann and I are hoping to travel this winter to a warmer climate.
- Advances in Medicine: Ann is hoping to get into a stem cell trial.
- Heaven: Words cannot express the hope that I have in my heart.
And in closing I want to tell you how thankful I am for your visits here. The virtual friendships that I have made over the years is so precious to me. Have a great day!
Exercising Futility
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it without a sense of ironic futility. -Errol Morris
It is futile to talk too much about the past ... like trying to make birth control retroactive. -Charles Wilson
Housework is a treadmill from futility to oblivion with stop-offs at tedium and counter productivity.
-Erma Bombeck
Dusting is a good example of the futility of trying to put things right. As soon as you dust, the fact of your next dusting has already been established. -George Carlin
Work is futile if we cannot utilise the experience we collect in one life in the next. -Henry Ford
When I was still a rather precocious young man, I already realized most vividly the futility of the hopes and aspirations that most men pursue throughout their lives. -Albert Einstein
I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity. -Dwight David Eisenhower
The limitation of riots, moral questions aside, is that they cannot win and their participants know it. Hence, rioting is not revolutionary but reactionary because it invites defeat. It involves an emotional catharsis, but it must be followed by a sense of futility.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
US Debt Reduction: The Military
As announced a week ago I hope to write a bit about the recommendations of the co-chairmen of the US presidential debt reduction committee.
One of the recommendations of the co-chairs is the reduction in military expenditures. This chart speaks to the degree of spending the US incurs verses the next six countries that spend money on their military forces.
There is a hash-tag on Twitter (#bringthemhome) that is speaking to the frustration that many have about the War in Afghanistan. These tweets are advocating that the troops be brought home. Here are a few Twitter entries:
I am not an expert in defense spending but I do question our military presence in places like Italy, Germany, Greece, Japan, South Korea and other places around the world. That said I do admit that I may really be naïve about such things. I know that some of these are strategic in nature. Perhaps these bases should be in those places and military spending should be cut in other places. In any case I think that there is fat in our military spending.
Boiling it down I think that the issue is one of ideology. If one believes that the US has a responsibility to go it alone in places like Iraq and Afghanistan then there will always be a justification for the expenses and other countries will not have to be involved in the war on terror. But if one has a different mindset then perhaps they might embrace the spending cuts. I guess I would like to see more of a sharing of these expenses amongst the nations.
There is a hash-tag on Twitter (#bringthemhome) that is speaking to the frustration that many have about the War in Afghanistan. These tweets are advocating that the troops be brought home. Here are a few Twitter entries:
- In one week the date for major withdrawal in Afghanistan has been pushed from 2011 to the end of 2014. Now the US is backing off that date.
- It's time the US stops rebuilding other countries and starts rebuilding our own.
- The United States spends more on the military than anyone and more than the next 16 countries combined.
I am not an expert in defense spending but I do question our military presence in places like Italy, Germany, Greece, Japan, South Korea and other places around the world. That said I do admit that I may really be naïve about such things. I know that some of these are strategic in nature. Perhaps these bases should be in those places and military spending should be cut in other places. In any case I think that there is fat in our military spending.
Boiling it down I think that the issue is one of ideology. If one believes that the US has a responsibility to go it alone in places like Iraq and Afghanistan then there will always be a justification for the expenses and other countries will not have to be involved in the war on terror. But if one has a different mindset then perhaps they might embrace the spending cuts. I guess I would like to see more of a sharing of these expenses amongst the nations.
Stop Torture, Stop Captcha
It reminded me of this old post below. Please find other ways to catch spammers. With Blogger's new spam protection I do not need captcha.
Sept 2009: Peter over at Blogger Tips and Tricks is telling bloggers that they no longer need to use that annoying Word Verification for comments. Here is a clip of his post:
If you allow comments for your posts, I would highly recommend you do not enable captcha (word verification) for the following reasons:I echo Peter's sentiments.. I have not used captcha in years and have not had a problem with spammers. And please.. if you moderate comments please do not use Word Verification.. it is torture squared when you do. :)
Ever since all blogging platforms including Blogger add the "nofollow" attribute to hyperlinks in comments, the incentive for spammers to post spam comments have been greatly reduced and I have found that spam comments have reduced to almost zero.
Having to complete word verification is a great inconvenience, especially for the visually impaired who have to click on the universal handicap iconin order for the alphabets in the captcha to be read out in audio form. I have tested clicking on that icon and the resulting machine voice is practically indecipherable.
...
In my opinion, captcha is a torture. Why subject your readers to torture when the original reasons for enabling captcha, spam comments, is no longer a problem.
The Healing Quality of Humor
I have to admit that laughing is one the major defenses I have in my arsenal against depression. I purposefully laugh out loud when I watch something funny on TV. There is just something healing in a belly laugh. Humor has got me through some very difficult times.
So I commend you today to an article titled 9 Ways Humor Heals on the Beyond Blue blog.
Here is the list:
So I commend you today to an article titled 9 Ways Humor Heals on the Beyond Blue blog.
Here is the list:
- Humor combats fear.
- Humor comforts.
- Humor relaxes.
- Humor reduces pain.
- Humor boosts the immune system.
- Humor reduces stress.
- Humor spreads happiness.
- Humor cultivates optimism.
- Humor helps communication.
Humor disengages fear because it changes your perspective: of the past and of the present. The traumatic childhood episode loses its tight grip on your heart if you can place it into the "ridiculous" category of other stories from the past. With a playful perspective, you can remove yourself from the marital problem that has you debilitated with anxiety. Laughter forces a few steps--some much-needed distance-- between a situation and our reaction. We all would do well to follow the advice of Leo Buscaglia: "When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. And swing!"I recommend that you take a few minutes and check out the post. It is a good perspective.
Gullible Reactions to Authority
Sometimes my mind goes to strange places. This morning I was remembering my Boot Camp orientation when one of the drill sergeants warned us about some of the toilets that shot up steam like Old Faithful. LOL, after that I was very careful in using them. I was so gullible back then. A few years before that I was 17 and sat in a college philosophy class hearing the professor speak about the big bang theory. I immediately embraced it and did not really consider alternate theories.I think both of these are examples of how a gullible young man was duped by an authority figure. Unfortunately my gullibility did not end in my early years. For many years I paid heed to other authority figures in my life. I had managers who painted me with a very narrow brush and I sometimes accepted their perspective. I had pastors present fundamentalist theologies and paradigms that I swallowed in whole.
Looking back I think that my view of authority was a bit broken. It is one thing to uncritically accept information when you are young but it is another to do it when you are older. For me, I think that it was an unbalanced and narrow view of authority. My understanding of it was very black and white and I did not understand the many gray shades of authority.
Years ago I began to question my authority paradigm. I started to understand that I had allowed people to influence me that really did not care about me all that much. I also began to embrace a grayer theology and ideology about authority. Anymore I am more interested in hearing from people who genuinely love me - folks who love me have great influence in my life. It is the way that it should be.
Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude
Many of you are regularly posting things that you are thankful for on your blog. I have been enjoying reading those things. My blog friend Kristen has posted thanks for family, laughter, job, animals and other things. With Thanksgiving just one week away I thought that I would share Kim Allen's list of ways you can add appreciation to every day.. at least for the next week:- Every day tell someone, a friend, loved one or co worker, one thing you appreciate about them.
- Find three things to appreciate about a tough situation you're facing.
- On your way to work, appreciate the scenery. It sure beats worrying about all you have to do!
- When you pick up the phone or answer an email, find one thing to appreciate about the person on the other end. You don't always have to say it; feeling it is what's important.
- Once a week, take turns sharing what it is everyone appreciates about each other around the dinner table.
- Make a list of all you appreciate about yourself.
Who wants to be a Millionaire?
Below is a retirement savings chart from consumer activist/guru Clark Howard. He subtitles it with the phrase: The key to becoming a millionaire by age 65 is to start saving early!!!
It takes a bit of discipline to plan ahead. When I was young I could not even envision a reason to save for my senior years. As I got older I began to understand that one day I wanted to retire. Fortunately when I was 39 my company converted my long term savings into a 401k and I could no longer withdraw the money with out experiencing steep penalties. Consequentially I left it in and was so glad that I did.
Are you planning to retire one day? Do you know how you will do it?
| AGE | YEARLY SAVINGS | YEARS to SAVE | AMOUNT @ 65 |
| 15 | $2,000 | 50 | $2,327,934 |
| 25 | $2,259 | 40 | $1,000,000 |
| 35 | $6,079 | 30 | $1,000,000 |
| 45 | $17,459 | 20 | $1,000,000 |
| 55 | $62,745 | 10 | $1,000,000 |
It takes a bit of discipline to plan ahead. When I was young I could not even envision a reason to save for my senior years. As I got older I began to understand that one day I wanted to retire. Fortunately when I was 39 my company converted my long term savings into a 401k and I could no longer withdraw the money with out experiencing steep penalties. Consequentially I left it in and was so glad that I did.
Are you planning to retire one day? Do you know how you will do it?
Adam | ★★★★★★★★
Ann and I caught this on DVD last night. Adam is a touching depiction of a young man with Asperger's syndrome who, as he grieves the loss of his dad, finds a love that his disease keeps him from expressing. Here are comments from two Netflix reviewers:
I highly recommend this movie to you and, on a scale of ten, I give it ★★★★★★★★.
I so agree with these opinions about the movie and I was glad to see that someone with Asperger's thought it was an accurate reflection. I love how accepting and open minded people were in dealing with Adam. I thought that his journey to be independent and his courage in going after his dream was inspirational.As an Aspie myself, I had more than a few reservations about how the director of this film, Max Mayer, would present someone who has Asperger's on the big screen. ... From my perspective as a film lover, "Adam" is beautifully written, shot and acted (especially Hugh Dancy as Adam, and Amy Irving, in a small role, as Beth's mother). In my opinion, this film gives an accurate portrayal of what it's like to live with Asperger's, and that it is indeed possible to thrive in the world, thanks to the support of caring, open-minded people.
I also have a very special person in my life named Adam who has struggled in the past with a medical condition similar to Asperger’s Syndrome. For those of you who know little about Asperger’s this will enlighten and may inspire you to read more about this syndrome that affects so many people. I found this quirky engaging film to be a step above the typical Romantic Comedy fare. It is like a breath of fresh air with a touch of realism that bypasses depressing or unbelievable.
I highly recommend this movie to you and, on a scale of ten, I give it ★★★★★★★★.
Liu Wei Has Got Talent
If you are down today I suggest that you watch this inspirational video. Following the video are some notes about it from the YouTube page.
Lost his arms in an accident at age 10, Liu Wei from Beijing never gives up living strong.
He managed to do everything with his feet and started to learn to play piano at age 19.
His dream is to become a musician. He is now 22 and just won the China's Got Talent Show on Oct. 10, 2010. In the final, he played piano and sang the song "You Are Beautiful".
Here are a few of quotes from Liu Wei:
"To me, there are 3 things can not be missed in life - air, water and music."
"There are only 2 paths in my life for me - either to die as fast as possible, or to live as brilliant a life as I could."
"I don't feel that I am that different from other people. Normally everyone is used to do everything with one's hands so your hands are more flexible. There is no rule saying that you can't do things with your feet."
"A man should be responsible to his dreams. My dream is to become a great musician."
"I know if I want to do it better than other people, I have to put in more efforts."
Lost his arms in an accident at age 10, Liu Wei from Beijing never gives up living strong.
He managed to do everything with his feet and started to learn to play piano at age 19.
His dream is to become a musician. He is now 22 and just won the China's Got Talent Show on Oct. 10, 2010. In the final, he played piano and sang the song "You Are Beautiful".
Here are a few of quotes from Liu Wei:
"To me, there are 3 things can not be missed in life - air, water and music."
"There are only 2 paths in my life for me - either to die as fast as possible, or to live as brilliant a life as I could."
"I don't feel that I am that different from other people. Normally everyone is used to do everything with one's hands so your hands are more flexible. There is no rule saying that you can't do things with your feet."
"A man should be responsible to his dreams. My dream is to become a great musician."
"I know if I want to do it better than other people, I have to put in more efforts."
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