Martha Beck wrote an interesting piece in the current Oprah Magazine about 'problems'. Basically, she proposed that we should be thankful for the one big, seemingly unsolvable, problem that some of us consistently stress over all of our lives.


For the past many, many years, my problem has been my weight. Each New Year, it is at the top of my resolve list and almost every September, I vow that I will take off ten or twenty pounds before Christmas. And, many, many times I have been successful in doing just that. I have probably lost over three hundred pounds at one time or another in my life. Unfortunately, I have mostly gained it back and often added a few pounds. In the last three years, in my seventh and longest attempt at Weight Watchers, I have managed to maintain and consolidate a series of small losses and except for one extended 'four month holiday', have not seen too many big reversals in weight. Yet weight loss is still right at the top of my list of priorities and a constant struggle. For this I should be thankful, at least, according to Martha!


Martha's reasoning is this: This big insolvable problem is the lid of my Pandora's box of more frightening problems. Spending all of my time stressing about a problem that can appear to be solvable allows me to ignore the others. If I did not have a weight issue I may be forced to deal with other overwhelming issues.



There is a lot of truth here for me. I am a master at avoidance. Fortunately, Martha has a solution. She doesn't want me to discard my obsession, at least not yet.

What I need to do is recognize this problem is what she calls 'the designated issue'. Once it is labeled as such, it can be handled. What I need to do, from time to time, is to mentally set aside this 'issue' and open the lid to examine other issues dwelling beneath the surface. I need to take one out at a time and take some small steps to begin to resolve it. Then push the lid back on.

In time, the pressure cooker that is holding all my issues will begin to lose steam as progress is made. When this happens, in theory at least, my designated issue should itself begin to diminish in importance because it too will become easier to resolve.


I think this approach is worth a try.


http://marthabeck.com/blog/


At the end of all this, I need to keep my big 'problem' and be thankful that I have one because it is keeping a lid all my really unmanageable problems.

William C. Haley, Where Are You?

This letter must have meant a lot to my mother-in-law as she kept it her whole life. Maybe it was because her brother, Edmund, had died in France in November, 1917 at the age of 18. I suspect that William Haley, (was he called Bill Haley?), would have been about the same age in 1942.

It looks like Grannie belonged to the De Salaberry Club in Valleyfield and that the members took it upon themselves to write to soldiers. And it looks like this young man was still in training in England. Knowing Grannie, I am sure she wrote back to him.

So what happened to Bill? Did he see action after he wrote this letter? He doesn't show up on the veteran's lists so he probably made it home after the war. He was in the Canadian Air Force, 9th Canadian Field Squadron, RCE, 4th Armoured Division. William Haley would be in his mid eighties now if he is still around.

Is being busy the new lazy?

This question was posed in this book by Tim Ferris.

He has found unique ways to break away from the repetitious routine and find the time to do exactly what he wants.

This is a good read and a good escape.

It was the 'pick' for the last Wealthy Wilma's meeting.

If you are looking for some answers to take control of your life, eliminate the clutter of email, voice mail, etc., and start to re-prioritize, this is the book for you.

And, you can read most of it on line. http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/#

Why is pound abbrievated as lb.

The internet tells me that "lb.", the short form for the word pound, has a Latin origin. The Latin word, libre, has as one of its meanings, scales, like this one.


The word, pondus, in Latin means weight.



The current weight of the pound we use in Canada which is the international avoirdupois pound is exactly 0.45359237 kilograms or 16 ounces.


I just learned today that a pound is China is 500 grams but in Taiwan a pound contains 600 grams. We sometimes refer to a half a kilo as a metric pound.

Wikipedia tells me that the expression avoirdupois pound was invented by London merchants in 1303. It sounds more like a French expression about eating a lot of peas. Ironically, the troy pound takes its name from the French market town of Troyes in France. The word, troy, should have an English origin! It sounds like a typical old English word. I think the only things weighed with troy pounds are bars or gold and silver. A troy pound is about 12 ounces or about 373 grams.

A pound weighs slightly less than half a kilo. I wonder if the pound was just slightly more than a half a kilo if we would have eventually made the weight of a pound equal to half a kilo.

And while we are at it, does anyone see the day when we will use only metric measurements.

And, who started using this sign - # - to mean pound, and why? Does it always mean number if it is before a figure and pound if it is after a figure?

And lastly, how did ounce get shortened to oz.