the iMentor

Hints & rants

This weB-LOG is about the musing of a technical consultant. It is the iMentor's thoughts on technology and the human condition.

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Author: Rick Thues

Barter

November 15, 2023 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Episode #772 November 18, 2023 For eons humans have used barter to trade what they have for what they want or need. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYBNoFcvcWI Cave men hunted by hand, banding together as a team (bartering their cooperation with each other). The team traded hides with the leather-smith for clothing. Some of the clothing was traded to the spear-maker to make hunting more efficient. Meat was also shared with women who gathered vegetables. The campfire was the grocery store. What was left over after eating was bartered with craftsmen to improve everyone’s life. Early services rendered were compensated with certificates of bartered...
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Devotion

November 10, 2023 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Episode #771 November 11, 2023 Elara's life was a tapestry woven with threads of devotion, each strand representing a different aspect.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LboNYB_oKTY Her life was not always the story that her tapestry told. Elara was careless about littering and wasting resources. One day, while driving through downtown, the filthy streets and smoggy skies depressed her. She vowed to embrace nature and venerate the environment. She devoted herself to tree-planting drives, reducing her carbon footprint and recycling diligently. The nearby forest was her canvas. She painted masterpieces of preserved beauty with her conservation. Her forest walks taught Elara the plein-air...
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Drat

November 1, 2023 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Episode #770 November 4, 2023 If you are hasty you might regret something you just did on the computer. Drat.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MKVeHAXqCc Lucky for us, there are undos and redos available on most computers. On the Mac, hold down the Command key (⌘) and type a “z”. This will Undo the last thing you did. In the Finder, if you just threw a file in the Trash, ⌘-z will take it out of the Trash. Alternately, the Edit menu will list an Undo action right at the top (with ⌘-z shown as the keyboard shortcut). Some apps have multiple layers...
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In the Moment

October 25, 2023 Uncategorized 4 Comments
Episode #769 October 28, 2023         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrwmHNEC43E In the Moment Now is now, right now. Don’t miss it. There is a goal, over there. Over there. Still there. Here is a moment, right here. Now it is gone. How many moments missed on the way? How many ways to kick it down the road? What dust settles at the heel of the wheel? What moments flash in the mirror? Trade time for the joy of adventure, story, a moment shared. Joy is the spending of time. Joy is meeting someone’s eyes, synchronizing a smile, taking a lover’s...
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ZeroWater

October 18, 2023 Uncategorized 5 Comments
Episode #768 October 21, 2023 My water is from a well. Yours might be too, but chances are that it is treated before it enters the city water system. Yet, even in city water, dangerous chemicals may be present.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVDg8fVC4EQ Some of these chemicals are from the purification process itself, such as chorine, chloramines and fluoride. Some are simply not filtered, such as lead, chromium and nitrates. Lucky for me the aquifer below my property is filtered through a granite mountain before it arrives at my well. Unfortunately, I live in a rural equestrian area. This means that there are...
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Play

October 13, 2023 Uncategorized 3 Comments
Episode #767 October 14, 2023 Sometimes I am not in my best humor. The minutia of my day-to-day is a creeping tension felt in my heart, body and soul. Seriousness bends my smile.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_5O-nUiZ_0 Nothing is so important that it cannot be a game. When I feel down, I play a game and things look up. Joking is my favorite kind of play. Sarcasm is my ball. I throw it to another person. I gave a coworker this compliment: “You just made a fortune for the company… You are soooooo bad at this.” My grandfather use to say, “If...
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