Author: Paul Handover

Patrice Ayme and truth

Intelligence at the core of humanism

A while ago a comment on Baseline Scenario jumped off the screen at me.  I was intrigued because the author of this comment used words with power and insightfulness.  That author was Patrice Ayme.  It’s a nom de plume. [NB. Not it isn’t, see comments below] The sub-heading at the top of this Post is from his Blog.  Here’s an extract from the About section of that Blog.

This is a site that tries to find out what is really happening, and what is not, what is right and what is wrong, on many important questions, and in all sorts of ways. In other words thinking is applied relentlessly, the way evolution made it, as the ultimate instrument of domination of anything in sight (be it domination of oneself, of one’s own ideas and emotions, or domination of the universe). Thinking evolved to predict effectively and ambitiously, not to cower in a corner, modest and dazed. Prometheus’ punishment was a regrettable misunderstanding: we did not steal fire from someone, we created our mastery of fire, and fire made us what we are, as we wished. Mastering fire was not a sin, the Greco-Romans were wrong on that one. Fire was part of what we have evolved to be; masters of the universe, for better or worse.

Read more about Patrice

SoundCloud – very cool!

SoundCloud is just wonderful.

If you are into music, and who isn’t, do hot foot it over to SoundCloud.  It’s just an amazing reminder of the power of the web.

Essentially, it makes posting music onto a web site or Blog as easy as, well as easy as this …

Just click on the play button and drift away!

Very, very cool!

By Paul Handover

Cell phones and cancer

Is the mobile telephone industry being honest?

A report released by the International EMF Collaborative last week has some disturbing information in it; that cell phones (mobile phones in Europe) are more likely than not to be a causative factor in some cancers, most notably brain cancers.

That information will not come as a surprise to anyone as rumours have been circulating for many years.  What is driving-while-on-cell-phoneworse (if brain cancer wasn’t bad enough) is a growing view that the cell phone industry may have been trying to skew the results in favour of the industry.  If proven, that sort of corporate behaviour underlines the value of integrous living as the only way of creating a society fit for all.

The International EMF Collaborative claims that the Interphone study, which begun in 1999, was “intended to determine the risks of brain tumors, but its full publication has been held up for years. Components of this study published to date reveal what the authors call a ’systemic-skew’, greatly underestimating brain tumor risk.”

Know of young people using cell phones? Then read more and pass this Post on to them.

Read more about this study

Good old-fashioned service values

What a delight to come across people who care.

This is a personal story with a wider message. That great after-sales service matters and in these difficult times will make the difference between surviving and even growing, or failing.

I drive a 2005 5.7 litre Jeep.  It was bought (second-hand) when I arrived in the US about a year ago, en route to JeepMexico.

Just recently the automatic transmission failed.  There was no choice but to commit it to the local Mexican Jeep dealership for repair.  This is a sophisticated transmission system and I was seriously worried that it was going to be a nightmare.

I didn’t account for the help from AASTRO in Tucson, where the Jeep had been serviced a couple of times.

Continue reading “Good old-fashioned service values” →

Just pause a while

Patrick’s landscapes are breath-taking.

Isla Mujeres, near Cancun, Mexico. Reproduced with permission. Copyright (c) 2009 Patrick Smith, all rights reserved
Isla Mujeres, near Cancun, Mexico. Reproduced with permission. Copyright (c) 2009 Patrick Smith, all rights reserved

The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes

but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust (1871-1922)

By Paul Handover

Help save 5,000 pets in one week!

Let’s help Pilot’s N Paws achieve something wonderful.

Unless one is familiar with this fine organisation, you may be scratching your head wondering how is it that 5,000 pets can be rescued in a week.

Click to learn more
Click to learn more

The Pilots N Paws 5000 will take place during the week of September 12th through the 20th. This event was conceived as a means to draw public attention to three issues. The first and most important message that needs to be conveyed is that we have a serious problem in this country and as a result about 4,000,000 animals or more are euthanized annually.
This would not be the case if there were more and better spay and neuter programs and laws regarding owners’ responsibility for their animals.

The second issue is that because the problem is primarily regional a lot of these innocent animals could find permanent “forever” homes if they could be transported from high kill regions to areas with homes available. To accomplish this we desperately need more pilots to help with transports.
The final issue is that while aviation has proven to be a successful way to transport animals to safety, general aviation in this country is threatened. The threats range from onerous Homeland Security directives to crippling and expensive fees imposed on general aviation. We want to see general aviation perceived by the public accurately as a driving force in our economy, and one that contributes far more than its economic impact would suggest. We want to see general aviation free of these threats.

Their website has a special section devoted to PNP 5000, so do read more.  The home page has a link where you can donate to support this excellent cause.

Let’s face it, rescuing these animals is only returning the favour.

Rescue dogs

By Paul Handover

Air Sports

World Aerobatic Championships, Silverstone, England

Yesterday was the last of the three days of the WAC, the World Aerobatic Championships, held, this time, in England.  Had I known earlier then this Post would have been published before the event had finished.

Anyway, guess what has been found on the web?  Airsports TV.  So all those that hanker after this sort of thing, here is your very own TV station.  Want to know more about Airsports TV?  Watch the video below:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Want more?
Now hang on to your seats!

STS 128 is away!

Shuttle Discovery launches without a hitch.

At 23.59 EDT, Shuttle Discovery lifts off from launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Centre.

sts 128 launch

America frequently gets a bad press around the world but events like this are a reminder of the pioneering spirit of the American people. Long may that continue.

By the way, ever wondered what it is like to be inside the Shuttle during a launch?

Read more of this Post

The sharing spirit

This virtual world has so much to share.

The photography of Patrick Smith is breathtaking.  So much so, it seemed important to promote his talents to the widest possible audience.

He has been very generous in giving Learning from Dogs written permission to reproduce his pictures.  Thus from time to time, we will do just that.

Thank you, Patrick.

Portal of the Sun - Big Sur, California
Portal of the Sun – Big Sur, California

Published with the written permission of Patrick Smith Photography.

Copyright (c) 2009, all rights reserved.  Please do not use this picture without permission.

By Paul Handover

Selling Change – Concluding Part.

Understanding the process of change – key learning points.

  • Good, really good, knowledge of your products and services is essential.
  • People don’t buy anything unless they are dissatisfied with their present circumstances.Questioning
  • Selling change means getting the client to recognise that change brings real benefits.
  • Only good, client-focused questioning will uncover real needs.
  • Only excellent listening skills will allow you to hear what those needs are.
  • Don’t worry about the type of questions – just question, question, question.  Oh, and listen!
  • Understanding the potential customer’s business and where their needs are is fundamental.

Needs questioning is a sales concept.

Continue reading “Selling Change – Concluding Part.” →