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Proud of America

hibaHiba Ibrahim spoke at at Ben’s graduation ceremony (or continuation ceremony). Her family immigrated from Sudan to Littleton, Colorado, about five or so years ago. Her speech reflected complete adjustment to life here. Her delivery showed confidence and poise. She had a totally American accent.

I was so proud of our country for accepting Hiba and her family! She has many more opportunities to excel and grow as a person and contribute to society here than she would have had in her warn-torn village in southern Sudan. Reflecting on this brought tears to my eyes.

p.s. Horrible photo? Again, I was a long distance from the stage.

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Proud of Ben

ben-gradBen graduated from Euclid Middle School last week. I was and am really proud. Jay preceded him by two years, but it was no less special. It’s is a stepping stone to high school, then college, and then that first job. And each achievement is not just a given. It’s something to be recognized and be grateful for.

Gary Hein is Ben’s principal – shown shaking Ben’s hand. (The shaky hand holding the camera was mine.) He has provided excellent leadership for the entire staff and student body.

One thing I learned is that when you finish middle school, you don’t graduate. You “continue”. (It was a “continuation ceremony”.)

p.s. Horrible photo? I was a long distance from the stage.

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Fun shoes

weird-shoesReebok recently released the Zigtech shoe line. I think they’re really fun. Heather doesn’t like them. I don’t need a new pair of shoes, so the decision to not buy a pair was easy.

Which one do you like best? Or are you with Heather on this one?

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What’s a better use?

grabill-campaignMy friend Jon Swanson spearheaded a great campaign to reduce the debt his church has on their building. He came up with several ways to view how the monthly mortgage payments could be better used – in this instance, one monthly payment could be used to fund a large number of New Testaments, rather than paying interest.

Takeaway: What are some ways you can use your resources in a better way?

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Give us a date

missing-dateThere are two directions people go with their blogs – having dates with their posts and not having dates. I vote yes for putting the date with your post. Reasons?

1. It shows your readers that you are staying current with your blog.

2. It gives your readers a frame of reference for when the material was created. This is important for determining if the information might be relevant. In many fields these days, the latest information is vital. (This is true for social media, the area I work in.)

The other argument is that “my information is timeless”. That may be true – but your readers would like to know when you thought that particular thought. Maybe you have changed your thinking since then! (Not many people take time to go back to update all of their posts.)

If you are giving timeless information – and it’s valuable – just post it again, in a different way. Readers are smart enough to search your blog for that topic, if they liked what you had to say.

Finally, sometimes I actually will leave a blog when the blog is giving technical information and there is not date with the post.

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You would never know it

tv-homePhilo Farnsworth was the inventor of the TV. I saw his house last week. The most incredible thing about the home was how average it was. It is on an ordinary corner in an ordinary suburban neighborhood in an ordinary midwestern town.

Times have changed. If he were alive today, his third home would be on Seventeen Mile Drive in Pebble Beach.

“As a boy, Farnsworth saw television in the parallel furrows of his father’s potato field. His epiphany: Images could be scanned line by line.” (That’s from a Wired story.)

Moral of the story? Next time you’re viewing a field (or a forest, or a cityscape), look more closely. Your next great idea might be there.

I grabbed the photo from a video by Becky.

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Who responds?

spam-namesThese lovely names are the supposed senders of spam that appeared recently in my gmail spam folder.

They have these characteristics:
– They are not normal spellings of English names.
– They are all female.
– Often the last name is a first name.

What does this tell me about spam?
– Those who respond are usually male.
– Those who respond might speak English as poorly as the spam authors.
– It’s fun to read these bizarre names.

More on spam.

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Retire online

retire-onlineI thought that this headline represented an unusual choice. I chalk it up to marketing innocence – or ignorance.

My thoughts were several: does this mean that I can retire if I start an online business? That Patty Duke has already retired online, except for her promising modeling career? That this website (not prominently featured) would help me to learn how to retire? That as an internet user, I am encouraged to help an older person who does not know how to use the internet?

Takeaway: Writers, let’s think a little more carefully before we publish those headlines.

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Questionable lunchbox

lunchboxWhat kid in 1965 would be caught dead bringing this lunchbox to school? Maybe it was used by a pilot’s son who had no social awareness.

The wear and tear leads me to believe that whoever used it did so more than once. Maybe a pilot used it! But then, what pilot would be caught dead bringing a kids’ lunchbox to work in the morning?

Update: See the comments for some really valid points about this.

Again, from the Fort Wayne Air Museum.

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