The day after the election...

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.
-- Dalai Lama

Finally!

It is Election Day.  Please go........................... V O T E! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

I hope for the future the political ads can go away from trash talking crap.  Please...the truth...not some twisted version of it that the sheep of the world will believe.

Happy Halloween

Just Cool

Lonely Places

Coming home from very lonely places, all of us go a little mad: whether from great personal success, or just an all-night drive, we are the sole survivors of a world no one else has ever seen.
-- John le Carre

The Secret of Kells

This movie combines Celtic Mythology with the creation of one of the most famous manuscripts from the dark ages, the Book of Kells.  It is fanciful with a wonderful animation style that is more reminiscent of hand drawn.  I really loved this movie.  I can't wait for my nephews to see it.

http://www.thesecretofkells.com

Happy Birthday to ME!

You can explore the universe looking for somebody who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and you will not find that person anywhere. 

-- Dalai Lama

Pittsburgh Steelers!

As my friends know, I am a a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.  I bleed Black and Gold.  One of the things that the Pittsburgh Steelers do, along with the American Respiratory Alliance, is hold a Women's Training Camp Day during training camp.  The attendees get to learn aspects of the game, have an autograph session with a few current players, and have VIP sideline viewing when the Steelers have practice in the afternoon.  It is limited to 300 participants and getting signed up is all about timing.  This is an all day affair at St. Vincents College in Latrobe, PA.

So this year, I got to attend.  IT ROCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Here are a few photos from the event.  And yes..The Steelers do have the largest female fan base.  There were people from 23 states and ranged in age from 18 to 70!

This was when I made a 25 yd field goal

My new friend Brandi.

Mr. Ambassador.

Practice

Practice

Ewwww! Dead Squirrel Beer Cozies

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Thanks Matt...

"For every step forward, we must take a step back and break both of our legs"

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Mom!

Faces

Have you ever looked at something and imagined you see something/someone in it? You know, the face of hedgehog in a tree, a cloud that looks like a grumpy man or the profile of an Indian in a full plains tribe headdress in a piece of tile. It is interesting to look at things and see something else. For me, I see mostly faces instead of shapes. Sometimes the faces are there all of the time and other times the faces are only there for a brief minute. Not everyone can see what I see. I am not sure what it means but it makes life fun.

Oh really now....

Dear Universe,

Ok, so I understand the concept of "we get only what we can handle". But as of now I am wondering what the hell! You know I can do this because of who I am. However, I am seeing the signs of wear.

Alright but seriously.....

Me

Whew!!!!

We completed 16 out of 18 items on the To Do List. The only things not done were #9 and #17. Next year.

To Do List with my Nephews

The To Do list for the next 4 days:

1. Fix a computer
2. Lunch/Dinner with Friends
3. Naps
4. Celtic Festival
5. Lowell Observatory
6. Shop
7. Arboretum - Birds of Prey Show
8. See the Last Airbender
9. Go to the Grand Canyon
   
10. See Despicable Me
11. Watch it rain/thunder/lightening
12. Play soccer
13. Play with bubbles (yes the kind you make with soap and water)
14. Read
15. Put together puzzles
16. Garden
17. Museum of Northern Arizona
18. Wii

Yeah I think that is enough!

The way we get by

Wow! This is a must see documentary.

Makes you think about life, the challenges people face and what is important.

Paul the Octopus

You have to love it when an Octopus is picking who wins the matches Germany has played. He choose Spain over Germany in the semi-final match. That was correct as Spain beat Germany 1:0. I wonder who he will choose for the final.

Go Netherlands!

The half way point in the year...

You must not for one instant give up the effort to build new lives for yourselves. Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway to life. This is not an easy struggle. Indeed, it may be the most difficult task in the world, for opening the door to your own life is, in the end, more difficult than opening the doors to the mysteries of the universe.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

It's a Monday

How to start your day...in Wickenburg...

Temperature gauge on my car cranks to super hot... $237.15 later plus a few Dunkin Donuts...and oh yeah over 104 degrees EQUALS a really odd day.

On a side note...I wasn't suppose to be on the road like I thought I was suppose to and neither was my mom.

A happy moment

USA advancing on in the World Cup 2010!









It's amazing how, without watching the game, a wonderful moment occurred. While walking into the office I all of a sudden heard GOOAAALLLLLLL!...then quiet...GOOAAALLLLLLL! I then checked with my students who let me know that we had just scored with 30 seconds left.

With everything going on here...that made me smile.

Really?!?

So the fire was started by an abandoned campfire. I have heard of some creative ideas from people on what they would like to do to those individuals. They have ranged from starting a fire in their backyard and watching them scramble to stoning to them paying for it. I am not for prison since we have to pay for them. So how about they restore forests and such for 4 months every year for the next 25 years?

At the same time I read about what people across the nation think. I am taken aback and appalled that this fire and the other fires are due to God's retribution to SB1070. I mean really, are people that narrow minded and arrogant? Really?!? I guess so. Since I am not going to stoop to their level, I am just going to shake my head and cry.

Today I am sad...sad about our forest and sad about the human race.

Mountain on Fire

Fire on Shultz Pass! As of 5:00PM today, over 550 acres. Parts of NE Flagstaff evacuated. Second fire within the city limits in two days. The pictures above are for the Shultz fire taken around 1PM today. Helicopters, water tankers and fire crews are working hard.

Wind + Fire ≠ a good idea.

Seriously.

Update (6:45PM Today): Now more than 3000 acres!

Update (9:00AM 6/21): Now more than 5000 acres!

Update (6/30): In the end...15,075 acres. Here are the stats

Hey Dad!

Happy Father's Day!

Love, Me.

The lesson

When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
-- Dalai Lama

To dream...

Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.
-- Edgar Allan Poe

One of those strange days...

You have to love a Tuesday that comes across as a Monday because Monday was a holiday. Yeah...

But there are other strange things about "Mondays" for me. One thing I do is scan the obituary section for the last week. Not because of some morbid fascination but because it is something I started doing over 30 years ago. As I scanned today, a day later, a last name caught my eye. I didn't know the person but I knew their son. While reading their obituary, I saw that their son I knew had passed away a little over a year ago. Some how I missed that one. Searching for and reading his obituary brought back memories of what a great person he was, how he made people smile and how he was great to work with. Not knowing and finding out today is OK because I needed help to bring a smile to my heart.

So really....things are good and as usual, strange.

In need of a monster truck...

There are two ways to pass a hurdle: leaping over or plowing through... There needs to be a monster truck option.
-- Jeph Jacques

When you get rain...

...make your own puddle...play a little and smile...

I thought of you today...

..and wanted you to know...Happy Birthday!

It wasn't a great day for me. I woke up thinking it was Sunday and then it just rolled down hill. Had a couple of Hendrick's with a friend and that was good. As for the rest of it...yeah...I needed your wisdom, guidance and patience. Sad part of the day was you were right about some people and some things.

*sigh*

Really....

Best quote of the day came from a little girl about 3 or 4 years old in a public place.

G: Mom, I farted (some what quiet)
M: Ok.
G: Mom, I farted (some what louder)
M: uhuh.
G: Mom, I farted (some what louder)
M: Ok. (now looking around)
G: Mom, I farted (really loud and giggly)
M: Ok..Ok...we are in public (very embarrassed)
G: (giggly)

Best part was the little girl had a brother who was about 10 and even he was embarrassed. As for me, it made my day.

Needless

Things that are done, it is needless to speak about...things that are past, it is needless to blame.
-- Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC), The Confucian Analects

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
-- Robert Frost

It's real.

Everything you can imagine is real.
-- Pablo Picasso

Laundry

1 16GB USB Drive + 1 Washing Machine + 1 Dryer on Delicate = It still works.

This morning while getting a pair of pants out of the dryer for today I found my 16GB USB drive. I wondered what the clanking was. I figured it was a button or zipper. So this afternoon I plugged it in and it worked...amazing! Too bad my phone isn't that robust....

Edited (4/26/10): The phone didn't go through the washer but it has been dropped enough that the speakers no longer work for ring tones.

Sure do

Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it.
-- Tallulah Bankhead (1903 - 1968)

The road map of my life

Nearly eight months ago on my birthday I reflected on a number of things that had occurred the previous 365 days. In the 229 days since then, it has been a bumpy washboard instead of a smooth highway. But sometimes, life is like that.

It is interesting when events in your life cause you to take a hard look at that road map. The picture on the left is the one moment in time that has set the latest direction in motion. Not many places on the planet can cause one to stop and reflect about choices, emotions and needs. That day, I took a hard left and have spent every day since wondering, thinking, being angry and arguing with the universe.

My belief system is that we are connected in more ways than one and that people come in and out of our lives not by coincidence but by design. We know when things are right and we know when things are wrong. We can try to fool and blind ourselves into thinking that something wrong is really right but after awhile, the supposed right will manifest that it is truly wrong. The most interesting piece of knowing is the influences of the personal sphere. The sphere is very powerful and believes it has your best interest at heart. While you have to be open to the knowledge of the sphere, it really all boils down to you and what you know.

When you come into your current life, there is a short reel playing letting you know the many aspects and facets that you need to look for. Some of those things are experiences and some of those things are people. At the moment that reel is done, you have the briefest of of time to capture it in your soul and set it up to tell you when you know. It is hard to explain to others because not everyone is open to it or ready to embody it for their current time. With this reel, it doesn't not mean things are predestined because at anytime that sphere can change the outcome with its influences and persuasions. In essence you will miss that moment or milestone and it will be captured in the reel for next time. You won't know you missed it. However, if you do manage through all of the influences and persuasions to have the experiences or meet those people, it truly brings the images of the reel into focus and you know.

Oh and the picture above was in my reel and I knew I would always get there. The thing I didn't know was that experience was the trigger point for somethings I knew and others I didn't. I am headed to the known and unknown.

Throwing Paint

Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint on it you can.
-- Danny Kaye (1913 - 1987)

Half-truth

The truth is always a compound of two half- truths, and you never reach it, because there is always something more to say.
-- Tom Stoppard

Where I want to be today

I have Windows 7 on my desktop at work and I have compiled a bunch of themes into one that has a lot of pictures of landscapes and animals from all over the world. It helps to make my day go a little bit better sometimes. After a night of very little sleep this was a great picture to start my day with. It is a beach at Fernando de Noronha, Brazil.

Essential part

Reality is all-encompassing: the absolute nature is one. Although we may feel separate from the original uncreated reality - whether we call it 'God,' 'peak experience,' or 'enlightened mind' - through awareness we can contact this essential part of ourselves.
-- Tarthang Tulku

Happy Easter

Wow.

Welcome to April 1st. Some how the last three months flew by. I can basically tell you that it was a blur. There have been good days, bad days and days I wanted to hit the reboot button. Unfortunately there is no reboot button for life. There were moments when I wished the filters worked better but hey maybe that is part of the problem. What is wrong with being direct? People need to get their shorts out of a knot. I know you don't want to hear non-sugar coated things no matter what. Oh well.

Today is April 1st. It will be interesting over the next 3 months.

To keep the...

To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.

-- Buddha

I need to remember

Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously.... Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.
-- Jane Austen (1775 - 1817), Pride and Prejudice, 1811

Xinggong Taiji Ball

The ball weighs 26lbs.

Level 1 Complete

Today I passed my certification exam for Tai Chi instructorship. It consisted of four forms, self-defense and theory. Whew! Not sure if I will post video. Now on to Level 2.

Minnesota has St. Paul

The elements

Waking up...

http://www.laryngospasms.com

So what is really important?

Well I had originally typed a really long rant on the behavior of our congress and some people. But really what's the point? You have people who hide behind the shirt tails or skirts of whatever their religious values are and really don't look at the big picture. I mean follow those values to a T for all aspects of your life and not just pick and choose when it is convenient. If you are pro-life, how can you not be behind the health care bill? Seriously! I don't get it.

We have a lot of systems that need to be overhauled from the health care system to over charging for a toilet. Yes things take money but do we really need to pay for pensions for people who wanted to go to congress? How about we term limit you like we did the president? Yeah right.

To change things we need to remember to not act like the bully on the playground. It is a time to be respectful and remember that our children are watching. We scold them when they do the same thing. So who do you think they are learning from? Yeah, look in the mirror.

Secret (2007 film)

Info on the film

I do agree

I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them.
-- Jane Austen

My view

So today the Texas Board of Education took another swipe at removing more about the truth because of people pushing their religious views and agendas on everyone else. No wonder history repeats itself. We have to mask it, hide it or just plain pretend it never happened. Why would we want a free thinking society. It is much better to be fed crap. The problem with them is not only does it affect them but the other 49 states as well. To sum it up best...

...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
-- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

True

Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation.
-- Kin Hubbard

Snow...Glorious Snow!

Ok. I am trying to be all smiles about the weather because I know that we have had winters with not a whole lot of snow and a summers of tension about forest fires. Today...I broke. Sorry Mother Nature, keep bringing it on. I will just keep the snow thrower going until June if necessary. But in all seriousness, can we have a week of at least 50 degrees F? Thanks. :-)

People

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.
-- Oscar Wilde

A cool way to look at statistics

No.

Yep. That is my new word. No. I am going to use it for everything. Will saying that at work get me in trouble...absolutely. Do I care? No. Tonight while wandering the aisles of Target I ran into an old friend. It was a good chat because in someways she helped me to figure out in what moment of time I became more cantankerous than normal. The funny thing is she doesn't even know I had that ah ha moment. There is a normal level of me but that person has long been benched. There are moments in our yearly lives in which no matter what you say, someone will take something personally and that we all get caught up in our own beliefs to think that anything else is possible. You know that whole finger pointing blame game. Lovely.

Experiencing things first hand is far better than taking someones word. In my wanderings, many things have brought up this deep sense of bewilderment and irritation. I mean, are we really seeing the few manage the many? Yep. They do a wonderful job of manipulating and censoring to achieve societies of what they want. Do I think we are all going to stand up and say No? Sorry... No. That would mean we would actually care about the greater good other than ourselves. So not all that likely. While natural disasters brings out the momentary spark, it is quickly extinguished. There are bumper stickers galore about "No this" and "Free that" and "Stop this" and "Save that" but do they have first hand knowledge? Have they been to those cultures that have been repressed for this political or religious reason or that? I wonder. I could write a list but some random human being could misconstrue it to be something else and yeah...no.

I am happy that I was able to check one of my Life's Bucket List items off and find that while I am bewildered and irritated I can change and take the normal me off the bench. When will that occur? I can't really say. One person can change the world for the better. The only problem is everyone else. There will be the right time...only when is the question.

March????

I flipped the calendar today and it is March. What the Heck?!? We have now completed two full months of 2010. I can understand the whole time is at a constant rate but I am beginning to think that it isn't so. I know when this year started and began it with friends. Now, it is March and we have had to put up with more than 7ft of snow, bone chilling cold and listening to the East Coast whine and complain about having 2 ft of snow. To them I say suck it up and deal with it.

I am also noticing that my mood is worse than usual. Usually I really like winter and snow but this year, I am at odds with Mother Nature. My back yard still has 3ft of snow and I keep dreaming of warm sands and fun drinks with umbrellas. I know that in another 2 to 3 months winter will end...yes it could snow in June and if it does....argh.

I just want some warm sun and time in a jacuzzi. Seriously...

And we have had a lot of these...

Where do you think you are?

Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.
--A. Einstein

Holy Cow!

Yep..it is official. My brain is really in my head and after 16 years since my last Chemistry class, I passed my test with flying colors. Wahoo!!!

Here we go.

I am marching to the beat of my own drummer in the hour before dawn. Soon I will find out if the cob webs in my attic are clear and I am ready to make my next move.

Groundhog Day

Crap...6 more weeks of winter...which means 6 more weeks of snow. Lovely.

The future

I look to the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life.
-- George Burns

Yeah think....

It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.
-- Buddha