text:
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Making Enterprise 2.0 Real. My Story of the "No E-Mail Beta Program" **
Still a lot of angst in the E2.0 world about making it real. How do we measure, how do we justify. SHOULD we measure? SHOULD we justify? How to get management buy-in, how to get community engagement.
Well, this week my colleagues & I tried to make it real. Most of the people who stopped by our lounge for a discussion about our new product saw something a little different. No virtual images. No dummy demo servers. No "what you COULD do.."
We spoke about our own personal day-in-the-life: as active production users of our own dogfood. (I know, I know...some colleagues hate that term. Champagne.. coffee... whatever). And we showed sample people, process and content scenarios based on the reality of how we do things.
Sometimes it is the simple story that delivers the lightbulb moment to people who don't quite see the value yet.
For me, it's my story of "The No E-mail Beta". **
In November we announced our 2.0 plans at Open Text Content World, and started recruiting customers interested in beta program participation. From November '08 to early '09, we talked with customers, learned about their potential use cases, their requirements, and narrowed down the list of participants who were keen and committed. The beta participants have been an incredibly rich source of feedback, ideas, and generous with honest and open comments on likes and dislikes.
In December, we kicked off a weekly status call for all of our internal people: development, services, product management and marketing, customer relationship managers, spanning at least 4 countries and likely 8+ cities.
Over the 7 months, about 40 people have been in and out of the weekly calls, depending on their roles and phase of the project. Once a week, a core set of this team got on the phone. And as people join the call, I open up our beta community workspace, go to the wiki for weekly status calls, click 'edit' and go.
While on the phone, the roll call is done, the old business reviewed, action items knocked off, new items added, we recap the status of all the customer beta communities, wrap up with a open discussion on issues or interesting topics. And when we're done, I click "save", and whammo. Instant meeting notes, organized consistently from week to week, categorized by the date and call number, immediately ready for anyone who missed the call, and optionally pushed out as a notification to those who chose to subscribe to updates.
Simple, fast, efficient.
7 months = 28 weekly calls so far, 2.5 action item updates per week x (40 people x 25% on core team) = ~700 emails not sent
Cool, but not the light bulb moment. That moment came a month ago when we got an intern from the university for a summer work term. How to get him up to speed rapidly and accurately to get him productive on Day 1? Easy. Sent 1 URL to the status call wiki, he read from bottom to top and knew what was going on and who the key people were. I actually cannot even imagine how long that would have taken if we would have relied on e-mail communication.
But it was not just the technology that made this work. It was the people - the people who committed to working this way. The core team who led by example. Who posted action items in the community (never underestimate the power of peer pressure to get things done). By delegating the call chair duties by posting a shout-out to the community when travel or vacation made it impossible for me to dial-in. By wanting to all be able to walk the talk in front of our colleagues, partners and customers.
2.0 technology made this easy, it but didn't 'cause' the success. The community workspace and wiki was a tool that made sense for the task - bridging a diverse, distributed global team focused on a shared objective. I haven't even personally met everyone on the team yet. But I know their smiling faces, what they can contribute, and what I've learned from them. My Social Workplace in action.
** OK, the 'almost' no-email beta program. Full disclosure: we used email with colleagues who had a specific role for a narrow portion of the program. Ie, getting the corporate legal OK on any agreements. And for customer communication before they went live. And my comment to my colleagues who subscribed to automated email notifications, well, that was your own choice.
Some good E2Conf recap blog posts so far - (watch the #e2conf twitter stream as more pop up over next few days):
Sameer Patel @ Pretzellogic
Ron Miller @ Fierce Content Management 1 of 2 (argh. I bad hair day, but was fun chat with Ron in the ultimate conference social workplace, the hotel lounge)
Ron Miller @ Fierce Content Management 2 of 2 "Neatest Technology at Enterprise 2.0" And yep... we're there ;-)
Doug Cornelius @ Compliance Building He called out some great reality checks as 2.0 comes into business and faces compliance and governance issues of the real world
What I Learned... @ Mashup Patterns
Social Amber - It's about the people...
E2Conf Blogger Janetti Chon "It's a Wrap"
4 comments:
This blog gives a good impression of how we can work together in a team, without sending e-mails over and over to everyone of the team. This is of great value because this is efficient working and is also good for teamspirit! Everyone gets informed by everyone!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 29, 2009 at 7:14 AM
Cheryl - as a member of this team, I'd like to add that even better than non-emailing meeting notes (which everyone will ignore) is the fact that a) those notes are now searchable by the entire organization - people may launch future products and get some value there, b)the most current versions of all the docs involved are in one place where I can find them, and even view their history and c) blissfully, things like talking points were never docs to begin with - they were developed in the Wiki! Ah. Bliss.ReplyDelete
And the comment of Deb brings me on the aspect of archiving. Emails are mostly not good archived. The docs, notes or wiki's are in the situation above at one place archived and searchable ánd easy findable. That sounds good for digital archiving.ReplyDelete
As an outside PR consultant working on this launch, I have to agree that the value of new social tool was much greater than I anticipated. And it was great to actually get to try out enterprise software first hand. The almost never happens.ReplyDelete
For me the ah-ha moment, was doing the FAQ. I got the ball rolling with a list of questions, and then answers just sort of auto-magically started appearing, some from people I didn't know. There is zero chance email would have bee
Blog Archive
- ► 2010 (8)
- ▼ June (4)


text: By his own admission, Jeff Ballard was a bad person. "I had a lot of problems. I was tough and wild; I drank and partied a lot. I was not a Christian," said Ballard. Also, Jeff was born deaf. Then one day, Jeff met Terri, who can hear. They dated and eventually got married. But something was missing in their lives. In 1995, Jeff and Terri met Elizabeth Beldon who had moved to Michiana as a full-time faculty member of the Interpreting/Deaf studies program at Bethel College. They talked about starting a church that served the Deaf population. "I couldn't even go to church with my husband. God brought us Elizabeth," said Terri. Thus began a weekly Bible study. In December 1997, the Deaf Michiana Missionary Church held its first service in what was a one-room renovated garage provided by St. Mark Missionary Church in Mishawaka. Elizabeth Beldon is a co-pastor of D.M.M.C. She is also the Program Director for the Deaf Studies program at Bethel College. "There are a lot of different ways to worship God. But it's important to do it in a language in which people understand. Our mission is to reach out to the lost in the Deaf community and bring them into God's family," said Beldon. The preferred language at D.M.M.C. is American Sign Language (ASL). During his sermon, Pastor Michael Kalling is very animated, fervent and emotional. The passion you would hear in the voice of your pastor is replaced by the passion of gestures, motions and signs. "The hearing can hear the music and the spoken word to learn, but the Deaf need visual aids to show what we are trying to communicate," offered Kalling, who was born deaf. The Pastor teaches in a Chronological Bible Storytelling-style which makes it easier for members to follow the stories of the Bible. Other churches in Michiana will provide interpreters at certain services. But Pastor Kalling says hearing pastors often speak too fast for the interpreters, making it difficult for Deaf people to follow along. The spiritual message is often lost. "Many Deaf people are turned off when it comes to church simply because they were forced as children to attend services not conducted in signed language. The word of God was pointless to them. Church became synonymous with boring," said Kalling. Kalling says a challenge that Deaf churches face today is to convince Deaf people that church doesn't have to be the way it was for them growing up. D.M.M.C. is the only deaf-led and deafrun church in northern Indiana and the only Deaf Missionary church in the nation, according to Kalling. The average attendance is 25 people. In November, the congregation celebrated one year at its present location at 706 North Eddy Street in South Bend. It's a small church by some standards, but big on enthusiasm. Music plays a special role in the church service. Unlike a hearing church, there is no organ or piano. Instead, they use an electronic synthesizer to create a bass drum beat with a consistent pattern. 1-2, 1-2-3. Two speakers attached to the floor joists, allow members to feel the beat in their feet and the pews. The windows rattle; some lights unintentionally flicker. Pastor Kalling's wife Holly, who is also deaf, leads the congregation. She says it's easier on the members to keep the music consistent each week. "Repetition makes it easier. When you know the music, you can close your eyes and not watch the worship leader," said Holly. Not all members of this church are deaf. But they have learned ASL and attend church with their deaf spouses. Kalling says when hearing people visit D.M.M.C. they often comment on how "switched" the worlds seem. "They leave with a deeper appreciation of the Deaf culture," Kalling added. As they rise for prayer, members bow their heads momentarily then they slightly lift their heads to watch the person leading the prayer. Without that visual contact, the message is lost. "Sometimes hearing people say you can't HEAR the word of God, so how can you believe? Deaf people have a language, American Sign Language. It's visually-gestured ... and it's a language created by God," said Beldon. As for Jeff Ballard, "when I got involved here, God touched my heart. I began to understand the changes I needed to make. Yes, this church saved my life."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Aargh! I've been hit (with a film meme, that is)
Gail tagged me with a film meme. This is actually a bit of a struggle for me. We're members of Netflix, so a gazillion or so DVDs go through my home every year -- and I walk out on about 99% of them within the first ten minutes. The DVDs I buy tend to be for the children, although I love watching them too. Anyway, here goes: Total number of films I own on DVD/Video: About 60, most of them on video, and most of those old musicals, which I loved to watch before I began to live in a DVD world. Now, I have many old musicals, but no video player! The last film I bought: Hmmm. That would probably be Shrek. I bought it several years ago to play in the car for the long road trips to visit family. The good thing about Shrek is that it "listens" well. That is, since I'm in the front seat, I haven't actually "seen" it in years, but I definitely enjoy the dialogue and the soundtrack. Other DVDs I've bought, even though they're not actually films, are the complete Warner Brothers cartoon collection, and the complete third season of "I Love Lucy." Again, these are for the long drives. The cartoons are a huge success. My children, raised on a PC diet of PBS and Learning Channel cartoons (I strongly recommend Magic School Bus) had never seen good old-fashioned Looney Toons. They adore them. It's actually fun to drive with gales of laughter welling out from the cars' back seat. I also enjoy the sheer musicality of the Looney Toons. I hadn't remembered from my childhood just how musical they are. The last film I watched: Watched a weird one last night called the Zero Effect. It wasn't very good, but it wasn't so bad that I walked out on it. The most enjoyable movie I've watched recently is Les Choristes, a musical that came out of France last year. It's a fairly predictable story about a good teacher who uses music to bring hope to a bunch of orphaned or abandoned boys in a sadistically run French boarding school in 1949. The film is well done and the boys' choral music lovely. My five year old watched the film three times (it's in French, and his reading is too slow for subtitles) just for the music. We finally got him the CD, and neither of my kids can stop listening to it. Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me (in no particular order): 1) Groundhog Day -- An incredibly funny movie, that's cleverly made, and that gives us hope that we can get it right. 2) Pride & Prejudice -- I know it's a miniseries, not really a movie, but it's one of the best things around. It's true to the book, except where it actually improves on the book; it's lovely to look at; the music is beautiful; and it's got Colin Firth. 3) Anything Fred & Ginger did -- I know that's more than one movie, but they do tend to be a set in my mind, and I can watch them endlessly. 4) Singin' in the Rain -- What can I say? It's the best. 5) Gone With the Wind -- I haven't watched this in years, and the blatant racism in it makes me very uncomfortable now, but it still ranks as one of the greatest melodramatic movies ever made, so I just can't leave it off my list (especially since I saw it about 10 times when I was younger). And now which lucky five shall I tag? I know. Anne, Patrick, Steve, the guys at Brain Droppings, and Phibian.


text:
This is about to be a really politically incorrect post. I mean no disrespect to anyone of any race but inquiring minds want to know. Can someone please explain to me how people of certain races get certain industries on lock? For example, in the DC metro area and some of the other major metro areas around the country Ethiopians have the parking lot attendant game locked down! How does this happen??? When is the last time you saw a white or even a non -African black person collecting fees at a parking lot?
Is there some requirement that in order to get a permit to run a parking lot that you be from east Africa? And they take their parking attendant duties seriously! There is no hook up with these people. Try talking one of them into cutting you a deal because you will only be parked for 10 minutes and see how far you get. They must also have a connection in the airport employment circuit because they run pretty deep at Dulles airport too. And we all know that the Asians have the nail care and black beauty product game on lock. I think that's the case in every city. When is the last time you saw a black janitor in the city? We all know who has that game on lock. Here's a hint. They have construction help and landscaping on lock as well.* The gas station game has been dominated by people of Arabic descent for years. They had a hold on the cab industry too for a while but Africans have been taking over. And strangely enough African cab drivers picked up some of the same habits that Arabic cab drivers have had for years…i.e. not picking up black people. I remember trying to catch a cab with a boyfriend years ago unsuccessfully for the longest until a kind white dude who witnessed our frustration and stepped out and hailed one for us. A cab stopped for him within 2 minutes. The driver was African, and he was pissed! Do Africans not realize that they too are black???
These are just a few of the more visible industries that I have noticed an unusually high percentage of workers of the same race. I know there are some others and I know I'm not the only one who noticed this. I just want some answers. I mean I might want to own a parking lot one day. Will I have to marry an Ethiopian? Do I have to lie on my application for a permit and say I'm Ethiopian? I've been asked by a number of Ethiopians whether I'm one of them so maybe I'd have a shot. Hit me up if you know the answer. However, if you want to blast me for my political incorrectness please save yourself some energy and don't bother.
* Okay I might be lumping people of multiple nationalities together here. El Salvadorians, Mexicans, etc but it's not like I can tell the difference so sue me.


text:
Hi all
I am back with my new CAS creation. You Make Me Smile...
Base is White CS.
Layering is on White CS too.
Butterfly image is Digi. downloaded from the net. Don't remember the link....if anybody knows the link tell me I will mention it here...giving full credit to the designer of this butterfly digi..
I am in love with Digital images. I love coloring these digital images. Its really therapeutic.
Sentiment is stamped.
Angled View.


text: Today I was looking at problems related to linked lists. They tend to be asked quite a lot in interviews but some of them look artificial with their complexity arising from linked lists being a poor data structure for the problem (e.g., median of a sorted linked list). The problem of the day for today is Detecting cycle in a linked list: Given a linked list, return the node where the cycle begins or null if there is no cycle. For example, in the image below, 4 should be returned.


text:
There was a ten year gap between Rival Schools debut album, United By Fate (2001) and their second official release, Pedals (2011). That's a bigger gap than was between Quicksand's debut and Rival Schools. That doesn't mean Rival Schools was silent during that time. In 2003, the band recorded a follow-up to United By Fate...but the common problems that plague every band caused the album to never see the light of day...until now. This week, the re-mastered...maybe even re-recorded version of that second album, Found, finally gets an official release. Though it had been floating around the internet for years...this finished version is light years in quality above anything else out there.
Here are the 11 Best Songs By Rival Schools:
- The Switch (United By Fate)
- High Acetate (United By Fate)
- Used For Glue (United By Fate)
- Shot After Shot (Pedals)
- Travel By Telephone (United By Fate)
- 69 Guns (Pedals)
- Holding Sand (United By Fate)
- Undercovers On (United By Fate)
- Choose Your Own Adventure (Pedals)
- Small Doses (Pedals)
- On Vacation (Used For Glue)


text:
The Benefit of Meditating Alone Together
One of the persistent misrepresentations of mindfulness is that it is predominantly a solitary struggle. One thinks of the sage on the mountain, the hermit sequestered in a cave, you sitting home alone in your room, privately gazing at your navel (which is a pretty strange image if you think about it). It's true that mindfulness meditation does involve spending time alone with your own thinking mind. In fact, a great benefit of cultivating more mindfulness, many people report, is that it helps them get along better with themselves. Meditation helps you be a better companion for your own throbbing mind, to be more comfortable with the fact that you have to travel the world alone with your thoughts much of the time.
But being comfortable being alone does not equate with acting in isolation. An important feature of programs like Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is that you practice meditation along with others, and you share your insights, misgivings, struggles, questions, and joys with others in group discussion and inquiry. Donald McCown, a longtime MBSR teacher and coauthor of Teaching Mindfulness: A Practical Guide for Clinicians and Educators, has made the point to me on several occasions that participants regard the eight-week mindfulness programs they take part in as "a group activity" and that's one of the reasons they want to come back.
You have a group to bring your experience back to, which takes you out of the echo chamber of your own mind.
Mindfulness meditation often takes place in a small community you share with others, which supports the meditation you do on your own. You have a group to bring your experience back to (sometimes using video-conferencing), which takes you out of the echo chamber of your own mind, clouded as it can be with self- doubt and recrimination ("I'm no good at meditation. I can't possibly be doing this right. As usual, I suck").
People come to feel that their desire to make peace with their own mind is not a weird aspiration. They also find that others confirm for them that while meditation isn't complicated, it does take effort, since it puts you in touch with challenging emotions that may lie just beneath the surface of everyday awareness.
The questions that hang awkwardly in the air can be as powerful as the questions that have pat answers.
McCown points out that mindfulness teachers need to be able to facilitate discussion and discovery, not simply serve as the person who answers all the questions. The questions that hang awkwardly in the air can be as powerful as the questions that have pat answers.
You can also find resolve when you meditate with other people. You get a little boost, when your energy flags, from seeing others out of the corner of your eye. The simple thought we're in this together makes it a human, communal thing, rather than an abstract internal pursuit.
As the mindfulness world grows, let's hope we find more and more ways we can meditate together—including online—and create affordable spaces where people of all stripes will feel free to enter, stop, and have a few minutes of time alone together with others.
This article appeared in the April 2017 issue of Mindful magazine.
The post The Benefit of Meditating Alone Together appeared first on Mindful.
from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8196908 http://www.mindful.org/benefit-meditating-alone-together/
The Mindful Survey: The Good Fight
Do you believe that each of us has one true great love?
How do you make up after a fight?
- "Physical contact: One of us breaks and hugs the other, and the tension washes away."
- "Eating something."
- "Laughing."
- "Lotsa good lovin'."
- "By breaking the silence."
- "There is no making up. Life just goes on."
- "We relax on the couch together."
- "I used to apologize."
- "We say sorry, then remain cold for a while."
- "I make a cup of tea."
- "We talk it out."
- "Hugs and sex please!"
- "Cooking really tasty dishes."
- "Time heals. Give space."
- "Sex, obviously."
How does arguing relate to relationships?
63% say it's a necessary part of any healthy relationship. On the other hand, 10% say it's a clear sign of an unhealthy relationship. Still, 39% of people agree it should be avoided when possible, and only 1% say it's fun.
When you're arguing, where do you feel it most in your body?
What's the best thing about being in a relationship?
- "Having a person who knows you like no other."
- "Cuddlies."
- "Complicity."
- "Having both a Saturday night date and being able to stay home."
- "The warmth, companionship, and ego-limiting opportunities."
Do you tend to hold grudges?
What's your main objective when arguing with a significant other?
76% say they aim to work through difficult emotions and miscommunications, while 14% want to ease tension, 3% want to make the other person feel better, and 7% just wanna win!
When you disagree with someone, are you more likely to:
What's the worst thing about being in a relationship?
- "Having to share food."
- "Miscommunication."
- "Knowing that I have to look hard at myself."
- "Having to trust another person with my vulnerabilities."
- "Putting up with other person thinking they're right all the time."
- "Snoring."
- "Worrying that your happiness will negatively impact the other person."
- "Having to worry about someone else's feelings all the time."
- "Going to bed mad."
- "Dealing with in-laws."
- "Answering to someone else."
- "Sometimes my sadness makes him sad too."
What's the silliest thing you've argued about with a romantic partner?
- "Dog pee."
- "We constantly argue about things we agree on."
- "Manpons."
- "Misplaced underwear."
- "Stacking the dishwasher."
- "Whether fat-free milk is the same as skim."
- "Poop."
- "Driving directions."
- "Trivia."
- "Debit or cash payment method."
- "An Arby's roast beef sandwich!"
- "Reusing tea bags."
- "How to squeeze the toothpaste."
- "Being messy (me)."
- "Cat hair."
- "Representational art."
This article appeared in the April 2017 issue of Mindful magazine
The post The Mindful Survey: The Good Fight appeared first on Mindful.
from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8196908 http://www.mindful.org/mindful-survey-good-fight/
When Avoidance Rules Your Life
Bianca feels compelled to keep her three-story house so organized, tidy, and clean that certain chairs must stand in only certain precise places; bathroom towels must be arranged and folded just so; the dishwasher must be loaded according to a strict, undeviating system; and tall glasses must be stored on the right of a kitchen cabinet, medium glasses on the left.
Suzanne's house, by contrast, has been so consumed by her decades of hoarding that city authorities threatened to condemn it.
Superficially, the two women seem to be polar opposites. Look below the surface, however, and they are not so different. And their stories highlight a mystery that has long stymied students of the mind and which recent science is shedding light on: What are the roots of compulsions, and how do they differ from behavioral addictions, which we typically associate with activities like excessive drinking, gambling, or drug abuse?
As a child, Bianca had little say over her own life. Her mother chose her clothes, her furniture, even her friends and activities, and her mother's moods swung unpredictably from white-hot anger to warm caring to cool aloofness. Having her fate in the hands of another was disquieting enough, but it was made even more stressful by never knowing, she said, "which mother I would have each morning."
Bianca coped by developing a strategy that crystallized one year when her family arrived at their summer home. The dusting, de-cob-webbing, and other work overwhelmed her mother, leading Bianca to tell her, "We don't have to do all of it right now. Let's just clean up a little bit of lawn, and put out some chairs and a table so we can have a nice haven," she recalled. "That was when I realized, even if I can't fix everything, as long as one little place is in order, as long as there's one little island where I can think clearly, it's OK."
That drive to create an island of order and calm in a sea of chaos and tumult grew stronger when Bianca—now a divorced, single mother—struggled to make her way after she emigrated from Switzerland to the United States. She needed "to have things where they belong and to do things in a certain way, even little things like arranging chairs or hanging coffee cups in the right place," she said. Her compulsions "give me a sense of peace, a feeling that there are some things I have control of."
As for Suzanne, by the time her five children were in school, she felt trapped in a marriage that brought her little joy and many bruises. "I remember thinking, I don't want to live anymore," she told me. She threw herself into her children's activities, putting aside her own: "I thought, 'Some day I'll read that book. And some day I'll get back to knitting.'" Her husband regularly brought home empty boxes from work (the only "gifts" he ever gave her), and gradually Suzanne filled them with her deferred dreams: books she hoped to read one day, magazine articles about a home improvement project she aspired to do, newspaper clippings about wonderful places to visit, materials to make Boy Scout projects and reupholster furniture—all "one day."
Hoarding keeps her dreams in the eternal realm of possibility, sparing her the anxiety of confronting the reality of her life. Waving at towering boxes of newspaper and magazine clippings and more stuff than she can identify, Suzanne told me, "I had a dream that our life would be nice, that we'd go on vacation, or I'd have a beautiful garden, or a pretty room, like in magazines. But it didn't work out. Instead of having the things I dreamed about, I have pieces of paper. It's all I have."
Addiction vs. Compulsion
One might say both women are addicted to what they're doing: Bianca to tidiness and order, Suzanne to hoarding. The two terms are often used interchangeably not only in casual conversation (compulsive shopping seems synonymous with shopping addiction) but by experts. "It's a real scientific controversy, how and in what ways addictions are or are not like compulsive behaviors," James Hansell, a clinical psychologist at George Washington University, told me.
But recent research in psychology and neuroscience is starting to resolve that controversy.
Addictions bring pleasure, though they also build up a tolerance over time, as the addict requires more and more of the behavior (or substance) to get the same hedonic hit.
An addiction, goes the emerging understanding, begins with a flash of pleasure overlaid with an itch for danger: It's fun to gamble or to drink, and it also puts you at risk (for losing your rent money, for acting like an idiot). Addictions bring pleasure, though they also build up a tolerance over time, as the addict requires more and more of the behavior (or substance) to get the same hedonic hit.
Compulsions, by contrast, are about avoiding unpleasant outcomes. They are born out of anxiety and remain strangers to joy. They are repetitive behaviors we engage in over and over to alleviate the angst brought on by the possibility of negative consequences. If I don't check my phone constantly, I'll miss an urgent demand from my boss or will feel like I don't know what is going on. If I do not religiously organize my closets, my home will be engulfed in chaos. If I don't shop, it will be proof that I can't afford nice things and am headed for homelessness. "A compulsive behavior is one that's done with the intent of decreasing an overwhelming sense of anxiety," said Jeff Szymanski, executive director of the International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Foundation. The roots of compulsion lie in the brain circuit that detects threats, which is abnormally active in people with OCD and other compulsions.
A compulsion, in short, differs from an addiction because the initial impetus is alleviating anxiety, not finding pleasure. A compulsive behavior is a form of self-reassurance—Everything's OK now that I've checked my phone 15 seconds after I checked the email on my desktop. Wait, maybe a new one has arrived…. From this point of view, Bianca and Suzanne are both ruled by compulsions.
An Age of Anxiety
Understanding that addictions are born out of joy and pleasure, and compulsions are born out of anxiety, is crucial to treating them. It also explains why compulsions like Bianca's and Suzanne's are so common. Ever since the 1947 publication of W. H. Auden's The Age of Anxiety, ours has been an era defined by dreads both societal and personal. In any 12-month period, 18.1% of US adults suffer from anxiety intense enough to be a disorder, compared to 6.9% who suffer from major depression.
In any year, 18.1% of US adults suffer from anxiety intense enough to be a disorder, compared to 6.9% who suffer from major depression.
It's hardly surprising that our age of anxiety has given rise to so many people who are in the grip of a compulsion. We can't force our ideal online date to find us in the digital sea of possibilities or stop bomb-toting fanatics from driving to Times Square. So we control what we can, compulsively cleaning or checking, hoarding or shopping or surfing the net in order to drain enough of our anxiety to function. Against tectonic social and economic forces that feel as uncontrollable and overwhelming as the waves on a rocky seashore, we seize on anything that restores a sense of agency. Compulsions are the psychological equivalent of steering into a skid. It's the counterintuitive thing to do, but ultimately, for many, at least on their own terms, it's effective.
What is OCD?
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a chronic, long-lasting disorder involving uncontrollable, recurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions).
Common obsessions: fear of germs; unwanted or forbidden thoughts about sex, religion, and harm; aggressive thoughts toward self/others; creating symmetry. Compulsions: excessive cleaning, ordering things in a particular way, repeatedly checking if you locked the door, compulsive counting. In OCD, the urges are strong, joyless, and uncontrollable without intervention.
See the National Institute of Mental Health's website for more information on OCD.
This article appeared in the April 2017 issue of Mindful magazine.
The post When Avoidance Rules Your Life appeared first on Mindful.
from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8196908 http://www.mindful.org/avoidance-rules-life/
Let It Go: 11 Ways to Forgive
When you've been hurt by someone, it's not always easy to let it go. But holding on to a grudge will only make you feel worse—and not just emotionally. Resentment can cause your blood pressure to spike and trigger the release of stress chemicals that can make you physically sick. And the truth is: It doesn't really do any good anyway. As the saying goes: "Not forgiving is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die."
The paradox is, when you've been wronged, forgiveness is the only thing that provides relief from the pain. Sound like a bitter pill to swallow? Read on to learn how forgiving others (and yourself) can help you release the heavy burden of resentment and experience more freedom.
1. Understand forgiveness
Before you attempt to force forgiveness on your most tender hurts, consider what it is you're asking of yourself: Forgiving doesn't mean that you condone what happened or that the perpetrator is blameless. It is making the conscious choice to release yourself from the burden, pain, and stress of holding on to resentment.
Forgiving doesn't mean that you condone what happened or that the perpetrator is blameless. It is making the conscious choice to release yourself from the burden, pain, and stress of holding on to resentment.
2. Feel your pain
Hurts can run deep, even if at first glance they don't seem to make a big impact. It's important to give yourself permission to acknowledge and honor the pain that's very real for you. Notice where you feel it in your body and ask yourself, "What do I need right now?" Maybe you need to feel supported, take more time, or do something kind for yourself. Allowing space for the pain in this way can help you know whether you're ready to release it from your heart and mind.
3. Name it
Whether you've hurt yourself or have been hurt by another, allow yourself to be honest and simply name the feelings that are there. They might include guilt, grief, shame, sorrow, confusion, or anger. As you consider the act of forgiveness, any of these feelings can arise. A study at UCLA found that when you name your emotional experience it turns the volume down on your amygdala, the emotion center of the brain, and brings resources back to your pre-frontal cortex, the rational part of your brain. So, by naming the feeling you can create space and not get overwhelmed.
4. Let it out
Keeping hurt feelings bottled up only causes additional stress to your mind and body. Even if the memory is difficult to confront, see if you can share how you're feeling. You can write about it in a journal or talk about it with a friend or a professional counselor. Sharing helps you expand your perspective, and perhaps even see what happened through a different lens.
5. Flip your focus
If possible, see if you can flip your focus from being the victim to putting yourself in the other person's shoes. For example, consider the life the person lived that led them to this hurtful action. This is difficult to do, but remember, you're not condoning any action. This exercise is just about trying to see that, as humans, we are deeply impacted by our own traumas and life experiences, which greatly inform how we show up and act in the world. If you are able to do this, compassion naturally tends to flow from this more understanding perspective.
6. Take action (start small)
Whether you are forgiving yourself or another person, taking action can help to facilitate healing and make you feel more empowered. It's best to start with smaller misdeeds to get into practice and feel what's possible. Writing a letter or having an uncomfortable conversation can be difficult and even scary, but often a sense of empowerment emerges from the self-compassionate action of listening to yourself and doing something that supports you.
7. Remember, you're not the first or last
When you've been hurt, it's common to feel like you're the only one who has ever been wronged in this way. In fact, it's likely that this transgression (or something similar to it) has been made many, maybe even millions of times before throughout human history. Making mistakes is part of our shared human experience. Remembering you are not alone in experiencing this kind of pain can help to loosen your grip on your resentment.
8. Have patience; forgiveness is a practice
Forgiveness isn't a quick-fix solution. It's a process, so be patient with yourself. With smaller transgressions, forgiveness can happen pretty quickly, but with the larger ones, it can take years. As you begin with the smaller misdeeds and then move onto the harder ones, be kind to yourself, take deep breaths, and continue on.
9. Stop blaming
We all know it can feel good now and again to complain to a friend—misery loves company, right? Well, not exactly. Researcher Brené Brown, author of Rising Strong, says, "Blaming is a way to discharge pain and discomfort." It gives us a false sense of control but inevitably keeps the negativity kicking around in our minds, increasing our stress and eroding our relationships.
10. Practice more mindfulness
A recent study surveyed 94 adults who had been cheated on by their partners, and found a correlation between traits of mindfulness and forgiveness. In other words, it can be said that the more you practice mindfulness, the more you strengthen your capacity for forgiveness.
11. Find meaning and strength through your pain
As you practice working with the pain that's there, you grow key strengths of self-compassion, courage, and empathy that inevitably make you stronger in every way. As psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl wrote in Man's Search for Meaning, even in the most horrific and painful circumstances, we have the freedom to create meaning in life, which is a powerful healing agent.
Try this short practice once a day and feel your forgiveness muscles growing.
Think of someone who has caused you pain (to start, maybe not the person who has hurt you most) and you're holding a grudge against. Visualize the time you were hurt by this person and feel the pain you still carry. Hold tightly to your unwillingness to forgive. Now, observe what emotion is present. Is it anger, resentment, sadness? Use your body as a barometer and notice physically what you feel. Are you tense anywhere, or do you feel heavy? Next, bring awareness to your thoughts; are they hateful, spiteful, or something else?
Really feel this burden associated with the hurt that lives inside you, and ask yourself:
"Who is suffering?
Have I carried this burden long enough?
Am I willing to forgive?"
If the answer is no, that's OK. Some wounds need more time than others to heal.
If you are ready to let it go now, silently repeat: "Breathing in, I acknowledge the pain. Breathing out, I am forgiving and releasing this burden from my heart and mind."
Continue this process for as long as it feels supportive to you.
This article appeared in the April 2017 issue of Mindful magazine.
A 10-Minute Guided Mindfulness Meditation to Foster Forgiveness
The post Let It Go: 11 Ways to Forgive appeared first on Mindful.
from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8196908 http://www.mindful.org/let-go-11-ways-forgive/
When Meditation Feels Too Painful
Q: I just came back from a retreat. I feel like I need to have my entire body massaged. Am I doing something wrong? How good could this be if it's making me hurt?
Meditation is not a "no pain, no gain" proposition. Being in a lot of pain is not a mark of doing it right. It can take some work, though, to find a position (or a few positions) that don't lead to intense pain. Some folks sit cross-legged on a single cushion; others sit astride a tower of cushions; others perch on benches; still others prefer chairs. Each person finds the posture and support that best suits their bodily condition. So try out different postures and supports, and by all means don't assume you're cursed to experience meditating as akin to being stuck in the middle seat on a budget airline. On the other hand, a hugely important lesson of meditation is that even comfort is, well, bound to eventually become uncomfortable. For this reason, once you find a suitable posture and support, it's a good idea to avoid making too many adjustments. Constantly tinkering can make you feel as though you're trying to outrun the reality that the body is naturally going to drift in and out of states: some comfortable, some uncomfortable, and some neither/nor.
Try out different postures and supports, and by all means don't assume you're cursed to experience meditating as akin to being stuck in the middle seat on a budget airline.
In one sense, a retreat is a laboratory for creating the conditions most conducive to meditation. It's also a microcosm of life itself, a chance to observe deeply how things drift in and out of discord, regardless of how much effort we've put into creating an ideal environment. In the quietest place on Earth, a feather dropping can ring out like a gunshot. A minor ache, likewise, can scream like a broken limb. Take advantage of the supportive environment of the retreat to begin inoculating yourself against the tendency to react too strongly to these pangs, so you're prepared to face discomforts of every shape and size back in "the real world." You're practicing for life, and all its wanted and unwanted elements. You can become comfortable with discomfort and aware that even when discomfort arises, it doesn't have to totally define your experience.
People have found that as they relax that inner tension, it often results in less bodily tension.
One way to look at the lingering soreness is that it indicates a retreat well spent—a signal of the valuable work you've done in teaching yourself to unpack every sensation, in order to face them without drama or disconsolation.
Even so, maintaining any position for hours and hours a day for several days or more is bound to give any body a run for its money. One way to look at the lingering soreness is that it indicates a retreat well spent—a signal of the valuable work you've done in teaching yourself to unpack every sensation, in order to face them without drama or disconsolation. Finally, don't forget to seek the counsel of wise, experienced teachers and meditators. They've been there. They are there.
This article appeared in the April 2017 issue of Mindful magazine.
The post When Meditation Feels Too Painful appeared first on Mindful.
from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8196908 http://www.mindful.org/when-meditation-feels-too-painful/
Where Does It Hurt? Healing the Wounds of Severed Belonging – Tara Brach
Where Does It Hurt? Healing the Wounds of Severed Belonging
I recently heard about a man who attempted to sneak his pet turtle onto a flight by placing it between two buns and wrapping it in a KFC wrapper. When he was discovered, he told the officials that he just couldn't leave his beloved pet at home.
I could relate! There have been times that I've nearly canceled a teaching trip because I just didn't want to leave my dog. There's so much research now that having a pet — experiencing that sense of warmth and connection — increases longevity and happiness. The other side of the equation is that when there is a deficit of connection, there is loneliness and depression.
The wounds in our lives are so often related to severed belonging and the ways that we, in some way, get split off from the feeling that who we are is okay. Through our families and our culture, we get the message that something is wrong with us. We split off because we get hurt or because another has not been able to stay with us.
In the earliest phases of our lives, what we most need from a parent is the sense that we are known and loved. In Buddhism, these expressions of awake awareness—understanding and caring—are often described as the two wings of a bird: they are interdependent, and intrinsic to our well-being. On this path of healing and awakening, bringing these two wings to our own inner life and to our relationships with others is what I sometimes think of as spiritual re-parenting.
In a recent interview, civil rights activist and theologian, Ruby Sales describes a moment from her life when these two wings of understanding and care came alive:
The defining moment . . . I was getting my locks washed and my locker's daughter came in one morning and she had been hustling all night and she had sores on her body, she was just in a state — drugs. So something said to me, 'Ask her, where does it hurt?' And I said, 'Shelly, where does it hurt?' And just that simple question unleashed territory in her that she had never shared with her mother. And she talked about having been incested, and she talked about all these things that had happened to her as a child, and she literally shared the source of her pain. And I realized, in that moment, listening to her and talking to her, that I needed a larger way to do this work.[1]
Where does it hurt? When I heard Ruby's story, it really landed in quite a beautiful way. I could remember, in my own life, times that people asked me a question — really asked from a place of caring presence — and, in those moments, how that opened up something in me.
The beginning of healing is recognizing suffering and asking the question: Where does it hurt? Seeking to understand, offering our interested presence, is the first wing of spiritual re-parenting. Just as the concerned parent, seeing their child upset, angry, withdrawn, would want to know what's going on, we can learn to bring interest to our inner life and gently ask ourselves: What is going on inside? Where does it hurt?
A challenge is that, while we might get in touch with feelings of loneliness, shame, or being unloved by others, when we don't know how to be with those raw emotions, we are quick to leave. Judgment is one of the main ways that we leave when things feel difficult. We blame ourselves, get angry, judge others. Or we numb out. Or we distract ourselves.
There's a story of a wise old sage who lived deep in the wilderness. The people seeking wisdom from him had to travel through dangerous jungles and forests for days to get to him. Once they arrived, he would swear them to silence and then he would say, Okay, I have one question for you. What are you unwilling to feel?
The second part of spiritual re-parenting –expressing our care—arises as we learn to stay. When a child is angry or upset, what do we do? We stay with them until they can get in touch with what it is they are really needing. In the same way, we can commit to staying with our own inner experience, no matter what it is. And as we get in touch with what those hurting places really want or need, our caring can naturally flower into an engaged, nurturing presence.
Bringing this practice to our own wounding is key, and as we enlarge to include others, we open up potential for boundless healing in the world around us. If we really want to have a world where we can connect and respond to each other, we must widen the field and attend with the same understanding and care to all humans, all species, all the parts of this living world that are having trouble. We begin with the same question: Where does it hurt?
From the Poet, Hafiz:
Admit something:
Everyone you see, you say to them,
"Love me."
Of course you do not do this out loud;
Someone would call the cops.
Still though, think about this,
This great pull in us
To connect.
Why not become the one
Who lives with a full moon in each eye
That is always saying,
With that sweet moon
What every other eye in this world
Is dying to
Hear. [2]
From: Spiritual Re-Parenting – a talk given by Tara Brach on December 7, 2016
[1] Tippett, K. (Producer). (2016, September 15). Where Does it Hurt [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.onbeing.org/program/ruby-sales-where-does-it-hurt/8931
[2] Hafiz. (1999). With That Moon Language (D. Ladinsky, Trans.). In The Gift: Poems by Hafiz, the Great Sufi Master (p. 322). New York, NY: Penguin Putnam Inc.
The post Where Does It Hurt? Healing the Wounds of Severed Belonging appeared first on Tara Brach.
from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8196908 https://www.tarabrach.com/hurt-healing-wounds-severed-belonging/


text:
We can only ship Apparel items within the U.S and its Territories.
Support the Chicago Blackhawks with this officially licensed hat. Display your fanhood in style with this black hat featuring a gray felt textured brim with accent green material under the brim. This hat also features a raised fuzzy embroidered vintage logo on the front as well as the NHL crest embroidered on the back.
Sorry, it looks like your browser doesn't have cookies enabled. Dave & Adam's only uses cookies to keep track of your shopping cart while you browse dacardworld.com. Please enable cookies to further enjoy your shopping experience. If you have cookies enabled, please refresh your browser.


text:
Have been quoted in the Economic Times on how Indian companies plan to use corporate blogs to hire talent.
Apart from two of my prospective clients JWT and Motorola India also seem to be on a similar path !
Hmm, interesting times ahead.
Update: from the Cheezhead:
A new study by Forrester Research, via Charlene Li may help support the adoption of blogs as a recruiting tool for employers.
One key data point that stood out for me: 24% of Gen Yers read blogs, which is twice as often as the 12% of Gen Xers (ages 27-40) and three times the 7% of Young Boomers (ages 41-50) that read blogs. So skeptics of blogs should suspend their disbelief and look to at least one bellweather demographic to get an idea of how widespread blog readership can potentially grow in the future.
Sure the figures are for the US, but even if the Indian figures are 1% of those numbers, look at India's age spread and corresponding numbers. Once Indic-language blogging takes off we'll be entering another wave of complexity and huge opportunity !
Search for jobs and careers at JobCentral.


text:
Quite apart from the new Sherlock Holmes, which is tres fun, this is logical problem solving second grader-style:
Son: You know, only one percent of the water on the planet is drinkable. We'll really be in trouble if we don't look after it.
Daughter: We can just drink milk then.
Son: What will the cows drink? They need water too. And for grass. One day, there'll be no cows.
Daughter: So then, we'll just have to learn to milk a walrus.
Large Print Editions
2 days ago


text:
Mozilla visualizes download statistics
The talented folks at Mozilla have created a real-time dashboard tracking the download statistics for Firefox 3.5. The dashboard consists of a SVG worldmap with the plotted information about the downloaders. Furthermore a data table provides the actual digits of current, minimal and maximal downloads extended by animated realtime sparklines.
See the Dashboard for yourself


text:
On January 21, 1781, Robert Aitken presented a "memorial" [petition] to Congress offering to print "a neat Edition of the Holy Scriptures for the use of schools."
Here is what Rodda writes:
There are many versions of this story floating around, all worded to mislead that Congress either requested the printing of the Bibles, granted Aitken permission to print them, contracted him to print them, paid for the printing, or had Bibles printed for the use of schools. Congress did none of these things. All they did was grant one of several requests made by Aitken by having their chaplains examine his work, and allowing him to publish their resolution stating that, based on the chaplains' report, they were satisfied that his edition was accurate.On the contrary, Congress recommended Aitken's Bible to ALL the people, thus, the Congress is not promoting any religion, but specifically Christianity, as well as indirectly promoting the Bible's use in schools.
Here, is what the Congress wrote:
Honble James Duane, Esq. Chairman, and the other Honble Gentlemen of the Committee of Congress on
Mr. Aitken's Memorial."
THAT the United States in Congress assembled highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interest of religion, as well as an instance of the progress of arts in this country, and being satisfied from the above report of his care and accuracy in the execution of the work, they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States, and hereby authorize him to publish this Recommendation in the manner he shall think proper. [italics mine]
CHA. THOMSON, Sec'ry.
Yet, Evangelical Christians buy-in to Rodda's revisionism. Could you imagine today's Congress forming a committee to check spelling for a Bible translation? That is what Bible Societies do! Remember, unless specifically enumerated, religion always refers to Christianity. Was Congress referring to Buddhism to Christians?
Also, besides at home, "progression of the arts" was done at Schools. Reading, writing, literature, architecture, painting, music, etc. Bible reading was not taken out of schools until 1963. Can the Congress not approve the Bible for schools, when the Arts are practiced at schools? Maybe someone could give their idea of "progress of arts?"


text:
January's theme was Budget Review, which meant going over expenses, making a new 2012 budget and making plans for this year regarding bills. Mike and I started out by spending a Saturday going through last year's paperwork, making a preliminary budget and discussing topics such as core life values, bucket lists, wills, helping each other achieve personal goals, paying off credit card debt, creating an emergency fund, our travel dreams, and home improvement plans for the coming year. I structured it in workshops and breakout sessions like a business conference and we even played a few games, broke for lunch and had a book club meeting! We will definitely repeat it again next year!
It was a great format, I think we were both able to bring up things we wanted to discuss and feel like we were heard. Mike brought up refinancing and instead of shooting it down, I listened and we went ahead with it! I brought up trading in his truck for a more fuel-efficient vehicle but he made some good point and we'll be keeping it a while longer.


text:
Cilantro Vinaigrette
2 cups (tightly packed) cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Combine everything except the olive oil in a blender and puree. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper and pour into a squeeze bottle. May be prepared up to a day ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature to serve.
Try some yourself and let me know what you think!


text:
Please do not ask Robert Sloan where he stands on the issues.
Do not invite him to your next neighborhood association meeting, or expect him to knock on your door and say hello.
Quite frankly, the state House candidate does not want your vote. He says he put his name on the ballot just to get some attention.
But his peculiar entry into politics is causing major fits for at least one of the real candidates.
"It was irresponsible of him," said Bobra Bush, a Democrat in the Boca Raton-area District 89. "It was a very inappropriate choice."
Bush joins Marc Shepard and Irving Slosberg in a field of Democrats trying to topple Rep. Curt Levine, D-Boca Raton.
They appeared to be the only Election Day options for weeks. Because of a 1998 law change, that meant the party primary -- traditionally only for Dems -- would open to all voters.
Bush beamed at the possibility.
She figured Republicans would eat up her experience as a small business owner. And any self-respecting conservative would embrace her first-lady-like name.
But Sloan interrupted the fantasy by joining the fray just hours before the filing deadline.
"I just wanted to get my name in the system," he explained. "I'm not serious about wanting to win."
Sloan works for the nonprofit Gold Coast Community Services. He claims to be running to get publicity for the West Palm group, which urges teenagers to hold off on sex until marriage.
His candidacy as a write-in means the Democrats must close their primary to only party members -- bad news for Bush.


text:
60. There is a case for arguing that one has
a right to be counted and if so under the Disability Discrimination
Act there is possibly a case for saying that you have to provide
the form in a way which is easy for the recipient to fill out.
Do you want to comment on that?
(Mr Cook) We would want to do that. We talked earlier
about the bilingual Census form for Wales and I should like to
think that we had a bilingual form in Wales not only because it
was a legal obligation but because the organisation itself was
alert to the importance of being able to communicate to the communities
in Britain in the way they want to be communicated with.
61. What other special needs did you seek to
accommodate in the design of the Census form and in the conduct
of the Census itself? Were there other aspects which you tried
to anticipate?
(Mr Pullinger) We have covered quite a lot in the
discussions we have had to date. A lot of the special needs are
around simply finding different groups of people and recognising
that in a sense each person is an individual. You have to target
your response on them. The special needs of the group called "babies",
which I mentioned in passing; an important group to get but you
tackle it in a very different way. We tackled that by giving every
baby born on Census day a sleep suit which raised the profile
of it and hopefully encouraged more people to include their babies
on their Census form. A very, very large number of those kinds
of initiatives were targeted at particular groups and particular
areas. We would always try to find out where there are people
who were going to have particular issues; questions around blind
and partially sighted people and also deaf people. We had long
consultations with the RNID about how we could ensure that those
people got to be counted properly, different religious and ethnic
groups with different needs and requirements.
(Mr Cook) For women's refuges, we seek to be as sensitive
as we can in how they are enumerated. The ONS sought guidance
from the Home Office on those areas where additional language
support would be required. We got lists of asylum seekers from
the Home Office of where people were so that we could send people
to those places who have the capacity to communicate. In all sorts
of groups where we are able to build up knowledge in advance,
either about exactly where they are or ensure that we are aware
that when we have recognised them we ought to have some sensitivity
and we seek to have a process for doing that. That has been a
real success of the Census. Whether it is legal obligations or
just greater awareness by the bureaucracy itself we should become
better at it.
62. Do you feel that you managed to reach the
great majority of homeless people, people with no fixed abode?
(Mr Cook) We put a huge amount of effort into doing
that. In London the actual size of the areas which enumerators
were working to was half the size of those in the rest of the
country. We had special enumerators who had a particular interest
in that. In addition we had a lot of support from the local authorities
in London. Many of them helped us out with enumerators. Quite
a number of them actually had staff in their planning offices
who supported the local Census managers in how they operated.
I visited Brent where a huge amount of support was provided by
the local authority to our Census manager.
63. Overall what ultimate response rate were
you hoping for?
(Mr Cook) We estimate that 98 per cent of the forms
we sent out, which would have gone to households where people
were eligible within the population, have been sent to us. The
Census coverage survey will allow us to make that a more exact
figure. About 95 per cent of the forms which we sent out in total
have come back to us from completed households. Of the rest what
we know from past Censuses, particularly the last Census, is roughly
the proportion of households in effect not eligible, not on the
Census because they are empty or for other reasons.
64. You are aiming to get to the 1991 response
rate for an overall response rate.
(Mr Cook) We want a response rate in aggregate of
around 98 per cent, that sort of order of magnitude. For several
reasons. One is that a response rate of that amount will be much
less in some groups such as young men, teenage males for example.
We are seeking both to have an aggregate response rate, which
is around that order of magnitude but the other thing we need
to do is to not have a particularly large difference in the response
rates across the different population groups.
65. Across population groups, but what about
across geographic groups? Are you anticipating that the response
rate will fall well short of that in some hard-to-collect areas
like inner city areas?
(Mr Cook) We expect that to be the case. One of the
benefits of the Census coverage survey is that it does give us
the ability to get a very strong measure, a very good measure,
an independent measure of that differential response rate. We
have been able to do that by having such a comprehensive Census
coverage survey this time.
66. Do you have a return rate which you are
aiming for within the inner city areas? It clearly is not 98 per
cent there. Are you trying to get to something?
(Mr Cook) We do not have a target but we have worked
very hard to achieve that overall target. One of the things we
recognised was that it was more difficult to get to that target
in London so we halved the areas people had to work in. People
actually had smaller loads so they could put more time into areas.
A lot of our support activities have been in the more difficult
to enumerate areas. Our most significant compensation has been
in anticipating that as a problem and putting more resource in
to even it out.
67. So you have an overall target but no geographic
(Mr Cook) Where we have thought we were falling significantly
short of that we have reacted. We have found no significant areas
where the things we have done were wrongly targeted in order to
compensate for that prior expectation of where that shortfall
would be.
68. I think that is a no, is it not?
(Mr Cook) Yes.
69. I still feel astonished that it should take
so long to get these numbers out. I just wonder whether some of
the information you are going to want to be providing to people
is not going to be redundant by the time you have got it out.
Are you not getting a lot of pressure for some sort of guidance,
from parts of local government for example, for early indications
of the numbers.
(Mr Cook) The office is getting pressure from its
own head. We really do want to get the information out earlier.
We are set on a processing path which was agreed on with users
in terms of the resource base we have and that is what is being
(Mr Pullinger) A significant driver for our timetable
was the resource allocation round for local government and that
is one of the primary uses. One of the primary uses of the information
is to feed into the local authority resource round and that gives
us a requirement to produce information in August of each year.
In a sense we had the task of producing results either for August
2001 or for August 2002. If we had gone for August 2001, we would
have been able to do an Indian style adding-it-up job and the
technology we have would have certainly allowed for that. We would
in no way have been able to do the adjustment process, which all
users came back to us last time and said they really wanted, so
we could take account of these differences and give users confidence
they were getting information which was comparable between areas.
Clearly for resource allocation that is the critical thing. We
were allowing for any differential coverage in inner London as
opposed to some of the county areas. We were never going to make
August 2001, so we targeted August 2002, essentially to get the
best deal in cost terms by spreading it out. You only need to
employ so many people for a longer period of time, only to buy
so much equipment and it works out cheaper to be able to spread
that out over the period. We targeted our budget to meet that
timetable. We could have done things faster but that would have
cost more and the user demand was to hit this August deadline
which is what we are now doing.
70. Give me a feel for how much more. We have
spent £254 million. Is it going to be £264 million,
£274 million?
(Mr Pullinger) Our total processing costs are in the
region of £50 to £60 million. If we had condensed the
amount of effort we were putting into it, if we had halved it,
I guess we could be talking about 25 per cent on top of that.
71. Twenty-five per cent of £50 million.
(Mr Pullinger) Yes, of £50 million.
72. So up to £65 or £70 million.
(Mr Pullinger) Yes. That is an estimate I am making
off the top of my head based on the overall numbers. The fact
of the matter is that we were not in that position. We had to
budget to run the Census. We had some timings and we planned the
whole strategy around the budget we had and the timings we were
aiming for.
73. It would be very interesting to see something
in a note from you on that trade-off. That seems to be quite crucial.
If the taxpayer is going to spend £¼ billion on a census,
somewhere or other as a whole economy benefit we want more than
£¼ billion back in some form or other. It is not your
job directly to find where those benefits are being delivered.
It is only something you look at indirectly. You look at it indirectly
when you say you are refusing to add questions to the Census if
you think the information might be available elsewhere. In a sense
that is an on/off switch somewhere in between: yes, there is some
value to this question but is there enough value. What we really
need to do in order to assess the Census is to have some kind
of estimate of what the whole economy return is on the Census.
It is perhaps too difficult a question to answer orally, but could
you give us some indication in writing of where you think that
return comes? My guess is that it comes in the very area we have
just been discussing: the needs assessment area and the value
of the information, identifying serious need, deprivation, targeting
particular problems in certain areas, which you can get from the
Census but you cannot get with polling. In which case, it would
be very valuable to have some idea how much benefit you are getting
and whether you are getting £¼ billion from it.
(Mr Pullinger) If there were a reliable model people
could accept for doing that, that would be a wonderful thing to
have because it would help with the decisions we are faced with
on a day by day basis.
74. You could then become world market leaders
in this.
(Mr Pullinger) Absolutely; that would be great and
I am sure we could market the methodology.
(Mr Cook) We could give you a couple of pages on an
analysis of the impact on health, the ability to understand differential
take-up rates or differential needs, the impact of an ageing population,
the impact on the next 20 years of the significant shift in the
ageing of the British population, the ageing of the British work
force. These are all pieces of information which we would not
actually have in sufficient detail to have thoughtful policy responses
75. And knowing the savings we have as a result
of being able to make those policy responses, which would not
be available from polling evidence, is what is required in order
to justify another Census.
(Mr Cook) We could provide you with an overview of
the major public policy areas.
76. I just added a bit which you did not seem
quite so keen to address.
(Mr Cook) We are happy to do that.
77. What were the criteria used to decide whether
to prosecute for not completing a form?
(Mr Cook) Several criteria. The first one was demonstrable
evidence that someone had in fact broken the law. The second criterion
is the ability to mount a prosecution. The third is a broader
judgement of the basis of such a prosecution in terms of the commonsense
nature of it, which is a more difficult judgement. Basically that
is what decides whether we carry out a prosecution.
78. If broadly two per cent of the forms are
not sent back, how many forms is that roughly?
(Mr Pullinger) Two per cent of forms would be two
per cent of 30 million which is going to be 600,000.
79. You have told us that 86 cases have been
referred to the Solicitor's Office. Is that right?
(Mr Pullinger) Yes, it is. Those numbers are both
correct. We know we have no response from people but it is often
very, very difficult to get the first criterion Mr Cook mentioned
which is demonstrable evidence that someone has actually failed
to comply. The evidence the court will require is an interview
under caution with someone who has actively refused to complete
the form. We have had far more difficulties on this occasion in
making contact with people, partly for the reasons I gave, but
partly also because with the post-back systems we were relying
on only one contact rather than two, so the opportunity to get
that evidence was reduced.


text:
Hi everyone,
It's time for another MFT Stamps Creative Challenge. Our Design Team Creative Challenge is a new monthly feature, where we challenge our design team to explore their creative side using a specific theme, product or technique. This month, Eva and Arlene have challenged us to give monochromatic coloring a try! Visit Kim's Blog, for a full list of designers that have taken up the challenge!
This is something I have wanted to try for ages, I had colored one image in using this technique sometime last year but I never did anything with it. So I was happy when I saw this month's challenge, it's always fun to try something new.
For my card I used MFT Stamps PI Skater Boy stamp set, this is a really cool stamp set for for boys! I used the Warm Copic Markers to color my image, starting from W00 through to W7.
I used two MFT Die-namics on my card, the Die-namics Four Point Frame for my sentiment and the Die-namics Open Zig Zag Border for decoration.
Here is the inside of my card, I stamped the boy onto my designer paper and the sentiment to the bottom right hand corner of my card. I also used the Die-namics Open Zig Zag Border along the edge of the designer paper.
|Stamps: PI Skater Boy – MFT Stamps
|Paper: White; Black; Grey; DP – Kaisercraft
|Die-namics: Open Zig Zag Border Die; Four Point Frame Die – MFT Stamps
|Other: Black Ink; Black Twine; Buttons; Sewing Machine; Foam Tape; Copics


text:
Meanwhile, Governor Paterson signed into law a provision allowing Ground Zero workers to sue over medical claims.
The law immediately allows more than 3,000 Ground Zero workers to revive lawsuits that were thrown out by a federal judge in July on the technical ground that they were not filed within 90 days of the workers' conditions being diagnosed.UPDATE:
-- PHOTOS: Ground Zero immediately after 9/11
-- PHOTOS: Ground Zero today
It will also allow new lawsuits from an untold number of workers who never even filed claims.
One of them is Chris Klein, 38, a carpenter from Broad Channel, Queens, who worked for three months at Ground Zero in 2002 and is now on disability with a lung condition. Attorneys told him he waited too long after his diagnosis in 2004 and couldn't file a lawsuit.
"I put my life on the line to help the city and the state, and we were lied to that the air was good to breathe," said Klein, who said he also has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and chronic sinusitis.
Klein said he will now join a separate group of about 10,000 police, firefighters, construction workers and others who worked at or near Ground Zero in the months after 9/11 and who filed lawsuits seeking compensation for subsequent illnesses. They contend the government had told them, falsely, the air conditions were safe.
A convoy of trucks from Maryland is heading to New York's JFK Airport with a batch of steel recovered from Ground Zero following the 9/11 attacks. The steel was tested and examined by NIST, and is on its way back to a hanger at the airport pending its use in the 9/11 memorial at Ground Zero or for use at a memorial or monument elsewhere in the country.


text:
I pieced this wallhanging last year but was stumped on how to machine-quilt it. So, it lingered in the closet waiting for inspiration. Feeling a need to actually *finish* something for a change, I pulled this out and gave it another look. I wanted to highlight the rings somehow with the quilting, and just went ahead a made the decision to use a 'waves' pattern for the rings and a loopy pattern everywhere else. The fabrics for this wallhanging came from my stash, except for the green dotty fabric which I received in a 'ugly fabric' exchange.....and I don't think it's ugly at all! This quilt hangs in the waiting room of my husband's dental office, and it's bright colors really cheer things up during this long, gray, Michigan winter!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Booties for baby
My niece and her husband are expecting, and of course I had to cast on for these right away:
Knit on size 2 DPNs using a generic baby/fingering weight acrylic yarn from my stash.
Such fun to knit something so tiny!
Posted by Patty at 2:43 PM No comments:
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Book review: 101 Designer One Skein Wonders
Since I have many single skeins of yarn, purchased 'just because', I picked up this book.
I thought many of the projects were cute, and would help me put those single skeins to good use. So, in good faith I cast on for the Eyelet Shrug with a lovely eggplant Vanna's Choice.
After several starts, I was unable to get it to work, and so I looked online to see if there were corrections to the pattern. I was really suprised as my printer kicked out seven (7!) pages of errrata for this book! I also have the first One-Skein book,
so I looked for corrections for that one also, and found the same thing: multiple pages of corrections! Is it me, or is it just unreal to plunk down @$20 for a book, and then have all these corrections after the fact? Someone in the editing department was just in too much of a hurry, I think. After meeting last night with my Monday Caribou knitting friends, and having Karen work through the sketchy pattern with me One More Time(!), I think I might have a handle on it.But trust me, if I hit another roadblock with this should-be-easy-to-knit shrug, I will abandon ship and cast on for my February Lady Sweater, which is what I want to be knitting right now anyway.............
Posted by Patty at 8:09 AM No comments:
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Many black shoes
This is what you get when you host the high school varsity basketball team for team meal..........
lots and lots of black shoes!
lots and lots of black shoes!
Posted by Patty at 5:23 PM No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
Los Alamitos: Aha Moment ready for Two Million Futurity
Aha Moment would not be a surprise winner of the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity on Dec. 16.
Already this year, the Texas-bred colt qualified to the $2 million All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs on Sept. 3, finishing third by 1 1/2 lengths to division leader One Dashing Eagle. In his only subsequent start, Aha Moment won a division of the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity trials on Nov. 25.
The victory put an end to any concern about his fitness in his first start since the All American Futurity.
"He had not raced since the All American, so we were a little concerned that we didn't give him another workout," owner Jimmy Harrell said after the trial. "Winning this race with only one workout means he should be a top contender in the final."
Aha Moment has won 3 of 6 starts and $193,805 for Harrell and his wife, Marilyn, of Leedey, Okla. Trained by Paul Jones, Aha Moment was a maiden race winner at Los Alamitos in his career debut in April. Aha Moment spent the summer with Jones's division at Ruidoso Downs. His only win in four starts at that track occurred in a division of the All American Futurity trials over 440 yards in mid-August.
The Los Alamitos Two Million is run over 400 yards. Aha Moment set the sixth-fastest qualifying time of 19.82 seconds.
The win left Jones assured that Aha Moment would be ready for the trials. He and jockey Ramon Sanchez had debated the need for a workout in the weeks before the Los Alamitos Two Million trials, but opted against it at Sanchez's insistence. The jockey regularly gallops Jones's leading runners.
"Ramon said that the horse was doing great and he didn't think that he needed another work," Jones said. "After talking to Ramon, I was convinced not to work him. It was a gamble, but it worked, and now we have a fresh horse going into the final."
The Los Alamitos Two Million is annually one of the toughest futurities in the nation.
This year's field is led by fastest qualifier Freedom Choice. Other finalists with major stakes experience are The August Heat, third in the Dash For Cash Futurity at Lone Star Park in October; Seperate Interest, second in the Golden State Million at Los Alamitos in November; and Fires Blazin, second in the Ed Burke Million Futurity in June.


text:
Discussion in 'Members' Lounge' started by CRX-YEM, Jun 30, 2005.
Kickass toilet seat
If that was my family crest, I might have some thoughts.
Looks like a good ol' way for a Scottish clan to get back at another.
-> Steve
hahah the seat looks like carbon fiber
From time to time, I'll sit on my toilet seat (lid down) to clip my toenails...
That looks like it would rip my asshole off when I stood up.
yeah i like to sit on my toilet seat (top down) and air dry when i get out of the shower.. fuck that, that thing would rip the hair right from my ass.
That wouldn't be half bad, chicks don't like a hairy gooch.
you air dry when you get out of the shower? Are you made of linen ?
-> Steve
I shave all my junk.
Chicks don't, however, dig an asshole that's been ripped from your ass and left impaled on the brass Dark-Ages cross that's on your toilet seat.
what a coincidence... so do i.
but the crazy thing is, i don't dig an asshole in any way shape or form. however, i'm not a freaknik like asshole licking chicks... so...
either way, that toilet seat is crazy. very creative, however.
HAhahahahaha In before lock
looks like something that got thought up from watching too much monty python and the holy grail.
"the brave sir robin, who cowardly turned his tail to the unholy crested commode at antioch..."
thats wierd. the comments are pretty funny too.
bwaahahahaha...and who posted 'VTEC y0'?
Separate names with a comma.


text:
Richard Romano is a New York City-based screenwriter whose 2013 film, The Investigator, earned positive reviews from publications such as Variety. The brother of network television star Ray Romano, Richard Romano holds season tickets to the New York Yankees and appreciates the many life lessons that the game of baseball offers. Some life lessons from the sport are described below.
1. The value of hard work. Unlike athletes in sports like basketball and football, baseball players often lack exceptional physical size. Instead, it is through dedication to their craft that they have achieved their success. In watching these average-sized athletes compete, baseball fans can see firsthand the value of a strong work ethic.
2. Handling failure. In baseball, even the best hitters fail to reach base the majority of the time. The sport thus provides constant examples of individuals dealing with their shortcomings and mistakes. What's more, it shows individuals learning from these situations and coming back to try again.
3. The importance of teamwork. The most successful baseball teams consist of players who work well together in the pursuit of a common goal. Knowing how to collaborate with others, including people who are new and unfamiliar, is a useful ability in numerous areas in life.


text:
Stained glass is so beautiful and intricate—much like these cards. Although they look difficult to make, they are really quite simple. With pre-made card bases, these beautiful cards come together quickly. If you love to color, then these are for you!
Supplies Needed:
Doodlebug Design: assorted card sets
Copic Markers: V17, V05, Y02, Y06, YG13, B02, B05, RV02, RV06, YR04,E00, 110, T2
Faber-Castell: Pitt Artist Pen—Silver
Elizabeth Craft Designs: peel-off stickers—Thanks-Silver; Big Butterflies-Silver; Fantasy Flowers-Silver, Lady With Parasol-Silver;
Be Creative tape sheets
Glitter Ritz: Cool Highlights
Bazzill: Simply Smooth White Cardstock
Imaginisce: I-rock, Glam Rocks—mirror
Glue Arts: Glue Glider Pro
3L: foam squares
Hawaiian-style Card
1. Choose peel-off sticker design and gently lift off liner. Remove backing from tape sheet and adhere sticker to sticky side of adhesive.
2. Remove second liner and adhere to smooth white cardstock. Trim around design leaving a small border of about ½" around the flower. (This cuts down on amount of glitter used.)
3. Fold a piece of copy paper in half and place flower peel-off on top. Carefully sprinkle glitter over flower. Be generous with glitter. Fold one half of the paper over the glittered design and rub glitter into adhesive. Open paper and brush off glitter. Lightly rub off excess glitter until none remains. Use the fold to pour the remaining glitter back into the jar.
4. Either tip on the Copic markers will work to color in the glitter. Use very light pressure to color in the space; hardly any amount of pressure is needed. As the ink touches the glitter, it quickly spreads across the surface. For very small tight areas, the brush tip will work best. For large areas, the chisel tip is best. After finishing with a color, be sure to gently wipe the glitter off the tip of the marker on a paper towel.
5. Once the flower is colored in, carefully trim as close to the design edge as possible.
6. Mount flower with foam squares on a white 2 ½" square at a slight angle. Then attach the 3D piece to center of card.
7. Use an I-rock to embellish card front with mirror glam rocks as desired.
8. Make one more small flower piece for front of envelope. Use the same steps as above to make flower.
Floating Butterfly Card
1. Follow steps 1-5 above except do not remove second liner. Sprinkle with glitter as before and color butterfly.
2. Once the design is colored in, remove the second liner and place directly onto card. This application gives a more translucent look to the design.
3. Select two circles the same size from the peel-off sheet. Separate the circles from their centers and place in top corners of card with the open circle on top and its center just below.
4. For the inside of the card, select from the Thank You Peel-Off Stickers, a sentiment and design to place in the center of card.
5. Make one more flower for the center back of envelope flap. Remember not to mount design on card stock.
My Fair Lady Card
1. Repeat steps 1-5 from Hawaiian Card.
2. Turn glitter image over on white piece of smooth cardstock and trace the outer edges of lady to create a shadow of her.
3. Trim about ⅛" larger than pencil tracings. Turn over and check to make sure shadow fits. Adhere shadow directly to center of black card base. Mount lady with foam squares to shadow.
4. Make a glitter bow for back of envelope flap. Using the silver Pitt pen, draw a box around front of envelope about 1/16" in from edge. Trace around bracket on backside if desired.
Tip: When removing a peel-off, try to leave all of the negative pieces in place. The pieces can be removed with a special transfer tape and also used as a design.
Happy crafting!
Stained Glass Glitter Cards
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Labels: Project Ideas
6 comments:
- Cindylu2u said...
These are gorgeous, thanks so much for the how to!!
- March 30, 2011 at 4:51 AM
- Nancy said...
wow the cards are so beautiful. I cant wait to try it. I am already thinking of Christmas cards with the stained glass look.
- March 30, 2011 at 7:04 AM
- Jingle said...
Gorgeous technique!
- March 30, 2011 at 8:14 AM
- Michelle said...
those are soooo pretty!!
- April 2, 2011 at 8:07 AM
- angela said...
wish ou would do a video ! I'm a visual person. Just can't get it if I don't see it.
- April 7, 2011 at 5:49 PM
- maureen greene said...
Something of a beginner...I'm not sure exactly what is used to make the silver "leading" around the colors.
I do have trouble disentangling instructions that are full of brand names when I'm not sure of their uses. Any help would be appreciated, the results are quite lovely.
- April 10, 2011 at 3:49 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)