Thursday, October 4, 2007

Cold Sweat and the Club

This morning on the way out the door I discovered my wallet missing. I started to panic as I checked all the obvious and even less obvious places it may have fallen. Drenched in a cold sweat I considered how I could go to work without a drivers license, no cash, and no cards to access cash. I considered all the tremendous hassle I would need to undertake to reorder all my charge cards, ID cards, my many bank cards, etc.

The panic was real as I began to mentally plan counter steps to cancel classes, track shops where it may have fallen, as I radically expanded and repeated my search. In fact, the wallet had fallen into the roll wheels of my computer chair and would move as I moved the chair, obscuring its view. Only when I radically moved the chair did it shake itself loose and reveal itself.

Now I must collect myself and try and understand what insight this lesson had for me. Ironically the whole process was triggered by a call from a friend who told me I was welcome to his club if I did not express any opinion close to the author atheist Dawkins. Apparently it is not in the spirit of the club to question the legitimacy of religion.

To be censored from an academic club because of my appreciation of the work of any author is curious and distasteful. Smacks a bit of the inquisition and helps me better appreciate the hurdles facing atheists of conscious. I am not deeply invested in the atheistic perspective though as an American my underdog cheerleader side wants to kick in. God bless the club, all others please shut up.

As I typed this, my children's school called and my daughter is being sent home after being caught in a lie. Is there any way to process all the subtleties to these life lessons? Best just to do my best to teach, parent, and befriend while listening to what life is saying, no matter how painful the message.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Moving to the Visual

I keep reaching toward an understanding. Is there such a place or is it always a slippery slope away? The computer mount web-cam required a system upgrade but it works, albeit sluggishly being USB.2 fare. The video blog notion is both titillating yet terrifying because it requires a commitment to film, verifying both inadequacies and inspiration. Yet process is essential. Products are needed to test theories and encourage learning.

The world can bare tremendous 'tomas', the sluggish sludge that clogs the pours and slows down innovation. This week I lost three days in part due to a surprise season change cold. I will need to do make-up classes now. Yet next week will have to be a week of production. Clear out the first concept of student generated material, despite their all too common ambivalence. If the concept works I can repeat it, if not stop it early. It may be simpler to just work with better motivated classes.

It has been fun playing with technology, yet I feel I have achieved no great inroads into expression. My website continuously needs more time than I am willing to surrender and now too with video I feel reluctant to invest even more time. Yet this is essential to move to the next level... a large body of experiments, completed by Christmas.