What the onerous brings out in a person

I work with groups of people to turn out a written product that follows certain protocols. Inevitably these groups do not follow the protocols, so I end up having to write or rewrite the portions that the group cannot do or do right. It's the most onerous task of the job I have. That's what I am sitting here doing tonight... concocting portions that a group did not do.

So, of course, I am doing everything under the sun not to have to write these sections. I have taken 3 strolls in the last 2 hours just to relieve my mind of what I do not like to do. But, that leads me to think of pleasant thoughts. I think of things people have said to me. I think of events that make me smile. I think of various witticisms that always give me energy. I think of money in the bank. I think of TV shows that make me laugh. I think of comedians and their sketches. And, I think of texts that I receive that always brighten my day or night that remind me of the poem Xanadu... love them.

When those thoughts fill my mind, I can carry on with onerous tasks and the deadlines that have to be met. So thankful for pleasant thoughts!

Looking at the present landscape

Geologists and archaeologists are always finding evidence for an earth that looked so very different from the one we live on now. We have had oceans that existed that don't exist now. We have had tropical climate on places that are frozen wastelands now. Bones of crocodiles that swam in swamps are found today in sand dunes where there is no water at all. We find axe blades and arrowheads chipped from rocks in places where living conditions would surely make humans today look for another place to live. There are ancient ruins of buildings under the seas. There are precision-cut rock plates used in construction of buildings before any known tools to cut precision rock plates were known, lines that stretch for miles on tops of mountains forming designs before aerial views could have been possible, and megaton rocks dragged (who knows how) from far places before being assembled into ceremonial gathering places. There are houses from Neolithic times in the Arctic Circle built underground using small rocks that have just recently come from being submerged in the ocean. Looking back on the earth's history is a challenging puzzle for us moderns to piece together. But usually a harder look reveals some unifying cause or theme to them.

Sometimes as I look at the landscape of my life, I see it as a challenging puzzle. Some of the jobs I have held or the views of life I have voiced seem to be like a checkerboard of various moves. But when I look hard enough, there is an underlying theme to most of them. They are not just wild hairs. I have learned more with each passing year. And, I have made adjustments in judgment due to those learnings. I think it is also true of our hopes and aims. They change as our experience informs them. So, while my hopes may look different from the past, I work everyday at making sure that my aim is true and connected to my nature because I truly desire my hopes to become a part of the current landscape.

A round of thanks to...

The LA Lakers won their second NBA championship in a row last week. Kardashian hubby, Odom, looked fantastic in game 6 and made key rebounds in game 7. I was pulling for the Lakers all through the playoffs, so I was happy at the end of game 7. Kobe Bryant played very well except in game 7. But, he knew what to do even when he wasn't playing well. He supported the other players with stellar passing. One of his passes was to Artest who hit a very pivotal shot in the waning moments of the game. Artest was ecstatic. After the game, a commentator interviewed Artest about the shot. But, Artest wanted to say what he wanted, so he didn't really answer the question. After making a statement of how happy he was, he went down the list of several names of people he wanted to thank as if he had won an Academy Award. The last person on the short list was his therapist. Artest thanked his therapist! I have never heard that before. He said that the therapist had helped him relax and that was the key to hitting his big shot. Hmmmmmm... the therapist.

I really haven't talked to a paid therapist, but if the criterion is that a therapist helps a person to relax so that he or she can perform at his or her highest level, then I have a therapist. And really, I don't feel relaxed these days very often. There is a little bit of an edge that is created when I am among people at work. I can't really let down too much of anywhere. I guess when I am alone, I relax some, but usually I am doing something or reading. I do have a therapist, though... a person who makes me feel totally relaxed and around whom laughter returns to my vocal cords and a smile adorns my face.

So Artest is right. A person has to be relaxed to perform at the highest level. I want to thank my therapist!

Recent but magnificent

I am watching the most magnificent building being built on the Science channel. It's in Singapore and has just recently been built (mainly because the technology hasn't been available until the last few years). It is a skypark built across the top of 3 towering apartment and business buildings standing about 100 yards apart and is complete with hotel and casino. Part of the skypark is a cantilever, a 218 feet portion that sticks out away from the last tower like a diving board. The park rests 600 feet above ground connecting the three buildings with a couple of bridges so that it continuously runs across the buildings. After the walkways, swimming pool, trees, and nightclub have been added, it will be a beautiful place to exercise, relax, or entertain for all the residents in the hotel and apartments. Truly magnificent in both looks and planning, inside and out.

Some of the beautiful things I have learned or beautiful people I have met have come in the most recent part of my life. The things and people from the past are still important and significant. But, it makes me a more robust person to add meaningful events and people from the past to the ones that are recent. And, even though I didn't encounter them until recently, they are beautiful and magnificent, inside and out.

What a sham(e)!

It is the hardest thing to sit and listen to people say things at a quickly concocted conference that are just not true. I listened yesterday to a tale of just such a case. Somewhere in the recent past some educator thought that it made common sense that there is so much reading to worded problems in math that good reading habits would lead to better math capabilities (and higher test scores since math capabilities would be enhanced). Like a fad, that thought has made the rounds among school districts. And like many thoughts that make the rounds, at some point educators take it as gospel even though there is really nothing but what seems like good sense backing the thought.

But the idea is a sham. It may seem counterintuitive at this point to those who have accepted this unsubstantiated idea, but the cognitive research says that math stands on its own as a skill at the very least. There is even a hint that math may even dictate ideas that would make for good reading skills. But the battle is uphill at this point because so many have swallowed bait and been reeled in. I want to weigh in on the side of solid research. I want to help stem the tide of such faulty reasoning on the part of so many educators. And, I want to blame those who should know better for not allowing the research of those in sciences that can inform education to surface and set the record straight.

I have seen this ploy before by the reading establishment. Two studies have come out condemning the way that reading is being taught. Those studies have not been allowed to see the light of day by many who teach reading or instruct districts in reading methods (and subsequently by district administrators who have been duped). Shame on them. The remedy is simple. Read the studies, understand the conclusions, trust the outcome. I want to join my very close friend who has remained in education working hard to change the world of mathematics... hopefully convincing others that long hand division and pages of written answers can be replaced through computers and calculators... and in the case at hand, hopefully bringing administrators to their senses that the symbol stream for reading is not an enhancer for the logic and symbol stream for math.

From the supernatural to the natural

I watched a program tonight off and on that dealt with three men that contended that they were modern religious messiahs. There was nothing there that was new. They all three have been spoken to supernaturally. They all three use religious jargon for inner awareness. And they all three have followers who swoon and sway to every word dripping from their lips. I have one word for them... BOGUS!

When I think of a present day messiah, it's of the natural type, not the supernatural. I think of someone who would help me be better than I am, someone who would inspire me, laugh with me, give me optimism for living. I think of someone with whom I can share both the monumental and the mundane, the successes and failures, the trips across terrain and the trips through the heart.

Messiahs of the earthly sort are not bogus. They exist... but not on every corner... They're special people still... once in a lifetime.

When minds mesh

Kindred minds are hard to come by. Only very occasionally have I found those with kindred minds. I had a college professor who taught me Greek who had the same philosophy I did in translation. He died during one of the semesters I had him, but he taught me much, mainly because we shared a passion for the same idea. About a decade later, I met someone I had gone to college with. We have remained friends ever since. I don't think we could be too much more opposite in nature, but it was in the contrast of natures that our complementary sides came out. We have been friends for a really long time now, and all because we shared with each other our lives and talents, as opposite as they may have been. Somehow, the complemetary side formed the bond. And sometimes compatibility makes for life's enjoyment. With only one person have I had such complete compatibility. Our minds think much alike; our spirits enjoy the same kinds of activity; our humor is very much the same; our aims in life are so very close. That person is witty, much more than I, but I try to make up for that in other ways.

Kindred minds... making memories glorious... making the future worth the journey.

Morphed

There is a new plastic bracelet out that kids buy a lot. The plastic is soft, yet rigid enough to have a certain shape like guitars, cars, hearts, tennis rackets, etc. When you put the bracelet on, it stretches and becomes round to fit your wrist, but when you take the bracelet off, it goes back to its original shape. I think that's why kids like them so well. They return to their original shapes.

Some things in life are like that. They return to their original shapes. But, life's experiences don't act like that. Generally, we go through experiences and are not left the same. Recently, I was taught to enjoy reality TV programming. It stretched my horizons. I learned the names of the stars and the network of friends that they had. It was exciting to stretch myself. Right now, I don't have time to watch much TV at all, but I have found I cannot return to the shape I had before I stretched myself. I have dropped Criminal Minds completely from my repertoire. It used to be a staple in my viewing diet, but my attraction to it has changed. I haven't watched NCIS in three months, another former staple. I find myself wanting to watch the new programming I had been introduced to, plus another program or two that I have picked up like Flashpoint.

I have enjoyed so much broadening my horizons, I wouldn't go back to my former shape if I could. The heart has trapped new scenes and cherishes those trappings.

Life cannot trump hope

Some things in life a person never loses hope for or sight of. I was always told growing up that if you want something badly enough, you just go get it. Life has a way of making that adage too simplistic. Oh, there is some truth there all right. Nobody gets anything if he or she doesn't pursue it. On the other hand, just because a person pursues something doesn't mean he or she will end up with it. That's where hope comes in.

Life is very good at throwing twists and turns that are unexpected. It convolutes or diminshes or seemingly makes the thing you hope for the most appear so distant. I don't really understand how life can so consistently thwart the desires of the heart, but it so consistently does that I respect its power to do it. But, one thing is more certain than life and its power to convolute, and that is the hope I have for the thing I want most in life. Hope does not diminish, get convoluted, or become distant. I can always see my greatest hope very clearly! And, like the phenomenon of the Northern Lights, it is so beautiful...

A touch from others

I had a phone call the other night from a number that I didn't recognize. It had a Dallas area code, so I answered it. It was a high school basketball buddy that I had not spoken to in 7 years. We had a good talk and "caught up" on some of the matters that we had in common. I admire his desire to want to stay in touch through the years. He's a good friend.

I had a phone call just four days ago. I didn't recognize the number, but I answered anyway because it was about 10:30 at night. The voice of my friend who was in Nigeria was on the other end. I had not talked with him in about 4 months. I wasn't aware that he had come back to the states, so the call was a nice surprise. He was glad to be back even if it was going to behere for only a month. We talked of all his encounters in Africa like riots and life on the edge of the Sahara Desert. It was good to be in touch. He goes back in July. I admire his stamina to live for a cause he truly believes in.

I had a phone call yesterday afternoon. I didn't have to look at the number because I recognized the unique ring tone I've given this person. The fact that I have a unique ring tone for this person signals how special this friend is. I was driving to my mother's house on a crowded freeway, but my friend's voice soothed my soul immediately. We talked and laughed, a hallmark of this person. We talked of matters that affected our lives and of children. I admire this person's exuberance, love of life, and raw intelligence among many other attributes worthy of respect.

Phone calls from those in our spheres... It's a beautiful thing to keep in touch and let my friends touch my soul in admirable ways.

Coloful days - bright nights

Sometimes I stay at a hotel in another state. I try to get the same room each time because I like the view out the window. The harbor from the ocean comes within view of the hotel. Over the harbor is a bridge that carries interstate traffic, but I like the view of the arched bridge with the span of the harbor behind it. The gray steel of the bridge archway against the bright blue of the ocean makes for a colorful, pleasant scene during the day. At night lights line the archway and flickering bulbs from houses and businesses along the shore of the harbor shine and reflect in the water, also so pleasantly. Whether it's day or night the scene is worth the minutes of viewing I get during my stay.

The last 18 months are like the view out the window. The reflection time I have reviewing the scenes of those months are filled with color during the day and brightly shining lights at night, figuratively speaking. They flow seamlessly from day to night, night to day... beautfully, wonderfully. I treasure those moments and guard them closely from ever leaving my soul and mind.

It's the smile at the start of the day

Some mornings just start out right and stay right the entire day. Today was one such day. I was working with what has proven to be a rather contentious group of people. But today, the group got along with each other without incident. In another group of people, there are two moaners and groaners about every little matter. They, too, were on their best behavior. They complained only once, and then only for a small amount of time. The weather was beautiful all day long, having very little wind and the perfect 70 degree temperature. I have a business partner that I ate supper with. He and I always get along, but he was in an exceptionally good mood this evening while discussing some of the future plans we have for our company.

Of course, the day went right because it started in the best possible way. I was just about to start the work day with a group of people when I my text message signal sounded. Someone had sent a picture to me. It was the perfect picture. It immediately brightened my day, and it brought a smile to my face every time I looked at it during the day. It would not have mattered if the temperature had not been 70, if the groups of people I was working with had been their disagreeable selves, or if supper would have not been upbeat. The day had had a perfect beginning. It could not have gone downhill! I was not on the beach. But, today was a day on the beach because of the smile that was sent my way as the day began.

Love hearing voices

Voices are unique to people, so there is one voice print for one individual. That's how we recognize people. Because voices are unique, we can hear those voices of special people inside our heads even without the person being present. Some voices we single out because they helped us through life. My father's voice is one such voice. He is no longer with me, but I can hear his voice very clearly from the time when he was present, guiding me when I had questions I needed answered. Some voices bring me the remnants of the life they represent. I can hear my son laughing and calling my name on occasion. And, some voices remind me of my own... my daughter's, for instance, asking me questions much like I did my father.

Some voices are treasured because they are highly regarded. 3 weeks ago, I received a call from someone very special. I had not heard the voice in quite some time. But instantly, I knew who it was. We exchanged information about daughters and some other matters, but hearing that voice again made me aware of why the voice had never faded from memory. I was flooded with warmth and vibrance once again. In fact, I was made warm and vibrant twice that day. What a special day from a special voice! It's amazing what a highly regarded voice will do for a person.

The content life

Michael Jordan is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time. Kobe Bryant strives hard to replace Michael. He has modeled much of his game after Michael. This year was the first year that Kobe had a consistent year in being the game's best player. This was acknowledged by the Phoenix Suns' coach when Kobe hit 3 really incredible shots to win game 6 against Phoenix. When asked by a sports commentator about Kobe's outstanding play at the end of the game, the coach said, "Was it Michael or was it Kobe? I couldn't tell."

In our own corners of the world, I think we all strive hard to achieve what would make us content and satisfied. Sometimes, our achievements are realized through hard work. A small few times they might be realized through luck or fate. But, sometimes, dreams are realized through hope and corresponding actions. When dreams are realized, contentment is a by-product, and life is richer, fuller, and very meaningful.

Making tracks

Tires make tracks on pliable ground - sand, mud, soft dirt, snow. You can see the track exactly as the tire tread looks. Tires cannot make tracks on hard surfaces such as asphalt and concrete, however.

I have been told that I am hard to get to know or that I am hard to read. I'm that way purposely. It has to be someone special to make the tread marks on my mind because I tend to lay down asphalt and concrete to keep the imprints out. I guess that I hate to be influenced too much by someone else. But, if someone special can make tracks on my mind, I enjoy so much the mirror image of the tread.

Crossed or uncrossed?

I remember playing the game cross-uncross. It was hard to guess at first when a pair of scissors was crossed or not. Once the code was broken, then, of course, I_ could guess every time whether the scissors were crossed or uncrossed.

Another thing I remember about the game was the patience I had to have in the interim between not knowing the code and knowing it. Many people got frustrated, but I knew that staying calm would lead me to the answer because I would not miss_ the clues of the code. In English there is the adage that patience is a virtue. Patience for the game paid off in finding the answer.

In life, I have come across situations that require patience. Nearly always patience paid off even if it took a really long time. It has kept me from missing some opportunities. It's not a 100% foolproof rule. But almost. You_ might say that patience leads to hope... of finding the answer if playing a game or of realizing much desired endings if going through life.

Rare-but worth the wait

Early in life I was told that some things were worth waiting for. It meant that the high school diploma was worth waiting for; the college degree was worth waiting for. As an adult I have been told on a couple of occasions that something was worth waiting for such as a couple of jobs I have had. Material possessions or trips I have had to save money for were worth it. I own a couple of things that were worth the wait. Rarely, though, has the principle of worth the wait applied to people. We tell our children as they grow up and try to understand the pregnancy period that they were worth the wait. But, between adults, the principle is not applied much. That's because the phrase is reserved for those rare people that shine brightly in the midst of darkness.

Distillation

Sometimes you just have to wonder how people get published. I am reading a psycholinguistic book right now and came across a quote and a reference to the following by a cognitive linguist, Fodor. It's truly unbelievable that the journal Cognition picked the article up at all. The quotation is dealing with the argument that the meanings of words are innate and that people can develop about a 50,000 word vocabulary and that's all.

"The basic idea is that what makes a doorknob is just: being the kind of thing from experience with which our kind of mind readily acquires the concept DOORKNOB. And conversely, what makes something the concept of DOORKNOB is just: expressing the property that our kinds of minds lock to from experience with good examples of instantiated doorknobhood.... what I want to say is that doorknobhood is the property that one gets locked to when experience with typical doorknobs causes the locking and does so in virtue of the properties they have qua typical doorknobs."

This really is from a 1998 article in the journal, Cognition. I get it all right. Fodor wants everyone to know that we develop meanings of words from the experience of dealing with an object. We form certain property categories in our minds for the meaning of the words we come into contact with. But, my goodness, what a circuitous way to say it! (Now maybe my ability to produce 15 words utterances can be better understood by those who know that I have had my head in this kind of reading [ha ha]). But, Fodor is wrong. Research through the first decade of 2000 has shown that the mind works with malleable categories that get reshaped as words are derived from context rather than having word properties stored in the brain.

The point I would like to make is not linguistic in nature. It centers around convolution. I would like to say that life throws so much convolution into its mix as we go through it, that it is easy to get cuaght up trying to find meaning in all of its meanderings. But, I think its like the meaning of words. We are born with malleable categories to recognize life with. We have the ability, thus the permission or right, to reshape life as we establish, continue investigating, or renege on our essential values. (Values and essential values will be the subject of another blog someday).

Life comes in malleable categories because life has many contexts. I didn't know that when I was 20, had a high school diploma to my name, was about to get my bachelor's degree, and thought I had the world by the tail. Well, it was a tiger's tail I was swinging, and several bites (years, too) later, I decided to let go of it. Now, knowing what has the most meaning in life and who, really, stands head and shoulders above all others does not appear in a convoluted mix. It's been distilled from the mix. I rest more easily at nights knowing this and smile more often.

Warming food

Sometimes when I travel, I have to do something that gives me a warm feeling. Otherwise, I am just on-guard all the time since I am in unfamiliar or little-known settings around little-known or barely friendly people. So, what I do is eat a waffle. That seems simple and might make one wonder what could be comforting about that. But it's the company I know I am in when I eat a waffle. It warms my every thought and every feeling. It makes me strong enough to handle the environment. Love those waffles! (French toast is good when waffles are not available).

The fabulous cell phone

I really wouldn't want to live in any other age unless it would be the future. The good ole days are now. One reason I would say that is that I enjoy so much what cell phones can do.

I love the internet on the phone. I can take care of some banking or navigate unfamiliar roads or google information if needed. I can also check email, take calls, send and receive texts, and know what the weather can bring. It doesn't get much better. But, the function I like the best is the camera function. I can take pictures and send them if I want to. But, I can receive pictures too. And that is what I really love. When someone sends a picture, I can see through that person's eyes and share the joy of who or what is in the picture . I can recall the picture as many times as I want, which I do very often. I can enlarge the picture. I don't have to strain to see it. I usually smile when I see pictures on my phone. It's one of the best ways in the world to enjoy and share others' lives.

I look forward to the next advancement in cell phone technology. I can only imagine what it would be like to receive pics as holographs. That is going to be sensational!

The 500 word salute to the 15 word principle

Linguists treat alliteration a little differently than traditional English teachers do. Alliteration by English teachers would be defined as the repetition of the same first letters of words. But, linguists do not pay so much attention to orthography (spelling) as to the sounds that underlie the spelling. So the two sentences, "Figures of speech spice up language because they are succinct. Alliteration does just that," would be analyzed a little differently too. To an English traditionalist the first sentence would barely qualify for alliteration since only three words begin with "s." But to the linguist there are 2 alliterations - the "s" sound and the "k" sound because it doesn't matter where the sound appears in spelling (as in just the initial word position), it matters how often the sound was made. So, the "s" sound is heard in "speech"once, twice in "spice," twice in "succinct," and once in "just." The only difference in the "s" in "because" and "does" is that the "s" is voiced rather than unvoiced, but the formation of the sound is the same. So, the "s" (called sibilant in linguistics) has 8 occurrences. The "k" sound, a gutteral, has 4 occurrences. The medial "g" in "language and "figure" are formed the same as the "k" sound, appearing twice in "succinct." Thus, you have 4 occurrences of "k," two voiced and two unvoiced versions

A linguist would also ponder the semantics of the sibilant and the gutteral. They are contrasts in sounds, one being formed in the front part of the mouth, the other in the back, and one using the tongue tip and the middle part of the tongue, the other using the glottis and having the tongue lowered in the mouth. Some see the sibilant sound as having a "pleasant" tone to it and the gutteral having a "harsh" tone to it. So, whoever would make up a statement with this alliteration in it, would be trying to be deceptive. Why else would a person use a figure of speech except to advance a meaning to those who understand the comparisons or figures being made? And the pleasant sound is in a 2:1 ratio with the unpleasant sound, so you have someone having harsh meanings couching that in pleasant sounds.

All of this meaning is packed into 15 words or less. Who would have thought!!! Of course, mathematicians, who also use symbols for their thoughts, know the beauty of the principle of 15 symbols meaning much more. They are used to dealing in algorithms. They get the idea of figures of speech. It's a type of algorithm or the equivalent of an elegant equation.

So, my hat is off to everyone who communicates well in 15 words or less. It's a true art and science.

Tribute to 15 words

Figures of speech spice up language because they are succinct. Alliteration does just that.

(More on this tomorrow because the message of this blog is a tribute to the principle of using 15 words or less to convey a message. I'm a little rusty with the principle, but it's a good one to abide by whenever possible because it keeps people from asking "What?" or "Why?" when you thought you expressed yourself clearly in 100 words).

Symbols of our story

I was with a group of English teachers recently who had selected a novel called The Things They Carried for their students to read. I had not ever heard of the novel before, and all I could pick up from the teacher group was that it was a Vietnam War novel. I had to go to the internet to a study guide to find out what the contents were since I didn't have time to read the novel. It's a collection of stories written by a platoon leader of the men under him in Vietnam. He talks about what the men carried on them and why they carried those items. Some items were, of course, mandatory for the war, but the rest were sentimental items that bore great meaning for the men. It sounded like a great study in symbolism.

I have been traveling quite a bit this calendar year, and I remember thinking when I made the first trip several months ago that I wanted certain items in my briefcase. There were, of course, certain mandatory items for my job. I have my computer and flash drive, my cords for phone and computer. There are the papers that have to be referred to for the daily work. And, I have a book for reading on the plane.

But, then, there are four sentimental items. One is a barely used wallet - no money in it or pictures - with just a card to a bank account. But, it's a special account for me because it's my hope account. Then, there's the card my daughter sent to me for my last birthday. If my plane goes down, I want her to know she was special to me. I have my phone for all kinds of necessary reasons, but I also use it for looking at pictures that have been sent to me. Those pictures are special. I can enlarge them, move them around, and look at them as long as I want to. And, I have a blue envelope with a card in it from a very close friend. It has traveled with me since I started this new job. Its words are etched in my mind, but I have it with me just the same - always.

The things I carry... the story of what is meaningful in my life!

Metonymical contrasts

I have found that a certain person I am around creates a toxic environment for me. It's poisonous because this person acts and talks in ways that are the antithesis of what I stand for. There is a figure of speech, metonymy, that is the perfect comparison for this person. Metonymy is the adoption of an object to stand for a person. It is a type of symbol, but symbol takes an object and lets it represent something more generally. Metonymy is personal. It lets an object represent physical features or a set of personal characteristics. Sometimes the object chosen to represent the person is an extension of what the person wears or where the person lives. For example, when the White House says something, it really means that Obama is saying something. If the crown of England is in the news, it's really the queen or someone in the royal family who is in the news. At other times, the object is just very representative of someone's characteristics. So, if I speak of "fang," it is really a reference to a particular person whose set of personal characteristics are repugnant and toxic.



But metonymy can be used in a positive manner too. I love the poem, Kubla Kahn, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It describes this beautiful, beautiful paradise. The poem starts off by calling this paradise by the name Xanadu. So, when I think of the person I enjoy being around the most in life, the one who inspires and refreshes me, I think of Xanadu.



Fang drags me down to the lowest level of living. Xanadu lifts me up and makes me better than I am. Metonymy is good because it makes life's contrasts easy to see. It helps in letting me know simply and starkly where to spend my energy in my world of thought.

What a heart can do

"My heart goes out to you," is a phrase that is used plentifully enough in English. It's a good example of personification, that is, an action of something non-human like a heart that can't really take an action like "go," but that can if it acts like a person. Almost anything can be personified. Other organs of our body don't go out to another person. Livers don't; kidneys don't; brains don't; spleens don't. Just the heart. Language is funny like that.




A lot of things in life are anomalies, that is, they are set apart from the rest of it for one reason or another. Some anomalies in life are set apart for the pain they cause. We all have those anomalies. Others are set apart for the joy they bring. We all have those anomalies too. That's the wave effect in our lives, the peaks and valleys.




I sure love the joyful anomalies. Maybe if I think of enough personifications, I will stay at the peak for a longer period of time (ha ha). I am thankful, though, for the anomalies that make my heart leap (see there's another personification). Long live hearts going and leaping.

Overriding the default

101 Theory Drive is the name of a book about memory. The title is derived from the address of the science lab where a number of researchers work on memory. Gary Lynch is the driving force behind the research. One of Lynch's discoveries is really shocking (certainly counter-intuitive to what has been heralded about memory in the past) in one sense, but really good at explaining some memory phenomena in another. Our brains have so much stimuli going on that it would be impossible to remember much of it. That led Lynch to hypothesize that "forgetting" is the default setting in the brain. Something has to happen out of the routine to create a memory. That's astounding that the default setting of the brain is to not remember.

That explains a lot, though, about disesases of longevity and memory. Part of the deterioration process in aging is the loss of the mechanism to create memory. So, the default takes over - forgetting. Now researchers can focus on reversing the condition, that is, finding drugs that can recreate the chemical reaction to cause memory to happen. It also explains why children remember events or instruction in school so differently. The default is to not remember unless something in the instruction causes a memory.

Just from a memory standpoint, the first 3 1/2 years of the last 5 years for me didn't have much in them to create memories. Time passed without many mile markers to offset the default setting of the brain. But, the last year and a half has been different. Mile markers line the brain (figuratively speaking) creating a host of memories. The default setting of the brain has been overridden a great number of times for the brain to record very happy memories. Life's routines were not so mundane any longer. Solid memories resulted. And another finding of Lynch's research is beautiful. Long term memories are permanent. The last year and a half will last till I die.

A caption about memory

Memory is quite the enigma. Funny. I thought that psychologists had had the workings of memory figured out in 1980. But I read the most recent book on memory that says otherwise. It was, of course, not by a psychologist but a physiologist - who has been working on memory for 30 years. The evidence is pretty strong that memory has still not been fully figured out.

And even though memory may not have been finally detailed in its machinations, certain matters have started coming to light, especially regarding memory and longevity and memory and education. Memory seems to be outstanding during the middle years of a rat's life, but fading during latter years. The same seems to be true of humans, but this trend seems reversible now that the physiology of memory has been studied for 30 years. And as far as memory leading to academic prowess goes... the book on education needs to be rewritten.

In particular, having expectations for kids to progress from one grade level to the next in a lockstep manner is such a charade. Any teacher will tell you that kids learn unevenly. 30 years of study on memory tells a person why that is true. I hope that soon educators will take the time to learn what makes kids remember and turn education around. There's probably a snowball's chance that that will happen. Results for learning will not improve until educators act to turn the tide, however.

The upside is that memory works especially well when theta wave bursts open receptors to receive information. That means that the most pleasant events are the ones most likely to stay around. That could help reverse both problems with memory in longevity diseases and problems with memory in education's application to learning. I know that the principle of memory formed under pleasant conditions, or at least satisfactory conditions, is true. I have certain memories that are painful. They short-circuit my mind. Pleasant memories, on the other hand, flood my mind on a moment's notice and as often as I want to recall them. One of my favorite recent memories is of a picture given to me of a number of beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountain scenes captioned so appropriately as "A Place Within." The scenes and the giver of those scenes create a theta wave burst fiesta!

It's inside the head

I am sitting here watching TV. It's my favorite time of year. The NBA playoffs are in progress. It brings me peace to watch the best teams play basketball. The timing is good. I have just put in an entire weekend of work. Paperwork deadlines had to be met. It puts beans on the table.

That's the mundane part of my life. The exciting part of my life happens inside my head. My thoughts swim around about a recent book I read about memory. It was a fantastic read and taught me a lot about how memory is formed. Thoughts also rumble around about work that could be forthcoming in an area I love - courtroom deception. I recently saw my siblings, so I think of their lives. And it reverberates all through my gray matter to think of and hear a familiar voice once again.

The mundane part of my life goes from intense to peaceful and back again. It repeats. No, it's the reverberations through my gray matter that keep me going.

Fortunate to be blindsided

Sandra Bullock plays an outstanding character in the show Blindside. Her character is generous, determined, caring, discerning, and beautiful in every way, physically and mentally. I was emotionally touched when I saw the movie. Bullock's character was so well written and performed, words are not adequate try to describe her.

Wouldn't it be nice, if in life a person could know such a character as Sandra Bullock played in Blindside? For me that is not a rhetorical question. I do know someone who is that character and much more. There is not gold enough on the planet to replace this Blindside person. I am the most fortunate person on the earth.

For good mothers

I look around at the youth today, and it is easy to tell those who have been brought up by a mother who cares deeply about them and who enhances the genetic qualities they start with from those who do not have such mothers. There really is no substitute for a good mother.

My mother was one of those good mothers. She cared deeply about me and showed it. She still does. She enhanced the genetic qualities I started with. She still encourages me to continue to enhance what I was created with. I was fortunate.

There are so, so many kids today who get little or incomplete attention. They are not shown what deep affection a mother might have. These kids receive words, sometimes, - no action. They are not given the opportunities to learn on the internet or to play outside or to watch their mothers interact with other men and women. They live in a raise-yourself world without motherly modeling.

I am looking at a picture right now, however, of a young girl at play in her back yard, grinning from ear to ear. Her mother is an amazing mother who models, cares deeply, and provides opportunities for enhancement. This is one fortunate little girl.

So, here's to Mother's Day. I wish for the children of the world more mothers like mine and the one of the young girl at play!

I just love it

I have been with some people my age who have come back from the battle front. They are usually reticent. If they do talk, it's not about the war they have returned from, not about being in an environment when you are among enemies, even among enemies that appear as friends. Usually it's about a time before the war... a time when they were themselves... a time when they had an identity, a voice.

I have also been with some young men who recently have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. They are usually reticent. If they do talk, it's not about the battles of Baghdad or of Kabul, not about the Taliban or Osama, not about the feeling that no one is covering you their rear guard. Usually, it's about a time before they went to the middle east... a time when they remember their identity... a time when they had voice.

Today I heard from a very close friend. The message was short, but so encouraging. I just loved it. Lately, it seems that I have been on a battlefield every day among the enemy with no one to cover my back. So to receive a short, but very encouraging message was like a battle-worn soldier finally getting to take a leave of absence at the end of a long campaign. Thank you, my very close friend, for helping me find a voice.

Seeing the key

Clarity is an attribute that I admire a lot. I don't see it in people too often. What I see is a lot of opinions based on notions that don't appear to have a base in reality or truth. I see people who don't plan because they can't see the end. They end up plodding along, and they never really catch up from being behind the curve. I see people acting out of fear of what might happen. I see people saying what they believe, but it is rooted in wishful thinking or based on the power of positive thinking.

What I try to do is put myself around people who exhibit clear thinking. They don't always have life figured out, but they have a good grasp of how reality works, or what research says are the odds or the true behaviors of something or some group. They have a direction, yet they are flexible when the occasion calls for that. They know how to work with others, but they don't let others get in the way. If they have notions about something, they recognize its being different from the truth or reality, so they are willing to mold their notions to truth and reality as the two become clear.

I tend to trust those who have clarity. I love being around them. They take you where you are going. It's so much easier to see the key to life with them in the circle with you.

The Sahara cycle

I am usually fascinated by the history of the earth. Sometimes I think I missed my calling because I like geology so much. The Sahara Desert's interesting history is a good example of why I like geology. The great Sahara Desert hasn't always been a desert.

The Sahara has a varied history, but it also has a rhythm to it. At one time, about 300,000 years ago, it was a sea bottom. There was more water in the Mediterranean Sea area than there is now so that about the top third of Africa was a part of the ocean that is now the Atlantic. Old dinosaur crocodile bones have been found in the desert to verify this along with other shells.

But after the disappearance of the ocean, the Sahara has been through several 20,000 year cylces of going from swamp and jungle to being a desert. I would love to have seen it when it was green. But the most recent change to the cycle, about 13,000 years ago, insures that I won't. The Sahara is desert now, and for the next 7,000 years.

I think, as I look back on my life, that it reflects the cycles of the Sahara Desert. It has certainly been through cycles that have reflected both the lush green times and the times of brown desert dunes. I have just been through the desert dunes phase. I see the lush green ahead. I welcome it. I hate intense heat! The Sahara only took about 200 years to change when it passed from one cycle to the next. That is fairly quick in light of its 20,000 year scheme of cycles. The last year in my life reflects that period of cycle change. I am ready.

It's J ust L ike S ahara...

Cave paintings speak

It seems that in many places around the world there are cave paintings of ancient people. Some date back to an age before the most recent ice age. A lot of archaeologists believe the paintings show where to find game so they could stay well fed. However, just 2 years ago one archaeologist has a really good case for some of the paintings to herald what is in the heavens - the movement of the stars.

It is fascinating to me that ancient people knew so much about the sky and our planet's role in the universe. But, even with the knowledge they had, they still are ancient people and did not have near the vantage point that we do today. So with life... our most recent vantage point should be the one that guides us because it is the one that has the wisdom, the accumulated experience and knowledge, the applied living principles that work.

While cave paintings are fascinating and intriguing, they do not represent current reality. So with life!

(Mental) natural selection

Barnes and Nobles is a good book store in that it offers many, many books in all kinds of genres both fiction and nonfiction. They have just about anything a person would have an interest in. I seldom go to Barnes and Nobles to browse, though. I go there when I know more or less what I want. But even when I have narrowed the field, I sometimes go up and down several of the aisles just to browse titles of books for which I have no interest for that particular visit. This helps me appreciate the book or genre that I came there for, knowing that I have chosen one from such a wide array choices.

Life is a kaleidoscope of people with more choices than Barnes and Nobles can offer with books. It's kind of amazing to me that I can go through life meeting all kinds of people, experiencing a whole range of events, and still end up with a finite set of preferences because of the natural selection process. People have preferences so they approach

life like going to the book store. They know their preferences, so they don't really waste a lot of time browsing; they might notice the various titles on occasion, but they know what they came to the book store for.

So, as I travel through life, I choose to remember the events I have

preferences for. I don't always forget the sad times or the travesties that have

occurred, I just sort them into a life philosophy that I can live with and move

on. However, I do select some experiences or persons to bring to the front of

my consciousness that propel me to push further in life. It is nice to have people and events as a catalog to draw from in shaping my future, but it is equally as satisfying to have that one event and person to help in painting the picture of what lies ahead.

Winds of change

Tonight the wind is blowing rather ominously. A cold front is moving in that will lower the temperature for tomorrow by 40 degrees and the wind chill temperature by 55 degrees. That's an effective change!

Life blows through sometimes and changes things radically. Not all change is bad and some matters in our lives need something effective to turn them into something new, exciting, and hopeful. Life can become mundane sometimes, or it can imprison us to certain life views. If I look back a year, I find the mundane and the prison view. But the wind changed direction and effected some changes of major proportions. What a welcome change of scenery!

A Waterford person

The box above may look like an ordinary box to keep valuables in. But it isn't; it's very special. It is made by one of the premier designers of glass in the world - Waterford. I didn't hear of Waterford until I was an adult, but I clearly understood then that Waterford didn't produce just ordinary crystal objects.

Waterford headquarters is in Ireland about an hour from Dublin on the top of the world, so to speak, near the Arctic Circle. It's location makes it special if nothing else since it is way off the beaten path. But, beyond its location, Waterford is special because of the extreme care its artisans take in crafting each glass object it makes.

First a mold is made for each crystal piece out of beech or pear wood. Those are the only woods that withstand the heat needed as the crucible for the molten glass. Next, the glass is a product of the furnace room where the molten glass is blown then shaped and cooled over the mold made just for it.

http://www.waterford.com/images/product_enlarged/1350755600lg.jpg

The link takes you to Waterford's virtual visitor center for pictures and explanations.

Beautiful crystal objects are produced from this hard to reach spot on the earth. What a great analogy for the people we surround ourselves with in life - Waterford people. They are those people who are generally amazing. They inspire us, challenge us, befriend us. They are special, having been formed by the master artisans of life's molding forces.

I have important people in my life - business partners, profs who have taught me so much, friends who help professionally. But besides the deep bonds that tie family together, there are those Waterford people. They are Just Like Sparkling gems!

Trans (across) + spire (to breathe)

The turn of a new year brings with it the chance to see with a little clarity from a distance all that has transpired and a look ahead to the hope of what can transpire. Although you don't hear the word transpiration very often, that is what New Year's Day and New Year's Week is all about, seeing what vapors might escape once they are breathed out.

In one sense, what transpires on the first day and week of the month by a lot of people should transpire, that is, setting goals and planning to achieve them. Some activities do work best that way. In another sense, some activities should not have goals attached to them. Life requires spontaneity, passion, excitement, hope, and change. There is no goal for these. They just happen. Sometimes they take work or include work, but you can't plan for them necessarily or give quotas for them.

I do have some goals for this coming year, especially in my work. But, I also have high hopes that my life will be filled with spontaneity, passion, hope, and change. You can't plan for what is around the next corner. But life with purpose and passion anticipates that the next corner will be exciting even if it includes change, having horizons stretched, or inhaling new vapors breathed across my path. So, I will strive to achieve my goals while at the same time be excited about the transpiration of life around the next corner.