Absolute Blogchain No.12

I take part in a blogging activity known as the Absolute Write Blogchain. It's a process were each participant takes a previously posted blog entry from another person playing in the effort and carries the thread forward with their own thoughts. The results can be entertaining and thought provoking. Shauna at Playing With Words relates her experience with a recent job interview where she successfully competed. Congratulations on the new position.

What stood out was Shauna's descriptions of her efforts to approach the process in a very positive manner and put her best foot forward. It's apparent the effort was well founded and later produced some pleasant, unexpected benefits. By maintaining a fresh and professional attitude after accepting the new appointment, Shauna lived up to the expectations developed by her employers in the interview process. Work is such a big part of our lives, it seems important to me that people really should have a passion for what they do and enjoy showing up for work each day.

I would take this a little further. A friend of mine was discussing the ramifications of management authority and project responsibility within the organization where he works. He had a long term employee working for him that refuses to take ownership in any project to which assigned, yet freely snipes and criticizes the results once the task is complete. In most organizations it is hard to transfer the ultimate responsibility for a task or project, yet there is a wide range of opportunities out there for employees to take ownership in a project and run with it.

In most organizations, the only limit on involvement in a project or task to what a person will assume personally. I have seen few managers get in the way of an employee that has great enthusiasm, an sense of ownership and displays commitment to completing a project. If you think about it, a positive outlook is refreshing to experience and can be contagious. These are the people, projects and outcomes we like to associate. Congrats to Shauna and her great outlook.

On to Kat at A Thoughtful Life!

AW Blogchain No.12

Virginia Lee: I Ain't Dead Yet!
Playing With Words
A View from the Waterfront"
A Thoughtful Life
Gillian Polack: Food history
So, You Majored in Creative Writing; Now what?
Life in the Middle
Finding Boddie – A Simple Way to Snort Your Breakfast
Kappa No He

Tags: Absolute Write, Absolute Write Blogchain No.12, awchain

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Food Security and Subsistence

Gillian took us through a twisting, if not torturous path concerning comfort food. Was it a lack of sleep? Alas, there is no macaroni and cheese to be found. It seems so unfair. If I followed the path presented correctly, the discussion leads from comfort food to possibly food safety or food security. I know it’s a bit of stretch, but I'll still take it.

Many people live on the coast of Alaska because of food security or more accurately security borne of a reliable food supply. Compared to many regions, rural Alaskans depend on maintaining a subsistence lifestyle and a close relationship to the environment. In what seems like another life here in Southeast Alaska, I was a member of the Southeast Alaska Federal Subsistence Advisory Council. The Council serves as the interface between the subsistence community and the Federal government. Until the State of Alaska changes its position on rural preference for subsistence foods, people depend on the Federal government to preserve their access to food and a lifeway.

In the ten years that have followed since I was on the Council, I have grown more concerned with the growing divide that exists between urban and rural residents, and promoting clean boating practices. My move back to rural Southeast Alaska has only reinforced my concerns for preserving the health of our rural communities. Access to subsistence foods is an important part of that goal. The food sounds better to me than bogong moths. Herring eggs, dried salmon, kelp, halibut, and crab are a few of our food resources used by people living here.

So in Blogchain No. 9, the discussion has moved from avoiding the comfort zone to comfort food to food security. What will Kelly at Organized Chaos do with this thread?

Tags: Absolute Write, Absolute Write Blogchain No.9, AW, Southeast Alaska

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Why participate in an AW Blogchain?

A group of freelance writer's at Absolute Write (AW) have actively participated in what we call the Absolute Write Blogchain. There are many benefits for those that play a part in the experience. We operate under these basic guidelines:

• First person in the chain finds the last post of the last post and takes an element from that to base their blog post on so that the previous chain and this chain are connected.
• Second and subsequent participants in the chain will take an element from the entry before theirs and incorporate it into their post. So for me to post an entry, I need to read yours and find something about your post.
• The last person in the chain takes an element from the post before theirs and from the first post to tie the chain together.

This is the start of Absolute Write Blogchain No.8 and I am writing the first entry based on the last post from ol' No.7 from Techtainment. Razib's post was on the four benefits for writers participating in the AW Blog. Briefly, these included link development, improvement in their Google Page Rank, community interest generated by comments, and the enjoyment of working with the others involved in the project.

I have to second Razib's comments on the writers involved with AW. The interaction, support and help provided has been overwhelming to me. AW defines what a positive community can do for its members. And it's a two-way street, you find there are equal measures of enjoyment assisting a fellow writer, as the relief felt after someone helps you out of a tight spot.

AW is a solid resource for writers. You can bounce a idea off the others, research a question, start a political argument and find a assignment. These are all the things that we need to keep the wheels turning and ideas fresh. Consider participating in AW Blogchain No.9!

The next blog in the chain will be BK_30 at Just A Small Town Girl.

Tags: Absolute Write Blogchain No.8, awchain, AW, Absolute Write

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Review From Cobwebs of the Mind

Teddy Gross is one of my fellow conspirators at Absolute Write and with some self-described reservations, is an avid blogger. Most importantly, Teddy is a writer and he uses a number of venues to effectively communicate his thoughts with others.

Yesterday evening, I received an email from Teddy telling me that he had posted a review of A View From the Waterfront. Teddy has been good enough to comment on a number of blogs belonging to writers that participate in the Absolute Write Forums. I threw my hat into the ring for similiar treatment and was pleasantly surprised by the results. It looks like the review was a near thing; my blog isn't primarily a writer's site.

If you have a chance to visit the review, you can see what I'm talking about here. Teddy has several blogs and I encourage everyone to visit them. Thanks for the review Teddy.

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The View From Jerusalem
Cobwebs Of The Mind
Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen

Tags: Cobwebs Of The Mind, Absolute Write, Blogging, Blog Review, Freelancing, Non-Fiction

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Why Do We Write?

Why do we write? Our own Small Town Girl has asked this question of us. I was trapped on a plane in Juneau yesterday. Alaska Airlines broke something. It took an hour to fix and three hours to document. Not the kind of writing I want to be involved with in my life. I was listening to a podcast from Mur Lafferty at I Should Be Writing about this same subject. She was interviewing David Drake and he spent most of the time asking Murr why she wanted to be a writer. It was interesting, but I'm not sure it provided any new insights for my own efforts.

Growing up in rural New Mexico and working for the Forest Service, writing was the least of my concerns. Returning to school later in life opened a window for me into the world of education. It seemed that I kept writing more and actually enjoyed it. The exercise definitely improved my professional standing and gave me the tools to be a better advocate of my thoughts and ideas. The project I'm most proud of is the effort I have participated in with the Alaska Sea Grant College Program.

A couple years ago, I finished a Masters degree in Rural Development. The program had the option of completing a thesis or conducting a related rural development project. I chose to develop an operations and maintenance handbook for harbors, with a supporting white paper on the importance of harbors to small Alaskan communities. A friend told Sea Grant about it and they decided to publish the handbook. Little did I realize the time and effort that goes into a publication. Sea Grant vetted everything presented in the book through their own experts and continued to find additional topics for me to add. The page layout and graphics they generated were amazing. I can say I've never been so thrilled to see something happen like this.

The handbook sparked other projects. The Canadian government adopted it for use in their harbors, I drafted a separate book on clean boating, the University of Alaska Southeast started working with me in developing an online harbor employee training program, and I started writing a novel. It's all great fun.

So why do we write? I'm not to an answer yet, but a lot of it centering on being able to express your thoughts and the joy you receive every once in a while when someone gets it and responds positively to your efforts. That's the gold at the end of the rainbow. What will Andrea have to say about it at Southern Expressions?

Tags: awchain, Absolute Write, AW Blogchain, awchain No. 6

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Absolute Write Blogchain No.5 is History

Blogchain No.5 has a great success. Many posts and comments were published and everyone had a chance to become better acquainted. It's not too late to sign up for the next go round at Absolute Blogchain No.6.

A View From the Waterfront

Curiouser and curiouser

South Asia Biz

The Road Less Travelled

Fireflies in the Cloud

Infinite Vanity

The Secret Government EGGO Project

Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

Even in a Little Thing

Beyond the Great Chimney Production Log

Kappa no He

Tiffany's Smorgasbord

Just a Small town girl

At Home, Writing

Southern Expressions

BCom

earthshoes

Peregrinas

Writing From Within

Sounds of Serenity in Mayhem

awchain

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AW Blogchain No. 5

Madderblue's Kappa no He blog provided a few threads that I can tie into here with the last post of Absolute Write Blog Chain No. 5. I wonder with the weather here, if we don't have a Kappa lurking in Port Valdez somewhere causing trouble. Things have been strange this year. My work spins around the waterfront, our Alaskan part of the Pacific Ocean. Pinpointing and describing my muse is easy, it is what prompts my inspiration. It's the Great Land, Alaska. My writing and profession relate to the water and the waterfront, which provides plenty to talk about on paper. Right now, I can't seem to get past the weather. With all the talk of global warming, we have had heating bills this summer. I'll wager the daily average high temperature has been less than 50°F. Suri, "Trapped in Topical Heat", may want to trade places for a couple of days.

It has been an incredibly wet and cool summer. In the last week, parts of Alaska have received more than 8 inches of rain and Talkeetna received 3.7 inches on Friday alone. The Lowe River threatens our road into Valdez, the Richardson Highway. Tourists and residents alike have been cutoff between Fairbanks and Anchorage. The Alaska Railroad and Parks Highway suffered washouts and bridge damage. Travel between Denali and Anchorage on the railroad is a major tourist activity.

The Anchorage Daily News mentioned two kayaks getting in trouble while paddling the flooded Susitna River. It makes me wonder if Darwin theory may be in play. Paddling is a great activity, but there is no point risking your life or that of your rescuer for a temporary thrill. I always encourage boaters of all types to carry and practice using a throw bag. Throw bags are small nylon stuff sacks filled with up to 200 feet of line. A rescuer holds the free end of the line and tosses the bag at the person in the water. With a little practice, users can put the bag and attached line right on top of someone's head. Our fire department has a swift water rescue team that relies on these bags as a primary means of rescue.

The wet, cool summer delayed our Pink and Coho Salmon runs. Silver (Coho) fishing is just now taking off, which makes it a couple weeks later than last year. Fishermen making the trek to the harbor have been fighting the elements, wind, rain, and fog. Port Valdez is the closest saltwater for most residents of interior Alaska like Delta Junction, North Pole and Fairbanks. A lot of them look like drown rats coming back in to the marina. Combined with high fuels costs, it has been a much slower year for visitors in the harbor.

Our boating season will only last another two weeks, with the start of moose season and school, boating slows down dramatically. I'm looking forward spending some time in a drier clime this fall. September will have some opportunities with a conference on fishing communities in Anchorage and a program evaluation I'm involved with on Alaska Sea Grant in Fairbanks.

Now it's on to Cath at blog.cathsmith.com

Tags: awchain, Absolute Write, AW Blogchain, awchain No. 5

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