During our time at Bowman's Beach on Sanibel Island, FL we observed a pretty 20 something, Asian looking women holding hands with a 60 something Caucasian man. A person in my group says, "mail order Philippino bride".
I have heard of such things, but always thought they were some late night talk show host joke. However, I recently had a friend that more or less met his Philippino girl friend via an internet site promising such things. Such is life, always stranger than fiction.
Back to our our sketch story. As the couple (whom appeared to be very much enjoying the sun, sand, and surf) walked by, all in my little tribe laughed to see the Cialis beach bag he was carrying. :)
~Jeffrey
Monday, December 29, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Lovers Key State Park Kayaking
This post is a second part (and another fantastic day) at Lover's Key State Park.
This time we took out our Ocean Kayaks (Frenzy's)
We went with my parents, my bride, my sister, and brother-in-law.
The Lovers Key state park once was once slotted for development. It is so named because only "lovers" would row out to the key. Luckily after the canals were cut, the state ended up with it as a park.
My Mom doing an action shot.
Dad and Sis
My bride and brother-in-law paddling around
My lovely Bride
Sis did not want her photo taken
Here is mom!
Sis again trying to be a kayaker
Pop does NOT like his picture taken
Me about to fall out of the kayak
Dad and I going around the bend
Hello world, my hair looks so swell.
Hotdogs and kayaking, oh yeah
This time we took out our Ocean Kayaks (Frenzy's)
We went with my parents, my bride, my sister, and brother-in-law.
The Lovers Key state park once was once slotted for development. It is so named because only "lovers" would row out to the key. Luckily after the canals were cut, the state ended up with it as a park.
My Mom doing an action shot.
Dad and Sis
My bride and brother-in-law paddling around
My lovely Bride
Sis did not want her photo taken
Here is mom!
Sis again trying to be a kayaker
Pop does NOT like his picture taken
Me about to fall out of the kayak
Dad and I going around the bend
Hello world, my hair looks so swell.
Hotdogs and kayaking, oh yeah
Monday, December 22, 2008
Lovers Key State Park Trails
This past Sunday my bride and my parents went to Lover's Key State Park for some recreation and relaxation. It was, in a word, fantastic. It is one of my favorite beaches and state parks. In fact, I liked it so much, I have bought an annual state park pass (and the passes are a bargain for the number of parks in the state).
That said, this is first photo essay in awhile and the first time I have used Piscasa to host the pictures.
The trails are also great for mountain biking. I have tried to identify most of the plants in the pictures, some of which I have recently planted around my home (and all are Florida natives).
That said, enjoy!
~Jeffrey
That said, this is first photo essay in awhile and the first time I have used Piscasa to host the pictures.
The trails are also great for mountain biking. I have tried to identify most of the plants in the pictures, some of which I have recently planted around my home (and all are Florida natives).
That said, enjoy!
~Jeffrey
Friday, December 19, 2008
Einstein's refridgerator and hot water solar panels
Ok, my physics is not that strong any longer (it has been 10 years since the class). However, I sort of understand the basic principles of refrigeration. That said, does anyone think it is possible to combine the solar hot water panels (we use them a lot to heat pools and now hot water tanks) as the heat source and combine with Einstein's refrigerator for cooling a household.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_hot_water
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_refrigerator
I think it is do-able, if not as a replacement, but possible as a supplement to the air conditioner. Thing is, the temperature here is not the only culprit, but the humidity (removing it). This is the same reason why "gator coolers" in the west work well to make you feel comfortable in the dry climates.
Thoughts? Please comment, I would like to have a discussion on this. As for way to make money, there are a myriad of ways. Services to the install or retrofitting of existing panels and unit, to the manufacture of the refrigerators (I think the patent as run out), as well as tertiary products (couplings, butane gas containers for it, etc).
I think this would be great for areas with high sun (Florida, Texas, California) as well as developing countries.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_hot_water
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_refrigerator
I think it is do-able, if not as a replacement, but possible as a supplement to the air conditioner. Thing is, the temperature here is not the only culprit, but the humidity (removing it). This is the same reason why "gator coolers" in the west work well to make you feel comfortable in the dry climates.
Thoughts? Please comment, I would like to have a discussion on this. As for way to make money, there are a myriad of ways. Services to the install or retrofitting of existing panels and unit, to the manufacture of the refrigerators (I think the patent as run out), as well as tertiary products (couplings, butane gas containers for it, etc).
I think this would be great for areas with high sun (Florida, Texas, California) as well as developing countries.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A Wizard of EI Came A Calling (a short story about Emotional Intelligence)
Here is a short story I did for school about Emotional Intelligence.
A Wizard of EI Came A Calling
(A short story)
Jeffrey Abbott
CRS 580 – Creativity Measurements
State University of New York @ Buffalo State
An ordinary office, on an ordinary day, we see a man having a phone conversation with a friend and colleague. This man is not having a good day, week, month, or year of the job. He is not satisfied with his lot in life. He thinks, just if things could be better for him, if people would just give him a chance, that they are holding him back. Listen as we eavesdrop on the current conversation as it unfolds.
“I tell you, Reeves, Mike has it out for me! Everything I do, he has to come off with something I can do better. For once, I would like to know I am doing a good job. After this last presentation, I was about to walk out the door. All I can say is this; they better get my pay up around six figures. After hearing what the director makes, I want to know what he does that he makes 3 times my salary, God Damn it.”
“I don’t know Chris, the way the economy is going, you probably should be thankful you have a job. Besides, I don’t see how your job is all that bad. I mean, what is so bad about it.”
“I could go on for days. Why does my boss constantly correct me? Am I doing that bad of a job? It just sucks. This is almost as bad as when I was in services, they always were squeezing you to do more with less. People there, I understood why they were fearful. They would ask you to work extra hours, but say ‘don’t charge it to the customer’. Then every time we had an all hands meeting, their pitch was how bad the market was and nothing was there for bonuses. It was complete crap.”
“Well you aren’t there now, so why dwell on it? How are things with your new boss?”
“Well, besides the criticism on the last presentation? I don’t know. I have a one on one meeting this Thursday with him. I bet he has some bad news for me about my review. I talked to Dave the other day about his, and he said to not to expect too much. Dave said this department can suck like services did.”
“Alright Chris, I really got to run, the wife and kids made me a special dinner tonight. I might be online from home, later this evening. Talk to you soon.”
Just at this moment Chris’s computer blinks that he has an incoming email message, “Alright man, anyway it is what it is. I will be looking outside if stuff doesn’t change. I will let you be, I just got a late email. I probably will have to be here to clean up someone’s mess. Talk to you soon. Bye.”
Chris hangs up the phone and opens his email. In the email there is the just the subject of “Hello” and a single link to a website within the company intranet. Looking at the “From” line, he sees it is from someone within the company domain, but not someone he knows.
“I bet it is spam” he says, as he clicks the link. His video player begins to load and caches a movie. He is about to close the window when a wizened old man with a purple suit and green pointed hat pops into the video, and says “Chris, wait. Don’t close this video just yet. I have something to show that may change your life!”
Thinking it is one of his colleagues, he looks around. Being after 6:30 PM, most have gone home for the evening. He is about to click on the close button and the old may says, “Now darn it, I said don’t close that window. Don’t you want to know how to make your job more productive and you feel good about doing it?”
“Alright guys, where is the camera? Can you hear me as well? This joke is not funny!”
“This is no joke Chris. I have something to tell you. You have a lot of potential and have a lot of intellect, but you let yourself be hijacked by your emotions. I can help you with that. Now just listen. Can you listen for 5 minutes?”
“Ok, I will humor you for now. But when I find you, I am calling HR. As a practical jokes go, you have too much time on your hands. I thought this was a place of business. How does anyone have time to do stuff outside of work?”
“OK then” In a puff a smoke, the old man is standing next to Chris.
Chris is a little taken back and wide eyed asks, “How the hell did you do that? This is…”
“Now just hold on a minute. I said listen. I want to show you how you handled your situation today with your boss after your presentation from a different perspective. Your perspective is what is getting in the way of your success. You are intelligent, and hard working, however, your emotion controls you, in such a way that thwarts your progress. Have you ever heard of Emotional Intelligence?”
“Not particularly. Listen, I don’t need some damn self-help nut-job with a flare for theatrics…”
BOOM!
Suddenly, a gag appeared over Chris mouth and he was tied to his chair.
“Now just wait a minute and listen. Are you ready to listen?”
“MRRRMM MRRRMM”
“Oh, sorry,” Pulling off the gag.
“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!!?!”
BOOM!
And the gag appeared back on Chris’s mouth.
“Now I said listen, if you cannot, I will leave it in place. Are you ready to listen?”
Chris nods yes.
Removing the gag, the old man asks “Ok then. I know you don’t see what was going here, so I will introduce myself. I am an Emotional Intelligence Wizard. My goal is to help you raise your Emotional Intelligence Quotient. Unlike IQ, EIQ can be more valuable than brains. I know your IQ, it is 140. You are a bright fellow. Do you know your bosses IQ? Of course you don’t. It is actually 125. Lower than yours. I bet that rubs you the wrong way. You know why he does so much better than you? He has a lot more Emotional Intelligence. Thing is, you could be doing just as well for yourself if you listen to me and watch for certain behaviors in yourself. Are you ready to consider what I have to say?”
Looking at the old man like he grew three heads, Chris thought, “If I am crazy, listening won’t hurt to what the old man as to say.”
“Sure, I will listen to your pitch, go on.”
“Alright, a couple of things we should cover”
With a flick of his wrist, there appeared in front of the old man was an easel with some charts on it.
“OK, here I first have a diagram of your brain. In regards to emotional intelligence, you have three parts. The first part is the Neocortex and Cortex, or your logical brain. The next part is the Autonomic portion which controls breathing, heart rate, etc. Last, we have your Limbic brain. This is the part of the brain responsible for flight or fight and emotional scenarios. It is also the center of your emotional hijacking. Got it? Next chart.“
The wizard flicks his wrist again and the chart changes. However in looking at the chart, Chris sees it colored with what looks like crayon drawings of lions and clowns and elephants. Frowning, the wizard flicks his wrist and the chart shows:
The 5 Aspects of Emotional Intelligence: *
1. Mastery of purpose and vision – Ability to bring authenticity to my life and live out my values.
2. Self-awareness – Ability to fully understand myself and use that information to manage both positive and negative emotions productively.
3. Empathy – Ability to understand perspective of others.
4. Social Expertness – Ability to build genuine relationships and bonds and express caring, concern and conflict in healthy ways.
5. Personal Influence – Ability to positively lead and inspire others as well as myself.
“That is better, kids went to the circus last weekend, I guess they got into my charts. Moving on! As you can see in emotional intelligence, there are 5 aspects. Due to my limited time, I am going to focus on Self-awarness for you, since you seem to lack the most in it.”
“I think I am completely self-aware thank you!”
“Oh? Lets look back today at your presentation. Just watch your video on the screen”
The old man sits down to the PC and mutters to himself, “don’t you have the QuickTime plug-in installed. Alright, I will use the Windows Media Version, but man, upgrade your plug-ins.”
The video player finishes caching the video and a scene unfolds, one from earlier in the day with Chris just wrapping up a presentation to the director and a few customers.
As the director escorts the customers out, he turns to Chris’s boss and says “thanks for doing this Mike, Chris, great presentation.”
Chris exclaims, “Thanks you sir, I know I can do better next time. I will practice it more.”
Mike interrupts with a sideways glance at Chris, “Thanks Dave. Please, debrief me when after the customers leave?”
“You got it, talk to you soon.”
After the director leaves, Mike closes the door and looks at Mike and smiles. “Your presentation went well. I can see you have the potential to be very good at doing them and will only get better with practice. My only suggestion would be you come up with script for presentations you are going to give regularly or practice the ones you don’t give regularly before hand. All in all, you did a good job.”
“I am sorry sir. I know I could have done better. I have never been good at presentations or public speaking all my life. I get nervous. This was handed-off to me from Reeves two days ago. If he would have just given me some more notice.”
“No, you did fine. Don’t take it as rebuke, just some coaching”
“Well could you tell me what I did wrong?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, just things could have been done a little differently that might have been more effective. Example, assume they know nothing of the product, so don’t slip into our company lingo unless you have to and explain it when you do. Don’t ever defend the product against something else without being asked about it.”
“I knew that, I guess I don’t know the product that well. I wish Reeves had not gone on vacation before this presentation. I think he should have some responsibility if they don’t purchase.”
At this point, the old man hits the pause button and looks at Chris, “You want to see how you could have better handled this? I am going to tell you anyway. There are 2 concepts I want to share with you. One is called Emotional Triggers. Emotional Triggers are situations that closely resemble a situation in your past that left an emotional memory in your Limbic brain where you either ran, or fought in the situation. This was good 10,000 years ago when a micro second could save you from sudden peril, but today in the business world, it usually leads to unwanted outcomes. This chart here shows you the triggers”
As the wizard waved his hand, the charts fluttered, but remained the same. Looking sheepish, he reaches out and changes the chart by hand.
“I guess I need to practice that one”
The chart on the easel now read:
Emotional Triggers:*
1. Mood
2. Mood and attitude of others
3. Prethinking / Foreshadowing
4. Rumination / Dwelling
5. Personality
6. Hot Words / Hot Buttons that make you angry
7. Perceived criticism
8. Illness / Physical conditions
9. Physical Environment
The wizard looks at Chris and asks, “So, based on these, do you know which triggers to which you succumbed?”
Chris looks at him and shakes no.
“Sigh, they never do. First you started with Perceived criticism, then you moved into Rumination and Dwelling, and then moved into Mood. Do you understand?”
“I think I am starting too.”
“Do you know how you can stop from doing this? First, you need to know where your triggers lie. Think back to the moments that lead up to your emotional hijacking. You exhibited multiple triggers, and usually this contributes to such a hijacking. To help you, here is a list of behaviors, known as the Dirty Dozen of Flawed Rational Thinking that people should be on the lookout for.”
This time, the old man didn’t even attempt to flick his wrist to change the chart, but changed it manually. The new chart contained:
Flawed Rational Thinking (Dirty Dozen):*
1. Needing Approval – “Everyone I work with must approve of me at all times”
2. Making Mistakes - “I must prove that I am thoroughly competent, adequate, and achieving at all times.”
3. Changing Others - “I have an obligation to change others who act unfairly or obnoxious.”
4. “Catastrophize” - “When I get very frustrated, treated unfairly, or rejected, I have to view things as awful, terrible, horrible,, and catastrophic.”
5. Others Cause Misery - “My emotional misery comes from external pressures that I have little ability to change.”
6. Worry, Fret, Fear - “If something seems dangerous or fearsome, I must preoccupy myself with it and make myself anxious abut it.”
7. Avoidance - “It’s easier to avoid facing difficulties and self-responsibilities than to do something about them.”
8. The Past - “My past remains all-important and, because something once strongly influenced my life, it has to keep determining my feelings and behavior today.”
9. Unrealistic Expectations - “People and things should turn out better than they do, and I must fix them.”
10. Competition - “My worth can be measured by competitive situations.”
11. Source of Problems - “The people and conditions in my life are the sources of my problems.”
12. Negativity - “Certain occurrences or events are negative by nature.”
The wizard, suddenly tired looking, stares head on at Chris and asks, “So, looking at this list, do you see any behaviors you demonstrated after the presentation? Also, think about the phone call you had with Reeves right before he left. Remember anything from it on this list?”
“Um, yes, now I think I do. I have a need for approval. I don’t like to make mistakes, I have unrealistic expectations sometimes, and I blame others for my problems… sigh”
“Yes, it is a hard realization that you maybe the locus of control for your own problems. Emotional Intelligence can help.”
“So what do I do next?”
“Ah! Good then. Go and get the book by Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence. Read it. Then begin to follow its steps. Cover the five aspects of Emotional Intelligence. Also, don’t worry, you will not change overnight. Sometimes you will fall off the wagon. Just remember you are changing long learned behaviors, so it will take a bit to change. You can make mistakes, and strive for excellence, not perfection. With that, I got to go, kids have soccer practice tonight.”
BOOM!
A blast of light, and the old man was gone, and all his props. Chris looks around a little bewildered and peers over the cube walls to see if anyone else is around. He hears the door open and sees the cleaning crew coming down the aisle way. Looking back at his computer screen, he sees the email is still there. He clicks on the link, but it just pops up the Amazon.com entry for Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence. He tries to send an email back, but it comes back as “MAILER-DAEMON Failed to Deliver Message”.
He sits back in a reflective posture and pauses. Then he clicks on the link again while getting his credit card out of his wallet.
*Note: Charts referenced in the short story are reproductions of charts in the slide decks covered under “C 2002. Adele B. Lynn All Rights Reserved.”
A Wizard of EI Came A Calling
(A short story)
Jeffrey Abbott
CRS 580 – Creativity Measurements
State University of New York @ Buffalo State
An ordinary office, on an ordinary day, we see a man having a phone conversation with a friend and colleague. This man is not having a good day, week, month, or year of the job. He is not satisfied with his lot in life. He thinks, just if things could be better for him, if people would just give him a chance, that they are holding him back. Listen as we eavesdrop on the current conversation as it unfolds.
“I tell you, Reeves, Mike has it out for me! Everything I do, he has to come off with something I can do better. For once, I would like to know I am doing a good job. After this last presentation, I was about to walk out the door. All I can say is this; they better get my pay up around six figures. After hearing what the director makes, I want to know what he does that he makes 3 times my salary, God Damn it.”
“I don’t know Chris, the way the economy is going, you probably should be thankful you have a job. Besides, I don’t see how your job is all that bad. I mean, what is so bad about it.”
“I could go on for days. Why does my boss constantly correct me? Am I doing that bad of a job? It just sucks. This is almost as bad as when I was in services, they always were squeezing you to do more with less. People there, I understood why they were fearful. They would ask you to work extra hours, but say ‘don’t charge it to the customer’. Then every time we had an all hands meeting, their pitch was how bad the market was and nothing was there for bonuses. It was complete crap.”
“Well you aren’t there now, so why dwell on it? How are things with your new boss?”
“Well, besides the criticism on the last presentation? I don’t know. I have a one on one meeting this Thursday with him. I bet he has some bad news for me about my review. I talked to Dave the other day about his, and he said to not to expect too much. Dave said this department can suck like services did.”
“Alright Chris, I really got to run, the wife and kids made me a special dinner tonight. I might be online from home, later this evening. Talk to you soon.”
Just at this moment Chris’s computer blinks that he has an incoming email message, “Alright man, anyway it is what it is. I will be looking outside if stuff doesn’t change. I will let you be, I just got a late email. I probably will have to be here to clean up someone’s mess. Talk to you soon. Bye.”
Chris hangs up the phone and opens his email. In the email there is the just the subject of “Hello” and a single link to a website within the company intranet. Looking at the “From” line, he sees it is from someone within the company domain, but not someone he knows.
“I bet it is spam” he says, as he clicks the link. His video player begins to load and caches a movie. He is about to close the window when a wizened old man with a purple suit and green pointed hat pops into the video, and says “Chris, wait. Don’t close this video just yet. I have something to show that may change your life!”
Thinking it is one of his colleagues, he looks around. Being after 6:30 PM, most have gone home for the evening. He is about to click on the close button and the old may says, “Now darn it, I said don’t close that window. Don’t you want to know how to make your job more productive and you feel good about doing it?”
“Alright guys, where is the camera? Can you hear me as well? This joke is not funny!”
“This is no joke Chris. I have something to tell you. You have a lot of potential and have a lot of intellect, but you let yourself be hijacked by your emotions. I can help you with that. Now just listen. Can you listen for 5 minutes?”
“Ok, I will humor you for now. But when I find you, I am calling HR. As a practical jokes go, you have too much time on your hands. I thought this was a place of business. How does anyone have time to do stuff outside of work?”
“OK then”
Chris is a little taken back and wide eyed asks, “How the hell did you do that? This is…”
“Now just hold on a minute. I said listen. I want to show you how you handled your situation today with your boss after your presentation from a different perspective. Your perspective is what is getting in the way of your success. You are intelligent, and hard working, however, your emotion controls you, in such a way that thwarts your progress. Have you ever heard of Emotional Intelligence?”
“Not particularly. Listen, I don’t need some damn self-help nut-job with a flare for theatrics…”
BOOM!
Suddenly, a gag appeared over Chris mouth and he was tied to his chair.
“Now just wait a minute and listen. Are you ready to listen?”
“MRRRMM MRRRMM”
“Oh, sorry,” Pulling off the gag.
“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!!?!”
BOOM!
And the gag appeared back on Chris’s mouth.
“Now I said listen, if you cannot, I will leave it in place. Are you ready to listen?”
Chris nods yes.
Removing the gag, the old man asks “Ok then. I know you don’t see what was going here, so I will introduce myself. I am an Emotional Intelligence Wizard. My goal is to help you raise your Emotional Intelligence Quotient. Unlike IQ, EIQ can be more valuable than brains. I know your IQ, it is 140. You are a bright fellow. Do you know your bosses IQ? Of course you don’t. It is actually 125. Lower than yours. I bet that rubs you the wrong way. You know why he does so much better than you? He has a lot more Emotional Intelligence. Thing is, you could be doing just as well for yourself if you listen to me and watch for certain behaviors in yourself. Are you ready to consider what I have to say?”
Looking at the old man like he grew three heads, Chris thought, “If I am crazy, listening won’t hurt to what the old man as to say.”
“Sure, I will listen to your pitch, go on.”
“Alright, a couple of things we should cover”
With a flick of his wrist, there appeared in front of the old man was an easel with some charts on it.
“OK, here I first have a diagram of your brain. In regards to emotional intelligence, you have three parts. The first part is the Neocortex and Cortex, or your logical brain. The next part is the Autonomic portion which controls breathing, heart rate, etc. Last, we have your Limbic brain. This is the part of the brain responsible for flight or fight and emotional scenarios. It is also the center of your emotional hijacking. Got it? Next chart.“
The wizard flicks his wrist again and the chart changes. However in looking at the chart, Chris sees it colored with what looks like crayon drawings of lions and clowns and elephants. Frowning, the wizard flicks his wrist and the chart shows:
The 5 Aspects of Emotional Intelligence: *
1. Mastery of purpose and vision – Ability to bring authenticity to my life and live out my values.
2. Self-awareness – Ability to fully understand myself and use that information to manage both positive and negative emotions productively.
3. Empathy – Ability to understand perspective of others.
4. Social Expertness – Ability to build genuine relationships and bonds and express caring, concern and conflict in healthy ways.
5. Personal Influence – Ability to positively lead and inspire others as well as myself.
“That is better, kids went to the circus last weekend, I guess they got into my charts. Moving on! As you can see in emotional intelligence, there are 5 aspects. Due to my limited time, I am going to focus on Self-awarness for you, since you seem to lack the most in it.”
“I think I am completely self-aware thank you!”
“Oh? Lets look back today at your presentation. Just watch your video on the screen”
The old man sits down to the PC and mutters to himself, “don’t you have the QuickTime plug-in installed. Alright, I will use the Windows Media Version, but man, upgrade your plug-ins.”
The video player finishes caching the video and a scene unfolds, one from earlier in the day with Chris just wrapping up a presentation to the director and a few customers.
As the director escorts the customers out, he turns to Chris’s boss and says “thanks for doing this Mike, Chris, great presentation.”
Chris exclaims, “Thanks you sir, I know I can do better next time. I will practice it more.”
Mike interrupts with a sideways glance at Chris, “Thanks Dave. Please, debrief me when after the customers leave?”
“You got it, talk to you soon.”
After the director leaves, Mike closes the door and looks at Mike and smiles. “Your presentation went well. I can see you have the potential to be very good at doing them and will only get better with practice. My only suggestion would be you come up with script for presentations you are going to give regularly or practice the ones you don’t give regularly before hand. All in all, you did a good job.”
“I am sorry sir. I know I could have done better. I have never been good at presentations or public speaking all my life. I get nervous. This was handed-off to me from Reeves two days ago. If he would have just given me some more notice.”
“No, you did fine. Don’t take it as rebuke, just some coaching”
“Well could you tell me what I did wrong?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, just things could have been done a little differently that might have been more effective. Example, assume they know nothing of the product, so don’t slip into our company lingo unless you have to and explain it when you do. Don’t ever defend the product against something else without being asked about it.”
“I knew that, I guess I don’t know the product that well. I wish Reeves had not gone on vacation before this presentation. I think he should have some responsibility if they don’t purchase.”
At this point, the old man hits the pause button and looks at Chris, “You want to see how you could have better handled this? I am going to tell you anyway. There are 2 concepts I want to share with you. One is called Emotional Triggers. Emotional Triggers are situations that closely resemble a situation in your past that left an emotional memory in your Limbic brain where you either ran, or fought in the situation. This was good 10,000 years ago when a micro second could save you from sudden peril, but today in the business world, it usually leads to unwanted outcomes. This chart here shows you the triggers”
As the wizard waved his hand, the charts fluttered, but remained the same. Looking sheepish, he reaches out and changes the chart by hand.
“I guess I need to practice that one”
The chart on the easel now read:
Emotional Triggers:*
1. Mood
2. Mood and attitude of others
3. Prethinking / Foreshadowing
4. Rumination / Dwelling
5. Personality
6. Hot Words / Hot Buttons that make you angry
7. Perceived criticism
8. Illness / Physical conditions
9. Physical Environment
The wizard looks at Chris and asks, “So, based on these, do you know which triggers to which you succumbed?”
Chris looks at him and shakes no.
“Sigh, they never do. First you started with Perceived criticism, then you moved into Rumination and Dwelling, and then moved into Mood. Do you understand?”
“I think I am starting too.”
“Do you know how you can stop from doing this? First, you need to know where your triggers lie. Think back to the moments that lead up to your emotional hijacking. You exhibited multiple triggers, and usually this contributes to such a hijacking. To help you, here is a list of behaviors, known as the Dirty Dozen of Flawed Rational Thinking that people should be on the lookout for.”
This time, the old man didn’t even attempt to flick his wrist to change the chart, but changed it manually. The new chart contained:
Flawed Rational Thinking (Dirty Dozen):*
1. Needing Approval – “Everyone I work with must approve of me at all times”
2. Making Mistakes - “I must prove that I am thoroughly competent, adequate, and achieving at all times.”
3. Changing Others - “I have an obligation to change others who act unfairly or obnoxious.”
4. “Catastrophize” - “When I get very frustrated, treated unfairly, or rejected, I have to view things as awful, terrible, horrible,, and catastrophic.”
5. Others Cause Misery - “My emotional misery comes from external pressures that I have little ability to change.”
6. Worry, Fret, Fear - “If something seems dangerous or fearsome, I must preoccupy myself with it and make myself anxious abut it.”
7. Avoidance - “It’s easier to avoid facing difficulties and self-responsibilities than to do something about them.”
8. The Past - “My past remains all-important and, because something once strongly influenced my life, it has to keep determining my feelings and behavior today.”
9. Unrealistic Expectations - “People and things should turn out better than they do, and I must fix them.”
10. Competition - “My worth can be measured by competitive situations.”
11. Source of Problems - “The people and conditions in my life are the sources of my problems.”
12. Negativity - “Certain occurrences or events are negative by nature.”
The wizard, suddenly tired looking, stares head on at Chris and asks, “So, looking at this list, do you see any behaviors you demonstrated after the presentation? Also, think about the phone call you had with Reeves right before he left. Remember anything from it on this list?”
“Um, yes, now I think I do. I have a need for approval. I don’t like to make mistakes, I have unrealistic expectations sometimes, and I blame others for my problems… sigh”
“Yes, it is a hard realization that you maybe the locus of control for your own problems. Emotional Intelligence can help.”
“So what do I do next?”
“Ah! Good then. Go and get the book by Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence. Read it. Then begin to follow its steps. Cover the five aspects of Emotional Intelligence. Also, don’t worry, you will not change overnight. Sometimes you will fall off the wagon. Just remember you are changing long learned behaviors, so it will take a bit to change. You can make mistakes, and strive for excellence, not perfection. With that, I got to go, kids have soccer practice tonight.”
BOOM!
A blast of light, and the old man was gone, and all his props. Chris looks around a little bewildered and peers over the cube walls to see if anyone else is around. He hears the door open and sees the cleaning crew coming down the aisle way. Looking back at his computer screen, he sees the email is still there. He clicks on the link, but it just pops up the Amazon.com entry for Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence. He tries to send an email back, but it comes back as “MAILER-DAEMON Failed to Deliver Message”.
He sits back in a reflective posture and pauses. Then he clicks on the link again while getting his credit card out of his wallet.
*Note: Charts referenced in the short story are reproductions of charts in the slide decks covered under “C 2002. Adele B. Lynn All Rights Reserved.”
Friday, December 12, 2008
Musings of the different jobs I have had in my life
Damn, this list is not bad for someone 36 (or maybe it is) Usually I held multiple jobs simultaneously and I started working at 14:
Race track garbage clean up
Race track time ticket operator
race track food service
Amusement park ride operator
Hay bailer/farm hand
Kentucky fried chicken cook
Hoagie cook at Larosas
Shoes salesman at Kinney Shoes
Shoe stock boy at Kinney Shoes
Pizza cook at Angilos
Delivery driver at Angilos
Deli counter boy IGA
3rd shift clerk at Circle K convenience stores
3rd shift clerk at a mom and pop convenience stores
1st shift clerk at "Cecil's" convenience store
Drug store clerk at SuperX/RiteAid/CVS
Computer lab operator at Miami University
Computer mover for American Computer Resources
Computer programmer at Sarcom
Professional mover with North American VanLines
Owner of Kinetic thoughts custom programming
Owner of online high end audio webstore Imperii Audio
IBM Software engineer
Race track garbage clean up
Race track time ticket operator
race track food service
Amusement park ride operator
Hay bailer/farm hand
Kentucky fried chicken cook
Hoagie cook at Larosas
Shoes salesman at Kinney Shoes
Shoe stock boy at Kinney Shoes
Pizza cook at Angilos
Delivery driver at Angilos
Deli counter boy IGA
3rd shift clerk at Circle K convenience stores
3rd shift clerk at a mom and pop convenience stores
1st shift clerk at "Cecil's" convenience store
Drug store clerk at SuperX/RiteAid/CVS
Computer lab operator at Miami University
Computer mover for American Computer Resources
Computer programmer at Sarcom
Professional mover with North American VanLines
Owner of Kinetic thoughts custom programming
Owner of online high end audio webstore Imperii Audio
IBM Software engineer
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Things to really hate?
In perusing Facebook, I came across this video. I have to say I agree with the narrator. Check it out
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Quote from Questionable Content
I love the web comic Questionable Content
That said, this struck me as a darn funny quote from today's comic:
That said, this struck me as a darn funny quote from today's comic:
"Dude, most people would be perfectly happy with what you've got going on right now. You're like the guy who shits gold bricks complaining he doesn't also piss diamonds."
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Birthday fun - Night out in Downtown Fort Myers
The day was great. My bride and I, along with a good friend went to the Veranda, then to H2 and The Spirit of Bacchus for some after dinner dessert and drinks.
Though out of my normal price range, I recommend going to the Veranda for special occasions. I had an impressive veal chop, stuffed with Buffalo mozzarella. The wait staff was excellent. The setting was beautiful. I will say, the medium age is a little older than I am used too. But no worries, the piano guy kept everyone entertained.
H2, as always, was a fun time. Dana was our server and she was great! Call her "the wine lady". :) Harold even made me up Birthday wishes for my raspberry chocolate cake (I forget what it is called on the menu actually). Try the Flying Dog Ale or the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on draft!
The Spirit of Bacchus is a great place. Charlie the bartender is always cordial and the atmosphere is pleasant. However, I was so full and relaxed from the dinner, wine, beer, and heat being on (it does get cool in SWFL ) I almost fell asleep on their comfy couches. I ended up with "couch hair" and decided it was time to call it a night.
We did attempt to walk off some of the dinner, and headed up to the Bar Association. However, they were closed at 11:30 on a Saturday. I am unsure if they just decided to shutter early, but there was a county notice to "stop work" on part of their building. I hope this bar doesn't leave, as it is a fun, casual place to hang out. So City of Fort Myers, get the last of the street-scaping finished!
All and all, it was great, low key birthday!
~Jeffrey
Though out of my normal price range, I recommend going to the Veranda for special occasions. I had an impressive veal chop, stuffed with Buffalo mozzarella. The wait staff was excellent. The setting was beautiful. I will say, the medium age is a little older than I am used too. But no worries, the piano guy kept everyone entertained.
H2, as always, was a fun time. Dana was our server and she was great! Call her "the wine lady". :) Harold even made me up Birthday wishes for my raspberry chocolate cake (I forget what it is called on the menu actually). Try the Flying Dog Ale or the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on draft!
The Spirit of Bacchus is a great place. Charlie the bartender is always cordial and the atmosphere is pleasant. However, I was so full and relaxed from the dinner, wine, beer, and heat being on (it does get cool in SWFL ) I almost fell asleep on their comfy couches. I ended up with "couch hair" and decided it was time to call it a night.
We did attempt to walk off some of the dinner, and headed up to the Bar Association. However, they were closed at 11:30 on a Saturday. I am unsure if they just decided to shutter early, but there was a county notice to "stop work" on part of their building. I hope this bar doesn't leave, as it is a fun, casual place to hang out. So City of Fort Myers, get the last of the street-scaping finished!
All and all, it was great, low key birthday!
~Jeffrey
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Oh my
I was sent this from somebody that got it from somebody (which means someone was perusing the "casual encounters" of Craigslist.com) Now, I know everyone has their own brand of kink, but Harry Potter? Come on. Anyway, I have been told it was pulled so I am publishing a cached copy here for all to enjoy. Pretty disturbing.
~Jeffrey
~Jeffrey
Don't Let the Muggles Know! - w4mm - 30 (East Village)
Reply to: pers-941491075@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-12-02, 12:27AM ESTI am a lonely, beautiful woman living alone with my cat, Mrs. Norris. I work as a janitor. You will refer to me as Filch.PostingID: 941491075
I need at least 5 men. You will arrive at my apartment. There will be a picture of a fat lady on the door, and you will tell her the pre-arranged password. You will be dressed based on your character. The characters I need are listed below.
Harry Potter: You must be barely legal, and arrive with your firebolt ready for the best game of quidditch you'll ever play.
Ron Weasley: You absolutely must have red hair and freckles. You must show up with firewhiskey.
Draco Malfoy: Blonde. Be able to cry on demand.
Remus Lupin: You will alternate between wolf and man. Howl, baby, howl!
Albus Dumbledore: You must be a proud gay man ready to penetrate every other man present You must have a beard and wear a wizard's hat and half-moon spectacles.
As you arrive, I shall chain you to the walls of my apartment, which I will have converted into a dungeon. Mrs. Norris shall excite you all into the most aroused state you've ever experienced (I've trained her well, so don't worry--if she fails to tickle your pickle, though, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve--engorgio, anyone?).
After I punish you all for being out after curfew, and take a few house points, Harry will escape, grab me around the waist, and begin sodomizing me. With each stroke, he will yell out one of the wrongs I have committed against him (example: "and THIS is for helping Umbridge"). After we've both come harder than Hagrid in heat, Ron and Draco will escape.
Ron will beat Draco with a broomstick I'll provide. Then, he will penetrate the Slytherin with the Cleansweep, who will, at this point, be crying about how his dad's in Azkaban.
Lupin will escape as he "transforms" into a wolf. He forgot his wolfsbane potion tonight! He will have his way with whatever his wolfy instincts demand!
I will then pleasure Ron. With my dirty squib mouth.
Finally, Dumbledore will escape and exact his right as Headmaster of Hogwarts.
Then, firewhiskey all around!
Who knows what else the night will bring...
---
Please send pictures, preferably in costume. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, and I've been haunted by this fantasy since PoA came out (the book, of course). Please please please help me to realize it!
Also, if you know any submissive small men, we might add a Dobby to the fun.
- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
Yes, another Happy Thanksgiving post. I am thankful for everything in my world. As a beach bum singing sage (whereas he is not much of bum these days) once postulated in a song, "Some of it's magic, and some it's tragic, but I had good life all the way". And I will continue doing so, and I hope you do too.
That said, some of you know I am originally from Cincinnati. So I am going to steal a click from my friend Mike's blog:
Cheers,
~Jeffrey
That said, some of you know I am originally from Cincinnati. So I am going to steal a click from my friend Mike's blog:
Cheers,
~Jeffrey
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The value of a smile
There is nothing more free to give in this world than a smile and nothing that brings more joy I have found for the price.
As a test, when driving home from the beach, I will wave to people (it is a long ride in a very slow moving area with lots of people, so you have the opportunity see many pedestrians). Statistically, I found that over 80% of the time, people will look at you like you have a third eye if you just wave. However, if you add in a simple smile, over 80% of the people will smile and wave back (and this is from people that have no clue who I am).
So, I guess in a simple sense, just use a smile to help brighten others day, but be genuine about it. As they called it at school, the "creativity smile" can be seen through if not genuine.
I leave you with a quote that I cannot attribute:
As a test, when driving home from the beach, I will wave to people (it is a long ride in a very slow moving area with lots of people, so you have the opportunity see many pedestrians). Statistically, I found that over 80% of the time, people will look at you like you have a third eye if you just wave. However, if you add in a simple smile, over 80% of the people will smile and wave back (and this is from people that have no clue who I am).
So, I guess in a simple sense, just use a smile to help brighten others day, but be genuine about it. As they called it at school, the "creativity smile" can be seen through if not genuine.
I leave you with a quote that I cannot attribute:
"It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice"
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Gandhi Quote
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
Mahatma Gandhi
Friday, November 14, 2008
Movie to checkout: The Counterfeiters
Excellent Movie,
Check out The Counterfeiters. It is about a Jewish artist that turns to counterfeiting. He is captured in Berlin during WWII and is sentenced to a camp. There, the German's have him oversee the largest counterfeiting operation in known history in an attempt to flood the Allied economies. Great film, well done.
Note: the film is in mostly German, with parts in French and Russian (has English subtitles). My lovely bride found it on Netflix by accident.
Check out The Counterfeiters. It is about a Jewish artist that turns to counterfeiting. He is captured in Berlin during WWII and is sentenced to a camp. There, the German's have him oversee the largest counterfeiting operation in known history in an attempt to flood the Allied economies. Great film, well done.
Note: the film is in mostly German, with parts in French and Russian (has English subtitles). My lovely bride found it on Netflix by accident.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
White Guilt is History
I received this in an email today. I pretty much articulates how I feel. This was pulled from Philly.com without permission. I will take it down if they contact me.
I have to say, I hate affirmative action, but I never cared your color as long as you did what was expected of you.
Taking handouts is BS.
Funny, all the ideals of the sixties were lost, it still took 40 years to make it to this point and race is still a prevalent thing. You know why? People don't like differences nor change.
Instead of burying it, embrace it, talk about it, and get it out in the open. Question is, why would we want to do so? As the pumpkin from the Simpson's said, "We are all racists, I just admit it"... so maybe I am racist, if you define racists as identifying people as being different.
Race is not just the color of your skin, but culture, color, hair, actions, beliefs. This is why it is so different to one another. Some people will never embrace differences and some will only do so. People need to define their preferences logically and defend them. Just be sure to have some logical morals in doing so. Just accepting differences is stupid, and will lead to worse trouble.
To that end:
I have to say, I hate affirmative action, but I never cared your color as long as you did what was expected of you.
Taking handouts is BS.
Funny, all the ideals of the sixties were lost, it still took 40 years to make it to this point and race is still a prevalent thing. You know why? People don't like differences nor change.
Instead of burying it, embrace it, talk about it, and get it out in the open. Question is, why would we want to do so? As the pumpkin from the Simpson's said, "We are all racists, I just admit it"... so maybe I am racist, if you define racists as identifying people as being different.
Race is not just the color of your skin, but culture, color, hair, actions, beliefs. This is why it is so different to one another. Some people will never embrace differences and some will only do so. People need to define their preferences logically and defend them. Just be sure to have some logical morals in doing so. Just accepting differences is stupid, and will lead to worse trouble.
To that end:
White guilt? Done; over; history
Tom Adkins
is the publisher of CommonConservative.com
There go my fellow conservatives, glumly shuffling along, depressed by the election aftermath. Not me. I'm virtually euphoric. Don't get me wrong. I'm not thrilled with America's flirtation with neosocialism. But there's a massive silver lining in the magical clouds that lofted Barack Obama to the presidency. For today, without a shred of intellectually legitimate opposition, I can loudly proclaim to America:
The Era of White Guilt is over.
This seemingly impossible event occurred because the vast majority of white Americans didn't give a fluff about skin color and enthusiastically pulled the voting lever for a black man. Not just any black man. A very liberal black man who spent his early career race-hustling banks, praying in a racist church for 20 years, and actively working with America-hating domestic terrorists. Yet white Americans made Barack Obama their leader. Therefore, as of Nov. 4, 2008, white guilt is dead.
So today, I'm feeling a little "uppity," if you will. For more than a century, the millstone of white guilt hung around our necks, retribution for slave-owning predecessors. In the 1960s, American liberals began yanking that millstone while sticking a fork in the eye of black Americans, exacerbating the racial divide to extort a socialist solution to the country's problems. But if a black man can become president, exactly what significant barrier is left? The election of Barack Obama destroys the validation of liberal white guilt. The dragon is hereby slain.
So today, I'm feeling a little "uppity," if you will. From this day forward, my tolerance level for having my skin color hustled is exactly ZERO. No more Rev. Jeremiah Wright's "God Damn America," Al Sharpton's Church of Perpetual Victimization, or Jesse Jackson's rainbow racism. Cornel West? You're a fraud. All those "black studies" programs must now teach kids to thank Whitey. And I want that on the final.
Congressional Black Caucus? Irrelevant. U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.)? Shut up. ACORN? Outlawed. Black Panthers? Go home and pet your kitty. Black separatists? Find another nation that offers better dreams. To those Eurosnots who forged careers hating America? I'm still waiting for the first black French president.
No more quotas. No more handouts. No more complaining that "the man" is keeping you down. "The man" is now black.
It's time to toss that massive, obsolete race-hustle machine upon the heap of the other stupid '60s ideas. Drag it over there, right between free love and cop-killing. Careful, don't trip on streaking. Just dump it. And then wash your hands. It's filthy.
Obama's ascension also creates another gargantuan irony. How can liberals sell American racism, class envy and unfairness when our new black president and his wife went to Ivy League schools, got high-paying jobs, became millionaires, bought a mansion, and are now moving to the White House? How unfair is that? Now, like a delicious O. Henry tale, Obama's spread-the-wealth campaign rendered itself moot by its own victory! America is officially a meritocracy. Obama's election has validated American conservatism.
So ... Wham!!!
That's the sound of my foot kicking the door shut on the era of white guilt. The rites have been muttered, the carcass lowered, dirt shoveled, and tombstone erected. Dead and buried.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Still here
Hello all. I am still here, but took a staycation with some friends that visited from Ohio. So on that note, I am going down to pool and hanging out on Fort Myers Beach. It is a beautiful day!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Grasshopper head soup
Ok, we make some killer Lentil and Sausage Soup/stews. Honestly, it is restaurant quality. On that note, we like pretty much all the legumes. They are good in fiber, stretch your meat budget, and are low on the glycemic index.
However, you do need to check them for stones and other matter, as well as wash them before using (these are the dry legumes of course).
The funny thing is, and it is only with Lentils, every time I look through them or my wife does, we find a grasshopper head. It doesn't matter the brand or part of country I buy them in. Just the head mind you. It seems these insects craniums are the perfect size for the lentil shucking machine.
So... if you are eating lentils and get something crunchy, you will now wonder what it is.
:-)
~Jeffrey
However, you do need to check them for stones and other matter, as well as wash them before using (these are the dry legumes of course).
The funny thing is, and it is only with Lentils, every time I look through them or my wife does, we find a grasshopper head. It doesn't matter the brand or part of country I buy them in. Just the head mind you. It seems these insects craniums are the perfect size for the lentil shucking machine.
So... if you are eating lentils and get something crunchy, you will now wonder what it is.
:-)
~Jeffrey
Cold today in Cape Coral
Short post. Call me a wuss. Call me thin blooded. After 5 years of living in Southwest Florida, anything below 60, I feel the chill. Well, it was 44 today in Cape Coral. A record low. Brrrrrr
Friday, October 24, 2008
Why you cannot trust a bearded person
In response to ConchScooters essay about bearded dudes being untrustworthy, I have included my reasons why:
1.) It hides your identity
2.) If long enough birds could nest in it
3.) You can smuggle things in it if long enough
4.) It represents laziness due to lack of shaving
5.) You can get food in it (uncleanliness)
6.) Represents a sidebar industry that the capitalist war mongers want us to buy into (trimmers, dyes, scissors, etc).
7.) Just looks MEAN! (Exception, Santa Claus and Father Time)
8.) Represents Aging and mortality
9.) Jealousy from non-bearded folks in power
10.) All Communist's had a beards (or facial hair) Lenin, Stalin, Marx, Castro (and we know they are Godless enemies).
A little fun for a Friday (sorry no posts lately, been swamped in work and school). Hope to do two photo entries this weekend, maybe on the Beached Whale (of FMB), Bowditch park, and perhaps Cape Coral's OctoberFest (if I get to go).
Check out Conch Scooters blog. Excellent writing and photos!
~Jeffrey
1.) It hides your identity
2.) If long enough birds could nest in it
3.) You can smuggle things in it if long enough
4.) It represents laziness due to lack of shaving
5.) You can get food in it (uncleanliness)
6.) Represents a sidebar industry that the capitalist war mongers want us to buy into (trimmers, dyes, scissors, etc).
7.) Just looks MEAN! (Exception, Santa Claus and Father Time)
8.) Represents Aging and mortality
9.) Jealousy from non-bearded folks in power
10.) All Communist's had a beards (or facial hair) Lenin, Stalin, Marx, Castro (and we know they are Godless enemies).
A little fun for a Friday (sorry no posts lately, been swamped in work and school). Hope to do two photo entries this weekend, maybe on the Beached Whale (of FMB), Bowditch park, and perhaps Cape Coral's OctoberFest (if I get to go).
Check out Conch Scooters blog. Excellent writing and photos!
~Jeffrey
Friday, October 17, 2008
Great book on making Root Beer, Soda, and Pop
I recently picked up a great book from Amazon titled "Homemade Root Beer, Soda & Pop".
Now I found this book to be very informative. Whether you want to go the route I did with an investment in equipment, or use keep it within your existing household items, you can. I probably have $80 in EQ that I have collected over the last six months, but I use it for beer making as well - note blog post after this weekend about how the beer turned out thus far, I am bottling Saturday hopefully.
It covers making soft drinks from scratch, from syrups, as well as making desserts and some alcoholic drinks. One of my favorite sayings in the book was now we have a fine line between alcoholic vs. non-alcoholic. When some of these recipes were written, this line was a little blurred. The recipes cover times when people did these type of activities, most from the 1800 to early 1900's (well I guess the hippies revitalized it too).
Along with the normal every day soda (including cola, ginger ale, root beer, cream soda, citrus sodas, and raspberry soda), there are such oddities as birch beer (more so a northeast drink), whizzers, and switchel. Also included are even stranger things as a coffee soda, pumpkin soda, and tomato beer.
The book itself was around $11. I look forward to adapting the recipes to low sugar or sugar free drinks.
~Jeffrey
Now I found this book to be very informative. Whether you want to go the route I did with an investment in equipment, or use keep it within your existing household items, you can. I probably have $80 in EQ that I have collected over the last six months, but I use it for beer making as well - note blog post after this weekend about how the beer turned out thus far, I am bottling Saturday hopefully.
It covers making soft drinks from scratch, from syrups, as well as making desserts and some alcoholic drinks. One of my favorite sayings in the book was now we have a fine line between alcoholic vs. non-alcoholic. When some of these recipes were written, this line was a little blurred. The recipes cover times when people did these type of activities, most from the 1800 to early 1900's (well I guess the hippies revitalized it too).
Along with the normal every day soda (including cola, ginger ale, root beer, cream soda, citrus sodas, and raspberry soda), there are such oddities as birch beer (more so a northeast drink), whizzers, and switchel. Also included are even stranger things as a coffee soda, pumpkin soda, and tomato beer.
The book itself was around $11. I look forward to adapting the recipes to low sugar or sugar free drinks.
~Jeffrey
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Low Sugar Ginger Beer - Stevia Sweetened
Ok, I have been attempting to brew my own beer and soda recently.That said, I have been fed up with artificial sweeteners, like Aspartame (NutraSweet), Sucralose (Splenda) and Saccharine (Sweet and Low) for a long time now, and have turned to alternatives. Otherwise known as Blue, Yellow, and Pink packets. If in a pinch, I will use Saccharine, I feel it is the lesser of evil of the three (even if a rat got cancer from eating 50 metric tons of it). However, being a diabetic, and liking sweetened drinks, I have turned to Stevia, an all natural sweetener that does not raise blood sugars.
http://www.stevia.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia
Well, I love Ginger Beer (nothing like a Dark and Stormy), but you cannot find it without sugar unless you want to pay $6-8 a 6 pack for it in a health food store (come on, I can get decent sixer of beer of that price). Then it is generally made with carbonated water (I like to use sugar with yeast to ferment, and if done right, the yeast will consume all the sugar).
I did an experimentation that resulted in a low sugar (it did not raise my blood sugar, but actually lowered it. I need more empirical evidence, but it could be the cinnamon in it, known to lower blood sugars). The drink had mild carbonation and is still sweet (note, yeast and sugar do make alcohol, but it is so low in this stuff, you would have to drink a gallon to feel any effects).
The recipe is below in 2 parts. The first is the actual recipe; the other is the bottling technique. I would suggest preparing the bottles prior to boiling your brew.
Ingredients:
Steps:
Sanitation of bottles might not be important, but I used San Star in the sink (I repurposed Red Stripe Jamaican Lager bottles, it seemed appropriate for Ginger Beer) just to be on the safe side. I had made a batch before with only washing the bottle with water, and I ended with what could only be called sweet "swamp water".
Note, you can use bleach, two table spoon to 1 gallon of water to sanitize, then rinse with clean water (note, don't use scented bleach). If you go the bleach route, let the bottles soak for 30 minutes (commercial sanitizers are like 30 seconds, but are expensive. I buy it for beer making, so it was on hand).
Cap up your bottles and go (I have a capper, but you could use plastic screw cap soda bottles, make sure you sanitize the caps!). Now they are capped, put them some where for about 10-12 hours so they can "ferment" (make it fizzy). I put mine in the bath tub, in case I got "poppers" (the mess is much easier to clean there).
Sooo... today I had a Ginger Beer and it was perfect, and tonight a Dark and Stormy is on the menu!
~Jeffrey
http://www.stevia.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia
Well, I love Ginger Beer (nothing like a Dark and Stormy), but you cannot find it without sugar unless you want to pay $6-8 a 6 pack for it in a health food store (come on, I can get decent sixer of beer of that price). Then it is generally made with carbonated water (I like to use sugar with yeast to ferment, and if done right, the yeast will consume all the sugar).
I did an experimentation that resulted in a low sugar (it did not raise my blood sugar, but actually lowered it. I need more empirical evidence, but it could be the cinnamon in it, known to lower blood sugars). The drink had mild carbonation and is still sweet (note, yeast and sugar do make alcohol, but it is so low in this stuff, you would have to drink a gallon to feel any effects).
The recipe is below in 2 parts. The first is the actual recipe; the other is the bottling technique. I would suggest preparing the bottles prior to boiling your brew.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 lbs of fresh ginger peeled and grated (this is the most labor intensive, intensive).
- 1 gallon of water
- zest of 2 key limes
- juice from 6 key limes
- 10 cloves
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 table spoon of ground cinnamon
- 3/8 cup of sugar (for priming - i.e. carbonation)
- 3/4s teaspoon of bakers yeast (you could use brewers yeast, but that is expensive)
- 4/40th of a teaspoon (the measuring spoon came with the Stevia)
Steps:
- Mix ingredients (EXCEPT YEAST) in a large stock pot and bring to a boil for about 25 minutes. This will result in a fragrant brew.
- Cool your brew touch on the side of the pan (I submerged in an ice bath in the sink to quicken the process).
- Now "pitch" your 3/4s of a teaspoon of yeast. It is important to not put anything not sanitized into the brew at this point, so I sort of shook it around. You could sanitize a spoon by boiling it with the brew for stirring later.
- Using a strainer and funnel (sanitized with the bottles), pour into your sanitized bottles. Note: Do this in the sink, b/c unless you can judge how much is in the funnel, and you will make a mess. Next time, I plan to use a siphon tube.
Sanitation of bottles might not be important, but I used San Star in the sink (I repurposed Red Stripe Jamaican Lager bottles, it seemed appropriate for Ginger Beer) just to be on the safe side. I had made a batch before with only washing the bottle with water, and I ended with what could only be called sweet "swamp water".
Note, you can use bleach, two table spoon to 1 gallon of water to sanitize, then rinse with clean water (note, don't use scented bleach). If you go the bleach route, let the bottles soak for 30 minutes (commercial sanitizers are like 30 seconds, but are expensive. I buy it for beer making, so it was on hand).
Cap up your bottles and go (I have a capper, but you could use plastic screw cap soda bottles, make sure you sanitize the caps!). Now they are capped, put them some where for about 10-12 hours so they can "ferment" (make it fizzy). I put mine in the bath tub, in case I got "poppers" (the mess is much easier to clean there).
Sooo... today I had a Ginger Beer and it was perfect, and tonight a Dark and Stormy is on the menu!
~Jeffrey
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Find Something Positive in Everything
I have been reading Make Today Count by John C. Maxwell the last day or so. It is a short book, and a quick read (I suggest his Developing the Leader Within You as well). In the second chapter under the title Find Something Positive in Everything is a little prayer he refers to (I am not all that religious, but this prayer is inspiring):
~Jeffrey
Dear Lord,I could have not said more prophetic words about how I feel. I just need to remind myself to find something positive in everything thing, especially when I am really blue. If this helps, good for you too.
So far today, I am doing all right. I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or self-indulgent. I have not whined, cursed, or eaten any chocolate.
However, I am going to get out of bed in a few minutes, and I will need a lot more help after that.
Amen.
~Jeffrey
Monday, October 6, 2008
Nowtopia
I was reading ePredator's blog and he had this quote from Chris Carlsson about Nowtopia:
Thanks ePredator for bringing Chris Carlsson to my attention!
"Commonly the drive to do 'good work' is ignored or [suppressed] by corporate behemoths, hemmed in by maladaptive bureaucratic structures geared to self-referential plans and immediate, short-term stimulation of stock prices"Nice...
Thanks ePredator for bringing Chris Carlsson to my attention!
French Skype Spam
Skype, for those that don't know, is a free VOIP (voice over IP) service. You can call phone numbers with it as well, for a minimual fee. All and all it is usually a good service. Check it out at www.skype.com
It works well on both my Windows and Mac computers (I have yet to install it on Linux, but I think it works there as well).
Well, I was working today and behold! There was this French beauty asking me something in French. Well, I have to say, my French is not just rusty, it is all but gone. However, thank you Google Translation services!
Check it out:
Well if anyone would like to contact this young lass (which is probably some young DUDE in Africa or the Philipines looking to Phish somebody), here is her picture
Don't let something like this to dissuade you from using Skype. I think it is a very useful and innovative tool. Just know there are spammers there as well (any free service you will get them).
That said, be well, and enjoy.
~Jeffrey
It works well on both my Windows and Mac computers (I have yet to install it on Linux, but I think it works there as well).
Well, I was working today and behold! There was this French beauty asking me something in French. Well, I have to say, my French is not just rusty, it is all but gone. However, thank you Google Translation services!
Check it out:
femme - gazelle sexy rencontre tres sexe says: coucou comment ca va ?Which roughly means:
Women - gazelle sexy sex encounter tres says: cuckoo comment ca va?Some how, I bet coucou doesn't mean cuckoo (hey, machine translations aren't perfect, but you get the gist).
Well if anyone would like to contact this young lass (which is probably some young DUDE in Africa or the Philipines looking to Phish somebody), here is her picture
Don't let something like this to dissuade you from using Skype. I think it is a very useful and innovative tool. Just know there are spammers there as well (any free service you will get them).
That said, be well, and enjoy.
~Jeffrey
Friday, October 3, 2008
Getting ready for Halloween
I got this in an email and thought it was cute. I may attempt to replicated it in my own yard for the upcoming festival.
~Jeffrey
~Jeffrey
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Sam Adams Octoberfest
It has arrived! Sam Adams Octoberfest! Enjoy one today.
http://www.samueladams.com/world_of_beer.aspx
http://www.samueladams.com/world_of_beer.aspx
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Dinner tonight: Spaghetti Squash with Super-Thick Bolognese
I don't usually get into TV shows, especially cooking shows, but my wife had Rachel Ray on one afternoon (I work from home, so I was passing thru the living room to places elsewhere). Anyway, Rachel Ray was making this thing with spaghetti squash. I have to tell you, I am a big fan of it since I try to cut down on carbs (unsuccessfully if you saw my waist line). Anyway, it was called Spaghetti Squash with Super-Thick Bolognese.
Made with meat, wine, tomato paste, carrotts, etc, it was pretty darn good sounding. So... to make a long story short, my beautiful bride made it for dinner for me. It was, in a word, superb. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but I wolfed it down to quickly.
However, here is the link to the recipe so you can make your own.
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/spaghetti-squash-super-thick-bolognese/
Enjoy!
~Jeffrey
Made with meat, wine, tomato paste, carrotts, etc, it was pretty darn good sounding. So... to make a long story short, my beautiful bride made it for dinner for me. It was, in a word, superb. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but I wolfed it down to quickly.
However, here is the link to the recipe so you can make your own.
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/spaghetti-squash-super-thick-bolognese/
Enjoy!
~Jeffrey
Monday, September 29, 2008
One of my Favorite tech sites for practical uses of technology
A lot of technology I see is cutting edge. It has that "gee-whiz" factor that makes you glad you are a techie. However, many times the technology is so far ahead, that is has not had the cycle time to pervade into everyday use (or as I call it consumable uses, i.e. mainstream). Granted, this cycle time is getting shorter and shorter all the time.
That said, there are a few people out there that take their edgy work and make it practical for the everyday technie to consume and use. LumenLab is one such group.
They have 3 main components.
Thanks to Daniel for showing me this cool site!
~Jeffrey
That said, there are a few people out there that take their edgy work and make it practical for the everyday technie to consume and use. LumenLab is one such group.
They have 3 main components.
- A DIY video projector (for under $300 you can have an HD projector if you can find the parts). Pretty slick in my book.
- A small CNC device ($currently $599 from their kit).
- A robotic assembly in a modular design.
Thanks to Daniel for showing me this cool site!
~Jeffrey
reacTIVision - the future of DJ-ing with this very cool tech!
A colleague of mine (thanks Ian!) introduced me to reacTIVision, a component of the reacTable, a new synthesizer using a multitouch table (like a giant iphone, but in the size of a drafting table) and fiducial markers (squigglies).
Here is an example of fiducial markers
A better explaintation would be these YouTube Videos:
Bjork has it on tour even:
The basic gist of the software, is I want to use it for different applications other than the reacTable. Many people are looking into this for wearable tags and other such ideas. I am thinking of wearable tags that you can read with a cell phone so people in the club can know your "status", if you are looking for someone, or there to just "dance".
Interesting to couple this with augmented reality glasses (imagine projected images onto a lense so you see a HUD for the world around you).
You don't need the touch table to actually make it work. You can use a webcam, camera, or even a cellphone and create your own markers. I plan to check this software out one evening and I will let you know how I fair.
All and all, if anyone plays with this technology, let me know in a comment. I would enjoy perhaps collaborating.
~Jeffrey
Here is an example of fiducial markers
A better explaintation would be these YouTube Videos:
Bjork has it on tour even:
The basic gist of the software, is I want to use it for different applications other than the reacTable. Many people are looking into this for wearable tags and other such ideas. I am thinking of wearable tags that you can read with a cell phone so people in the club can know your "status", if you are looking for someone, or there to just "dance".
Interesting to couple this with augmented reality glasses (imagine projected images onto a lense so you see a HUD for the world around you).
You don't need the touch table to actually make it work. You can use a webcam, camera, or even a cellphone and create your own markers. I plan to check this software out one evening and I will let you know how I fair.
All and all, if anyone plays with this technology, let me know in a comment. I would enjoy perhaps collaborating.
~Jeffrey
Saturday, September 27, 2008
First Round Draft - new upscale sports bar in Cape Coral
Ok, I have been to First Round Draft sports bar in Cape Coral and the place is great! It has water front tie ups, plenty of parking, and very nice decor (and it lacks the riff-raff of Stevie Tomatoes).
It is located on Del Prado (remember Candies? same place, new look and feel). Address:
1217 Del Prado Boulevard
Cape Coral, FL
Their happy hour stats:
$1 Bud Light and Miller Light drafts and $1.50 ShockTops (like Blue moon, I prefer ShockTop it is less heavy) from open to close seven days a week!
For drinks: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The appetizer happy hour is nothing over $5 at 3-7 p.m.
They have the NFL Ticket, and plenty of TVs (they did not get the MBL package this year, since they started late in the season, but I was assured they would next season).
They also have the The Big 10 Network as well.
My only wish, is they had wifi, but you cannot get it all.
The food is excellent, and priced fair. I had a burger and it was fantastic, my bride, a Buffalo chicken sandwich.
One last quip, "G", the inside bartender is a great guy. Tip him well! He will take care of you and has a great demeanor.
~Jeffrey
It is located on Del Prado (remember Candies? same place, new look and feel). Address:
1217 Del Prado Boulevard
Cape Coral, FL
Their happy hour stats:
$1 Bud Light and Miller Light drafts and $1.50 ShockTops (like Blue moon, I prefer ShockTop it is less heavy) from open to close seven days a week!
For drinks: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The appetizer happy hour is nothing over $5 at 3-7 p.m.
They have the NFL Ticket, and plenty of TVs (they did not get the MBL package this year, since they started late in the season, but I was assured they would next season).
They also have the The Big 10 Network as well.
My only wish, is they had wifi, but you cannot get it all.
The food is excellent, and priced fair. I had a burger and it was fantastic, my bride, a Buffalo chicken sandwich.
One last quip, "G", the inside bartender is a great guy. Tip him well! He will take care of you and has a great demeanor.
~Jeffrey
Breakfast today - Double yolks
I love the randomness of nature. Here is part of my breakfast today:
Nice little divergence.
~Jeffrey
Nice little divergence.
~Jeffrey
Friday, September 26, 2008
Repost - How we should handle the bail outs of wall street!
My wife's aunt sent this to us. I thought it was pretty ingenious so I reposted it. I am sure it is an email going around and I have not done the math, but hell, once in a while you got to let loose. And beside, I believe in the message of the thing.
I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.~Jeffrey
Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.
To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.
Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child.
So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up.
So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00.
My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It
Dividend.
Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.
Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000 ,000 right back to Uncle Sam.
But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00.
What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.
Buy a second home - stimulate the economy
Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads
Put away money for college - it'll be there
Pay off credit cards - more disposable income to invest or purchase goods and services - timulate the economy
Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Buy a new car - create jobs
Invest in the market - capital drives growth
Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves
Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else
Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.
If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( "vote buy" ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.
If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!
As for AIG - liquidate it.
Sell off its parts.
Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate.
Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up. Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.
Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work."
But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!
How do you spell Economic Boom?
I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion
We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington
DC.
And remember, The Family plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.
Confession - Fast food junky - Warning too
Ok, I have a confession. I am a fast food junky. I love it. All the fat, salt, and sugar. MMM MMM Good!
I don't eat it very often, but sometimes I get the craving (and if you are from up North, you know the saying, "It's what you crave!" for White Castles... oh I miss them and Crystal burgers are a poor substitute).
Anyway, to the point. The warning. STAY AWAY from the Taco Bell Volcano taco's. The saying is, they are 75 degrees F going in and 150 degrees F coming out! I really enjoy hot foods, but I was surprised these were that hot.
That said, back to our regular tuned blogging...
~Jeffrey
I don't eat it very often, but sometimes I get the craving (and if you are from up North, you know the saying, "It's what you crave!" for White Castles... oh I miss them and Crystal burgers are a poor substitute).
Anyway, to the point. The warning. STAY AWAY from the Taco Bell Volcano taco's. The saying is, they are 75 degrees F going in and 150 degrees F coming out! I really enjoy hot foods, but I was surprised these were that hot.
That said, back to our regular tuned blogging...
~Jeffrey
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Why I am not allowed to plant bananas
Ok, the following pictures are why my wife will not allow me to plant bananas.
So to steal a line from Harry Belafonte:
Granted, it was not a tarantula, it was called a banana spider.
I apologize for the bluriness in some of the pictures, I was a little nervous taking the picture!
Freaky! These were taken at Rotary Park in Cape Coral, FL.
~Jeffrey
So to steal a line from Harry Belafonte:
"Hide the deadly black tarantula
Daylight come and me wan' go home"
Granted, it was not a tarantula, it was called a banana spider.
I apologize for the bluriness in some of the pictures, I was a little nervous taking the picture!
Freaky! These were taken at Rotary Park in Cape Coral, FL.
~Jeffrey
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
New look and feel - no more adsense in my personal blog
As you can see, I have changed my look and feel. I have not decided if I will stick with it, but I did remove the adsense ads (after much pain and aggravation).
I felt that the adsense on my personal blog degraded it.
Also, I think we need to find a new business model for information other than advertisements, but other than subscription, I am not sure how one would do that. Micropayments for each tidbit of info perhaps? Hmm...
~Jeffrey
I felt that the adsense on my personal blog degraded it.
Also, I think we need to find a new business model for information other than advertisements, but other than subscription, I am not sure how one would do that. Micropayments for each tidbit of info perhaps? Hmm...
~Jeffrey
Visit to Fort Lauderdale
In a recent visit to Fort Lauderdale, to visit my wife's aunts. I made a few observations.
I am at a loss about whether or not I like high rise buildings or not. I know they provide many people that could not afford a beach front with a place close, and they can have killer views of the water, but sometimes they destroy the skyline and remove the romanticism of the beach. What a conundrum.
That said, I did enjoy the flat trek across the everglades and alligator alley. Some say it is boring, but I find it peaceful... a little too peaceful, that I tend to fall asleep sometimes. Luckily, my lovely bride drove and I was able to work (nice having a flexible job like mine, even though I sometimes gripe about it. At this point, I think I am ruined to ever go back to a traditional office).
So... some observations about Fort Lauderdale:
From the Alley
I really like the clouds in FL. Fluffy, white and you can see so much of them.
The view from the balcony as the sun is beginning to rise.
Now, my panoramic is slightly off on the right side. It is hard to line them up sometimes.
Lastly, some closer shots of the beach on the A1A. This is one of the reasons people migrate here.
~Jeffrey
I am at a loss about whether or not I like high rise buildings or not. I know they provide many people that could not afford a beach front with a place close, and they can have killer views of the water, but sometimes they destroy the skyline and remove the romanticism of the beach. What a conundrum.
That said, I did enjoy the flat trek across the everglades and alligator alley. Some say it is boring, but I find it peaceful... a little too peaceful, that I tend to fall asleep sometimes. Luckily, my lovely bride drove and I was able to work (nice having a flexible job like mine, even though I sometimes gripe about it. At this point, I think I am ruined to ever go back to a traditional office).
So... some observations about Fort Lauderdale:
- It is older (in people and structures). In my case this can be good since I am fond of old buildings and renovating them.
- There are lots more "adult shops" - making it come off a little more than sleazy in parts.
- It is a Jaguar heaven. At a stop light, we had 5 Jags surrounding us.
- There are WAY TOO MANY CIGARETTE butts in the sand on the beach. Come people, I know it has sand like an ash tray, but you don't have to be an ASHHOLE. Put the damn thing in your pocket and throw it away.
From the Alley
I really like the clouds in FL. Fluffy, white and you can see so much of them.
The view from the balcony as the sun is beginning to rise.
Now, my panoramic is slightly off on the right side. It is hard to line them up sometimes.
Lastly, some closer shots of the beach on the A1A. This is one of the reasons people migrate here.
~Jeffrey
Monday, September 22, 2008
Monday Cynical Poem
This is my Monday Cynical Poem post:
My ego is bruisedI had to get that off my chest. I feel better now. From Jeffreystune, have a magic Monday!
And I feel abused
I am pretty sure I have been demoted
While being told I was promoted
I still get to work on cool stuff
That is really just fluff
On a positive note, I can say oh boy,
Seriously, working on new stuff is a joy.
Right now, me thinks nobody really needs this crap
Alas, I am still an underpaid sap
My recourse is clear
Eventually I will find a new career
Someday I will say, Impacted Bowel Movement can kiss my ass
Just my personal little sass.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a sob,
Honestly, I generally like my job.
That said with a grin,
I better get to work, or I will be on the outside looking in!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Twitter - at capacity
Some of you may know of the service known as twitter. In a world of sound bites and SMS messages, Twitter is the next logical evolution. In a nutshell, twitter is a web (or SMS, IM, etc) interface that will push out 140 character messages of "what you are doing now".
Now, mind you I do partake in such craziness, but sometimes I wonder if it is good for the "children". In a world where IM speak is pervading their school day writings.
Twitter has become so popular, that "tweets" will be shown on one of the political debates network broadcast.
To check it out, look at Twitter.com
Well, I want to see how it fairs at the debates if they are showing this today:
To steal a line from conchscooter, "Hello, my name is Jeffreystune and I am a twitteree".
Now, mind you I do partake in such craziness, but sometimes I wonder if it is good for the "children". In a world where IM speak is pervading their school day writings.
Twitter has become so popular, that "tweets" will be shown on one of the political debates network broadcast.
To check it out, look at Twitter.com
Well, I want to see how it fairs at the debates if they are showing this today:
To steal a line from conchscooter, "Hello, my name is Jeffreystune and I am a twitteree".
Conscience
"[A man's] moral conscience is the curse he had to accept from the gods in order to gain from them the right to dream."
William Faulkner
Monday, September 15, 2008
A Magic Monday
Well, I start today with a positive slant towards all I need to get done today.
Looking at my window at the sunny day, sometimes you know there are things that can be right in the world.
Lets see if that is so in my working world at the uber-corporation today.
Wish me luck!
~Jeffrey
Looking at my window at the sunny day, sometimes you know there are things that can be right in the world.
Lets see if that is so in my working world at the uber-corporation today.
Wish me luck!
~Jeffrey
Saturday, September 13, 2008
To my generation
Own Up!
Grow Up!
Stand Up!
No one owes you shit.
No more affirmative action.
No more asking for hand outs.
No more taking the easy way.
Be true.
Grow Up!
Stand Up!
No one owes you shit.
No more affirmative action.
No more asking for hand outs.
No more taking the easy way.
Be true.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Don't buy into the hype of bottled water.
This phenomenon of bottle water still baffles me. Granted I did buy bottled water (and keep some in stock for hurricanes), but as a regular bases, I don't drink it. I drink the tap water (and I do plan to install a filter).
Don't believe the hype that bottled water is any better for you. Most of it is just tap water anyway with a 1000% markup and a non-degradable container that will stay in a landfill for millions of years.
Just a little story on what could happen:
Kidding aside, get your own water bottle and refill it.
~Jeffrey
Don't believe the hype that bottled water is any better for you. Most of it is just tap water anyway with a 1000% markup and a non-degradable container that will stay in a landfill for millions of years.
Just a little story on what could happen:
Time: Present day
Place: Grocery store
Two friends enter a grocery store when one remarks, "ooh! Aquafina for $3.99 a 24 pack, that is cheap!".
The other friend replies, "what do you mean cheap? That is just tap water marked up a 1000%. Besides, that bottle stays in a landfill for millions of years."
The first friend, "Like I give a shit."
The second friend, "you know, sometimes I think people like you should be ground up for food....."
Time: Near Future
Place: Grocery store
"Dad, can we get some bologna?"
The father, "No son, it is not made with the same stuff as it used to be made from."
The son, "What is it made from?"
The father, "Well, it used to be pig and cow lips and buttholes, but now, they make it out of people that don't follow green practices"
Eyes wide, the boy asks, "Really? No way!"
The father, "Sure, I had a friend that used to buy bottled water. He couldn't get off the stuff. It was so bad, even after they banned it, he would import it from Mexico. One day, they found out, and took him to the bologna factory."
The boy, "Wow, I am glad we use our own containers for water and other drinks. I don't want to be bologna."
"Exactly son, now don't share this with your mother about bologna."
..... At home that night
The wife, "Honey! Just what have you been telling the boy!"
Kidding aside, get your own water bottle and refill it.
~Jeffrey
Browser Choices
Do I really need Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome? Sure, it is all about choices, kind of like Feminism... Hehe..
Really I have used all 5 and prefer Firefox (2 not so much 3) and Chrome.
Really I have used all 5 and prefer Firefox (2 not so much 3) and Chrome.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Creative learnings: Qualitiative research and new software engineering principles- parallels
Interesting, I guess sometimes there are fun coincidences. In recent emails with old friends, I found many parallels in the conversation with my schooling's current lessons. My current class is Creativity Measurements. Since the definition of creativity is hard to pin down, much research has been done in a qualitative fashion (as well as quantitative, but I will get to that another time).
When friend mentioned that we were trained in the constrictive way as system analysts (as engineers are trained, which is what computing grew from), we did it in a quantitative fashion. Rigorous, to the numbers, and by the book. Everything is generic, but constrictive and defined. Works well in an engineering background. This is why I think CMMi doesn't work well for software development. It grew from engineering quality control which is restrictive.
What we need to look at (and as the group on the emails alluded, the practice is evolving to) are qualitative development measures. Things that deal with the human aspect. That your system is affected by the subjects as they are affected by the system. Emergent. The crux of qualitative measurements are validity. The aforementioned chum is alluded to it, in the "do no harm by allowing this field/code" (I know I am paraphrasing) as long as it is a valid use. Hmm.. a parallel. This is also why Agile works better for project management at least in software engineering. The Organic Software Development Approach OSDA(patent pending, trademarked, copyrighted, etc....).
I guess what I am looking at is the former had too much science and little art. The later has a balance of art and science. My thoughts are if qualitative development is used too much, we could get pseudo-science, which is the worse case scenario. Too much art and not enough science. You need validity in your qualitative research.
Interesting article: Validity in Qualitative Research, Whittemore, Chase, Mandle in the Qualitative Health Research Vol.11 No. 4 July 2001
Some food for thought.
~Jeffrey
When friend mentioned that we were trained in the constrictive way as system analysts (as engineers are trained, which is what computing grew from), we did it in a quantitative fashion. Rigorous, to the numbers, and by the book. Everything is generic, but constrictive and defined. Works well in an engineering background. This is why I think CMMi doesn't work well for software development. It grew from engineering quality control which is restrictive.
What we need to look at (and as the group on the emails alluded, the practice is evolving to) are qualitative development measures. Things that deal with the human aspect. That your system is affected by the subjects as they are affected by the system. Emergent. The crux of qualitative measurements are validity. The aforementioned chum is alluded to it, in the "do no harm by allowing this field/code" (I know I am paraphrasing) as long as it is a valid use. Hmm.. a parallel. This is also why Agile works better for project management at least in software engineering. The Organic Software Development Approach OSDA(patent pending, trademarked, copyrighted, etc....).
I guess what I am looking at is the former had too much science and little art. The later has a balance of art and science. My thoughts are if qualitative development is used too much, we could get pseudo-science, which is the worse case scenario. Too much art and not enough science. You need validity in your qualitative research.
Interesting article: Validity in Qualitative Research, Whittemore, Chase, Mandle in the Qualitative Health Research Vol.11 No. 4 July 2001
Some food for thought.
~Jeffrey
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Creative Thinking - Divergent and Convergent Rules!
A little taste of my learning about creative thinking. A major crux of the creative thinking is the ability to diverge (a mechanism of this is brainstorming) and then take those ideas and converge for the outcome you were hoping to achieve (granted this is only a part of the process, but you will see these are the "nuts and bolts" of the process).
That said, here are the rules for each:
Divergent Thinking Rules
Stay creative,
~Jeffrey
That said, here are the rules for each:
Divergent Thinking Rules
- Defer Judgment
- Strive for quantity
- Seek wild ideas
- Build on other’s ideas
- Be affirmative
- Be deliberate
- Check objectives
- Improve ideas
- Consider novelty
Stay creative,
~Jeffrey
Monday, September 8, 2008
Hello Son
Hello Son
Hello son, you got your mommy's coal black hair,
And my flattened nose.
Hello son, with your mommy's pouting lips,
And my funky toes.
Hello son, we both love you so,
I won't say goodbye, for you and I will meet again, I am just sorry you had to go.
Hello son.
Hello son, you got your mommy's coal black hair,
And my flattened nose.
Hello son, with your mommy's pouting lips,
And my funky toes.
Hello son, we both love you so,
I won't say goodbye, for you and I will meet again, I am just sorry you had to go.
Hello son.
Creative Problem Solving: Evaluation Matrix
This is another post about my learnings in creative thinking and creative problem solving (CPS).
The least used and thus understood tool in creative thinking are the convergent tools. Given that, I want to discuss one of the ways you can select the best idea derived from your brainstorming that fits your purpose. It is the evaluation matrix. It is similar to the Hamilton or Jefferson lists.
The basic way you would use the matrix is as follows:
Hopefully this will help. I have seen this used for many things outside of CPS. Seems like a common sense thing, but many many people have an "a-ha" moment when it is explained to them. A cohort of mine used it many times when showing options to customers of his construction company. It worked well for him.
Stay creative,
~Jeff
The least used and thus understood tool in creative thinking are the convergent tools. Given that, I want to discuss one of the ways you can select the best idea derived from your brainstorming that fits your purpose. It is the evaluation matrix. It is similar to the Hamilton or Jefferson lists.
The basic way you would use the matrix is as follows:
- Generate criteria by diverging (see previous post about divergent thinking rules).
- Converge on the important criteria to use (see previous posts about convergent).
- Phrase criteria so they all point in the same direction (higher means positive, so if your criteria was negative to begin with, change it around so it is positive).
- Evaluate all options from your brainstorming for one criteria, then evaluate all options for the next criteria, repeat.
Hopefully this will help. I have seen this used for many things outside of CPS. Seems like a common sense thing, but many many people have an "a-ha" moment when it is explained to them. A cohort of mine used it many times when showing options to customers of his construction company. It worked well for him.
Stay creative,
~Jeff
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Poetic Injustice?
Question. Is there such a thing as Poetic Injustice? I think I am starting to believe so.
Bill Engvall paraphrase
"If a woman wears a thong and farts, does it whistle like a blowing on a blade of grass between your thumbs?"
Friday, September 5, 2008
Jerk off Motorcyclists
I don't know what it is with bikers lately, but they have been buttholes.
Um guys, I have a large truck, I will squish your ass if you get in my way again and cut me off.
So to the hairy armed butt munch that thought I was "passing him", I wouldn't worry about the "V-8 being that bad", I would worry about the driver of the 2 ton trunk that was in a fragile emotional state, who wouldn't give a damn to make you into road pizza. You better thank God for witnesses and my mother-in-law's common sense.
Also, to the old fart on the trike, you are the "f*ing a$$hole". You were 4 cars back and then went around everyone on the curve to the bridge to "get ahead" in line. Even if you had your turn signal on, I don't have to let you over.
So bikers, you want us in cars to watch for you? Try not being butt wads.
I have to comment, this was not meant to apply to all bikers. It is just 2 bad apples in a row, led me down the path of thinking the whole bunch was rotten. I know that is not true.
~Jeff
Um guys, I have a large truck, I will squish your ass if you get in my way again and cut me off.
So to the hairy armed butt munch that thought I was "passing him", I wouldn't worry about the "V-8 being that bad", I would worry about the driver of the 2 ton trunk that was in a fragile emotional state, who wouldn't give a damn to make you into road pizza. You better thank God for witnesses and my mother-in-law's common sense.
Also, to the old fart on the trike, you are the "f*ing a$$hole". You were 4 cars back and then went around everyone on the curve to the bridge to "get ahead" in line. Even if you had your turn signal on, I don't have to let you over.
So bikers, you want us in cars to watch for you? Try not being butt wads.
I have to comment, this was not meant to apply to all bikers. It is just 2 bad apples in a row, led me down the path of thinking the whole bunch was rotten. I know that is not true.
~Jeff
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Sad days for Jeffrey
I almost didn't post this, but as some of you knew, we were expecting a new addition to the family.
That did come to pass, but not in a fashion I thought it would.
Mason Diego Abbott was born an angel on 8/15.
We love you son and miss you.
~Jeff
Google's Chrome
Initial runs with Google's Chrome browser have met with success.
In fact, I am posting this blog with the browser.
So far, everything works that you get with the basic Firefox (although DOJO browsers don't work).
I have not had a chance to peruse plug-ins, but I plan on it.
More on this to come.
Jeff
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Interesting people
I met a guy tonight named Silver Paradox Angel from Garden of Eden, NY!
Also, I hope it rains to fill my rain barrels! I installed them a week ago and it has not rained!
Also, I hope it rains to fill my rain barrels! I installed them a week ago and it has not rained!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Teaser Post - more to come
I will be filling more posts with the following subjects:
1.) My project of a worm/composting bin - complete with pictures
2.) My project at an attempt some solar cookers (one will be from a bowl and the other a fish tank) - complete with pictures
3.) My attempt at a CHEAP LCD projector kit with links and pictures.
4.) My attempt at a CHEAP smart board (using project 3).
That should round me out to around middle of August when Little Man will be arriving!
1.) My project of a worm/composting bin - complete with pictures
2.) My project at an attempt some solar cookers (one will be from a bowl and the other a fish tank) - complete with pictures
3.) My attempt at a CHEAP LCD projector kit with links and pictures.
4.) My attempt at a CHEAP smart board (using project 3).
That should round me out to around middle of August when Little Man will be arriving!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Visit to NY - The place is GREEN GREEN GREEN!
Well, I recently went to upstate NY for about 4 days. I have to say as soon as I got off the plane in Albany and headed out to I-90 I noticed one thing, HOW GREEN IT WAS! It is probably more green there than in SWFL. I guess the plants are like, "Hurry up and grow. Store energy! The winter is coming soon!" Hehe.
Anyway, here are some shots I thought were good. Excuse the greyness in some. It was raining a little that day. These photos range from the Chatham, NY area down to Somers, NY / Danbury, CT (and some places in between). So that is like 4 counties in NY (Columbia, Dutchess, West Chester, and Putnam).
Things about NY that are different than SWFL that I miss from OH:
I think this is Route 100 heading to 22? It was a nice drive. I tried to get the lake/reservoir on the left in a picture. Sorry, it didn't work out that way.
Wild black berries in my cousin's back yard.
Queen Ann's lace (also cousin's backyard)
Nice, tall, mature trees. My cousin's property is surrounded by a forest of like 90 acres owned by a non-profit organization. Meaning NOBODY will build as long as that org owns it. Very nice, quiet, and secluded.
Ok, it is not a plant, but it is green. This is a newer Lotus that was parked at the East Fish Kill rest stop on I 84. I am going to ask my buddy that writes Car Test Ride to identify the year and model if he can. The owner was pretty cool. He said he wished the weather would break so he could take the top down.
All and all it was good trip. I got to see family and do some creative problem solving facilitation for work. Cannot beat that for an extended weekend trip.
Lastly, flying now is starting to get bad. You are being treated like cattle. I think I will start to consider taking trains.
Until we blog again!
~Jeffrey
Anyway, here are some shots I thought were good. Excuse the greyness in some. It was raining a little that day. These photos range from the Chatham, NY area down to Somers, NY / Danbury, CT (and some places in between). So that is like 4 counties in NY (Columbia, Dutchess, West Chester, and Putnam).
Things about NY that are different than SWFL that I miss from OH:
- Trees with leaves that fall off
- Hills
- Curves
I think this is Route 100 heading to 22? It was a nice drive. I tried to get the lake/reservoir on the left in a picture. Sorry, it didn't work out that way.
Wild black berries in my cousin's back yard.
Queen Ann's lace (also cousin's backyard)
Nice, tall, mature trees. My cousin's property is surrounded by a forest of like 90 acres owned by a non-profit organization. Meaning NOBODY will build as long as that org owns it. Very nice, quiet, and secluded.
Ok, it is not a plant, but it is green. This is a newer Lotus that was parked at the East Fish Kill rest stop on I 84. I am going to ask my buddy that writes Car Test Ride to identify the year and model if he can. The owner was pretty cool. He said he wished the weather would break so he could take the top down.
All and all it was good trip. I got to see family and do some creative problem solving facilitation for work. Cannot beat that for an extended weekend trip.
Lastly, flying now is starting to get bad. You are being treated like cattle. I think I will start to consider taking trains.
Until we blog again!
~Jeffrey
Monday, July 14, 2008
Happy Hour of the week ending on Friday 7-18-2008 850 Restaurant Cape Coral
Well Derwood commented on another one of his happy hour places last week during the Bar Louie post:
Well the 850 is in Cape Coral, obviously. What Derwood didn't tell us is what the happy hour actually was! Well Jeffrey saves the day! From their website:
Have a Happy Hour and drink and drive responsibly. Remember 275-Taxi locally in SWFL or LeeTran (the bus)!
"A non-chain happy hour location that I recently enjoyed - 850. It is in the Cape (sorry!) - in fact it is on 850 Lafayette so not far from the bridge. Happy Hour is all the time which makes the draft beers not much over a buck! Plus they have more upscale offerings as far as food goes - more than bar fare of hot wings and stuffed jalapenos"
Well the 850 is in Cape Coral, obviously. What Derwood didn't tell us is what the happy hour actually was! Well Jeffrey saves the day! From their website:
"THE CAPE'S BEST HAPPY HOUR
MONDAY - WEDNESDAY
11AM - 10PM
THURSDAY - SATURDAY
11AM - 2AM
WELL LIQUORS
VODKA - RUM - GIN - TEQUILA - BOURBON - WHISKEY
$2.00
CALL LIQUORS
SMIRNOFF - BACARDI - CAPTAIN - CUTTY SHARK
TANGUERAY - JACK DANIELS - SEAGRAM 7 - JOSE CUERVO
$3.25
SIGNATURE MARTINI'S
11am - 7pm
$4.75
DRAFT BEERS
DOMESTIC
$1.25
IMPORT
$3.00
BOTTLE BEERS
DOMESTIC
$1.25
BUCKET (5)
$6.00
IMPORT
$2.25
BUCKET (5)
$10.00
HOUSE WINE
MERLOT - CAB - CHARD - WHITE ZIN
$4.00 "
Have a Happy Hour and drink and drive responsibly. Remember 275-Taxi locally in SWFL or LeeTran (the bus)!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Frangipanis, Royal Poncianas, Angels Trumpets Oh My!
On my bike ride each morning, I ride along some of the prettiest landscapes and plantscapes. The fragrant frangipani and angels trumpets, and brilliant Royal Poncianas are along the ride. I love living in the subtropics, and that is mostly due to the vegetation. Nothing like seeing green all year round. Pop in some tunes on my Sony Ericsson w580i and away I roll (which is also what I took the pictures on... this is actually a very good phone as I posted about previously).
The community which seems to have some of the prettiest foliage is Cape Harbor. It is a gated community that I live near (Not in mind you, when I moved here they were just building it and I should have bought in at the ground floor, however now, with the recent real estate market slump, you can get some good deals on the condo's there). Not that they need it, but there was their free plug. P.S. Will Stout, during the build of the place, your contractors kill 6 of my mail boxes. Remit payment to my paypal :-).
Some pictures of the ride:
One of my bikes (notice I have a light for at night!)
The pseudo entrance to Cape Harbor (see my shadow?)
Royal Ponciana just starting to bloom! They will be on fire soon, through end of August! Take a drive down the FL Keys and they are every where as well.
Angels Trumpet (man you should smell them. At night they are more fragrant). We like the smell so much, Jessica and I planted one near our bedroom window so we can smell it during the winter.
The frangipani I ride by every day. I actually got a couple of cuttings from a neighbor of this same plant for my yard because it smells that nice.
A last shot of the "street" scape there at Cape Harbor's condos (they are above the shops. I like the concept, but it would almost feels like Disney Land to live there).
That is part of my morning bike ride.
There are other places I pass along the way I will talk about in a future post.
~Jeffrey
The community which seems to have some of the prettiest foliage is Cape Harbor. It is a gated community that I live near (Not in mind you, when I moved here they were just building it and I should have bought in at the ground floor, however now, with the recent real estate market slump, you can get some good deals on the condo's there). Not that they need it, but there was their free plug. P.S. Will Stout, during the build of the place, your contractors kill 6 of my mail boxes. Remit payment to my paypal :-).
Some pictures of the ride:
One of my bikes (notice I have a light for at night!)
The pseudo entrance to Cape Harbor (see my shadow?)
Royal Ponciana just starting to bloom! They will be on fire soon, through end of August! Take a drive down the FL Keys and they are every where as well.
Angels Trumpet (man you should smell them. At night they are more fragrant). We like the smell so much, Jessica and I planted one near our bedroom window so we can smell it during the winter.
The frangipani I ride by every day. I actually got a couple of cuttings from a neighbor of this same plant for my yard because it smells that nice.
A last shot of the "street" scape there at Cape Harbor's condos (they are above the shops. I like the concept, but it would almost feels like Disney Land to live there).
That is part of my morning bike ride.
There are other places I pass along the way I will talk about in a future post.
~Jeffrey
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