Found while looking for something else in the book Life's Greatest Lessons by Hal Urban:
"True discipline isn't on your back needling you with imperatives; it is at your side, nudging you with incentives. When you understand that discipline is self-caring, not sel-castigating, you won't cringe at its mention, but will cultivate it."
--Sybil Stanton
Ring Out Wild Bells by Alfred Tennyson includes eight stanzas, not just the three I've sung for years in the hymn with music by Crawford Gates. Here's the complete poem.
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light: The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind, For those that here we see no more; Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party strife; Ring in the nobler modes of life, With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out the want, the care, the sin, The faithless coldness of the times; Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes, But ring the fuller minstrel in.
Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease; Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; Ring out the thousand wars of old, Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand; Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be.
This was Sugarhouse Park this morning about 9:30. It wasn't quite as cold as it looks. My Christmas wishes are from the text of a 1942 greeting card from my Uncle Rich to his father:
May the PEACE of long ago the GOOD WILL and the cheer
Be with you at this Christmastide and all throughout the Year!
"Get as much education as you can. Reach out. Dream your dream. Get involved. Do the hard work. Lay the groundwork. There's been no greater experience for any individual, male or female, than to be involved in public service."
--Olene S. Walker
Hotel Cape Fear - Wilmington, North Carolina
Dear Father and Ruth,
I regret that we were unable to make it home for Thanksgiving. It would be nice to see you all again and to look the farm and livestock over.
Since I was being stationed at Camp Davis and the fact that the trains aren't running on schedule and that I had only 10 days to make the round trip and get located here there just wasn't time enough.
I met Joe in Washingtona and went as far as Chicago with him where we met Klee.
Joe showed us about Chicago for a day which we enjoyed very much. He then left for Milwaukee and we headed for N.C. by way of Washington. In Wash. Klee and I sat in on a session of the House of Rep.; visited a number of gov't places and buildings.
The weather was very cold in Chicago and Washington. It has been raining most of the week down here. I am being assigned to the 486 separate Automatic Weapon Batallion.
With the rest of the officers I was out looking over the set up today. From all indications it looks like we'll have a pretty good set up; providing it doesn't continue to rain every day.
Perhaps you received the bundle of clothes I sent home. If there is anything you can use you are perfectly welcome to do so.
I just arrived in town from camp and am waiting for Klee to catch the bus and come on in. We have a place out at Wrightsville Beach, which we were fortunate in getting.
My address at camp is 486th Battalion, Camp Davis N.C. and don't forget the Lt.
We'll be glad to hear from you; wish you well and a very Happy Christmas and New Year. With love, Klee and Rich
We are all of us richer than we think we are.
-Michel Eyquem De Montaigne
(533-1592, French philosopher, essayist)
To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable
part of happiness.
-Bertrand Russell
(1872-1970, British philosopher, mathematician, essayist)
Found this nice online glossary when searing for the definition of a Petabyte.
Of course "banana" as in "bananafannafoefannafeefifoefannabanana" can be fun, too, which brings me to this recipe for Banana Mocknog...
Although you have no eggs, no refined sugar, very little cholesterol and fat, you do have a smoothie that tastes a lot like eggnog and has all the benefits of banana--dietary fiber, potassium, and vitamins B6 and C.
Another banana thought:
http://rfin.blogspot.com/2003/02/banana-sits-on-top-of-radio-on-my-desk.html
(Variation: I tried substituting real eggnog for the milk the other day, but didn't like it as much as the guilt-free version.)
This semester I'm alternating a lunch-hour spinning class (stationary biking) with swimming on my own. The Tues-Thurs spinning class leaves me Mon-Wed-Fri for lap swimming. I enjoy the structure and comraderie of a class, but here's a telling comparison. On swim days I don't miss spinning, but on spin days I do miss the pool. Maybe it's not just the aquatic environment, but how these differing activities require different breathing.
September's issue of Health magazine quotes Dr. Bonnie Berger, the director of the School of Human Movement, Sport, and Leisure Studies at Bowling Green University in Ohio. "The way you take deep breaths when you do certain types of exercise is similar to the techniques used in stress management and meditation." Of course I breath deeply in both the swimming and spinning classes, but much more so when swimming. Maybe that's why I miss it on spinning days--I'm just not getting as much deep breathing and the benefits that go with it.
It's cool to have even a small part in an award-winning production and thanks to Ken I got to portray the voice of William Hyde who wrote in his journal of thirst, swimming an icy stream, and the deaths of his fellow soliders:
"He (Sam Boley) was taken sick soon after he left the camp of the saints, and I tried to prevail upon him to abandon the idea of trying to perform the expedition, but his desires were so great to continue with the company that I submitted. He was buried Thursday, the 23rd at ten minutes before seven in the morning."
"At six o'clock p.m. brother Alva Phelps died and was buried at six o'clcok in the morning of the 17th. Brother Phelps suffered much from the poisonous effects of calomel, which without a doubt, was the cause of his death."
Walking 70 miles without water. (And I hesitate to mountainbike virtually any distance without a CamelBak full of cold water.)
"The distance that we traveled without water was not less than seventy miles across a barren desert. After we were encamped, the Colonel sais that he believed that any other company under like circumstances would have mutinized. He further stated that had he known the situation of the desert we had just crorssed, he would not have come onto it on any account."
A death and birth in his own family:
"I received letters at this place from my family, which brought me the sad news of the death of my only sister. She died in Council Bluffs after a lingering sickness which was caused by exposure. At this place of encampment, I also received the news of the birth of my son, William."
And upon his return journey the need to swim across an ice-filled river:
"The last stream I had to swim a part of the distance. The water was extremely cold with much ice running. Some thought it best to send two men on two of the bvest mules in camp for winter quarters. To this I replied that we had now traveked near five thousand miles, and that we had suffered much with hunger, thirst and fatigue, and now to give out on the last hundred miles I didn't like the idea."
"Life comes at you fast," as the life insurance commercial says. I finished high school and college, married a beautiful young school teacher and we're now the parents of children who are in high school and college themselves.
My career eventually led to a great job at the University of Utah, and a few years ago I started swimming on my lunch hours at same natatorium where my friends made their mark three decades ago.
U of U Natatorium
Originally uploaded by rfin.
Thanks to a local swim shop, I discovered the life work of Terry Laughlin, founder of Total Immersion Swimming (TI), a method of instruction for adults seeking to hone their swimming skills. Terry's books, tapes and Web site made sense and I began to swim with greater confidence, better flow and even a little faster.
Through Terry I also met a Utah TI swimmer who has won senior triathlons. This summer he invited me to compete at the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George. "Since you're 50 now, so why don't you sign up?"
Prior to the games I had never raced, never stood in the blocks before a motionless pool as a starter instructed "swimmers take your mark." By Friday afternoon I'd raced in six events at the beautiful Sand Hollow Aquatic Center. Last night at the awards banquet I heard these still unbelievable words, "From Utah, Richard Finlinson, two gold, one silver, one bronze."
The wins are both thrilling and humbling. Thrilling because they were so unexpected. Humbling because my fastest times are slower than winners in their seventies and eighties.
But to win, I only had to do better than other men in my age group of 50-54. In two of my races, the other scheduled competitors didn't show up. I got lucky, but I've never been more motivated to keep striving to improve. Below are my results and the comparisons that put my times in perspective.
100 M Gold 1:27.67 (1:01.49)* 200 M Gold 3:31.29 (2:14.66)* 400 M Bronze 8:33.74 (4:45.72)* 800 M Silver 16:38.10 (9:50.53)*
*FINA Masters 50-54 World Records Short Course Meters as of 05-01-04.
*The young son of an English immigrant is known in his 1870's community as the boy who always has a pencil handy. He follows his father and brothers in the cattle business, but also trains as a teacher. Later he becomes a school superintendent, state legislator, one of the founders of a rural telephone company. And in the midst of the Great Depresssion he encourages all of his children -- both sons and daughters -- to graduate from college. It takes a while, but they all do.
The study compared the mood of winter swimmers with a control group. At the start of the study there were few differences between the groups, but the swimmers showed several advantages as the research continued.
“Tension, fatigue, memory and mood negative state points in the swimmers significantly decreased with the duration of the swimming period. After four months, the swimmers felt themselves to be more energetic, active and brisk than the controls,” according to International journal of circumpolar health [Int J Circumpolar Health] 2004 May; 63 (2), pp. 140-4.
The study also noted that swimmers who suffered from rheumatism, fibromyalgia, or asthma, reported that winter swimming relieved pain.
Found with the MEDLINE database at Pioneer, Utah's Online Library
My Aunt Susan loved all things nostalgic. As I rode past this Fruita barn at Capitol Reef National Park over the weekend, I could almost hear her saying, "Oh Richard, look at the wood on that barn." I also like the way the line of the roof works with the cliffs and the sky.
A few days ago I posted an entry called Ironing a Shirt. After I posted it I saw this pile of clothes in the den and thought it would make a good illustration for the post. But I hestitated because this isn't the actual shirt. So I'll just let the photo and the previous entry stand on their own.
I'm off to Capitol Reef National Park this afternoon and Saturday. Will post shots from this adventure on Sunday.
If you haven't checked out codefin.net yet, take a look. This new Utah blogger is combining a tech blog with some great photography.
Dear Becky,
I’m writing this on behalf of Uncle Milton Bennion, Aunt Lucy May Van Cott and Aunt Dolores Dore Eccles. They--like all of us--are going to miss you, would love you to stay, but wish you all the best. True, we didn’t know these three as people, but even as buildings each housed such personality.
As a home for professors, classrooms, labs and darkrooms, Milt’s place felt the most academic. Remember the great views of soccer practice and the basement storage dungeon with heavy locks and chains?
Lucy was more like a warm, dark cave. She gave us a taste of privacy and control with doors that closed and windows that opened. How rare and wonderful to have so many offices and so few cubicles.
Dore showed such hospitality, flexibility and desire to grow. Views mattered to her and she provided a great variety including those of her husband George’s bridge and the Olympic torch relay.
All of these places kept us warm, sometimes way too warm. Milt and Lucy May made certain summer days almost unbearable, but offered a welcome shelter from winter storms. Dore sought to bring comfort in every season, warmth in winter, cool shade in summer, but she could be temperamental, sometimes emulating a sauna or freezer. She had the newest roof but the most likely to leak.
Each tried their best with what they had. They sought to welcome and keep us. All of them invited us to come early and stay late. They each hosted breakfast bagels, potluck holiday lunches and birthday desserts--as well as their own distinctive bugs and not just of the software variety.
Thanks for welcoming me to Milt’s place way back in November 1997. Thanks for helping make Lucy’s halls a little brighter. Thanks for sharing Dore’s great views of blue sky, clouds and storms. Thanks most of all for smiling through so many moments of our weeks, months and years together.
All the best in your new adventures,
And yet today, September 11, 2004 is also a time of reflection over the past three years. I can remember ironing a shirt a couple of days after the towers fell in 2001. Seeing the wrinkles disappear some how brought comfort. Sometimes when I wear that shirt I still remember that night.
You can breathe all you want underwater, but exhaling only is generally more comfortable.
I'm a great grandson of a Englishman who sailed to America 140 years ago. My great grandpa George was a 29-year-old married father when he responded to preaching of Mormon elders and neighbors. Although he joined the church, his wife Ann did not share his enthusiasm for the new religion. He left her and an infant daughter behind, hoping they'd eventually join him. They never did. Although his diary has been published in print and elsewhere on the web, this is the first "blog edition."
The highest success in living and the deepest emotional satisfaction comes from building and using your signature strengths.
-Martin Seligman
What can an "average" person learn from an elite swimmer like Michael Phelps? Terry Laughlin of totalimmersion.net has written two articles about this. He says that while you can't change your wingspan, and you can only make marginal changes in your strength and cardiovascular capacity, you can "through mindful and consistent practice" put yourself in swimming positions "just as sleek as the best swimmer in the world."
This approach reminds me of AA's Serenity Prayer: "God grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change, courage to change things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." -Dr. Ronald Niebuhr
"Fast, fluid, effortless swimming depends far more on how cleverly you avoid drag and how sensitively you work with the water than on how long and how hard you swim."
-Terry Laughlin
I've mentioned that my dad served as a Special Agent in J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. Here's the text of a letter sent to his father on February 6, 1942. He was 29 years old.
Dear Father,
Am writing this note from Quantico, Virginia at which place I have been the last few days.
Have been given some more responsibility and am doing some special training. Quanitco is about 50 miles south of Washington near the mouth of the Potomac river. This is a training center for sailors and Marines and I find it very interesting to see a little of what is going on. More and more I am impressed with what the FBI is doing for the welfare and security of the country.
I have been very busy and have had very little time to call my own. Expect to be back in Washington on Monday night and will then write you at greater length. Am looking forward to hearing from you again and trust that this finds you and Ruth and everyone at home well and happy.
Much love,
Joseph
This morning when I grabbed the newspaper off the front porch, Jerry's column caught my eye. He wrote today about renewal, how our bodies do this, and how we need to make it happen in other ways as well. He wrote about having lunch with an old freind and those conversations about things that matter. I'm due for a lunch with Jerry. Maybe this column will remind you of a lunch you need schedule.
"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." --Cyril Connolly
Your work in the FBI took the two of you from Detroit to Cleveland, El Paso, Los Alamos, Ogden and what was then a little Utah town called Bountiful. You didn't live to celebrate your 20th anniversary. The term downwinder wasn't mentioned in your obituary. You now have three granddaughters, three grandsons and a great grandson. Happy 60th anniversary, Dad.
"If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person." --Fred Rogers
I didn't hesitate when Charlie inivited me to help haul donated Starbucks coffee up to Snowbird for Survivors at the Summit, an annual event of the Cancer Wellness House. It's hard to beat the combination of good company, mountain scenery, hotcakes for breakfast, live music from his son-in-law's band, and the chance to help out in a good cause.
Just before noon we boarded the tram, reached the summit of Hidden Peak, and helped staple a last line of yellow flags joining the dozens already in place. Each flag bore the name of a loved-one touched by cancer. Some carried the names of survivors. Many honored the memory those who lost their battle.
Guest speaker Steve Tempest expressed gratitude for his adoption into the fraternity of cancer survivors. When he first started chemo he didn't like the names of the poisons dripping into his bloodstream. The all ended with "cide" as in insecticide, homicide, genocide. Later when his tumors shrunk by 95%, he thought of this term: "life-saving wonder fluids that can extend or save life." His cancer has returned, but he says nothing could be as devastating as his first diagnosis. Now he says he'll go with the flow and do anything to extend time with his family.
He shared several observations about cancer and life.
Two of the flags flying at the summit carried the names of my parents. Dad, who was likely a downwinder, died of lung cancer in 1963. A few years later mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has survived 33 years. She and my step-dad (who is also a cancer survivor) still live independently. He golfs and writes. She still makes time for bridge with the girls and a monthly piano lesson. I could have also placed flags there for my brother-in-law Dan who is in remission from multiple myeloma, or my grandfather who died of leukemia when my mom was a toddler.
I wasn't prepared for the emotion of stepping off the tram, seeing those flags, knowing that each carried someone's story of struggle. I felt humble and proud, grateful and sad, connected to eternity and mortality. Sometimes I'm not comfortable with my own tears. This morning I just let 'em flow.
That's a quotation from the future. Right now we're just getting started. In fact the first meeting was last night. But the group has already been together all summer as part of an 8-week creative non-fiction workshop. We jelled within the structure of a weekly class, now we're going to try continuing on without our able instructor.
The above quotation isn't just wishful thinking. We've heard of at least one group that did start 20 years ago and they're still going strong today.
"Just wanted to let you know you are not alone in the world. . . there are others of us out there. I've enjoyed reading parts of your Blog - I just started a blog myself and so I'm using you as inspiration. Here is a recent post of mine where you made a cameo:http://finlinsonfamily.blogspot.com/2004/07/other-rich-finlinson.html
later,
Rich Finlinson"
So there are at least two of us. Three if you count my second cousin Dick Finlinson, four if you count my late Uncle Rich Lyman Finlinson of Leamington, Utah. Five if you count this Richard Finlinson from the UK. If you know of others, just let me know.
Here are a few other pangrams:
If there are ghosts here I didn’t see or hear them, unless you count the glare my camera caught as I snapped this shot of the control room while standing in the studio.
I didn’t want to leave Nashville without touring RCA Studio B. I’d already seen the impressive new Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum built in 2001 and the historic Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Old Opry from 1943 to 1974. They’re big places designed to accommodate hundreds of visitors.
Studio B is just a single story, cinderblock building with a reception area, one studio, one control room, one listening area. It’s not about the architecture, it’s who came here and what they produced. For a couple of decades Elvis Presley, Chet Atkins, Eddy Arnold, the Everly Brothers, Dolly Parton, Jim Reeves, Floyd Cramer, Willie Nelson produced hundreds of hit records here.
"Wait a minute, I thought a writing class should make it easier to write, not harder," is the unspoken comment. "It is easier to write, just harder to publish."
Something similar to this happens when teachers start their students blogging. The students become aware of readers and they seek to clean up their writing. Kids who didn't care about spelling and grammar have new motivation to get it right. Now that I'm a student again, I do care more about what I'm saying.
So, yes, I'm still writing and blogging. And in just a moment, I'll push the "Publish Post" button once again, even though it's not quite as easy as it was a few weeks ago.
I've watched July 4th fireworks at Salt Lake's Sugarhouse Park for more than three decades.
Watched with my sweetheart before we got married. Watched them there together as newlyweds and young parents. A son remembers falling asleep on the Highland High football field when we watched them together as a family. He'll be a senior this year.
In the last few years, I've watched them from my neighbor's driveway, but last night I got on my bike and rode down to the park. A couple of my nephews were there somewhere on the practice field, but I didn't spot them. I didn't feel alone though. I felt that I was an American among Americans.
Maybe I'll try the bicycle approach again next year. And maybe I'll watch Avalon before I go.
This is the fourth of fifth year I've tried Salt Lake's world-class Wasatch Crest mountainbike ride from Big Cottonwood Canyon to Millcreek Canyon. It took three of us older married men five hours to cover the 20 mile route, and as always, I found the view of Lake Desolation to well worth the climb.
"They lost my luggage and I’ll be damned I’ve going to go spend at couple of hundred dollars just so I can go to a cocktail party tonight."
-middle-aged man on his cell at the Riverwalk mall
So what do we learn from this, you ask. I guess there are several things, actually. If you talk loudly on your cell phone while standing an airport drinking fountain maybe you're not going to be as good at using that cell to call this man you don't always get along with and say "Happy Father's Day, daddy. You know I'm not always great at staying in touch, but I do love you. Howya doin today?"
You probably won't hear the guy in shorts at the mall saying, "Yeah, they lost my luggage. I'm not happy about it, but you know it's a great excuse to do some shopping. I'm going to take it as a sign from the universe that it's time for a little upgrade in my business attire."
Related article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/27/weekinreview/27bels.html
(may require free registration)
"Writing isn’t hard. It isn't any harder than ditch digging." -Patrick Dennis
I'm taking a writing class on Wednesday nights. Our instructor, Teresa Jordan, is an acclaimed author and she's whipping us into shape without mercy. She's not just lecturing about writing, or giving us some examples to consider, she expects all of us write right there in class, and then almost immediately read aloud some portion of it.
She understands that this isn't always easy or comfortable. The only rule of free writing is that once you start, don't stop, just keep the pen moving on the page.
And when it's your turn to speak, "Don't apologize, just read the crap," she tells us, quoting one of her writing mentors.
This "free writing" isn't free from stress or pressure, but it does free the mind in the way that exercise frees the body. I might not enjoy every lap I swim, but my almost daily swimming has made the water so much more inviting. Writing's rarely been easy for me, but with this class I'm already less intimidated by the prospect of an empty page.
This list contains both research-proven and best-guess items.
1. One-to-one, face-to-face
2. Small group discussion, face-to-face
3. Small group discussion via audio or videoconferencing
4. Speaking before a large group
5. Telephone Conversation
6. Personal E-mail
7. Handwritten, personal note
8. Website or blog the user considers “Must visit daily”
9. Clear, consise voice-mail
10. Group E-mail (subscribed to by the user)
11. Any E-mail that prompts the response:
“Now that’s something I needed to know.”
12. Word-processed “personal” letter
13. Online search that yields relevant, credible information
14. Brochure or pamphlet
15. Article in online or printed organizational newsletter
16. News (online, broadcast, print)
17. Advertising (online, broadcast, print)
18. Mass E-mail (not subscribed to by the user)
19. Billboards, bus boards, other signage
1. dad
2. mom
3. sister
4. grandparents
5. aunts
6. uncles
7. cousins
8. friends
9. phonographs
10. records
11. trains
12. holidays
13. snow
14. television
15. radio
16. books
17. school
18. reading
19. coloring
20. math
21. teachers
22. playgrounds
23. bicycling
24. swimming
25. kickball
26. baseball
27. basketball
28. football
29. cars
30. electronics
31. summer
32. rock and roll
33. classical
34. jazz
35. newspapers
36. debate
37. high school
38. amusements parks
39. scholarships
40. studios
41. wife
42. first son
43. first daughter
44. middle daughter
45. last son
45. last daughter
47. belief
48. trees
49. mountains
50. weather
"Cautious careful people always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing can never bring about reform." -Susan B. Anthony
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world; indeed its the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead
Congratulations on your 92nd birthday. I just got back from a great visit with mom and she lent me some pictures of you I’d never seen before. They were taken back in your newlywed days in Cleveland. You’ve got mom in your arms and you both look so happy and romantic. What fun for you then and for your family now.
I bet you’ve had quite a celebration in the last two days. With Uncle Rich’s birthday yesterday and yours today, I’m guessing Aunt Susan had a great time with you two.
So many happy returns on the day. Thank you for the gift of my life, for loving us all so unconditionally, for the wonderful times we had together, for your example of loving life, believing in your faith, cherishing your family, serving your country, savoring sage, sunsets and fresh peaches, for comforting me when I felt sick or afraid, and cheering me on in school and swimming, horsemanship and biking, photography and music and so much more.
With much love, your son,
p.s. Mom played Debussy's Arabesque tonight. She's amazing.
21,845+ have now signed a petition urging NPR to reconsider its decision to remove Edwards as host of Morning Edition. Most of those signing also leave comments. More than a few concern comparisons with the CocaCola's New Coke marketing fiasco 18 years ago.
When Coke finally re-introduced the original formula as CocaCola Classic, they acknowleged their blind spot: "The simple fact is that all the time and money and skill poured into consumer research on the new Coca-Cola could not measure or reveal the deep and abiding emotional attachment to original Coca-Cola felt by so many people."
Will NPR learn this lesson? It remains to be seen.
The obituary for our colleague Larry Holt was published over the weekend in Salt Lake's two dailies.
21,390+ have now signed a petition urging NPR to reconsider its decision to remove Edwards as host of Morning Edition. Here's a nother New Coke-type of example: Louis Rukeyser who was booted by Maryland Public TV, then picked up CNBC cable which syndicates his new show to about 150 PBS stations.
Dan Bammes has published this page "a way to share our condolences with his family and our memories of Larry with each other."
On this day in 1912: The Titanic Sinks. 1,513 of the 2,200 on board die. Related resources include UEN ThemePark pages on the sea, exploration, and transportation systems...
Bob Edwards petition update: 21,082+ who urge NPR to reconsider this flawed New Coke decision. It took CocaCola 79 days in 1985 to introduce Classic Coca Cola after New Coke failed.
Even though you gave us some warning, your departure last night left us all a bit stunned. We will miss you.
More than a decade ago you moved from the cramped basement of Kingsbury Hall to the sparkling new Eccles Broadcast Center on the edge of the university golf course. At last you had pristine studios facing the valley and the distant Oquirrh range with its spikes of towers on Mount Vision and Farnsworth Peak.
Back in the Kingsbury days you helped with my transition from directing news to finding the world of tech marketing in what would become the AS/400 environment. I believe you knew what twinax was long before I did.
Later as my son became an Eagle Scout, you made arrangments to cut a soundtrack for his slide show. In those days before audio editing on the desktop, we pulled an all-nighter from 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. The 10-minute show and the 24-man hours it took to cut the sound were definitely worth it. A reel-to-reel tape on a safe shelf at home verifies that.
In 1998 you welcomed me to EBC not as a guest but as your associate once again. Later you helped Joe with several madrigal recordings. In fact you've helped on so many projects over the years that it wasn't too surprising when I heard Liane Hansen say, "and engineering help from Larry Holt of member station KUER" as a tag to Hal and Taki's Wright Brothers piece on Weekend Edition.
I've enjoyed hearing you occasionally on KUED, remember your stint as the voice of KUER underwriting and your subhosting for Hawk and Bryan on Morning Edition. I'll say this for your timing, you've helped me see the Bob Edwards "New Coke" fiasco with some perspective.
I didn't know your news last night as I sat on my front porch. I'd thought of you earlier in the day, knowing that you were in the hospital, but as I sat out in the sunshine last night, something interrupted my reading several times.
It wasn't the breeze, the fragrance or the warmth of that daylight saving hour. It was the soundscape in the trees -- birds affirming spring with an extraordinary presence.
If you had a hand in the mix last night, thanks for saying both goodbye and hello, and know that I'll continue to listen for your talent.
All the best, my old friend, Rich
"...the (high pressure) hot water (heating system) ...will be turned off tonight at 4:00 and will remain off through Wednesday. There is a hole in the high temp pipe and if it is not fixed it could cause major damage. This means that the pool temperature and showers will be affected. Classes will still be held. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. I’ll keep you updated as I get more information..."
I'm a lucky guy. I've rarely been without the luxury of hot water in my life. The last time I went swimming in a cold lake was years ago as a parent volunteer at Scout camp for my sons, but today I swam in a cooler than usual pool and shaved and showered in fairly cool but not downright cold water. But it will be even colder tomorrow. To be continued...
We headed out for our first lunch-hour ride of the season today. Surprisingly most of the trails weren't muddy.
"Always know all that you say, but don't always say all that you know."
I don't know the author of this quotation, but I'm grateful to the friend who shared it with me. For those of us who tend to talk or write to find out what we're thinking, this is a difficult ideal, but it beats trying to un-ring a bell.
Some similar thoughts?
Which reminds me of this column from my long-time friend Jerry Johnston.
So how about this great spring weather? I had the pleasure of an outdoor lunch today. There's nothing quite like good food, spring weather and a quiet conversation.
Nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood.
-Jr. Teague
Good, the more communicated, more abundant grows.
-John Milton
Communication is not only the essence of being human, but also a vital property of life.
-John A. Piece
Finally climbed up on the roof and got down my Christmas lights. I took Monday off and thoroughly enjoyed being out in the sunshine and getting one-on-one with my gables again.
Of course part of what makes this Spring-like weather so alluring is the memory of winter. Here's what I wrote in my hard-copy journal a few months ago. (November 2, 2003)
There is wonder all about us. I'm grateful for this little planet of ours, for continents and oceans, seasons and sunshine, darkness and light. For this time of year, for fall leaves and this first snow. We've needed a storm.
What a wonder it is to see the sky darken, the wind blow, and something we've needed so much start to descend. Just a few flakes at first. Almost as if the sky had forgotten how to snow. Then bigger flakes falling faster and beginning to accumulate. Then almost blizzard-like. A frenzy of snow no longer falling, but blowing in from all directions. No longer orderly, but like a child scribbling with white crayon turning the black construction paper gray, then lighter gray, the almost entirely white.
And how this shroud changes everything. Colors are muted, then masked. Sharp edges soften. Drivers who may not want to acknowledge a change are gently--and sometimes not so gently--reminded that the laws of physics still apply. Nothing has changed. Everything has changed.
Thanks to the active participation of a full lab of Utah educators, the web has several new educational bloggers this morning. Our hands-on session, Blogging to Connect, Create and Collaborate was well received by those came to the workshop as part of the annual meeting of the Utah Coalition for Educational Technology at Cottonwood High School in Salt Lake.
Although the Utah Education Network offers several blog-like content creation tools like My.UEN, Virtual Tours, Activities, Lesson Plans and Rubrics, we opted to use Blogger in the workshop to enable participants to have a bona fide blog creation experience. Although it wasn't a race, it only took about ten minutes for the first blog to be published. Prior to the lab I test-created a Blogger blog. It took less than five minutes from logging on to creation and posting of a new blog.
Blogging
to Connect, Create
and Collaborate
The following references
are available online at:
What is a Weblog?
A weblog (aka Blog)
is a live online journal that can be easily and instantly updated. A Blog can be a frequently posted list of interesting web
sites, or a personal diary of events and thoughts, or a combination of the two
(among many other things.) The newborn publishing world of weblogs
seems to be having a significant impact on digital culture, communication,
education, and publication.
The best
proof of impact at the moment is the proliferation of Election and Political Blogs that have sprung up around presidential candidates,
parties, and news agencies. Bloggers are constantly
defining and debating the definition of a weblog, as
well as presenting their reasons for keeping a blog.
--Pattie Belle Hastings, Assistant Professor
in the Computer Science and Interactive Digital Design Department at
http://mywebspace.quinnipiac.edu/PHastings/what.html
RESEARCH
Pew Research - Internet & American Life Project
44% of Internet users have created content for the online world
through building or posting to Web sites, creating blogs,
and sharing files.
http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/reports.asp?Report=113&Section=ReportLevel1&Field=Level1ID&ID=484
EDUCATION BLOGS
Weblogg-ed.com
Best blog on education blogging I've seen. Maintained by Will
Richardson, Supervisor of Instructional Technology at
The Gifted Thing
A Utah summer with Dave Wiley and the USU team
http://www.reusability.org/blogs/jay/archives/000235.html
EdBlogger
Praxis
Examples of educator blogs sorted
by pre-k and kinder, primary, EFL/ESL, cross grade, high school, school
library, school administrator, etc.
http://educational.blogs.com/edbloggerpraxis/
EDUCATION BLOGS (continued)
Teachnology : Teaching Blogs
http://www.teachnology.org/teachingblogs
Seb's Open
Research
http://radio.weblogs.com/0110772/
Clipping: Pointers and thoughts on the evolution of
knowledge sharing and scholarly communication
High School Home page built in a blog
format, cited among Will Richardson's best practices links.
http://www.delanohighschool.org
Clipping: "school of over 2700 students, located in the
City of
Windley's
http://www.windley.com/index.html
Clipping: Organizations Usually Get the IT They Deserve
Jim's Pond - Exploring the Universe of Ideas
Personal/professional blog of Jim
Stewart, UEN Director of Technical Services
http://radio.weblogs.com/0117808/
THE Network Security Blog - Geek
Troy Jessup
Pete Kruckenberg's Perfect
World
Pete is senior network engineer at the Utah Education
Network.
http://pete.kruckenberg.com/blog/
Dan's Cancer Weblog
http://www.mustard.com/myeloma.html
Clipping: I'm not exaggerating when I say that my experience
with this disease has brought joy to my life that I never anticipated in the
form of new friends, closer relationships to family, new appreciation for the
kindness of strangers...
Rich's UEN Blog
BLOG-LIKE SITES
UEN - The Governor's Monthly News Conference - Transcripts
& Streaming Video
Watch the latest news conference or read the transcript. Archived transcripts starting in June 1999.
http://www.uen.org/News/news_group.cgi?category_id=15
UEN - Calendar of Events
What's ahead for
http://www.uen.org/News/news_group.cgi?category_id=3
UEN - News Articles
What's new for educators, students and parents at the Utah
Education Network, KULC and KUED.
http://www.uen.org/News/news_group.cgi?category_id=2
BLOG-LIKE SITES (continued)
SLC Public Library : Events
http://www.slcpl.lib.ut.us/master_events.jsp?parent_id=9&page_id=21
Google News
Search and browse 4,500 news sources updated continuously.
FREE BLOG PROVIDERS
Blogger.com
The provider that fueled the blogging
revolution. Free and premium (pay) versions.
Diaryland.com
Aimed at a younger crowd. Easy sign up procedure. No banner or pop up ads.
LiveJournal.com
Webby award-winning site used by
400,000+ worldwide.
Xanga.com
Rated 3 in Free Blog
Providers on
Available in free and premium (pay) versions.
OTHER BLOG SERVICES / SOFTWARE
movabletype.org
Rated 3 in Other Blog
Services / Software on
Donation supported. $20 - $45 buys the software license.
Commercial accounts: $150.
http://www.movabletype.org/donate.shtml
TypePad
Online service from MoveableType. Monthly pricing at $4.95, $8.95 and $14.95.
http://www.typepad.com/site/features/
Radio UserLand
After free 30-day trial period, Radio costs $39.95 per year
with 40 megabytes of storage.
EBN - Educational Bloggers
Network
Paid Service marketed to educators. The first year rate is
$19.95. After the first year, the educational rate is $39.95 per year.
http://www.ebn.weblogger.com/newsItems/departments/policiesAndPolitics
FREE CONTENT CREATION TOOLS
UEN - my.uen
Educator-created customized web page to share information
and resources with students, parents, and the learning community.
FREE CONTENT CREATION TOOLS (continued)
UEN - Virtual
Educator-created virtual tours organized by
UEN - Activities
Educator-created activites
organized by
http://www.uen.org/activities/
UEN - Rubric Tool Home
Browse exiting rubrics, adapt or create your own, online
tutorial included.
UEN - Lesson Plan Tool
Browse existing lesson plans, adapt or create your own,
online tutorial included
http://www.uen.org/lessonplan/
UEN - Basic HTML Tags Tutorial
One page reference for Formatting Text with basic HTML tags.
http://www.uen.org/tutorial/html/my.uen/htmltags.html
SURWEB - State of
Educator-created multimedia presentations using a
huge library of images, sounds & movies provided by SURWEB or other digital
sources.
MyEdesk Reference
Desk
Create, manage, and distribute portfolios, lesson plans,
presentations, study guides, and more.
http://myedesk.org/refdesk.aspx
Clipping: Use several proven search engines to find reliable
resources to add to the content of collections. Search for and find teacher,
student, administrator, and power users to share content and collections.
Create, format, and edit documents using the powerful Virtual Notepad. Bookmark
your favorite websites and upload files to your personal storage space from
anywhere on the web.
POLITICS
http://www.utahpolicy.com/pages/talkingpoints.htm
Clipping: what's up in
Bush
http://www.georgewbush.com/blog/
Dean
http://www.blogforamerica.com/
Kerry
JOURNALISM
OJR article: Blogging as a Form of
Journalism
Online Journalism Review - USC Annenberg
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1017958873.php
Clipping: Weblogging will drive a
powerful new form of amateur journalism as millions of Net users — young people
especially — take on the role of columnist, reporter, analyst and publisher
while fashioning their own personal broadcasting networks.
