MAGGIE'S F-W | OUR FIRST FLAGSHIP: WAVES OF KUDOS® COLLECTIBLE EDUCATIONAL LABELS

Maggie's F-W | Our First Flagship: Waves of Kudos®Collectible Educational Labels

Waves of Kudos Four Pillars: 

• Fairness
• Learning
• Use of Technology
• Success 

​

​Rule of Thumb 1:1

One Computer: One Student.

OPEN INVITATION TO:

The Industrial  & Commercial Sector in the United States of America

Fellow officials of each sector: Each of you  is  invited to join efforts and participate with all stakeholders, in our most relevant enterprise in the whole history of  education in the United States of America.

Right now, we  are Blooming our Waves of Kudos program: 40+ | 40+ | 4+

This plan is focused in provide 40+ millions of Technology Devices, when educating,  to 40+ millions of students in their respective schools, in the next 4+ decades. 

Our work is to propel those above mentioned four pillars!

Complementary Information:  byrosesonly@gmail.com

Our Inspiraration Today

What Are Waves of Kudos® Collectible Educational Labels?

Waves of Kudos® Collectible Educational Labels is a marketing program initiated by the Maggie's F-W Company in the United States of America. This program allows schools to earn Academic Technology Needs, and in "some specific cases"  acquire other school academic needs,  in exchange for Educational Labels or Universal Product Codes (UPCs) on associated products, with a very specific goal: To break the digital divide in each of  the United States of America  Schools Districts.

This Is Why Officials Of Maggie's F-W Are  Welcoming Sponsors

Subscribed Industrial/Commercial Institutions will provide the support needed for our children to get, at students own efforts [getting/collecting UPCs Waves of Kudos®Labels], their Technology needs for their K-12 education; while trying to break, the Educational Digital Divide--if existing--in their schools.

This extraordinary opportunity will provide  the needed technological learning tools to:

103.959 Schools, and within them 3,100.000 + Teachers (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016). Educators that, in fact, will be helping them to achieve this cornerstone. 

Thus, this undertaking will support: 

50 + Millions of Enthusiastic Students [50.4 million / National Center for Education Statistics, 2016] and at least 100 + Millions of Thankful Parents.

To know about UPCs Waves of Kudos®Collectible Labels project, visit Maggie's F-W homepage/Waves of Kudos video button,  and/ or clicking on the following hyperlink: https://youtu.be/yhGWURyTDXs

By the same token,  to take a deep look about this undertaking, visit the website page at: Maggie's F-W (maggiesfw.com)

On the other hand, additional information about "Understanding the Digital Divide in Education" can be found on the following hyperlink:  Maggie's F-W - Homepage (maggiesfw.com), which, as a matter of a fact,  is Maggie's F-W/ "E-Donate" website page.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!! 

Waves of Kudos from all of us!!!! 

As a matter of fact, and according to the following excerpt, any stakeholder should be worried that something like this might be happening, right now and every where, in the United States of America:

School Districts Are Going Into Debt To Keep Up With Technology

"In Silicon Valley, cash-strapped schools are selling bonds to buy student laptops"

"This story about school debt is part of the series Districts in Debt, which examines the hidden financial pressures challenging American schools."

In a combined biology/literature class, students at James Lick High School complete assignments using school-supplied Chromebooks.

Amadou Diallo for The Hechinger Report

SAN JOSE, Calif. — At James Lick High School the slate-gray Chromebooks are ubiquitous. Rolling cabinets stocked with dozens of the laptops sit in classrooms where teachers assign them to students for everything from researching hereditary DNA to writing essays. In this majority-Latino school of 1,100 students, 84 percent of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a federal measure of poverty, school principal David Porter says making the devices readily available is a significant part of an effort to develop digital literacy for students who might otherwise be left behind.

Nationwide, one out of four teenagers from low-income households lacks access to a home computer and, overall, Latino students have less access than their black and white peers, according to a 2018 survey by the Pew Research Center. “We’re doing a disservice if we’re not teaching the next generation how to use technology. Students being able to access it is critical,” Porter says.

Using computers and online resources in the classroom is part of a growing trend in education. What’s unusual about James Lick’s Chromebook program isn’t the laptops themselves, but how they were paid for. In this school on the eastern edge of Silicon Valley, just a 20-minute drive from Google’s Mountain View headquarters, the district has put these laptops into students’ hands by going into debt, authorizing a $16.2 million sale of general-obligation bonds intended almost exclusively for the laptop purchases.

It’s part of an emerging shift in how schools are thinking about paying for technology, one that city and county officials say is necessary because of inadequate state funding and a highly decentralized education system that leaves smaller, less affluent districts with few other options. Yet it’s an approach that some observers say not only violates the principle of taxpayer-financed debt, but exacerbates inequities for schools in communities lacking the municipal wealth of their higher-income counterparts.

Bonds have been a long-standing source of revenue for public education. School districts sell the bonds to investors for an immediate influx of cash, with an agreement to pay back the money to bond holders over an extended period of time, commonly 20 to 30 years, with interest. Traditionally, bonds have been used to pay for capital assets that hold their value for decades. Issuing a 30-year bond to finance a new school building makes sense, says Ross Rubenstein, a professor at Georgia State University who specializes in public finance and education policy.

Using long-term debt to pay for technology that may be obsolete in a couple of years, he says, is “like taking out a mortgage to buy groceries.” Yet that is precisely what school districts across the country, including some in California, Texas, Minnesota and Kansas, have done in a desperate push to get technology into classrooms.

“One of the fundamental ideas behind debt is you want to try and match the life of what you’re purchasing to the life of the debt,” Rubenstein says.

Related: School districts’ uphill battle to get good deals on ed tech

In 2008, the San Diego Unified School District won voter approval for $2.1 billion in bond sales. While the majority of that money was for school maintenance and construction, the district allocated some of those funds for technology, buying more than 21,000 iPads. With bond payments stretching out as far as 40 years, it’s been estimated that some of these $400 iPads may ultimately cost the district more than $4,000 each.

"Using long-term bonds for tech are “like taking out a mortgage to buy groceries,”

Ross Rubenstein, a professor at Georgia State University.

An attempt by the Los Angeles Unified School District to use a long-term bond program to buy student iPads in 2013 resulted in not only high costs for the devices, but also separate SEC and FBI investigations into the legality of the bond spending and possible corruption in the vendor bidding process.

Yet, the 2014 bond sale used to buy Chromebooks for James Lick and the rest of the East Side Union High School District schools has a much different structure. Designed exclusively for technology purchases, these bonds have much shorter payment terms. And because the laptops will obviously need to be replaced every few years, this voter-approved bond measure authorized a recurring series of short-term bond sales — future offerings commence after current obligations are paid off — the last of which will come due in 2035. This structure provides for future financial stability in a fiscally responsible manner, according to district superintendent Chris Funk.

During a free period, Juan Negrete, a 17-year-old senior at Yerba Buena High School, works on an assignment using a school-supplied Chromebook.

During a free period, Juan Negrete, a 17-year-old senior at Yerba Buena High School, works on an assignment using a school-supplied Chromebook.

By 2014 the district had won approval for $116 million in short-term bonds sales, including the $16.2 million for the Chromebooks, software licenses and the infrastructure needed to maintain them.

“In a traditional long-term bond the interest would be close to $100 million,” Funk says. “The way we’re doing it dropped the interest down to like $25 million because we’re paying off the debt every 4 to 5 years. That gives a school district like ours a source of revenue for the next 20 years that we can rely on for technology.”

Finance experts agree that school bonds offer substantial savings over most other types of borrowing, given that bonds are backed by a reliable source of funds: property taxes.

“There is a lower cost in using short-term debt rather than going out and getting a high-interest lease with a [laptop] vendor, for example,” says Bart Hildreth, a professor at Georgia State University who studies municipal finances. But bonds are not free money, he cautions. “The bond transaction itself has up-front costs. When you issue debt you have to get a bond rating, get a lawyer, investment banker, broker dealers and prepare the official statement.”

Borrowing that $16.2 million dollars for the Chromebooks cost the East Side Union district an additional $357,000 in these up-front costs on top of what appears to be roughly $1.7 million in interest payments, according to the bond filing.

The best option, experts say, is to pay for things like laptops with cash, not debt.

Related: The ‘dirty secret’ about educational innovation

Reference

Diallo, A. (2019). School districts are going into debt to keep up with technology. Retrieved from https://hechingerreport.org/school-districts-are-going-into-debt-to-keep-up-with-technology/

MAGGIE'S FW | WAVES OF KUDOS® COLLECTIVE EDUCATIONAL LABELS: DEFINITIONS AND REMARKS

ACCOUNT HOLDER: Any school in the United States of America, including [the CNMI (commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), Guam, and Puerto Rico].

USER [ LICENSEE]: Any commercial  institution.

LICENSE: Product/Service Licensing  that guarantees the use, from a third party, for one or more of Maggie's F-W  products yearly. License is auto renewable every year.

PRODUCTS (BRAND NAMES)[ALSO CALLED " EDUCATIONAL COLLECTIBLE LABELS"]:

These Brand Names are:  

1. ​ORIGINALS®
2. TRADING LABELS® 
3. THE STAMPS®
4. THE ALBUMS®

VENDOR [LICENSOR]: MAGGIE'S FW.

LICENSEE SPECIAL REMARKS:

• License is offered to any user in the United States of America.
• Users may buy one or more annual licenses.
• Any license covers all the geographic where the user performs its businesses.
• User develops all the necessary commercial infrastructure [e.g., printing labels] to promote its products through our product licensing. 

Important: Additional information is found in: Maggies's F-W Services Agreement.

LICENSOR SPECIAL REMARKS:

• Vendor remains in permanent contact with the commercial institutions/partnerships.
• Vendor keeps an updated  list [catalog] of state of the art available technology products and services [see School/Supply/Products: Maggie's F-W (maggiesfw.com)].
• Vendor contacts officials of every school, in any district area, where the user performs its businesses.
• Vendor's responsibility includes to promote directly their Waves of Kudos® products, to any student, in the user's aforesaid geographic location/area.
• Vendor uses technological tools to promote the effectivity of the four above-mentioned products.
• Vendor grants rewards to students for their achievements when gathering and/or collecting labels.
• Vendors might visit schools to promote Waves of Kudos services.

​Important: Additional information is found in: Maggie's F-W Services Agreement.

TECHNOLOGICAL/PROPRIETARY TOOLS

Maggie's F-W | Waves of Kudos® will use the below itemized technological tools to encourage its services:

1. QUACKTERLEGRAM®
2. RAWR®
3. FIREFLY COLLAGE®

Note:  A description of these above-mentioned tools is described, when clicking, on each of them.

INTELECTUAL PROPERTY [IP]: Maggie's F- W | Waves of Kudos®Product/Service Licensing was created and is owned by Maggie's F- W's Founders.

WAVES OF KUDOS® COLLECTIVE EDUCATIONAL LABELS

A. MAGGIE'S F-W | ORIGINALS®

 BLOOMING NOW

Size:  Letter -- Portrait [1.5 inches by 0.75 inch] for its redeeming sheet.

• Users [enterprises] will use the above drawn rectangular-gray-area to ask any academic question, in any subject, relevant to K-12 education. This question will be addressed  to the final buyers [students] of their products. 
• Participants students [final buyers] will turn-in those answers to the Principal's office.
• Users also, will use the red-squared-area to insert any image related to the academic question.
• On the other hand, the Principal of the participating school,  must attach  those answers to  the UPCs' package.
• Subsequently, the Principal of the school will send those answers   to the Vendor [Waves of Kudos] as well. 
• In the end, final buyers may gain some surprises. Those surprises are additional to those the official of the school's shopper acquires, when shopping in our website, after he/she uses the previously collected UPCs  by the students.
• Instructions to win more surprises, will be send to the participant student after he/she is invited to join  Quacktelegram.

Example

• By the same token, label can be printed on its products and/or inserted within.

Waves of Kudos Redeeming Sheet Sample: https://maggiesfw.com/en/static_pages/item/waves-of-kudos-redeeming-points-sheets-the-originals

Place an order: Go to our E-Commerce Platform and the system will guide you step by step. Please click on this hyperlink: Maggie's F-W (maggiesfw.com)

B. MAGGIE'S F-W |TRADING LABELS® 

Presenting the Presidents of the World [ 5 per each country of the world]:

Sizes: 

[ 5.0 inches x 3.5 inches ] 

Note: Label can be printed on its products and/or inserted within.

Place an order: Go to our E-Commerce Platform and the system will guide you step by step. Please click on this hyperlink: Maggie's F-W (maggiesfw.com)

C. MAGGIE'S F-W | THE STAMPS®

Presenting the Flags of the World [Independence Day of each country is included as well].

 BLOOMING ​NOW

Sizes: Tabloid and Horizontal Letter [ 3 inches x 1.5 inches ] for their redeeming sheets.

            Vertical Letter [ 2.6 inches x 1.3 inches ] for its redeeming sheet.

Note: Label can be printed on its products and/or inserted within. 

Waves of Kudos Redeeming Points Samples [The Stamps]: Maggie's F-W - Homepage (maggiesfw.com)

Place an order: Go to our E-Commerce Platform and the system will guide you step by step. Please click on this hyperlink: Maggie's F-W (maggiesfw.com)

D. MAGGIE'S F-W | THE ALBUMS® THE THREE KINGDOMS

Presenting the Animal Kingdom:

Presenting the Vegetal Kingdom:

Presenting the Mineral Kingdom:

Sizes: 

[3.5 inches by 5 inches] 

Note: Label can be printed on its products and/or inserted within.

The Album Collections Educational Book: The Three Kingdoms

Place an order: Go to our E-Commerce Platform and the system will guide you step by step. Please click on this hyperlink: Maggie's F-W (maggiesfw.com)

Effective date: this Maggie’s F-W | Waves of Kudos®--Our First Flagship is effective and was last updated on October 17, 2022.

TECHNOLOGY & K-12 EDUCATION SURVEY

TECHNOLOGY & K-12 EDUCATION SURVEY

Dear Teacher,

As we are partnering with several companies to PROVIDE/DONATE TECHNOLOGY to schools.

We would like to know, what are your class’ technology needs?

Please, take three minutes [ESTIMATED TIME ] to complete this survey.

Just click on the hyperlink:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/L2NTYVW

Thank you very much,

WAVES OF KUDOS

MAGGIE'S F-W PRESENTING CAESAR'S HORS D'OEUVRES

MAGGIE'S F-W PRESENTING CAESAR'S HORS D'OEUVRES
This space is designed to reflect and comment on present or past, maybe, forgotten and some times needed issues that may have a vey significative impact on some of us! 

Hors d'oeuvres # 001

The Eye of the Hurricane! 

The Eye of the Hurricane! Are you kidding me?

Meteorologists talk most of the time about hurricane when concentrating on its parts, for instance, in reference to its formation, as the eye wall, and when the hurricane is strengthening, they define it as the eye of the hurricane.

These affirmations can be found detailed almost everywhere, as it is described in the following excerpt:

“Hurricanes consists of three major parts: the eye, eye wall, and rain bands. The eye is the calmest part of the hurricane located in the center.”

Unfortunately, for this scholar, the above-mentioned asseveration is incorrect.

It is incorrect because mostly meteorologists’ descriptions are focused on the word: Eye. That is, it! There is not such “eye” in one hurricane. The hurricane does not have/possess an eye; the hurricane just have/ possesses a Vortex.

Vortex

Vortex is a notion that derives from the Latin vortex.

The concept names a flow that rotates in a spiral sense, like a whirlpool. More precisely, it can be said that vortex is that which has vorticity.

The term vorticity is defined as a quantity that quantifies the rotation that a fluid performs, and it is used precisely in the field of fluid mechanics, as well as in meteorology.

From a mathematical point of view, vorticity is defined by the rotor's velocity field and is a vector field.

The rotor is also known by the name of rotational, and it is a vector operator that expresses the tendency that a vector field must induce rotation around a point. 

On the other hand, about this climatic phenomenon, the central zone of a hurricane is called a vortex [Julián Pérez, J. &Gardey, A. (2015). Definition of vortex. Retrieved from https://definicion.de/vortice/ ].

Do not say the eye of the hurricane, say the vortex of the hurricane!

Subsequently, do not say the eye wall, say the vortex wall.

Any feedback is highly appreciated: edudolphinmfw@gmail.com

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--Anthropomorphism

Hors d'oeuvres # 002

Anthropomorphism

As a Writer and/or as a Scholar "beware" about: Anthropomorphism

“What is anthropomorphism?

Anthropomorphism refers to giving human characteristics to a nonliving object or animal.

Why should I avoid anthropomorphism?

In academic writing, it is best to avoid using anthropomorphism because it causes sentences to be unclear and imprecise.

Because academic writing should be clear and direct, you want to avoid any phrasing that is not precise.

To make sure your sentences are precise, be sure that the subject of your sentence can perform the action of the verb.

What does anthropomorphism look like?

Anthropomorphism can show up differently in your writing. To see variations, see the examples below:

• Example One:

Incorrect: The article from Lassitter and Jones (2009) discussed in how coffee wakes you up in the morning.

Correct: Lassitter and Jones (2009) discussed how coffee wakes you up in the morning.

The incorrect sentence above includes anthropomorphism. An article cannot discuss something, as being able to discuss a topic is a human characteristic.

• Example Two:

Incorrect: This experiment attempted to investigate how students learn APA style (Wheatley, 2016).

Correct: Wheatley (2016) attempted to investigate how students learn APA style.

The incorrect sentence above includes anthropomorphism. An experiment cannot attempt something, but a researcher can.  

• Example Three:

Incorrect: A review of the literature concluded that there is a gap in the research on this topic (Fraenza, 2016).

Correct: Fraenza (2016) concluded that there is a gap in the research on this topic.

The incorrect sentence includes anthropomorphism. A written work cannot conclude something, but a writer can, like the correct sentence demonstrates.

How do I avoid anthropomorphism?

When discussing research, focus on the authors or writers and state what they did, concluded, said, or found.

Do not use their results, article, or analysis as the subject of the sentence”(Retrieved from https://writingcenter.ashford.edu/anthropomorphism).

The concepts abovementioned are clear description of anthropomorphism, however the following excerpts [APA formatting] make one think, two times, if the attributes in each statement are correct as are demonstrated in the following table:

What do you think my fellow reader?

By the same token, this scholar agrees with the following:

“Determining what constitutes anthropomorphism can be challenging, and even distinguished scholars may disagree.

If a construction is in widespread use and its meaning is unambiguous, it is usually not anthropomorphic” (Retrieved from https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/grammar/anthropomorphism ).

However, this scholar disagrees with the same concepts of the manuscript, which emphasize:

For example, when describing what is contained in sections of an APA Style paper, the following constructions are all acceptable:

1. "In this section, I address"

Here this scholar cannot find anthropomorphism but “Avoid Using First Person Point of View in Academic Writing.”

2. "This section addresses"

This scholar is challenging this affirmation. What do you think?

3. "This paper focuses on"

This scholar is challenging this affirmation. What do you think?

4. "In this paper, I focus on"

Here this scholar cannot find anthropomorphism. Anyway, “Avoiding Using First Person Point of View in Academic Writing” is extremely important!

5. "The results suggest"

This scholar is challenging this affirmation. What do you think?

6. "The study found"

This scholar is challenging this affirmation. What do you think?

7. "The data provide evidence that"

This scholar is challenging this affirmation. What do you think?"

By the same token, this scholar hopes that the readers have found some answers.

Consequently, when referring to Scholarly Writing cannot accept the following asseveration:

“…However, common usage in academic writing includes some phrases such as "the results suggest" that, although examples of anthropomorphism, are acceptable for use because they do not lead to confusion. See APA 7, Section 4.11 for more information” ([Retrieved from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/other/anthropomorphism).

This scholar defines that the purity of a language is indispensable to cultivate the richness of the any language.

Thus, this scholar does not accept the term “acceptable.”  In fact, acknowledging this absurdity goes in detriment of the English writing and the English language.

Theories, studies, results, and other aspects of research can take certain verbs in common usage without leading to confusion:

• address
• contribute
• find
• focus on
• indicate
• present
• provide
• show
• suggest

Some examples are

• The results showed a relationship between time spent in the intervention program and student standardized test scores.
• The table presents information on the demographics of this study.
• The theory indicates that societies work much like ecological systems, with different groups playing different and necessary roles in the larger system.

Theories, studies, results, and other aspects of research are sometimes paired with other kinds of actions that obscure the clarity of who is doing the action, though.

For example, consider the active verbs here and whether it would be best if a person or group of people took the action described by the verbs:

• Less clear phrasing: The theory concluded that transformational leadership style influences follower job satisfaction.
• Revised for clarity: The theorists concluded that transformational leadership style influences follower job satisfaction.  

• Less clear phrasing: The theory determined that society operates based on a type of ecology analogous to a biological ecosystem.
• Revised for clarity: Through their research, population ecology theorists have determined that society operates based on a type of ecology analogous to a biological ecosystem.  

• Less clear phrasing: The study explored the effect of retention strategies on RNs in an urgent care center.
• Revised for clarity: In the study, I explored the effect of retention strategies on RNs in an urgent care center.  

• Less clear phrasing: The study examined the relationship between childhood bullying experiences and later life friendship attachments.
• Revised for clarity: In this study, I examined the relationship between childhood bullying experiences and later life friendship attachments.

​

​Organizations

Organizations, as groups of people, can take actions that are appropriate for human actors:

• Johnson & Johnson recalled products from Target store shelves.
• The school board voted to require school uniforms.
• The Society of Professional Journalists issued new ethics guidelines.
• The hospital implemented new procedures regarding RN staffing requirements.

However, avoid ascribing actions to organizations when it is important to understand which specific people within the organization performed the action.

• Problematic phrasing: The factory walked out on strike.
• Possible revision: All nonmanagement employees of the factory walked out on strike”

(Retrieved from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/other/anthropomorphism).

All the highlighted statements are example of anthropomorphism, period!

Indeed, "Avoid Using First Person Point of View in Academic Writing;" is very important, please do not forget about that as well!

Any feedback is highly appreciated: edudolphinmfw@gmail.com

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--A Letter to Garcia

Hors d'oeuvres # 003

A Message to Garcia 

In all this Cuban business there is one man stands out on the horizon of my memory like Mars at perihelion. When war broke out between Spain & the United States, it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the Insurgents.

Garcia was somewhere in the mountain vastness of Cuba- no one knew where. No mail nor telegraph message could reach him. The President must secure his cooperation, and quickly.

What to do!

Someone said to the President, "There’s a fellow by the name of Rowan will find Garcia for you, if anybody can."

Rowan was sent for and given a letter to be delivered to Garcia. How "the fellow by the name of Rowan" took the letter, sealed it up in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, & in three weeks came out on the other side of the Island, having traversed a hostile country on foot, and delivered his letter to Garcia, are things I have no special desire now to tell in detail.

The point I wish to make is this: McKinley gave Rowan a letter to be delivered to Garcia; Rowan took the letter and did not ask, "Where is he at?"

By the Eternal! there is a man whose form should be cast in deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college of the land.

It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this and that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies: do the thing- "Carry a message to Garcia!"

General Garcia is dead now, but there are other Garcia’s.

No man, who has endeavored to carry out an enterprise where many hands were needed, but has been well night appalled at times by the imbecility of the average man- the inability or unwillingness to concentrate on a thing and do it.

Slip-shod assistance, foolish inattention, dowdy indifference, & half-hearted work seem the rule; and no man succeeds, unless by hook or crook, or threat, he forces or bribes other men to assist him; or mayhap, God in His goodness performs a miracle, & sends him an Angel of Light for an assistant.

You, reader, put this matter to a test: You are sitting now in your office- six clerks are within call.

Summon any one and make this request: "Please look in the encyclopedia and make a brief memorandum for me concerning the life of Correggio".

Will the clerk quietly say, "Yes, sir," and go do the task?

On your life, he will not.

He will look at you out of a fishy eye and ask one or more of the following questions:

• Who was he?
• Which encyclopedia?
• Where is the encyclopedia?
• Was I hired for that?
• Don’t you mean Bismarck?
• What’s the matter with Charlie doing it?
• Is he dead?
• Is there any hurry?
• Shan’t I bring you the book and let you look it up yourself?
• What do you want to know for?

And I will lay you ten to one that after you have answered the questions, and explained how to find the information, and why you want it, the clerk will go off and get one of the other clerks to help him try to find Garcia- and then come back and tell you there is no such man.

Of course I may lose my bet, but according to the Law of Average, I will not.

Now if you are wise you will not bother to explain to your "assistant" that Correggio is indexed under the C’s, not in the K’s, but you will smile sweetly and say, "Never mind," and go look it up yourself.

And this incapacity for independent action, this moral stupidity, this infirmity of the will, this unwillingness to cheerfully catch hold and lift, are the things that put pure Socialism so far into the future.

If men will not act for themselves, what will they do when the benefit of their effort is for all? A first-mate with knotted club seems necessary; and the dread of getting "the bounce" Saturday night, holds many a worker to his place.

Advertise for a stenographer, and nine out of ten who apply, can neither spell nor punctuate- and do not think it necessary to.

Can such a one write a letter to Garcia?

"You see that bookkeeper," said the foreman to me in a large factory.

"Yes, what about him?"

"Well he’s a fine accountant, but if I’d send him up town on an errand, he might accomplish the errand all right, and on the other hand, might stop at four saloons on the way, and when he got to Main Street, would forget what he had been sent for."

Can such a man be entrusted to carry a message to Garcia?

We have recently been hearing much maudlin sympathy expressed for the "downtrodden denizen of the sweat-shop" and the "homeless wanderer searching for honest employment," & with it all often go many hard words for the men in power.

Nothing is said about the employer who grows old before his time in a vain attempt to get frowsy ne’er-do-wells to do intelligent work; and his long patient striving with "help" that does nothing but loaf when his back is turned.

In every store and factory there is a constant weeding-out process going on.

The employer is constantly sending away "help" that have shown their incapacity to further the interests of the business, and others are being taken on.

No matter how good times are, this sorting continues, only if times are hard and work is scarce, the sorting is done finer- but out and forever out, the incompetent and unworthy go.

It is the survival of the fittest. Self-interest prompts every employer to keep the best- those who can carry a message to Garcia.

I know one man of really brilliant parts who has not the ability to manage a business of his own, and yet who is absolutely worthless to anyone else, because he carries with him constantly the insane suspicion that his employer is oppressing, or intending to oppress him.

He cannot give orders; and he will not receive them. Should a message be given him to take to Garcia, his answer would probably be, "Take it yourself."

Tonight this man walks the streets looking for work, the wind whistling through his threadbare coat.

No one who knows him dare employ him, for he is a regular firebrand of discontent. He is impervious to reason, and the only thing that can impress him is the toe of a thick-soled No. 9 boot.

Of course I know that one so morally deformed is no less to be pitied than a physical cripple; but in our pitying, let us drop a tear, too, for the men who are striving to carry on a great enterprise, whose working hours are not limited by the whistle, and whose hair is fast turning white through the struggle to hold in line dowdy indifference, slip-shod imbecility, and the heartless ingratitude, which, but for their enterprise, would be both hungry & homeless.

Have I put the matter too strongly?

Possibly I have; but when all the world has gone a-slumming I wish to speak a word of sympathy for the man who succeeds- the man who, against great odds has directed the efforts of others, and having succeeded, finds there’s nothing in it: nothing but bare board and clothes.

I have carried a dinner pail & worked for day’s wages, and I have also been an employer of labor, and I know there is something to be said on both sides.

There is no excellence, per se, in poverty; rags are no recommendation; & all employers are not rapacious and high-handed, any more than all poor men are virtuous.

My heart goes out to the man who does his work when the "boss" is away, as well as when he is at home.

And the man who, when given a letter for Garcia, quietly take the missive, without asking any idiotic questions, and with no lurking intention of chucking it into the nearest sewer, or of doing aught else but deliver it, never gets "laid off," nor has to go on a strike for higher wages.

Civilization is one long anxious search for just such individuals.

Anything such a man asks shall be granted; his kind is so rare that no employer can afford to let him go. He is wanted in every city, town and village- in every office, shop, store and factory.

The world cries out for such: he is needed & needed badly- the man who can carry a message to Garcia.

THE END AND/OR THE BEGINNING?

Retrieved from

https://nrotc.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/A%20Message%20to%20Garcia%20-%20pdf.pdf

Any feedback is highly appreciated: edudolphinmfw@gmail.com

4 Key Lessons from “A Message to Garcia”

Do the thing...

One of the most published articles in history, “A Message to Garcia” (by Elbert Hubbard) highlights several great challenges and lessons of life.

There are four key lessons that I would like to discuss:  three of those lessons are key points from the author and the fourth is one that will assist you as you LEAD FROM YOUR CURRENT POSITION®

My First Day in the Devil Brigade (504th Parachute Infantry Regiment)

I was introduced to “A Message to Garcia” very early in my career.

In fact, I was given the article the day I reported to my first active duty unit. At the conclusion of my introductory meeting with my Brigade Commander (then Colonel Peter J. Boylan, Commander of the 1st Brigade, 82d Airborne Division), he simply handed me the article and asked that I write a two-page summary of what the article meant to me and to bring it back to the Brigade Staff Duty Officer the next morning.

I saluted and departed.

This was the beginning of a busy and memorable day since I was an Infantry Second Lieutenant reporting to my first unit.

Next, I would meet with my Battalion and Company Commanders. I was told I would be assigned as Alpha Company’s First Platoon Leader and that I would meet my Platoon Sergeant and Platoon the next morning.

Later that evening, I sat down to read “A Message to Garcia” and contemplate my assignment: the two-page summary.

I was moved by the article and it’s theme: Be Proactive.

Additionally, I was struck by the fact that it was a First Lieutenant Andrew Summers Rowan that would “do the thing” and later be awarded our Nation’s second highest honor for his actions: the Distinguished Service Cross. I promptly wrote my response.

Since the copy of the article I was given was barely legible (it was a multigenerational copy and making another copy would have been illegible), I went out and bought a typewriter.

This was before the personal computer revolution.

That evening, I typed a new version of the article. I would make copies and give them to my new Platoon Sergeant and Squad Leaders the next morning with the exact same assignment (after turning my assignment in at the Brigade Headquarters).

I would later use this assignment for the rest of my career with each organization that I was assigned to.

It became a leadership litmus test of sorts, meaning that it gave me insight into the professional maturity of the writer.

Very similar to the idea that Elbert Hubbard mentions in the article about summoning a clerk to write a memorandum concerning the life of Correggio, how the person completed the task and what they wrote told me a lot about them.

As a minimum, it gave me an opportunity to discuss key aspects of leadership with my Soldiers.

Again Asseverating: 4 Key Lessons from “A Message to Garcia”

Be proactive… Do the thing. The majority of the time, the conditions in our circle of influence are ripe for our action and contribution.

Be response-able. Victor Frankl’s life and writings teach us that we have a great deal of freedom, even in the most awful of circumstances.

Between STIMULUS and RESPONSE is a huge responsibility for us: the FREEDOM TO CHOOSE. It is our values & virtues, not the conditions surrounding us, that should guide our choices.

Take the initiative. There are several levels of initiative where your judgment and discretion will guide you, but I believe that you will find very few times that there is a real barrier preventing you from being able to simply “do the thing.”

What can I contribute to the environment so others can flourish? Using the framework of Lead From Your Current Position® (Self-Development, Partnership, and Service) and my definition of leadership, can you identify what actions are needed around you?

Will you look for them in the future?

Did Hubbard put the matter too strongly?

Possibly… but today, like 1899, the points he highlights still seem to ring true.

Regardless, I hope you can use “A Message to Garcia” to enhance your proactivity and ability to contribute to others.

Retrieved from

https://leadfromyourcurrentposition.com/wordpress/2018/05/09/4-key-lessons-from-a-message-to-garcia/#.X6Bo2JCSlPY\

VIDEOS

https://youtu.be/p4pgzs2C8jk

https://youtu.be/Fp-OUW-1uaY

https://youtu.be/U6-QvWSMRxo

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--Desiderata

Hors d'oeuvres # 004

Desiderata

Words for Life by Max Enhrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

This scholar enjoys this poem every time he can remember it. In fact, he reads it almost every day.

However, when surfing the web, he found a great analogy to Desiderata’s inner message from Michael Shook [July 12, 2019] [ Retrieved from https://medium.com/publishous/the-meaning-behind-the-desiderata-poem-8c2e3296d6cb ].

The Meaning Behind the Desiderata Poem

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

"Stop talking to fill the silence and listen to your own inner voice."

As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Everyone is walking their own path with their own struggles and could really use your good thoughts."

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

"Loud and noisy persons are almost always trying to get you to pay attention to them instead of the voice of your own heart. The internet and TV are full of these people."

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

"You are already you and nobody is going to be any better at being you than you are. And it is OK to let other people be who they are."

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

"Much of the fun in life is the journey, not just the destination. If you don’t enjoy the journey, you are wasting most of your life."

Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

"Pick something you like to do and learn more about it, and let everyone else do the same."

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

"Individually, people are pretty good. Many of them think they have to act some other way at work; they don’t have to, but they think they do. In their hearts, most people are kind and good. Pay attention to that part of them."

Be yourself.

"Don’t pretend to be somebody you aren’t. It doesn’t work well, never lasts, and is always a waste of time. But understand that who you are and how you think is going to change over the course of your lifetime."

Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

"The greatest commandment is love. It is all that counts, and if you concentrate on loving others, you will find your own life filled with love in return."

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

"It is OK to grow up; your view on things changes, and it's really a lot of fun, no matter what they try to tell you about wanting to stay a child."

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

"Authentic spirituality is always about love and light. If a spiritual practice or religion teaches anything different than that — especially if they are teaching you to be afraid — that teaching is wrong, and its time for you to let go of your attachment to it."

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

"That inner voice that talks to you, you have control over. And when you let it say nice things to you, your life becomes more beautiful."

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

"You are not a mistake, you are not a sinner, everything you are is God. Everything. You are not cut off from God, he doesn’t think you are bad and every day He is sending you signs and symbols of how much He loves you."

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

"It's OK, the part that counts most is your heart. Think good thoughts, do good things, and allow others to do the same for you. Your perception of life will change tremendously, much for the better."

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

"Let yourself be happy. Your life will be so much better when you are."

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--Syllogism

Hors d'oeuvres # 005

The Marvellous Syllogism

What Are Syllogisms?

“Syllogisms are logical arguments that make use of deductive reasoning to form arguments.”

There are many different types of syllogisms. They are structured in a simple way with two premises and a conclusion in their most basic form.

We have an innate penchant to argue about things.

Anyone reading this knows how amazing it can be to verbally wrestle with your friends about why your favorite football club is the best of all time, or perhaps you get into the classic argument of how Marvel’s cinematic universe kicks DC out of the park every time.

As entertaining as arguing can be, having proper arguments to support your beliefs not only helps you defend them, but also helps you form well-rounded opinions.

Having the ability to reason by logic is a method that philosophers have used for centuries to determine the true nature of things, to separate idiosyncratic beliefs from true reality.

Human head with maze inside and colorful jigsaw puzzle pieces. Concept of logical thinking, intelligence, mental capacity, mind game.

“Logical thinking is paramount to deduce knowable facts and weed out the false claims [see above picture].”

Logic and deductive reasoning are the pillars of every verifiable fact that we know about this world, helping us navigate through a sea of false claims and beliefs, especially in today’s world, which is so overloaded with information.

Syllogisms are one way to test existing claims and also arrive at new ones.

Logical Arguments and Deductive Reasoning

It’s important to determine the degree of truth in a statement and see if it holds any value or if the conclusion it comes to is valid.

To do this, we form a series of statements that convey our ‘premises’, which are the known facts or assumptions we make in order to reach a conclusion.

This series of statements is called an argument and a logical argument is one in which the conclusion holds true, given the premises.

For example:

• All men are mortal (1st premise)
• Socrates was a man (2nd premise)
• Thus, Socrates was mortal (Conclusion)

Here we have used ‘deductive reasoning’, or top-down logic, to reach a valid conclusion by comparing two true premises.

This can be done in many ways through various types of logical arguments; syllogisms are one of these arguments, one that uses deductive reasoning to reach a conclusion based on two or more premises that are assumed to be true.

Syllogism and its Structure

A syllogism is a deductive tool that can be traced all the way back to Aristotle.

It has been used by many notable philosophers and was also completely accepted by George Boole, who is famous for introducing Boolean algebra and is also credited for laying the foundation of the information age.

The basic structure of syllogisms is a three-step process to reach a conclusion using two true premises.

These three steps are:

• Major premise

Each part of the argument is a categorical proposition, meaning that it agrees or denies that the instance of one category (the subject or the middle) is part of another category (the predicate).

A major premise then becomes the first assertion or claim that you put forward on which to base your argument, which is assumed to be true.

For example:

Some cats are orange: Cats – middle (M) and Orange – predicate (P)

• Minor premise

This is the second assertion that is assumed to be true. It also follows the pattern of a categorical proposition.

For example:

Some mammals are cats; Mammals – subject (S), and Cats – middle (M)

• Conclusion

By assuming the two premises are true and comparing the two, we can come to a logical conclusion.

This conclusion holds true because both of our premises hold true; it would become invalid as soon as any one of the premises is proven to be false.

For example:

• Major premise – Some cats are orange
• Minor premise – Some mammals are cats
• Conclusion – Some mammals (S) are orange (P)

Conclusion

Syllogisms are an important concept to make any argument better or break down an existing claim to see if it holds true.

The verification for this is done through checking the validity of the premises, meaning that you check whether they are true or fabricated, whether the sources of the premises are legit and whether the conclusion is drawn from the true premises.

You don’t need to remember all the various combinations of syllogisms; understanding the basic structure will do the trick when it comes to forming your own unique logical argument.

Basically, don’t take any information that comes your way at face value. Break down the premises, conclusions and keep yourself logically informed! [Retrieved from https://www.scienceabc.com/pure-sciences/what-are-syllogisms.html]

Photo Credit: Andrew Krasovitckii/ Shutterstock.

Caesar's Hors d’oeuvres --The Pandora’s Box

Hors d'oeuvres # 006

THE PANDORA'S BOX

Unfortunately, the Pandora's Box was opened on January 20th, 2021

Lawrence Alma-Tadema's water-colour of an ambivalent Pandora, 1881

A pithos from Crete, c. 675 BC. Louvre

Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's Works and Days.

He reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in care of her husband, thus releasing physical and emotional curses upon mankind.

Later depictions of the story have been varied, while some literary and artistic treatments have focused more on the contents than on Pandora herself.

The container mentioned in the original account was actually a large storage jar, but the word was later mistranslated.

In modern times an idiom has grown from the story meaning "Any source of great and unexpected troubles", or alternatively "A present which seems valuable but which in reality is a curse".

In Mythology

According to Hesiod, when Prometheus stole fire from heaven, Zeus, the king of the gods, took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Prometheus' brother Epimetheus.

Pandora opened a jar left in her care containing sickness, death and many other unspecified evils which were then released into the world. 

Though she hastened to close the container, only one thing was left behind – usually translated as Hope, though it could also have the pessimistic meaning of "deceptive expectation".

From this story has grown the idiom "to open a Pandora's box", meaning to do or start something that will cause many unforeseen problems.

A modern, more colloquial equivalent is "to open a can of worms".

An Attic pyxis, 440–430 BC. British Museum

Etymology of the "Box"

The word translated as "box" was actually a large jar (πίθος pithos) in Greek.

Pithoi were used for storage of wine, oil, grain or other provisions, or, ritually, as a container for a human body for burying, from which it was believed souls escaped and necessarily returned.

Many scholars see a close analogy between Pandora herself, who was made from clay, and the clay jar which dispenses evils.

The mistranslation of pithos is usually attributed to the 16th century humanist Erasmus who, in his Latin account of the story of Pandora, changed the Greek pithos to pyxis, meaning "box".

The context in which the story appeared was Erasmus' collection of proverbs, the Adagia (1508), in illustration of the Latin saying Malo accepto stultus sapit (from experiencing trouble a fool is made wise).

In his version the box is opened by Epimetheus, whose name means 'Afterthought' – or as Hesiod comments, "he whom mistakes made wise" [Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora%27s_box ].

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--Three Bible's Reflections

Hors d'oeuvres # 007

Deuteronomy (6:1-9)

The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might

Moses said:

Now this is the commandment--the statutes and the ordinances—that the LORD your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children's children, may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long.

Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.

Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.

Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Psalm 119:1-8

1. Happy are they whose way is blameless, *

who walk in the law of the LORD!

2. Happy are they who observe his decrees *

and seek him with all their hearts!

3. Who never do any wrong, *

but always walk in his ways.

4. You laid down your commandments, *

that we should fully keep them.

5. Oh, that my ways were made so direct *

that I might keep your statutes!

6. Then I should not be put to shame, *

when I regard all your commandments.

7. I will thank you with an unfeigned heart, *

when I have learned your righteous judgments.

8. I will keep your statutes; *

do not utterly forsake me.

Mark (12:28-34)

You shall love your neighbor as yourself

One of the scribes came near and heard the Saducees disputing with one another, and seeing that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”

Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ —this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres-- Which Countries Use The Metric System?

Hors d'oeuvres # 008

Which Countries Use The Metric System?

When the United States of America will --totally-- adopt the Decimal Metric System?

The question in the title of the article asks which countries use the metric system — more accurately called the International System of Units — but it would be much easier to list which countries don’t use it.

There are only three: Myanmar (or Burma), Liberia and the United States. Every other country in the world has adopted the metric system as the primary unit of measurement.

How did this one system become so widely adopted?

And why are there countries that are holdouts? We explore these questions below!

How Are Measurement Systems Created And Defined?

As humans began building more complex things, a measurement system became necessary. Often, these measurements would be based on the human body.

The Ancient Egyptians, for example, used cubits that were about 52.4 centimeters, and which were roughly based on the length of a human forearm.

But basing measurements on the body can only take you so far, considering each body is a different size.

This would be solved by creating measuring sticks and other units with which to measure.

The British Imperial System, which evolved into the United States customary unit system Americans use today, was similarly based on fairly arbitrary measurements.

It comes from the measuring done by Romans, Celts and Anglo-Saxons beginning over one thousand years ago.

For one, how large a foot or an inch were started out being vastly different depending on where you were because it was hard to establish a standard.

There were various royal efforts, from a 10th century Saxon king keeping a bushel measure to a proliferation of “physical embodiments” passed across England by Queen Elizabeth I.

It would be like if the president handed out yardsticks to everyone so everyone’s “yard” is the same length.

Nowadays, scientists define measurements using physical, inalienable processes, rather than physical objects.

One example of this is the kilogram, which up until 2019 was defined as the weight of a very specific piece of platinum kept in France.

It’s not like the piece of platinum was referred to every time something needed to be weighed, but having a definition for a kilogram was important.

And the problem that was found is that the kilogram was losing weight for a completely unknown reason.

Scientists decided that it was necessary to shift the definition to rely on universal constants — specifically Planck’s constant — so that the kilogram could never change.

Why The Metric System?

The metric system can be traced back almost entirely to a single person: Gabriel Mouton. Mouton, who was a vicar in Lyon, France, created in 1670 a measurement system that was later called the metric system.

The proposals he made — such as basing a unit on the length of a pendulum swing — evolved and changed as scientists and committees continued working on it.

The real key to the system was defining measurements in powers of 10, so 10 centimeters is a decimeter, 10 decimeters is a meter, and so on.

This makes it a lot easier to do the math on than, say, 12 inches to a foot, three feet to a yard, and 1,760 yards to a mile.

In 1790, the French Academy of Sciences appointed a committee to fully devise a logical system of measurements.

The “meter” was defined as a ten-millionth of the distance between the North Pole and the equator, and the “gram” was a cubic centimeter of water.

Scientists in France were particularly in favor of this system because the use of powers of 10 made it much simpler than other systems.

After the system was fully devised, it took a few decades to catch on. It wasn’t until 1840 that the metric system was made the official system in France.

In 1875, 17 countries (including the United States) attended the Convention of the Metre to further standardize the measurements, and by 1900, 35 countries had adopted the system.

Over the past century, the system was steadily adopted by most countries.

A universal standard of measurement made it easier for countries to engage in international trade, exchange information and cooperate more generally.

Why Not The Metric System?

With every other country in the world adopting the metric system, you have to wonder why Liberia, Myanmar and the United States are holdouts.

There really isn’t a reason, however, and it turns out that both Liberia and Myanmar are already going through the process of “metrication.”

This leaves the United States, the lone holdout of the International System of Units.

For a long time, it seemed like the United States would adopt the metric system. The country sent delegates to the Convention of the Metre in 1875, and in 1866 had passed a bill making it lawful to use the metric system in an official capacity.

After a century of mixed usage, the United States passed the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, which called for the voluntary conversion to the metric system. What was missing from the act, however, was any sort of deadline.

The American push to install the metric system died out, and the United States customary units (slightly different from the Imperial units) stayed in place.

It’s not as though the metric system can’t be found in the United States.

No physicist has to convert from meters to yards when working with Americans. And because the country is the outlier, many industries that work internationally have had to adopt the metric system.

It’s far from certain whether the United States will ever make the final move to convert everything else to the metric system — changing every mile marker would be an expensive task — but the metric system holds heavy sway in the country.

Places That Mix Systems

If you’ve ever driven around the United Kingdom (on the left side of the road), you might be surprised to see “miles” referred to often in a country that allegedly uses the metric system.

As it turns out, there are many countries that haven’t fully committed to metrication. The reason seems to be that making the shift from one to the other is a hard change for a huge group of people to adapt to.

The United Kingdom, which committed to switching to the metric system in 1965, still uses Imperial units in many places, especially on the road.

Ireland, too, still uses the Imperial system in places; it’s hard to imagine ever calling a glass of draught beer anything but “a pint,” though.

Malaysia has the metric system, but also uses Malay measurements in places, particularly in traditional markets.

The Imperial system, too, has some bearing there.

Canada has Imperial units in places (partially thanks to its proximity to the United States), and North Korea makes use of its traditional Korean units in certain settings.

It’s possible to run into non-metric units in Thailand, China, Indonesia, Taiwan and plenty of other countries.

The International System of Units is king of the measurements, but it hasn’t yet taken over the whole world.

While the United States is the most obvious example of a holdout country, there are places all over the world where you’ll find other units of measurement.

Reference

Moore Devlin, t. ( 2019). Which countries use the metric system? Retrieved from Which Countries Use The Metric System? (babbel.com)

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--Arithmetically Speaking: Are There Billionaires in the United States of America?

Hors d'oeuvres # 009

Arithmetically Speaking: Are There Billionaires in the United States of America?

Of course not!

Definitions:

• Arithmetic: [ǝ-rith’mǝ-tik] n. The art of computation, the most elementary branch of mathematics (The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary, 1995, p, 46).
• Million: [mil’yǝn] n. 1,000 times 1,000: 1,000,000.
• Millionaire: [mi’yǝ-nāir’] n. A person worth 1,000,000 dollars, pounds, etc. Avery rich person (The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary, 1995, p, 433).
• Billion: [bil-yǝn] n. A million millions (The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary, 1995, p, 75). 

Arithmetically speaking:1,000,000,000,000

• Trillion: [tril’yǝn] n & adj. The cardinal number represented by 1 followed by eighteen zeros ? (The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary, 1995, p. 697). This last definition is arithmetically incorrect. It should be defined as: A cardinal number followed by twenty-four zeros.

Arithmetically speaking: 1,000,000,000,000.000,000,000,000

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--I Am a Human Being; You Are Human Being: The Law of The Three Rs

Hors d'oeuvres # 010

I Am a Human Being; You Are Human Being: The Law of The Three Rs

For every human being: "Why this kind of law is so difficult to follow up?"

1. Respect Yourself
2. Respect the Other Ones
3. Take Responsibility for actions

Definitions

HUMAN BEING [human being] NOUN

• A man, woman, or child of the species Homo sapiens, distinguished from other animals by superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance. [Retrieved from human being definition - Search (bing.com)].

RESPECT [rəˈspekt] NOUN

• A feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements ["The director had a lot of respect for Douglas as an actor"].

• Due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others ["Young people's lack of respect for their parents"].
• A particular aspect, point, or detail ["The findings in this respect have been mixed" ].

VERB

• Admire (someone or something) deeply, as a result of their abilities, qualities, or achievements ["she was respected by everyone she worked with" [Retrieved from define Respect - Search (bing.com) ]. 

RESPONSIBILITY [rəˌspänsəˈbilədē] NOUN

• The state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone ["A true leader takes responsibility for their team and helps them achieve goals"].
• The state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something ["The group has claimed responsibility for a string of murders"].
• The opportunity or ability to act independently and make decisions without authorization ["We would expect individuals lower down the organization to take on more responsibility"].
• (Responsibilities) A  thing that one is required to do as part of a job, role, or legal obligation["He will take over the responsibilities of overseas director"].
• (responsibility to/toward) A moral obligation to behave correctly toward or in respect of ["Individuals have a responsibility to control personal behavior"[Retrieved from define responsibility - Search (bing.com) ].

ACTION [ˈakSH(ə)n] NOUN

Actions (plural noun)

• The fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim ["He vowed to take tougher action against persistent offenders"].
• A thing done; an act ["She frequently questioned his actions"].
• A manner or style of doing something, typically the way in which a mechanism works or a person moves ["The weapon has speed and smooth action"].
• Armed conflict ["Servicemen listed as missing in action during the war"  [Retrieved from define actions - Search (bing.com) ].

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--Why Our Students Fail in Mathematics? Two Principles

Hors d'oeuvres # 011

Why Our Students --When Problem Solving--Fail in Mathematics? Two Principles!

SIMPLE: They do not know it! Why?

1. The Law of the Signs:

• + x + = + ( positive x positive = positive) [First Law]
• + x  - = -  ( positive x negative = negative) [Second Law]
• -  x  + = -  ( negative x positive = negative) [Third Law]
• -  x  - = +  ( negative x negative = positive) [Fourth Law]

2. Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally [PEMDAS].

Just  make a follow-up step-by step  and arithmetically solve each itemized task of this sequence:

• Parenthesis
• Exponent
• Multiplicationn
• Division
• Addition
• Subtraction

Thanks Aunt Sally !

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--The Powerful and Maybe forgotten American Idioms--Letter A

Hors d'oeuvres # 012

The Powerful and Maybe Forgotten American Idioms

Letter A

1. ABOUT FACE: A sudden change of course, or to an opposite decision:--"His choice of that house was about face from his original intention."
2. ABOVE BOARD: Straightforward, honest, open, sometime expressed "Open and Above Board':-- "All his business dealings were above board."
3. ACE, WITHIN AN ACE: Within a very short distance of:--"The car came within an ace of hitting the child."
4. AD LIB: Improvise,interpolate while speaking:--"When the actor forgot his lines, he add libbed convincingly."
5. AFTER ONE'S OWN HEART: To like someone because of kindred interests:--"With his love for the great outdoor he is a man after my own heart."
6. AGAIN,AS MUCH AGAIN: Twiced as much,double:--"These shoes cost me as much as again as the last pair I bought."
7. AGAINST THE GRAIN: Irritating, contrary to one's natural inclinations:--It goes against the grain to has to pay him such poor job.
8. AIR-MINDED: Advocating travel by air:-- "America has became air-minded during the past decade."
9. AIR-HOT AIR: Exagerated talk,without substance or foundation:--"Don't pay any attention to him; what he told was a lot of air."
10. AIR, GIVE ONESELF AIR: Art in a superior conceited manner--" Ever since her husband was elected Mayor Mrs. Allenn's neighbors resent the way she gives herself airs.
11. ALIVE WITH: Full of, infested with:--"When we opened our picnic basket, our lunch was alive with ants."
12. ALL AT SEA: Completely confused:--"When I try to compute my income tax,I am all at the sea."
13.  ALL TOLD: Counting everything:--"He owns fifteen horses all told."
14. ANTE UP: To pay--Usually unwillingly:--When his wife was awarded alimony by the court, Kerr have to ante up."
15. APPLE, BE THE APPLE OF ANOTHER'S EYE:To be greatly treasured, valued highly:--She is the apple oh her mother's eye."​
16. APPLECART, UPSET THE APPLECART: Spoil through clumsiness, cause to fail:--"The moment he referred to that incident last summer, he upset the applecard and the whole deal fell through."
17. APPLE-PIE ORDER: In neat and perfect condition:--"Before her guests arrived, the hostess had put her house in apple-pie order."
18. APPLESAUCE: Pretense, not to be , hot air:-- "A lot of those campaign promises to lower taxes were so much applesauce."
19. ARM, GIVE ONE'S RIGHT ARM: To sacrifice, give something of great value:--"During the long sermon I would have given my right arm for a smoke.". 
20. ARM'S LENGHT: Keep at a distance, away from one:--"She kept him at arm's length, thinking that he might try to kiss her."
21. ARMS,UP IN ARMS: Angry, annoyed, ready to fight:--"Everyone was up in arms about the new parking restrictions."
22. AS IT WERE:In other words, so to speak:--"He became, as it were, a kind of hero from a strange land."
23. AXE, GET THE AXE: Be discharged from one job:--"Henry got the axe when he arrived late from work three days in succession."
24. AXE, HAVE AN AXE TO GRIND: Have an interested or selfish motive:--"In suggesting the sale the building he had an axe to grind, because it meant a big commission for him."

The End for letter A.

Reference

Whitford, H. C. & Dixson, R. J. ( 1953). Handbook of american idioms and idiomatic usage. New York, N.Y:Regents Publishing Co., Inc.

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--We Are The Teachers! Where Are Our Jonathans? | The Unforgettable Richard Bach

Hors d'oeuvres # 013

Richard Bach Taugh Me How To Fly: What A Difficult Lesson!

Thanks to him, and the Grace of The Almighty, I continue flying!

Hurrah!

César Augusto González Aguirre PhD

Jonathan Livingston Seagull A Story

This is a story for people who follow their dreams and make their own rules; a story that has inspired people for decades.

We should teach the aforesaid statement to our students always!

For most seagulls, life consists simply of eating and surviving. Flying is just a means of finding food.

If we follow-up the seagulls' rule: We are parasites! 

However, Jonathan Livingston Seagull is no ordinary bird. For him, flying is life itself. Against the conventions of seagull society, he seeks to find a higher purpose and become the best at doing what he loves.

We must teach our student allegorically to fly. In fact, something like Willian Shatner metaphorically said:

"Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."  Captain James T. Kirk

This is a fable about the importance of making the most of our lives, even if our goals run contrary to the norms of our flock, tribe or neighborhood. Through the metaphor of flight, Jonathan’s story shows us that, if we follow our dreams, we too can soar.

If everyone of our students read this book, we are propelling their lives, not only to fly as Jonathan Livington Seagulls, but also we are setting in motion their lives as  real "Starfleets" able to reach their unknown limits!

FREE BOOK ONLINE: Jonathan Livingston Seagull : Richard Bach : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

"Richard Bach with this book does two things.

He gives me Flight.

He makes me Young.

For both I am deeply grateful."

RAY BRADBURY

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres---Email Netiquette -- What a heck the matter?

Hors d'oeuvres # 014

Respond to any email, almost,  immediately. The Rule of the Thumb is  within the next "four hours," if one can; if not, no later that 24 hours!

What is Email Netiquette ?

Email netiquette simply refers to etiquette in writing or responding to emails. As we all know, most of the world’s communication are through the use of technology.

Some communicate through phones while others communicate through their computers using chat services or email.

Retrieved from http://infomory.com/what-is/what-is-email-netiquette/#:~:text=Email%20netiquette%20simply%20refers%20to%20etiquette%20in%20writing,through%20their%20computers%20using%20chat%20services%20or%20email.

A more complete discusion about this issue can be found in the following excerpt:

What is Email Netiquette? 

1. Email netiquette simply refers to etiquette in writing or responding to emails. As we all know, most of the world’s communication are through the use of technology.
2. Some communicate through phones while others communicate through their computers using chat services or email.
3. Unknown to some, there are also basic guidelines and supposed rules in the electronic version of mail. Some of the formalities of the traditional mail may have been gone, but the rules on proper communication stayed with modern email communications.
4. Much of email netiquette may be applied to the corporate world since many employees use emails everyday to go about their tasks. Most companies emphasize that there is a need to have some standard or guide in handling email in the offices.
5. The most basic reasons for such rules include maintenance of image and professionalism, increase productivity and efficiency, and liability protection. To maintain professionalism, basic email rules apply. It is but common sense that some companies do not allow forwarding of unnecessary personal messages and pictures to colleagues at work.
6. Some employees are also restricted in terms of email layout, while some are warned not to use company email addresses in personal communications.
7. To increase efficiency and productivity, employees are usually advised to make emails short and to be concise in responses. This will eventually result to less reading time and easier understanding of the message.
8. Some are also advised to check and answer emails promptly so as not to hamper the tasks of those involved. Others are also asked not to hit “Reply All” when replying to emails to avoid sending out messages to non-essential people in the email loop.
9. And for liability protection, employees are advised to be very careful with their choice of words when communicating with clients, suppliers, and other business associates.
10. Some companies also require the use of disclaimers on the bottom of the email to add further protection for the company.
11. Rules on email netiquette are not exactly etched in stone.
12. But one must practice common sense to ensure proper and courteous communications with other people. One must also note that one rule from a particular organization may not apply to another. So it’s still best to know what is allowed and what is not appropriate.

Retrieved from: What is Email Netiquette? - A Knowledge Archive (infomory.com)

What is Good Email Netiquette?

Proper Internet etiquette is often referred to as Netiquette. Students and teachers can avoid embarrassing situations by adhering to some simple guidelines for electronic communication.

The following is a list of standards for Netiquette:

• Always identify yourself and keep your messages brief and to the point. Remember that not everyone accesses email from a computer these days.
• Many people use portable devices such as cell phones to quickly check their email while they are away from a computer. They will appreciate not having to wait for the long messages to download.
• Include a concise subject line with all of your emails. This will allow the recipient to quickly scan their mailbox to see if the message is something they need to act on or “junk” email.
• Let your recipient know right away if any action is required of them. The easiest way to do this is by marking emails that do not require a reply or other action as FYI emails. This can be indicated in the subject line.
• Avoid “flaming” (inflammatory or antagonistic criticism) or sending insulting, abusive, or threatening remarks. There is no “unsend” option in email. Once a “flame war” starts, it tends to escalate quickly, often leading to hurt feelings and tension among those involved.
• A good rule to follow is to ask yourself “would I say this to the person’s face? If you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying it to their face then it’s probably not appropriate for email either.
• Avoid using all capital letters in a message. This is perceived as SHOUTING and may cause hard feelings.
• Remember that email is not necessarily private. Your messages can be forwarded to many people without your knowledge.
• Before sending a message, read it over, double check the recipient(s) and make sure it would not become an embarrassment if it were forwarded to others not on your recipient list.
• Do not spam others. Spam is the practice of sending unsolicited email messages in bulk or overloading someone’s mailbox or server with messages. Spamming may be as simple as forwarding chain letters.
• Forwarding these chain letters not only creates work for the people on the other end, who have to spend more time going through their messages to separate the good messages from spam, but it also generates unnecessary network traffic.
• Include a signature that has your phone number or if you are sending internal email, your extension. This will make it easier for your recipient to contact you if they need to speak to you in person.
• Avoid recalling messages. Take the time to really determine if a message is necessary or not before sending it in the first place. By the time you send out a recall for your messages they have already arrived in the recipients’ mailboxes and they have probably already been read.
• The recall notice will just be one more message that has to be deleted.

Retrieved from What is good email Netiquette? » E-Mail » Mac » Tech Ease (usf.edu) 

NOTE: Interested in knowing more a about this undertaking?

Please, read the following manuscript: 

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--Rasputin in America? There is one for sure! Anyway, Any Resemblance to Actual Persons, Living or Dead, is Purely Coincidental!? Maybe...

Hors d'ouevres # 15

“If I am killed by common men, you and your children will rule Russia for centuries to come; if I am killed by one of your stock, you and your family will be killed by the Russian people!”

Rasputin

Rasputin Biography

COMMENT

Rasputin is best known for his role as a mystical adviser in the court of Czar Nicholas II of Russia.

Who Was Rasputin?

After failing to become a monk, Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin became a wanderer and eventually entered the court of Czar Nicholas II because of his alleged healing abilities.

Known for his prophetic powers, he became a favorite of the Nicholas's wife, Alexandra Feodorovna, but his political influence was minor. Rasputin became swept up in the events of the Russian Revolution and met a brutal death at the hands of assassins in 1916.

Early Life

Born to a Siberian peasant family around 1869, Rasputin received little schooling and probably never learned to read or write. In his early years, some people of his village said he possessed supernatural powers, while others cite examples of extreme cruelty.

For a time, it was believed his name "Rasputin" meant "licentious" in Russian. Historians now believe that "Rasputin" meant "where two rivers meet," a phrase that describes an area near where he was born in Siberia.

Rasputin entered the Verkhoture Monastery in Russia with the intention of becoming a monk, but left shortly thereafter, presumably to get married. At age 19, he wed Proskovia Fyodorovna, and they later had three children (two others died shortly after birth). I

n his early 20s, however, Rasputin left his family and traveled to Greece and the Middle East, making several pilgrimages to the Holy Land.

Friend of the Imperial Family

In 1903, Rasputin's wanderings brought him to St. Petersburg, where he arrived with a reputation as a mystic and faith healer. Two years later, he was introduced to Russian Czar Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna, who were seeking help for their sickly son, Alexis.

Rasputin quickly gained their confidence by seemingly "curing" the boy of hemophilia. This action won him the passionate support of Alexandra.

Between 1906 and 1914, various politicians and journalists used Rasputin’s association with the imperial family to undermine the dynasty’s credibility and push for reform.

Rasputin helped their efforts by claiming to be the Czarina’s advisor, and accounts of his rampant lascivious behavior emerged in the press, compounding contempt among state officials. In truth, however, Rasputin's influence at this time was limited to the health of Alexis.

As Russia entered World War I, Rasputin predicted that calamity would befall the country. Nicholas II took command of the Russian Army in 1915, and Alexandra took responsibility for domestic policy.

Always Rasputin's defender, she dismissed ministers who were said to be suspicious of the "mad monk." Government officials tried to warn her of Rasputin's undue influence, but she continued to defend him, giving the impression that Rasputin was her closest advisor.

Downfall

On the night of December 29, 1916, a group of conspirators, including the czar's first cousin, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, and Prince Felix Yusupov, invited Rasputin to Yusupov's palace and fed him wine and cakes laced with cyanide.

Though Rasputin eventually became rather drunk, the poison seemed to have no effect. Baffled but not deterred, the conspirators finally shot Rasputin multiple times. He was then wrapped in a carpet and thrown into the Neva River, where it was discovered three days later.

Although Rasputin was gone, the last of his prophecies was yet to unfold. Shortly before his death, he wrote to Nicholas to predict that if he were killed by government officials, the entire imperial family would be killed by the Russian people.

His prophecy came true 15 months later, when the czar, his wife and all of their children were murdered by assassins amidst the Russian Revolution.

Retrieved from: https://www.biography.com/political-figure/rasputin

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--The Powerful and Maybe forgotten American Idioms--Letter B

Hors d'oeuvres # 016

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--The Powerful and Maybe forgotten American Idioms

Letter B

1. BABES IN THE WOODS: Innocent and inexperienced persons:--"In that difficult and competitive business the Hunts are like two babies in the woods."
2. BABY GRAND: A small grand piano:--"If we can sell our old upright piano, we shall buy a new baby grand."
3. BACK NUMBER: Something out of date, out of fashion:--"Among so many young people on the floor he certainly felt as a bad number."
4. BACK OUT: Dessert a cause, fail to fulfill a promise or obligation:--"Although he tried to backup out of the agreement, the court made finally him fulfill all its terms."
5. BACK TALK: Impertinence, an impudent reply:--"She told the man that she would tolerate no back talk from him."
6. BACK THE WRONG HORSE: Support one that ultimately loses: --"In voting for Smith, you certainly backed the wrong horse, since he lost by 10,000 votes."
7. BACK, TURN ONE'S BACK ON: Ignore,refuse to help, desert:--"Being a good Christian,she did not turn her back on her neighbors when they needed help."
8. BAD, IN BAD: In disgrace, disfavor:--"John is is bad with his boss for coming late to work everyday."
9. BAG AND BAGGAGE: With all one's portable belongings:--"They arrive at our house bag and baggage , at one o'clock in the morning."
10. BAG, IN THE BAG:  Successfully settled or arranged:--"Judging by the enthusiastic reception given him everywhere, they felt that his election was in the bag."

Work in progress...

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres---13 Inspiring Men

Hors d'oeuvres # 017

13 Inspiring Men

The Greatest One and His Twelve Followers: The Apostles

There are twelve incredible men, however on a daily basis, four of them are remembered only!  

St. Paul the Apostle ... One of Them

Paul (born Saul of Tarsus; c. 5 – c. 64/65 AD), commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle (although not one of the original Twelve Apostles) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world.

Generally regarded as one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age, he founded several Christian communities in Asia Minor and Europe from the mid-40s to the mid-50s AD.

According to the New Testament book Acts of the Apostles, Paul was a Pharisee; he participated in the persecution of early disciples of Jesus, possibly Hellenised diaspora Jews converted to Christianity, in the area of Jerusalem, prior to his conversion.

In the narrative of Acts, Paul was traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission to "arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem" when the risen Christ appeared to him in a great bright light.

He was struck blind, but after three days his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth was the Jewish messiah and the Son of God. Approximately half of the Acts of the Apostles deals with Paul's life and works.

Fourteen of the 27 books in the New Testament have traditionally been attributed to Paul. Seven of the Pauline epistles are undisputed by scholars as being authentic, with varying degrees of argument about the remainder.

Pauline authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews is not asserted in the Epistle itself and was already doubted in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.

It was almost unquestioningly accepted from the 5th to the 16th centuries that Paul was the author of Hebrews, but that view is now almost universally rejected by scholars.

The other six are believed by some scholars to have come from followers writing in his name, using material from Paul's surviving letters and letters written by him that no longer survive. Other scholars argue that the idea of a pseudonymous author for the disputed epistles raises many problems.

Today, Paul's epistles continue to be vital roots of the theology, worship and pastoral life in the Latin and Protestant traditions of the West, as well as the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox traditions of the East.

Paul's influence on Christian thought and practice has been characterized as being as "profound as it is pervasive", among that of many other apostles and missionaries involved in the spread of the Christian faith.

Reference

Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle

A reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians (50: 35-50)

The Nature of the Resurrection 

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”

You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

And what you  sow, is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.

Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.

There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.

The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being” ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.

The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.

As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.

And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Work in progress...

Caesar’s Hors d’oeuvres--Sermon: The World's Glory or God's from the Rev. Mike Wernick [ Holy Trinity Episcopal Church | Wyoming, MI] on February 27, 2022

Hors d'ouevres # 18

Sermon: The World's Glory or God's from the Rev. Mike Wernick [ Holy Trinity Episcopal Church | Wyoming, MI ] on February 27, 2022

Year C

Exodus 34:29-35

Psalm 99

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Luke 9:28-43a

May the words of my mouth O God…speak your truth…

There are plenty of Transfiguration Sunday sermons… which simply talk about how the presence of Moses and Elijah…and then their disappearance…means that Jesus incorporates…the fullness of the Law and the Prophets…into himself…that Moses and Elijah find their fulfillment…if you will…in Jesus…and while that may be true…it's not the whole story…

Like the three disciples…we too… are witnesses to a pivotal moment in history…we've moved from a baby in a manger…with angels and shepherds…to preaching and healing…and crowds which have gathered…to both a literal and a figurative mountaintop experience…a numinous thin place…which provides a moment of transcendence…and in particular…a significant revelation given by God…which is both seen…and not seen…yet still experienced…

The Rev. Sarah Henrich…a professor from Luther Seminary…wrote that because Jesus’ tangible glory is a visible aspect of God’s holiness and majesty…witnesses were vital to handing on the experience of that glory…puzzling and yet hope-filled…the passage turns on seeing the appearance of Jesus’ face…and the gleaming clothing…such as only heaven could bleach them…represents the entirety of the outer world…because what begins in Jesus' interior…flows out into the world…and it reflects the path of how Spirit becomes flesh…and the visible cloud which once protected Israel from the sight of God...now also shields Peter, James, and John from seeing God…but not from hearing God… the voice at Jesus' baptism…which spoke only to him…is now heard through the cloud…and the words…Listen to him…shatters the cloud…and reveals that Moses and Elijah are gone…

When I prepare a sermon… I often ask the Holy Spirit… what do the people I serve need to hear during this time… what words of insight… of hope… of Good News… tie this day's readings…to what they may be thinking…to what they may be feeling…and to what's going on in the world…and so I share an allegorical story about our own country's history…

King George III…was the King of England when the American colonies declared independence…and fought the American Revolution…gaining freedom from an absent king who imposed harsh restrictions and injustices…thirty years later…the King decided that America was too much to give up…and so he invaded from the east…seeking to regain and improve the footprint of his domain…his assets…and his honor…after all… America was England's child…so he attacked the capitol in Washington DC…forcing the leadership back to Philadelphia…where independence…where something precious…began…I don't think that would have gone over well… 

But Boris Yeltsin was the President of the Soviet Union in July 1991…when about a month later… on August 24, 1991…the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic declared independence from the Soviet Union and renamed itself Ukraine…thirty years later…in February 2022…Vladimir Putin decided that Ukraine was too much to give up…and so he invaded from the east…the north…and the south…forcing its leadership to retreat from Kyiv…from the city…where something else…something more precious to Putin…began…

Kyiv was the birthplace of the Russian Orthodox Church…and it's an unfortunate truth…but religion and politics are too often intertwined…and in an article published on Wednesday by Episcopal priest Diana Butler Bass…and in a parallel article published on Thursday…by British journalist Giles Frasier…who is also Fr. Frasier…they both tell a story…share a historical perspective that's not been shared in the media…that this is not simply a conflict over territory or resources…but over who is going to control the geographical home of the Russian church…they both explain that…in the year 988 when Christian Emperor Basil II of Byzantium…was threatened with a coup by his military leaders…he reached out to his enemies…to pagans in the land of Rus…and to one pagan in particular…named Vladimir…Basil said that if Vladimir would help him crush the revolt…Basil would give him the hand of his sister in marriage…now this would be a game changer for Vladimir…the marriage of a pagan to an imperial princess was unprecedented…but first…Vladimir would have to convert to Christianity… 

And so Vladimir retuned to Kyiv in triumph…and proceeded to summon the whole city to the banks of the river Dnieper for a mass baptism…and this singular event becomes the founding…of Russian Orthodox Christianity…it was from Kyiv…that Christianity would spread out…and merge with the Russian love of motherland…to create a powerful brew of nationalism and spirituality…in the mythology of 988…it was just as if…the whole of the Russian people had also been baptized…  and Vladimir was declared a saint…

Centuries later…Soviet Communism tried repeatedly to crush all this…but failed miserably…and since then…in the post-Soviet period…thousands of churches have been built and re-built…and though the West thinks of Christianity as something in decline…in the East it is thriving…and at the heart of this post-Soviet Christian revival... is Vladimir Putin…

In their two articles…the two priests write that few people appreciate the extent to which the invasion of Ukraine is nothing less than a spiritual quest for Putin…the Baptism of Rus is the founding event of the formation of the Russian religious psyche…and the Russian Orthodox Church traces its origins back here…that’s why Putin's goal…is Kyiv itself…and it's a fair question…to ask whose glory Putin is seeking…the Rev. Butler Bass writes… There should be no doubt that Putin sees himself as a kind of Vladimir the Great II…a candidate for sainthood who is restoring the soul of Holy Mother Russia...and that’s a real problem…because when it comes to Russian Orthodoxy…Kyiv is essentially Jerusalem…

While Moses and Elijah were talking to Jesus…Peter John and James…were weighed down with sleep…yet stayed awake…this is code language for saying that they both got it…and they didn't get it…as perhaps we do and we don't…that's because spiritual truth comes in stages…they're like the man in Mark's Gospel who Jesus had to touch twice…in order to heal his blindness… the first time the men he saw looked like trees…the second time Jesus touched him…he saw people clearly…

The effulgent light which radiated from Jesus…and the light in his words and actions…exposed the darkness of the world…and when they came down from that mountaintop…a plot to kill Jesus…began to take form…in a way…we have been on that same path to the cross for almost two years now…deaths among our families and friends…and the death of our sense of normalcy…and perhaps now even our safety…and I spoke a few weeks ago…about how responding with violence…is never the best choice…  and personally…  I still hold on to that…  but in some ways we find ourselves at another pivotal moment…and I don't know how we do nothing in response to Russia's aggression…and the unimaginable suffering that's happening in Ukraine…I just don't know…

Throughout history…the church…has in whole or in part…committed brutal atrocities against Jews…and Muslims…and against other Christians…this Lent…I think I'll reflect on this history…and ask God's forgiveness on the church… and maybe more so than in recent memory…it would be a good time to start getting logs out of our own eyes…so we can see the specks…in others' eyes…and the Good News…is that in deforesting our eyes…we can begin to see each other…as God sees us…and that vision…will inform our actions… and it's our actions…that will bring about more of God's kingdom…

Reference

Sermon: The World's Glory or God's from the Rev. Mike Wernick [ Holy Trinity Episcopal Church | Wyoming, MI ] on February 27, 2022. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/HolyTrinityWyoming/videos/385403750064232

Work in progress

RAWR:PROMOTING THE GREATEST PRODUCTS/SERVICES ON EARTH By MAGGIE’S F-W [BLOG]

RAWR:PROMOTING THE GREATEST PRODUCTS/SERVICES ON EARTH By MAGGIE’S F-W [BLOG]​

SUPPORTING MAGGIE'S F-W | SAVINGS BANK & WAVES OF KUDOS & QUACKTELEGRAM
This Blog is designed to promote products and services of different companies around the world through creation of one JINGLE, SLOGAN,
CATCHPRASE,
DITTY, SONG, RHYME,TUNE, or SHORT-VIDEO.

We will post the name of one or more products. 

You will have the opportunity to develop your own work. 

​Please send us your CREATION to rawrfw@gmail.com

We will publish in in our Blog and in our social media links. 

This art of work will be challenged through popular vote [number of posts/likes].

The work of art that get more votes in certain lapse of time will have the opportunity of get one or more surprises.

RAWRS from all of us!

BLOOMING SOON!

Important Question

A young boy asked his father: "Dad do the roses have thorns?"

His clever father answered: "No son, the thorns have roses."

Today's Reflection

Questions?

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MAGGIE'S F-W | QUACKTELEGRAM®

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​SUPPORTING MAGGIE'S F-W® | SAVINGS BANK & WAVES OF KUDOS
This Blog is designed to promote and congratulate Outstanding Performances from different students  in the United States of America, and around the world. 
Thus. as we must cheer them:  We happily post/mail  a QUACKTELEGRAM®  to congratulate them!!!! 

WHAT IS QUACKTELEGRAM?

QUACKTELEGRAM® IS THE NAME OF NEWEST AND THE BEST OF THE BEST SOCIAL NETWORK

In fact, officials of this Social Network will develop very interesting and also attracting activities for all their invitees.

Note: To join Quacktelegram® you must be previously invited by us. After you have been asked that, follow-up these instructions [Please, click on the Instructions hyperlink].

WHO CAN POSTULATE YOU TO A QUACKTELEGRAM?

School Superintendents, Administrative Staff, Teachers, Banking & Financial Industry Officials [ When related to Maggie's F-W | Savings Bank only],  when one or more of them, emphasize your latest achievement(s).

Indeed, when they are POSTULATING a QUACKTELEGRAM® to a student, they are making a difference. 

In fact, you as Proponent (teachers/students/school & banking and financial  industry officials [ When related to Maggie's F-W | Savings Bank only]), and the Postulants (students) will have the possibility of winning one, or more surprises.

On the other hand, when you are proponing a Quacktelegram, not only you are publicly congratulating your students, your peers, your guests, and/or vice versa; but you are congratulating yourself as well.

Hurrah!

No other Social Network offers that!

In fact, we are the only social network that rewards school personnel & schooling; banking & financial officers[ When related to Maggie's F-W | Savings Bank only], and the related peers with specific surprises.

WHERE THE  QUACKTELEGRAM® IS POSTED?

It is posted in our Facebook [Maggie's F-W® | Quacktelegram®] page.

HOW TO JOIN QUACKTELEGRAM® | OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM [INSTRUCTIONS]? Just click on this hyperlink: Maggie's F-W - OFFICIAL SITE (maggiesfw.com)

Important: Quacktelegram is provided by Waves of Kudos, based upon a great deal of teachers, financial industry personnel, and students who believe that their peers' actions & goals have contributed to make a better "modus vivendi," not only for them, but  for all of us! 

Waves of Kudos, highly appreciate that outstanding very impressive role!

Thank you very much!!!! 

For us, it is a pleasure that you be with us.

Waves of Kudos to you from our team!

BLOOMING SOON!

Important Question

A young boy asked his father: "Dad do the roses have thorns?"

His clever father answered: "No son, the thorns have roses."

Today's Reflection

Questions?

quacktelegram@gmail.com