Nothing Matters More

Nothing matters more to a child than a place to call home.

-- Brenda Donald, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Human Resources, "Brenda Donald: Mission possible for Maryland: 1,000 new foster parents by 2010", Examiner.com, 5 February 2008

It Gives A Light

As soon as a true thought has entered our mind, it gives a light which makes us see a crowd of other objects which we have never perceived before.

-- Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand (1768 - 1848), French writer, politician, and diplomat, as quoted in A Dictionary of Thoughts (1908), by Tyron Edwards

Vibrations

We give too many people the power to lower our vibrations.  Stand true to your own frequency.

-- Unknown

Fundamental

I believe the preservation of our civil liberties to be the most fundamental and important of all our governmental problems, because it always has been with us and always will be with us and if we ever permit those liberties to be destroyed, there will be nothing left in our system worthy of preservation.

-- Earl Warren (1891-1974), Governor of California (1943-1953) and Chief Justice of the United States (1953-1969)

Which One?

Well, I guess the question is, which one?

-- White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, when asked why the president did not take Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his word about his support for a two-state solution, New York Times, 21 March 2015

Traffic

The problem with traffic is that the people of today are driving the cars of tomorrow on the roads of yesterday.

-- Bob Talbert (1936-1999), American journalist, Detroit Free Press, ca. 1987

Our Greatness

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world -- that is the myth of the atomic age -- as in being able to remake ourselves.

-- Professor Michael N. Nagler (1937-), American academic and peace activist, in his foreword to Gandhi the Man (1978) by Eknath Easwaran, p. 8

Two Things

Two things cause people to be destroyed: fear of poverty and seeking superiority through pride.

-- Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (~601-661), cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Majlisi, Bihrul Anwr, vol. 72, p. 39

Scion FR-S (New Toy)

I still have my 1999 Saturn SC-2 (366K miles and counting), but today I picked up an impractical but fun toy, a 2015 Scion FR-S.

http://www.scion.com/cars/FR-S2015/colors/

This is the first car I've bought new since about 1986, before I got married.  I got my car in a color they call Halo which is White.  Automatic transmissions have come a long way in the past couple of decades, but I opted for the 6-speed manual.  Fuel efficiency isn't great, but isn't terrible either; I'm hoping for about 30 mpg combined.  I'll know more after a couple of tanks of gas.

It's a small, 2-door coupe, with front engine, rear-wheel drive, and a low center of gravity.  There's not a ton of power, but the handling is first rate.  And it's a generation ahead of the Saturn both under the hood and in the electronics.

The Waiting Time

But the waiting time, my brothers,
    Is the hardest time of all.

-- Sarah Doudney (1841-1926), English novelist and poet, Psalms of Life, The Hardest Time of All.

218

We really don't have 218 votes to determine a bathroom break over here on our side, so how are we going to get 218 votes on transportation, or trade, or whatever the issue?

-- Representative Charlie Dent (R-PA) on divisions in his party as it faces budget bills, New York Times, 9 March 2015

Invent The Methods

The art of teaching consists in large part of interesting people in things that ought to interest them, but do not.  The task of educators is to discover what an education is and then to invent the methods of interesting their students in it.

-- Robert Maynard Hutchins (1899-1977), American educational philosopher, Great Books: The Foundation of a Liberal Education (1954)

Cracked Up

[A]dults are not all they're cracked up to be.  And most of them are wrong most of the time.  This can be quite revelatory for a kid - often launching them on a personal quest of exploration, rather than of Q&A sessions with their parents.

-- Neil deGrasse Tyson (1958-), American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and science communicator, when asked, "If you could impress one thing on young people today, what would it be?", 13 November 2011


http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/mateq/i_am_neil_degrasse_tyson_ama/

Born Scientists

Kids are never the problem.  They are born scientists.  The problem is *always* the adults.  They beat the curiosity out of kids.  They out-number kids.  They vote.  They wield resources.  That's why my public focus is primarily adults.

-- Neil deGrasse Tyson (1958-), American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and science communicator, comment by @neiltyson to the reddit discussion "I am Neil deGrasse Tyson -- AMA", 13 November 2011

One Simple Thing

There is one simple thing wrong with you -- you think you have plenty of time ...  If you don't think your life is going to last forever, what are you waiting for?  Why the hesitation to change?  You don't have time for this display, you fool.  This, whatever you're doing now, may be your last act on earth.  It may very well be your last battle.  There is no power which could guarantee that you are going to live one more minute.

-- Carlos Castaneda (? - 27 April 1998), American author and anthropologist, Journey to Ixtlan

Pizza Hut Pizza From Domino's

If I ask for pizza from Pizza Hut for lunch but clarify that I would be fine with a pizza from Domino's, and I then specify that I want ham and pepperoni on my pizza from Pizza Hut, my friend who returns from Domino's with a ham and pepperoni pizza has still complied with a literal construction of my lunch order.

-- Judge Andre Davis, in a concurring opinion of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals which upheld the King case, currently being argued in appeal before the Supreme Court, July 2014

Money Is Oxygen

Money is oxygen for terrorism.

-- Kent A. Yalowitz, a lawyer for families who won a $655 million judgment against the Palestinian Authority and the PLO for their role in terror attacks that killed and wounded Americans in Israel, New York Times, 24 February 2015

Willing To Give Up Being

You must want to be a butterfly so badly, you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.

-- Sekou Andrews, poet, at TEDx San Diego, December 2011


If you have 7 minutes to spare, the following video is pretty entertaining, though it doesn't include the above quote:

https://vimeo.com/35974939

A Garden

A life is like a garden.  Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.  LLAP

-- Leonard Nimoy (26 March 1931 - 27 February 2015), American actor, film director, and poet, final tweet of @TheRealNimoy on Twitter, 1:36 AM, 23 February 2015