My Fur Son

Feb. 21, 2019

My "furry son" is named Mortimer. He is an 11 year old wirehaired fox terrier. He needs a fur-cut real bad, but the groomers are too busy to see him until early March. Mortimer is loving, faithful, and very curious. He enjoys eating bananas, peanut butter, apples, and whatever you are eating. He is my constant companion when I am home. Walks are not a favorite for him; he'd prefer a ride in the car. Mortimer used to live with two cats when he called Minnesota home. When Mortimer moved to Hawaii, over five years ago, the cats didn't come along.

Mortimer is an art critic. You can find his writings at Mortimer's Memos.

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Mortimer Reginald Fairfax crossed the bridge on Feb. 27, 2023. He lived over 15 years and spent all of them save 8 weeks with us.  In his final years, he had many health issues, from a heart murmur, blindness, possible deafness, and kidney disease. He slept more and more and started displaying signs of dementia in the last year of his life. He will be missed but has earned his final rest.

2019

Happy New Year!

 

Here’s hoping the new year is filled with progress, joy, and personal growth. 

Baking meditation

Meditation can be found in simple daily endeavors. Be present in each task, from gathering the ingredients and baking utensils, to measuring the flour. 

Baking requires creativity and structure. The two may seem at odds, but they work in harmony to replicate a scone from a recipe.

One can even become present in the tasks conducted while the scones bake: cleaning the kitchen and your baking tools. 

Baking teaches patience, appreciation of skill, and the love of making things. 

Enjoy my pictures. I hope they share my pleasure of baking. 

Temple Stupa Meanings

This is a useful image to help us understand these Buddhist symbols often found at temples. 

Mindfulness

I have been lucky enough to lead a small group of students and occasionally a faculty member in a weekly mindfulness meditation session at work. Here's a good post I noticed today.

5 minute Buddhist

The late Harold Ramis has left us with a great "cheat sheet" for Buddhism that I intend to borrow and make use of. The concepts it makes reference to need fleshed out and it's not suitable for the pure novice, but it is a nice simple and succinct list for a practitioner.

Enjoy!

/\ (palms together)

Lost Opportunities and Divergent Futures

Today I found myself missing Rodney O. Lain (aka iBrotha). I knew Rodney back in 2000-2002. That was an exciting and different time for Apple and the computer industry. The iPod had just been introduced; Apple had oppened their first Apple Stores (Rodney was at the opening for the Mall of America); and the commercials on TV demonstrated the rivalry between the PC and Mac. I was a sales support (Mac evangelist) hired on a temporary basis. I worked at BestBuy, CompUSA, and Micro Center. OS X and the iMovie were all the rage.

I met Rodney a few times and always found him energetic, smart, and engaging. Who knew deep down there was a man fighting for his life? In June 2002 he took his own life. I find myself thinking of all the missed opportinuties because of this senseless end. What future might the Mac, Apple, and Rodney had if he were still with us today?

I know as a Buddhist we are trained in the art of the moment. But the moment finds me remorseful and reminiscient. This could mean Rodney continues to live in my life, giving me the chance to pull upon my memories of this creative, thoughtful soul. He still inspires and angers me. Althought he is here in spirit, I wish I could hear him speak out against contemporary issues and read his railing against The Man. I can only pull from my inner thoughts to bring Rodney back.

Peace, iBrotha.