A space for observation, discovery, and growth
You Know the Value of Blood Donations. Ever Think About Dog Donors?
Welcome to the World of Guide Dogs
A little over a decade ago, Lizzie the Lab joined our household. We were to raise her as a guide dog for Guiding Eyes for the Blind (https://www.guidingeyes.org). This is a wonderful outfit deserving of your support.
The plan was for us to raise Lizzie for about a year. We were responsible for her socialization. We were also to take her through an excellent and rigorous training program.
Time Measurement Should be Scientific. Instead, it’s a Global Hodge-Podge.
“What time is it?” may turn out to be more of a trick question than one might think.
For quite a while, the world, for the most part, had a pretty good approach towards time. Ground Zero for time keeping was set up at Greenwich, England. Twenty-four one-hour time bands spread out from there around the world. These matched the 24-hour cycle in the dance between the Earth and the Sun.
Simple, right? But of course, we could not leave well enough alone.
Join the discussion at: Let’s Fire Daylight Savings Time – Forever!
Veterans Day provides opportunities to ponder big issues
Today we celebrate Veterans Day, at a time of national division. We do so when the president flew half way around the world to commemorate the end of World War I. He then chose to sit out the first ceremony. Because it was raining.
We could use a little reflection on what Veterans Day means. Herewith, my take on it.
Service: We live in a society with oddly mixed motivations. Volunteerism is, in many places and for many causes, at near record levels.
Join the discussion at: Veterans Day Reflections: Service and Sacrifice; Gratitude and Community
A Random Collection of Quotes We Like. Some Thoughtful, Some Funny, Some Both.
Happy Halloween, Everyone. Interesting what an event, what a phenomena Halloween has become, more so for adults it would seem than for children. Maybe we will talk about that, and holidays in general, soon. In the meantime:
Every so often I like to offer up a few samples from my ever-growing collection of quotes that resonate. I hope you enjoy them and as before, would be delighted for you to share one or two of your own with us all.
What pleasures await the eager reader of each format?
I have some friends that have pretty well gone over to the electronic side almost completely. The books they own, buy, and read are all electronic in nature. There are students now at all levels of education who get their text books the same way.
I also, have, of course, many friends who consider the eBook an evil and deviant form. They extol the sensory experience of holding, seeing, smelling a finely made book. To them, eBooks as cold threats to book stores,
Join the discussion at: Traditional Books vs eBooks? No Contest!
As We Careen into the Midterm Election, Let Us Reflect on the Art of Conversation.
This blog began last Summer in part to provide improved dialog opportunities.
Our diminishing ability to talk with each other in this country should be a matter of concern for all. Disagreements are natural – and healthy. But if we are unwilling to talk at all with millions of our fellow citizens, this is problematic. Not easy stuff, but we need to try.
It cannot bode well for the health of this country to continue down this path.
Join the discussion at: The Purposes and Power of Conversation
When do YOU Do Your Best Work?
We all know the stereotypes. Heck, most of us ARE the stereotypes.
Night Owls tend to get their second wind about the time most people are going to bed. Around midnight or so, these people hit their stride in productivity or creativity. They tend not to be especially happy to be awake (sort of) to attend a breakfast meeting.
Early Birds are the opposite, of course. They like to rise before the sun. The US Army had a slogan in its advertising some years ago wherein a soldier says,
Join the discussion at: Night Owls, Early Birds, and Variations Thereof
An Ideal Partnership That Nourishes Both Partners
For as long as I can remember, I have loved science. Not to say I always understand it. A good case in point: a couple of years ago I watched a program about string theory. It looked fascinating. I understood almost 5% of it. Five more repeats of the program and I understood enough to grasp the essentials. By the next day, much of that was gone. But I loved it anyway!
One of the things I really like about science is scientists. As a group,
Join the discussion at: The Relationship Between Science and Science Fiction
A Plea for the Blessings of Silence
For readers of a certain age, know that I am about to unleash my inner Andy Rooney. Whose bright idea was it that we needed, much less wanted, background music everywhere we go? What seemed like a simple and benign idea has spread noxiously.
Background music has been with us forever. Remember those paintings of medieval courts? Many showed musicians playing in the background while everyone feasted. But with what we generically refer to as Muzak (or canned music), the sound is now everywhere.
Muzak,
Join the discussion at: Can We Put a Dagger in the Heart of Muzak?
Life is More Three Dimensional Than We Acknowledge. Here is a Way to Regain That Perspective.
By the time you read this, I will have finished a couple of days of commercial flying with one of the three remaining large airlines in this country. Rest assured, this blog post is not being published to sing the praises of commercial flight as we know it today.
We could talk about that, but why do that to our blood pressure?
No, today I want to encourage you to listen to the siren song of flight on a small scale.
