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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Turning Points

November 27, 2025 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Episode #878 November 29, 2025 Turning Points by Ricki T Thues     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbXIACxwWbo&list=RDfbXIACxwWbo&start_radio=1 I am sitting with my favorite drink in my rocker, looking east from my patio in Aguanga. The eastern clouds are painted pink as a 360° sunset wraps around my cabin on the hilltop. A cool onshore summer breeze shivers the Mesquite tree. The Cypress buzzes. An owl hoots. My mind wanders... Walking into my second-grade classroom, I am oblivious of a turning point in my life, a new vector wholly unexpected. The teacher shuffles papers. I place an apple on her desk… my mother made...
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Open Mind

November 19, 2025 Uncategorized No Comments
Episode #877 November 22, 2025 Most social media and news reporting have become biased in one direction or another.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyvn3QR7BRk&list=RDTyvn3QR7BRk&start_radio=1 These outlets are split almost evenly in the US between red and blue viewpoints. Non-politically, red and blue can be associated with conservative and liberal. Few outlets are truly unbiased. Consider these two definitions from the dictionary: Conservative: Characterized by the maintenance of traditional institutions, customs, and values. Resistance to change, static. Defined by respect for authority and social order, personal responsibility, and minimal government intervention. Liberal: Characterized by a focus on progress, reform, and social change, progressive. Supportive...
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Firewood

November 9, 2025 Uncategorized 2 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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