Life, the Universe, and Everything

A friend of mine made a wonderful discovery last winter. She found several pieces of wood and animal horn scattered in the snow. Whatever the original had been, it had obviously been run over by a car and abandoned in the street. She showed it to me before our choir rehearsal, and several of the other singers gathered around.

The horn pieces were hollow, with intricate patterns incised on the curved surface. The wood pieces had also been carved. The pieces fit together roughly, but it was clear from gaps in the structure that there had originally been much more to the piece. We were impressed by the carving, and encouraged her to sift through the snow to find the missing bits. She did, and her husband fit the pieces together:

Carved seahorse reconstructed from pieces found in the snow

(Sorry for the dish towel; the dark horn didn’t show up well against the table.)

I’m posting it here in the hope that someone can help us identify it. Here’s what little we know:

• There is a small adhesive tag on the horn that said “Made in Indonesia.”
• The wooden head fits into the wide end of the horn, and seems to have been attached with two pegs (now missing)
• The cord on the tail is cotton.
• There doesn’t seem to be any artist’s name on it, unless it is worked into the carving on the horn.

My friend would like to know whether this is a representation of a mythological creature, and whether it is from a particular region or culture in Indonesia. I couldn’t find anything like it in books on Indonesian art in our local library. Any information would be helpful.

Here are some more detailed photographs. (Click on each photo to see a larger version.)

Seahorse head, side 1

The mane of the seahorse is a row of four kneeling men.

Seahorse head, side 2

For an idea of the size of the carving, that is my hand at the bottom of the picture.

Kneeling men (close-up)

Here is a close-up of the kneeling men.

Incised horn

Close-up of the carving on the horn.

The tail carving (shown below) may be a female.

Tail carving and cord

If you can provide any information about this wonderful art work, please leave a comment.

Every time I complain about my lack of progress toward my goals, I’m told I need to get motivated.

<insert term meaning fecal material from a male bovine>

Motivation is NOT what I need. I need BETTER HABITS.

Personal development coach Jim Rohm once wrote:
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
He’s right.

Motivation is temporary. It can start you on the right path, but it dribbles away in the face of boredom, discomfort, and distraction. I was wonderfully motivated when I got up at 6am. By mid-morning, my get up and go got up and went. I still haven’t completed any of the tasks I set for myself today, although I’ve started at least four of them.

Instead of motivation, I’m going to cultivate habits, one at a time. It worked for household tasks when I started following Flylady several years ago. I need to get back on track with that, and then figure out how to make the same system work for professional projects.

Habits.
Baby steps.
I can do anything for 15 minutes at a time.
Yeah!

For the last week and a half, I’ve been getting emails and tweets saying “Congratulations!” Since I’ve been busy pulling together a talk I’m going to give in New York City this Thursday, I haven’t really paid much attention. Today, though, I decided to find out what was going on.

I asked several friends what they were congratulating me about. They all sent me the same link:

<a href=”http://www.mindtouch.com/blog/2012/01/06/techcomm-contentstrategy-400-knowledgebase/”>The 400 Most Influential in #Techcomm and #ContentStrategy</a>

Oh, my!

Now, I’m really nowhere near the top of the list—I’m #40—but this is still a surprise. There are many people with lower rankings that I consider mentors and role models.  There is an explanation of the process MindTouch used to calculate their rankings. Sort of.

“Previously, our team spent literally weeks pouring over a variety of data sources including, but not limited to, Klout, Google Pagerank, Technorati Authority and Twitter. This year we had the benefit of a phenomenal social media analysis tool that hasn’t launched yet.”

Whatever the reason, I’m extremely flattered to be included in this list, at any level.

Thank you, MindTouch!

Today, for Lippe’s last day in Rochester, we went to another favorite place: Schutt’s Cider Mill.

Schutt's Cider Mill

It was a cold, snowy day, so there weren’t very many people there.

Lippe selecting apples

First, we got apples for lunches and snacks this week, Northern Spy for me, and Crispin and Fortune for Andy.

Lippe, cider and donuts

Then, we picked up two half-gallons of freshly pressed cider.

Just as we reached the cash register counter, one of the staff brought out a tray of hot doughnuts (or, as they say in western New York, “fried cakes”). We each had one. Lippe selected a plain doughnut, and I had one that had been dipped in cinnamon and sugar.

Then, it was back to the house to pack up Lippe’s belongings for the next stage of his trip: to visit @mattiedog in Seattle.

Bon voyage, Lippe!