Nothing Would Make You Happier

I can relate to this guy.

My wife is the Santa in our house.  She buys dozens and dozens of thoughtful, carefully selected, and beautifully wrapped presents and personalized messages for dozens of people every Christmas.  

I only have to buy for her.  You'd think it would be easy.  

I know a guy who bought his wife a new hunting rifle.  She didn't hunt so she gave it back to him.  Genius move on his part!

Gonna Have to Send You Home

You can't be too careful these days, what with this dangerous pandemic and all.  Maybe pop-up COVID indicators could be an alternative to vaccines or wearing those #@&! masks?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Five-Year Plan

Seems like we're running short on just about everything these days...and if you can get it, it's taking longer to arrive. I know--there are supply chain issues and labor shortages and high demand and all, but this is starting to get old.  At least there's no shortage of hand sani or toilet paper now, so I guess that's a start. 

The Price of Lumber These Days

You think money grows on trees?!  I must've heard that a million times from my parents growing up.  With the cost of lumber today, makes me wonder if wood still grows on trees!  

Are These Free-Range?

Is it just me, or is all this food labeling getting out of control?  

I know, some people have genuine allergy issues and need to make life-and-death decisions, but do we really need a box of cashews to say, "May Contain Nuts"?  Or a carton of orange juice to say "Gluten Free"?  Or "No Cholesterol" on a bag of carrots?  Is it ok to snack on gummy bears when you're trying to slim down because they're "100% Fat Free"?  And wouldn't it be a shorter list to only label what is NOT known to the State of California to cause cancer?

Doctor's Orders

I'm no dietician, but it seems like this guy's on the right track.  According to the CDC, only 10% of us eat enough vegetables in our diet, so it makes sense to get 'em where you can.  I'm also a firm believer in eating cinnamon bears for my health because, as everyone knows, bears are full of protein.

Reminds me of the guy who said to himself, "Max, today's the day you start eating healthy...Thank heaven my name's not Max!"

Don't Be Mad, But...

Reminds me of when I was a kid.  If my parents discovered something broken or missing around the house, they'd sometimes line up my brothers and me against the wall and say, "Who did this?  Just tell the truth and we won't be mad!" -- which, as I recall, was often followed by a spanking if I fessed up.

In contrast to my sometimes less-than-honest youthful mischief, good, honest people make honest mistakes.  If they fear retribution, it will breed a culture that discourages risk-taking, stifles innovation, and causes people to hide their mistakes rather than learn from them.  Wise leaders create an environment of trust so that creative people won't be afraid to take risks or think outside the box.

  
Making (and learning from) mistakes is necessary for growth.  Adapting the famous quote from Danish mathematician and inventor Piet Hein: The secret to excellence?  Well it's plain and simple to express: err and err and err again but less and less and less!

Not Working From Home...

Many who work from home report working longer hours than they would if they were in the office.  Other workers can't seem to unplug, and they often bring work home.  With the 24-7 connection enabled by technology, the line between work time and personal time is easily blurred.  Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is a constant challenge, and what works for one person may be completely wrong for another.  

Reminds me of two engineers talking over the cubicle wall.  One says to the other, "I just read that, on average, architects are working a 60-hour week!"  The other engineer looks up and says, "Those lazy bums!  What are they doing with the rest of their time?"

Only Missed It By 15

This golfer reminds me of me!  (Of course, it would probably help if I ever practiced--minor detail.)

I admire this guy for setting a goal, but a goal without a plan - and effort - is just a dream that's unlikely to ever be realized.  Success in any endeavor comes at a heavy price, and to the person who says, "I would give anything to be as good as _____", the response is very often, "that's pretty much exactly what you'll have to do!"  Hard work, sacrifice, determination, and persistence are far more important than talent alone.  

As Earl Nightingale famously said, "We are all self-made, but only the successful will admit it."

Walk Ten Miles Every Morning

Some of us love to exercise, and then there are those who view it as a dreaded tedium that must be endured for the sake of our health.

...and there are those who fake it so people think they're exercising.  They post selfies in their workout clothes standing next to exercise equipment and holding green juice drinks while constantly reminding you of how sore they are.

 

Nothing is Impossible

 

Clearly it's not impossible to do nothing.  This guy is proof.  But there are those who actually do the impossible.

In 1895, heavier than air flight was impossible; then the Wright Brothers showed up on a beach at Kitty Hawk.  A sub- 4 minute mile was impossible until Roger Bannister proved otherwise in 1954.  In 1926, Philo Farnsworth's television invention was dismissed as financially impossible and a waste of time.  Edison's electric light bulb was described as a conspicuous failure, critics claimed the horseless carriage would never come into common use, and in 1949 it was claimed that we had reached the limits of what was possible to achieve with computer technology.

In the words of Nelson Mandela, "It always seems impossible until it's done."

Then It Hit Me!

Jobsite safety is no laughing matter, and situational awareness at all times is critical.  This guy needs to up his game.  

Reminds me of one day during construction of the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas.  I was called to the jobsite to devise a repair for an improperly installed embed plate at the end of a large steel beam that supported the climbing tower crane on the inside of the tower core.  I climbed 150 feet up the tower crane, shimmied out to the end of the steel beam, came up with a fix, and then shimmied back and held tight to the crane while an iron worker torch-cut two new holes in the steel plate.  A stream of molten steel cascaded down and then splattered as it hit another steel beam 50 feet directly below.  It was a spectacular sight in the dimly lit tower shaft.  Then I noticed the people shouting below.  The crane's live 480 volt power cable that had been draped over the steel beam below was on fire, ignited by the molten steel drops from above.  Fortunately, they got the iron worker's attention and put out the fire before it burned through the insulation and fried all of us.