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A Father's Motorcycle Diary
The Hindi language is unfair to fathers. It has a beautiful word for motherly love, but nothing for fatherly love. Mamta – the word for mother's love - also doubles up as a woman's name. That means you cannot use that for a father's love because "Papa ki mamta" (or father's Mamta) starts to sound like an extramarital affair.
It was partly that fatherly love which had driven us from the city to a Himalayan Village over two years ago. One of my goals was to spend more time with my kids. My daughter - let's call her R, has entered grade 4 and is not yet 9 years old. She has a natural ability to climb things – be it a tree, a stationery adult, or a rockface. Since we live in the Himalayas, rock climbing is a natural hobby to pursue. Last year both my kids and I did a rock climbing course in Nainital along with one unsuspecting cousin who hasn't been sighted in these parts since.
We needed a follow-up to that course and through some friends we got in touch with Anit Shah. Anit is an Everest Summiteer who runs his own outfit called Altitudes. Through this he introduces school kids to the many joys of Himalayan adventures. Anit generously invited us to be a part of a rock climbing camp he was hosting for some seventh graders from Faizabad. We grabbed the offer with both hands.
We would have gone as a family but my son's leg was in a cast from a broken shin bone. Also, our paleolithic car has gone beyond the local mechanic's jugaad abilities and now needs the services of an M.D. in geriatrics. So, we had to fall back on my trusted motorcycle, the Himalayan, which meant this would be R's first long bike trip.
We suited up – me with all my gear including knee guards, biking jacket and protective gloves, and R with her cycling helmet. I thought it unfair, then an epiphany struck: the airline announcement, "please put on your own mask before helping your child".
We rode out and I could hear R – an instinctive animal lover – say "so cute" everytime we rode past any herd of cows with a calf. We parked near a hillside above Bhowali strewn with large boulders. Here Anit was initiating 116 seventh-graders into rock-climbing. In many separate groups we attempted to put that morning's theory into practice. Anit's personal attention helped R take on some of the more challenging boulders.
That evening, tired but happy, we stayed at 8000 feet at the fabulous Altitudes campsite. In the class on knots that evening the instructors showed us the ropes (sic). At dinnertime a few of the seventh graders walked upto me and hesitantly asked
"Uncle do you want to make R a mountaineer?"
"No beta." I replied.
"Then how come you are here with us?"
"R loves climbing rocks, and so I told her about Anit uncle's invitation and the plan for these two days. She chose to come. See, I can take her to places where she can climb safely and where she can get better at it. But what she will become only she can decide. How can I decide that?"
They walked away, looking like they had more questions now than the one they started with.
After jalebi overload for dinner , we slept soundly but were woken up early. Campsite sounds of 116 seventh graders all wanting to go to the washroom in unison are not exactly ambient. Thanks to the early rising, I was lucky to catch a glimpse of a magnificent sunrise.
That day's plan was to ride to Nainital and climb the rocks at the Nainital Mountaineering Club. We suited up and rode out. Summer vacationing hordes had created massive traffic jams and it was warm. I was glad to be on the bike. We reached the Nainital Mountaineering club and R was in her element. Anit soon had her demonstrating stuff to the newcomers. After having done a few simpler slopes , she also successfully climbed the 50m vertical wall called limestone rock. While waiting in between climbs, she would chase after the rock lizards saying "so cute" while the other kids all ran in the opposite direction. After an exhausting morning, we rewarded ourselves to a big city lunch – a luxury we don't have in our little Kumaoni village. We replenished our fuel and food supplies and headed home to a simpler life.
As we rode back, R hugged me with both arms, and the occasional squeeze made me feel like the luckiest father alive. I guessed R still had food on her mind as she observed:
"Papa, the bike sounds like it is making pop-corn for us."
"We should check the engine when we get back. Maybe we'll find some popcorn in it" I replied with a smile.


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Candidate forums scheduled
Four Forum Onslows are scheduled for local candidates.
Clerk of Court candidates will have their chance to answer questions at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Onslow County sheriff candidates will do the same at 5:30 p.m.
Candidates for the Board of Education will be on the stage at 3:30 p.m. Thursday while N.C. House of Representatives candidates will follow at 5:30 p.m.
The forums will be aired live on G-10 and Charter 14. They will also be taped by Jacksonville Media Services and shown on G-10 and Charter 14 periodically until the election, according to information from the Jacksonville-Onslow Chamber of Commerce.
Participants will be able to submit questions on cards that are available, while those watching from other locations can email questions to email@example.com or tweet to @G10Events.
The Governmental Affairs Committee of the Jacksonville-Onslow Chamber of Commerce is hosting the forums, which will all be held at Jacksonville City Hall in the Council Chambers.
For more information, contact Janet Bowen at 910-347-3141, ext. 224, or email@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Audio: Coal Miners Say They Were Forced to Attend Mitt Romney Rally Without Pay
A group of coal miners at the Century Mine in Ohio said they were forced to attend an Aug. 14 rally with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and contribute to his campaign (audio below), reports RawStory.com.
In phone calls and emails to WWVA radio host David Blomquist, the miners said: "Yes, we were in fact told that the Romney event was mandatory and would be without pay, that the hours spent there would need to be made up my non-salaried employees outside of regular working hours, with the only other option being to take a pay cut for the equivalent time. Yes, letters have gone around with lists of names of employees who have not attended or donated to political events."
One miner added: "We do not appreciate being intimidated into exchanging our time for nothing. I heard one of your callers saying that Murray employees are well aware of what they are getting into upon hire, or that they are informed that a percentage of their income will go to political donations. I can not speak for that caller, but this is news for me. We merely find out how things work by experience."
In response. Murray Energy Chief Financial Officer Rob Moore told Blomquist: "There were no workers that were forced to attend the event. We had managers that communicated to our work force that the attendance at the Romney event was mandatory, but no one was forced to attend the event. We had a pre-registration list. And employees were asked to put their names on a pre-registration list because they could not get into the event unless they were pre-registered and had a name tag to enter the premises."
"By federal election law, we could not pay people to attend the event. And we did not want anyone to come back and see where anyone had been paid for that day. As a private employer, it was our decision and we made the decision not to pay the people."


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Ministry of Education memo & Ontario Labour Relations Board ruling about the ETFO protest, Friday, January 11, 2013
Posted January 11, 2013
This morning all Chairs and Directors of Education in English public school boards received notification that the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) ruled that the province-wide elementary teachers' one-day political protest planned for Friday, January 11, 2013 was in violation of the Ontario Labour Relations Act.
The Ministry of Education has asked school districts to share this information with employees, parents and students. The Deputy Minister's letter and OLRB decision are below.
• Ministry of Education memo regarding Ontario Labour Relations Board ruling (pdf)
• Ontario Labour Relations Board ruling (pdf)
For more information, please contact:
Kerry Donnell, Communications Officer, 613-966-1170 or 1 800 267-4350, extension 2354, [email protected]


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Sinkhole causes cancellation of BP before Indians-Rangers game (video)
A broken water pipe underneath the infield at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington caused the creation of a sinkhole behind the pitcher's mound and its repair caused batting practice to be canceled before the Cleveland Indians-Texas Rangers game on Tuesday.
After digging down three feet to reach the broken pipe, grounds crew were able to repair the issue in about 2 1/2 hours and the game was played as scheduled, although both teams were forced to take batting practice in the ballpark's indoor cages.
Via MLB.com:
Crazy. Indians skipper Terry Francona, with his team on an eight-game slide and 12 losses in a row on the road, joked that he wasn't responsible for the sinkhole as a way to get out of playing the game, saying, "'I didn't do it," he said. "We're not there yet. We're frustrated, but we're not there."
As noted, order was restored, the game was played and thankfully, no one was hurt. Imagine if the sinkhole would have opened up during the game. That could have been an ugly scene.


text: China Sentences Ex-Drug Chief to Death Bribery conviction signals pharmaceutical industry crackdown By Sam Gale Rosen, Newser Staff Posted May 29, 2007 3:03 PM CDT Copied A Chinese pharmacist checks his stocks of medicine at a hospital... (Getty Images) View 2 more images (Newser) – China's former top food and drug watchdog was sentenced to death today after being convicted of corruption and dereliction of duty. In the midst of an international uproar over food and pharmaceutical standards, the government found that Zheng Xiaoyu, 63, who was forced out in 2005, accepted more than $850,000 in bribes to approve questionable drugs and medical licenses. Tainted pet food, cold medicine, and toothpaste traced to China are just the most recent examples of an out-of-control system connected to "Zheng's unlawful and disorderly time in office," one Chinese law professor told Thomson Financial. As part of its ongoing review of standards, the government announced today that it will institute a food-recall system for the first time. (Read more China stories.) View 2 more images


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Yo, Atheists And Agnostics! Feeling A Little Seasonally Under-Appreciated?
December 29, 2009 by rtwsenior · Leave a Comment
I have a few words of cheer for you from The Holy Spirit, who either "doesn't… or may or may not…exist" in your book. But, I don't think you'll mind this New Year's Greeting from Him:
Do You have any comments for the Atheists and Agnostics among us?
Yes, I do and no, I don't! On the one hand, I would probably be a member of their club. On the other hand, they don't believe in Me, so how can I talk to them? I think that we really are united, once you take the odious interference that religions have plagued them with, over the millennia. Atheists have the right to be Atheists. That's how I set things up in the first place! Nobody has to believe in Me, or anything else, for that matter. This is a Free Will universe and anything goes. Of course, that means that everyone takes their chances and must learn to live with the results of their decisions. But, they should be completely free to form, and to live by, their own conclusions.
Religions have done many good things and have been the source of happiness for countless numbers, but they can make life pure hell for people who disagree with them. That destroys free will, so that turns Me away from their close-mindedness. If religions could only relax and not be threatened by someone else's opinion. Let Me tell you something! I don't even want to get started on this point. Atheists are choir boys, compared to some of the venal activities performed in My Name. That's why they turned Atheists, in the first place!
How about Agnostics? Are they just junior Atheists?
I think they are. So many of them want desperately, desperately, desperately to believe in something, but they can't find anything tasty on the long table spread with every religion's offerings. Nothing appeals to them, but they do believe in Me. Yes, they do, but they don't dare articulate it, and this name, Agnostic, is a word that gives them a refuge to hide behind. They are not saying that they don't believe in God. They are just leaving things up in the air and holding onto a shred of hope that something may come down the pike to explain things in non-material ways.
Meanwhile, both Atheists and Agnostics take comfort in Science, don't they? At least, that's a bird in the hand.
Let Me tell you something! I love these Atheists and Agnostics! I love their purity of mind, and most of all, I love their independence and their free will, so much! Tell them that I said:
"Hello! Come and have tea with Me, sometime! I'm hanging around you all the time, because I love your refreshing look at things. Carry on the good work!"
Ever since I can remember, I have identified with these acid-based protozoa, who just dissolve all sorts of fantasies spun by the romantic disillusionment of those who see things according to their own design. There is no room for any free-thinking within many of these ancient constructs. So, I call for more fresh air to come flowing in the portals of the world's monasteries, so that we can all have a part in the exploration of God's Truth.
Myself included!
The First Decade Of The New Millennium Has Gone By – What's Next?
December 27, 2009 by rtwsenior · Leave a Comment
It's customary, at the end of the year, to sum things up. And so, I will try to do the same.
My head is full of all of the points contained in my next book, which should be published around February, 2010. Rather than quoting any small piece of it, as I've done many times here in these blogs, I shall try to sum up a little of its meaning. This book is: In secret diffusion, by Linda Layli, Layli Linda. I'm putting it out under my spiritual name, because that's the one I use in relating to the Upper Kingdoms, where I received the information contained within it.
How I came by that name is probably what every reader will want to know first. When I began to communicate, back and forth, with The Holy Spirit, I was asked to choose a spiritual name. What? Why? I had no idea how to pick out a meaningful name for myself. But then I recalled that I'd been told about one of my previous lives, when I was Layli Gundrich, who had also been in close touch with The Holy Spirit. I simply combined our first names. Couldn't decide which arrangement sounded best, so I kept both of them. Simple as that. They don't "mean" anything significant, as far as a translation. Just two sing-songing names, bouncing together.
Nowadays, we invent names for ourselves every time we create a new email address, but this was before the time of our self-naming sophistication.
Okay, how to sum up? This New Year's Eve marks the end of the first decade past the start of the year 2000. Can you believe it? Already ten years down the new road?
Our planet has turned a corner and walked away from a Third World War, which we came mighty close to falling into, there at the end of the millennium… before the fall of the Soviet Union. We tend to discount the danger now, but another war would have been fatal for the planet. Many of us suspected it then, and we still almost pulled the trigger on ourselves. It looks as if we're now tottering into some kind of a safety zone. Not out of the woods, but coming along. That brink of World War Three was more serious than any of us knew and it would have obliterated things completely. Unknown Forces were hovering around. Not to save us, but to keep this particularly infectious contagion of a Third World War from spreading into the solar system. Earth would have proven to be a malignancy.
As a planetary civilization, we are not alone in the Cosmos, by any means, and we actually don't rank very high on the scale of advancement compared to many others. Earthlings haven't earned their wings, in terms of space travel and investigation, so we have not yet been introduced to our neighbors. However, this planet has long served as both a laboratory and a farm for Higher Cultures, and what we have suspected about alien visitors was frequently the truth. Our naivete has been encouraged, to keep us in the dark.
If Earth's space science were a human being, it would be a ten-year-old boy, fascinated with bottle rockets, but very clever and capable of advancement; if only his planetary parent society was willing to stop bickering, spend money in his direction, and encourage the necessary education. As is true of many parents, they are, overwhelmed and distracted with domestic problems and are not paying keen attention to this precocious son.
Since unity among the civilizations of any planet is a prerequisite to joining the Country Club of Interstellar Explorers, it really doesn't matter if those wrangling parents have their head in the sand about the child's potential, or not. Earth still appears to be struggling to uphold disunity among its national and religious identities and until that is solved, any ambitious space program will be kept leashed fairly closely to Earth's atmosphere, with only a few exploratory probes allowed to wander out, simply snapping harmless photos of far-away stars.
So, taking care of business here at home has to be the focus of our next decade or two, as usual. We do, however, seem to be lurching along in somewhat the right direction. Perhaps, in this upcoming decade, we can all join hands and learn how similar we are! Let's get to work on that idea and see where we come out.
Novel, but possible!
Is It Okay To Eat Meat?
December 24, 2009 by rtwsenior · Leave a Comment
I'll continue to share a few quotations from my new book, In Secret Diffusion. This time, I asked The Holy Spirit another question dealing with animals:
Eating meat? Do You have any objections if humans do that and go to the length which obtaining it entails?
"We do not object too much, but some meats do not agree as much as others do. Some are high in fat, and obesity is a great burden on people who indulge their meat preferences towards these heavily-laced, fatty meats. We also want you to know that the animals would not mind giving their flesh to the humans if they were treated much better. Often, they have no quality of life during their raising, and especially, during their slaughter. This is an imbalance that should be corrected by civilized people."
But, on Christmas Day, I will be serving turkey and ham to my guests as you will to yours and we will all enjoy a wonderful meal. Perhaps as our civilization advances, we can find ways to follow His advice a little more closely and not only feed these animals more natural foods during their lives but find more humane ways to make their slaughter more merciful.
Enjoy your holiday and don't get caught in any snowstorms!
Do Animals Pray?
December 21, 2009 by rtwsenior · Leave a Comment
I thought I'd share this quotation with you from my upcoming book, In Secret Diffusion, since these are the days I'm working hard to get it ready for my copy editor. Over the past eleven years, I have been having long conversations with The Holy Spirit, and have finally decided to share an ongoing interview with Him, a'la Barbara Walter's style. I loved this answer so much, that I have finally settled on a phrase from this dear quotation as the title of my book. Since I will be publishing under a pseudonym, please help me keep my secret…about In Secret Diffusion.
Do animals pray, or talk to You?
"Yes, they do and no, they don't. Animals do connect with Me at all times, but they don't even think about making a special effort to talk to Me and articulate their needs. They know that I know. I know that they know.
We are always in touch, mentally, in secret diffusion. It's different than a human consciousness's connection and animals are not being morally-tested down here in this environment.
They are under no obligation to regain a communication with Me, or to light their fire inside of their hearts. This is a particularly human test. Animals are really quite pure-hearted and following their own self-preservation instincts. This world appears different to them, even if they share the same environment with the human race."
The Holy Spirit
Good Lord! It's Possible That You Are All Human, After All!
December 16, 2009 by rtwsenior · Leave a Comment
This posting is written, predominately, about my duplicate appearance on the Bootsnall.com website blogs, where I copy all of the entries written here. That's a large, backpacking and hosteling site which I have belonged to for many years because it caters to around-the-world travelers. At first, of course, all of my material was written on the road, from whatever country I might have been in at the moment. That fit right in with the young crowd who does that sort of thing and hangs out at the Aussie site: Bootsnall.
I strayed from the backpacking theme when I wrote and published my first book, as I have done since I returned from my four month's trek throughout South America, in April, 2009. Lately, I have been writing about metaphysical subjects as I work them into my current book under production. Anyway, I've been writing regularly on both sites for about a year-and-a-half, and believe that I've built up quite a reading audience. Well, frankly, I can't tell how many of you come only to this heyboomers site, because my site designer has not made the behind-the-scenes capability available to me.
But, la te da! I can get into it on the Bootsnall site, and I have become fascinated with counting hits for every blog. Bootsnall is a very big site, with a world-wide membership, filled with links, and whatever else puts it ahead on the search engines; so I naturally suppose that my readership would be larger there, than on my own, personal site at www.heyboomers.com. Wish I could compare. I will ask again for that feature from my designer.
How long has our species been fascinated with gadgets? Well, how long have gadgets been around? I'm famously out of the loop, but when I found out about this statistical analysis, available to register the waves that my words could set off, I began to watch closely. One set of colored bars shows how many hits I have had each month since the beginning, almost eighteen months ago. Another set shows how many hits I get each day, and even breaks that down between unique IPs and others. My assumption is that a unique IP is a computer that has a business reason for checking the site, such as employees of Bootsnall, as well as myself. They don't exactly qualify as fans, who simply want to see what I have to say each time.
Other bar graphs report cumulative totals for various days of the week, and hours of the day, and lots of other information that I don't know how to interpret. I'm like this newbie, running around an engineering office, trying to draw conclusions. One thing that I noticed was that my bars were all begining to go Green, ever since September. That means that my hits were totaling somewhere between 1500 – 1600 per month, consistently. When I checked the graph showing the running total for the current month, I began to see that some days registered a decent, but unexciting, 30-40 hits. However, out of the blue, several days a month, the figure would shoot right up to 150-hits, or more, whether I had written a new blog, or not. This pattern went on for three months.
I wasn't posting daily. Not all the time, anyway. Usually, once or twice a week except when I got on a roll and had a series to write about. Bootsnall has a central page, which announces the titles of all new blog postings, and maybe my "fans" also had RSS feeds to let them know when I had posted a new entry; but the weird thing was, that The Club (my 150 hit days) didn't always come in conjunction with any new posting. What was going on here?
Well, I had learned about junk advertising comments from my heyboomers site, because every few days, I have to clean off the spam sent by the leech-machines that get hold of one of your posts and pretend to make a comment, hoping that you will accept it and let it show on your site. Maybe that gives internal control to their leech-machines, or maybe they foolishly hope that one of my readers will become fascinated with their ability to supply cheap Viagra. Whatever! I just spam them away.
But, because of these two independent pieces of information about how blog sites work, backstage; I made the brilliant assumption that my 1500 plus, monthly Bootsnall hits must be mainly coming from these mindless machines which were simply visiting my site in order to infect it. They wouldn't care, or know if I had put up a current posting because they latch onto old ones and just keep coming in on those. I know this from cleaning off my own site. I have even erased a very good former piece of writing because it had so many spammers attached. Apparently, deleting doesn't help. They still show up on my site, though the post is long-erased. Nasty little buggers, these.
Naturally, I didn't bear the responsibility to clean the spam off of the Bootsnall site, and that's probably what those unique IPs were doing. But, it made sense that anyone who had kept writing for so long, would naturally attract barnacles.
Shoot! There goes my slim impression that I was making a dent in the world.
So, I decided on a test. I would stop posting on Bootsnall for a few weeks and see if the hits kept coming at the same, unrelenting rate. If they did, it would prove that I was being attacked by leech-machines; and not intelligent life, bent upon finding out what brilliance was about to be unveiled this time. I wrote a small explanation that I was conducting "marketing research" and had not fallen off the planet. This note went up on November 24th and is still wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving. I had planned to stay gone a month and to start up again with a Merry Christmas.
But, I might have enough of an indication already that the hits are human, after all. !!!
My daily rate has fallen to anywhere between 3 and 16 hits; but, every now and then, I will have a 33, a 47, or a 51-hit day, when there's really nothing new to read. So far, I've had a grand total of 250 hits in the first two weeks of December, whereas, before I'd be at around 800-900, by now, and wondering if I could, yet again, bust into the green range and keep my record going.
There have been no big, 150-hit days though, like used to happen, when I imagined The Club swinging through with all their impersonal machines firing off spam, on some huge cyber schedule. So, therefore, it's beginning to look as if there are no machines!
If you are human though, why are you all behaving like a school of fish? Why do you all hit at once, especially if I haven't posted anything close to that day when you all show up? Ahhh me, I believe that I have just identified one of the latest Mysteries of Life!
Note to Self: Linda! Get a life!
Which Chakra Are You Working Out Of?
December 11, 2009 by rtwsenior · Leave a Comment
Today, I shall tackle the last grown-cold, yellow-pad notes I jotted down many days ago. At the time, I was on a roll with analogies, though I didn't have any immediate need for them. Not wanting to waste a good idea, I captured them sketchily, and this last one actually got a bit of fleshing-out at the time, so here goes:
Let's say that some New Age Analyst gave you a survey sheet to fill out. There's this question about "Which chakra are you working out of?" which many people have chosen to leave blank because they don't deal with the modern terminology brought by the gurus, and they have no idea what a chakra is. They don't know about the seven, invisible, spinning light vortexes along the human spine, which go from the red root chakra at the tailbone, all the way to the bright white light beaming from the top of the skull. They don't know that people tend to favor one region of their spiritual development and might even be stuck in a chakra, without knowing it.
Those who operate out of the root chakra, lead with their raw emotions and are heavily into the material side of life. Traveling up through the orange and yellow chakras in the abdomen and solar plexus, one combines the personal, emotional, material outlook with a growing concern for others, until the green heart chakra begins to care more for the general welfare than one's own. The blue throat chakra expresses that concern outwardly through the voice, and the purple third eye of the forehead sees into the spiritual natural of all things. Finally, the brilliant crown chakra indicates a direct concern with God. So, the question as to which is your current chakra address is really an evaluation of where your energy is being directed.
But, what if our New Age Census Taker has figured out a way to get around this problem of our American general unfamiliarity with that line of questioning? What if they have couched this in the way of a shopping guide for an imaginary condominium? Let's see if it would work:
Imagine yourself coming to a fine new condo complex prepared to buy a new apartment. You will be shown around by an agent and, according to your tastes, needs, and budget, you will pick out the one choice that is best suited for you. Here is the tour you'll be taken on:
Basement studios – These are the least expensive – small, modernly efficient and attractive, they have no natural light or windows. Pets are okay, and these apartments are very convenient to the outside street, pool, and yard. Nearby liquor store, fast food court, grocery, and subway access puts all city conveniences at your fingertips. However, it's noisy, because of the popular nightclub in that same basement, which operates till early morning hours. Consequently, there's a fairly rapid turnover of neighbors, but the upside is that you will not be asked to take on any building management responsibility. They also infer that you can sneak in overnight guests and no one will be the wiser.
Ground Floor One-Bedroom Apartments – These are larger, plain, modern window apartments, still very affordable. There's a nice lobby and though there's still noise from street and entry traffic, it is the pool, yard, and cafe level. Pets and one child allowed. There's a rapid turnover and you tend not to know the neighbors very well, but you have no building responsibilities.
2nd – 10th Floors – Two & Three Bedroom Apartments – Family floors, larger and pricier, much nicer apartments with friendly neighbors, pets okay. There's a Montessori play school at one end of the third floor and a beautiful social lounge and a classy, quiet, fine-dining restaurant located on the 6th floor. Very little turnover, and these owners are part of the building cooperative with a stake in the ownership and running of the condominium, therefore, they share some responsibility. They all enjoy large windows and beautiful views, with very little outside or inside noise.
11th Floor Executive Apartments – These are the balcony, exclusive apartments, with their own elevators, expensive, very elegant and quiet; pets and children are not allowed and neighbors are non-intrusive and stable. These residents have a large stake in the building ownership and a very active part in its management, as well as the profit generated.
The Penthouse – Very large and elegant, surrounded by a lush roof garden with its own pool. Quiet and lovely. Extremely expensive. No neighbors. No children, no pets. Private elevator. The one choosing this apartment has controlling ownership in the building and is the President of the Residents Association. They carry the overall responsibility for the success of the venture. A yacht slip at the nearby marina is included.
So, at the end of your tour, simply fill out your form and select your apartment. Of course, in real life, all of us are constrained by the realities of the pocketbook. But, we also have personal tastes which tell us what floor we might actually more completely enjoy living on. That's the side you must listen to when filling out this form. What lifestyle best speaks to you, right at this moment?
That will very likely match the chakra that you are now working out of.
Or, Maybe This Will Happen…
December 9, 2009 by rtwsenior · Leave a Comment
The fun thing about analogies is, that once you have set one up, everyone can talk about an abstract concept in a central way. At least, they all start out on the same page and can define, or refine, as they go along. Then, others can see what each person is talking about, even if they don't totally agree with them. It's also very creative to see how far such a story can be taken. These are very handy when planning a speech or a class. A little analogy goes a long way.
My blogs these days, are trying to resurrect a few yellow-pad analogy notes I jotted down a little while ago:
1.) Life as a boot camp, rather than a school: That life's purpose is actually more focused, and deliberately a lot tougher, than simply enrolling for classes and aiming towards some degree or other and then maybe using it in a career…or not.
2.) Life as a boardwalk carnival: That our everyday behavior and casual choices do add up to affect, not only our future, but that of the whole society, the whole planet. Also, that hidden consequences may pop up at any time.
3.) Which chakra are you working out of? Which apartment would you choose if you had to live in a very tall high-rise apartment building, considering the advantages, costs, and qualifications of each? Tomorrow's subject.
All analogies contain weaknesses, or exceptions to the rule, that can sometimes be used to prove the very opposite. But that weakness gives flexibility, so that a point can be examined from many sides. Take yesterday's blog about the boardwalk, for example. I actually ended it in a manner that I don't wholeheartedly believe in. If you recall, the jury was out, as to what the New Millennium owners were going to provide in their rebuilding of a future boardwalk, and the indication was that the people might get exactly what they had "voted" for in their unthinking consumerism.
If the Market had the deciding vote, perhaps all future eateries would be fast food establishments, heavy on the grease and corn syrup; and there wouldn't be an organic restaurant among them. Similar, common-denominator tastes might hold in all of the activity and entertainment venues. Perhaps that might still be the case, if we're thinking of the material world alone. Unless folks who value the better stuff take an energetic stand and do what many public warning voices are urging us to do.
Actually and truly, I don't think that yesterday's example is where we are headed, but that is one probable outcome for the analogy. What if the boardwalk's New Millennium Owners were actually taking things in hand for themselves rather than counting the purchasing-power votes of the people? What if they were only going to provide venues of the highest order? Places displaying the finest arts and symphonies, appealing to the more rarefied tastes; restaurants serving the best and healthiest foods; and children's activities that were great fun but also educational. What if the Market didn't matter to them, at all? And, what if it were all free?
Oh, but who is going to supply the common taste? Where are the beer and pretzels? Great agitation. But, if it's free, who cares?
Then, on opening day, the crowd assembles at the gate. Great consternation! Only those whose old ticket books proved that they had always been patrons of that upper end of the boardwalk: of those concert halls and specialty restaurants, would be admitted. Sorry, other folks. Go home! It's not for you.
Doesn't this sound a great deal like St. Peter's Gates? The great elimination? Could be, because this has been spelled out in most Holy Books as a cautionary tale, that what you do today will make a big difference in where you find yourself tomorrow. Pearly Gates, Golden Streets, Mansions… They are all analogies. But, they all carry the same warning about the future. There is a great deal to them, even though their realization might not include the actual, physical description in the story.
Don't forget, the millennial rollover carried quite a set of these analogies. Don't cross them off too early in the game. Visuals are very handy. But, they are also easy to pass off as "just stories," until suddenly, events start adding up. Most of the morals to these stories have everything to do with refining character and becoming spiritualized. Come to think of it, that's how most children's stories end, as well, isn't it.
P.S. In case I'm sounding too snootier-than-thou, let me say that I'm not a heavy patron of the arts, nor do I eat at swanky restaurants, (I'd love to, if I could afford them…but so would everyone) though I do tend towards organic eating. I'm right in the middle with the rest of you folks. But, analogies often have extremes at either end, as does life. Can you take this point any further? This sort of open-ended story is a lot like Silly Putty and can be worked and re-worked. The point is really to get people thinking about outcomes and possibilities.
Okay, tomorrow I'll leave the boardwalk behind and try to sell you a condo. See you then!
Life As A Boardwalk Carnival
December 8, 2009 by rtwsenior · Leave a Comment
(Hi Ruthanne, dear friend, thank you for commenting on yesterday's post. You are absolutely right and we both actually think quite eye to eye. Sometimes, we simply have to "get tough" with our own selves, though, if we're ever going to complete a task within some reasonable time frame, or stay on an intended track that would advance our overall plan. That's true of myself, at least.)
Okay, I'll see if I can resurrect these cold notes and complete a thought started over a week ago. It's a half-baked idea at the moment; hot when first sketched out here on my yellow pad, but not now. I love analogies. They help me see more clearly; help me describe my thoughts in telegraphed form. But, things die by the wayside, when a day gets too busy to tend to all these little shoots. The next thing I know, that budding plant has wilted. I have a very lazy drill sergeant; I'm afraid, which sometimes means the blogging gets ignored altogether. Let's see if this one can be revived.
Okay. Imagine a boardwalk on the Jersey Shore. There's been a long-standing carnival going on and crowds have been enjoying it for years. This would represent life as it has been lived up till the time of the New Millennium, and I'm thinking of the changes that are afoot in these new days… not yet all THAT obvious, because "nothing happened" at the turn of the century, if you were looking for the four horsemen, or if you expected that y2k computer bug to shut everything down. Piece of cake! Nobody talks about those things any more, but they sure did just before New Year's Day, 2000. Remember?
Still, think of all the gadgets that have come into use since 1999, just ten years ago. Think of the websites you can't live without – YouTube, Twitter, and whatall. Was social networking even around a decade ago? It's been so subtle, who can remember?
But, changes…they are occurring, all quiet-like. The warming of the planet is winning believers, as northern seas remain ice free and chunks of coastline fall into the water.
Confusing stuff is going on in economics – both public and personal. Things shift, but what else is new?
Really and truly, history has been full of all sorts of changes, forever. Nothing really new here, is there?
Not exactly. But, there's the possibility that a "new carnival" has come to town. Unless we discount all of the "news stories" represented by prophecies of old, contained in many more than one spiritual source; or dire warnings by scientists about our old, polluting behavior and its dreadful effect upon our planet-host; or signs warning of a coming paradigm shift, even End Time movies and books. All are still very easy to ignore and to argue about.
Let's look at our earth life as if it's a Boardwalk, which has enjoyed a long run, a true heyday. People always bought their season tickets and got them punched for entry to the many venues and exciting rides and food stands. Their dog-earred ticket books are testimonies to the votes they cast for all the best places, in their estimation. Patrons could even suggest new ideas for attractions and if they proved popular, those were kept beyond a trial period. In this way, the Boardwalk stayed in tune with customer-demand and kept the people happy and returning.
It was all lined up, according to tastes, with the Opera House and Symphony Hall on one end and sleazy bars and dance halls on the other, with everything else in the middle. Plenty of family, Disney-type attractions, too. Something for everyone. That was life and It went smoothly for a long, long time.
But, what if the place burned down? Or got bought-out by a corporation? Or whatever? What if change occurred?
What was going to crop up in its stead? Could we keep the lifestyle that we'd all become accustomed to? We'd worry, wouldn't we? Hoping that our favorite attraction would come back, even better than before.
Let's imagine that the new owners would have a way to total up all the votes cast at doorways over all the years. Everybody's innocent fun was going to determine what the new boardwalk would look like, because that's apparently where the money is. The market is about to speak. Those new owners don't really care whether its a good idea or a bad idea; as long as it's a profitable idea.
What will we wind up with? What has our unwitting, collective self decided? All we have now are clues that something is under construction. Will the Arts come back, even though fewer people attended? Are the kids going to get healthy, upbeat places to spend their time; or just a lot of video arcades? How about the party life?
How have we voted, Folks?
Is Life A Boot Camp Or A School?
December 7, 2009 by rtwsenior · Leave a Comment
I have heard people say that "Life is a School," and I've often used that analogy myself to explain the tests and hard lessons that it obviously contains. You know, we do go through various stages as we move through the age categories and our responsibilities grow so much more difficult to maintain. But then, our experience and maturity should be developing, as well; so that the senior class is much more equipped and expected to succeed than the poor little freshmen, just out of junior high. Nothing wrong with that analogy.
But, let's look at life as if it's a Boot Camp; which in actual fact, does become the destination for a certain number of graduates down here in our real life. Since my only impression of boot camp comes from movies, (G.I. Jane among them), I'm sure that many of you soldiers can fill in this comparison well beyond the surface that I'm going to offer here. Life, school, and military training are similar, in that they all offer a linear time period, filled with certain requirements, that we must successfully master in order to progress.
However, life's Campus/Base is an invisible one, so that, quite frequently, its enrollees don't even know there's a program. Things are really subtle around here. Where's the teacher carefully explaining the material and holding our feet to the fire with tests and grades? Where's the drill sargeant barking in our face, day and night, ruling over us and leaving no freedom (or necessity) for personal choice? Where are the Rules? Where are the Rewards? Where's the wipeout? How about medals? Glory, guts, graduation? Time out? Spring Break? R&R?
Life just goes on and on, often un-dramatically. Is anybody watching? Does anybody care? Some people are breezing through, as if they're on a green, leafy campus with classes of their choosing; while others are slogging through mountains wearing heavy packs, or dodging bullets on their belly in the mud. And they might even live right in the same town. Might be next door neighbors…except, one has a safe, thirty-year mortgage and a good job; and the other faces homelessness when the bank forecloses.
And that's just a snapshot of the moment, not their whole life's story. Who knows, maybe the one emerges from that period with a four-year-degree in Fine Arts, but no job skills; and the other comes out as a Green Beret or a Navy Seal. It's happening all the time, all around us, and who can say what the end result will be?
However, let's follow the boot camp idea for awhile: In the Real Man's Army, you would have a drill sergeant bellowing orders, commanding your every action and pushing you to limits you never imagined achieving. He's on your case; he knows what he's doing; and is determined to get you there even if you hate him for it. Unless you wash out, he will hone you to your highest potential.
In real life, you have no drill sergeant dedicated to the task of transforming you to be all you can be. No one is on your back, taking the guesswork out of life. You must be your own taskmaster. Therefore, you might doubt that this analogy is the case. In the real Army, there are obstacle courses, which look exactly like what they are: mud, barbed wire, high fences, rope walks, mountain passes, booby traps, mazes and ambushes. You know to be on your guard and keep all senses alert. You know that you must draw upon your hidden reserves.
Life has things like that, too; but many times, innocent-looking, easy places pose the most challenging obstacles where the dangers are far more subtle. When nobody kicks you out of rec' rooms; makes you stop wasting time; keeps you on-track…you often tend to just sleep-in or get drunker and drunker.
A boot camp is short and intense. You either make it or you don't. Life, itself, is generally long and tiresome. The goals are not so clear, and once achieved, don't always remain so. Possibly, he who becomes wealthy is actually wiping out; and he who plugs diligently along at a simple craft, is actually making it through. Again, no drill sergeant, no scoreboard. But, plenty of obstacles.
However, if we can consciously grasp and hold onto the Boot Camp Analogy during this long and often tedious course that we've all landed in; perhaps we can develop a sort of drill sergeant philosophy about getting ourselves through it in one piece as a survivor of the inevitable obstacles; applauding ourselves for remaining on our own two feet and still in the game, with a pretty good chance of graduating successfully. All it takes is knowing the ropes!
Good luck, everybody!
The Ones That Got Away: Fish Or Cut Bait
December 6, 2009 by rtwsenior · Leave a Comment
This past week has been rainy, dark, and chilly. Have you ever noticed that a day like that just never seems to get off the ground? Of course, if you have a work schedule to meet, then there's not much option about getting on track, but if you have the great luxury of designing your days, as I do, then it's easy to slack off on your timing, because, after all, the day has not yet begun. So, I have drifted all week.
When one is drifting, computers tend to encroach a little bit more. Okay, a lot more. That's how I got, momentarily hooked by the match-making site, Plenty Of Fish. My son showed it to me and I went online, merely out of curiosity, and lurked a few times until I saw a man who looked mildly interesting. Can you imagine how many senior citizen men live in Florida and are looking for that certain someone? Well, neither could I. I'm not looking, but I am available, and therefore, qualified for membership. So, what the heck? I filled out a profile and posted some pictures.
That was only a few days ago. I got a few bites…. a much, much younger man with completely tatooed arms, whose photo portrays himself admiring his face in a hand mirror… thought I sounded like an interesting chick. Another man, sixteen years my junior, also wrote; but I could tell he was an intellectual ping-pong player who loved nothing better than to argue philosophy. I shopped around among men my age, within my own city, and I could see that they were very eager to find the Love of Their Life, and settle down into a totally-focused home life. Me, an obvious world-wanderer, was not their cup of tea.
Then, I looked objectively at my profile and it was so full of restlessness and uncertainty about even wanting to do this, that I was sure I must be scaring them away. Well, I actually WAS hoping that I wouldn't "find" anybody. That realization continued to become crystal-clear to me over the few days that I had the thing active. I really don't want any new complications. Why pretend that I do? I really am happy in my single state. So, about an hour ago, I deleted my membership and got out of there. Whew!
The thing is, I could fall for an InterGalactic Friend (I've written about these on previous blogs – they are men whom you've known before "in other galaxies and other lives," and those always feel so right from the very beginning) but most of the ones I meet are either married, absolutely the wrong age, or are on their way to somewhere else, far away…usually, all three at the same time. You don't find those on an internet dating site. And, they are very rare in real life, as well. But, not nonexistent.
Anyway, the sun is now shining, so I have hopes that today will redeem itself by giving me a sudden burst of energy and purpose and I will pick up my new manuscript and get back to work. I have a lot more to do on it and a publisher waiting to receive it, so it's time to stop drifting and waiting for the day to begin. This is what I need my time and space for: marshaling myself into definitive action about subjects which need a lot of introspection and time-consuming writing. That cannot be done if there is another interested party calling me up on the phone, saying "Let's do this and that."
So, watch this space for a few analogies which I will be trying out on you. I wrote notes on the ideas last week and those notes have grown cold, during this cold spell. I shall see if I can breathe a little fire into them and recapture the meaning they had back then. See, there's this Inner Fire, which can't afford to be banked and put on hold. I have to tend it all the time and that's the biggest reason for me to remain alone.
Sorry, big fish in the sea! Guess it's not my time to be caught or to catch you.


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Halifax braces for winter storm
No cancellations, closures reported for post-secondary institutions yet
January 26, 2015, 4:38 PM ADT
Last updated January 27, 2015, 1:56 PM ADT
Students in Halifax have been graced with an unseasonably mild and snow-free winter this year, but that's expected to change.
Environment Canada issued a blizzard warning at 11:30 a.m. Monday calling for heavy snow of 15 to 30 centimetres developing on Tuesday morning, winds up to 90 km/h and "near zero visibility" in blowing snow throughout the day.
"A developing low pressure system over the U.S. seaboard today will intensify into a large storm as it moves slowly northeastward toward the Maritimes tonight and Tuesday," the release reads.
In parts of Nova Scotia, the snow will mix with or change to ice pellets in the afternoon. If the storm materializes, it will be the region's first major snowfall of the year.
Nova Scotia's favourite amateur meteorologist Frankie MacDonald made sure to give his thousands of followers the scoop on the impending storm on Sunday.
Though no Halifax universities have reported early cancellations yet, some have taken to social media to give their students a heads up.
Please monitor Saint Mary's Weather Alert page for the most recent updates on any weather-related closures. http://t.co/rXhwXI3CUI
— SMU Halifax (@SMUHalifaxNews) January 26, 2022
Halifax blizzard warning for tonight and Tuesday, check The Mount's weather Centre for cancellation info. Stay Warm! http://t.co/mNQnbvF58G
— The Mount (MSVU) (@MSVU_Halifax) January 26, 2022
The forecasted blizzard is the same storm system that is causing panic in the eastern U.S. as some areas brace for up to 60 cm of snow. Thousands of flights have already been cancelled.
Many U.S. institutions in the areas to be hardest hit by the storm have suspended operations in anticipation.
In a blizzard warning, the U.S. Weather Service called the storm "crippling and potentially historic," warning that travelling could be life-threatening.


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"When much of Long Island was still farmland, before it was cool, before the hordes of summer beachgoers clogged the roads, before building lots sold for seven figures, writers, artists, musicians and architects discovered its beauty and solitude and began to build summer cottages and year-round homes. Design Onscreen recently released Modern Tide: Midcentury Architecture on Long Island, an 86-minute documentary film by Jake Gorst about the times, places and people that converged to create lively, free, experimental designs for mostly modest houses that sit lightly on their sites. It's also a lament against their wanton destruction and a plea to preserve what's left."
—Modernism Magazine, Fall 2012.


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You may have noticed that I have made four posts prior to this one about the Nigmabox Adventures With Skyrim, and if you chose to read them you would have seen that I grew increasingly more negative with my gripes out the game, with my irritations rising above all else. Well, they naturally had to lead to something, and they were, but there is one change I am going to make in contrast with my original plan to beat the game a second time, and not do that. Oh, trust me, I played the game, I played another 125 hours of it, on top of the 187 hours I originally invested in the title back in 2011. Heck, it's partially because of that game that I am here doing this review, as that was the first game I chose to review, and I did so positively. So, what better way to show how much of a bitter, detached, and overall worse of a person I've become my shattering my old praise and bring forth a massive review of my massive amount of time spent with this massive game.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review
Platforms: PC(Reviewed), Xbox 360, PS3
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Now, I trust everybody is familiar with the premise of the game, if you aren't, how did you even come across my wee little blog? But if you hear any of the hundreds of topics the game may spawn, one would notice that the story is not very common, likely due to how Skyrim's plot can actually be largely ignored. Yes, you do play a hero of destiny, a Dragonborn to be lore friendly, who, after nearly being murdered for interpretable reasons, was thrusted into the titular region of Skyrim to investigate and battle the rising menace that is the recently revitalized dragons of old, who have blighted the once peaceful land just about as much as a civil war. Well, that last bit is more theoretical. Until I began the civil war questline about eighty hours in, where I had to decide between the foolhardy and racist rebels and the sturdy empire whose biggest red flag was how they were about to kill the protagonist at the beginning of the game. Truly a debate for the ages.
Yet the internal struggle of the country is more often mentioned than it is heard about, as never once did I spy the two warring factions brawl one another until, well, the eighty hour mark, and the sense of thrill is certainly lost when you realize that it is just two differently colored goons hitting each other with swords as a few shoot some arrows. I suppose here would be a good time to ease into how thrilling the dragons are to fight in contrast, posing a massive threat that results in great rewards that also translate clearly into progress. Well, that is only a half truth, as whatever thrill the dragon battles hedl as the game began, let's just say up to hour forty, dissipated as the aforementioned rewards, rare materials for endgame armor and a Dragon Soul, obtained from them grew plentiful enough as the dragons' patterns became predictable. Have the lizard randomly appear in the sky, the score plays one of two tracks signifying the intensity of the situation, the dragon breaths frost or fire down at the the Dragonborn, they eventually fall to the ground, and they are eventually slain as their skill and flesh dissipates into nothing, leaving behind a skeleton. Well, assuming the dragons recognize the Dragonborn as the primary target as after over a year of patches, they still can get bored with the one person who can forever kill them, and decide to fight some random troll. All of which is made worse by how, well, dragons are fast and can fly while you are bound to the ground and to a stamina meter.
Unfortunately, Dragon Shouts, the abilities unlocked with Dragon Souls, are not one of theses abilities, making them one of the very few aspects of the game that did not seem to reward the player for simply doing it. Granted, you could say that about a lot of things, but when it comes to dealing damage a certain way, using a non offensive spell, getting hit, or buying or selling wares, they are all not only rewarded, the game keeps track and increases the player character's proficiency in those skills, of which there are a whopping 24, most of which would likely go untouched, however, as these skills are only as good as the perk points you invest in them. But how do you get perks? By leveling up your skills. The sheer level of progress that one can feel as they see hundreds of skill level increases as the hour count grows also extends into simple things like finding equipment, which, even if is not usable for your main character, it can be used for money to buy something that is. Heck, going around the countryside and picking flowers gives way to potions that can be crafted, which help improve a skill in themselves.
However, for all of this talk of progression, going back and playing Skyrim from scratch made me realize that something I originally thought was a glitch was simply how the game was designed, and that is the proposed difficulty of the game. During my first twenty or so hours in Skyrim, I was very well acquainted with death, as my character was wandering around a massive world that, yes, you are intended to explore at your own discretion, only to get my butt kicked, sometimes by a single attack. And not even by something like a giant, which would make sense as they send player characters into the stratosphere, but simple foes in random dungeons who could take my main character down in three hits, which I had encountered before, but as the game received dozens of patched, this is clearly not anything but intended, same with how the difficulty curve eventually drops substantially, with the exception of fighting mages, who inexplicably could still deal off over ten percent of my health bar 100+ hours into the game while in the best light armor in the game. Oh, but even then there are still foes who seem to take forever to defeat with a skill that has been given perks specifically to maximize damage output. Or in simpler terms, the game feels broken in terms of its challenge levels, even when considering the adjustable difficulty.
It still didn't change the most annoying thing I found in Skyrim, which is derived from my stupid sense of needing to clear out maps, assembled collections of various macguffins, and complete checklists. It is something that has come up many times before, but with Skyrim my problem is due to the sheer volume of quests, dungeons, items, and the process of selling items collected during dungeons. It is bad enough that the environments begin to feel like randomly generated reassortments of the same ten bins of assets. Yet going through each and every one of them while collecting every item that is worth carrying, meaning its value divided by its weight is greater than 5, 10, or 20 depending on where I was in the game is probably the biggest waste of time I've committed to since I properly did just that back in 2011, except I stopped after getting 75% of them now in 2014. However, surely there is a reward for collecting these many items beyond money, but even that needs to be worked for, as you must go to the specified shopkeep who have a replenishable amount of money, but that can often be insufficient for what the player is selling. And even after over 100 hours of this tripe, I still ran into the issues of being unable to sell goods, as I effectively butchered a town's economy just so I could get some cash for some ebony weapons. All of which builds up the Speech skill, and the amount of gold my character had, which was near 340,000 last I checked.
Naturally, the concept of spending it did come to mind, but the gear carried by shops is either too randomized or too weak to be worth purchasing, as I already have the best equipment. There are exceptions for enchanted trinkets, but their randomized nature made me forget about even searching for them 90% of the time, as there was so rarely anything I'd use. This can even apply to consumables such as potions, which I never found very useful seeing as how you have healing spells, and both magic and stamina regenerate. Even the wide array of options that I could have used from resistances and extenders of the three core stats never seemed worthwhile either as they were just another item that had to be carried around in my character's invisible backpack the side of three bears. Although, I'd assume then it is expected for me to pursue skill training then, but that still did little to make a dent in my plans, as I misinterpreted "times trained this level" to mean the amount of times the trainer can train the player character until I was ~90 hours into Skyrim, which I naturally will take all the blame for.
All of these issues I had very much added up as the hours went on, with the mundane sensation of wallowing through the world and quests that came with it and the disjointed narratives often hampered by how events can go hours upon hours without anything advancing not helping much. Yes, they offered some form of a framing device in exploring the world, but it was very common for them to end fairly flaccidly, provide a menial reward, and leave as much of an impact as an bug brushing off of a concrete building. Not even due to their construction or craftsmanship, but just how disposable I ended up viewing just about everyone of them, as they are just more boxes requiring a pen to fill them in, and whatever contents they entail is not very worth it. Even the weirdly comfortable first-person combat suffered from this, as just about every instance became "try to stealth with bow, use magic on enemies or self, bash them with your mace and shield until they fall" rinse and repeat hundreds of times.
It is here where I want to somehow shatter my previous criticism by speaking highly of the world and majesty it can hold at times while wandering through it. Unfortunately, I would lack confidence in those words as, while I did feel a sense of awe early in the experience, it had long since dissipated as the hours grew higher and the fifteen square miles of explorable terrain he'd become more and more uncovered. With that into consideration, I was actually very upset the world was effectively stuck looking only slightly enhanced from what I recall it being, as Skyrim's a land of many gray colors, and I was hoping I could enhance the world into something majestic by adding a wide array of mods to it, but that six hour venture ended rather sourly for me, as the closest to the amazingly level of detail some possess was a string of more natured filled cities that had higher quality textures, which resulted in the frame rate dropping and my computer's volume to increase. Not that the most pristine coat of paint would wash away the level of distaste I developed for the central trading hub of Whiterun, a town full of loading screens and aggravatingly repeated dialog that was my destination for almost every trip out of a dungeon, as they simply were the best equipped to buy my pillaged garbage.
I'm not sure where my bizarre desire to obtain every possible thing in every game I play came from, but it is generally the experience I use to judge a game's quality, as why would anybody put something in a game that they do not intend for the player to uncover? Especially if it proves to be detrimental to the experience, as it is with Skyrim, with the title ultimately being a tedious repetitious, needlessly massive, quest that, despite my early realizations that I could be having fun if I ignored more than 1-5% of the content, I would be having more fun. Yet, that is not the case, as it was a title I played until I was no longer having even the slightest bit of fun, and I was still 50+ hours from seeing what I dubbed as its end. It left me dissatisfied as a human being as I was the one who willingly invested over five days to it, only to full heartedly regret investing so much as one.


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gunas on gunas
I'm not saying anything new or extraordinary when I say that life is nothing but a series of relationships --- literally, matter itself is nothing but electrons relating to other electrons.
Patanjali expresses a similar idea in the Yoga Sutra when he talks about the gunas, which means threads or strands.
A fundamental and to me pleasing idea that Patanjali includes from the Samkhya tradition is the idea of the gunas, or threads, to which are assigned three different qualities --- sattva, tamas, rajas.
These are often typically translated as luminosity (sattva), dullness or inertia (tamas), and energy or excitation (rajas).
Life, and our experience of it, is seen as a constant cycling through these three conditions --- each quality arises, expresses itself fully, then decays into the next.
Casey Palmer from Near East Yoga once put it that the practice of Ashtanga is nothing but "gunas acting on gunas."
Our relationship to our experience of Yoga, and how it is expressed and practiced, will change over time. If we hang onto it, we cling to an idea of how it should be --- we ignore the present, enshrine the past, and disrespect evolution.
Yoga in this sense becomes a reclamation project --- as Paul McCartney says, "Get back to where you once belonged." --- a process of reclaiming both our own previous experiences as well as the imagined transcendent experiences of other Great Teachers.
In a body-based practice, clinging is one way we get hurt --- by re-enacting the forward bend from Friday-night led class, rather paying attention to the forward bend on Monday morning. Or by performing a transition the way I performed in a led class in Mysore, India, 10 years ago, versus a rainy Sunday in Portland.
A relationship with Ashtanga --- whether it's performing perfectly the individual series of Ashtanga Yoga or with practicing Ashtanga Yoga in general --- are gunas. It will change and is already changing.
Some people come, find the practice and stay for a short time. Some come for 9 months, a year. Some few come for decades.
6/2/2015 02:20:34 am
Nice reflection, jason.
a girl
6/5/2015 12:59:25 am
that is a really good post! loved it!
Leave a Reply.
Jason owns and directs Portland Ashtanga Yoga.
February 2018


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The 10 Best Bicycle Speaker in 2022 (Review) – Our Top Selections
Last Updated on January 3, 2022
The Best Bicycle Speaker Review: Cycling is one of the most favorite sport or outdoor activity among the people. Even, it is a good cardio workout for the body also. And listening to music while cycling gives many a refreshing mind too.
So, if you are a cyclist who is a music lover, and don't want to miss listening to your favorite songs during cycling, then bicycle speaker can be an excellent way for you to enjoy music.
Since, wearing headphones while cycling isn't safe enough, but best bicycle speaker works as a safe way for continuous music experience.
Though music serves as food for the soul and has a divine power to fortify men's spirit, a good bicycle speaker can make your cycling more enjoyable to a great extent.
Whether you love to cycle as a way of exercising or outdoor activity, you probably like listening to music as you ride. A bicycle speaker offers a way to enjoy music when you are on the move.
Table of Contents
- Quick Answer – Top 10 Best Bicycle Speaker
- Reviews of the Best Bicycle Speaker
- 1. Speaker System Celtic Blu
- 2. Venstar S404 Wireless Bluetooth Sport Portable Speaker
- 3. Avantree Portable Wireless Bike Speaker
- 4. Jackery Boom – Wireless Bluetooth 4.1 Speaker
- 5. ECEEN Wireless Speaker
- 6. Outdoor Speakers Portable Bluetooth Bicycle Speaker
- 7. Portable Bluetooth Speaker Box
- 8. ARCHEER Solar Power Portable Bluetooth 4.2 Speaker
- 9. Naztech Portable Waterproof Bluetooth Wireless Speaker
- 10. SCOSCHE BMBTCAN BoomBars Portable Bluetooth Speaker
- Bicycle Speaker FAQs
- Final Words
Quick Answer – Top 10 Best Bicycle Speaker
2. Venstar S404 Wireless Bluetooth Sport Portable Speaker
3. Avantree Portable Wireless Bike Speaker
4. Jackery Boom Wireless Bluetooth 4.1 Speaker
6. Outdoor Speakers Portable Bluetooth Bicycle Speaker
7. Portable Bluetooth Speaker Box
8. ARCHEER Solar Power Portable Bluetooth 4.2 Speaker
9. Naztech Portable Waterproof Bluetooth Wireless Speaker
10. SCOSCHE BMBTCAN BoomBars Portable Bluetooth Speaker
Reviews of the Best Bicycle Speaker
There are many different options in the market for a bicycle speaker that you can attach to your bike. These speakers vary from features, so to choose the right one, you need to decide which features are most important for you.
We spent hours on research to review the top choices for best bicycle speaker that make you able to enjoy a quality audio experience as you ride.
If your preferred cycling as a mode of transportation, we want to make sure that you will never have to go without your favorite songs with one of these bicycle speakers.
Our compiled list on 10 best bicycle speaker will help you to make informed choice to purchase. So, if you love to enjoy music on riding, we hope your invest with one of this speaker will be the worth of money. To make a precise decision check it out below.
1. Speaker System Celtic Blu
Celtic Blu is one of the leading manufacturer company of Bluetooth speakers. Among the golf cart speakers for Golf course, it deserves special mention for its sound performance and design.
It has a mount that can be attached to the top tube, down tube or handlebar of a bicycle for versatile use. If you want a bicycle speaker while traveling rough mountain trails, then this speaker will be able to meet your satisfaction as well.
Celtic Blu is a Bluetooth speaker system that uses BAS sound system technology to generate immersive 360 degree surround sound with a full blast of 16W peak power.
It produces clear and loud sound very well. This wireless remote control speaker comes with built-in power bank, TF Slot for micro SD card, long-lasting battery, built-in FM radio antenna, AUX 3.5 mm audio jack cable and handlebar remote controller, two-way secure holder.
This is an IPX4 rating standard waterproof speaker with a remote controller that offers safe and convenient volume adjustment during riding bicycle.
It also comes with a versatile two way secure holder that can be attached to the bicycle frame. It can also be hanged on your backpack through a carabiner clip.
It has a built-in antenna to search for local radio stations and a long lasting 6000 mAh .battery which serves 30 hours playtime. This phone answering microphone speaker also comes with a power bank, TF slot and AUX 3.5 mm audio jack cable.
The power bank can be used for any other device or smartphones and the jack cable also offers multiple modes to listen your favorite audio media.
This bottle-shaped 1.3 pounds speaker sizes as a cup holder (2.7 X 7.1 X 2.7). This wireless speaker ranges up to 100 feet and can provide clear hands-free telephone calls as well.
- 360 degree audio
- 6000mAh battery
- Built-in radio antenna
- Built-in power bank
- Hand free telephone calls
- Radio channels may blink in and out while riding
2. Venstar S404 Wireless Bluetooth Sport Portable Speaker
Venstar S404 wireless Bluetooth speaker is not only for cycling sport but also for both indoors and outdoors. This sport portable speaker is designed for all outdoor sports including cycling.
Now, you can enjoy music while riding a cycle on road or mountain and will never fell alone. TPU materials added an excellent shockproof capability to this dustproof speaker.
In addition, it can resist water and shock too. S404 wireless speaker comes with integrated drive by wire with remote controller for more comfortable and safe controlling.
BAS technology confirms better balance among loudspeaker, IC and power circuit for better and perfect sound quality. This portable speaker features hands free function, high sensitive MIC, FM radio, 2100 mAh battery and Bluetooth technology.
FM radio with built-in antenna offers clear radio reception even in bad weather or week signals. Besides, Bluetooth technology virtually streams music wirelessly to all Bluetooth enabled device such as- smartphones, tablets, PC's , iPad, iPods, and MP.
You can also install it on your bike handle or frame through its multi-function mount. Venstar with it's superior, versatile and compact built offers a secure fitting and good grip exterior to withstand under extreme environments.
- Waterproof, shockproof and dustproof
- Multi-function mount
- 2100 mAh battery
- Wireless Bluetooth streaming
- Built-in FM radio antenna
- No mobile charging option
3. Avantree Portable Wireless Bike Speaker
If you are an outdoor enthusiast and want to extend your outdoor adventure beyond cycling, then Avantree outdoor is best suited for your all active endeavors like sailing or hiking.
This versatile as well as three play mode speaker allows both wired and wireless streaming to a device. Now, you can experience bold sounds with this portable wireless speaker for bicycling, hiking and sailing.
It's distraction-free soundtrack will amaze you to a great extent. It offers a rich bass for noisy background also. The rubber exterior designed features splash-proof, dust-proof and shock-proof functionality.
This speaker also comes with a bicycle mount for handle set. It allows you to connect your audio device from up to 10mtr. You can also connect non-Bluetooth devices via USB port.
It has a 10 w power with NFC wireless pairing that can connect with your NFC-enabled mobile easily. This NFC pairing speaker comes with bike mount, bike belt, hook, 3.5 mm audio cable and micro USB charging cable.
It offers three playing modes, such as- wireless, micro SD/TF card and AUX line. This lightweight as well as portable speaker size measured 180 X70 X70 mm. Avantree wireless speaker is an excellent sound product. It can be your lovely partner for outdoor adventures indeed.
- 10 w powerful sound
- IPX4 standard splash-proof, shock-proof rubber exterior
- Three playing modes
- It allows near field communication (NFC)
- 24 months warranty
- Doesn't have a remote controller
4. Jackery Boom – Wireless Bluetooth 4.1 Speaker
Jackery Boom is a rugged wireless speaker which is best suited for your outdoor lifestyle. This complete dust proof and the water resistant speaker is tuff enough against outdoor conditions.
You can bring it with you to your biking, camping or hiking adventure. This water-resistant speaker also best suited for your beaching playing, poolside partying and BBQing.
It is perfect for both outdoor and traveling indeed. This multi-function wireless speaker is suitable for most Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as- iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and other brand smartphones.
It can instantly play clear and crisp music from your favorite songs albums. This 10W of booming volume from 2 5W drivers and passive radiators is perfect for every indoor and outdoor music style.
It's2000 mAh rechargeable lithium battery provides up to 8 hours playback as well. This portable as well as lightweight speaker measured 7.9 X 4.4 X 2.36 inches and 19.75 0unces weight. It is easy to carry with you any time at anywhere.
- Portable and lightweight
- For both indoor and outdoor lifestyle
- Wireless speaker
- 2000 mAh battery
- Power Source for Mobility
- 17″ laptops could be a bit unstable for it.
5. ECEEN Wireless Speaker
ECEEN is an amazing speaker for those people who need to take calls frequently while riding their bike. Its 4000 mAh battery provides 15 hours of play time.
You can connect this speaker via Bluetooth, MP3 player or smartphones through 3.5mm jack. Its built-in microphone makes you able to take calls while riding. This is specially designed for jogging, traveling and beach-going.
This is a wireless bike mounted music player that comes with a zippered pouch to store and charge a phone while riding. This case features a roomy no-scratch interior and a sturdy exterior to store phone, MP3 player, sunglass and headphones.
With an onboard amplifier, this speaker truly offers exceptional quality sound. It can also protect weather and shock indeed. It is compatible with all Bluetooth enabled devices through its 30 feet connection range. This lightweight speaker weighted 17.15 ounces and measured 8 X 4 X4.6 inches.
- 4000 mAh rechargeable battery
- Small and compact
- 30 feet connection range
- Built-in microphones
- Protective pouch and carrying case
- A bit put off by the appearance
6. Outdoor Speakers Portable Bluetooth Bicycle Speaker
ZEALOT outdoor portable bicycle speaker provides great music playback as well as hands-free call. It can be used as an external battery or power bank.
The Neodymium stereo amplifier offers a live experience when you are talking over a phone due to its excellent and surprising fullness. It's 400 mAh long life battery features up to 24 hours usage by TF card play.
This reasonable speaker is convenient to use, which is perfect one for your biking, traveling, riding, cycling as well as your all outdoor activity. It is truly fantastic for cyclist who love the music.
With high-performance amplifier and integrated driver, this phenomenal speaker will satisfy your two-wheeled audiophile's need. It can be used as a portable torch to enlighten your way.
It features FM radio and TF card playback to provide better company on your bicycle. It has a built-in 40 mm large drive and latest Bluetooth CSR to provide better bass response and passive subwoofer performance.
The silicone protective sleeve, mount and carabiner, audio and USB cable also effectively protects it from shock, dust and water. This best bicycle speaker produces accurate sound and Bass across the board. Again, it sounds great as well.
- Excellent sound
- Convenient to use
- Reasonable price
- Water and dust proof
- 4000 mAh battery
- Mount is not too good than others
7. Portable Bluetooth Speaker Box
MAKETHEONE portable Bluetooth speaker is perfect choice for your outdoor activity. It can provide quality sounds anywhere at any time. It is best suited for traveling, cycling, climbing, camping and hiking as well.
This bullet cylinder shaped 3.5" sound speaker can play music via Bluetooth, Micro SD or AUX line. The rechargeable 820 mAh battery can hold its charge up to 10 hours of use.
The design includes easy access music control buttons. It offers play, pause, stop, forward, back and volume control buttons on the side of the cylinder.
This is an ideal companion for outdoor sports and other daily activities which adds more spices and chase off boredom. The rubber coating protection prevents the speaker from malfunction caused by bump.
This portable speaker supports up to 32 GB micro SD and also includes three interfaces such as- Mini USB, headphone Jack and TF slot.
It measures 43mmX 90 mm (diameter X high). This lightweight 3.5-ounce speaker is also a perfect choice for joggers due to its optimal portability.
- Plays Music via Bluetooth, MicroSD Card or AUX Line
- Lightweight and portable
- 820 mAh rechargeable battery
- 3.5″ Size and attractive bullet cylinder shape
- 2 watts Sound Blast
- The mount design is not good
8. ARCHEER Solar Power Portable Bluetooth 4.2 Speaker
If you feel boredom to charge your wireless speaker and want to get rid of charging, then ARCHEER solar power speaker is a great and ultimate solution for you. Its solar charging system allows getting charged through sunshine.
As like, keeping the speaker on the sun for 30 min allows continuous 30 mint music play. So, this solar speaker keeps you relax and free-form worry about charging during your outdoor adventures.
With 2000 mAh lithium-ion battery, this portable speaker allows ultra-long play time that can play music 20 hours continuously just after 3-4 hours of charging during the day.
The rugged protected construction with IPX6 waterproof rating ensures protection in all-weather condition whether rain, snow, sunny or whatever it is.
Again, its high-quality silicone rubber cover is also dustproof, mudproof, snowproof and shockproof as well. No matter you are in the bathroom or outdoor, this waterproof hands-free speaker let you enjoy wonderful music without a hassle and answering the call without hands.
Its double built-in MIC and hands-free function make it convenient to use. This lightweight speaker has a lanyard and ¼ screw hole to carry around on your bike or backpack.
Again, with 5 W driver, it performs well and pumping out crystal clear sound with enhanced bass. Its built-in AUX ports also allow ES-T80 connection to the media devices and the 4.2 audio wireless Bluetooth connectivity allows seamless streaming, which is perfect for your beach, camping, tailgating parties as well.
Whether you are at home or outdoor, this mini but powerful speaker is an excellent source of enjoyment. And so, this lightweight speaker is a great choice for travel indeed.
- Solar Powered
- IPX6 water resistant
- Built-in microphone
- Bluetooth 4.2 technology
- 3.5 mm AUX-in
- 20 hours music play with the full charge.
- Bass does not seem much
9. Naztech Portable Waterproof Bluetooth Wireless Speaker
People who always seeking for latest and advance technology and want to enjoy new features, Naztech will be their ultimate choice at all.
This wireless speaker offers latest 4.1 Bluetooth technology that can stream music or take calls to any Bluetooth enabled device in a 33 foot of the range.
It makes you ready for no-string adventure and let you enjoy wireless freedom. The easy pairing and crystal clear connection provides a powerful, smooth and consistent sound as well.
The speaker, specially designed for outdoor enthusiasts comes with a built-in microphone that enables you to take phone calls without hands and keep your phone safely inside your pocket or bag.
The intuitive controls let you navigate your playlist and take or make calls directly from the speaker. The versatile 360° bike mount is fully assembled and easy to use.
This universal screw type mount can easily adjust to firmly griped handlebars, poles, boat railings and stroller handles also. Naztech Wireless Speaker is IPX7 waterproof certified.
It is fully protected from rainfall, snow, dirt, dust and spills. It can even be submerged in one-meter deep water for up to 30 minutes. So, whether you are bathing in a shower or kayaking on the river or resting on the beach, you will never miss a beat or a call.
The tough built with impact resistant frame, aircraft grade aluminum grill and heavy-duty rubberized exterior make it rugged enough to handle rough play and durable as well.
This palm-size speaker with 6 W massive sound, dynamic bass, and well-balanced acoustics is perfect for both indoor and outdoor party.
The blasting massive well-balanced sound along with 8 hours of music or call streaming makes you ready to hit your favorite trails in the rain or shine indeed.
- Stunning HD stereo sound
- IPX-7 water and dust-proof
- Ready for no string adventure
- Durable, rugged build
- Built-in microphone
- It does not have any track skip buttons
10. SCOSCHE BMBTCAN BoomBars Portable Bluetooth Speaker
SCOSCHE BMBTCAN is one of the most reasonable Bluetooth speaker available in the market. This portable speaker with high-quality bike mount comes with 1-year warranty and lifetime tech support.
You can quickly as well as securely mount the speaker to your bike handlebar. Also, you can carry it with you in your luggage or backpack that requires 2.5" X 2" 9 (height X wide) storage.
This 2W 35mm up-firing speaker sends crystal clear music in all direction and also able to connect Bluetooth enabled device wirelessly up to 30 feet away.
This portable speaker with a built-in battery can also play audio or music from your 3.5 mm AUX device up to 5.5 hours. Again, the rotating mount let you positioned the speaker to create the 360-degree array of sound.
The battery can also be recharged through USB cable as well. This hands-free speaker can be used virtually with any portable media player to entertain all the time.
- 5 hours of music play time
- 360 array of sound
- Crystal clear music
- 30 feet streaming range
- Both wireless and wired connectivity
- It does not sound very loud
Bicycle Speaker FAQs
What is IPX?
IPX stands for internal protection rating for electronic devices like speakers. It indicates how long your bicycle speakers can resist water exposure. For portable bicycle speakers, the IPX rating should be four. You can go for a higher IPX rating as it will withstand the outdoor conditions more effectively.
What is the Good Battery Capacity for a Portable Bicycle Speaker?
4000 mAh is considered as a good battery capacity for any portable speaker. If your battery has 4000mAh or higher capacity, your speaker can sustain its operation for at least eight hours.
Jbl Vs. Bose, Which is Better?
If you make a comparison between the JBL and Bose, you will find JBL better. Although the Bose is a good-quality speaker, the JBL is much better as it offers the best sound quality. Plus, it tends to feature a rugged structure, which will last for an extended period.
Is It Okay to Listen to Music While Riding a Bicycle?
You need to be aware while riding a bicycle, especially when you are on the busy roads. So, listening to music during riding can be dangerous as it can distract you. If you aren't a highly experienced cyclist, you should avoid listening to music while riding a bicycle.
Which Bluetooth Version is Suitable for a Bicycle Speaker?
The purpose of Bluetooth technology is to transmit data wirelessly between two devices. Various manufacturers use this technology to their devices, like bicycle speakers.
They use different Bluetooth versions to ensure better audio transmission. But the problem is that newbies don't know which Bluetooth version can transfer data fast and cover long distances.
Well, based on expert's research, Bluetooth 4 or upper versions are good to go. These versions add support for better battery life, and these can cover up to 60 meters.
Final Words
If you can't give up your love for music even while you are pursuing your passion for cycling, then a wireless bicycle speaker can serve you very well.
Again, listening to music during cycling also stimulates the motor area of your brain and enables you to keep a pace of mind. Sometimes pedaling rate increase with the tempo of the song and helps the cyclist to put an extra push when they need to find the rhythm.
Among different types of various brands, we have reviewed ten best bicycle speaker available in the market. Here we try to list all types of wireless speaker for you.
Our review covers all sorts of information about wireless speakers, such as – Bluetooth technology, IPX waterproof rating, battery charge capacity and price with their pros and cons.
Hopefully, this review will help you to take informed decision and able to continue listening to your favorite music or attain your phone calls even while riding the bicycle as well.
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Hi, I am John Campbell, an outdoor enthusiast. Just like you, I value the habitat, heritage and tradition of great outdoors. I do my best to make sure the correct research, writing, and photo are shown on Tacticalgearslab.com. Indeed, I am committed to preserving a great online experience for you.


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Monday, August 20, 2012
You Are What You Eat!
And I'm starving!
My bag of carrots is inedible, so a snack is out of the question. I've just finished a conversation about Oreos and donuts, and chocolate chip pumpkin bread was brought in by seniors this morning for breakfast. And I'm famished. This is not my day...
As she walks by my door, the smell lingers and I can hear my empty stomach growl. It's two hours until lunch, and I know I can easily go grab one of those cinnamon rolls, satisfying my hunger and my craving.
I know what you're thinking. JUST EAT THE CINNAMON ROLL ALREADY! But the thing is that I don't eat sugar. Any sugar. AT ALL. And I know that if I eat just one sugary treat, my body will be very, very unhappy. Months ago, I cleansed myself of anything that doesn't belong there.
My mind wanders to a conversation I've had earlier today about holiness and being set-apart. It's the taking out of the unholy, the unnatural, the things that don't belong. My flesh adamantly wants to fill the hunger with the glittery pleasures of the world. My nature wants those sticky, gooey cinnamon rolls more than anything!!!
But the worldly pleasures don't belong in me. They will make my spirit sick. God demands holiness (1 Peter 1:16). He desires purity and anything else is sin.
So when she passes with her dessert that calls my name so loudly, I will ignore the temptation and remind myself that refraining from the impure is always right and always worth it.
8 comments:
- hannah @ honestly here said...
I've been wanting to get rid of sugar for the longest time for the same reasons. Good job hanging in there! As I work toward it I'll remember the same thing, that its always worth it. :)
- August 21, 2012 at 9:59 AM
Katie, this made me laugh so hard!! I eat terribly!! I don't want to give up my sugar, and I don't want to scale back :) What do I do!? I guess I need to ask God to change my heart...to give me a desire to be healthy! I can't help but think of the analogy that adds to your lovely blog post...! If I'm not desiring holiness, all I need to do is ask God to change my heart...to give me a desire for it! Now, I need to work on that sugar addiction! Love you friend!
- August 21, 2012 at 11:20 AM
- Tonya said...
I just started reading Jen Hatmaker's book, 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess. Have you read it? I'm still in the first of the seven, which is about food. It makes me CRAVE foods that I no longer eat, but it's been really good to read. Have you read it?
- August 21, 2012 at 3:01 PM
I've never heard of it!!!
- August 21, 2012 at 4:27 PM
- Katie @simply[his] said...
I've never heard of it!
- August 21, 2012 at 4:33 PM
- Tonya said...
It's the next book for the Blook (in)courage book club.
- August 21, 2012 at 4:45 PM
- Barbie said...
Oh Katie, you are so right. Sugar is horrible for my body, for anyone's body really. I have tried and failed to give it up. I am on a quest to get healthy and pray that God will direct me into His holiness. I want to be full of Him so that it makes giving up the unnecessary easier.
- August 25, 2012 at 1:52 AM
- tanya @ truthinweakness said...
wow, & i thought i was the only one on the often-lonely sugar-free journey. (and i'm talkin', not even fruit for the time. [*sigh*]) it makes my body incredibly unhappy also, not to mention the havoc i can wreak on my family (aka sugar claws). :(
but it's an intense road, isn't it? esp. when holidays & social events pretty much revolve around sugar. the siren sound is nothing less than relentless in our culture.
so thank you, my friend, for this reminder. the reminder that being set-apart is good for not only my body, but also my heart & mind. i know full well that my food journey is far from simply a physical journey. it's been quite a spiritual journey as well, & i'm so grateful for that. for all of the much-needed heart construction that He's done along the way.
thx again for the ever-relevant encouragement,
- August 26, 2012 at 5:00 PM