Bad blogger, Dale. One post a month or less?? Well . . . in my defense, all I can say is I have too many irons in the fire, and I keep finding new things to do on top of it all.
But that's not what I'm writing about today. (Not intentionally, anyway.) Last week while I was minding my own business at work, Kathy called me up and asked for my Baha'i ID number. For those of you who don't know what a Baha'i ID number is, it's just a number that Baha'is are given by their National Spiritual Assembly when they enroll as members of the Baha'i Faith. It's like an account number. The reason for having a Baha'i ID number is, basically, that computers like account numbers. Makes it easier to keep track of things like mailing lists.
So anyway, Kathy calls me at work and asks what mine is. I tell her. I don't ask why. I just tell her. She's my wife. I trust her. After a pause and sounds of typing on a computer keyboard, she says, "You're probably wondering why I asked."
No, actually I'm not. But I suggest that she may want to use it to log on to National's administrative web site to look up some information. She says no, but doesn't give an actual answer for a moment or two, then she announces, "There. We're signed up for pilgrimage!"
Cool.
If you've been paying attention here, you'll notice there was absolutely no consultation involved. She just decided it was a good time to sign up, so she did it. So sometime in the next two to three years or thereabouts, assuming our finances work out (which they never do exactly, but that's never stopped us before), we'll be headed for Haifa, Israel and the Baha'i World Center.
Okay, now pertaining to all this, there is this thing called Ning which is used to build social networking sites. Baha'is seem to have fallen in love with it over the past couple of years. There are all kinds of Baha'i sites based on Ning. Many of them are (as I understand it) invitation-only affairs, and some are used for administrative purposes. There is one created for Baha'is who have been on pilgrimage, are on the list to go on pilgrimage, or maybe are just thinking about going on pilgrimage. About the same time as Kathy signed us up for pilgrimage, a Planet Baha'i member named Cathy sent me an invitation to join the pilgrimage Ning site.
Two things about this. (1) Cathy didn't know we hadn't yet been on pilgrimage. She just thought the site would interest me. (2) Cathy has the same name as Kathy, only spelled differently.
What's up with that? Is there some otherworldly connection between women whose names are variants of Cathy/Kathy?
I dunno. All I know is, it is late and I am tired. ;-)
Friday, April 17, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Trials, Questions, Reboots, and a Fast Fast
I have to admit that I still haven't gotten the hang of this blogging stuff yet. Still, I guess it's time for a few more updates from Crooked Mile. (That's what Kathy and I have taken to calling our house.)
Those of you who are also members of the Planet Baha'i Forum will know that I spent a few weeks out of work from mid-January to early February. Fortunately that didn't last too long, but since I also spent a couple of months out of work at the end of 2007, our resources have been stretched pretty thin these days. Add to that a computer crash and various other tests and trials, and by now it's a miracle I know my own name.
Oh, well. At least the science and religion survey I mentioned in my last post is going well. Thus far I've had over 270 responses. I'd like a lot more, though, and I'd like to get considerably more participation from people who are not Baha'is, so I have a good basis for comparison. If you haven't taken the survey, please do, and please spread the word to friends, family, total strangers, etc. Please consider posting a link in your blog if you have one. There are 40 questions on the survey and you should be able to complete it in about 15 mintues, I hope. Thanks!
The new Planet Baha'i is behaving well so far (we haven't received any real complaints anyway), and we have restarted our regular publication schedule. We'll be putting new content online and emailing newsletters biweekly instead of weekly, but we hope that will be sufficient to keep everyone happy and keep us from going insane. If you haven't seen it yet, please check out Kathy's new article, "Fashion Unconsciousness" and my new book review on Legacy of Courage: The Life of Ola Pawlowska.
Also, make sure you are a Planet Baha'i member. (If you get the newsletter, you are, but you may not remember your user ID and password. If you aren't sure, you can either email me for help or just set up a new account.) The Member Center not only lets you subscribe to our newsletter, it also has a number of special features for you. For one thing, there is an email course titled "Introduction to the Baha'i Faith" which we think will be of interest to anyone not terribly familiar with the religion.
With all the foregoing excitement, it seems to me that the Fast has been going awfully . . . well, fast this year. Only four and a half days left as I write this.
Or maybe it's just that I'm getting older. ;-)
Those of you who are also members of the Planet Baha'i Forum will know that I spent a few weeks out of work from mid-January to early February. Fortunately that didn't last too long, but since I also spent a couple of months out of work at the end of 2007, our resources have been stretched pretty thin these days. Add to that a computer crash and various other tests and trials, and by now it's a miracle I know my own name.
Oh, well. At least the science and religion survey I mentioned in my last post is going well. Thus far I've had over 270 responses. I'd like a lot more, though, and I'd like to get considerably more participation from people who are not Baha'is, so I have a good basis for comparison. If you haven't taken the survey, please do, and please spread the word to friends, family, total strangers, etc. Please consider posting a link in your blog if you have one. There are 40 questions on the survey and you should be able to complete it in about 15 mintues, I hope. Thanks!
The new Planet Baha'i is behaving well so far (we haven't received any real complaints anyway), and we have restarted our regular publication schedule. We'll be putting new content online and emailing newsletters biweekly instead of weekly, but we hope that will be sufficient to keep everyone happy and keep us from going insane. If you haven't seen it yet, please check out Kathy's new article, "Fashion Unconsciousness" and my new book review on Legacy of Courage: The Life of Ola Pawlowska.
Also, make sure you are a Planet Baha'i member. (If you get the newsletter, you are, but you may not remember your user ID and password. If you aren't sure, you can either email me for help or just set up a new account.) The Member Center not only lets you subscribe to our newsletter, it also has a number of special features for you. For one thing, there is an email course titled "Introduction to the Baha'i Faith" which we think will be of interest to anyone not terribly familiar with the religion.
With all the foregoing excitement, it seems to me that the Fast has been going awfully . . . well, fast this year. Only four and a half days left as I write this.
Or maybe it's just that I'm getting older. ;-)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
A Science and Religion Survey
I'd like to invite you to participate in a small research project I've undertaken. As you may know, I have a keen interest in science and religion issues, and after many years of online discussions with Baha'is and others, I've come to realize that opinions within the Baha'i community on the relationship between science and religion are all over the place. We all accept the idea that science and religion are harmonious, of course, but the devil (if I can invoke such in this context) is in the details.
So I've constructed a survey to make a first stab at gauging exactly what "harmony of science and religion" means to Baha'is. But this is not a survey for Baha'is only. I would also like to have input from people of other faiths and of no faith to see how their opinions compare to those of Baha'is.
The survey is now online at http://www.my3q.com/go.php?url=lehket/59790. Please pay a visit and fill out the questions. It's not too terribly long. Please note that the site where I have hosted the survey limits me to 250 responses per month. If you attempt to fill in the survey but get an error indicating that I may be over that limit, please let me know. The survey will be online for some months, probably at least through June, 2009 if not July, but if necessary I may be able to set up a second copy of the survey to capture more responses.
Thank you for your help, and please spread the word. If you have a Baha'i blog or any other type of blog where this information might be appropriate, please do post it.
So I've constructed a survey to make a first stab at gauging exactly what "harmony of science and religion" means to Baha'is. But this is not a survey for Baha'is only. I would also like to have input from people of other faiths and of no faith to see how their opinions compare to those of Baha'is.
The survey is now online at http://www.my3q.com/go.php?url=lehket/59790. Please pay a visit and fill out the questions. It's not too terribly long. Please note that the site where I have hosted the survey limits me to 250 responses per month. If you attempt to fill in the survey but get an error indicating that I may be over that limit, please let me know. The survey will be online for some months, probably at least through June, 2009 if not July, but if necessary I may be able to set up a second copy of the survey to capture more responses.
Thank you for your help, and please spread the word. If you have a Baha'i blog or any other type of blog where this information might be appropriate, please do post it.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Art and Spirituality Worksop
I got an email the other day from Annick Elziere announcing a 5-day "Art and Spirituality" workshop February 2 - 6, 2009 at the Desert Rose Baha'i Institute in Eloy, Arizona. The workshop will be presented by Hong Foo Tat and will explore the essence of spirituality through art using eastern and western techniques and philosophy.
Born in Penang, Malaysia, Hong Tatt Foo is an internationally known artist whose paintings are cherished in many public and private collections around the world. After receiving a Masters degree in Art Education at the University of Illinois, Mr. Foo taught art in New York, Malaysia, and Africa. In April 2003 he had a retrospective show of his paintings sponsored by the Penang Art Museum, Penang, Malaysia, followed by several major exhibits in China and Singapore. A second book of his works Poetic Impulse and Fragrance of Spirituality has been published. For more information, visit foogallery.com.
This workshop is for beginners as well as advanced students and artists. Please register early as attendance is limited. Registration fee is $150.00 plus lodging (dorm $15/night, private $40night) and meals ($35/day).
Students will be required to bring their own art materials, but it looks like they will also be available for purchase at the workshop for $50. Materials include:
1) Basic set of acrylic paints (primary colors plus black and white)
2) Set of water color and watercolor pad about 10"x14"
3) Chinese (Sumie) black ink
4) Different sizes bamboo brushes
5) Rice paper
6) Foam core board and poster board
7) Plastic container for water and a roll of paper towel.s
8) Painting mat or an old bath-size towel
9) 2-B Pencil and kneaded eraser
10) Spray water bottle
For further information, please visit drbi.org.
Born in Penang, Malaysia, Hong Tatt Foo is an internationally known artist whose paintings are cherished in many public and private collections around the world. After receiving a Masters degree in Art Education at the University of Illinois, Mr. Foo taught art in New York, Malaysia, and Africa. In April 2003 he had a retrospective show of his paintings sponsored by the Penang Art Museum, Penang, Malaysia, followed by several major exhibits in China and Singapore. A second book of his works Poetic Impulse and Fragrance of Spirituality has been published. For more information, visit foogallery.com.
This workshop is for beginners as well as advanced students and artists. Please register early as attendance is limited. Registration fee is $150.00 plus lodging (dorm $15/night, private $40night) and meals ($35/day).
Students will be required to bring their own art materials, but it looks like they will also be available for purchase at the workshop for $50. Materials include:
1) Basic set of acrylic paints (primary colors plus black and white)
2) Set of water color and watercolor pad about 10"x14"
3) Chinese (Sumie) black ink
4) Different sizes bamboo brushes
5) Rice paper
6) Foam core board and poster board
7) Plastic container for water and a roll of paper towel.s
8) Painting mat or an old bath-size towel
9) 2-B Pencil and kneaded eraser
10) Spray water bottle
For further information, please visit drbi.org.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
More on the New Planet Baha'i
I've gotten a lot done on the new Planet Baha'i design since my last post. Coding is basically complete for all but two new features. One of the things we're pretty exicted about is the addition of some new features for PB members. In the past, all members could do was subscribe to the newsletter and vote on articles. Now as a member you'll be able to:
1. Vote on articles and book reviews. Voting builds both personal lists so you can easily find the articles and reviews you liked, plus builds "Most Popular" lists to help visitors find our best stuff.
2. Set up custom RSS feeds to be displayed in a margin. We'll provide a few standard feeds for everyone, but members will be able to add whatever feeds they want to their personal list.
3. Subscribe to an "Introduction to the Baha'i Faith" e-course and access supplementary materials. We hope this will entice people not familiar with the Baha'i Faith to sign up, learn, and stay connected.
4. Access some "extras". Right now we only have one, but we think it's a good one: a 19-day sunrise/sunset calculator that interfaces with Google Maps to make it easy to determine sunrise and sunset times for the Fast as well as for any other time of the year. (Trust me, I've looked around on the Web and this is a big step forward in this kind of tool.) We hope to add other extras as we think of them or as they are suggested to us. (Feel free to make suggestions!)
5. The last item that will be added, and owing to its potential complexity we may not have this fully implemented at first, will be a mechanism for members to connect with each other through the site. Although we aren't turning into a full-blown social networking site, we think it may be of some value for our members to be able to get together if they wish.
About the RSS feeds. We've been trying to identify which feeds would be good to have in our standard list. Obvioulsy the Baha'i World News Service feed will go there. Are there others that you regularly follow? If so, we'd like to hear about them.
I could say more, but I don't want to give too much away. ;-) So that's it for today.
1. Vote on articles and book reviews. Voting builds both personal lists so you can easily find the articles and reviews you liked, plus builds "Most Popular" lists to help visitors find our best stuff.
2. Set up custom RSS feeds to be displayed in a margin. We'll provide a few standard feeds for everyone, but members will be able to add whatever feeds they want to their personal list.
3. Subscribe to an "Introduction to the Baha'i Faith" e-course and access supplementary materials. We hope this will entice people not familiar with the Baha'i Faith to sign up, learn, and stay connected.
4. Access some "extras". Right now we only have one, but we think it's a good one: a 19-day sunrise/sunset calculator that interfaces with Google Maps to make it easy to determine sunrise and sunset times for the Fast as well as for any other time of the year. (Trust me, I've looked around on the Web and this is a big step forward in this kind of tool.) We hope to add other extras as we think of them or as they are suggested to us. (Feel free to make suggestions!)
5. The last item that will be added, and owing to its potential complexity we may not have this fully implemented at first, will be a mechanism for members to connect with each other through the site. Although we aren't turning into a full-blown social networking site, we think it may be of some value for our members to be able to get together if they wish.
About the RSS feeds. We've been trying to identify which feeds would be good to have in our standard list. Obvioulsy the Baha'i World News Service feed will go there. Are there others that you regularly follow? If so, we'd like to hear about them.
I could say more, but I don't want to give too much away. ;-) So that's it for today.
Monday, October 27, 2008
A Flat Tire by the Will of God?
It always amuses me when some misfortune turns out to have positive consequences that could be viewed in a negative light if one were so inclined.
I suppose that makes no sense. Let me illustrate.
This past Saturday, Kathy and I got up and headed out to do our usual round of boring shopping: Wal*Mart, Petsmart, and the local grocery store. (This is in no way meant as an endorsement for these establishments. They are just places we had to go. Just in case you were wondering.) After picking up what we needed at Wal*Mart, we returned to the car to discover that the rear passenger-side tire was flat.
I changed the tire and, inspecting it, found a largish screw embedded in the tread. "Let's go up to Sears," I suggested. "They should be able to repair this." So off we went to the mall, which was actually in the general direction of Petsmart and therefore not much out of the way. When we got there, they took a quick look, said yeah, they could repair that. About 45 mintues to an hour and it would be done.
Since we were there with some time to kill, Kathy wanted to look at washing machines and driers. Our drier broke earlier this year, but since she likes to dry clothes on the line during the summer months, it wasn't much of a problem. With the arrival of cooler weather, however, it was going to be. So we went to appliances, and she found a pair of machines she liked, and the salesman told us all about the sale that was just about to end and how they would take another 10% off if we opened a charge account, and how we could also get free delivery . . .
So, yeah, we bought a washer and drier. By this time, of course, the car should have been done, so we went back to the auto shop only to find that they'd been trying to call me on my cell phone, which had not been able to locate a signal while we were in appliances. Turns out my two front tires were in rather bad shape, too. We have a long trip coming up soon, so I decided I'd have to get them replaced. That would be another hour.
By this time, Kathy and I were getting thirsty, so we walked towards the food court. On the way, we passed Dress Barn, where Kathy noticed a sweater sale was in progress. "I was just looking at my sweaters yesterday," she said, "and thinking I needed some new ones."
So, yeah, we went in and she bought a couple of sweaters and a blouse to go under one of them, and then of course she saw a beautiful green dress for not too much money and decided to try it on. And of course she looked gorgeous in it, so while she hemmed and hawed about whether or not to spend the money I told her to go ahead.
At the checkout counter, I said to her, "We're certainly doing our part this morning to help the economy recover."
The clerk replied, "Thank you!!"
While Kathy had been trying on clothes, the auto shop called to say the car was ready, but we hadn't gotten our drinks yet, so we went to the food court first, stopped at Annie's Pretzels, and Kathy ordered two Cokes and, what the heck, two soft pretzels, which we took our time eating before going back to get the car.
Bear in mind that this trip was supposed to be Wal*Mart, Petsmart, grocery store. It was by now 1:00 PM and we had only crossed the first of those off the list. We were supposed to be meeting Andrea and Melissa's families at a local farm market to buy pumpkins at 2:00. So we buzzed Petsmart as quickly as possible, went home and dropped of such stuff as we had bought, and took off for the farm market. We bought pumpkins in the not-quite-pouring rain.
This could be viewed as a very annoying sort of day. We didn't get our groceries bought. We had to change a tire, fix a tire, and replace two more tires. We spent a ton of money we hadn't counted on spending.
On the other hand, if we hadn't gone through this, we would probably have been floundering around trying to figure out how to get a new drier, when we actually bought one it would have cost rather more (or we would have gotten one that didn't really meet Kathy's criteria), and somewhere between here and Chicago during Thanksgiving weekend we probably would have blown out a tire. So we end quite by accident taking care of a couple of big things that really needed to be taken care of.
And actually, because we realized it and were rather grateful for the chance to deal with these things before they became huge problems, we had a reasonably fun time doing it.
So was this a happy accident, or divine intervention? We think we know which. But that's just us.
I suppose that makes no sense. Let me illustrate.
This past Saturday, Kathy and I got up and headed out to do our usual round of boring shopping: Wal*Mart, Petsmart, and the local grocery store. (This is in no way meant as an endorsement for these establishments. They are just places we had to go. Just in case you were wondering.) After picking up what we needed at Wal*Mart, we returned to the car to discover that the rear passenger-side tire was flat.
I changed the tire and, inspecting it, found a largish screw embedded in the tread. "Let's go up to Sears," I suggested. "They should be able to repair this." So off we went to the mall, which was actually in the general direction of Petsmart and therefore not much out of the way. When we got there, they took a quick look, said yeah, they could repair that. About 45 mintues to an hour and it would be done.
Since we were there with some time to kill, Kathy wanted to look at washing machines and driers. Our drier broke earlier this year, but since she likes to dry clothes on the line during the summer months, it wasn't much of a problem. With the arrival of cooler weather, however, it was going to be. So we went to appliances, and she found a pair of machines she liked, and the salesman told us all about the sale that was just about to end and how they would take another 10% off if we opened a charge account, and how we could also get free delivery . . .
So, yeah, we bought a washer and drier. By this time, of course, the car should have been done, so we went back to the auto shop only to find that they'd been trying to call me on my cell phone, which had not been able to locate a signal while we were in appliances. Turns out my two front tires were in rather bad shape, too. We have a long trip coming up soon, so I decided I'd have to get them replaced. That would be another hour.
By this time, Kathy and I were getting thirsty, so we walked towards the food court. On the way, we passed Dress Barn, where Kathy noticed a sweater sale was in progress. "I was just looking at my sweaters yesterday," she said, "and thinking I needed some new ones."
So, yeah, we went in and she bought a couple of sweaters and a blouse to go under one of them, and then of course she saw a beautiful green dress for not too much money and decided to try it on. And of course she looked gorgeous in it, so while she hemmed and hawed about whether or not to spend the money I told her to go ahead.
At the checkout counter, I said to her, "We're certainly doing our part this morning to help the economy recover."
The clerk replied, "Thank you!!"
While Kathy had been trying on clothes, the auto shop called to say the car was ready, but we hadn't gotten our drinks yet, so we went to the food court first, stopped at Annie's Pretzels, and Kathy ordered two Cokes and, what the heck, two soft pretzels, which we took our time eating before going back to get the car.
Bear in mind that this trip was supposed to be Wal*Mart, Petsmart, grocery store. It was by now 1:00 PM and we had only crossed the first of those off the list. We were supposed to be meeting Andrea and Melissa's families at a local farm market to buy pumpkins at 2:00. So we buzzed Petsmart as quickly as possible, went home and dropped of such stuff as we had bought, and took off for the farm market. We bought pumpkins in the not-quite-pouring rain.
This could be viewed as a very annoying sort of day. We didn't get our groceries bought. We had to change a tire, fix a tire, and replace two more tires. We spent a ton of money we hadn't counted on spending.
On the other hand, if we hadn't gone through this, we would probably have been floundering around trying to figure out how to get a new drier, when we actually bought one it would have cost rather more (or we would have gotten one that didn't really meet Kathy's criteria), and somewhere between here and Chicago during Thanksgiving weekend we probably would have blown out a tire. So we end quite by accident taking care of a couple of big things that really needed to be taken care of.
And actually, because we realized it and were rather grateful for the chance to deal with these things before they became huge problems, we had a reasonably fun time doing it.
So was this a happy accident, or divine intervention? We think we know which. But that's just us.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Coming Soon: A New Planet Baha'i
Those who follow Planet Baha'i regularly will know that Kathy and I decided late in August to take a break. We've been running the site for eight years (counting the About.com days) without taking more than a week off here and there. We were getting to the point finding something new and interesting to say was almost impossible. So we decided to stop for an undetermined amount of time.
For awhile, we really didn't do anything. But lately we've been (slowly) working on a few new articles, and I, being the family geek, have been working on a complete redesign of the web site. It was a bit slow going at first, but things are starting to pick up. I've made some significant progress in the past week, to the point that I can offer you a sneak preview. Well, at least a sneek preview graphic. Here it is:
The new site will be markedly different from the former incarnations, not only in look and feel but also in content. We've decided to eliminate a lot of stuff that is hard to maintain and which other sites offer in sufficient quantity. The main thing that will go away is our link library.
However, we are going to introduce some new things, too. As before, the core of our site will be our original articles, but we are upgrading the book review section to a core element as well. We hope to do many more reviews, and get some guest authors to contribute some as well.
Also, we will be introducing some new member features, including an ecourse introduction to the Baha'i Faith, 19-day-Fast-oriented sunrise/sunset calculator with an integrated Google Maps interface, and a few other tidbits.
A lot of this must still be designed, coded, and debugged, so the site won't be going live for a little while still. But progress has been good, and I figured it was worth spreading the word a bit, so you'll all be salivating to see it. ;-)
Comments and suggestions for the site are always welcome, of course, so please let us know if you have any ideas. Thanks!
For awhile, we really didn't do anything. But lately we've been (slowly) working on a few new articles, and I, being the family geek, have been working on a complete redesign of the web site. It was a bit slow going at first, but things are starting to pick up. I've made some significant progress in the past week, to the point that I can offer you a sneak preview. Well, at least a sneek preview graphic. Here it is:
The new site will be markedly different from the former incarnations, not only in look and feel but also in content. We've decided to eliminate a lot of stuff that is hard to maintain and which other sites offer in sufficient quantity. The main thing that will go away is our link library.
However, we are going to introduce some new things, too. As before, the core of our site will be our original articles, but we are upgrading the book review section to a core element as well. We hope to do many more reviews, and get some guest authors to contribute some as well.
Also, we will be introducing some new member features, including an ecourse introduction to the Baha'i Faith, 19-day-Fast-oriented sunrise/sunset calculator with an integrated Google Maps interface, and a few other tidbits.
A lot of this must still be designed, coded, and debugged, so the site won't be going live for a little while still. But progress has been good, and I figured it was worth spreading the word a bit, so you'll all be salivating to see it. ;-)
Comments and suggestions for the site are always welcome, of course, so please let us know if you have any ideas. Thanks!
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