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Category Archives: Thinking Thursdays

Daily Ramblings – Thinking/Thankful Thursday – COVID-19

01 Thursday Jul 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thankful Thursdays, Thinking Thursdays

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

COVID-19, Daniel Kraft, Global Pandemic, Grateful, Innovation, medical, Medicine, technology, Ted Talk

With so many experiencing new lockdowns in Australia, Los Angeles, and many other places, because of the new Delta variant, which is also in the United States, COVID is making a comeback, again! To shine some light on what benefits are gained from a new virus and this global pandemic, watch this video. In it, Daniel Kraft, explores the many ways COVID has helped transform medicine and global relations for the better.

I am grateful for TED talks. They are entertaining, and most importantly very up-to-date. Most documentaries are behind the times, when it comes to current issues. TED brings in speakers that are on the cutting edge of innovation and change, and do a great job introducing many important topics for us to consider. Topics like climate change, human trafficking, migrant rights, and so many others. It is a joy to watch them and learn something new each day.

I hope you enjoy this one. I learned a lot, and what Daniel alludes to is nothing short of extraordinary as the globe comes together to fight this nasty little bug.

Have a great Thursday! Oh, I have some nieces visiting on the 5th of July through the 15th. Daily Ramblings will not be publishing its normal schedule during this time.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Thursday – Building Muscle

03 Thursday Jun 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thinking Thursdays

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Exercise, fitness, gym, health, Ted Talk, Thinking Thursday, working out

Now that I am going back to my gym (Yes!), I figured it would be good to share a video about how to build muscle. So here it is.

I hope you enjoy this one. It’s pretty informative.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thinking Thursday – Ransomeware

13 Thursday May 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thinking Thursdays

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

CISA, Cyberattacks, Hackers, information, Infrastructure, Learning, Ransomeware, vulnerability

This week, particularly if you were in the Southeastern United States, you experienced what an oil shortage looks like. Long lines, no gas at your local gas station, and dramatic price increases. What caused it? A ransomeware attack.

Ransomware is a malware that attacks systems by encrypting them, rendering them impossible to read by the owner. The hacker then proposes a ransom to attain the encryption keys that will unlock a customer’s owned data. Pretty insidious, right?

The attack on Colonial Pipeline was one such attack. It was announced today that Colonial is back up and running, but the effects may be felt for a few more days or weeks, as the oil begins to flow again.

For those of you who are interested, check out the CISA site. CISA stands for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. They are responsible for monitoring attack profiles, technical exploits, and other vulnerabilities in the software and hardware we use and make recommendations to public and private organizations on how to protect themselves from potential attack. Here’s the link on the CISA’s guidance on Ransomware: https://www.cisa.gov/ransomware#:~:text=Ransomware%20is%20an%20ever%2Devolving,ransom%20in%20exchange%20for%20decryption

I enjoy reading things like this, particularly when they become news. I hope you enjoy it!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thinking Thursday – Megan McArthur

06 Thursday May 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thinking Thursdays

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Tags

Astronauts, Courage, Fear, Megan McArthur, Outer Space, preparation, Spaceflight, Women

I have always been fascinated by outer space, astronauts, and the accomplishments we have made on Mars. Here’s a Ted talk by Megan McArthur on all the things that go into spaceflight. Enjoy!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful/Thinking Thursdays – Reading

08 Thursday Apr 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thankful Thursdays, Thinking Thursdays

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

any.do, Apps, dark mode, digital reading, Goodreads, Kindle, Reading, Scribd, To-do List

Today, I’m grateful for the Kindle service of Amazon, Scribd, and Goodreads. I read quite a bit each year, typically gravitating to history, politics, military history, and other topics I can learn from. This year I wanted to mix it up with some fiction too.

Many of my friends still enjoy the smell of a new book. I have converted to digital versions of books. They are cheaper, and it is much nicer to read because I can adjust the font sizes. Many of the paperbacks on the market today print them in such a small font that I find it difficult to read.

I also like reading on my iPad, because it is so nice to hold in my hands. I just picked up the iPad Pro and got the 12.9″ screen. It is huge! I only use my iPad for three things–reading, watching movies, and listening to music. If I want to take notes, the Kindle lets me highlight them and keep them in a repository. If I am reading something on Scribd, I can use my laptop to keep track of anything I like and want to remember.

Goodreads is a terrific service. It is owned by Amazon, so any book I read on my Kindle is recorded on Goodreads. When you read 60 books or so a year, it is nice to keep track of what I’ve read so I don’t mistakenly reread something I have already read. It is also an easy way to track my reading goals. It tells me when I am ahead of my reading or behind. I schedule an hour of reading each day, and this synchronizes perfectly with my hour of meditation that I do at the same time. Many meditate with their eyes closed, but there are many meditations that can be done with reading, walking, or while riding on public transportation.

While I’m at it, I also have to announce my move to a new to-do list app. I used Toodledo for years, but became disenchanted with it recently because the interface between my pc and my devices is not the same and doesn’t synchronize well. Toodledo is not supported by the Apple Watch either. My new app is Any.do. It works the same on my iPad, iPhone, and laptop. It is also viewable on my Apple Watch, which is nice. There are some days that I have to get out an about in a hurry and it’s nice to have my todo list on my watch, particularly the grocery list, which is a part of the Any.do app. Another really cool thing is the ability to add the Any.do app to my gmail. Now I have access to all of my to-dos and projects in one place and can view them everywhere. Finally, Any.do can suck in anything from Apple, Google, or Microsoft (calendars) and automatically bring in your events as part of your to-do list for the day. I’m glad I made the switch. The final part is the dark mode you can move to. Microsoft office, kindle, Scribd, Any.do all have dark modes that are much easier on the eyes. Now that I have moved all my apps to dark mode, my eyes are so much more relaxed. Looking at white screen, like the one that we have to use here on WordPress is painful, so I write most of my articles in MS Word (in dark mode) and copy and paste them here.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. If you are looking to make a change to a new to-do app. Give Any.do a whirl. They have a trial period. Frankly, $30 a year is not a big deal, especially when you consider that most of these other apps run $60 annually.

Have a great Thursday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thinking Thursday – Book Recommendations

01 Thursday Apr 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thinking Thursdays

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bolton, Book reviews, Goodreads, Ian Douglas, Kindle, Reading, Scribd, trump, Warren Murphy, Woodward

I enjoy reading fiction and non-fiction. Here are a few books I’ve read that some of you may enjoy:

The Room Where It Happened – John Bolton

Fear – Bob Woodward

Rage – Bob Woodward

Singularity: Star Carrier Series – Ian Douglas

The Destroyer Series – Warren Murphy

The John Bolton and Bob Woodward books are political. They both describe the Trump Whitehouse. These were really good reads. I believe that every president is right for the times. Every president deals with the awesome responsibilities of their job in their own way. Many in the Trump camp disparaged these books before they came out, but after reading these books from two different authors, the feeling and descriptions both authors offered were pretty close. This leads me to believe that the descriptions in these books are pretty accurate. Anyway, I hope you take a look at these.

On the science fiction end, the Singularity: Star Carrier series is terrific. The Star Carrier series is 9 books. 8 of them are finished. I am currently on book three. I enjoy how this author delves into the scientific explanations about faster-than-light travel and all the rest he discusses in this story. They are very entertaining.

The Destroyer Series is also another great one, if you enjoy action and adventure, mixed with some of the funniest prose I have read in a long time. If you like action and writing that will make you laugh, these are terrific. This series is composed of 140+ books, but all are really quick reads. Usually I finish them over a weekend.

I’ll provide these book recommendations once in a while. For those of you in my audience who are avid readers, feel free to reach out to me on Goodreads. I use Goodreads because it helps me keep track of all the things I’ve read. I also recommend Scribd, if you are ok with reading books in digital form. Many of the books on Scribd are pretty recent and are part of the subscription. I read enough that Scribd pays for itself. The Woodward and Bolton books by themselves cost about 45 USD. I pay 9 USD a month for the subscription, which also includes audio books and magazines.

Here is my Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/60448547-david

Send me an invite if you wish. I’ll accept.

Well, folks that’s it for this week’s Thinking/Thankful Thursday.

Have a great day!!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful/Thinking Thursday – New iPad

18 Thursday Mar 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thankful Thursdays, Thinking Thursdays

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

2020, America, comfortable, Covid Vaccine, Grateful, Happy, iPad, Pandemic, Satisfied, Thankful

I’m getting an iPad today. I have been without one for a few years, but miss the ability to read on a bigger background than my phone. I also like watching movies and listening to music on it. It’s terrific!

It’s really nice to have the wherewithal to do what I need to do. My heart goes out to those who have suffered during the lockdowns. I constantly thought about that single Mom, working in a restaurant as a waitress, barely making it, and then watch her job disappear instantly. I am hopeful that most had family to depend on during that time.

It looks like a few countries are going back into lockdown. Boy, this thing won’t let up.

I am thankful for this country. Yeah, we had a hiccup early last year, but once the American people are motivated–we get things done.

I mentioned a day or so ago that my folks and I got our COVID-19 vaccine. My arm was a little stiff on the day of the shot, but after some exercise it loosened right up. No pain afterward. We have to get our second shot in April. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. We got ours at our local pharmacy. It was important for Mom and Dad to get them, because they both have underlying conditions. Because I live here, it was appropriate for me to get one too. I’m grateful for the nurse at our local pharmacy who did such a great job. I never felt the needle go in.

So today, I’m grateful for my health, my family, this country, first responders, nurses and doctors, and my new iPad, which is on its way.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thinking Thursday – NASA

25 Thursday Feb 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thinking Thursdays

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Exploration, Innovation, JPL, Landers, Mars, Nasa, photos, Science, videos

Photo Credit: www.nasa.gov

For those of you who are wrapped up with political or COVID news, this might be startling. NASA recently landed another exploratory vehicle called “Perseverance”. This is really excited because this lander is seeking evidence of life on Mars, amongst its other missions. Here’s a link (last about 1:45 minutes) showing the final stage of landing on Mars. I have always been in love with space exploration and to think we are actually on Mars looking around. Amazing!

https://flipboard.com/section/technology-ne0117oue7p3v4da/nasa-releases-first-high-speed-video-of-a-spacecraft-landing-on-mars/a-z_kt_yGjRYG60molf6WNmQ%3Aa%3A3153968-445731ce20%2Fflipboard.com

I hope you enjoy this and are interested in learning more. To see all the great stuff NASA is doing, head over to their website: https://www.nasa.gov/ It has some great articles, videos, and pictures to keep you entertained for hours (at least it does for me).

Have a great Thursday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful/Thinking Thursday – Audre Lorde

18 Thursday Feb 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thankful Thursdays, Thinking Thursdays

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Activist, Art, Audre Lorde, Black History Month, Civil Rights Movement, Discrimination, Gay Rights Movement, Google, Poem, Poet, Poetry Foundation, Prejudice

Photo Credit: Audre Lorde. Photograph by Elsa Dorfman.

Today’s thinking Thursday is about another African American icon. This one is a poet called Audre Lorde. Much of her work throughout her life was dedicated to fighting discrimination be it racial, homophobic, ethnic, or whatever. I’ve included a poem from the Poetry Foundation below for you to read if you are interested. Google highlighted her today. This is where I got the inspiration to write today’s posting. After the poem, I’ve included the link for her biography on Poetry Foundation and a link to her Wikipedia page. I hope you enjoy reading about her.

Sisters in Arms

BY AUDRE LORDE

The edge of our bed was a wide grid
where your fifteen-year-old daughter was hanging   
gut-sprung on police wheels
a cablegram nailed to the wood
next to a map of the Western Reserve
I could not return with you to bury the body   
reconstruct your nightly cardboards
against the seeping Transvaal cold
I could not plant the other limpet mine
against a wall at the railroad station
nor carry either of your souls back from the river   
in a calabash upon my head
so I bought you a ticket to Durban
on my American Express
and we lay together
in the first light of a new season.

Now clearing roughage from my autumn garden   
cow sorrel    overgrown rocket gone to seed   
I reach for the taste of today
the New York Times finally mentions your country   
a half-page story
of the first white south african killed in the “unrest”
Not of Black children massacred at Sebokeng   
six-year-olds imprisoned for threatening the state   
not of Thabo Sibeko, first grader, in his own blood   
on his grandmother’s parlor floor
Joyce, nine, trying to crawl to him
shitting through her navel
not of a three-week-old infant, nameless   
lost under the burned beds of Tembisa
my hand comes down like a brown vise over the marigolds   
reckless through despair
we were two Black women touching our flame   
and we left our dead behind us
I hovered    you rose    the last ritual of healing   
“It is spring,” you whispered
“I sold the ticket for guns and sulfa   
I leave for home tomorrow”
and wherever I touch you
I lick cold from my fingers
taste rage
like salt from the lips of a woman   
who has killed too often to forget   
and carries each death in her eyes   
your mouth a parting orchid   
“Someday you will come to my country   
and we will fight side by side?”

Keys jingle in the door ajar    threatening   
whatever is coming belongs here
I reach for your sweetness
but silence explodes like a pregnant belly   
into my face
a vomit of nevers.

Mmanthatisi turns away from the cloth
her daughters-in-law are dyeing
the baby drools milk from her breast
she hands him half-asleep to his sister
dresses again for war   
knowing the men will follow.
In the intricate Maseru twilights
quick    sad    vital
she maps the next day’s battle
dreams of Durban    sometimes
visions the deep wry song of beach pebbles
running after the sea.

Notes:

M-mán-tha-tisi: warrior queen and leader of the Tlokwa (Sotho) people during the mfecane (crushing), one of the greatest crises in southern African history. The Sotho now live in the Orange Free State, S. A.

Má-se-ru: scene of a great Tlokwa battle and now the capital of Lesotho

Durban: Indian Ocean seaport and resort area in Natal Province, S. A.Audre Lorde, “Sisters in Arms” from The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde. Copyright © 1997 by Audre Lorde. Reprinted with the permission of Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency and W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., http://www.nortonpoets.com.Source: The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde (W. W. Norton and Company Inc., 1997)

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/audre-lorde

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audre_Lorde

This is yet another inspiring woman. I hope you enjoy these links. I did.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thinking/Thankful Thursday – Civil Rights Movement

11 Thursday Feb 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thankful Thursdays, Thinking Thursdays

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Civil Rights Movement, History, Learn, Little Rock Nine, MLK, Remember, Rosa Parks, Think

Photo Credit:

John T. Bledsoe – This image is available from the United States Library of Congress‘s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ppmsca.03090. This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information.Little Rock, 1959. Rally at state capitol, protesting the integration of Central High School. Protesters carry US flags and signs reading “Race Mixing is Communism” and “Stop the Race Mixing March of the Anti-Christ”.

The civil rights movement began before I was born and continues today. Although icons like MKL and others of his era are no longer here, we have fresh groups, organizations, and movements that are fighting for equality. When I speak about these things with my wife, I find it amazing that even today, she still gets the weird look when her accent is heard.

I think the trick to equality and all the rest is time. Every generation is more tolerant than the last. For those of you who are interested, here are some quick links to some Wikipedia articles to take a look at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights_movement

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine

If you’ve never taken a look at the civil rights movement, the above three links will describe an America that most of us do not know. I was born in 1963, so many of the movements, actions, and events blew by me, since I was only a child.

These events are worth visiting. They tell a story about how we used to be, and how America has evolved. Is it perfect? No, but it continues to improve (in my opinion).

Until next time…

Dave

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