INDY Nostalgia

I've become nostalgic about the site design of INDY.CC before the 2007 redesign. In remembrance of the original layout, over the course of the next 10 days I will be adjusting the site's appearance. The commutation of this effort will come on February 21st, six and a half years after INDY.CC was revealed in 2004 on August 21st.

INDY Poll: What do you fear?

On Wednesday, you read how to begin overcoming your fear(s) in the "Groundhog Day 2011" post. Along that same line, this INDY Poll asks, "What do you fear?"

List items inspired by "10 Common Phobias" - About.com

I'm trying out a new method of handling the INDY Polls by using BlogPolls.com. Hopefully, this will allow me to automate and simplify the release of the polls and better manage the results.

Groundhog Day 2011

It's hard to agree that Spring has arrived when the temperature is currently -20°C (4°F) in my town of Fort Collins, Colorado, but today both fact and tradition say it is so. Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow today which confirms the fact that today is a cross-quarter day¹ and therefore the start of Spring.

This year, I encourage you to shed the burden of your fears and journey forward toward your goals in the adventure of Life. We often weigh ourselves down with trepidation about the decisions we make. Today, challenge the root of those fears, whether they are minor doubts or massive phobias.

Don't expect yourself to overcome fear with one thought or intention; recognize the challenge that you must face every time you feel the angst set in. Slowly, every time you "face your demon", the fear will dissipate.

Now, let me offer you some tools with which to defy your misgivings:

- Introspection: Identify the root fear(s). The root fear is the one on which you should focus your attention.
Is it truly a fear of heights (vertigo) or the fear of falling? What, specifically, does and doesn't scare you about spiders? What causes the nervousness you feel in front of "crowds"?

- Acceptance: Once you identify the root fear, teach yourself to accept and acknowledge that you currently have this fear. Do not give power to the fear by pretending it doesn't exist. We all have fears, true strength will come from owning yours.

- Understanding: Delve into the root fear. During (or after) an experience causing fear, feel the symptoms of the fear on your mind. Understand what happens to you when your fear takes hold. (e.g. tightness of the chest, dizziness, weak knees, sweaty palms, blurred vision, etc.)

- Treat the symptoms: Begin by counter-acting the symptoms. For example: take a deep breath when you feel your chest tighten (recognize you can breathe); steady yourself on a stationary object (get your balance); bend your knees slightly and straighten your spine (acknowledge your posture); dry your hands with a cloth or chalk; close your eyes briefly and think of the next object you will look at.

- Knowledge: Learn all you can about your fear; study the facts, determine the reality. Knowing the truth will completely eliminate in fears based on false or misunderstood concerns.

- Anticipate: Take steps to prevent any cause of the root fear; "safety first". For example, if you fear falling, secure your footing, grip, or attach yourself to safety rigging (harness, ropes, etc.). Double check your prevention, to put your mind at ease; show yourself that "it works".

- Trust: Have faith in the steps you have taken to protect yourself from your fear. (Self-doubt is sometimes attributed to "[c]hildhood experiences, these traditions maintain, [and] can plant doubt about one's abilities and even about one's very identity." ["Doubt" - Wikipedia].)

- Engage: Actively address your fear when you experience it. Using all that you have learned and the precautions you have taken, directly challenge your fear. Mentally process and counter any thoughts with the facts you have learned. Treat any symptoms and assure yourself of your safety.

It is natural to feel fear, but some fears are unnatural. Set your goals, challenge your world-view, but respect your limits.

---

¹ Reference "Cross-quarter day" [wikipedia], previously discussed on "Groundhog Day 2008" [INDY Blog].

INDY Poll Results: What's your favorite section of a library or bookstore?

What's your favorite section of a library or bookstore?

- Art/Architecture/Photography 0 (0%)
- Children's 0 (0%)
- Cooking/Health 0 (0%)
- Entertainment (Movies/TV/Music) 0 (0%)
- Fiction/Mystery/Fantasy/Sci-Fi 4 (50%)
- Nonfiction (History/Biography/Politics/Current Events) 1 (12%)
- Travel 0 (0%)
- Lounge (Reading area/Refreshments) 0 (0%)
- Other 3 (37%)

Total votes: 8

Bill Maher: Founding Fathers vs. Tea Party

Bill Maher recently poked some holes in the Tea Party's attempts to tie themselves to the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. Take a look at this humorous clip from Maher's show Real Time:

Source URL: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/bill-maher-to-tea-partiers-the-founding-fathers-would-have-hated-your-guts-video.php

I found the Thomas Paine / Glenn Beck comparison the most entertaining. To be honest, Bill Maher humorously illustrates a very disturbing fact about the individuals who subscribe to the Tea Party rhetoric (whether officially or through complaisance); they appear to lack the initiative, resources, and/or education to be properly informed about the history, implications, and outcomes of their misconceptions and resulting actions.

I hold out hope that the natural curiosity inherent in human nature, coupled with our immense treasury of knowledge, will enrich our educational system for the betterment of our species.

INDY Poll: What's your favorite section of a library or bookstore?

What's your favorite section of a library or bookstore?

- Art/Architecture/Photography
- Children's
- Cooking/Health
- Entertainment (Movies/TV/Music)
- Fiction/Mystery/Fantasy/Sci-Fi
- Nonfiction (History/Biography/Politics/Current Events)
- Travel
- Lounge (Reading area/Refreshments)
- Other

Poll can be found in the right-side column of the INDY Blog site; it will close at 8:00 on 2011-01-21 2011-01-13.

2011: The year of 7 billion [reference link]

Link to the original post, published 2010-12-31 17:00:00 MST (2011-01-01 0:00:00 UTC)

2011: The year of 7 billion

2011: The year of 7 billion

2011-01-01 0:00:00 UTC
Welcome to the year 2011*!

This year, the human population of our planet will reach 7 billion.
That fact alone is immensely significant, considering our population was only 2 billion 81 years ago.

National Geographic is launching a seven part series "Population 7 Billion" to draw attention to the impact of our species' growth on Earth. (I've embedded the 3 minute promo video in this post.)


YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc4HxPxNrZ0

As the promo points out, it's not that there isn't enough space; it's that we, as a species, lack a balance for our planet to sustain us at our current growth rate. Allow me to paraphrase it another way....

If we were the essential bacteria within one's digestive tract, we've long passed the point of helping our host with necessary process of digestion and have become an internal infection: We would be killing our host. (Mutualism vs. Parasitism [wikipedia])

In the year 2011, resolve to becoming an organism who seeks the balance of a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with Earth and the other approximately 6,999,999,999 people on it.

----------

* 2011 actually began for Earth 14 hours ago in Kiritimati, Christmas Island, Kiribati [Time and Date.com]; Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the standard international time reference, therefore I'm using it.

Winter solstice lunar eclipse

Two nights ago, people across North and South America, as well as some parts of Europe and the Pacific islands, had eyes on the sky watching a lunar eclipse. To make things even more exciting, one could note that it was also the Northern hemisphere's winter solstice. Those two events occur in every year, but the last time they occurred at the same time was in 1638; a fact documented in-person by Galileo.

"A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes behind the earth so that the earth blocks the sun's rays from striking the moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle." [Lunar eclipse article - Wikipedia].

"The winter solstice occurs exactly when the Earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'. Though the winter solstice lasts only a moment in time, the term is also a turning point to midwinter or the first day of winter to refer to the day on which it occurs. More evident to those in high latitudes, this occurs on the shortest day and longest night, when the sun's daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest." [Winter solstice article - Wikipedia].

I enjoy observing the moon frequently throughout the year, especially during a lunar eclipse; Monday night was no different. I made my way to one of my favorite locations in Fort Collins, Colorado: Horsetooth Reservoir. Once there, I set up my telescope and settled in for a 2-3 hour show. I wasn't the only person looking up from Horsetooth Reservoir that night; the lot was packed with people of all ages, there individually or with their family and/or friends.

Initially, I was somewhat worried that cloud cover would prevent Fort Collins from having a clear view of the moon, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the clouds dissipate just prior to the start of the eclipse.

It's quite common for the full moon to appear a different color during an eclipse. For this one it was a blood red; almost taking on the appearance of Mars. Throughout the night, I invited people to look through my telescope at the moon as the Earth passed between it and the Sun. Some people commented that they "had never seen the moon up close before" nor in "so much detail"; I was happy that I could give them an opportunity to appreciate the wonders of our universe that much more.

The night was beautifully lit under the full moon, almost as if twilight had come again, but the darkness fell as the eclipse progressed and I was stunned to see so many stars; more stars visible than I have ever seen from that location before. Beneath the moon's spectacle, you could clearly see the constellation Orion; his arm seemed to be reaching out to touch the moon. Stretching across the sky I could barely make out the Milky Way. Adding even more wonderment to the sky, the trails of meteors flashed here and there and the faint waves of Aurora were visible along the Northern horizon.

As the moon began to leave the Earth's shadow, the clouds began to gather again; acting as a closing curtain on the celestial stage. I packed up my things and turned on the radio to hear one of my favorite songs begin to play: "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve; a calming end to a extraordinary evening.

New INDY Gallery Features

Beginning today INDY members can now enjoy some new features in the INDY Gallery.

After many months of work tweaking and testing, I'm finally making keyword searches available to all members with access to the Gallery. As of right now, the search function will look for images containing all of the keywords (or directory/filename). To exclude a specific keyword, precede it with NOT.

Examples:

indy fedora
This will find any image with both "indy" and "fedora" in its keywords or directory/filename.

indy fedora
(excluding directory names)
This will find any image with both "indy" and "fedora" in its keywords (only).

fedora NOT indy
This will find any image with "fedora" in its keywords or directory/filename, but will ignore any image which contains "indy" in its keywords or directory/filename.

Adding the keywords to images is a very time consuming process; I've barely scratched the surface of the Gallery's contents so far. I do hope you will enjoy the new features; personally, I've found it extremely useful over the past year in which I've been testing it.