Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Your Hard Drive Will Fail

This just in from GLi ....

the drive went out to Gillware Inc in Madison yesterday 1300 - 1600
buckaroos to get the data off and of course had to buy another drive
to put it on (200) plus 50 to ship the dead one - Lesson: Assume all
hard drives WILL fail.
Develop a very regular back up strategy.
Assume that the backup strategy has more importance and higher
priority than the work itself.

Of course I thought I knew that and had a good strategy.
But my strategy failed for the most recent (important active files)
work.
I attribute the strategy failure to my being more involved in the
work than the backups.

Hear my loud voice - YOUR HARD DRIVES WILL FAIL

Back up often

All the recent electrical storms required many power-downs. Many (too
many) occurred during normally scheduled backups. When I powered up
to get back to work the backup program would tell me that I needed to
readjust things; but "I" had to get right to work figuring that the
next scheduled back up would catch it all up.

Learn from my hard won lessons.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Front Porch

Thursday, June 26, 2008

New MeetUp re iPhone

New iPhone Meetup Group - 


All kinds of other goodies, too ....

www.micro-factory.com


Saturday, May 24, 2008

Wish or List

I was just updating my Blogger Profile.
There's a box to check. It says Wish List.

I click it and it takes me to a page
that's all about SHOPPING.

Now I have to make ... choices ... about shopping.

My wish is NOT SHOPPING.

As you can see .. it's only one item.

Shopping or not, I don't think that constitutes a list.

Posts

I've set up another blog at knewsreview.blogspot.com
and will be moving in there soon.

Nothing there at this moment but a big vacant lot.

But, now, I have all my blogs under one sign-in address.

Yaay. Just the right amount.

Stop in and say hello.

Calendars

We have a hard time using the fridge or any other stationery device
to host a calendar.

So, now in the last couple weeks we've been combining our information
on Google calendars.

I think we might have six or seven of them so far.

Just the right amount.

Skype

I had a chance to start skyping on a small scale in early March of '08.

I am not a power user - at least not yet.

So far I like it a lot. I've not used the video
but the voice and chat have been fun and useful.

You can be in touch at < your message doctor > ..
actually I think the address is yourmessagedoctor

Say hello.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Caring

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of
the 'Peanuts' comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the
questions.
Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and
actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These
are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But
the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.


Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:


1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson:

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with
the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are
the ones that care.

Pass this on to those people who have made a difference in your life.

-----

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already
tomorrow in Australia."
Charles Schultz

Saturday, April 26, 2008

THE STORY OF STUFF - passionforsustainability.com

Go to:
http://passionforsustainability.com/

Pick or Click MORE LINKS
from the choices on the left hand side.

That takes you to more choices on the left hand side.

Click - THE STORY OF STUFF for an amazing 20 minute video.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Peaceful? Orderly?

Father of 'Chaos Theory' Dies

Day to Day, April 17, 2008 · Edward Lorenz was the father of "chaos
theory," also known as the "butterfly effect." He explained how
something as small as ...

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Tolle , Oprah, Black Sun and The Long Emergency I read the latest Tolle book twice while waiting for the world teleclass. It is a familiar message. Never showed up in my seat. Checked to download the video. Heard of the first week's fiasco. Second week there was an MP3 available. Smaller download. Got it. Started listening. Shut it off. Third week (maybe) there was a pdf. Downloaded all three weeks. Started to read. Bored. Somewhere along that time line I was made aware of this place - blacksunjournal.com - and poked around a little. It's a peek at another side. Still bored. Since then I have started reading The Long Emergency. Less bored. You could read some reviews on Amazon. Not a big commitment. I wonder how all this recent pop spirituality will fare when we're actually chopping wood and carrying water.

I read the latest Tolle book twice while waiting for the world
teleclass. It is a familiar message.

Never showed up in my seat. Checked to download the video. Heard of
the first week's fiasco.

Second week there was an MP3 available. Smaller download. Got it.
Started listening. Shut it off.

Third week (maybe) there was a pdf. Downloaded all three weeks.
Started to read. Bored.

Somewhere along that time line I was made aware of this place -
blacksunjournal.com - and poked around a little.

It's a peek at another side. Still bored.

Since then I have started reading The Long Emergency. Less bored.

You could read some reviews on Amazon.

Not a big commitment.

I wonder how all this recent pop spirituality will fare when we're
actually chopping wood and carrying water.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The Long Emergency

The link here is to the Amazon review section for the 2005 book The
Long Emergency.

You might want to read it. Or you may be satisfied with the reviews -
not all of them positive.

http://tinyurl.com/27ztnx

You can read more current writings by the author James Howard
Kunstler on his blog.

http://jameshowardkunstler.typepad.com/

The subject is life after peak oil. The author speculates about
details. He provides few footnotes or bibliography.
That's a bit of a shame but a curious reader can find those
resources. The thing that they do not speculate on is the peak oil
paradigm.

Fascinating.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Fwd: Web sites are opening up college classrooms

>
> Tim,
>
> Last time we met I told you about the article I read in the Journal.
>
> Web sites are opening up college classrooms
>
> Here it is http://tinyurl.com/2umh3d
>
> Thought it mght be interesting.
>
>
> dlw
>

Monday, March 10, 2008

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

The On-Purpose Person

Hi Steve,

We were talking about being too busy and what to do about it.

Remember - I said we could practice. I could ask you to do something
and you could say -
"Aw, shucks." - or - "Thank you for thinking of me. I'm sorry I
can't help you out this time."

Or, similar. Praise the person and let them down gently. Just say no
is unnecessarily brief.


We also spoke of organization and priorities.
I mentioned David Allen - Getting Things Done aka GTD.

And then I came across this fellow at http://zenhabits.net. I have
not yet begun to dig into it but it seems refreshing, simple, even
minimalist; a way to get things done without carrying around a
weighty set of rules.

And, I mentioned this book - here's the info. The book is in the
County library and you can call them up and have it delivered to Oak
Creek library.

The On-Purpose Person
Making You Life Make Sense
by Kevin W. McCarthy

I am having trouble finding out what to call this system for
determining the winner. The tennis people call it a draw sheet.

One sheet of paper for each category. The categories below are as
presented in the book. The book says these are guidelines. You can
change the categories: rename them as you wish, have more or less of
them, etc. Write down everything you want to have, do, or be in each
category.

• Physical/Health/Recreational
• Financial/Material
• Family
• Vocational/Career
• Social/Community
• Spiritual
• Mental/Intellectual
• Other


I am having trouble finding out what to call this system for
determining the winner. The tennis people call it a draw sheet.
You've seen it before. Here it is again.

Then, one sheet at at time you will do a run-off ... What thing,
outcome, or result do you want more than another?
Then do a run-off from the single result of each sheet.

Just another tool for the set. Use as necessary. Once a year. Once a
week.

You can read reviews about it on Amazon if you have the time. http://
tinyurl.com/2nzazg

This Kevin Kelly is an interesting fellow

http://www.kk.org/writings/index.php
http://www.edge.org/q2008/q08_6.html#kelly

How Much Power Does the Internet Consume?

http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2007/10/how_much_power.php

Monday, March 03, 2008

35th or 36th Annual Int'l. Hobo Daze

I was looking for the anonymous author to the essay called GET OUT in Seth Godin's The Big Moo.
So far can't find it. I will keep looking. Lots of sanity in that reading.

Lost in the mists of antiquity - it was '72 0r '73, i invented a holiday - Hobo Day.
And I've spent most of that time trying to explain it. Well, that time surrounding the anniversary dates.

Here's Christine Kane talking about her Adventure Day. http://tinyurl.com/2o63bp
The thing I like so much better about her holiday  over my holiday is that hers are once or twice a month.
And who knows what similar gems are waiting down in the comments to this post.

And - Google this: - myss duck club for another hint at Hobo Daze. It'll be good for you. Really.


zenhabits.net - general goodies

http://zenhabits.net/

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Hmmm ....

"A company's best ideas mostly come not from the top, but from lower
level employees. "
– Inspired by Sam Walton

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Simple Truths - Johnny the Bagger

A wonderful story about making a difference.
It's good for people. And, it's good for business.

It's not necessarily new unless you haven't see it yet.


http://www.stservicemovie.com/

George Carlin reads more blogs than you do

Catch him on HBO, like, right NOW.

"George Carlin: It's Bad For Ya"

http://tinyurl.com/256bc3

Can you describe your life in half a dozen words?

Memoir in six words

Can you describe your life in half a dozen words?

Here's a fun thing to think about and a few people who thought about
it already.

http://www.salon.com/tt/best/2008/02/29/best/

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Prophecy and Oracle on the History Channel

Generally I like the presentation of ideas on the History Channel.

They recently had a special on Prophecy, Oracle and the 2012 date.

Plenty of input from around the world across many ages speak to the
year 2012.

They could have easily fit everything they said into a half hour and
still had time for commercials but the thing that really put me off
this particular episode is that every time they mentioned the Maya
calendar they showed a picture of the Aztec calendar.

Here now is another special called Decoding the Past and goes deep
into the aspects of the Mayan calendar technology.

Apparently there are three calendar systems working together with
stunningly unbelievable accuracy.

Worth a little more study I think.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Bill Moyers Journal

There were several wonderful segments on last night.

Craig Unger on the House of Bush the House of Saud.
On American interests, Saudi interests and our mis-guided bumblings
in the desert.

Time for a little Common Sense? Revitalizing Tom Paine, by Harvey J.
Kaye

Who gets all the money ... On the New Gilded Age.
"There's one party in Washington. The party of money."
David Cay Johnston

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/index-flash.html

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/

And after that I watched the BBC World News.
It's overwhelming not having seen real news in awhile.

No wonder we go for the feel-good, info-tainment news programming.

Cutting Corners

A couple nights ago on the ABC news there were several unconnected
items that feel awfully connected to me.


First, the final report on the Minneapolis bridge collapse indicated
that the steel gusset plates that hold the beams to the deck were
only half as thick as what was called for in the design. One half
inch vs. one inch thick.

The report on the tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo finds that
the concrete barrier between the tigers and the humans was four feet
short of the recommended design height. Four feet too short. I wonder
why it took so long for the tiger to get out.

I have the odd feeling that the statue of limitations just ran out on
all responsible parties.

In the same news cycle the FDA approves the sale of cloned meat,
dairy and who knows what else for consumption by humans and does not
require the providers to label their products as such.

Well, it can hardly be any worse for you than what you're already
eating.

And, the night after that, the FDA says that drug companies must
publish the bad reports along with the good reports on all their
clinical studies but that they have up to two years to do so.

Does it seem like there is less and less responsibility being offered
up by those we entrust with our care?

Cold

-4°F
RealFeel®
-30°F
Winds: WNW
at 16mph

Partly Sunny

Yep. It looks pretty out there. Might venture out in it, too.


Went looking through the offerings at meetup.com recently.
Signed up for a freelance writer thing.

More meetups to sign up for; graphic designers, web folks, etc.
Need to engage more effectively and more often.
A new 8 chamber luncheon will take place next Tuesday.
I hope to be there.

I went to a meeting a week ago with a long-time friend.
He has a user-consultant group that he put together to enhance his
own business offerings.
He got the idea from the Master Mind groups mentioned in Think and
Grow Rich. Pulled it off the shelf to give it a reading.

I was sitting between him and a gal that had recently had an
opportunity to hear a motivational talk by Jane Stewart aka
pubilictyhound.com.

I signed up for her email tip sheet press releases and have been
reading right along. She's a monster.

Also, recently got a book about being on purpose. Title is in another
room right now.

So, that's pretty much my deal lately.

Worked with a guy about his message. Refined it just fine until we/he
realized that there was no explicit offer in it.
The Action blog by Robert Middleton says that this is something that
frequently happens to independent creatives.
http://www.actionplan.blogs.com/

More later.

Stay warm.