From the category archives:

PARADIGM CHANGE

CYBORG: a person whose functions are aided by electronic devices

February 1, 2012

At least five times in the last 90 minutes I have heard commentators say something about the cyborg that occurred in the Florida primary.  I was sure that someplace along the way someone would stop and define the word, but, alas, it was used and then passed over as if everyone in America would know [...]

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STRIVEN: to have pursued something with energy and tenacity

January 25, 2012

The marathon runner crossing the finish line is the most vivid illustration of someone who has striven.  After months and months of training and preparation, the runner puts the last effort of a 26.2 mile, grueling race behind (him) and thrusts his body across the line, sometimes collapsing, having given his last ounce of energy [...]

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DIURNAL: active during the day (as opposed to nocturnal)

November 13, 2011

My wife reports that one of the symptoms of dementia may be a confused diurnal/nocturnal schedule.   When this occurs, the patient wants to sleep during the day and to roam and be active during the night.   Light doesn’t seem to matter.  In the confusion of the mind the time clock within the patient/resident is reversed.  [...]

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RECOVERY: a transitional stage following a crisis

November 7, 2011

Given my history of hospitalizations over the past year or more, when I hear the word recovery my mind moves directly to the recovery room.  It’s that very important location in a hospital where you are moved for a temporary stay directly after having surgery or some other procedure.  The main reason they take you [...]

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COUNTER-CULTURE:

September 16, 2011

The late 60′s and early 70′s were my cultural puberty.   I was still quite fuzzy and I hadn’t yet developed my adult voice.  I was in the process of becoming culturally aware and my attempts at demonstrating it were fumbled and awkward. It was during that era that a phenomenon covered his country that has [...]

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HYDROELECTRIC: power created by the force of moving water

September 15, 2011

One hundred and fifty years ago the Industrial Revolution was thriving in Rhode Island.  What is now know as the Blackstone River Valley was the place where the Industrial Revolution in this country  was founded and it was powered exclusively by the powerful hydroelectric plants along the rivers.  They led down from the heart of [...]

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STUMP SPEECH: a prepared political presentation which is “on message”

August 14, 2011

I suppose that … literally … the photo tells it best.  A stump speech can best be delivered while standing on a tree stump in the midst of an audience.   But the term has come to mean something broader.  A political  stump speech is one prepared by a campaign committee to include the specific, [...]

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SYSTEMIC: an underlying, repeating pattern

August 2, 2011

When you look at the illustration to the right which depicts the solar system it gives you a basis for understanding the word systemic. There is an order, seemingly a plan, by which the planets relate to the sun.  It is predictable, allowing us to develop a calendar and giving us a road map  by [...]

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TRANSPARENCY: full disclosure

July 28, 2011

This isn’t the first time I’ve posted about the word transparency. I looked at it more generically in a previous blog posting and have mentioned it off and on in other postings. But something occurred to me when I was watching Morning Joe this morning, listening to a vocal member* of the Tea Party rant [...]

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BRAINSTEERING: not the same as brainstorming

June 14, 2011

I read an article by Anthony Balderama recently about authors Kevin and Shawn Coyne in which they challenged one of my basic, fundamental beliefs, the idea that “there is no such thing as a bad idea.” How many hundreds of times since I was a child have I heard a teacher or other mentor make [...]

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