What if Buddha had a robot vacuum cleaner? All the mysteries of happiness may be unlocked by this simple device. .
excerpt from: 5 Lessons I Learned From My Vacuum Cleaner
By Paula Bloom Psy.D.
I have been mesmerized by this cleaning robot. It is supposed to be a time saver but at this point I can't seem to get anything done because watching it work is so fascinating and hypnotic.
Where will it go next?
Will it fall down the stairs?After watching it for way more time than I should have I realized there are great lessons to be learned from how this thing operates. All the mysteries of happiness may be unlocked by this simple device. Ok, probably not. But below are some of my observations that correlate with achieving greater mental health and happiness.
1. Not falling off the edge. The Roomba seems to be able to detect upcoming edges and manages to slow down its approach. It doesn't fall down the stairs. It seems to have a way of coming very close to the edge and recognizing when there is no more firm ground beneath it. It doesn't freak out or need to call other vacuum cleaners and whine. It just simply turns around and heads in a different direction. Slowing down when you notice yourself getting close to your emotional edge is a wonderful way to help prevent falling off of it. "Oops, I am getting really pissed off at this person and rather than lose it I am going to notice it and focus my thoughts, actions, feelings elsewhere."
2. The job gets done, eventually. The Roomba doesn't seem to follow a predictable pattern but yet, eventually, the whole room seems to get done. Watching it work for a few minutes would make you doubtful that it could accomplish such a task. It doesn't seem to rush if the room is bigger or slow down when it is smaller. It just goes around in its merry little way and gets the job done. It is persistent. I guess Aesop was right, slow and steady wins the race. Being goal-directed can be a very good thing. But sometimes, we are too rigid about how we think things should be done. We judge others for not doing it like we do and judge ourselves for not doing it like they do.
3. Overcoming obstacles. When running into an obstacle the Roomba readily course-corrects. It doesn't seem to stop and ponder why this happened. It doesn't necessarily struggle to push past the challenge. No. It just tries to find a way to get out of the situation. The cool thing is that when it finds itself trapped it does call out for help and then shut down to preserve its energy. What's the point of flailing about and wasting energy? Of course in our life it can be useful to understand how we got into a mess in order to avoid getting into it again. Sometimes, however, wasting time trying to recreate the situation in your mind will leave you too exhausted to actually solve the problem.
4. Knowing your needs and asking for help. The Roomba knows when it needs to be cleaned out and tells you exactly what it needs. It wasn't working the other day and it told me that it needed to have its brushes cleaned out. Once we cleaned the brushes it began working again. It is so much easier to get what you need from others when you actually know what you want and then ask for it. How ingenious!5. Recharge. The most brilliant thing about this piece of technology is this: It monitors it's battery charge and identifies when it needs to recharge, then finds its docking station, and then starts the process of renewal. Wow, knowing when your emotional battery is getting low, knowing where you can get reenergized and then actually doing it ... amazing stuff! Sometimes the biggest challenge to mental health is acknowledging that your battery is running out. People often see this need as weakness. Stop judging yourself for being human and note that even a robot needs a vacation!Pay attention. Who knows which appliance may be your next teacher!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
From Wayne Fortin, Founder and CEO of TIP:
TIP VOLUNTEERS
April is National Volunteer Month, and I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all of our TIP volunteers. In a past My View, I talked about three qualities that every TIP volunteer possesses — a cool mind, a warm heart and a steely spine (courage). In this My View, I want to talk about a fourth quality of TIP volunteers ― leadership. One of the joys of my involvement in TIP over the years is seeing how TIP volunteers rise up to become TIP Leaders of their local affiliates. They step up and take on significant roles and responsibilities. TIP volunteers are fundraisers, board members, dispatchers, public speakers, briefers, debriefers . . . and the list goes on. In other words, TIP volunteers are part of the TIP Leadership Team. They have a sense of ownership of their local affiliates, and they are willing to do what it takes to help their affiliates survive and thrive.
There is a lot written these days in nonprofit publications about the importance of involving volunteers in all operating aspects of nonprofit organizations and about the wisdom of treating volunteers as “unpaid staff” not “just volunteers.” In TIP, we have had that philosophy for 25 years, and I think that is the primary reason we have been able to grow.
Those I talk to outside of TIP are always amazed at how TIP affiliates are able to do so much with so little. They wonder how we can offer comprehensive 24/7/365 services with only one or two paid staff persons, or in some cases with no paid staff at all. All of us in TIP know the “secret.” It’s because our volunteers aren’t “just” volunteers. They are TIP leaders who are passionate about our mission, and who are willing to do what it takes to help us accomplish our mission.
Bravo to all of our unpaid leaders!
Wayne Fortin
Founder
TIPIncCEO@aol.com
TIP VOLUNTEERS
April is National Volunteer Month, and I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all of our TIP volunteers. In a past My View, I talked about three qualities that every TIP volunteer possesses — a cool mind, a warm heart and a steely spine (courage). In this My View, I want to talk about a fourth quality of TIP volunteers ― leadership. One of the joys of my involvement in TIP over the years is seeing how TIP volunteers rise up to become TIP Leaders of their local affiliates. They step up and take on significant roles and responsibilities. TIP volunteers are fundraisers, board members, dispatchers, public speakers, briefers, debriefers . . . and the list goes on. In other words, TIP volunteers are part of the TIP Leadership Team. They have a sense of ownership of their local affiliates, and they are willing to do what it takes to help their affiliates survive and thrive.
There is a lot written these days in nonprofit publications about the importance of involving volunteers in all operating aspects of nonprofit organizations and about the wisdom of treating volunteers as “unpaid staff” not “just volunteers.” In TIP, we have had that philosophy for 25 years, and I think that is the primary reason we have been able to grow.
Those I talk to outside of TIP are always amazed at how TIP affiliates are able to do so much with so little. They wonder how we can offer comprehensive 24/7/365 services with only one or two paid staff persons, or in some cases with no paid staff at all. All of us in TIP know the “secret.” It’s because our volunteers aren’t “just” volunteers. They are TIP leaders who are passionate about our mission, and who are willing to do what it takes to help us accomplish our mission.
Bravo to all of our unpaid leaders!
Wayne Fortin
Founder
TIPIncCEO@aol.com
Saturday, April 10, 2010
A reminder,
While the home buyer tax credit is ending… don’t forget that there is an exception for Members of the Military and Certain Other Federal Employees.
Special Rule for Members of Armed Forces:
*Member of “Uniformed” Services
*Member of Foreign Service of the United States
*Employee of Intelligence Community
*Extended Duty defined as “Official Orders outside the United Stated for at least 90 days during the period 12-31-08 and May 1, 2010
Tax Credit Dates Extended -
Signed Contact by April 30, 2011
Closed Transaction by June 30, 2011
See details on the IRS web page. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=215594,00.html
Monday, April 5, 2010
This cracked me up!
by Loren Keim
Some of the unwise things that home owners say when they're trying to sell their home continue to amaze me. Sellers, being emotionally invested in their property, are often their own worst enemy, making statements that absolutely cost them a sale.
As an example, a few years ago, I had a young couple named Stacey and Dennis, looking at a property along a very busy road near Whitehall, Pennsylvania for the third time, a house that was located at least a hundred feet off the road, behind a line of trees, but was only one door off a major intersection. The layout reminded Stacey of her grandmother's home, and she also appreciated the convenience of being very close to a major shopping district. Dennis loved the convenience of the home's proximity to his work, just five minutes away. Neither was bothered by the noise from the busy intersection, which apparently, was the primary complaint of potential buyers who had looked at the house previously.
As we were about to leave for the office to write up an offer, the seller pulled into the drive, and hurried out of his car towards us. "Wait a minute, wait a minute," he yelled, waving his arms. "Come back to the house. I want to show you something."
Given the circumstances, I could scarcely refuse, and in a few minutes we were standing in his living room.
"Do you hear that?" He demanded triumphantly, shutting the solid oak front door.
"Hear what?" I said.
"Nothing! That's exactly what I mean. You don't hear anything once that door is shut. There's no sound whatsoever. This house is so well built that you don't hear noise when the door is shut."
Assuring him that that was wonderful, I began to shepherd my buyers back outside.
"You don't understand!" he said, positioning himself between us and the door. It's really, really quiet in here. You can sleep without having to worry about being awakened by the noise."
"Uh, okay." I replied, displaying my command of witty repartee. His emphasis on "the noise" was beginning to unnerve me.
"As a matter of fact," he continued, "there's a major accident every single week at the corner down there, and sometimes we don't even hear the sirens."
It was beginning to be perfectly clear to me that if I allowed him to continue in this vein, he was going to jinx the sale.
"Okay, that's fine. I'm sure the buyers appreciate that".
"You know, there are ambulances and police on this corner all the time because of the accidents," he confessed enthusiastically. "And we don't even hear the sirens. That's how well built this house is."
"That's wonderful. Thanks for your time," I responded once again.
He put his hand out, frantic that we were trying again to leave. "No, no, no, you really don't understand," he said. "For example, my son's best friend was killed on our front lawn last year. He was pulling out of our driveway and got T-boned on the main road right out there." He pointed behind him toward the front door. "His car rolled over into our front lawn. We had ambulance, fire trucks, and police in our front lawn with lights going, and sirens flaring, and we didn't hear a thing. That's how incredibly well built this house is."
My buyers and I were flabbergasted. Looking back at Stacey, I saw that her mouth had formed a perfect "O", which was not surprising, given what she had just heard. On the way back to the office, her husband said, "Well, if we purchase the home, we'd have to buy a really big shop vac to suck the blood out of the front yard, won't we?"
It came as no surprise to me when they decided not to make an offer on the house which, eventually, sold for significantly less than the original asking price.
The moral of the story is that sellers have to be really careful about intervening between their realtor and the potential buyer. Of course, no reliable realtors should fail to meet the state's requirement of full disclosure. However it is not necessary to introduce the possibility of offering a property which will give the buyer a front row seat to scenes of horror, featuring gore and dismemberment.
(Excerpt from Loren Keim's Book - "Life Lessons... from the back seat of my car")
by Loren Keim
Some of the unwise things that home owners say when they're trying to sell their home continue to amaze me. Sellers, being emotionally invested in their property, are often their own worst enemy, making statements that absolutely cost them a sale.
As an example, a few years ago, I had a young couple named Stacey and Dennis, looking at a property along a very busy road near Whitehall, Pennsylvania for the third time, a house that was located at least a hundred feet off the road, behind a line of trees, but was only one door off a major intersection. The layout reminded Stacey of her grandmother's home, and she also appreciated the convenience of being very close to a major shopping district. Dennis loved the convenience of the home's proximity to his work, just five minutes away. Neither was bothered by the noise from the busy intersection, which apparently, was the primary complaint of potential buyers who had looked at the house previously.
As we were about to leave for the office to write up an offer, the seller pulled into the drive, and hurried out of his car towards us. "Wait a minute, wait a minute," he yelled, waving his arms. "Come back to the house. I want to show you something."
Given the circumstances, I could scarcely refuse, and in a few minutes we were standing in his living room.
"Do you hear that?" He demanded triumphantly, shutting the solid oak front door.
"Hear what?" I said.
"Nothing! That's exactly what I mean. You don't hear anything once that door is shut. There's no sound whatsoever. This house is so well built that you don't hear noise when the door is shut."
Assuring him that that was wonderful, I began to shepherd my buyers back outside.
"You don't understand!" he said, positioning himself between us and the door. It's really, really quiet in here. You can sleep without having to worry about being awakened by the noise."
"Uh, okay." I replied, displaying my command of witty repartee. His emphasis on "the noise" was beginning to unnerve me.
"As a matter of fact," he continued, "there's a major accident every single week at the corner down there, and sometimes we don't even hear the sirens."
It was beginning to be perfectly clear to me that if I allowed him to continue in this vein, he was going to jinx the sale.
"Okay, that's fine. I'm sure the buyers appreciate that".
"You know, there are ambulances and police on this corner all the time because of the accidents," he confessed enthusiastically. "And we don't even hear the sirens. That's how well built this house is."
"That's wonderful. Thanks for your time," I responded once again.
He put his hand out, frantic that we were trying again to leave. "No, no, no, you really don't understand," he said. "For example, my son's best friend was killed on our front lawn last year. He was pulling out of our driveway and got T-boned on the main road right out there." He pointed behind him toward the front door. "His car rolled over into our front lawn. We had ambulance, fire trucks, and police in our front lawn with lights going, and sirens flaring, and we didn't hear a thing. That's how incredibly well built this house is."
My buyers and I were flabbergasted. Looking back at Stacey, I saw that her mouth had formed a perfect "O", which was not surprising, given what she had just heard. On the way back to the office, her husband said, "Well, if we purchase the home, we'd have to buy a really big shop vac to suck the blood out of the front yard, won't we?"
It came as no surprise to me when they decided not to make an offer on the house which, eventually, sold for significantly less than the original asking price.
The moral of the story is that sellers have to be really careful about intervening between their realtor and the potential buyer. Of course, no reliable realtors should fail to meet the state's requirement of full disclosure. However it is not necessary to introduce the possibility of offering a property which will give the buyer a front row seat to scenes of horror, featuring gore and dismemberment.
(Excerpt from Loren Keim's Book - "Life Lessons... from the back seat of my car")
Monday, March 29, 2010
ERMA BOMBECK, "If I Had It To Do All Over Again."
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.'
There would have been more 'I love you's' More 'I'm sorry's.'
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute. Look at it and really see it . . live it and never give it back.
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.'
There would have been more 'I love you's' More 'I'm sorry's.'
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute. Look at it and really see it . . live it and never give it back.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
This cracked me up. From the Arizona Republic this morning.
WASHINGTON - Federal investigators who submitted phony products like a gas-powered alarm clock to the government's energy-efficiency certification program found it easy to obtain approval and say the program is "vulnerable to fraud and abuse."
Investigators with the Government Accountability Office said they obtained Energy Star approval for 15 of 20 fictitious products they submitted for certification with fake energy-savings claims. Two were rejected and three did not receive a response. Two of the certified products even received purchase requests by real companies because four bogus firms, developed for the purpose of this investigation, were listed as Energy List partners.
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1')
Among the phony products that obtained certification was a "room air cleaner" that, in a picture prominently displayed on the Web site of a bogus company, showed an electric space heater with a feather duster and strips of fly paper attached to it.
"Certification controls were ineffective primarily because Energy Star does not verify energy-savings data reported by manufacturers," investigators said in a GAO report released Friday. Work for the investigation, undertaken at the request of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, started in June last year and did not involve products that are already certified and available to the public.
Designed to promote energy-efficient products that are up to 10 percent to 25 percent more energy efficient than minimum federal standards, Energy Star claims to have helped American families save nearly $17 billion on their utility bills in 2009.
In a joint statement, EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy, which jointly manage the program, vowed to improve certifying standards, saying they have "started an enhanced testing program and have already taken enforcement actions against companies that have violated the rules." A representative said they had received initial verbal notification of the findings in February.
WASHINGTON - Federal investigators who submitted phony products like a gas-powered alarm clock to the government's energy-efficiency certification program found it easy to obtain approval and say the program is "vulnerable to fraud and abuse."
Investigators with the Government Accountability Office said they obtained Energy Star approval for 15 of 20 fictitious products they submitted for certification with fake energy-savings claims. Two were rejected and three did not receive a response. Two of the certified products even received purchase requests by real companies because four bogus firms, developed for the purpose of this investigation, were listed as Energy List partners.
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1')
Among the phony products that obtained certification was a "room air cleaner" that, in a picture prominently displayed on the Web site of a bogus company, showed an electric space heater with a feather duster and strips of fly paper attached to it.
"Certification controls were ineffective primarily because Energy Star does not verify energy-savings data reported by manufacturers," investigators said in a GAO report released Friday. Work for the investigation, undertaken at the request of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, started in June last year and did not involve products that are already certified and available to the public.
Designed to promote energy-efficient products that are up to 10 percent to 25 percent more energy efficient than minimum federal standards, Energy Star claims to have helped American families save nearly $17 billion on their utility bills in 2009.
In a joint statement, EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy, which jointly manage the program, vowed to improve certifying standards, saying they have "started an enhanced testing program and have already taken enforcement actions against companies that have violated the rules." A representative said they had received initial verbal notification of the findings in February.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
I have an old friend (Jeff and I went to Lincoln Elementary School together, and then re-connected on FaceBook.) who moved away from Arizona years ago and now wants to come back home.
Just for the fun of it (and with his permission) I thought that I would publish a portion of one of our email conversations, suitably edited.
I find that out-of-state clients have a hard time with our Wild West - we do things very differently in Arizona than they do in the normal world.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet my friend Jeff.
______________________________________________________
Carol;
You have been exceptionally considerate with your help and advice and I sincerely appreciate it. I have another question. We found a particular house on the internet that we're very interested in, but we want more info about it. Being the frugal Scot that I am it occurs to me that if we go directly to the listing agent we could dramatically reduce commissions. I expect to have an attorney go over everything anyway so not having an agent of our own doesn't seem to be that bad an idea...I would expect it would mean having the attorney a little more involved, but not 3% worth. I'd appreciate your advice. If we really need an agent, should we get them involved before asking any questions of the listing agent? I'm going nuts with all of this stuff. Here's the house we're looking at. (Link to realtor.com) It doesn't say "Fixer-upper" but there's got to be more to the story.
Jeff! You're being too polite - you make me nervous. That is an absolutely freakin gorgeous home! Yes, something might be afoot. It's probably a short sale, but I can't know because it's not in my stomping grounds.
As to your question:
Arizona is different from every state in the union in the fact that the REALTORS® can write legal contracts with no need for lawyers. As a result, most lawyers do not understand real estate law. Seriously.
Generally, the Buyer does not ever pay commission - the seller pays the list agent X percent and the list agent theoretically splits that with the Buyer's agent. So your plan is to say to the list agent "We will go into this deal unrepresented, and in return we will expect a price discount of the commission that would have gone to our representative?"
Maybe in the real world, but not Arizona - the thought makes the hair on the back of my neck go up. If somebody said that to me I would refuse to work with them, and here's why: liability. I don't care how many disclaimers you sign you will sooner or later try to sue me if I let you continue without representation, especially since you are obviously no longer from here. (Kidding. Mostly.) The other option is dual agency, which also is legal in Arizona. Unless the REALTOR® is very, very good I wouldn't go there, either.
The best plan is to find a local agent that you trust to negotiate the price down enough to make up for their commission. I know good agents all over the state who will get to the bottom of "What's up?" with that house, and who will take good care of you tenderfoots.
Hire an agent first and have them talk to the list agent.
The more I look at that area the more questions I have. That seems to be about the right price for the area so now I'm wondering what's wrong with the area? There wasn't an Indian burial ground there or a nuclear test or something was there? Our feet are indeed tender so how about pointing us at an agent who can hold our hands. It looks like the best deals are in that Northwest area and down in Buckeye. We're not completely opposed to Buckeye, but we prefer North. My family is in Prescott and at I-17 and Thunderbird. We also have to consider that my wife is going to need a job and won't want a long commute. The final consideration is that I will probably have to fly out of Sky Harbor fairly frequently...So, who do you know who can cover all of the bases and knows if they're getting 3-headed toads out of the canals near El Mirage?Thanks. Really.
Just for the fun of it (and with his permission) I thought that I would publish a portion of one of our email conversations, suitably edited.
I find that out-of-state clients have a hard time with our Wild West - we do things very differently in Arizona than they do in the normal world.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet my friend Jeff.
______________________________________________________
Carol;
You have been exceptionally considerate with your help and advice and I sincerely appreciate it. I have another question. We found a particular house on the internet that we're very interested in, but we want more info about it. Being the frugal Scot that I am it occurs to me that if we go directly to the listing agent we could dramatically reduce commissions. I expect to have an attorney go over everything anyway so not having an agent of our own doesn't seem to be that bad an idea...I would expect it would mean having the attorney a little more involved, but not 3% worth. I'd appreciate your advice. If we really need an agent, should we get them involved before asking any questions of the listing agent? I'm going nuts with all of this stuff. Here's the house we're looking at. (Link to realtor.com) It doesn't say "Fixer-upper" but there's got to be more to the story.
Jeff! You're being too polite - you make me nervous. That is an absolutely freakin gorgeous home! Yes, something might be afoot. It's probably a short sale, but I can't know because it's not in my stomping grounds.
As to your question:
Arizona is different from every state in the union in the fact that the REALTORS® can write legal contracts with no need for lawyers. As a result, most lawyers do not understand real estate law. Seriously.
Generally, the Buyer does not ever pay commission - the seller pays the list agent X percent and the list agent theoretically splits that with the Buyer's agent. So your plan is to say to the list agent "We will go into this deal unrepresented, and in return we will expect a price discount of the commission that would have gone to our representative?"
Maybe in the real world, but not Arizona - the thought makes the hair on the back of my neck go up. If somebody said that to me I would refuse to work with them, and here's why: liability. I don't care how many disclaimers you sign you will sooner or later try to sue me if I let you continue without representation, especially since you are obviously no longer from here. (Kidding. Mostly.) The other option is dual agency, which also is legal in Arizona. Unless the REALTOR® is very, very good I wouldn't go there, either.
The best plan is to find a local agent that you trust to negotiate the price down enough to make up for their commission. I know good agents all over the state who will get to the bottom of "What's up?" with that house, and who will take good care of you tenderfoots.
Hire an agent first and have them talk to the list agent.
The more I look at that area the more questions I have. That seems to be about the right price for the area so now I'm wondering what's wrong with the area? There wasn't an Indian burial ground there or a nuclear test or something was there? Our feet are indeed tender so how about pointing us at an agent who can hold our hands. It looks like the best deals are in that Northwest area and down in Buckeye. We're not completely opposed to Buckeye, but we prefer North. My family is in Prescott and at I-17 and Thunderbird. We also have to consider that my wife is going to need a job and won't want a long commute. The final consideration is that I will probably have to fly out of Sky Harbor fairly frequently...So, who do you know who can cover all of the bases and knows if they're getting 3-headed toads out of the canals near El Mirage?Thanks. Really.
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