Life and Random Thinking

Adventures of Super Dave (to be continued)

Posted on October 7, 2017 by dfolstad58

Here is a post i wrote five years ago which I think no one saw.
As it is my birthday today I want to thank readers and followers of my blog for encouragement and feedback.
It’s hard to explain to anyone how many nice people are out there blogging that I would never have been exposed to if not for starting this blog.
I salute you!

Doctor No…. Classics Illustrated? (Photo credit: Felix_Nine)

I noted on Facebook that October 5, 2012 was the 50th anniversary of James Bond. Since 1962 and Doctor No this fictional character created by Ian Fleming has been part of movie culture. I was surprised that the number of movies is 22, and # 23 will be out soon, called Skyfall.

I know I have been enjoying the lad from Eton, reading and re-reading the original novels and the many copycat authors, like the actors who played 007, some were better than others.

Personally in my mind, there is no contest ~ Sean Connery was the first and the best in the role. Pierce Brosnan was good also but he seemed to tire quickly of the role, worried about being typecast perhaps?

My original comment about 007 kindled a friend to wish me many more “Super Dave” adventures. I may not chase…

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Analysis of a Speech by Alberto Cairo

Posted on September 22, 2017 by dfolstad58

I had planned to sit down and write a post today but then I read this post and heard this man’s story.

I hope that you will take the time to hear the story. It is a meaningful story, told by a humble man and you will understand like I do the power and connection of a story .
Toastmasters will appreciate that the speech includes an evaluation and that highlights the strong points of the speech as well as providing suggestions on how to improve it. That is what Toastmasters do when we get together in clubs, and evaluations help us improve.

Manner of Speaking

Alberto Cairo is the head of the orthopedic program run by the International Committee of the Red Cross (the “ICRC”) in Afghanistan. A physiotherapist from Italy, he has been in Afghanistan for more than 20 years. During that time, he has helped thousands of Afghan landmine and accident victims. Not only has given them prosthetic limbs, he has given them hope. He has given them dignity.

Alberto’s story is poignant, hopeful and inspirational. I found it deeply moving. Please do watch. Following the clip is my analysis from the public speaking perspective.

There are profound life lessons that that we can learn from “Mr. Alberto”, as he is known to the thousands of people whom he has help. There are also several things that we can learn from him about about public speaking.

In a succinct, 45-second opening, Alberto introduces himself and sets the stage for his talk. Introducing oneself…

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Guess what? We won!

Posted on September 7, 2017 by dfolstad58

Originally posted on Life and Random Thinking:
I am sure there are many people like me, people who enter contests, never expecting to get a phone call or an email telling them they won. But it happened to me……. I…

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Vancouver convention Toastmasters

Posted on August 31, 2017 by dfolstad58

First Timers Gathering

Opening Ceremonies

All the 142 countries flags

My friend D’arcy and a new friend J J from China

One of many presentations

Kindra Hall – The Power of Storytelling

Just me

Kinda Hall

John Andrews from Toronto – Semifinals 1 Winner

Shailee Basnett – Together We Reach Higher

Me and 2015 Champion Mohammed Qahtani

Convention Centre plaza

walking along Coal Harbour

The 86th Annual International Toastmasters Convention was August 22-26, 2017. I have been looking forward to attending for years.

Why? I have attended District conferences in spring and fall and they are fun. This is a much bigger event, more people, more speakers, toastmasters attend not only from this district but from all over the world.

5000 attendees from Jordan, Singapore, United States, China, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Australia and on and on.

I am fortunate my very good friend D’arcy joins me from Seattle and shares the experiences with me at Toastmaster conference/conventions.

Why do I go? What would you experience if you had been there with us?

Everyone at these events have paid to be there and they are happy to have the opportunity to meet you and find out about your Toastmasters experiences, and your club. The speakers I heard were all excellent speakers, and they all had nuggets of wisdom to share to inspire, entertain and benefit all of us. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxing. While standing in line for the final speaking contest I struck up conversations with people from Taiwan and it was great. When I found a seat I had a little talk with a husband and wife sitting beside me who were from Sri Lanka and they shared their contact card. After the event I had a nice visit with a man from Kuwait. This happened all three days, friendly people who all had Toastmasters in common with me.

It was three days I had anticipated for two years and I’m glad I said “yes” to the experience.

That is my thought for today, please don’t leave yourself out of your bucket list. Say YES to yourself. Take care of yourself in big and small ways, in health especially – body and mind. A funny truth of life is that one of the best ways to take care of your loved ones, is to take care of yourself, first.

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate the encouraging comments.

Posted in Toastmasters | Tagged 2017, British Columbia, convention, experiences, growth, Self Improvement, Toastmasters, Vancouver | Comments Off

Starting every day successfully

Posted on August 15, 2017 by dfolstad58

How I start my day with respect to breakfast.

Is breakfast is the most important way to start your day so it is successful?

A dietary presentation I attended talked about breakfast and how sugary cereals or other breakfast sandwiches etc can start you off every day in ongoing blood sugar cycles. Those highs and crashes cause us mortals to be ravenous earlier in the morning and eat other than what we should. Eating cereal usually means I am growly hungry by 10 a.m.

I need to lose some weight. Eating healthy and avoiding sugar crashes is important to me so I can control my eating.

eggshells

Keeping it simple, I have started cooking myself a single egg for breakfast, and surprisingly, I feel full all morning. Hot sauce, and some tomato chopped up are all I add to the scrambled egg.

Over the weeks that’s a lot of eggs and mostly I manage to keep the eggshell out of my little scrambled egg.

egg wrap cooker I bought this little cooker which does the eggs one at a time, and if I want I can add a wrap which I just add for 30 seconds to warm up the wrap. If you cook the wrap too long it gets stiff.

It comes apart and is simple to wash for you practical types.

The egg comes out about an inch tall and really fluffy, takes 5 minutes. The hot sauce gives it a nice zing, and the chopped cherry tomato from my garden makes it sweet.

But my blog isn’t about cooking, or health tips.

brain I do often share my thoughts about life and use analogies. This is another situation where I am sharing my thoughts.

For weeks now I have been thinking about these cracked open eggs and how sometimes I have to scoop out some egg shells before I cook them or I’m going to be surprised by a crunchy scrambled egg.

I realize though that my breakfast is delicious and nutritious but one of these days I am going to accidentally leave in a small piece of eggshell. If one day I have a crunchy breakfast I wouldn’t throw it away or spit it out. Maybe eggshell has some dietary benefit I don’t know.

rima-hassan-3 I wondered if there was an analogy for me, my life is pretty swell too. It’s not a 5 star breakfast in Michelin rated restaurant but I enjoy it, and am contented. It suits me and it benefits me.

My breakfast and my life, eggshells and all whenever I get them is still one to be grateful for, to be appreciated, and enjoyed.

Definitely the best part of my start to the day is not the breakfast at all, but being thankful to be alive, being content, and for the people in my life. I will endeavour to grateful for my breakfast and my life, eggshells or not.

Perhaps that is the most successful way to start the day, being thankful, and breakfast comes second.

Thank you for reading, do you have a formula for a successful day? or a healthy breakfast Idea? I’d love to hear your comments to this post.

Posted in Thinking Out loud | Tagged being content, Breakfast, eggs, eggshell, mindfulness, simple living, successful thinking, thankfulness | 9 Comments

Hippo Highways: Day 2 of our Walking Safari

Posted on August 11, 2017 by dfolstad58

Africa, hippos, folk lore, pictures made this a special post to reblog. No plans to do a walk about in African heat? Then see here to find what we missed.

Ann Cavitt Fisher

In the late afternoons, hippos yawn A LOT. After spending most of the day in the water, they’re having a little oxygen deprivation issue. Photograph, Cat Gassiot.

A sausage tree on the banks of a lagoon. It won’t be long before this lagoon dries out. Photograph, Ann Fisher

The first night in Luangwa Bush Camp (LBC), a camp that moves location each evening, our tents had been on the banks of the Luangwa river.

After a light breakfast and some coffee, we left for our second day of walking. Before long, we were skirting a lagoon. In South Luangwa, these come and go with the rainy season — and this lagoon was ribboning down to a slender line of green.

By the time August comes around, it will be completely gone until the rains return. At this point though, we still needed the makeshift log bridge Braston had laid across…

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