Moments of Awareness

Positive reinforcement works less well when it consists solely of telling someone how great they are and how wonderfully they're doing than when it's based in asking at appropriate times things like, "Are you okay?" and, "Do you need anything?" The former approach allows no space or response for the inevitable times when a person isn't being great or doing wonderfully and introduces the potential for catastrophic breakdown when someone who's used to constant and unwavering praise is finally faced with reality. The latter, however, is a very simple version of the Socratic method that invites the person being reinforced to either acknowledge that they are indeed okay and/or don't need anything - thus cementing those ideas in their heads as their usual state of being - while at the same time offering an opening to say without shame when it's the case, "No, I'm not okay," and/or, "I could use some sugar/help/me-time/what-have

I've wanted to say to you in case it hasn't yet occurred to you, gullibility is often a trait of one who is themselves honest and forthcoming and assumes the same of others. Understanding that helped me a lot in adjusting my expectations and picking my battles: We have to consider our audience. It's a frustrating fact of human nature that no matter how clear and simple a point, it won't be understood by everyone. Some don't, some can't, many won't get it, and as right as we are in our universe, they're every bit as right in theirs, just not from our perspective if we disagree very vehemently. This is not actually in relation to your recent posts - it's something I've wanted to say often since we last saw you and talked about being gullible - but at the same time, I read those posts and feel intense frustration coming from you and I think, in light of my own choices over the course of my life, "Oh, no, don't scream yourself hoarse, do

Producer Sandijean Fuson and director Phill Stucker familiarize attendees with the story and the day's schedule Drexel H. Foundation ’s Annual September Film-Maker Competition & Children's Film Festival Drexel Staff , VALE, OR, US - The deadline is approaching to enter your film into the “Film-makers Competition” held in conjunction with the Drexel’s Annual Children’s Film Festival, “For kids, by kids and with kids in mind.” The Drexel Foundation is now accepting films for the competition, and the deadline for free entry of films is August 31st. Films must be family appropriate, rated G to PG. In the film division there are four (4) age categories, 4-11, 12-14, 15-19 and 20 & up, with 1st place winners in each category winning a trophy and gift certificates with a $50 value. Some ideas for your film are a commercial, a “photo” slideshow”, a “super shorts of 12 seconds”, a story or interviews. The best overall entry “BEST OF SHOW” will receive $1

You can learn more about these Valiens at the link in the Showcase for this MOA with P & the Ds event .

Paint the Park at Drexel H. Foundation ’s “ ART IN THE PARK ” on Flag Day! Drexel Staff , VALE, OR, US - The Drexel H. Foundation will hold its 15th annual “Art in the Park on Flag Day,” event from 9am-12pm, Saturday, June 14th 2015 at Vale[, OR, US]’s Wadleigh park. Don’t miss this FREE opportunity to improve our park playground and enter an art competition. This event is for the whole family. All children & teen volunteers helping paint the park playground equipment are eligible to enter the art competition. Each participant will be provided with supplies and brushes and will get a chance to create their very own “mini-mural” to be entered into a “visual art” competition for the chance to win some great prizes. Every one who participates receives a prize and is a winner! The 1st place prize for each age category wins a trophy. Contestants will be given a time limit and will get to choose their topic and colors.  Supplies are provided, but ideas are your own, so it m

So,  host and parasite . On the rare occasion a parasite makes itself known around here it kicks off an immediate round of appropriate treatment, but we do our best to stay ahead of those things where it's prudent to do so - a course of wormwood for the mammals every couple weeks to couple months, depending upon the season; a dusting of diatomaceous earth focused on spots the furred animals (indoors and out) like to frequent, every couple of years at the height of summer; clove oil and pressed garlic when new fish are introduced - and the little buggers seem to stay at bay. It helps too that we experience a fairly deep freeze (or have usually done, that may be changing as this past winter was quite mild) at least part of every winter that renders inviable many dormant eggs and larvae. Given that the host/parasite relationship is somewhat unique in being both dependent and destructuve, it cycles within other cycles and seemed a good place to start this series, in which I'll shar

Nighttime lightning, and thunder. :) No rain yet, it's still a few miles off. Gettin' good lightning activity, though. Use this link to start near the beginning shortly before a pretty good display. :)

There's been some pretty good thunder the last few minutes, seems to still be going some. No rain yet, but looks like there will be. :) Yay! :)

Where's the thunder, eh? It's there, just before I posted this. I realize some of you have seen more rain and thunder in the last little while than you ever wanted to so it's far less exciting for you than for me to get thunder and lightning. You may have noticed that the configuration of the land here means that most systems even if they're strong in the Valley flow around us rather than over, so while we get plenty of water we don't often get to see severe weather and I've always had a thing for a good lightning storm. When we lived in NC, I'd be the one in the middle of a hurricane standin' in my front yard takin' pictures. :) Anyhoo, Weather.com 's interactive map makes it look like the system that brought a little thunder a minute ago just disappears, and sometimes they really do but this one looks like it's still there, just between cells. We shall see. :) All the best, have a great day, love y'all, Peace

No, for reals, with lightning and thunder and the whole bit, and we haven't even lost power yet! :)

If the radar forecast holds, things'll get good around 11PM MT (provided we don't lose power; see The Grid for more on that). Enjoy! 9:30PM MT: Bit of a lull now, but check back around 10:45PM MT, as it looks like it should pick up again. :) 11:11PM MT: Pish-tosh, the best of the second wave is going to miss us. Looks like there might be more in the AM, though, we shall see. :) Anyway, wanna see somethin' cool? Look at where lightning is striking all over the world at any given time. (Check out the 'stations: on' setting while you're there. :) ) Texas is gettin' pounded .

Meet Garrett Collins from Boise Electric Services . (Use this link to start the video at the point when he arrives.) He came to fix the pipe and wires that got bent and broken when the tree that's on the ground on the other side of him bounced off our house on its way down. (He did great work, too.) It was a little tree, and old and dead and dry, so it didn't do much damage to the house, and missed everything else but the outhouse and the stairs on the way down. Our power's been out twice since Mr. Collins was here about a month ago. When I say 'our power' I mean the ~3100 households affected every time anything happens along our particular trunk line, which is often and sometimes takes days to fix - a scenario that too many, both urban and rural dwellers, can relate to these days. Dude and I have long held that it would make the most sense if every structure were powered using nearby available sustainable resources. Garrett agrees, which is nice to hear from

They were a little anticlimactic video-wise. A power pole ignited and knocked the power out for the same 3100 Idaho Power customers that lose power every time anything happens along Highway 21, but the RCVFD was right on it and got it out quickly, and the power was restored a couple hours later. There wasn't any more real weather activity the rest of the night.

Except today, when the roofers came to fix the big dent left by the tree that fell on our roof around 10:30PM on March 11, 2015. Zach has a novel approach to steeply-inclined roofs like ours - he uses climbing gear to maneuver around roofs with high peaks and varying landscapes - and he and John work together well to make the job look easy. They adapted to a surprise midway through the job when they discovered the old shingle roof had been left in place. It was a surprise that anyone had ever used a shingle roof up here in the first place, frankly, but I remembered a stash of old shingles someone left in the 'back room' on the outhouse that we never knew what they were for. Indeed, they were leftovers from the original roofing job and gave the guys plenty of material to replace the shingles they had to take out to replace the broken part of the plywood underlay. See, I told ya our outhouse is fancy-shmancy, two holes and a back room! You'll be glad to know, if y

Dude Jaway, Jr.'s Blog: Are you a stylist? : I want to get my hair cut like Leon S. Kennedy , but before I choose a stylist I want to see how your clients with similar haircuts have loo...

It's taken me this long to realize that some (maybe many) people who believe in karma are easily swayed from that belief when their lives and (sometimes more importantly) the lives of others don't go to their expectations. Ha. :D How are y'all? I have been really enjoying my time away, marveling at this weather and wondering how it's going to affect various ecosystems. (What do we do about the habitat of the spotted owl when nature goes ahead and shifts it altogether in one fell swoop? Who do we protest against and how does the government stop it from happening? :D ) Lookin' forward to getting more videos made - gonna go shorter with those and more topical - and posts published. The Dudes have been working on a 'fun and family-friendly' (per the directive of Dude, Jr., who is after all the creator and director) animated series as well as some building projects. Family, work, critters, and writing have been keepin' me occupied. I find myself reluct

Hosts and parasites balance one another. As the host becomes more plentiful so does the parasite, with every generation's survivors being those most fit to utilize the available resources. When the host thrives the parasite thrives, and when the host reaches critical mass for the resources in its area, then surpasses that mass, its health begins to decline. When the health of the host declines, parasitic effects become more pronounced in those most susceptible to their personal parasite population, and the hosts begin to die from those effects in greater numbers than in a healthy population. Those that survive, of both hosts and parasites, are those most balanced in their use of resources and most well-adapted to their environmental and social surroundings - more or less of either depending upon the degree of effect of each on the individual, which will vary, sometimes greatly. As the host population drops the parasitic population also drops. As they die together, within and around