Take an Enjoyable Word-Test Quiz

Here's another wonderful site to add to your personal favorite list of websites.

Whether you are experienced in English and it is your first language or English may be the first and the last language you will learn. In any case, this site will help keep you on your toes.

It's published by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and is a word-tester. Each quiz has ten questions and each question needs to be answered within ten seconds to win points. Each question has four multiple choice answers of one word each to define a quiz word. Questions are worth different amounts of points, but it's a painless and fun way to improve your vocabulary. Even if you think you have English vocabulary nailed, it's fun and worthwhile. As a result, you can compare your personal proficiency to your age group, in case you're feeling competitive in the least. And there are other word-tests on the same site to try. Good luck, and enjoy!

It's here at the Merriam-Webster Dictionary site:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/quiz/index.htm

Please Don't Tax American Prize Winners The Same As Gamblers

I've said before that the Founding Fathers of America didn't include everything in the Constitution, haven't I? Of course, that's just common sense. Has to be.

And one new problem has entered the news sphere again as if it's fresh and shiny. It's not. It's been around a long time, but it's as ripe as a peach in midsummer and worth another look....Senator Rubio has introduced a bill that would help Olympic athletes, and I think it should be extended to academic prize winners as well.

When the American Olympic winners win medals, when academics living in America win rare monetary prizes, and when American gamblers make winnings at casinos, they're all lumped together for tax purposes, stirred around, and taxed the exact same way.

In most other countries, of course, prize winnings from the Olympics and prizes to reward higher education such as the Nobel Prizes aren't taxed the same way as general gambling, lottery, and sweepstakes prizes. It's thought unfair in most countries to tax rare unsolicited prizes winnings. It's an anti-competitive stance. Simple as that.

I can't remember how the Nobel and gambling got mixed together in the tax code as if they were the same. Did the Founding Fathers genuinely want that?

So if the Obama administration wants to help winners, it could do something about it, and pass this legislation. I just wish the legislation could go further, and separate gamblers from academic prize winners and just tax the gamblers, as far as I'm concerned. 

A tremendous new physics prize has just been announced in the past few days. The winners are expected to receive $3 million American dollars flowing from the unexpected generosity of Yuri Milner, an internet billionaire. By doing so, he's promoting the discipline of physics by footing the bill of his prizes to the tune of $27 million per year to nine physicists around the world.

The problem is, winning physicists have to fork over half of that $3 million to the United States government if they live here, while the foreign ones won't be equally punished. Surely these prizewinners are contributing members to society, and one-time prizes should not punish them, and be cut in half as if the money is regular income, the way it is now. I wonder if the Framers of the Constitution would have handled it better.

This odd section of the tax code hit my family when my husband won mathematical prizes, and we learned ourselves the hard way about the tax inefficiency. Should be fixed, no doubt about it. For one, I'm glad the Olympic athletes are complaining about it.

My Self-Publishing Adventure So Far: "Slim Target" is About to be Published

Book publishing has become a bigger deal in my life over the last few weeks. My story is that I achieved an old dream of mine. I finished the first draft of a novel a  few years ago, worked on it for six months, and wondered what to do with it.

I could have sent it to a literary agent, so I went online to read agent blogs. Most agents tended to be very snarky, as if they'd been told (erroneously) to be so to gain readers. Ironically, since writers are exhorted to write with gratitude, these agents were unkind to readers or highlighted cheerful statistics. Worse, maybe that's really what they're like in real life. Most spouted daunting statistics. They usually asked for partials from one out of every three hundred manuscripts they skimmed each week, and accepted for publication only one out of those four partials. Not good odds for me. Lately, in an almost overnight change, some have turned and asked why fiction writers haven't already self-published if their books are any good.

While wondering how to publish my manuscript, whether to self-publish as I continued writing steadily on my blogs, I became a real estate agent thinking I could make more money from that than writing, and the housing market tanked. Fortunately, I've learned tons about real estate, lawyers and all the related areas such as the principles and practices of real estate, laws, construction, insurance, and so on that will help me with generally surviving in America. For that, I'm incredibly grateful.

I was able to continue to write books in my downtime from the real estate, and in time met a book cover designer, Jim Lebbad of Lebbad Design,  who took the lead in advising a development or conceptual editor to me. That editor, Joy Stocke, of Wild River Consulting and Publishing, advised me to delete one third of my manuscript, and referred me to another editor. After doubling the size of my manuscript through character expansions, the second editor, Nina Alvarez of Dream Your Book LLC, cut back half of the remainder, rewrote a lot of it, and even re-titled it "Slim Target"...a title I like.

An article in Smart Money called "Will Publishers Perish" says that literary agents can take the place of publishers (who out-source the printing anyway) and handle all the village it takes to make a book. In my case, I hope not, since a very kind and considerate book designer rather than a snarky agent helped me. Jim took care of the publishing side, or else I would have published it unedited, as many self-publishers are doing. To him, I have to be grateful, of course. Not that any of these professionals work for free, but they did priceless work for a fee.

When I went into the largest national book store this week, I asked for the book Patriots, by David Frum, published by the same Self-publisher I'm using. Of course, his book wasn't in the bookstore, sadly. Guess mine won't be there either. It's hard to read self-publishing enthusiasts like Konrath without being persuaded to self-publish.

To me, the final version now seems a respectable manuscript, and leaves nothing for anyone to sue me about, touch wood. I'm just waiting for the actual book cover now, and then it will be foisted online.

I'm going to self-publish it, after reading about every last self-publisher in the world as well as quite a few printers, and getting to know what's what with the world of publishing. Of course, mine is going to be available online as much as possible, and in paperback at Amazon.

After learning marketing principles, and how to market real estate in America where it's the most organized marketing structure in the world, by the way, I think I have an edge publishing a book. On top of that, I was an English major at university.

It's interesting to see what goes into making a polished book. I am certainly beholden to all of the professionals who did their parts, but not to any literary agent or any one specific person, and that's fine with me. Simpler. I can handle the details of business myself. It should be an adventure to publish it. And I can hardly wait for it online. To feel a copy, see how well it sells, give away some...It's thrilling...One of my oldest dreams is finally coming true.

UPDATE: It's published and available on this blog page by clicking the widget, at Amazon and wherever fine books are sold.

Will Body Scans Make Online Shopping Easier?

An interesting story has just come out on the Wall Street Journal about a technology that takes the clothes you have and predicts which of their clothes you will fit. You only have to somehow add the size, make and model of your clothes. Since clothes might not fit perfectly, and makes and models of clothes are quickly obsolete, it's automatically a difficult system to obey, but it suggests many new growth opportunities for sales.

In the comments on that article, someone said that "full-body scans" will soon be available.  I don't know whether the possibility is true, but it made me think. Online body scans are an interesting idea. Wouldn't it be great if we could have these scanned models of ourselves in our computers (privacy issues aside), and drag an article of clothing from a website onto our own personal model, and see whether it fits, and what it looks like? Maybe one could add several clothes to make up an entire outfit. Seeing brand new shoes, trousers, jackets, shirts, jewelry online on an exact replica of your body could create an imaginary complete wardrobe overhaul. 

It sounds like fun to switch variables, as long as it's not the only way to shop. Little girls would love to have the chance to have this technology for a video game, at the very least, I would think, if the technology isn't already available. They have loved to dress up their Barbie dolls for many years.

Most shopping sites would have to model their clothes differently so that each size can be available online for viewing in different sizes and from different directions. That doesn't sound so onerous an imperative if it's done with clothes direct from the factory. It would just create a different goal for photographic models of clothes.

I'm sure many sites would have to follow, because who could have predicted the Amazon would have the plethora of information about new books that it currently provides, or that Google would publish so many of them.

I think having a personal model of oneself online, and being able to try clothes on it would be a huge benefit for many shoppers.

Dinner and a Movie: Americans Try Dine-In Movie Theaters

AMC Dine-In Theaters

A Dine-In AMC Theater is an innovative way to see a movie and eat a relaxing meal at the same time.  Leather recliners at the Bridgewater Theater offer waiter/bar service at the press of a button along with very generous seat width and leg-room. Where else can one see a movie while being served, if so desired, a glass of wine and a salad, or a menu of heartier dishes and desserts?

 

Business people  and restaurant owners from around the world should visit these theaters for the new experience. It's surprisingly relaxing to have wait service and enjoy a movie at the same time. If it sounds too good to be true, please visit one -- this website  has further details. I really liked this new idea: a hotel/restaurant/shopping center combo with a dine-in theater. I don't know what, besides this competition, except litigation or tax incentives, could force traditional  movie theaters to offer better than the standard fare of over-priced soda/popcorn/nachos (which I have encouraged already). 

You probably know a few movie snobs. They won't go to movie theaters  because they can see everything at home with better privacy, cleanliness and food. But they have a new choice; not many home media rooms have the full package of services these theaters provide. They are exactly the audience now testing the Bridgewater Mall Dine-In Movie Theater, newly renovated and re-opened in December, 2010. With seven theaters, the entire cinema now has 684 seats. Aisles are wide enough to pass out food, and wait staff dressed in black are trained to speak quietly. Composite plateware with fork-friendly food together with movable tray tables and individual lighting make this experience resemble, even surpass, first class plane travel. The costs of seeing a movie quickly add up, and the varied menu and generous seating make this place actually a bargain. Seats can and no doubt will be reserved ahead.

It's great new way to see a movie with a few significant others, especially couples and lucky teenagers. We saw an excellent movie very conducive to watching while dining. Any movie would be great here, purely from the perspective of the best seats, where each one has a great view and lots of space, and the healthier food. "How Do You Know" is a sophisticated romantic comedy, dear to my heart, that announces heart-throb Paul Rudd, also in "The Cider House Rules" and "Knocked Up" in a major role, starring already huge Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, and Jack Nicholson. 

A list of current Dine-In Theaters:

Atlanta

AMC Fork & Screen Buckhead 6

Dallas

AMC Grapevine Mills 30 *NOW OPEN*

Kansas City

AMC Studio 30AMC Mainstreet 6

New Jersey

AMC Essex Green 9 *NOW OPEN* AMC Bridgewater Commons 7 *NOW OPEN*  AMC Menlo Park 12 *COMING SOON* opening 12/15/2010 (full disclosure: no sponsorship by AMC) Personally, I can't watch 3D movies without feeling extremely nauseated; "Avatar" sent me to a doctor worried I had to sit out most of it. In gratitude, this was a completely different experience. It won't be long before we go back for another "dinner and a movie." Enjoy a Dine-In Theater near you if you can.

Fascinating Fascinators

Fascinator: a hairpiece, a style of millinery like a hat, also called a cocktail hat, commonly made with feathers, flowers and beads. Fascinators are popular at events where hats were traditionally worn, such as horse-racing events, as an alternative.

Although this term fell into disuse by the 1970s, it is used in a newspaper article referring to hairpieces worn by women at church at St. James Cathedral in Toronto, Canada today.

The Queen is noted for her hats, and she was certainly not upstaged. But there were quite a few women in the church who also wore hats and fascinators.

TheGlobeAndMail.com

Silk flowers, too can be just the perfect finishing touch for a coat or suit or even a dress. Many are available at M and J Trimmings, 1008 Sixth Avenue, (nr. 38th St.) New York 10018 tel.1.800.MJTRIM. This large store bills itself as "the world's Premier Trimming Resource since 1936. With one location at over 5000 square feet, they are highly recommended for over-the-top trimmings and tassels for clothing and furniture and jewelry designs. They have lace, buttons, tassels, belt buckles, bullion crests, and patches and are located in the middle of the jewelry and garment district, and now have items available online. See that website for a wonderland of creations for use in fabulous designs.

Jeff Bezos: "Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?"

Jeff Bezos    

princeton.edu

Jeff Bezos made a wonderful Baccalaureate Address at Princeton University today. The Baccalaureate Address is one of Princeton's oldest traditions. He discussed his childhood and how he made the decision to found Amazon.com in 1994. Here's a copy of the speech "We are What We Choose". 

 "In her introduction of Bezos, Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman praised him as "a dreamer and doer, entrepreneur and engineer" and "refreshingly unassuming even in the face of unimaginable success." She also lauded him for "his exceptional ability to marry commerce and technology in creative ways" and "his sheer inventiveness and willingness to take the risks inherent in this process." princeton.edu

 

Bezos described his boss' reaction [when he mentioned the idea of starting his company]: "He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, 'That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn't already have a good job,'" Bezos said.

He spun a yarn about his grandparents that ended with a lesson: "My grandfather looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said, "Jeff, one day you'll understand that it's harder to be kind than clever."

Speaking to packed audiences of graduates and families around the idyllic Princeton campus blessed with perfect weather, he asked many philosophical questions such as: 

"How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?

Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?

Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?

Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?

Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?

Will you bluff it out when you're wrong, or will you apologize?

Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?

Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swashbuckling?

When it's tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?

Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder?

Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?"

He encouraged them in his conclusion with the words: "We are our choices. Build yourself a great story".

Bezos graduated from Princeton in 1986 with highest honors and his wife, novelist Mackenzie Tuttle Bezos graduated in 1992.

To Save Ourselves, Innovations Must Be Developed

Many are discussing the politically sensitive issue of offshore oil drilling off the coast of the United States after the recent destruction of an oil platform off the coast of Louisiana, in the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill threatens the surrounding coastline with an environmental disaster and guarantees lawsuits against BP for years.

 

Oil Slick off the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River near Louisiana

newser.com.AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

The big problem is the world's increasing need for oil. While some might accuse the media of distorting the amount of oil being squandered since the current offshore loss is a small percentage of daily oil usage in the United States alone, they miss the big point: oil is a non-renewable resource and when it's gone, it's gone. This controversial resource would almost seem more precious than water and people, although it isn't and must be kept in its place as a tool.

If only the problem of oil-dependence could inspire and reward innovators to act now as the Administration hopes.  If oil runs out completely, Americans and most other nations around the world will be forced very quickly to change the way they conduct and run businesses, heat houses and power landscape equipment. At some point in time, not very far into the future, all forms of transportation will have to rely on alternative fuel.

The world must practice sustainability. America, too, should unify to create new ways to become more energy self-sufficient and less dependent on oil. Native Americans near Cape Cod on the East Coast, specifically two Wampanoag tribes, say the sight of newly-built wind farms there will "disturb their spiritual sun greetings."

redgreenandblue.org

Can Americans help themselves and the world, including China and India with their increasing consumption of oil, and reduce, if not eliminate their oil demands without changing their businesses and lifestyles? Where is the world going to get more oil when natural reserves run dry? Hope is a luxury.  It isn't the correct answer.

Donations Needed for Newly-Built Congo Hospital Foundation

Dikembe Mutombo wikimedia commons

If you've ever wanted to make a small donation to help eradicate disease in Africa, please read on. Congo is a country bigger than Western Europe, according to Dikembe Mutombo. One of ten children, he played professional basketball in America from 1991 to 2009 and became a basketball legend. In his long career, he played with the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets. 

Dikembe Mutombo wikimedia commons

The seven-foot-two-inch four-time N.B.A. Defensive Player of the Year loved to play soccer and run as a young student, and was tapped to join the Georgetown University basketball team in his second year at the University and in America. The rest of his legendary career has led him to develop a new passion to help his own people in the Congo.

He created the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation and built a hospital in Massina near Kinshasa, Congo, where he was born and raised. He dedicated the Biamba Marie Hospital and Research Center, named after his late mother, on June 17, 2007. This is the first new major medical hospital in Congo in forty years and is a major achievement of its kind. Your generous support can make a difference. The founders hope to improve health, quality of life, mortality rates and the economics of the entire region and  country.

Mutombo is currently raising money for the hospital through speaking engagements. Today in Pennington, New Jersey, the legendary pro ballplayer answered questions from the audience, such as whether the government is supporting him.  The Congolese government does provide security guards, Mutombo said, but online donations of any size will help the underprivileged served by the hospital. Secretary Hillary Clinton recently visited and praised the new hospital.

congoplanet.com

Congo is certainly troubled with atrocities of various kinds.In this disturbing article about Congo in The Daily Beast yesterday: "The Congolese population is pleading for the United Nations to conduct a more thorough assessment of how U.N.-backed military operations risk civilian lives. We hope for concrete action by the U.N. and Congolese government to mitigate such risks, with specific attention to protecting women and girls from rape."

It was nice to hear good news in person today and find a way all of us can help out. Donations to the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation would be appreciated to help fight diseases almost unknown in the developed world, such as malaria and polio. The medical community hopes to improve infant-mother mortality rates and HIV AIDS in this inspiring new location. We commend and congratulate courageous Mr. Mutombo for spearheading and providing major funding to build this worthwhile project.

Healthful Food at Movie Theaters? If Only ~

While refreshments at movie theaters can easily double the cost of movie tickets, most  theaters do not allow customers to carry in as much as a pre-owned bottle of water, let alone healthful food. What's a caring, health-conscious movie-goer to do?

Movie houses sell captive audiences ever-larger paper cups of soda and oversize packages of popcorn. With monopolistic power, they sell sodas, popcorn, tacos and cheese, hot dogs, chocolate bars and crispy dry chips to customers bereft of healthy alternatives. These are not good foods for employees or kids or for movie aficionados.

Movie theaters would benefit society if they would at least offer smaller soda cups and popcorn without fat as an option. It's a well-known societal problem in America that oils and sugars contribute to child obesity. Hot dogs and pretzels may be among the more healthful foods at movie houses now, but many customers often won't buy them for religious or personal reasons. Bottled water and nuts are the most healthful choices, nutritionists say.

It's time for movie theater owners and managers to wake up and take responsible initiative and work harder to offer us all a greater variety of healthful comfort foods. They're late to the party, in fact. If they offer good food, it will be bought. They should look at the popularity of juice bars. It is a disservice to overcharge customers for basic snacks and under-deliver healthy choices. If they continue to equate junk food with "fun food" they aren't helping improve nutritional challenges.

If only movie theaters would modernize snack bars and offer bananas, whole wheat sandwiches and sandwich wraps, bean dips, granola bars, oranges, clean apples and vegetables wrapped in plastic, dried vegetables and fruit, real fruit juices, yogurt drinks and dairy products. What a dream!  Starbucks could be a positive example to them.

Movie houses, especially big ones in the northeastern United States, have nothing less than a societal responsibility to offer foods with better nutritional value. Not everyone eats at home before a show, at least not in this busy, rushed society. Customers would prefer to make healthful choices. They occasionally watch movies during dinner hours and would welcome the opportunity to choose wholesome organic fare. Movie theaters should react positively since they are in the business of purveying food. Please let me know in your comments if you have noticed any movie theaters with healthy food snacks.

Google Introduces New Sites at Street View Gallery

San Diego Wild Animal Park

New Parks, Beaches and Ski Areas at Updated 

Google Street Views

Google has created more awe-inspiring photographic views. This time, in the United States, Google Street Views have expanded with many new zoos, stadiums and theme parks. In the United Kingdom, a special guide is available to view National Trust sites.


Just introduced in time for the Olympics, for example, are splendidly detailed views of Alpine skiing slopes at Whistler, among many other views of new world sites for you to enjoy, uncensored and free of charge. 

Open Secrets of Mathematics

Stephen Strogatz of Cornell University wrote another mathematics article in today's New York Times, which I want to support with this post. Maybe reading it will shine off and improve my grasp of mathematics. Since the article's written by an expert, it can't hurt. Professor Strogatz got twenty-one pages of comments on last week's article. Here's a link to today's article called Rock Groups.

Washington's National Cathedral Forum Discussion: Esther Sternberg M.D.

Wastwater -- "England's Deepest Lake" -- Cumbria, U.K.

Dr. Esther Sternberg, an expert in psychoneuroimmuology, was a guest of The Very Reverend Samuel T. Lloyd III in his weekly conversation in Washington's National Cathedral about issues at the intersection of faith and public life.

photo: Episcopal Church
The Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III

Dr. Sternberg is Chief of the Section on Neuroendocrine Immunology and Behavior at the National Institute of Mental Health, and has written many books, the most recent called Healing Spaces. She also has a film on PBS next week called the Science of Healing.

Dr. Esther Sternberg

Dean Lloyd began the discussion with a wonderful introduction. He observes that physical spaces impact our health when we consider architecture and space. Where are these spaces from which we can derive health, well-being, perhaps even happiness?

Bishop's Garden, The National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Sternberg replies that the National Cathedral itself inspires a sense of awe that lights up the endorphins in the hippocampus part of the brain. The Bishop's Garden could be the most peaceful, healing space in the city, she says. The sense of awe inspired by spaces is an emotion that has a physical impact.

Wastwater Lake, Lake District, Cumbria, U.K.              Photo: E. Seymour

Impacts to the body and brain in general can affect the immune system positively or negatively depending on what they are, and for how long they continue. Patients may heal faster by viewing scenes of natural landscapes. The preferred scenes are beautiful sweeping vistas of mountains, valleys and oceans and these tend to be preferred to factories with smoke pictures.

From Great Gable summit, The Lake District, Cumbria, UK

Dr. Sternberg says your endorphins light up when you look at a beautiful view. For this reason, evidence-based design is coming into the design of spaces for healing. Hospitals are becoming more aware of this need. Hospitals used to be designed with tile and metal surfaces for cleanliness when that was discovered to be essential for healing. An exception is at hospitals for the mentally ill, which have often been surrounded by nature. But this idea is coming back into vogue as more doctors acknowledge the importance of the place and emotions on healing.

Cathedral in Lourdes, France           wikimedia

Dr. Sternberg gave the example of the town of Lourdes in France, which attracts pilgrims seeking healing. There is a sense of love and permission to help others all around.

Healing can happen in any-sized space between two loving individuals who care and support each other.

Santiago de Compostela

Another famous place of healing is in Spain at Santiago de Compostela where the sense of smell can remind one of a place of peace. Frankincense, as used in incense, was once thought to be healing. Myrrh and balm (from the balsam tree) were healing resins, used by Roman soldiers to heal wounds.

"Prolegomena to future research"~ The Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III

Healing spaces: The Science of Place and Well-being by Esther Sternberg

The discussion turned to the healing strength one can feel from walking a labyrinth such as one at the National Cathedral. The idea is to walk around "to find a place of peace" in a walking meditation. Meditating is helpful to activate "neural pathways"in the brain. The endorphins and dopamine in the brain become activated and we downshift from stress. Dr. Sternberg says that chronic stress can make you sick by preventing your immune system from healing you.

Labyrinth, National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.

 Music, too, can take you to a different emotional place. Any time your nerve pathways are positively activated is healthy.

How should home design incorporate design to promote good health? Dr. Sternberg says that the medical community is becoming more aware that thoughtful evidence-based design can be beneficial rather than stressful. Thinking can affect positive behaviors and healing. The most powerful of healing spaces is in your mind, says Dr. Sternberg. She says that conscious and unconscious thoughts and experiences can influence health and influence your negative and positive emotional responses. Since stress can make you ill, you want to incorporate peaceful elements into hospital and home design.

The Center for Health Design in Concord, California, helps hospitals make designs to support the emotions. The idea is that design can take science back into the healing process. The costs of these healthful designs, she says, can be recouped the first year. There tend to be fewer falls and bacterial infections, and more satisfaction from patients, staff and families.

Beautiful art can be healing. Exercise, even walking, and socializing are also important to health and healing, and contribute to the statistics that New York City is considered such a healthy city to live in...

Feng Shui, an ancient Chinese tradition, for example at the Huntington Garden in San Marino, California is a system of understanding place as it affects emotions. The idea is that it can bring you to a place of peace.

Huntington Garden, San Marino, California

Dr. Sternberg says that the brain and immune system talk to each other. If they are intact, you have your health; if they are broken, you have disease. Emotions play a very important role in healing and health. Awe, peace and calmness are healing.

The holiday season tends to be stressful, and anything like walking in a garden can be useful. The memory and the mind are the most powerful of healing spaces.

Dean Lloyd says that we all have an inner Cathedral space, as we have the National Cathedral space in Washington, D.C.

Feel Better and Healthier - Come to the National Cathedral!

I enjoyed seeing the Sunday Forum Discussion and two wonderful, healing services at the National Cathedral online. Please donate generously to the National Cathedral.

The entire discussion is available at the National Cathedral website linked here.

PBS Television special: "The Science of Healing with Dr. Esther Sternberg" MPT 12/11/09 10:30pm Nationwide Nov./Dec. 2009 (check local listings). Also, see EstherSternberg.com.

This post is not acknowledged or requested by the cathedral, and any mistakes and inaccuracies are wholly my own. Corrections should be directed to me.

Beautiful Photos At Number One Photography Website

My newest terrific web find is "Stuck in Customs" 2009 winner of the PhotoBlog Award.


stuckincustoms.com

This photography method uses image-layering High-Definition (HDR) techniques. It's a content-heavy site to browse wonderful photographs for budding photographers of all ages. The author-photographer of the site, Trey Ratcliff, has an especially helpful article called "10 Principles of Beautiful Photography."

This one (enhanced) of a lone pine in California was taken on his iPhone:



He gives lots of information on which cameras to use as well. There's a photo here to please everyone. To me they resemble the most beautiful paintings.

Here's a sunset with clouds in Bangkok, Thailand:



Palace near Agra, India:



Here's an informative article at the Tierney Lab page at the New York Times.

What is "Innovation"?

Spirit of Innovation, promotional airship

Innovation refers to a new way of doing something. Wikipedia.

"An important distinction is normally made between invention and innovation. Invention is the first occurrence of an idea for a new product or process, while innovation is the first attempt to carry it out into practice" (Fagerberg, 2004: 4)

Successful innovations are ideas that ultimately get the support of senior management and government through tax benefits. Innovation involves something new that is substantially different, creating customer or producer value and productivity. It's a process or the output of a process, an idea and its transformation into something useful. Innovation is also about taking risk, taking a long-term view, being smart and aggressive, marketing the thoughts and feelings designed to create public awareness, and becoming profitable in action.

Innovations most frequently googled include inventions such as the blimp and Disney Studio animated features. The modern world has exploded with innovation. But with widespread unemployment, America and other parts of the world are now hoping for the momentum of new innovative ideas to begin a major new product cycle. It's the subject of countless business brainstorm panels, the focus of educational institutions and the obsession of big government.

How are businesses developed from innovative ideas?

"The goal of innovation is positive change, to make someone or something better...Innovation occurs when someone uses an invention or an idea to change how the world works, how people organize themselves, or how they conduct their lives." Wikipedia

A few innovative cycles of the past and present are:

1) the industrial revolution in steel that produced railroads, indoor plumbing, electricity and airplane travel
2) the communications revolution in telephony reorganized communication
3) the entertainment revolution created support for radio, television, movies,
4) air conditioners and heating appliances civilized and opened up new land for residential use
6) the computer hardware cycle dominated by computer companies linked businesses
7) the software cycle associated with the internet altered business plans and created broadband-facilitated music and video-streamed content
8) the invention of new financial instruments and derivatives developed creative financing of businesses and real estate, including new methods being formed now in the field of insurance
9) the wireless revolution; it globalized business and furthered human interaction
10) solar panels and green technologies that are currently being developed to reduce energy demand and enviromental damage, and many more.


Solar panels at Jane Fonda's Ranch, Courtesy Janefonda.com

Development and refinements of ideas have produced fortunes for anyone, any person, group or organization able to solve everyday problems and to follow through with production.

How do business ideas develop in a tough economic and political climate?

"Innovation is the successful introduction of something new and useful." Wikipedia.

Innovative ideas come from multiple sources, a group of people, "like a flower that needs gardening" Worldbank.

The Federal Trade Commission published a report in 2003 on how to promote innovation by finding the proper balance of competition and patent law and policy.

A book called Managing People to Promote Innovation claims that business personnel offices also have the potential to promote organizational innovation.

What drives innovation is mysterious. Experimentation is an important component, since much innovation begins at the borderlines of businesses where technologies can link needs and problems of users in creative, challenging environments. Businesses typically nurture many new innovations to replace older ones.

Widespread education, favorable tax incentives, efficient immigration procedures and the protection of intellectual property with patents are crucial to implement innovative ideas. "Innovation [is seen] as the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization (c.f. Amabile et al. 1996 p.1155). Businesses where significant money has been made through innovative ideas tend to attract unwanted higher taxes. As the cost of staying competitive and paying expenses and taxes, businesses take further risks and constantly hunger for innovative new ideas.

Mark Cuban, the innovative billionaire, a pioneer directly responsible for the field of broadcast technology, has an excellent personal blog with lots of ideas on business creation called Blog Maverick.