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| Al Selaa School EMTs - Ruwais Mall - June 15, 2016 |
Thursday, June 16, 2016
My People
These ladies are the Western staff at my school. We were having an end-of-the-year dinner at a local restaurant. They are from Britain, South Africa, Ireland, and America and are a marvelous group. I'm so fortunate to know and work with them.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Instructions for Papa
How to Be a Father
These instructions are for me. Your mileage may vary.
by Ernio Hernandez
In some particular order:
You are officially no longer priority #1 or even #2. First rule about fatherhood is you never come first anymore. Thems the breaks, breeder.
Baby first. Mommy second. You third? Hahaha. No. You: last. Dead last.
Snacks. Always have snacks. Never in the entirety of my adult life (calculation pending) have I even used the word as much as I have in the past two years.
Breathe. Take a second, you only have one, but take it. Use it to breathe.
Allow for traffic. Getting out of the house takes at minimum (it’s never minimum) 10 minutes. Begin 5 minutes ago.
Hugs. Stop everything for hugs. Pee yourself, burn the toast, you’ll find the cat later. Don’t be the first to let go. Enjoy that moment. Savor the love now.
Go to bed. You can stay up and watch TV or write if it helps you feel person-like again, just know there will be consequences in the morning.
Your body is a wonderland. Swinging your child, doing airplanes, silly dances, horsey-rides, leg-hug walking, silly faces, the fake walking-down-the-stairs, row-your-boats, leg slide and, of course, the daddy shimmy.
~~~~~~~~~~
There's more.
https://medium.com/the-lighthouse/how-to-be-a-father-a15bcd6a2f69#.jcaiak3nr
These instructions are for me. Your mileage may vary.
by Ernio Hernandez
In some particular order:
You are officially no longer priority #1 or even #2. First rule about fatherhood is you never come first anymore. Thems the breaks, breeder.
Baby first. Mommy second. You third? Hahaha. No. You: last. Dead last.
Snacks. Always have snacks. Never in the entirety of my adult life (calculation pending) have I even used the word as much as I have in the past two years.
Breathe. Take a second, you only have one, but take it. Use it to breathe.
Allow for traffic. Getting out of the house takes at minimum (it’s never minimum) 10 minutes. Begin 5 minutes ago.
Hugs. Stop everything for hugs. Pee yourself, burn the toast, you’ll find the cat later. Don’t be the first to let go. Enjoy that moment. Savor the love now.
Go to bed. You can stay up and watch TV or write if it helps you feel person-like again, just know there will be consequences in the morning.
Your body is a wonderland. Swinging your child, doing airplanes, silly dances, horsey-rides, leg-hug walking, silly faces, the fake walking-down-the-stairs, row-your-boats, leg slide and, of course, the daddy shimmy.
~~~~~~~~~~
There's more.
https://medium.com/the-lighthouse/how-to-be-a-father-a15bcd6a2f69#.jcaiak3nr
Follow the Money
An excerpt from Mother Jones -
Fully Loaded: Inside the Shadowy World of America's 10 Biggest Gunmakers
By Josh Harkinson
They are all white, all middle-aged, and all men. A few live openly lavish lifestyles, but the majority fly under the radar. Rarely is there news about them in the mainstream media or even the trade press. Their obscurity would seem unremarkable if we were talking about the biggest manufacturers of auto accessories or heating systems. But these are America's top gunmakers—leaders of the nation's most controversial industry. They have kept their heads down and their fingerprints off regulations designed to protect their businesses—foremost a law that shields gun companies from liability for crimes committed with their products.
With this investigation, Mother Jones set out to break through the opacity surrounding the $8 billion firearms industry and the men who control it. While the three largest companies disclose some financials, the rest are privately held. Some are further shrouded by private-equity funds or shell corporations based in overseas tax havens. We mined manufacturing data and import statistics from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). We also examined obscure press clippings, court documents, private industry reports, and tax records from the Treasury Department. Together, the 10 companies we investigated produce more than 8 million firearms per year for buyers in the United States, accounting for more than two-thirds of the total market. (None of the companies responded to our requests for further information.)
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/04/fully-loaded-ten-biggest-gun-manufacturers-america
Fully Loaded: Inside the Shadowy World of America's 10 Biggest Gunmakers
By Josh Harkinson
They are all white, all middle-aged, and all men. A few live openly lavish lifestyles, but the majority fly under the radar. Rarely is there news about them in the mainstream media or even the trade press. Their obscurity would seem unremarkable if we were talking about the biggest manufacturers of auto accessories or heating systems. But these are America's top gunmakers—leaders of the nation's most controversial industry. They have kept their heads down and their fingerprints off regulations designed to protect their businesses—foremost a law that shields gun companies from liability for crimes committed with their products.
With this investigation, Mother Jones set out to break through the opacity surrounding the $8 billion firearms industry and the men who control it. While the three largest companies disclose some financials, the rest are privately held. Some are further shrouded by private-equity funds or shell corporations based in overseas tax havens. We mined manufacturing data and import statistics from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). We also examined obscure press clippings, court documents, private industry reports, and tax records from the Treasury Department. Together, the 10 companies we investigated produce more than 8 million firearms per year for buyers in the United States, accounting for more than two-thirds of the total market. (None of the companies responded to our requests for further information.)
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/04/fully-loaded-ten-biggest-gun-manufacturers-america
A Jailhouse Lawyer Changed the System
From The New Yorker -
HOME FREE
How a New York State prisoner became a jailhouse lawyer, and changed the system.
By Jennifer Gonnerman
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/06/20/derrick-hamilton-jailhouse-lawyer?mbid=nl_160614_daily&CNDID=27124505&spMailingID=9057107&spUserID=MTE0MzE0NDEyNDUyS0&spJobID=941371076&spReportId=OTQxMzcxMDc2S0
HOME FREE
How a New York State prisoner became a jailhouse lawyer, and changed the system.
By Jennifer Gonnerman
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/06/20/derrick-hamilton-jailhouse-lawyer?mbid=nl_160614_daily&CNDID=27124505&spMailingID=9057107&spUserID=MTE0MzE0NDEyNDUyS0&spJobID=941371076&spReportId=OTQxMzcxMDc2S0
Bozoma!
 |
| Bozoma Saint John speaking at WWDC 2016 about Apple Music's redesign on June 13, 2016. JUSTIN KANEPS FOR WIRED |
Fast forward to 1:10:23 to see this sho' nuff sista strut her stuff. Love her!
Excerpts from Wired -
FOR THE FIRST hour or so, Apple’s annual WWDC conference was every bit as exciting as you’d expect. Which is to say, not very. A-list execs like Kevin Lynch, Craig Federighi and Eddy Cue droned on and on about updates to this, improvements to that. Then Bozoma Saint John took the stage.
It was amazing.
It’s not just that Saint John, head of marketing for Apple Music, was a black female executive appearing onstage at WWDC. It was the way she commanded the room—and the show—that blew everyone away. Moments after Cue introduced her, Saint John cued up The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” a song that is the antithesis of Apple’s tendency toward the milder fare of bands OneRepublic and U2. “We’re gonna make this whole auditorium rock,” she told the crowd. “One, two, three, rock!”
~~~~~~~~~~
Bozoma Saint John—”Boz” to her friends—is every bit as boss as her masterful performance suggests. She’s led Apple Music’s marketing division since April, 2014, a short three months after she joined Beats Music and it was acquired by Apple. But she’s no stranger to the music industry. Before joining Apple, she ran the music and entertainment marketing group at Pepsi-Cola’s North America division, where, according to the website XO Necole, she landed deals with the likes of Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, and Eminem. Oh, she also reportedly convinced Beyoncé to agree to perform at half-time during the Super Bowl in 2013. No big deal.
http://www.wired.com/2016/06/bozoma-saint-john-badass-long-apple/?mbid=nl_61416
A Mother's Sorrow Shared
An excerpt from Vox -
My 6-year-old daughter died at Sandy Hook. You never move on.
Updated by Nelba Márquez-Greene
I am waiting for the church to be as outraged about gun violence as much as we seem to be about who pees where in a Target bathroom.
"I am sorry that our tragedy here in Sandy Hook wasn't enough to save your loved ones."
Here is my message to those families in Florida:
I am sorry. I am so, so sorry. I am sorry that our tragedy here in Sandy Hook wasn't enough to save your loved ones. I tried, and I won't stop trying.
Don't you dare even listen to even one person who may insinuate that somehow this is your loved one’s fault because they were gay or any other reason. Nor is it God's wrath. They did that to us in Sandy Hook, too. And it broke my heart. You will receive love from a million places. Embrace it. Take good care of yourself. This will be a forever journey.
Some ugly will come your way too. When you speak up about gun violence in America, you get death threats. You get made fun of. You get people telling you your child's death isn't even real. You have to close down your personal Facebook account because you get tired of harassing messages. You block enough people on Twitter to fill a football stadium. You have to hire security at fundraising events because you don't know who will show up. Delete. Ignore. Let it go.
Your loss on Sunday will bring out the worst and the best in all of us. May we commit to being our best selves in honor of what you now bear.
http://www.vox.com/2016/6/14/11931484/orlando-shooting-sandy-hook
My 6-year-old daughter died at Sandy Hook. You never move on.
Updated by Nelba Márquez-Greene
I am waiting for the church to be as outraged about gun violence as much as we seem to be about who pees where in a Target bathroom.
"I am sorry that our tragedy here in Sandy Hook wasn't enough to save your loved ones."
Here is my message to those families in Florida:
I am sorry. I am so, so sorry. I am sorry that our tragedy here in Sandy Hook wasn't enough to save your loved ones. I tried, and I won't stop trying.
Don't you dare even listen to even one person who may insinuate that somehow this is your loved one’s fault because they were gay or any other reason. Nor is it God's wrath. They did that to us in Sandy Hook, too. And it broke my heart. You will receive love from a million places. Embrace it. Take good care of yourself. This will be a forever journey.
Some ugly will come your way too. When you speak up about gun violence in America, you get death threats. You get made fun of. You get people telling you your child's death isn't even real. You have to close down your personal Facebook account because you get tired of harassing messages. You block enough people on Twitter to fill a football stadium. You have to hire security at fundraising events because you don't know who will show up. Delete. Ignore. Let it go.
Your loss on Sunday will bring out the worst and the best in all of us. May we commit to being our best selves in honor of what you now bear.
http://www.vox.com/2016/6/14/11931484/orlando-shooting-sandy-hook
Mama Said
Today, June 15th, is my Mom's birthday. She would have been 97.
This day, like all others, I'm reminded of the many pearls of wisdom she shared with my brothers and I while we were growing up.
Like . . .
---Tell me who you follow and I'll tell you who you are.
---Birds of a feather flock together.
---Where there's smoke, there's fire.
---No matter where you are or what you're doing, somebody's watching. What do they see?
---Always do more than expected, and you'll always have a job.
---It's your responsibility to greet people, what they do in response matters little.
---The folks that give you advice don't pay for your mistakes.
---It takes two people to fight. You have a choice on whether or not to engage.
And my favorite . . .
In response to my going away to college, which was unheard of in those days, Mom would say to those who questioned that decision,
"The same God who took care of her here, will take care of her wherever she goes."
It is this last one that stays with me the most and gives me peace.
This day, like all others, I'm reminded of the many pearls of wisdom she shared with my brothers and I while we were growing up.
Like . . .
---Tell me who you follow and I'll tell you who you are.
---Birds of a feather flock together.
---Where there's smoke, there's fire.
---No matter where you are or what you're doing, somebody's watching. What do they see?
---Always do more than expected, and you'll always have a job.
---It's your responsibility to greet people, what they do in response matters little.
---The folks that give you advice don't pay for your mistakes.
---It takes two people to fight. You have a choice on whether or not to engage.
And my favorite . . .
In response to my going away to college, which was unheard of in those days, Mom would say to those who questioned that decision,
"The same God who took care of her here, will take care of her wherever she goes."
It is this last one that stays with me the most and gives me peace.
Why Read?
Excerpts from Medium -
The Reading Habits of Ultra-Successful People
Want to know one habit ultra-successful people have in common?
They read. A lot.
In fact, when Warren Buffett was once asked about the key to success, he pointed to a stack of nearby books and said, “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”
Buffett takes this habit to the extreme — he read between 600 and 1000 pages per day when he was beginning his investing career, and still devotes about 80% of each day to reading.
~~~~~~~~~~
And these aren’t just isolated examples. A study of 1200 wealthy people found that they all have reading as a pastime in common.
But successful people don’t just read anything. They are highly selective about what they read, opting to be educated over being entertained. They believe that books are a gateway to learning and knowledge.
~~~~~~~~~~
There are many examples of successful people dropping out of school or foregoing a formal education, but it is clear that they never stop learning. And reading is a key part of their success.
https://medium.com/life-learning/the-reading-habits-of-ultra-successful-people-d565b26f15f5#.mnzkgoplg
The Reading Habits of Ultra-Successful People
Want to know one habit ultra-successful people have in common?
They read. A lot.
In fact, when Warren Buffett was once asked about the key to success, he pointed to a stack of nearby books and said, “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”
Buffett takes this habit to the extreme — he read between 600 and 1000 pages per day when he was beginning his investing career, and still devotes about 80% of each day to reading.
~~~~~~~~~~
And these aren’t just isolated examples. A study of 1200 wealthy people found that they all have reading as a pastime in common.
But successful people don’t just read anything. They are highly selective about what they read, opting to be educated over being entertained. They believe that books are a gateway to learning and knowledge.
~~~~~~~~~~
There are many examples of successful people dropping out of school or foregoing a formal education, but it is clear that they never stop learning. And reading is a key part of their success.
https://medium.com/life-learning/the-reading-habits-of-ultra-successful-people-d565b26f15f5#.mnzkgoplg
Quote
From Vox -
"If there are 300 million guns in the United States, and we impose a tax of $3,600 per gun on the current stock, we would eliminate the federal government deficit. But $3,600 is coming nowhere close to the potential damage that a single weapon could cause." [Stephen Williamson]
"If there are 300 million guns in the United States, and we impose a tax of $3,600 per gun on the current stock, we would eliminate the federal government deficit. But $3,600 is coming nowhere close to the potential damage that a single weapon could cause." [Stephen Williamson]
Monday, June 13, 2016
People Powered Tesla
http://www.wired.com/2016/06/best-new-gren-energy-tech-right-underfoot/?mbid=nl_61316
A Victory Lap in Their Blood
An excerpt from The Atlantic -
A Victory Lap in Blood
Forty-nine people die in Orlando, Florida, and Donald Trump wants a pat on the back.
By RON FOURNIER
Obama shouldn’t resign, but you should consider a different line of work after suggesting today that the president might somehow be involved in the Orlando massacre. A baseless, disgraceful lie.
You could argue that it’s important to give the enemy a name. OK, let’s do that:
Islamic extremism. Islamic extremism. Islamic extremism.
Radical Islam. Radical Islam. Radical Islam.
Wait for it… No, ISIS didn’t crumble.
You’re wrong, Donald Trump. Words don’t win wars.
But your words do undermine the commander-in-chief. Your words do exploit fears, stir prejudices, and divide Americans. Your words might even win you the election.
Which is the point, right? In March, you said talk about terrorist attacks “is probably why I’m number one in the polls.”
Forty-nine innocent people dead and you took a victory lap in their blood.
Congratulations.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/a-victory-lap-in-blood/486836/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-061316
A Victory Lap in Blood
Forty-nine people die in Orlando, Florida, and Donald Trump wants a pat on the back.
By RON FOURNIER
Obama shouldn’t resign, but you should consider a different line of work after suggesting today that the president might somehow be involved in the Orlando massacre. A baseless, disgraceful lie.
You could argue that it’s important to give the enemy a name. OK, let’s do that:
Islamic extremism. Islamic extremism. Islamic extremism.
Radical Islam. Radical Islam. Radical Islam.
Wait for it… No, ISIS didn’t crumble.
You’re wrong, Donald Trump. Words don’t win wars.
But your words do undermine the commander-in-chief. Your words do exploit fears, stir prejudices, and divide Americans. Your words might even win you the election.
Which is the point, right? In March, you said talk about terrorist attacks “is probably why I’m number one in the polls.”
Forty-nine innocent people dead and you took a victory lap in their blood.
Congratulations.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/a-victory-lap-in-blood/486836/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-061316
Why Daddy?
From the Science Creative Quarterly -
A DIALOGUE WITH SARAH, AGED 3: IN WHICH IT IS SHOWN THAT IF YOUR DAD IS A CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR, ASKING “WHY” CAN BE DANGEROUS
by W. Stephen McNeil
http://www.scq.ubc.ca/quarterly011/0101mcneil.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Vox%20Sentences%206/13/16&utm_term=Vox%20Newsletter%20All
A DIALOGUE WITH SARAH, AGED 3: IN WHICH IT IS SHOWN THAT IF YOUR DAD IS A CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR, ASKING “WHY” CAN BE DANGEROUS
by W. Stephen McNeil
http://www.scq.ubc.ca/quarterly011/0101mcneil.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Vox%20Sentences%206/13/16&utm_term=Vox%20Newsletter%20All
Stamp Collecting
An excerpt from Atlas Obscura -
“The stamp collecting community basically is synonymous with old white guys,” says Don Neal, the newsletter Editor in Chief at ESPER (Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections). ESPER, founded in 1988 and named after its creator, Esper G. Hayes, set out to change that limiting definition. Hayes, a stamp collector, met the black Olympian Jesse Owens a stamp show in the ‘70s, where she waited in line for his autograph. They were the only two black people at that show. After a solemn handshake, she pledged to Owens that she would do something to help African-Americans in the philatelic community.
In reaction to Owen’s death in 1980, Hayes made good on that promise: ESPER’s global society is now 28 years old and 300 members strong. It hosts booths at stamp conventions around the country, supports youth organizations, convenes social events and provides a network for African Americans in philately.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/want-to-make-america-more-inclusive-start-with-stamps
“The stamp collecting community basically is synonymous with old white guys,” says Don Neal, the newsletter Editor in Chief at ESPER (Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections). ESPER, founded in 1988 and named after its creator, Esper G. Hayes, set out to change that limiting definition. Hayes, a stamp collector, met the black Olympian Jesse Owens a stamp show in the ‘70s, where she waited in line for his autograph. They were the only two black people at that show. After a solemn handshake, she pledged to Owens that she would do something to help African-Americans in the philatelic community.
 | ||
| ESPER members at a 25th anniversary event in 2013. (Photo courtesy of Don Neal) |
In reaction to Owen’s death in 1980, Hayes made good on that promise: ESPER’s global society is now 28 years old and 300 members strong. It hosts booths at stamp conventions around the country, supports youth organizations, convenes social events and provides a network for African Americans in philately.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/want-to-make-america-more-inclusive-start-with-stamps
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