Is It Real?

In fact "most" of what we regard as real is nothing more than our "perception" of reality. (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 11 June) 31 August 2011

Audacity

... bad decisions always result in bad consequences. (Billy Graham, Hope For Each Day, 25 June)

******

Last night I achieved my first result recording twenty minutes of music from a cassette tape using the program Audacity. The program has lots of controls, so there is lots to learn. I saved the recording in the Audacity format and the WAV format. I didn't record the second side of the tape and I didn't attempt to break each track out into a separate file. Copying music in this manner is a very time consuming process.

Mr. Dickie

30 August 2011

Your Life Story

Write your life story in the center of the page, not in the margins. (Casey and Vanceburg, The Promise Of A New Day, 15 June)

Watching Sports on My Computer

... I can do a great deal to improve my life by rooting out my own shortcomings. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 10 June)

Any idea seriously entertained tends to bring about the realization of itself. (Joseph Chilton Pearce in The Promise Of A New Day by Casey and Vanceburg, 3 August)

... none of us is too poor to give love, respect, attention, encouragement, time, caring, assistance, compassion. (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 22 August)

******

Yesterday my neighbor Jim and I learned how to watch tennis and Little League Baseball using ESPN 3 on our laptop computers. I even got the Picture-In-A-Picture to work. All very cool.

Mr. Dickie

28 August 2011

Daily Reading And Study

You will find that daily reading and study provide you with a deeper and richer experience of life in all ways. This is particularly gratifying when you know that you are doing it out of choice rather than as an assignment. (Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Wisdom of the Ages, p. 24)

Conformity

Society demands conformity; if you fall beneath its standards, it will punish you, if you rise above the standards, it will persecute you. It demands an average grey conformity. (Anonymous, Every Day Light, Selwyn Hughes, Day 174)

Ladder of Success

You can't climb the ladder of success if you are afraid to get off the ground.

(Richard E. Henthorn, 28 June 2011)

25 August 2011

Focus Of Attention

The world is full of talkers, people who are there far more for what they can get than for what they can give. (after William Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, p. 249)

The whole earth is now the focus of attention and not just individual nations and cities. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 466)

24 August 2011

Hard Drive Conversion to USB

No person in the world ever attempted to wrong another without being injured in return - some way, somehow, sometime. (William George Jordan in The Promise Of A New Day by Casey and Vanceburg, 4 January)

When we do not learn from the past or hear God and obey Him in the present, we destroy our future. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-by-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 513)

Many people feel caught up in the routines of daily living that seem to deprive their life of significance. (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 257)

... bad decisions always result in bad consequences. (Billy Graham, Hope For Each Day, 25 June)

******

Yesterday I installed the hard drive from my old Dell laptop in an external drive case that I bought at a computer store. The USB cable allowed me to connect the drive to my new laptop and thus read the drive again. I'm having fun looking at all the genealogy PDFs I found on this drive. I don't remember how many of these reports I made available in the past. If you have access to my Box.net account watch to see what I make available.

Mr. Dickie

23 August 2011

It's A Waste Of Life

Allowing, or even forcing, ourselves to be positive thinkers ensures we will not become mired in the swamp of negativism. (Eric V. Copage, Black Pearls, 19 June)

Very little that happens in my daily encounters is worth my worry, resentment, or feeling sorry for myself. If I am always ready to take offense and be hurt, I'm selling my contentment very cheaply. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 28 June)

Storing up grievances is more than a waste of time; it's a waste of life that could be lived to greater satisfaction.

We reduce prejudice best by fostering a climate in which it is socially unacceptable to express prejudiced feelings about another group. (Harold Kushner, To Life!, p. 272)

22 August 2011

Official Absurdity

[Comedy is] Sometimes ... the only weapon we have against official absurdity. (Casey and Vanceburg, The Promise Of A New Day, 6 August)

Perfection is a long way off, but improvement can be made to happen every day. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 16 June)

There is after all no obligation to answer every passing fool according to his folly. (Elias Canetti in The Promise Of A New Day by Casey and Vanceburg, 5 July)

... healthy living has more to do with behavior than theory. (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 21 May)

21 August 2011

The Ego

A public statement is nothing without the private effort to back it up. (Eric V. Copage, Black Pearls, 31 July)

Stress always diminishes both the quality and effectiveness of what you do under its influence. There is also a strong link between stress and negative emotions, such as anxiety and anger. (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 302)

The attitude expressed on any occasion will profoundly affect the dynamics of the situation. (Casey and Vanceburg, The Promise Of A New Day, 8 June)

The ego is a self-justifying historian which seeks only that information that agrees with it, rewrites history when it needs to, and does not even see the evidence that threatens it. (Anthony G. Greenwald in The Promise Of A New Day by Casey and Vanceburg, 22 May)

20 August 2011

Quiet Time

If you are not in the state of either acceptance, enjoyment, or enthusiasm, look closely and you will find that you are creating suffering for yourself and others. (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 295)

Most of my "bad luck" is directly attributable to conditions I allowed to develop. (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself)

I will ... include ... quiet time in each day, remembering this especially in times of family upheavals and dissension. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 29 July)

******

I installed a button on my copy of Picasa 3 which will allow me to upload photos from Picasa to my Facebook albums. I tested one time and it worked. I'm not certain how often I will use it.

I'm working on a project to create a Facebook Page for the Monroe County Ohio Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. As always with Facebook there is a lot to learn. There are some features that I like and some things that are confusing to "say the least."

Yesterday I attended the computer club meeting and afterward stopped at the Crofton library to check out some CDs. This time I found ten that looked brand new.

Mr. Dickie

19 August 2011

Shouting Slogans

It is quite easy to shout slogans, to sign manifestos, but it is quite a different matter to build, manage, command, spend days and nights seeking the solution to problems. (Patrice Lumumba in Black Pearls by Eric V. Copage, 31 July)

"I" Is The Difference

The principle of life is that life responds by corresponding; your life becomes the thing you have decided it shall be. (Raymond Charles Barker in The Promise Of A New Day by Casey and Vanceburg, 26 July)

[I will cultivate a] ... ruthless impatience with hypocrisy and lies. (Casey and Vanceburg, The Promise Of A New Day, 25 June)

"I" is the difference between "unties" and "unites." (Richard E. Henthorn, 14 July 2011)

17 August 2011

History

... we often get exasperated with people and things for being what they are. (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 2 August)

... the one thing we learn from history is that we do not learn from history. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 464)

• Fix things.
• Mend fences.
• Get things in order.
• Then you can move on.

(Steve Case, Everything Counts, 1 July)

16 August 2011

Politics

Our politics is our lives:

• how we connect with one another,
• how we use resources,
• even how we think about things.

How we deal with the smallest details is how we really are, and others are apt to deal with us in kind. If we're abusive or insincere, we're going to encounter abuse and insincerity. Let's bring our behavior into agreement with our beliefs. (Casey and Vanceburg, The Promise Of A New Day) 15 August 2011

Facebook Page

[Don't pay attention to] ... fables and to rules and regulations made by men who persist in turning their backs on the truth. (after Titus I: 13-16 in The Letter To Titus by William Barclay)

I am responsible for facing my problems, however great they may be. Acting to resolve my issues is my job. I cannot evade them without turning my back on life itself. (after One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 11 June)

Everybody is ignorant only on different subjects. (Will Rogers in Believing In Myself by Larsen and Hegarty, 20 May)

Take time to think quietly and peacefully and enjoy the serenity that emerges. (Helen Steiner Rice, From The Heart, 3 August)

******

This week I have been working on a new project. I created a Facebook "Page" for Monroe County Ohio Genealogy. The page will be sponsored by the Monroe County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. The idea is to provide a place where people interested in the genealogy of the county can share and exchange information. By the end of the week I had all of the components installed and two of us were designated as co-administrators. Three others had already "Liked" the page. The next steps will be to install the chapter logo and to announce the creation of the page on our website.

Last night, for the first time, I listened to The Grand Ole Opry from WSM in Nashville, TN using the radio stations streaming audio. The 20th Anniversary of Vince Gill was the featured performance. The show ran until about ten minutes before 11:00 p.m.

Yesterday I bought a nice Library of Congress paper weight at a flea market. I'll use it to hold papers in place around the computer.

Mr. Dickie

14 August 2011

It's Hard To Finish

[This] ... is precisely the difficulty in life. It is easy to begin; it is hard to finish. The one thing necessary for life is staying-power, and that is what so many people lack. (William Barclay, The Letters To Timothy, p. 241)

... we need to applaud our own progress (it's likely no one else will). (Casey and Vanceburg, The Promise Of A New Day, 19 May)

There is no satisfaction in all the world like knowing that we have done our best. (William Barclay, The Letters To Timothy, p. 241)

******

This week I have been working on a couple of projects for the Monroe County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society (MCC-OGS). I removed a Bing search box, that wasn't working, from the homepage. I replaced it with a search box from Google that seems to work fine. I regret that I took so long to accomplish this task.

I'm also setting up a Facebook "Page" for the MCC-OGS. This will, for the first time, allow people who are willing to join Facebook to exchange queries and information in a timely manner. I completed most of the preliminary work yesterday. Next we need to establish a co-administrator, install the chapter logo, and announce the creation of the "Page" on the chapter website. I'm looking forward to finding out whether this will be something that people are interested in using.

Mr. Dickie

13 August 2011

What Are You Made Of?

Each moment we choose half involvement we are also choosing partial death. (Casey and Vanceburg, The Promise Of A New Day, 13 July)

[Today] ... if I feel bad about aging, I will ... do something self-affirming. (Eric V. Copage, Black Pearls, 13 July)

A crisis does not make a person; it shows what a person is made of. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 274)

12 August 2011

Peace

...we must make sure that we surround ourselves with people who support and affirm us. We must let our friends and mates know that for our own health we will not tolerate their negative tunes. (Eric V. Copage, Black Pearls)

Problems that are buried inside us rather than brought out into the light work to drain us of spiritual energy. (Selwyn Hughes, Every Day Light, Day 189)

The ego is constantly asking, "Why can't I be at peace now?" The ego doesn't know that your only opportunity for being at peace "is now." (After Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 115)

11 August 2011

The Ripple Effect

Changing your life can affect the lives of people around you and can create a ripple effect that spreads its influence farther and farther. (Harold Kushner, To Life!, p. 297-98)

I cannot do anything about things that haven't happened; I will not let past experiences make me dread the unknown future. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 11 July)

When we're depressed, it is often best to simply do something ordinary. (Steve Case, Everything Counts, 17 February)

10 August 2011

Healthy Relationships

"A community cannot survive on what it remembers. It will persist only because of what it affirms and believes." (Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg in To Life! by Harold Kushner, p. 297)

A "neurotic" is someone who is afraid to face reality, while a "psychotic" is someone who is unaware of reality. (Selwyn Hughes, Every Day Light, Day 135)

I must look among the healthy for healthy relationships. (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 24 May)

9 August 2011

Choose Life

Choose. It really is your choice. Once you make the right one. You see how obvious it is. (Steve Case, Everything Counts, 19 July)

[To] ... cultivate the gift of silence when speaking may aggravate the difficulty. (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 27 May) [Note: You may need to think about this one for a minute before it makes sense. It means that you shouldn't use silence as a weapon. Mr. Dickie.]

Whenever we are unwilling to face a negative emotion it implies that we are not in control of it, but that it is in control of us. (Selwyn Hughes, Every Day Light, Day 136)

8 August 2011

Weakness and Frailty

What greater vulnerability do we face than our alert awareness of the body's weakness and frailty? (Juanita Campbell Rasmus in The Upper Room Disciplines - 2003, 22 February)

Don't waste your energy on other people's misconceptions. (after Eric V. Copage, Black Pearls, 12 June)

All the wishing in the world won't change a thing... (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 24 May)

7 August 2011

Real Problems

Better to stay with the pain of confusion and uncertainty than to grasp at answers that are not answers because they evade the real problems. (Selwyn Hughes, Every Day Light, Day 206) 5 August 2011

Power of Now

Anxiety, stress and negativity cut you off from .. [the] power [of "now."] (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth)

Surely a man is very short-sighted if he sets all his heart and expends all his labor on things which he must leave behind him when he quits this world. If a man has spent all his life amassing nothing but material things, then he has nothing at all to take with him when this world ends. (William Barclay, The Letter To Titus, p. 294)

Today emphasize being a good listener. Really listen, hear, and comprehend what the other person is saying. (Helen Steiner Rice, From The Heart, 13 June)

There's a period of life when we swallow a knowledge of ourselves and it becomes either good or sour inside. (Pearl Bailey in The Promise Of A New Day by Casey and Vanceburg, 14 June)

Present Moment

When you make the present moment, instead of the past and future, the focal point of your life, your ability to enjoy what you do - and with it the quality of your life - increases dramatically. (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 297) 3 August 2011

What Is Right

Do we want what is right for us and the nation, or what is popular?

(Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 515)

3 August 2011

Beware

Beware of ... [leaders] who look only at the surface and never get to the heart of the problem. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 500) 2 August 2011

Intelligent Stupidity

Stupidity is relatively harmless, but intelligent stupidity is highly dangerous. This intelligent stupidity for which one could find countless obvious examples, is threatening our survival as a species. (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 289)