From the flames new life rises

First off, an apology to my faithful blog readers for the prolonged hiatus.  Just a ton of plates spinning at the same time and I didn’t follow my own good advice about the oxygen mask.

But the hiatus is over and new life has sprung from the ashes. Interesting digression: the idea of a bird that rises out of the fire is an almost universal mythology. Completely unrelated cultures have told of this bird, whether they called it a phoenix or something else.  Must be part of who we are as humans to appreciate the idea of renewal….OR was there such a phenomenon? I’ll leave that to you to ponder.

My last posting I went into several goals I am working on. Some successes. I can speak with someone at a call-center in Bangalore in Hindi and nearly be understood. Fascinating culture! I’m considering opening a Super-8 Motel. Definitely planning a trip to India.

I got a Sony Reader for Christmas and I have read a ton of books on it.  Really enjoy that new technology. I can discover a new book and be reading it several minutes later. Re-read for the third time The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky.

I need a good kicking in the ass to get swimming!!! I have not swam once since Ironman Florida. As much as I enjoy swimming, I don’t enjoy the drive into town and back before the buttcrack of dawn.  Next week! Who will be my accountability partner? Speak Up! There is a GoogleVoice widget on the side that actually works!

To commemorate the occasion I'm contemplating this spectacular tattoo

I have several good pieces of material to post. Everyone has a story, but not everyone is a storyteller. Keep posted.

EMBRYO SD from illuzia.net on Vimeo.

One of the most fascinating clips I have ever seen. In 6 minutes and 20 seconds it takes you through the history of mankind and from conception to birth.

“When the student is ready, the teacher arrives.”

Blueberries: Nature's delicious treasure chest of nutrients

Energy bars have come along way since I had my very first Power Bar in 1993.  GACK! I can remember distinctively gagging down a Power Bar before the New York City Marathon in 1993.  Just a tasteless mass of thick crap.

Along came the Clif Bar, which was a significant improvement.  The bars actually had some texture and flavor and provided more long-lasting energy, rather than the burst of sugar high.  But when Clif Bars started appearing in Wal-Mart and supermarkets, I noticed a change.  There were more cheap “fillers” and more sugary ingredients.

My Blueberry Blaze Energy Bar is my own attempt to create a nutritious bar with long-lasting energy without the sugar high and lows.  I need to give credit to Brendan Brazier.  I had seen a post about his energy bar and forgot to save the link, so I just have experimented on my own.  Mind you, these are fairly labor intensive.  The results, however, are worth it.  The batch will hold you for a month or so, since it makes 18 or so bars.

• Blueberry Blaze Energy Bars
• Ingredients: 1 quart of fresh blueberries,  1/4 cup of chia seeds,  1 1/2 cups macadamian nuts, 2 cups chopped dates, 1/4 cup hemp protein powder,  2 cups sprouted barley groats,  1/4 cup agave nectar,  1 cup dried berries of your choosing,  1 teaspoon salt,  1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut,  1/4 cup ground flax seed,  1 teaspoon vanilla extract,  1 teaspoon almond extract.
• Instructions:  Soak and sprout your barley groats ( 2 days).  Puree blueberries and add the chia seeds and let gel overnight.   Thoroughly drain the barley groats.  In food processor grind macadamias until they are course, add barley and grind to course consistency.  Keep adding remaining ingredients and adjust until your have a  thick gooey constistency.  You can add more coconut or berries or nuts if it is too thin.
• Line  two cookie sheets with sides ( I think this is called a jelly roll pan) with wax paper. Scrape half of the mixture into each pan.  Use another sheet of wax paper to spread the mixture evenly onto the pans until it is about  the thickness of a Clif Bar.  Refrigerate to let the dry ingredients absord the wet ingredients.  Cut into 4 in. x 2 in. bars and freeze in individual bars wrapped in wax paper.  OK!!  The bars are meant to be appetizing  while on a long ride or run.  So they are gooey and will melt in your mouth easily.  Not really meant as a lolly-gagging around the house kinda’ bar.  Enjoy!

Thanks a lot!!

In the last two weeks I’ve have several people come up to me and tell me they enjoy this blog.  I really appreciate that.

My original intent in starting this blog was to record my Ironman training and get on paper some of the amusing stories from my employment and elsewhere.   Anything beyond that was icing on the cake.

I had one rule from the beginning. 1.) For bad or worse, the material is original and my own.  There are plenty of bloggers out there who scan the Internet for material and re-post. This is my own life with all the warts.

As I have continued to blog I added a second rule. 2.) Stay clear of partisan politics!!! I, personally, am an unrepentant Liberal. But, I also feel that there is far too much divisiveness in America and we would be better served by working together as Americans first.

I am always open to suggestions.  My email is me@danthomas.me  Continue to drop in and enjoy the blog.

–Your Faithful Blogger

"Place the oxygen mask on yourself first..."

The single greatest piece of advice that I have ever received didn’t come from a great philospher, a minister, or  Nobel prize winner. It came from a stewardess.

Although I had flown before, I remember well the US Air flight from Indianapolis to Washington D.C. in April 1982.  I was flying to Washington for a job interview right out of college.

As the plane leveled off after takeoff the stewardess went through the usual safety schpiel that most people ignore.  This time something in the instructions resonated with me and stuck.

• “Should the cabin experience a loss of pressure, oxygen masks will drop down from the overhead compartment. Place the oxygen mask on yourself first, so that you are better able to assist those around you. ”

So what is so profound about this statement?  For those of us in the business of helping others in need, this makes perfect sense.    There will always be something to do. There will always be pressing needs.  There will always be one more task to complete.   The Protestant Work Ethic has taught us that you only rest once the work is complete. It would be selfish to look to your own needs first. The problem with that thinking is that the work is NEVER complete. The ducks never get in a row.  If you keep working past a certain point, you become burnt-out , resentful, and hateful and your work product is poor, your productivity is weak.

Instead, STOP!  Take a break. Completely disengage from the task at hand. Renew your energy and mental focus.  Then return to the task with renewed focus and energy.

After 16 years working in the business of assisting others, I have seen the consequences of ignoring The Oxygen Mask Advice. People turn to alcohol, over-eating, prescription drugs, anti-depressants, etc. as a solace to deal with stress.  They become bitter and cynical about the very people who they are supposed to serve.

A fantastic book that speaks to this very piece of advice is The Power of Full Engagement by Dr. Jim Loehr.   Dr. Loehr works at the Human Performance  Institute.  Dr. Loehr was studied the top performers in many different fields (sports, art, music, business, leadership) and has found that top performers “get” this advice and incorporate this into their routines.  If I had to recommend one self-help book, this would be the one I would recommend. It’s not about managing time, it’s about managing energy.

Take a break! Put the oxygen mask on and take some deep cleansing breaths.

Our big catch of the day

We are about two weeks from letting the ducks and geese swim in our pond.  We realized that there are some huge snapping turtles in the pond.

We baited giant hooks with rotted meat and attached masons line to the hooks and then to milk jugs.  On the first try we were able to catch this 22-pound beauty.  We let it go in the White River. Snapping turtles, like people from Scott and Jennings Counties are best caught, captured, and relocated.

In order to fully understand this particular post it is necessary to understand the Myth of Sisyphus. According to Greek mythology,  Sisyphus angered the gods for his trickery and deceit.  As a punishment, the gods sentenced Sisyphus to spend the rest of eternity rolling a large boulder up a steep hill only to see it roll back downhill shortly before reaching the top, only to start the chore over again.

Sisyphus and his pointless task.

Be forewarned: this post is a bitter pill to swallow. There comes a time in the life of everyone in child welfare or social work when the job seems overwhelming or pointless. I am at such a point.

There are answers to address problems.  They are not easy. They will take a generation to show results.

As I sit here writing this blog, there are self-absorbed, irresponsible, drug-addicted humans engaging in unprotected, recreational sex. The result of that union will be an unloved, unwanted child.  No sugar-coating that one.

Once the novelty of this unwanted child wears off, the neglect begins.  An infant is a world of need.  The chemically-addicted can engage in two activities and two activities only: procurement and consumption. The needs of an infant or child interfere with this process.  Those of us in child welfare see this on a daily basis.  What we do is extremely important work.  What we do well is seeing that children arrive at their 18th birthday safe and healthy.  What we cannot remedy is the experience of growing up unwanted. What that experience will create is a gaping wound of need.The cycle begins anew.

Having spent some time working on the frontlines, the answer is simple enough.  Stop the process where penis meets vagina.  Humans will engage in recreation sex. Always have. Always will.  Let’s be mature adults about this. Abstinence education has failed us miserably.  A mature, commonsense sex education program beginning in elementary school is a must.

Simple math tells us that males are the primary problem.  Males have more sexual relations with more partners than females.  (It is not uncommon for males to have as many as 12 children by 10 different mothers.)  Leaving birth control to women has not been effective or efficient. Expecting the chemically-addicted to make responsible choices in birth control is pointless. The only proponent of condoms are women who have never had to wear one.  Until they invent a condom that actually enhances the sexual experience they will not be worn.

I am a proponent of cash incentives for vasectomies beginning in adolescence.  Vasectomies are a sure bet. They can also be reversed later in life when a responsible choice can be made. Vasectomies can be performed safely and efficiently for a relatively small cost.  A CASH incentive of $2,000.00 would be a small cost to pay based on the potential savings and the spared heartache of all involved.

Your thoughts?

Chickens can fly! I grew up “in town” and the only chickens I can remember seeing as a kid were the ones at Rose Acres in cages neatly lined up in rows.  I was under the assumption the chickens were like penguins and ostriches and were completely flightless.

Nothing could be further from the truth. While chickens cannot fly long distances, they have good vertical flight strength.  The chickens are a bit over five weeks old and already they can fly up on the edge of their corral and roost.  They are perfectly capable of leaving, but they just hang out and poop over the side of the corral.  Good times!

Hanging out on the top of the world.

Some of you have heard me mention The Doofenschmerch.  The Doofenschmerch is our rooster. We didn’t plan on a rooster, he just happened.  When we go in to feed and water our flock he will fly up to great us.  The other birds are not big on being handled, but The Doofenschmerch doesn’t mind.

The Doofenschmerch in all his glory!

The ducks are nearly full size and the geese have shed their fuzz and are mostly skin with the hint of feathers starting to immerge.   Each of the birds is developing a unique personality.

Gosling in intermediate stage between fuzz and feathers.

May 2, 2009:  The chicks are going through an ugly period.  They have lost their fuzz and have not quite got their feathers yet.   Some can fly quite a ways.

Petunia struts her stuff.

Chicks gather for their fortnightly Mensa meeting.

We have moved them to the pole barn, but they still have access to a heat lamp.

We had one goose casualty this week.  I think the bird suffered hypothermia.  The ducks are extremely messy.  They sling water everywhere.  We really did not intend on getting ducks. The kids just thought they were cute.

I always thought that ducks are just smaller geese.  Actually, they are very different creatures. Geese are more social and are slower to mature.  Thus the geese cannot get wet until they have feathers.  Geese stick together as a flock, ducks do their own thing like cats. Geese are entirely vegetarian, ducks eats bugs, fish, frogs, as well as grains and seeds.

We seperated the ducks and geese and now the geese are thriving again.  The geese like to raise a ruckus when we enter the barn.  They have become used to being handled.

MS Internet Explorer

Firefox Browser

Reuben and One Trick Pony (regular blog readers) have commented that they cannot see the first comment when they pull up the comment section.  I couldn’t figure out what they were talking about since I’ve always been able to see them as plain as day.

It occurred to me just now that I always use Mozilla Firefox as my web browser.  In 2007  the United States Department of Homeland Security recommended Firefox over Microsoft Internet Explorer because Internet Explorer had a number of security flaws and this made individuals and businesses vulnerable to attack.

So, I tried opening up www.danthomas.me in Internet Explorer and sure enough I could not see the first comment.  Aha!  Now that I know the problem I can contact Wordpress and find a solution.  In the meantime, I recommend Firefox anyway.  It loads faster than IE and is far more secure.  In fact, I’ve been Microsoft-free for 18 months.  I use a Linux-based operating system called Ubuntu and am completely happy with it.

Dibert Linux-Geek humor.