SWCAMBORNE

I posted my views on the new Obama administrations new immigration policy on Rational Immigration

Exerpt: “So the best deal that the Obama administration have offered Hispanics is: No Dream Act, no chance to work legally and if you have an interaction with the authorities you might still get deported.  This is from the supposed friend of the Hispanics.”

How we think cattle live:

How they really live:

Sometimes we just need to see a farm picture.

”When people are bored it is primarily with themselves.”

Eric Hoffer

The Longshoreman Philosopher

More piles of stones

For many years I have been on the board of the Weizmann Day School here in Pasadena.  At our first meeting of the new year last week we had a speaker on the topic of fundraising.  I was skeptical, of course, but the presentation was excellent.  It was put on by Jennifer Weinstock of  PEJE (Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education) and she really had some good ideas.

My best take away was  an explanation of the apparent dichotomy between how bad it feels to ask someone to give to your organization and how good it feels when you are the giver.  She suggested that the error is in your perception of what you are doing when you ask.  You are not putting the other person on the spot.  You are giving them a new option so that they can, if they want, get that good feeling of having supported an organization whose values they share.  In this view asking for money is doing others a favor.

Another one was that board members of charitable organizations should give generously.  How much is generously?  Simple, the organization should be one of your top three charities.

And finally we worked on the idea of telling stories rather than giving facts.  People hear stories they only hear facts that support what they already believe.  We each had to write a story that we would be willing to tell a potential donor that transmitted why we were passionate about the school.  I’ll share my story in a later post.  It wasn’t the best one in the group but I have it written down and it will make you want to give.

We are still looking for the perfect painting of the Golden Hills of California.  In the meantime I’m taking some more pictures as we travel around.  Soon you’ll see this batch as mastheads on the blog.

I took these while we were puttering back from a trip to Sausalito to attend a wedding.  I only took a few pictures in Sausalito because the entire time we were there it was cloudy and cold.  The wedding was a really wonderful and joyful event but I forgotten how cold the Northern California Coast is in the Summer.  But the foothills inland from South of Carmel to San Luis Obisbo were warm, sunny and beautiful.

Life is Good

In my little garden there are some large sunflowers

Earlier pictures:

This Month

2007

“In much of America CNN has replaced Muzak as the noise in the background.”

Rob Long

NR Online

In January the Changing Boundaries map exhibit was at Cal State LA.  And when I went to pick it up I got a ticket for parking at the spot where I had to park to pick up the exhibit.

Even though I had left a sign on the windshield and had a grad student watching the van.

Two weeks ago I was at Arizona State University in Tempe arranging to take the map exhibit there.  I parked incorrectly and got this ticket:

With a waiver on the back:

Which University do you think makes more friends and get more donations.

btw  I went all of the way through the appeal process at CSULA and lost at every turn.  What they don’t know is that I’ll take the ticket cost out of future donations to the University.  I was a relatively generous donor for the last few years.  But more importantly because of the internet I can badmouth Cal State LA’s parking enforcement process on the internet.

A word of advise:  Don’t let the police run a school.

Sometime it is hard to understand life. This chart forwarded by Wally G. applies mathematical precision and explains everything.

“Even messhall food looks good to the famished.”

Craig Mullaney in

The Unforgiving Minute

Painting on the Postcard by

Cindy Packard Richmond

My dinner with Cindy