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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Firewood

November 9, 2025 Uncategorized No Comments
Episode #876 November 15, 2025 There is winter where I live. It snows occasionally, and winter is dotted with freezing temperatures.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEXlWgMOtqc&list=RDtEXlWgMOtqc&start_radio=1 My house came with an electric space heater. It is located in a narrow hallway remote from the living room. I place a box fan pointing into the living room to move the heated air to where we spend most of our time. This works well enough, but the heater is 220 volts and costs a fortune to run. There was a wood-burning stove in the living room, which worked pretty well to heat the house. The...
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Making A Book

November 4, 2025 Uncategorized No Comments
Episode #875 November 8, 2025 Every book we bring into the world teaches us something about ourselves.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj8FlXGPcOQ&list=RDzj8FlXGPcOQ&start_radio=1 It started, as most quiet revolutions do, with a blinking cursor and a promise. I had agreed to help a friend publish his novel, A Death in Home Park — a manuscript that had been sitting in digital limbo, neatly typed but not yet born into the world. The author had written the story over time, poured into it the kind of lived wisdom that only accumulates after decades of paying attention. All that remained was to “format and publish,”...
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A Death In Home Park

October 29, 2025 Uncategorized No Comments
Episode #874 November 1, 2025   When I was at Servite High School, my English teacher was Mr. Dennis Watson.         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4zPu3ISCGs&list=RDN4zPu3ISCGs&start_radio=1 Mr. Watson prepared me for a life of communication, introducing me to modern literature, grammar, and a love of writing. More than 50 years later, Dennis Watson helped form a writer’s group of my fellow classmates. Writers Anonymous (WAnon) has molded my writing skills. We soon found out that Dennis was writing a novel. The name of the novel is “A Death in Home Park” by Den Watson. It is now available in paperback and...
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Ravens Ridge

October 20, 2025 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Episode #873 October 25,2025 Sitting in the rocking chair on my patio,  I watch the ravens playing on the updrafts  over the edge of my ridge.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUFW0sCagNY&list=RDgUFW0sCagNY&start_radio=1 Ravens will sometimes soar over the slope immediately below my ridge. Sometimes they are surveying their territory for opportunistic meals, such as carrion, seeds, fruit, or human scraps. They do not swoop on the food from high altitudes like eagles or hawks. Rather, they note the locations and revisit them for a tasty snack. When ravens do hunt small prey, I see them perched on a low tree branch, watching. When they...
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UPS Drivers

October 18, 2025 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Episode #872 October 18, 2025 The UPS drivers are my friends. Each one has an interesting story.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pafY6sZt0FE&list=RDpafY6sZt0FE&start_radio=1   My house is at the end of a 1000-foot dirt drive. It can appear forboding. The common carriers and FedEx are often intimidated, especially at night. I find packages at the entrance of the drive, in the dirt, at the side of the road. When I call “customer service,” my anxious, whining pleas fall on the sounding board of policy. “If the route looks dangerous, the drivers will not proceed.” “If the driver doesn’t know if he can turn...
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You Can

October 8, 2025 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Episode #871 October 11, 2025 This week I reject "I can't" and embrace "You Can."     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKClCNEPiKU You Can Don’t tell me you can’t. Tell me what you can. When there is a wall too high to climb, look for a ladder. Suppose what you might suppose. Explore unlimited possibilities. Expanding consciousness is the act of looking. What you can see allows you to see. Invision a vision of solutions. Parsing possibilities is sifting resolutions. The insignificant and unworkable fall through your screen. If all of that solves dilemma, dilemma does not remain. Action endures. Act with found confidence....
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