Random trivia for the morning:
Nov. 4th, 2006 02:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysobelleFrom http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/node/1848:
Greeks bearing gifts
By Edward Macnaghten
Online on: 03/11/2006
Here in the UK, there is a saying that was a quote from Virgil that was often quoted in the original Latin, “Timeo Danaos et dona ferentis”, which is usually mistranslated into the phrase “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”. It refers to the incident where the Greek troops hid inside a large wooden horse and gave it to the Trojans as a gift who promptly accepted it, then in the night the Greeks broke out of their hiding place, went to the city gates, and... Well, you probably know the rest.
...
Going back to the Virgil quote—“Timeo Danaos et dona ferentis” is usually mistranslated, the actual translation is “I fear the Greeks even bringing gifts”, a saying that I think is very relevant to closed software companies.
So the next time someone uses the "Beware Greeks bearing gifts" line on you, you can sound all posh and say, "You know, what that actually translates to is...."
So I broke down my booth today, packing up a season's worth of goods and detritus. Bev was there, thank G-d, to help and to haul. It's always a sad thing, the end of the season: it's cold, and dark, and there's always the sad feeling of the carnival having left town. The people are the glamour: once they're gone, the weathered wood doesn't look "authentically aged;" it just looks worn. And I can't help but think how quiet it'll be without the throngs of people around every weekend, and the people who drifted away even before.
Fall is a time things end. They end, and then they sleep for the winter. If you're lucky, they grow again in Spring, or new things replace them. If not, the cold numbs you, and makes the pain of loss easier to bear. I'm tired of living with anger that won't go away, and hurt, and pain. Perhaps acknowledging that exhaustion's the first step towards putting the bad energies to bed in the earth, and leaving them lie til the days grow longer again, and seeing what's there to be exhumed. Or not.
And of course, I really can't be quiescent and dull this winter. I have far too much to do. I have a booth to plan and build, I have faires to schedule, I have stock to build, a new home to find, a business to plan. My business. It's my baby, and I'm proud of it. I never knew how much of a comfort it would be to captain my own ship like this. I had no idea how much it would mean to me to be able to say, "I can do this for someone. I can be the boss, and run things the way I like."
I spent some time meditating over Yom Kippur, and I got a semi-distinct directive from G-d-- or so I believe. I'm not sure I understand all of it, but the jist was, "Concentrate on the people. Bring more. Do more. Help more." Perhaps it's odd: I make corsets, I'm not a social worker. But any business can, really, be an instrument of change. Ben & Jerry is, after all, an ice cream company. Simply being able to do what I dream is a powerful thing. I'm blessed. I'm lucky. I need to pay it forward where- and however I can. I decided, the night of the Funky Formal, to charge $10 at the door instead of the advertised $12. Why? Because everything was paid for already, and I didn't need to gouge anyone. We didn't have any change, anyway. Next year, I'll just tell everyone on the flyer that the earlier they buy their tickets, the more food I can afford to buy. I think that should have a salutary effect. But the main thing is the karma: do what you can because it's the right thing. The extra $2 a head would have been nice, but we're okay. I don't need to run a Vegas extravaganza: I just need to cover costs and make sure people have fun.
I feel like I'm rambling. My digestive tract is still wrestling with the prime rib dinner I threw at it tonight, in company with Bev and Allie and Shawn. I have sleepy animals on my bed, and I think I may be one of them. It's four years and two weeks since I lost Kayli; sometimes I feel like she's here, too.
Ah, well.
Greeks bearing gifts
By Edward Macnaghten
Online on: 03/11/2006
Here in the UK, there is a saying that was a quote from Virgil that was often quoted in the original Latin, “Timeo Danaos et dona ferentis”, which is usually mistranslated into the phrase “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”. It refers to the incident where the Greek troops hid inside a large wooden horse and gave it to the Trojans as a gift who promptly accepted it, then in the night the Greeks broke out of their hiding place, went to the city gates, and... Well, you probably know the rest.
...
Going back to the Virgil quote—“Timeo Danaos et dona ferentis” is usually mistranslated, the actual translation is “I fear the Greeks even bringing gifts”, a saying that I think is very relevant to closed software companies.
So the next time someone uses the "Beware Greeks bearing gifts" line on you, you can sound all posh and say, "You know, what that actually translates to is...."
So I broke down my booth today, packing up a season's worth of goods and detritus. Bev was there, thank G-d, to help and to haul. It's always a sad thing, the end of the season: it's cold, and dark, and there's always the sad feeling of the carnival having left town. The people are the glamour: once they're gone, the weathered wood doesn't look "authentically aged;" it just looks worn. And I can't help but think how quiet it'll be without the throngs of people around every weekend, and the people who drifted away even before.
Fall is a time things end. They end, and then they sleep for the winter. If you're lucky, they grow again in Spring, or new things replace them. If not, the cold numbs you, and makes the pain of loss easier to bear. I'm tired of living with anger that won't go away, and hurt, and pain. Perhaps acknowledging that exhaustion's the first step towards putting the bad energies to bed in the earth, and leaving them lie til the days grow longer again, and seeing what's there to be exhumed. Or not.
And of course, I really can't be quiescent and dull this winter. I have far too much to do. I have a booth to plan and build, I have faires to schedule, I have stock to build, a new home to find, a business to plan. My business. It's my baby, and I'm proud of it. I never knew how much of a comfort it would be to captain my own ship like this. I had no idea how much it would mean to me to be able to say, "I can do this for someone. I can be the boss, and run things the way I like."
I spent some time meditating over Yom Kippur, and I got a semi-distinct directive from G-d-- or so I believe. I'm not sure I understand all of it, but the jist was, "Concentrate on the people. Bring more. Do more. Help more." Perhaps it's odd: I make corsets, I'm not a social worker. But any business can, really, be an instrument of change. Ben & Jerry is, after all, an ice cream company. Simply being able to do what I dream is a powerful thing. I'm blessed. I'm lucky. I need to pay it forward where- and however I can. I decided, the night of the Funky Formal, to charge $10 at the door instead of the advertised $12. Why? Because everything was paid for already, and I didn't need to gouge anyone. We didn't have any change, anyway. Next year, I'll just tell everyone on the flyer that the earlier they buy their tickets, the more food I can afford to buy. I think that should have a salutary effect. But the main thing is the karma: do what you can because it's the right thing. The extra $2 a head would have been nice, but we're okay. I don't need to run a Vegas extravaganza: I just need to cover costs and make sure people have fun.
I feel like I'm rambling. My digestive tract is still wrestling with the prime rib dinner I threw at it tonight, in company with Bev and Allie and Shawn. I have sleepy animals on my bed, and I think I may be one of them. It's four years and two weeks since I lost Kayli; sometimes I feel like she's here, too.
Ah, well.
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Date: 2006-11-05 05:45 pm (UTC)Don't forget that I'm still around. If you cannot reach me by LG, just email me: MrsSuperwife3@aol.com
Or better yet, call: (717)867-5448 or (717)512-3614.
I think of you often. And miss your smiling face.
Hugs from me