Happiness By Acquisition

Photo: Mr. Dickie - at Cumberland, MD Railroad Station

... "happiness by acquisition" only sets up a lifetime of wanting.
(Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 24 December)
16 January 2012

Mr. Dickie's YouTube Channel

Photo: Mr. Dickie - Old Bowie, MD

Don't simply make the best of it, make the most of it.
(after Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 764)

Chronic suspiciousness is a character flaw, not a compliment.  (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 16 December)

I will not yield to my compulsion to go on talking after I have made my point ... (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 1 December)

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I continue to work on a project to create a YouTube channel for MrDickie1939.  I've made good progress.  I have it working with a Featured page which includes five Favorite videos.  There's a link to the Channel in the sidebar of this blog.

Mr. Dickie

14 January 2012

Judgment

Self-absorption is the enemy of serenity.  (In God's Care, 10 December)

Today demonstrate forbearance in your language, your actions, and your reactions.  A calm, well thought out response has a soothing effect on others.  (Helen Steiner Ricer, From The Heart, 5 December)

Judgment comes from experience and great judgment comes from bad experience.  (Senator Bob Packwood in Believing In Myself by Larsen and Hegarty, 11 December)

[A] ... 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)

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Last night I watched some of the weekly Wednesday night streaming video of the Music City Roots show from the Barn at the Loveless Cafe in Nashville, TN.  There were some technical difficulties this week that seemed to grow worse as the program continued.  The performer that I wanted to see was, John Cowan.  He came on at beginning of the show.  I hadn't heard of any of the other acts.

Mr. Dickie

12 January 2012

What Works

When we do what works why are we so surprised that it works? 

(Rev. David Stier in Believing In Myself by Larsen and Hegarty, 9 December)

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Yesterday I ordered, downloaded and installed version five of the Roots Magic genealogy program on the new Toshiba laptop. Before yesterday there was no genealogy program on the new computer. In the days ahead I will be setting up the folders for the new program and moving the genealogy files from version three of Roots Magic on the old desktop computer. I'm looking forward to being able to once again share the work I did in the past. It's also going to be fun to try out some of the features of the program that I wasn't able to use in the past. If health and interest hold up in 2012 I should be able to accomplish some interesting genealogy projects. I'll keep you posted on my genealogy blogs.

Mr. Dickie

9 January 2012

Slogan Or Solution?

Photo: Mr. Dickie - Cunningham Falls, MD during dry season

Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions.  

(Edward R. Murrow in Believing In Myself by Larsen and Hegarty, 4 December) 

8 January 2012

Self-Conceit

Photo: Mr. Dickie - Blackwater Falls, WV

Part with self-conceit for it is impossible for anyone to begin to learn what he thinks he already knows.  (Epictetus,  in Believing In Myself by Larsen and Hegarty, 8 December) 27 December 2011

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Last night I woke up at 1:00 a.m.  I didn't get back to sleep until 4:00 a.m.  I turned on the TV and watched an extraordinary two-hour program about the life of Canadian classical pianist, Glenn Gould, on American Masters shown on Maryland Public Television.  

I spent yesterday morning getting paper copies of our Christmas newsletter printed on some Christmas stationary using my own printer.  I went to the grocery store to buy stamps since the post office was closed.  Putting these eleven envelopes in the mailbox should complete the Christmas writing project.  I'm always glad when it's done.  Thanks to everyone who stayed in  touch this holiday season.  We appreciate the effort you made.

Mr. Dickie

27 December 2011

Name Dropping

I mustn't go on singling out names.  One must not be a name-dropper, as Her Majesty remarked to me yesterday.  (Norman St. John Stevas in Believing In Myself, Larsen and Hegarty, 2 December) 23 December 2011

Priorities

It's a good idea for me to take a daily "think break" to reassess priorities.  (Larsen & Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 3 December ) 21 December 2011

Count On It

Some decisions made by bosses, bureaucrats, other powerful higher-ups can wreak havoc on our personal lives.  As carefully as we planned some things we counted on just aren't going to be.  And some things we thought would never happen are laid squarely in our laps.  (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 16 December) 17 December 2011

Keep Still

To say the right thing at the right time, keep still most of the time.  (John W. Roper in Believing In Myself by Larsen and Hegarty, 29 November)

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I'm still on schedule to finish all of my 2011 reading on the last day of the month.  I've been reading twice a day rather than once a day.

Melva started baking Christmas cookies last night.  The house certainly does smell good during these projects.

As mentioned on Facebook I'm taking a look at whether we can cut back on our cable service.  The issue is whether we will have to give up a few of our favorite channels.  For example, I enjoy watching the Keith Olbermann show, Countdown, on the Currrent TV channel.  On the other hand, since a person can only watch one movie at a time, why is it necessary to have twenty movie channels?

Mr. Dickie

13 December 2011

History

[Throughout history] Dishonorable, cowardly decisions invariably have led us to corruption and destruction.  Honorable, visionary decisions have led us to creation and advancement.  (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 21 November) 26 November 2011

Companions

The quality of my journey is largely defined by the quality of my companions.  (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 9 November)

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On Sunday and Monday night I watched the two-part documentary about Woody Allen on PBS.  I thought the show was outstanding.  I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the history of American film making over the last forty years.

Mr. Dickie

22 November 2011

Peak Experience

A peak experience is more of an indication of what can be than a stable state of being. (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 6 November) 18 November 2011

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Yesterday morning, Cyndi and I attended the NARFE Health Benefit meeting at the Old Bowie City Hall.  We spent quite a bit of time talking to the GEHA representative.  We are both concerned about whether I need to make changes in the health coverage for Melva and myself.

After the meeting Cyndi dropped me off at the Senior Center where I attended the meeting of the computer club.  Member, Bob Davis, gave the talk on three interesting subjects: making your own two-sided, colored, business cards, wireless earphones for TV viewing, and 3-D television.  I thought he did a great job.

In the evening I used Skype to have a video chat with computer club member and Facebook buddy, Dan L.   Cyndi was on the other computer at the same time having a video chat with her friend in Germany. That was fun.

Mr. Dickie
18 November 2011

Realism

To cope effectively with problems or to rise triumphantly to challenges may require courage, patience, sustained energy, and imagination, but it also requires something even more basic: realism.  (Joan Bel Geddes in Believing In Myself by Larsen and Hegarty, 4 November)

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My timing is off.  I wasn't able to pick up my photos at Target yesterday.  Cyndi stopped at the store too early.  The photo shop wasn't open and the prints hadn't been made yet.  I'll make a trip out to the store later today.

Last night I spent time playing with, and listening to, some of my music while I read ahead in the books I'm reading on a daily basis.

The visual quilting book Cyndi ordered for Melva arrived yesterday.  The copy we have checked out of the library is due back at the library on Tuesday.

Mr. Dickie

13 November 2011

Integrity

Integrity demands that debts must be paid.  (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 30 October) 10 November 2011

Writing On The Wall

Just because you refuse to read the writing on the wall doesn't mean you haven't been warned.  (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 28 October) 6 November 2011

It's a Sad Situation

One cannot be deeply responsive to the world without being saddened very often.  (Eric Fromm in Believing In Myself by Larsen and Hegarty, 2 November) 4 November 2011

Vigilance

Vigilance is the heart and soul of loss prevention.

Paying attention.
Minding the details.
Troublespotting.

(Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 13 October)

We Won

... catching up and patching up are poor substitutes for keeping up in the first place.  (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 13 October)

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The President has announced that he will pull the troops out of Iraq by the end of the year.  

• What does this mean?  
• Does he mean all of them?  
• Did we win the war?
• Will we keep some presence there for the next fifty years?  
• What about all of the material and equipment?
• Will we move the equipment somewhere else where we need it?
• How many millions of dollars will we spend to replace these abandoned resources?
• Did we accomplish our mission?
• What were we doing there in the first place?

Last night I listened to the Friday night Grand Ole Opry.  There were some good acts.  Hometown success story, Eddie Stubbs, was the announcer.  On the bill were: Jimmy Dickens, The Whites, Riders In The Sky, Mike Snynder and Mandy Barnett.

Mr. Dickie

22 October 2011

Negative Messages

The negative messages from the past may howl in protest as we dare to challenge them.  (Larsen and Hegarty, Believing In Myself, 11 October) 21 October 2011