Thursday, March 31, 2011

Crisis


... all lives - are either in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or headed for a crisis. (Andy Andrews, The Noticer, p. 31)

If I had a formula for bypassing trouble, I wouldn't pass it around. Wouldn't be doing anybody a favor. Trouble creates a capacity to handle it. I don't say I embrace trouble. That's as bad as treating it as an enemy. But I do say, meet it as a friend, for you'll see a lot of it and had better be on speaking terms with it. (Oliver Wendell Holmes in The Book Of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 205
31/Mar/2011 7:43

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Noise

Can you concentrate enough so that noise doesn't distract you from what needs to be heard? (Steve Case, Everything Counts, 8 February)

******

I'm busy working on some webpage projects for the Monroe County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. I'm ready to start modifications on seven webpages I created years ago. They all articles about Monroe county families.

Mr. Dickie
30/Mar/2011 8:13

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Enough is Enough

(Photo: Libya airstrike)

People do lie you know. And they will do it to your face. (Mike Magee, M.D., The Book Of Choices, p. 114-15)

... Don't be surprised if some people do nothing, including some leaders. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 265)

******

I stopped at Bowie library yesterday to drop off two books that were due today. For a dollar I bought a book they took out of circulation. This one is more quotations. This one is religious quotes. I also checked out seven CDs. I found two in Spanish.

I didn't listen to the President's speech last night. Apparently he tried to justify attacking Libya by saying it was "our responsibility." It seems to me our responsibility is to take care of business at home. How can we think for a moment that we know what another country should do when we can't even pass a budget to run our own country? Enough is Enough!

"We are always making God our accomplice, that we may legalize our own iniquities. Every successful massacre is consecrated by a Te Deum, and the clergy have never been wanting in benedictions for any victorious enormity." (H.F. Amiel - Journal. p. 245 in The Harper Religious & Inspirational Quotation Companion by Margaret Pepper)

Mr. Dickie
29/Mar/2011 7:53

Monday, March 28, 2011

Strongest Minds

The strongest minds are also the most nimble, the most ready to change and to include new information. (Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg, The Promise of a New Day, 20 March)

... it takes work to make a difference. (Patricia Lorenz in Daily Guideposts - 2009, 10 February)

The world stands aside to let anyone pass who knows where he is going. (David Starr Jordan in The Book Of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 123)

******

I ran into a problem installing my first webpage on the RootsWeb website. I don't understand how their wrap-around HTML code impacts my code. Apparently they take over the background color and in my case there's a white box at the top of the page that I didn't specify. I have a lot more to learn. I did create a folder called "htmlold" on the website to store a copy of the homepage in case I need to "back out" my page. I was able to to fix the missing image problem on the Introduction page. There was a one character error in the file name.

I didn't post to either blog yesterday. I had other things on my mind, one of which was bagging up yard debris in the backyard.

Mr. Dickie
28/Mar/2011 8:18

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Walk On

There is work to be done, new ideas to be learned, and for that the problems of yesterday and the fears of tomorrow must be put out of the way. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 21 March)

[Think about what needs to be done, do your work, accomplish your tasks and] if there is time left, fill it with walking. It is excellent exercise that is respectful of the body, mindful of the earth below, and well-tolerated by all ages. (Mike Magee, M.D., The Book Of Choices, p. 200)

Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far. (Thomas Jefferson in The Book Of Choices, by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 202)

******

I woke up at 4:00 a.m. this morning. I spent the time trying to catch up on my reading and writing.

Yesterday I did some minor updates to the computer club website. I also installed a Google search box on the homepage. This is a project that I had in mind for some time. On the genealogy homepage that I'm working on I installed and tested the Bing search box. The Google box displays some Google ads. The Bing search box doesn't have any ads. I have no idea which search engine gives the better results. I think I am ready to install the new homepage on the genealogy website. In my opinion this is the most important step in the process of making it easy to maintain the website. The second step is to understand the folder structure and to create the necessary folders to simplify finding the files.

I created a Picasa photo album for the retirement photos I took at The Library of Congress on Thursday. I shared a link to the photos on Facebook.

Melva attended her quilting class. She reported that she had a good time.

Mr. Dickie
26/Mar/2011 6:44

Friday, March 25, 2011

Retirement Party

... there is nothing charming about adults who refuse to read the writing on the wall. (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 21 March)

It is always wrong to shirk the word that should be spoken. (William Barclay, The Letters To Timothy, Titus and Philemon, p. 119)

******
Sarah's Retirement
Link To Photos Taken By Mr. Dickie

Yesterday afternoon I went to the Library of Congress to make a stop at the Credit Union and to attend the retirement party for Sarah Gaymon. Sarah's boss and a friend of Sarah's spoke. Sarah also delivered humorous remarks. I took about a dozen photos that I intend to put in a Picasa album. After the party Raj Parr and I sat and talked until it was time for him to go home. I arrived at New Carrollton five minutes late. I missed the 6:55 p.m. T-18 bus. I called Melva and she came to pick me up.

Mr. Dickie
25/Mar/2011 7:34

Thursday, March 24, 2011

A Busy Day


It is all too true of most of us that we are the victims of the same faults of temperament and of character; that we fail for the same reasons; that as year succeeds year, we are no further on. (William Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, Titus and Philemon, p. 118)

******

I was very busy yesterday.

I attended the 10:00 a.m. ribbon cutting and open house for the new computers at the Bowie Senior Center. I took ten photos of the event. I thought there was a nice crowd. People attending that I know were: Kathy White; John Jones; Dale Grant, Dick Boell, Dan Lee, Vic Kiviat, Karl Bulger. With the new equipment the computer club will be able to offer courses for the Windows XP operating system and for Windows 7. I never thought to ask what happened to Windows Vista.

When I got home I loaded the ten photos on my computer. Then I uploaded them to my Picasa account where I used their Picnic editor for the first time to do some cropping. I captioned all of the photos, arranged their order, wrote a album description and selected one photo for the album cover.

I copied a piece of HTML code from Picasa and embedded it at the top of the club's training page. This displayed the album's cover photo. Visitors can click on the photo to go to Picasa to view the nine-photo slideshow. I was very pleased with the result. I also installed a link to the slideshow on my Facebook wall and in a posting to Mr. Dickie's Blog. Everything worked. This was the first time I have done this. I'm sure I will want to use this approach again.

I spent time in the morning and evening working on fixing a problem I caused myself with the club's Training page. To make a long story, short, I damaged some links to course description pages and had to retype about ten URLs with rather complicated punctuation. Live and learn!

I continued a project with the genealogy society website. I'm studying the folder structure and trying to get a handle on what graphics are already available on the website. I have discovered that the same file names were used for different graphics and that some graphics can be found in several folders. This makes using the graphics difficult. In my opinion the graphics should all reside in one folder. It's not an easy problem to fix, and probably not worth the trouble. However, the graphic files can each be given a unique name and saved in a new graphics folder for future use. I'm going to advocate for this approach.

I stopped at BJ's (like Costco and Sam's Club) to look for a table for Melva. I didn't find what we want. I bought a bag of birdseed and several other items. It wasn't difficult to leave there fifty dollars poorer. I also stopped at Target where I purchased a 2Gb card for my Oasis player. The card is about the size of your pinky finger nail. It fits in an adapter that I already have. The player came with 2Gb of storage on board. I already have a 1Gb card which I just recently installed and learned how to use. I'm going to have some fun getting the music ready to fill up this new card.

I returned a borrowed flat screen monitor to computer club member Dan Lee. I also brought along my broken Dell laptop computer. Right after I got home he called me to tell me he'd already successfully removed the hard drive and installed it into his hard drive adapter. He hooked the adapter up to his laptop and was able to read my hard drive. He mentioned he found the Devotions file that I had been thinking about recently when I looked at the book I printed out after I created the file. I'd like to update some typos in that file and then publish it to MyBox. Dan and Vic are both urging me to "get off the dime" and purchase a new laptop so I can leave all these problems with obsolete and breaking equipment behind. I don't disagree.

This afternoon I going to take the subway to The Library of Congress. I'll stop at the Credit Union and then attend the retirement function for Sarah Gaymon from 2-4 p.m. Melva will take me to the subway and I'll ride the bus up the hill when I come home.

Mr. Dickie
24/Mar/2011 9:51

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Bowie Senior Center Computer Classroom Open House



Click on the photo to go to Google Picasa to view a nine-photo slideshow.


This morning there was an Open House at the Bowie Senior Center to dedicate the new computers in the computer classroom. I attended the event, took photos and created a Picasa photo album when I got home. There's a link to the photo album on the Training Page of the website of the Bowie Seniors Computer Club. I'm posting this information to Mr. Dickie's blog to test that an album can be shared in this way and to show off what I accomplished.

Mr. Dickie
23 Mar 2011

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Our Basic Problems

We have not learned that a nation is more powerful when it unites in earnest prayer to God than when its resources are channeled into weapons. ... Weapons by themselves will not keep us safe or solve the world's problems. Our basic problems are spiritual in nature, and only spiritual solutions will solve them. (Billy Graham, Hope For Each Day, 22 March)

******

I'm still trying to understand how a RootsWeb website works. Once I got past the problem of how to gain access the next stumbling block was understanding how the folder (directory) naming conventions work. I was reminded that it's best to use all lowercase letters and to avoid spaces and special characters. Yesterday I renamed some of the folders I created and some of the files within the folders. I also had to move my folders to be subordinate to one called "public_html." Then things started to fall into place and work. I was even able to install a clickable "X" button on the homepage that will take the visitor to an already existing "introductory" page. It's an interesting mental challenge to figure out how this stuff works. I consider myself to be a rank amateur when it comes to HTML. That's why anything I am able to accomplish must be simple, so it can be understood by myself and others. When a website is maintained by volunteers I think it is very important to keep it simple. Otherwise there is a strong possibility that the expert webmaster will drop out and the group will be left with a website that they can't maintain unless they hire professional help. Not a good situation.

Mr. Dickie
22/Mar/2011 7:50

Monday, March 21, 2011

Deadly Toys

If we eradicated ourselves with the lethal means at our disposal, we wouldn't be the first species to disappear. But wouldn't it be a shame? ... Surely we're adaptable enough to guide our own development away from our current preoccupation with deadly toys. (The Promise of a New Day, Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg, 21 March)

******

Yesterday I created a PDF with photos taken by Vic at the March 17th meeting of the computer club. I used Google Docs and added captions for the photos. This was the first time I'd tried this. I created a Photos folder on the club website and uploaded the PDF there. Then I added a "Photos" link on the "Meetings" page that will download the PDF to the visitor's computer. There's still more to learn about how to size and locate the photos on the page. I was pleased that I was able to come up with a relatively easy way to share the photos.

Cyndi and I went to Schrom Park for a late afternoon walk. We completed four laps. Then we went to College Park to find something to eat. We tried a sandwich shop called Jimmy John's. We also tried a frozen yogurt place called Yogi Berry. We brought food home from both places for Melva.

Our evening attempt to call Melva's nephew in Puerto Rico wasn't successful.

This morning, just before it was time to take Cyndi to the subway a thunderstorm with heavy rain passed through the area. We used Melva's car because it was under the carport.

Mr. Dickie
21/Mar/2011 7:56

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Admit The Problem

... if we are not willing to admit to a problem, then we are denying reality and being dishonest. (Selwyn Hughes, Every Day Light, Day 66)

Curiosity is important to learning and progress, but it is unwise to be unduly curious ... (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 164)

There is a place for the tiger in life; and when the tiger becomes a tabby cat, something is lost. (William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, p. 156)
20/Mar/2011 9:23

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Three Questions

Three questions asked by Christian counselor Dr. Jay Adams.
  1. What is your problem?
  2. What have you done about it?
  3. What do you expect me to do about it?
(Selwyn Hughes, Every Day Light, Day 698)

******

Dan Lee loaned me a flat screen monitor. I hooked it up to my old desktop computer. I wanted to see how photos would appear on another monitor. I was pleased. Now I'm asking myself why I haven't taken action to replace the monitor I have been using.

I created a folder on my computer where I gathered the image files from the genealogy society website. I discovered that several file names were duplicated, but the images were different. In my opinion this isn't a good idea. This makes it difficult to find the file you want.

Cyndi returned from Los Angeles last night. Melva and I went to the subway station to pick her up. It was a very busy Friday night traffic wise. She was able to have a nice one-hour visit with her childhood friend, Lorena.

Mr. Dickie
19/Mar/2011 8:09

Friday, March 18, 2011

Anger-Sickness

The symptom of the anger-sickness is an uncontrollable impulse to judge and condemn someone else. ... Am I not ill when I allow anger to destroy my poise and peace of mind? When I lose control, am I not handing over control to the one I am treating like an adversary? (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 9 March)

The nature of our attitude toward circumstantial things determines our acceptance of the problems that life brings. (Helen Steiner Rice, From The Heart, 11 February)

******

Melva and I worked in the yard until dark last night. We continued the project to trim the dead growth from the plants and bag the debris. Just before dark we put all of the bags and the remaining limbs from the neighbors tree that fell in the wind out for pickup. They took everything today in the regular Friday trash collection. We are almost ready for Spring. We still have to bag more debris that we gathered in the backyard.

One of the computer club members loaned me a flat screen monitor. I'm going to hook it up to see if this is easy to do and to determine whether it would improve the color enough to make it worthwhile to go buy a monitor.

I'm still working on my project to create my own channel listing for our Verzion FIOS service. I think I added the last channel this morning. I'm ready to print it out. I recorded three pieces of information: 1) channel name, 2) type of programming, 3) four digit channel number. I can sort on any of the three fields.

I didn't know that the Mozilla Firefox browser used to be Netscape. There was a good program on television last night about the history of Netscape. It's a good story if you are interested in MicroSoft and AOL history.

Melva went to quilting class today. They got together yesterday at the teacher's house to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Mr. Dickie
18/Mar/2011 10:20

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Enough is Enough


I will not allow myself to be troubled by anyone else; my one problem is to improve my own way of living and looking at life. (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 7 January)

I do not know what course of action is right for anyone else. I can offer only comfort and compassion ... (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 26 February)

******

The people of Miami, Florida recalled the Mayor and at least one commissioner. The process was financed by a rich individual who claims he isn't interested in becoming the Mayor. Could this be the beginning of a grassroots "Enough is Enough" movement?

I'm working on a project to create my own Verizon FIOS channel listing because I can't find a complete list of what's on all of the channels. It's not too difficult to create a file with my CSV editor that I can sort three ways: 1) channel name, 2) type of programming, 3) FIOS channel number. I pulled the information I used to create the file from several sources.

Yesterday I obtained a URL for a photo fo Blackwater Falls, WV from a photo album on my Google Picasa account. Then I installed this link on my Facebook wall. It worked. My Facebook friends were able to view the photo. Neat, if I do say so myself.

Mr. Dickie
17/Mar/2011 9:22

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Who's Paying Attention?

Beware the temptation to meddle.

... when we lean on our own understanding ... we get into trouble. (Steve Case, Everything Counts, 29 January)

No one's paying attention to what has angered you, but you. (Mike Magee, M.D., The Book Of Choices, p. 86)

After all is said and done, more is said than done. (Anonymous, in The Book Of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 147)
16/Mar/2011 9:59

******

Yesterday after a walk in the neighborhood we stayed outside working in the flowerbeds. Melva removed the remaining leaves from the one near the kitchen door. I used the pruning shears to cut off last year's dead growth in three in the backyard. I was glad I'd sharpened the shears the last time I had access to the grind stone next door. We stopped before we finished bagging up all of the debris.

Mr. Dickie
16/Mar/2011 10:08

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Our Privileges

Our privileges can be no greater than our obligations. The protection of our rights can endure no longer than the performance of our responsibilities. (John F. Kennedy in The Little Book Of Virtues) 15/Mar/2011 8:19

Monday, March 14, 2011

Mental and Emotional Health

Five simple prescriptions for the maintenance of mental and emotional health:
  • Assert yourself: No one can respond to what you don't say.
  • Be teachable: The ignorance you won't admit will catch up with you.
  • Find confidants: Friends double your joys and divide your sorrows.
  • Contribute something: Takers end up empty-handed.
  • Live today: Anyone can be strong for twenty-four hours.
(Larsen & Hegarty, Believing in Myself, 13 March)
14/Mar/2011 9:43

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Negative Emotion

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. (Aldous Huxley in The Book Of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 116)

... negative emotion sells far more papers than news does. (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 154) 13/Mar/2011 7:14

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Reality

It is customary these days to ignore what should be done in favor of what pleases us. (Plautus in The Book Of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 111)

The human mind has a unique ability to convincingly fashion its own reality in a manner that allows a person to absolutely know what he absolutely knows not to be so. (Mike Magee, M.D., The Book Of Choices, p. 114)

There is always a danger of heresy when we fall in love with words and forget deeds for deeds are the acid test against which every argument must be tested. (William Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, p. 37)

Words travel while silence stays put. (after Mike Magee, M.D., The Book Of Choices, p. 100)

... if we are not willing to admit to a problem, then we are denying reality and being dishonest. (Selwyn Hughes, Every Day Light, Day 66) 12/Mar/2011 8:36

Friday, March 11, 2011

Sense of Reality

Complexity is never of value where simplicity will suffice. (Mike Magee, M.D., The Book Of Choices, p. 42)

A sensitive conscience is a great treasure and a valuable guide. Don' t lose it! (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 176)

Acquiring a realistic sense of reality is absolutely essential to achieving serenity. (after One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 15 February)

... procrastination invites depression just as honey invites ants. (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 8 January)
11/Mar/2011 8:13

Thursday, March 10, 2011

It's A Predicament

Life is not a spectacle or a feast; it is a predicament. (George Santayana in The Book of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 116)

... life's not perfect. It's a predicament. (Mike Magee, M.D., The Book Of Choices, p. 115)

******

Last night in the state of Wisconsin, at a meeting apparently called illegally, the Republicans pushed through a measure to reduce or eliminate the rights of workers to organize and bargain for their worker rights. This is a very sad day in the history of the union movement in America. In the weeks and months ahead there will probably be further efforts to do the same thing in other states unless it can be stopped in Wisconsin.

Last night Rachel Maddow did a very good job of explaining what is going on. Her guest was film maker Michael Moore who recently went to Wisconsin where he delivered a moving speech about this attack on the unions.
10/Mar/2011 7:59

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Attention To Detail


(Photo: Melva's most recent quilt. She gave it away shortly after she made the last stitch.)

The difference between good and great is attention to detail. (Mike Magee, M.D., The Book Of Choices, p. 44)

The greatest truths are the simplest, and so are the greatest men. (J.C. and A.W. Hare in The Book Of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p.43)

When you know you are dreaming, you are awake within the dream. (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 55)

[Note: I skipped posting to this blog yesterday while I was out of town. REH]
9/Mar/2011 9:05

Monday, March 7, 2011

People of Privilege

Very interesting quilt at Prince George's Community College exhibit.

People of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage. (J.K. Galbraith in The Book Of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 153) 7/Mar/2011 8:05

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Truth and Lies


We live in ... times of great confusion, great strife and great uncertainty. The balance of power is shifting from one nation to another, and every day something appears in our newspapers that makes us wonder what will happen next. [We]...do not know what the next few years are going to hold for the nations of the earth ... (Selwyn Hughes, Every Day Light, Day 59)

In a world which does not wish to face the truth, the church holds up the truth for all to see. In a world which would often gladly eliminate unwelcome and unpleasant truth, the church supports the truth against all who would seek to destroy it. (William Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, p. 103)

It is the Christians duty to expose every action, every decision, every motive to the light of Christ. (William Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, p. 165)

The consequences of decisions may not appear immediately, but they eventually come. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 223)

A true leader will not desert his or her post, but a hireling flees when the going is tough (Proverbs 28:1) [Note to Sarah Palin supporters, please give this Proverb some thought. REH] (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 267)

[The person who aspires to assume a position of leadership] ... must be a man who has gained the respect of his fellow men in the ordinary day-to-day tasks and business of life and living. (William Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, p. 86)

A Christian office-holder must first of all be a good man. (after William Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, p. 86)

A unanimous decision is not always a right decision, and enthusiasm is not the best test of truth. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 230)

... how many "Christian" nations have dared to abolish all standing armies and weapons? (Laurence Hull Stookey in The Upper Room Disciplines - 2008, 4 March)

Double-talk is the sly and slippery language we use to slither away from the truth. ... What happens is that we ... get taken in, confused, and misled by words that say one thing but mean something else. (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing in Myself, 23 February)

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor it cannot save the few who are rich. (John F. Kennedy in The Book of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 113)

When the words and actions of world leaders disturb you, just remember that God is still on the throne and has things in control. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 257)

There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction. (John F. Kennedy in The Book of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 146)

If the structures of the human mind remain unchanged, we will always end up re-creating fundamentally the same world, the same evils, the same dysfunction. (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 22)

However much the sects of various religions may assure us that they do not condemn those of other sects, that they pray for union with them, and have no hate to them, it is not true. (Leo Tolstoy, The Gospel in Brief, p. 27)

Truth demands a deliberate effort. (William Barclay, the Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, p. 155)

But the king's friends did not have to bear any of the burdens and their decision made them feel strong. They used the people to advance their authority instead of using their authority to help the people. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 241)

But all crowns are heavy, for it is not an easy thing to be a leader. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 234)

We are able to see only a little way, and our vision is clouded by our present situation and daily happenings and distractions. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 22 January)

No ... office-bearer must ever adopt an attitude in which he considers himself answerable to no one. (William Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, p. 84)

The weak are always forced to decide between alternatives they have not chosen themselves. (Dietrick Bonhoffer in The Book Of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 147)

The significant problems that we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them. (Albert Einstein in Real Magic by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, p. 317)

We should be more careful in choosing those we select to be our leaders. They should undergo a period of training and testing. They must first be proven. No one builds a bridge or a piece of machinery with metal which has not been harden and subjected to trial and testing. Our nation would do well to be more strict in the testing of those who are chosen for leadership. (after William Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, p. 84)

Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to stop fussing with it and let it take care of itself. (Harold Kushner, To Life, p. 98)

The safest road to hell is the gradual one -- the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. (C.S. Lewis in Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren W. Wiersbe, p. 313)

Mr. Dickie
6 March 2011

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Success

If you have a good name,
if you are right more often than you are wrong,
if your children respect you,
if your grandchildren are glad to see you,
if your friends can count on you and you can count on them in time of trouble,
if you can face your God and say, "I have done my best,"
then you are a success.
(Ann Landers in The Book of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p 163)
5/Mar/2011 9:50

Friday, March 4, 2011

1000th Posting


Stop awhile to reminisce and to pleasantly review happy little happenings and things you used to do. Today be thankful for pleasant memories. (Helen Steiner Rice, From The Heart, 7 February)

... you cannot have mountaintops without valleys. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 178)

There is a generic term for all negative emotions: unhappiness. (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 136)

Live your life in extraordinary ways. (Steve Case, Everything Count, 17 January)

This is the 1000th posting to Mr. Dickie's Blog.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Take Action


We spend way too much time trying to figure ourselves out. (Steve Case, Everything Counts, 12 January)

... what keeps the so-called consumer society going is the fact that trying to find yourself through things doesn't work. The ego satisfaction is short-lived and so you keep looking for more, keep buying , keep consuming. (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 36)

... we have considerable power to change our lives, if we are willing to use it. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 21 February)

Until .... [we're] willing to take action, all the insight in the world isn't going to help. (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing in Myself, 22 February)

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The Needs of the People


The role of the collective or community of people is determined by the needs of the people. (Mike Magee, M.D., The Book Of Choices, p. 148)

We must work for the betterment of ourselves and other people. (Twenty-Four Hours A Day, 29 December)

New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reasons but because they are not already common. (John Locke in The Book Of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 75)

Malice poisons us to the point that our ears hear nothing good and our eyes see nothing good, no matter what ... [a] person may say and do. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 233)

I am not so much concerned with the right of everyone to say anything he pleases as I am about our need as a self-governing people to hear everything relevant. (John F. Kennedy in The Book of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 98)

Elders have a long history, and they ... [have] a place in the life of almost every community. (William Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, Titus and Philemon, p. 81)
2/Mar/2011 8:02

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Modeling


Life is learned by modeling. All forms of life and all living are formative. We pay a price in our own development for the way we treat - positive or negative - the world and her inhabitants. (Mike Magee, M.D., The Book of Choices, p. 80)

******

It's Spring-like again today. Melva and I went to see a quilt exhibit in the Marlboro Galley at the Prince Georges Community College. The exhibit ends this week. The quilts were very interesting and very pretty. I took some pictures with my digital camera. Afterward we went to lunch at a grill in Bowie that we hadn't tried before.

When we got back to the house I noticed that the interior lights stayed on in the minivan. I left directly to drop the van off at the dealer. This is the second time I tried to get this problem fixed. I wonder if they will disconnect the battery this evening if they can't get to the job until tomorrow. If I were a betting man I'd bet against the service manager passing my concern on to a mechanic. Oh well, life goes on. It's the price we pay for having so many machines in our lives.

I'm listening to the Santana album - Supernatural album this afternoon. It's not my favorite album. I need to be in the right mood to listen to Santana.

Mr. Dickie
1/Mar/2011 15:04