elf words

The DALnetizen, Issue #8, Official ezine of DALnet

Contents:

Technical Stuff

Fiction, Poetry, Creative Things

Ideas

Words from the Elf

(written while munching Ritz crackers with cream cheese and red-pepper jelly -- last night i wrote while feasting on freshly made cream of asparagus and cheddar cheese soup)

First things first, you must visit http://users.dal.net, which is the users page of the DALnet web site. It's a fun place, with various little tidbits of information, and a place to enter a profile, including your DALnet nick, your interests, your web site, all sorts of things if you wish, and you may leave messages there for others on DALnet Servers are listed, and new server applications are there. Also, it lists the channels on which you have Operator status, of course, this is only available to those with a nick registered on DALnet. You can vote for your favorite channel (no stuffing the ballot box, ok?). Go, look, enjoy!

I struggle to make a statement about what is happening in the schools and streets in America, but it seems no matter what i write, it fades beside the grief for the children. My deepest and heartfelt condolences to the friends and families of those who lost their lives in Littleton, Colorado; and to the families and friends of the children we lose each day on our streets and in our homes. Gunshots are the leading killers of those 18 and under in this country. A quick check of a few schools leaves me with a counselor/coach ratio of 1 to 5 in many schools See anything out of kilter here? So often today parents can't/don't/won't do the job of guiding kids through each days challenges, some of it must be taken care of in the communities and in the schools somehow.

Last issue I quoted from Nelson Mandela's inaugural address -- and one of the readers wrote to me, saying the quote I credited to him was written by Marianne Williamson in 1992. The words are worth reading again... we are all children of this universe, it comes with the territory. (Well, maybe not all of us.) Take the message, and don't sweat the small stuff.

We, on DALnet, are now approximately 200,000 strong.. overwhelming thought, is it not? We consistently have 33,000 users on line, and there almost 400,000 registered nicknames, that is one heck of a lot of people, and as a group, we have a tremendous amount of power. We could make a big difference if each of us would do something daily to bring joy to the world, and spread a bit of peace and beauty. You may feel that you don't influence much, but I think we've all experienced those moments when a friendly smile or a pleasant turn of phrase has changed the direction our day was taking. You can do that for others. It's has of a ripple effect. Don't underestimate your ability to make a difference. We never know who we might affect, and who that person might affect. That's a lot of power, folks. Use it well and wisely. We need peace. and we need it NOW! Make a difference.

One of the readers wrote that he'd like it if i'd express how i feel about things -- i'm not shy about doing that..

war is hell -- not original, but very valid comment.
tired, bone-weary, brain-dead tired tonight
i tend to get radical about saving the environment -- a case in point being the warnings of thirty years ago that we were going to louse up the whole world if we kept on poking holes in the ozone layer, we're doing it folks, as fast as we can.
oh yeah.. while we're at it, quit cutting the redwoods, ok?
euthanasia should be an option
marijuana should be legalized for medical uses (i'll avoid controversy by not commenting further on this :) )
tobacco should be banned for medical reasons

strange juxtaposition of those two statements :)

steaks should be cooked medium rare
dragons exist -- and it goes without saying that elves do also...
you're never to old, or too young, to try
do what you like... as often as possible
living well is the best revenge
IRC is part of real life, what we experience on IRC becomes part of us
most of us do the best we can to get along most of the time.. so cut some slack
magic happens, every day, it's all around, sometimes we call it luck

care to submit your list? they needn't be original, although that would be nice. Give credit where it's due if you quote someone...

These editorials are the opinions of the editor, and may not reflect those of DALnet or its admins.