CMA, Taza

1. Grateful to God and all who help me get through a day
2. Grateful that I survived dinner at Taza
3. Grateful about CMA and new work done there - more to come!

Taza

Jibneh Lebanese
Spinach Salad
Veggie Soup
Mujadara Plate
Fatteh Lamb
Grilled Veggie
Hum Falafel Roll with Fries
Tea

Grateful, Florida, traps

1. Grateful to God and all who help me get through a day
2. Grateful to places in Florida that would be interesting to visit
3. Grateful to have green products as pest controls, traps

Warm Mineral Springs
http://www.warmmineralsprings.com/

Shell Point Village
15101 Shell Point Blvd. - Fort Myers, Florida 33908
(239) 466-1131 - 1-800-780-1131 - www.shellpoint.org

Coral Trace Health Care Center.
216 Santa Barbara Blvd Cape Coral, FL 33991


The Springs is located at:
12200 San Servando Ave., North Port, FL. 34287

Here's how to find us:

From the South:

I-75, Exit 182 (Sumter Blvd.), west to US 41. Turn right on US 41 to Ortiz Blvd. Right on Ortiz Blvd. and take to end.

From the North:

I-75, Exit 191 (River Rd.), west to US 41. Turn left on US 41 to Ortiz Blvd. Left on Ortiz Blvd and take to the end.

Sugar Ant Hotel

* 1 cup borax
* 1 cup sugar
water
* 4 shallow glass jars with screw tops (small jar of marinated artichoke heart jars are ideal)
* 4 loose wads of toilet paper

In a bowl, mix the borax and sugar. Place a loose wad of toilet paper into each of four different screw-top jars. Pour a quarter of the sugar and borax mixture into each of the four jars, over the toilet paper. Fill each jar with water to one inch of the top. Screw the lids on the jars, and with a hammer and nail, make four to eight holes in the lid. Place the jars in areas where you have ants (but keep away from pets and children).

This ant trap will catch the workers but not the queen. A more comprehensive
solution is to blend 1/4 cup of confectioner’s sugar and one tablespoon of
borax and sprinkle it in ant traffic areas. There is not enough borax with
this method to kill the worker ants immediately, so they take it back to the
nest, ultimately eradicating it. (If the worker ants do die at the powder,
cut back on the borax.)

Caution: Keep borax products away from pets and other animals.

Citrus Solvent Spray
Place 1/4 cup of citrus solvent (such as Citra Solve) in a spray bottle, and add 2 cups of water. Spray in areas where there are ants. This works!

There are also a number of herbs such as mint and pennyroyal, and spices such as cayenne pepper, that repel ants

Jokes, Elmore, fruit

1. Thank you to God and all who help me get through a day
2. Thank you for jokes that I think are funny and interesting books about writing
3. Thank you for birthday baskets with fruit

Sacha sent me this link to jokes about Communism

http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2008/06/great-item-on-t.html

xx

Amazed little boy: Daddy! Daddy! Why are we still
telling jokes about communism twenty years after it
ended?

Daddy: Just in case anyone would ever be tempted to
think there was any validity in Marx’s analysis of
Capitalism’s abject failure, as the dominant economic
system of the last 500 years, to feed and clothe the world.

xx

Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing by Elmore Leonard (Hardcover - November 1, 2007), illustrated by Joe Ciardiello, William Morrow (publisher), 85 pages, $14.95 on Amazon.

This book recently appeared at Mayfield Public Library on the shelf with new publications. I checked out the book, wondering what could be in a recently published book on writing.

At first the book reminded me of the Illustrated Elements of Style, which I enjoyed very much. Unfortunately, the Leonard book did not work as well. While I found the ideas interesting and worthwhile, the presentation was over the top.

When looking on Amazon, I saw that the book did not work for many readers. Of the 23 reviews, 6 reviewers gave the book the highest rating, while 8 reviewers gave it the lowest rating. Fans of Elmore Leonard tended to love the book. But, one fan who said that Leonard is her favorite writer actually found this book disappointing, noting that the book says no more than does the original New York Times article which contains the same text. The rich packaging and illustrations she found excessive and not adding enough to the ideas.

I'm a fan of white space, but in this case there is way too much white space on thick sheets of cardboard-like paper. The illustrations, on the other hand, do add a dimension to make the reader stop and think. The illustrations go nicely with the advice which often centers on how the individuals in a story should tell the story. The writer should be in the background. The illustrations focus on individuals, such as Hemingway, who provide examples of of writing that emphasizes the characters and their dialog and does not focus on the writer.

Who is Elmore Leonard? The wikipedia entry describes Leonard as a novelist and screenwriter with this one non-fiction book. What is some more of his advice on writing? He says to rewrite if it sounds like writing. He also says that if breaking the rules of grammar improves the delivery, that is what you should do. That is good advice, worthy of contemplation. I am happy to have read the book to get the advice and see the presentation, but wished for a more understated delivery. Instead of 10 rules in 84 pages, the same rules on half that number of pages without the cardboard would have been more effective.

xx

Some ideas for a fruit basket.

grapefruit - nectarines - apricots - blueberries - mangos

More gratitude, conference

1. Grateful to God and all who help me get through a day

2. Grateful to the following jokes about Russia
http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2008/06/great-item-on-t.html

3. Grateful to nice people at STC conference and good sessions and what one person called the welcoming into the fellowship

Our NEO STC newsletter asked what were the best things we learned at the conference. Ah, where to begin.

On a professional level, I learned that content management vendors will tell you that content management projects fail, as many as 30%, if not implemented properly. I had heard similar statements in the past, but wondered what percentage would be given as a current rate. On a personal level, I learned that if you don't get your tickets for the conference in U.S. Mail, the tickets can be waiting for you, if you request this. I also learned that the best chapter in all of STC is the NEO STC chapter.

Misc., бaбyшka

I want to get back again to making this more of a gratitude journal. Here we go.

1. Grateful to God and all who help me get through a day.
2. Grateful to have tickets to Indians game versus Texas Rangers
http://www.baseballscorecard.com/simplecard.htm
3. Grateful that my mammogram last week (May 16) had good results and absolutely most grateful to be a survivor
4. Grateful to thoughts of бaбyшka нaшa with June 1 birthday coming up

* Oy! To each his own. That you know.
* My best friend is Johnny Walker.
* Sugar makes you smarter.
* Finger sandwiches make life better.
* It's just water and ice with big, big orange.
* It's not weather, it's suicide.
* And I hang... You made my day.
* Is only one way. All America crazy about it.
* He looks like a Micky Mouse. Ricky will fix it.
* We all have the same God.

5. Grateful to most excellent Bella Voce concert

Saturday, May 17, 7:30 pm
Friends of Historic New Utrecht Concert Series
1831 84th Street in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn

Sunday, May 18, 3:00 pm
"I Hear Music In the Air", reprise!
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 7420 4th Avenue, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Free-will donation at door
Featuring music by Gustav Holst, Bela Bartok, David Mooney and others

Goldenrod Meadow Walk

Wed., May 28 at 6 to 7
Meet at pool

I am making my way through the Nureyev biography by Julie Kavanaugh. Vera recommended it so highly and I can see why. It was insightful how one of the critics of the book said something like that Kavanaugh writes as if she is a mother who totally loves her child while acknowledging the child has flaws.

http://www.amazon.com/Nureyev-Life-Julie-Kavanagh/dp/0375405135/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211669456&sr=8-1

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The first international ballet superstar, Rudolf Nureyev (1938–1993) made headlines when he defected from Russia in 1961. His onstage partnership with the Royal Ballet's ballerina assoluta Margot Fonteyn received legendary acclaim.

Formerly a Kirov star, trained by the famed ballet teacher Alexander Pushkin and inspired by Nijinsky and Stanislavsky, he shocked and seduced the West with his charismatic stage presence and his passionate, sometimes rough-edged dancing.

British ballet critic Kavanagh (Secret Muses: The Life of Frederick Ashton) captures his phenomenal work ethic, his hunger for new dance experiences (with Jerome Robbins, Martha Graham and Paul Taylor) and his flamboyant life.

Her writing style is both readable and sophisticated, showing Nureyev's wit and generosity alongside his carelessness and cruelty. She dissects ballet arcana like the Bournonville and Vaganova techniques—but doesn't stint on celebrity dish.

Nureyev's affair with the celebrated Danish dancer Erik Bruhn, his desperate need to dance for George Balanchine and his competition with the younger ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov are detailed, alongside his relationships with Jackie Kennedy, Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger. Kavanagh presents a definitive and moving portrait of one of the 20th century's most hypnotic, ruthless and hedonistic artists.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Julie Kavanagh knows the dance world, and it shows. The London-based journalist and former ballerina previously wrote a prize-winning biography of choreographer Frederick Ashton, and she fills Nureyev: The Life with piercing insights into both the life of her subject and the turbulent world of professional ballet.

Critics loved her riveting storytelling, and though the Christian Science Monitor complained that Kavanagh dwells too long on the dancer’s experiences in the "brutal anonymity of 70s gay culture" and his passing from AIDS, they generally praised her refusal to sugarcoat any aspect of Nureyev’s life and personality.

Overall, Kavanagh offers a compelling portrait of a complicated man in the tone of "a mother who knows her child’s faults all too well and yet looks upon him with affection" (San Francisco Chronicle).

Gratitude, thoughts

Again, I want to thank God and all who help me get through a day.

I am thankful that I survived the Philly conference. Here are some thoughts on the Philly conference. Content management sessions appear to be getting some good coverage. Some items of interest.

- Building your Content Management Skills, Ann Rockley
- Vendor Panel: Successful Content Management, Ann Rockley

It has been several years since I attended or presented at a conference, so I wondered what was new. I'm finding a combination of new and old so far in the program. As expected, the new of the conference involved coverage of new topics and technologies to show what is currently going on in the field. There is also some sameness of years past with the basic format of a keynote speaker, presentations, awards on display, vendor booths, and networking at meals and other events.

Rockley's sessions on content management did not disappoint.

As usual, the displays from award winners and vendors were interesting. Technology consultant Howard Rheingold delivered the keynote address. Rheingold teaches digital journalism at Stanford. At USC-Berkley he teaches something called virtual community and social media. I asked myself how someone gets to teach something like that. Maybe someday I could do this. It is likely that that would be in my dreams or maybe in my next life. Then, again, as I like to tell myself, there is always hope.

A totally new experience for me this year was the awards banquet. I cannot thank enough the people in NEO STC cheering section and people involved overall in the associate fellow nomination process. I truly look forward to cheering on in the future a large number of new associate fellows from NEO STC.

Technology consultant Howard Rheingold is keynote address speaker. Reingold teaches digital journalism at Stanford. At USC-Berkley he teaches something called virtual community and social media. I asked myself how someone gets to teach something like that. Maybe someday I could do this. It is likely that that would be in my dreams or maybe in my next life. Then, again, as I like to tell myself, there is always hope.

Technology consultant Howard Rheingold delivered the keynote address. In addition to being a consultant, Reingold teaches digital journalism at Stanford. At USC-Berkley he teaches something called virtual community and social media. I asked myself how someone gets to teach something like that. Maybe someday I could do this. that would be in my dreams, or maybe in my next life.

Was he a good choice to give us a keynote? Technology consultant Howard Rheingold delivered the keynote address at the opening session. Rheingold is credited with inventing the term virtual communities. He served as the founding executive editor of Wired magazine’s HotWired, the first commercial Webzine to introduce the Web-based discussion forum and online banner.

He teaches digital journalism at Stanford University and virtual community and social media at the University of California at Berkeley. He has previously taught participatory media and collective action at Berkeley and has also taught at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and the Institute of Creative Technologies at De Montfort University in Leicester, United Kingdom.

Electric Minds, the Web site he founded in 1996, was named one of Time magazine’s “Best Web sites of 1996.” As the author of Tools for Thought (1985), The Virtual Community (1991), and Smart Mobs (2002), Rheingold, a 1968 graduate of Oregon’s Reed College, predicted the future of computers and the Internet.

Smart Mobs, named one of the “big ideas” of 2002 by The New York Times Magazine, explored how the merger of mobile communications, pervasive computing, and the Internet would lead to new forms of collective action.

Rheingold’s weekly newspaper column, “Tomorrow,” was syndicated internationally by King Features, and he has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, including Today; Good Morning America; ABC’s Primetime Live; CNN, CBS, and NBC News; The MacNeil-Lehrer Report; and National Public Radio’s Fresh Air and Marketplace.

He has lectured in a variety of countries as well as at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oxford University, and Stanford University.

He teaches digital journalism at Stanford University and virtual community and social media at the University of California at Berkeley. He has previously taught participatory media and collective action at Berkeley and has also taught at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and the Institute of Creative Technologies at De Montfort University in Leicester, United Kingdom.

Rheingold’s recent work examines the ways in which the mobile phone, computers, and wireless Internet are changing the way we conduct our lives—not only how we meet and entertain, but how we govern and conduct business. Rheingold uses stories, case histories, and researched forecasts to present organizations and audiences with the information they need to understand how their lifestyles and businesses will be affected by future trends and technologies.

Author and technology consultant Howard Rheingold will deliver the keynote address at the opening session of the 2008 Technical Communication Summit, to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 1–4.

Rheingold is credited with inventing the term virtual communities. He served as the founding executive editor of Wired magazine’s HotWired, the first commercial Webzine to introduce the Web-based discussion forum and online banner. Electric Minds, the Web site he founded in 1996, was named one of Time magazine’s “Best Web sites of 1996.” As the author of Tools for Thought (1985), The Virtual Community (1991), and Smart Mobs (2002), Rheingold, a 1968 graduate of Oregon’s Reed College, predicted the future of computers and the Internet. Smart Mobs, named one of the “big ideas” of 2002 by The New York Times Magazine, explored how the merger of mobile communications, pervasive computing, and the Internet would lead to new forms of collective action.

Rheingold’s weekly newspaper column, “Tomorrow,” was syndicated internationally by King Features, and he has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, including Today; Good Morning America; ABC’s Primetime Live; CNN, CBS, and NBC News; The MacNeil-Lehrer Report; and National Public Radio’s Fresh Air and Marketplace. He has lectured in a variety of countries as well as at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oxford University, and Stanford University.

He teaches digital journalism at Stanford University and virtual community and social media at the University of California at Berkeley. He has previously taught participatory media and collective action at Berkeley and has also taught at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and the Institute of Creative Technologies at De Montfort University in Leicester, United Kingdom.

Rheingold’s recent work examines the ways in which the mobile phone, computers, and wireless Internet are changing the way we conduct our lives—not only how we meet and entertain, but how we govern and conduct business. Rheingold uses stories, case histories, and researched forecasts to present organizations and audiences with the information they need to understand how their lifestyles and businesses will be affected by future trends and technologies.