Commincating is good & Individuals get stuff wrong
Communicating is good and important. This morning was a magical time when I got my twin babies out of their cribs. Diapers were changed & then I simply said “lets go upstairs to the play room.”
That’s all it took, they went off, climbed the stairs, and then gave me the sign that they wanted their milk. It was wonderful. I have longed for the ability to communicate with them since before they were born & granted this was not the first time, but this week it seems they understand and convey more.
Today is a day that many websites, including Google and Wikapedia, are protesting two bills currently in Congress – SOPA & PIPA.
These two bills do many things, but one of the big concerns is that without any judicial review the bills allow people to end communications by a person, group or business. It reminds me of what the Communists in Cuba use to do with TV and Radio signals from free countries – they would jam the signal so that their citizens would not be able to watch that American TV & see a world beyond what the, the Cuban Government, wanted to seen.
The US Government Officials supporting these bills claim SOPA & PIPA are about stopping online piracy. This is either a lie or out of ignorance.
What they would do is give more power to the US Government, probably some bureaucrat, to take websites down. In a world where if you are not online you do not exist, this is like executing the person, group, or business, but the people & groups that this is intended to stop would simply set up a new website in moments. The people really hurt are the individuals & groups who are unjustly accused.
Let’s say that you are a parent or maybe you can remember a time when you were a child. Something happened and a child was punished, then later it was revealed that the child did no wrong.
The punishment cannot be undone.
You cannot give that child back the time he spent in timeout, or remove the pain of a spanking … but the parent feels extremely bad.
The thing with SOPA & PIPA is just that … allowing someone to eliminate from the internet a person, group, or brand when that individual decides to. Without this additional power the US Government can still prosecute pirates, even bringing down their site, but are closer to a concept the USA was founded on:
Innocent Until Proven Guilty
Tell your Congressmen that the censorship, additional power to the US Government, and breaking the internet are bad ideas — Stop SOPA & PIPA in all forms.
Too Much, Too Fast
“Too much, too fast” is a phrase that we say on a regular basis around our house. It’s a simple phrase so it does not apply to every situation, but because of the personalities of my wife and myself it is a great reminder for us.
This morning I felt lead to post this simple statement I was thinking about on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter:
If you are under stress, heartache, or successive failure – it’s probably due to trying to do too much, too fast.
Later in the day I was listening to a great show, where the host was enthusiastically telling of a new group he is starting, with a monthly membership fee of $97 per month, if you join in a short period of time. This group would help me & might be a good model for something I might do in the future too, for a different audience.
I stressed over it, I would need to join before the February 1st, but could not get past the one year commitment & $97 price tag.
Then someone liked my statement on Facebook. I went and looked at it again and the stress went away.
In the future the price will probably be more than $97 per month and I am ok with that for a few more things will be in place:
- my wife will no longer be pregnant
- my businesses will have more success
- I will have more free time, or margin in my life
At this point the phrase Too Much, Too Fast is helping me to not row my boat, but sail as I should. I want to cross the ocean, but have this natural tendency to do it all under my own power which is impossible for me.
For other people, those who naturally will just drift, this phrase is dangerous. If you are comfortable with where you are, with no vision you are fighting for, or if you do not naturally find projects to do … don’t take this on. Instead ask the question “what can I do?”
That has never been me, or my wife. We gain a vision & fight to make it so.
There should be three questions in your mind now:
- Do I tend to row, drift, or sail my boat?
- What vision am I working for now?
- Do I need to think more about “too much, too fast” or “what can I do?”
Something To Play – Switchfoot : Afterlife : Less is More Nation [Remix]
From time to time I find a Remix Contest that inspires me enough to take the tracks and mess with the song.
Switchfoot, with their sond Afterlife is currently running such a contest & they did the silly thing of haveing echo/reverb on the lead singer track, I still was inspired enough to do a Less is More Nation remix.
My general idea was to strip the song down to the minimum: First the Lead Singer, then add in some rhythm and more. The words of the song added for extra creativity since it is talking about people putting off really living, some to the point where they are dead. It especially targets Christians who believe they will live in an afterlife, post death, but seem to be putting off living until they hit that point.
I am considering working on it some more, if I do, what would you suggest?
Thanks for listening & sharing with others.
