Category: Life

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Don’t save it

old mouse padMy in-laws gave Heather this lovely mouse pad, back when our boys were about 2 and 4. The oldest is now in college.

Things fall apart. In this case, the rubber on the back of the pad started to deteriorate. Fine powder began spreading around the home-office… time for the trash bin.

But thanks to the wonders of technology, I can remember that mouse pad for many years to come.

I would urge you to do the same. Take a photo, and then throw the darn thing away.

Click on each word for > more in this series.

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Love or hate

slightly imperfect stickerSome things people do drive us crazy. We have a choice on how to handle those things. We can allow them to make us hate the person, or we can let them be quirky little traits that cause that person to more loveable.

My wife and kids love me, in spite of how some things I do drive them crazy. And I love them, in spite of how some things they do drive me crazy. We’re not perfect, and we have a long way to go. And a few years ago, some of those things caused some rifts that had to be slowly and carefully repaired.

Of course some character traits push us too far and can be deal breakers. When the offending trait verges into the mental illness arena, sometimes it’s healthy to maintain a distance.

Today, I challenge you to turn around your thinking about that person’s character trait that drives you crazy. What have you got to lose?

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Times goes fast

Autumn leaves in a green treeAutumn is nearly upon us. As I ride my bicycle to work, I’m reminded of the disappearance of summer. (It’s chilly!)

I love the fall. Cool crisp air, leaves changing color, the feeling of being warm under the blankets, and how hot drinks just taste better.

Three months is a very short time. What are you doing to celebrate this glorious season?

To my readers who are in the southern hemisphere or on the equator – I hope that you are enjoying your season as well.

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Protecting us from ourselves?

New York City recently banned super-size soft drinks at restaurants (LA Times story). There are two ways to think about the law…

1. It violates our right to do whatever we want.

2. It is a great way to save all of us lots of money by preventing obesity-related health problems.

What is your take? Here’s a little poll. I’ll tell you what I think on Friday, September 21st. And please share your thoughts in the comments (link above, next to the title). Enlighten me and other readers!

[polldaddy poll=6537118]

As promised, I’m sharing my take on this. I feel that it is a good thing when any of us is prevented from doing harmful things, with a few exceptions. I’m not a fan of big and expensive government, but I am a fan of prevention of cruelty to humans. Buying a 64-ounce soft drink at a restaurant for consumption by one person is just not a smart thing to do.

Update: “Researchers say they have the strongest evidence yet that sugary drinks play a leading role and that eliminating them would, more than any other single step, make a huge difference.” Source.

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My nephew's drawing of a person and a houseMy nephew is very creative. He views the world in a unique way. He’s super smart and has the ability to focus on many things other people miss.

I love this artwork he created. He enjoys drawing very small and detailed things. Someday he may be an inventor.

He was diagnosed with a very mild form of autism a few years ago. Autism is a complicated thing. Though some people see it as a handicap, I think that people with autism can function in ways other people can’t. Autism gives a person an interesting set of filters to view life that “normal” people don’t have. If you haven’t seen the movie Temple Grandin, I would highly recommend that you do. It was one of my favorite movies of the last five years.

Everyone has some level of “abnormalities” that are used to categorize individuals. We may not have enough to be put into a distinct personality disorder box, but we all function strongly in some areas and weakly in others.

We’re all weird. And I’m glad about that.

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A tip for your motoring pleasure

flat tireSo we had a flat. What made it fun was that our spare tire had no air pressure. The result was not as bad as it could have been, but an hour of our lives and our rescuer’s life could have been spent doing more fun things than recovering from that minor crisis.

Tip: check the air pressure in your spare tire every once in a while. I promise it will save you some hassle.

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Beauty in obscurity

California coastline in the fogLife often provides a plate of unclear choices. Heather and I are in one of those places. Our plates are full.

There are several ways I can react to this lack of clarity:

1. Frustration

2. Work my butt off trying to find the perfect answer

3. Ask tons of people for advice

4. Take one day at a time and do the best I can each day

5. Relax

6. Pray

Each day gives me a different mix of which solutions I gravitate toward. The only one that I would argue is wrong is number one. That leads to nothing but anxiety.

What’s your mix like today?

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You don’t need the best to have fun

Over the weekend, we flew to California for my sister’s beautiful wedding. Fun was had by all.

To add to our fun (in other words, “my fun”), we paid a little extra and rented a Fiat 500. The road between San Francisco and Mendocino was amazing – super twisty with nicely banked curves. The Fiat had enough oomph to go as fast as my nerve would allow.

The more I reflected on the experience of my driving fun along that world-class road, I realized that I enjoyed myself nearly as much as if I had been in a Ferrari. And the Ferrari costs about fifteen times what the Fiat does.

Context is important. Ferrari owners live and breathe in a world of extreme luxury. My normal drive consists of a pedestrian Toyota sedan or our family minivan. The Fiat 500 provides a lot of contrast.

So enjoy yourself today! See how much fun you can have on a limited budget.

Fiat 500 driving through a tree

p.s. That’s my daughter in the photo. She enjoyed the sunroof as much as I enjoyed the car’s little engine.

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