It has become painfully clear that I need to grow up, move out, and start being that person I'm burying away.  Somehow living at home and paying low rent is killing my inner self.  I find myself less happy and a consistent downer.  I'm the kind of man who just wants to go home and sit down quietly in the living room - drink a beer and read a book after work.  Though this may lead to raging alcoholism, I would like to be able to unwind with a good brew.  As the weather gets nicer, the outlook gets gloomier.  Considering there is more sun, the skies are clearer, the air is less bitter, I become aware that I want to be my own person.  I want to walk into my apartment  and open the windows to my rooms - sit on my couch - and read my things.  Instead I come home and sit in my room where I own everything.... and don't regularly leave the room.  The living room is my father's.  My sister is always on the phone - and my mother has her room that usually has a closed door - I think she's secretly making drugs in there.

I have been aiming to move out for some time.  I was actually set to go this March, but unexpected family obligations readily murdered that plan.... with my plans dashed - I decided to treat myself. I made a huge purchase - I bought a macbook. Now, I have a computer that travels with me.... my favorite reclining/rocking chair... a matching ottoman with shoes in it... a book shelf with every book I read (and pretended I had read in college/high school), a desk with rolling chair... a bed.  All this to my name (along with thousands of dollars in loan debt and other bills).

Let's hope the first post of the fall is called "moving is hell."  I predict it will go like this - I will find an apartment - my mother will hate the location - my sister will cry because I moved out before she did - and my father will be less than willing to assist me in moving.  It's usually the case.  At least I will be out. 

If I'm not out of the apartment by then.  I will just post a sad face.

JJRC

The recent post about the "Starfire" video led to the discovery of the "Knowledge Navigator" video.  This video by Apple predates the "Starfire" version from Sun by six years.  Considering that it was built twenty years ago, it is very interesting.

Some of the technology has arrived (like flat screens and video conferencing) but the artificial intelligence and decent speech detection are greatly lacking.  Like the "Starfire" video, it is more people based than just about the technology.  In fact, this video presents a very transparent view into how this kind of technology would blend in.

Around 1994, Netscape decided to call their web browser Navigator.  I wonder if there was any connection.

For a more detailed analysis of "Knowledge Navigator" please read the summary at User Interface Engineering blog.

here's my big bang theory of consciousness on a cosmic scale:

Levels of consciousness:
1. mineral
2. plant
3. animal
4. human
5. beyond human

It works roughly like this: from very basic - it expands and becomes more complex - unill it implodes (becomes literally all one) ... and explodes...

On a phisical level, simple nodes of consciousness tend to multiply thus creating more complexity and expand in a curved shape around the centre of origin (gravity of energy prevents it from fdrifting away)... thus creating a more densed layer... so it keeps multiplying and filling the space around itself untill eventually the outer layer becomes so dense that it locks the system into a solid shell (like an egg shell). When this happens the proccess of radical transformation takes place inside the "egg".... the birth of something completely new. (I believe we have reached that stage of evolution already!)

Further, as the creative proccess of mutational multiplication is never ending (and ever accelerating), the space inside the egg becomes more and more densed (implosion proccess)... untill it becomes one solid matter - all one! Now it becomes so heavy and densed that eventually the pressure becomes too big and the egg cracks. But the pressure of course is so big that it doen't just crack - it explodes! (just like the big bang)... sending all its bits and peaces (of consciousness) all around the cosmos.... untill these flying bits get lumped with other bits of consciousness (from different galaxies)... thus beginning to form a new system... and the proccess (forming a new egg) repeats itself!

Furtermore, the new egg will start from basic level 1 again, but it will be of course beyond human level node... thus creating even more complex systems of consciousness (far and far beyond our imagination now!). And this is how I visually imagine a magnificent proccess of never ending evolution: from explosion to implosion.

here's a drawing that illustrustrates formation of new conscious nodes after explosion:

first of all the reviewing part...well like every year since I started university, the month of may is tough cause I have to remember so many things in such a short amont of time, well you're gonna say it's partly my fault I should have studied everyday a little...and that's true. But what is really at stake this time is to get into Master2.  And it's not about getting a "pass" it's about being among the best because they only take the best. and honeslty...Im don't think i m part of them.

I have to look for a job for next year and I didn't start yet, my résumé and my letter is ready...im just to scared to start sending them.

I need to finish my short thesis, I have 14 pages and even if it's quite interresting I don't see where im going...

planning vacation is of course the fun part of all this, but it also means Money...and I don't have so much.

i don' even know how to express my feelings about interviews...im just terrified cause i know how shy and unconfident i am...

 I learnt once...can't remember from who and when that when, on pictures, people look towards the right they look towards the future...

I wonder what i'm looking at....

Listen to the big three: American billionaires Ted Turner, Richard Rainwater and Warren Buffet. These men sit on top of the world, and watch it with respect to their own interests. But what would these interests be?

Once a man has accumulated such vast wealth and all of the material possessions that money could possibly buy - there are a couple of things that cannot be bought:

1. Good Health
2. Life Extension
3. A Clean Environment for your grandchildren

So why have these men stuck out their necks, risking public ridicule; to speak out on issues of the future, a future beyond their reach - dealing with energy, overpopulation, food shortages, and global warming (they're all related)...

TED TURNER

I think Ted Turner set forth the urgency best, although he shocked more than a few people, appearing in April 2008 on the Charlie Rose program (PBS) when he said:

Rose: “What will happen if global warming is not addressed immediately?"

Turner: "Not doing it will be catastrophic. We'll be eight degrees hotter in ten, not ten but 30 or 40 years and basically none of the crops will grow. Most of the people will have died and the rest of us will be cannibals. Civilization will have broken down. The few people left will be living in a failed state -- like Somalia or Sudan -- and living conditions will be intolerable. The droughts will be so bad there'll be no more corn grown. Not doing it is suicide. Just like dropping bombs on each other, nuclear weapons is suicide. We've got to stop doing the suicidal two things, which are hanging on to our nuclear weapons and after that we've got to stabilize the population. When I was born-"

CHARLIE ROSE: "So what's wrong with the population?"

TURNER: "We're too many people. That's why we have global warming. We have global warming because too many people are using too much stuff. If there were less people, they'd be using less stuff." source

Entire broadcast

Note: At the end of the show, the host - Charlie Rose made the following comments about guest Ted Turner:

Rose: "You're a remarkable man..I enjoy your company. I think the life you've lived with passion, independence, a sense of great, great, and deep concern about the world we live in is remarkable."

What Turner said in reply was highlighted by Rose at the beginning of the hour: "I love this planet. It's worth saving. I mean, it's worth saving.You know, I know we're the same people that did the Holocaust, but we also did the Mona Lisa and Beethoven`s Fifth Symphony. I mean, there is so much -- this world -- we can't turn it into a cinder. We've got to protect it for ourselves and for our children. And it's worth fighting for. And that's all I'm doing, is trying to fight to help save humanity."

Turner even admitted quite candidly:

"It`s been a long time since anybody caught me saying something stupid." source

RICHARD RAINWATER

Another prominent billionaire, Richard Rainwater (wikipedia), in an open letter to Texas newspapers about Peak Oil: Why Aren't You Listening? (April 2006) declared:

"In my opinion, the US media have two choices regarding the Peak Oil issue. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, you can now have either your honor or the status quo. If you do nothing regarding Peak Oil, you will soon have neither the status quo nor your honor." source

To appease people who may have been put-off by his sudden urgency, Mr. Rainwater even added a 'no-kooks clause':

And he cautions: "It's not raving. I promise I am not a kook." source

WARREN BUFFET

Mr. Buffet is fairly optimistic about the state of affairs, and to that effect he has begun buying up energy companies and railroads, which in the future will be critical in moving food and other essential commodities.

"Whatever that (oil) peak is, whether 5 or 10 yrs, the world will adjust, and we will think about it. Adjustments will cause demand to taper off. I don’t know how much oil is there, but there are lots of barrels of oil in place. We never recover total potential. We may have better engineering recovery in future. It is nothing like an on and off switch. You may still have enormous political considerations to get access to avail oil since it so important. There is nothing you can do over short period of time to wean world off oil." source

He was, however - called both 'crazy' and 'a good guy' (by no less than Diane Sawyer) in November 2007 when he testified before the Senate Finance Committee on taxes.

In spite of this, I suggest you heed the words and actions of these influential men because (i) they are not political controlled, (ii) they are highly likely to know something we don't, (iii) they have extraordinary visionary powers and finally; I sincerely believe (iv) they're trying to help the rest of us.

.

]]> http://peace4future.wordpress.com/?p=23 Sat, 17 May 2008 07:21:50 +0000 peace4future http://peace4future.wordpress.com/?p=23

The cities of tomorrow

by the Master —, through Benjamin Creme

If and when a man of Mars lands his spacecraft on Earth and looks around him, he must surely be amazed by his surroundings. Unless his mission has taken him to the countryside, he will wonder how the people of Earth can tolerate the abject monotony and raw ugliness of so many towns and cities of the world. The teeming squalor of the poorest is matched only by the brash, arid rawness of the richest. Wherever one looks on Earth, it would seem, office blocks like gigantic ants’ nests cover the ground, surrounded by endless rows of near identical cubes in which the exhausted ants recover in sleep. Of course, our friend from Mars would discover, there are exceptions to this ubiquitous life-denying mediocrity, but, he will find, they are all relics of the past, proudly maintained and preserved as tourists’ pleasure grounds while the local population make do in silent envy.

The above is, of course, a caricature, but it is not for nothing that among Maitreya’s priorities is the beautification of our cities. A city is more than just a place where money can be made and the fruits of the making enjoyed. It is a Centre, a Magnet which draws groups of people together to heighten and enrich the consciousness of all. It is a place in which the soul of the country which it graces can manifest and adorn the achievements of men everywhere. A city, therefore, should be a place of beauty, of great variety and colour, with many quiet areas for meditation and rest. It should not be too big; many modern cities repel rather than attract their citizens. They should be open and welcoming to all, sharing their special gifts with local and visitor alike.

Centre of energy

A city is a charged centre of energy, each one different and expressing many different rays or qualities.
Together, they fashion the personality of a country and provide the opportunity for the soul of the nation to be expressed. When Maitreya and the Masters are working openly the importance of certain cities will become clearer.

Science of Light

As great centres of population, the coming science of energy will naturally blossom in cities. The new Science of Light will transform the outer appearance of all cities in the world. The energy of light, direct from the sun, will flow into and from containers of various size while the Power of Shape will determine the nature of the energy needed and stored.

It will, no doubt, take many years to transform the cities of today into the places of beauty which they will become.
However, men need to be able to visualize that such cities can and will be built, and existing cities slowly rebuilt.

As the population of Earth decreases, as it will, cities will reach their ultimate best size and flourish.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over many years Share International magazine has published regular articles by a Master of Wisdom. Far from being mystical or remote, the Master often addresses the immediate problems facing humanity. The Master – is a senior member of the Hierarchy of the Master of Wisdom; His name, well-known in esoteric circles, is not yet being revealed for various reasons. Benjamin Creme is in constant telepathic contact with this Master Who dictates His articles to him since 1982.

The above article is published in the May 2008 issue of Share International magazine.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

]]> http://bookhling.wordpress.com/?p=57 Sat, 17 May 2008 04:56:00 +0000 bookhling http://bookhling.wordpress.com/?p=57 I read a poem from a blog of my acquaintance, titled 'On time' written by John Milton.

Beautiful poem. I just wanted to share it with you all...

I’m a physicist (to be). Everything in the world is within the realms of cause and effect, even the imagination of the human beings, even the ‘bits’ of information that can ever be represented by the universe itself. If my belief is true, just what mechanic of this universe allows impressions to surpass their expressions? Musics transcendent over instruments, and memory over life? Integrated together into a beautifully knit whole, yet one’s emergence feels entirely different from the substance it originated from.

Again, I am a physicist and a scientist (again, in training). And I refuse to leave such profound movements of my heart to simple metaphysical jumblings as if they weren’t part of this universe to begin with. I can perceive them, and I can feel its intent spreading throughout my heart. The indescribable sensation of being alive and empathetic to things made by the living, they are definitely integral parts of this physical universe.

The beauty should not be relegated to some pathetic social conventions that grew from physical impediments of last few centuries should humanity ever hope to go beyond a few more centuries into the future. If something in this universe is so capable of grasping at our hearts, then we must be able to explain it in the language of this universe. We must be able to recreate it. And active study and understanding of us, the life, might as well be the first step into the breach.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason why I am obsessed with artificial life.

Back then I really thought I would become a lawyer, I would tell mom that I wanted to become the President of the United States. I would get so excited, she always said I would be a great president. That I was a caring (strong-minded) person and that I loved people.

The next time I remember slowing down enough and thinking about what I wanted to do or where I was going I was standing in our church parking lot after Sunday night services and asking "What now God? What am I supposed to do? Who am I supposed to be?" Something was really stirring in me, I was content but I really began to dig for what my future would look like. The cool part is that God could already see it. He knew exactly what my future would look like; who I would be; where I would be; what I would be doing. Ok, that is just cool how He knows, how He knew all along.

It's amazing how we make hundreds of choices everyday - choices that will impact our present, our future - choices with consequences. My full journey is a story for another day but I made hundreds or probably thousands of choices that lead me to today. I look back and I can see exactly where each choice led, the consequences; good and bad. At the time those choices felt more like they were grey - most years I felt like I was in a fog; sometimes confused; angry; sometimes excited and pumped about the cool things that were happening. I'll save those details.

The really cool part is that there is no way that I could have ended up here unless God had his hand in my life. I can see that now. It is so great to rewind and replay when you know God was there all along, even during the painful moments, He was there. He knew who I was made to be. What I was meant to do.

Thank you God for everyone and everything that you brought and allowed into my life to help me see things from your perspective - to understand that you see the absolute; you see us; you see our lives.

You see where we are going.

The doorbell rings, and a man wearing a handlebar mustache and brandishing a meat cleaver opens the front door.

"Why hello, Mr. Uncreative Stereotype," I say, "I'm here to see your daughter."

"I KILL YOU!"

"Umm, is she ready, by any chance?"

"I FIND WHERE YOU LIVE, AND I KILL YOU!"

"Uh, okay then."

"I CUT OFF YOUR HEAD AND CRAP DOWN HOLE IN YOUR THROAT!"

Magic moments . . . But now is not the time to get lost in fond remembrance. Nay nay, we must look forward to the future:

The scene occurs approximately fifteen and a half years into the future. I sit in the Barcalounger by the fireplace, of course with a full head of hair, getting my Ward Cleaver Father Knows Squat vibe on, staring intently into a newspaper with a profoundly omniscient, yet not at all pompous, expression on my face. The kid ambles into the room, the picture of dejection.

"Why, what ever is the matter, son?" I ask, my voice positively oozing with concerned gravitas.

"I think I'm going to have to break up with my girlfriend," he says.

"And why is that?"

"We never get a chance to talk to each other. First the WiMAX went wonky again, and the DNS servers went from recursive to just cursing. Meanwhile, her Bluetooth Blackberry headset broke, and the latest software update bricked my iPhone. We tried rerouting proxy server settings to use our refrigerators' IM protocol, but now Skype won't work and we can't even get a satellite signal on our GPS camera toasters."

All gravitas gone, I stare blankly in his direction. Finally, the silence is broken. The words, "What the bloody hell was that mumbo jumbo you just said?" escape my lips. Then I regroup and think of the answer to all of his problems, because by this point Ward Cleaver is a sniveling pipsqueak compared to me. "Wait a minute," I say. "She lives right across the street. Why don't you just walk over there, ring the doorbell, and see if she's home?"

He stares blankly in my direction. Finally, the silence is broken. "What the bloody hell was that mumbo jumbo you just said?" he asks.

And so the generation gap regenerates. Besides, I'm sure there's some guy with a weird looking mustache running around screaming with a meat cleaver over there, anyway.

So now that I am back, its back to the grind.  It really brings to past the realisation of being ready in and out of season.  With that I mean, life can just throw anything at you, at any time.  So for me its all about being flexible and not allowing any of life's situations deter us from the task at hand.  And for me that is to become successful in the world of on-line direct marketing, and from there, work my way into Property investment.

I must say my trip overseas (to my homeland) was definitely an eye opener.  I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with family and spending quality time with my parents.  And if anything the positives I took away from the whole experience, was to not give up my dream!

With the current unpredictability of the economy worldwide, I definitely saw the effects that petrol prices, and the raise in food prices has on average families.

Seeing the financial struggles of many families around me, encouraged me all the more to work towards changing the financial future of my family and children, so that I could then pass on that knowledge and experience to help those around me - especially my family!

Life is all about choices for me!  And I am determined to change mindsets, and help look towards a brighter future - despite the current economic situation.  Its all about going back to basic living.  Needs before wants, and always looking at ways of saving a penny or two.  Even though some of us may be earning $100,00 pa plus, there is nothing wrong with teaching our children the value of money.  Even if we can afford to go to a fancy restaurant every night of the week, why not opt to pack a picnic dinner, and have it out at the park instead.  I'm sure the children would appreciate the intimacy of a picnic dinner over  fancy pansy dining.

I believe its all about lessons we teach and learn in life!

Why complicate life!  Let's choose to go back to basics, because its not necessarily about the fancy, worldly possessions, to me its about substance, joy, laughter, togetherness and the abundance of wisdom!  Making wise decisions about our relationships, marriages, children, work, spiritual lives, finances, purposes in life and our destinys!

Let's begin to instill values into our children, so that they grow up to respect finance, and not get themselves into debt.  Our schools are teaching our children how to be employees, not business people.  Let's teach them to be frugal (not stingy), to dream big and work towards things that matter in life.  Yes, enjoy life, but be wise!  Give and always be ready to lend a hand!  But of course, for our children to learn these lessons, we as parents must SHOW them, through our lives first!

Lets dream big and make changes in our lives FIRST that we hope can help make the world a happier place!

The future indicative active is based on Principal Part 2, the 1st Person Singular Future Indicative Active. To form the future, take PP2 and remove the ending -ω to form the future tense stem. To this stem add the appropriate ending for the person and number (assuming tense, mood and voice for this post are fixed, of course). These endings are the same as those for the future indicative, so the stem alone is used to differentiate the future and present tenses.

Scientists are continuing to question a man who claims to be the first time traveler to visit Earth this year.

Influential members of the scientific community - such as Prof. Steven Hawkings and William 'Capt. Kirk' Shatner - were closely monitoring Dave Krevatnik, from Eerie Indiana to find out what the 'future' may have in store.

He gave his first press conference this morning and in it he made some startling claims about what may be in store for humanity.

"Global warming doesn't happen. In fact it gets a little colder around 2067. It's not that bad", said the so-called 'future man', "a whole sh*tload of oil is discovered on the Moon. In fact it turns out burning fossil fuels is good for the environment. Something to do with burning away all the decomposing waste mankind has been creating for thousands of years. Cleanses the Earth - or something…".

He also had good news for Prof. Hawkings and William Shatner.

"In 2142 everybody goes around in a wheelchair and speaks with an electronic voice-box. It's the latest craze developed because humans have gotten so f*ckin' lazy to walk to the store or even bother talking to other human beings.

"William Shatner wins an Oscar in 2020 for his portrayal of Jamaican-born civil rights leader Marcus Garvey", proclaimed Dave, "he also succeeds in making Esperanto the national language of America and finally abolishes child slavery in Belgium".

I offered up a presentation on Identity Management to the local CIPS Security Special Interest Group a few weeks back, and yesterday was the day to present.  I titled the talk Evolution of Identity Management, yours for the viewing. 

The presentation highlights the changes in IdM over the past few decades, from system administrator-controlled centralized systems, to the latest in federated and user-centric models.

Many thanks to CIPS Edmonton for inviting me, and an extra-special thanks to my client, Alberta Advanced Education and Technology, for letting me 're-cycle' some slides for inclusion in the talk.

Mike

I once again found my thoughts straying to matters of technology and how it will effect future generations. The event that started my mind musing was watching a friend edit an audio recording she had made and wanted to e-mail out. She wasn't doing anything that hundreds of other people wouldn't do in the same situation.. correcting parts that were to loud, removing inadvertent sounds etc, But it occurred to me, as it has in the past, that the legacy we are leaving for future generations is a somewhat false one.

Technology has made it incredibly simple to edit out any parts we don't like. Digital photography has made picture taking so in expensive that only the "best" pictures often get saved and those pictures are often then retouched to correct lighting, colour balance, red eye, gaps in teeth, unwanted elements in the background removed, etc, up to and including the deletion of partners from failed relationships. With the same happening to causal audio recordings, etc, what effect will all this editing have on future generations who used the legacy of media we leave behind to judge their past and in some part their place in the world and in the flow of humanity. How disconcerting will it be to be looking back on a record that show everyone with perfect skin, perfect locations, perfect partners, or the hear that when people spoke there were no pregnant pauses and none of the usual um's err's and ah's in their speech.

will being faced with such a "perfect" legacy push people further into body image crisis? Will the already mounting pressure to be some social "ideal" be magnified by the appearance that all who came before came closer to the mark then 99% of "real" people? How will our children and grandchildren be able to look back and see that we were human, with faults, flaws, and failings if we actively edit any sign of imperfection out of the media record?

Let's take a look at lessons learned from Skype. eBay purchased Skype a few years ago for an admitted outrageous sum of money, betting on the fact that voice is, in fact, the killer app. Skype was so inviting because the peer-to-peer technology behind it (implemented by the same guy who invented Kazaa), essentially made peer-to-peer voice, free. Exploiting the un-used bandwidth of the participating members, Skype is essentially the give-a-penny-take-a-penny of telecom. You can deliver voice chatting at little or no cost to the network operator.

Somewhere along the way of developing Skype, text chat sprung up alongside the voice chat. Undoubtedly it was seen as "essentially free" and probably helped the early testers tap out messages of "halp!" when their voice connection went down. So why not implement chat indeed?

If you were to re-create Skype from the ground up (and many are trying), you'd make the same choice again to include text chat. What developer in their right mind could leave out text chat? Regardless of how well the voice connection worked, reviewers would most definitely grumble if they couldn't send back and forth their smilies or short notes.

What this really points to is the fact that voice is not the killer app.*

If you look at my desk, and the amount of time I interact with all the items on it, my PC wins without contest. A far distant second to my PC is the ancient sound wave reproduction device sitting to the left, my telephone. My most-used applications are my email client, my web browser, and then a host of office productivity applications. I only use the phone begrudgingly to attend meetings and receive calls from the lobby about guests that have arrived. If my phone died, I wouldn't rush facilities to replace it.

You could point out that my job is more oriented towards computer work, if I were a salesman my priorities would be a little different. The telephone would likely be my primary tool because my job would be to communicate and persuade via a synchronous, nuanced, high-context communication channel.

Another objection might point to a multitude of other professions where computer use is negligible or non-existent. Bricklayers, glass-cutters, day-care operators, waitresses, bus drivers and dry cleaners probably could survive quite happily with no computer at all. I on the other hand never need to use a shovel, flashlight, cash register or hockey stick in in the normal course of my work.

And in these exceptions, we see the pattern emerging:

* depending on the needs of the situation, each application has a collection of "best" tools.

As we teeter on the edge of complete cellular saturation, and gaze in astonishment when mobile searches skyrocket for iPhone users, now is the time to ask ourselves,

"is voice really what I want from my phone? don't I really just want everything in my pocket?"

Just because voice was the initial application of cellular technology does not mean we necessarily should perpetuate the practice of transmitting the sonic vibrations of air passing between two vibrating pieces of meat. Voice is an archaic technology sprung from the biological constraints of our evolution.

I mentioned in a presentation that the current mobile experience "was crap", and someone challenged me, asking if I thought the iPhone was crap. They asserted it was not crap, because it had displaced 15 to 20 minutes of browsing in the morning they would have normally needed to boot their computer for.

Initially I wanted to persist with my statement that mobile was indeed crap, but the decision was no longer mine to make. He had already decided that for those 15 to twenty minutes, his iPhone was the best tool for the job.

From a product and strategy management perspective, this reinforces the notion that we must always ask why and drive further to the roots. If you're in the cellular business and you focus narrowly on voice, you'll get smacked in the head when your competitor blows you away because they have been thinking about communication in all its many forms.

BTW, if you want to see this strategy playing out perfectly, check out the DASH GPS/Mobile search/Traffic Device. Global positioning of YOU is not the killer app, it's really more about whats NEAR you. They figured out if you Google stuff at home and at work, why wouldn't you Google it in your car?

It is a simply magical feeling not to have that hanging over my head anymore. Of course, if I failed it I have to take it again, but right now I don't have to worry about it. I also have my SAT done, so now I just have History and Chemistry Regents' and my ACT and I am home free. Of course, someday I should decide what college to go to, but thats different.

It is absolutely horrible to think about the future. So, instead I think about swinging. I love to swing. Who, doesn't, it's like coloring. Coloring is also magical. I think if everyone colored or swang everyday then people would be happy.

Yay happy.

Yuval Levin of National Review's "the corner" writes, "Why not speak about these goals as things you want to achieve, and tell us why the agenda as a whole suits the needs of the moment? Surely those needs, as McCain understands them, would make for a more coherent narrative than remembrances of days to come" (via Andrew Sullivan).

-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Mutta todistus ei tullut helpolla: Sen lisäksi, ettei ollut aina riittävästi aikaa perehtyä johonkin mielenkiintoiseen aiheeseen, niin päänvaivaa aiheutti myös se, etten ehtinyt luomaan missään vaiheessa itselleni sopivaa työtapaa. Siis varsinaista rutiinia ei ehtinyt muodostua. Mutta itse työskentely oli mukavaa ja antoisaa. Kurssin "opiskelijoiden" kesken henki oli hyvä ja kannustava. Usein juttelimme ja nauroimme muuallakin kuin vain kurssi-iltoina työn ääressä.

]]> http://futureupdate.wordpress.com/?p=105 Fri, 16 May 2008 13:01:25 +0000 Scott S http://futureupdate.wordpress.com/?p=105 Entertainment Tomorrow

May 16, 2028 — Watch out, folks. The decade of Harry Potter, Crocs, American Idol and color-coded terrorism alerts is back.

VH1.com tonight will premiere I Love the 00s, a look back at the first decade of this century.  Stars will offer up reviews, jokes and cracks about the years 2000-2009. Trends and popular events, items and people from the decade are touched upon, and there are several recurring segments that appear in every episode.

The first episode will include “Badly Behaving Babes of the 00s” featuring Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton; “Juiced-up Dorks of the 00s” featuring Danny Bonaduce and Carrot Top; and a “Stars Then and Now” segment that finds singer Pink teaching in an all-girls prep school, former rapper 50 Cent running an evangelical ministry, and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine leading a sex-addiction support group.

Its real and its huge.  How do we process those times in life.  What if there's a major truth that Scripture reveals that we've not considered.  Don't miss this Sunday - invite someone to come with you.

(Remember, no services on May 25)

So why is it so difficult to convince my family, especially my mom, that this is only a beginning for me, that I won't stay a waitress forever and the fact that I am one right now is just one step out of many on my way to become a very successful events manager?

My mom, for example, thinks I'm too smug about things while I'm almost 30 and have nothing in my life. that's more or less what she told me a couple of hours ago. And that I'm not doing enough to have a career on my own.

I've told my mom time after time over and over again, That I'm taking this job as a waitress as a temp job only, that I am planning to move forward in the company and that the reason I'm not working so much this month has to do with our religion, because during May there are couple of weeks it is forbidden to get married, so the only events during May are Company events and I'm signed to work in each and every event in May.

And the fact that she said what she said this morning indicates that she doesn't listen to me. she hears me whenever I talk, but she doesn't listen, either that or she does listen but doesn't believe in my plan, meaning doesn't believe in me, and that frustrates me so much, because it is hard enough already, I'm taking the long (but sure) road to success and every time she shows me her doubts it's like another obstacle I have to face and go through - an obstacle that wouldn't have been there in the first place if only she trusted me enough to know what I'm doing and stop questioning my moves all the time.

Don't get me wrong. I love my mom more than anything - she has to go through alot of stuff ever since my dad passed away and I know she means well and that she doesn't question my moves out of malicious intentions, but from her desire that my sisters and I will be happy, safe and sound, with good careers.

It just, well, frustrates me that she does.

But I guess every road has its obstacles and you know what?

BRING IT ON!!!