On the one hand I hope the guy is wrong, but I think I might just make sure that our emergency supplies are replenished. I haven't checked batteries and water for a while. I was alerted to this from a mailing from Senator Barbara Boxer, who seems to be taking it seriously.
Duck and cover? The art of earthquake prediction, By Mark Wheeler / Hi-Desert Star
I also wrote a blog post about it at Corner of Babble: San Andreas Earthquake Prediction
Saturday, July 31, 2004
Friday, July 30, 2004
Attitude
People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them. ~Epictetus
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes. ~William James
Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities - always see them, for they're always there. ~Norman Vincent Peale
If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes. ~William James
Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities - always see them, for they're always there. ~Norman Vincent Peale
If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Never underestimate trust, praise and confidence as motivators
My internship supervisor at the agency is very trusting of my abilities in my newly chosen field. He has solicited my input on some client issues, acknowledged my presence to the clients as associate, not intern, sent me on a few client meetings by myself and today sent me to the home of a client family who only speak Spanish- knowing full well that I can't, but also confident that I would find a way to communicate. I am confident in my own abilities with clients up to a point, but a lot of the specifics are very new to me. In the final analysis, working with clients and families is something that one only learns by doing and no two situations are ever exactly the same. Speaking Spanish is something else entirely. Living in Southern California, I know I should have been trying much harder to learn more all these years.
I speak a very halting form of pidgin Spanish. When I am not too self-conscious, the accent is Angeleno-Mexican-American. If I were to classify my speaking ability, I would say that I am about as proficient as a confused two year old, and really even that might be a stretch. I do understand much more than I speak, but there are huge gaps, and a lot of intuitive guessing. This ability to intuit what I am hearing is not only from the little Spanish I know and remember (I did take a class about twenty plus years ago), but also a lifelong ability to 'hear' real meaning by the 93% that isn't in words. But I really do need to learn more Spanish. It might be difficult to accomplish right now, as I am also trying to learn ASL, but both of these would/will be very valuable in my current/future line of work.
The solo visit to the client's home today was only a brief check of status- and an unusual situation, for which I mostly needed my eyes and intuition to be able to report my impressions. I also dropped off some supplies to create a picture communication system that will hopefully, slowly begin to help improve the client's quality of life. I managed the Spanish enough to introduce myself, apologize, explaining that I understood a little bit, but didn't really speak Spanish. When I reached the part where I asked if the person spoke English, the conversation went much smoother- in English. However, I am quite in awe (and very grateful- it is a huge boost to self-esteem) of my boss's trust. His trust, confidence in me and praise are powerful motivators and keep me focused on my reasons for doing this- helping the clients, in whatever way I can.
But I would like to be able to speak Spanish at least as well as a four or five year old. ;-)
Does anyone have a recommendation for a computer program/tapes/book- a company- anything- that you may have used to learn a different language- something not too horribly expensive?
I speak a very halting form of pidgin Spanish. When I am not too self-conscious, the accent is Angeleno-Mexican-American. If I were to classify my speaking ability, I would say that I am about as proficient as a confused two year old, and really even that might be a stretch. I do understand much more than I speak, but there are huge gaps, and a lot of intuitive guessing. This ability to intuit what I am hearing is not only from the little Spanish I know and remember (I did take a class about twenty plus years ago), but also a lifelong ability to 'hear' real meaning by the 93% that isn't in words. But I really do need to learn more Spanish. It might be difficult to accomplish right now, as I am also trying to learn ASL, but both of these would/will be very valuable in my current/future line of work.
The solo visit to the client's home today was only a brief check of status- and an unusual situation, for which I mostly needed my eyes and intuition to be able to report my impressions. I also dropped off some supplies to create a picture communication system that will hopefully, slowly begin to help improve the client's quality of life. I managed the Spanish enough to introduce myself, apologize, explaining that I understood a little bit, but didn't really speak Spanish. When I reached the part where I asked if the person spoke English, the conversation went much smoother- in English. However, I am quite in awe (and very grateful- it is a huge boost to self-esteem) of my boss's trust. His trust, confidence in me and praise are powerful motivators and keep me focused on my reasons for doing this- helping the clients, in whatever way I can.
But I would like to be able to speak Spanish at least as well as a four or five year old. ;-)
Does anyone have a recommendation for a computer program/tapes/book- a company- anything- that you may have used to learn a different language- something not too horribly expensive?
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Watching the Dem convention
I try to post the political at Corner for the most part (and I had more to say over there), but this man impressed me as someone to watch. His speech was wonderful, extremely well delivered with perfect timing- brings to mind all sorts of great leaders for both content and delivery. I don't know that much about him just yet, but if you didn't see it, at least go read the speech. There are realplayer files out there to listen to if you want to look at Corner and get his blog page. This man sounds like a true "uniter, not a divider".
My son thinks he ought to run for President.
A snippet: "That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hiring somebody's son. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will he counted — or at least, most of the time."
Barack Obama, candidate for U.S. Senate for the State of Illinois
Text of Obama's Address at Convention
My son thinks he ought to run for President.
A snippet: "That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hiring somebody's son. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will he counted — or at least, most of the time."
Barack Obama, candidate for U.S. Senate for the State of Illinois
Text of Obama's Address at Convention
Monday, July 26, 2004
May 2004 archives missing
I was saving blog archives to my hard drive and discovered that May 2004 postings give a 'page not found' message. I can access individual posts from May from the Dashboard, but not the full month's archives from the link on the sidebar. I checked the settings (already set to archive monthly- and saved that setting just in case it hadn't been applied to May for some reason), then republished the whole blog, but it is still giving the same error message. Weird.
I have no clue how to fix this. Anyone have any ideas- about why or how to fix or if this is a temporary glitch?
oh, and I checked- Corner is fine and I don't see that anyone else is having this problem.
edited: Fixed apparently now. I did write to blogger, but I still have no idea what the problem was.
I have no clue how to fix this. Anyone have any ideas- about why or how to fix or if this is a temporary glitch?
oh, and I checked- Corner is fine and I don't see that anyone else is having this problem.
edited: Fixed apparently now. I did write to blogger, but I still have no idea what the problem was.
Monday Question #26
Monday Question
#26. What did you do just for fun or just for your own enjoyment today?
#26. What did you do just for fun or just for your own enjoyment today?
Sunday, July 25, 2004
Unconscious Mutterings
Week 77
I say ... and you think ... ?
I say ... and you think ... ?
- Sleep:: lack of
- Stats:: what every good journal article has; what many news stories quote with only parts of the needed information to interpret properly; what everyone seems to manipulate to their advantage
- Portfolio:: examples of work; collection of assets
- Lipton:: tea- not my favorite brand or flavor of black tea, but it used to be the most common one available in the U.S.. I do like having their dried chicken noodle soup on hand for emergencies.
- Telly:: 'vision
- Immigrate:: ;-) wish..
- Viable:: possible; capable of growth, of fruition, of being brought forth to full
- Serene:: calm, placid, peaceful, untroubled, unworried
- Mountain:: here before me, here after me; my favorite place to be especially if there is also water
- Natalie:: Woods
Saturday, July 24, 2004
"The Riddle of Desire" and a new find
I was wandering, taking a break from studying. I found myself at "I Speak of Dreams", clicked on a few links then back to find this post which I read the other day, but didn't have time to check the article referenced.
Dharma 101 is a good read- the anger article of course, but also all of them. "Meditate because you are angry, not to eliminate it. Thich Nhat Hanh says we must learn how to hold anger like a baby: we need to learn how to be angry, not how to express or repress it. Whenever we take any emotion and make it into an It (as in "I can't stand it any longer" or "I have to get it out of my system"), we are in trouble."
From there I decided to wander around the Tricycle site. I like it by the way. Just the pieces I was reading were stimulating thought of all kinds, in the areas of - desire/emotion.. the quest for balance.. more thought on nourishing soul.. Thanks Liz.
This was where I wound up:
From The Devil In Our DNA: "In other words, as long as the Buddha was still in his body, he was still subject to the "residue" of his previous karmic conditioning. Only when he died, and entered parinirvana [the complete cessation of personality and sensory experience] was his freedom no longer restrained by residual karma. This suggests that as long as one is living in a body, in the sensory world, one is still tied in some way to the forces of greed, hatred, and delusion—even if one is a Buddha. Otherwise, how do you make sense of the numerous passages in ..."
This article, The Riddle of Desire links long parts of the others below; all of this unfortunately incomplete, but still interesting reading.
From Working with Desire: "The desire for food when one is hungry, the aspiration to work for peace in the world, the thirst for knowledge, the wish to share one’s life with dear ones, or the yearning for freedom from suffering: all of these can contribute to lasting happiness as long as they are not tainted by craving and grasping. Like the other emotions, desire can be experienced either in a constructive or in an afflictive way. It can be the catalyst for a meaningful life—or the maelstrom that wrecks it."
This brings to mind Fromm's distinction between having and being.. "Being" as an active mode, an experiencing mode for a start, but not limited to those; having as trying to possess, own, hoard, keep, accumulate.. In some respects like the differences between feeling loved, loving, giving love -and- having love, keeping love, owning, possessing, etc....
From Making Room For Desire "As I practiced experiencing these feelings without judging them, I could begin to explore them further. What lay at the core of this desire? What was I really longing for?"
The Merry-Go-Round of Desire: An Interview with Mark Epstein (who I think I have read on Edge from time to time) on the same topic. "The same thing happens in meditation: having that first bit of bliss, then it’s gone. You want the perfection back. But you’re chasing something you’ve already lost. If you stay with that widening dissatisfaction and think, "Oh, yeah, of course," then insight can begin to happen. In that gap.
The whole Tricycle site is worth perusing. I found many thoughtful articles there. I quit subscribing to almost all magazines years ago, but I am thinking about subscribing to this one.
Dharma 101 is a good read- the anger article of course, but also all of them. "Meditate because you are angry, not to eliminate it. Thich Nhat Hanh says we must learn how to hold anger like a baby: we need to learn how to be angry, not how to express or repress it. Whenever we take any emotion and make it into an It (as in "I can't stand it any longer" or "I have to get it out of my system"), we are in trouble."
From there I decided to wander around the Tricycle site. I like it by the way. Just the pieces I was reading were stimulating thought of all kinds, in the areas of - desire/emotion.. the quest for balance.. more thought on nourishing soul.. Thanks Liz.
This was where I wound up:
From The Devil In Our DNA: "In other words, as long as the Buddha was still in his body, he was still subject to the "residue" of his previous karmic conditioning. Only when he died, and entered parinirvana [the complete cessation of personality and sensory experience] was his freedom no longer restrained by residual karma. This suggests that as long as one is living in a body, in the sensory world, one is still tied in some way to the forces of greed, hatred, and delusion—even if one is a Buddha. Otherwise, how do you make sense of the numerous passages in ..."
This article, The Riddle of Desire links long parts of the others below; all of this unfortunately incomplete, but still interesting reading.
From Working with Desire: "The desire for food when one is hungry, the aspiration to work for peace in the world, the thirst for knowledge, the wish to share one’s life with dear ones, or the yearning for freedom from suffering: all of these can contribute to lasting happiness as long as they are not tainted by craving and grasping. Like the other emotions, desire can be experienced either in a constructive or in an afflictive way. It can be the catalyst for a meaningful life—or the maelstrom that wrecks it."
This brings to mind Fromm's distinction between having and being.. "Being" as an active mode, an experiencing mode for a start, but not limited to those; having as trying to possess, own, hoard, keep, accumulate.. In some respects like the differences between feeling loved, loving, giving love -and- having love, keeping love, owning, possessing, etc....
From Making Room For Desire "As I practiced experiencing these feelings without judging them, I could begin to explore them further. What lay at the core of this desire? What was I really longing for?"
The Merry-Go-Round of Desire: An Interview with Mark Epstein (who I think I have read on Edge from time to time) on the same topic. "The same thing happens in meditation: having that first bit of bliss, then it’s gone. You want the perfection back. But you’re chasing something you’ve already lost. If you stay with that widening dissatisfaction and think, "Oh, yeah, of course," then insight can begin to happen. In that gap.
The whole Tricycle site is worth perusing. I found many thoughtful articles there. I quit subscribing to almost all magazines years ago, but I am thinking about subscribing to this one.
"Whatever you can do or dream"
"Until you make a clear commitment there is a hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all creative action, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans.
The moment you definitely commit yourself, then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help you that would never have otherwise occurred.
A whole stream of things takes place, such as unforeseen happenings or meeting certain people or being provided material assistance which you never dreamt would come your way.
I have learned a great respect for Goethe's couplets. "
"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
~~W. H. Murray in the Scottish Himalaya Expedition, 1951
Still catching up and clearning out my in-box- this via "Coaching Secrets E-newsletter" from MentorCoach
Concerning all creative action, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans.
The moment you definitely commit yourself, then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help you that would never have otherwise occurred.
A whole stream of things takes place, such as unforeseen happenings or meeting certain people or being provided material assistance which you never dreamt would come your way.
I have learned a great respect for Goethe's couplets. "
"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
~~W. H. Murray in the Scottish Himalaya Expedition, 1951
Still catching up and clearning out my in-box- this via "Coaching Secrets E-newsletter" from MentorCoach
Friday, July 23, 2004
Volunteers Needed, Including Virtual Volunteers
I was asked to do a little research today- to locate some volunteer possibilities for our clients. One of the recommended sites to check was Volunteer Match. For folks in the US, enter your zip code and search.
I noticed that they have virtual volunteer opportunities too. You can volunteer from anywhere using your computer. I thought that was pretty cool and worth passing along.
I noticed that they have virtual volunteer opportunities too. You can volunteer from anywhere using your computer. I thought that was pretty cool and worth passing along.
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