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WITandWISDOM(tm) – January 1, 2007 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Write your plans in pencil and give God the eraser. Submitted by Elaine ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: According to legend, a desert wanderer discovered a spring of cool, crystal-clear water. It tasted so good, he filled a leather container with the precious liquid so he could bring it to the king. After a long journey, he presented his gift to the king, who drank it with great pleasure and lavishly thanked the wanderer, who went away with a happy heart. The king’s son tasted the water and spit it out. It had picked up the smell of the old leather canteen and had become foul. The boy asked his father why he pretended to like the awful tasting water. The king said, "Son, that man gave me a gift from his heart. It wasn’t the water I enjoyed; it was the sweet taste of his generosity. When someone gives you something with genuine love, the thing given is simply the container. The real gift is the thought inside." The wisdom of the king’s insight is best experienced when we get a gift from a child who loves us. Whether it’s a ceramic tray, a macaroni pin, or a crayon drawing, the purity of the child’s sweet intentions generates a form of joy we call gratitude. This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts. © 2006 Josephson Institute of Ethics; reprinted with permission. Michael Josephson, one of the nation's leading ethicists, is the founder of the Josephson Institute of Ethics and the premier youth character education program, CHARACTER COUNTS! For further information visit http://www.charactercounts.org ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: An elderly woman burst into a pet store. "I want to buy a canary, but it's got to be a good singer. I've got good, hard cash, but I'm only paying for a good singer." The shop owner began moving a ladder towards a small cage on a shelf about fifteen feet up, near the ceiling of the store. "Ma'am, I'm forty years in this business. In that cage is the best singer I've ever seen." "Don't think I'm gonna feel obligated to pay for something I don't want just because you're climbing up a ladder like a monkey. I want a canary but it's got to be a good singer." By this point the shop keeper was coming down from the ladder. "Ma'am, this bird is a veritable feathered Caruso!" Placing the cage on the counter, the bird burst into melody after melody. Awed the woman murmured, "This bird is a good singer." Suddenly in a shrill scream, "Hey, this bird's only got one leg." The pet store owner was unperturbed, "Lady what do you want a singer or a dancer?" Source: Chapnotes, mailto:xanmansa@chapnotes.org?Subject=Subscribe ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Ever notice how it's a penny for your thoughts, yet you put in your two-cents? Someone is making a penny on the deal. - Steven Wright Source: Nybble Bi-Weekly Newsletter, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nybble ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: 1,000 GB On One Disc University of Central Florida Chemistry Professor Kevin D. Belfield and his team have developed a new technology that will allow users to record and store massive amounts of data -- the museum's entire collection or as many as 500 movies, for example -- onto a single disc or, perhaps, a small cube. Belfield's Two-Photon 3-D Optical Data Storage System use lasers to compact large amounts of information onto a DVD while maintaining excellent quality. The information is stored permanently without the possibility of damage. The process involves shooting two different wavelengths of light onto the recording surface. The use of two lasers creates a very specific image that is sharper than what current techniques can render. Depending on the color (wavelength) of the light, information is written onto a disk. The process involves shooting two different wavelengths of light onto the recording surface. The use of two lasers creates a very specific image that is sharper than what current techniques can render. Depending on the color (wavelength) of the light, information is written onto a disk. The team's work with lasers and lights has other practical applications. Belfield's research team is creating chemical agents that, after being injected into patients, will travel within the bloodstream to find and bind with cancer cells. Using light, doctors would then be able to see if and where a patient has cancer cells. Another agent could be injected that would then destroy the cancer cells when activated by light, without damaging other healthy cells. http://snipurl.com/166jk Source: Nybble Bi-Weekly Newsletter, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nybble