Two constants in our world are 1) every culture has a flat bread and 2) every religiious/belief system group has prayer elements common to all. Please understand that I use the word “every” loosely. I’m sure somewhere there’s a culture or group that does things differently. Ditto with the word “prayer.” Just suspend your picknits for a bit, ok?

Flatbread: tortillas, pita, pizza crust

Prayer: clearly visualize/verbalize what you want, release the energy into the universe.

Examples are:

Christian prayer: visualize/verbalize what you want and release it to God to deal with.

Buddist prayer: visualize/verbalize what you want and release the energy to the universe.

Pagan prayer: visualize/verbalize what you want and release the energy to diety of choice.

Many, many, many goal setting systems: visualize/verbalize what you want and focus on it to cause the goal to manifest (from the energy of the universe).

Not having studied lots of religious/belief systems, if my readership (such as it isn’t right now) would like to point out such a group that doesn’t do a variation on this visualize and release, let me know. Or one that doesn’t have a flatbred, either.

New frontiers – where do they allow us to go – do we want to go there? Where will they allow us to go? Places we didn’t expect when we left.

When books went from hand-scribing to moveable type, the trauma to ownership and authorship was traumatic. We are once again, facing that same trauma. For any who think all works should be free to any who want them, I have one question: Will you go to work every day for nothing? Don’t tell me “it’s different.” It’s work. It should be compensated. “It’s different because I don’t have to (read/watch/buy).” Oh? Try living without TV shows, movies, books, magazines, games. Completely without. Don’t watch TV, don’t watch any movie, don’t read anything except instruction manuals that come with the products you buy, don’t play any games at all. The people who create these things need to pay rent, buy food, pay for utilities to keep warm in the winter.

We are in a time of transition, which is always traumatic. We will figure it out. We may have to go back to the patronage system, whereby the rich “keep” artists of various sorts, who create for the patron, as with Michelangelo and others.

I think what Google is doing is great. My local bookstores don’t stock much in the way of selection these days, just the absolute latest and/or most popular. I like to browse books new to me to see if the writing style is one that I can handle before I buy the whole book. And I still like to have books. You can’t take your laptop or tablet into the bathroom. You most certainly don’t want to use one while you soak in the tub.

In terms of having out-of-copyright books available online, the Gutenberg Project is already doing some of that. I’ve done some proofreading for them. Quite a lot of out-of-copyright books are also out of print, the only source being used book stores.

We live in times of change. I’m not saying we have to like it, or that the change will be easy. We can shape that change, or we can stand on a soapbox and scream that the tide stop.

I am personally bleeding from the changing times. I have either lost jobs or job opportunities as jobs in the computer field move out of the country, and what’s left go to younger, less expensive employees (or less experienced, so they don’t give the boss grief—but that’s for another post). So, unlike Steve Forbes who speaks of the trauma of change without ever having it damage his lifestyle, I speak from the emergency room of life.

And choose to enjoy the change.

Friends send me various humorous lists in email. Sometimes I find them worth sharing.

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1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved and never will achieve its full potential, that word would be “meetings.”

3. There is a very fine line between “hobby” and “mental illness”
(don’t even go there with me – Lin)

4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

5. You should not confuse your career with your life.
(explain this one to certain computer game companies – Lin)

6. Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.

7. Never lick a steak knife.

8. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

9. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.
(yes, I can, see below – Lin)

10. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she’s pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

11. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.
(My boyfriend made a big deal out of my 21st birthday; he could now take me to places that were formerly off limits. This was not an improvement. This may be why he became an ex. – Lin)

12. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.

13. A person who is nice to you but rude to a waiter is not a nice person.
(This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

14. Your friends love you anyway.

15. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

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Daylight Savings Time conundrum. — If the clock time stays the same, as the sun rises earlier and earlier, you’re now sleeping thru one or more hours of sunlight. If the clock time is pushed back, you are now not sleeping through at least one hour of that sunlight. It’s now tucked in at the end of the day, when you’re awake and can use it for something productive.

This is, of course, for those whose normal hours are daytime hours. For swingshift or graveyard, your mileage will vary. Or for those who think sleeping is productive. But now you know.