Archive for the ‘Thoughts’ Category
Summer Reading
Monday, June 6th, 2011
Now that I am not immersed in reading journal articles and textbook chapters, I find I have some time for pleasure reading. I asked for suggestions from my Facebook family and received the following: True Grit, Chesapeake, the Stieg Larsson trilogy, and “Hero and the Despot” by Zenaphon. I’m awaiting delivery from Amazon for some of the offerings. Some I read years ago but may be open to revisiting them. Any additional suggestions? All are welcome and appreciated!
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Seriously?
Saturday, May 28th, 2011
I usually like to use this blog as a tool to affirm people’s accomplishments or to provide general commentary, but today I am using it to expound on a very negative experience. Not too long ago, I received a voicemail from Comcast saying I needed to upgrade my modem and to please contact them. So, being pretty compliant, I called and was told that there had been some mistake, and they did not have what was needed. A few weeks later, I received another call from Comcast with the same message about upgrading. I called again, and this time, the service rep said a new modem would be sent out to me. It was.
I have no problem installing tech tools so I set up the new modem, and, at first, everything seemed fine. The Internet was available, and the connection even seemed a bit faster. Then the problems erupted: My iPhone was not showing my network as an option, and my wireless printer could not find a connection. I tried to re-establish the network and thought perhaps there was an issue with the operating system since I am still learning Windows 7. Thank goodness for my son-in-law who helped me realize that “new and improved” modem did not have wireless capability. Grrr! Why would they send me an improvement that did less than the modem I had before?
I called Comcast yet again. The service rep did his best, but I was not a happy consumer. I had to order a wireless router (for about $10). Granted, they are not charging a monthly fee (yet), but I find this completely unacceptable. That is why I am sharing this with my followers here, on Facebook, on Twitter, and elsewhere. Have you had similar experiences? Please share them with me.
Addendum: Wow, after I sent out a tweet, I heard back immediately from @ComcastMelissa. I am super impressed with her courteous and concerned response. She explained that I should have been sent a letter. That would have helped, but even so I think a better policy would be to replace a modem that had wireless capability with something similar, rather than having to go through a multi-step process.
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Hope
Friday, April 15th, 2011
One of the nicest aspects of the Mid Year Conference on Religion and Spirituality for me revolves around the wonderful people I have the opportunity to meet. Today I was able to speak at length with Tony Scioli, author of two books about hope. I have both of them (Hope in the Age of Anxiety and The Power of Hope) and enthusiastically recommend them.
Tony is an accomplished academic and author but is still down-to-earth and very easy to talk to. He graciously spent several hours chatting with me and expressed a genuine interest in my current endeavors as a doctoral student. I was glad to learn he has a blog called Hope Today, as well as a hope web site. His basic message is that “hope matters.” In light of recent tragedies such as the earthquakes in Japan, I think his work is worth sharing.
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Addiction
Sunday, March 13th, 2011
I don’t use that term lightly, having spent a year as a substance abuse counselor. I do think it is possible, however, to succumb to addictive behaviors in areas besides drug and alcohol misuse. While it is controversial to think of gambling, pornography, and sugar as addictive, I think they can be. They certainly can be methods used to engage in unhealthy decisions which can have drastic consequences.
That said, I also think there are lower level addictive behaviors such as what I’m currently struggling with: Angry Birds! That game has drawn me in to a point of total absorption. Although I appreciate the mathematics and physics necessary to play the game successfully, what I find especially motivating is the sense of satisfaction I achieve whenever I can keep those silly green pigs from grinning at me.
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Accomplishments
Friday, December 31st, 2010
Because today is the last day of the calendar year, I thought I would reflect upon what has been accomplished in 2010. I am proud to say I have completed more courses for my Ph.D., including some advanced classes in statistics, and I have started working part-time as a psychotherapist in a community clinic. I am also happy to report that my children are all doing well, and my friends continue to be supportive. How about you? What have you accomplished this year?
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The End’s in Sight
Friday, November 26th, 2010
A billboard is now announcing the return of Jesus Christ on May 21, 2011. While I find that declaration a bit baffling, the end is in sight for me. The end of the semester, at least. Just three more weeks, and then I’ll have a bit of a break. It’s been very enriching, and I’ve learned an incredible amount (just ask me about canonical correlation or discriminate analysis), I am really looking forward to the opportunity to do normal stuff such as seeing a movie. I hope the new Harry Potter flick is still in the theaters by that point.
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