Acceptance and Detachment

The perfectionist, clinging stubbornly to his own ideas of what life ought to be often has difficulty grasping the concepts of "acceptance" and "detachment." (after One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 23 December)

Let me observe, with new interest, even the commonplace things that happen in each new day. (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 10 December)
31/Jan/2011 9:10

CD Adventure

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will. (Epictetus in The Book of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 20)

... a grateful perspective brings happiness and abundance into a person's life. (Andy Andrews, The Noticer, p. 9)

******

Friday I went to the CDepot in College Park to see if I could find some CDs for Lisette to take to her father in Costa Rica. I hadn't stopped in this place in months. Within seconds of coming into the store I seemed to be directed to a shelf on the left wall. The shelf was about three feet wide and seven feet tall. Everything on the shelf was priced at $1.99. Most of the shelves were so full it was difficult to remove a CD in order to view it. Many of the CDs were still in shrink wrap. I selected twenty-two CDs for Pedro. For Melva I selected: John Mellencamp - Dance Naked; Ricky Martin - Sound Loaded; and Annie Lennox - Bare. For myself I selected: John Barry - Faces; Tish Hinojosa - Sign of Truth; Craig Duncan - Smoky Mountain Sunday; Ralph Stanley - Ralph Stanley; Rich O'Brien - Seasons, Roads, and Faces. I also stopped at the Bluegrass trays in the back of the store where I bought more expensive CDs: Bluegrass All Stars - Sixteen Grand Slams From Sugar Hill Records and the two CD-set from Nickel Creek - Reasons Why (The Very Best). All in all I think I "Hit the Jackpot" again.

Yesterday the three of us went via the subway to Capitol Hill to meet Lisette for a late lunch at The Hunan Dynasty. I used my new Senior SmartTrip card for the first time. (From now on I'll receive the senior discount.) Lisette had a cellphone Cyndi loaned her. She used it to call us from the west side of the Capitol. I walked over there to meet her as she came around to the east side of the building. By the time we went up to the restaurant the bussed in patrons had cleared out. We should have received excellent service since there was hardly anyone in the place. All four plates of food and the rice were cold. We sent them back to the kitchen to be heated. We also had to ask for the egg rolls which came with the meals. If we wanted to impress our guest we certainly did, in a negative way.

Today Lisette returns to Costa Rica from National Airport.

This morning I took Cyndi to the New Carrollton subway station where she took the 8:30 a.m. train to Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), near Baltimore. She called a little after 9:00 a.m. to tell me she was on the shuttle bus headed to the terminal. She works this week in San Antonio, TX. She plans to return to BWI on Wednesday and to take the train back to the subway station which is just a mile from the house.

Mr. Dickie
30/Jan/2011 10:02

Just Tell The Truth

I don't give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it is hell. (Harry S. Truman in The Book Of Choices by Mike Magee, MD, p. 71)

******

The snow yesterday didn't amount to much. Melva and I drove in it when we went out to eat lunch at Bob Evans in Bowie.

In the afternoon Melva watched the tennis match while I went to CD Depot. They sell both new and used CDs. My goal was to see if I could find some reasonable CDs to give as gifts. I hadn't been to the store in a long time. As a matter of fact I wasn't certain they were still in business. I'd only been in the store for a couple of minutes when I discovered a rack to $1.99 CDs on the left wall. I went crazy buying CDs for myself, for Melva and to use as gifts. I also stopped at the Bluegrass section and selected two more expensive albums for myself.

Mr. Dickie
29/Jan/2011 8:38

Which Are You?

The arrival of the new year has ... not changed anything. (The Upper Room Disciplines - 2008, 4 January)

Some people watch things happen, while others make things happen. Which are you? (after Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 169)

A large part of many people's lives is consumed by an obsessive preoccupation with things. (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 37)

******

Looking out the window this morning watching more snow fall. while posting to Facebook and creating my two daily Google blog posts.

I'm listening to Bluegrass County from WAMU PBS via the computer (http://www.bluegrasscounty.org)
The noontime program is from Australia

I continue to work on my Conger genealogy file edit project. I trying to look at the Note of ever Conger record in my file. I'm also adding some obituaries from the Internet.

Mr. Dickie
28/Jan/2011 12:01

Snow Day

Life isn't as serious as my mind makes it out to be. (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 33)

******

We are grateful to Jose and his friend, who came from Riverdale early this morning to clear the snow from the driveway and the sidewalk. Jose and another friend had promised to return when they were here doing yardwork last fall. Once our driveway was clear it was a piece of cake to take Cyndi to the subway. Her work place opened two hours late as did the federal government.

Mr. Dickie
27/Jan/2011 10:27

Winter Weather

Evil leaders could never succeed were it not for weak people who obey their orders. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 209)

******

More winter weather arrived this morning. Schools in our country are closed for the day. I was able to make my taxi run to the subway without incident, followed by a stop at the postoffice to mail a letter. There's another band of winter weather behind this one. Let's hope we don't receive a one-two punch that knocks us out for a few days.

I'm continuing to work on my Conger genealogy file edits. Yesterday I added several obituaries and the information I could glean from them. I also continued the "note" field edit project. I'm now looking at Conger records for people whose first names begin with the letter "J". I'm also working on adding records for people in the ancestor tree of a very famous person in the Conger family.

I'm now Facebook friends with Jim Stevens. Jim was the boss of two of my bosses while we worked at The Library of Congress. I worked for him first at The Navy Yard and later on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Dickie
26/Jan/2011 8:07

Reality

Once ... ideas become present in a large enough number of us they become our reality. (Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Real Magic, p. 306)

Whenever, in any discussion or argument, we become aware that our voice is raised, it is time to stop. (William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, p. 159)

True leaders are not afraid to surround themselves with people of ability and then give them opportunities for greatness. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 194)
25/Jan/2011 8:14

Happiness Is

Chance favors the prepared mind. (Louis Pasteur in The Book of Choices by Mike Magee, p. 17)

The secret of happiness is not to do what you like to do, but to learn to like what you have to do. (King George V found in the Bible of a friend, Billy Graham, Hope For Each Day, 10 January)

Stop wishing for things you complain you have not, and start making the best of all that you've got. Today be happy with what you have - not discontented with what you don't have. (Helen Steiner Rice, From The Heart, 8 January)
24/Jan/2011 14:59

A New Idea

"A new idea is first condemned as ridiculous and then dismissed as trivial, until finally, it becomes what everybody knows." (William James in Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Real Magic, p. 319)

What's The Problem?

If we're trying to think for other people, resolve their self-made messes, or rescue them from their own willfulness, were guaranteeing ourselves ... [a] hard fall. (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing in Myself, 7 January)

Try to be part of the cure of every situation, not part of the problem. (Twenty-Four Hours A Day, 23 December)
22/Jan/2011 9:36

Destiny

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, but a thing to be achieved. (William Jennings Bryan in A Book of Choices by Mike Magee MD, p. 17)
21/Jan/2011 7:43

Your Life

If you were to sit down in a quiet corner and look back over the happenings of your life as though you were examining the life of someone else, or reading about it in a book, how would it appear to you? (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 2 January, paraphrased)
20/Jan/2011 8:29

Good Beginnings

It's pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness; poverty and wealth have both failed. (Ken Hubbard in A Book of Choices by Mike Magee, MD, p. 21)

... good beginnings are no guarantee of good endings. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 166)
19/Jan/2011 7:40

Excuses

"I never knew a man who was good at making excuses who was good at anything else." (Benjamin Franklin in Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren W. Wiersbe, p. 168)
18/Jan/2011 7:46

Pastor Keith Marston

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

******

Yesterday morning I went to Silver Spring, MD to hear Pastor Keith Marston preach for the first time. We have known Keith since he was born. He grew up living in the house next door to us. He is assistant pastor at a storefront church located on Fenton Street in downtown Silver Spring.

I'm working on some edits to my Conger file. I added Copyright notices to the records that could potentially be the first person in reports I plan to produce from my RootsMagic file. I notice that some records still needed work on the notes to correct a word wrap issue. I thought I'd eliminated this problem.

Mr. Dickie
17/Jan/2011 9:08

Birthday Lunch

[Make it your aim to] ... never make trouble, but always to see that trouble does not rear its head ... (after William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, p. 149)

******

Cyndi took Melva and I out to eat lunch yesterday to celebrate Melva's upcoming birthday. We ended up at The Pirate's Cove in Galesville, MD. We all ate different crab plates. The restaurant is on the west bank of the Chesapeake Bay.

Mr. Dickie
16/Jan/2011 8:53

Planning the Day

If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I rise in the morning torn between the desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. (E.B. White in The Book of Choices by Mike Magee, MD, p. 51)
15/Jan/2011 8:24

Criticism

"To escape criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing." (Elbert Hubbard in Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren W. Wiersbe, p. 184)

Never criticize or condemn - or it will all come back on you. Go easy on others; then they will do the same for you. (Luke 6:37 (TLB) in Daily Guideposts - 1990, 7 December)

******

Last night Cyndi and I discovered that I ought to purchased a Senior Smart Trip card for use on the Metro system so I can take advantage of the senior discount. I stopped at the check-out desk at our local branch of the county library today to buy the card. I'd been using a card that Cyndi gave me. The card works on the subway and the bus and at the subway parking garages.

Mr. Dickie
14/Jan/2011 18:09

Why Not Regulate Guns as Seriously as Toys? - NYTimes.com

Why Not Regulate Guns as Seriously as Toys? - NYTimes.com:

"Op-Ed Columnist
Why Not Regulate Guns as Seriously as Toys?
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: January 12, 2011"

Light

The light exposes that which is evil. The best way to rid the world of any evil is to drag it into the light. So long as the thing is being done in secret, it goes on; but when it is taken into the light of day, it dies a natural death. The surest way to cleanse the depths of our own hearts and the practices of any society in which we happen to be involved is to expose them to the light of Christ. (William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, p. 165)
13/Jan/2011 8:02

Too Much Information (TMI)

For the most part, we receive too much information. We're bombarded with print, sound, images. Many of us cultivate a healthy skepticism: we consider the source. What does this person, this agency, this network, this advertiser, or this elected official stand to gain from telling us this information?
(The Promise of a New Day, 10 January)
12/Jan/2011 9:20

Social Networking

Today keep an open mind in all matters. (Helen Steiner Rice, From The Heart, 7 January)

******

I'm upset with myself because I made several errors the last few days while typing or trying to share some genealogy information with friends. The errors weren't serious, just annoying because they seem to indicate the inability to pay close attention to what I'm doing. As I say sometimes, "I need a proofreader to check my proof reading."

In the last week I've made several new Facebook friends. This is always exciting because time must pass before we know what both parties will get out of the social networking. I particularly like getting back in touch with some of my friends made through the genealogy hobby over the years.

I created a private Carlson-Hagstrom family Group on Facebook. The new group configuration allows more than two people to be in the group chatroom at one time. I'm hopeful that the eighteen people I granted membership will experiment by posting to the group and trying out the chatroom.

Mr. Dickie
11/Jan/2011 9:56

Rationalization

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, one rationalization leads to another, which triggers a series of equally damaging alterations in a life that was once stable, strong, and reliable. (Charles R. Swindoll, Wisdom For The Way, p. 384)
10/Jan/2011 10:39

Domestic Terrorism

Don't feast on negativity. (after Betty J. Eadie, Embraced By The Light, 8 December)

As he thinketh in his heart, so is he ... (Proverbs 23:7, Daily Guideposts 1990, 8 December)

******

There was another incident of domestic terrorism yesterday in Tucson, Arizona. Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords was severely wounded and others, including a child and federal judge, were killed. The shooter had posted some of his ranting on Facebook. Congresswoman Giffords was one of thirteen leaders marked with a cross-hair symbol on a map of the United States that was posted on a Sarah Palin PAC website. We all should be asking Sarah Palin what message she intended to convey with this image.

Mr. Dickie
9/Jan/2011 8:10

Setting Up A Facebook Group

Devotional reading is designed not simply to inform the mind, but to fire the spirit. (Selwyn Hughes, Every Day Light, p. vii)

******

Setting Up A Facebook Group

Yesterday I created a Facebook Group, using their new group format. Membership in the group is limited to members of the Carlson-Hagstrom family. This is the maternal side of my family. I included eighteen Facebook members in the initial group membership. This "secret" group will provide us with a place where we can post photos, post on The Wall and comment, create documents and comment, share links and videos, and hold group chats with more than two people in the chatroom at a time. The possibility of holding group chats is particularly appealing to me.

During setup I discovered that all uploaded photos will reside in the same photo album. This means that making use of photo captions and tagging will be important. Apparently photos must be uploaded from your computer rather than from one of your own Facebook albums. I think tagging someone in a photo who isn't a member of Facebook is somewhat difficult.

I was able to make people members of the group without discussing this with them. If someone doesn't want to participate they must visit the Group and click on "Leave The Group" on the right side of the screen. Note that "Leave The Group" probably doesn't mean, sign-out of the group for now.

I'm hopeful that family members will be willing to actively participate in the Carlson-Hagstrom Group. The amount of fun will be dependent upon everyone's willingness to actively post and comment.

Mr. Dickie
8/Jan/2011 9:05

Computer Club

No one may abuse the truth with impunity. (Duane Joseph in Believing in Myself, Larsen and Hegarty, 6 January)

******

Yesterday I attended the first computer club meeting of the year. Program chairman, Dan L., gave a talk about how to use cards and USB devices to convert older desktop and laptop computers to WiFi. There was a good sized group. After the meeting I spent time using the public computers in the hallway to look at some of my photos on a decent monitor.

Mr. Dickie
7/Jan/2011 10:32

I Want To Be Around You

When a person is negative, complaining, and disagreeable, other people stay away. And that person receives less encouragement and fewer opportunities -- because no one wants to be around him. (Andy Andrews, The Noticer, p. 14) 4/Jan/2011 14:53

Fear, Greed and the Desire for Power

Fear, greed, and the desire for power are the psychological motivating forces not only behind warfare and violence between nations, tribes, religions, and ideologies, but also the cause of incessant conflict in personal relationships. (Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth, p. 12) 4/Jan/2011 14:34

Experience

Other people's experience is the best teacher. (Andy Andrews, The Noticer, p. 9) 4/Jan/2011 7:31

Facebook Hide and Seek

Do you recognize that being "against" anything weakens you, while being "for" something empowers you? (Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Real Magic, p. 312)

******

From time to time you might want to "Hide" the posts of a Facebook friend without "un-friending" them. This is easy enough to do once you know how to do it. Unfortunately the Facebook "help" on the subject is out-of-date. For this reason I am going to list the steps to follow in my blog.

• Click on "Most Recent" to get into the "most recent news feed view."
• Click on the down arrow, beside the boldface "Most Recent."
• A drop-down menu will appear. Click on "Edit Options."
• The "News Feed Settings" box appears.
• Under "Hide," on the right, the list of hidden friends displays.
• In the dialog box, under "Hide," type the name of the person you want to hide.
• To "un-hide" a person click on the "x" beside their name in the box below the dialog box.
• Click "Save" or "Cancel" at the bottom, when finished.

Mr. Dickie
3/Jan/2011 12:31

Blogging

This year is a book of clean blank pages on which I will write a record of my experiences and my growth. (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 1 January)

******

One of the books I'm going to read this year is "Daily Guideposts - 2009." This is the 33rd edition of this Christian daily devotional classic. I own, and have read, all previous editions. I read three editions in 2010. All of my copies were purchased "used." I collected them over a period of years. I've started to look for the 2010 edition. I expect to find a "used" copy before too long.

I conducted a review of my blogging activities in 2010. I have four Google blogs. Two are used for sharing genealogy information and two are used for daily postings. Here's a recap (The first number is 2010 posts and the second is the number of posts since I started the blog.)

• Arrow Prayers (6 years) - 324/1725
• Mr. Dickie's Blog (3 years) - 326/900
• Henthorn Genealogy (3 years) - 302/635
• Henthorn Obituaries (3 years) - 81/255
• Total Posts - 1033/3515

Mr. Dickie
2/Jan/2011 9:27

Books and Reading

I quote others in order to better express my own self. (Montaigne in The Book of Choices by Mike Magee, Introduction page)

******

For a number of years I've pursued an annual reading program. The idea is to select a stack of books I want to read at the beginning of the year and then read a page each day from all of the books in the stack. This works particularly well when the books selected are designed for daily devotional or spiritual reading. All books with 365 pages are finished on the same day, December 31st. Shorter books are finished at various times during the year.

In 2010 I used a free program, CSVEd, to maintain a file of the books I planned to read and to record the completion date for each one. I'm going to use the same program again in 2011. Here's a list of the nineteen books, including a few carry-overs, I selected to read, output from the program.

• Andrews, Andy - The Noticer
• Anonymous - One Day At A Time In Al-Anon
• Barclay, William - The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians
• Case, Steve - Everything Counts
• Graham, Billy - Hope For Each Day
• Hughes, Selwyn & Thomas Kinkade - Every Day Light
• Larsen, Earnie & Carol Hegarty - Believing In Myself
• Magee, Mike - A Book of Choices
• Rice, Helen Steiner - From The Heart
• Rice, Helen Steiner - A Collection of Blessings
• Schucman, Helen and William Thetford - A Course in Miracles
• Thoreau, Henry David - Walden
• Tolle, Eckhart A New Earth - Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
• Tolstoy, Leo - The Gospel In Brief
• Various Authors - The Upper Room Disciplines - 2003
• Various Authors - The Upper Room Disciplines - 2008
• Various Authors - Daily Guideposts - 2009
• Wiersbe, Warren W. - Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary

I'm using the weRead application, in conjunction with Facebook, to record all of the books I've read over a period of years as well as the books I plan to read this year. When I post information about a book to weRead I can also have the information posted to my Facebook Wall.

I encourage all friends and relatives to spend some of your spare time this year exploring the wonderful experience of reading books.

Mr. Dickie
1/Jan/2011 13:47