“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said, ‘Faster horses.’”
~ Henry Ford
I think of this quote when I see both good and bad design. Some people build/design faster horses, others invent cars.
Scala, Java, Unix, MacOS tutorials (page 85)
This is one of my favorite road signs in the world, the sign that points you to Los Alamos, New Mexico. For whatever reason, being in New Mexico is one of the things in life that makes me happy.
From this people.com story:
When Mary Steenburgen woke up from minor arm surgery in 2007, her brain was “only music,” an odd result that lead her to a new songwriting career — and one that may earn her another Oscar.
The actress, 66, said that her brain felt out of control immediately after surgery.
“I felt strange as soon as the anesthesia started to wear off,” she told IndieWire. “The best way I can describe it is that it just felt like my brain was only music, and that everything anybody said to me became musical. All of my thoughts became musical. Every street sign became musical. I couldn’t get my mind into any other mode.”
(In a slightly related story, Scientific American has an article titled, The Hidden Dangers of Going Under.)
Back in 2014 my family took a vacation together. We spent thousands of dollars doing all sorts of different things, but in the end, my favorite part was sitting on a couch one evening in Santa Fe with my niece and watching cooking shows. In small part this was because my sisters were angry with each other, and it was nice to get away from that tension and just relax with a nice person who had no agenda.
When I saw this image last night it reminded me not of the negatives of that vacation, but of the positives of spending time with people who have no agendas other than the wonder of the universe, and of how I’d like to spend the time I have here on Earth.
Just for now,
Without asking how,
Let yourself sink into stillness.
Just for now, lay down the weight
You so patiently bear upon your shoulders.
Feel the earth receive you,
And the infinite expanse of the sky grow even wider,
As your awareness reaches up to meet it.
Just for now,
Allow a wave of breath to enliven your experience.
Breathe out whatever blocks you from the truth.
Just for now,
Be boundless, free,
With awakened energy tingling in your hands and feet.
Drink in the possibility,
Of being who and what you really are,
So fully alive that the world looks different,
Newly born and vibrant,
Just for now.
Notes
This is a poem by Danna Faulds that a friend shared on Facebook. I don’t know what book of hers it’s in, but it sounds like it might be in a book titled, Go In and In: Poems From the Heart of Yoga.
Before she passed away, my yoga teacher used to say things just like this, including:
- Just for now ... (followed by other words that inspired her that week)
- Put it all down
- Let it all go
- Relax
- Breathe
She also said something very similar to “Feel the Earth receive you,” though I can’t remember her exact phrase at the moment.
This is the view you get when you go to the bathroom at the top of Rocky Mountain National Park, and you come out and everyone else is gone (and your camera lens is scratched).
I’m not a religious person in the traditional sense of the word, but I do like to visit old churches when I travel. There are wonderful old churches throughout Alaska, and also in New Mexico.
I haven’t made it to Juneau, Alaska, yet, but when I do I want to visit the Shrine of Saint Therese. (I’m sorry, but I don’t know the origin of this photo.)
“Honest, hopelessly romantic old-fashioned gentleman seeks lady friend who enjoys elegant dining, dancing and the slow bloom of affection.”
~ Claire Cook, Must Love Dogs (a favorite movie, and I’ll read the book this winter)
“It’s a bit of a riddle, but other people in your life have to be who they are so you can be(come) who you are.”
~ me, November 21, 2015
A nurse that I see all the time suggested that I get Snapchat. I responded, “Oh, so you can text me my lab results more easily?” Which eventually reminded me of this image.
“Romeo and Juliet, the dyslexic version.”
The dialog between Timothy Hutton and Natalie Portman is my favorite part about the underrated movie, Beautiful Girls.
I became a fan of Mike Barr’s paintings back in 2016. This one is called Autumn Rain, but I actually like his darker, evening paintings even more.
“Anything beautiful is worth getting hurt for.”
~ Prince (on New Girl)
For the zillionth time yesterday a doctor said, “This (medical condition you have) is very rare, but, well, there it is.” Mast cell disease continues to be the gift that keeps on giving.
Filed in the “FWIW” category ... I wrote the following Dart/Flutter code as an attempt to create a Flutter file logger using Dart isolates, but as it turns out, at the time of this writing the Flutter platform won’t let you do that. So I thought I’d share/save my code here in case I can use it in the future.
First, here’s my Flutter file logging code that uses Dart isolates:
November 19, 2019: Version 1.1 of my Back To Now “mindfulness reminders” app for iOS was just released on Apple’s App Store. Since it’s officially a Valley Programming product, you can read more about it on my Back To Now v1.1 support page on ValleyProgramming.com.
I’ll guess that I’ve spent at least two or three months of my life living in a particular hotel in Virginia Beach (including finishing the Scala Cookbook there), and this photo/painting is an ode to that place.
