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Author: Stephen Pickering

  • Cosmic Consciousness Vol. II

    “The thing that you do finds you more than you find it.” — Conan O’Brien — 30:00

    “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman, taken from Max Tegmark’s, the famous physicists’, webpage.

    “The side-effect of doing what you love, what you’re supposed to be doing, is perfect health.” – Dolores Cannon [Youtube Link]

    {I would take this mean psychological/spiritual as well as physical.}

    “Infinite love is the only truth. Everything else is illusion.” – David Icke, describing the message he received during an Ayahuasca experience.

    “Being shoots and unstoppable arrow through reality.” – Stephen Pickering

    One instant is eternity;
    eternity is the now.
    When you see through this one instant,
    you see through the one who sees. – Wu-men

    – See more at: http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/blog/2011/03/14/wu-men-one-instant-is-eternity/#sthash.Z8ZpuAom.dpuf

    “The Universe is always talking to you, and the true miracles seem to come when you take the time to listen.” – Nikki Gudis

    “Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.”
    – Deepak Chopra

    “You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.” – Paulo Coehlo

    “Everything you can imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso

    “The divine is your constant companion, and that constant companion has never left your side.” – Panache Desai

    “What people call knowledge, is the reasoned acceptance of false appearances. Wisdom looks behind the veil and sees.” ~Sri Aurobindo

    “Let the waters settle, and you will see stars and moon mirrored in your being.” – Rumi

    “For 30 years I was looking for God. After that time, when I opened my mind, I found that he was looking for me.” ~ Bastami

    “Being (sat) is the sense of giving yourself up to the energies of the world, of the universe, letting go, and letting them carry you.”

    “Life in this world is a vast dream, dreamed by a single being.” – Schopenhauer

    “We are actually ourselves bringing about what seems to be happening to us.” – Thomas Mann

    “All phenomena merely arise from the false notions in the mind,” – Ashvaghosha

    “I stood with the pious and I didn’t find any progress with them. I stood with the warriors in the cause and I didn’t find a single step of progress with them. Then I said, ‘O Allah, what is the way to You?’ and Allah said, ‘Leave yourself and come.’” – Bayazid Bastami

    “Man has free will to the extent that he knows who he is.” -Alan Watts

    “As our minds begin to quiet down, we notice that the thoughts and feelings associated with meaninglessness come and go, and that there exists, in the space between these arisings, a way of being that is not affected by these mind-states. The Soul, we discover, seeks not meaning; its “meaning”, to borrow that Ego-concept, is self-evident.” – Ram Dass

    “Remember that your perception of the world is a reflection of your state of consciousness. You are not separate from it, and there is no objective world out there. Every moment, your consciousness creates the world that you inhabit.”
    ~ Eckhart Tolle

    “When you say, ‘I am beautiful,’ you are inviting the beauty in.” – Joel Olsteen.

    “The Great Way has no gate; there are a thousand paths to it. If you pass through the barrier, you walk the universe alone.” – Wu-Men
    (*As a sidenote, I didn’t know who “Wu-Men” was. Turns out he was a Chinese Zen Master, one of the primary authors of the “Zen Koans.” Man, when I read his “Koans” they just floor me. Here’s a link to one collection, “The Gateless Gate”, and also here’s the webpage where I found this link as well as a nice little bio, plus it looks like it has other resources, including sacred poetry from around the world. http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/W/WuMenHuikai/)

    “There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” – Alduous Huxley

    “Your true self is unlimited. Know that you are already a complete spiritual being. The path forward is just a matter of waking up to your true, unlimited self.” – Deepak Chopra

    There is a field beyond space and time from which everything emerges.” – Deepak Chopra on The Akashic Field

    “Because the world is not going anywhere there is no hurry. One may as well ‘take it easy’ like nature itself, and in the Chinese language the ‘changes’ of nature and ‘ease’ are the same word. This is a first principle in the study of Zen and of any Far Eastern art: hurry, and all that it involves, is fatal.” -Alan Watts via @AlanWattsDaily

    “When neurosurgeon Eben Alexander went into a coma and had one whale of a near-death experience, he received three messages:  “You are loved and cherished, dearly, forever,” “You have nothing to fear,” and “There is nothing you can do wrong.” – Martha Beck from her blog here.

    “You are not too old and it is not too late to dive into your increasing depths where life calmly gives out it’s own secret” Rilke (Twitter Link)

    Related Posts:

  • Cloud Sites Combined With Cloud Database

    I just saw this tweet:

    I’m not sure what it means. Cloud Sites themselves come with their own database, so what’s different about a Cloud Site with a Cloud Database?  And if you combine those two, what’s the difference between that combination and just having a Cloud Server? What you are seeing now is served by a regular old Cloud Site, obviously a WordPress installation, aided by a free edition of CloudFlare. Most times, it’s pretty good on Pingdom, coming in at below 4 seconds load time. Every once in a while it screams at below a second, and I about have my own nerd orgasm. But what would happen if the Database were a “Cloud” Database?

  • How Much RAM do Rackspace Cloud Sites Have?

    selfp31213As I’ll no longer be able to run RackspaceReseller.com, (that was a dumb name anyway! I had just merely thought of it on a whim a couple years ago) because it uses the Rackspace trademarked name, I’ll be consolidating all my blogging on the subject here, which, you know, for my personality, may be a better thing. I get to feeling fragmented when I have my different interests sort of “sprayed” around on different domains. Then those domains get neglected, etc. etc.

    So today, I had a question come in from India about Cloud Sites. I get these questions often as I’m reselling what are now called “Sub-Accounts” within Cloud Sites (They used to be referred to as “Clients”)

    Anyway, as is typical, there is a great confusion in the marketplace between Cloud Sites and “Cloud Servers.”

    The question I had today was concerning RAM, random access memory, and this particular potential client was talking about 1.5-2GB of RAM. Well, immediately I knew that he should or probably would need “Cloud Servers” because I knew that the approximate or equivalent amount of RAM in Cloud Sites defaults to only 128MB (Although it can be raised to up to 512MB using the .htaccess file)

    Now, on Cloud Sites, this really refers to the amount of memory that PHP can access. But from my understanding with the live chat I just had with Rackspace, it’s a pretty close approximation to the amount of overall RAM that one might say a Cloud Site has access to.

    Cloud Servers are actually assigned a RAM number as you can see in this product description and offering page: http://www.rackspace.com/cloud/servers/techdetails/

    Whereas “Cloud Sites” are really not assigned a specific number for RAM, but they will tell you that the default on the PHP Memory value is 128MB.

    Well, I hope that clarifies this question. If there’s something I’ve gotten wrong and that I should be corrected about, please leave a comment below.

    If you are interested in purchasing a Sub-Account of Rackspace Cloud Sites, you can see my available plans and subscribe here: http://stephenpickering.com/rackspace-cloud-sites/

    Of course, before you decide on anything, I would suggest reading about Cloud Sites on their official page here: http://www.rackspace.com/cloud/sites/

    As always, if you have any questions call me: +1(501)291-1375 or email me: [email protected]

  • New Poem: A Natural

    “A Natural”

    I won’t say the things that I have to say,
    the feelings furrow all alone in the autumn mist,
    until you finally get up and walk away,
    and the chills that have eyes blow us their last, snowy, purpley kiss.

    I cascade over the heights of your frozen, mountaintop world.
    I skate upon your silky sweet, ice cream smile.
    Deep in the forest, they write, sleeps the world’s most beautiful girl.
    She awakens when you, inside yourself, find her missing child.

    This is the light where the world can’t come in.
    When we look into each other’s eyes what do we really see?
    Together, the holly from Gethsemene flows into the Jordan’s bend,
    feeding flowers opening brightly, resonating the mountain’s inner dream.

    I am the god of the sea,
    the fire in the rain spattering and splashing love.
    When I swim to the surface, you are released.
    When I dive to the bottom, you fly to heaven like a dove.

    We are caught between two worlds.
    I’ve seen your sails blow close to my shore.
    One here, the other holding my baby girl.
    Those eyes that shine, open at last, the secret, magical door.

    Something primordial says that “she is my wife.”
    But the harder I chase, the faster she runs away.
    We’re out here on the playing fields, the field of our life.
    And it’s only when I stop does she, a metaphor for something deeper, turn around and stay.

    When I  first saw her, it felt like I envisioned a ring
    that could bring back all of the things I’d ever loved.
    She’s the white buffalo maiden who sings atop Harney Peak,
    the princess in the snow marrying the sacred below with all that’s above.

    © 2013 Stephen Pickering
     
  • Why Netflix Inc (NFLX) Won’t Raise Prices and What Their Real Endgame Is.

    I don’t think Netflix is interested in raising their subscription price or tiered pricing. I think they look at the subscription like Magazines and Newspapers in the pre-digital days looked at subscriptions: a validation of intent and also to show the content creators the legitimacy of their audience. I think Netflix’s endgame is to become the “de-facto” global distribution network for digital motion pictures, tv, and entertainment. When that happens, then so many other options for revenue enhancement open up. Paid placement at the top of the page when you sign in, al lá “House of Cards,” for instance, and then also one can imagine theaters dying altogether, and Netflix being THE place the next big James Cameron or Ridley Scott release. That kind of thing is what I envision, and I think* that’s what they are shooting for.

    If one wants to dream hard, since we are on the heels of it, wouldn’t a Global audience paying a modest but fair price, not only sufficiently finance the Super Bowl, but perhaps bring the NFL even more money and exposure, in a more satisfying and efficient way for both the content creators and the audience?

    I think so.

    The CEO of Citigroup at Davos said that the main economic themes right now are Globalization, Digitization, and Urbanization. It would seem to me that a company like Netflix is not only the beneficiary of, but leading the charge in at least two of the three of those trends.

    Addendum: In Response to the article:  What if Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) Is Wrong? from InsiderMonkey.com

    I think it makes the medium better and more enduring overall. It can be consumed more like a novel. And if the medium is strengthened that gives more leverage and incentive to make a better product. At the end of the day I think it comes down to whether the show or movie is good or not. That’s the value proposition. What this is, is an innovation in the distribution proposition. All business comes down to two variables: Value + Distribution. This new model is, of course, aimed at greater viewer satisfaction, which of course leads to subscriber growth and more distribution leverage. But is also interesting to think how innovation in Distribution could possibly also affect, in a positive way, the quality, i.e. ‘value’, of the content, the product itself.

  • Why Netflix Will Become THE Global Distribution Channel for Filmed Art & Entertainment.

    House of Cards Promo(Editor’s note: I wrote this piece originally in response to this article from TheStreet.com:  Amazon vs. Netflix: Jeff Bezos Could Squash Reed Hastings Like a Bug)

    A) I’ve been an HBO subscriber since the 80’s, watched almost everything on it, and “House of Cards” is totally as good as anything that has ever been on HBO, better than most. (I’ve seen the first three episodes, and wait until you see Spacey’s mind blowing performance in #3). B) Netflix is not competing against Amazon, nor HBO. I’m a subscriber to Netflix and Amazon instant, and even together their cost is 1/10th of my DISH bill. And if HBO had a stand alone $10/mo app, I’d sub to it too, and my cost would still be way lower, but more importantly my value would be greater. Think about the power of that: Greater Value and Much Less Cost. Netflix is competing against cable & satellite TV. And they are going to crush them. C) It’s about distribution. Hollywood cares as much about distribution as it does cash money. Perhaps even more so. Netflix has 30 million subs and growing. How many “Instant” subs are there? 30 million people all seeing “House of Cards” promoted on the front page of Netflix. That’s powerful. How much is that worth? And it’s growing. And it’s Global. Being released Globally at the same time as its being released in the US. I think that is a first ever for any TV show or Motion Picture. That is very attractive to the best writers, actors, producers and directors. Netflix and it’s model are the future: Digitization, Globalization, and Urbanization, and their endgame is to be THE Global distribution channel of filmed digital arts and entertainment, and they will succeed. They’ve already entered escape velocity. 5 years from now they’ll have at least 100 million subs, but more likely closer to a quarter billion. And once again, it’s not the $8/mo from those subs that’s the real power. It’s the distribution and reach of the platform and brand.
    You see, at the end of the day, it’s all about distribution. Yahoo Finance gives you distribution for this article about Netflix. Google Finance doesn’t. Luckily, Finance is one category Yahoo does lead in. I leaned this from Dave McClure on Twitter: Business = Value + Distribution. There’s no question about Netflix’s value proposition. So, all these years it’s main focus of energy has been in building distribution, and now it has succeeded and will continue to grow massively.