For many reasons I watched the 2012 Summer Olympics with delight. It is inspiring to see athletes wearing the flag of their nation taking the field of peaceful battle.  There is enjoyment to see athletes who have trained hard and given up so much win recognition for themselves and their country in the form of a gold, silver, or bronze medal; to learn the stories of those who overcame adversary to get to the Games (such as the women competitors from Qatar, Brunei and Saudi Arabia, countries traditionally represented solely by men); to see records fall as women and men grow faster, more capable, better trained; and to see those close calls where one athlete managed to pull from within that little extra burst of speed or perfect technique.

It has been quite a while since I've contributed to this blog, but it's good to sit around the computer for this purpose, once more.

Which country has the best designed uniform for the 2012 Summer Olympics, according to TIME Magazine?

A few weeks ago, we in the USA celebrated our independence day. Although it was very hot in many areas of the country, a lot of us gathered to shoot off colorful fireworks in celebration of our 236 years of independence. It was a time to remember those who fought valiantly for our freedom and those who had the forethought and belief to create our beautiful country.

2012 is the year of BIG ENERGIES; in other words, now is the best time to be your full potential. Most of us have skirted around what we really want to do with our lives or been downright afraid, hiding behind myriad of excuses. Well my friends, your life is all you came with. It is all you got to work with. And if not now when? Yes it is time to sing and be joyful. Show up fully in your life. Be unafraid to try… what do you have to lose? All apparent failures were only routes that didn’t work, try another route but TRY SOMETHING. This is the year to sing and give praise for your life. Help will always come to those who ask for it.  LIVE IN JOY!

One could also argue that we cannot truly celebrate our independence because we are not!  How else can we explain the national debt?  How else can we explain why we import more than we export; and we can but we do not feed ourselves?  How else can we explain why we still have only two reservoirs when our population has quadrupled since they were built and are purported to have massive cracks that robs them of their storage capacity?  How else can we explain the high cost of producing electricity when we have a constant supply of wind and perpetually abundant sunshine that other countries long for?  These are the fundamental areas of development for any country.

For the past few days I have been listening to my local NPR station as it tries to raise money to meet its yearly budgetary needs. In their efforts to get me to open my pocketbook again (I give a yearly donation to MPR) program hosts are earnestly explaining the importance of NPR to me. And they are successful.

Old South Church in Boston recently held a dinner to celebrate the willingness of its members of the church to volunteer and to introduce them to volunteer possibilities. Blue Mountain Project was one of those volunteer possibilities - Old South Church is a long-time supporter of the Blue Mountain Project.

To develop a country, there is the need to begin with its most important resources which is the people.  This is achieved through education, training and the establishment of strong moral standards, beginning with respect for life that is, one’s own life and the life of others.

The government has not been able to get the populace to embrace Vision 2030 because they have not properly delivered that vision to the masses.  The average man in the street knows nothing about it.  Any Soapbox would prove that.