We are Only Human

We can admit our limitations and defects.

When we admit the truth about our limitations and defects, we create fertile ground for new growth and change. But if we wallow in hopeless belief that our defects are just our true nature, we grow committed to them. That is the difference between powerlessness and helplessness. When we accept our powerlessness to control everything, we wake up to a deeper wisdom - that more willfulness only brings more defeat. Some of our needs can only be met and some growth can only happen when we receive a healing infusion of outside help.

But when we tenaciously refuse to accept our powerlessness, our dogged willfulness keeps us trying harder to do what we cannot do alone. Eventually that leads to resignation and helplessness. Our better choice is both painful and hopeful. We can admit our limitations and defects. Then we become receptive to help and acceptance from our mate, our community, and from our God.

Today, try something new: Find someone you love and trust and tell them one of your defects/limitations you are willing to give up.

The Wonder of the Ordinary

The extraordinary, the amazing, the phenomenon are daily glorified in the movies, the news, and on television. Our senses become bombarded. We become addicted to drama. The only things that get our attention are the big, catastrophic, knee-jerking events.

Take a closer look at your life, your everyday world, and the people and activities in it. If it were all taken from you in one moment, what would you miss? What sights, what sounds, what smells? Would you miss the view from your kitchen window? If you were never to see that scene again, would you nostalgically reminisce about it, wishing you could see it one more time, remembering how beautiful it was, and how much that familiar sight comforted you in your daily life?

What about those toys strewn about or the baby crying because he's hungry or wet? What about the sounds of the city you live in as it comes to life each morning? Or how about how your child smells after her bath? Or when she comes in cold from playing in the snow?

What about the way your friend smiles, or that little thing he says all the time that's not funny but he thinks it is, so you laugh?

Look closely at the ordinary in your life. While you're being grateful, don't forget to express pure, sheer gratitude for how beautiful the ordinary really is. We can easily overlook the ordinary, take it for granted. The sun rises and sets, the seasons come and go, and we forget how beautiful and sensational the familiar really is.

An excerpt from More Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

Connect with others using Twitter and Your Mobile Phone

If you haven't at least heard of Twitter, you've probably been living in a cave. But don’t feel too bad if you're not yet using Twitter - www.twitter.com. It's a rapidly growing service, but still not as mainstream as a service like Facebook.

So what is Twitter, exactly? It's a free social networking service, sometimes called a "micro-blogging" tool, because it's like a blog, only smaller. When you use Twitter you have a maximum of 140 characters to share your thoughts with the world. If you've ever updated your status on Facebook or added a personal message on Windows Live Messenger, you've micro-blogged. It's a way of sharing what you're doing or thinking with friends and with the world at large. You "follow" people on Twitter to read what they're saying. Everything that your followers write shows up on your Twitter page, also called a “Twitter feed.” I post to Twitter as "jasondunn", and if you follow me, you'll see the things I write on your Twitter feed.

When I describe Twitter to someone who hasn't used it before, their first response is often, "Why would I want to do that?" It's definitely not the type of thing that everyone wants to participate in. Social networking comes in all different depths, and not everyone wants to dive into the deep end. Sharing your life with others via Twitter is definitely in-depth social networking. You can use Twitter to follow the updates of others, post your own updates, or both—there's room for many different types of Twitter use.

So who's using Twitter? More and more people, as Twitter gains momentum. There are celebrities, such as Aston Kutcher, Lance Armstrong, and Tina Fey, among others. President Barack Obama used Twitter leading up to the elections, gaining followers (and probably voters) along the way. NASA uses Twitter to keep people updated about space missions, and the BBC Breaking News publishes small bits of news as soon as they happen, before the full stories are written. Even if you don't post your own thoughts to Twitter, you can see how useful it can be to stay connected with your favorite people and organizations.

Twitter and Windows Mobile

So how do you tap into Twitter using your Windows Mobile smartphone? There are a few ways. First, you'll need a Twitter - www.twitter.com account. Once you have registered one and have selected a few people or organizations to follow, you can open up Internet Explorer Mobile and browse to http://m.twitter.com - this is the mobile Twitter site. After logging in, you'll see a list of recent Twitter activity. You can read updates or post your own updates (called "tweets") from this simple and fast interface. And, if you really like using Twitter, you can set it as your home page so it loads whenever you start the browser. In Internet Explorer Mobile, just click Menu > Tools Options > Use Current.

Looking for something a bit fancier? Then check out PockeTwit - www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-pocketwit.html, a free Windows Mobile Twitter application that has a really nice user interface and several cool features. In addition to the large, high-quality avatars in PockeTwit, you can post to Twitter using a URL you want to share, a picture you have stored on your smartphone, or a picture you just snapped with the camera, and you can even insert a GPS link showing your location. PockeTwit is also very finger-friendly—you can sweep your finger up and down across the screen to move to older or newer tweets, search, reply to posted tweets, quote tweets, or stop following someone on Twitter. It does take 10+ seconds to start up though, so it's the kind of thing you'll start up and leave running on your smartphone.

The power of Twitter Search

One of the great things about Twitter is how you can use it to search for people talking about the same things. Go to http://search.twitter.com to try it right now.

Twitter Search is surprisingly useful for finding people in the same place or people going to the same event. People use keywords, preceded by the number sign (#), to make topics easier to find. For instance, if you were tweeting about going on a spring break vacation, you'd put the word #springbreak in your tweet. Then, when people search for other people talking about spring break, they'll find your tweets. This is even more useful when it's more specific, such as the name of an event you're going to. You can see what people are saying about the event, how to find it, and more. People even tweet things like the airport they're flying to (#SEA for Seattle's airport, for example), and when you combine an event name with an airport, it's easy to arrange a shared taxi from the airport to an event. You can search directly on your phone using Internet Explorer Mobile - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/downloads/microsoft/internet-explorer-mobile.mspx to access the Twitter search site.

However, because the site is not designed for mobile devices, it doesn't work very well on the small screen. Using an application that was built specifically for use on mobile devices and that has a built-in search function, such as PockeTwit, works much better.

Twitter is a rapidly growing social networking service, and one that you can easily tap into using your Windows Mobile smartphone. Enjoy it! ~ by Jason Dunn

How to score secret airline perks

How to score secret airline perks

Upgrade to first class and make the most of your frequent-flier miles

By Lauren Sherman, Forbes

What's the ultimate sky-high perk? For economy-class passengers, that would be a tray table that doesn't flop open by itself. But most travelers in economy, especially on long flights, would love a horizontal seat.

In fact, Toulouse, France-based Airbus announced at London's annual Business Travel Show last week that it is working on plans to fit bunk beds into economy class. While this innovation may not materialize for several years, there are some perks that passengers — from economy to first class — should be taking advantage of in the here and now.

Granted, it's easy to forget that some carriers are still offering value-added incentives, especially considering that passengers must now pay $7 for a blanket on Jet Blue or US Airways and part with $15 to check a bag on American or United Airlines. And, of course, most of the perks are available only to business and first-class fliers.

But there are some nice incentives for everyone, depending on the airline. Air France, for example, offers every guest on every flight a bubbly pick-me-up: complimentary champagne. And yes, it's the real stuff, from the Champagne region of France.

Small price, nice perk
And while most food in economy class now costs more than a wink and a smile at the stewardess, there are some benefits to paying for your meal. Certain airlines, such as Delta, have upgraded their offerings. Instead of an unhealthy, soggy mini-pizza or a mere bag of peanuts, passengers can fork over $8 and get a southwestern Caesar salad created by celebrity chef Todd English.

Life-altering choices? Definitely not. But paying a little extra gets a lot more when it comes to food in economy class. If this still isn't enough, however, and you desperately desire an upgrade, there are ways — other than begging nicely — to move up.

Steven Frischling, a professional photographer who became a travel consultant to C-level executives in 2005, says that for those looking to jump to business or first class, Y-Ups and Q-Ups — known as Z-fares in Europe and Asia — are a better way to go than hoarding frequent-flier miles for years on end.

Y-Ups are special codes on first-class airfare that indicate that the seat can be assigned to those looking to upgrade from economy. To find one of these fares, go to your preferred airline's Web site. Search the first-class seats on the flight you want to take. If any of those seats are tagged to a code like Q***UP, write down that code. Then, search for an upgradeable coach seat (some airlines don't allow upgrades for super-cheap coach fares), and write down the code for that seat, too. Finally, call the airline — they'll usually waive the telephone service fee for frequent fliers, if you ask — and use both codes to request that your coach seat be upgraded to the first-class seat. For the price of coach, of course.

Go foreign
Sure, this perk does take some legwork, but it's worthwhile on a long international flight. However, Frischling says that the biggest perk is membership in an international frequent-flier program.

"Your best bet is not to join a U.S. frequent-flier program," says Frischling, who left his U.S. programs in 2006 for British Midland Airways' (BMI) Diamond Club.

BMI is part of the Star Alliance, a group of 25 airlines that work together (United, Lufthansa, Air Canada and Air New Zealand among them), which means your points and upgrades can be applied to any of those airlines. While most U.S. airlines do not offer complimentary lounge access to frequent fliers, most foreign carriers do, which means you get the benefit of using those facilities within the U.S. — on airlines like United — without actually belonging to their frequent-flier programs.

Along with BMI, Frischling says that Air France and Korea Air offer the best perks (Continental is a partner of the latter). For example, once you've flown 100,000 miles on Korea Air, you're automatically given platinum status for life, which includes access to hotels discounts, rental car services and even bonus flight tickets.

While foreign carriers take extra care of frequent customers, it doesn't look like perks on U.S. airlines are going to improve anytime soon. In fact, they may get worse. Richard Laermer, a marketing expert who travels the world promoting his books on the topic, including last year's "2011: Trendspotting," uses the tactics such as the aforementioned Y-Ups to score deals.

"Perks are dropping like flies," says Laermer. "I spend all my time these days figuring out what's being offered."

But perks are still available for now. So while it may take some legwork, from the simple (edible food) to the more complicated (first-class upgrades at economy prices), there are hidden perks out there. You just have to know where to look.

© 2009 Forbes.com

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29395821/

25 Random Things About Me

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. I absolutely, positively abhor these type of notes. I rank them up there with virus warnings and invitations from the President of Botswana to launder foreign currency. The *only* reason that I'm doing it is because my sweet baby sister, Kasey, asked me to.

2. I had a series of twelve colonics in 2002 costing more than $500, completely paid for by Starbucks health insurance.

3. I have not lived in a house with central air or central heat since I left college in 1995. Last year I didn't use air conditioning in my house at all.

4. The only music I regularly listen to is the music I'm rehearsing to perform. Most of the space in my iPod is filled with podcasts of NPR programming, followed by books on tape, and then "learning mp3" of songs I've learned.

5. I value Authenticity above all virtues (as far as I recall at this moment) and *always* prefer to hear the painful Truth, to a comforting lie.

6. I love to travel...maybe more than any other thing I do. I've been in 26 countries, seen most of the world capitals, and visited all the continents except Africa and Antarctica. But I've never been to New York or Las Vegas.

7. I consider Frugality a lifestyle, a personal challenge, and a hobby. If its worth doing or having, its worth taking the extra effort to find a way to get it at half the cost. Nothing kills the buzz faster than paying retail.

8. While I make quick friends easily, I take a long time to form deep friendships. Most of my best friends - those who know me 'best' - have known me for 10-20 years: Brooks, Kyle, Lee, Todd and their families.

9. I can think of fewer than five vices I haven't tried or quit. All are legal...if not in this country, then surely in Amsterdam or the Philippines.

10. I turn 40 in less than two months.

11. In 5th grade, my family moved and I changed school. I introduced myself to the class as "Mitch". My Mitch Phase only lasted a couple of weeks for me...but some kids called me "Mitch" until we graduated from high school.

12. I drank my first beer with Christopher Tatum on graduation night in the parking lot of MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas.

13. Although I love to read books, I can't stand owning, dusting, or moving them. After I finish a book that I've bought (and that, in itself, is a rarity), I'll stick it in the Book Return slot at the local library.

14. My Love Languages, in order of personal preference: Quality Time, Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts.

15. On every test I've taken, I rank as an Introvert. I love people, listening, being around them, etc., but they deplete me :-) I've got to get by myself to rejuvenate.

16. I lived out of the country, in central and South America, from August 1991 - May 1993.

17. I have worked for the same awesome company for almost 11 years...but have had many different jobs.

18. I've been debt-free since 2004 and continue to live the blessing of living far beneath my means.

19. While I am a 5th generation Texan, for the last 7+ years, I have lived less than 3 miles from where I was born: Methodist Hospital in Oak Cliff, just south of Dallas.

20. I had long hair, a ponytail to below my shoulders, from 2003-2008. I cut my hair short in November 2008 because my hair is thinning. Whenever I would put it in a ponytail, it was starting to look like a "comb over"...and we can't have that (see no. 5).

21. I don't drink soft drinks or milk - ever.

22. I love cats and hate dogs. If I'm nice to your dog, it means I love you...not your dog. And, no, its not "cute" when they jump, hump, or slobber on me - its as annoying as hell and I'd wish you'd control that bitch. See...I told you I hate dogs.

23. I drink enough coffee to pay the monthly electricity bill at one Starbucks....that is, if I ever actually *paid* for my coffee ;-) Most of my coffee I drink iced, no sugar, no cream. I easily drink a gallon (two pots) of coffee a day.

24. I've never had cable or satellite television.

25. If not for God healing me, delivering me, rescuing me, sustaining me, there would be nothing left of me but a name on a tombstone.

My Review of REI Neo Jacket - Men's Extended Sizes

Originally submitted at REI

REI Neo, our everyday soft-shell jacket, is water-resistant, breathable and surrounds you in four-way stretch comfort.

REI Neo Jacket - Men's Extended Sizes

People keep trying to steal my Neo!

By donmiguel from Dallas, Texas on 12/19/2008

 

5out of 5

Gift: No

Fit: Feels true to size

Sleeve Length: Feels true to length

Chest Size: Feels true to size

Pros: Lightweight, Comfortable, Waterproof, Warm, Breathable, Durable

Best Uses: Casual Wear, Cold Weather

Describe Yourself: Casual Adventurer

I have to keep very close track of this jacket. People want to try it on and then want to walk off while wearing it. I find the smooth, professional look, lines, drape, and technology of the fabric to bridge the gap between Urban Dweller and Occasional Adventurer. Although alone it does not provide sufficient protection against extreme cold, it would be an excellent addition in layers. I opted for this product over a name brand with a direction in its name and am THRILLED with my decision!

(legalese)

No Hard Feelings...to the Democrats

Well, Election Day is over,

Thank God the talking is done.

My party lost,

But your party won.

So let’s all be friends again,

And let all arguments pass.

I'll go hug my elephant,

You can kiss your ass. ☺

A Catholic Halloween

A cabbie picks up a Nun. She gets into the cab, and notices that the VERY handsome cab driver won't stop staring at her. She asks him why he is staring.

He replies: 'I have a question to ask you but I don't want to offend you.'

She answers, 'My son, you cannot offend me. When you're as old as I am and have been a nun as long as I have, you get a chance to see and hear just about everything. I'm sure that there's nothing you could say or ask that I would find offensive.'

'Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me.'

She responds, 'Well, let's see what we can do about that: #1, you have to be single and #2, you must be Catholic.'

The cab driver is very excited and says, 'Yes, I'm single and Catholic!'

'OK' the nun says. 'Pull into the next alley.' The nun fulfills his fantasy, with a kiss that would make a hooker blush.

But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying.

'My dear child,' says the nun, 'why are you crying?'

'Forgive me but I've sinned. I lied and I must confess, I'm married and I'm Jewish.'

The nun says, 'That's OK. My name is Kevin and I'm going to a Halloween party.'

Becoming Real

When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become real. ~ Margery Wilson

Intimacy with another is a necessary risk if we're to know love. This means loving enough to let someone in on our most hidden parts, daring to share the awful truths about ourselves. When we hold a dreaded memory within, or fail to disclose our darkest secret, we're haunted by the fear that another's love is both conditional and long gone if the truth about us is revealed.

Though seldom remembered, one of the greatest tributes we can give one another is full expression of who we were, who we are, and who we hope to become. During any single moment, we are a composite of feelings, memories, and projections. Our reality is many faceted, and being intimate requires that we enrich each other's lives with the full expression of ourselves.

Rest in peace, Phoebe.

Phoebe has been sick for the last six weeks or so. When I noticed that she had stopped eating and drinking, I took her to the vet and she diagnosed her with a liver illness. The vet told me that I had to get Phoebe eating again or to hospitalize her for 6 weeks. For the last six weeks or so, I have been feeding her twice a day by syringe. However, she still was not eating. She was hiding in the closet or under the bed most of the day and moving around less and less. Of course, she was also losing a lot of weight.

So, this afternoon I took her to the vet for another visit and the doctor said that she wasn't going to get any better. Because she is already a geriatric cat - I've had her since I moved back to Dallas in 1995 - I opted to go ahead and have her put down.

Its amazing how attached I have become to her. Of all that has gone on in my life over the last 13 years, she's been the most consistent figure. Could she tell some stories! I think the things I'll miss most about her are the way she would greet me at the door when I come home, our afternoon naps, and how she would always sleep up on the bed with me during cold winter nights. She was a sweet cat and my house will be even quieter than it usually is without her.

How are you doing? How am I doing?

Friendship is a gift one never tires of opening.

Just as the ivy that grows on a windowsill requires water and light, our friendships need care and nourishment. We might wish that a good friend would be there whenever we wanted. But we get so busy scrambling to cover all the bases in our lives that we lose touch with friends, even with our partner. We neglect even to ask, "How are you doing?" "How am I doing?"

In spite of our busyness, the time we take for a brief telephone call can make us feel more relaxed and less busy. These seemingly small attentions are important to friendships and instill the spirit of human warmth and care into our lives. It reminds us again of what gives us meaning and opens us up to the affectionate feelings in our partnership.

CouchSurfing Serendipity

What serendipity?!

I am staying with some new friends in Cape Cod through CouchSurfing.com. What a different experience it is to stay with locals, versus staying in a sterile Motel 6. Granted, I give up a bit of my autonomy, privacy, selfishness, but end up gaining a sense of family, connectedness, inclusion, and making new friends.

Through CouchSurfing I had had the most interesting experiences. Staying with my new friends has allowed me to be included in a ~free~ whale watching expedition and even share dinner with a locally-based Grammy winning photographer. I cannot recommend CouchSurfing highly enough!

www.couchsurfing.com
www.rowlandscherman.com

Boston

Photobucket Album

Parrot 3200 LS-Color

You can have your cute little iPhone.

I've evolved.

Meet my new Parrot 3200 LS-Color! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The Gift of Problems

In life, the difficult periods are the best periods to gain experience and shore up determination. As a result, my mental status is much improved because of them. ~ The Dalai Lama

Life is a process of meeting and solving problems. Solving problems is a way that we test and develop our spiritual muscle. Think of outstanding people such as Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, and Helen Keller. Lincoln faced the problem of a divided country; Gandhi, an oppressed India; Keller, her personal handicaps. In rising to meet their vision, courage, fortitude, and compassion, they became great -- not in spite of, but because of their problems.

Problems often come to us in the form of crisis. The Chinese glyph for the word crisis contains two symbols; one means danger and the other opportunity. When an obstacle is before you, use it to create a beneficial result. As with Lincoln, Gandhi, and Keller, let your problems bring out your greatness.

Rather than pray for a life that is problem-free, ask for one that is solution-full. Instead of requesting that God remove the mountain before you, seek the strength to climb it. Remember that the best students always get the toughest problems. Love the problems you have, and their priceless gifts will be yours.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. ~ Romans 5:3-5

Free Movie Ticket - Get Smart

Hey! Just came across a free movie ticket - print as many as you'd like! - to see Get Smart at the Studio Movie Grill in Addison, Texas, the week of June 20-26. Enjoy!

Vocal Majority Performs at the Ft Worth Botanical Gardens

New Element Discovered!

Research has led to the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second to take from four days to four years to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2-6 years; It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.

When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Slideshow - Vacation to Italy

Slideshow - The Cruise