Posted to the FAM message board: “Humming birds have finally arrived! (7/25/2026, Wilmore, KY) Wonder of wonders: I replaced the nectar in the HB feeder earlier this week.” Dad * * * * * *…
In 2025 I had a life challenging experience – confined to a hospital for 70 days with Refractory Inflammatory Colitis, during which, I lost a total of 35 pounds. At one of my lowest points,…
As noted in “Hostage”/21, we may be being HELD HOSTAGE by all sorts of things hidden in the background thwarting our efforts and holding us back … … but it also helps to understand that…
Confronted with so many untenably unresolvable circumstances, one has to ask: At what point is a life – or a whole cadre of lives – so lacking in value that it / they should no…
Sometimes technicalities get in the way of practicalities. Who cares about the biochemistry if you can cultivate a rose to bloom! We can infer a lot about the universe that we don’t totally understand, but we…
Ready or not, for better or worse, life keeps moving on! And moving on up to BETTER is much more enlifening than simply drifting with the flotsam and jetsam!! Unfortunately, the means of “getting us…
With so much dissonance, discord, dishegience and mental health challenges permeating the early days of a still nascent 21st Century, we seem to have lost sight of any meaning, purpose or zest for living. Some…
Life is TOUGH! But it’s so much more straight forward and manageable when all you have to do is FILL IN THE BLANKS … providing, of course, you have the proper “goods” available to do…
It’s already 78 degrees outside this morning at 7:45 am, with a forecast of 95. I’m feeling “trapped” in an air conditioned house … unable (or unwilling?) to anticipate engaging in a full list of…
A critical attribute of successful venturing is the ability to survive disappointment and recover from disaster – a property called RESILIENCE. But trying to extract a rejuvenating infusion from an empty reservoir is a…
Life-coach gurus talk about “Life Balance” … a very helpful reflective concept for different people at different points in their personal lives … especially for when they feel “out of sorts”, “at loose ends” or…
“Communitation” is the fine art of PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. It is the art of intentionally, actively and proactively participating in a thriving, collaborative COMMUNITY. Lee Shulman Bierer [ www.collegeadmissionsstrategies.com ], provides an excellent example of…
It’s more than a bit disarming/disconcerting when spurious things insert themselves into our personal agenda and impose themselves on our personal radar – things we didn’t “ask for”, that don’t really “fit” the persona we…
LIFE’S TOUGH! The CHALLENGES are FORMIDABLE The RESPONSIBILITIES are AWESOME The EXPECTATIONS are OUT OF SIGHT And TIME is always TOO SHORT for what we want and need to do Consequently, it’s increasingly clear that…
Plato had it about right and was well ahead of his time, trying to explain why we all fall so far short of our potential – and short of our ability to enjoy the full…
The best “insider” advice for success that most people have traditionally given aspiring emerging generations generally isn’t “Work Hard” and “Become Irreplaceable/Indispensible”. It is: “It’s who you know!” However, I’ve found, personally, it’s been a…
You’re 25 years old (maybe 30, maybe 40?), sailing through life in a fast-paced Gig-Economy, paying the rent and utilities, mostly eating out on the run, doing a fair amount of social media, streaming Netflix,…
I have been haunted by this intractable, plaintive cry of employers: “We can’t retain employees – some leaving after only a day on the job!” Landscaper After spending 3 hours a day on several very…
At this very moment, I am watching my water sprinkler soaking parts of my driveway, sidewalk and the front street, along with my parched lawn. However, I consider this wasteful practice a major STEP…
There’s LIGHT and there’s DARK. In the beginning, there was only DARK. DARK is the default and DARK is passive but it is MASSIVE. LIGHT requires an active source and has to be constantly generated…
I had just finished breakfast and my FIRST INCLINATION was to move to the screened-in porch to finish my coffee, the sports section of the newspaper and the comics. A person who’s retired has the…
In 1996, Susan Jeffers, Ph.D., released a book entitled “End the Struggle and Dance with Life” (St. Martin’s Press) This book had some great advice for people completely overrun by life’s circumstances. Jeffers, personally, had…
“The Head Winds / Tail Winds Asymmetry” Tom Gilovich and Shai Davidai https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27869473 J Pers Soc Psychol. 2016 Dec;111(6):835-851. http://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-is-my-life-so-hard/ “The idea should be familiar to anyone who cycles or runs for exercise. Sometimes you’re running…
In the throes of partisan politics, one often hears the comment made that this or that person or position is “on the wrong side of history.” Most frequently, such assertions come from “liberal” or “progressive”…
It occurred to me following the Thanksgiving engorgement last year that we spend a lot of our time and energy overindulging in things that make us “groggy”. In fact, it sometimes seems that numbing…
It’s a dismissive / derogatory term of disparagement: “Not worth a hill of beans!” “You don’t know beans!” … as if – everybody knows – beans are not worth very much, even piled in a…
We tend to migrate toward and embellish those behaviors that make us happy and bring us the most success … however we choose to define “success”. Success-driven behavior patterns start forming early, notwithstanding the fact…
Disclaimer This is NOT about Presidential politics! In a March 14, 2018 posting, John Rosemond – a provocative and not universally acclaimed “family psychologist” – highlighted a New York Times article by Alex Stone (Jan.…
It’s that time of year again! … time to get rid of all the encrustations and encroachments … time take stock of all the things we’ve hoarded whose purpose may have lost luster, and whose…
The wistful lament of the under-invested and overly-wrought is often: “Just wait ‘til my ship comes in!” However, we need to face up to the fact, here and now, that BIG SHIPS do not sail…
The book The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz contains the following advice: Be impeccable with your word. Don’t take anything personally. Don’t make assumptions. Always do your best. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to…
Except for a relatively small number of misanthropes, humans are social beings who seek affirmation, authentication and legitimization from others. We like being “Special” … we love being loved. We also seek out BEAUTY in…
Life is an evolving progression. There is no stasis … no parking lot … no statutorial sanctum … To embrace life, we have to embrace CHANGE. We change or die! And the world around us…
For this one, you may want to look up “Free Will” on the internet and pick a couple of TED talks for background. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/theres-no-such-thing-as-free-will/480750/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH_VG_aqwoc INTRODUCTION: A small but hard core mix of neuroscientists, philosophers…
The annually updated book “What Color Is Your Parachute” by the late Richard Bolles has been a helpful life and career guide for multiple generations. The basic thrust of the book is one of personally…
The story of human development – both individually and en masse – is one of both glorious and inglorious progression … driven by a combination of internal and external compelling forces, ideally toward bigger, stronger,…
“I fight my demons every day, so I’ve got to continue to work at it.” Jared Lorenzen [en route to a goal of losing 100+ lbs.] “Demons” seem to permeate our lives. They show up…
A fundamental conundrum in 21st Century life is finding something of intrinsic, compelling ultimate value into which we can unreservedly pour our time, energy and “unbridled spirit” for the duration. Life is changing so fast,…
Looking in the mirror and having it talk back to you is an unnerving experience: “What have you got to say for yourself?” “ Are you of any salvageable earthly account or not?” “ And…
PREFACE: This is one of an increasing number of entries related to the challenge of living without a GOAL, MISSION, PURPOSE or PASSION in life – a privation with which I’m finding so many are…
In our barbershop chorus, The Kentuckians, our Director keeps challenging us to keep our pitch up and stay on key by imagining the addition of “onion skin” layers of higher frequency sound, particularly when holding…
“Every new DIY project justifies the acquisition of a new tool!” Herbie Halfmaster [After all, the savings on labor and on avoiding subsidization of someone ELSE’S tools more than makes up for the cost of…
Our navigability in the world is heavily dependent on our real or perceived “legitimacy” … le·git·i·ma·cy conformity to the law or to rules. ability to be defended with logic or justification; validity. https://www.google.com/search?q=legitimacy&oq=legitimacy&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.2407j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8 Legitimacy is…
First of all, this is not about crystal ball gazing and clairvoyant phrenology! It’s about the “electrifying” energy that comes from the “Psyche” … variably referred to as the “pneuma, the anima, the inner being,…
Motivational speakers, personal coaches and self-help proponents all underscore the importance of having a VISION, a DREAM, a LIFE PURPOSE, a PASSION … an overarching GRAND GOAL as an essential driving force for a successful…
I’ve come to believe that piling up as many DOTS as possible is the essence of a productive, prosperous and fulfilling life. By “DOTS”, I mean any or all of the following: Knowledge, skills, experience,…
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/10/first-children-are-smarter-but-why/280725/ In the study noted in the article above, investigators confirmed the postulation that first-children generally excel beyond the levels achieved by their younger siblings, and they asked “Why?” A genetic basis for the difference…
We occasionally need to take inventory of what we “bring to the table” to advance our personal stake and holdings in the world … to advance the enterprise(s) in which we are engaged … to…
We adopted a kitty about 12 years ago that is now in marked decline … with issues of hyperthyroidism, high blood pressure, a detached retina, arthritis, hypokalemia and kidney problems. She is on six different…
“Cache or caching [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cache ] refers to: … a food storing behavior of animals … a collection of artifacts [… a nest of duck’s eggs!] Computing Cache (computing), a collection of data duplicating original values stored…
Every construction project remains unfinished until the completion of a final sign-off “Punch List”: a list of final “finishing” details, as well as a list of mistakes and imperfections (things which fail to conform to…
We need to talk. Seriously. In case you were looking for / hoping for / counting on your “ship” to come in or your Prince or Princess to ride by on a white horse or…
“ … (have you ever been running, and decided you need to run a little faster … and then you WILLED it and it happened; have you ever tried to open a jar of pickles and decided…
Why do we have persisting “Achievement Gaps” both in public schools and on the job … why do so many business owners complain that they can’t get “decent help” … and why do so many…
I’ve struggled to articulate – in “digestible” terms – what I mean by “VISIONING” … i.e., being able to “picture” how the future might unfold – including discernment of hurdles and barriers to be overcome…
At this dawning of the 21st century, we don’t know everything we’d like to know or need to know about the Brain. But we know enough to set a more profitable course in life than…
Here’s a near-absolute Truth to consider: Everything you deserve is going to take everything you’ve got! This sobering observation compels one to ask four indelicate questions: If you are not giving life “everything you’ve got,…
At some point – and earlier is better – we have to “Get Real” about the unalterable “Cost of Living” … about all the stuff “below the water line” that “floats our boat”. Life’s Tough!…
[Reference: “Like You Mean It” Louisville Magazine 12.16, pp. 38-45] This article took up the challenge of charting a profitable and productive path for personal development in the year 2017. Outlined suggestions and admonitions follow.…
FLASH NEWS! Your success is guaranteed! In fact, you may already have WON! Wherever you spend the most time and energy is where you will realize the most success. You may become an EXPERT: Eating…
“Our society has resigned itself to suffering.” Jamie Studts, Behavioral Scientist [Describing the fatalistic acceptance of a cancer diagnosis as a death sentence] ************** I’ve had a growing suspicion that, as with a cancer diagnosis,…
“I can’t function without my second cup of coffee; but, once I’ve had that second cup, look out world – I can do ANYTHING!” Herbie Halfmaster What gets you going and keeps you going through…
Over the course of days, weeks, months and years, snipets of inspiration have slipped through the fog that seemed to warrant representation at least as footnotes. Here are a few footnote snipets from 2010 ……
Some things in life are guaranteed to work and some are guaranteed NOT to work. However, due to inexperience, ineptitude, “natural tendencies” and a whole host of other factors, we tend to gravitate toward things…
“Making it” in America – or almost anywhere in the universe – is both deceptively easy and deceptively hard. As I’ve sought to break the code on why some people “make it” but many don’t,…
[Reference: TIME Magazine, May 2/May 9, 2016 “100 Most Influential People of 2016”] This issue made me wonder: What makes winners “Winners”? It was a compelling challenge to compile a list of characteristics that best…
One of the toughest elements in dealing with life is coming to terms with the very real and ever present “Cost of Living” … more particularly, with the investment required to prepare adequately… never mind…
In a capitalistic system of civilization, competition is the currency of passage. You’ve gotta be BETTER than the competitors in your chosen field of endeavor! Unfortunately, some can’t compete, and many do not have a…
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF What does it take for you to believe in yourself? Something as simple as looking in the mirror? Or something more? How about accomplishments? There’s nothing like “proving yourself” to make believing…
Lamenting the “State of the Workforce in 2016”, I shared with our Business Owners’ Advisory Board (BOAB) my feedback from the state Workforce Development (WFD) Office, which indicated that the main problem in WFD is…
[Thanks to Bill Moore for planting this seed in his weekly sermon!] In 1958, Lloyd’s Bank of London undertook a study to find out what happens to a typical batch of paper clips as they…
“ … findings … published in the International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion [by Anthony Fabio, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh] indicate that among people predisposed to hostility, watching more TV…
In describing the ERTIA UNLIMITED “Lifecourse Diagram”, one of the major points to be made is how important it is to make ourselves “helpable” … i.e., by showing some degree of initiative … by being…
The wife was cleaning out the refrigerator shelves but couldn’t figure out how to remove a retaining rack, so she called Super-Hurango for help! [OK, it was probably a ploy to make retired SH feel…
It only recently became clear to me that the riddle I’ve been chasing for 40+ years is this: Why … … in a country with as much wealth as the United States of America —…
There’s no getting around it: LIFE’S TOUGH … perhaps excepting for a lucky few who have had the good fortune to benefit from the grit and grind of others – but, even then, it’s often…
We first encountered “Slingshot Accelerators” in the blog, Virtual Reality YOU. [https://ertiaunlimited.com/virtual-reality-you/] A “slingshot accelerator” is a paradoxical contrivance. In order for a slingshot to work, it has to be forcibly pulled back into a…
Motivational speakers frequently promote the idea of imagining one’s Dream Job or ideal circumstance as a means toward actually achieving it. A football coach, for example, may exhort his quarterback to envision himself throwing…
… again! It’s the perpetual siren call of politicians … or would-be politicians … especially during election years! But I caught myself wondering: Back to WHEN, exactly? … to when all the roads were…
