Don The celebration of the Eucharist at St. Philomena’s was something I planned to attend last night when I retired to bed. This morning at 6:30 I was thinking of excuses not to attend and to stay between the flannel sheets. The spirit moved me out of bed at 6:40 and after an abbreviated yoga routine … Read more
I just want to say thank you for the good fortune in my life. Today has been a full day. Breakfast with fellow retired educators, volunteer time at the local library, lunch with two former colleagues and the ability to walk over six miles today. I also got a call from a client who needed … Read more
Tonight I am a guest at Mt. Irenaeus along with about fifteen St. Bonaventure University men, four friars and a couple other men my age. Men’s overnights at the Mountain are times for sharing, forming and bonding with other men. I’ve been on several of these overnight retreats in the past ten years. Each time … Read more
I am preparing once again to teach class next Wednesday night at the Blount Library in Franklinville, New York. My first class of three adults met a couple of weeks ago and our topic was introduction to computers. The next class will be an extension of that same topic. I was fortunate to be asked … Read more
Earlier today I read a tweet from Phil Shapiro that suggested that the massive iPad initiative in Los Angeles Schools was in trouble. I did some “googling” and it does seem that the project is over budget. According to what I read the original estimates of cost per iPad were actually one-hundred dollars less than … Read more
Just today I received a tweet from Phil Shapiro (@philshapiro) about an open source program for the iPad. It’s called InkPad and it’s the equivalent of Inkscape for the iPad. I was determined to use it and produce a graphic that I could share back to Phil. My mission is accomplished but more than that … Read more
I have been an advocate for open source software for a number of years. Until I bought a MacBook Pro four years ago I used Ubuntu as my primary platform. Ubuntu and other Linux distributions provide a reasonable alternative desktop. The library I’ve been volunteering in the past couple of months has aging Dell Optiplex … Read more
Tonight we’re celebrating Mom’s 87th birthday. It’s the day of the week when we can assemble the family. Mom’s actual birthday is Wednesday, November 6. She came bouncing into this world in 1926. She’s seen a lot in her life. I often marvel at all the storms she’s weathered and with grace too. She lost … Read more
Chade-Meng Tan’s talk gave renewed hope to an idea I had for a model economic development and empowerment for youth that promotes the greater good. Last summer I participated in a course at St. Bonaventure University’s Franciscan Institute. It was called, “Retrieving a Franciscan Philosophy for Social Engagement.” As part of the course I was … Read more
I love TED talks. They are a preferred learning network and yes I prefer them to regularly scheduled cable television. Tonight I watched a couple of really interesting and inspiring talks. I’m approaching another birthday. Next month I’ll be sixty-one. Recently I retired and I’ve been exploring what that means for me. This talk by … Read more
