Quote of the Day - 12/31/2011

“Why” is the only question that bothers people enough to have an entire letter of the alphabet named after it. - Douglas Adams in The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time.

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Why? Why? Why? Why?

It is the question young children ask again and again….the question that helps us to discover the root cause of an event. It is the essence of curiosity and our question to find reason.

It is such an easy question to ask. There is not much thinking in the formulation of the question and a lot of information to be gleaned from the answer…even if we are answering it for ourselves rather than relying on someone else.

In 2012 --- let’s ask it often and really listen to the answer.

Quote of the Day - 12/30/2011

The barren soul seems like a kaleidoscope, changing its relations at each experience, whether of joy or sorrow. How beautiful is life, when we learn how much we can be to each other, and how varied may be the relations we bear to our friends. - Harriet A. Adams in Dawn (1868)

 

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With all the new ways to communicate that have been developed since 1868, we still are challenged to learn how much we can be to each other. All those new forms - telephone, email, texting, video conferencing - have made is possible to have a larger circle of acquaintances but not necessarily enhanced the depth of relationships. It takes effort and the value we place on relationships may drive us toward the shallow type.

Networking is a hot topic relative to career development and it promotes the idea that a large number of professional acquaintances enhances the progress of your career…they help you/you help them. The relationship may be limited to career topics (i.e. one dimensional) but useful and valuable for what you want to accomplish in your life.

The inner circle of your relationships should be deeper. These are the relationships that last over the longer term. For me, the majority are family members and the relationships existed for my whole life (for those older than me) and for their whole life (for those younger than me). Sustaining the depth of these long term relationships is something important to me; I am willing to spend time - and utilize whatever communication mechanisms work - because I want all of these relationships to evolve into the future.

Establishing new and deep relationships are the hardest of all. The extreme effort required seems daunting. If your soul’s kaleidoscope is already beautiful, do you continue to pursue more deep relationships? For most of us - the answer may be ‘no.’

Gleanings for the Week Ending December 24, 2011

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

A Guide to Wassail - history and good holiday fare!

Holiday Images from Cassini Imaging Team - Saturn and its moons

Planets Dazzle Holiday Skies - At dusk - Jupiter…Venus. At dawn - Mercury, Saturn, Mars

Triple Citrus Cupcakes - Orange, Lemon, Lime…Wow!

Winter Solstice: Patterns of Darkness and Light - Observations from Joanna Paterson

A Prosthetic Eye to Treat Blindness - Sheila Nirenberg’s TED talk…hope this or comparable technology will be available for people with macular degeneration soon since sight is so important to quality of life for everyone and that it may lead to better treatments for deafness as well.

David Zax’s 10 Favorite Technologies of 2011 - How many of the 10 have you heard about previously?

50 most Innovative Companies - Take a look at Technology Review’s 2011 list and suggest ones for 2012

Gleanings for the Week Ending December 17, 2011

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

Materials-coating advance could lead to eyeglasses that shed fingerprints – Hope this is something that gets to market quickly.

Water Wonders Every Child Should Know (Little Studies of dew, frost, snow, ice and rain)– A free e-book available from Google, published in 1907. Many black and white pictures of ice and snow crystals by Wilson A. Bentley.

Peppermint Biscotti - What a great way to us candy canes!

Feathers in fillable glass or acrylic ornaments - I bought some of these already made but may try to make some myself for hanging in windows.

Peppermint Crunch Bark - This is a recipe for a homemade version of a holiday favorite I previously purchased already made. I think I’ll make a batch before Christmas!

Chipmunks - These little animals can be such fun to watch! Over the years we’ve had a small population around our house and seen them frequently when we go camping.

Molecule of the Month - I look at this page produced by the Chemistry Department at the University of Bristol every year in December to read through a year of postings. In 2011 there were postings about Deet, Musk, Bleach, and Warfarin. I like the history of the discovery and uses for the molecules.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 10, 2011

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week: