Year-End--End of the First Decade of the New Millennium

December 31, 2009, according to the cardinal numbering system, marks the end of the first decade of the new millennium.  Some "purists" look at the year 2000 as the last year of the old Millennium and, for them, 2010 would be the last year of the first decade starting in 2001.  Using the cardinal numbering system, 2000 was the first year of the new millennium, so today is the end of the first decade.

ABC World News for 12/30/2009, identified technology as a major definer of the first decade, with Apple's iPhone as the most significant technology of the decade.

With the changes to the economies in the USA and in the world seen in 2009, many people are ready for the new decade with a positive outlook.  While there may well be positive changes, year-end is also a good time to "clean-house" (even for the decade).  Getting rid of receipts more than 7-years old (for the IRS) or that don't have to do with your house, may open up more room.

I'm looking forward to cleaning out lots of unused and no longer needed "things" that take-up space and crowd my thoughts.

It's also time to do lots of rethinking for the next decade.  What do I want to be doing?  What is the future of business, especially of the kinds of business I am involved in?  What do I need to plan for?  How can I build an effective support network where members can support each other?

Lots to think about this December 31st, 2009.  Enjoy your evening tonight and your year-end activities!! :-)

Old Words and Meanings--New Words?

Another person at the Delnor Wellness Center today shared with me a list of words well known by people over fifty that have fallen out of use as slang today.  A news announcement in the past two months described some new words creeping into our vocabulary.  unfriend was a new one for this year, meaning to take someone off of your "friend" list at a social networking site.

The words in the attached photo represent a start of words that are disappearing from slang.  What others can you remember?   (Click on the picture to see all the columns.)

(Reading) Resources for Parents

In a conversation with a parent today in the therapy pool at the Delnor Wellness Center, we spoke about ways to provide enriching experiences for her two children in terms of reading and building skills useful both in school and beyond.  I have written about many of these ideas in earlier posts to this blog and wanted to revisit the topic--and to provide some new posts.

A very good way for students to build reading and writing skills is to listen to unabridged audiobooks of interest to them and to read along with an unabridged companion (printed) book.  The best source of these books is the local public library--in my area the St. Charles Public Library probably has the best collection.  If you do not have access to a public library (which I heartily encourage for everyone), you can go online to the World Public Library and access many downloadable digital books (for visual reading) and digital audio books.  An individual annual membership to the World Public Library is only $8.95 per year.

Downloadable books can be saved on iPods and MP3 players.   This gives the students access to books where they keep their music and gives them that much more opportunity to read or to listen to the books.

Amazon has the Kindle digital book readerKindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, U.S. Wireless)--that also supports audio.  Sony has a book reader and a European company makes a third reader (at, perhaps, a more affordable price).  While downloaded books can be read on computers--I read several textbooks that way while taking online courses from the University of Phoenix--portable book readers seem to be a much preferred way to go for digital books.  (You may want to explore "tablet PCs"--including a new one that may be coming out from Apple soon--to see if that will give you the most value from your investment.)  Follow this link for a review of the book readers.

I have been working with an extension of the audiobook and companion book concept to review my Spanish language skills.  I listen to an unabridged audiobook in English while reading its unabridged companion book in Spanish, then I listen to the unabridged audiobook in Spanish after I have read the companion book.  A modification that would also work is to do what I just said, then listen to the unabridged audiobook in Spanish and read the unabridged companion book in Spanish again.  This would reinforce Spanish pronunciation of the words in the book.

To improve writing skills, adults and children need to read more.  Research indicates that the best writers were first very good readers. (Visit the "Using Audiobooks" link on the page.).  An easy and mostly painless way to start is to find a series of books by a favorite author.  (For example, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.  Visit http://drm-booklists.wikispaces.com/ and look at the tabs on the left for some suggestions.)  Once the adults or children have listened to and read a few of the books in the series, they should be encouraged to create a sequel or another story using the same characters and language of their favorite author of the series.  This way they have good role models for their writing and a good way to measure the quality of their writing against the work of they author they were inspired by.

These approaches can improve reading and comprehension by both children and adults and are especially valuable for second language learners.  By involving multiple senses, these approaches can also help people overcome minor learning challenges that impact how they read or listen.

For those who are physically or visually challenged, the Library of Congress offers the National Library Service free for those who qualify.  Qualification is a matter of certification by a doctor and then patrons receive free digital audiobooks and braile books in the mail.  Visit my blog post about BARD for more details.

If you would like to see a presentation about using audiobooks to improve reading and academic performance, please follow this link to my website. (Go to the 2009 Presentation on "Using Audiobooks," then click on the link you want to use.)

If you are interested in working with me to help your children (or adults) to learn to read more, please visit my website contact page at http://www.joelmonty.net/contact/contact.htm.

Learning from Experience and History--Finding Patterns that Work

Speaking with a friend the other day, I shared some meta-models that identify patterns at work.  By being aware of these patterns of behavior, positive changes can be made to improve processes, workflow, and results of organizations.  Two of these meta-models are the Team Tracking Tool (Slide 12) and the Shame Affect Decision Model (Slide 2).

These models capture processes at work that allow for the identification of what works and what may be missing or improved at work.  They were developed by observing hundreds of hours of interactions and have proved reliable over time.  In the course of our conversation it became clear that sometimes leaders in the workplace do not want to be made aware of these processes or be responsible for being able to make decisions to change what they are doing at work.

The idea of learning from experience and history are the essential ideas in my post from yesterday concerning animal spirits and the economy.   The concept is also reflected in Dan Brown's two books, Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code.  I saw another example in a documentary today Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.

The challenge is to reflect on our experience and on history and to learn from these reflections.  Models of processes can help in this process and, if leaders are not willing to engage in the reflection and learning process, they miss opportunities to improve and change.  These opportunities may have a small window of opportunity as the economy and world events change around them.

Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy and Why it Matters for Global Capitalism

In exploring Audible.com today I came across the audiobook Animal Spirits:  How Human Psychology Drives the Economy and Why it Matters for Global Capitalism by

George A. Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller.

I am still exploring the book and find it very interesting to use the filter of "animal spirits" to explore recent changes in the world's economy.  These concepts address issues of confidence, among others, and how that plays out in terms of unemployment and the economy as a whole.

I am looking for personal insights that I can use to guide my own responses to this economy.

Processes in Aging

My mother celebrated her 95th birthday on December 18th.  I have been with her much of her life and especially for the past 17 years.  Six years ago she had a CT-Scan of her head and her neurologist reported that some of Mom's brain processes were slowing down due to age.  Other doctors have reported some of her diverticulae wearing out in her digestive track and have recommended certain foods for her to eat.  She has age-related macular degeneration in both eyes and has lost quite a bit of central vision in her left eye.

I speak of her memory as a "swiss cheese" memory--some of it is solid and suddenly, without warning, she "falls into a hole."  When she finds her self in a "hole" the good news for her to remember is that she will soon be back on the solid part of her memory.

She does not, thank God, have Alsheimers.  She does have an aging brain and, fortunately, has been on supplemental oxygen for about four years--this provides the oxygen-rich environment the brain needs to stay as healthy as it can for as long as it can.

Her personality has not changed and she is still as independent as she can be and is interested in the National Geographic, the Smithsonian, Time, Reader's Digest, and other current magazines.  With a note from her eye doctor, she now receives materials from the Library of Congress-National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (see other posts for more details).

We used to enjoy watching videos (DVDs or video-cassettes) and listening to audiobooks together.  Recently (in the last month), Mom has noticed that her processing needs more time to understand speech--that is, she cannot understand what is being said on the DVDs or videos--and sometimes even the audiobooks--because the action and the voices speak too rapidly for her processing speed to catch up.

I have noticed that she still enjoys reading large print books.  Some of her favorites are Lilian Jackson Braun's "Cat Who" series.  She know the characters and can follow the action at her own pace.

I'm glad she still enjoys reading and we can have good conversations as long as I speak slowly and clearly and in a bright enough light for her to watch my lips as I speak.  Mom is hard of hearing and has good hearing aids.  At this point these hearing aids are more frustration than help because she cannot process what she hears quickly enough for her to follow or to engage in conversations taking place in "normal time."

I believe these changes are normal and are important for me to follow--it may happen to me some day as well.  I know I need to adjust my expectations to match her changes--that allows me to respond to her well.  Rather than being frustrated by what she can no longer do, I need to continue to appreciate what she can do and has done.

I'm blessed to have her in my life for this long and I am glad her quality of life has not "lost all of its flavor" for her.  She is sleeping more (and dreaming a lot).   We still have fun together and I'm more and more aware of how quickly things can change.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas is an important tradition in my family, from the spiritual focus of the holy event celebrated by Christians around the world to the family traditions of gathering together in loving, piece, joy, and sharing.

Both Mom and Dad had important memories of Christmas in their family and we brought it into our family, too.  As a child, I remember having Caroling parties at my home for my friends, the awe inspiring activities in the church, especially the midnight services, the Christmas tree, and, above all, the sense of togetherness and love.

Tied closely to the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, Christmas follows the longest night in the year.  In cold climates, under clear conditions (different from what would have been experienced in Bethlehem at the actual birth of Jesus Christ) the stars appear closer to the earth and there is a stillness and peace that we can be aware of.  It's cold outside and we appreciate the warmth of being together in front of a blazing fire in a hearth.

Our modern society seems to move at an ever increasing pace, with Internet and social networks abounding.  At the same time, these powerful connections between people and, for those with faith, in terms of Spirit, make our world and our lives a richer place.

I am a follower of Christ and find Him in my heart--every day and especially today. 

I love the traditions of Saint Nicholas (or Santa Claus) and appreciate the good that flows abundantly in all sorts of ways as people are inspired by the Christmas Spirit.

Christmas is a good time to reflect and to give thanks for all the blessings we experience on a daily basis.  I am certainly thankful and look at all of the Christmases I have experienced so far as a series of blessings in my life.

I feel especially blessed to be able to share it with family and friends.

Merry Christmas!!