Isn’t this alarming?

 Several times a day in several places you’ll go it is almost for certain you will hear a cell phone give off some sort of notification or alarm.  Because we know that sound is meant for us or someone specifically  for a special reason we jump to it.  Well recently there was a situation in my domicile where there were no cell phones and thus no alarms not even to wake up people for work.  This prompted the question, “what the hell did we do before alarm clocks?”   More importantly how did this thing called the alarm get to be such a critical part of everybody’s life?  

Well as it happens for most of recorded history and before that human beings didn’t set alarms and somehow we got by.  Now there were of course roosters and morning doves and of course cats are always good for waking people up.  However it wasn’t until good old Levi Hutchins an industrious early American invented the alarm in 1787 when we started wrecking the natural sleep cycles of folks.  Now this first alarm was limited in that it only went off at 4:)) in the morning.   I guess Levi had to stoke the fire, grind the coffee, milk the cow—nobody wanted that straight black coffee) and then he had to wake up the rest of the neighborhood by cranking up his accordion?  

Well that once a day system worked pretty well for a good long time as it wasn’t until halfway through the next century or 1867 when a French inventor put together an alarm that could be set at various times.  Way to go Antoine Redier … I would hazard a guess that this dude and the person who invented the necktie has been cursed by more humans than any other notorious  human in history to date.  

Seeking Peace and Joy and why not to get “Alarmed” About it.

So the alarm evolved from a once a day thing to a noise you could set.  Now we get alarms when  someone sends us a post on social media, when we are supposed to get up in the morning, when it’s time to change the batteries  in things and charge the batteries in other things.  Ww can set alarms for anything at any time and these alarms can make almost any sound.   We are now programmed to be alarmed about everything all the time.  We rarely pay attention unless someone claims it is “breaking” news.   However, all this alarm  stuff sort of leads to the question..

If we can have all these alarms all the time then is all this stuff really that alarming?  Maybe not… maybe we have evolved or devolved into a human race that expects to fear missing the start of things or missing them altogether.  Maybe some alarms are needed, however, maybe some can be turned off.  Are your friends really going to quit texting or tweeting you if you take 2 minutes to answer rather than 4 seconds?  A lot of employers complain that workers pay more attention to their social media than their work… but how many employers would say “sleep when you are tired and then come on in to work rested.?”  

Okay… maybe some of us need reminders and prompting some of the time and yet what would happen if none of the apps on our phone had to tell us to pay attention?  Wouldn’t it be great if our smart phones could be set up to shut off all alarms automatically two days a week… let’s say on the weekend just so we didn’t live on pins and needles?  Or maybe every alarm should have to cry out…”BE AFRAID BE AFRAID BE AFRAID” so that we would realize that many of the folks that urge us to set alarms are really prompting us to be afraid of missing every little thing and the price is only a little peace.. and the chance to understand the flow of life you might prosper from?   

Anyway… time’s up… how do I know?   Not from an alarm… so relax and think about this… 

Peace 

Online shopping

They’ll smile and they’ll wink

“You can dress in silk and mink”

It’s easy click the link

But I beg you not to blink

As interest rates won’t shrink

Accounts display red ink

Because you didn’t think

And now you’ll need a drink 

Shop online

Ruining an Otherwise great walk outdoors “Mulligan” Stew

 Down the faraway strolls the strutter

Balls were rolling  smooth as butter

One missed swing — a tiny sputter

Internal swear words champions mutter

Then the magic leaves the putter

Now the world starts to flutter

Forehead sweats and forearms shutter 

The disaster now it seems is utter

Mulligan Stew?

President's Day Are You Buying It? With a Cherry On Top

                                            

Presidents’ Day—Are You Buying It?

So this week we celebrate Presidents’Day and apparently we honor presidents by buying things and not just certain things.. everything from suits to computers and subscriptions and memberships.  I wonder if John Quincy  Adam’s or Herbert Hoover feels honored  when customers get 30% off a touch screen all in one with 2TB solid state drives?  Now when I was younger we used to celebrate a couple of specific president’s birthdays but now we don’t have time for all that and we have learned some facts about presidents we’d rather not  spend time focused on like the fact that Jefferson  believed that all men were created equal and set about creating babies with all ethnicities just about equally.    Oh and now we are pretty certain that George Washington never chopped down a cherry tree nor then did he confess to his father he couldn’t tell a lie.  But alas the cherry  seems to have come through this okay as in this same week  we also have National Cherry Pie Day.   

So let’s transition between this cherry tree fake news to some real facts.  While we recognize cherry pie day… government  has abandoned the Washington  tale but not all states have cleared the books of cherry-related mandates.  In fact, Kansas  has deemed it illegal to prepare and serve cherry pie aala mode.    Okay let us move ahead shall we?

There are two basic types of cherries—sweet and tart.  Tart is the type we use to bake with and in the part of country where this entry originates  tart is the type that we are semi-famous for in a region less than an hour away.  If we travel less than an hour we can view the world’s fastest carry picking  process where tree shakers can harvest thousands of cherries in mere seconds.  In fact, a whole tree (7000 cherries) can be collected  in a quaint 7 seconds.  That’s probably enough cherries for  somewhere between 25 and 28 pies if you are generous with the cherries.  

But if pie is not your thing you can also get cherry wine, cherry cream soda, cherry jam, all types of cherries and chocolate and of course cherry BBQ sauce!

Travers City MI is known as Cherry City U.S.A. and it’s minor league  baseball team is the “Pit Spitters.”  This serves as a reminder of a saying from  several decades ago that has sort of gone by the way side…by the way which side is the “way?”  We all know the inside, the outside,  the upside  and downside, the left side and the right side and even the suicide .. and yet the “way side?”  

Okay let’s get back to the saying… Life is a bowl of cherries but sometimes it’s the pits…. And speaking of the pits… NASCAR is back and that means baseball  is coming soon… so we’ll wrap  things up with this… 

No matter if  life is the pits, it’s always time to step up to the plate in life and take a swing.   

So take your discounted laptop and hotel rewards membership go out and salute  Grover, Herbert, Tricky Dick and Old Hickory… and have some dessert  with a cherry on top  

Things Change

                                                                                            

 If you hear the sound of saws while you’re standing on a limb

Or fear the blurry  shadows as the light begins to dim

When  the buzzer says  it’s over as the ball bangs off the rim

As the waves consume the lifeboat and some aboard can’t swim

You can  choose to start believing that all  of life is grim

But  i say grab your Goblet and fill it to the brim

For Karma flips eternally and often on a whim

And your slice of glee and happiness is really not that slim

Things Change

What’s Your “IP” Address…relax.calm?

 Time to loosen your grip

take a shot from the hip

All the posing just skip

And your sweetness unzip

So what if you slip

Don’t let fear crack the whip

Take a gulp not a sip

From Your Grail called Life’s Trip

Live Now

Life/Math Hacks and String Theory

 Math hacks, Life, and String Theory?

Personal Note….

I have recieved a good deal of feedback about  my initial. Math/life hack post… mostly politely informing  me that “this nerdy” stuff  is better explained in person or in a one to one conversation… Well… I’m not sure about that yet the public can’t be wrong (Hitler? Trading Babe Ruth? Disco? The “New” Coke)… Having said this … I have a whole bunch of math hacks and a willingness to share  with anyone at almost any time.   You can find me on facebook, twitter, and all the major podcast and audio  platforms like Spotify, Amazon, libsyn, Google Play and on and on… For  now just ponder that 72 times any two digit number  will always  be that number times 100 minus 28 times that number… and to make this easy which math is let’s pick 72 times 28 which is 2800 - 28 squared  (784) giving us 2016 which  is of course the same  (remember the 25 rule from two entries ago?)  72/4= 18 times 100 plus 3 times 72 (216 and 1800 + 216 well you get the picture… Okay need help?  Want math to be fun?  Connect..

All we are saying here is that Math  and Life sometimes  are not “String  Theory”. Which brings me to some pondering about two matters… Kites and shoestrings.

In mid-January we recognize “International” Kite Day and just this week we celebrate National Kite day here in the U. S.  Two questions… do we here in the home of the brave really need a separate day? And are January or February  really great kite flying months?   Did Franklin “discover” electricity?  Are you trying to convince me that prior to Good ole’ Benny there was never static cling… These people wore wool in the winter time… Great Marketing Ben.  

There is something cool about running just fast enough and catching a breeze  to get a sheet of paper or whatever floating  up in the air until  its caught in the crabby ole man’s tree just up the street or wrapped around the electric wires (thanks Ben your “discovery led to the Kite killing  high voltage line currently capturing many kites  nationwide every year…. 

Now there are some great kite related  records (google it) but the most amazing is probably that a kite has been flown over 15,000 feet in the air.  Question: how long did it take to wind back in that string?   Did they just leave it in Kansas when they were done and start selling t-shirts for the “World’s  Biggest Ball of Twine?”  And if not why not? 

Shoestrings

Fastest  tied ever … less than two seconds Strongest… lifted  714 kilos —over 1500 pounds

So What in the world do these strings have to do with Seeking Peace and Joy?

Well simply some ties or strings are made quickly and some are strong some strings hold true  and keep things connected from some long distances.   Some strings and connections allow people and their spirits to fly while others just get tangles and leave people  and their lives hanging.  The point here is that life is a journey that presents a whole lot of choices about strings some you will choose to hold onto and others you may choose to cut.  Some will break and your kites that were so carefully constructed will drift away and leave you holding  just a ball of unwound experiences.  You may choose to leave that string on the ground or tie  it to something  else but don’t tie it to a key in a storm and claim you discovered  a naturally occurring  thing that’s been done.

In short kites in the winter don’t make sense and neither do some strings we almost always believe must be attached in ways that most people accept.  Be aware of the strings in your life and why you use them and how they connect you… Also remember some puppets are operated  using strings and they have a fancy name… but they are puppets on strings and by any other name they are not making choices… don’t become one of those…

Well I’ve strung you along  long enough … thanks for reading …tell me to go fly a kite.. if you wish

A Verbal Vacine for A Manic Monday

 Relax chill out the spastic

Tune down the sharp sarcastic

Forego extremes and drastic

Reset to calm scholastic

Or Meditate Monastic

Don’t wrap  your soul in plastic

Polyeaster or elastic

Just love life be fantastic

Deep Breathing

Adding Up to Peace +Joy

 Seeking Peace and Joy Adds Up

So holy cow it’s January 12th already and my “new Year’’s Resolutions are sitting patiently by waiting for me to dig in.   Now it could be  that some of us make these resolutions and don’t start on them right away and are starting to feel guilty…let’s visit that a little later.  It may be that we’ve already given up  in which case pat yourself on the back for being an overachiever as research has shown that the majority of all resolutions are abondoned by January 19th sometimes known as National Give Up Day.  Either way let’s figure out what we really. Want to work on and start today but… first….

Let’s figure out why we didn’t start right away… There are probably lots of reasons, however, maybe its mostly about fear of change?  Maybe  let’s explore this by relating it to something most people are taught to fear—MATH.

Yep… you see most people get taught to be afraid of math at some level and then they stop building the foundation to change their level of math skills.  So … let’s substitute  math skills for  life skills and put some stronger math  bricks in your foundation and then in the next couple posts  bring the two together.  Life hacks/ Math Hacks

We are usually taught somewhere around third grade. Or fourth grade the only math hack  we ever learn… so your schools are ripping you off (big shocker).   What’s that Hack?

The rule of 9

When you multiply. Any number  by nine the sum of the numbers in the answer will add up to nine.  While this is true no matter how high you go we are usually only taught up to 9 X 9.  

That’s a good foundational hack, however, it just get’s left there with no building. On top of it and that leads to some uncertainty so let’s expand shall we?  What is almost?  Why 10 of course… So multiplying by 9 is the same  as multiplying  by 10 which is adding a 0 to the end and subtracting  that number multiplying by 1 which is of course  that number.  So let’s say we want to multiply 319 X 9 well that is 3190 — 31990–19  is 71 and 3100 —300 is 2800 so the answer is 2871 and of course 2+8+7+1 is 18 and 1+8 is 9 (remember what we said about the digits adding up to 9?  So instead of multiplying all this numbers you are simplifying be adding a zero and subtracting  and subtracting  shouldn’t scare anyone… 

The  5 Hack 

Now another hack we should all be taught is the 5 hack but we are not.   Now multiplying be 10 is adding a 0  and 5 is half of 10  so take the  you are multiplying by  5 let’s say 1286 just for giggles.  So cut 1286 in half which is 643 and and the 0 there’s your answer so what if it is an odd number …pick the next higher or the next lower number  and do the same thing and simply add or subtract  the 5. So let’s do 6217 for example… we’ll add 1 making it 6218 cut in half that’s 3109 now add the 0 so you have 31090 then subtract the  5 and presto you get 31085

Squaring  numbers that end in 5 … so let’s say  we are going to multiply 25 time 25  the hard way is to multiply 20 times 25  and then add another 5 times 25 or the other way around.   The easy way is to look at the first digit  which. Is 2 and then multiply it by the very next number which is  3 and then stick 25 on the end.  So 25  time 25 is 6 (3X2) 25. Now let’s go to 45 squared  using the same hack it is 4X5 (20) with  a 25 tacked on or 2025 so of course 85 squared  is 7225 etc..  and yes 105 squared is 110 (11X10) 25 11025! 

Just one more for today

Multiplying by 25… 

Now 4 X 25 is 100  and just like  multiplying by 10 adds one  zero… multiplying by 100 adds two  zeros.  Now the trick here is to remember. We are multiplying by 100 divided by 4.. so we add the two zeros and then divide by 4 or divide by 4 first and then  add the zeros.  So let’s take 72 X 25 .. Now 72 divided by 4 is 18 and 25X72 is 1800 Now you say that’s all good but what if the number  doesn’t plot by 4?  Good question… since you are multiplying by  25  your answer has to end in 00 25 50  or 75 so after you divide if there is 1 left  over your answer ends in 25 for example 117 X 25 = 117  divided by 4. Or 29 with 1 left over.. so the answer has to end in 25 which means 117 times 25  is going to be 2925  39 X25  would be 39 divided by  4 which. Is 9 with 3 left over so that is going to end in 75 or 975

The point is …. Math can be fast and fun and easy..however many of us were not taught that… We learned that  there were piles of complicated numbers to be figured out. Carried put in columns and the very least we need a fancy calculator to even come close.. 

What is being suggested here  is that we are probably more likely to feel good about seeking peace and joy through New Year’s change if we start with a simplified scheme that we can feel good about.  

So let’s say you want to eat better…. Start by multiplying  by 10… What?  Adding one zero… eating one piece of fruit or one green vegetable  Then  if you want to get a little more advanced multiple. By five.. Eat one fruit AND. One vegetable .  

Back to the  point about not starting yet… Screw it… You are the master of your own life calendar… start today … Guilt never changed history… and you may have to start again a few times  in order. To figure out what formula works for you.. You may multiply. By 9 by simply  multiplying by 9 but. You may find  it must easier to multiply. By 10 and subtract.  

Seeking peace  and joy or any change or building any meaning  is adding up the pieces from where you stand at any one time.   And after a while  you can start putting some anchors down like knowing that 74 squared is 5476 and 76  squared is 5776 and 88 squared is 7744… the point is practice facing fears to build a foundation  from which to exercise curiousity …  and be sure to show your work!

More Math hacks soon and your new year starts now… 

Peace.

Why social media 10 cc

 The things We Do For Love…Well Maybe

Like walkin’ through the rain and the snow when there’s no place to go”

No this isn’t a recitation of the. 10CC classic and I’m not feelin’ like a part of me is dying… the thing is it’s 3:39 AM and yes my mature adult liquid processing biomechanics have prompted me to side and complete a frequent function.  Which is of course a fancy way of saying once again I’m up to go pee.  And per usual my day begins by checking out the newest episodes of  a couple podcasts, and scanning a few apps to see if there were any  little numbers otherwise called notifications that needed attention.  Then I’m thinking to myself—“Self, why in the world do I care about these notifications and this “social media?”    This leads to. How many hits (downloads and views) have my contributions to social media had lately?  That in turn sparks the pondering of “am I doing social media like oh let’s say this blog for attention or because it’s my way of contributing to the active creation of a culture I want to live in?  

Well clearly it must be a little of both or I wouldn’t have a tote board down on the right hand side of this blog.. and yet this morning it was clear that I usually and almost always check that number to see if my writing is sparking the thoughts or musing of folks who are constantly pounded by worn out simple mass media themes.  Today… it really did hit me that many  people really engage in creating content to make others smile and think, offer public information etc.  Some do this to sell and convince others of things… yet many do this for the reasons I do… for LOVE”

I write this blog and do the podcast and dribble on facebook and twitter  because it promotes LOVE 

L—is for Learning and Laughter

The entire purpose of doing my social media  has only two important  aspects… learning and laughter.

Nothing gets published or distributed if I haven’t learned something that inspires me to share.  But learning  alone isn’t usually quite enough this social media effort encourages  me to find novel ways of connecting everyday things and that for me usually involved a bit of humor.  Oh and humor produces  groans?—well mostly, however sometimes there is laughter.  Laughter. Is incredibly good for all of us so this is a healthcare blog?  Okay let’s not go overboard You know like asking if Dracula always asks for a plasma TV or being concerned. For mummies because they rarely can relax and unwind.  So I do these things for the lounge of learning and sharing that learning and  for the promotion of laughter.

I—Observations and Obligations

Thanks Steve E..This social media  I offer just is a sharing of slightly strained and modified observations designed  to say.. what if we reconsidered things?  What if sorted stuff in slightly different piles prior to putting them on the shelf.  What if we left wiggle room in order to change our minds and experiment with new options? What if we used observations instead of declarations of certainty.  Observations show beliefs without demanding to be declared the winner in the knowledge war.   

Oh and then we do the social media thing because when the universe, the grace of the universal sound, “God” if you will ..the collective soul… provides  a being with some insights they are probably shareable need since generosity is good.. I shouldn’t be the only one learning from my mistakes… in other words we owe each other the lessons we have gathered and to me this is an OBLIGATION of sharing to be done.   

V—Vanity

Look… I do this because I believe  I have something to offer and that what gets put out into the seeking peace and joy universe has value (another V word).  I could and often do.. share  a lot of my content in non-socal media ways… but these social media platforms  show me the data.. They show me that others have used some of their valuable time to read or listen.  In short, they stroke my vanity and answer the question… does anyone out their  understand or want to understand  my mind, my spirit, and frailties?  Well over the past four years some 40,00 individuals or bots have spent an average of 8 minutes a week  taking in my observations and if you trust the analytics…every little bit of what I sling out hits the fan of at least 48 people per day every single day… So… maybe  my vanity creates value?

E—Exploration

Doing these social media prompts me to explore things I never would have researched and shared without the outlets I take advantage of.  For example I’m preparing to look at a very in-depth  social media campaign on  aging and things like community-based and nursing home care.  To do this I have started to explore all types of angles including the economics.  Doing this led me to comparing our social treatment of the price of gas to the cost of nursin home or institutional care.  So  doing this has revealed that the way we determine. And publish consumption numbers related to gasoline  allows folks to present use  at anywhere between about 350 gallons per capita to around 500 and some would even say it’s closer to 700 gallons… Each one of these numbers  is true in it’s own way… so … when someone says they only want the facts let this be known… the facts are only step one… exploring what the facts mean to others and to you is where the richness lives.   So we explore to find facts and then explore  these facts and our souls to offer and share meanings… So “seeking Peace and Joy” prompts me to explore a little and then explore some more…. 

Summing up.. 

My social media  is one of the “things We do for Love”.  If you are reading this you are doing it with me… ooops that sounds kind of creepy and probably has weird social connotations… but seriously… let’s keep loving each other  enough to learn, observe, use our vanity to create  valuable content and keep exploring always instead of being afraid… 

Yes… as we approach a new year…

Keep “love—ING. EACH OTHER 

Love you all… just not all at once LOL. See you in 23

Eight Line Rhyme—Holiday Edition

Days ago the retail dash

Wrapping Paper  now in trash

Piles of gifts but low on cash

Still seeing lights but some won’t flash

Budgets? well they’re mostly ash

The Grinch gave back the ole’ who hash

Now chips and booze we find our stash

As we await the New Year’s Bash

-Holiday Scene