Great Service

Not everybody can be famous, but everybody can be great because greatness is determined by service.
––    Martin Luther King, Jr.
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On This Day In:
2022	For A While
2021	The Cautionary Tale Of 6 January 2021
	When I Needed Sunshine
2020	65K
	Burst Buds
	Faux News Viewers
2019	Tomorrow’s Bread
2018	Impeach 45: Make America Great Again
2017	Training Shoulders
2016	You Just Have To Care
	Day 4 – Blending
2015	My Slow Education
2014	Great Service
2013	You Really Should Wear More Sweaters
	Here I Am God
2012	The Serenity Prayer
2011	The Victory Of Life

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The Difference

Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart;  intelligence is not information alone but also judgement, the manner in which information is coordinated and used.
—    Carl Sagan
Found on the site:  THINKING SCI-FI
Located at:  http://thinkingscifi.wordpress.com/
The specific post is:  http://thinkingscifi.wordpress.com/2014/03/06/cosmos-revisited/
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On This Day In:
2022	What You Know
2021	Some Doctors Are Better Than Others
	Lessons
2020	A Liar As President Corrupts Us
2019	Is It Dark And Quiet For You?
2018	Undeniable Requirement
2017	Orange Corrosion
2016	Both Particle And Wave
2015	Deep In Debt
2014	The Difference
2013	My Heart Is Described
2012	Keen To Be Alone
2011	The Ideal Business…
2010	55

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Intricate And Subtle Order

Cosmos is a Greek word for the order of the universe.  It is, in a way, the opposite of Chaos.  It implies the deep interconnectedness of all things.  It conveys awe for the intricate and subtle way in which the universe is put together.
―    Carl Sagan
From his TV Show:  “Cosmos“
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On This Day In:
2022	Completely Reasonable To Worry
2021	Seeking Happiness
	Check Your Watch
2020	Expectation For The Near Future
2019	Indian Myth
	Did He Even Have The Courage To Ask?
2018	Nothing
2017	Approval First
2016	In Search Of Words
	Day 2 – Blending
2015	At What Price?
2014	Intricate And Subtle Order
2013	Attention To Detail
2012	Aequanimitas!
2011	Consider This

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Unpaved

Some people try to turn back their odometers.  Not me, I want people to know “why” I look this way.  I’ve traveled a long way and some of the roads weren’t paved!
—    Will Rogers
[Happy Birthday to me!  Here’s to the unpaved roads… and miles to go, before I sleep!!    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	The Air Is Thinner, But It’s A Killer View
2021	Staying Young While Getting Old
	Mid-Afternoon (Hopefully)
2020	Still Measuring
2019	Living On The Couch
	Who Am I – One Interpretation
2018	A Gardening Goal: Feed The Flowers
2017	Freakishly Happy Cowboy
2016	One More, Please
2015	Infinite Adventure
2014	Unpaved
2013	Headstones
2012	Keeping Young
2011	Lessons Well Learned

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Are You Confused?

Anyone who isn’t confused really doesn’t understand the situation.
—    Edward R. Murrow
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On This Day In:
2022	One Hour Per Year
2021	If You’re A Lucky 11 Year Old
	Just Got To Be
	Masked Countdown And Gratitude
2020	Democratic Aspiration
2019	Soul Before Will
2018	Small Things
2017	Clear And Warm To Me
2016	Ripple
2015	Amazing Or Full Of Wonder?
2014	Are You Confused?
2013	But The Odds Are Against It
2012	Far Better Off With Books
2011	Timid And Fainthearted

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Not Saying

The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know.
—    Napoleon Bonaparte
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On This Day In:
2022	A Whole New Kind
2021	Yea, Spring!
	Smile On Your Brother
2020	Spoken And Shared
2019	Real Tools
	Three Cruelties
2018	United States
2017	Out Of Luck
2016	Wavelengths Of The Earth
2015	God Said What To You?
2014	Not Saying
2013	Ears And Tongue
2012	The Story Of Joe (Middle-Class Republican)
2011	Happy Birthday, Diana
	Depending On Kindness

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More Beef, Less Bull

After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring.  He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him…
The moral:  When you’re full of bull, keep your mouth shut.
—    Will Rogers
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On This Day In:
2022	Understanding True Achievement
2021	Avoiding Corners
	Nobody Knows
	A Novel War
2020	First Buds
	To Fly
2019	What If Nobody Believes Them Either
2018	It’s About Heart Not Skill
2017	Winning So Much I’m Already Tired Of It (Not)
2016	Punishing Red Binge
2015	Bits In The Soup
2014	More Beef, Less Bull
2013	Where Are Your Mountains
2012	Spherical Knowledge Of Hamsters
2011	Taking Stock Over Time

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58 – Little Bro

I don’t know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.
—    Will Rogers
[Happy Birthday, Bro!  Hopefully, there are many more to come…  Love ya, Kev    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	Following His Own Path
2021	Show A Brother Some Love
	Beyond Words
2020	Especially You, Bro
	Words Without Explanation
2019	Enjoy!
2018	Happy Birthday, Bro!
2017	Love Can Change The World In A Minute
2016	60, Little Bro!
2015	Vision and Courage
2014	58 – Little Bro
2013	New Adventures And Old Hopes
	Caving In
2012	Bits And Bobs And Birthdays
	Always Hope
2011	Wet Snow And Long Hills

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Three Observations

We do not completely love those at whom we cannot smile.  There is something inhuman in absolute perfection which overwhelms the mind and heart, which commands respect, but keeps friendship at a distance through discouragement and humiliation.  We are always glad when a great man reassures us of his humanity by possessing a few peculiarities.
—    André Maurois
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On This Day In:
2022	Putin’s Objective In Ukraine?
2021	It’s 12 O’clock Somewhere
	The Way It Is
2020	And #IncompetentDonald Weakens It
2019	Morning Mirror
2018	Wondering About #45
2017	A Prayer For London
2016	Don’t Default
2015	Her Pilgrim Soul
2014	Three Observations
2013	Robbed Again
2012	Good Hearts
2011	Interesting Reading
	What Are You Lookin’ At?

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Just Setting Out

I never set out to be weird.  It was always other people who called me weird.
—    Frank Zappa
From his book:  “The Real Frank Zappa Book“
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On This Day In:
2022	Make It Easy
	On A Lighter Note
2021	I Hope Not
	Diggin’ It
2020	Organized Skepticism
2019	An Interest In Life
2018	Two: A Current President With Both
2017	Watch This Space
2016	Beyond The Foundation
2015	Become An Affliction
2014	Just Setting Out
2013	Scott’s Inscription
2012	Good Knowledge
2011	Social Safety Nets

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You, Too!

Keep away from people who try to belittle your dreams.  Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you too, can become great.
—    Mark Twain
[Found on one of the blogs I follow:  http://stevendavisuk.com/
The specific posting is:  http://stevendavisuk.com/2014/02/08/12-inspiring-quotes-to-get-you-motivated-now/
—    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	One World (Our Only Place)…
2021	Move The Heart
	Join Hands
2020	He Broke Even
	Whoever / Whatever
2019	The Right Anger
	Another P&P Review
2018	Does Fatalism Equal Mental Health?
2017	Choice
2016	Growing Worlds
2015	Change The Tide
	Martyr, n.
2014	You, Too!
2013	Bitter Stand
2012	Lost For Words
2011	On Market Reactions…

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I Hear Voices

One glance at (a book) and you hear the voice of another person – perhaps someone dead for thousands of years.  Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently, inside your head, directly to you.  Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another.  Books break the shackles of time.
—    Carl Sagan
Found on the site:   THINKING SCI-FI
Located at:  http://thinkingscifi.wordpress.com/
The specific post is:  http://thinkingscifi.wordpress.com/2014/03/06/cosmos-revisited/
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On This Day In:
2022	Seek Good
2021	Aging Well
	Now And Forever
2020	Always
2019	#45 Is More Of A Piddle Than A Puddle
2018	Found Out
	A Message To The “Wanna Be” Dictator On Leadership
2017	Still Waiting…
2016	Same Old, Same Old
2015	Shout!
2014	I Hear Voices
2013	Ethics And Standards
2012	Swing Higher
2011	Convicted For Life

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Nudge, Nudge

If something doesn’t work exactly right, or maybe needs some special treatment, you don’t just throw it away.  Everything can’t be fully operational all the time.  Sometimes, we need to have the patience to give something the little nudge it needs.
―    Sarah Dessen
Quoted on the web site:  The Mirror Obscura, located at:  http://themirrorobscura.com/
The specific posting is:  http://themirrorobscura.com/2014/03/04/writing-journal-entry-4/
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On This Day In:
2022	Be Someone For Somebody
2021	Genius (And Other Details)
	I Don’t Know Why
	Going Into The Deep End
2020	Repercussions For Health
2019	Chained To #45
2018	Some Men Make Their Office As Small As Themselves
2017	Too Many
2016	Not Yet, Anyway
2015	On Pornography
2014	Nudge, Nudge
2013	The Journey Will Be Joy
2012	Hopeful Flights
2011	Irrationally Predictable
	Lawful Restraint

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Rule One

Always keep in mind Rule One of archaeology:  Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
—    Kenneth C. Davis
From his book:  “Don’t Know Much About The Bible“
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On This Day In:
2022	How About: Just Be Kind…
2021	Try To Choose Wisely
	Found It
2020	We Have A Window
2019	No Escape
2018	Except When It Is From The Oval Office
2017	Bad Karma
2016	Poor Management Choices
2015	Is It Still Dark Out?
2014	Rule One
2013	Spelling God’s Name
2012	Love Your Life And Sing
	Feeling Under the Weather?
2011	Cheers, Friend!

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See It Sometime

While I was on the space station, I used Twitter to ask hundreds of thousands of people what they would like me to take a picture of.  Resoundingly, the answer was “home.”  Everyone, from all around the world, wanted to see their hometowns.  I found that thought-provoking.  After millennia of wandering and settling, we are still most curious about how we fit in and how our community looks in the context of the rest of the world.  A curiosity of self-­awareness, now answerable by technology.
This is where the answers to our problems will start.  ­People across the planet need to see and internalize an accurate global vision of place and individual account­ability — to recognize the problems that face us all and the technologies that exist to combat them.  Our young ­people need to be able to look up, to look beyond the horizons of their forebears, and see the wisdom and opportunity that comes from a more universal sense of responsibility.
The International Space Station is a phenomenal laboratory, an unparalleled test bed for new invention and discovery.  Yet I often thought, while silently gazing out the window at Earth, that the actual legacy of humanity’s attempts to step into space will be a better understanding of our current planet and how to take care of it.
It is not a perfect world, but it is ours.  Sometimes you have to leave home to truly see it.
—    Chris Hadfield
From an article:  “We Should Treat Earth as Kindly as We Treat Spacecraft“
The on-line version of the article is at:  http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/11/chris-hadfield-wired/
In the December 2013 issue of Wired magazine:  http://www.wired.com/
[I have subscribed to “Wired” for over a decade.  It is well worth the money for anyone who fancies himself (or herself) a futurist!    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	42
2021	Blessings Larger Than Life
	Tomorrow She Sails
2020	The Sun Came Out
	Not A Wink On Guard
2019	The Importance Of A Deadline
	Chaos Is Not Really A New Remedy
2018	History Will Judge Harshly
	Father Time, Perhaps?
2017	Odds Are
2016	Prayer, Too
2015	History, n.
2014	See It Sometime
2013	Precious Friend
2012	It Couldn’t Be Done
	Feeling Surrounded?
2011	Surprise!

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