It seems that every time I help 👪︎ family, friends or 👥︎ colleagues on a project, or work on my own project, there is another gotcha or two, leading to new Lessons Learned and Best Practices.  In an attempt to:

I 📝︎ record and maintain ( about ) information on …

Personal topics
 ☑ VOTE informed, in every election!
🌲︎ Green (environmental) topics
   ☣ ⚕︎  COVID-19
coronavirus pandemic

📱︎💻︎ Computer use,
< />  programming, project management 📱︎ Very-low-cost
mobile cellphone service

Visiting West Michigan near Kent County and Grand Rapids?
Live here?  Things to see and do here, and 👥︎ community resources!

topic index (sitemap)
  🔍︎ Search this site :

About this site

It's a work in progress, but so's life.

    — #DoctorWho 13 premier.
Progress, not perfection.

    — shortened version of aphorism attributed to Alcoholics Anonymous.

Since , major edits to this website contain:

🌲︎ Green (environmental) topics

💡︎ LED lighting

🚗︎ Honda Fit/Jazz HR-V/Vezel (and e?) cars  Adobe Acrobat Reader file   In 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 North America, after model year 2020, Honda replaced the Fit/Jazz with the similar HR-V/Vezel.  And after model year 2022, Honda retired the platform, basing the HR-V/Vezel on a larger model.  (The e?)


For full effect, view the videos ↖ above or to left by selecting a video image, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.

More  ▶︎  videos like ↖ above or to left.   Even more  ▶︎  videos from them!

Or …

☀︎🚶︎🏠︎ Go outdoors ( ▶︎  in ☀︎ natural sunlight, direct or indirect) :

🚶︎🚼︎ Hike it Baby group hikes for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, and their parents! #DiscoverTheForest 👪︎ Family articles from REI
Ten Essentials (from USFS)  Adobe Acrobat Reader file (en Español)  Adobe Acrobat Reader file (🇷🇺 на русском)  Adobe Acrobat Reader file   Day Hiking Checklist ❄ Cold-Weather Hiking Tips ☀︎ Extreme Heat Fact Sheet  Adobe Acrobat Reader file "Hazards to Outdoor Workers" by 🇺🇸 USA CDC NIOSH.

To learn more about our ☀︎🚶︎🏠︎ outdoors,
identify your local 🌳︎🌲︎🌴︎ trees and shrubs,
using 🏛 educational web app
            I Can See Nature! Facebook page
for I Can See Nature!

… sustainable landscaping and gardening with native plants   … mowing my 🌾︎ turf grass lawn.

You can protect plants within the deer browse line with:

Keeping squirrels away from your birdfeeders.  Adobe Acrobat Reader file (page 4)

Reporting invasive species Handling invasive plants using an herbicide applicator dauber wand  Adobe Acrobat Reader file
Getting your Commercial Certified Pesticide Applicator license  Adobe Acrobat Reader file

💦︎🛢 Rain barrel installation, use and management
Ice dams (not yet 🚧 under construction)

Sustainable Business Practices:
The 👥︎🌐︎📈︎ Triple-Bottom Line (3BL) Ethic   Sustainable Development Goals (🇺🇳 UN) Sustainable Development Goals (Wikipedia)
 ☑ VOTE informed, in every election!

photo of author working a prescribed burn, select to view full-size
The 🔥︎💦︎🌱︎☀︎🌾︎🐛︎🐦︎ prescribed fire/​controlled burn plan for my own area is 🚧 under construction. photo of author monitoring weather at a prescribed burn, select to view organization for which author works prescribed burns
Until published, please see This Tree LOVES FIRE (longleaf pine  Pinus palustris), and  ▶︎  🔥︎💦︎🌱︎☀︎🌾︎🐛︎🐦︎ prescribed burn videos.   If you are still serious, contact your local agencies, get some local training, and study applicable parts of S-130 🚒︎ Firefighter Training, S-190 🔥︎ Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior, and S-212 🔥︎ Wildland Fire Chain Saws > tab Course Materials, all from NWCG training courses.

"How Indigenous Burning Practices Could Prevent Massive Wildfires."  NPR radio show Science Friday.  . or its 🔊︎ audio

Prescribed fire consultants and contractors in Michigan.

💡︎ LED lighting

Introduction
💡︎ 🏞  for use outdoors
💡︎ 🏠︎🚶︎  for use indoors

LED lights are an amazing transformative technology:

Just be very careful to buy the exact light source you want …

Q:  How many Lutherans does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A:  25:
      One person to screw in the NEW lightbulb, and
      24 people to talk about how much they liked the OLD lightbulb.

    — A Prairie Home Companion, as heard by EP a while back.
For full effect, view the video ↗ above or to right by selecting the video image/link button, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.

💡︎ 🏞  LED lighting for use outdoors

Recommendations from people who study light pollution and dark sky enthusiasts suggest we have outdoor lights that:

Some years ago, we installed:


Seem to be good compromises.

💡︎ 🏠︎🚶︎  LED lighting for use indoors

Get your light brighter — measured in lumens (ℓm) — than your existing fixtures.  You will like it.

Spend the extra US$2 or €2 each and get them dimmable.  If you later decide your lights are too bright, you can correct by installing a modern US$25 or €22 LED-compatible "C-L" dimmer switch.  (At Costco, saw a two-pack for US$8;  don't know if any good.)

Get a light that projects in a good angle:

If getting a "recessed" "can light" "downlight" retrofit insert, consider whether you need a gimbal "rotatable" "eyeball" to illuminate your subjects.

An E26 adapter means your unit contains an electrical connector for your can's existing E26/E27 standard Edison lightbulb base.

If your LED light comes with a Color Rendering Index CRI, get it High=90+, so it doesn't mess with your ability to see color.  Nice chart from OttLite.

For our laundry/work/storage room, I handled each of these issues by replacing our humming florescent tube fixtures with new LED lamps, each with:

Regarding color temperature:

If you have an existing space that needs additional lighting:

For your particular indoor uses: carefully choose your lamp or bulb's correlated color tem­per­a­ture (CCT):

Coziest, most intimate areas.
No-bug patio lights. 		1850 K
2000 K
2200 K 		🕯 Candle flame
Warm Amber Glow
Amber Glow
⑁ Favorite reading chair or other intimate area.  ¿Dining room table? 2700 K 💡︎ incandescent bulb (typical)
Soft White    (GE and Sunco)
General use, including kitchens, bathrooms and hallways;  lobbies and restaurants.
  •  Some say 4000 K is good for kitchens and bathrooms, but I prefer 3000 K.
  •  We have some kitchen under-cabinet lights at 3500 K that are a good compromise between 3000 K and 4000 K. 		3000 K Bright White (Philips)
Soft White    (not GE nor Sunco)
Soft White Glow
Warm White
Office or commercial space. 3500 K Bright White (GE)
Cool White   (not GE nor Sunco)
Neutral White
Desk or work surfaces;  garage, basement, workshop or laundry areas;  warehouse and industrial.
  •  Some say 5000–6500 K is good for garage, workshop or laundry areas, but I find this too blue for all but the most-specialized uses. 		 
 
4000 K
4100 K 		Bright White (not GE nor Philips)
Cool White   (GE and Sunco)
Natural White
Daylight Glow (not Sunco)
💎︎ Sorting diamonds or specialized task lighting.  Perhaps specialty-retail, light-industrial and Clean Room.
  •  👐︎ On the other hand, 5800 K is what you get from a ☀︎ sun tunnel mini-skylight during daylight hours, which gave good effect at my local ✂︎ haircut shop.
  •  Useful for treating ☹ Seasonal Affective Disorder SAD? 		5000 K

5500 K

5800 K
6000 K

6500 K
7000 K 		Natural Light
Daylight    (Sunco)
Daylight    (not Sunco)
Daylight Glow (Sunco)
☀︎ The Sun
Xenon White
Daylight Deluxe
Crystal White Glow
Diamond White

Or to list it another way, …

If you have existing lighting that needs to be placed somewhere:

If your lamp or bulb has a correlated color tem­per­a­ture (CCT) of: then use it indoors for:
1850 K
2000 K
2200 K 		🕯 Candle flame
Warm Amber Glow
Amber Glow
Coziest, most intimate areas.
No-bug patio lights.
2700 K 💡︎ incandescent bulb (typical)
Soft White    (GE and Sunco) 		⑁ Favorite reading chair or other intimate area.  ¿Dining room table?
3000 K Bright White (Philips)
Soft White    (not GE nor Sunco)
Soft White Glow
Warm White 		General use, including kitchens, bathrooms and hallways;  lobbies and restaurants.
3500 K Bright White (GE)
Cool White   (not GE nor Sunco)
Neutral White 		Office or commercial space.
  •  We have some kitchen under-cabinet lights at 3500 K that are a good compromise between 3000 K and 4000 K.
 
 
4000 K
4100 K 		Bright White (not GE nor Philips)
Cool White   (GE and Sunco)
Natural White
Daylight Glow (not Sunco) 		Desk or work surfaces;  garage, basement, workshop or laundry areas;  warehouse and industrial.
  •  Some say 4000 K is good for kitchens and bathrooms, but I prefer 3000 K.
5000 K

5500 K

5800 K
6000 K

6500 K
7000 K 		Natural Light
Daylight    (Sunco)
Daylight    (not Sunco)
Daylight Glow (Sunco)
☀︎ The Sun
Xenon White
Daylight Deluxe
Crystal White Glow
Diamond White 		💎︎ Sorting diamonds or specialized task lighting.  Perhaps specialty-retail, light-industrial and Clean Room.
  •  Some say 5000–6500 K is good for garage, workshop or laundry areas, but I find this too blue for all but the most-specialized uses.
  •  👐︎ On the other hand, 5800 K is what you get from a ☀︎ sun tunnel mini-skylight during daylight hours, which gave good effect at my local ✂︎ haircut shop.
  •  Useful for treating ☹ Seasonal Affective Disorder SAD?

Best wishes for success with your next 💡︎ lighting project!

📱︎ Very-low-cost mobile cellphone service

If you want 📱︎ very-low-cost mobile cellphone service, for use in the 🇺🇸 USA-only, I highly recommend the low-data plan at Republic Wireless.   If you tell your 📱︎ phone to get data for YouTube and most apps only-over-Wi-Fi,  Adobe Acrobat Reader file (page 8)  the lowest-cost plan is fine, and even returns a huge rebate, so it which costs only US$12–16 25? or €11–14 21? per month, out-the-door.  And if you don't need 🗺 Google Maps or 📧︎ email while on the road, you can get the base-plan (even cheaper!), with data over Wi-Fi only, and 📱︎☎ voice and 📱︎💬︎ SMS text over that or 📶︎ cell towers.

I bought my 📱︎ phone, a mid-grade,  which I like a lot.

When we traveled overseas a while back, we could NOT make phone calls on these phones, so we borrowed a 📱︎ burner phone and got a temporary SIM card in-country.  Worked well.

I also hear very good things about price, and coverage in 🇨🇦 Canada and 🇺🇸 USA, about TracFone.   I also hear very good things about Ting Mobile, Cricket Wireless, and Boost Mobile.   Other alternatives, more alternatives, and even more alternatives.

After you get your 📱︎ phone, harden[?] your 📱︎ phone against threats.  Adobe Acrobat Reader file (page 4)

📱︎💻︎  Computer use, < /> programming, project management

📱︎💻︎  Computer use
for ordinary and tech-savvy 👥︎ computer users

📱︎💻︎ < />  Computer programming
for ordinary 👥︎ computer programmers
📱︎💻︎ < />  Computer programming advanced topics:
⚠︎ safety-critical, ✈︎ aviation, 🏭︎ industrial-quality, 🕵 internals, development, 🚧 build, install

Project management topics seem to currently be decentralized — sprinkled around the two chapters with buttons immediately ↑ above, and personal topics.   Maybe we will centralize it a bit in the future.  🚧

📱︎💻︎  Computer use for ordinary and tech-savvy 👥︎ computer users

If you are not paying for the product, you are the product.

Like nuclear radiation, cyberwar doesn't make you bleed, but it destroys everything.

    — R. David Edelman, as heard by EP on .

Protecting your 📱︎ smart­phones, ▯ tablets and 💻︎ computers from spam and malware, via antivirus and other methods and 🛠 tools  Adobe Acrobat Reader file
📱︎ Very-low-cost
mobile cellphone service

Preparing and showing ▭🌄︎ presentations,
during 👥︎ live in-person or ▭  ▶︎  web-based digital
video virtual meetings, conferences, gatherings or
webinars, of distributed or self-isolating teams  Adobe Acrobat Reader file

Setting up a Facebook Page, such as to publicize a nonprofit organization, such as Discover! Nature Event  Adobe Acrobat Reader file

📱︎💻︎ < />  Computer programming for ordinary 👥︎ computer programmers

< />  Any useful code must be modified.

    — Eric's first law, first described by me, as far as I know.

For full effect, view the video ↖ above or to left by selecting the video image, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.

🛠 Tools:  web, research, 🔊︎ 📹︎ audiovisual, 📱︎💻︎ computer, < /> programming, development, and more  Adobe Acrobat Reader file

Leave something for Release 1.1.

    — Eric's second law, until I get better attribution.

CSharp C# programming, under 💻︎ Visual Studio .NET  Adobe Acrobat Reader file
Java programming (including 🤖︎📱︎▯ Android), under 💻︎ Eclipse or 🤖︎ Android Studio  Adobe Acrobat Reader file

⛬ Quality, time, cost — project managers don't get to specify all three.

    — saying at many places.


This is often called ⛬ The Triple Constraints or ⛛ The Project Management Golden Triangle:

  • Quality is also listed as good.
    Scope (user features or functionality) is included here under quality by some authors, but other authors treat this component separately.
  • Time is also listed as fast or 📅︎ schedule/calendar schedule.
  • Cost is also listed as cheap or resources (budget, person-hours).

These components are all linked.  Pushing on any one of these three or four components must cause (an)other component(s) to react.  For example, increasing the project scope (user features or functionality) (known as project creep) must cause the project quality to go down, the time or cost to go up, or some combination of these.  You can probably guess how this usually plays out.

👩︎👩︎👩︎👩︎👩︎👩︎👩︎👩︎👩︎  Nine women can't make 🚼︎ a baby in  📅︎ one month.

    — saying at S_____/G_.

Meaning that when a project is late, piling on more people usually doesn't help, and often just makes the project later.

📱︎💻︎  Any computer de­vel­op­ment project  📅︎ $ takes longer, and costs more.

The first 80% of  📈︎ the project uses up the first   80% of  📅︎ $ schedule and budget.
The last 20% of  📈︎ the project uses up the other 80% of  📅︎ $ schedule and budget.

    — sayings at S_____/G_.

Meaning that no project plan is made with perfect information and analysis.

Apache web server, MySQL database, and PHP http scripting language  Adobe Acrobat Reader file
VBA Visual Basic for Applications programming, under 💻︎ Microsoft Excel  Adobe Acrobat Reader file

📱︎💻︎ < />  Computer programming advanced topics:  ⚠︎ safety-critical, ✈︎ aviation, 🏭︎ industrial-quality, 🕵 internals, development, 🚧 build, install

Test like you fly,
  fly like you test.
    — The way I learned it
writing ✈︎ aviation software.    ▶︎  (I guess many us hacked in
machine language, to good effect!)

Train like you fight,
  fight like you train.
    — The way I heard some of our customers learned it.

Plan your work,
  work the plan.
    — The way I learned it in chainsaw safety training, and writing ✈︎ aviation software.

Create and foster a safety culture.

But …

Fail early, and pivot.
    — The way I learned it in entrepreneur startup seminars.

No plan of battle survives first contact with the enemy.
    — Many versions, this is a variation of that said by Helmuth von Moltke the Elder.

Meaning every plan must be adjusted as you experience new information.

Make sure you fail on the test stand, so you do not fail in flight.
    — Elon Musk, quoted in "Elon Musk explains that destroyed SpaceX capsule came from testing to the 'extreme'" by Michael Sheetz.  CNBC.  .

Failure is an option here.  If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.
    — Elon Musk, quoted in "In 2 Sentences Elon Musk Explains Why the Key to Success Is Failure."  Inc.  .

⚠︎ But if you have an actual emergency …

Aviate.  Navigate.  Communicate.

    — In that order.  And don't move on to step 2 (or 3), unless you have step 1 (and 2) fully under control.
        6 pilot rules that everyone should live by.

Other topics I could cover here refer to specific projects for particular employers, so I cannot cover them in a public forum like this website.  As I find suitable content, I will post here.   🚧 Under construction.

Until then:


🚼︎🎠︎  As children, we had fun playing on the merry-go-round.  But one day, 🚶︎🏠︎ as adults, we will live in one.

If brute force isn't working, you aren't using enough.

Live forever, or die trying.

    — Science and Futurism with Isaac Arthur SFIA,
    excellent discussion of humanity's future.
For full effect, view a video ↑ above by selecting a video image, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.

Personal topics

A lot here — I need to organize into some sort of structure …

photo 'Earthrise', of the Earth rising over the Moon, select to learn more

🌏︎👥︎  On spaceship earth, we are not passengers — we are crew.

    — Marshal McLuhan, slightly reworded by me.
🌏︎🏠︎  Earth is our home. … Earth is not just our home, it is also our house.  It's our residence, and we are the owners.  We are not renters passing through.  We are not tenants who can complain to the landlord and eventually move on to live somewhere else.  We live here — on this 7900-mile-wide (13 000 km) ball of rock, water, and air — and we are responsible for its upkeep.

    — Bill Nye, Unstoppable:  Harnessing Science to Change the World.
Service is the rent we pay for being.  It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.

    — Marian Wright Edelman.

 ☑ VOTE informed, in every election!
 

The best way to predict your future is to create it.

    — Abraham Lincoln.

If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there.

    — George Harrison.
image of ikigai, a recipe for success and happiness in life, select to view article explaining it
Regarding career (and retirement) decisions (and planning), recently, relatives introduced me to the concept of ikigai.

Sometimes translated (or called):
  •  A recipe for happiness in life.
  •  A reason for getting out of bed in the morning.
  •  The Four P's.

It suggests a true reason for being is when your activities satisfy all of (i.e., where these attributes intersect):
  •  What do you love (to do)?     (Passion)
     What aspects of your life bring you into your heart and make you come alive?
     What did you love doing or thinking about when you were a child?
     What activities do you do in your spare time that make you happy?
  •  What are you good at?         (Purpose)
     What are your skills and strengths?
     What do people ask your help for?
     What talents have you cultivated?
     What do you excel at?
  •  What does the world need?  (Problems)
     What/Who inspire you?
     What makes you angry, frustrated?
     What change would you most love to create in the world?
     What would you give your life for?
  •  What can you get paid for?   (Profit).
     What service, value or offering do you bring, or could you bring, that brings real value to others?
     What job could you do?

For an article that describes this, click on the image ↖ above or to left, and scroll down.

Wish I had run into it at the start of my career, instead of having to synthesize everything myself.  On the other hand, I also had guidance like …

Follow your bliss!

    — Joseph Campbell, American write mythologist, and speaker.

Do what you can,
  with what you have,
    where you are.

    — Teddy Roosevelt, 26th President of the 🇺🇸 USA.

If I cannot do great things,
  I can do small things in a great way.

    — Martin Luther King Jr.

Stand tall and proud,
  Sink your roots deeply into the earth,
Think long term,
  Go out on a limb,
Be content with your natural beauty,
  Drink plenty of water,
Remember your roots,
  Enjoy the view!

    — abridged version of "Advice from a Tree," by Ilan Shamir.

image from PBS Digital Studios video series for teens Above the Noise, select to view these videos

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.

    — Neil deGrasse Tyson.
The difference between screwing around and science is writing it down.

    — ballistics expert Alex Jason, later used by Adam Savage on TV show MythBusters episode "Bouncing Bullet" (). [3]

For full effect, view the video ↖ above or to left for teens (or older!) by selecting the video image, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.
 ▶︎  The best introduction to the scientific method I have ever seen.  Gets pretty deep!
Every day is a learning day.

    — #DoctorWho 13 premier.

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

    — George S. Patton

If you are 🏫︎ a student, and want to impress your teacher with on a school paper, research any of these women:

COMPUTING and related fields

  1. 1815–1852 Ada Byron world's first computer programmer, who invented programming and debugging, before having working hardware!

  2. 1892–1990 Elizabeth Smith Friedman  ▶︎  PBS American Experience S33 Ep1 "The Codebreaker," 2021-12-28 > ☸︎ PBS Passport.  For full effect, select the video link, then icons ⤢ full­screen, ㏄ Closed Captions=On,  and ▶︎ Play.

  3. 1906–1992 Admiral Grace Hopper got computers really going, in a production system.  "Nobody stays until somebody pays."  She now has a warship named after her.   ×  A lecture by Adm. Hopper was recorded, but you can't watch it.

  4. 1932–2023 Jane Howard Allen Piehl business analyst/​systems engineer/​computer programmer/​computer operations trainer — when they wrote programs using ║ wires!   (More.) (Photo of a simple program.)
    Turned mother, campaign manager, caregiver, bookkeeper/​business analyst/​one-woman nonprofit incubator, board member, agent of change, and more.
    If you are a friend or relative, ask me for source material!  (Jane Piehl's recipe for Laurentian/Algonquian 🍲︎ oatmeal/porridge.  Adobe Acrobat Reader file )

OTHER FIELDS

  1. 1706–1749 Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Châtelet physicist, mathematician, philosopher, translator, revolutionary.

  2. 1845–1910 "Emma Cole, Grand Rapids Flora Pioneer" biologist and educator in western Michigan.   "Emma Jane Cole, West Michigan's Late-19th Century Botanist:  A Biographical Sketch". "Emma Cole's 1901 Grand Rapids Flora:  Nomenclaturally Updated and Revised".

  3. 1879–1967 Marguerite Harrison socialite, journalist, spy.

  4. 1909–1974 Virginia Apgar transformed childbirth, neonatology, anesthesiology, and handling of birth defects, all in an effort to combat infant mortality.

  5. 1914–2000 Hedy Lamarr did so many things, you need great sources to understand she is a single person.

  6. 1933–2022 Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Notorious RBG.

    — my list.  With the exception of the last entry (the Notorious RBG), these women are well-known in only the most obscure geeky circles.  Do your report anytime — not just for Women's History Month.  These are great stories!

Well before doing an 🗣 oral report on a topic above (or any other), watch  ▶︎ 🗣 How To Speak, by Patrick Winston.   Will take an hour, but is well worth it.

image from Gwynne Shotwell video Launching Our Future, select to view video

Put your head down,
  do great work,
  be the most knowledgeable and helpful person in the room.
I think that will get you lots of places.

    — Gwynne Shotwell, CEO of SpaceX, 72 secs from beginning of video ↖ above or to left (link takes you to focus of talk at time 27:23).

For full effect, view the video ↖ above or to left by selecting the video image, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.

Career guide, job skills, and other resources, to help you find a career with impact recommended by Real Life Lore and Perun.

How to talk, and take interviews.

Lean into the pain.   And later,
Embrace the suck.

    — military saying popular since the mid-2000s ('00s) (200_s).

When you are offered a test or intervention,
BRAN reminds you to ask about and consider the
  Benefits,
  Risks and
  Alternatives,
and to also consider the effects of doing
  Nothing in this situation.

    — Sarah J Buckley, MD, Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering:  A Doctor's Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting Choices

image of feelings wheel, select to view larger image of map from Becoming a Better Grownup, select to view larger

"The Feelings Circle:  A Genius Chart For Better Communications"

IF (1) your situation seems untenable to you, and
    (2) really is bad (not just you overreacting to it), and
    (3) you cannot effect change to that situation to make it tenable,
THEN you have no alternative — leave that situation.

    — paraphrase of speaker during a group discussion on 2022-01-24.

We need job time boundaries.  Even without pandemic emergencies.


  1. I used to work very closely with a team in Sydney, Australia, 15 or 17 hours ahead of me, depending on Daylight-Savings/Summer Time.  After meeting in-person for a few days (including a team-building dinner, and a team-building trip to our local rollercoaster park, we worked very well via email or phone.  After a few missteps:

      •  I soon learned that my team in Oz would be happy if, when starting work MTWR, I checked for emails from them.  Then, before ending work MTWF, sending something back to them.  Could be a reference to the bug and fix, could be diagnostic questions for the customer, could be Got it, working on it, no questions yet.  Friday morning, I didn't need to check email so diligently, but still needed to send out any updates before ending work.

      •  They soon learned that, if they needed to talk to me, they could always call me during my working hours, although inconvenient for them.  Or they could call me at home during their working hours.  After a few Can I call you back in an hour?s, they learned that calling me at home during dinner, kid-bathtime, reading-time and bedtime was terrible, and once they learned when the kids were reliably asleep, they could call and have my full attention.  For an hour, anyway, perhaps a bit more.  We also soon learned to notify each other whenever it was time to Spring Forward or Fall Back.  Fun, felt connected to something larger than ourselves!

    This global arrangement worked out very well, after we got some ground rules that worked.

  2. Later, with a local team, on very-tight deadlines, we set up a culture where we would check our email when we started work, again maybe 45-minutes before leaving for the day, with an optional (if not deep in research or debugging) check at lunch.  If that wasn't timely enough, your remedy was to call, or walk over there!

Again, having your team create a culture of when to expect people to be working, when to be responding to email, made it much easier for everyone.  And more productive!

You can't do hard research, development or debugging when being interrupted.  I recall some hard projects where it took 3–3½ hours to get your head down deep enough into the code, where if you didn't have 5-hour stretches of uninterrupted work, you would never get anything done at all!

Five Principles for a Life of Breakthrough and Purpose:

  1. Take big bets and make history.
    People can be naturally cautious.  They look at what's worked in the past and try to do more of it, but history-making transformation happens when people strive for revolutionary change.
  2. Be bold, take risks.
    Have the courage to try new, unproven things and the rigor to continue experimenting.  Risk taking isn't a blind leap, but a process of trial and error.
  3. Make failure matter.
    No one seeks out failure, but if you're trying new things, the outcome is uncertain.  Great innovators make setbacks matter, applying [Lessons Learned and Best Practices], and sharing them with others.
  4. Reach beyond your bubble.
    Innovation happens at intersections.  Great and original solutions come from engaging with people with diverse experiences to forge unexpected partnerships.
  5. Let urgency conquer fear.
    Don't overthink it.  It's natural to want to study all angles of a problem, but don't get caught up in the fear of what could go wrong — allow the need to act to outweigh doubts.

    — Jean Case Be Fearless

When you have a problem, solve it:
  Think through the problem …
    identify your needs,
    assess your resources,
    develop a plan,
    sequence your steps.

      — Angelline Boulley, in Firekeeper's Daughter.

If you are 📅︎ scheduled to do something hard, at showtime, you want to live in the moment.

If you don't yet feel ready:

  • Prepare.  Hard.  Over-prepare.
  • Exercise.  Hard.
  • Center yourself.  Using whatever works for you:
      ◦  Yoga.
      ◦  Long walk.
      ◦  Play your 🎸︎ favorite instrument.
      ◦ Garden.
      ◦  🍳︎  Cook.
      ◦  💃 Dance.
      ◦  Whatever.
  • If you are reasonably-young or -urban, 👂︎ listen to  ▶︎  Eminem's Lose Yourself a few times.
  • 🍲︎ 😋︎ Eat a good healthy and yummy dinner.
  • Get a great night's sleep.
  • Eat a moderate healthy breakfast, caffeinating normally.
  • Get your game face on.
  • You are ready.  You own it!
  • If it still doesn't feel right …
      Fake it until you make it!

    — various sources, some me, .   ▶︎  Jackson Browne's The Pretender.

Resist imposter syndrome.    If you still feel like a fraud.

You can prove me wrong.  Because we are all capable of the most incredible change.  We can evolve, while still staying true to who we are.  We can honor who we've been, and choose who we want to be next.  How about it?

    — #DoctorWho 13 premier.
Getting free Credit Reports, Fraud Alerts, FICO scores, credit counseling, and handling identity theft and phishing attacks.

🕒︎ The time is always right to do what is right.

    — Martin Luther King Jr.
You will draw from your errors the very lessons which may enable you to avoid their repetition.

    — Sir William Osler, Aequanimatus
Progress, not perfection.

    — shortened version of aphorism attributed to Alcoholics Anonymous.
You don't have to behave perfect, just meet the reasonable-person test.

Don't do anything you don't want to explain to a judge.

    — Eric's fourth and fifth laws, first described by me, as far as I know.
When stopped by the 🛂︎ police:

  • If driving:
      ◦  Put on a turn signal or otherwise acknowledge the Stop.
      ◦  Turn off the radio.
      ◦  Continue driving to a safe open location, pull over, Park, turn on the interior lights and outside flashers, lower the driverside window (or whichever window you expect the officer to approach), and turn off the engine.
      ◦  🗣  Tell any passengers to remain silent — you are the driver, and will do all the talking.
      ◦  🗣  Tell any passengers to not reach for anything.
         If you are racial minorities, 🗣 tell any passengers to put their hands on the dashboard or seatbacks.
      ◦  Passengers may record video of the encounter (just like any encounter in a public space), but don't be a nuisance, and get out smartphones and start recording way before the officer comes to the window.
      ◦  If your smartphone has a subcription to on-demand lawyer app TurnSignl, start a session on the app now.
      ◦  Put your hands on the steering wheel, and leave them there.
         Do not reach for 🪪📄︎📄︎ any paperwork (nor anything else) until:  🛂︎ (A) the officer requests them, (B) the officer and you verbally confirm their locations, and (C) the officer instructs you to proceed.
  • At all times:
      ◦  Be polite.
      ◦  Be respectful.
      ◦  Keep your hands visible, and movements slow and calm.
      ◦  but …
  • Do not disclose information to the police:
      ◦  Do not lie.
      ◦  But unless you called them, consider not disclosing the truth, either!  See video ↗ above or to right.  For full effect, select the video image, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.
  • X🛃︎X  Do not consent to a search.
      ◦  Not your 🚗︎ vehicle, 🏠︎ home, 📱︎ phone, 💻︎ computer, nor 🎒︎ backpack.
      ◦  If searched anyway, 🗣 speak loudly enough to be heard by witnesses, carcams and bodycams that you do not consent to this search.
  • X🪪X  Do not hand over your ID.  Unless, of course:
      ◦  🛃︎  You are crossing an international border, in which case you are legally obligated to provide your 🪪 travel documents.
      ◦  🪪 Or you are the driver in a traffic stop, in which case you are legally obligated to provide your 🪪📄︎📄︎:  (1) driver's license, (2) registration, and (3) proof of insurance.
         But do not reach for them until:  🛂︎ (A) the officer requests them, (B) the officer and you verbally confirm their locations, and (C) the officer instructs you to proceed.
  • X⚖︎🛂︎X  Do not take legal advice from a cop.
      ◦  🛂︎  Police are allowed to lie to you about almost everything — and do!
  • Good answers for 🛂︎ police requests include:
      ◦  ⚖︎🗣  "Am I legally obligated to answer that question?"
      ◦  ⚖︎🪪 "Am I legally obligated to provide my ID?"
      ◦  ⚖︎     "I think I will consult my attorney on that."  And the ultimate, …
      ◦  🚶︎      "Am I free to leave?"
         If the answer is "Yes", calmly and silently walk or drive away.
More details at 🇺🇸 ACLU series Know Your Rights If You're Stopped by the 🛂︎ Police, Immigration Agents or the FBI 📄︎ printable card  Adobe Acrobat Reader file 📄︎ printable sheet.  Adobe Acrobat Reader file

If you expect 🛂︎ police contact, what to do with your electronics.  Adobe Acrobat Reader file (page 25)

When stopped by 🛂︎︎ the police, if you would feel more comfortable with a lawyer looking over your shoulder, get a subscription to on-demand lawyer app TurnSignl.

If you expect 🛂︎ ☑ trouble voting.

Between encounters with 🛂︎ police, 💳︎ 📝︎ pay your parking tickets and citations, and 🚶︎⚖︎ 📅︎ attend all court dates.  Attending to these things may be painful, but they will be far easier to unwind early on, before they get muddled up with other offenses, and eventually turn into an 🛂︎ arrest warrant.

Watch  ▶︎  🗣 How To Speak, by Patrick Winston.  Will take an hour, but is well worth it.

And while we are at it, you know how 🚼︎ children need a parent when they go to the ⚕︎ doctor — a guardian or patient advocate?  I think that we all — 🏛🚶︎ educated adults included — need a second with us — an advocate — for all important encounters with ⚕︎ doctors, the 🛂︎ police or ⚖︎ courts.  A family member or friend, who:

  • is organized,
  • can 📝︎ take notes,
  • can notice points that you miss, and
  • can continue thinking after your brain shuts down upon hearing keywords cancer or jail.
Maybe we can catch all this information the first time, without having to resurrect everything later.

If you want to know even more, attend the Citizens Police Academy CPA of your local 🛂︎ police or sheriff department > personalize myJurisdiction.  We did, and are very happy with the experience.  We learned a lot!  If you are 👪︎ family or a friend, ask us for details — we will talk your head off!
If you committed some youthful indiscretions, took care of them, some time has elapsed, and want to put those behind you, you can petition the court to expunge your record.

If the court agrees, you can then again ☒ truthfully mark No to questions about arrests, charges or convictions on job applications and rental forms.

If you have the resources, do it — it is your right.

If necessary, at least check to see if you are included in automatic remedies such as Michigan's automatic expungement of 2023.
If the facts are against you,
    argue the law.
 If the law is against you,
    argue the facts.
 If the law and the facts are against you,
    pound the table and yell like hell.

    — Carl Sandburg.

These questions must all be answered affirmatively before military action is taken by the United States:

  1. Is a vital national security interest threatened?  [What is it?]
  2. Do we have a clear attainable objective?  [What is it?]
  3. Have the risks and costs been fully and frankly analyzed?
  4. Have all other non-violent policy means been fully exhausted?
  5. Is there a plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entanglement?  [What is it?]
  6. Have the consequences of our action been fully considered?
  7. Is the action supported by the American People?
  8. Do we have genuine broad international support?

    — The Powell Doctrine.   [Emphasis mine.]  I found this to be a terrific help in understanding our government's actions.  A tragedy that it survived as policy for only a dozen years — 1990 to 2002.  If it had continued, our world would be very different today.

Eschew obfuscation.

    — my Dad, among other people.

Test like you fly,
  fly like you test.
    — The way I learned it
writing ✈︎ aviation software.

Train like you fight,
  fight like you train.
    — The way I heard some of our customers learned it.

Plan your work,
  work the plan.
    — The way I learned it in chainsaw safety training, and writing ✈︎ aviation software.

Create and foster a safety culture.

But …

Fail early, and pivot.
    — The way I learned it in entrepreneur startup seminars.

No plan of battle survives first contact with the enemy.
    — Many versions, this is a variation of that said by Helmuth von Moltke the Elder.

Meaning every plan must be adjusted as you experience new information.

Make sure you fail on the test stand, so you do not fail in flight.
    — Elon Musk, quoted in "Elon Musk explains that destroyed SpaceX capsule came from testing to the 'extreme'" by Michael Sheetz.  CNBC.  .

Failure is an option here.  If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.
    — Elon Musk, quoted in "In 2 Sentences Elon Musk Explains Why the Key to Success Is Failure."  Inc.  .

⚠︎ But if you have an actual emergency …

Aviate.  Navigate.  Communicate.

    — In that order.  And don't move on to step 2 (or 3), unless you have step 1 (and 2) fully under control.
        6 pilot rules that everyone should live by.

If in danger,
  if in doubt,
run in circles,
  scream and shout.

    — OK, maybe this won't do any good;  ignore this advice.

Preparing and showing ▭🌄︎ presentations,
during 👥︎ live in-person or ▭  ▶︎  web-based digital
video virtual meetings, conferences, gatherings or
webinars, of distributed or self-isolating teams  Adobe Acrobat Reader file
 
 

Don't let Perfect be the enemy of Good.

    — aphorism commonly attributed to Voltaire, slightly reworded by me.
Progress, not perfection.

    — shortened version of aphorism attributed to Alcoholics Anonymous.
If you have identified a near-optimum solution, it may be OK to implement this one, instead of continuing the search for the optimum solution.

    — Not sure I've ever heard it said this way;  said by me for years, recorded here .  Understood instinctively by single parents.

    — Seems to map to the tension between current terms FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out/Fear of Missing Opportunities) versus FOBO (Fear Of Better Option) (which results in fear of commitment).  Both basically are fears of unknown risks.  Use this tension — don't run from it — or you will end up with FODA (Fear Of Doing Anything), which has its own known risks.  [.]

image of Crown, Keep Calm And Graduate, select to view larger image from Lindybeige video Rhetoric is not just Rhetorical, select to view video

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

    — Nelson Mandela

For full effect, view the video ↗ above or to right by selecting the video image, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.
You are what you have patience to be.

    — MTA, personal communication,
🏊︎ Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.  What do we do?  We swim, swim.

    — Dory.

It gets better!

    — I first heard this used by people trying to reduce 💥︎🔫︎ death by suicide in gay teens.  Later, I found it applicable for all young people, and anyone trying to find their way in this crazy world.

I think it usually gets better:

  • Partly because you get more experience solving problems.
  • Partly because you meet more people who can help you out — who know that nugget of information that you need right now, or whatever.
  • Partly because you slowly acquire more assets to help you along the way.

It may not look that way now, but if you can avoid dying, I've found it generally does get better!


If you, or someone you know, is 💥︎🔫︎ considering harming themselves, please contact the:


For depression and other mental health issues, please see:


Dementia Road Map:  A Guide for Family and Care Partners.  Adobe Acrobat Reader file

Info on other health topics, including 💊︎ Rx, medical tests, medical terminology, recipes, supplements, and genetics.

For full effect, select the video image ↗ above or to right, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.

We are all temporarily-abled.

    — Source unknown, I heard it a long time ago.  Although on , I heard Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee say that ⚕︎ doctors understand very well that they will soon be on the other side of the exam table.

Lesson Learned:  Design everything for your future self:

  • 🚧 Build your websites with text large-enough, contrast high-enough, and all that accessibility stuff.
  • Design/​acquire/​modify your 🏠︎ home with your ♿ future abilities and limitations in mind.
  • Test it!


If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there.

    — George Harrison. ]


For some more actions along these lines.
Running a household, including maintaining, buying or selling a 🏠︎ house or condominium  Adobe Acrobat Reader file
For you parents out there who are at the end of your rope …

The children now love luxury;  they have bad manners, contempt for authority;  they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.  Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households.

    — Socrates (469–399 BCE)  (Also remind me to write up my tips on parenting.)

Preparing for and seeing a 🌑 total solar or lunar eclipse!
        (for 👥︎ people who do this sporadically)  Adobe Acrobat Reader file
 
 

Eric Piehl resume  Adobe Acrobat Reader file   Eric Piehl resume  Microsoft Word file   Eric Piehl LinkedIn (he/him/his)

Not knowing something is fine.
Not wanting to know,
  or refusing to know, is the problem.

    — Eric's third law, first described by me, as far as I know.
If you don't ask, the answer's No.

    — MM, about .
Your decision isn't just about you.  It's for your children, grandchildren.

Think seven generations ahead when [you] make big decisions, because [your] future [descendants], those yet to arrive, who will one day become the elders, live with the choices you make today.

    — Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

    —  ▶︎  🔊︎ Song Freewill, by band Rush.
.   For full effect, select the video link button, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.


For full effect, view the videos ↖ above or to left by selecting a video image, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.   More  ▶︎  videos like ↖ above or to left.   Even more  ▶︎  videos from them!

Or ☀︎🚶︎🏠︎ go outdoors ( ▶︎  in ☀︎ natural sunlight, direct or indirect).

old 🏠︎ home page  (under 🚧 reconstruction)

I have other articles, not for public use.  Some articles are just for me.  If you are a on how to access them.

Hamilton: An American Musical is amazing, on lots of levels.

To convince you to get 🎫 tickets to the show next time it comes to your town, please study the quotes, videos and Dramatus Personæ ↓ below, synopsis and lyrics.

This first video image (↖ above or left) links to fragments of PBS TV show American Experience episode "Hamilton's America," which describes the story about the musical, and about half the musical itself.  Its second link used to show the full episode.  Later, it was available with ☸︎ PBS Passport.   Later, even that was taken away.  I hope PBS restores access to this episode — it is terrific.  Meanwhile, enjoy the fragments!  And these newer fragments!  For full effect, select the video image or link, then sublinks, then icons ⤢ full­screen, ㏄ Closed Captions=On,  and ▶︎ Play.

Talk less, smile more,
  don't let them know what you're against or what you're for.
…
You keep out of trouble,
  and you double your choices.
…
You want to get ahead?
  Fools who shoot their mouths off, wind up dead.    — Aaron Burr

I can wait for it.    — Aaron Burr

⚰
Death doesn't discriminate
  between the sinners and saints,
And we keep living anyway,
  we rise and we fall,
  and we break,
  and we make our mistakes.
And if there is reason, I'm still alive
  when so many have died,
Then I'm willing to wait for it,
  I'm willing to wait for it.
…
I'm the one thing in life I can control,
  I am inimitable, I am an original.
I'm not running behind or running late,
  I'm not standing still, I am lying in wait.
…
Hamilton doesn't hesitate,
  he exhibits no restraint,
  he takes and he takes and he takes,
And he keeps winning anyway,
  he changes the game,
  he plays
  and he raises the stakes.
And if there's a reason he seems to thrive
  when so few survive,
  then Goddamnit —
I'm willing to wait for it.    — Aaron Burr

image from video Hamilton: An American Musical, full lyrics, select to view video
This second video image (↖ above or left) links to the entire musical:  audio plus lyrics.  For full effect, select the video image, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.

No one else was in the room where it happened
  No one really knows how the game is played
  The art of the trade
  How the sausage gets made
  We just assume that it happens
But no one else is in the room where it happens.    — Aaron Burr

I have never been satisfied.  I am never satisfied.  I will never be satisfied.    — Angelica Schuyler and Alexander Hamilton

Rise up.    — ensemble

I'd rather be divisive than indecisive.    — Alexander Hamilton

I am not throwing away my shot!    — Alexander Hamilton

We gotta go,
  gotta get the job done,
  gotta start a new nation,
  gotta meet my son!        — Alexander Hamilton, about to lead a charge in the Battle of Yorktown

Tomorrow there'll be more of us.    — John Laurent

I wanna be in the room where it happens.    — Aaron Burr

Dying is easy, young man,
  living is harder.
…
Winning was easy, young man,
  governing's harder.              — George Washington

You could let it go,
  stay alive for me.
Let it go,
  live to fight another day.    — Eliza Schuyler (Hamilton) and George Washington
Look at where you are,
  look at where you started.
The fact that you're alive is a miracle,
  just stay alive, that would be enough.  That would be enough.    — Eliza Schuyler (Hamilton)

Look around, look around,
  at how lucky we are to be alive right now.    — Alexander Hamilton

If you stand for nothing,
  what'll you fall for?
…
What're you waiting for,
  what do you stall for?
We won the war,
  what was it all for?    — Alexander Hamilton

Why do you always
  say what you believe?
Every proclamation guarantees
  free ammunition for your enemies!    — Aaron Burr

Why do you assume you're the smartest in the room?
  Soon that attitude may be your doom!
How do you write like it's going out of style?
  Write day and night like it's going out of style?    — Aaron Burr

How do you write like you're running out of time?
  Write day and night like you're running out of time?
How do you write like tomorrow won't arrive,
  How do you write like you need it to survive?
How do you write every second you're alive?
  Every second you're alive?  Every second you're alive?    — ensemble


I feel that for much of my past, I have been an amalgam of Burr and Hamilton.  But am increasingly Hamilton.   Obviously, Lin-Manuel Miranda watched some of the same movies as me.


See what Hamilfans think of ☑ voting.


Dramatis personæ
Character How to recognize Played by (Broadway original cast | Lansing)
Alexander Hamilton, protagonist, born Saint Croix, Nevis Light vest and pants, coats=brown then blue then dark green. Lin-Manuel Miranda | Edred Utomi
Eliza Schuyler (Hamilton), wife to Alexander, sister to Angelica and Peggy Hair=tied back neat, dress=brown or white. Phillipa Soo | Hannah Cruz
Aaron Burr, antagonist Hair=near-shaved, burgundy or dark coat. Leslie Odom, Jr. | Josh Tower
Angelica Schuyler, brightest character in play, sister to Eliza and Peggy Hair=long, dress=bright. Renée Elise Goldsberry | Stephanie Umoh
George Washington, general, President Hair=shaved, white britches, navy coat with white trim, light blue sash, navy 3-cornered hat. Christopher Jackson | Paul Oakley Stovall
Marquis de Lafayette, revolutionary in USA and France Hair=wild, pulled back into ponytail. Daveed Diggs | Bryson Bruce
Thomas Jefferson, Ambassador to France, Secretary of State, President Hair=wild, bright purple coat.
Hercules Mulligan, tailor's apprentice, spy Hair=gray winter knit cap, dark coat, light vest and pants. "Oak" Okieriete Onaodowan | Chaundre Hall-Broomfield
James Madison, President
John Laurens, abolitionist Hair=brown pulled back. Anthony Ramos | Jon Viktor Corpuz
Philip Hamilton, son to Alexander
Peggy Schuyler, sister to Angelica and Eliza Jasmine Cephas Jones | Olivia Puckett
Maria Reynolds, affair with Alexander Hamilton
King George III Jonathan Grof | Peter Matthew Smith

Hamilton details found by YouTube content creator Flicks and the City

image from band Simply Three, select to view these music videos

Caring for a loved-one whose mind and/or body is falling apart

Attention dysregulation, currently called ADD and ADHD

Prevention of 🤧︎ allergies and ⚠︎🫁 asthma

The purpose of life is to hydrogenate carbon dioxide.
    — Michael Russell, Astrobiologist at JPL.

… or on other worlds, perhaps hydrogenate acetylene or ethane.
    — Chris McKay, Astrobiologist at NASA Ames.

The purpose of life is to dissipate local energy and increase our universe's entropy, more efficiently than possible with non-biological processes.
    — Is the universe pro-life?
Quartz.  .

"On the roles of function and selection in evolving systems", October 16, 2023 DOI: 10.1073/​pnas.2310223120 accessed 2023-10-17.

We all have two lives.  The second one starts when we realize that we only have one.

    — Tom Hiddleston.

If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

    —  ▶︎  🔊︎ Song Freewill, by band Rush.
.   For full effect, select the video link button, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.