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On the eve of the New Year, many revelers will welcome 2011, while some will look back in despair, and forward with angst.   If your 2010 had more road humps than smooth highways, be easy on yourself.  We all have bumpy roads.  Instead of lamenting the things that you had hoped – but failed – to achieve last year, look at the approaching year as a new beginning bringing new opportunities.  Reassess those waylaid plans that got squashed by forces beyond your control, and commit to success in 2011. 

Many of life’s obstacles can be circumvented by drawing on inner strength and – if you have a belief system – summoning your faith.  If you are a chronic pessimist, resolve “New Year, New Attitude.”   Get off of the road of negativism and onto a positive path.  Whenever an optical pops up in front of you – as we know it will – think back, years ago, to the story that you used to read to your children (or it may have even been read to you), and repeat the mantra of the Little Engine That Could.  Tell yourself, “I think I can.  I think I can.  I think I can.”  And if you really want to kick it up a notch, reiterate “I know I can.”   That children’s story designed to teach optimism may sound like elementary gibberish to cynical adults; but believe me; it is much easier to navigate the tribulations of life with a positive attitude.    

One thing that I tell people who consistently groan and complain about how bad things are is to look on the bright side.  Thing can always be worse.  If your house burned down, be glad that you weren’t in it.  If you lost your job, be grateful that you have the mental and physical stamina to pursue another one.  If a car sped pass you on the street and splashed you with rain water, be glad that the vehicle didn’t run over you.   Be constantly mindful that and as long as there is life there is hope, and no matter how bleak things seem, there is always a bright side.

Fortify your mind against negativity.  Read motivational books or inspirational biographies about now famous people like J.K. Rowling or Tyler Perry.  They each pursued their dreams through welfare and homelessness, and were they not so humble, they could easily look back to the naysayers and ask “How do you like me now?”   If television is your pacifier, then watch uplifting programs.  When all else fails meditate or engage in positive self-talk.  Just refuse to let negative people or circumstances sap your energy. 

To the Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and all the others who have been reading my blog — thank you.  I wish you all a Booming New Year!

Yet another frivolous lawsuit is on the horizon.  The latest one filed by a mother in California who, with the assistance of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), is suing McDonalds for selling toys in Happy Meals.  The mother of two children is taking legal action because she feels that McDonalds is using toys to entice children to buy the meals, considered by some to be unhealthy junk food.  Hold up!  Wait a minute.  Who is taking her children to McDonalds and buying the Happy Meals?  Is she buying them?  If the mother fears for her children’s health and doesn’t want them to look like they are just one Happy Meal away from obesity, then she should step-up, handle her parental business and say “no.”  If her children are going to Mickey D’s on their own and buying a Happy Meal, then they are probably too old for the toys anyway, and they are going to buy the meal whether she likes it or not.   

There are some people to whom adults may not want to say no.  Their boss for instance.  Or a police officer asking to see the driver’s license.  Elderly parents may even hold a yes card.  But young children learn early in life whether their parents call the shots or if the children rule.   

On the other hand, this case may not be exclusively a Happy Meal/toy issue.  The prospect of money is always a powerful motivator and it sometimes trumps principle.  It will be interesting to see the outcome of this case.  If the Happy Meal Mom loses will she then have enough backbone to parent up and just say no?

Listen-up fellow baby boomer novices and wannabe-geeks, let’s talk about listservs. Yes, that’s listserv without the “e.” No, it is not misspelled. Listservs are basically email transmissions to and from a list of subscribers who share a common interest, and there are thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of them worldwide.

When you first join a listserv, you may feel like a kid going to a new school. You may be received warmly and make friends right away, or you might be completely ignored, at least until someone in the group decides to acknowledge you; that could take a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days.

When a member of the listserv sends an email to the group, every subscriber in the group can read it, anyone can respond to it, and everyone can read the response. Say that you join a neighborhood listserv, the subject of conversation could be about anything, from someone asking if anyone has seen their lost dog, Cujo, to a complaint about roaches in a restaurant on the avenue.

Unlike in a chat room where your conversation is likely to bring an immediate response, in a listserv you will probably receive the information you are seeking, but maybe not right away. If everyone in the neighborhood is discussing where they last saw Cujo, you may not learn which restaurant is infested until you happen to be dining there and actually see a creepy crawler scurrying up the wall.

Remember Lesson One – There are no private conversations on the listserv. If you want to gossip about someone else who is in the group, send your fellow gossiper a message to his or her personal email, or better yet phone that person, because just as what goes in an email stays in an email; what is communicated in a listserv goes to everyone. 

Look at text messages – oh, you don’t text either?  Then, that is something else we have in common. But as I was saying, just as they do in text messages, people in the listservs occasionally speak in code.  Lesson Two — Brush up on the jargon before joining a listserv.  There is a wonderful website that lists some of the acronyms and abbreviations used by the listserv savvy. If you are a novice, http://www.internetslang.com will introduce you to some of the lingo. If you post a question to the listserv and get this response, “SI”, the sender could either be telling you to “Stop it!” or calling you a “Stupid Idiot.”  Plain English may be the standard, depending on which listserv you join, or you could be bombarded with Internet jargon. Prepare yourself, so that you will not spend time trying to determine whether the reply you received from a fellow listserver was an exclamation or an insult.  Another site that you may find useful for deciphering messages is http://www.netlingo.com. 

You will probably find that you are already familiar with a few of the commonly used acronyms like OMG (Oh, my God, or Oh, my gosh for the anti-Christians) and HAK (hugs and kisses). If this post has helped you to understand a wee bit about listservs, then G4U.  C YA.