Tuesday, June 29, 2010

CDL

I've been accepted to CDL school, I'll be starting in the next few days. Have to get there first, it's only about 1,000 miles away.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Driving

Driving dump truck the last couple of weeks has been a lot of fun, even if Friday was not the greatest.  We've actually had 4 sunny, non-rainy days in a row, and the mud all dried up and turned to dust.  Thirty hours later, I'm still hacking up mud.  Gaaah!

But it has reminded me how much I like to drive, and the fact is, I do handle that truck pretty good for an amateur.  And, although I have seriously been working hard at finding steady work in IT, the fact seems to be that I'm not wanted in IT any more.  I've had all of two interviews since I left the Hospital.  TWO.

I think I'm gonna get my CDL and do some serious driving.

What You Touch May Make You a 'Softie' or Play 'Hard Ball'


In experiments, holding hard, heavy objects tied to tougher attitudes, scientists say


By Jenifer Goodwin
HealthDay Reporter


Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
HealthDay/ScoutNews LLC

FRIDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) -- When it comes to forming first impressions about others, you probably realize that what you see, hear, and maybe even smell influence your assessment.

But new research suggests the way things feel -- the chair you're sitting on, the mug of coffee you're holding -- may subconsciously but powerfully influence your attitudes and behavior.

In a series of experiments, researchers at Yale University showed that the weight, texture and the things people incidentally touched altered how they felt and behaved.

In one experiment, researchers had 54 passersby evaluate a job candidate by reviewing their resume. They did so while holding either a light clipboard or a heavy clipboard.

Participants who held the heavy clipboard judged job applicants to be better overall and more seriously interested in the job than did people who were holding a lighter clipboard.

In addition, those holding the heavy clipboard considered their own task of rating candidates as more important than those holding a light clipboard.

According to the authors, those attitudes are also reflected in people's everyday language -- "heavy weight," "heavy handed," "weighty matters," and "gravity of the situation," for example.

However, those candidates whose resumes were viewed on the heavy clipboards were not rated as being more likely to get along with co-workers, suggesting that the sensation of "heavy" corresponds to seriousness, but not necessarily likeability, the researchers noted.

"Experiences with the physical world, such as hardness, heaviness or smoothness, activate the physical meaning of those concepts, but it also activates the abstract meanings of those concepts -- hard may mean difficult, heavy may mean serious," explained senior study author John Bargh, a professor of psychology and cognitive science at Yale.

In another experiment, researchers found that sitting in hard, cushion-less chairs made people tougher price negotiators and less willing to compromise than people placed in softer, more comfortable chairs.

Researchers had 86 participants haggle over the price of a new car with a sticker price of $16,500.

After their first offers were rejected, participants made second offers. Those sitting on unyielding wooden chairs raised their offered price by less than $900, while those in padded chairs upped their offer by more than $1,200.

The rigidity of the chair, researchers said, appears to have influenced people to take a "hard line" in negotiations.

The study is published in the June 25 issue of Science.

Phrases that use physical sensations to describe abstract concepts -- such as "a rough day" or "a warm person" -- are such an ingrained part of our everyday speech that we hardly notice we're doing it, Bargh said.

That may be because these impressions of the physical world begin to take root in infancy, eventually forming a "scaffold for the development of conceptual knowledge," Bargh said.

At birth, babies use their hands to acquire information about their environment, and research has shown that when young infants touch various objects, they can tell the difference between heavy and light objects, rough vs. smooth, warm vs. cold and hard vs. soft.

"The perception of tactile information is the first sense to develop in utero," said Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. "It makes sense that there are going to be these cross-connections between what we feel with our hands and these concepts of language."

It's well accepted that our other senses are connected with abstract language -- what we see, hear and even smell, of course, stir up all sorts of thoughts and memories -- but the impact of sense of touch has been less appreciated, Bargh said.

A third experiment by the Yale team found that people who'd handled rough jigsaw puzzle pieces were more likely to describe an interaction between two people as adversarial, compared to folks who'd first handled smooth pieces.

And a 2008 study by the same team showed that people were more likely to judge strangers as warm and trustworthy if they (the observers) were also holding a warm drink at the time.

There may be some lessons here for helping to get things to go your way, Bargh said.

"Someone said the best way to negotiate is to give a hot cup of coffee and sit them in a soft chair," he said. "The warmth helps them trust you, the soft chair will make the negotiator more yielding."

SOURCES: John Bargh, Ph.D., professor, psychology and cognitive science, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.; Tiffany Field, Ph.D., director, Touch Research Institute at University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami; June 25, 2010, Science

Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Isaiah 55:1-2

If you are thirsty, come and drink water! If you don't have any money, come, eat what you want! Drink wine and milk without paying a cent. Why waste your money on what really isn't food? Why work hard for something that doesn't satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and you will enjoy the very best foods.

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God,
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all
The works Thy Hand hath made,
I see the stars,
I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy pow'r throughout
The universe displayed;

When through the woods
And forest glades I wander
I hear the birds
Sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down
From lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook
And feel the gentle breeze;

When Christ shall come,
With shouts of acclamation,
And take me home,
What joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow
In humble adoration
And there proclaim,
"My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul,
My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!

Lyrics Carl Boberg
English Translation Stuart K. Hine, 1899

I don't have any specific reasons for it, but I keep singing this song in my head all day.  Since I happen to consider this as being one of the greatest hymns of all time I rather enjoy it.  Beats the heck out of having some other tune rattling around inside the mind.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Blueprint for Life

Sitting in the cab of a dump truck can give one a lot of time for reflection.  Something that crossed my feeble mind this morning is how like driving a dump truck can be like my life.

We are moving dirt (today) from what will become a settling pond to what is now a low spot that has to be raised.  We dump the dirt, just plain brown subsoil with rocks ranging up to about 1.5 feet in diameter, and then drive over it.  Occasionally, a big dozer then runs over it, evens it out a bit, then a compactor goes over it.  But most of the time it is a VERY bumpy ride, and you have to go very slowly and hang onto the steering wheel.

The thing is, I don't know the exact extent of the area that needs to be raised, nor how high.  I just dump the dirt where they tell me.  I could go look at the blueprints.  I grew up around construction, and I know just enough to be dangerous, so I might be able to figure the prints out.  Then again, I might read them wrong.  So, I keep my eyes on the foreman when I'm bringing a load in.  If he doesn't direct me, I use my best judgment and place the load where I think it goes.  If he directs me, I place the load where he wants it.

The point?  The Bible is our blueprint, and God is the foreman.  God appoints others to act in His place to give us direction (a couple of times I have relayed messages from the foreman to the other volunteer drivers) or He may give us explicit directions, or He may expect us to use our best judgment based on our understanding of the plans.  But we do need to look at the plans, and we do need to keep our eyes on the Foreman so that He can direct us.  And we seldom have a view of the overall plan.  I keep wishing that the dozer operator would come over and smooth us out a road, but that is not in the plans, and the dozer has other things to do that are in the plans.

I have to accept that the foreman knows what he is doing.  I have to accept that God knows what He is doing.  I have to understand that I do not have the full set of blueprints, just the part of them that is important for me to know.  And I need to work at understanding the ones I have, and rely on God to direct me in the parts where I don't have or understand the plan.  And sometimes that means I will be driving over a VERY bumpy road, and the steering wheel might kick back sometimes, and my head might bounce off the ceiling and my butt off the floor.

But God has the plans.  THAT is the important part.

Update, a few days later:

I did go read the plans, and actually spent some time with the excavator operator measuring and marking.  I learned that after the foot or so that we had already raised we still needed another 1-1/2 feet of fill.  And that's exactly what we need to do, spend some time with someone who is willing to teach us, and be teachable, and learn what the Bible means.  And then go follow the directions!!!

Psalms 139:1-24

You have looked deep into my heart, LORD, and you know all about me.

You know when I am resting or when I am working, and from heaven you discover my thoughts.

You notice everything I do and everywhere I go. Before I even speak a word, you know what I will say, and with your powerful arm you protect me from every side.

I can't understand all of this! Such wonderful knowledge is far above me.

Where could I go to escape from your Spirit or from your sight? If I were to climb up to the highest heavens, you would be there. If I were to dig down to the world of the dead you would also be there. Suppose I had wings like the dawning day and flew across the ocean. Even then your powerful arm would guide and protect me. Or suppose I said, "I'll hide in the dark until night comes to cover me over." But you see in the dark because daylight and dark are all the same to you.

You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me.

Everything you do is marvelous! Of this I have no doubt. Nothing about me is hidden from you!

I was secretly woven together deep in the earth below, but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed.

Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do.

Your thoughts are far beyond my understanding, much more than I could ever imagine. I try to count your thoughts, but they outnumber the grains of sand on the beach. And when I awake, I will find you nearby.

How I wish that you would kill all cruel and heartless people and protect me from them! They are always rebelling and speaking evil of you. You know I hate anyone who hates you, LORD, and refuses to obey. They are my enemies too, and I truly hate them.

Look deep into my heart, God, and find out everything I am thinking. Don't let me follow evil ways, but lead me in the way that time has proven true.

So Be It!!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Job Search

As of 7:30 AM local on the State Employment website there are 468 new listings TODAY in the "Computers" Category, of which I qualify for 36.   That is the most I have seen at one time, and especially lately when it seems there have only been one or two postings daily.  I'll be busy filling out forms for a while today.

Later:  took until 11:30 PM, but 30 applications, resumes, and cover letters are done.  Pray that one of them is the one I'm looking for.  That is more apps in one day then I think I've had the opportunity to submit in any week ever.  5 of the postings were already closed by the time I got to them.

Psalm 46:1-3

God is our mighty fortress, always ready to help in times of trouble.
And so, we won't be afraid!
Let the earth tremble and the mountains tumble into the deepest sea.
Let the ocean roar and foam, and its raging waves shake the mountains.

I must remember that God is always ready to help so I don't need to worry about the future.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Psalm 42

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"
These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon--from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me-- a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?"
My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, "Where is your God?"
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

I MUST ALWAYS  maintain my focus and my hope on my living God.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Covenant

The Church I attend has started a new building project, all volunteer, so, of course, I have volunteered to move dirt.