Happy New Year

 Happy New Year! I hope that your dreams and wishes come through for you. As we bid farewell to 2023 and welcome the start of a new year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect and share a heartfelt wish with you. 

2023 has been a whirlwind of a year with its ups and downs, but through it all, we've grown, learned, and found strength. Now, as we embark on the journey that is 2024, my wish for you is quite simple - may this year be filled with love, laughter, and happiness. In a world that can sometimes feel chaotic and overwhelming, it's important to cherish the moments of joy and find gratitude in the everyday. 

May 2024 bring you many reasons to smile, whether it's a beautiful sunset, a cup of coffee shared with a loved one, or the sound of laughter that fills a room. I hope that this year is a year of growth and self-discovery for you. 

May you push yourself to step out of your comfort zone and pursue your passions. May you find the courage to chase your dreams and overcome any obstacles that come your way. Remember that sometimes the greatest growth happens when we take a leap of faith and trust in ourselves.

In 2024, I encourage you to make time for yourself and prioritize self-care. Take moments to relax, recharge, and do things that bring you joy. Whether it's curling up with a good book, going for a walk-in nature, or indulging in your favourite meaningful relationships in 2024. 

Surround yourself with people who uplift and inspire you and let go of toxic relationships that no longer serve you. May you forge new connections and deepen existing ones, creating a support system of love and positivity. 

Lastly, I hope that 2024 is a year of kindness and compassion. Let's strive to be kinder to ourselves, to others, and to the planet. Small acts of kindness can have a ripple effect, spreading positivity and making a difference in the world. 

So, as we step into the unknown that is 2024, let's embrace it with open hearts and open minds. Let's approach each day with gratitude and a sense of adventure. And most importantly, let's cherish the moments, big and small, that make up this beautiful journey we call life. 

Here's to a year filled with love, laughter, growth, and endless possibilities. May 2024 be your best year yet. Wishing you all the best.

2023 is Here

 Happy New Year!

May you have the time to share your energy, spirit and love with your loved ones as 2023 brings its magic to us.

May you have the time to share your energy, spirit and love with your loved ones as 2023 brings its magic to us.

Another year is gone, and so we age. I like what Emily Dickinson said about growing older: We turn not older with the years, but newer every day.

This is a very positive and uplifting way to think about aging! It suggests that, rather than simply getting older and losing vitality and potential, we continue learning, growing, and becoming “newer” every day. This idea can be a source of inspiration and motivation to make the most of each day and to continue learning and growing as individuals. It can also be a reminder to embrace change and to stay open to new experiences and perspectives, rather than becoming stuck in our ways. So as we face 2023, let’s look to a year filled with adventure, love, and magic.

Happy New Year

When I was young we used to celebrate New Year's Eve, with one of the seniors in the family dressing up as the Old Year and we would have a ceremony where the old year was ushered out and the new year’s baby was welcomed by the party-goers. This is not happening this year and may not for a few more years.

 2020 was an extremely hard year, and my hope is that 2021 will be better. Many of us suffered great losses and are still grieving. My family lost a nephew and two nieces none of which we could blame on COVID, but the restrictions around COVID made the celebrations of life impossible. My hope is that in 2021 we will be able to celebrate their lives so that we can get on with the grieving. For those of you who lost family and friends in 2020, my hope is that you will be allowed to celebrate their lives to start or get on with the grieving that is necessary for healing.

 Travel was severely curtailed in 2020 but my hope is that as we move further into 2021 that travel will reopen and people can again travel, enjoy, love, and seize the opportunities travel brings.

May we never have another time like 2020 and my hope is we learn and grow from our experience and appreciate what we have, who we love and who we are with even more.

 

FROM MY FAMILY TO YOURS HAPPY 2021

Advice from 1918 Looking back to move forward to 2021

 ADVICE FROM 1918

1.        Wear a mask.

2.        Live a clean, healthy life.

3.        Keep the pores open----that is bathe frequently.

4.        Wash your hands before each meal.

5.        Live in an abundance of fresh air, day, and night.

6.        Keep warm.

7.        Get plenty of sleep.

8.        Gargle frequently and always after being out, with a solution of salt and water. (Half a teaspoon of salt to one eight ounces of water).

9.        Report early symptoms to the doctor at once.

10.    Respect the quarantine regulations.

11.    Avoid crowds. You can get the influence only by being near someone who is infected.

12.    Avoid people who sneeze or cough.

13.    Do not neglect your mask.

14.    Do not disregard the advice of a specialist just because you do not understand.

15.    Do not disregard the rights of a community, obey cheerfully the rules issued by the authorities.

16.    Do not think you are entitled to special privileges.

17.    Do not go near other people if you have a cold or a fever, you may expose them to influenza and death. See a doctor if you are sick.

18.    Do not think it is impossible for you to get or transmit influence.

19.    Keep your hands out of your mouth.

20.    Do not cough or sneeze in the open.

21.    Do not use a public towel or a drinking cup.

22.    Do not visit the sick or handle articles from a sick room.

DON’T WORRY

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Paul Wallbank decided to ponder what might the biggest tech trends in business might look like in 2020. So, as we start 2020 let's look at some of his ideas for fun. HAPPY NEW YEAR

Now we’re in the second decade of the Twenty-First Century, business is accelerating as a combination of changes in technology and society come together.

Many of these trends have been predicted for some time. It’s the availability of the cheap (almost free!) computing power that’s delivering many of the promises made by technology over the last thirty years. These are worth examining more closely.

The top business trends in 2020 might be

1) Robots taking our jobs

Probably the biggest change that is affecting our businesses is how machines are taking over tasks ranging from window cleaning to inventory management. Anyone with a transaction-based job or business will be having a forced career change before the end of the decade.

2) The Internet of machines

Those robots and computers are talking to each other which speeds up business decisions and will strip layers of management from organizations.

3) Flatter organizations

A consequence of those faster decisions is the need for less management. Organizations need to be flatter in order to process information faster unless they want to risk nimble competitors seizing business opportunities.

4) 3D printing

One of the most exciting, and business changing, technologies is 3D printing which allows you to print a coffee cup at your desk, help robots construct new buildings and a give a little boy a set of fingers.

5) Nano-technology

3D printing is happening alongside biological engineering. By the end of the decade, we’ll be able to print our own skin. By 2030, we’ll be printing replacement body parts like heart valves.

6) Mobile apps redefining service industries

The mobile phone app is currently booming but the real effects of these mobile services will be felt on industries as diverse as the taxi industry to the mining and agricultural sectors.

7) The fight for control of the mobile payments system

An upshot of the app economy is the question of who processes, and makes money, from online payments. The battle between banks, credit card companies, telcos and software companies is going to be a major business story of the decade.

8) Reinventing entertainment

Apps and connected machines are going to change consumer behaviour and nowhere is this more notable in the entertainment industries which are being revolutionized by tools like Google Glasses and social media.

9) The fall and rise of social media

Like many innovations social media was greatly hyped and now we’re seeing the backlash of it being oversold. Over the rest of the decade, organizations are going to figure out how to use social media services effectively and profitably without hype.

10) Newspapers cease to exist

One of the effects of social media, mobile phone apps and the pervasive internet is the end of newspapers by 2020 as futurist Ross Dawson has predicted.

Welcome to 2016

Happy New Year! Memories of years past

Well 2014 is history, and as I enter my 68th year on this planet, I wonder what this year will bring. As I reflect back over the year, which was great except for the close call my wife had from a brain aneurysm,  I want to pass on some of my experiences to my grandson. One day when he reads this my hope is that he will get a sense of some of the events that shaped me--not my generation. 

Memory is an interesting comment, we hold different types of memories as we look back over our lives. Long-term memory is our brain's system for storing, managing, and retrieving information. 

Short-Term Memory is closely related to "working" memory, short-term memory is the very short time that you keep something in mind before either dismissing it or transferring it to long-term memory.  

As you would imagine, long-term memories are much more complex than short-term ones. We store different types of information (procedures, life experiences, language, etc.) with separate memory systems.

Explicit memory, or declarative memory, is a type of long-term memory requiring conscious thought. It's what most people have in mind when they think of a memory. Within Explicit memory we have facts and we have experience. The problem is that our experiences are not really what happened to us, but the feelings and the events help shape our understanding of who we are as people.

Implicit memory is a major form of long-term memory that does not require conscious thought. It allows you to do things by rote.

Autobiographical memory is gathered from Semantic and Episodic memories we hold and for most of us  this is what we remember when we recall our life.  So as I relate the memories I have, I understand they may not be as they happened, but they give me and hopefully will give my grandson a glimpse of what I am/was like as I grew.

Here is a schematic of different types of memory

So for the next few days I want to talk about events that I remember that I hold in my Episodic memory and which I believe shaped my life view and my understanding of myself. 

If you have your memory be thankful, I have many friends who due to Dementia and Alzheimer's do not have their memories. 

My wife lost five weeks of her memories due to her. brain aneurysm and it was very scary for both of us. I will recount the experience we went through so it might help others, but that will be in a few weeks but know just need to focus on her recovery. 

I admire those who can write about their experiences  while undergoing medical, physical or other trauma, I cannot. So as I gather my thoughts, and review the verbal journal I kept I wish all of you a safe and prosperous and healthy new year. 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year and may 2014 be a prosperous, exciting and wonderful year for you and the ones you love. Love Life the alternative is unthinkable. 

Enjoy the year and ABBA

Welcome to 2013

 As we face the new year, my hope is that the world will take seriously the United Nation Declaration that  2013 is the:

International Year of Water Cooperation                                              A/RES/65/154 and the

International Year of Quinoa                                                                   A/RES/66/221

Plus 

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2013 is the Year of the Snake, which begins on February 10, 2013 and ends on January 30, 2014.  

The Snake is the sixth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 Animal Signs.  It is the enigmatic,  intuitive, introspective, refined and collected of the Animals Signs.  Ancient Chinese wisdom says a Snake in the house is a good omen because it means that your family will not starve.  People born in the Year of the Snake are keen and cunning, quite intelligent and wise.  They are great mediators and good at doing business.  Therefore, you should have good luck if you were born in the  Year of the Snake.

For those of you who believe in Astrology here is a site with predictions for 2013 http://www.123newyear.com/2013/predictions.html To read more on your sign go to the link:

Arise: Arians can expect an exciting year in 2013. Uranus and Jupiter are going to have strong effects on your life during the year. 

Taurus: The taurians may feel the urge to dispense their softness and take initiatives to prove themselves.

Gemini: You can see your purple stint to continue in 2013. Initiatives taken by you will fetch results in the year. 

Cancer: After the trying two years, 2013 will start to give you the results of your efforts. The year is going to bring in an overall change in your life. .

Leo: A year full of all the glitters. Leos have the knack to look at things from their perspectives and ignore realities. 

Virgo: This is going to be a year of soul searching. Search within yourself to find peace. In your professional life, you will excel in all accounts. 

Libra: Level-headedness will prevail and you’ll be endowed with a clear vision. This is going to be the year to deal with your most important projects.

Scorpio: Scorpions must prepare themselves for an active year. 2013 is going to be a busy time for both your career and relations.

Sagittarius: Pluto and Jupiter together are going to take away all your obstacles and you’ll see tremendous progress in your personal and professional life. You will feel optimistic and maintain a positive outlook towards your life. 

Capricorn: You will experience a strong influence of planets which will prompt you to diversify yourself further. You can expect a peaceful and leisurely 2013. 

Aquarius: After the peaceful 2012, 2013 is going to be full of activities for you. You’ll come across new possibilities and stay busier than earlier. 

Pisces: You’ll ride a high tempo in 2013, which will be filled with actions for you.

New Years

As I said in yesterdays post, we had a scheduled dinner cruise planned, and it was New Years Eve. The dinner cruise was enjoyed by my wife and her mother, while I enjoyed a very good pizza and nice music. When the cruise was over the time was close to 8:00 pm so we drove back to the Condo and watched the New Years Eve celebrations around the world. I was impressed by Australia, Berlin and London. At 11:30 we went down to the beach in front of the Condo and joined a few hundred others watching the fireworks along the beach.

There is a new law in Maui that prohibits fireworks that actually go into the air over 10 feet --without a licence--so the fireworks were rather tame. At midnight one of the large hotels down the beach set off their display of fireworks and it was fantastic, a job well done and breathtaking to observe. I thought to myself what a magical time, I am standing on the beach  under a clear skyin Maui, listening to the wave break on the shore, while watching fireworks break above palm trees celebrating the arrival of a new year.
2011 is starting off to be a good year. I am looking forward to new adventures and challenges as the year unfolds.

It was a dark and stormy night

As the new year approaches we have to have a sense of humour about the past year, I hope this helps

Bob Hill and his new wife Betty Hill were vacationing in Europe... as it happens, near Transylvania .   They were driving in a rental car along a rather deserted highway.   It was late and raining very hard.  Bob could barely see the road in front of the car. Suddenly the car skids out of control! Bob attempts to control the car, but to no avail!   The car swerves and smashes into a tree.

Moments later, Bob shakes his head to clear the fog Dazed, he looks over at the passenger seat and sees his wife unconscious, with her head bleeding!  Despite the rain and unfamiliar countryside, Bob knows he has to get her medical assistance. Bob carefully picks his wife up and begins trudging down the road.  After a short while, he sees a light.  He heads towards the light, which is coming from a large, old house.  He approaches the door and knocks.

A minute passes.  A small, hunched man opens the door.  Bob immediately blurts,"Hello My name is Bob Hill and this is my wfe Betty Hill.  We've been in a terrible accident, and my wife has been seriously hurt.  Can I please use your phone?"

"I'm sorry," replied the hunchback, "but we don't have a phone.. My master is a doctor; come in and I will get him!"

Bob brings his wife in.

An older man comes down the stairs.  "I'm afraid my assistant may have misled you.  I am not a medical doctor; I am a scientist.  However, it is many miles to the nearest clinic, and I have had a basic medical training.  I will see what I can do. Igor, bring them down to the laboratory." 

 With that, Igor picks up Betty and carries her downstairs, with Bob following closely.  Igor places Betty on a table in the lab.  Bob collapses from exhaustion and his own injuries, so Igor places Bob on an adjoining table.

After a brief examination, Igor's master looks worried. Things are serious, Igor. Prepare a transfusion."  Igor and his master work feverishly, but to no avail. Bob Hill  and Betty Hill are no more.

The Hills' deaths upset Igor's master greatly.  Wearily, he climbs the steps to his conservatory, which houses his grand piano.  For it is here that he has always found solace...  He begins to play, and a stirring, almost haunting melody fills the house.

Meanwhile, Igor is still in the lab tidying up. His eyes catch movement, and he notices the fingers on Betty's hand twitch, keeping time to the haunting piano music.  Stunned, he watches as Bob's arm begins to rise, marking the beat!  He is further amazed as Betty and Bob both sit up straight! 

Unable to contain himself, he dashes up the stairs to the conservatory.  He bursts in and shouts to his master:

"Master, Master! ..... The Hills are alive with the sound of music!" 

(I am soooooo sorry...... But you really should've seen that one coming) Have a safe and happy new year so you can be there for the people who you care about and who care about you