Who Are Your Favorite Holiday Musicians?

My list is a bit eclectic and in no particular order:
- Andy Williams
- Jars of Clay
- Burl Ives
- Mannheim Steamroller
- Third Day
- Kenny G
- Young Messiah
- Celine Dion
- Amy Grant
- Anna Wilson
- Bing Crosby
- Michael Smith
- Andrea Bocelli
- Destiny’s Child
- Charlotte Church
- Harry Connick Jr.
- Michael Card
- Russ Taff
- Linda McKechnie
- Sam Levine
- Northern Light Orchestra

Who do you like? Respond here

 

Wiiwaa Video Game Will Have You Saying, Wii!

Seems I grew up too late for all the cool toys. I just missed the Big Wheel, too late for the PS2, and don’t get me started on the Nintendo DS. We had bikes, cards, and make-believe games (not saying that’s all bad) but I sure wish I could be a kid again. Now, along comes Wiiwaa for the Wii. Oh well, missed another one, but you still gotta check it out. Fun! Watch the video and then let me know what were/are some of your favorite games growing up?

Why You Do Not Want A Job

By E. Brown (Repost)

Did you know that many people use the words, job, career, and vocation synonymously? Are you one of them? These words are actually very distinct with distinct definitions.

The Dictionary says of these:

Job – A paid position, responsibility, or piece of work.

Career – Time spent in an occupation for a significant period of one’s life.

Vocation – A strong feeling of suitability for a particular career or a person’s main occupation.

When thinking about your work, how do you see yourself positioned? Many newbies to the workforce see themselves in particular jobs for the money. Yet studies have shown that after 5 to 10 years, money is not the prime motivator many thought it was. Many lack passion in what they do, but it pays the bills so they stick it out in an environment they dread returning to each Monday morning. Today, employees are asking themselves if they are truly making a difference with their lives in regard to work. After all, in the western world, work is such a big part of one’s life, you cannot help but wonder if there is any lasting impact. “Is this all there is?” many are asking.

So, how about you? Are you in a job, a career, or a vocation?

Dan Miller offers the following definitions as you think about your life and its purpose as related to work. Read on.

Job - A job is the most specific and immediate of the three terms. It has to do with one’s daily activities that produce income. The average job is 3.2 years in length, meaning the average person will have 14 to 16 different jobs in his/her working lifetime. Jobs will come and go….

Career - Career comes originally from the Latin word for “cart” and later from the Middle French word for “racetrack.” In other words, you can go real fast for a long time but never get anywhere. That is why in today’s work environment, even physicians, attorneys, CPAs, and engineers may choose to get off the expected track and choose another career. You can have different careers at different points in your life.

Vocation - Vocation is the most profound of the three, incorporating calling, purpose, mission, and destiny. This is the big picture many people never identify for themselves. It’s what you’re doing in life that makes a difference and builds meaning for you, which you can review in your later years to see the impact you’ve made on the world. Stephen Covey says that we all want “to live, to love, to learn, and to leave a legacy.” Our vocation will leave a legacy. The word vocation comes from the Latin vocare, which means “to call.” It suggests that you are listening for something that is calling out to you. Everyone has a vocation or calling. (48 Days To The Work You Love, pages 38-40)

Anyone can do a job. The question is, have you been listening for your vocation? Are you fulfilling a purpose beyond the weekly grind? Are you proud and excited about the legacy you are leaving?

These are not easy questions to answer. They will take some introspection but in the end you will find the time you took was worthwhile. You will approach work with exuberance.

You will have fun.

You will find yourself content.

Contentment is not a word used much anymore. Yet, isn’t that something we all want at the end of the day - contentment?

Go. Pursue your vocation and at the end of your life you will find contentment!

Now tell me about you — are you in a job or vocation?

Share This With Others

Turkey Bowling Is Back For The Holidays!

Fun online Turkey Bowling game is back for the holidays. Give it a shot.

I actually did better this year than last. I got a 70! Try it and let me know what score(s) you get here on WeirdGuy blog.

Have fun!

Is A Balanced Life Really Attainable?

Note: Reposted as a good reminder

This is one of those primary yet tough life principles for me. I have learned that I need others in my life to hold me accountable to this principle. Accountable to my dreams, goals, and aspirations as a businessman, father, and husband. What is this primary life principle? It is balance.

I can still hear Mr. Miyagi yelling at Daniel LaRusso in the movie, The Karate Kid, “Balance Daniel-san, balance!” There is some truth to this in the concept of “life-balance”. We’re all torn in two directions, as illustrated below:

Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Speaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . Serving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Giving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Confidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . External Life . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Leisure Meditation Following Listening Recreation Waiting Receiving Learning Humility Solitude Freedom Sorrow Internal Life

So, how do you find balance? Is it appropriate or even possible in this day and age to find balance in life? With all the competing areas above, most people settle for focusing on one area alone.

Sacrifice For The Sake of Excellence
Excelling in one area is good, right? Where would Michael Jordan be, or Donald Trump be unless they excelled in one focused area? By no means am I suggesting we stoop to the level of mediocrity. Yet, while unbridled attention in one area may bring success, it almost always brings failures in many other areas. For example, “it is not uncommon to discover a physician who fails as a parent, an entertainer who fails as a spouse, a pastor who neglects personal health, or an executive who fails at all the other areas,” says author and educator, Dr. Richard Swenson. Stanford Physicist, Dr. Richard Bube, recommends a more balanced approach so that we do not fall into, what he calls, “negative excellence.” A person who chooses to strive for high degrees of excellence in one or two areas often fails in others. While, the person who choses to live balanced has no outstanding levels of excellence but, they do not have any areas of failure either.

There Is An Answer
You’ll be glad to know that life balance is attainable. It starts with time. You thought I was going to say priorities. Business people practice prioritizing a lot. The mistake is, prioritizing dictates that one area is more important than another. What I am saying is that all these areas are important and that to attain balance we need to start with the time we give to each.

Learn to say “no.” In today’s Western society it is easy to overload and overbook ourselves. Saying “no” puts you in control of your time demands. This leads to the next item: Get better control of your life.

Getting control means overthrowing the tyrannical rule of the urgent. Reorient your life around the important, not the urgent things of life.

Next, watch out for the circular trappings of trying to find the imbalance in your life. In doing so you run the risk of becoming even more unbalanced. George Rust warns, “We respond to our sense of imbalance by committing more time and energy to an area in which we feel deficient.” The last thing you need is to commit more time than you have.

Finally, be considerate of others trying to live a balanced life. If someone tells you “no”, learn to accept it. Just because we choose to overburden ourselves doesn’t mean we have to do the same to others.

Balance is attainable. It takes work but it can be done. You might consider sharing your desire to live a balanced-life with a close friend and then ask them to hold you accountable. Give them permission to ask you how you’re doing on a regular basis — and, be honest in your reply.

Related Links
- Living More With Less
- The Overload Syndrome
- Margin
- A Minute of Margin

Are You A Dreamer?

Do you feel misunderstood?

Do you have trouble remembering details and instructions?

Do you love positive feedback, yet not desire to conform to the cultural mold of expectations?

You are not alone.

Lately, I have been doing reading about cognitive styles. Primarily, there is plenty of information about strong-willed children/adults and High-D personalities as well as compliant children/adults. Yet, there is little information out about “Dreamers.”

Dr. Dana Spears and Dr. Ron Braund have a very interesting book on Dreamers, the passionate-creative-culture-changers of the world. Join me soon for a more in depth look at this type of individual and see if you are a mold breaker.

Kindle’s For Kids

By E. Brown

How many of you have kids in school? How many of you have kids carrying HUGE backpacks to school? How many of you are paying doctor bills for your child’s back problems because of lugging around heavy books? Even the packs with wheels are a pain – literally. Ever seen a child try to roll one over a curb on his way to school? Not a pretty sight.

Here’s an idea for Amazon — why not work with the National Education Association, State Departments of Education, or the U.S. Department of Education and give K-12 school kids Kindles with all these “heavy books” loaded into them? The schools own the Kindle’s and when the child graduates, he or she will certainly want to have one of their own. Did someone say, next generation adopters/consumers?

I’ll bet, once parents see the Kindle up close and in action, they will want to buy one for themselves. Talk about market share and saturation. I hear the distant sounds of Ka-ching!

Let me see, off the top of my head here are some ways this could be of benefit:

1. Less paper consumed
2. Less trees cut
3. Easier to update published content
4. Less trash from out-dated school books
5. Lighter pack backs
6. Less stress on children’s backs and bodies
7. Lower family medical bills
8. RSS feeds to teacher assignments
9. Bookmarks to teacher blogs
10. Exposure to Kindle eReaders
11. Create raving fans

I am sure the list could go on. Also, if you’re an Amazon employee, this is another opportunity for you to help out your local community. School administrators will thank you and parents will love you.

If you think this is a worthwhile idea, let Jeff Bezos know. Send him a quick email and let’s see what happens.

Feel free to comment here as well and let me know your thoughts or if there is anything missing on the list of benefits. If you do not see an upside to this idea, let me know that too.

Humorous Word-Play To Start Your Day

Got this from my friend Chris, this morning. Enjoy the play on words.

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference .  He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.
7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
9. Two silk worms had a race.  They ended up in a tie.
10. Time flies like an arrow.  Fruit flies like a banana.
11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall.  The police are looking into it.
12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway.  One hat said to the other, “You stay here; I’ll go on a head.”
14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger.  Then it hit me.
15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: “Keep off the Grass.”
16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital.  When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, “No change yet.”
17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
18. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
19. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
20. A backward poet writes inverse.
21. In democracy it’s your vote that counts.  In feudalism it’s your count that votes.
22. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
23. Don’t join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects!

Quotable Quotes – On Youth

Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.
- J.K. Rowling

The old repeat themselves and the young have nothing to say. The boredom is mutual.
- Jacques Bainville

Not everyone grows to be old, but everyone has been younger than he is now.
- Evelyn Waugh

In youth we run into difficulties. In old age difficulties run into us.
- Beverly Sills

How To Improve Your Learning

Kendra has some good insights about being a learner. Here she shares some effective ways to enhance your personal learning. I liked number ten. I think you’ll like this too. Enjoy!

By Kendra Van Wagner, About.com

I’m always interested in finding new ways to learn better and faster. As a graduate student who is also a full-time science writer, the amount of time I have to spend learning new things is limited. It’s important to get the most educational value out of my time as possible. However, retention, recall and transfer are also critical. I need to be able to accurately remember the information I learn, recall it at a later time and utilize it effectively in a wide variety of situations.

1. Memory Improvement Basics
I’ve written before about some of the best ways to improve memory. Basic tips such as improving focus, avoiding cram sessions and structuring your study time are a good place to start, but there are even more lessons from psychology that can dramatically improve your learning efficiency.

2. Keep Learning (and Practicing) New Things
One sure-fire way to become a more effective learner is to simply keep learning. A 2004 Nature article reported that people who learned how to juggle increased the amount of gray matter in their occipital lobes, the area of the brain is associated with visual memory. When these individuals stopped practicing their new skill, this gray matter vanished.

So if you’re learning a new language, it is important to keep practicing the language in order to maintain the gains you have achieved. This “use-it-or-lose-it” phenomenon involves a brain process known as “pruning.” Certain pathways in the brain are maintained, while other are eliminated. If you want the new information you just learned to stay put, keep practicing and rehearsing it.

3. Learn in Multiple Ways
Focus on learning in more than one way. Instead of just listening to a podcast, which involves auditory learning, find a way to rehearse the information both verbally and visually. This might involve describing what you learned to a friend, taking notes or drawing a mind map. By learning in more than one way, you’re further cementing the knowledge in your mind. According to Judy Willis, “The more regions of the brain that store data about a subject, the more interconnection there is. This redundancy means students will have more opportunities to pull up all of those related bits of data from their multiple storage areas in response to a single cue. This cross-referencing of data means we have learned, rather than just memorized.”

4. Teach What You’ve Learned to Another Person
Educators have long noted that one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it to someone else. Remember your seventh-grade presentation on Costa Rica? By teaching to the rest of the class, your teacher hoped you would gain even more from the assignment. You can apply the same principle today by sharing your newly learned skills and knowledge with others.

Start by translating the information into your own words. This process alone helps solidify new knowledge in your brain. Next, find some way to share what you’ve learned. Some ideas include writing a blog post, creating a podcast or participating in a group discussion.

5. Utilize Previous Learning to Promote New Learning
Another great way to become a more effective learner is to use relational learning, which involves relating new information to things that you already know. For example, if you are learning about Romeo and Juliet, you might associate what you learn about the play with prior knowledge you have about Shakespeare, the historical period in which the author lived and other relevant information.

Read More…

Book Review – The Unseen

By E. Brown

I have to admit, this is the first time I have read anything by T. L. Hines. I am typically reading business and work related material. I save reading fiction for down-time when I need a little “fluff” and entertainment to take my mind away from present matters. And, isn’t that what fiction is for — an escape, a getaway, a chance to relax and vicariously “live in someone else’s world” for a while?

The main character, Lucas, in Hines’ book, The Unseen, spends most of his waking hours by living his life through the imagined worlds of others. You see, Lucas is an urban explorer. He lives in abandoned buildings, sewers and subway tunnels. He spies on people and invents elaborate worlds in his mind as a past time. That is until his world is intruded upon by another explorer. Donovan belongs to a group called the Creep Club. After befriending Lucas, Donovan invites Lucas to a Creep Club meeting. Lucas expects to find like-minded urban explorers, but he what he really finds is far more sinister.

The beginning of the book sets up some of the characters and starts to introduce various plot lines that coalesce toward the end of the book. I found that as the story progressed the action did as well. Hines surprised me a couple times when I thought the story should be winding down — he infused a new shot of adrenaline and kept me moving through the pages.

For some readers, this book might seems average and predictable — spotted with government intrigue, subtle romance, and good-guy-wins-in-the-end themes. For readers like me, that’s okay. In a sense, like the character Lucas, I read fiction to take a break from the real world in order to imagine, to recharge, and, yes, to think about bigger things than myself. So, if you have never read The Unseen, I recommend giving it a go. Find a comfy chair, sit back and enjoy.

Grandview Tavern & Grille

By E. Brown

If you’re ever in the greater Cincinnati area, on the Kentucky side of the river in Fort Mitchell, you have to try the Grandview Tavern & Grille. Managed by Matthew Haws, the Grandview has recently acquired Executive Chef, Mike Nelsen. All I can say is, “Good job!” Mike has revamped the menu and brought new life and new flavors to the establishment.

On this particular evening I was there for dinner with some good friends. When we looked at the menu we saw the selections of salads, entrees, and desserts were creative and would satisfy the most discriminating palette.

The Food
I started with the Salmon Salad although the Warm Goat Cheese Salad did catch my eye also. The Salmon Salad included peaches, candied pecans, tomato, gorgonzola cheese, and Italian vinaigrette. The blend of flavors was very well balanced. Personally, I would have preferred a little more salmon but the melody of taste would have been unbalanced. Overall, a very good salad that I would recommend. Other salads to choose from are: Caesar, Nicoise, Cobb, and Black & Bleu.

Dinner entrees at the Grandview Tavern range from Tavern Meatloaf to Pasta Diavolo and for fish lovers from Pistachio Crusted Tilapia to Shrimp and Scallop Scampi. I had the Pasta Diavolo. It consisted of blackened shrimp and steamed mussels in a spicy tomato sauce over roasted red pepper papardelle pasta with spinach, and served with a parmesan toast point. At this point, I was slightly surprised. The dish was not as flavorful as I had expected. I expected the blackened shrimp to add a spicy “bite” to the dish. Instead it was all rather bland. Whereas with the salad I could taste the various ingredients, this pasta dish had no variety.

“What about the grille,” you may ask? For those of you craving meat from the grille, Grandview offers the standard fare: Ribeye, New York Strip, and Filet Mignon.

The Atmosphere
If you visit the Web site you will see that the interior of the Grandview is warm and inviting. The ambient lighting is just right. Believe me, I have been in some establishments where it seems the light is turned low because they do not want you to see what you’re eating.

During warmer seasons the Grandview sports a patio that they open to patrons. Recently refurbished, the patio is spacious and relatively quiet allowing you to enjoy the company you’re dining with.

Overall
In spite of some of my disappointments, I would still recommend the Grandview. With the many menu items you are bound to find a favorite that will keep you coming back for more. For those of you who like trying something new, the menu offers the variety you will crave. The pricing is about what you’d expect — salads around $11, entrees around $25, and grille items around $28. The service is friendly and timely and Matthew Haws will listen to your thoughts and comments regarding any of the dishes. With the new management and Chef, I feel the Grandview can only get better and better.

Enjoy!

Struck By Colitis

By E. Brown

Have you noticed how common IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) is nowadays? There are commercials on television because it seems to have become so prevalent. Even studies show that youth are plagued by this more and more.

Why is this? Could it be stress?

I believe stress has a lot to do with it. In today’s fast-paced world the bar is set higher and there are many more expectations and outside influences placed upon us than in years past. Some people have learned to cope with stress while many have not. Many internalize anxiety and the result is IBS or worse.

If you’ve researched IBS and IBD you will see that diet, exercise, and rest can play into the illness as well. But, as I have found in my life, stress is the main instigator.

Current Conditions
So, this brings me to current conditions. This last month has seen few posts by me due to what I have called a “perfect storm” of illness. I had one thing after another that hit me and sent my body spiraling down.

It first started with stress-filled news regarding work. Not three weeks later I had a colonoscopy scheduled. If you have ever prepared for this procedure it will mess with your digestive system. A week after the colonoscopy I got a sinus infection. I figured I’d weather the infection and let it runs it’s course. Christmas week came and went with all the holiday busyness. The weekend before New Years I got some bug that ran through me over a 24-hour period. Whew, I was feeling rough. My body was talking to me and it was starting to feel worn.

As a result of my colonoscopy, my doctor prescribed a medicine I had never taken before. I took the medicine for a week and my world was turned upside-down. I felt achy all over and had a total loss of energy. I even had trouble concentrating.

I immediately stopped taking the medication.

It took about another week before it worked it was out of my system, but it seems the damage was done. My energy was still low and I had little to no appetite. I lost about 20 pounds.

After talking with the doctor I was prescribed a medication that I had taken in the past. That began the slow rebuild of my digestive system.

It is truly amazing how the human body is constructed and how much of an incredible system it is. You are never more aware of this than when one part is not working well and you see how it affects the whole. In my case I have been struck with colitis. I have an inflamed colon and it is slow going introducing foods back into my diet.

It has taken me two weeks to get to the point where I have felt good enough to get out of the house a couple times. I certainly have not come back as quickly as I hoped, but every day is better than the last. With this said, I should be getting back to blogging on a more regular basis.

I hope this has been helpful and informative for some of you. It has definitely been a learning process for me — one I hope I do not have to go through again any time soon.

Martial Arts, Emotional Intelligence, And Academia

This came from the Edutopia site. Having studied martial arts, I would agree with many of the ideas Jordan has in the article. I hope you find this informative as well. Have fun!

On paper, Jordan Schreiber is a martial arts teacher, but his real goal is far broader. By shaping the social and emotional lives of his students, he hopes to prepare them for successful lives outside the tae kwon do studio and in the classroom.

The academic benefits of social and emotional learning are well established by now, and they’re no less germane in a martial arts studio. Schreiber says that as his students learn to recognize and manage their emotions, care about others, make good decisions, behave ethically and responsibly, develop positive relationships, and avoid negative behaviors through tae kwon do, they also improve dramatically in the classroom.

Indeed, with the ability to self-regulate comes the ability to focus and take in new information that’s vital for academic success. For that matter, establishing a goal for the week is as important as learning a proper stance. Schreiber rewards equally academic achievements outside the studio and physical achievements within. He follows up the students’ martial arts sequences with discussions on the meaning of success.

Read more…

Virtual Turkey Bowling! Gobble Gobble!

Fun online Turkey Bowling game. Give it a shot. I stink at it. I only got 22 points.

The 10 “Cannots”

Don’t know what you may think of Dave Ramsey, but there is no doubt he has helped many people become financially free. Here is a list Dave has recently been using on his daily radio program . Enjoy!

By William J. H. Boetcker (wrongfully attributed to Abraham Lincoln)

1. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
2. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
3. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
4. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
5. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence.
6. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
7. You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
8. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
9. You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
10. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they will not do for themselves.

More Mobile Learning With iTunes U

This has been out for a time, but thought I’d share. So, load up your iPod, hit the road, and keep learning!

Hall Davidson Talks About Cell Phones In Education – NECC 2008

By Mark van’t Hooft

It’s in your pocket: teaching spectacularly with cell phones. Great speech by Hall Davidson from Discovery Education Network about using mobile phones in education, the kind of talk many teachers and administrators need to hear. The first thing Hall said was to take out and turn on our cell phones

There is a large potential for cell phones in education, but current best practices are small. Mobiles have lots of functionality, including:

• Telephone
• Text messenger
• Still camera
• Video camera
• Video player
• GPS device
• Podcaster
• Music player

Are we really going to ignore a device this powerful? Can we, when it has all kinds of applications for teaching, learning, school-to-home, administration?

In general, we still take cell phones away, and school districts ban them (e.g. during school hours). However, if this is a tool for adults, we need to teach kids how to use it.

Read more…

Related Articles
- Jeffrey Veen Taps Into eLearning For Start Conference
- Twitter Is For The ADD Generation – Part 1

Blog Action Day 2008 – Poverty

Last year WeirdGuy blog participated in Blog Action Day. This year, we will again and share from a weird perspective on the issue of poverty. I encourage you to get involved. Find out more details at Blog Action Day.

Don’t Be Amongst The Millions Of Apathetic