Rebuilding Eden

As I write this tonight, the stock market has taken another plunge, the government is debating a bailout of the auto makers and gloom and doom seems to be coming at us from every direction. The dire financial news of today is likely to become the dire financial news of tomorrow and quite frankly for the forseeable future. The problem is that we cannot allow it to control our lives. Too many of us have connected out financial success to happiness. My thought for today is this. Celebrate life.

November 1st marks the beginning of the Holiday Season for me, from this point out the year is focused on celebration. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, holiday sales, football games, parties and other events seem to get endlessly strung together from now thru the end of the year. While the constant taunting of “buy me, buy me” coming from the stores comes earlier each year, I will make a point this year of turning my criticism of this into celebration of it. No, I won’t shop any earlier or buy any more than I usually do, but I may have friends over for dinner this November, or have a pre-holiday party. Read the rest

“I’m going to the store, can I get anyone anything?” That’s how most Mrs. Gravocks visits to our house started when I was younger. It seems that even though we think of our youth as a “simpler time in life”, people were always on the run. The difference however was that they announced it ahead of time. Every trip that was taken, whether to the corner store or into the next town, was broadcast along our little row of neighbors before anyone even thought of leaving. Sometimes it was foretold of the day before such as “I’m running into Hamburg tomorrow morning, do you need anything?” Read the rest

Earlier today I was reflecting on the fact that over the past few years I have been approached dozens of times by people who are looking for a little bit of help getting their project, business, or idea off the ground. It just seems to happen. I’m not sure that I’m the kind of person who brings out the entrepreneur in people, maybe I just tend to have conversations that uncover peoples desires, whatever they may be. Regardless of what causes it, over the years I have been involved with an awful lot of projects and I currently act as an advisor to half a dozen or so people who are trying to better themselves in one way or another. I view these opportunities as one of lifes greatest rewards. Read the rest

I had the opportunity this weekend to travel to Washington, D.C. to return my son to school where he will be a Junior this fall. We took a similar trip just a few weeks ago to move my daughter into her first apartment. She is attending graduate school and thankfully they are only seperated by a few miles (more importantly 2 metro stops). I have never been in an area that has been gripped by the need for Change than the greater D.C. area is right now.

During this brief 2 day whirlwind tour we were approached no less than 2 dozen times for people looking for change. On the way to the metro, “Excuse me, do you have any change?”. Walking by the ballpark, “Got any change?”. People playing instruments hoping for change, people selling flowers hoping for change, people peddling local papers, hoping for change. More than anything else though, people doing nothing at all, just asking for change.

Presidents Clinton and Bush, with the help of Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke have managed to get the printing presses of this country operating at full speed. It will be the job of the next president to get the Mints up to maximum capacity however, because if Washington D.C. is at all representative of this country, we are definitely in need of some change.

Last night as I was headed into the local Wal-Mart for yet another load of groceries for my always hungry crew I grabbed a cart on the way in as I usually do. Next to me, a mother and her three kids were walking in and the eldest boy says to the mother “Mommy, should I get us a cart too?”.

Her answer left me a bit mad, but not at all surprised. “No no honey, they have people to do that” Read the rest

(recovered from Google cache, thanks Google!) I have received a few emails this week regarding my weekly TalkCast, Rebuilding Eden, from some of my listeners on TalkShoe.com. Two of them stood out as they shared nearly identical opinions on the topics that we have been discussing recently, Peak Oil and Global Warming. Each of the listeners stated that they enjoyed the TalkCast, but had some reservations as to the relevancy of the information with regards to their own situations. The first argued that “We may not see any serious effects from Global Warming for years or even decades”. The second that “By the time we reach Peak Oil, the new technology will be there to relieve our needs”. In both cases I hope they are correct, but as we all know, hope is not a strategy. Read the rest

I have cause today to sit back and reflect a little bit upon the course my life has taken to this point and what I have accomplished thus far in my life. At first glance it appears to me that I have not really accomplished much. If I were to die today, what would my legacy be?

There would be no buildings erected in my name, no statues of me adorning the city center, no lasting “gifts” made to the study of science, mathematics, or any other education institute. I have simply been a drop in this large body of water we call life. Read the rest

My name is John and I make lists. The crowd answers back in unison, “Hi John”. If there is anything that I have a need for in my life it is the list. Without it I am quickly reduced to a scatterbrained non-thinker. Even without a list on paper, I almost always have a list in my head.

Its not a bad thing, mind you. My lists keep me focused, they free me from the mundane task of tracking how much I have to do and how what I have accomplished. They allow my mind to work the way that it is intended to, one task at a time. My lists make me a task master. Read the rest

I just wanted to get a short note out about the recent death of Scientist Bruce Ivins. He is the latest American scientist to be accused of the  Anthrax incidents involving Ton Daschle and the Washington Post. For those of you who have been hiding under a rock, or were too busy watching MTV, he killed himself while awaiting prosecution by the FBI.

The FBI claims that he acted alone in this dastardly deed. That he did in fact have the knowledge and expertise to create the Anthrax used in the attacks. If this is so then I would expect their investigation  to wrap up quickly and that documents will be published and the whole ordeal will be put to bed soon. My guess is that will not be the case. Read the rest