I must have missed the memo on Google’s new service. I typed in “Buddhist Temple near 01702” and got some VERY different results than I was looking for.
Clicking on the link gave me this result:
Did I miss the memo? I didn’t see it anywhere on Google Labs.
Die In A Fire
Of the many expressions online that I really dislike, topping the list has got to be “die in a fire”. Like virtually every other Internet expression, it’s bandied about carelessly, and the people who use it probably don’t think about it a whole lot. So here’s a bit of perspective in the hopes that at least for the more thoughtful, careful, and socially sensitive people in the group of folks I like to call friends, we can retire this awful phrase.
When you’re caught in a fire, the first thing that generally happens is that the hair and surface skin burns, usually very quickly. Anyone who’s singed themselves while cooking or tending a fireplace has gotten a taste of what this is like. The skin cracks, the hair burns off, and the nerve endings all fire at the same time, communicating only one thing – you’re in a heck of a lot of trouble and pain.
As your body heats up from the fire, the fat underneath the skin melts. As with all animal fats, it melts at a relatively low heat point, instantly causing some skin to slough off in flakes and sheets. Your eyes will be especially affected – the eyelids are thin tissue and will be destroyed relatively quickly, but the liquid eyeball itself will boil first, then burst, and only then burn.
If you’re exposed to direct flame, you will catch fire just like a wick in a wax candle. At this point, if you’re lucky, you’ll have a low tolerance for pain, fall unconscious, and never wake up.
If you’re not lucky, you may live long enough to watch your body fall apart. Incidentally, the voice box is relatively well protected by heavy cartilage and muscle, so if you’re still conscious, you can still scream.
Once the skin and surface tissue have melted and burned away, the proteins making up tissue and muscle are the next to cook, then burn. Internal organs heat to the boiling point, then explode, and as the muscles burn away, they too dry up, wither, and burn away.
If the fire’s not particularly hot, what will be left will be a skeleton with carbonized tissue attached to it. If the fire is sufficiently hot, the proteins that bind the minerals in your bones will burn away as well, causing your bones to fall to ashes.
This is what it means to die in a fire. To wish that on anyone, even casually or in jest, is to wish them one of the most painful ways to leave this mortal coil.
If you’d like to see what happens when you only get injured by fire, take a look at Youssif, an Iraqi boy doused in gasoline and lit on fire.
Now, can we retire that expression?
post-script: in case you were wondering where the expression crossed my radar, someone invited to a Facebook group named People who Type Like This Can Die in a Fire. Needless to say, I declined the invitation (and the subsequent zombie requests as well)
Tune into this week’s Marketing Over Coffee, the best marketing podcast ever recorded in a doughnut shop with co-host John Wall. We discuss all manners of things, including what you can use FIOS for (and what you can but probably shouldn’t), along with how my show, the Financial Aid Podcast, tripled email subscribers.
Awaken YOUR Superhero Powers : Power 10 of 10 – Realization
Chi
Jnana Paramita
Realization
As part of my every thought, word, and action, I am inspired by the heroic ideal of spiritual intelligence. I pursue highest knowledge!
The last aspect of the superhero is perhaps the most important, because it makes all the other powers make sense. The power of realization is the power of leaving behind everything that isn’t true, everything that clouds your vision and makes you doubt yourself, your powers, and your ability to make positive change in the world. The power of realization is the garden hose that washes the mud off the windows and lets us see things clearly.
I reflect often on the motto given to Superman’s ultimate quest – a never ending battle for truth and justice. (the American way came later) If all the other powers describe things you’ll need on your heroic quest, the power of realization reveals to you where you’re going – or where you need to go, as well as what holds you back or threatens to steer you off course.
Imagine what a reality of all truth, nothing false would be like. Your GPS would get you to your destination every time. The news would be timely, relevant, and completely accurate. Your thoughts, words, and actions would be in complete sync with reality – and how effortless life would be.
Commit today and every day towards taking steps to achieve a life of all truth, nothing false, beyond the pull of distraction and confusion, knowing exactly where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. Bring all your powers, skills, and friends to your aid as your heroic quest begins.
Thought: Where are you going? Where do you know, deep down inside your heart, that you need to go? Are they different?
Word: Examine what you’ve said about your life. How can you use more accurate, more clear words to describe where you need to go?
Action: Assemble your ten powers of a superhero and put them ALL into action today.
Endnote: The powers themselves are translated by Senior Master Instructor Stephen K. Hayes from the Enlightened Warrior Gyoja Practitioner Recitation Handbook, published by the Kinryuzan Golden Dragon Mountain Kasumi-An Dojo.
For those folks who – like me – aren’t pub crawlers (I am grossly incompetent at it AND genetically Asian, meaning that alcohol and I have a twisted relationship), I’d like to invite you to an INFORMAL working group session at or around 9 PM Saturday evening (after Jeff Pulver’s PodCamp Party) at the Westin Hotel next to the BCEC to discuss podcast marketing. The general topic for the evening will be, “Hey, how do we explain this stuff better, because we really suck at it”, and tackles a vitally important point Mignon Fogerty (Grammar Girl) raised on Twitter: “There are 100 million iPods out there. Aren’t they the low hanging fruit?”
Bring your ideas, stuff that has worked for you, and stuff that hasn’t, plus anything else as we all have a group head shed to see if we can come up with some powerful new ideas. This is NOT an official PodCamp session at all.
… I’d write a Facebook application that would silently download every scrap of data in the FQL accessible database silently, amassing it into a huge database and cross referencing it with other data collected from other sources. You know, stuff like all your photos (handy for blackmail!), your friends (handy for marketing!), your birthdate (handy for identity theft!), your groups (handy for marketing!), all that good stuff that marketers and evildoers normally have to pay out huge dollars for.
Of course, I’d need to disguise my super-evil application as something cool, something that leverages innate human weaknesses, so that people wouldn’t think twice about installing my application and hitting OK without reading all of the terms of service.
You know, like a Red Sox vs. Yankees application. Or a Patriots vs. Rams application. Or Zombies, Vampires, Werewolves, Ninjas, or Pirates.
Sadly, I’m not a true Dark Sider like that. But I’ll bet you someone else is, and you’ll never know. Actually, you might. Look for news about Facebook applications being sold for massive dollar amounts. Bet your Red Saber that the app itself is secondary to a massive database included with the sale.
“When there is chaos at the bottom
there is order at the top.
When there is order at the bottom
there is chaos at the top.”
someone pointed out one of many articles about degenerating race relations in America today. Along with severe economic shocks, it’s looking like things are somewhat grim for America entering election year 2008. Foreclosures of homes skyrocketing, tainted imports, collapsing pension funds, pick your poison. What does it all mean?
A piece of wisdom from one of my teachers’ teachers, Stephen K. Hayes, started off this blog post. Simply translated, when the general population of a country is struggling to just get by, living paycheck to paycheck and making no progress, dealing with spikes in crime and a feeling of general malaise, it’s much harder for them to revolt or even realize what’s happening in the true power centers of a nation. Sate their minds with pointless entertainment, get them to care about things that are completely irrelevant (celebrity news comes to mind), and with the skill of a sleight of hand illusionist, you as someone in power get to do pretty much whatever you want to do, because no one’s paying attention. Chaos at the bottom means order at the top.
Reverse the situation. When the people of a nation unify, when the people of a nation have their basic needs met and have access to good information, at the very least they’ll push for progressive change and for overall improvements in their society’s health, wealth, and condition. The downside is that it’s much harder for a few select individuals to consolidate power and wealth in an open, democratic society because the general population will call bullshit on them, and possibly run them out of town. Order at the bottom means chaos at the top.
When you step back and take a look at the many influences acting on society at large, ask yourself which strategy is being pursued by the people of your nation and by its leaders and influencers. Who’s running the show, and who’s benefitting from it?
Awaken YOUR Superhero Powers : Power 9 of 10 – Power
Riki
Bala Paramita
Power
As part of my every thought, word, and action, I am inspired by the heroic ideal of spiritual power. I allow nothing to stop me!
If effort is the engine of your superhero work, and vow is your intent to get where you’re going, power is the gas. Power is the yellow sun orbiting the earth that gives Superman his abilities, the radioactive spider, the genetic mutations or the adamantium claws. Power is what puts electricity in the computer.
How does a superhero of the modern era build power? Power starts with passion – a passion, a burning desire to accomplish, to investigate, to explore, to improve. No matter what your choice of focus in life, power is what motivates you and keeps you going long after the hobbyist or dabbler quits, long after even the veterans would give up. Passion leads to power, and one of the superhero’s greatest secrets is to find fellow members of the league of superheroes who are equally passionate about their powers. Like may attract like, but like definitely powers like. Even on a mundane level, we understand this – working out at the gym is easier with a buddy than alone.
Commit today and every day to building your personal power, your spiritual power in your thoughts, words, and actions.
Thought: Pause for a moment. Put aside your to-do lists, your must-not-forgets, and your obligations for just a few seconds, and remind yourself of your passion. Reinvigorate yourself by reminding yourself why you do what you do out of love and excitement.
Word: Take a moment today and every day to talk to someone about your passions, about your discoveries and theirs, and share in the excitement of being fellow explorers on the path.
Action: Take a hard look at your schedule and clear a block of time every day, even if for only 15 minutes, when you can indulge your passions. Mark that time as busy, out of the office, non-negotiable, turn off all forms of communications, lock the door, and dive into what your heart demands of you.
Endnote: The powers themselves are translated by Senior Master Instructor Stephen K. Hayes from the Enlightened Warrior Gyoja Practitioner Recitation Handbook, published by the Kinryuzan Golden Dragon Mountain Kasumi-An Dojo.
Awaken YOUR Superhero Powers : Power 8 of 10 – Vow
Gan
Pranidhana Paramita
Vow
As part of my every thought, word, and action, I am inspired by the heroic ideal of focusing unstoppable intent. I direct my aim!
The world, full of distractions, conspires to take you off course, as mentioned in the powers of effort and meditation. Most of the time, those efforts are mass communications tactics such as ads. Sometimes, however, we face more than generic, broad distraction – we face legitimate opposition. Maybe a supervillain manifests themselves in our life, actively working against us. Maybe circumstances give us a concrete opponent to fight as opposed to a diffuse enemy.
The superhero power of vow is a companion to effort – not only do you get things done, but you defuse, disarm, or destroy all obstacles in your path, defeating the efforts of anyone or anything to derail you. Your commitment to upholding the things you believe in – your discipline (power #2) cannot be shaken, no matter how hard enemies try.
Commit today and every day to working for what you believe in the face of adversity with your thoughts, words, and actions.
Thought: Take a moment today to examine your internal enemies, familiar villains like guilt, doubt, and procrastination. How can you knock them out of the fight?
Word: Take a moment today to clean up communications. Delete Internet bookmarks of web sites that are persistent negative influences, and un-friend those online contacts whose diaries are never-ending rivers of pessimism and woe.
Action: Set up your life to make invasion by enemies difficult. A to-do list punishes procrastination. Affirming art, photos, and posters can debilitate doubt. Positive, inspiring music can flood guilt away. Close virtual and real office doors when you need to reaffirm your mission without interference.
Endnote: The powers themselves are translated by Senior Master Instructor Stephen K. Hayes from the Enlightened Warrior Gyoja Practitioner Recitation Handbook, published by the Kinryuzan Golden Dragon Mountain Kasumi-An Dojo.
