https://www.dropbox.com/s/3qypzxz0fpqi7to/CollaborativeSingleSourceDevelopment.pdf
Here’s the slide deck I promised of my talk:
Collaborative Single-Source Development of Training and Documentation
Luminous
–for Julie Ann
I breached sleep
like a cork piercing consciousness
so that the colors of that reddening world
rippled over the bulwark of the bed
I glimpsed the fragility of our lives
us, and what we’ve built—
so many this and thats that blur our focus
but then I noticed
glazed onto all surfaces
was the sheen of our strength
and the forgiving ease of love
I propped on my arm
and saw you
(really saw for the first time)
burrowed to your nose
red curls twining the dawn
no longer a reflection of the divine,
but a producer of light
Call me a Cab
I’m so excited. Today we drove to Napa and picked up 800 pounds of crushed and destemmed cabernet sauvignon grapes. The particular grapes we got were from vine cuttings originally from the Bircher vineyards, which go into the famous Opus One wine.
We loaded up the Westfalia with five 20-gallon containers full of the purple goodness. The grapes were sweet (24.7 Brix at harvest) and the deep color was already beginning to permeate the juice.
Although this won’t be ready to drink for 2 or more years, we’re very excited and feeling all parent-y about the little yeasties that are colonizing our globes. This will be a joint project with my mother (200 lbs of grapes), my best friend Scott (100 lbs of grapes) and my lovely niece Janet and her husband, Dave (100 lbs). We end up with 400 lbs. All in all, they should net out approx 25 cases of damn fine red wine.
While we were in Napa I got all excited about the possibilities for permaculture in Napa, not only among the smaller vineyards, but for the people there who want to limit their water use (pretty much everyone) and lush-out their landscape. There are plenty of health-conscious folks there, so it might be a good place to specialize in edible landscapes.
Meditation
Quote
I don’t sit for enlightenment
or for the wisdom of sages
or the answer to the universe’s sole question
I sit to feel
the unconditional embrace of the mother
the sun’s soft stroke of my hair,
the sweet scent of life brought by the wind
I sit to greet the sun
and tuck it in at night
to remember the stars
and why I left and why I came
I sit for this moment, out of time
I sit for now
I sit for the creator
so that I may be silent
and hear
for my heart’s embracing
the moment it knew would come
when it could rise and dance
now that the music has resumed
a community of beings
Quote
imagine a world
polluted with joy
where happiness smogs the air
and a land littered with smiles.
Look for a spot, if you must,
for a picnic of hate
but there’s no bare ground
no place that isn’t
filthy with love
or crawling with peace
no knoll unclaimed
by some special goodness
or the ruddy revelry of play
What gives?
Imagine a planet
so connected that
a tickle here
makes the ocean giggle
and the continents guffaw.
Imagine a web of life
so intricate and light
it floats and drifts
ensnares us all
pupae to whale,
amoeba to hawk
the grounded and flighted
seen unseen
a community of beings
at home
at last
Make me an instrument of peace
When I first began meditating, I practiced by saying a prayer written by St. Francis of Assisi. If I remember correctly, this was suggested by Krishnamurti as a good entré for westerners.
I liked it because it gave my monkey mind something to do (remember words and recite), filled my heart, and soothed my body with its sounds. It goes like this:
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.O divine master
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console,
To be understood, as to understand,
To be loved, as to love;For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.
Welcome!
I’m currently re-building this site. So please be patient and it’ll be beautiful and of service shortly.
I’m looking at the map trying to figure out how to get where I want to be. And, wow, it’s quite lovely here and now, after all.