The Mayonnaise Jar & Two Cups of Coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle; when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember The Mayonnaise Jar & Two Cups of Coffee:

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.

Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions -- things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you."

So... Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play With your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

"Take care of the golf! balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Apple - The Forbidden Fruit?

More than 2 decades ago when Personal Computers (PC) was in its infancy and when Windows was well, just a window, the Apple Lisa was introduced to the world in January 1983 at a cost of US$9,995 (equiv to $20,893 in 2007).


The interface then looked like something out of science fiction. Computers we know then were just a green screen with text and a keyboard (even that was advanced compared to the teletype). The Apple Lisa was a powerful personal computer with a Graphical User Interface (GUI). The heart of the system was a Motorola CPU MC68000 running at 5 megahertz with a RAM of 1MB (those days anything above 64KB was a WOW! factor). Dual floppy 5.25 inch 860KB drives and a Hard Disk Drive with 5MB... Another WOW! cuz most were still running OS & programs from two 360KB floppy drives. There's more; Detachable keyboard with numeric keypad and a mouse... now why is there a rodent with the machine?

The Lisa project was started at Apple in 1978 and evolved into a project to design a powerful personal computer with business users in mind. Contrary to popular belief, the Macintosh is not a direct descendant of Lisa, although there are obvious similarities between the systems and a later version of the Lisa was sold as the Macintosh XL. Although the documentation with the original Lisa only ever referred to it as The Lisa, Apple officially stated that the name was an acronym for Local Integrated Software Architecture. Since Steve Jobs' first daughter (born in 1978) was named Lisa Jobs, it is normally inferred that the name also had a personal association, and perhaps that the acronym was invented later to fit the name.

Why does everyone seem so transfixed with the "new" Vista? The technology in Apple exists long before windows was a single line of code and is far more superior in aspects that count... except for the cost then. Now its almost comparable but for what superiority Apple offers, the difference in cost has become negligible.

So now, looking away from the "dark side of the force", behold what lies ahead:

Affordable



Desirable


Now waiting for moolah and the Mac OS X Leopard to make its appearance.

What does it take?

Q: How difficult can it be to hold a meeting?
A: As difficult as getting the commitment.

If its not part of their job scope (i.e. they don't get damned for not attending) and if they are not paid for it, might as well ask for the moon. You are more likely to get the moon.

Music for the soul

Ever since Cusco Apurimac III - Spirit, Nature & Pride I was hooked to the sounds of the Native Americans.

Here's one from Alborada - Ananau. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and still do.



Ananau, ananau
Nispaniwashkanky
Ñuqallapiñam chay ña wiky.
Ananau, ananau
Nispaniwashkanky
Wiñaypaqchum ñuqa qawasqaiky
May runallam kakuchkanky
Kaycunallapy waqanaypaq.
Wañuptyqa ñakawanky
Manam munanichu chay pasayta.

Award conferred

Curryegg gave me an award! Read about it here.

Strange how the rants and ramblings of one can be conferred an award but that's the way the world turns these days. I say strange as one who grew up thinking diaries are private items. Today it is blog about it for the world to read. You might say it is also a form of therapy. As the saying goes, "A problem shared is a problem halved."

Well, if that is true it is bad news for the shrinks out there... haha. Speaking of shinks, here's one from the net:

"I've got problems. Every time I go to bed I think there's somebody under it. I'm scared. I think I'm going crazy."

"Just put yourself in my hands for one year," said the shrink. "Come talk to me three times a week, and we should be able to get rid of those fears."

"How much do you charge?"
"Eighty dollars per visit, replied the doctor."
"I'll sleep on it," said Bubba.

Six months later the doctor met Bubba on the street. "Why didn't you ever come to see me about those fears you were having?" asked the psychiatrist.

"Well Eighty bucks a visit three times a week for a year is an awful lot of money ! A bartender cured me for $10. I was so happy to have saved all that money that I went and bought me a new pickup!"

"Is that so! And how, may I ask, did a bartender cure you?"

"He told me to cut the legs off the bed! Ain't nobody under there now !!!"

And the moral of the story is?
Go figure ;-)