STICKY POST
Thursday, 8. October 2009, 11:43:57
life, Opera, friends
This is now going to be my standard response to people who genuinely want to add me as their Opera friend. I usually check a person's blog first thing to determine if they're schiesters or not. Those of us who have been around awhile can probably relate to this.
Hello Opera member,
I'm flattered you would want to add me as your friend here at the Opera community. These requests come in from time to time and I see some common threads from people who don't "get" what Opera is about.
It's not a friend acquisition competition.
It's not about little bits of information of what you do every moment of the day.
It's not a place to hock your business idea.
It's not a site to display graphic pornography.
It is about people sharing about their lives - whether good or bad.
It is about having others care for you when the chips are down.
It is about celebration for joyous events and genuine praise for others' talents.
It is about learning of other people, cultures and customs from around the world.
It is about finding commonality among other humans who live on this planet - and appreciating it.
So I offer these suggestions to you and anyone else who wants to be my friend:
Stay awhile. Don't just create an account and then bugger off.
Write something. Anything. As much or little as you feel comfortable with.
Add a picture to go with what you're writing. It usually helps the rest of us understand.
When I know more of who you are, I would be happy to add you onto my friend's list - because then we can really be friends.
Check out this person's blog to get an idea of what I'm talking about.
http://my.opera.com/someone-who-has-a-really-good-blog/blog
With warm regards,
Henry
P.S.: because of abuses in the past by idiots and unscrupulous people, I only accept e-mail from those on my friends list. Sorry. If there is progress on the suggestions mentioned above, we'll get to know each other much better.
Monday, 12. October 2009, 14:09:17
friends, wedding, life
Saturday was the most lovely and warm day (relatively speaking) we have had here in two weeks! It was fabulous for an outdoor wedding!
I was utterly impressed with the ownership the young people took of this whole project. Most of them were between the ages of 21 and 25. To think that this new couple is surrounded by such amazing and hard-working friends. Click on the above picture for more in the photo album. We all had a great time and the newlyweds are now honeymooning in the Caribbean somewhere...
Tuesday, 11. March 2008, 15:12:41
friends, e-mail, urban legends, hoax
...
Every once in a while, you get an URGENT e-mail from one of your friends. It has probably happened to everyone who has had e-mail for a number of years. The notice is to IMMEDIATELY forward the message and warn everyone in your address list of some impending viral doom or someone who is lost or whatever. It even went so far recently that someone
I didn't even know sent me the same hoax as a friend did days earlier. Here was my reply to this person:
Hello __________,
I do not know how you received my e-mail. In regards to this ‘virus warning’, I will include a link to UrbanLegends.com and inform you in the same manner as another person who sent me this recently.
First: Please bookmark http://urbanlegends.about.com and look up these things before sending anything off in a panic. Give yourself a day to settle down and do some research. This particular one is found at http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_postcard_virus.htm . Even if you go to the Snopes site (http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp ), it still lists this as a hoax, BUT there is one which is similar. The wording of the e-mail and attachment are different and, therefore, I would take it seriously.
Second: forwarding e-mails with everyone’s name and address visible is irresponsible. It’s the easiest way for e-mails to be harvested for spamming purposes. If you must send to a large group, put the addresses in the BCC box and delete any that are in the message.
Third: if there really was a serious virus, you would be hearing about it on the news. The internet works so fast that if there was anything of the nature you described, it would have gone around the globe in less than 24 hours. It happened in 2000 with one called “LoveMe”. Take a look at this clip from CBC http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-75-2202-13284-10/on_this_day/science_technology/twt .
The most dangerous thing about receiving these sort of things over the years is gullibility and naivety. I care for my friends very much and don’t send their information around needlessly. Have a great day!
With sincere regards,
Henry
Tuesday, 17. July 2007, 01:59:45
friends, church, life
"Hey Henry, this is Solomon. I'm in Toronto for 3 weeks for work. I'm staying at the Holiday Inn on King. Give me a call and ask for my room number."
What a surprise to get that message on my answering machine last Friday from one of my best friends. He lives in Montreal and our communication is usually by infrequent long distance phone calls. To have him be within an hour's drive was an opportunity not to be passed up for us to get together personally. We haven't done that in over 4 years since I moved away from London, Ontario.
Although he is quite a bit younger than I, we have a lot of common interests in Christian faith, engineering, aircraft (the Avro Arrow in particular), music, business, politics and more. The
Toronto Aersopace Museum had finished a full-size replica of the Avro Arrow last fall. Ever since then, I had wondered, "Wouldn't it be great if both Solomon and I could see that?" This past weekend was the chance. We talked Saturday morning for over an hour but made plans to get together for the whole day on Sunday. Solomon didn't have a car, so I was going to provide all the transportation - he was going to pay for the gas and a meal.
I picked him up at the hotel and we drove back to Hamilton so he could attend my local church (that's us together in front - couldn't get the spire in the shot). It happened to be a communion service that day - so wonderful to take it with a close brother in the Lord (as an aside, check out the post on
communion by Big White Hat). Solomon met my pastor and some folks from the congregation. It seems our youth group actually stayed at his church in Montreal when they went on their evangelism trip last summer. What a small world! I then showed him my handiwork with creating our church's new sound booth last year and some of the technical problems that were overcome. He thought it was great (aw, shucks..).
I showed him some of the natural sights so close to my apartment and how great the view is from this part of the city. He was so impressed and compared it to Mont Royal in the heart of Montreal. We zipped off to Toronto to get to the museum and check out the replica of our favourite aircraft. We were not disappointed (more on that later). Afterward we went out for dinner and talked again for a few hours about life, faith, women, careers, God's leading and timing in life situations, etc. We tried to wrap up our day in less than half an hour while dropping him off at the hotel. We missed each other so much and there was a lot to catch up on. I don't have many friends like him, but he is a gem. Thanks for the day, man!
Saturday, 16. June 2007, 18:19:05
friends, storytelling, movies
Right now I’m watching the movie Radio. I’ve turned the director’s commentary on which, in this case, supersedes virtually all the dialogue of the movie. Every little commentary or insight into how the movie was done is such a treat. But why?
After watching for more than hour, it suddenly hit me: the storytelling. The director is telling details of scenes, actors, writing, authenticity of the situations – or artistic liberalities. But he’s not just telling, he is verbally crafting his love of the material and the people and situations of life – on and off the screen.
Storytelling. It’s about making a point with the film and how many events behind the scenes helped make it happen. Perhaps one of the main reasons I love the release of films on DVD is there is just so much extra stuff that adds such depth to the production of a great film. Chariots of Fire; Lord of the Rings; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe are among the few in my collection I enjoy watching over and over again.
Perhaps storytelling is something that strikes such a chord in my soul because it’s not something I do easily – or very often. Storytelling is effective when there is an interesting subject and lively person speaking and an appreciative person or audience listening. Sometimes that may not always happen. I recall that Vincent Van Gogh was not appreciated much for his artistic genius until after he was dead. Sad really. I can understand a bit of how he tried desperately to reach out and let others know who he was, but no one was listening.
Perhaps that is one reason I miss my engineering friend when I lived in another city. We would talk for hours about technology, science, aircraft, computers and all sorts of other things. Our phone calls get quite long when I call Montreal. Another friend here will sit and talk about music and relationships. I enjoy the conversations of both guys. It nourishes me in hearing about what is going on in their lives and the freedom to say anything that is on our minds. Another fellow from my church is normally very reserved. One day I was working with him and asked how he and his wife met. For the next few hours he talked almost non-stop about his growing up, meeting her, youth groups, pitfalls and most any detail connected with the subject of meeting her. He has not spoken to me at such length about anything else before or since. But the storytelling was fascinating.
Telling about something you love or admire with passion is so much better when someone listens – even if they don’t understand it all. If they do, or want to learn more about your passion, so much the better; and a blessing all around.
Wednesday, 23. May 2007, 02:48:45
friends, adversity, life
Hello everyone,
This post will hopefully explain a bit of the title of this blog. I have had difficulties in my life and there are some goals I would like to accomplish a lot sooner than the current speed at which they are getting done, but I am still facing forward. The goals I would like to accomplish, by God’s grace, will get done. Some people are late bloomers. Perhaps
really late bloomers — like Moses. Like me.
There are three friends of mine who continually remind me of the importance of fortitude and the grace within which we live every day. One has been battling lupus for a number of years, the other chronic back pain due to injuries and the last is battling depression and other physical ailments.
The gal battling lupus has difficulty working a full continuous day. She cannot walk or stand for a long period. She has regular chemotherapy treatments that physically knock her out for days at a stretch. She recently had emergency hernia surgery. Yet she is attending to her mother who lives in a nursing home. She is actively involved in various ministries at her church. She sings with a professional chorus group that just recently won a North American competition — for the second year in a row. She loves to be around people and is continually encouraging them. When I hear some of the medical gaffs done by professionals, it is a wonder she is still alive. Her physical resilience is baffling.
The other gal with the chronic back pain cannot sit for very long. She cannot lift anything very heavy or bend down very far. Getting anything toward ground level is an arduous task. This past weekend she moved to another place—the third time in a year. Money issues, legal issues, schooling issues (she is attending university) and family issues. But she is almost always smiling. She is always hospitable with refreshments or a meal. If there is anything extra, it’s given away. After helping out with getting her internet going and secured, she gave me some extra food (always good for struggling single guys) and some extra cash (knowing how much it would have cost to have a professional company come in and do the work for her — helped pay for gas
). Her basic needs are met in almost miraculous ways regularly. It is astounding.
The last fellow is a father of seven children. That’s right, seven. He is battling against depression and other physical ailments that prevent him from working full time. He has a loving and supportive wife. He is a community leader in the complex where he lives. He oversees the administration of budgets that reach out into the immediate neighbourhoods and bring people together. His input is extremely valued by civic leaders to create duplicate environments around our city. He is an awesome cook and loves being around people.
There is a saying, "Somebody is worse off than you." I have my own issues to deal with and live with. These three people written about are heroic to me in that they live life beyond their restrictions. They accomplish so much with more going against them than myself. I feel sorry for myself some days when the focus is too inward. But I will continue to face forward — even if not moving forward.
Regards,
Henry
WIDGETIZE