Musings
A Sincerely Name Rush
Today I received an email from ‘Sincerely’, informing me that I could now secure my name as a subdomain page on their site, and since I use, and love their products, (Printed cards that are snail-mailed for you, from your iphone or ipad.) I went ahead and secured my first name: Ezra
So if you would like a card from me, just go to sincerely.com/ezra and add your address to my address book. 
This is really a great idea, there are so many people who would love to get a real paper card that they can save, or stick on the refrigerator. I know my mom does!
A few years ago facebook did the same thing, and I was able to secure my last-name : facebook.com/hilyer, and at the time there was a huge name rush on. People stayed up until midnight to get their name before anyone else did. I even heard of Facebook domain parties set up just for this purpose. To a lesser extent, this same thing happened to Twitter at first. I remember people grabbing Twitter handles as rapidly as they could hoping they might someday be worth something, and some have proven to be valuable in the long-run.
I do not expect Sincerely to explode in the same way as Facebook and Twitter, (There just isn’t the mass appeal at this point for physically mailed cards), but I think that this move was a smart one. There are so many other directions that Sincerely can go with this in time. Flowers, gifts, singing telegrams, etcetera.
This move shows that they are working hard to build a confident and trusting base of users. (much like Amazon.com did in the late 90s)
The more customers trust Sincerely, the better placed they will be to challenge other companies in this small market segment.
I wish them well.
-Ezra Hilyer
Read MoreLucidity
‘Lucidity’ is an absolute clarity and understanding. As if all the shadows have been cleared away, and all that remains are hard truths. In average existence, our minds are busy with the details and routines of everyday life; we often exist almost as machines. As if the conscious mind stays just behind the present, and reacts on delay.
I used to work cutting tires for a disposal service; the job was repetitive in the extreme. Pick up a tire, throw it on the table, pull the lever for the ram, reverse the ram, rotate the tire 1/3rd turn, and repeat, throw the cut piece and then rotate again, cut and throw. Then repeat the same process once again. In the mornings I would see my huge pile of tires to cut and it would seem an impossible task because my mind was too aware of time and of my own existence. But after the first 10 minutes I would begin to lose the present and become more detached from what I was doing. Time would then begin to move much more quickly and aside from interludes of clarity (or lucidity) I was just as unthinking as the machine I worked with.
Much as sleep is an existence where the conscious mind loses it’s grip and in effect dies to time for a while, only to be re-joined again upon waking, so it was for me in working that repetitive job. All those hours were lost never to come again. And what did I gain for them? Nothing but a few dollars spent on bills and items long lost to memory.
So I ask you, how many of your waking hours do you spend in lucidity? How much of your life have you really lived, not just existed?
Think back on your life, what are the moments that stand out? The seconds or hours that have defined your life?
Live in Lucidity
Originally posted to ezrahilyer.com
Read More& The
Ever wonder why we have a symbol for the word ‘and’, but not for the word: ‘the’ ?
‘The’ is used more than ‘and’, so why no shortcut for that word? I think one of the reasons, may be because that lots of words start with ‘the’ and few with ‘and’. It would be a little awkward to start a sentence with a symbol.
just a thought.
-Ezra
Read MoreAssumptions
Sitting patiently waiting for my wife to come out of her spa treatment, ( her birthday treat from me)
I was approached by the receptionist with a copy of ESPN Magazine in her hand. She had noticed me sitting reading a copy of ‘Better Homes And Gardens’, and must have assumed that I was only reading out of lack of options. (There aren’t many men’s magazines in the waiting room of a Day Spa apparently)
Little did she realize that I have far less interest in sports than in gardening. I just don’t care about sports or who got traded to what team for how much. What’s the point? Not that I am a gardener -I’m not.
She made an assumption that because I am a man, that I would prefer sports. An assumption that is as understandable as it is wrong, and not unlike many I have made myself.
Stereotypes, ( Though they might as well be called Monotypes) are easy to make and usually about 80% accurate. It’s the 20% that bites you.
In my daily job, it is necessary to make snap judgements on the temperament of people and large dogs several times a day. ( I am perhaps more accurate with the dogs) I spend a lot of my day inside other people’s homes making holes in their walls, carpets, and floors. I move their computers and expensive audio and Tv equipment around at will, I put ladders on their houses, and walk across their roofs. Reading people is important.
A dirty house unusually means a careless person, an immaculate entry, and white carpet means precision and a whole different set of expectations. Knowing what is expected goes a long way towards reaching complete satisfaction for the people I have to please.
The oxymoron isn’t predictable.
Read MoreA Clutter-Free Life
Lately I have become obsessed with the idea of a clutter free life; and consequently a clutter free mind.
There is an old saying:
“The more you own; the more what you own, owns you.”
I really have begun to feel that way. it seems that I am simply full of stuff. Little things that take up my time and consideration. Part of this is not so much what I have, but how I have it organized. If I compartmentalize my life I don’t have this problem, I can do what I need to do without the various pieces getting in the way of each-other.
For instance all of my photography equipment, lenses, cases, lighting etc. I don’t feel overwhelmed by any of this because it is all neatly in cases ready to be used whenever I wish. The same with my gadgeteering parts and tools, I have it all catalogued and it is simply there for me to access whenever I have the need to do so. My data archives are getting there, I have been steadily moving and consolidating ten years of writings, photos, and other data into one vast data library, this is some progress, and it is encouraging.
Read MoreDreary Winter
Now in the midst of dreary winter, while the hills wear their white mantles, I sense a withering of will, and a drying up of muscle. When buds burst into leaves, I also break out in motion, powering against the rusted pedals, to rush down that path of leaves; rustling. .
Wintry winds tear at my coat, seek to reach my guarded soul, And follow me into my bungalow to snuff out my little flame. When Summer, oh summer, comes, I shall ride the streets of sun, catch the warm rays upon my back, spreading a glow through my winter shrunken frame.
-Ezra Hilyer
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