Best Bathrooms Around the World

As seen on NBC 10 News at 11 p.m.:

Links: Best Bathrooms

POSTED: 8:02 pm EST November 30, 2005

Bathrooms

Link: www.thebathroomdiaries.com

Link: www.wheretostopwheretogo.com

Getting a Human on the Phone

New as of Feb. 2, 2006: go to gethuman.com

The IVR Cheat Sheet by Paul English
www.paulenglish.com/ivr/
Includes: finance company, phone number, steps to find a human

The IVR Cheat Sheet
Thursday, 2-February-2006

The "get human" fury unleashed by over one million consumers has become too great to be handled by the sole blogger who started this campaign in 2005.

As of today, the IVR Cheat Sheet™ is being shut down...

...and is now replaced with a new free site powered by over one million consumers who demand human contact.

Please change your links to http://gethuman.com.

—Paul English

A Chance to Repent

The good die young that they may not degenerate; the wicked live on that they may have a chance to repent, or to produce a virtuous progeny.

-Zohar, Genesis, 56b

from 'A Treasury of Jewish Quotations,' edited by Joseph L. Baron, Jason Aronson Inc.

(from Nancy D.)

Living for Others

"She's the sort of woman who lives for others -- you can always tell the others by their hunted expression."

-- C. S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters

Expose yourself to Enthusiasm!

from a sermon by John Galloway,
Wayne Presbyterian Church, Wayne, PA, Sept. 4, 2005

"Expose yourself to enthusiasm!"

There is awesome spiritual power in enthusiasm.

St. Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you....

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of you.

"Saint Theresa is known as the Saint of the Little Ways. Meaning she believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love She is also the patron Saint of flower growers and florists. She is represented by roses.”

http://www.cotwest.com/1/COTW
/prayers.asp?NsID=2995

Mother Theresa: Love Them Anyway

Way of Life

Author: Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, some could destroy overnight; Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you‘ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway.

Revenge

Quotes from Juvenal (Decimus Junius Juvenal)

Revenge is always the weak pleasure of a little and narrow mind.
[Lat., Semper et infirmi est animi exiguique voluptas Ultio.]
Source: Satires (XIII, 189)

You are not to do evil that good may come of it.
[Lat., Non faciat malum, ut inde veniat bonum.]
Source: Satires (XIII, 209)

http://www.worldofquotes.com/author
/Juvenal-(Decimus-Junius-Juvenal)/1/

You heal well

Jan. 1995

After my gynecologist examined my scar, he said:
"You heal well."

Saturday Collection

quotes from Saturday:

"Discipline enables people to experience success."
~ VisionQuest

"When Life gives you scraps, make Quilts."
~ Mom's stationery

"We can't work 20 hours a day anymore," says Matalin, 41. "We've got a dog now. We have responsibilities."
~ Mary Mataline, wife of James Carville, explaining why she and her husband didn't plan to work in the '96 presidential elections as they had in the past.
Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 6, 1995

Oprah's Success Secret

"just be really good at being yourself"

Terrell Owens permanently suspended

Despite his outstanding talent, Terrell Owens was permanently suspended from the Philadelphia Eagles for conduct detrimental to the team (disruptive conduct, negative remarks, etc.).

Donovan McNabb's reaction:
We will be better off without him. Last night we played as a team.

Inform, Reflect, Crusade, Connect

"I cling to a simple formula I devised year ago to describe what a good newspaper ought to do:
Inform, reflect, crusade, connect."

Jane Eisner, American Rhythms
from her farewell column
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Sunday, Nov. 6, 2005

Japanese Tea Ceremony

The four basic principles of the Japanese tea ceremony:

harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility

Chado--The Way of Tea
www.art.uiuc.edu/tea/

also:

http://www.art.uiuc.edu/galleries/japanhouse
/classes/chado/university/project1.cfm
art 209 : tea ceremony and zen aesthetics : Final projects
CHADO INVITATION : VIKY CHI
Project description. You're Invited to Attend a Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony
Please Join Us for a Cup of Tea.

The Japanese tea ceremony is a simple process in which the host serves the guest a carefully prepared bowl of tea. Within this process, you are given the opportunity to revitalize your spirit, identifying with your own true self, as well as with others sharing the tea experience.

The ceremonial aspects of Chado are simple, unadorned with any unnecessary objects or actions. The process consists of the host's careful preparation of a bowl of tea, showing great concentration with every movement. The tea utensils are revered with the highest consideration, with careful cleansing and handling. Powdered green tea is measured into a specific tea bowl chosen for the occasion. The host adds hot water and, with a tea whisk, blends the tea until it is fit to serve to the guests. The tea is then served and received in a manner that communicates respect and gratitude from both the host and the guest.

Every component of the tea ceremony is prepared and performed with the greatest consideration-- with one's mind, heart and spirit. This pureness of the Way of Tea is the Zen approach to every aspect of one's life.

Please relax and enjoy yourself today as we share a bowl of tea.

Guest Procedures

The guests approach the host's home through a slightly open garden gate. A small, garden path called a roji leads to the tea hut. Roji, translated as "dewy ground", is where the guest is able to discard the unnecessary burdens of the outside world, clearing their minds for the tea ceremony.

A tsukubai is placed near the entrance of tea hut. At this low, stone water basin, the guests stoop down to wash their hands and mouth, symbolically purifying themselves.

The guests enter the tea hut by crawling through a small doorway called the nijiriguchi. The nijiriguchi is built at a size in which all who enter must crawl through at the same level, reflecting a sense of humility and connection with the other guests.

The guests perform toko-viewing before the tokonoma, where objects of art are displayed by the host. The guest approaches the tokonoma and bow, showing respect and appreciation. The objects in the tokonoma are usually: a hanging scroll, a floral arrangement, and an incense container which are chosen in accordance with the season and theme of the tea ceremony.

When the host strikes a gong, the guests seat themselves in the tea room and exchange formal greetings with the host by the act of bowing. The mood is quiet as the guests watch the host prepare the tea. The guests share this bowl of tea, offering and receiving the tea by bowing, to show respect and gratitude.

After the ceremony, the guests are welcome to examine the tea utensils and converse with host.

An important concept underlying all the aspects of the tea ceremony is Kokoro, meaning mind, heart and spirit. This is the extent to which the host and the guest are involved in the ceremony. Every effort made by the host is put forth with the mind, heart and spirit towards creating a wonderful experience for the guests. Every detail in the garden and tea hut and every movement in making the tea is performed with great concentration. The guests appreciate and show respect for these efforts with their entire mind, heart and spirit as well. With careful observance of the display in the tokonoma and bowing with respect to others, the guest also gives the most sincere effort in their part of the tea ceremony.

Reflecting on the various scrolls displayed throughout this semester, this concept, kokoro, has had the most impact on the way I view my life. I read this and thought about all the experiences I have encountered in the past. I realize that the ones the stand out and those that I am the most proud of are ones in which I have put my entire mind, heart and spirit into. This was most evident when I recollect on all the classes I've taken as an undergraduate. I realize that often I have received high grades in my courses, but I cannot honestly say that I learned the most from those classes and that they had much affect on me. Instead it was the courses that I put my entire efforts in, my time, my interest, and my will to learn, that I have learned the most from and I am proud of.

Fear of Women

Woody Allen explains why at age 57 he started a passionate affair with his girlfriend Mia's adopted daughter, age 22, and married her:

"I don't ever feel that I'm with a hostile or threatening person. It's got a more paternal feeling to it."

"Newsmakers," Philadelphia Inquirer, November 1, 2005.

Diplomacy

President Lyndon Johnson explained why he retained controversial FBI director J. Edgar Hoover:

It’s probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in.
—Lyndon B. Johnson

---

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
—John F. Kennedy

http://www.bartleby.com/quotations
/052002.html

Destroyed?

In an interview with Fortune magazine, Martha Stewart optimistically said:

"I have learned that I really cannot be destroyed."

from "Newsmakers," page D2, Philadelphia Inquirer, Tuesday, November 1, 2005

Bell & Evans chicken

Bell & Evans
Fredericksburg, VA

“For years our Bell & Evans chickens have been raised without antibiotics, animal byproducts or animal fats. Unlike some others, our company strives to raise ALL of our chickens without the use of antibiotics and to demanding humane standards. Bell & Evans has had a Preharvest HACCP plan in place to certify this industry-leading performance.”
Bruno S. Schmalhofer, CEO, Letter to the New York Times, Feb. 14, 2002

http://www.keepantibioticsworking.com/new
/consumers_statements.cfm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted on Fri, Aug. 05, 2005

Pampered poultry

By Harold Brubaker
Inquirer Staff Writer

FREDERICKSBURG, Pa.
...
Three of the industry's major players - Bell & Evans, BC Natural Chicken, and College Hill Poultry - have plants here.
...
Bell & Evans, which traces its roots to Bellmawr, Camden County, in the 1890s and employs nearly 1,200, is the largest. ... Three national customers - Whole Foods Market, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Panera Bread - are counting on him. They have been buying as much Bell & Evans chicken as they can get and are looking for more, even though it costs as much as 50 percent more than conventional chicken. ... When Panera chose Bell & Evans, it was not looking for a "natural" chicken, just a better-tasting chicken, said John Taylor, Panera's director of product development. "We started with taste, and this is what we came across," he said.
...
Instead of looking for the cheapest available feed, Bell & Evans feeds its chickens a strict diet of corn, soybean meal, vitamins and minerals, Sechler said. That's more expensive - at retail, a natural whole chicken recently was selling for $1.99 a pound at Whole Foods, compared with $1.69 for conventional chicken at a nearby Acme - but Sechler thinks it gives the chicken consistently good flavor.

In another effort to improve the flavor of Bell & Evans chicken, the company installed a new system to chill the chickens using cold air after they are killed, instead of dunking them in cold water treated with chlorine.
...
"Natural" - Whole Foods, Bell & Evans and others use the term for chickens that are given vegetarian feed and no antibiotics.

Organic(USDA) - These chickens eat organically grown feed and no antibiotics.

Free range - The birds have access to an outside pen for a portion of their lives.

Pastured - The chickens get up to 20 percent of their feed from pasture forage, typically living in movable pens.

SOURCES: National Chicken Council, American Pastured Poultry Producers' Association, Inquirer research.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact staff writer Harold Brubaker at 215-854-4651 or hbrubaker@phillynews.com.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer
/business/12306473.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2005 Philadelphia Inquirer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.philly.com

Reforming the Establishment

quotes from "Patching the Presidency" by David Brooks, New York Times editorial, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2005:

Ronald Reagan hired David Abshire as a special counselor halfway into Reagan's second term to help recover from the Iran-contra scandal. In his new book, "Saving the Reagan Presidency," Abshire said he had four main tasks:
1. "puncture the bubble of intellectual conformity that marks every administration by breaking the spell of groupthink and self-serving spin"
2. iron out internal "feuds and tensions" between executive branch departments
3. "repair relations with Capitol Hill"
4. help "kick-start a new policy agenda" by bringing in new staff, having Reagan take responsibility for failure in a contrite public speech ("his approval rating jumped nine points" afterward), and launching new domestic and foreign policy initiatives ("including the speech calling on Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall")

Brooks says that "every president since Grant has had a miserable second term," primarily because working in the White House is "psychologically corrosive." "There is a tendency to curl inward under the barrage of criticism, much of it ill informed. The sheer busyness of life becomes enveloping and isolating, and slowly an un-earned disdain builds for those who are not in the bubble."

After he left office, Calvin Coolidge wrote: "The political mind is the product of men in public life who have been twice spoiled. They have been spoiled with praise and they have been spoiled with abuse. With them, nothing is natural, everything is artificial."

According to Brooks, the president needs to bring in "like-minded but objective people who haven't been molded by five years in power, ... people more akin to peers. (The White House staff is too emotionally dependent on the president to be brutally honest with him.) It means humbly acknowledging, as Peggy Noonan wrote, that change has to start with oneself. As Lincoln showed, humility is the only antidote to the corruptions of the insane life-style of the presidency."

The Positives of Masculinity

According to USA Today, the positives of masculinity are:
"confidence, leadership, passion and compassion"

Craig Wilson, USA Today, Wed. Oct. 26, 2005