ElementalTruths.Com ©

If you make your living brokering information like I do you soon find your are require to do quite a bit of research. That’s fine most of the time but I find that more and more often I’m frustrated by the unwieldy organization of information out there. In fact, much of it isn’t organized at all. Some of the folks with the best information are impossible to find because they don’t follow a structure to share their information. As a result, I frequently end up utilizing Library of Congress resources. I realize it is not the most up to date source but at least it is organized.

I have organized many of my own books and materials according to the same system. I am listing the general outline here to assist you in finding material and to provide a guide for organizing your own. Let’s face it, you can only go so far with alphabetical order and categories tags. Eventually I want all my similar topic data in the same location, much the way chapters in a book are focused on central ideas. In fact, that is the reason I have “somewhere between 000 and 299 in the Dewey Decimal System” on my home page. Because, much of Elemental Truths is about subject matter you would find in that category.

I’m planning to follow some form of the very old system listed below when I reconfigure. Let me know what you think.

Here goes.

A — General Works — collections, encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.
B — Philosophy,Psychology, Religion — including logic, ethics, etc.
C — Auxiliary Sciences of History — history of civilization, archeology, genealogy.
D — History (General) and History of Europe
E — History: America — U.S local, British America, Dutch America, Spanish America
F — History:America — U.S., Latin America
G — Geology, Anthropology, Recreation — maps, physical geography, oceanography,anthropology
H — Social Sciences — statistics, economics,communities.
J — Political Sciences — local, municipal governments, political institutions
K — Law — general law, religious law, law of nations
L — Education — history, theory and practice, special aspects
M — Music and Books on Music — literature on music, music instruction and study
N — Fine Arts — visual arts, architecture, decorative arts
P — Language and Literature — linguistics, classical languages, modern languages
Q — Science — astronomy, physics, chemistry, zoology
R — Medicine — history, public aspects, training
S — Agriculture — plants, forestry, aquaculture
T — Technology — engineering, electronics
U — Military Science — infantry, cavalry, artillery
V — Naval Science — organization, administration, navigation, ship building
Z — Bibliography — writing, book industry, library

Okay, this is not my usual subject matter. But, I stumbled across some intriguing stuff and I just couldn’t leave it alone.

So, here is the gist. A healthcare institute and several universities decided to do a study on (get ready) gay brothers. They wanted to know whether the reason the brothers were gay was psychological or physiological.

Here is one of the givens one of the chief investigators, Alan R. Sanders, MD postulated.

“Sexual orientation is a fundamental trait of great scientific interest. Understanding the origins of sexual orientation will enable us to learn a great deal about sexual motivation, sexual identity, and gender identity and sex differences.”

He further states,

“Earlier studies suggest that homosexual orientation runs in families; 8 to 12% of brothers of gay men are also gay, compared to 2 to 4% of men in the general population. Twin studies suggest that this pattern is largely due to heredity rather than environment, but we cannot be sure of this unless we actually located genes that affect sexual orientation.

Our study will look for genes that may influence some brothers to become homosexual, as well as those genes that may influence other brothers to become heterosexual.”

So, what’s the point? I guess basically, I’m interested in why they want to know. Are they building a genomic “gaydar” to detect homosexuality in vitro? If so, is there a gene therapy to “ungay” the fetus? What is the point, really?

When I served in the military no one was interested in your sexuality, other than they would really prefer if you had none at all. Yes, I know that was primitive and inconsiderate of us. But, consider the next series of enlightened attitudes. We went from a Neanderthal ignorance, to a progressive “don’t ask don’t tell” (remember that disaster?) to a truly advanced philosophy of, “No comment.”

Again, I say, “What’s all the hubbub, bub?” I distinctly remember thinking in my unmarried youth, “gay guys = less competitionon = more girls for me.”

Since then I have become a little more sophisticated. But, not much. Let’s face it; I’m from

One of the staff members at a facility I work came to me with the following scenario.

“My gay friend is getting married. Should I go to the ceremony, even though I am against same sex marriage?”

Well, I only had to ask one question to solve this dilemma. “Are they serving salmon or chicken at the reception?”

No, seriously. I had to ask her if she was planning to tell her friend why she would not attend the wedding.

She replied that she didn’t feel it was her place to make such a value judgment.

??????

For some reason people don’t seem to get that everything we do and say is a value judgment of one kind or another. The key is; are you willing to take a stand for your values?

Another situation I ran into took place a few years ago when I was working in corrections. Now, people will tell you that homosexual activity is rampant in the correctional system. I worked several years in corrections, and if it is, it is kept very close to the down low ( pun intended).

However, I do remember in processing one young man who was a self professed homosexual. He referred to himself as “Peaches.” The other residents in the facility referred to him as “Peaches.” The officer who transported him in, referred to him as “Peaches.”

The majority of the population went to great pains to display that they held no truck with the young mans’ “situation.” It was difficult to find him sleeping accommodations, or a place in the dining hall, because none of the other “residents” wished to get very close to him. I was extremely amused when one day after several minor related altercations he stood up and made the following announcement.

“Gay is not catching, and I don’t want any of you sweaty guys anyway.”

Apparently, he was willing to take a stand.

So, what is my point? I guess I’m saying it is pretty arrogant to think you can analyze a person based on his genetic code. And, even if you can, what is the point if you are not going to take a stand?

My personal opinion that identification of the gene (if it exists) is a complete waste of time unless you have a purpose for identifying it. What is the point of Dr. X saying, “Look, that fetus has the gay gene.” Dr. Y saying, “Yep, sure is.”? None, unless you’re planning to DO SOMETHING with the information.

Who decides what characteristics are attractive…Oprah?

I was recently the unwilling audience to a discussion between two of my colleagues. The topic of the controversy was the appropriate manner method, frequency and procedure for shaping and maintaining eyebrows. As you may have guessed the participants in this discussion were female and my opinion was solicited as the “male perception.” When my response indicated that the depth of which men concentrate on the eyebrows of women is the basic question and reply of, “Does she have two? That’s good enough for me,” my input was summarily dismissed as defective and not to be considered the norm for the average male.

As my mind is somewhat linear when it comes to processing, this encounter started me upon a journey to discover what justification do we actually have for what is considered beautiful.

Here are my observations.

The definition of beauty is fluid and easily distorted by society. Chinese women are a prime example. Years ago small feet were consider to be a trait of beauty. Therefor, in order to meet this perception of beauty Chinese women would bind their feet with tightly wound strips of linen. This, in turn, over time caused the bones of the feet to grow in a manner that created an extremely high arch and difficulty walking without pain.

Consider now the unattainable perception of beauty in western culture. Models are so thin scores of young girls and women have succumbed to illnesses such as bulimia and anorexia in an effort to attain that unnatural state of thinness.

A historical perspective.

In ancient Mediterranean societies a certain amount of fat was considered beauty. It indicated the person was well off enough not to have to work.

In Northern Europe during the Middle Ages, tanned skin was seen as being unattractive an course. Consequently the wealthy sought to be as pale as possible.

The Ohagura (a Japanese culture) felt dark teeth were beautiful and so dyed theirs black. A similar incident occurred in Europe when sugar became prohibitively expensive and so darkened (cavity) teeth were a sign of beauty.

In our time symmetry has become the gold standard. The greater the similarity between the right and left side of the face the greater the beauty attributed to that person.

Oh to be young and symmetrical.

Here is an excerpt from the New York Times that does a great job of putting in words what I’m trying to accomplish with the Water Cure Experiment in Self Discipline.

“Learning to bring your behavior under control even with arbitrary rules does build character in that it makes you better able to achieve the things you want to achieve later on,’’ said Dr. Baumeister. “Self-control is a limited resource. People make all these different New Year’s resolutions, but they are all pulling off from the same pool of your willpower. It’s better to make one resolution and stick to it than make five.’’

Read the whole story…

I guess great minds really do think alike. But, remember Elemental Truths scooped the NYT this time.

There are a lot of great folks out there writing on the importance of initiating, building and maintaining positive business and personal relationships (Phil Gerbyshak, Rosa Say, Kristine Cane, Liz Straus ).

I have also written quite a bit on inter and intra personal relationships and how their structure is founded the make of your underlying temperament.

In fact behavior analysts, counselors, columnist, business coaches and therapists give so much time to this topic that we occasionally overlook one of the most important elemental truth of relationships. Some of them should be fun!

With that in mind, I offer you this wonderful little quiz to assess your meanness factor. But, be warned American Chronicle, CNN, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges say Americans are getting ruder all the time (except for you and I of course )

Grab a pencil and rate your fate.

Enjoy!

1. I use my mobile phone in public places.
a. only when it is urgent.
b. occasionally, but I tip out of the room.
c. frequently
d. all the time and loud enough to be heard over the annoying background noise.

2. I’m short with sales clerks.
a. never.
b. when they are rude first.
c. it’s the only way to get them to do their job.

3. When traffic lanes are merging.
a. I wave in the other car.
b. I hold my ground.
c. I swerve at anyone who gets near MY lane.

4. My language is such that
a. when someone named Richard enters the room I blush.
b. I can get a little spicy when the occasion warrants
c. Larry Flynn thinks I’m too raunchy

5. When someone blocks my path
a. I say excuse me and wait until the path clears.
b. I say excuse me as I brush passed.
c. I push through mumbling about being in the way.

6. When telephone solicitors call
a. I say no thank you and wait for them to finish.
b. I say no thank you and hang up.
c. I hang up HARD!

7. When riding public transportation I give up my seat
a. Usually
b. Occasionally
c. Never, handicaps get all the best parking spots anyway.

8. An automobile horn is for
a. dire emergencies
b. warning of danger.
c. a means of self expression.

9. When my child creates a disturbance while we are dining out
a. I quiet her immediately and take her outside if necessary.
b. I give her time to settle down.
c. I know she is too adorable to bother anyone.

10. When in restaurants that offer after dinner mints with a spoon for self service I use the spoon.
a. Ugh! Are you kidding? Other people have BREATHED on those mints. Disgusting!
b. sometimes.
c. I can grab more “fer later” if I use my hands.

11. I talk during movies
a. NEVER.
b. When I miss an important piece of dialog.
c. I add colorful commentary for the enjoyment of the entire audience.

Now you can score yourself (what you thought I was going to do it?)

a = 4 points
b = 3 points
c = 2 points
d = 1 point(s)

36-44 point total:
You should be writing/blogging/pod casting/lecturing/teaching/preaching about manners. You are the King/Queen of work and play well with others.

30-35 point total:
You are usually polite but extremes may push you to be a bit snarky at times.

20-29 point total:
Sometimes, and more frequently lately, folks just get on your last nerve.

11-19 point total:
Clear the decks! Take cover! Incoming! Get the idea? Basically, you’re just a big ole meanie.

How do your quiz scores compare to what you anticipate?

I love this type of quizzes. Do you have one to share?

• iMac
• iPhone
• iMovie
• iBook
• iSight
• iTunes
• iWork
• iDVD
• iPhoto
• iLife
• iPod
• iCan’tStandItAnymore…

Have you been caught up in the iCult? Do you find yourself composing many sentences the begin with a lower case i? If so, you can’t really be blamed. The iproduct marketing strategy has become the most successful since Kleenex became synomous with tissue in the United States and Hoover became interchangeable (and ultimately became verb) in the United Kingdom. The campaign has been so completely and thoroughly successful that we are only marginally aware the other products exist in the same market place.

The iMarket strategy has so insinuated itself into the media that the terms MP3 player and iPod are in all practicality interchangeable.

But, how was this total market domination accomplished? The answer lies in the marketer have a complete and thorough understanding of the three elements of the human temperament.

The iIndustry has striven to strike the perfect balance in appealing to our elemental human needs in the realms of Control, Inclusion and Affection. They have so thoroughly stroke the id in these areas that people associate the products themselves with satisfaction of these underlying needs. Pavlov has nothing on these folks.

Consider a marketing strategy so well devised that it appeals to you desire to control the stimulus you encounter by providing total control of what you see and hear instantaneously. Consider a marketing strategy so precise that is addressing your need to include others and be included by others by the instantaneously sharing files of common auditory and visual stimuli. Consider a marketing plan so intuitive that it is implied that you can find your perfect counterpart by passionately seeking out the stimuli of your choice at it source share points that are designed to bring together individuals with the same interest in auditory and visual stimuli.

Seth, I don’t know if it is viral but I know it is brilliant.

Here is a 12 question survey to help you assess your level of stress. Most of us agree we could handle our level of stress better than we do. This is a true/false test to help you take a closer look at your stress management.

Scores between 0 and 10 indicate you probably handle most of the stress in your life pretty well. Or, at least you know how to. Most folks who score at this level are pretty cool customers and take most anything in stride.

Scores between 11 and 23 indicate your probably as adept at handling stress as the next person. You may occasionally feel overwhelmed but are usually able to work your with through it. It might be well for you to add some stress relievers (down time, exercise, FUN) into your life.

Scores between 24 and 32 indicate you have trouble dealing with the unexpected or overly heavy workloads. You may be in need of a formal stress management class. Also, finding out if you are in the right profession for your needs with a temperament assessment (choleric, sanguine, melancholic, phlegmatic, supine) would be extremely beneficial to you.

1. I sometimes feel frustrated by daily issues (long lines, etc). I can put these things out of my mind and get on with my day.

2. I have (or have had) stress related ailments.

3. I meditate or use active relaxation techniques on a regular basis.

4. I may initially panic at unexpected problems but quickly settle down and set about solving the problem.

5. After a rough day at work I have trouble unwinding at home.

6. I usually look for, see and share the funny side of stressful situations and use laughter to get myself and my coworkers through it.

7. I occasionally worry but can usually stop myself from obsessing on things outside my control.

8. I tend to get frustrated and distraught when too many problems happen at once.

9. I occasionally overdue it at work but I consciously schedule time to unwind and recharge.

10. Deadlines don’t usually bother me. I just focus on getting the job done.

11. I’m a “worry wart.” I often obsess about what might happen.

12. Routine problems at home and work don’t fluster me. I usually take what comes.

For every TRUE on items 2,5,8 and 11 add 5 points.
For every TRUE on items 1,4,7 and 9 add 3 points.
For every TRUE on items 3,6,10, and 12 add 0 points.

Total your score and refer to the guide above.

You can go to a lot of different pages that will automatically calucate your weight to health risk ratio. But, no one really tells you how to do it on your own. So, how can you double check the results.

Well, here you go.

Body Mass Index (BMI) = (weight in pounds times 703) divided by (your height in inches times your height in inches)

Like this

BMI= (weight * 703)/(height inches squared)

Below 18.5 underweight

18.5 - 24.9 normal

25 - 29.9 over weight

30 & above obese

In many of the businesses in which I consult and work with there is a them, “We are building this airplane as we are driving it down the runway.” This has become the mantra of American businesses and the American way of life. But, it hasn’t always been the way in this country and it isn’t necessarily the way business is conducted in every other nation of the world.

Did you know there is a train track that crosses Alps that was built before a train existed that was capable of making such a crossing?

That, to me, is a tremendous act of faith. The same type of faith required to build any successful venture. In fact, every person who begins building a blog with the intention of creating a business presence or helping others has undertaken just such a leap of faith.

It takes an incredible amount of faith and an extremely optimistic mindset to devote hours to the conceptualization of a web page. The effort is redoubled by the intense work required to design the layout, structure the monetization plan and make this concept taken from an idea in your head to a visual representation which is published for all to view, critique and criticize. The journey does not end at that point, in fact the journey never ends, it continues ever onward as you daily create material to offer to those who come to your site for useful insight and resource. It is daunting.

As you can see, it is not a task well suited to one who tries building the airplane as it taxis down the runway toward takeoff. Instead it is more like the construction of a railroad track across a terrain so inhospitable the the engine that can traverse it has not even been built yet.

Imagine how much all the more is required to choose a plan of direction for your life to pursue.

I am trying to adjust my thinking along the same lines. I found that I was hectically trying to build readership by doing things that I thought would bring a fast audience. In doing so, I may have lost sight of my reason for building in the first place, to share what I felt would be of a help to others.

The analogy could be drawn to the motel bible. It’s there. In the night stand. It often goes unnoticed until it is needed. But, when it is needed it is strong and dependable. I am doing my best to make certain Elemental Truths is here for you, strong and dependable.

What about you? Are you a barnstorming pilot or an long sighted engineer?