What do you call more than one paradox?
Paradise
Back on a desktop
I’ve now got a desktop PC, actually a Supermicro server box, as my own personal computer. This time around, it’s running Linux Mint. I’m setting this blog to my browser home page, in an effort to start writing more. And gaming, plenty of gaming…
Hang in there!
Better hold music
After spending about a half-hour on hold for an Anthem agent yesterday, I came to the conclusion that I could record better hold music than what I was listening to. They had a somewhat dramatic piano sonata, interrupted periodically by the typical recording of a woman’s voice, “Your call will be answered by the next available agent; please continue holding.” This was irritating to say the least.
The accompaniment should instead be something like Brian Eno’s Ambient 1: Music for Airports, and the vocal message should be part of the ambience, sung or spoken to go with it, rather than interrupt it. This would be more calming for callers who may be likely to be frustrated to begin with. Continuous mellow, integrated hold music would also be far better than silence, in which you have to check your phone to make sure you’re still connected, or silence interrupted every so often by someone’s voice. Express Scripts had a woman’s voice saying, “Please hold…”, every 5 seconds.
We can do better.
Welcome!
For me, it’s “Welcome back!” FacilitatingParadox.com was my blog home while I was in seminary from 2003 to 2009. Fortunately, the Internet Archive Wayback Machine has dozens of historic captures of my old site. (When I let the domain registration lapse someone else grabbed it and demanded a lot more money to get it back…)
Returning to blogging
So, I’m not alone in getting back to blogging. I may still resurrect my EdTech at OWU blog, and there’s definitely one in the works at DUUF.org. But this, and my new Twitter handle, @ParadoxMidwife, are where you’ll find my solid day’s thoughts.
I look forward to the conversations!
Hello world!
Welcome to my new blog. This is my first post, slightly edited from the default sample post that comes with a new installation. Stay tuned for more blogging to come!
BEYOND HERE ARE POSTS FROM MY ORIGINAL BLOG, 2003-2009
What Excites me About Socks
(This entry requires at least a modicum of explanation… I had started a draft of a paper on what excites me about knitting socks, but had to leave it for several eventful days, and now that I return to it I can’t quite remember where I put that yarn. I was more or less brainstorming extemporaneously, rather than logically putting my socked foot in my mouth. This is what remains, and I’m undecided on what I’m going to do with it…)
What excites me most about knitting socks is summed up in a term I have coined: sockism. The lack of any toes in most socks and the fact that we don’t have opposable thumbs on our feet is vibrant and refreshing. To start with the foundation that all members of the community have two feet to stand on and that we all have ten toes (or embrace anyone who doesn’t.) This is the basis of true peace, lasting shalom. This is most easily described and understood as making nice wool socks amongst ourselves. Such warm, wool socks, especially when they are bright and colorful, have the potential to bridge differences of belief and unite disparate podiatricalogical and sole perspectives.
I am excited about the truth in the old proverb that you can judge a foot by its sock. Our skimble-skamble heritage affirms this by nodding to people’s feet, not their meat. As someone who stands on my own two feet, I believe it is my path to assist people in assessing their sock options based on the toes and the heels they bring to their lives, through their feet, ankles and shins. This process of legwork is much more open and therefore rewarding in knitting socks because it is not tied down to any particular color or texture of thread.
And yet, contemporary fiddlesticks are inheritors of a whangdoodle heritage that we should be proud of. Historically the flimflam and flummadiddle organizations have been on the forefront of sock justice and foot covering movements amongst most jiggery-pokery organizations. Our socks have been prophetic and inspirational.