RandOM THoUGhts FRom a RAndOm MiND
Do good work.
Protect yourself and others.
Provide for loved ones.
Do what you say you will
Lead with clarity and purpose.
Own your mistakes. Fix problems.
Live on the truth. Give to others.
Add value to your interactions.
Learn new skills.
Apply them.
Carve your own path.
BE A MAN.
Now, you won't see no sad and teary eyes
When I get my wings and it's my time to fly
Call my friends and tell 'em
There's a party, come on by
Now just roll me up and smoke me when I die.
~ Willie Nelson
As some of you may have noticed, my posts to FaceBook and Twitter have been far fewer than in the past. The reason for this is simple. I don't always have a short quip that is really worth a post on either of those Social media Sites.
There is also the fact that the people that I have on my Facebook are not necessarly the same people I have on Twitter. This was not done by design, just the way it worked out. These seperate feeds, makes it a bit of a challange to manage them.
I have also had this blog for sometime now and have been spotty at keeping it current as well. My intention when starting RandOM THoUGhts, was to use the blog as a place to comment about things I think about, comment on current events and to be the story teller that I have always been.
A little self-indulgent? Maybe. But I believe that this avenue for communication will provide those interested a little more insight to what is bouncing around this brain of mine, tell some of the stories I have to tell and maybe open some communication lines.
Imagine this as a "digital Campfire. By definition, "Campfire" is when people get together and share stories and experiences. This is my goal for this blog.
If you are so inclined, please leave a comment. I am interested in what your thought are as well.
Lets sit around the Campfire together.
Peace my friends, travel well on your journey...
OK....ENOUGH!!!!!
I am so sick and tired of hearing all these f*#k'n commercials for Black Friday.
Last time I checked, I was still a Canadian, not an American. I celebrate Thanksgiving when it is supposed to be celebrated...in October not freaking November.
But really what is pissing me off is the unabashed consumerism that is being pushed by retailers. We as Canadians, are following the US when it comes to being the most materialistic society in the world. Think about it, we define our lives by how much stuff we have, to a large degree our personal and business relationships are defined by how much money we make, and even most of the important dates on our calendar are all about materialism. ( spending money on shit we don't need)
Sadly, no matter how big our homes are and no matter how many shiny new toys we accumulate, we never seem to be happy. We always want more, and we always seem to be willing to go into more debt to get it. We are the most materialistic society in the history of the world, and our endless greed is going to end up swallowing us alive.
And yet here we are...allowing ourselves to be lead down the same materialistic path the US is on....why?
Because Canadian retailers are getting wrapped up in this Black Friday and cyber Monday frenzy that is just another tactic employed to get people to spend money that they don't need to spend. No matter how you try to justify it, it is just retailers trying to get you to part with your money on goods that you probably don't really need and to get wrapped up in the spending frenzy that starts with the Christmas season.
So, do yourself a favour, don't allow yourself to get caught up in this greed that is pushed upon you.. put a stop to the indiscriminate buying… .do something nice for yourself, spend time with your family...do anything but buy some useless piece of crap that you will end up regretting..
And remember… you are Canadian….not an American.
can someone please tell me….when we stopped being Citizens and reduced to just tax-Payers?
Canadian citizens have been reduced to “taxpayers,” as society has increasingly adopted “taxpayers” as the preferred term for the designation of its citizens. But lets think about that for a moment.
While everyone who pays taxes is obviously a tax payer (two words), the term “taxpayer” (one word) symbolizes something much more. “Taxpayer” is a self-absorbed definition that sees taxes as a financial exchange for specific personally-realized services. Therfore all transactions of the government are based simply upon their monetary “cost” to an individual “taxpayer,” without any mention of social benefit or community value. Taxpayers seek reduce public life to a balance sheet and no longer see themselves as citizens of the community, engaged in democratic and communal self-governance. It is the "what is in it for me" attitude.
Citizens, understand that they play an important role in the democratic process of their society. Citizens are rooted in their community and evaluate all of their contributions from the perspective of contributing to the building and well-being of the total community — of which they are an important part. A citizen seeks to work at building a community founded upon pro-social (as opposed to anti-social) values. The operative question for a citizen thus becomes: What contribution am I making to build and strengthen the community for my family and for my neighbours — for my fellow citizens? Citizens will see taxes as a positive contribution to broader society, whether city, province or country.
The destruction of social connections that create a community and the dissociation of citizens from social programs that benefit society are the direct by-products — and perhaps the intended goals or the Taxpayer attitude.
Citizens see their role in society as consisting of both rights and responsibilities. It is not only my right but my responsibility as a citizen to speak out on issues that affect my neighbours and fellow citizens and to ensure the well-being of all in society.
Our future as a society rests not only on calculations of financial cost to individual tax payers, but on the assessment of communal value. Of course, a civic community’s “balance sheet,” like that of a province or a country, is vitally important, but that balance sheet must also embrace social, community and environmental values. We need health care, education, the arts, care for those who need assistance, and much more. We need a strong community that provides the full infrastructure for a healthy communal life. In short: we need to view ourselves and each other as citizens.
So, next time anyone addresses you as taxpayer, correct them and take back your status as a citizen and speak out for your community. Stand out on your street, talk to your neighbour, take an active interest in what is going on in your community, locally, and beyond….lets take back our right to be citizens!
Humanity Lost
Somehow along the way in all the "progress" of our times...we have lost our humanity.
Now that may sound like a really negative statement and you may wonder what has brought me to say something so harsh.
It is just daily observations of how people interact or don't interact with others. For example. last week i brought one of my two trailers (don't ask) home to get ready to deliver the old to its new owner. I left the trailer in the back lane, knowing that technically it is illegal to do so. But knowing that the Calgary Parking Authority does not go out looking for trailers parked in lane ways, I thought i would be OK for a few days to get things sqaured away on the trailers.
But less than 24 hours after it was there, I had a Seisure Notice and a lovely $40.00 ticket to go along with it from the Calgary Parking Authority.
Now, I know I was technically in the wrong. I admit that. However, what bothers me is that whoever reported me to the Calgary Parking Authority did not have the decency to come and talk to me directly to find out what my intentions were.
Instead, they took a cowards approach and "tattled" on me while hiding in their house. People today are far to quick to take the easiest way and are not wanting to open the door to having a discussion with others. This is a very sad statement on our society.
thats it..thats my Monday RANT. lets all find a way to bring our humanity back to everyday living….
I leave you with my Favourite Quote:
"I'm just a human being trying to make it in a world that is very rapidly losing its understanding of being human." ~ John Trudell
Jim
Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.
Merry Christmas from my family to yours….
and a Happy new Year
Please enjoy your time with your family and loved ones.
No matter what our spiritual beliefs, or where in the world we may live, we all share the turning of the sun on the solstices.
In the Northern Hemisphere, Winter Solstice comes on December 21, the shortest day of the year. After the Winter Solstice, the days becomes longer until the longest day of the year arrives around June 21st. It is often thought of as Symbolic time of rebirth.
Honouring the solstice is something lost to most of us, and it feels deeply meaningful, in a mystical sort of way, to choose to make a glimmer of connection.
Our ancestors celebrated light being reborn on this day, reflecting their close relationship with nature. They felt the effect of the cycles of the universe directly in their lives.
With seasons shifting from autumn to winter, it is a time of transition, with yin energy at its peak and yang energy at its minimum expression. It’s the darkest day of the year, and yet this day has a glimmer of light in all its darkness. This seed has power and the potential for transformation, rebirth and full expression. From this point on, light is reborn to grow gradually as the days become longer.
Winter Solstice can often remind us of death and regeneration with death being an essential element preceding regeneration. Like the trees that loose their leaves preparing for winter, trusting that new ones will grow in spring, we can also see endings as necessary agents giving way to new beginnings. Can you accept death as part of the natural cycle of the universe? What is dying and being reborn in your life?
On the darkest and longest night of the year, honour this darkness and nourish the seed of light so that it may bloom and shine brightly tomorrow.
Happy Winter Solstice!!!
We talk all the time of how connected we now all are. Connected to what, I ask? Connected to Facebook updates but not the people beside us? To Twitter status updates of celebrities, ‘influencers’, hustlers but not updating our neighbour next door? Or texting money donations to causes around the world but leaving our friends and community members who are in need, alone and without….how is that connected ?
Jim
Read this article at ARS Technica yesterday and all it managed to do was get me pissed off again!!
I have seen first hand that Windows dominant departments or IT eggheads I call them seem to only see through the world of Microsoft, and don't give Macs a second thought because they have been brought up to think that Macs are expensive, difficult to integrate and support and most importantly, that Macs are toys!!!
If they only knew that Macs are Unix Systems, that may interest them, but Windoze IT people don't want to learn another DOS prompt system because DOS is primitive to begin with and so the thinking continues. Also that legacy mentality is from the 1990's, and most IT managers simply don't have a clue as to how far Macs have come to simplicity and ease of use when it comes to supporting them and integrating into Windows environments.
As Steve Jobs would say, “ And one more thing,” ….Macs are pretty much self supporting as they don't require constant hand holding that Windows machines need and that would jeopardize their jobs! So this is probably the primary reason that IT professionals don't look at Macs...they like machines that break, not ones that work.
