Work continues on many fronts with BR, but I thought I'd take a break from those updates and post some absolutely random, entirley unrelated, yet interesting links that I've either come across recently, or heard on the news.

Grains Make Gains: Wheat Surpasses White in Sliced Bread Sales (courtesy of the Chicago Tribune)

I was surprised to learn that white bread now takes second place to wheat.  While likely an unimportant fact, it is interesting that people are at least trying to make healthier choices when shopping for their groceries.  One note about this article; the figures quoted do not include sales at America's largest retailer, Wal Mart.  Among the more interesting points of the article; breads that show more grain, sell better.  Marketing, its all around us...

PA Energy Rebate Program - Increased Reimbursement Rates

I heard about this on NPR today, or at least about the increase rebate amounts.  If you're thinking about replacing your heater, hot water tank or boiler, its worth taking a look at this page.  As an example, if you purchase a new water heater with at least a 67% efficiency you can get $250 back from the Commonwealth.  to put that in perspective, a 40 gallon, qualifying tank from Whirlpool sells for $488.  After the rebate, $230.  That's a savings of more than 50%!!!

-Nate

My Bob the Builder reference above relates to the fact that I have actually finished a book from beginning to end.   For some this may not be a big deal, but for me it is.  I typically start a book, then another, and another, etc. etc. until I'm up to my neck in "half-reads" and "damn near finished(s)", but never seem to actually get all the way through them.  It must be an ADD thing, or the fact that I see books as orphans and have to bring them home from garage sales, library sales, auctions, and the like.  Anyway, the book I finished is "The Lessons of St. Francis" by J.M. Talbot.   I've blogged about several of the chapters here, but as some of you may have notices, sort of drifted off the topic and never came back to it.  I'll save the details of the last few chapters, but you absolutely must read this if you're looking for a great self-reflective read that will help to recenter your life on what's truly important.  

I'd love to cut and paste the entire chapter on Service, but I fear that would infringe on someone's copyright and land me somewhere I probably don't want to be prom queen...

Next on the list is "The Secret House" by David Bodanis.  I'm currently about 60% through this one, so if I buckle down I can hopefully add another completer to my list by memorial day.  It too is an interesting read on the science behind the world we take for granted.  Cool in a geeky sort of way...

If you'd like either of these when I'm finished, shoot me an email and we'll make arrangements to get them in the mail. 

Others books on my "started" list include:

"The Return of Depression Economics" by Paul Krugman - 40% complete

"The End of Poverty - Economic Possibilities for Our Time " by Jeffrey D. Sachs - maybe 2% in as I've been waiting to finish Krugman's book before tackling another econ read.

"The Cloister Walk" by Kathleen Norris - unsure of where I'm at in this one as I've started and stopped it several times over the past months.

Books not started but in the que are:

"Camp" by Michael Eisner

"Between You and Me" by Mike Wallace (comes with an 82 minute DVD of his best interviews)

I'll end this post with couple of notes about the kids in Haiti...   They return from their trip on Sunday and will be presenting on their relief work Tuesday night at the Olean Public Library.  More details to follow, but you should definitely plan to attend.

-Nate

Site was down for a few days while being migrated to godaddy.com for hosting.  Sorry.

I've been spending the last few days taking a break from life, vegging out, and catching up on some much needed personal time.  Tonight I burned through several back issues of Business Week, in fact it was so many issues that the covers changes from regular old Business Week to Bloomsburg Business Week.  The new format looks more professional, but the type is significantly smaller, making it more difficult to read.   I also think the articles are shorter, which bugs me a bit, but my subscription ends in June, and I'll likely not renew.  Also in my pile of periodicals was the most recent issue of Fortune, in which Alan Sloan suggested 6 ways to "really" fix wall street.  It was a decent article geared towards non-financial professionals and many of his ideas make sense, though not all are practical.

Still on my list of reading for the night are two issues of National Geographic (may save these for later), and the rest of the book on St. Francis.  I made a bit of progress through it the other day, but still have 2 or 3 chapters to wrap up.  I'm big on starting multiple books at the same time and not finishing any of them, as evidenced by the ever growing library on my dresser next to the bed. 

Going to experiment with changing themes on the blog now, so if its missing again tomorrow, you'll know why.

-Nate

As you may (I hope) or may not have noticed, the site has been down for several days.  Apparently the "datacenter" found it necessary to "rebuild" Donny's server.   As such, I will post the update from Sunday's Local Service Weekend activities, as well as the finished photos of the wheelchair ramp later this evening.

-Nate

I spend today working, and I mean really working; physically, outdoors, etc...   It's a good feeling, accomplishing something in one day, seeing the result of your efforts, measuring your day by what you get done.   While the morning was spent with my beloved grandmother; taking her shopping, having lunch, and chatting about all things family; the afternoon was spent moving stone, digging trenches, and laying curb along the front of the house.  As if that wasn't enough, my bosom pal Brian and I also filled in the pond in front of the house, which i landscaped over after his departure.   In addition, the projects involved the hauling of what seemed to be roughly a full metric ton of extra soil, mulch, and miscellaneous plant matter 150 feet up hill to be redistributed later...

It was a good day... 

-Nate

In yesterday's Era, there was a job posting for the local University that I've considered applying for.  The pay is more, the responsibility is greater and its with a great employer.  Despite the potential benefits, I struggle with the decision to actually apply.  I'm not unhappy in my current job, in fact, when I really think about it, I love it.   I enjoy what I do, I get along with my co-workers (for the most part, LOL), and I enjoy being part of an agency that does A LOT of good for A LOT of people.  Certainly its frustrating at times when things are decided that we disagree with or have difficulty buying into, but that happens everywhere.  As far as money goes, certainly I would like to make more, we all would.  But how much do you really need?   My bills are paid, I have money in my pocket, and all of my needs are met.  Where then do we find the balance between our desire for more and what we already have? 

On another note, I've received a bit of feedback from a few people about how they've been keeping up with my posts.  Great!  Whatever your reason for reading, whether to just keep in touch, or to look for something you can use punitively and criticize, welcome...   Glad to have you along...

-Nate

I happened upon a new TV show on NBC tonight called "Minute to Win It" in which contestants complete progressively more difficult tasks (10 in total) in their quest to win the ultimate prize of $1 million.  Each contestant is given 3 "lives" or opportunities to retry tasks if they fail.  Here are some examples of the tasks I witnessed this evening:

1)  Keep three feathers in the air using only your mouth/breathe.

2)  Transfer 5 cotton balls from one bowl to another (15 feet away) using only your nose, which has been dipped in Vaseline.

3) Stack three golf balls on top of each other so they stay in the form of a tower for at least 3 seconds.

I thought the show was creative possessed an appropriate level of difficulty, and had just enough action to hold my interest.  While watching it though, I was surprised to see that some of the contestants bowed out with a comparitively low level of winnings (i.e. $125,000).  This made me wonder; do game show contestants behave differntly during periods of economic difficulty?  What is their tolerance for risk during different economic situations? 

For purposes of comparison, let us assume that all contestants have similar personal economic situations, and have used all of their "lives"; are they more likely to continue and play for the next reward level, or are they more likely to accept what they have already won and stop play?  Thoughts?

-Nate

I originally intended this blog to be a depot for my thoughts on issues including, but not limited to, marketing, news, politics and pretty much whatever tickles my fancy on any particular day.  That being said, the posts up until now have all been related to my interactions with BonaResponds and the great work their doing to help the victims of the disaster in Haitil.   While that certainly will continue, its important that I broaden the scope of my commentary, and what better day to begin than St. Patrick's Day...

For those of you that follow me on Facebook, you'll note that the past few days have included status updates surrounding the glorious day in which we find ourselves today.   For me, and for many Irish-Americans, St. Patrick's day is less about the imprisoned migrant turned Saint, and more about celbrating our heritage with a few pints of ale and some boiled ruffage.  Myself, I'll be traversing the town in search of friends, foam, and feasting that will most certainly be taking place around our 3rd class city.  But why, many may ask, is today so special?

We Irish diaspora represent the best parts of what Ireland is all about.  While we may not know all the details of Irish history, we know enough sayings and proverbs to peice together a loose understanding of the culture, its values, and traditions.  Draw from them what you will, but know that we Irish among you, wish you good life, good health, and good drink.   And on that note...

A toast to your coffin, may it be made from hundred year oak, and may we plant the tree together, tomorrow...

Erin Go Braugh!  Slainte!

-Nate

Yesterday, I traveled to Pittsburgh, PA to visit with some folks from another human services group about a potential “model of care” that we’re looking at adopting.  While a great idea and a great model of care, it struck me last night just how damn silly the world has become…

Without going into too much detail, the model involves taking a new approach to how we deal with people… being nice.  Have we actually gotten to this point?   To answer that question… YES!  The fact that I drove 6 hours to learn about how other people are implementing the concept of being nice, is evidence that the world has gone haywire.  To further support this claim...  the people we visited with went so far as to produce an in-house video about being nice to use in training their staff...  

I’d like to think that I’m a nice guy…   I say hello to people (most of the time), stop for people in crosswalks (sometimes), and use my turn-signals religiously.   It bugs me that “nice” has become a trendy business concept, something we need to hire consultants to teach and attend seminars to learn.  

Today’s thought:    Be nice to someone…  :)