TV Turnoff Week is all about the mental environment – the idea that, like our oceans and air, our shared mindscape is littered with distractions, irritants, and pollutants. The goal is simply to get people thinking about the clutter in their mental space. No one is "in charge" of TV Turnoff Week. No one, that is, except you. Be creative, and tap into your own style.[Photo credit to Kevan Smith, Boise ID] (ref. Adbusters.com)

John Paul Stevens ... Honor and Integrity
"The Supreme Court's oldest and most polite justice turns 82 on Saturday, but there are few signs he is slowing down or tiring of the job. Indeed, Stevens has the buoyant energy of a person decades younger, and he remains one of the court's quickest wits, sharpest thinkers and best writers. Appointed in 1975 by President Ford, Stevens was lauded from the start as exceedingly smart, strictly nonpartisan and highly independent... When the court ended the Florida recount in the Bush vs. Gore case, Stevens' dissent was memorable. 'Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the nation's confidence in the judge as the impartial guardian of the rule of law,' he concluded." (by David Savage, LA Times)

The Intifada and Israel for Dummies
"So much convoluted politics in the Middle East, so much history, so much violence and hatred. It's all so confusing. So once again I turn to the noted reference series for answers that can help me make the turmoil and tragedy easier to figure out."

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Harvard law School Divided Over Race Issues
"Just days after Prof. Cornel West announced that he was leaving Harvard's Afro-American studies department for Princeton, Harvard Law School is mired in a conflict of its own, leading one prominent professor to withdraw from teaching for the rest of the academic year and the administration to promise new steps to increase racial sensitivity."

Is this propaganda or is it real?

Just got home from work, kissed wife, made small talk about the day's events while eating fruits .... it's an hour later, I turned on the PC, my monitor is FUBAR, looks like it's giving up the ghost. In 20 minutes, I'll be at either Circuit City or Best Buy looking for a good deal on a new monitor.
Update: New monitor in place, what a difference.

Rays of Inspiration coming soon
They were offered only via word of mouth to a select few, behind closed doors, in meeting rooms, lunch rooms and by the water cooler, now you too can see and find out what the noise was all about. Look for my up coming daily Rays of Inspiration an ongoing series of short motivational ideas, thoughts and gems to ponder in your quest to develop and fulfill your potential. My co-worker and confidant Greg H. raves about this feature ... "Rays of Inspiration is all about possibility thinking". Greg knows.

Rays Of Inspiration [No. 1 in a series]

We all make our own choices about how we spend our money, but I think it’s important to make those choices without allowing ourselves to be tricked by advertisers, telephone offers, sales reps or the idea that we simply have to keep up with our friends and neighbors.

Spending your money wisely, saving and investing properly can help you avoid tough and humiliating financial situations and you will have greater control over you life. Think before you spend. Do not waste your money on foolish cravings and impulse items. Subscribe to the Ray Garraud motto “Earn it, save it, don’t flaunt it.”

You’ll never catch me buying impulse or unecessary items, wearing expensive jewelry and clothing with logos that advertise the manufacturer (if I’m going to advertise the manufacturer’s logo, they have to give me the clothing for free).


Use your head when handling your financial affairs, contribute, spend and invest only in necessities and worthwhile causes. Although the choice is yours, be aware that in the end, the right choices will help you in your quest to fulfill your potential as a human being.

Credit to David Horsey

What if you could take a pill that kept you awake all the time and you never felt any side effects (not even sleepiness)? Some doctors think Provigil is that pill ... Whoa! Perfect pill for the internet generation.

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Yahooooooooooo
The guy who yodels Yahoooo at the end of the company's TV commercials is sueing Yahoo, says he's not getting paid. ... I wonder why he waited so long

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Food for Thought
"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar." – Julius Caesar

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Pretexts, Provocations and deceit
"Throughout history, wars have been triggered by pretexts, most of them fabricated. Wars cannot be waged without an emotionalized public so traumatized by loss and fear that the violence committed—no matter how baldly illegal and immoral—is acceptable and even glorified" --By Larry Chin (VIA The Online Journal)

This is one of the most thought provoking articles that I've read in a while.

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Jimmy Carter will go to Cuba
Jimmy Carter will travel to Cuba next month becoming the first current or former president to do so during Castro's 42-year reign. "I look forward to this opportunity to meet with Cuban people from all walks of life and to talk with President Castro."