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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Letter of the Law

February 1, 2023 Uncategorized No Comments
Episode #731 February 4, 2023 My first brush with authority was in the first grade. It was the first assignment of my education.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ5v8L08Flg We were to prepare a verbal report on any subject we wanted. I don’t remember whether I was not paying attention when the assignment was given or simply forgot about it. On the day of the presentations I was blindsided. I had clearly failed to recognize the authority of my teacher. I had not prepared for the assignment. The teacher stood and spoke: “OK boys and girls. It is time to give your reports. When I...
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The Color of Kindness

January 25, 2023 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Episode #730 January 28, 2023   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enaRNnEzwi4 Quindnes walks along the bright spring lane of his neighborhood. He nods to neighbors and shakes the hands of some. His smile is as brilliant as his paintings. His paintings are drawn from his smile. The painter enters his ivy covered pid-a-terre. It is his studio where he creates his art. What he does is not easy, but he performs his work with ease. Quindnes is a master of kindness. He applies his pigment to a pure white canvas of love. Selfishness he sketches with black shadow, a framework for the abstraction. Warming...
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Cleanup

January 20, 2023 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Episode #729 January 21, 2023 The first and last step of any project is cleanup.       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qErSHVGZLc When a project is finished the most critical step occurs immediately after admiring the completed product. That critical step is cleanup. Pick up tools. Trash or store offal and unused materials. Sweep, wipe, vacuum and otherwise clean the workspace. Cleanup is essential for starting the next project. I have sometimes approached my work bench with an idea and a clipboard only to find a sawdust covered surface littered with tools. It dampens my motivation for action. There is likely some cleanup...
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Uncommon Kindness

January 10, 2023 Uncategorized 5 Comments
Episode #728. January 14, 2023 The following is a true story from my book, “Skydivers Know Why Birds Sing.” It is truly a story of sacrifice, heroism and uncommon kindness.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFHC6t13hi0 Heros… In 2004 Paula went to Thailand with the skydiving World Team. Their goal was to set a world record for the largest freefall formation. The plan was to connect 400 skydivers in freefall. The event was at the invitation of the King of Thailand. One of the conditions of the invitation is that the World Team combine with Thai skydivers to perform a 672 person demonstration jump...
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Einstein’s God

January 3, 2023 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Episode #727 January 7, 2023 I have long thought of myself as an agnostic. I am not an atheist because I believe in life, the universe and everything. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xbqe_GajtQ “I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings.” —Albert Einstein, replying to a telegram from Rabbi Goldstein After reading the thoughts of Dutch philosopher, Baruch Spinoza, I may be a Spinozaist. The following “poem” is an anonymous summery of Spinoza’s philosophy of God. It also summarizes the best of what...
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Uncommon Sense

December 29, 2022 Uncategorized No Comments
Episode #726 December 31, 2022 Common sense is less common than its name. Something common is only a majority opinion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7SnbKS4YAQ Modern opinion has been torn apart by politicians, social media and tribal stubbornness. Common sense has been delegated to the two corners of a perverse yin and yang of belief. Yin: “No you aren’t!”  Yang: “Yes I am!” In the absence of critical thinking there can be no common sense. The truth is hidden between the lines of social rants, bigotry and ignorance. In spite of the availability of all knowledge on the Internet, social platform algorithms box us...
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