Mike does it once again:

Sunday, 06 February 2011, Sierra Oscar

Many moons ago

Many moons ago; there was this Aussie farmer growing wheat and trying to make a crust; as you do, when he was invaded by a plague of rats.

He could have called the Pied Piper but instead he called his mate Bruce and Bruce was right over.

“No worries mate,” said Bruce, “I have more rat poison than you can throw a stick at.”

They put the rat poison around the place and sure enough the next day there were dead rats everywhere and his silo of grain was safe once again. Time went by… The rats came back…

What happened? The poison killed most of rats but some survived and evolved and became immune to the rat poison; they had little babies and the little babies were immune to rat poison. The little babies grew up and they and little babies and soon the famer and his mate Bruce had a new plague of rats; super rats immune to rat poison! We can conclude that immunity is passed down genetically from one generation to the next. The ability to evolve is at a price; millions of rats died from the poison; some suffered horribly but survived and acquired immunity. There was a price to pay.

Meanwhile…

Meanwhile, or maybe later; many miles away, a guy sits on a beach on a tropical island waiting for a coconut to drop in his lap. He gets a bit bored and ponders whether to go fishing. It sounds idyllic living on a tropical island and doing virtually nothing but there can be problems. The water can run out if it doesn’t rain and you have to drink that milky stuff in the coconuts! You can’t go to the market to buy anything; you catch fish, grow stuff and get your salt from the local salt mine!

The local rumour is that there is a war and the island could be invaded; but everything is fine when the Yanks arrive with their ships, planes, bubblegum, nylons and over sexed sailors. Things are good for a while, no more going down the salt mine; it’s bad for the skin. The Yanks build an air strip and give all the hot island babes nylons. Then people started to get sick and the Yanks came to the rescue again; they flew in an expert to investigate. The salt the Yanks had was plain old sodium chloride and not rich in iodine like the salt from the salt mines. The islanders must go back to getting their own salt rather than having it free from the Yanks and lying on the beach all day. Now, iodine is known to be toxic, but also it can prevent cancer and so it is obviously good for the islanders; but would it be good for the Yanks?

Many years later…

Many years later in England, a doctor, Richard Mc Carness wrote a book called “The Stone Age Diet” in which he argued that the price we pay for evolving and becoming used to new foods was too high; people got sick, they died and he was a psychiatrist and so he was worried because he found that some people were going really nuts. It appears that some people even eat really weird foods, go nuts and then go into politics!

What did people eat in the Stone Age? They didn’t eat tigers and lions, tigers and lions tended to eat them. We know they interbred with Neanderthals; hence the emergence of the dreamless ones… They didn’t eat elephants or mammoths either… I don’t think they sat on the beach waiting for coconuts to drop either. We also have to look at what they have eaten since the Stone Age to fully understand how we have evolved and the problems we may have if we eat ‘new’ foods or additives; like sodium chloride. Research has shown that sodium chloride is bad for us. I found that the research that showed that the lecithin in eggs prevented us absorbing cholesterol was interesting; now they would have eaten eggs in the Stone Age. They may not have been chicken eggs; they would climb a tree and take whatever eggs they could get. They do say that berries are very good for you; blackcurrants have six times more cancer preventing vitamin C than oranges.

I think we can take a good guess at what out ancestors ate and what we are ‘used’ to by looking in the mirror and checking out our skin colour, eye colour, hair colour and so on. If you have an oriental appearance; your ancestors probably ate rice. If you look like you belong on a beach sitting under a coconut tree; maybe your ancestors ate citrus fruits and maybe even coconuts? If you have blue eyes, you could be of Nordic descent and so your ancestors may have eaten game and berries. I have whitish skin, brown hair, brown eyes and I’m typically Anglo- Saxon and so eggs, berries, game and European herbs and plants would have been eaten by my ancestors. I have an antibody against gluten, the protein in many grains; but those grains are farmed and that is relatively new. The production of milk is a relatively new thing too; especially on a large scale.

There are a lot of questions that remain unanswered about our foods and which ones are truly super-foods that will keep us not only healthy but stop us going nuts. I think more research should be done and done with that quotation I mind:

“One man’s meat is another man’s poison.”

I was going to cook Chinese stir fry for dinner; I’m not so sure now…

I like this blog; I’ll post it after editing on my own blog! 

I’ll be back…

And until then, read more from Mike: In which you get to know . . .

I talked to my clone at the hospital using Windows Live; he is allowed to use the computer when he’s supervised. He has been in trouble again, the nurse screamed and made a complaint apparently. She was giving him a rub down in the shower and he was unbuttoning her uniform; he said she didn’t complain until he got to the last button and then screamed the place down.

He was told that because of his behaviour he would have to see a child psychiatrist. He was only cloned in 2003 and so legally he is only eight years old this year. He refused to see a child psychiatrist, complaining that he didn’t even know they trained children to be psychiatrists. He saw someone eventually and she asked some embarrassing questions. He is aging at twice the normal rate because they haven’t perfected the cloning process and so is going through puberty at 8 years old. This is why he is suddenly so interested in those hot young nurses. He likes the night nurse in particular, she tucks him in and gives him a goodnight kiss; well she sees him as a sweet eight year old and forgets his hormones are now raging. I think they will have to teach him to bathe and shower himself soon or he’ll do more than just undo a few buttons. The psychiatrist said he was too institutionalised and said he couldn’t escape now even if he wants to, she advised he be allowed more freedom and he can now go upstairs and use the restaurant and cafes. He has found the cash machine and now knows about money. He wants some! He suggested we have a joint bank account so he can use the cash machine; he has no chance of sharing my money.

I told him to ask for payment when they want to experiment on him; they usually get paid quite well but they have used him to test all sorts of stuff for years and he never got paid for it. He could make more money than me if he gets his act together. He is so used to medical procedures that he appears to have no fear of them. They can thread 30 feet of plastic tubing in the one end of him and out the other end and he doesn’t even flinch. In fact if it’s a hot nurse he will volunteer for it!

He is particularly fond of the more naïve student nurses; most of them learn quickly not to be alone with him in the shower room!

Anyway, I said I would meet him on Wednesday and we could have a cup of tea or something in the café. If they want to thread 30 feet of tubing through me on Wednesday, Michael can go instead of me! I might leave him a little money so he can buy the odd cup of tea and I suppose I could take him some things; a bunch of grapes and a magazine? Do they do magazines for clones? They do magazines for most interests; I’ll get Psychology Today or the Nursing Times if they don’t. If he has the Nursing Times, he will have all those hot young nurses around his bed asking to borrow the latest copy; that would cheer him up. It’s strange how we think alike…

You wanted clone stories…

want more Clone Michael stories?

have your own ideas OR your own clone stories to share?

join the Clone Convo below:

The latest Farmville strategy or Farmville secrets are taking shape today. I hope to make 1,000,000 coins today and buy a very expensive cow; that will make me even more cash tomorrow. Then I can do a screen capture showing a really super awesome farm; then I can use that picture to start the blog and write something to appeal to the tens of million Farmville players — who may start to follow me on Twitter to keep up with developments! Farmville Fame at last!

from Mike, of course

and check out the continuing saga of Clone Michael beginning next post

Imagine — and dream, if you will — what your life would look like if you had more money.

What about if you had more energy?

• more influence
• more respect
• more clothes
• more friends
• more passions
• etc.

You get the idea, right?

Take any — or all — of those dream-wishes and just think about how your life would change.

Would any one of those dream-wishes make a significant difference in your satisfaction with life?

It’s Dec 31, and I was riding my bike home from yoga thinking about how my life might be different if I did have more money [How to become rich & famous on the web].

Personally, I love the Challenge. I know we have all heard of celebrities [relatives, politicos, etc.] with more money than they know what to do with (i.e. more money than brains). Are their lives better than mine? than yours?

So it occurred to me that we all ought to “Be Careful What We Wish For” — and, then, i.e. if we are “careful” [and one of my favorite words "deliberate"], then we can make realistic objectives that we can accomplish through Focus and Effort.

What do you think?

How would your life be different if you had “more”?

How do you INTEND to get there?

Friday, 31 December 2010, Sierra Oscar

Happy New Year to my fans — both of you…

It’s the last day of this year. Everyone in Café Niente appears to have a cold; so does my neighbour. I posted this note in Café Niente; most of them are still in bed…

When your throat hurts badly, its T-lymphocytes attacking the virus and bacteria; they are the Sherman tanks of the immune system and you’re about to get better! I’m trying to make New Year resolutions so I can write a blog about it. In 2010, I wrote a story for charity, re-wrote my novel, wrote a story for BBC radio, made videos, designed a website, edited lots of assignments for students (mostly Chinese), started a WordPress blog, joined Twitter, took lots of photographs and started Chinese cooking with a wok. I’ve started taking photos for Nothing Cooking at Niente; but really I need a challenge…

Pre-cognitions

I researched some predictions from psychics and that sort of thing last night. One was that 1 in 5 people in the UK will live to their 100th birthday; another prediction was the world will end in November 2011; I’ll go with the former predication.

The only prediction I read that I agreed with was one about an earthquake; but most predictions put it in California. I think it will be the San Andreas Fault; but out at sea. It won’t affect me, I have no intention of going on any beach; I would probably come back with shell shock… It could be serious of course, we saw the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and the earthquake at sea caused a tsunami to hit Chile. What is my advice? Be a boy scout… Be prepared…

January

Shari is off to Acapulco in January, right after she gets a new hairstyle; shorter of course. The last month of the Chinese New year starts next week and will be the final phase before the good times roll from February the 3rd. The Chinese New Year is good for Shari and for me and so that is something to look forward to.

I just checked my new diary; the phases of the moon aren’t in, but there is a new moon next week and that is the beginning of the final phase of this Chinese year. I shall be starting a new novel, a comedy and writing for Nothing Cooking at Niente and of course taking photographs. I have decided to buy a barbecue; my family wants me to have a barbecue in the summer. That will cost a fortune, just in weed killer for the garden.

I expect January to be fairly quiet; my Chinese students will have a vacation for Chinese New Year. I think the rise is VAT will be a damp squid — no one cares. I think the UK will stay in hibernation mode for January and life will continue as usual; we will moan about the weather and plan a Spring of Discontent. Someone said the snow has finished but still stock up on food and board yourself in; that could be good advice. I heard something about Sarah Palin standing for president of the United States; scary… I can predict a challenge to Obama during 2011 and he won’t be president for a second term.

February

This will be a more interesting month as my birthday will be over and done with and I’ll be adjusting to being another year into being old, wise and senile. I think the Nothing Cooking website should make some progress that month and Shari’s new group on LinkedIn may start to get interesting by then.

I just looked for something in history on my browser; I must have visited 1,000 web pages yesterday. I shall go back to feed burner and learn about RSS and feeds. I also predict that in February interesting things will happen concerning my family. I saw photographs of a couple of great nephews I didn’t know about on Facebook yesterday; that could be the start of something interesting. I think my new novel should be taking shape by the end of February too.

I even think this website will be more popular by then, I saw statistics yesterday; I think you should tell all your friends about this site and I mean both of you…

March

I see protests start in March in the UK as the weather improves beginning with the Welsh and later with the Irish complaining about cuts; the students will once again take to the streets when they have a week off university and the disabled will complain about benefit cuts.

There will also be protests about Human Rights; I shall probably support those and the disability protests. Things will get even worse after the spring equinox as unemployment goes up and more government workers find they have no job. I also see problems and protests at the BBC and in the media in general just starting.

On the other side of the pond, QE 2 is considered to be a failure and with the Euro, Chinese Yuan and Pound sterling on the rise against the US dollar; economic policy is in need of a rethink. The job cuts really begin with defence spending cuts, mainly on the manufacture of armaments; but this is done stealthily and there isn’t much protest. Politicians from both parties come to agreements with big business to cut Federal spending drastically and increase taxes; expect a Federal VAT to be discussed if not introduced.

If anyone is the slightest bit interested in my predictions for 2011 and comment; I may do some more tomorrow. April is interesting; people really take to the streets in the UK.

I win the lottery in May!
I buy a new car in June!
I have a barbecue in July!
Keira Knightley drops in August!

I’ll be back…

[Editor's Note - If Mike has more predictions, they will be published as a separate post AGAIN, in addition to a comment on his Blog-within-a blog: http://sharisax.com/DrivingMissShari/2010/09/guest-blogger-mike-maynard-wit-farmville-strategies]

1. My husband Jack posted the car for sale on Craig’s list. No luck the first week.

2. Jack posted it a second week. No calls or emails.

Do not quit five minutes before the miracle happens.

3. Jack posted it a third week, and VOILA, calls came in!

We were asking half the Blue Book value [$2,500] because of the damage. “Ed” called and offered $1,000. Jack went down to $2,000 immediately. Ed stuck to his $1,000 . . . and the first call ended.

During a second call, Ed told Jack that he wanted to come see the car.

I answered the third call –

Voice on phone: Hello, did you call me?

Me: I’m not certain. Who is this?

Voice: Aaaah, was this about a puppy for my son? [Note - this was the Week Before Christmas. I hear a poem brewing from this incident.]

Me: Sorry we don’t have any puppies here.

Voice: Oh no? Hmmmm, was this about a car? My sister’s boyfriend left her last week and she has a nine-year-old son and she needs a car to take shopping . . . .

Me: Well, yes, we do have a car for sale on Craig’s List. Did you talk to my husband about it?

Voice: Yes, that’s it. Your husband is Jack, right? I told him I wanted to come see the car. Will you be there this afternoon?

Me: We’ll be here. Did he tell you the price?

“Ed’s” voice: Oh, yes that’s all set. I’ll be there at 4 pm.

4 PM and the Plot “Thickens”

Ed calls from a nearby Target store. He’d just gotten a ticket for taking up two parking spots in the lot. Remember, this was the Week Before Christmas. And he said he wanted to be certain of the directions. The shopping center was less than two miles from my house.

A few minutes later, Ed pulls up with wife and baby in a late model Cadillac. He and Jack discuss the car. Ed calls his father . . . several times. Ed takes out a roll of bills and offers us $1,100. We say No, the agreed on price was $2,000. Ed says, “I’ll pass” and drives off with Cadillac, wife, and baby.

Jack and I go back in the house, and I say:  ”What was that all about?” Neither of us knew . . . at the time

to be continued

I just received this email from my cousin and thought it valuable to share:

From my cousin’s friend:

“One of my friend’s daughters was robbed at gunpoint last week. She was distracted walking out the door of an office, talking on her cell. The guy was crouched down on the side of her SUV. Luckily he demanded her purse, she gave it up and he ran.”

Written by a Cop for Our Own Safety: This goes for men as well as women

In daylight hours, refresh yourself on these things to do in an emergency situation. This is for you, and for you to share with your wife, your children, & everyone you know. After reading these 11 crucial tips, forward them to someone you care about. It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in.

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do :
The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!

2. Learned this from a tourist guide. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM!
Toss it away from you …. Chances are that he is more interested
in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won’t see you, but everybody else will.
This has saved lives.

4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc.)
DON’T DO THIS!
The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go.
AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR. LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.

5. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head
DO NOT DRIVE OFF,
Repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF!

Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat, they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes, bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.

6. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot,
or parking garage:

A) Be aware: look into your car at the passenger side floor,
and in the back seat.

B) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.

C) Look at the car parked on the driver’s side of your vehicle,
and the passenger side.. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out.
IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)

7. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs.
Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot.This is especially true at NIGHT!)

8. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control,
ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target)
4 in 100 times; and even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, Preferably in a zig -zag pattern!

9. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic:
STOP Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well-educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked ‘for help’ into his vehicle or with his vehicle,which is when he abducted his next victim.

10. Another Safety Point:
Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird.. The police told her “Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.”

The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over.

The policeman said, ‘We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.’ He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby’s cry recorded and uses it to coaxwomen out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby’s cries outside their doors when they’re home alone at night.

11. Water scam!
If you wake up in the middle of the night to hear all your taps outside running or what you think is a burst pipe, DO NOT GO OUT TO INVESTIGATE! These people turn on all your outside taps full blast so that you will go out to investigate and then attack.

Stay alert, keep safe, and look out for your neighbors!
Please pass this on

My “Feature Post” is the particular article that is being promoted to encourage conversation around a topic.

This month I am featuring the story about the last time my mom was DRIVING MISS SHARI. The first commenters to the blog post shared their stories of memories and current situations where  a Senior should NOT have been driving.

Do you have a loved one who should not be driving — or shouldn’t have been?

Did you take any actions? Should you have?

Does your state have laws that help you take the keys away? Should your state make those policies.

And then . . . what can we do to support our Seniors who have lost their independence because they can no longer drive themselves? My short experience without driving privileges gave be a taste of how life changes in huge ways — too many, way too many – things we take for granted, and do not appreciate enough.

Please read the story and tell me what you think:

http://sharisax.com/DrivingMissShari/2010/09/call-your-mother-but-keep-check-on-those-car-keys/

I am addicted to the semicolon, though for years I didn’t know how to deploy it and just wrote run-on sentences instead. The semi-colon is useful when you need a sentence to shift or surprise; to be modified or amended; it allows a generosity, lyricism and ambiguity to creep into the sentence structure. So, yes, it can also be the sign of a self-indulgent writer and should be used with care. – Anne Enright

You practically do not use semicolons at all. This is a symptom of mental defectiveness, probably induced by camp life.   George  Bernard Shaw to TE Lawrence, on the Seven Pillars of Wisdom

I love it; it is useful for many things. My understanding is, it is correctly used to join two complete, but related sentences; this way, the reader feels the link, albeit subtly. I love it so much, in fact, that I am currently writing a story made up of only semi-colons; it is quite a challenge, but I believe in it very much. – George Saunders

Now what in the heck do those pesky punctuation marks have to do with DRIVING MISS SHARI? Well, as it turns out — a whole lot.

This blog began last August to make the most of an accident that deprived me of my driving privileges for 55 days. [Read all about it on my first post "How to Become Rich and Famous on the Web"].

NOTE: 496 comments on that post (at the moment). Will yours push the total over my goal of 500?

If you’ve read (or contributed) any of the comments, you’ve no doubt met Mike Maynard, my blog-within-a-blogger who has dozens of comments and several full posts of his own. [His links listed at end of article].

This blog has taken on a “life” of its own, traveling way off its original course; you know, like Life, right?

Well, as Chief Blogger and Editor [and an English teacher], I try to correct grammar on comments before posting them. Mike is British and the Queen’s English differs somewhat from ours on “this side of the pond” — as Mike would refer to us.

I don’t correct British spellings, but I have been changing some punctuation — especially semicolons; then I wondered are British rules for semicolons different than ours?

FOR YOUR GRAMMATICAL EDIFICATION:

You can read Mike’s and my conversation about semicolons along with Mike’s research on their proper usage.

2010/12/04 at 2:42 pm | In reply to Mike Maynard.

Mike, we need to do some research on British vs. English use of SEMI-COLONS 
I’ve been changing yours to match American standards, but I don’t change your spelling. But I just read a GUEST POST on a writing/grammar blog

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/whither-the-semicolon-whither-the-comma/

and the Guest Poster was WRONG about semicolons, and dozens of commenters told her so.

However, perhaps you can look up British rules for semicolons. And if they allow them in the way you are using them, that will save me LOTS of time editing. 

(Looking forward to today’s post on your site: http://sharisax.com/DrivingMissShari/2010/09/guest-blogger-mike-maynard-wit-farmville-strategies/#comment-1104)

*   *   *

2010/12/04 at 4:22 pm

More semi colons

Semi colons and colons derive from Latin and earlier than that Ancient Greek.

Usage:

Semicolons are followed by a lower case letter, unless that letter is the first letter of a proper noun. They have no spaces before them, but one space after (possibly two when using monospaced fonts). Applications of the semicolon in English include
Between closely related independent clauses not conjoined with a coordinating conjunction:

“I went to the basketball building; I was told it was closed for cleaning.”

“I told Ben he’s running for the hills; I wonder if he knew I was joking.”

“Nothing is true; everything is permitted.”
“A man chooses; a slave obeys.”

Between independent clauses linked with a transitional phrase or a conjunctive adverb
“Everyone knows that he is guilty of committing the crime; of course, it will never be proven.”[2]
“Bob’s friend was refused admittance by the doorkeeper; as a result, he left before the flamingos.”

“I like to eat fish; however, I don’t like to be eaten by them.”
“I like being odd; yet, I hate being different.”

Between items in a series or listing containing internal punctuation, especially parenthetic commas, where the semicolons function as serial commas:

“She saw three men: Jamie, who came from New Zealand; John, the milkman’s son; and George, a gaunt kind of man.”

“Several fast food restaurants can be found in each of: London, England; Paris, France; Dublin, Ireland; and Madrid, Spain.”

“Examples of familiar sequences are: one, two and three; a, b and c; and first, second and third.”

So now you know!

Links to Mike’s blogs-within-my-blog:

In which you get to know Guest Blogger Mike Maynard & his Wit & his Farmville strategies

Say NO to credit cards . . . and YES to getting rich and famous

Jump in . . . do you use semicolons?

Do you care? If not, what do you care about?

Four months ago I found this “Pearl” under the rock, i.e., the loss of my driving privileges . . . and wrote my first post “How to Become Rich & Famous on the Web.”

My goal is to collect 500 comments on the First Post, and “we’re” almost there — only 18 to go!

I asked friends and new acquaintances to tell me what “Being Rich” meant to them AND/OR “What Drives Them.”

In the process I met Mike Maynard, who answered both those questions . . . and hasn’t stopped. He’s the coolest British Wit, and he’s writing a blog-within-a-blog.

Here are six of the other comments I liked:

From my high school friend So KoMyo:

A $100 shirt is the bottom end? I must be living in a dream world of poverty. I look for shirts in the $10 clearance bin.

Rich to me is having what is needed to get you through the day. I said needed not wanted. Rich is also appreciating everything that you have. And really rich is the ability to share your talents with others, so they may learn to exist without suffering.

A deep bow to you,
_/\_
So KoMyo

From my marketing colleague Mark Allen Grainger:

What drives me:
I am driven by connection… in fact, my entire business is built upon the idea of helping people connect with themselves and each other. I have a belief that says anything of real importance only occurs between people. What I love so much about “Driving Miss Shari” is that you are exchanging driving time with connection time… and this will always result in a deeper sense of meaning and fulfillment.

What if people could slow down… and be present enough to let real communion occur between each other? Whether it’s a networking event, coffee meeting or simple interaction, many professionals are so focused on what they need and want… that they forget to slow down and notice the value of what is occurring between you and another right now.

The way you form and manage relationships is a skill-set… one not taught in school or even at home, but one you must seek to discover on your own. One of the most powerful ways to differentiate yourself is the style and skill upon which you form, foster and manage the complexities of professional human relationships.

Could it be, “Miss Shari” that this fainting episode is nothing more than an opportunity to form, foster and deepen relationships.

In your corner & on your side, Mark Allen Grainger- The Inspirational Marketer

From my social media Facebook friend Dotti Berry:

One thing that comes up for me is that all of us in our society have become so “self-reliant” (because we can be) that we have forgotten what it is like to have to reach out and ask for help. humbling? Yes. eye-opening? yes. when Roby and I took our year-long journey across America, we were helped time and time again. I feel such gratitude for those experiences and what I continue to learn. I discovered that being in the “giving” role means always being in control. Being on the receiving end feels vulnerable, AND also allows me to connect more deeply with others…a good thing! Understanding the balance and value of both giving and receiving is the gift. It takes both to complete the cycle. — Dotti Berry

From my BNI Friend and First Featured Driver du Jour Bob Crane:

Hi Shari ,
Rich and famous… That’s a tagline that opens up a whole lotta something different to everybody.

Richness or financially wealthy to me means the resources to pay for my lifestyle for so many days forward into the future.

Rich in other ways include the many areas of my life I am grateful for. I am rich with the love of my beautiful wife Mary, my good health and great friends and love of my family.

I am rich with productive work that adds value to my clients. I am rich with a great business partner and fabulous staff in our company. I am rich with a beautiful home, and the love of writing and playing my music. I am rich being very happy for the little things like squirrels in my back yard that we feed and have become friends with… the smell of coffee in the morning, Marys’ potato soup, sleeping in on weekends, fog over the Golden Gate, Season tickets for Giants baseball team .

To sum it up… my little lifestyle makes me richer and more fortunate than most of my fellow humans on the planet in other countries. If I think I’m having a bad day I just remember the saying from that I felt bad about not having any shoes until I met the guy with no feet…

As far as being famous… it would be helpful to me only as a platform to reach more people with something they would find valuable to them…

Thanks for the space to share my thoughts and feelings — Bob Crane

From a new reader Elina:

Being rich doesn’t just define a rich person who has a lot of money. It also defines a person who has a rich life, meaning this person has all the love, happiness, health, friends, and support desired. The saying “Money DOESNT buy you happiness” comes to mind. Translation: by being rich you can BUY your happiness. I have to dissagree! The more money you have, the more money rich you are, but you can still be unhappy. However, if you have a rich life, you are happy and you don’t need all the money in the world to feel rich.
While many may argue my point, I would take a rich life any day over being money rich. — Elina

From my brother Chuck Balcher:

I have to say that a near-death experience earlier in my life propels me to live every day as if it is my last. I feel that I have to cram as much as is humanly possible to make my life the most productive that it can be.

Who knows if there will be a tomorrow?

At the end of every day, while contemplating everything I have done, I always ask myself if there was anything I could have done more. Whether it is at work, helping out a friend or even listening to a good song, these are all the things that drive me and push me to fulfill my purpose in life. — Chuck Balcher

No, you don’t need to read the other 476, but maybe you’ll click on the First Post and tell us What drives you AND/OR What it means to be rich — that would be Awesome