W. Somerset Maugham Said...

When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but now and then I come across a passage, perhaps only a phrase, which has a meaning for me, and it becomes part of me.

Sunday Scripture Choice

Micah 7: 18, 19

Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

SUCCESS: S*U*C*C*E- Execution

<>"It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever -- the one who recognizes the challenge and does something about it."- Vince Lombardi<>

Watching the Winter Olympics opening session, you will see a group of people who fall into a unique class- the doers. <>

Many have dreamed of being Olympic Champions, but only those who put in the work can actually be Olympic Champions. <>

Talent helps as well.

Henry David Thoreau Said...

Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.

Andy Roony Said...

Making duplicate copies and computer printouts of things no one wanted even one of in the first place is giving America a new sense of purpose.

Totie Fields Said...

I've been on a diet for two weeks and all I've lost is two weeks.

Carl Sandburg Said...

I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way.

Sunday Scripture Choice

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

SUCCESS: S*U*C*C- Committment

"You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist".- Isaac Asimov (US science fiction novelist & scholar 1920 - 1992)

"If at first you don't succeed, try playing second base."

"If at first you don't recede, diet and diet again."

Heinrich Heine Said...

Ordinarily he was insane, but he had lucid moments when he was merely stupid.

Pluto Dreaming

It may have been delayed a few times, but eventually it will get launched. I'm speaking about the NASA Pluto Probe of course. Bad weather has grounded the launch temporarily, but I am sure they will launch in the next few days.

I find the whole thing fascinating. What star gazer wouldn't find a trip to any of the planets cool, especially Pluto. Every kid in school loves and dreams of Pluto. I'm sure mostly due to the Disney character namesake, but also due to the fact that it is the furthest known planet and there are no "good" pictures of it- creating a mystery. I, with everybody else, will still have to wait for ten years to finally see a good picture because it will take the probe that long to get there. But as the last couple of decades have flown by so fast, I'm sure it won't seem long. I do, luckily, have a few things to do during that time to keep me occupied.

It is reported that this probe will be the fastest space craft ever. 45,000 miles per hour! According to NASA numbers, that's 10 times faster than a bullet leaving a rifle. I know that has to mean "hyperdrives" and "warp cores" are next. And if those two terms don't get you excited, you probably don't care about the Pluto probe either.

It all sounds exciting, but there is one real irritation about the whole project. It's not the fact that the ship will be carrying plutonium, some people are opposed to this idea; it's the fact this ship can travel from Florida to the moon in nine hours. The Apollo moon missions needed 3 days!. So I have to ask: If space craft have improved so much, why then does it still take me over an hour to drive across the the Salt Lake Valley every afternoon?!!

Peter McWilliams Said...

Mistakes, obviously, show us what needs improving. Without mistakes, how would we know what we had to work on?

That's "Vette" with Two T's, Thank You.

A story broke today about a man who had his car stolen. The story broke because the New York police returned this car to him today, nearly 37 years after it had been stolen.

Apparently the man bought, a then new, 1969 Blue Corvette only to have it stolen soon after. It's, therefore, not hard to understand his incredulous reaction to the phone call that his car had been recovered and the police were trying to return it to him. It had been nearly four decades since he last saw it!

The police had come in possession of the car after a customs bust of a cargo crate headed for Sweden found the car loaded inside. The VIN number showed that the car was stolen, but no other information was available. Two detectives then took it upon themselves to find out the rightful owner of the car. They went through 5000 pieces of information over four days to find the long lost owner. They called the man, confirmed it was the right guy, and arranged the drop off.

I have no problem with the resources that were spent in this endeavor, but I must, by law, make my observation. I am quite positive the only reason anyone still had the car, the only reason the police were willing to invest so much time and effort, and the only reason the man still remembered the car and decided to keep it after all these years was because...it's a Vette! And a good looking one at that!

A Not So Long Time Ago...

Exactly twenty years ago today I arrived in my first town in France, Martigue. A small town located in the "La Provence" in the southern part of the country near Marseille.

My head was swirling as I was learning what French really sounded like in real speed. I had studied French in school for years and I had taken a two month crash course before arriving but "OOH LA LA!" I had much to learn!

As we darted down the small streets in an even smaller car with the driver looking at me more then he was looking at the road, laughing each time I stared at him with my look of "what did he just say?", I found real life can be quite a bit different that practice. What's the saying? In theory, theory and practice are the same, in practice they are not."

The reason I am recalling this event today, besides the obvious anniversary date, is because life also has a way of repeating itself. Today I was in our basement, "finishing" it. I have been around construction all my life. When accompanied by an adult, I have even tried my hand at it once or twice . Today I was on my own. I knew what everything was supposed to look like, I knew how things were supposed to be done, I even knew what to call most tools and materials. I didn't, however, seem to be able to do everything like it was supposed to be done.

Like I did that day in France, I worked my way through the problems, stammered through some creative measurements, and in the end...well, I lived to fight another day.

Sunday Scripture Choice

Numbers 6: 24-26

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:

The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

SUCCESS: S*U*C- Challenging

I once heard a man say, "The pursuit of easy things makes one weak." I believe this to be true. Is there anything that is worth reflecting on, talking about, hearing about, that came through easy endeavors? Somewhere, whether in the preparation, accomplishment, or continuance, there was a challenge.

Woody Allen once said, "If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative."

Do not let failures and challenges stand in your way! If it's challenging, there will be set backs. This is a good thing. Failures, so long as you keep your eye on the goal, makes you creditable- it wasn't just luck. Failures give you comparison- a low to compare to the highs. Failures, above all, give you experience.

"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment." Unknown

Make it tough, make it worth your effort, make it worthy of saying. "I did that!"

Rich Cook Said...

Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.

Living Up To Your Name

I know this may sound picky, but this really caught my attention.

The other day I was following a truck . On the back under the bumper was a trailer hitch. I didn't see anything real particular about this trailer hitch that would make it different from any other hitch that I've seen. Except for the words "Hidden Hitch" on one of the support arms. This apparently was the brand name of the hitch.

Hidden Hitch? If I can see it, can't everybody else? Why is it hidden? Or should I say, supposed to be hidden? I wondered whether this was a modern version of the Emperor's New Clothes?

I drove on and when I passed the truck a bit later, I just acted normal and pretended like I hadn't seen it. Why burst his bubble?!

Jawaharlal Nehru Said...

Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you is determinism; the way you play it is free will.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Said...

That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved.

The Sequels, Again

This last weekend, my family and I went to the theater to see King Kong. I know it's the third time that it has been made, but I heard good things about it and I never really felt that the other two times were that good. Great story, kind of, but never really filmed well.

I liked the movie. The family liked the movie. Even had one kid cry at the end (we forgot to tell him the monkey dies). But here's an interesting observation:

The previews were as follows:

1- The DaVinci Code (Original from book)
2- Glory Road (Original historical story)
3- X-Men 3 (Sequel)
4- Miami Vice (Adapted from TV)
5- Mission Impossible 3 (Sequel, adapted from TV)

We were already there to see a remake! Has originality left us?? I know the saying " those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it", but what if you remember the past- why must you constantly re-live it through the box office??

Sunday Scripture Choice

Proverbs 25:11

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

SUCCESS: S*U- Understanding

"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one." Leo J. Burke

Personal Experience is important but not always available when you first start out; however, experience of others is always around. Make sure you seek out advice and understanding from sources that have experience in your endeavors. Anyone can theorize anything. Concern yourself with only the things that matter, the things that help you form a clear understanding of your goal and path.

"He who every morning plans the transaction of the day and follows out that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through the maze of the most busy life. But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incidence, chaos will soon reign." Victor Hugo

Only by having a plan, can you navigate through the daily grind of things. Only by having a understanding of the things that matter can you correctly analyze your progress. This is the difference between forging ahead or going in circles, the difference between going a drift or steering straight, or the difference between failure and success.

"If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise." Robert Fritz

Don't be afraid to shot beyond what others have done. Don't let your current understanding limit your goals. Set the goal, dream the dream, or aim for your target and then, fill in the details.

A Couple For Me

"A great preservative against angry and mutinous thoughts, and all impatience and quarreling, is to have some great business and interest in your mind, which, like a sponge shall suck up your attention and keep you from brooding over what displeases you." Joseph Rickaby


"Facing it, always facing it, that's the way to get through. Face it." Joseph Conrad

Albert Einstein Said...

Truth is what stands the test of experience.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY K-MAN!!!

John Hay Said...

True luck consists not in holding the best of the cards at the table; luckiest is he who knows just when to rise and go home.

The Power Of Words

On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood near the Berlin Wall and uttered words that some claim helped thaw the Cold War and topple the Soviet Union: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

Two years after Reagan's famous speech, protesters toppled the wall that had split Berlin in half for nearly 50 years.

Be mindful of the words you use, they can have enormous results of those around you. You may not be in a position to topple a communist empire, but your words could be the difference in someone else world.

A simple hello, a thank you, or even a word of encouragement might be the turning point in someone's day, week, or life. (OK, "life" might be a stretch, but it sounded good didn't it?)

excerpts taken form CNN.com- "They Said What?!?!"

Calm, Calm, Calm,... Panic!!!!!

First there's the small tickle.

Then there's the brief period of time you wait for the tickle to subside. It doesn't.

Now you lightly brush at the spot that tickles. The tickle spot moves.

You realize that something is causing the tickle. You look.

SPIDER!!!!!!!!

Immediately you go into some Jim Carry routine attempting to separate yourself from the spider. People laugh and point.

Spider hits the floor. Spider is squished. Spider is disposed of in the toilet with the required copious amounts of tissue paper (you don't want to come in contact with the beast for a second time.)

Is this not like the holidays?? It seems to sneak up on us; we are amused, but relaxed. And then the furious activity that happens right up to the holiday and culminates in the total destruction and finale of the season or date.

Is this not like most activities? If you're a procrastinator- you understand perfectly. Take care of the tickle immediately and avoid the panic at the end.

New Year's Sunday Scripture Choice

Revelation 21:5

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these are true and faithful.