And Your Point Is?

My teaching is like a finger pointing to the moon.  Do not mistake the finger for the moon.
–    Buddha
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On This Day In:
2022	One Link In The Chain
2021	Life Measures
	First Thing Every Morning
2020	Like #45 And Many Of His Supporters
(Leap Year 29th)	With Some Epic Scenery Along The Way
2019	Creative Prayer Time
	ADF: Day 9:5
2018	#DumbDonald: Start With Hearing What You Don’t Want Said
2017	The Press Is NOT The Enemy
2016	It Ain’t Easy
(Leap Year 29th)	Or Try To, Anyway…
(Leap Year 29th)	Circles Within Circles
2015	A Series Of Funerals
2014	And Your Point Is?
2013	Infinitely Care
2012	In My Room
(Leap Year 29th)	Stingray – TV Series Review  (This is my most popular post since starting my blog – hands down!  It still draws hits almost every week.  The hits seem to come mostly from Central Europe.  I guess the show must be in syndication there.  //  2020 update:  While this is still my all-time, most popular post, it is no longer being viewed every week – or even every month.  I guess the show is no longer in syndication.)
(Leap Year 29th)	A Single Thread
2011	Lyrical Mixture
	Teaching = Translating

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Elected Madness

All primitive people thought that a lunatic was possessed by a spirit.  When his incoherent words more or less accord with the moral prejudices of the time, the spirit is a good one, and the man is a saint.  In the opposite case, the spirit is evil and the man must be suppressed.  It is just according to the time and place and the doctors, whether a prophetess would be worshiped as a priestess or dunked as a witch.  Innumerable violent lunatics have escaped the cells, thanks to the War, and their very violence has made heroes of them.  And in every Parliament there are at least five or six undisputed idiots who got elected for their madness through the admiration of their constituents.
—    André Maurois
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On This Day In:
2022	Like Smiles, Flowers And Rainbows
2021	On Your Marks, Get Set…
	Absolutely Nothing
	Roses And Chores
2020	Which Is Which
2019	Were You Saying Something?
2018	Ethics Lesson
2017	May I Have Some More, Please?
2016	A Little Lost
2015	This High Place
2014	Elected Madness
2013	Well Written
2012	Related Parts
2011	The King Is Oscar
	Better Reputation?

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Each Moment

May you find peace in the bloom of each moment.
[Quoted from a site I follow titled:  http://wisconzen.wordpress.com/  which is sub-titled:  “Don’t just do something …  Sit there.”
The specific posting is:  http://wisconzen.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/understanding-and-compassion/
Check it out.  You may like it too.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	Don’t Pretend
2021	I Like Curves More, Too
	I Don’t Know What I’d Do
2020	Pay It Forward
2019	From My Sullied Prison
2018	In My Room (2)
2017	Pretending
2016	And Songs Too…
2015	On The Road To Failure
2014	Each Moment
2013	Conversation
2012	4 Down, 11 Done (At Last)
	I’m Not Afraid
2011	Who’s Risk Is It, Anyway?

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Relax And Lead

There are some findings in primatology that have some bearing here.  In chimp troops, the leader is at the center of the troop and is taking in information from all sides, from the male chimps at the edges of the troop, guarding and surveying, and from the females and the young.  In fact, the attention structure of a primate group, not the distribution of resources, will tell you who is the leader.  It’s not who gets the most bananas — it’s who gets looked at.  Every 30 seconds or so, the chimps are orienting to the leader.  If the leader’s central nervous system isn’t really calm, the other chimps get agitated and can’t do their jobs.
How the leader maintains his calm is what’s really interesting.  Mike McGuire, who is at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, has done some work with monkeys and serotonin, the compound that produces a sense of calm and well-being and confidence.  It turns out that leader primates have decisively high levels of serotonin.  McGuire’s first notion was that leaders are born with elevated serotonin levels.  But that turned out not to be the case.  He found that when he removed the leaders from their troops, their serotonin levels crashed to well below the norm.  Then, once a new leader emerged, its serotonin level started climbing until it was twice that of the other primates.  An elevated level appears to be an adaptation to the stresses and uncertainties of the leadership role.  And it’s an adaptation that benefits the troop as well as the leader.  The distinguishing characteristic of leaders is the quality of their central nervous system in a crisis.  And serotonin enables the central nervous system to handle stress and ambiguity.
—    Lionel Tiger
The Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University
From the book:  “Harvard Business Review On Becoming a High Performance Manager“
The specific chapter (“All in a Day’s Work“) is a group discussion moderated by Harris Collingwood and Julia Kirby
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On This Day In:
2022	Until Something Better Comes Along
2021	Facing The Headwinds
	Still Thankful, Still Don’t Read Well
2020	Write For Yourself
2019	I’m Actively Irresponsible
2018	I Will Love You… Forever
2017	Pebbles In Your Shoe?
2016	Resolute Will
2015	Absorbed And Civilized
2014	Relax And Lead
2013	Location, Location, Location
2012	Are You Really Good?
2011	Relatively Objective, Anyway

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Ask Any Follower

…Executives are never too time-pressed or information-saturated to learn more about leadership.  The hunger for knowledge about leadership is not simply a reaction to the twists and turns in the business cycle.  It’s a desire to beef up scarce resources:  Just as no baseball team has ever had too many good pitchers, business has never suffered from a glut of true leaders.  Ask any follower.
From the book:  “Harvard Business Review On Becoming a High Performance Manager“
The specific chapter (“All in a Day’s Work“) is a group discussion moderated by Harris Collingwood and Julia Kirby
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On This Day In:
2022	Full Of It
2021	I’m Still Learning To Play
	What Are You Looking For?
2020	All You Can
2019	No Wall And Not One Dollar
	‘Cause It Makes Me Scratch
2018	Mirror, Mirror
2017	Keep On Keeping On
2016	Reflections
2015	Is It Time Yet?
2014	Ask Any Follower
2013	Cornered Or Surrounded?
2012	Escape
2011	Achievement
	Not Unreasonable Enough

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One Thing Is Clear

I have a vision —  maybe just a hope — of a great revulsion:  a moment in which the American people look at what is happening, realize how their good will and patriotism have been abused, and put a stop to this drive to destroy much of what is best in our country.  How and when this moment will come, I don’t know.  But one thing is clear:  it cannot happen unless we all make an effort to see and report the truth about what is happening.
—    Paul Krugman
From his book:  “The Great Unraveling“
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On This Day In:
2022	Suggestions (The Order Of Precedence Is Optional)…
2021	But That’s Certainly Irrational
	Just Goin’ To My Room
2020	The Butterflies Are In Trouble
2019	The Deep Center
2018	Oh, Heaven (Too)
2017	Now Pausing Makes Sense
2016	Just Spicy
	Only One Part
2015	Positive Acts Of Creation
2014	One Thing Is Clear
2013	Corrections
	See Greatness
2012	Gemutlichkeit
2011	Back On The Asphalt

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Still Trying To Cope

The point is that our new, threatened condition isn’t temporary.  We’re in this for the long haul, so any measures we take to fight terrorism had better be measures that we are prepared to live with indefinitely.
The real challenge now is not to stamp out terrorism;  that’s an unattainable goal.  The challenge is to find a way to cope with the threat of terrorism without losing the freedom and prosperity that make America the great nation it is.
—    Paul Krugman
From his book:  “The Great Unraveling“
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On This Day In:
2022	Desert Springs
2021	And Usually The Former
	The Real Heir…
2020	The Doggie Dab
	A Fork In The Road
2019	#LyingDonald’s Problem With The News And Truth
2018	Oh, Hell
2017	No Welcome Mat Here
2016	Making It Up
	A Missed Beat
2015	We Are All Explorers
2014	Still Trying To Cope
2013	Dear Diary (A good chuckle!)
2012	Conveniently Sequential
2011	King’s Speech Number Four
	Rational Probability

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Practice, Practice, Practice

Sometimes the best, and only effective, way to kill an idea is to put it into practice.
—    Sydney J. Harris
[Actually, we’ve been trying / practicing “Trickle-Down Economics” for over 40 years and it has still not worked.  Does that mean it will be “killed” sometime soon?    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	Beautiful Curves
2021	Life Is…
	Thank You Guardians (OTG)*
2020	Why #DonTheCon Hates, Belittles And Fires Honest Government Employees
2019	What Do You Want?
2018	Wakanda Forever
	I’d Be Happy With Another Score (Or So)
2017	In Defense Of A Free Press
2016	Lost Opportunity
2015	Are You Listening Ladies?
2014	Practice, Practice, Practice
2013	A Fist Full Of Confusion
2012	Teaching Faith
2011	The Heart Of Terror
	The Proportion Of Gravity And Probability

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Likes And Dislikes

Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
—    Napoleon Bonaparte
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On This Day In:
2022	Overbooked
2021	One Month In: Learning To Play Guitar
	Cause The Melody Keeps Haunting Me
2020	Working On My 2019 Tax Returns
2019	Three Beliefs
2018	He Found Them On-Line
2017	Maybe In A Future World
2016	Largely A Mystery
2015	Tools And Weapons
2014	Likes And Dislikes
2013	Pillars Of Learning
2012	Another JCoM Review
	Move It
2011	Expected Value

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…Am Too

It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.
―     André Gide
[This quote was originally found on one of the blogs I follow, maintained by Deodatta Shenai-Khatkhate:  Deo Volente  at:  (http://dshenai.wordpress.com/)
The actual post is:  http://dshenai.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/insightful-inspirational-quotes-about-life/
Unfortunately, in mid-January this year, Deo shutdown shop on his blog.  You can still find his postings.  There just aren’t going to be any new posts until (if) he decides to start back up.  Thank you for the time and energy you did share with us, Deo.  You are missed!  Namaste!!   —  kmab]
[Ooops!  (per my comment – this has been added for those who don’t read these posts with the comments in view…)  Obviously, rumors of the demise of Deo’s blog were greatly exaggerated (by me).  I am happy to note that Deo’s site is still up and running and still an enjoyable source of interesting information!    —    kmab]
[As of today (and it’s been true for sometime), 13 Feb. 2022, Deo’s site is private and access must by granted by the site owner.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	I Learn Something New
2021	I’m Retired, I Always Have Time For It!
	Just Mice Elf
	That Was A Shot In The Arm
2020	Decide, Support, Vote
2019	Aware Some
2018	Know Any Christians?
2017	The Only Thing I Can Give…
2016	Wiser But Less Cocksure
2015	Not Today
	Wicked
2014	…Am Too
2013	Credible?
2012	Both
2011	Risking Hidden Linkage

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Astonishing Choices

In literature as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others.
—    André Maurois
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On This Day In:
2022	First, To Understand
2021	So How Should We Persuade The Dangerous?
	Can A Loser Ever Win?
2020	Maybe More Than A Very Few
2019	Missing Failure
2018	Praise God
2017	Necessary Gaps
2016	Nor My Dogs
2015	Say What?
	I’m A Dog, Too!
	Beginnings
2014	Astonishing Choices
2013	Three Hard Tasks
2012	The Only Remains
2011	Personal Capability
	What Price Failure?
	Both Of W’s Elections
	Tea (Baggers) Anyone?

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None But…

There is no remedy for love but to love more.
—   Henry David Thoreau
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On This Day In:
2022	True Measures
2021	Moments With You
	I Remember I Told My Sorrow
2020	A Post-Valentine Thought
2019	A Little Magic
	‘Cause It Makes Me Feel Happy
	The Mark Against Your Name
2018	Nice To Meet You
2017	All Nations & Religions
2016	Given The Choice
	Why Is He Wearing Red?
2015	Within The System
2014	None But…
2013	Obviously Longer
2012	A Childhood Poem
	Who Are You Callin’ Leather-Faced?
2011	In No Particular Order
	The Need For Proof

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Which Is It?

When I feed the poor they call me a saint.  When I ask why so many people are poor they call me a communist.
—    Brazilian Roman Catholic Bishop Dom Helder Camara
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On This Day In:
2022	A Little Perspective
2021	Put ‘Er There
	Are You Goin’ On Again?
2020	And In The Back
2019	Sunlight Stream
2018	Wars Without Taxes
2017	Multiplication And Division
2016	I Went To The Woods…
2015	I’ve Got To Run
2014	Which Is It?
2013	Making You Stronger
2012	Sick Of Being Sick
	Greater Than Power
2011	Clear, Specific And Measurable
2010	The Runner’s High
	Into The Dark…

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Chillin’

Today we (Hil, Sarah and I) went to the theater to see the new Disney movie:  “Frozen“.  Wow!  This is a terrific movie!  It’s animation and it’s a musical, but it is still one of the best movies I’ve seen in some time…
There’s the princesses and the handsome hero.  The goofy sidekick and the animal friend.  There is magic, and singing, and incredible art.  And of course, since it IS a Disney movie, you know how it ends.
This is a movie which celebrates “girl power” but it does it in a very heartfelt way.  If you want to take you daughter or niece to a movie where the “heroes” are the girls, then this is the movie for you.  Definitely a highly-recommended and I can hardly wait for the DVD so I can watch it again.
Oh, yeah…  As a musical, the songs are both funny and powerful (in turn).  The lyrics are generally more mature than “The Lion King“, but every bit as catchy and, dare I say it, performed better.  That’s saying quite a bit because I’ve seen “The Lion King” dozens of times.
Other news:
I had to go to the dentist today.  I’m getting a crown and my temporary cracked and came out yesterday.  Fortunately, there was no pain involved.
I’m rapidly approaching 200 miles on my jogging.  I started back up again on 28 Dec ’13 and have been going steadily ever since.  My goal for 2014 is to jog 1,000 miles.  That’s about three times my best miles in a year from the recent past few years.  We’ll see if I can keep it going…
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On This Day In:
2022	A Reminder Of Pride And Responsibility
2021	And Last Minute Blog Posts
	This Boy Just Ain’t Right
2020	Pat, Pat, Pant, Pant
2019	You (Too) Are Related
	A Blind Squirrel Finds An Idiot
2018	My Hope
2017	We All Lose
2016	Wants
2015	Let Us Join
2014	Feeling Kept?
	Chillin’
2013	The Lucky Few
2012	A Post-Valentine’s Day Message
2011	Risk, Lyrics, Starting Over, And My Trip To The ER
	Lucky Choice

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Feeling Kept?

Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.
—    Napoleon Bonaparte
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On This Day In:
2022	A Reminder Of Pride And Responsibility
2021	And Last Minute Blog Posts
	This Boy Just Ain’t Right
2020	Pat, Pat, Pant, Pant
2019	You (Too) Are Related
	A Blind Squirrel Finds An Idiot
2018	My Hope
2017	We All Lose
2016	Wants
2015	Let Us Join
2014	Feeling Kept?
	Chillin’
2013	The Lucky Few
2012	A Post-Valentine’s Day Message
2011	Risk, Lyrics, Starting Over, And My Trip To The ER
	Lucky Choice

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