April 8, 2008
Research Participation Request
I received an email from a Social Psychology student (Matthew Schottland) at NY University. He is part of a research team investigating how people determine who they are voting for. They have an online survey at http://www.psychsurveys.org/brietruesdell/2008primaries. I took the...
March 25, 2008
In A Meditative Mood?
Picture from Zen (dog) master at CNN (3/24/08). "Conan the Chihuahua prays with chief priest Joei Yoshikuni at the Shuri-Kannondo temple."...
February 21, 2008
The Hawaii Chair for a Good Belly Laugh
All kudos to Bill for finding this gem. Make sure you have a handkerchief in hand before clicking play. YouTube: Ellen with her Hawaii Chair...
October 13, 2007
Congratulations Al
I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Al Gore for receiving the Nobel Prize. I think that it was spot on to say that he has been the single most visible person on bringing this issue to global attention and action....
October 4, 2007
A Grimace and a Smile
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4h_f3VH59sU...
September 28, 2007
Fed Up With Cowardice and Duplicity
I am fed up and more than ticked off by most of the Congress and by the Democratic Presidential candidates. Remember the expansion of the Bush's illegal wiretapping? Remember the temporary expansion of the FISA extension than Representative Harman was...
September 16, 2007
Too Odd
I hate to do it, but we have a mouse problem so I do set traps from time to time. I could not figure out how the traps were consistently empty and the peanut butter gone, and usually the trap...
September 13, 2007
In Case of Emergency A Good Idea
While the ICE Campaign [In Case of Emergency] started in 2004 with an idea by Bob Brotchie of the East Anglian Ambulance service, it was picked up by Vodaphone in 2005 (Urban Legends), it is an excellent idea. In essence,...
August 20, 2007
Review: "Live from Jordan"
This is a review and recommendation of Live from Jordan: Letters Home from My Journey Through the Middle East by Benjamin Orbach. Orbach, at the time an American grad student, traveled to Jordan on the eve of the invasion of...
July 22, 2007
Rowan's Excellent Adventure - Closing Chapter
Well, I have finally arrived home. From Thursday to today has largely been a wash between the closing schedule of the Round Table and travel home. My body doesn't know what day or time it is....
Rowan's Excellent Adventure Posts
Flight Photos Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 6 Closing Chapter...
July 18, 2007
Rowan's Excellent Adventure - Day 6
I think it is day 6. Today's presentations were interesting, but did not elicit the response of yesterday's. Maybe we are just getting tired. However, we had the afternoon free, and I went for a long walk on my own...
July 17, 2007
Rowan's Excellent Adventure - Day 5
Well today was my presentation. After much angst and cutting and cutting to get under the time limit, I finally did my presentation. Of course I wasn't even 2/3 of the way through when I got the five minute warning....
Rowan's Excellent Adventure - Day 4
I know. Please don't yell at me for missing day 4. I was going from sun up to 11:30 last night and no time to do much of anything in between. I am taking a few moments now to catch...
July 15, 2007
Rowan's Excellent Adventure - Day 3
Well, today I switched accommodations from the hotel to digs at St. Anne's College. The day started off oddly however....
July 14, 2007
Rowan's Excellent Adventure - Day 2
Hello all. This has been a better day than yesterday. My strategy of forcing myself into England time seems to have worked. I woke at 6am local feeling only slightly hung over....
Excellent Adventure Photos 1
I'll share some of the initial images of the England trip....
July 13, 2007
Rowan's Most Excellent Adventure - Day 1
As some of you know, I have been invited to present a paper at The Oxford Round Table in Oxford, England. I left yesterday for England and decided to share the travelogue. It started at the Portland Airport where I...
June 24, 2007
Health News
I read the health news. Not sure why most of the time, but every once in a while there are some interesting things that pop up. England is starting a major smoking ban starting July 1. They are the last...
June 4, 2007
New Design Implementation
Hi Everybody. Since folks seemed positively inclined towards the new design, I am implementing it. Over the next few weeks, I will bring the rest of the site into the new design. It will take a bit of time (which...
June 3, 2007
Comment Snafu
I thought you all were just not talking to me, but NO, for some reason everything was going to the "junk" listing. I hadn't changed the spam settings, so I didn't know. My profuse apologies. I'll try to figure out...
May 17, 2007
Articles of Note
I direct your attention to an excellent article by Carolyn Baker "Unprepared, Uncompensated, and Clueless: The Prophets Have Become Historians." She discusses, quite eloquently and personally, the environmental and systems collapse we are now experiencing. In a totally different vein,...
May 15, 2007
A Site for Your Perusal
I have accepted an invitation to be a senior editor at Cyrano's Journal Online. I have been given control of an internal blog named CJO's Avenger....
May 3, 2007
Site back in order
Dear UTJ Friends, Everything should be working appropriately now. Please let me know immediately if you see anything that isn't working. I tested the comments and the send entry functions and both of those seemed to go smoothly. Not to...
Notice to visitors and community
Due to server issues at my host, my site is being transferred to another server. This should not impact us significantly - or for long. However, due to the move, please do not attempt to post comments until I tell...
April 18, 2007
Your Thoughts
There are 33 people dead in the murder spree at Virginia Tech. It has been wall to wall coverage, but the facts of the event are coming in piecemeal. However, I wanted to create a space for people to share...
April 9, 2007
Phone Fraud Alert
There is a phone fraud that is going around where someone calls and says they are from your phone company, and he is testing your line. He (or she) gives instructions that in order to complete the test you should...
February 23, 2007
A Chuckle for You
I don't know who gets credit for this one, but thank you to whoever created it....
February 12, 2007
Runaway Child Update
Shawna's daughter, Suzanne Rieger, has been found and returned home. I put out an alert to the community on February 1st. I received an email this morning, that she is now home. Thanks to all of you who helped spread...
January 1, 2007
Welcome to 2007
Dear Uncommon Thought Community, I send you wishes for the best in 2007. May you each have the company of good friends, good health, prosperity in all areas of your life, and the courage of your convictions. I can't express...
December 25, 2006
Holidays
I am not a big celebrator of holidays - any of them including birthdays. The reluctance is likely due to being in foster care as a child. However, I do realize that they are important for many people. This is...
December 20, 2006
Of Interest to Supporters of UTJ
I got an email from Melissa McNamara of CBS News Blogophiles that Uncommon Thought had been linked in her column. It was at this link. It is in the "Intelligent Googling" section. She picked the article on the State Department's...
December 13, 2006
David Brooks' Times Editorial
Folks are talking about (with disbelief) David Brooks' December 10th NY Times editorial. However, getting access to the article is pay only. Unless ... you go to the Kansas City Star who published the editorial under a different title -...
August 16, 2006
Comment Publishing Problems
Dear Folk, There have been problems commenting at this site, but I was unaware of it. I thought nobody wanted to talk. The site was being bombarded by a site called milfs-hunters, and so I banned it from the site....
February 17, 2006
Site was hacked
Hi folks, Sorry if any of your comments have disappeared or if you have had problems with the site today. Some crud decided it would be fun to trash the site. Anyway, I had to have my host restore from...
January 1, 2006
New Year's Wishes
Dear Uncommon Thought Community and Visitors, I wish all of you the best in 2006, and thank you for your ongoing support of this Journal. I do not foresee great improvements for 2006. Therefore, I wish each and every one...
The Year Behind - The Year Ahead
Well, somehow we made it through 2005. It was a year of continued degradation of the planet and of freedom in so many ways. It was also a time of changing momentum for the Bush cabal. The ongoing efforts of...
December 28, 2005
In Memory of Andre Norton
I just found out this week that Andre Norton died. This was a huge blow for me, and I have been absorbing it. She passed away March 17, 2005, but somehow I didn't know. Some of you may not know...
November 25, 2005
Brownie Strikes Again
It is bad enough that Michael Brown (ex-head of FEMA who reigned over the Katrina disaster) is still on the government payroll as a "consultant." That position has apparently given him an inflated perception of his own skill and ability....
November 6, 2005
Pacific Northwest Portal
The Pacific Northwest Portal is the official regional news and resource site of the Northwest Progressive Institute. NWP is truly a "portal" into politics and political blogging in the Pacific Northwest. It is a fount of information and connection to...
October 2, 2005
Esoterica, Trivia Or Cultural Transformation?
I ran across an article by Nancy Szokan in the 10/02/05 NY Times "Where It's At -- and Where It's Not" (see end of post for article). This is an article about the symbol included in every email address. You...
September 26, 2005
We're Back In Business
Hi Folks, The upgrade is done and everything seems to be working. Please notify me if you run into any problems with the site. I'll be back to posting soon....
September 25, 2005
Just a Heads Up
I have been preparing to update this site to the new version of Movable Type. If all goes well, then articles will continue as usual. If it doesn't, then you may not hear from me for a few days. I'm...
July 21, 2005
Kudos to Radical Noesis
Uncommon Thought's "sister" site Radical Noesis has been honored by being selected as one of the 13 Oregon weblogs to be syndicated by the Pacific Northwest Portal which provides news and information for progressives. The portal was launched in January...
July 14, 2005
Items of potential interest
In reading today's Christian Science Monitor, an article introduced an news site Watching America. This site provides English translations of international reports of news about the U.S. It looks like a valuable resource and I have added it to the...
May 31, 2005
Mind Mapping
I have been a devotee of "mind mapping" for years. I am not a linear thinker and the discovery of mind mapping helped me dramatically in organizing and exploring concepts, ideas and information. I first "discovered" the concept in a...
May 13, 2005
Kudos for Waypath
I have been looking for a long time to find a plugin that would find articles related to those I publish at this site. My goal was to provide you with a quick way to link out to other sites...
May 10, 2005
New Feature At Uncommon Thought
I have introduced a new feature for those of you who are interested in seeing what others are writing about what you read here. Waypath has a plugin that searches the "blogosphere" and returns matches to the articles it is...
May 9, 2005
Fighting Spam
If you use the internet, you are fighting spam and the inevitable things it brings along - clogged mail boxes, more spam, and viruses. Here is a good article from the NY Times on managing spam, and it has links...
May 5, 2005
Hey! A Contest
Uncommon Thought has been entered for the "Blogette Award" through Kay's Bargains. The contest is for the best "site written, run, created, or geared towards females." If you want to vote for this site (or have sites you want to...
April 14, 2005
Beetles Named After Bush, Cheney And Rumsfeld
This is just too choice to not spread around. While many want a star named after them, the highest profile figures of the current administration have the honor of beetles named after them. Two politically conservative entomologists (Quentin Wheeler and...
April 12, 2005
Slipping By In The News
Just want to share some interesting tidbits in my recent news scans. The U.S. has obviously been in Iraq too long as we take up practices we have condemned. Kidnapping and hostage taking has been so effective for a variety...
April 7, 2005
Personal Note
Well, I have had one of those days. Ran like crazy all day long, got home and my ISP (and some of yours) Comcast was DOA. It just came back up and now I am too tired to think, much...
March 28, 2005
Nothing from me today
Sorry folks. First day of classes. I'm sick as a dog. Just trying to get through the day today....
March 2, 2005
News Bites
Thought I'd throw a few interesting sound bites out there. Most of this leaves me with HUH?! In yet another sign of the successful aftermath of US led regime change in Afghanistan, the Afghan heroin crop threatens to flood UK....
February 24, 2005
Reality TV and Slapstick Comedy
It seems that "reality TV" is all the rage now. Each "season" new ones are rolled out to be gobbled up by the eager masses. I have been scratching my head over this as I find them largely disgusting and...
February 8, 2005
Notification Problems
Hi Folks, I should have posted something earlier, and several of you have contacted me because you are not receiving notifications of new posts to UTJ. I hoped the problem would be resolved quickly, so I did not post a...
December 31, 2004
To the New Year
Well, 2004 could have gone much better for the world, and 2005 is off to a running bad start. I generally don't do New Year's resolutions, but feel the need to affirm that I commit myself to continuing the struggle...
December 25, 2004
Seasons Greetings
Seasons Greetings - No matter what holidays you celebrate. Across many religions and beliefs, this is the time of the returning of the light - both literally and figuratively. It is my fond hope for each of you, and for...
December 20, 2004
The HUH? News
Bush Is Time's 'Person of the Year' The editors tapped Bush "for sharpening the debate until the choices bled, for reframing reality to match his design, for gambling his fortunes -- and ours -- on his faith in the power...
December 2, 2004
New UTJ Feature
A new feature has been added to Uncommon Thought. I have set up a forum/bulletin board. This will allow the community to participate in dialogues in a different format. From time to time you have information and thoughts you want...
November 24, 2004
Where's Mathew?
You may be wondering where guest author Mathew Maavak is these days. Well he's been traveling around and is engaged in writing a book. He has set up kind of a traveling postcard of a recent break in Matheran. I'm...
November 14, 2004
New UTJ Feature
Hi Folks, There is a new feature that is available to you. You can now subscribe to receive notifications of comments on articles or discussions you are interested in. When you go to either the full page entry, or to...
Upgrade Complete
Hi Folks, It is 2:30am my time and the upgrade is complete. There are a few things to work out, but things seem functional. NOTICE: at this point the comment notification is not working and I'm too tired to play...
November 13, 2004
Upgrade On Its Way
Just a heads up. I will be upgrading Uncommon Thought to the latest version of Movable Type later tonight or tomorrow morning. My hope is that everything go smoothely. Everything will be backed up just in case. While this is...
November 11, 2004
Host Switch Update
The host switch is underway, and I think completed at least for this "domain." Sorry if there was any craziness with your comment posting. I had some comments coming in from the domain under the old host, and some coming...
November 9, 2004
Notice to the UTJ Community
My current host provider has had some catastrophic server failures and is limping along and going out of business. That means that I must find a new "home" for Uncommon Thought, get that set up, and move the site. This...
October 28, 2004
A Little Help From My Friends
Uncommon Thought is experiencing an increase in visits from NIPR.mil (See below for info about NIPR). Thus far today, they have visited the site at 10:26 am, 12:30pm, and 2:57pm. They also dropped by two times yesterday. I suspect this...
New Species of Humans Discovered - This is Not A Hoax
Archeologists in Indonesia have discovered a new species of humans (now extinct). Homo floresiensis was about 3 feet tall at adulthood, was a tool maker, and could have still been present as recently as 6, 000 years ago. This totally...
October 4, 2004
A Dog After My Heart
FINALLY, something on the lighter side. Meet Red, an adventuresome stray at the Battersea Dogs Home in South London, loves a good party. Each night he springs himself from his cage, and then selects a few of his friends to...
September 19, 2004
Too Weird to Not Share
As if folks in Florida didn't have enough to deal with as Ivan roared through, one group had to deal with an anger mangaement counselor who ordered his pit bulls to attack the folks he was sheltering with....
August 12, 2004
New Use for "Gene Therapy"?
I just have to pass this one on, Turning Slackers Into Workaholics. Researchers at NIMH are trying a new genetic therapy that blocks the "D2" gene that controls dopamine levels in the brain. In tests on monkeys, researchers found that...
July 20, 2004
Bit of a problem
Just wanted to let you all know that articles may be sporadic for a few days. I have a family member in intensive care from an on the job accident which crushed one hip and broke another. He is going...
July 4, 2004
Ask and you shall receive
Ok, I have implemented a very basic spell checker for comments. When you click on Preview/Spell, misspelled words are in red with suggestions below for chnages. You then have to type the change in. There may be words that are...
So you'd like online spell checking?
In my hunt for a way to add a spell checker for comments on Uncommon Thought (unsuccessful so far) I did find a cool tool that works in any windows application (including comments on line). The package is called Spell...
July 2, 2004
A Historic Day for Uncommon Thought
Today is a historic day for Uncommon Thought Journal. The site officially went over 10,000 hits. I want to thank all of you for your support, loyalty, and sharing with your friends. Thanks also goes to the web log community...
June 5, 2004
A New Site to Visit - Hey America! Wake Up!
A student of mine, Shawna, has brought her voice to the web by launching a new site Hey America! Wake Up!. She has a serious focus but delivers it with a sense of humor. Shawn is channeling her frustration and...
May 5, 2004
Amy Goodman coming to Portland Oregon
Amy Goodman of DemocracyNow! is on a book tour for her book Exception to the Rulers. She will be at the Baghdad Theater - 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland (across from the Hawthorne Powell's Book) Saturday May 8th at 12:30...
April 13, 2004
"Price of Loyalty" documents
Wanted to point folks to a new an excellent resource. Paul O'Neill and Ron Suskind's book - "The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill" - has made available the government documents...
April 1, 2004
Air America
Well, Air America is flying (unfortunately through Clear Channel). You might want to give it a try at Air America. This is the "left" talk radio that Al Fraken has been promoting. You can listen to it in the background...
March 31, 2004
Mark your calendars
Rebecca Howe, a former student of mine, is opening a new bookstore in the Sellwood District of Portland. The Grand Opening will be April 17, 2004. Below is the pertinent information: KISS Books (Keep it Simple and Serene) is located...
March 17, 2004
New planet discovered
Astronmers have possibly discovered a new planet beyond Pluto - Astronomers discover 'new planet' (BBC, 3/15/04). Originally designated 2003 VB12, scientists have named the possible planet "Sedna" after the Inuit goddess of the ocean. Sedna "measures about 1,180-2,360km (730-1,470 miles)...
March 14, 2004
Nick Ogilvie's Tribute
Tribute to Musician Nick Ogilivie March 21, 2004 2:00 pm McMenamin's Crystal Ballroom - Admission Free March 18, 2004 10:15pm Mission Street Theater (Admission Free) - Tribute showing of "The Life and Times of the Red Dog Saloon" Link to...
March 7, 2004
New site - Panoptic World
Mathew Maavak, who has been a guest author here at Uncommon Thought, has gotten his own site up and running. Panoptic World is a multi-author site that tracks the "trends of our evolving society." The site covers a wide terrain...
February 27, 2004
Nick Olgilvie Passes
Nick Ogilvie 1937-2004 After a long battle with cancer, chemo, open heart surgery, and more cancer, Nick Ogilvie, leader of the PH Phactor Jug Band, a San Francisco icon and Portland musical pioneer, died at 11:20pm February 21, 2004. He...
February 22, 2004
An appeal
Kevin over at The American Street has posted a special appeal for Jim Capozolla at Rittenhouse Review. Jim is an activist and a blogger. He has also fallen on hard times. If you can help out, please do so. Here...
February 1, 2004
To those on the email list
Ok, so I'm a little slow on the uptake. Along with blowing away Uncommon Thought, I blew away the notification list. I just realized that today. I have now rebuilt the list from my backup, and so you should get...
January 31, 2004
DHS cyber security project
There are a lot of internet viruses out there, and new ones being developed all the time. It is important to have good anti-virus protection and your firewall enabled on your computer. The Department of Homeland Security is advertising their...
January 29, 2004
I blew it!
If some of your comments have disappeared, you have NOT been censored, I just really messed up. I have been having problems with my backup site and need to start from scratch on that site. SO what did I delete?...
January 22, 2004
Martians shut down probes!
Ok, so I can't resist. The Brits send Beagle and it goes silent - they can't figure out what happened. The US sends Spirit which sends back a few pics and then starts sending gibberish - NASA Unable to Communicate...
January 10, 2004
For your information
I've run across a couple of really interesting things lately. Well more than a couple, but most I can wrangle into a Journal post at some point. I may with these also, but I haven't really gotten the "connections" with...
December 16, 2003
Journalist's Sources
Over at Editor & Publisher, Charles Bowen is retiring and his list column shares his favorite online sites for journalists. I have selected the following resources from his last column -- The Top 10 Web Sites for Working Journalists (Editor...
December 12, 2003
View of the solar system
For a truly breathtaking diversion go here to see pictures from the Hubble Telescope. Absolutely amazing!...
December 10, 2003
Portland Oregon and Surrounds
(Thanks to Emily at Strangechord for the notice on this one.) #### MINDFUL GIFTS BAZAAR ##### "Not another scarf! Not another tie!!!" Give a gift that meets a real need by supporting dozens of Portland non-profits at the Mindful Gifts...
December 9, 2003
On the lighter side
I've been having a stressed out couple of weeks so thought I'd share several interesting and diverting sites with you. One the grim, but interesting side:The Meatrix.com - you will reconsider corporate agriculture. (Thanks Kim) On the political humor side...
November 27, 2003
Someone Noticed
I'd like to send a special thank you to Mark Woods of ::wood s lot:: for noticing that this month is the one year anniversary of Uncommon Thought. If you haven't spent any time over at his site, I recommend...
