I just learned that my sister recently started a blog (and has been having computer problems), and then I got a note from a friend I've known for at least a dozen years (but have never met in person) who began her blog today.
They are both smart, wise women who know how to write. I can think of a number of people who read this blog who would very much enjoy their perspectives.
dancepulse: Dance education in particular, and arts education in general
Meg Mahoney, my sister, is a full-time dance educator in an inner-city public school. She didn't get to this place in life overnight. She knows a lot, and I'm so glad she's sharing her hard-earned knowledge: on how she moved from dancer to independent instructor to classroom teacher to full-time movement specialist, and on how she does what she does with the kids.
I know first-hand what a good teacher she is. When we lived in the same small town and were both in our 20s, she taught dance classes and I was one of her students. Those experiences have made a profound, ongoing difference in my life.
Here's a video prepared by KCTS-TV in Seattle when Meg won a Golden Apple Award, which recognizes extraordinary teachers. It's a little over 5 minutes long.
PranaMamma: Helping people keep breathing
Although PranaMamma—Respiratory Therapy: A Second Career in Mid-Life is presented anonymously, I know exactly who this is and how much life experience and richness she brings to her mid-life drastic career change. She's a fiber person who understands a number of elemental processes. She's taking on breath now. Everything she does is infused with spirit.
I'm looking forward to hearing more of her stories.
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Computer update
I plan to limp along for a while, because I don't have the heart (or time) to—again—format the hard drive and reinstall the operating system and all of the software and documents. I have tasks to complete and deadlines to meet. Everything's backed up, redundantly, so the amount of damage that can be done through software malfunction is limited.
Computer-geek friends have suggested ways to prevent future problems by creating drive partitions (which require rebooting when changing programs) or operating virtual machines. I'd have to set up networking to get files from one program to another, if the programs were operating on different partitions or virtual machines.
This does not sound like a comfortable, fluid working environment. In fact, it sounds less convenient than occasional blue-screen forced shutdowns.
I'll be looking into ways to dock the MacBook in the main office and hook it up to the printer and monitor without completely disabling the PC (which still runs several essential programs for which I have not found Mac equivalents).
"I just learned that my sister recently started a blog (and has been having computer problems)"
Oh my, it's not a family curse, is it?
Posted by: donna Druchunas | February 28, 2009 at 06:34 PM
I have a win virtual machine on my Mac and networking it with the Mac and the other Win machines on the workgroup in our house was completely seamless and easy to set up.
Partitions are much easier -- it just makes c: d: e: drives and so forth. But not as protected. Still, you should probably always partition the data separate from the applications (no, I don't follow this advice either, but it is good advice)....
Posted by: donna Druchunas | February 28, 2009 at 06:36 PM
P. S. I'm running Parallels and WinXP on my Mac.
Posted by: donna Druchunas | February 28, 2009 at 06:37 PM
Oh my, I didn't know that video was out there! Anyway, thanks for mentioning me -- I had a spike in my stats chart today! :-)
Posted by: meg | February 28, 2009 at 11:34 PM