Acrchives – Page 2

February 27, 2012

Monday Spotlight: At Home Blogging

One of the greatest things that could have happened in the technological age is blogging. So much information now comes to use because we are sharing it with each other and not waiting for some news or media outlet to inform us on it. As in the movie Julie & Julia, people get an idea, create a blog and start writing. Many blogs, like mine on another website, are just a continuous feed of things that pop in my mind and I feel have either educational or entertainment value. Others though often are created out of a necessity and the desire to share on one subject in an open conversation. The person or people whom created the blog have a passion to share their findings and journey with the wide audience of the internet to teach and learn from each other: The very heart of why I created Project Kinect.

Recently, one of the people who continue to inspire me has created her own blog on being a in love with someone, living together as new homeowners. Her and her boyfriend have created Beyond the Green Door: Inside lay the secrets of new homeowners embarking on an adventure of love, gardening, and home improvement…

So far, they have shared with us the garbage left behind by the old owners, getting a new kitchen table, organizing the spot in the back yard for their garden, the beginning adventures of changing light fixtures and the grand nuisance of red ants. It is also a great example of what we can do with technology and learning from each other. Good luck you two! We can’t wait to see where your adventure goes to. Beyondthegreendoor

Here are a couple other great blogs to check out from some people incorporating their great hobbies into their very modern lives…

AJ the Purple

Snips & Snails; Hammers & Nails

Remodelaholic

February 21, 2012

Looking Back: Dauphin Island and Southern Alabama

In Mid-March, I was traveling through the south with some friends and this is one of the extraordinary moments that we experienced while we were letting ourselves get lost in the post-BP oilspill gulf….

Dauphin Island was a three hour unexpected surprise. When we got onto the island, we really had no idea what it was that we were looking for. We drove around, looked for any signage but didn’t see anything that was significant to Project Kinect. Then, once we were in line for the fairy, we found something of interest. The ferry pick up spot was also the location for the Saw Grass Point Marsh Shoreline and Habitat Restoration. Not only are they attempting to make precautions to save the shoreline, but they are also setting up cement barriers to slow down waves as well as help prevent and destruction from possible oil spills in the future.

These pictures are of the Shoreline and Habitat Restoration as well as Dauphin Island and the surrounding area. As you see, all the houses are on stilts in attempts to battle any future hurricanes. While we were driving through the area, we couldn’t help to notice how many homes were up for sale. In the last several years, this area has been hit by many hard storms as well as suffering from last year’s oil spill. With that and the economy, it makes for a bad equation. The residents that have been around for many years though are diehards and have no plans of moving anytime soon.

**All three links are different and have additional information to what is happening in this area. Please check them all out if you’re interested.

: These group of boys were catching hermit crabs. We’re not entirely certain why, but boys will be boys

: All around us there were oil platforms as a constant reminder of our dependency. What are the chances of another oil spill?

To get off of the island and get back on track of our journey toward Saint Petersburg, we took the Dauphin Ferry across to the eastern shoreline of Alabama. It really looks like an untouched part of the country that I’m afraid, because of the low cost of real-estate, will soon be developed and the natural beauty will be history. The final pictures are of this shoreline. I absolutely fell in love with this part of the country. I look forward to getting back there at some point soon after my journey.

February 5, 2012February 5, 2012

A Years End And A Final Request

For the last month, I am completely locked in on staying in the state of Wisconsin. I would like to reach my hands out into the world of technology and hear from as many people as possible in this last month. How you ask? With an email, a video, or just a simple facebook or twitter message.

The largest part of my wanting to create Project Kinect was to explore connecting in this technological age. In this, how do we still fulfill that human connection that we need when we aren’t necessarily physically face to face. Through the exploration of connecting, are we really getting to know each other? Over the last year, I have gotten the chance to see some really extraordinary ways we are connecting. One of my favorites was in Austin with the Skype play, “You Don’t Know Her, She Lives in London: You Don’t Know Him, He Lives in Austin”, produced by the Hidden Room Theatre. This play used Skype to share the experience of two characters in two different apartments in two opposite parts of the world.

In this last month, I want to hear from you. With the help of technology, I would like to get as many people as possible to connect in one forum. I ask that each person that this post comes across takes a look at the questions and in a response to me via email (gregg@projectkinect.com), facebook, twitter, or a video , answers as many of the questions as they would like. In the response, please tell me your name, age, where you’re from, what you do, and any other information you would like to share about yourself. Please also add whether you would mind me sharing the basics of your input with the followers of Project Kinect. I look forward to hearing and reading all about the lives and stories of everyone.

I do have one last request. After you are done reading this post, whether or not you respond to it, please share it with your communities so that for this last month, I can truly hear from the largest group of people possible.

Thank you for your involvement to an extraordinary year!

Sincerely,

Gregg Potter

How do you define community?

Where does your inspiration come from?

How much time do you give selflessly?

What great accomplishments have any of the communities that you’re involved with completed?

What have you been a part of in your life that absolutely amazes you?

What is something about yourself that you have always wanted to share but haven’t?

If you have hesitated from doing what you want, did fear or money scare you most?

When have you been motivated to get involved with politics?

What is the last great face to face conversation that you have had?

What was the last big risk you took?

January 23, 2012

Monday Spotlight: Being Creative When Donating Time or Money

I have had to get creative with my volunteering lately while carless here in Wisconsin so I thought that I would make this Monday Spotlight all about volunteering and donating in creative ways. One of the largest obstacles in getting people to donate their money or time today is that in order to do so, we feel that we have to bring the rest of our entire life to a halt. I don’t know why, but in the back of our minds volunteering is a much larger activity than it really is. To schedule a time to give our time with no return besides the greatness of the fact we are volunteering seems to be a concept even I have a difficult time with once in a while. Ultimately then, we need to find ways that our loves, passions and enjoyments come out in our volunteering and donating.

I have put together these few things to at least get your minds going. The fact is, we all do want to donate our time and money. It is a human instinct to give. So, in the year 2012, we just need to become more creative sometimes in our giving when circumstances aren’t to any extremes.

Wines For Humanity: My friend Angie is always so great about finding these ways to volunteer and fundraise that just amazes me. I don’t know when she finds the time but thankfully she does because she finds me gems like this. Wines for Humanity has strong feelings about homelessness. The hosts of these private wine tastings and their guests relax while enjoying the wines in a fun, educational environment. Not only does everyone have an extraordinary time with great wines and good friends, but a portion of the proceeds from every bottle promoted also directly benefits families in their community who find themselves on the brink of homelessness for reasons beyond their control.

Here in Wisconsin, the primary organization that receives the benefit is Porchlight, one of the organizations I have mentioned in the Madison section of Project Kinect. Look into who your consultant is in your area to find out the organizations who are benefiting from Wines for Humanity. This really is a great way for us wine drinkers to get together, taste some great wine and donate some money to an extremely important cause.

Volunteering While Traveling: I could kick myself for all of the times that I didn’t volunteer while I was traveling. So many trips in my twenties that I didn’t even think about volunteering. I know, as we all say, “it’s a vacation! Why should you be working?” Well, volunteering is not working because the word work implies that you’re getting paid. When you’r
This family we met up with twice. Once was at the Salvation Army distrobution center and the other was Dressing Up Tuscaloosa. They planned their vacation around this need to volunteer.

e on vacation, you end up doing day trips and excursions and sightseeing; so why not decide to volunteer while you’re sight-seeing? You will definitely get the spontaneous excursion that you were looking for. Here are two additional links to give you some ideas of how to find volunteer opportunities while on vacation. I do apologize, these websites are more geared for abroad travelers but even domestically, you can find great volunteer opportunities in any community. You can also take it one step further and plan your vacation around a volunteer opportunity just like this family did who we met when we were in Tuscaloosa.

I to I Volunteering

Spunky Girls Monologues: 37 Ways to Volunteer While Traveling

Really though, this is all just to get you thinking about volunteering and how it doesn’t have to be a chore. Look at what you absolutely love to do in your life, and find a way to share that or combine that in a volunteer opportunity. My grandmother loves to play games and socialize. So, two days a week, she goes to the nursing home in her town and plays bingo, colors, or chooses an assortment of other games with the residents. For her, she gets to do what she loves and coincidentally, my mother works there as well as some of her friends are there. My grandma would never consider this time volunteering, but that is what she is doing and the residents love her. It is in there, in our happiness, where we can be the best “volunteer” that we can be. Remember Jo who I met at the Tampa Hostel? Look at how much volunteering she did as she was sailing around the world teaching yoga to all those youth at every port they stopped? Her job for seventeen years was to sail that boat for the family on it. She would have never considered her time “volunteering” when she was with any of those children. When volunteering isn’t in an extreme situation like natural disasters, then we must find that balance of where we volunteer hand-in-hand with something we love.

January 5, 2012

Looking Back: Madison Protests

As we looked back at the year 2011, we can’t help to look at the political climate over the year as well as the outrage that citizens had all over the country. Three months after the protests and demonstrations began in Madison, WI, I went for a walk with my friend Alyssa to check out what was happening in the middle of everything happening. Here is that post as well as the video we took.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to witness everything happening in Madison, WI in the months of February and March but when I arrived into Madison, I wanted to make sure I got the feeling of what was happening over those two months. Thankfully, my friend Alyssa was in the middle of it which made her the perfect tour guide for this video. As you watch it, keep in mind that it was the middle of winter, covered in snow with an average temperature of 26 degrees. Over those two months, there were hundreds of thousands of people with the largest protest maxing out at close to a hundred thousand people. That was the protest where the state farmers came to support and brought their tractors right up to the capital and drove around it the entire day.

Also keep in mind what this means to have a hundred thousand people in this space. Over the last five months, we have been reading and hearing about hundreds of protests in the Middle East from places like Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt, Libya and so on. The protests in Madison were as large and in some moments, larger than those. Americans will rally too and we can’t forget what we can do when we come together.

In this video there are a couple references that are made and just in case you would like to check them out, here are a few links.

Kent State Massacre

Kloppenburg Recount

January 3, 2012

Moving Forward in 2012: A Thank You to My Parents

It’s already the 3rd of January and I have found myself in this “New Years rutt”. Nothing to be alarmed by, I just personally got overwhelmed by everything that comes along with my goals in this new year. As I have been pulling out the motivation to get some tasks done today, I found inspiration where I did not expect it. About a week ago, I recieved this email from my stepfather. At the moment I had no clue exactly what it was about, I just figured that he was sending me this link to tell me about the amazing desk work that Unicef andMSNBC’s, The Last Word is doing for the schools of Malawi.

Today, when I stopped by my parents house, my dad sat me down to show me exactly what the email was. He was so moved by the story that he donated two desks in the name of Project Kinect. This is a huge thank you to not just my stepfather, but to all four of my parents who constantly support my endeavors, no matter how crazy or difficult they may appear. I love you so much and truly know how much I am blessed to have you in my lives.

Thank you!

Every day, hundreds of thousands of students in Malawi sit on the floor to learn.

Today, that number has been reduced significantly, thanks to a gift made in your honor.

Learn more about Kids in Need of Desks and UNICEF’s Schools for Africa, working to provide quality education for all.

for all u did down south

Tell your friends how to give to Kids in Need of Desks (K.I.N.D.) in Malawi

Click here to view a printable version of this eCard.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

December 12, 2011

Monday Spotlight: We All Want to Help Eachother: Human Beings Are Like That

As we get further into the holiday season, we need to keep focus on the true meaning of the holidays and what it really means to be human. Going into the New Year, as we continue to develop and focus on furthering the betterment of our world, it is more important now than ever before that we get to the root causes of how we got here and how we move forward together, with each other, for each other.

This video is remarkable and should be watched by everyone. Whether you already have a heart full of love, hope and ambition, or you have just given up. We are meant for great things still and we will get through these difficult times.

I wanted to add this story because it is just a great reminder and supporter of what I mean when I talk about the importance and greatness of helping each other. My grandmother read it to her Kiwanis group recently and I thought I would share it here. Even if you have seen this before, I believe you will still enjoy it.

Grandma’s Christmas Secret:

I remembered my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: “There is no Santa Clause,” she jeered. “Even dummies know that!” I fled to her that because I knew she would be straight with me. Grandma always told the truth.

Grandma was home, and I told her everything.She was ready for me. “No Santa Claus!” she snorted. “Ridiculous! Don’t believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let’s go.”

We arrived at a store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. Grandma handed me ten dollars. “take this money,” she said, “and buy something someone else really needs. I’ll wait for you in the car.” Then she turned and walked out.

For a few moments I just stood there, confused, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors and the kids at school. I suddenly thought of Wayne Lieninger. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock’s grade-two class. Wayne didn’t have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for recess during the inter. His step-mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Wayne Lieninger didn’t have a cough , and he didn’t have a coat. I figured the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Wayne a coat!

I settled on a blue corduroy with a hood to it. It looked warm, and he would like that. “Os this a Christmas present for someone?” the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. “Yes,” I answered. “It’s …. for Wayne.” The nice lady smiled at me. I didn’t get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me gift-wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) and write, “To Wayne, From Santa Claus” on it — Grandma said that Santa insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Wayne’s house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa’s helpers.

Grandma parked down from Wayne’s house. We crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. “All right, Santa Claus,” she whispered, “get going.” I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. We waited breathlessly for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Wayne.

Fifty years haven’t dimmed the thrill of those moments. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. I still have the Bible, with the tag tucked inside: $19.95.

December 6, 2011December 6, 2011

Creating Equality in Minneapolis and St. Paul

Last May when I was in St. Paul for the Minnesota AIDS walk, I took a moment to sit with Danny, the program assistant for the Out for Equity with the St. Paul school district. When we taped this, he was just ending the year with the program and was extremely happy after the successful year that Out for Equity had. Since we taped this video, Danny has taken a new position with the Humane Society. One of the things that I unfortunately had to edit out was his love for animals and so taking this new position is on Danny’s dream job list.

This edited version does share his love for the twin cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, and why he feels at home here. Where we feel the most at home is an extremely large part of being able to be productive and creates a space where we can contribute the most to our community. This video of course, is ended with Danny’s definition of community. It is one of the main focal points of Project Kinect and we must always remind ourselves that we are a part of a community.

WE ARE ALL INVOLVED!!!

November 30, 2011November 30, 2011

Spirit Clips

I came across Spirit Clips earlier this week when it was talked about on The View. This mission is directly from their website.

SpiritClips.com is a content subscription service delivering original and acquired films that inspire and entertain audiences of all ages. We also offer our members a wealth of quality personal and professional development content aimed at enhancing positive living. From viewing Hallmark Hall of Fame movies online to watching TED Talks on mobile devices, SpiritClips meets the demand of subscribers seeking positive messages.

I am glad to have found such a website and am happy to share it here on Project Kinect. The human connection is so important and a company that supports that, as well as enhancing positive living is so incredible. Spend some time on the website and just soak it in and above all, share it.

This is one of the short films that was made by Spirit Clips. It really portrays what we always seem to forget as humans: You never know where generosity and kindness will come from so don’t judge!

Due to the embeded code being private, here is the link. http://youtu.be/A_8kuHtgMV0 It is definitley worth the click and the opening of a new window.

I wanted to end this post with another feel good thing that I have recently seen. I know that this is an REI commercial, but it is so true with how when we aren’t judging, we can let the spontaneity of life just make our story. This commercial shows just how some uncontrolable power will change out course and introduce us to new people or amazing new places. In this commercial, that uncontrolable power is just a little rain. If you can get past that the company is trying to sell you stuff, it is a pretty amazing statement.

November 28, 2011December 8, 2014

Monday Spotlight: Selflessness

Last week was the premiere of a new show on ABC called You Deserve It. This show allows someone to play a game show and win money for a loved one who they feel deserves it. To see this put on prime time television and having regular people being the ones responsible for giving these great sums of money is an extremely phenomenal thing. This got me thing about being selfless acts and looking at the rate of selflessness we are as a society. We are constantly full of selfless acts when it comes in front of us. This is volunteering with a club, donating money and food to a food drive. We tend to forget about these selfless opportunities when we are in the middle of our lives. Part of my goal with Project Kinect is to work on that and make it a reflex on when an opportunity to be selfless comes up.

I was looking through different blogs to get inspiration on this post and while I was on Serene Journey, I came across this post on ideas for random acts of kindness and the author stated it very clear on how we can get absent from a continued selfless routine.

“As we go about our day, it’s easy to become consumed by our own reality walking around with blinders on completely unaware of what’s going on around us. It’s a little frightening to take stock of how modern conveniences have already put us out of touch with other real living, breathing, human beings. ATM’s, self checkouts, vending machines, and computers (email, instant messaging etc…). There is a tendency to become a little self-absorbed and selfish. Don’t get me wrong I welcome change and advancement I just think we’re losing touch with each other.”

My thoughts of what I wanted out of Project Kinect really comes through with this excerpt. Because of this, I feel that it is beneficial to share the suggestions from this blog: Selfless Acts-Do Something Nice to Restore Faith in Humanity.

Cook a meal. I do this occasionally for my family (mom, dad and sisters) if they are coming home from holidays or a weekend away. I do it so they don’t have to. Trick is to not expect a dinner waiting for you when you return from holidays and to truly be ok with it.
Pay it forward. Occasionally I will pay for the car behind me in line at the drive thru. Obviously I’m not going to break the bank, but a cup of coffee or two isn’t going to break me and it just might make their day.
Donate.In the spirit of uncluttering and organizing donate items that are still in good shape and that could be useful to someone else. We routinely fill boxes with items from around the house that we no longer need and drop them at the nearest thrift store or Salvation Army Depot. It makes it easier to get rid of items if you know they will go to another good home and not just in a landfill somewhere.
Volunteer. This is a biggie. Volunteer your time, services or expertise to an organization that really needs your help. My husband is a computer programmer and volunteers his time and expertise to a non-profit organization by creating and maintaining their website. I really enjoy photography and well…practice makes perfect so I volunteered at a non-profit organization to take pictures at their various events. This freed up the organizers to focus on the event and they knew that everything was still be captured.
Do something nice. It’s usually the little things that have the biggest impact. This may sound a bit odd but each and every morning in the winter I start the car for my husband. We live on the Canadian Prairies and it’s COLD! So getting into a warm car when it’s –45C is a lovely thing!
Be courteous. Our society seems to be forgetting a bit of common courtesy or consideration for others. A real simple act of courtesy is to just hold the door for someone. Whether they are struggling with shopping bags, lugging strollers and children or just exiting the store behind you, simply hold the door and let them through. It doesn’t hurt to smile as you do!
Listen. Lending an ear to someone who just needs to talk is one of the best things you can do. You don’t always have to try and solve the problem (if there is one), just listen. Sometimes just talking about things without being judged can make a world of difference to someone’s day.

I feel that because it isn’t in our normal routine to consciously do these things routinely, it is good to find inspiration in other people’s stories. These stories, whether it is that feel good warm fuzzies or just plain guilt, get us thinking more in the correct direction and pushes us to taking action. We must remember that nothing will change for the better if we all don’t get involved. While I was looking for different examples of selfless acts, I came across this story at Rense. This story shares how one person helped an old woman with the installation of her carpet.

Please feel free to share with me selfless acts of kindness that you see in your daily routines. Feel free to leave a comment or email me at gregg@projectkinect.com. As I begin to close up the first year of Project Kinect, I am putting together other people’s stories and these emails would be great additions.

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