DannyDang.com

Are you too connected?

Our daily lives have been drastically changed by the internet the last few years. What teenager does not know about sites like Facebook or MySpace?

Just recently online social networking has become more of the norm, but is this creating more less sociable people? Are “geeks” more socially awkward as before or more so now?

I’ve noticed with speaking to students or younger co-workers that they will go to the internet for their answer for almost everything. Which causes me to cringe when sites like Wikipedia become the authoritative source.

“What really pisses me off” (ode to Adrian) is how people wont pick up the phone and interact with another human anymore. My little sister does not like ordering pizza and now that she can do it online she probably never speak to a live human again.

I heart the ‘net! Without it I would not be sitting here blogging, conversing with people I would never have crossed paths with, and I would be out of my daily work. We need to find a balance though… put down the “crackberry”, laptop, etc. Do we really need to be constantly connected to the internet receiving status updates 24/7?

I am not sure where I was going with this post as my mind is becoming to jumble from the lack of sleep. My point is get some face time with a loved one or friend, as technology and the internet can not replace the human touch.

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Healthy Blogger

As I sit here typing away at the keyboard every so slowly inching towards smacking my face to the keyboard I wonder how many bloggers or computer users have good posture while at their desk or workstation.

Do you hunch forward with your neck down? Is your wrists all bent out of shape because your keyboard is at the wrong height? Our bodies are not meant to be in this hunch over position for long periods of time.

Make sure you are walking around, standing and even shifting your position from time to time which will allow your muscles to relax so that they will not get stiff from being in the same position all day.

Here’s a set of excellent good posture tips from Ahtim.com

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Friends CAN Make a difference!

I didn’t know what to expect coming into this Blogathon 2008. Honestly, I was very intimidated joining the current ranks of Vancouver bloggers. I have been on hiatus for almost a year now from my blog. I do not consider my blog to be at the standards set by these great local bloggers.

Thank you Baba for the great timing of your guest post! I was feeling a little lost and disoriented this morning. Thank you Harry for keeping me company last night and providing a guest post to give me a break. Also thank you’s go out to everyone who stopped and commented on the blog!

Some advice to future Blogathon bloggers, do not muck around with your site during the blogathon… There is no time and things start to break when you haven’t slept all day. Technical glitches aside, my posts should be in sync soon.

I have about 10 hours to go and I will get through this! Thank you for all the support everyone!

Duane Storey has graciously setup an RSS feed of all the blogging going on.

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Of Buddhas & Bells… Guest Entry

This is a guest entry by Ted “Baba” Katrensky

photo credit: gezgin.bloggum.com

When I was studying zazen in Hawaii in the mid-70’s a senior student told me a story.

Our daily routine was tough, about 6 hours meditation in the zendo under the watchful gaze of our Roshi and about 6 hours of hard labor…

We were building a road which entailed cutting down trees without the aid of power tools and carrying buckets of gravel to “pave the road” tamping that down with concrete building blocks. As a result, many of us were tired most of the time and tended to doze off during meditation.

This is when the senior student would come by with a wooden paddle and administer a sharp quick blow to the back of the dozing meditator, bringing instant alertness.

This same senior student told me that there was a monk in China who used to meditate on the precipice of a 1000 foot cliff. He sat at very edge of the drop and had a small bell tied to his forehead.

Whenever he started to doze off, his head would fall forward and the bell would ring, waking him and saving him from certain death.

If you would like to read more posts like this, check out Eagalic Music

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Sleep deprived

I need to take a break, Harry and I are heading to Denny’s for a bite.