National Geographic Video on Oman

Canadian Astronaut, Commander Chris Hadfield: “What I Learned from Going Blind in Space” (Ted Talks Vancouver)

Fascinating talk by Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian to walk in space.  18 minutes and 21 seconds well worth your time.

There’s an astronaut saying: In space, “there is no problem so bad that you can’t make it worse.” So how do you deal with the complexity, the sheer pressure, of dealing with dangerous and scary situations? Retired colonel Chris Hadfield paints a vivid portrait of how to be prepared for the worst in space (and life) — and it starts with walking into a spider’s web. Watch for a special space-y performance.

2 great quotes I enjoyed from this talk include:

1. “The jaw-dropping gorgeousness of the turning orb like a self-propelled art gallery of fantastic, constantly changing beauty that is the world itself“.  I love the beauty and awe in this sentence.   Although I don’t believe Chris Hadfield is a man of faith, by drawing attention to the beauty of God’s magnificent creation, one cannot help but be in reverential awe of the Creator Himself.
2. I love that he ends the talk first with a cover of Bowie which he has done before and got a lot of attention for, but he also ends simply with the words “Fear Not“.  This is one of the most quoted words of God Himself throughout the Bible and it has been said that there are at least 365 times in the Holy Scriptures that God has said “fear not” in one form or another.  I would like to add that we are not encouraged to “fear not” simply for the sake of it but the motivation is often given following such encouragement by God’s Words “…for I am with you.”  That is ultimately the only reason we need not fear.  Thanks for the reminder, Colonel Hadfield! 🙂

If you haven’t seen it, here’s Colonel Chris Hadfield covering Bowie in his “music video recorded on the ISS of a modified rendition of “Space Oddity” by David Bowie.The video has over 20 million views on YouTube.”

2 Amazing Omani Ladies! Sabah & Safiya Al Bahlani

If you want to hear about 2 absolutely amazing women from Oman, you really need to watch this video from the 2013 TED x Talk in Muscat.  Sabah al Bahlani and Safiya (Sofi) al Bahlani are a mother-daughter team that speak for those without a voice and are changing minds in how people look at “disability”. “Everyone is born for a reason, a purpose, a mission.” (Safiya al Bahlani) Amen!

Long-Stretched Hummer!

I’ve seen plenty of long-stretched limousines before but never a long-stretched hummer until just a few days ago! It’s not every day you see a vehicle like this:  Oman National Cert is running a “Mobile Security Campaign” across the Sultanate and this “Awareness Vehicle” is one sure way to get attention.  “OCERT was officially launched in April 2010 to analyse risks and security threats that may be present in cyberspace and communicates this information to users of Internet services and technical information outlets, whether they are public or private institutions, or individuals.” (from their website)  It was nice to sit inside for a while and hear a bit about this campaign. The lady giving me the tour (who chose not to be photographed) said that I was their very first visitor on this leg of their tour.  Sweet!  If you see this vehicle around the Sultanate, don’t be shy to approach the folks and find out more about what they do.

“You’re Not Special” Commencement Speech!

This commencement speech, from Wellesley High School in Massachusetts, USA, is getting a lot of attention and with good reason:

I only went looking for that video on youtube AFTER I noticed this blog post by author and blogger, Chris Brady, when signing into WordPress on the “Freshly Pressed page”.  I highly recommend clicking on it and reading the commencement speech for yourself.  A lot of truth in those words.