I know it’s Sunday now.  Shhhhh.

How very seemly to quote about the past when my deadline is past.

1. Nothing is improbable until it moves into past tense. — George Ade

2. The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less capable you are of loving in the present. — Barbara De Angelis

3. It is one thing to learn about the past; it is another to wallow in it. — Kenneth Auchincloss

4. Nostalgia is a seductive liar. — George W. Ball

5. The past should be a springboard, not a hammock. — Ivern Ball

6. A safe but sometimes chilly way of recalling the past is to force open a crammed drawer. If you are searching for anything in particular you don’t find it, but something falls out at the back that is often more interesting. — Sir James M. Barrie

7. The past grows gradually around one, like a placenta for dying. — John Berger

8. The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause. — Henri L. Bergson

9. If you are carrying strong feelings about something that happened in your past, they may hinder your ability to live in the present. — Les Brown

10. One problem with gazing too frequently into the past is that we may turn around to find the future has run out on us. — Michael Cibenko

11. To look back to antiquity is one thing, to go back to it is another. — Charles Caleb Colton

12. The past always looks better than it was because it isn’t here. — Finley Peter Dunne

13. The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. — Leslie P. Hartley

14. If the only new thing we have to offer is an improved version of the past, then today can only be inferior to yesterday. Hypnotized by images of the past, we risk losing all capacity for creative change. — Robert Hewison

15. If the past cannot teach the present and the father cannot teach the son, then history need not have bothered to go on, and the world has wasted a great deal of time. — Russell Hoban

16. Nothing changes more constantly than the past; for the past that influences our lives does not consist of what actually happened, but of what men believe happened. — Gerald W. Johnson

17. What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now. — Unknown

18. Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed. — Wayne Dyer

19. Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. –
Paul Boese

20. I’ve never tried to block out the memories of the past, even though some are painful. I don’t understand people who hide from their past. Everything you live through helps to make you the person you are now.– Sophia Loren

21. Looking back you realize that a very special person passed briefly through your life- and it was you. It is not too late to find that person again. — Robert Brault

22. Whoso neglects learning in his youth, loses the past and is dead for the future. — Euripides

23. When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things – not the great occasions – that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness. — Bob Hope

24. Events in the past may be roughly divided into those which probably never happened and those which do not matter. — William Ralph Ing

25. We are not animals. We are not a product of what has happened to us in our past. We have the power of choice. — Stephen Covey

26. For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future. — John F. Kennedy

27. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. — Oscar Wilde

28. Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable. — George S. Patton

29. A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. — Marcus Garvey

30. We are not held back by the love we didn’t receive in the past, but by the love we’re not extending in the present. — Marianne Williamson

31. The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries. — Rene Descartes

32. You must learn from your past mistakes, but not lean on your past successes. — Denis Waitley

33. Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a history of replacing what worked with what sounded good. — Thomas Sowell

34. The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that man may become robots. — Erich Fromm

35. We must welcome the future, remembering that soon it will be the past; and we must respect the past, remembering that it was once all that was humanly possible. — George Santayana

36. Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future. — Ray Bradbury

37. If you believe that feeling bad or worrying long enough will change a past or future event, then you are residing on another planet with a different reality system. — William James

38. The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone. — George Eliot

39. Nothing that was worthy in the past departs; no truth or goodness realized by man ever dies, or can die. — Thomas Carlyle

40. The past, the present and the future are really one: they are today. — Harriet Beecher Stowe

41. Nothing revives the past so completely as a smell that was once associated with it. — Vladimir Nabokov

42. The present was an egg laid by the past that had the future inside its shell.
– Zora Neale Hurston

43. Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future. — Corrie Ten Boom

44. A mother’s happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories. — Honore de Balzac

45. If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past. — Baruch Spinoza

46. You can’t undo the past… but you can certainly not repeat it. — Bruce Willis

47. Nostalgia: A device that removes the ruts and potholes from memory lane. — Doug Larson

48. God gave us memory that we might have roses in December. — Sir James M. Barrie

49. Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday. — John Wayne

50. Anyone who limits her vision to memories of yesterday is already dead. — Lillie Langtry

I’m hooked now on writing conferences.  Social media get-togethers have become my crack cocaine.  No longer do I have to cook my meth in my neighbor’s front yard, over an open flame in full view of passing state cops – hey, it IS Indiana, remember, and near the river to boot – for now I can get my high by mingling with and listening to smart people talk about blogging, writing, social media, and all things such as them there.  Not to mention honing my mad grammar skillz which have gone to poop pot in just these past few days of what might euphemistically be called “My Vacation.”

WordCamp got me hooked.  BlogHer made it worse.  Science in the Rockies helped me realize just how important social media connections can be; besides which, it was an absolute BLAST, and the most educational of all educational conferences I’ve ever attended. (Hurry and sign up for 2010!!)    BlogIndiana will give me a much-needed fix. (It’s not too late to sign up!)   And in October,  I’ll be getting my blogging high on in Las Vegas at Blog World Expo, the Big One.

Someone recently asked me WHY I was so keen to go to the Expo. I highly respect this person and have for quite a while, so even though I answered her directly, I’ll answer her here as well, and not merely by saying “please see above.”  Although I guess I just said that.   I will then add that even though the social media thang is a few years old, it’s still pretty much brand-new, and those of us who are addicted are hooked pretty hard.  Around these parts, at least, it’s impossible to find others with whom I can squee and ooooh and exchange points of view about social media and blogging and making all kinds of connections for my clients and doing the business thing with it and using it for things other than the “My babies are so beautiful this morning and I just HAD to tell everybody here” or “I’m having scrambled eggs this morning; what are you having” kind of communication, although such Twitters are interesting and informative to be sure.  There is also so much more to it than having a My Space and selecting the appropriately goth/sparkly/NASCAR/DisneyPrincess/Hogwarts/polka-dotted background and making the dizzying decision as to who will be your TOP FRIENDS this week.

Side note:  If you have a business and have no online presence, you’re losing out on a lot of connection  opportunities.  Get with it, old-timer.  Put down your slide rule, slip that cover over your typewriter, get a phone that isn’t fastened to the wall, replace your Windows 95, and hire somebody who knows how to make your existence known without shelling out tons of money.  Some money, thankyouverymuch, but not tons.  Seriously, you’ll save tons and get megatons back.  Hello, my email is on the sidebar.

Do you like baseball?  Then you’ll LOVE Ultimate Baseball: The Game.  Seriously.

But I digress.

School has already started for many of you. . . . nah, that’s another post in and of itself.  “Never mind.”

Writing conferences.  Come on, meet me there!  You’ll also meet JustHeather, and maybe she’ll take a picture of YOU with a pickle hanging out of your mouth!  If you’re lucky, that is.

Don’t be afraid.  I’m harmless.  I’m nice, really I am, apart from my terrible taste in pie, and. . . no, wait, that’s from Love Actually.

I am nice, though.  Harmless, nice, eager to learn everything I possibly can about social media, business, giving YOUR enterprise an online presence to be valued and envied, blogging, and looking forward to next week for many, many reasons.

One of those reasons is the people.  It would be really awesome if a lot of YOU were there.

It hasn’t even officially begun yet, but already I’m having an AWESOME TIME!  Steve and his staff are absolutely wonderful, and I know that the actual seminar will be fun, fun, FUN – not to mention enlightening.  I’m serious; everyone I’ve met has been fantastic.

In case you’re wondering why a college professor is interested in science toys and methods, let me first say that NOBODY is ever too old – or too young – to learn something new.  That holds true for me and for my students.

Also, there are so many things that can be done for students even at this level with some of Steve’s science stuff, well, you’d almost have to see it to believe it.  I’ve been using his Insta-Snow for a couple of years now to get a certain point across, and it WORKS PERFECTLY!

BE SURE TO GET THE REAL INSTA-SNOW!  There are several fakes imitations out there, and all they do is turn to mush.

Insta-Snow turns to SNOW.  A lot of snow.

If you sign up for Steve Spangler’s Experiment of the Week, you’ll get a free science experiment in your inbox each week and every part and particle of it is absolutely free. It’s summer, the kids are bored already, and some cool messy exploding fizzy bouncing educational science toys would be perfection on a stick.  Did I mention that the Experiment of the Week is FREE?  Tons of Steve’s stuff is free.

Unlike a certain other science guy who charges an arm and a leg.  Honestly, why would anybody go to that guy’s site and pay, when Steve’s giving it away for free?

Steve’s also not afraid to let people comment their true feelings, even if there’s an occasional offity; whereas, this other guy (name on request) won’t allow any comments except the good ones to be seen.  Coward.

There’s still time.  Science in the Rockies doesn’t officially start until Wednesday morning.  Quick, get out here FAST and join in the fun.

I”m serious.  It hasn’t even started yet and I’m having the time of my life.  These people are friggin’ AWESOME.

And tomorrow night, I’m going to see some precious Colorado friends!   Can’t WAIT!

Oh, oh, and in a few hours, I’m going shopping with Hula!

1. By the time most of you read this, I’ll be in Colorado at Science in the Rockies, having a fantastic time, learning incredible things, meeting amazing people,  and collecting unbelievable swag.  There are a lot of people in Colorado whom I love dearly;  CALL ME!

2.  My feet are killing me.

3.  It’s hard to find a little travel laptop mouse any more.  Thank you, Big Lots.

4.  My house is a mess.  I didn’t straighten it up before I left.  This fact does not bother me overmuch.

5.  I did run all the dirty dishes through the dishwasher, though.  I can’t abide a sink of dirty dishes.

6.  My husband will be subbing for me at the college.  We’re leaving in a half hour, so I really should get some lesson plans ready for him.  Ouch.

7.  This has been a lovely, happy summer so far.

8.  I have a potty mouth.  It’s a good one, too.  I was an English major.  This fact shames me, but not as much as it makes me giggle.

9.  I always worry that I’ll say something dreadful and make a roomful of people gasp and draw back.  See #8.  I do not want this to happen.  Ever.  Eventually, it will.

10.  I am very, very, very, very, very shy.  $%^&*()&%^&*())(*&^%^&*)(#$ shy.

2.

When you’ve been married a long time, you have these little subtle signals.

Speaking of being married a long time, though. . . click over to Kenju’s blog and wish her and her very lucky husband a Happy Anniversary.  45 years is a long time!  We can all take lessons from this lovely lady.

We picked blueberries this morning.  Come on over.  Hurry, though, because they’re going fast.  You know how birds always poop red and blue in berry season?  Yeah, well, I just wondered.  No reason.

My random playlist is almost too weird even for me.  My kids can tell you how strange some of those playlists can be.  Whatever, I like them.

Steve Spangler sent me the coolest science toy EVER.  It came in today’s mail, I can’t stop playing with it, and I can only imagine how much fun an actual kid would have with it.  I wanted to title this post “I can’t stop playing with my balls” but I didn’t want to offend anybody.

Hahaha, who am I kidding?  Easily offended people haven’t been coming here for years.    Possibly it’s some kind of defense mechanism for their delicate sensibilities.  Feh.

I’m nice, really I am.  I just don’t suffer fools gladly, and I don’t think YOU should, either.  Maybe if EVERYBODY stopped suffering fools gladly, the fools would straighten up and fly right.

You know, instead of being put in charge of things.

“Green Tambourine” is actually a pretty cool song.

Okay, now I’m off to the laundry room to use my college degrees to help me scrape lint off the dryer trap.  Thank goodness I have those; otherwise, I’d be just standing there wondering why the dryer kept catching fire.

P.S.  Thises and thats are ” potpourri” on Jeopardy.

Oh, the weed eater didn’t slash me this time – it seems there’s this little thing called a “guard” that you’re supposed to include when you put the thing together, who knew? -  but I do have me a real talent for finding and liquifying large batches of poison ivy, splattering the essence all over myself and pretty much guaranteeing disfigurement for PEOPLE to see.  I generally do this right before something wonderful, wherein I really, really want to make a good impression on people I totally adore even before I meet them, and even more so after I do.  What I inevitably do is make people scratch their own heads and wonder where in the world I could have gotten St. Vitus Dance in this day and age.

I’m so excited about Science in the Rockies and BlogHer and seeing the Grogans that I can’t even sleep at night.  Airplanes, trains, and right in my own home!  I love people!  I love learning things!  I love everything right now, honestly.

Except my weedeater.                                                                                                                                                  

See you soon.  I’ll be the big blonde chick standing in the corner trying not to scratch.