Quote of the Day

From my friend Digitalzen over at Digital Dharma. (I LOVE Leonard Cohen! Especially Hallelujah).

"Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in."
~ Leonard Cohen

Niki Vasilakis

Ms. Vasilakis, one of the presenters on Classical Destinations here performs Bloch. Lovely, simply lovely.

Twitter, Blogs and Random Consultant Nonsense

I received an email today asks “should a business be on Twitter”. Fortunately, no one was home since I swore I would scream the next time I saw/heard that. Jeez, folks, old, old news. However, for the sake of venting here’s my two-cents on this.

“Should a business be on Twitter” (or insert your social media site of choice: Facebook, blogging, blah blah) should only get one answer: “it depends”. If you’re fretting because you’re not playing with the latest toys, get over it. Twitter is one tool amidst thousands. Therefore, it should depend on your strategy. Before you run around blasting tweets, updating your Facebook site, think about a strategy. Who are you trying to reach? How often are you trying to reach them? What are you trying to tell them? Twitter has some significant limitations (most obvious: 140 characters), so it’s not ideal for everything.

I feel compelled to add one other note. Twitter can be used to see what people are saying about you, you’re favorite politician, celebrity criminal, whatever. Even if you are blasting tweets, the tools can still be quite useful and powerful.

Link of the Day

Eternal Earth-Bound Pets, USA

You've committed your life to Jesus. You know you're saved. But when the Rapture comes what's to become of your loving pets who are left behind? Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind.

We are a group of dedicated animal lovers, and atheists. Each
Eternal Earth-Bound Pet representative is a confirmed atheist, and as such will still be here on Earth after you've received your reward.

Perhaps somewhat sacrilegious (ok, ok...nuke the "somewhat"), but I found this hysterical. I wonder, though, if they've made any money.

43 Octobers

Trees still full of leaves, with a vibrant array of colors. A time of vibrancy, tinged with the calming quite of winter approaching. The taste of which floats upon the wind. During the time of year when oak and maples change from green to red and orange, but not yet brown, I came into this world. For 43 of these seasons I wandered and wondered in many places upon this globe. Myriad questions floated past my purview. Some finding answers, some of those answers turning from definitive into something less so. And a good many of my life’s queries simply offered up into the grand mystery of existence.

Early in my life, I remember one winter. Newport, Rhode Island; snow, a thick, comfortable coat, corduroy, and boots. And my mother’s attention to this moment’s fun. Drifting forth, I remember a school room, doffing coats upon hooks, snow melting into puddles, warmth flowing forth.

Sometime after, but not too much so, a vision of grey, white and black flickering inside a giant wooden box. Faint visions of grey dirt, a oddly bouncing man leaping forth from a tin-foil house. The lunar landing filled me with wonder, becoming my earliest obsession. Moon books, astronaut books, comics, toys, and myriad paraphernalia. Slowly, this expanded out to aviation in general. Lucky me, later on in life, my father worked at the Pentagon and brought me home a 3-d/moving image disc of a NASA weather plane. This delighted me for years.

We moved to Northern Virginia, where I started school. An ancient (by my standards) farm flowed onto our back yard. It was there during the Civil War. This neighborhood, just over a hundred years prior, spent time as a battlefield; one of the battles of Bull Run or the Battle of Chantilly, depending on who you asked. There were many moments exploring Civil War sites nearby, which filled me with a sense of excited wonder. Oddly, now when I reflect on that time, I’m filled with a sense of sadness. Massive losses of sons, husbands, fathers loaded the country with sorrow. With such glories journeys great pain. Much like Janus, this dualistic face.

Moments in Subic Bay, Philippines, an older child, yet still quite a child. Staring in wonder upward at hordes of giant fruit bats, literally blackening the sky. These amazing animals, some with wing-spans of 6 feet, brought me an appreciation of nature. Never had I seen such an amazing display. The wildlife there taught me so much of life. Geckos running amok, in every room, in cars, across dinner tables. Ants appearing wherever sugar lay forgotten, sometimes seconds afterwards...or so it seems. Then ants, much larger, aggressive, determined, making nests of leaves, leaving trails in the jungle, where I wasn’t suppose to be wandering. A jungle laden with excitement, and danger...though I wasn’t cognizant of this danger. Such things as asiatic cobras, monitor lizards, and myriad other toxic animals alone would probably give my parents sleepless nights...had they known I wandered amongst those vine laden trees.

Returning, in a sense, late elementary age, to the Seattle area. Place of my parents birth, grand-parent’s births, and myriad journeys for holidays. An excitement to see my grandparents regularly. Proximal family helped bring a sense of “home” to this place. Though I made many good friends, I always felt a sense of alienness. Someone with a world of exploration behind him amongst people who, many at least, had not ever left the region. An early global vision amongst very provincial people.

Adult journeys included a stint in northwestern Oregon, time in central Florida, and eastern Idaho. Part of my twenties was spent fleeing this area. The rest of those years was spent re-integrating myself to this region. One key moment came, upon a transiting Trident Submarine returning to Hood Canal, seeing the mist working through the autumnal evergreens and feeling a powerful sense of home.

Now, I look back upon myriad choices. Poor ones, painful ones, some with regrets, some with wonder at resultant joy. After all of it, I must say that my life is pleasing. Sitting here, listening to my son do homework, my wife assisting, fills me with a sense of wondrous, delighted contentment. Knowing quite well that those choices, good and ill, all ladder upon each other building towards this life I have now. Knowing that, looking out upon my wonderful mass of friends and family, I accept the pains of old. Without them, this life, this now wouldn’t exist. Perhaps, then, I am grateful.

School silliness

Earlier today I finished my work for my Photoshop class, then uploaded it all. Oddly, I feel unhappy. Well, at least displeased. You see, imperfections abound. This bothers me immeasurablly. I know the foolishness of such, but feel trapped. It will subside, though.

Another piece to this: I don't feel this way when I hand in an assignment, face-to-face, in classroom. This dynamic is unique to online, for me. More akin to remembering a test, finally figuring out how to do such-and-such problem. This awareness of imperfection is annoying.

This might be a key piece of education. Do the best you can, turn it in, then get on with the next project. This will be profoundly helpful. Dropping something when it's done lacks in my life. I need to put forth effort there.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Saturday AM

While unemployed, time seemed to pass more gently. My return to work also brought a certain "return to franticness", which I do not enjoy as much. Of course, a significant piece to this is my return to classes. This semester I'm taking a digital art and design class, which focuses on Photoshop. As much as I don't need the time-suck, this is worth it. I've long wanted to get better, perhaps even become one of those Photoshop power geeks. Perhaps...

The additional fun, though of my son's "Super-Lion" status added to the demand. (His school mascot is "the Lions") However, the assembly was fun, and it pleases me that he best exemplifies "peace" amongst his classmates. That was followed by curriculum night, and most of that day was spoken for. Makes me quite glad I can work remotely.

Tagentally, I guess I'm one of odd iPhone users who hasn't raced over and downloded the mms update. It's nice, don't get me wrong, but I don't feel the mad need to have this. Later today, or even "this weekend" will be just fine. Now, give me spelll-check, and I'll be racing to my laptop.

With so many pieces jumbled together, this has been a bit zany. Yet, I adore it all. No complaints, at least when I can sit back and look at the whole. When you realize that all the pieces, random decisions, all build together to this one moment in life, and that each is dependant on the last, then it's clear that today's joy is built on this clunky foundation. That is the moment that I truly have no regrets. A moment like this one, right now.

Darth Vader's eHarmony application.

From the good folks at Geek Culture. A clever little thing, methinks. Haven't been to this site in a awile, but I need to change that.