Change Needs to Be Constant.

Sligh (Trend) Grandfather. Clock Keyhole circled.

I was saying to a friend earlier today: "Maybe evolution had dreamt up the idea of consciousness as a bit of a joke… A preliminary beta experiment, and was astounded when the human race latched onto it like some crazed addict. Simply insisting that it was better than sliced bread!" Because the state of being sentient certainly seems to be in its early beta, if not alpha stages. One thing that is never considered publicly is that we may not have the same perception of reality and our thinking processes might be quite different. When one considers this it certainly does make a lot of sense and can explain many of the diverse and sometimes mind-boggling behaviour patterns people often exhibit.

For example, a worker in some office may follow a rule, not blindly, but with no understanding of its purpose. Or in another situation, a rule may be applied when the results is directly contrary to its original intention. There are many examples of this in the news every day and if you look around you will see it happening a few times every 24 hours. The only way I can rationalize such" automaton behaviour" is to admit that the person or persons involved must have a radically different way of processing reality and their environment than I do. If you're wondering why I am omitting specific situations in this short article it is because I don't want to frame or create a context for you to follow. By doing so I hope to allow you to look at your own frames of reference and whether the people you deal with on a daily basis have the same frames of reference or indeed have the same "realities".

I can say this: "It has been an astounding few weeks, for me and I have had an opportunity to step out of my normal frames of reference." Which brings me to the title of this short article, "Change Needs to Be Constant."

Have you ever noticed that we all at some time or another wished we had some new device or new standing in the community or new responsibilities and while we're daydreaming about all this glorious stuff we omit the realization that with all these marvellous additions to our life they would be a change to the fundamental way we have to act etc.. By not including change as an integral part in our thinking process, we virtually guarantee that our dreams will never be reach. We want the results of the dream but are unwilling to put in the work and the letting go of old behaviours and ideas to adopt new. In order to grow everyone has to change.

This is one reason why I think people have now become so comfortable with contradictions in the intentions behind the various rules that govern our modern lives. By not looking at the original intent of the rule, we essentially give ourselves a placebo pill and happily behave as though we have done something good.-Usually blindly following the rulebook-. This doesn't get anyone anywhere and over the long run will make situations worse. Not to mention this stagnates the possibility of change because rules become ritualized and therefore at the first hint of some new behaviour or situation there is a tendency to rebel against change. We tell ourselves that it is not our position in the hierarchy of things (i.e. we don't have the authority) to make the decision.

Well let me tell you the 60s would've unfolded in a completely different and dark way if there were never any protests. Your life will and must change, in small and big ways. That is really the best way to grow and perhaps ultimately be happy with yourself. At first change seems foreign and very uncomfortable, because we are going against the established rules and must be prepared for the consequences at first. But as long as you understand why you are making the changes the exercise is ultimately beneficial. And often there are surprises along the way.

May you recognize the changes in your daily life and for the most part enjoy the exploration.
Patrick Clark 
(Related blog article" Definition: Normal")



PS: It has been a very busy weekend, and my friend and I had planned to get together and work on calibrating the phases of the moon display on his grandfather clock. Unfortunately, he was physically not up to the undertaking this weekend, but it is on the to do list. As soon as this is completed I will write a full article detailing the restoration of this marvellous clock. The photo accompanying this posting is a close up view of the moon phase disc on the grandfather clock. According to a Master clock Smith in Vancouver when things are correctly calibrated this disc will change over to the correct phase of the moon at midnight on the appropriate day. My friend is always had an extra key for this clock and I am wondering if it goes into the key slot in the bottom centre of the photo right above the manufacturer name "Trend".

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An update on the progress regarding the grandfather clock and the phases of the moon. 

It is been a little challenging to get everyone together to solve this little mystery. The clocksmith is out when I'm around or my friend is not feeling well. However there has been a little progress. What we thought was a keyhole pictured in the photo above is actually a small nut and bolt arrangement holding the clock face on. We got one of the top side panels off to reveal an incredibly intricate clockwork mechanism.

Our next attempt will be Tuesday morning 18 February before I go in to Vancouver to volunteer. Stay tuned :-)
Patrick

Internet Marketing: Where Do They Come from?

Visitors for February 5, 2020 

Much has been written about Internet Marketing and the various schemes to get traffic. There are literally thousands of publications, big and small, with an equally large number of ideas and methodologies for getting visitors.

For a while now I've been quietly studying the flow of visitors to the blog and after several months of looking at all the graphs and "Google analytics" it is very clear that, repetition, if not outright habit are one of the big factors. People get used to checking in at the same time every day. The map shown in the picture is virtually unchanging every morning, with most of the visitors coming from Canada, with a smattering occasionally showing up from Europe. This is not Google analytics by the way which are much more complex looking, this is only a screenshot of the much simpler Blogger overview screen.

But what really has me interested to here is the geography of the visitors. There is nothing in this blog's coding which directs Google or any other search engine (I'll include Facebook and Twitter hereto as pseudo-search engines, since that is where a lot of the traffic especially right after an article was published comes from) to limit the spread to North America. Yet something does. Now it could be that this is something to do with where I announce new postings and in this case that mainly Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Of these three Twitter has turned out to be the far more important service to consider when attracting an audience. This only gets new visitors to the blog once or twice, as I have long suspected, this produces a spike in the graph but it is short-lived usually dying down within hours.

When I first saw this, I immediately joined, Google analytics and Google AdSense because they both provide much more detailed information. If I can get Google AdSense to pay for the cost of the domain over a year I will be happy. But that is, by far only a minor point. Far more fascinating are the daily habits visitors are beginning to demonstrate. Between 7 and 7:30 AM, the same 10 visitors appear. Now because the system only provides an ID number, these could be robots, but the numbers seem to vary just enough that I think there is flesh and blood behind these hits, a real human being.

Still doesn't explain though, the geography of the hits… It is just one of those curious things I am investigating. As I learn more, I will let you know. There are many creative people out there with great ideas and websites to match who are really having a hard time dealing with Internet marketing and getting the word out. This is my small way of "learning by doing" and I intend to pass along what ever I find to you. Take care have a great day!

Patrick Clark

How Close Is the Internet to Becoming an Essential Service?

From Needpix.com  Used under Creative Commons Zero - CC0

You know, when I was born in 1959, the rotary phone was ubiquitous. But each household normally only had one and that single phone was more often than not located in the main hallway of the home. My family because my father was a doctor with polio had two, the "normal" one in the hallway and an additional phone at my parents bedside without 40 foot (12.9 m) extension cord which was hardwired into the wall.

Fast forward to today, and I don't use a landline although there is one because it was previously installed with this apartment complex and is active. Nor do I know the number off by heart, of course I know my cell phones number, picked precisely because it was easy for my eldest brother to remember. Not only are landline's quickly becoming a thing of the past in modern cities I am willing to bet that although everyone's smart phones are constantly and use the, the percentage of time actually spent talking on them is probably far less then the time doing everything else with the device. How hooked in we all are, and it looks like we couldn't make it through the day if we were unplugged.

Just on a whim I inquired of my Google Assistant just how many times I had spoken with it across the various devices in one day. The answer was shocking… On average I speak to my technology 137 times per day, and that's the average!

Big difference between my parents era and now is that, for certain they could get along without the phone by simply communicating with their neighbours or going right down to meet with the person in question. Can you imagine the mayhem that would ensue, almost immediately. if the Internet and cell towers went down. A small version of this actually happened a few months ago here in my building. As everyone knows I live in a "supported living environment" which simply means that staff is is on hand 24 hours a day should I need assistance. I'm 60 years old with cerebral palsy and not quite the Superman I once was. Brain is still there but physically there is a little wear and tear showing up.

Anyway, the staff is on their own private Internet system and one day it just up and stopped. They were on the technical support so fast it was amazing. Further, some of the devices they use to keep the building and everyone coordinated were also down, so there was a real sense of urgency.

I think we are not too far from seeing the Internet declared an essential service which is the whole point of this little rambling. Within 10 years for sure and may be as little as 5. Actually now that I think about it I think the Canadian government has already set minimum speed requirements and I think it's 10 Mb which is more than enough stream 1080 P on your TV set.

This was a spur of the moment thought. I promise to have something more worthwhile posted over the weekend. Probably to do with a 60-year-old grandfather clock which is now up and running again thanks to an 82-year-old Master clock smith. Stay tuned and take care.

Patrick Clark

Bringing community together.

Not an endorsement. Simply liked the image on the can.

"Just what are the social ingredients which allows a community of people to come together and stay together?"This was a question I was pondering last night as a couple of friends and I were watching the Super Bowl. We all live in the same supported living, building totaling twenty individuals, of that only three of us showed up for this celebration, and that is with the offering up free food.

Despite having a great staff and really a beautiful building with individual apartment suites that are a much bigger than the norm, I'm guessing about 500 ft.², it is been almost impossible in the year and 1/2 I've been here to motivate individuals to break out of the routine. While their physical conditions vary greatly, mentally they are all fine, and most come from a creative past. There are musicians, people who have travelled the world, one would think that this place would "Rock!",but there is a lethargy about the place. Personally I am so glad I volunteer twice a week in Vancouver, because that may be what keeps me going. Yet I don't think the answer is quite so simple, because I've talked to the staff and others who've been here for in some cases over nine years and this state of affairs has crept up very slowly. There is also the impression that this is happening in other supported living facilities. It makes me wonder if it is a side effect of the changes in modern society as a whole. Last night's game (even if one is not inclined to sports) should have been a time for socializing and general goofing around. Yet the building was quieter than normal while the three of us sat in front of a beautiful high definition TV with nachos and a few beverages in hand. The cook had gone out of their way to make some snacks… Making this essentially a free party. Anywhere else in Surrey British Columbia, this would mean the room would've been filled to the brim with so much talking and discussion going on about the game and everything. There would be stories four days about the event.

Perhaps the first question is, not "What makes community", but what stifles it in the modern world. Is society losing its social edge? I am coming up with more questions as I write this. If anyone out there has any answers or hypothesis, please feel free to comment. I am very curious about the topic of community as a whole and this particular incident has me really perplexed.

In case you're curious about the accompanying photo for this article, it is not an endorsement or commentary on the product, but I did find it to be stereotypically perfect for a weekend football game and I simply couldn't resist posting it. Actually now that I think about it even though my apartment is adorned with paintings and I have a general policy of not putting anything up on the walls which are glorified endorsements. This particular drawing is hard to resist, just because of the style in which it was created. My grandfather Gallagher had a much older version of the truck depicted in the image. Perhaps that is what the allure is for me.

All the best to all the visitors to this blog and please do feel free to comment.
Patrick Clark

PS: Not being an avid sports fan, it suddenly dawned on me that the Super Bowl game I watched last night might be "Super Bowl MMXIX" and not "Super Bowl MMXX" as is displayed in the graphic. Regardless of the dating issue, I had a great time. Thanks to one at all.

The Astounding Power of "Just Do It".

With so many things to do in everyone's daily lives the adoption of a routine is usually what keeps us sane and able to do a huge laundry list of things on a regular basis, but it is also what keeps us from exploring new vistas. The ritual of routine becomes too ingrained and indeed comfortable. On the other hand, just doing something new, especially if the idea just occurred to you, seems dangerously impulsive. That however is where many new concepts and adventures begin, as long as one takes a moment to critically look at the inspiration. This short little article is one such "Just Do It" moment.

Yesterday I realized that an overreliance on routine limits opportunity and creativity. Because, the first routine leads directly into the second routine, which leads directly into the third routine and so on. The next reaction to get mildly frustrated at missing ones "just do it" moment. Which when you think about it is the exact moment you should undertake the new activity. No need to rush or to drop everything, but to make it the very next thing to explore.

It is simply amazing what happens when you allowed new ideas, a "Just Do It" impulse, to change your routines. First, you get a nice feeling from undertaking something unexpected perhaps. Then a sense of accomplishment, which inevitably leads to a brightening of one's outlook-Because You Just Did It :-). If you can't follow a new idea the moment it it occurs to you because of time or responsibility requirements, then write it down or record it somehow so that later on you can review the idea.

I find myself wondering if this very moment how many ideas throughout history have been missed because people haven't occasionally, and deliberately, being a little impulsive. True sometimes "Just Doing It" does get one into a little bit of  trouble… But isn't that fun? (I'm thinking of my dear friend Lauren right now… What adventures we have had and continue to have 😀).

May this short little post inspire you to do something and may that inspiration bring a smile to your face. Have a great day!

Patrick Clark

I can't remember… The Internet is down.

From piqsels.com Used under Creative Commons Zero - CC0

Last week we were talking about "The New Elephant That Never Forgets ". The fact that when something is posted on the Internet, the chances are high that will become archived either in a personal collection or permanently publicly available so that even if one takes the original document down it is still there "out there". This idea has led to another thought:

Do we even think about the Internet anymore, or do we just use it as a means to an end? I think for most of us, regardless if we are technologically savvy or not, "we don't", it is simply to become something in the background which makes all this technological stuff work. Whether that device be your TV, thermostat, light bulbs, or smart coffee maker. But the Internet is different, in that information is being stored and this is something I think we must be aware of even though it seems harmless. Security issues aside, we are relying on mechanisms and devices outside of our own control to do a lot of the remembering for us. When the Internet connection goes down you are instantly cut off from a large amount of information and material which, 30 years ago would have been written down for safekeeping. Nowadays one literally has to wait for your information come back online. Many of us have entire working days stored in Google Docs.

I think with this reliance on the Internet to do all our "remembering and storing" we have lost something… The ability to remember. From my perspective a good functioning mental memory ability is essential. It not only means were self-contained and don't have to log on to remember that phone number is means you are more aware of yourself and perhaps less absorbed by yourself. This is something we must get back to. Like any other activity there are benefits beyond the activity itself and I think the act of remembering is the cornerstone of a healthy personal psychology.

Feel free to comment below, as always. If you like this short post, you may be interested in another one which is related: The "Internet of things lifespan"

The Internet: The New Elephant That Never Forgets.

Banner from one of my first webpages. Click to see an archived copy.

Way back, in the early 2000s, I had my first webpage on CompuServe. It started out as a compendium of links to services I used frequently. It was never my intention to let it grow or become as popular as it did. At one point in early 2002 it actually won a minor award. Feeling a little nostalgic, I thought "Why not put up a blog post listing my favourite services on the Internet today and soliciting feedback from visitors about their's."

I have long used the Internet Archive's Way back machine for tracking down various documents and website which are now officially off-line. The above "Patrick Homepage" banner will take you to an archived version of my old CompuServe website, complete with the old URL displayed in your browser.

Once I had the old address I couldn't resist entering it into Google and my God did it ever pull up all lot of material:

• Discussion groups. Many of which are still functional.
• Articles, graphics, comments and thoughts.
• Links and software I used to use…

Fascinating stuff. At least from my perspective. But it really does provide a cautionary warning. What ever you put on the Internet, stays on  the Internet, but it won't always stay private or cloistered. At some point, a server will change hands, as in the case of CompuServe, or some program will ferret out the material and make it public.

Versions of my original site are archived throughout the various years it was functioning. Not all snapshots
are complete but there is more than enough to go down memory lane. In the case of my dear friend Joanne her entire cooking site (here it is) which was the subsite of mine seems to be pretty much intact.

Over the next weekend I will explore just what can be dug up on the Internet and posted here if it is informative or entertaining.

Until next week then… We will see what we can dig up for you :-)
Patrick

Difficulty Has Its Advantages.

It is through the surmounting of problems that we often gain insights which, we weren't expecting, that gives us the additional outcome of not only solving the original issue but often new ways of looking at old situations.  It has to be challenging enough to make one push their abilities either mentally or physically while being partially, at least at the onset of challenging the issue, attainable.-One needs to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is nothing more satisfying than overcoming an obstacle, or having that "Eureka!" moment.

Why is it then that some people when faced with a new challenge, look for others to solve whatever the issue is rather than seeing the situation as an opportunity to grow and explore? They seem to have no interest in attaining that marvellous Eureka moment. Initially I found this very confusing and then it dawned on me that surmounting challenges is a skill which must be taught. We may all be born explores, but when it comes to going outside of the comfort zone, that takes learning new skills so we can benefit from the experience. If a person does not have thse skills they panic This behaviour works for them because, others around them will often rush in to fix the situation, and thus the panic behaviour is reinforced. The next time something happens, the cycle repeats and the behaviour becomes entrenched, if not subconscious. This leads to the following routine:

Person "A" perceives the difficulty and immediately asks for assistance from person "B". Very quickly it becomes obvious to person B that the request for assistance really meant "You Resolved This for Me." If person B acquiesces, then person A learns that abdicating their responsibility works in the short term. But if the request for assistance is rejected, then something strange seems to happen in the situation. Person A does not attempt at all to solve whatever the issue is, an apathy occurs and the situation gets worse. This can happen to both people who are involved in the event.

The other thing that happens is person A develops a very short term outlook, never really considering future consequences, because doing so instigates a panic which starts the original behaviour all over again. Ultimately they missed the opportunity to grow by taking on new challenges etc. and people doing all the helping become embittered. Often this happens quite slowly, with a lot of defensive rationalizations built up by both people over time.

So how then do we encourage a person to learn the skills which are so vital to overcoming difficulty and break this routine? I have found that often person "A" appears to have no interest in learning anything new so making suggestions falls on deaf ears.

How then do we light the fire of learning?

This can be a difficult question-and-answer, particularly when, Person "A" is very intelligent, because they've seen and blocked all previous attempts to change. It is one of those situations where the smarter an individual is the more difficult it is for them to learn new material. (We have all been there, unable to accept something new, because we "know" something else to be true which is in conflict with whatever we are trying to learn, stubbornly hanging on to the old stuff.)

The first step then be to deconstruct what we or the other person already knows, to look at what they believe to be true and in the process we, the instructor, end up learning as well. So in the above scenario both person A and B have to look at their behaviours and beliefs. Learning does not occur in a vacuum.

I consider myself very lucky, because I love to learn and explore. The challenges in my life have expanded my boundaries and horizons and continue to do so. It is my belief that I inherited this from my parents behaviour and why I continue to believe that the very idea of being "Normal and adhering to the idea of anything universal-be it physical or ideological." Is not a good way to go for anyone because it ultimately will limit the person.

The mythical idea of a level playing field is probably to be avoided at all costs as far as the larger society is concerned, we don't want to make things too easy because that ultimately will stifle creativity. Perhaps then it is a good in the long run that solving the question of "lighting the fire of learning "is in itself difficult because the answer continues to evolve as to the outcomes. What is most important ultimately is that we all sincerely in our own ways keep endeavouring to improve our lives.

Never stop exploring on what ever level you can. :-).  May your difficulties  ultimately have advantages, and may that open new understandings for us all.

Patrick Clark

Patrick Clark's Success Story at Freedom Place

Postscript: I wrote this article last night as part of a submission to the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative Canada (YPI) program, so that the nonprofit organization that maintains my building Strive Living Society could be considered for a $5000 grant. I consider my life an ongoing success story. Schools and students involved in the YPI program are looking for stories to help combat negative stereotypes.I have decided to share this writing here as well in the hopes it inspires all who read it and please do feel free to comment.- Patrick


(All links open in a new window.)

Photo of myself, January 8, 2020.

I have spastic Cerebral Palsy, am 60 years old, use an electric wheelchair to get around and I let nothing stop me :-). A geek and a nerd. Most definitely, curious by design.

Here's my success story, and why success keeps on coming at Freedom Place. It is my sincerest wish that it inspires people and perhaps allows them to see success where they have not seen it before.

My life is an ongoing success, because I do not define accomplishments in narrow terms, and thus I'm able to gather up all of the small successes in daily life into an ongoing positive achievement. Do not misunderstand me, this is not some new age flowery sugarcoated outlook. Challenges exist, and indeed they are necessary. Without them people would not discover truly new avenues and ways of doing things. I understand this and it is a big part of my success.

When I first arrived at Freedom Place, after having some time to look around and absorb the environment, I was personally a little terrified because I understood that it would be very easy to slip into a routine where pretty much everything was comfortable and taken care of. To me that meant stagnation. So I reconnected with a volunteer group, The Vancouver Community Network (VCN) on Hastings in Vancouver and arranged to travel twice a week to the office to do some volunteering. I am a computer and electronics geek and VCN deals with refurbishing computers and assisting low income and destitute people to have access to the Internet.

• VCN does many other socially responsible things in addition to those mentioned. All to empower people via the use of technology in innovative ways. It is my honour to be involved with such a great group of people and the organization as a whole.

Some see me as a little extreme because I don't use handy dart unless absolutely necessary, I prefer to use my wheelchair to travel down to the Skytrain in to Vancouver and then to the office. It reminds me that it is important to be independent and stay connected with community as a whole.

Therefore, the secret to my success, is seeing the opportunities which exist for everyone rather than trying to package success into a predetermined shape. The tenants and staff at my home Freedom Place are Groovy and eccentric in their own ways, they help me and I help them. I have learned a lot in the past 18 months or so and that adds to success.

I am very thankful that I am not "normal" because that would've limited the opportunities to look at things differently. If you see someone, who appears to be different, introduce yourself to them, even if it feels a little funny. New ideas may be waiting right around the corner for you, and ideas can lead to success.

This is my ongoing success story.

Sincerely Patrick Clark, tenant at Freedom Place.

Honey, the cell phone provider shrunk the kid's (photos)!

My family at Christmas 2019.

Over the Christmas holidays many people send photos to and from each other via text messages.

While this seems like a great idea, especially considering the resolution most modern phones have in their cameras, what is not so widely known is that most carriers (cell phone providers) have very restrictive limits on the size of picture they actually send.They will not stop you from sending the photos, but will greatly reduce them in size on the other end. What looks to you as a beautiful, priceless snapshot, can get reduced to something resembling an old time television picture.

I saw this last week when a relative of mine sent six pictures in one text, the cell phone company reduced them in size to such an extent that they were a blurry mess. Even if one changes the settings in their camera there is no guarantee the picture will not be heavily shrunk. Making it impossible to ever get a nice printout. This photo started out as a 4 megapixel image. When I received it on my phone it was 33K. That's reduction of 51 times  (approximately). This is the untouched photoas it was received on my phone

Two rules of thumb to follow:

1. If you are sending pictures via text, send only one per text. The more you send in a single text the more they become compressed.

2. If you really want to make sure that your photo stays intact, use one of the many online storage options and upload your photos to the cloud and then distribute a link to them in your text.

A cautionary note. If you are using one of these cloud-based download services to store and retrieve your photos frequently. It is best to do it while the phone is hooked up to your Wi-Fi at home to avoid exceeding your cell phone plan "data" limit.

Patrick