Avatar movie, Amazon.com, Audible.com

Amazon.com and Audible.com offer access to latest books and movies, for example, the Avatar movie. In publishing, I need to include Amazon on my list of locations to distribute my book. 

Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

The explosion of the oil platform leased by British Petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico and the resultant oil spill of 5,000 barrels of oil per day will soon exceed the environmental damage caused by the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska, March 24, 1989.  The recent oil spill is a significant environmental disaster.  With the changes taking place on planet Earth, more man-made environmental disasters are one more element we don't need.

President Barack Obama has cleared the way for more access to oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico while, at the same time, authorizing more research into alternative sources of energy.  We may have the technology to drill for oil, though not sufficient technology to control unexpected consequences of the process.

The economic impact of the newest oil spill on the economy of the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Texas has not even begun to make itself felt.  Worst of all, the oil spill continues to grow and to spread.

We need to keep focused on measures we can take to make a smaller, less negative, environmental "footprint" (impact) on our planet.  I love the Gulf beaches in Florida and will hate to see them looking like the tar sand beaches in California and Canada.

Responding to Census 2010

On Saturday, May 1, 2010 enumerators (census takers) will start visiting households  from whom the Census 2010questionnaire has not yet been received by  the Census Department.

In the creation of the US Constitution, Congress stated that,  beginning in 1790 and every tens years thereafter a Census would be held in the United States.  "Enumerators" would count the people  living in the USA and representation in the House of Representatives  as well as the division of tax monies collected from the states would  be based on each 10-year census.  The 2010 Census is the 23rd Census conducted in the USA.  Each Census will cover items "determined by law."  This year part of the focus of the Census is on Hispanic heritage.

In recent ABC 7 Chicago morning news program, an official from the  Census Bureau reported that each questionnaire returned to the Census  Bureau generates $19,400 in monies for the state--for roads, schools,  health facilities, and more.

It cost $.42 to send a questionnaire to a household.  For an  enumerator to go to the home to conduct or collect the survey, the cost jumps to $57.00 per questionnaire (per visit to the home).

Confidentiality of Census data--United States laws (Title 13) cover information gathered during the Census.  The Department of Commerce and the Census Bureau are not allowed to share personal information with any other governmental or nongovernmental department or agency.   The Census Bureau summarizes the data into statistical reports after stripping off the personal information originally collected as part of the Census process.

When an enumerator comes to someone's door, it is making an extra effort to be sure that that household's information can be shared for the $19,400 that will be going to the state over the next 10 years.  The service is available in 18 languages, though the person coming to the door may be monolingual.

If any questions are asked that a respondent does not want to answer, those can be skipped.  It is important to collect as much of the targeted information as accurately as possible.

See previous posts about Census 2010.

Avatar Movie and Star Wars Movie--Following Inspiration

A few days ago a ninth-grade student in English class was watching the Star Wars movie for the first time.  The Avatar movie was just released last Friday.  James Cameron, director of the Avatar movie, said that the Star Wars movie, written and directed by George Lucas,  movie was an inspiration for the development of Avatar.

Were I a full-time English teacher this year, I would probably assign an extra-credit project to view both Star Wars and Avatar and to track evidence of Star Wars inspiration in the Avatar movie. 

Best Practice Exchange Facilitation for Continuous Care Retirement Communities

In previous posts, I have described Continuous Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs).  Recently I began exploring two CCRCs which are owned by the same non-profit organization.  My parents began living in one of them in 1992 and the second one is located nearer my home.

I had a tour of the Assisted Living facilities of the second CCRC--my Mom lives in the Assisted Living facilities of the first CCRC.  Both CCRCs have some best practices that are worth sharing as well as some areas for improvement.

As an organizational change consultant for more than 30 years, I would like to offer my services to these CCRCs as a facilitator for Best Practice Exchange.  Because my mother lives in one of the facilities, I would be happy to provide these services in exchange for credit for Mom's expenses at the facility.

I have not yet made a proposal to the CCRCs or their parent organization and I can see the value such a program could have on the two CCRCs I am familiar with and the potential value the program could have for the other CCRCs owned by the same parent organization.

Perhaps I can get someone to view my digital portfolio and to check-out my profile and services so that they can see that I am serious about these ideas.

Using Visuals to Teach Direct and Indirect Objects in English Classrooms

I was a substitute today in a ninth-grade English classroom.  The students were reviewing direct and indirect objects.  While their textbooks had good examples and practice sentences, I found the need to create a visual that could communicate the basic ideas clearly and quickly, with graphic reinforcement of a simple English sentence.  I created a graphic and shared it with the afternoon classes.

This helped several of the students master the basic concepts quickly.  Those that were still challenged by the concept do not seem to have paid much attention to the graphic example.

Pictures and graphics are frequently great ways to anchor concepts in English and especially for non-native English speakers (English language learners).  Students in the classroom where I was a substitute today already speak English and the graphics help them as well.

What to Change? What to Change Into? How Do We Decide?--Proactive vs Reactive Change

Organizations are faced with important decisions.  What needs to be changed?  What do we need to change into?  How do we decide about the change?

There are many processes involved with change.  I have developed some tools that can help organizations explore the answers to these questions.  They are available for purchase on eBay.  The first is the Business Snapshot and the second is the Business Improvement Survey.  (Find them both--including links for eBay searches--on the Services page for DrM-Resources.)

How do we decide about the change?  Shared vision is important.  If people and organizations do not move through the trust-building steps required to come to a shared vision (slide 11), planned change will be hard (if not impossible) to implement.  When more than one person is involved, people need to move through the Organizational Change Curve (slide 9).

While these tools and concepts can help organizations facilitate change, the basic ideas raised initially need to be dealt with and a shared vision formed about the change for planned change to make progress.  We can sometimes see change happening around us and react to it--positively, negatively, or neutrally.  It is usually more effective to be proactive about change and to develop a plan to make the continuous process improvements needed to make organizations more effective.

Who's Who and the Business of Being Recognized

Yesterday I received a call from a senior editor of Universal Who's Who, informing me that I had been selected to be featured in its upcoming publication.  This is probably the sixth or seventh Who's Who publication that's contacted me and advised me that I have been selected for inclusion in their database and/or print-publication.

While I am honored at the recognition, I have found consistently that, to enjoy more recognition, I need to make some kind of investment in the publication--for materials they offer celebrating this recognition, for print copies of the publication, etc.  As I look at my bookshelf, I see my copies of the 2003 edition of the Marquis Who's Who in America.

Over the years I have learned to offer my input as long as there is no dollar investment.  I've leaned to do that after investing several hundred dollars in various Who's Who publications.  It's nice to be recognized, though, to date, I am not aware of any new business generated by being recognized in these publications.

One of my grandfathers was a minister recognized on a Who's Who publication of his time.  I'm glad I'm carrying on the tradition, though I've now forgotten how many Who's Who publications I'm listed in--or, indeed, if they continue to remember me after my money stops going to them.

Being recognized is nice, though, as a business, it leaves something to be desired by the people being recognized.

Night Shift--Revisited--Experience Confirmed

Post for April 23, 2010

I received a call from the U.S. Census Bureau office in Elgin, IL, late in the afternoon of April 22, 2010, inviting me to help assemble materials for training scheduled next week for enumerators participating in the No Response Follow Up (NRFU) phase of Census 2010.

They needed help from Midnight to 8:30AM (an 8-hour shift with a mandatory 30-minute lunch) on Friday, April 23, 2010.  I have had lots of experience with 24-hour shift work and working the night shift.  From that experience, I know that it is not my best time to work.  At the same time, as a professional trainer, I know how time-consuming it is to prepare training materials and how important it is to have the materials ready in time for the training.  I agreed to come in at Midnight and arrived at the office in Elgin at midnight Friday morning (12:00AM).

Several members of the team I worked with during the Group Quarter Enumeration phase of Census 2010 had also volunteered to work the night shift.  Some were working on computers, printing the final materials for the training binders.  Others of us were working to assemble the map packets which will be provided to enumerators.

These map packets are divided into geographic areas assigned to Crew Leader Districts within a state and county area and are intended to allow enumerators to find the exact location of the places they are scheduled to visit.  All of the details are confidential and there are lots and lots of Crew Leader Districts and maps to assemble.  (A good GPS system will be lots more helpful than these maps, for enumerators who have the "high tech" capability.)

We worked throughout the night on assembling the map packets needed for the training and for the next phase of Census 2010.  We took our mandatory lunch break at 4:00AM and went to a nearby Burger King with 24-hour drive-through Thursday through Saturday. 

While the work was productive and I made a contribution to preparing the training materials for next week, I declined the invitation to come back from Midnight to 8:30AM on Saturday, April 24th.  I knew that two days in a row of the night shift could have a significant impact on my health and readiness to do productive work during the day.

When I returned home about 9:30AM on April 23rd, I attempted to go to sleep.  I used a blind fold (left over from air travel) to make the room dark.  While I rested, I did not sleep well.  I also didn't have the energy to get up and do my normal routines.  I went to bed at my normal time Friday night and woke-up at a normal time on Saturday, April 24th.  While I still fill a little "draggy," I am almost back to normal.

My experience of the night shift confirms my feelings posted earlier.  While people can be productive on this shift and while certain jobs or situations may require the night shift from time to time, it is very hard to accommodate these hours in a "normal" sleep schedule.  It also takes some time to recover from taking the time to work a night shift.

Earth Day 2010--April 22, 2010

April 22, 2010 is Earth Day 2010.  Disney has timed its release of the Oceans movie in theaters for this date and the Avatar movie is released in DVD and Blue Ray as of today.

The earth is experiencing lots of changes at its depths, on its surface, and in its atmosphere.  We hear of earthquakes and volcanoes, global climate change, holes in the ozone layer, and much more.

Yesterday someone I know mentioned a belief from a previous generation that traveling outside of the earth's atmosphere--to the moon--would cause problems on the planet.

While I don't see the cause and effect relationship of our moon walk to current earth changes, it is a good time for many of the people on this planet to hold a focus for healing the planet.  I don't know what the healing would look like--I leave that to Spirit.  I do believe that we can hold a focus (or put out a prayer) for healing of our planet and everything connected with it as a contribution for Earth Day and beyond.

The images of our "blue marble" planet sent from space are beautiful.  With all that beauty it is amazing to be aware of the conflict and crime and pollution that are still taking place here.  Earth Day is traditionally (since 1970) a time to focus on reducing, reusing, and recycling materials to preserve our planet.  We may also want to be doing that within our own thought systems.

Book Blog--Themes, Chapters, and Chronological Entries

After spending several days converting blog posts to book pages, I am making some decisions that, in my opinion, will improve both the readability and the quality of the book.  I've divided the book into related themes and put these into chapters.  Now I need to order the posts in each chapter in chronological order, from oldest to most recent.

This is a large difference from the active blog.  The active blog contains labels (also transported into the book).  Each entry is posted chronologically.  This makes it an accurate journal, though keeping the related themes together makes good sense.

Reading and Writing--Another form of Mentorship

Good readers make good writers--when they practice.  Award winning writers can become mentors for people looking to improve their craft in writing. Krashen makes some good points about strategies for reading and writing.

I began working with books for youth when I began teaching K-12 students.  I started focusing on authors for middle school students when I began teaching in middle schools in 2006.  To date I have probably read between 400 and 600 books, many by Newberry award winners.  My goal was to begin to get the feel for how the books "sound" and their "readability."

My goal is to begin to write some youth fiction soon.  In the course of reading all of these books, I have found some favorite authors and others whose books I enjoy less.  Rarely I have discontinued reading with I found the topic or how the book read incompatible with my personal preferences.

Recently I was working with Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson books.  Rick Riordan was picked by Scholastic to be the first author in the Thirty-nine Clues series of books--Maze of Bones.  I listened to the six books in his series for adults involving Tres Navarre, private detective.  My goal was to explore the differences in the author's style when he changes from books for adults to books for youth.  There is a significant different in vocabulary, among other things.

I have some favorite authors and themes.  One of my Wikispaces websites focused on much of this youth reading. 

I need to begin practicing my writing skills in this genre.  Some of my favorite authors are Tamora Pierce (in the youth market) and Anne McCaffrey (her dragon series of books).  My mother and I both enjoy the "Cat Who" series by Lillian Jackson Braun.  I need to learn from each of these mentor-authors and to use their influence to create my own cast of characters and worlds.








Krashen, S.D.  (2003).  Free voluntary reading:  still a very good idea. In S.D. Krashen Explorations in Language Acquisition and Use  (pp. 15-29).  Portsmith, NH:  Heinemann.  Preview retrieved on March 21, 2009, from http://books.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/E00554/chapter2.pdf.

Editing Blog and Book--Improving Quality as a Process

Much of the day was invested in editing the blog book--and finding edits to make to the blog itself.  As I organize the posts into chapters of related themes and entries, I also find spelling errors, broken links, or omissions where I forgot to complete a thought.

Quality improvement is a process and this one is coming to the forefront because of the need to edit the book.  At the end of the process, both book and blog will be much improved.

As I edit, I revisit the thoughts behind the entries and make new decisions regarding themes and chapters.  The three chapters I worked on today each have about thirty-five pages.  I'll have to decide on the order for the chapters as I have more ready.  At present, it looks as though I'll have about sixteen chapters.

What's amazing is that this book is "already written."  Changing the format will be a definite improvement.

Games and Work--A New Look at Professional Development and Learning

A recent book, Total Engagement, by Byron Reeves and J. Leighton Read, talks about the use of games, especially alternate reality games, to improve workplace performance.

Many of these alternate reality games are team-based, require skill development and critical thinking that transfer easily to the workplace.  The feedback and reward mechanisms built into the games help improve self-esteem and sense of both accomplishment and self-worth.

In most learning situations, learning takes place when the learner is actively engaged in positive learning activity.  That is what is taking place in most of these alternate reality games--sometimes in a "virtual" environment.

In this more "austere" "new economy" where training dollars are even harder to come by, it is important for businesses to look at  play and learning and work with new  lenses.  The professional development required to help their employees do jobs better and transition to new jobs may be more easily and effectively accomplished by introducing the right game at the right moment.



 

Social Security--Retirement--Jobs--Entrepreneurship--Unemployment Statistics

Social Security, established to assure some income during retirement years, is becoming an even more important resource in this new economy.  Unemployment statistics are not very accurate.  Many people eligible for early retirement have found themselves out of work--many for more than a year.  More than that, most have exhausted their state's unemployment benefits and are still not finding jobs that paid the kind of salaries they were earning before they left their previous employment.

Many are becoming "semi-retired"--taking early retirement and continuing to look for work--or, more importantly, finally becoming entrepreneurs.  It appears that this may be becoming the norm.  The "new economy" and the new jobs do not appear to be helping people born between 1943 and 1960--the group of people eligible for early retirement at 62 and who attain "full retirement age" on their birthday at age 66.

A recent article from Abby M. Locke and  TheLadders.com was entitled, "Facing Age Discimination as Young as 40"  The article went on to talk about the difficulty in "the new economy" for people 40 and above to find the kinds of jobs they are looking for.

Many in the 40+ age group have advanced degrees and have held high-paying positions in the job market.  Unfortunately, many may have expenses that match the income they are used to receiving.  It may take some time for adjustments to be made.

Social Security is designed to be flexible for early retirees who plan to continue bringing in income.  They have to report their income to Social Security and their benefits may be temporarily reduced when they earn over the limits set by Social Security until they reach "full retirement age."  In general, if there have been any benefit reductions due to earned income, those benefits will be restored after the person achieves full retirement age.

The good news for soon-to-be entrepreneurs is that Social Security will help cover expenses as we begin to grow our fledgling businesses.  We may need to take one or more contract, temporary, part-time, or lower-paying jobs than we are used to to bring in additional income and, depending on the economy and the areas we are focusing on in our entrepreneurship, we can soon be generating quality and sustaining income for our years of "semi-retirement."

Voices in Reading--Narrators and eAudiobooks

eAudiobooks are especially tied to the voices of the narrator(s).  Some are recorded by a full cast and are almost an audio play.  Others are read by one narrator who often modifies his or her voice for the different characters in the book.

Jim Dale is the narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks.   He has a distinctive voice and makes the stories very interesting.  Scholastic is the publisher of the Harry Potter books and, in the past year, has been developing another idea for more best selling books for the youth market. 

The new idea is the Thirty-Nine Clues series.  David Pittu is the narrator for all of the audiobooks in this series.  They are written by several award-winning authors.  The first book in the series is The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan.

BARD Makes Listening Easier for Hard-of-Hearing Seniors

BARD provides selector buttons for tone and speed on their digital audio players.  My 95-year-old mother needs to have the speed of the voice slowed a bit.  The analog audio players allowed this, though it distorts the audio.  The digital audio players really allow the speed to match the needs of the listeners.  Voices of Vision provides digital eAudiobooks and we download the books we like to USB drives that the digital audio players read.

For more information about BARD, please follow the link.

Preparing DrM-Blog for Publication (Printing)

Today was largly invested in preparing posts from the DrM-Blog in Centaur MT font for publication (printing).  The posts are then put into Adobe Pagemaker 7.0 and then distilled by Adobe Acrobat Pro 9.0 Expanded.  The finished book (in Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] format) will then be transmitted electronically to Lightning Source for printing.

As I work I make editorial changes with regard to themes and chapters.  I need to finish some administrative details such as purchasing a block of ISBN numbers, completing my Lightning Source registration, and exploring options for sales of the book.

The real challenge will be to see how to motivate readers to purchase the book.  I had to decide whether to keep the journal/diary (day-by-day) format or to organize it by related themes and chapters.  So far, themes and chapters are winning.

New Font for Blog Book

I have been working on converting this blog to a book.  One of my concerns was the type face (font) I was going to use when the book goes to print.  My 95-year-old mother has trouble reading small print and I find more and more people gravitating toward large-print books.

I went to the public library yesterday looking for some audiobooks by Rick Riordan.  While looking for the audiobooks, I actually picked-up a print version and the librarian (Thanks, Amy) showed me the front page with the publication data that included the font used for the book.  The book was easy to read and I liked the font.  The font used for The Last Olympian was Centaur MT, 13 point.

I came home and looked for the font on my computer.  Unfortunately I didn't have it and I immediately went to Adobe.com.  I have used Adobe Type Manager for years and thought that Adobe would have the font.

While Adobe Type Manager is largely outmoded--built-in to such programs as Windows Vista--the font was available from Adobe.  I don't know if anyone remembers the "typeballs" used by the IBM Selectric typewriters.  Each ball was for a font and you had to purchase and to change the balls when you wanted to change type face in your typed documents.  The fonts for the computer work in a similar way.  I had to purchase and download three different fonts--Centaur Std, Centaur Std Italic, and Centaur Std Bold--in order to have the three types of fonts I need for the book.  The good news is that they were available and I was able to purchase, download, and install (after using Adobe help menus) the fonts on my computer (in Windows Vista) and in two Adobe programs, PageMaker 7.0 and Adobe Acrobat 9.0 Pro Extended.

You won't see that type face on this blog except in a picture I will include here.  It will work for the book and for the onscreen version of the book.  I need to contact my print-on-demand printer tomorrow to make sure everything will work when I present the finished book in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format for publishing.

Global Positioning System (GPS) Support

I purchased a TomTom Global Positioning System (GPS) for my car last year.  This product has the ability to have map upgrades via computer four times a year (for an annual fee).

I've run into problems with my TomTom and the support staff at TomTom.com has been very helpful in getting my GPS up and running again.

The Emperor's New Clothes--Insight into the "New Economy"

The media says that there are many current signs of economic progress, low inflation, more jobs being created, people spending, the DOW Jones moving to over 11,000.  At the same time nation-wide unemployment remains at about 9.7%. (This is an artificial figure because it represents people actually claiming unemployment benefits.  When people exhaust their benefits or, after a year or more of not finding jobs, apply for Social Security or take a lower-paying job, they drop off the rolls of the unemployed.)

Recently I have encountered many people hired to work on the Census 2010.  Almost all of them are looking (and have been looking) for work and have been unable to find it.  It is good that the census gives them a temporary ("intermittent") job--similar to a substitute teacher, working when there is work to be done.

Hans Christian Andersen created a story about The Emperor's New Clothes.  A child looked at the emperor and said, ". . . but he isn't wearing anything."  The "new economy" (and economics in general and the current economic recovery in particular) is a lot like "the emperor's new clothes."  There is a lot of trust involved and everyone needs to see and believe in the same way for it to continue to operate.

There are a lot of reality checks that act like the child.  The FDIC is anticipating more bank failures this year.  Homes are still being foreclosed.  Many people are looking for work to replace incomes they used to have when, for whatever reason, they were laid off.  States are hurting for income because people haven't made enough money to pay what they used to pay in taxes.

Is this a pessimistic post?  I believe in seeing the glass "half full" rather than "half empty."  At the same time, if the glass is half full, it's important not to claim that the glass (or gas tank) entirely full and to expect to "go the distance" a full glass (or gas tank) would allow.

Digital Portfolio--Global Footprint--Travel, Adventures, Experiences, and Learning

Our global footprints show what we have done with our lives.  My global footprint includes travel, adventures, experiences, and learning I have had which lead me to the perspectives I have today.  I present some of these in my digital portfolio on YouTube.

It is challenging to find times and ways to communicate what we learn in our travel and adventures.  I want to think about ways to work with this rich tapestry of travel, experience, and learning to find ways to share that will invite others to share, to become inspired, and to learn from my experiences.

Travel and Adventures--Companions Over Time

For April 8, 2010
My fourth grade teacher had just returned from Spain and taught us Spanish while we learned the other fourth grade subjects.  I learned some French in a language-learning program offered at the university my mother attended for graduate school the next summer.  By the time I was ten I spoke a bit of both Spanish and French and began a life-long love of communicating in multiple languages.

In the summer between my sophomore and junior years of high school, because I had just completed two years of high school Spanish, I was invited to visit Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic as part of President John F. Kennedy's "Sister City" program.   This was my first opportunity to put into practice what I had learned in Spanish class.

That first taste of travel began another life-long love of travel.  Along with the travel came the adventures.  I haven't often written about those adventures and it seems to be a good idea to get started.

Support Information for U.S. Census 2010

The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census in the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the point of reference date used in filling out the form.[1]  


The questions asked on each census are based on current conditions and vary.  The data collected is protected by law.  While summary data is made available for use by a wide variety of agencies, the detailed personal information is held on a strictly confidential basis.  No ties to the data and the personal information collected are shared with any other agency.

The U.S. Census Bureau has developed a wide range of support information in various media formats to help people understand the purpose of the census and how it works.


As usual, scams have cropped up.  The best source of data about the census is the official 2010 Census Website.

United States Census 2010

For Monday, April 6, 2010
Article 1 of the United States Constitution (Legislative) states, in part, "Section 2: 2.3 Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within this union, according to their respective numbers . . . ."  "The actual Enumeration (counting) shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct." 

Section 2 of the 14th Amendment and the 15th Amendment to the Constitution indicate who shall be counted: "

The 2010 Census is the 23rd census of the United States of America.  The first census was conducted in 1780, according to the constitution, and a new census has been conducted every ten years thereafter.  The information collected in the census varies and the data collected is confidential (regarding tying information to people who provided it).  Summary data is used to determine representation of each state in the House of Representatives and to determine the distribution of Federal taxes to states based on a "per capita" (head count) quota.

WiFi--iPod Touch, iPad, More

The first release of Apple's iPad is the WiFi version that makes it act much like the iPod Touch--though with a 9.5 inch (25 cm) screen.

I have been using the iPod Touch and its WiFi capabilities since July, 2009.  I really appreciate the apps and its functionality.  I can use it for eMail, for surfing using Google and Safari, and for a variety of other apps, audiobooks, movies, photos, voice memos, etc.

GPS is one of the weakest applications on the iPod Touch.  I understand its functionality is much better on the iPhone.  When I provide the addresses, the iPod Touch uses Google Maps and provides me directions to get to a variety of addresses.

My GPS for the car (a TomTom) is not working properly and it's great to have the back-up via the iPod Touch.  One of the problems of the WiFi iPod Touch (and, potentially, for the current WiFi iPad) is that many of its apps work only when connected to the Internet via a WiFi network.  While there are many WiFi networks available, there is not yet universal access.

Easter--Rebirth and Renewal

Easter is recognized as a time of rebirth and renewal.  The Christian celebration takes place on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox.  In 2010, the Vernal Equinox took place on March 20th.  The full moon took place on March 29th.  The first Sunday after the full moon is April 4th.

The original Easter took place at the end of the Hebrew celebration of the Passover.  Early Christian churches often took over celebratory dates associated with other, older religions.  Spring is a time of renewal in nature and the resurrection of Jesus Christ marks the ultimate renewal and rebirth for the Christian faith.

Editing Posts into Book Format--A Challenge

Editing posts into book format is a challenge.  I've been working with Blurb.com's software and, while cumbersome, I'm about 1/8th of the way through my posts.  I have everything copied into Microsoft Word as well, though that appears even harder.

One of the challenges is that the labels (tags, categories) I have included in my blog don't make it into the version used for editing--at least not in the same format.  Microsoft Word captures the html code, though not for printing.

I've edited the first fifty plus posts out of 244.  The page count is already over three-hundred.  I know from reading books that people of my age and beyond need Arial font and 12 point typestyle or higher.  That's what I'm using for the body of the book.

I have to see how to get the book ready for publication at a reasonable cost and availability.  My 95-year-old mother is interested in reading my drafts.  (She read my draft dissertation three times almost 20 years ago.)

Transforming Blog Posts for Easier Reading?--Blurb.com as Publisher?

I listened to an interview with an author at the end of a series of ten audiobooks.  He mentioned that he writes his books in outline form first, then they evolve somewhat in the writing.

This blog was created day-by-day, post-by-post, based on what was going on in my life and awareness.  As I prepare the blog for publishing as a book, I need to think about what edits I may need to capture to make a book readable.

Still exploring publishing options, I did a Google search on "publishing blogs."   When I first did the search, Blurb.com was the first link. 

This looks like a great first step for publishing my blog--and, perhaps, getting feedback for improvement.

Why Would Anyone Want to Read My Blog? (or My Book?)--Trusted Advisor Blog

As I work on editing this blog for publication I ask myself, "Why would anyone want to read this blog or my book?"  What value have I added in the 243 posts that make up this blog to date?

When I first started the blog I wanted the discipline of writing a daily blog to create a book I could publish.  I've worked on several books ad went to a Book Expo in Chicago in 2001 with the intention of publishing and marketing a book.  To date, the only book I have published (in 1992) was my 502-page dissertation.  (Very few people read it, by the way.)

I have several books started and have a goal of writing some fiction targeted for young adults.  I've been an avid reader in that literature for the last six years to build-up a better understanding for the authors, the books, and the genre.

What is this blog about?  That's a challenge.  The blog is about many things.  Wikipedia.org has this to say about a blog: 

A blog (a contraction of the term "web log")^[1] is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic.  Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog.



This blog reflects what I was thinking about, "top of mind," on the day I wrote each post.  I have gone through the blog in the course of preparing it for editing and publishing and have identified categories that have related posts.  These are still "across the board." 

My primary role is as a "trusted advisor" and many of my posts contain information to be shared from that point of view about the topic included in the post.

This still a challenge for readership.  I'm adding posts each day to the blog and to the book until the day I publish it.  Blog posts made after the publication of the first book will be saved for a follow-on book.  I have a few friends who read the blog often.  (They should, many of their ideas and our discussions find their way in to the daily posts.)  I also have two subscribers to the blog--and I am one of them.

I've explored with other friends in the publishing and bookselling business to see how I can edit the content in a way that will make it compelling for others to read.  I'm still developing those ideas.

Another editing challenge I have is to make the links show-up in the published document.  On the website and the blog, the links work.  In print, they need to be spelled out.  Many of my posts include related links for more information and for examples.

What are your thoughts?