- "I have one life and one chance to make it count for something . . . I'm free to choose what that something is, and the something I've chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands -- this is not optional -- my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference." - Jimmy Carter
-
Join 1,126 other subscribers
-
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
Meta
Monthly Archives: February 2010
For Jeff
I had a friend in high school named Jeff Freeman. He was a sweet boy I’d known for years. We were in school together K-12, I think. We rode the bus together and our families swam at the same pool … Continue reading
Posted in regular
Tagged Bipolar disorder, Mental health, Suicide, Suicide Prevention
Leave a comment
Ellsberg’s Advice to Kissinger: Does knowledge impact how we perceive others?
<a href="http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/02/daniel-ellsberg-limitations-knowledge “>Ellsberg’s Advice to Kissinger: Does knowledge impact how we perceive others? This article is fascinating to me on several levels: 1. Watergate I’ve always been fascinated by this incident and time period in American history. I’ve written papers … Continue reading
Posted in link
Tagged Daniel Ellsberg, Henry Kissinger, Pentagon Papers, United States, Vietnam War
Leave a comment
"Warning: cape will not enable child to fly" & other thoughts on high risk childhood activities
“Warning: cape will not enable child to fly” & other thoughts on high risk childhood activities I’m not exactly sure what happened to common sense. Was it somehow lost in the haze of ’60s &’70s drug culture? Or did ’80s … Continue reading
Do our organs have memories?
Do our organs have memories? This is a really intriguing article. We know that we think with our heads. We know that our memories (short-term & long-term) are somehow contained in our brain tissue. While living with this fascinating mystery … Continue reading
Posted in link
Leave a comment
The Upside to Depression
The Upside to Depression I am intrigued by this perspective on depression. I believe I have personally found it to be true and have also observed it in others. I have a little card on a bulletin board in my … Continue reading
Posted in link
Leave a comment
Prior to the age of five, children appear to experience time in a different manner. They are perfectly capable of ‘forgetting’ events that they experienced a minute ago, as well as their mental state when the experience occurred. They seem to think associatively, closer perhaps to the hypnagogic state that one drifts into just before falling asleep, than to one that is ordered around a timeline with a past, present, and future. Gopnik attempts to penetrate what this different form of consciousness is like. She describes a ‘false belief’ experiment in which children see a closed candy box that, in fact, is filled with pencils: ‘The children are understandably both surprised and disappointed by this discovery. But then we asked what they thought was in the box when they first saw it. Although they had discovered the truth with great surprise only moments before, they still said that they had always known the box was full of pencils. They had entirely forgotten their earlier false belief.’ This is why young children are so perilously suggestible, and their testimony, in most cases, should be inadmissible in court. They have excellent detailed memories when they are cued to remember a specific event with a leading question, but free recall is alien to them because it is dependent on an internal consciousness that they don’t yet fully possess.
Prior to the age of five, children appear to experience time in a different manner. They are perfectly capable of ‘forgetting’ events that they experienced a minute ago, as well as their mental state when the experience occurred. They seem … Continue reading
Posted in quote
Leave a comment
into the desert . . .
“Your journey begins on February 15, 2010.” Wow. Sounds like Star Trek. Or a ride at Disney World. I’m intrigued. On this (Follow) Friday, I’d like to offer you a blog that I just discovered today. That’s a bit risky. … Continue reading
The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?” To stress his point he said to another guest, “You’re a teacher, Barbara. Be honest. What do you make?” Barbara, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, “You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began…) “Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner. I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can’t make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental. You want to know what I make? (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table) I make kids wonder. I make them question. I make them apologize and mean it. I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions. I teach them to write and then I make them write. I make them read, read, read. I make them show all their work in math. They use their brain, not the calculator. I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity. I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe. Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life. (Barbara paused one last time and then continued.) Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn’t everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant. You want to know what I make? I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO? His jaw dropped, he went silent.
The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to … Continue reading
It was a beautiful morning, no rain….yet. Haha. Needed to get a hard bike workout in in the morning, so we went to the nearby weight room where we had lifted a couple times this summer, and had a good solid 28min. cardio bike. It was short, but it is tough. From there we literally hurried back to the hotel, packed up our 5 suitcases (yes, five! From all the clothes we got the previous day and then from what we had brought already), and rushed to get our stuff to the bus that was taking us to the Olympic Village. Ah, craziness, but what a thrill. Finally, we were able to get a piece of the Olympic experience!
It was a beautiful morning, no rain….yet. Haha. Needed to get a hard bike workout in in the morning, so we went to the nearby weight room where we had lifted a couple times this summer, and had a good … Continue reading
Posted in quote
Leave a comment
Premature Thoughts on Parenting Teenagers
Image via Wikipedia I need to start out by making something absolutely clear. I have three children, but the oldest is 12. He turns 13 on March 26. So, we’re not there yet; we haven’t experienced parenting a teenager. And, … Continue reading
Posted in regular
Leave a comment
jennifer lynn kuhlmann merck 