In life, you aren’t given opportunities. You create opportunities. You create opportunities by being friendly to others. You create them by always keeping doors open. You create them by helping someone out when you see them struggling. Be outgoing and meet new people. Be confident and realize that others have done what you fear. Attend meetings and gatherings. Always say “yes” when you get asked to do something. Be open-minded to all ideas and offers. Be optimistic about your chances to succeed – at anything. You create opportunities by making yourself the kind of person that others want to…
Speaking of Apple miracles
Yesterday, I mentioned that after it appeared all hope was lost, I found a source for the now-discontinued iPhone SE. But that’s not the only Apple miracle this month. For the past few years, I was stupidly purchasing long-discontinued, classic iPods to store and play my music. I have more than 40,000 songs in my iTunes, and I like to travel with the music files stored on whatever device I’m using so I’m not reliant on a wifi network to listen to the music. Thinking the 160GB iPod was the last, best source, I was buying them on Amazon…
You can still get the SE iPhone
If you’re me, and you understand that the iPhone SE was the best iPhone ever made because of the amazing form factor (or, if you just like to use the phrase “form factor” because it adds about 20 points to your IQ), you were understandably sad to hear that they’re no longer making or selling it. I had made a mental note to keep up with every year’s new iPhone launch to make sure if it was going to be the end of the SE, that I would get a few back up phones to use it as long…
Productivity
Productivity is a cause and a calling all unto itself. Productivity is the desire to build, to create, to solve and to achieve. Most of all, productivity is the means to the end that is self-sustainment. Like many conservatives, I couldn’t wait to get out of college to start tackling the challenges of private industry while earning my own money so that I wasn’t beholden to my parents or anyone else. When I got out of school, I took a job managing a convenience store, just to set out on my own. Working any job – no matter where,…
If this doesn’t define the Pacific Northwest
Today, I was on the onramp getting on to the expressway. The onramp, in this case, is one lane with high barriers on both sides. You’re in a long lane, going up a hill, so you can’t really see what’s going on over the hill. I was sitting, stopped, for minutes on end; inching along slowly. Just as you get over the top of the hill, you enter an area in which the single lane splits into three lanes. The lane on the left is an HOV lane, so carpoolers can get by everyone in that lane. The center…
Thanks, climate change
It used to be that you could take a straw, roll it up by both ends so you have air trapped in the middle, and then snap it to make a fun popping sound. The fun we’d have, rolling up straws. Poppin’ ’em. A friend of mine tried that with one of the new, environmentally friendly, compostable straws, and I have to say… it just wasn’t the same. Instead of a clean “snap!” it was just a dull thud. To which my friend glumly said, “oh… climate change.” Climate change, indeed. So much for fun, recreational, straw popping.
American exceptionalism
Conservatives speak quite a bit about American exceptionalism. When they do, they’re not saying that Americans are inherently greater than people from any other country. What they’re saying is that at the foundation of the country – articulated in the Constitution – is a premise that is greater, and more important, than that of any other country on earth. What sets the United States apart from any other nation on earth is that we live under the idea that everyone has an equal right to pursue life, liberty and happiness and that these rights are given to us by…
When you need a hunk a metal to keep things running
Whether you got big machines or little machines, Speedy Metal can help. Here is the number one nominee for worst jingle of the year: Speedy Metals. This one’s got it all. Horrible lyrics. Gravely-voiced, aging rock ‘n’ roll man on vocals. Power chords. And the most awkward product/service one could offer. It’s one thing to need metals. But sometimes, you need them really fast. Who else would you even consider, other than Speedy Metals?
I like Mike Moustakas ‘n all, but…
Mike Moustakas is a good baseball player, and very important to the Brewers right now. But if that guy doesn’t start chewing with his mouth closed, I don’t think I can watch the team anymore. Every time they show him on camera, he’s always chewing with his mouth open. Always. Can the guy close his mouth for even two seconds? If I were on the team with him, I’d snap on him: “Moustakas! For the love of all that is holy, could you please chew with your *ucking mouth closed!”
The lonely business of weight loss
The fascination with weight loss and dieting is well-documented. There are a million plans and methods, and tons of groups and clubs that one can join to help. An entire industry of diets and plans exists for everyone to try. What works for some doesn’t always work for others. It’s all well-covered territory. But what you seldom hear about is the loneliness required to successfully lose weight. I’ve been actively, and intentionally, shedding pounds for awhile now. (30, so far.) My method has been a daily dose of exercise to keep the metabolism running while eating less than before….