"Want" and a "Need"

Do you understand the difference between a "want" and a "need?" Do you really "need" what you "want?" Do you really "want" what you "need?" (Mr. Dickie, 19 Jan 2010)

******

I skipped blog posting yesterday while we dealt with about five inches of snow on the driveway and sidewalk. The snow continued to fall afterwards. This morning I went out to remove another inch. Melva didn't have any trouble getting out to the street and the street was clean down to the pavement. When she arrived at work it was difficult to walk from the car to the shop. As always after a snowy day we hope that it will be worth the effort of getting to work.

As of tomorrow we will have used one twelfth of the time we have to accomplish our 2010 goals. Isn't that a sobering thought?

Mr. Dickie
31/Jan/2010 10:51

Music to My Ears

Music can be a source of great healing - as well as the opposite. I try to avoid music that takes listeners to a place of darkness. I seek out music energized by the power of light and love. (Betty J. Eadie, Embraced by the Light, 19 January, paraphrased by Mr. Dickie)

******

Yesterday the book I ordered arrived via USPS Priority Mail in one of those Flat Rate Mailing Envelopes. That's not a good way to ship a book. The envelope was inside a plastic "body bag" bearing a message about how much the postal service cares about delivering our mail in good condition. Luckily when the mailing envelope was ripped open the book was only slightly damaged. By the way the title of the book is "Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic Version 4" by Bruce Buzbee the programmer of this very nice genealogy program. The first thing I noticed when I took a quick look at the contents of the book is a section about how to install the program on a thumb drive. I'm hoping that I'll be able to gain an understanding of how to create my own "Facts" after I read the book.

Mr. Dickie

Know Your Limits

You can expect a person to say they can when they know that they can't; or say they will and then forget to do it. (Iyanla Vanzant, Faith in the Valley, p. 336)

It has been said that true friendship begins only when people share a common memory and can say to each other, "Do you remember?" (William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke (DSB), p. 296)

Know your limits, know your values, and be aware of the danger that can come from compromising them. (Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go, 4 January)
28/Jan/2010 10:30

The Inevitable

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Another quilt at the Prince George's County Fair -2009)

Because we cannot alter the inevitable, we adjust to it. And we do that not a year at a time, but a day at a time. Instead of eating our heart out because a few aches and pains have attached themselves to our bodies, we determine to celebrate life rather than endure it. Aging isn't a choice. But our response to it is. In so many ways we ourselves determine how we shall grow old. (Charles R. Swindoll, Wisdom For The Way, p. 44)

******

There's an article today in The Washington Post about how yearbooks are no longer being published as much as they were in the past. Where will people look for school day memories in the future?

Mr. Dickie
27/Jan/2010 8:02

I'm Still Learning

Refuse to allow yourself to have low expectations about what you're capable of creating. (Dr. Wayne Dyer, Ten Secrets for Success and Inner Peace, p. 9)

Let me not expect easy solutions to my problems. Make me realize that many of my difficulties were created by me, by my own reactions to the happenings in my daily life. I ask only to be guided to a better way. (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 6 January)

I accept that things are the way things need to be. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 20 December)

******

My HP Laserjet 1020 is hooked up and working again with the old Gateway desktop computer. Yesterday I printed out two pages of a genealogy descendant chart I downloaded from a county website. The information pertains to the Clegg family of the Ohio River valley. I'm working on a Clegg project. I'm not quite sure whats the point in putting the names of lots of people on the Internet with the word "private" beside them.

I printed out a Gmail message that both of us need to read. It's a test of my new glasses. The font size is 6 or 8. I couldn't see a way to change the font size while printing from Gmail. I'll need to find some way around the problem.

Last night there was another accident on the Washington, DC Metro subway system. Two more workers were killed. The current manager had already annouced his intention to resign. I can't remember what date he set. I suppose Congress will want to investigate, as they always do when they see an opportunity to get themselves on television.

Mr. Dickie
26/Jan/2010 9:50

Computer Maintenance

(Our family at Franklin's on Melva's birthday.)

We should take responsibility for the well-being of every animal we bring into our lives. Before you adopt that puppy, cat, gerbil, bird or fish, be sure you are ready for up to a fifteen-year commitment. (Paraphrased from The Word on Life, Toni Sortor and Pamela McQuade, 22 January)

******

Cyndi came for a visit last night. She brought her broken computer and other pieces of computer equipment. Several times lately my computer monitor faded to black for a couple of seconds. We swapped her monitor with the one I'm using. That way I can test to see if I have a monitor issue or some problem with the video card in the computer. She hooked up my HP Laserjet 1020 to the USB port on the desktop computer. I'd forgotten that it worked with this computer at one time. She attached my little silver-box USB hub to the other USB port on the computer. That worked too. I suppose I could have done it myself if I didn't suffer from techno-phobia. She brought more photos taken at Melva's birthday lunch. She copied those to my hard drive and one of my thumb drives. This morning I am good to go.

I sent four snow photos I took of Jim's house across the street to his house via the Internet. He uploaded three of them to his Facebook page. I thought that was lots of fun.

Mr. Dickie
25/Jan/2010 10:47

Beginning of the Day

(Melva with her award winning quilt at the Prince George's County Fair - 2009)

Photo: Mr. Dickie

There is only one way, if you want to live without understanding the meaning of your life: to become addicted to tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, and to live in the world of permanent entertainment. (Anonymous in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 23 November)

Many find that time spent concentrating on a program or plan at the beginning of the day is most fruitful. (paraphrased from Food For Thought, 18 December)

******

We continue to enjoy the beautiful display from the three poinsettia plants we have blooming in the dining room. At least three years ago we were given one plant as a gift from our next door neighbor. Melva grew two more plants from cuttings. We have two of those "As Seen On TV" glass globes helping us water two of the plants. A couple of weeks ago Melva gave all three plants a shot of liquid fertilizer.

I'm working on keying some genealogy from a book. It's a project I started on an impulse. It's probably bigger than I want to do.

If you are a sports entertainment fan you won't be able to do anything else except watch television today. We have the Australian Open tennis, two NFL playoff games and two sessions of U.S. Figure Skating. Maybe you'll have to time shift.

Mr. Dickie
24/Jan/2010 10:27

More Toys

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Mola bag made and modeled by Melva)

You have gained weight because you have been in positive energy balance - you got more energy in food you ate that you burned, and your body stored the excess energy, primarily as body fat. (James O. Hill, et al., The Step Diet, p. 19)

******

Yesterday I focused on one of my genealogy projects. I got so involved I wasn't inclined to do any blog posting. I enjoyed the comments folks made about the photos I posted on Facebook. We got lucky and the winter weather bypass our area yesterday. Melva's quilting class was canceled. It probably wasn't necessary to do that, but how can you know tweleve hours in advance.

Sometimes I wish I had two computer monitors. I think it would be nice to do input and editing on one screen while reading from another. This idea keeps coming to mind because I haven't had a printer connected to the computer for many months. Less machines running, less machines breaking down.

I'm using my EditPad Lite text editor to date and time stamp my blog postings. The F5 key does the trick.

Mr. Dickie
23/Jan/2010 9:45

Privacy

Each of us needs privacy to think, to plan, to be away from the everyday clamor of our lives. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 23 November)

I will keep an open mind, I will apply what I learn to my everyday life. (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 4 January)

21/Jan/2010 8:09

TypeIt - Type accent marks, diacritics and foreign letters online

TypeIt - Type accent marks, diacritics and foreign letters online:

"Type accent marks, diacritics and other characters online" Chose a language and start typing. It's a free service. I tested with Spanish. I typed a couple of lines, then copied and pasted into Gmail.

Mr. Dickie

Balance of Power

Today, I will work at detaching in love from troublesome people in my life. I will strive to accept reality in my relationships, with emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual freedom for both people as my goal. (Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go, 5 December)

******

The Democrats lost their edge in the Senate. Ted Kennedy must be rolling over in his grave. Will this mean the end of the possibility of health care reform? If so, I imagine Mrs. Clinton saying, "I told you, it wasn't going to be easy." It's an amazing, and sad thing, to see our nation so willing to expend vast sums of money and human life on war and so unwilling to take care of our own people. I predict that in the long run the cost of this choice will be profound.

My project to extract information from the Ancestor Charts book is almost done. There are three more charts of interest. Two are different views of the same family and one is for a line I remember vaguely. I know the researcher, but can't remember exactly how the people on the chart fit into my interests.

Mr. Dickie
20/Jan/2010 9:08

Maintaining a Constant Weight

If you burn more energy than you take in, you will lose weight. Maintaining a constant weight, no matter what the weight is, requires you to balance the energy in the food you eat with the energy you burn. (James O. Hill, et al., The Step Diet, p. xvii)

Let today be the day that you develop a plan to clear your mind of clutter, congestion and conflict. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 9 January)

******

Yesterday we went to the Half-Price Sale at the thrift shop. We didn't arrive until late. They were still very busy. The parking lot was full. Melva and I each found some brand-new items. I bought two audio books for 40 cents each. Now all I need is ten hours to listen to the books. Can I stay awake for ten hours?

I'm learning more about the features of my genealogy program, RootsMagic. It's a fantastic genealogy tool.

I made another Facebook friend. This time it's a relative. That's cool.

I did the twice-monthly posting to the computer club website. The next meeting is Thursday afternoon.

Mr. Dickie
19/Jan/2010 9:26

One Thread

When you examine the lives of the most influential people who have ever walked among us, you discover one thread that winds through them all. They have been aligned first with their spiritual nature and only then with their physical selves. (Dr. Wayne Dyer, Real Magic, p. 38)

How far from you own door would you have to look before you found suffering and need?
18/Jan/2010 8:40

That's Easy Enough

How to translate a right mental conviction into a right emotional result is the problem of life itself. (As Bill Sees It, p. 103)

You must know what you will do before it happens. This knowing is called understanding boundaries. (Iyanla Vanzant, Faith in the Valley, p. 338)

I will apply what I have learned so far today. That's easy enough. (Karen Casey, Practicing the Course, 4 January)

******

Today it's raining. That's melting more of the remaining snow. I always look at rain in the wintertime as a blessing. Yesterday it was warm enough to take a walk in the neighborhood. Some of the children were out playing. One small Latina girl who was visiting two doors away wasn't wearing a coat.

My new glasses will need some adjustment. They slide down my nose too often. I'm pretty sure my eyes aren't straining to focus so much.

Mr. Dickie
17/Jan/2010 9:02

Fat-Free

We worry that someday we'll learn that fat-free yogurt was fattening. (Max Lucado, Grace For The Moment, 3 January)

16/Jan/2010 15:36

The Girl Who Conned The Ivy League

The Girl Who Conned The Ivy League : Rolling Stone:

"Brooke Henson knew she was in trouble when she logged in to her e-mail account at Columbia University and found a message from the campus-security office. She stared at the computer screen, feeling that familiar anxiety rising. You'll be fine, she reassured herself. Think positive thoughts, just like her therapist had taught her. Surely she would get out of this scrape the same way she'd gotten out of all the other ones: with smooth talk and little lies. OK, big lies."

Very interesting six-page Rolling Stone article about identity theft.

Mr. Dickie

Ahnentafel Chart Project

Starting from early childhood, as we age we feel the growth of our spiritual power and the diminution of our physical power. (Anonymous in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 24 December)

******

I continue to work on a project to key in pedigree charts about families I've worked on. I'm creating a new RootsMagic file so I can convert these printed charts to Ahnentafel Charts. I'm enjoying reviewing what we knew about these families in 1997 when the book with the pedigree charts was published.

Mr. Dickie

Deal With It

It is a great piece of skill to know how to guide your luck even while waiting for it. (Balstar Gracian in One More Day by Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, 23 December)

... life gives exams and unless you learn from your mistakes you are doomed to repeat them. (Dr. Wayne Dyer, Real Magic, p. 7)

******

Yesterday I spent several hours sorting, shredding and filing paper. I filled and emptied the shredder basket. When I stopped I could hardly notice that I'd done anything. There are a couple of recent business letters missing somewhere in the clutter. It's a constant issue.

I tried to use a discount card to pay for some medication. The computer rejected the card with a message stating that the card had expired. I used my cellphone to call the number on the card. They drug company told me we'd never used the card. I knew that was wrong. I used it in the last month. I left the card at the pharmacy because there was another number they could call. Later I tried to call the pharmacy to check on whether they had resolved the matter. Of course, they didn't answer their phone. Next I went back to the store. They still hadn't called the drug company. Finally, about 6:00 p.m. they called to let me know I could get a discount if we bought a thirty-day supply rather than a ninety-day supply. If you aren't really sick before you go to the doctor and the pharmacy you will be by the time you are done dealing with the health care business.

Mr. Dickie

Remember to Flush

Try thinking of your life as a parenthesis in eternity. The parenthesis opens at the moment of your conception and closes at the instant of your death. The space within the parenthesis is your life, surrounded by something called eternity. (Dr. Wayne Dyer, Real Magic, p. 9)

******

Yesterday there was a news item announcing that Sarah Palin got a job working for Fox News. Republican strategist Todd Harris, who once worked for Palin's 2008 running mate, John McCain, was quoted in The Washington Post as having said, "This gives her a platform she can use to stay relevant, to stay in the public eye and to flush out some of her policy positions." I didn't make a typo, the quote used the word, "flush" rather than "flesh." Think about it. Does she need to, "flesh out some of her policy positions" or does she need to "flush out some of her policy positions?" [BTW I found several images of Sarah Palin related to flushing. I resisted the temptation to use one with this posting.]

Mr. Dickie

Assess the Situation

Today, if I am troubled, I will assess the situation and consider my options. I will not wait for anyone else to change, but will focus on myself and the part I can play in making the situation a better one. (Courage to Change, 24 December)

An abundance of wisdom is available if I keep an open mind. (Courage to Change, 27 December)

******

I didn't feel like writing anything this morning. I enjoyed a nice phone call from high school friend, Thad, yesterday afternoon. Melva and I watched the football game between the Cardinals and the Packers, exciting all the way to the last touchdown in overtime.

Mr. Dickie

Christmas Wrap-Up

When one ideal imposes on another, then use your judgment. Do the right thing by others. Do the right thing by yourself too. Then let the incident pass and move on. (Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go, 3 January)

Kind people help each other even without noticing that they are doing so, and evil people act against each other on purpose. (Chinese Proverb, in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 4 January)

******

We began the process of putting away the Christmas decorations yesterday. Somehow it isn't as much fun putting things away as it was putting up the tree. Today, I'll bring in the ladder so I can go up in the attic to get the empty boxes.

I'm about ready to start keying information about recent acquisitions to my CD collection into a small database on my computer. I went to several stores before I found the labels I needed. I plan to keep track of: Artist; Title; Date Purchased; Price; Genre; and IdNo. Because of several computer issues it's been a long time since I made any attempt to maintain a music catalog.

Mr. Dickie

Super-Size Me

Almost all of us underestimate how much we eat. For example, would you have guessed that the average pasta serving in a restaurant is six cups? This is two to three times more than a healthy serving. We are living in a "super-sized" environment and our sense of what a reasonable portion size looks like has become skewed by servings outside the home, like the enormous soda and popcorn containers offered in movie theaters. Reeducate yourself as to what a healthy portion of food looks like. (The Step Diet Book, James O. Hill, et al., p. 20)

A Change of Scene

A change of scene, a new interest, a creative undertaking - these are healing medicine for the troubled. (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 24 December)

Business as usual is not enough; we need to reexamine our priorities. (The Upper Room Disciplines - 2006, 5 December)

My home acts as one of the roots of my life, and it has all the qualities that I bring to it. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 21 December)

******

Yesterday there was a large crowd at the Computer Club meeting. I think every seat was taken. Eric gave a very nice presentation on screen capture. His slides were on the club website. The talk reminded me of just how rapidly both my computer and I are fast moving towards obsolescence.

It snowed last night. It was the fluffy kind, not too heavy. I was able to clear the driveway, porch and sidewalks myself.

Mr. Dickie

Positive Things

Unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it. (Don Harold in Acts of Faith by Iyanla Vanzant, 28 December)

Better to know a few things which are good and necessary than many things which are useless and mediocre. (Anonymous in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 1 January)

Today, I will let go of all I'm trying to cope with. I will pick one or two small, positive things I can do. Then I will do them. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 25 December)

******

Today is the first computer club meeting of the new year. Eric will give a presentation on screen capture. I modified the club website to get ready for 2010. I moved the minutes for 2009 and 2008 to a separate page.

Mr. Dickie

Professional Sports Rant

Life has no meaning without purpose. To lack purpose is to deny the existence of God and to admit that our life is an evil, stupid joke. (Giuseppe Mazzini in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 18 December)

Your life may be cut short at any time; therefore, your life should have a deep purpose, a significance that will not depend on whether it is short or long. (Anonymous, A Calendar of Wisdom, Leo Tolstoy, 23 November)

******

I finished reading a couple of books yesterday, the first two in the New Year. I posted to WeRead and to my own computer database of Books Read in 2010. I'm off to a good start. Of course, I actually started reading both books in 2009.

The Washington Redskins hired their new miracle coach, Mike Shanahan, yesterday. They are going to pay him seven million dollars a year. He's about to get a wake-up call. The Washington quarterback, Jason Campbell, is no John Elway and there is no hometown advantage for playing at sea level. BTW, did you read that the outgoing coach, Jim Zorn, will be paid 2.4 million because he was fired before his contract ran out? That's a pretty good bonus for failure.

While on the subject of so-called professional sports, the mediocre Washington Wizards, formerly The Bullets, have a gun scandal on their hands. I read that the team can terminate the contract of Gilbert Arenas for this incident. I think his contract is for over 100 million dollars. They should take advantage of this opportunity to get their money back. Because the team is in shambles the new owner and his new coach could use the money to rebuild the team.

Mr. Dickie

Day-Tripper

If you're not in the midst of a trial, then you can be sure one is on it's way. That's the way of life on this earth, so we need to acknowledge it and be prepared. (Kay Arthur, Search My Heart, O God, 9 December)

It is not easy. The line of least resistance is the habit pattern we have built up over past years. Forming new habits is hard work. (Food For Thought, 19 December)

Now I see what I couldn't, wouldn't see! (Iyanla Vanzant, Faith in the Valley, p. 343)

******

I wanted to give Melva one of those Day-Tripper organizers because she needs a new address and telephone number book. I had an At-A-Glance book in the minivan. I bought it a long time ago at a thrift store and never used it. Yesterday we stopped at Staples where I bought one set of address / telephone pages for the binder I was going to give Melva. Later we stopped at the thrift store. I found a Day-Tripper binder with address / telephone pages for 80 cents. And I found a brand-new Mead organizer, sold by At-A-Glace for $2.19. The Mead organizer was very nice with all of the pages, plus a ruler, a page with pockets for business cards and a bag page with a zip lock. I bought both binders. When we got home I transferred the pages from the Day-Tripper to the Mead and gave the Mead binder to Melva. I kept the At-A-Glance binder for myself. I guess I'll make myself an address / telephone book too. I ended up with the empty Day-Tripper binder as an extra. I should have gone to the thrift store in the first place. I knew that!

My test to print at FedEx was a success. There was only one problem. After I used Internet Explorer the computer went crazy and IE loaded itself over and over. I had to shutdown the computer by turning off the power. I'm very concerned that this happened again. It's not a good sign.

Mr. Dickie
5/Jan/2010 10:26

Daily Guideposts

The New Year lies before you
Like a spotless track of snow.
Be careful how you tread it,
For every mark will show.

(Anonymous, Daily Guideposts - 1986, 4 January, Isabel Champ)

******

In 1977 Norman Vincent Peale and his wife, Ruth, began publishing the annual Daily Guideposts books. Over recent years I have purchased, usually for less than a dollar each, used copies of nearly every copy from 1977 to 2008. In 2009 I was able to find 1986, 1990 and 2008. According to a list I carry in my wallet I still seek 1987 and 2009. I've read all volumes except the three I bought in 2009. It's my intention to read a page from each of those during 2010.

I'd like to find a copy of "Sunday Reading Stories," by Leo Tolstoy. I checked the library catalog this morning. My county doesn't have it. Some of the fifty-two stories may be in his book, "Divine and Human" which is available at the nearest branch. I'll have to check that out.

I created a 60-page PDF file with the postings I made to Mr. Dickie's Blog during the last 123 days of 2009. I'm planning to use the file for my test of printing at FedEx - Kinko's. If anyone wants a copy of the file just let me know and I will attach it to an Email and send it to you.

Mr. Dickie
4/Jan/2010 8:49

Reading List

Mr. Dickie and daughter Cyndi on Dick's 70th Birthday in May 2009

... so much new information [is] coming your way that you are continually being reminded that you owe it to yourself to do all you can to prepare yourself to receive these new insights. (Introduction to Until Today! by Iyanla Vanzant)

The compulsive drive for perfection - an unrealistic idealism - can be a neurotic symptom as difficult to deal with as the alcoholic's compulsion to drink. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 23 December)

******

Here's a list of the forty books I read in 2009. I extracted the list from a comma-delimited file I created to record the books I read during the year. I also posted to WeRead, via Facebook. WeRead doesn't track the date a book was read. My file does.

1. Anonymous, Daily Reflections,
2. Anonymous, Courage to Change,
3. Arthur, Kay, Search My Heart-O God,
4. Aurelius, Marcus, Meditations
5. Anonymous, One Day at a Time in Al-Anon,
6. Beattie, Melody, The Language of Letting Go,
7. Beattie, Melody, The New Codependency,
8. Cheever, Susan, Desire-Where Sex Meets Addiction,
9. Covey, Stephen R., The Seven Habits of Hightly Effective People
10. Ehrenreich, Barbara, Bright-Sided,
11. Davis, Kenneth C., America's Hidden History,
12. Engram, Ric, Pace Yourself,
13. Frothingham, Andrew & Tripp Evans, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee,
14. Hazelden, Food For Thought,
15. Hazelden, Touchstones,
16. Jones, Susan Smith, Choose to Live Each Day Fully,
17. LeShan, Lawrence, How to Meditate,
18. Oliver, Dan, 500 Internet Hints, Tips, & Techniques,
19. Orchard, Leslie Michael, Hacking Delicious,
20. McCourt, Frank, 'tis,
21. McCourt, Frank, Teacher Man: A Memoir,
22. McCourt, Frank, Angela's Ashes A Memoir,
23. McGraw, Phil, The Ultimate Weight Solution,
24. Pitzele, Sefra Kobrin, One More Day,
25. Roeck, Alan L., Look To This Day,
26. Stanley, Jacqueline D., Reading to Heal: How to Use Bibliotherapy to Improve Your Life,
27. Solari, Rose and Charles H. Simpkinson, Nourishing the Soul: Discovering the Sacred in Everyday Life,
28. Somers, Suzanne, 365 Ways to Change Your Life,
29. Somers, Suzanne, Keeping Secrets,
30. St. James, Elaine, Simplify Your Christmas,
31. Stoddard, Alexandra, The Art of the Possible,
32. Teeter, Ryan & Karl Barksdale, Google Apps For Dummies,
33. Tolstoy, Leo, A Calendar of Wisdom,
34. Vanzant, Iyanla, Acts of Faith,
35. Vanzant, Iyanla, Faith in the Valley,
36. Vanzant, Iyanla, Until Today!,
37. Various, Daily Guideposts-2006,
38. Various, The Upper Room Disciplines-2006,
39. Warner, Janine C., Creating Family Web Sites For Dummies,
40. Zuck, Colleen, Daily Word For Healing,

Mr. Dickie
3/Jan/2010 9:14

Taking Stock

In the new year, I will live one day at a time. I will make each day one of preparation for better things ahead. I will not dwell on the past or the future, only on the present. I will bury every fear of the future, all thoughts of unkindness and bitterness, all my dislikes, my resentments, my sense of failure, my disappointments in others and in myself, my gloom and my despondency. I will leave all these things buried and go forward, in this new year, into a new life. (Hazelden, Twenty-Four House a Day, 1 January)

******

My daily reading program is off to a good start. The first day requires more time because there is always extra material to read at the front of each book. I have my fingers crossed because I may have selected more books to read than I can handle.

Yesterday I worked on a project to determine whether I could easily gather one hundred twenty-three of my postings to Mr. Dickie's Blog together in one document. I used the program Monkey Merge to create one document with all of the text files I created to upload to my blog. Then I uploaded the new file to Google Docs where I did some edits, added a title page and page numbers. Then I had Google create a 60-page PDF file and download it to my computer. It worked. Maybe I'll use this file to do the printing test I'm planning to do at FedEx Kinko's.

While working on this project I realized it would have been a good idea to include the date in each of the files I created for the blog. It would have been easy to do. I type the blog postings with the program, EditPad Lite. The F5 key inserts a date and time stamp into a document at the cursor position. I'm going to include the date stamp in this posting.

As part of my year-end inventory I thought it would be fun to tally up the number of postings I made to my four Google blogs during the year. Besides posting to the blogs I also shared genealogy information on my Google genealogy "group" and my Google genealogy "site."

• Mr. Dickie's Blog - 381;
• Arrow Prayers - 282;
• Genealogy News - 209;
• Genealogy Obits - 125;
• Total Posts - 997;

Mr. Dickie
2/Jan/2010 11:42

Happy New Year

It's often difficult to listen to good advice; it's even harder to accept it. (Sefra Kobrin Pitzele, One More Day, 13 December)

When confronted with a difficult choice, we need to listen carefully for the small voice of conscience which warns us of disaster ahead if we choose foolishly. (Food For Thought, 21 December)

In quiet and solitude, I listen to the whisperings of my higher self. (Susan Smith-Jones, Choose to Live Each Day Fully, Day 349)

As I sit in silence, a time of sacred reverence, I relax and let go of any thought that does not affirm health and wholeness. Colleen Zuck, et al., Daily Word For Healing, p. 294)

******