Today is day two of us owning a new Honda CR-V - 2wd-LX. NICE small SUV which will replace Karen's Honda Civic. We researched and shopped and internet-priced and bought the car yesterday, Memorial Day, 2006 (May 29th). WOW.
And then today, I contacted the NYC Fellows Program to find out what was holding up the notification to Sarah about her acceptance into that program. Turns out the trouble she had w/transcripts never got resolved to their satisfaction (i.e. NYCFellows never got a copy of the transcript) so her application went IN-active. Not good, imho.
An example? of a person "sabataging" themselves,. being self-defeating, etc.. The "Same old song" of... I am not ready... but then - my bosses don't mentor and they otherwise suck.... - so instead of stepping up I will hang back and complain...
BUT... what can I say? Nothing! What can I do... Nothing... I think, if I have not, that I must inform Sarah that all promises of help for music and/or school (I think it was really only for some music lessons) are off as of some short time in the future (like three months). SO... a clear break for responsibilities and obligations. I will help and be supportive... MAYBE... I think - loans are the way Ms. Sarah will need to go. Thus she will have ownership.
And so it goes....
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Belief...... and Polyanna?!
Well ... I have read several books recently (Small Gods by ..... and American Gods by .... as well as a chapter ijn "The messiah of Stokholm by Cynthia Ozick) and the idea that how strongly we believe in something is what makes it whatever it is. SO... if we really believe in G-d... than G-d exists and is what we believe... or so this thinking goes!
Blasphemy comes to mind, of course, but so, too, does some sense of realness and truth. The "G-d is dead" sentiment goes a long way towards destroying what good comes from believing in G-d. Believing in the precepts of some church or religion ALSO goes a long way towards destroying what good comes from believing in G-d by insulating us from direct contact with G-d. Religions simplify what G-d is so as to communicate to the masses and in that simplification there is great loss of what is real and right and good and, fundamentally, COMPLICATED AND SIMPLE AND RADICAL.... ALL AT ONCE!
Communication is always a matter of making simple and understandable that which is is always much more. Communications is the making a map of some territory and therefore it is a distant abstraction/subtraction.
But what about Polyanna? Well she was a goody goody and
Blasphemy comes to mind, of course, but so, too, does some sense of realness and truth. The "G-d is dead" sentiment goes a long way towards destroying what good comes from believing in G-d. Believing in the precepts of some church or religion ALSO goes a long way towards destroying what good comes from believing in G-d by insulating us from direct contact with G-d. Religions simplify what G-d is so as to communicate to the masses and in that simplification there is great loss of what is real and right and good and, fundamentally, COMPLICATED AND SIMPLE AND RADICAL.... ALL AT ONCE!
Communication is always a matter of making simple and understandable that which is is always much more. Communications is the making a map of some territory and therefore it is a distant abstraction/subtraction.
But what about Polyanna? Well she was a goody goody and
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
what I want to do... to go green at home...
I want to redo my house so as to make it both comfortable and productive. Yes! Productive! I want to produce enough energy so I canj put it on the grid and power my/our needs. I want to do this inexpensively, comprehensively, durably, and in a way which will serve as a model for others.
SO... I should look for grants and other such help and be prepared to keep a very precise journal from which to write up what happens and how it happened.
I will be looking for computer control of cooling and heating devices which will include sensors and motors which will open and close shades, etc at the optimum time. Perhaps we can use "old", thought to be obsolete computers as well as the excess power of new computers. I will want to use solar power for heat and electricity. I will want things to be attractive. I will want things to be inexpensive and measurably cost-effective. I want to employ knowledgeable people and people who will learn and people who will then be able to teach. I will want to do the background research and see what has been done... and I want to then progress the various examples into a mass-production reality.
NOTES - and a Home Theater and best communications with world, too.
See: CONTACT: EH Publishing Amy Barkasy, 508-663-1500 ext. 287 abarkasy@ehpub.com for: HEADLINE: Electronic House Announces Home of the Year Award Winners; Electronic House Home of the Year Collector's Edition Hits Newsstands May 2nd (from LexisNexis Academic
That is all I want... for myself and for others!
SO... I should look for grants and other such help and be prepared to keep a very precise journal from which to write up what happens and how it happened.
I will be looking for computer control of cooling and heating devices which will include sensors and motors which will open and close shades, etc at the optimum time. Perhaps we can use "old", thought to be obsolete computers as well as the excess power of new computers. I will want to use solar power for heat and electricity. I will want things to be attractive. I will want things to be inexpensive and measurably cost-effective. I want to employ knowledgeable people and people who will learn and people who will then be able to teach. I will want to do the background research and see what has been done... and I want to then progress the various examples into a mass-production reality.
NOTES - and a Home Theater and best communications with world, too.
See: CONTACT: EH Publishing Amy Barkasy, 508-663-1500 ext. 287 abarkasy@ehpub.com for: HEADLINE: Electronic House Announces Home of the Year Award Winners; Electronic House Home of the Year Collector's Edition Hits Newsstands May 2nd (from LexisNexis Academic
That is all I want... for myself and for others!
Green, green, green
Green the economy. Green the world. Go green.
And what will happen?
In the short run.... nothing bad.
In the long run ... only good...??
Who can ever know. IF we were to green the economy and if we were to then be able to support more people with a better standard of living would that mean we would then have more people and more crowds, etc..??? Maybe.
For now... one can imagine and know that some people are not having children because of despair about the future of the world. Crowding, poverty, an apparent lack of resources, alienation due to those factors, impotence.... the result... rational and irrational slowing down of population growth.
But.. being GREEN which to me means being ecologically efficient and sound is still the way to go. Lets insulate rather than burn fuels to heat and cool. Lets walk and/or ride well made bicycles rather than drive. Lets use public transportation, too. Lets plant forests. Lets eat less hi-end proteins (proteins made by cows, etc... ) and lets make those proteins as we can in our own bodies from "cheaper" and "greener" plant foods. Lets use our muscle powers instead of diesel/oil powers. Lets look to the sun for electricity EVERYWHERE.... and lets convert over to these systems on a mass scale with government funding for the masses!
Think of all the people who would get to do real work. Productive, useful work. We should all serve in these jobs for a couple of years.... as Volunteers for America and the World. Old people who still have ideals and who have not become old, cold, conservatives... should come forward and be conservationists and show the young that we care.
And what will happen?
In the short run.... nothing bad.
In the long run ... only good...??
Who can ever know. IF we were to green the economy and if we were to then be able to support more people with a better standard of living would that mean we would then have more people and more crowds, etc..??? Maybe.
For now... one can imagine and know that some people are not having children because of despair about the future of the world. Crowding, poverty, an apparent lack of resources, alienation due to those factors, impotence.... the result... rational and irrational slowing down of population growth.
But.. being GREEN which to me means being ecologically efficient and sound is still the way to go. Lets insulate rather than burn fuels to heat and cool. Lets walk and/or ride well made bicycles rather than drive. Lets use public transportation, too. Lets plant forests. Lets eat less hi-end proteins (proteins made by cows, etc... ) and lets make those proteins as we can in our own bodies from "cheaper" and "greener" plant foods. Lets use our muscle powers instead of diesel/oil powers. Lets look to the sun for electricity EVERYWHERE.... and lets convert over to these systems on a mass scale with government funding for the masses!
Think of all the people who would get to do real work. Productive, useful work. We should all serve in these jobs for a couple of years.... as Volunteers for America and the World. Old people who still have ideals and who have not become old, cold, conservatives... should come forward and be conservationists and show the young that we care.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
democracy? - who or what rules?
So.... what about this thing called democracy? When does it exist? What is it? Where? For whom? Tipping points:?
So... do we have democracy here in the US?
How can Iraq get it?
Is it different from place to place and time to time?
What do people really want? or need? etc....
Top down or bottoms up!
Viewing things from the point of view of presidents, kings, dictators, prime ministers, chiefs.... what might we see? I could answer - I have no idea since I am no where near their perspective.
Viewing things from the bottom.. I could imagine myself closer to that position....
OR... lets view it from an individual's perspective versus a group's perspective.
I for one, am an individual... and I am also part of various groups.
Individuals and groups have needs and wants and abilities and power.
SO....
I want to be able to fulfill my needs and wants. Questions could be: how much and how often? Of course what are my needs and what are my wants?
Erich Fromm delineates the needs persons have. Food, shelter, clothing. AS such things become rather easily available persons become FREE - at least free FROM such. THEN - they are FREE TO... ?? and that becomes a problem! While one is busy taking care of ones needs those activities may be viewed as DISTRACTIONS from living fully... if we define fully as determining and getting what you want... beyond your needs. When I do not know what I want I suffer. This suffering is similar (and/or different) from the suffering one feels when in need. CLEARLY as per advertising... I am supposed to WANT and then I am supposed to GET. IF I don''t want then who or what am I? I might in fact be a drain on the ECONOMY. I will not fuel the need people have to work and produce and earn and then spend to get... etc. etc.. etc.. THE GREAT CYCLE!
OY....
As Bill Clinton said... "Its the economy, stupid!"
The economy is the exchange of resources (be they tangibles such as food or cars or houses or whatever OR be it time at the movies or at the theater or at the museum or reading... etc...) - it is the Economy which rules.
Time is money. Time is a new car. Time is Time.
Who or what controls my time? Sometimes money limits time. Sometimes assigned tasks limit my time. Sometimes my health limits my time. Sometimes how things are schedules by others (movie theaters, airline schedules, etc) place limits on my time. Sometimes meditation or prayer or holidays or Shabbat limits my time (sometimes time limits time). There generally are limits.... and to have choices about those limits ... is personal Democracy.
In other words.... democracy is essentially CHOICE.... and the Economy is the the primary controlling factor... whatever "economy" applies.
So... do we have democracy here in the US?
How can Iraq get it?
Is it different from place to place and time to time?
What do people really want? or need? etc....
Top down or bottoms up!
Viewing things from the point of view of presidents, kings, dictators, prime ministers, chiefs.... what might we see? I could answer - I have no idea since I am no where near their perspective.
Viewing things from the bottom.. I could imagine myself closer to that position....
OR... lets view it from an individual's perspective versus a group's perspective.
I for one, am an individual... and I am also part of various groups.
Individuals and groups have needs and wants and abilities and power.
SO....
I want to be able to fulfill my needs and wants. Questions could be: how much and how often? Of course what are my needs and what are my wants?
Erich Fromm delineates the needs persons have. Food, shelter, clothing. AS such things become rather easily available persons become FREE - at least free FROM such. THEN - they are FREE TO... ?? and that becomes a problem! While one is busy taking care of ones needs those activities may be viewed as DISTRACTIONS from living fully... if we define fully as determining and getting what you want... beyond your needs. When I do not know what I want I suffer. This suffering is similar (and/or different) from the suffering one feels when in need. CLEARLY as per advertising... I am supposed to WANT and then I am supposed to GET. IF I don''t want then who or what am I? I might in fact be a drain on the ECONOMY. I will not fuel the need people have to work and produce and earn and then spend to get... etc. etc.. etc.. THE GREAT CYCLE!
OY....
As Bill Clinton said... "Its the economy, stupid!"
The economy is the exchange of resources (be they tangibles such as food or cars or houses or whatever OR be it time at the movies or at the theater or at the museum or reading... etc...) - it is the Economy which rules.
Time is money. Time is a new car. Time is Time.
Who or what controls my time? Sometimes money limits time. Sometimes assigned tasks limit my time. Sometimes my health limits my time. Sometimes how things are schedules by others (movie theaters, airline schedules, etc) place limits on my time. Sometimes meditation or prayer or holidays or Shabbat limits my time (sometimes time limits time). There generally are limits.... and to have choices about those limits ... is personal Democracy.
In other words.... democracy is essentially CHOICE.... and the Economy is the the primary controlling factor... whatever "economy" applies.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Exactly
Nothing is exact... and too often we are hearing that this one or that one (a general, a president, a jerk, ... etc... ) has not broken the law BUT the somtimes only way to really determine if someone has acted within the law is to bring that person to trial and have the courts fully look at it. By fully look at it... take it to a judge and jury and then through appeals.... etc --- and even then one might have to wonder (as in the Presidential Election of 2000).
And then what about science and medicine and how sure "experts" can be!
There are also all those government statistics but then what is done with those "facts" - correct or incorrect?
TRUST is TRIED and we then get TIRED of the merry-go-round chase of cycles of what lately may appear to be simply the Fashionable View of the Moment - or - the Politically Correct View of the Moment.
It is THE MOMENT which RULES.... and the Moment is always NOW.
Be mindful!
And then what about science and medicine and how sure "experts" can be!
There are also all those government statistics but then what is done with those "facts" - correct or incorrect?
TRUST is TRIED and we then get TIRED of the merry-go-round chase of cycles of what lately may appear to be simply the Fashionable View of the Moment - or - the Politically Correct View of the Moment.
It is THE MOMENT which RULES.... and the Moment is always NOW.
Be mindful!
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
crazy???? gods....!!!!
A movie... "The gods must be crazy" --- and what about the idea that gods can be crazy? Well.... I HAVE long thought and believed the all-encompassing view of G-d as that which is all things. That would include all opposits. It would include all NOTHING as well as EVERYTHING. It would, essentially, include all that can be thought, imagined, etc..... ETC...!!!! AND MORE.
So... --- gods are significant, specific, and probably DIVISIVE!!!, too. While, on the other hand - G-D is UNIFYING.
By radical definition - G-D is THE UNIFYING FORCE. G-D is all-emcompassing AND G-D is ???? I could say "good" but G-D has to include that which is "bad" too. All exists IN G-D. THAT is THE MYSTICAL reality. That is REALITY.
AAaaaHHHhhhhh........
So... --- gods are significant, specific, and probably DIVISIVE!!!, too. While, on the other hand - G-D is UNIFYING.
By radical definition - G-D is THE UNIFYING FORCE. G-D is all-emcompassing AND G-D is ???? I could say "good" but G-D has to include that which is "bad" too. All exists IN G-D. THAT is THE MYSTICAL reality. That is REALITY.
AAaaaHHHhhhhh........
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