October 30, 2026 a thought for today, The strength of the bee is its patience. Welsh Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “words in a book”. This is from a very old cook book. The same title that my mom used over seventy years ago, The American Woman’s Cook Book. 

The next assignment was “my choice” and one from my series of “texture layover”.The image is one of the local metro parks in the area. I put a vintage cracked parchment layover on it. 

The last upload was “costume”. I didn’t have any costumes available and no children near by getting ready for the holiday. So I used a piece of one of the ornaments in the store. 

Life today. Printing yesterday went smoothly and quickly, I like this new format. I hope the rest of the congregation does too, the comments I have heard have been positive. 

What a day. Sue is getting some help from family for some paper work that is beyond my purview so there have been people in and out of the house this afternoon. My desk is right in the line of activity. 

I got several the items on my list checked off earlier. I also got the dishwasher loaded. We had a brief period that the electric was out in the neighborhood. I took that as an indication that I was lucky, giving me a change to get that done while my computer work was put on hold until the electric was back on. One of the big things I worked on from my list was the formatting the new newsletter, it is going slowly, it is all graphic test boxes and tables, both taking time to size, format and place.

I have the photos for today all ready for upload. This letter will be ready very soon. So I will determine which to do first the uploads or tomorrow’s curbside pick up order ready. 

We are having another as close as perfect that is possible autumn day, gorgeous sun, perfect temperature for this early in the season. 

The word to ponder today is exact.  It is the nature of all greatness not to be exact. Edmund Burke. The way to procure insults is to submit to them: a man meets with no more respect than he exacts. William Hazlitt. Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man. Sir Francis Bacon. Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites. Edmund Burke. In the long-run every Government is the exact symbol of its People, with their wisdom and unwisdom; we have to say, Like People like Government. Thomas Carlyle. True patriotism sometimes requires of men to act exactly contrary, at one period, to that which it does at another, and the motive which impels themthe desire to do rightis precisely the same. Robert E. Lee. For we both alike know that into the discussion of human affairs the question of justice enters only where the pressure of necessity is equal, and that the powerful exact when they can, and the weak grant what they must. Thucydides. Our observation of nature must be diligent, our reflection profound, and our experiments exact. We rarely see these three means combined; and for this reason, creative geniuses are not common. Denis Diderot. Where does the violet tint end and the orange tint begins? Ease and speed in doing a thing do not give the work lasting solidity or exactness of beauty. Plutarch. Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small; Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness grinds He all. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Exactness in little things is a wonderful source of cheerfulness. Frederick William Faber. 

Article summary. I am hooked on texts and email. As I see it it is useful and effective in that the person that is being contacted may or may not be able to take part in a conversation at the same moment as the sender. There are “cons” I suppose, like written evidence in the case of a dispute, but then it can be there for review when necessary too. I am also a letter writer as shown here.  So lets see what what we can learn from this story. The title is I wrote a book about email – and found myself pining for the days of letter writing. Randy Malamud. Regents' Professor of English, Georgia State University. At theconversation.com. In the first paragraph the author explained that he was interested in “hidden” things in the “ordinary”. So he wrote a book about writing.  He also felt that email was a correspondence method that “evoked” energy and attention being “sucked away” like a “tsunami” in a missive that required little formality. He found instead along the way “how much richer old-fashioned letters are”. Email does not offer a paper and pen feelings of the touch of the paper, the unique smell of paper, the print of a letter head and closing signature. He went on to say the “.com” voided out the “historical and social value” of a hand written letter. Then there is the cost of postage. With that addition to writing and sending mail, he believed that could have encouraged people to be attentive in time and effort in the correspondence. As the article moved on, he recognized that email is convenient but there is the fact that letters can be storytelling, they “spread” Gospel, they express peoples feelings. There are famous letters to be recognized as a letter to President Lincoln from children and his response. According to the article that letter was sold for $3.4 million in 2008. There was a time when a complaint about letters and delivery timing prompted a “fad” of post cards in place of letters. (Maybe a step toward “email”?). As a technical point it is mentioned the there has been in the close past there were 300 billion emails sent every day. It was then elaborated with will it, email, ever be “valuable” as in to sell, as famous letters are or celebrated as some have been. In moving toward an end to this article the author says email is “paltry ...and...grammatically challenged”. It is sometimes ignored or deleted and may require a response. It ends in what was a little harsh, I think in saying, “maybe it’s just the mirror held up to life, and we are precisely as trite as our email suggests.”

Photos in my life today

My first challenge is “a quotes you like”. This is one of my favorite and I hope I reach it each years. It is
one of Ansel Adams’. “Twelve significant photographs in one year is a good crop”.

The next assignment is another “my choice” and another of my series of “texture layover”. This is a one of my still life’s of white flowers in a black vase with a cloth like layover. 

The last upload is “pumpkin”. I used another one of the decorations from McDonalds for this one.

This is pizza night from DoorDash. 

Joy 

the Find Art America upload for today is a black and white of another still life

Want to shop? fineartamerica.com search for joy rector) (“view shop”) redbubble.com search for jarector)

 October 28, 2026 a thought for today, A lazy shepherd is the wolf's friend. Welsh Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “your name or nickname”. I have had these three pieces of the alphabet for several years and have used them before in my photography. 

The next assignment was “my choice” and one of my series of “texture
overlay”. This is my father’s fire department hats with a cloth overlay. 

The last upload was “moon”. This is one from my archives when I stayed up late some nights. Those nights are long gone. 

Life today. This has been one of those days moving quickly and with interesting side bars. I got the letter started and worked on a Fine Art image then side tracked my self to work for a bit on the calendar, the bills, finished church mails for tomorrow printing. I got back to the letter for a few minutes until I moved to another bit of work on something else, the food pantry cards I am trying to make along with a few minutes on the new newsletter template. 

Today was the second food pantry day of the week. It was slow but it ended with over the number we had yesterday. 

They are still working on our street. I think it will go to the end of the week. The weather is perfect, a perfect fall day. 

I am running late on my “schedule” so I will stop for now, I have a couple more things to get done before fixing my supper. 

The word to ponder today is everyone. Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes. Oscar Wilde. Everyone is as God has made him, and oftentimes a great deal worse. Miguel de Cervantes. Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together. Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. Be fit for more than the thing you are now doing. Let everyone know that you have a reserve in yourself; that you have more power than you are now using. If you are not too large for the place you occupy, you are too small for it. James A. Garfield. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. Plato. Men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, for everyone can see and few can feel. Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are. Niccolo Machiavelli. Everyone ought to worship God according to his own inclinations, and not to be constrained by force. Flavius Josephus. Everyone has the obligation to ponder well his own specific traits of character. He must also regulate them adequately and not wonder whether someone else's traits might suit him better. The more definitely his own a man's character is, the better it fits him. Cicero. Everyone is the age of their heart. Guatemalan Proverb. Everyone believes very easily whatever they fear or desire. Jean de La Fontaine. Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven. Yiddish proverb. Everyone takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world. Arthur Schopenhauer. When it is a question of money, everyone is of the same religion. Voltaire. Everyone is wise until he speaks. Irish Proverb. Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. Leo Tolstoy. Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart. Rumi. Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences. Robert Louis Stevenson. Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Article summary I was looking for an article about using AI for fact checking and came across this one. I wanted to see the explanation for this idea. The title is AI behaves more like a brain than a database – cognitive science’s role in its origin story helps explain why. Michael Hout, Associate Dean of Research and Professor of Psychology, New Mexico State University. Arryn Robbins, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Richmond. At theconversation.com. The opening paragraph explains a bit about ChatGPT, one of the forms AI. It goes on to say one may think of it as a database or “logical series of steps” to “provide a response to your query” like responding to a computer finding and presenting a “sensible line of thinking”. As I moved on it explains that understanding the “central” point in the science of AI is that it was “brought about by people whose goal was to understand the human mind”, not necessarily to help with homework or travel arrangements. So it went back too about the time that “artificial intelligence” began. In 1956 there was a workshop at Dartmouth College that considered a thought that a “machine could be made intelligent” if it were constructed with rules. Later in 1958 a machine was built that learned from examples. The man who built this one wanted a machine that was “intelligent” in more a “human way”. It was built to use computer algorithms that were “loosely” modeled on the “architecture of the brain”.  I am a bit lost in the technology here so I’ll do my best. There were more advances in this field in the 1980's when psychologists attempted to “explain how people perform complex cognitive tasks” like learning words and forming memories. Persons, “cognitive and computer scientists”, named Rumelhart, Hinton and Williams found ways to “train” artificial neural networks” called “deep learning”. These new “machines” and technology kept growing. These are the “tools” and ideas and “fundamental insights”, coming from study of the mind, that are allowing AI to become more and more able to possibly grow to “hold realistic conversations in natural language”. The thinking is that it would be seen as an architecture that “should be based on the human brain”. In the human memory it doesn’t “look up” answers. In AI’s growth at this point there is a question of “false memories” and responding to “a finite set of questions”. The article says that “human minds don’t work that way, and neither does AI”. The article progressed to mention  that “reconciling that AI systems are more akin to brains than databases” will help AI be more accurate. In coming to an end it is said that computer science “draws on cognitive science’s questions” and “cognitive science draws on the accessibility of AI models” to refine “theories of the mind”. It is mind boggling and a bit scary, in my personal opinion it is like fire. Fire is necessary for warmth and cooking and more but can also destroy, it has to be used with intelligence and common sense.

Noodles in beef gravy sounds good for dinner with corn on the cob. 

Photos in my life today

The first assignment is “a sentence”. I looked around for any greeting cards I may have kept but couldn’t find one. So I chose this “sentence” in a book I have on the table.

The next challenges is “my choice” and yet another of my series of “texture overlays”. This is my current store bought bouquet with a fine texte overlay. 

The last upload is “boo”. I found this little guy in a neighbors yard as I was
coming home from church. 

Joy

my Fine Art America upload for today 

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

October 26, 2026 a thought for today, A tongue is not necessary to declare love. Welsh Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

My first challenge was “y is for....”. I used one of my yellow daffodil image for this one. 

The next assignment was “frosty or icy”. I used another from the
archives. This one is a snow pile on my neighbor’s gate. 

The last one for yesterday was “scary”. Yet another from the archives. I haven’t been too attentive to the Halloween decorations this year. This on was taken last year in one of the neighborhood yards. 

Life today. First off, I have been trying for a virtual visit with two of my grandsons that I have been unable to date to “see” as much as I would like. I was able to finally get my tablet to work so I had sound and made contact with them yesterday. It is so good to be able to see their face and hear their voices. I have had contact two of my other great grand children when we all have time at the same time. The other two great grand children of my sextet are in town so I can see them in person now and then.

Another happening yesterday was the introduction to the new “bulletin” at church. It seems to have been well accepted generally. It is a totally new format. I worked on generating a new template to match the old one. It looks like with a little more work it would be an option to use. The program I used for all my church work was “discontinued” so I had to come up with something. Now I am working on a template for the newsletter, that will determine if I will continue with it monthly or give it up. A friend at church suggested that she thought that Copilot could generate a template that would be as workable as the original, so I did some research. AI says that is not possible. Copilot doesn’t completely duplicate the original. 

Tami came over today to help Sue with some badly needed paperwork. It looks like it is going to take some time to get it all ironed out. 

I have been able to get several things on my list done today, with a couple put off until tomorrow. I have the bulletin for this week completed, some more work done on the newsletter template and the photos for today ready for upload. 

There is some “street work” going on in the neighborhood that is suppose to last all week. There are several heavy duty trucks involved so they are going up and down the street. 

The word to ponder today is eternal.  Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart. Victor Hugo. I live in company with a body, a silent companion, exacting and eternal. Eugene Delacroix. Energy is eternal delight. William Blake. "Know thyself," said the old philosopher, "improve thyself," saith the new. Our great object in time is not to waste our passions and gifts on the things external that we must leave behind, but that we cultivate within us all that we can carry into the eternal progress beyond. Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Hatred does not cease in this world by hating, but by not hating; this is an eternal truth. Buddha. Unjust dominion cannot be eternal. Seneca. I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. Thomas Jefferson. To wisdom belongs the intellectual apprehension of things eternal; to knowledge, the rational apprehension of things temporal. Saint Augustine. Nature is the most thrifty thing in the world; she never wastes anything; she undergoes change, but there is no annihilation, the essence remains - matter is eternal. Horace Binney. If a man's eye is on the Eternal, his intellect will grow. Ralph Waldo Emerson. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal. John Philpot Curran. Hope springs eternal in the human breast. Alexander Pope. Our activity should consist in placing ourselves in a state of susceptibility to Divine impressions, and pliability to all the operations of the Eternal Word. Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon. The problem of restoring to the world original and eternal beauty is solved by redemption of the soul. Ralph Waldo Emerson. There is only one thing better than tradition and that is the original and eternal life out of which all tradition takes its rise. James Russell Lowell. 

Article summary. I try to stay away from discussing religion and politics as much as I can but the title interested me in that it indicated how religion can help the rest of your life in a positive way even if there is a reason that visiting a place of worship regularly for one reason or another stops. I feel a foundation is the best beginning for a happy and successful life. I wanted to take a look at this opinion. The title is  Faith still shapes morals and values even after people are ‘done’ with religion. Philip Schwadel, Professor of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Sam Hardy, Professor of Psychology, Brigham Young University. At theconversation.com. In the opening of the article it is mentioned that in 2019 44% of American claimed “belief in God is necessary for ‘moral and good values’”. It builds on morals and values in “multiple pathways”. Some are, it shapes how we think about the world, it “fosters” good habits and is a “web” to social connections. Then it asks what happens when some “fall away” from going to church. In the article it calls them “religious dones”. The two authors of this article got together to test “religion residue effect” among Americans. They concentrated on how the “dones” keep the morals and values of religion. The “dones” are two groups, some have never been religious and those who are “religious” in thought and feelings and behaviors. One of the studies was based on how many maintain things like volunteering and giving in charity after they have dropped away. Here they measured “care/harm, fairness/cheating, ingroup loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion and purity/degradation”. They found in this test that the religious folks supported those just mentioned “five moral foundations”. They found that the currently religious were more likely than the “dones” and the “dones” were more likely that the “consistently” non religious to “endorse” the five moral foundations. A second test or study measured the values that are “core” to “organizing principles in people’s lives, and religion is positively associated with the values of security, conformity, tradition and benevolence”. In this test they measured by age, from 10 to growing older. In young adults the “dones” were more likely to support social values in security, conformity and tradition than the non religious. The authors/testers feel the projects “show that the religion residue effect is real”. In other words the “dones” values and morals were more “similar” to the religious than the nonreligious. One interesting fact they provided that “religious observance on values appears to be strongest among former evangelical Protestants”, more so than “done” from mainline Protestantism, Catholicism and other religious traditions”. The longer the “dones” are away from the church the less and less they feel the residual affects. As the article progressed it pointed out that there is a growing number of nonreligious. By 2020 the percentage of nonreligious had quadrupled, as in “3 in 10 Americans having no religion”. That made it more nonreligious than anyone single “religious tradition, including the two largest: Catholicism and evangelical Protestantism”. As it is ending, they say that it seems that “those who leave religion are not the same as those who have never been religious”. At the last the authors say “this distinction will become increasingly important to understanding the morals and values of the American people.”

Photos in my life today

The first upload is “z is for ....”. Zipper, there are six of them in this image. 

The second challenge is “my choice”. It is one of my series of “overlays”. This is a set of books with a vintage style aged texture. 

The last assessment for the day is “fence”. I like ‘different’ styles of fences
and gates. I found this one as I was driving through the neighborhood. 

Creamed Chicken on Biscuits sounds good for dinner. 

Joy

my upload to Find Art America ..... a luffa on a multi colored scarf

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

 October 24, 2026, a thought for the day, Every desire has wings. Welsh Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “w is for...”. I used one of my well used whisks with an egg as accompaniment fo this image.

The next assignment was “my choice” and one of my series of “mirror
image”. This one is of an old and worn wooden gate with “wild flowers” at the bottom adorning it. 

The last upload for yesterday was “orange”. For this one I used the partial bottle of orange juice from my frig.

Life today. So far it has been a good Saturday. I worked some more on a new template for the church bulletin. It’s new and different. I started out trying to replicate the old one. After some thought I decided to go with a full sheet with mainly the Order of Worship. When I got that to the point it could be used I decided on some additions like the weekly calendar, the prayer list, and colorful cover. I am going to use that one to see if that will fit for the congregation. I am considering if I can manage the newsletter anymore. I don’t get input for items for it, most of it is from my own research and decisions. Much of what is “standard” in it is repetitive from month to month. I find that getting older means slowing down, physically and in the thinking process. I have reached a point where I feel stressed with how the newsletter comes out completely on my shoulders. To add to that beyond what I discover which is outside our church directly, it is not Hoge Memorial wide “newsworthy”.  I am grateful and thank God daily that He guides me with the chance to be mobile and as active as my body and mind will allow. Someone new to doing the newsletter may be able to add some spark and “newness” to the news. I have to give it more thought. At any rate, there is no way I can get one complete for this month while building a new template for it. 

Before I left for grocery curbside pick up, I got this letter started. While I was out I got a couple of the photos I need for today. So when I got home I worked between putting the groceries up and back to computer “work”. As I worked, I took small breaks to watch Bobbi’s antics. She was stalking and chasing a fly around the window by my desk. She really doesn’t seem to want to kill it, it is more like she wants it to play. When she does that I picture in my mind how one of her very large wild cousins may “play”. Silly me, it seems almost majestic. 

I am enjoying this part of the autumn season, leaves falling, people raking, ball games going on, colors changing and the weather not too cold yet and none of the intense heat of summer. It is a beautiful season.  

The word to ponder today is establish. To establish oneself in the world, one has to do all one can to appear established. Francois de La Rochefoucauld. There are two modes of establishing our reputation: to be praised by honest men, and to be abused by rogues. It is best, however, to secure the former, because it will invariably be accompanied by the latter. Charles Caleb Colton. He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself. Thomas Paine. He who establishes his argument by noise and command, shows that his reason is weak. Michel de Montaigne. Thoughts give birth to a creative force that is neither elemental nor sidereal. Thoughts create a new heaven, a new firmament, a new source of energy, from which new arts flow. When a man undertakes to create something, he establishes a new heaven,as it were and from it the work that he desires to create flows into him. For such is the immensity of man that he is greater than heaven and earth. Philipus Aureolus Paracelsus. Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established. Confucius. A state is not a mere society, having a common place, established for the prevention of mutual crime and for the sake of exchange...Political society exists for the sake of noble actions, and not of mere companionship. Aristotle. In stirring up tumult and strife, the worst men can do the most, but peace and quiet cannot be established without virtue. Cornelius Tacitus.  

Article summary. I think all of us would like to hear the importance of “leisure” and its affects. The title is Why leisure matters for a good life, according to Aristotle. Ross Channing Reed Lecturer in Philosophy, Missouri University of Science and Technology. At theconversation.com. In opening the author relates to how in our “modern society” people have an attitude that it is “imperative to achieve”. He goes on to say that “even leisure risks becoming another kind of work”. Here is one point I have a difference with, he says that taking and posting photo to be viewed by others can be adding to exhaustion, for me that habit is the opposite of “exhaustion”. It is relaxing and a “get away” as well as a stronger observation of life around me. As it moves on the article sites some of Aristotle’s sayings. Like mentioning that in the search for happiness. That search may be for “pleasure, wealth, honor and power” and in that search we may be “confused” on how to get there. Meaning that we must make “reasoned choice”. These choices may lead to developing “ habits that, over time, become character traits such as courage, temperance, generosity and truthfulness” (which photography had for me). The author goes on mentioning takes time off the clock and it is the  to quote Aristotle  “power of our choices”. These choices or actions “also motives and (forms) character”. The author says that as we form good habits we are leading to self-development. The author says that “true leisure” is a time to “reflect” on our priorities, our friends, ourselves and to “step back”. Both Aristotle and Plato shared that leisure is a step toward achievements and, in Plato’s view, “ inner harmony of the soul. The article seems to iterate that leisure is crucial as it gives time to develop habits that are intricate to our well being, health and ultimately happiness.  So in ending the good “choices we make in our free time” lead to “eudaimonia”, a “good (and happy) spirit”.

Photos in my life today

My first assignment is “x is for...”. This is the only “x” I could find in my house today. It is an xray of my hip replacement. 

The second challenge is “a tree at dawn”. This one had to come from my archives since I wasn’t awake at dawn today

The last upload today is “abandoned”. It is part of a shopping mall
near my home. 

It will be poached fish for dinner tonight. 

Joy

an upload to “flower power” contest at Fine Art America

 want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

 October 22, 2026 a thought for today, The quick hand belongs to the skilled. Welsh Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “u is for...”. Bob had his huge umbrella that was used very little. I used it for my image here. 

The next assignment was “my choice”, one of my series of “mirror image”. This one is an old wooden fence with what seems like some wild flower decorating around the bottom. 

The last upload was “macro”. This is one of the flowers from my most current store bought bouquets. 

Life today. Sue had a standing appointment with a heart doctor today at  Mt. Carmel so I took her. I put the printing off until tomorrow morning. The appointment took up most of the morning. We stopped for some lunch on the way home. 

While I was waiting at the hospital,  I played Sudoku  on my phone. After about half and hour my phone kept flashing a message that I had malware on the phone. I couldn’t use any part of the phone for more than two minutes without a malware popping up on the screen. I checked with AI on how to fix it. The instructions were on the complicated side. I was worried that in the process of me trying it I would damage the phone further so I called Lowell for any help he could suggest. He is going to find a way to help me. 

The phone is like a right arm for me. I am in daily contact with friends and family with it, it is my major source of photos, I count on it as a safety feature in case of emergencies. Hopefully it can be fixed in a day rather than a week or weeks. 

After I was able to work on the photos that I already had on the computer I was able to start my laundry. 

I will be glad when the voting process is over this time. Things are really getting nasty, though I am not surprised to see where it is coming from. But it seems to me to be particularly stinking.  A couple of months ago negative ads against one of the participants was on tv three or four times a day every day and was the only ad at the time for any candidate. I was thinking at the time it was a little early for any kind of campaign ads that should be on so early. I said to my sister “whoever is paying for these ads this early and the much really wants too win big anyway they can, and must have a lot of money to be paying for them”. Am I right or am I right. Now I know who was paying for them and who had a hand in the most resent one that is so deplorable, the worst I have ever heard in a political campaign. I fear for the United States that I have been so proud of, and for the many of my family who have offered their lives for it and us, it may be disappearing and we as the people, under God, seem to be letting it happen easily and with sick excuses. 

The word to ponder today is essential.  The freedom of all is essential to my freedom. Mikhail Bakunin. Self discipline is that which, next to virtue, truly and essentially raises one man above another. Joseph Addison. These times of ours are series and full of calamity, but all times are essentially alike. As soon as there is life there is danger. Ralph Waldo Emerson. The good man is the teacher of the bad,  And the bad is the material from which the good may learn. He who does not value the teacher, Or greatly care for the material, Is greatly deluded although he may be learned. Such is the essential mystery. Lao-Tzu. While one should always study the method of a great artist, one should never imitate his manner. The manner of an artist is essentially individual, the method of an artist is absolutely universal. The first is personality, which no one should copy; the second is perfection, which all should aim at. Oscar Wilde. Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. Joseph Addison. We are like the mechanism of a watch: each part is essential. Nathan Meyer Rothschild. For all right judgment of any man or things it is useful, nay, essential, to see his good qualities before pronouncing on his bad. Thomas Carlyle. One of the most essential branches of English liberty is the freedom of one's house. A man's house is his castle. James Otis. The improvements of ages have had but little influence on the essential laws of man's existence: as our skeletons, probably, are not to be distinguished from those of our ancestors. Henry David Thoreau.

Article summary. I thought maybe I should take a look at this article because I think I am open minded most of the time. After reading it I hope I am not disappointed. The title is Everyone wants to think they’re open minded – here’s why most people aren’t. Daryl Van Tongeren, Professor of Psychology, Hope College. At theconversation.com. In the first paragraph the author mentions that pm a “fundamental level, we humans are somewhat closed-minded”. To me, that’s sad, how can we honestly read and understand the Bible and all other if that’s true. The author said that he researches facts about the humility of people and what makes “life meaningful”. He has an interest why people are “resistant” to changing a belief that is powerful for them. In some of those studies he has found that those convictions make for “serve important psychological functions that make them hard to change”. He came to one thought that says our core beliefs may be wrong and calls it “existential humility”: a willingness to change our minds”with new “evidence. Holding on to beliefs can “bridge” stronger relationships and can also be difficult. Some “mundane” beliefs can help people feel a “sense of meaning” in this “confusing” world. Sometimes world view questions can “help manage anxiety”. Test studies were done on the question of open mindedness. On one hand people want a conviction that provides security and a down side is developing an intolerance that leads to “no room for other people’ perspectives”. On the other hand curiosity can make us want new discoveries which can lead to opening our minds. In the process of developing an open mind there is a defensiveness feeling. In coming to an end the author says there is “no quick fix to become more open-minded”. Overtime people can adjust and become comfortable with the possibility they might be wrong.

Photos in my life today

My first upload today is “v is for...”. It is one of my more decorative vases with those bright red leaves I have used before. 

The next challenge is another of “my choice” and another of my “mirror image”. I found one of my images of some flowers beginning to let go, I used one, doubled for this image. 

The last assignment is “ball”. This is one of Bobbi’s new toys. She
doesn’t know what to make of it. The light goes on and off and the ball bounces on it’s own and sporadically.  

It is going to be quick beef and noodles with Buddig chipped beef for dinner. 

Joy 

  upload to Fine Art America....Hollyhocks from my old garden a few years ago

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

 October 20, 2026 a thought for today, It is not with an axe that the violin is played. Welsh Proverb

Photos used in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “s is for...”. I used part of my lunch sandwich for this image. 

The second upload was “my choice”, and one of my series of “mirror image”. This was a scarecrow as part of a McDonald harvest display on an October day. 

The last assignment was “bones”. I happen to have kept the xray from my hip replacement.  This is it. 

Life today. This has been an “action” packed day. I made some real progress on the template I am rebuilding. The cleaning lady was here, usually her mother comes with her but she wasn’t feeling well today. Besides making some real headway on the template I got a good start on the letter before I left for food pantry. Once I got home, I was lucky enough to find and generate the four photos for todays upload. 

Tomorrow I hope to be able to complete the new template....it’s a long shot but possible. The next project would be getting a new template for the newsletter. The best scenario would be if I can get it done early next week. Otherwise, we will have to skip at newsletter for November and move right onto one for December. 

Autumn is totally here. The leaves are falling. There is not a lot of color, at least not here in my neighborhood. But the fallen leaves, the cooler temps and foot ball are positive signs. 

When the temps were predicted to drop to freezing the other day I brought the two porch rail (window) boxes with the miniature roses in the house to spend the winter under grow lights and out of the cold. 

The word to ponder today is escape. Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night. Edgar Allan Poe. To predict the behavior of ordinary people in advance, you only have to assume that they will always try to escape a disagreeable situation with the smallest possible expenditure of intelligence. Friedrich Nietzsche. You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. Abraham Lincoln. A well-informed mind is the best security against the contagion of folly and of vice. The vacant mind is ever on the watch for relief, and ready to plunge into error, to escape from the languor of idleness. Ann Radcliffe. If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow. Chinese Proverb. Once a word has been allowed to escape, it cannot be recalled. Horace. A man whose life has been dishonourable is not entitled to escape disgrace in death. Lucius Accius. A bird that you set free may be caught again, but a word that escapes your lips will not return. Jewish Proverb. Rather do what is nothing in the purpose than to be idle, that the devil may find thee doing. The bird that sits is easily shot when the fliers escape the fowler. Idleness is the Dead Sea that swallows all the virtues, and is the self-made sepulcher of a living man. Francis Quarles. Many have been ruined by their fortunes, and many have escaped ruin by the want of fortune. To obtain it the great have become little, and the little great. Johann Georg Zimmermann. Who escapes duty, avoids a gain. Theodore Parker. Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand. Henry David Thoreau. God tolerates even our stammering, and pardons our ignorance whenever something inadvertently escapes us - as, indeed, without this mercy there would be no freedom to pray. John Calvin.

Article summary. I think virtue and compassion are things people show in a outward kind of reach out and touch sort of thing. From this title I see that it can help our well being also. That should be a given, if we are helping others we generally feel good that we can help in some way, shape or form. So that should mean feeling content that we are able to help others. That should make us overall healthier if our emotional system is at ease the rest of our person would be also. I wanted to see what this author has discovered and shares. After all that is what we are here for in the first place...to love one another. The title is Is being virtuous good for you – or just people around you? A study suggests traits like compassion may support your own well being. Michael Prinzing, Research and Assessment Scholar, Wake Forest University. At theconversation.com. The opening paragraph explained that there are to theories on this subject. On the one hand there is the thought that “virtues such as compassion, patience and self-control may be beneficial not only for others but also for oneself”. This one was found in a research report in 2025. On the other hand, two great  philosophers from back in history, Thomas Hobbes and Friedrich Nietzsche, “argued” the opposite. The difference has inspired research into the subject. One of the opposing feeling is some feel that kindness adds to our well being while the other sees that while helping another can lead to “suffering or misfortune”. The author and peers “investigated this question”. They wanted to see the degree to which people were “compassionate, patient and self-controlled” as well as their level “how pleasant or unpleasant they felt” and how meaningful. They used them to act with using those three degrees and found that those actions seemed “to help people cope”. So this contradicted the theory that virtue is good for others and bad for the self”. In the study of morality it showed “how outside forces shape a person’s moral behavior”. The article says that in future studies something that needs to be considered is a persons’ “stage of life” and social difference in other parts of the world, and how all of this affects virtue”.

Photos in my life today

My first assignment is “t is for....”. I had to think about this one. I decided to do a tube of something. When I picked up the toothpaste tube I realized it was another T too, Total. 

The next challenge is another “my choice” and another of my series of “mirror image” . This fire hydrant with weeds growing around it seemed to be a good subject. 

The last upload is “picture”. This is a photo of a sketch my sister did
of our grandfather. 

It will be a quick dinner. I have a meeting at 5:00. 

Joy

want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view shop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)

 October 18, 2026, a thought for today, Old proverbs are the children of truth. Welsh Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

The first challenge was “q is for...” I used a box of qtips for this one. 

The next assignment was “centered composition”. I uses one of my wind
chimes against the bright blue sky for this one. 

The last upload was “metal”. I’m not sure they are still metal of some sort of plastic but I am  pretty sure at least the pull tab is metal.

Life today. It has been an eventful weekend. The software program I use for everything I do at church stopped. It was Microsoft Publisher. They did give notification that it was coming. I thought I had the software installed on my computer not completely with the newer version of a subscription, I was wrong. So...I have to try to build myself a template. There are a couple of other program that operate similarly but I have heard they can be a headache. So I would rather build the template from the “ground up” with means days of work. I am going to have to put off the newsletter which is due this week until I can get the templates set up. The bulletin has to be done before next Sunday.   Our past time pastor gave notice today. He is having some surgery soon and also wants to spend more time with his family. He has been an interest in my life, I do wish him well. 

Lowell’s church was having a spaghetti dinner last night so he brought Sue and I some of the spaghetti and other goodies. It was after out normal dinner time so we saved it for tonight. 

The word to ponder today is error.  Irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors. Thomas H. Huxley. Great men's errors are to be venerated as more fruitful than little men's truths. Friedrich Nietzsche. Great services are not canceled by one act or by one single error. Benjamin Disraeli. Love truth, and pardon error. Voltaire. Don't be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterwards carefully avoid. John Keats. A well-informed mind is the best security against the contagion of folly and of vice. The vacant mind is ever on the watch for relief, and ready to plunge into error, to escape from the languor of idleness. Ann Radcliffe. To be feared is to fear: no one has been able to strike terror into others and at the same time enjoy peace of mind. Seneca. There are, in every age, new errors to be rectified and new prejudices to be opposed. Samuel Johnson. The first step towards amendment is the recognition of error. Seneca. Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error. Thomas Jefferson. It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry. Thomas Paine. We ought not to look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dear-brought experience. George Washington. To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes the wise and good learn wisdom for the future. Plutarch.  It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself. Thomas Jefferson.

Article summary. I’ve heard that some of these trees could be 2,000 years old. They were here at another noted time in history. I thought we should take a look at what ever this can tell us about their lives. The title is Coast redwood trees are enduring, adaptable marvels in a warming world. Daniel Lewis Lecturer in History, California Institute of Technology. A theconversation.com. The first paragraph gives a short description of some of these. Some of these trees have grown to almost 400 feet tall, the tallest “on the planet”. They grow from Oregon to northern California along the “rugged” Pacific coast. There were about 70,000 individual trees before humans arrived now down to half and million. The article explains that they “built themselves” with natural selection and evolution they have and do respond to “environmental pressures, genetic drift and mutation”. I learned they have two kinds of leaves that help them with wet and dry conditions. The warming and changing climates had sped up their growing life as it does all of humanity. Some researchers have tried to figure how they can be integrated into more and larger landscapes. The author pointed out that the coast redwoods are “an ecosystem with enormously broad consequences for other life forms”. They are “integrators” as they “bring together many life forms”. The life forms in around them interact with one another keeping each other alive. One of the many life forms associated with these trees are the Giant Condor birds with wing spans up to 10 feet. They have returned after nearly a century to nest and soar in the region. Then there are the tiny creatures among the trees too. There are ferns that grow there that collect “enormous quantities of moisture”. When rain is scarce, the trees suffer and there is a danger in fires too. There are new forms of life developing in the area that are “ecosystem partners” with the trees. These trees are living history with who knows how many and different creature over those 2000 years have lived there. The power of them resolves around the other strong powers of “wind, rain, sun, oxygen, carbon dioxide”. Think of the history and memories that can be found in those trees.

Photos in my life today

My first challenge is “red”. I chose the red traffic lights as I was waiting to continue on my way. 

The next upload is "sole subject in negative space". I put this single carnation on the kitchen floor for this one. 

The last assignment was “food”. I just opened my cupboard doors for this
one.  

Authentic Italian made spaghetti for dinner tonight. 

J\oy

a mint and chocolate abstract the Fine Art America

Want to shop? Visit: fineartamerica.com search for joy rector click on “view hop”  and redbubble.com search for jarector (and take a look at flickr.com search for rectorjoyce)