Even an unhelpful error message is better than nothing.via Learning from Crashes (*) by Venkat (*).
Error: Unknown Error.Probably the most unhelpful error message I have seen in all my time coding Python to an external third party API. At least you know you have an error, even if it is as far away from the root as it just about can be.
Hope (*) is a thread that exists in our lives. It has been there since the day we took our first breaths. It has existed alongside us as we built our lives. It exists now in the shattered reality of brokenness. Though we are broken, hope remains strong. In our weakness Hope rises as an unbroken thread stretching out into our uncertain (*) future (*), beckoning us to follow and explore the potential that lies dormant and hidden by our pain. Hope waits. Ready for us to reach out and grasp its firm hand. The question is not if hope exists within our brokenness. The real question is if we are willing and able to allow ourselves to stretch out of our brokenness, our preconceived attitudes, and self imposed assumptions and grasp hold of the only hope that exists, the only hope for our brokenness, our humanity and very existence. There is hope and healing and a future no matter what our circumstances. It is true. I have seen it. There are many others that have shared in it as well and testify of its existence and power and potential. Lift your eyes out of the brokenness and glimpse it, it is before you. You are not alone.via A Message To The Broken (*) by Doug Miller (*).
You are not without HOPE.
From: Geoff Eldridge
To: Lexie
7:37am Fri 01 Jul 2011
Hi Lexie. Thanks for your kind message and thoughts. Jo and I really appreciate them and your friendship.
We had a nice day yesterday as we honored Jenny's memory and reflected on her Life.
Sounds like you are having a fantastic time and it was great to have had those moments at Niagara Falls to remember your Dad there and for his parting words to come to you strongly.
Jenny and Jo visited Niagara Falls in 1987 and Jo and I were only talking about this the other day. I can remember Jenny telling me about their visit the first night we went out way back on Fri 30 March 1989. She showed me photos that were rescued from a water logged film camera (it was drenched from their Maidens of the Mist Tour in and around the Falls.
Last week I have moved back to Kirrawee where I lived with Jenny. It has been hard in many ways, but it is something I need to do. The house is exactly the same as it was when I took her to the St George Private Hospital on Tue 16 Jun 2009 (*)).
Yesterday morning as I got up and prepared myself so that I could meet Jo and my Mother at the St George Private Hospital (so we could be at the place and time where she left us (*) - we do this each year), I found flip-book of sayings on the bookshelf. She turned it each day and would put a different saying up. The one she left it on and I take it as her parting message (because we did not have a chance to say our farewells):
"If you can Dream it, you can do it!"
I would like to think that Jo and I have done this since Jenny left us, afterall as we now know, it was her parting wish for us all..
The Story of Telling on Words:
Our words communicate much more than the messages we want people to hear. How we use them shapes our thoughts and character—it shows people what we value and conveys the truth about who we are. Our every word has the power to provoke or reassure, draw people in or push them away. We get to choose how well and how wisely we use them.via The Weight Of Our Words by The Story of Telling.
"engine" is a Nike film about LIVESTRONG.
The film finds Lance Armstrong climbing a mountain on a training ride.
Around him, fuelling him, are a peloton of voices.
These voices are the words of people all over the world making efforts in the spirit of LIVESTRONG.
As Lance Armstrong rides, the voices tell of people facing challenges, facing cancer, coming to grips with what's next, getting up and improving their lives, inspiring others and making amazing goals come to life all over the world.
In the end, the "engine" in the film is both Lance Armstrong and the meaning of LIVESTRONG in all these people's lives.
It's what can be accomplished together with the idea of living better and supporting each other all summed up with Nike and its message of human potential:Just do it.
A conventional coach focuses first on skills. A relationship-based coach, on the other hand, focuses first on creating a sense of belonging.via The Best Locker-Room Speech Ever, and Why it Works (*) by Daniel Coyle (*).
A conventional coach asks: what can I do to help them win? A relationship-based coach asks: what can I do to help us nurture connections and create a culture?
A conventional coach views his team through the lens of performance. A relationship-based coach views his team through the lens of family — which, not coincidentally, tends to make the teaching all the more effective.People work hard for a team. They work even harder for a team that truly feels like family.
[Lucky enough to have stumbled across this today ..]
Joel Meyerowitz was given a "found" bible by a fireman while he photographed Ground Zero in the months following the 9/11. He marveled that the Bible was preserved intact to a lump of steel, and even more, that it was turned to a particular passage from Matthew 5 (KJV) which says:
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also” (vs. 38-39).
Joel notes ..
"Of all the pages in the Bible that it would be open to, that was remarkable,"A remarkable communicator, spoken, written and photographed. Thanks Joel, a timely message.
.. "nothing really matters" .. by Eileen Cady
Dwell not in the past,
Use it to illustrate a point;
then leave it behind.
nothing
really
matters
except what you do now
In this instant of time.From this moment onward
you can be entirely different person
filled with love and understanding,
ready with an outstretched hand,
uplifted and positive
in every thought and deed.
Recently had an experience that has forced me to reflect on life more than I normally would.
I recently had to abstract my experience down to a txt message, so someone could appreciate and understand what I went through during and after this experience. Here it is:
I saw the generosity, concern and empathy of complete strangers. I saw first hand the diversity, strength and professionalism of our Rescue Services - I'm in awe of them. I saw the importance of life and how fragile our connection is with it.I'm proud of my decisions and my actions that day, I think it helped save someones life.
Due to circumstance and/or privacy laws, it is not possible to thank all those people who helped that day, so I say it here - THANK YOU.
An experience like that makes you reflect a lot and in some ways it was life changing - a spiritual experience actually.
I have dwelt on this for far too long and it has had a bigger impact (both negative and positive, oddly enough) on me than I could ever imagined.
It is now time to acknowledge that it did happen for the first and last time here. And it is also now time to leave it behind. Let it go!!!
And so that is that.
Most of my photographs are taken on the street, of objects on the street.via Daido Moriyama Photographs His Beloved Shinjuku (*).
I want to capture the relationship between objects and people.
I don’t ever think about what people are going to think looking at my photographs.
There are many things I can’t control.
That viewers see the photographs in a different way is really important, but it doesn’t influence the work.
My message enters the image, but I think it’s good if many messages enter the image, not just mine.
When you look back at the end of it all, there’s really only one person you’ll have to answer to.[1] I was up early on the last day of camp. Went for a walk along where we trained. It was beautiful and calm and another water photo is added to my little collection (*). The early morning light was strong but even and the were ducks feeding amongst the reeds. A couple of fisherman were out with lures. They did not catch anything but I know they were just happy to be up early appreciating nature and the anticipation (*) of a bite. For me, as I walked and admired the view, there was the anticipation (*) of flying out, the next day, to the Busan (*) for the 2012 Asian Dragon Boat championships.
Yourself.
And if you never gave up, and you always kept pushing with the power of belief (*) behind the message you spread and the gift you shared, then you can hold your head high when you ask yourself what it was all for.
Because you’ll know you lived life. And life is a hell of a ride if you’re willing to get on.
Doug Miller writes on Hope:
Hope is a thread that exists in our lives. It has been there since the day we took our first breaths. It has existed alongside us as we built our lives. It exists now in the shattered reality of brokenness. Though we are broken, hope remains strong. In our weakness Hope rises as an unbroken thread stretching out into our uncertain future, beckoning us to follow and explore the potential that lies dormant and hidden by our pain. Hope waits. Ready for us to reach out and grasp its firm hand. The question is not if hope exists within our brokenness. The real question is if we are willing and able to allow ourselves to stretch out of our brokenness, our preconceived attitudes, and self imposed assumptions and grasp hold of the only hope that exists, the only hope for our brokenness, our humanity and very existence. There is hope and healing and a future no matter what our circumstances. It is true. I have seen it. There are many others that have shared in it as well and testify of its existence and power and potential. Lift your eyes out of the brokenness and glimpse it, it is before you. You are not alone.via A Message To The Broken by Doug Miller.
You are not without HOPE.
Joanne and I sent the following message to the Australian Dragon Boat Team on 18 Aug 2009, a few days before we left to participate for Australia at the IDBF World Dragon Boat Championships held in Prague in late Aug 2009. It is now history - an amazing experience for all of us, particular for Joanne and myself.
We just wanted to say thank you to everyone for helping us to celebrate Jenny's Life, and for your kind words and support for Joanne and I over the course of this campaign.
We also thank everyone for the lovely "Name-A-Star" gift that Amanda presented to us, on your behalf, at the 2nd Team Trial at Penrith. We have attached a copy of the documentation that came with the Sydney Observatory "Name-A-Star" catalogue. The star selected is in the constellation of Vela and has been named "In Memory of Jenny Petterson". As part of the gift, we will view the star at the Observatory on Jenny's and Joanne's Birthday, the 24th March 2010.
Jenny was an amazing person and she showed us all how to live life to full, even in the face of a life threatening illness such as advanced breast cancer, something she lived with for 12 years.
Paddling has become a constant in our lives and the irony is that we would not have found it, if Jenny did not have her cancer. Jenny would often say "what would we be doing if we did not start paddling?". We have travelled this state, country and the world as paddlers and wherever we have travelled we have met friendly likeminded people, no matter their culture or background. We feel we are better people because of our paddling experiences.
Jenny's life changed in 2004 when she nervously, yet humbly, co-featured in an episode of the ABC's "Australian Story" titled "In the Pink"
The episode was watched by more than 1 million people and helped expose Dragons Abreast Australia to many women. It told the true story of breast cancer and it did not shy away from the harsh realities of breast cancer. From then on wherever Jenny travelled, she would be "pulled up" by people in the street or at regatta's so they could talk to her about how the Aus Story Episode helped them to make positive changes to their life.
Following the airing of In the Pink episode, Jenny would often be asked to give a talk to various groups of people. She also became a speaker for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
The last talk she gave was on the 1 April 2009 at the Riverview School in Lane Cove. The talk was given to approximately 200 Year 9 and 10 boys. They were mesmerised and inspired by her story of hope, courage and strength. She was also touched by the fact that the guest speaker they had a month earlier was Dr Chris O'Brien (of RPA Fame), a person she felt quite connected with. He made sense to her through his own public journey with cancer.
A copy of Jenny's Riverview Talk is now kindly hosted on the Dragons Abreast Australia Web site. It tells her (and indeed our story) in her own words with the last few pages giving an insight into her approach to life, and how she embraced her cancer and through it, felt empowered to live a wonderful and fulfilling life. The cancer helped to reveal her true inner spirit and character that she was born with.
Initially, unknowingly, and then later, humbly, she helped to inspire many people throughout Australia and the World to follow their hearts and achieve their dreams.
It was an amazing effort for Jenny to make the NSW State and Australian Teams this year. She was diagnosed with multiple tumors in her liver in early March and started a fortnightly cycle of chemotherapy and another drug. Through the encouragement of her "Support Team", she trained and paddled through all of her treatment and went on to paddle for her State and Club at the 2009 Nationals DB Championships at Kawana. It was with tears in my eyes that I witnessed Jenny, along with her team mates, paddle to Gold Medals in both 500m finals for her State and Club. The most amazing thing I have ever seen.
Finally, Jenny, Joanne and myself visited Prague in September 2005 after the World DB Championships held in Berlin. It is a beautiful City. Little did we know then that we would have the opportunity to compete for our country there in 2009. Jenny was selected in the Australian Team and was training up until early June. Joanne and I will now compete in Prague, with Jenny as our guiding light and inspiration.
Death may end a life, but our relationship will continue forever.
I have included a couple of photos from our trip to Prague in 2005 in our online photo album.
Don't wonder "What if?" - http://bit.ly/iKkog
With Thanks and Kindest Regards .. Geoff and Joanne
[ Jenny Petterson - Don't Wonder "What If?" ]
