Net Neutrality: Real, Funny, Scary

Net Neutrality is a new topic bubbling up through social media that needs our attention.  This monologue by John Oliver on his HBO Show Last Week Tonight explains the issue, generates some laughs, and gives a plan of action we can each participate in.  This video is worth a look!

As John Oliver suggests, send your comments on this matter to the Federal Communications Commission, as the FCC has requested.  The FCC has opened a 120-day window for public comment.  Please take action!  You can leave your comments at FCC.GOV/COMMENTS.  The link worked when I set it up; however, when I clicked on the next link to actually leave a comment, the connection broke down.  I am not usually paranoid, but I am getting very suspicious.

Let me know if you have luck making a comment!

Please, this is not really a funny matter.

 

 

A Happy New Year Is Up to You!

It is not only a new day, but a whole new year.  It is a perfect time to reflect, dream, plan, move forward.  Of course, all those actions require change—and change is not easy!  That is one reason I expect new year’s resolutions have such a bad reputation about being hard to keep. I personally know how hard it is to stick with a new program or plan to meet new year’s resolutions.  I will review my own actions from last year—successes and failures—later in the month when my birthday comes around.  Right now, as I start reflecting and dreaming, I am hopeful for a bright new year.

As you decide what you wish to accomplish in the new year, think about what is most important to you—the things that bring you joy, happiness, love, friendship, community.  Also acknowledge your skills and creativity; they can so often be the pathway to success!  Commit to your plans with confidence, courage, and enthusiasm.  Also, remember that actions—new or ongoing—do not need to be huge and grandiose; sometimes the small things make the biggest impact.  Trust your heart!

As I contemplate the challenges I will face in 2013 and thus make some decisions about the goals I will make to keep moving forward, I look to nature and to favorite quotes for inspiration.  I will share some below, hoping they give you some insight or ideas as well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

To begin, it is important to remember that life is change and vice versa.  So it is best to embrace change and enjoy life for all its unexpected pleasures.  And remember that life, too, can be fleeting, so enjoy each and every day.  Tell family and friends how much you love them.  Be kind to all, even strangerss.  Just get started.  You cannot soar if you never stretch your wings!

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”  Robert Frost

“That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.”  Emily Dickinson

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”  Helen Keller

“Be like a tree in pursuit of your cause. Stand firm, grip hard, thrust upward, bend to the winds of heaven, and learn tranquility.”   Dedication from Father of the Trees 

“Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no bird sang there except those that sang best.”  Henry Van Dyke

“Never yet was a spring time when the buds forgot to bloom.”   Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

“You are built not to shrink down to less but to blossom into more.”  Oprah Winfrey

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  Lao-tzu

Finally, as the first day of a brand new year draws to a close, I hope each and every one of you has made some plan for tomorrow, for next week, for the new year.  Remember, your plan does not have to be huge or grand.  It is just important to get started.

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”  Helen Keller

“We must be the change we wish to see in the world.”  Ghandi

“Five years from now you will pretty much be the same as you are today except for two things:  the books you read and the people you get close to.”  Charles Jones

“Suceess is the sum of small efforts—repeated day in and day out.”  Robert Collier

So how will you make 2013 a better year for yourself, your family and friends?  I wish us all the courage to get started and the perseverance to keep going.