“It is not the critic who counts…” Theodore Roosevelt

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt, Paris 1910.

15 Coolest Photos You Won’t Believe Are Not Photoshopped

http://oddee.com/item_96986.aspx

Summary of Health Care Reform:Top 18 Immediate Effects

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/22/health-reform-bill-summary_n_508315.html#s75165

“Kiss the Sky”, An Excellent “Man’s” Movie with no Guns!

When someone says, ” Oh, That’s a man’s Movie”, Your first thought is Bruce Willis or a twist on 24.  Last night we watched, Kiss the Sky (1998) with William Petersen and Gary Cole. This is a very different movie. On the surface, one thinks here are two 45 year old men going through a mid-life crisis (they are!). Yet, this is such a rare, one of a kind movie, in that the intertwining of their ‘mid-life calling’ leads through the sexual into the spiritual. This is a very profound movie, going so deeply to the core of the natural of reality, the search for G-d within, the juxtaposition of trying to balance Freedom, Family, Sexual desire and Spiritual fulfillment.  I highly recommend it….

Water Drops at 2000 Frames per Second

This is a beautiful video capturing what happens to a single drop of Water.

Jonathan David Sabin on Transformation and Integration of Web 2.0

I have been pondering the social implications of the Transformation of society and how we do business in the 21st Century versus all previous recorded history.  Keep in mind that I do not hold any advanced degrees in these areas. Merely thoughts and reflections on what’s going on….

We live in exciting times, maybe too exciting in terms of sensory input over stimulation.  I remember being a kid and hearing old timers talk about the “way it used to be”. Indeed things used to be different.  My Grandmother was born on a ship coming over from France in 1903; she died at 92 in 1995. In her life time, we went from the horse and buggy to putting a man on the moon, from the classical modes of distribution of information to the information super highway. These classical modes included newspapers, books, telegraph, telephone, radio, film, TV, more diversification of TV and Finally the internet.  As Web 2.0 comes of age, we look at the robust interactive distribution of media via streaming financial quotes, news, video and more. Add in various social media, too numerous to mention and the world is at our finger tips. It is exciting and over whelming.  Exciting in that there is nothing that we cannot inquire about and find an answer to in a nano-second. Over whelming in that we are constantly being bombarded with information and imagery.  I have come to realize that of the 50-100 Emails I receive daily, there are only a hand full that must be dealt with…now.

Bus companies used to put governors on engines to keep them modulated under the speed limit. Yet we are witnessing such acceleration that there must be self modulation. I do this by having computer free days on Sundays; this includes my variety of crack-Berry.  Ah, the return to a simpler life… I personally hold on to some romantic fantasies about living a simpler life. These I take by walking my Jack Russell around the pond and in the woods every morning and knowing when to shut down the cell phone/Email/PDA/Video/TV/Camera thingy that is surgically embedded in my side.

Let’s now discuss the social implications of this techno boom-age that we are all experiencing.  Humans are social creatures; we need to interact with people for business, for pleasure, for romance and the creation of future generations. Web 2.0 is a lovely way to Skype with loved ones, Talk via VOP to family and associated around the world, have web meetings and instructions worldwide simultaneously. Not too long ago, you needed a 20K Sat Phone to do that and Now there’s magic jack, but wait there’s more….

I have witnessed many times watching four University students walking down the street all talking on their cell phones. Is this the best usage of our time –space continuum? Is social life solely predicated on tweets and Facebook entries? Do we get to be in the NOW with no commercial interruption?  Have you talked to anyone lately who is retired? Retirement is a full time job!  Really, the overhead of life is becoming more and more time-intensive/ expensive. Have you noticed that in your daily life, how more and more time must be dedicated to getting stuff done, yet not necessarily contributing to our work? Yes, the price we are paying for an accelerated life has an interest expense. Being a technophobe, I wouldn’t trade any of it and still I wonder what will web 3.0 be?

The value of community both on and off line creates a balance in my life that I treasure and by the way, my Grandmother never set foot on an airplane in her 92 years….

A Treatise on Confusion

My teacher used to say:

“Confusion is a high state as long as you don’t stay there.”

Confusion means that something new is coming into our consciousness that we haven’t quite accepted yet. An old thought form or belief system is still in place and we’re not quite ready to let it go.There is a cross over between these two thought energies pulling at our mind.

This is confusion.

It’s a high state because we are moving from an old paradigm into a new one. This is progress, evolution or involution. People who are perpetually confused and confounded are not the subject of this discussion! We are talking about movement into new higher territory and the mental friction that is part of the natural process of getting there.

“Our safety, our liberty, depends upon preserving the Constitution…

“Our safety, our liberty, depends upon preserving the Constitution of the United States as our fathers made it inviolate. The people of the United States are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts — not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”

~ Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
16th US president 1861-65, elected 2 terms, Civil War ended 4/9, assassinated 4/14/65.

A Flowchart to Determine What Religion You Should Follow

Cardiologist Wanted, must have strong Cleaning Skills

The effects of “the economy” has hit home with Academic Institutions.  Due to Budget cuts At the University of Iowa, faculty members have been ask to ‘Adapt a space’ in their department’s hallways, bathrooms, common areas.  Seems that the custodial department has been hit with a round of cuts and faculty members are being asked to ‘adapt a space’.

I know a gentleman who received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Iowa about 20 years ago.  He was unable to successfully land a job in his field, so he became a custodian, also known in Academia as a maintenance engineer.  He liked the pay and the hours so well that he never sought another position.  He told me last year that he was going to retire in 2010. I hope he gets a Golden handshake!