AN AGE OLD QUESTION ANSWERED

It is a question that has haunted man and grade school students since someone got the bright idea to teach philosophy in addition to trade related knowledge and skills as regular curriculum.

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound?

Well thanks to a heavier than normal breeze that passed our way the other night I think I have an answer.

I was on my way home from a very long hard day at work.  It had been stormy most of the day and I never weary seeing a little rain fall in our desert lands, especially when drought is the talk of many areas and flooding the parts of others.  Having a pleasant medium is not a bad thing to experience.

Just as I was pulling up to the house, I noticed that something seemed out of place.  At first I wasn't quite sure what it was and then that moment was quickly replaced with the notice of an object on the lawn that wasn't there the last time I had mowed.

I tried to investigate further to determine a cause or if a motive could be established because that was about the cleanest tree removal unintentional or not that I have ever seen.  Over the course of a lifetime, if one is paying attention to their surroundings, they will notice life happening to themselves and others and so I have seen my fair share of trees laying on their sides but never I have I seen one that did not bring or at least attempt to bring a good share of its roots and a goodly section of the ground around it up with it.

I paced it off and figure that this beautiful tree of long pine needle was about thirty feet long which equates to about thirty feet tall when it should in its formerly upright posture.  In case you are wondering, I took a picture with my size 12 boot for a size comparison.

The next day I commenced clean up efforts and learned that pine is one of the softer woods which means it was easier to start the deconstruction process as the loppers I used were making quick work of the branches.  It was still going to take some time though as there was a lot of tree to deconstruct.

I quickly filled our two garbage bins and was glad that it was our garbage pick up day today.  As I wheeled the two over flowing containers to the curb, the garbage truck arrived.  This surprised me because we are usually one of the last ones to be picked up in our neighborhood and the cans on the other side of the street were yet to be emptied.  The gentleman driving the truck pulled up and told me that he had noticed my downed tree earlier and that he would take these now and if I had them ready I could put them on the other side for him to empty on his return.  I was grateful for this offer and went straight to work trying to do just that.

He was true to his word and although they were not quit filled to overflowing as the first batch were, they still contained a pretty full load.  Freshly emptied, I began again to fill.  Six bins worth and a few big parts left over that might make for a nice pit fire some night but I finally got it cleaned up. 

There was some ingenuity employed to make that log into shorter more manageable lengths but more importantly make them light enough that I could move them, but it was done and it is done.  I am going to miss that tree, even if I know that a few more years and a little more wind in a slightly different direction, the outcome could have been much worse.  This is one of the easier things to handle all things consider when life happens.

So that brings me back to the beginning of this little story.  I was visiting with my friend and she asked me what that loud sound was from the night before and I explained about the tree and see nodded knowingly so even if I wasn't there to hear it, it made a sound and was heard.  At least that is what a little birdie told me.

But wait, she was there to hear it.  Forget what I said.  The question remains unanswered.  At least the sky wasn't falling.  This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Million Dollar Television Network is on the air

Update: The site is back up...hurrah.  Be aware that it is still in development and has some issues.  I am using Firefox and it seems to plug up the memory after awhile and I am forced to hard close the program and flash player add on's every once in awhile but as you see below, this is one that I really like and am hoping for great things to come from it, therefore I am willing to put up with these minor issues to get my dose of possitivity.  My you find something to profit from this site as well.  Enjoy.

More Update: the site is going through yet another evolution??? and may be changing its name once again, this time to www.grrshow.com.  It has some of the same features including the spinning meters counting up your scholarship dollars just for tuning in and as long as they are spinning there is still hope for the network to make a go of it.  I am still hoping for the best.

I talked about this one earlier but when I mentioned it before it was just an on-line radio program.  Now it has gone video and the best thing of all is the deal is still the same, you get paid to listen.  For that reason alone it is worth the time and effort to check it out.

The real reason I like it is the content.  It is positive, optimistic, and contagious.  Marshall Sylver is talking about life lessons that we could all benefit from and although I might not agree with everything he says, but there is much I do.  It is a very refreshing change from the norm.

This is such a great change from the daily grind of talk radio and network news that this becomes the perfect substitute for those trying to break that habit.  I enjoy just letting it play in the background while doing whatever it is I am doing.  And the cool thing is that by just letting it run the meter will spin and grow your balance to the tune of $50 scholarship dollars and hour.

So here is the deal; sign up using my referral link and start listening.

http://www.mdtn.com/registration/joinNow/17026

Your scholarship dollars will grow.  Then you can spend those dollars on educational programs which at first seem like they are way overpriced but remember that you are using free scholarship dollars.  In other words it isn't costing you a thing.

I hear you saying 'the programs must not be worth anything then'.  Au contraire my friend, they like many things in life are worth what we put into them and what we get out of them and I am finding them to be of great value...but there is an option to use your scholarship dollars by converting them to cash (just not at a one to one ratio).  The choice as always is yours.

The next thing to do is to find your referral link to tell others about this program and then you will earn the same amount that they are earning just for having them tune in the same way you do.  This is what is known as a win win in the truest sense.

There is a premium membership that you can add if you are so inclined but the great thing is you do not have to.  You can stay on the coattails of free as long as you like.  So far that is what I am doing.

The program is live from 12 noon to 2 pm pacific coast time.  The rest of the time it is running a continue feed of reruns so you can just tune in and let it run all day and all night if you like and keep your meter spinning.  By the way it is really fun to watch those numbers turn.  It is the closest thing I have found to my dream of making money continually like the jackpot balance on the MegaSlots in Vegas.

That link again is http://www.mdtn.com/registration/joinNow/17026 try it and see if you don't enjoy it as much as I have.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Would you bend down for $100

Picture this.  It is a beautiful day, the sun is shining, the sky is blue, there is a light breeze and the temperature is perfect.  You are walking down the sidewalk without a care in the world and your favorite tune is playing in your head.  What could be better.

You look down and notice something in front of you.  As you get closer you notice that it is a $100 dollar bill.  There is no one around and you can tell that it has been there for some time so you know this is found money.  Your pulse quickens.

Do you bend over to pick it up?

Of course you do.  Why wouldn't you?

What if was just $10 dollars, are you still willing to bend over to pick it up?

I know I would but what if it was just $1, would you still be willing to put forth the effort?

What if it was a penny?

Is there a point where you consider it beneath you to bend over and pick up found money?

What if wasn't even real money...what if it was an aluminum can?  Would you bend over to pick up an aluminum can?

Many people will not stoop over to pick up a quarter.  Don't ask me why because I don't understand it.  I still bend over to pick up a dropped penny, and probably always will.  It is a sign to me and to the world that I welcome an increase in whatever form and whatever amount it comes in.  I am anxious to receive.

Wal-Mart is one of the largest retail businesses in the world daily doing millions in transactions.  Those transactions are not all million dollar deals but rather millions of dollar deals.  They pick up the penny millions upon millions of times a day and then do it again the next day.  That is how they got where they are and continue to be who they are today.

But what about the Bill Gates and the Warren Buffetts of the world?  I bet they don't bend over for the pennies and probably not even for the $100 bills.

You are right.  Why?  Because the sidewalk they are on has so many more opportunities of found money of all different kinds of denominations and they only have so much time in a day that they have to focus their time and efforts only on those things that will give them the most return for bending over to pick it up.  They have choice.

If you are not blessed to walk on those sidewalks, what do you do with the sidewalks to do walk?

Some are so busy looking for the big score that they miss out on the little things that can and do add up to the big things.

"For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow."  Luke 19:21.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Know the Rules, Know the Objective

Before you can play the game, any game, you need to know two things, the rules and the objective.  This turns out to be true for the games we call games and the ones we call life.

There are a few people that play any game by their own rules or so it would seem.  What they have discovered either by luck or by design is that there are usually two sets of rules, one that is written and one that is not.  They have become adept at playing by whichever set of rules benefits them the most for any given set of circumstance.  This is what we must learn and the faster we can learn it the better off we are.

I have spent far to many years trying to avoid trouble by playing by the rules as they were written and stated, trying to be the good boy only to find that I could still get into trouble even with the best of intentions.  This is not a recipe for success.  It can be a means to be beaten into submission.

It is better to learn what the real rules are and follow the ones that work.  This is where the real returns on investment are to be had.

A close second to knowing the rules is knowing what the objectives are.  This includes the objectives set down by those that created the game and of course the objectives you set for yourself.  When you met the objectives of the game you are rewarded with advancement to the next level.  When you meet the objectives of another you can also be rewarded, but in order to do so you must know what the objectives are for that other person.  One of the best ways to learn what those objectives are is by asking and through observation.  Many will say one thing but really mean something else.  I have learned this lesson well in an earlier job when I was told that quality was most important but the thing that really paid dividends and was the real driver to advancement was quantity.  As I cranked up my production I found that the number of times my work was reviewed actually decreased but the amount of notice by management increased until I was ranked number 1 in the division I was in.

By the way, the quality of my work did not suffer.  I would not allow it.  One of the overriding rules in all of this is to 'never compromise your integrity'.  You should never, no never, lower your standards, you are too important to allow that to happen.  There is no reward great enough to offset the price paid of lowering your standards.  And that defines what the last objective of any game is...the objective you set for yourself.

The decisions you make about who you are, and who you are going to be are the most important goals you set in life.  These are the goals that are the objectives of the game of life that should override all others.  Whenever you come upon a time where two objectives are competing for your attention, talents and resources, it is then that you rely upon the priorities you have already set for yourself and the answer of which to choose has already been made.  Then it is only a matter of following through with that choice.

To thine own self be true.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.