Silent Night by Chewbacca

Snow in the forecast? No problemo!

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Two Shows Coming to Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video doesn’t have the brand or saturation of Netflix yet but it is rapidly gaining thanks to Amazon’s dominance in online shopping and the quality (if not the quantity) of the shows. People get Prime for the free shipping and a lot of us don’t even think about what’s available in Prime Video.

Well please allow me to direct your attention to two shows that I have enjoyed very much. Shows that will have you directing your smart TV, Roku, game console or connected DVD player toward Amazon the next time you want a good story.

The Man in the High Castle, Season Two

This Amazon original is set in the 1960s, but not the ’60s that you may remember or imagine. The premise of this story is that the USA did not develop the hydrogen bomb or win World War II. Rather, Germany was able to make their own bomb and they ended the war by dropping it on Washington D.C.

In the years following the war, all continental territory of the US (and I believe neighboring countries as well) is under an occupied status. To the west of the Rocky Mountains, the Japanese rule over the people. To the east of the Rockies the Germans control the people. Within the Rockies there is a buffer zone. The Germans and Japanese have a tenuous partnership, and the citizenry is quite literally living in the middle of the way things are and the way they should have been.

There are films that are being passed around the black market. Films that show things that the occupying forces do not want the people to see. And there is a resistance that is trying to get these films to The Man in the High Castle. And nobody seems to know why he would want them or what he would do with him. But it’s important that they arrive. Deathly important.

The story is top notch. The struggle of the characters is felt. You will find yourself loathing and loving the same character at the same time. Season two is coming out soon. Right now would be a great time to watch season one in preparation for it.

The Expanse

The Expanse Season 1 is coming to Amazon Prime on Dec 14th. I watched the season on the SciFy network and it prompted me to buy the book. I know, that’s a bit backwards. But I found that the series is faithful to the book, which makes the nerd in me very happy.

The premise is pretty straightforward. The show happens roughly 200 year in the future. With certain jumps in technology, Earth has begun to explore the solar system. Major leaps in knowledge have been made, but not in understanding or wisdom. Humans are still humans. We have colonized Mars as well as the asteroid belt, and the citizens of Mars have declared independance from Earth. We have also colonized the asteroid belt and begun mining the asteroids for mineral and resource wealth. The belters, likewise, no longer see themselves as citizens of Earth. Three factions, each with their own understandings and misunderstandings, each with a grudge against the other two.

The story is told from the vantage of a police detective on one of the asteroid stations and also from the captain of a small ship. Both found themselves in a mystery that they didn’t ask for and the rabbit hole in each case is much, much deeper than they could have imagined.

Let me be blunt here. If you are still crying that FOX cancelled “Firefly” like I am, you absolutely need to get on board with “The Expanse.” It has been a long time since science fiction this good was presented to us, on the large screen or the small. It is time to invest in the converging stories of “The Expanse.”

Do you want to get into the Christmas spirit?

Because this is how you get into the Christmas spirit!

 

And you thought your Thanksgiving was busy!

Woman breaks fingers, delivers a baby, and puts Thanksgiving dinner on the table

Remember the Cabbage Patch Craze?

Do you remember the Cabbage Patch phenomena from 1983? Whenever it is brought up, the first thing I remember is the scenes from this footage. The store clerk with the baseball bat, trying to keep the rabid shoppers from overrunning the store.

The second thing I remember is my grandmother. She was one of the millions of Christmas shoppers who were on the hunt for the doll that captivated that year. And she was searching for more than just one. She had four granddaughters who wanted one, and to give a doll to three of them just wouldn’t do!

In retrospect, I gotta say that my grandma Belva is one tough lady!

Stop Smoking Day

I had my last cigarette five years ago today. Even now, there are times when I have a craving . And when I do, I remind myself that I am no longer a smoker. That isn’t who I am anymore .

Sounds overly simple, doesn’t it? No looking at how much money I’ve saved. No factoring of health improvements. Not even the social changes that come when you are no longer part of the smoking circle. My entire strategy to continue as a non-smoker comes down to a matter of identity.

Identity is a great tool in making any change. Sure, you can try harder. You can reward yourself. You can use any number of behavior modification techniques, but what finally got me to quit smoking after twenty years was a change of identity. I decided that not only was I going to quit smoking, I was no longer going to identify as a smoker.

I chose to remove any version of smoking from the list of my identifiers. In Biblical terms, I repented of my smoking. And I continue to repent regularly of my smoking every time I deny myself by reminding myself that I am no longer that person who smoked.

Smoking is an unwise behavior. Is it sinful for a Christian? It can be a form of idolatry, just as gluttony or sexual behaviors or a host of other things can be an idol that traps a person in failed promises. And just like anything that brings dishonor upon God, the only response we are to have is repentance.

  I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 ESV

What’s So Civil about War Anyway?

My good friend, and Civil War era historian, David Connon, will be giving a number of presentations around Iowa, then heading to Milwaukee and Chicago in the next two weeks. I have listened to his presentation of “Josiah Bushnell Grinnell and the Iowa Underground Railroad” before and I came away fascinated! I am not a fan of history, at least I wasn’t. In High School, history was all dates and places to memorize just long enough to pass a test. In David’s presentations history is about people, meaning and convictions.

Do yourself a favor and take a look at this schedule. If you can make one of his presentations, please do so! I will warn you, you very well may come away from his talk with a renewed appreciation for the history of our country and just a little bit of understanding why others made, and make decisions that just might differ from yours.

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Wed., Nov. 2, 7:15 p.m., “The Propaganda campaign in Iowa,” at the Des Moines Civil War Round Table, meeting at the Machine Shed Restaurant, 11151 Hickman Rd, Urbandale, IA 50322 (near Living History Farms).

Thurs., Nov. 3, 7 p.m., “Josiah Bushnell Grinnell and the Iowa Underground Railroad,” at Kirkendall Public Library, 1210 NW Prairie Ridge Dr, Ankeny, IA 50021.

Sat., Nov. 5, sometime between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., “The Propaganda Campaign in Iowa,” at History Camp Iowa 2016, meeting at the State Historical Museum, 600 E. Locust St., Des Moines, IA 50309.  (An admission fee is required.  I will update my Facebook page when I have a specific starting time.)

Wed., Nov. 9, 7 p.m., “Josiah Bushnell Grinnell and the Iowa Underground Railroad,” at Musser Public Library, 304 Iowa Ave, Muscatine, IA 52761.

Thurs., Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m., “The Propaganda Campaign in Iowa” and “A Confederate from Iowa,” at the Civil War Round Table of Milwaukee, meeting at the Wisconsin Club, 900 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53233.

Fri., Nov. 11, 7:15 p.m., “The Propaganda Campaign in Iowa” and “A Confederate from Iowa,” at the Civil War Round Table of Chicago, meeting at Holiday Inn O’Hare, 5615 N. Cumberland, Chicago, IL 60631.

David Connon

No, I didn’t win Mick Jones’ Guitar

In 2008, Ben, Zach (neighborhood kid) and I competed for the grand price of Mick Jones’ guitar after the Foreigner concert in Hawaii on New Year’s Eve. We fell short of our goal, but used this experience to become better air-musicians.

Great find, Ben! I just need to download this video so I can put it on my own YouTube channel!

Beggar’s Night, Iowa’s Halloween for Children

Why don’t people believe this big cat when he tells you something? He is LION!

Here is a repost from a year ago. Call it laziness, but I like to attribute this to the neighborhood I live in, that has filled out in the last year with new neighbors from out of state. And since they are unaccustomed to the Iowa ways, I wanted to share a local tradition.

First things first, most communities in Iowa do not have trick or treaters walking around on Halloween. Instead each town and city will choose an evening around that date for the kids to go door to door for their candy. This is called Beggar’s Night. And since each town can set up their own time for this, it is not uncommon for a child to go out 2-3 nights in different areas of the Des Moines metro.

Next things next, Iowa trick-or-treaters are loosely expected to share a joke before getting candy. The hint for this is for the homeowner to ask the kids if they have any tricks. Nobody withholds the candy for lack of a joke, but the child and their parents are known to be transplants and not native central Iowans. We take pride in our local culture here and appreciate it when transplants learn the customs and share in them with us. It’s neighborly. It’s a reciprocity of “Iowa nice.” And I am a little saddened to see the practice fading away. Fewer and fewer kids each year have any jokes to share.

Here’s a story shamefully lifted from the Des Moines Register. If you click through to it, you will come to a page with video and sound that plays automatically.

Detroit has Hell Night.

Carbondale, Ill., used to have Fright Night.

When it comes to bizarre local Halloween traditions, however, few communities can match the Des Moines metro area and its 60-plus-year-old ritual of – well, let’s just call it Bad Joke Night.

In most places, the Halloween tradition goes like this: The kid says, “Trick-or-treat.” The homeowner gives him candy.

In Des Moines and surrounding suburbs, it’s more like this: The kid says, “Trick or treat.” The homeowner says “What’s your trick?” Then the kid tells a joke of the sort usually found on Bazooka gum wrappers.

Why didn’t the skeleton cross the road?
He didn’t have any guts.

Whether or not the homeowner is amused, the kid gets candy.

You got to have standards

Just when you finished picking up the dog poop

Best Episode of The Office EVER!

Jar Jar Wars

On the other hand, maybe I’ll skip this year’s Star Wars movie…

Fetch!

If you think about it, the first person to take a dog’s favorite toy away and throw it as far as they could was probably just being a bully. 

The Journey of a Coffee Bean

Perhaps my all time favorite

A note about Pokemon Go

My friend, we’ll refer to her as “Pam” because that’s her name, recently put up a post about Pokemon Go players disrespecting certain places such as cemeteries and private properties when they play their game. She rightly pointed out that it is inappropriate to chase after virtual monsters in a solemn place or on another person’s property without permission. As someone with a little knowledge of how the game was constructed, I decided to share a little bit of insight.

Niantic had (has) another game called Ingress as well as a neat “personal tour” app called Field Trip. Both of these are also location based and have been around for a few years. Why does this matter? Because Google used the data from Ingress to find interesting places that were friendly to walking (opposed to driving).

Ingress began by mapping all fire stations, libraries and post offices and placing a game spot (portal) on each one. Then, gradually, more portals were added to the game through a laborious user submission process. Eventually, the Ingress app added an easy way to submit any location in seconds from your phone. And the portals blew up! Many of them interesting, some of them inappropriate for game play.

Here’s the connection: Pokemon Go used the data from Ingress to place their game spots. I think they’re called “gyms” in Pokemon Go. Niantic should have trimmed their list of game locations better. Much better. A lot of the garbage portals in Ingress have been removed, but not all. Ingress attracts players who are typically in their 20’s and older. Pokemon Go attracts more children. There are exceptions to both of these age group generalizations.

1. Children are more likely to play their game on someone’s yard or burial site than adults.
2. There are MANY more people playing Pokemon than Ingress could have imagined.

That is why a lot of the problems are happening. The game developers didn’t do more to clean up the game locations and the players are not being respectful of others as they play. So Niantic is responsible for causing part of the problem and responsible for exposing the other part of the problem. Fix either one and the problems would dissipate into occasional annoyances. Changing the game locations is the easier fix. Changing a culture that sends out children who don’t know about certain societal norms of decency or private property without adult supervision is a tougher solution.

Take Control of Your Life

There have been two recent deaths where a black person is killed by a police officer. In past cases, there have often been circumstances where it appears the officer was ultimately acting in his or her own self defense or the defense of others. Not always, but we have been conditioned to err on the side of the law enforcement officers. And sometimes, the word “err” is accurate.

In one recent case, the victim was selling CD’s in front of a convenience store, and was carrying a firearm illegally, as his 2nd Amendment rights were taken away due to him being convicted of a prior felony. In the video, the man is wrestled to the ground by two officers and appears to not be a threat to anybody when one of the officers pulls his service pistol and puts it to the man’s chest. Two shots are heard and the man dies on the ground.

In the other case, the victim was in possession of a legal firearm and was in the calm process of reaching for his license to carry the weapon. During this time shots are fired into the car and the man dies there. His crime was notifying the officer that he was a legal gun owner and seeking to provide authentication of this. The man’s fiance’ was handcuffed and taken away. The news didn’t say what was done for the child who was in the back seat when the man was killed.

These are heartbreaking examples of injustice. These are examples of heartache that is caused by men who frequently have the phrase “To Protect and Serve” on the side of their cars. And I agree with the governor of Minnesota who said that had the man been white he would be alive today.

What is the answer here? Too often, white Americans have been asked to apologize for the actions of the past as some sort of contrition for events of the future. That isn’t the answer. If it was, the problem would have been solved long ago. The answer isn’t to make any surface level change. The answer is reconciliation. The answer is respect. The answer is dialogue. The answer is to value others. And as a Christian, I believe the answer begins with a biblical worldview.

The Bible informs Christians (and Jews) that all of humanity comes from the same family tree. Taken back enough generations, we are all related! No one tribe, tongue or skin pigment is superior to any other. The imago dei rests upon all of humanity. That is, we are all created in the image and likeness of God. That image transfers a high value! It is because of that image that we will argue for the personhood of unborn children. It is that imago dei that informs us when we care for those who may be discarded otherwise. It is that image of God that is denied by our culture, undermining the very reason why humans have a greater value than other living creatures.

Police officers have a difficult job. Some of them have reported a disproportionate number of violent incidences with minorities. I’m not here to judge the chicken or the egg. I do believe that we need to stop denying the shared imago dei of humanity. That would be a good start. Once we understand that we are all share equal value and that skin color can not inform anyone of your expected behavior. That will also allow groups of people to respect officers as they perform their duties.

Through the infamous Dred Scott case, the United States Supreme Court ruled that African Americans had a value equal to three-fifths of the value a Caucasian person. I add this to show that the devaluation, the dehumanization, of others is nothing new in this country. There is a history of denying the imago dei, and this is to our shame. We can shout that all people have equal value. We can recite the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.

But without a heart change it will continue to be lip service to the real problem of the heart. And the only one capable of changing a person on that level is God. And the only way to God is through the finished work of Jesus, who bore our sins to Calvary and then rose from the dead on the third day.

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

(Isaiah 53:5-6 ESV)

#BlackLivesMatter. From conception to natural death. They matter just as much as other races. And they need to be treated with the equality that they deserve. And finally (FINALLY!) we need to stop thinking in terms of “they” and start thinking in terms of “all of us.”

I want to close with a news interview of the responsible gun owner who was briefly labeled as the most wanted man in America. If you’ve read this far, you can take a few minutes to hear his plea:

Wait for it… Wait for it…

Life’s hard

from Instagram: http://ift.tt/29f0FcW

a la brava

I recently had my third visit with Mike, the woodworker who has taken me under his wing in a mentoring relationship. The plan of the day was for him to show me how to build cabinets. We planned out what dimensions would make sense in his shop and gathered the wood from his cache. Since this is a shop cabinet, we won’t be too worried about the beauty of it, but Mike’s expectation is to end up with a piece that is sturdy and built to perform its function for years to come.

The cabinet is actually two identical cabinets, each with double doors. The intention is that the two pieces will match each other and be attached together side by side. Mike made the first front piece with my assistance. He let me cut boards to size with his table saw and his miter saw and cut out notches for rabbet joints with his band saw, all with close supervision and instruction. Once that was done, he fit the pieces together, glued them and affixed them with brad nails as well as pegs into the holes we drilled into the wood. Mike uses very little metal in his woodshop.

Then he told me to make the matching front piece. The boards were already cut to length. All I needed to do was make the joining notches, measuring thrice, cutting once, and then put the front together, along with the cross board held in place by a peg into the drilled hole that had to be perfectly placed.

Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.

The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

(Proverbs 15:32-33 ESV)

My cabinet front turned out better than anything I’ve made before, but was… imperfect. To say the least. One of my peg holes was off a little because of the way I was holding the drill. Some of my rabbet notches were a bit askew because I was pushing too hard on the band saw. Those were both easily fixed. I am not all that handy with tools, which is why I reached out to him in the first place. Then I put the front together, glued it and brad nailed it together. Rather than walk around the piece, I reached across it. And after I did that Mike checked that joint and one of the sides was off by about a 16th of an inch. If it’s held together by sticky glue, that’s no big deal. If the glue is dry you can break the bond and reapply. But this was brad nailed together.

“A la brava,” Mike said.

“What’s that?” I responded.

“A la brava. It’s Spanish. It means to do something with haste, but not with skill or understanding. Much of what you do you do too quickly. You don’t slow down and make sure everything is perfect before you continue. You don’t think ahead to the next step. You over apply yourself on the tools rather than letting them do the work because you allow yourself to work out of position. That’s a la brava.”

I nodded in my understanding and he continued to tell me a few stories about when he was in some hot situations in Vietnam. These were stories of how American servicemen injured themselves and other servicemen because they didn’t think about their actions. They just reacted according to their fear or their bravado, but not according to their training or the council of those around them. Some of them did not return home.

We vacuumed the shop thoroughly as we do each week, then we agreed to meet next Saturday unless something comes up. With the holiday weekend,  I imagine a veteran like Mike would be fine having the Saturday off over the Independence Day weekend and I’m considering it since we have family coming into town.

It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. (Ecclesiastes 7:5 ESV)

Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of “a la brava.” Working in an environment of zero defects has been a goal in my career at various companies, but overall efficiency has really been the name of the game. If you can do a task 95% as well as the next guy, but can do it 30% faster you are likely to be praised. Of course you are instructed to improve the quality of your work. But if you do quality work but can’t keep up with the production expectations you may have to find another occupation before too long. It is an example of many companies rewarding a measure of “a la brava.”

When a car company discovers a flaw in their design, they typically don’t issue a recall right away. Before they do, they measure the financial cost of how much it would cost for them to fix the problem and weigh that against any class action lawsuit they might encounter as a result of the flaw. This is a regular occurrence and is an example of companies weighing the pros of “a la brava” against the financial consequences.

A la brava pervades our culture. Rather than understanding something, it is common to just Google the topic and skim through the first few results. If you really want to go in depth on the matter you check to see if there’s a Wikipedia article about it. We seek surface level knowledge, but wisdom seems to take a greater investment than we are willing to make in too many cases. There are exceptions, but everybody has an example of “a la brava” in their life. It is the human condition.

This doesn’t mean that people should aspire to be experts in every topic. It does mean that anything worth doing is worth doing well. It means that if you don’t have time to do something correctly the first time you won’t have time to fix it or redo it later. It means that you need to measure thrice and cut once. It means that you need to take care of your tools and your tools will take care of you. It means that you should be in a proper position when using your tools. It means that you should work over your project, not off to the side of it reaching across it when you can’t see what the result of your actions will be, even if they end up only a fraction of an inch off.

It’s time for this generation (defined as anyone reading this) to recognize areas of “a la brava” in our own lives and to demand better of ourselves. I have heard people not only blame their failures on their laziness, but they also seem proud of the fact. This should not be so! We were not created for “a la brava” and I will go so far as to say that this state of mind is only present in us as a result of the fall.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV)

Our mandate as Christians is to do all things to the glory of God. And one way to do just that is to seek out aspects of “a la brava” in our own lives and root them out. There is no place for “a la brava” to reside uncontested in lives that are meant to be lived to the glory of God. Working against these tendencies and to the glory of God, is an act of daily worship that anyone can do, whether they are woodworking, stuck in a cubicle somewhere, folding laundry, or faithfully checking the neighbor’s mail while they’re on vacation.

Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3:22-24 ESV)

A preview of my next post…

Finding a Mentor Nextdoor

No, that post title isn’t misspelled. Or rather it is purposefully misspelled. I have this app called Nextdoor on my phone. You put your address in it and it shows a map of what it says your neighborhood is. Mine is a bit bigger than what I would think of, but that’s fine. Once your neighborhood is designated, you can post post anything there that matters to someone in your proximity. Garage sales, babysitter requests, items for sale, open houses, etc. And these posts will be seen by anyone who has the Nextdoor app and is in that area, and also in surrounding neighborhoods depending on your settings.

Someone in my area was selling a handmade dog bed frame a few weeks ago, and from the posting it was clear that they had built it themselves. It looked awesome, but we have no need for a nice frame like that. Nonetheless, I decided to take a shot in the dark and reply to the post. I commented that we don’t need the piece, but offered to help if they ever need a hand, in exchange for letting me observe and learn.

After a little interaction, I had a “play date” with Mike, a 2-tour Vietnam veteran. He is mostly self taught and has been building furniture and home improvement projects for 50 years. Using some, selling others. And he’s willing to let me informally apprentice. I believe mentor would be the more accurate description of the role. He’s 75 years old, but acts and moves like he’s much younger. And when he runs the sander over a piece of wood, his stance and movement is more like a dancer than as a clumsy knuckle dragger, which is my current style.

Our first meeting lasted four hours in his self-made workshop. The workshop is a shed in his back yard, complete with adequate power, a heater for the winter, windows and shade for the summer, and of course a radio set to the local country music station. The interior is about the size of a one car garage, and he remarked that his last address had a shop much bigger than the current one. The city would only let him build one this big, causing him to leave his planer and a few other tools behind. There is a place for everything and everything is in its place.

During this initial meeting we worked on a medicine cabinet that will go in his bathroom. We discussed lengths and angles of the wood and he let me make the cuts on the table saw and the miter saw. I learned about some safety tips for both, including the danger of a table saw launching a piece of wood back at you if you don’t push it all the way through. Thankfully the wood didn’t fly back at me, but Mike told me that impalement is a real risk you take if you don’t stand properly behind the wood and to the side, and then if you don’t finish the cut.

I also routered the joints for the door on this cabinet to fit them together. and cut the center piece of the door to size. We fit the pieces together with glue, used putty on all of the seams, clamped it and went inside for some cake. We got to know a little bit about each other and he and his wife showed me several of the previous projects they are using around the house. He has even made his own hinges out of wood, which is time consuming, but if his wife wants this for her recipe box, he will do it for her. “She gets whatever she wants” he said to me.

He has asked me to bring over some projects that I’d like to make and the first order of business is a laundry room insert to replace an unused “mud room” bench and locker combo. I have several other projects in my queue, but this is first. He’s already told me I can use his tools, and we’ll sort out what that looks like in the weeks and months ahead. Best of all, I haven’t had to talk my way into future visits. He speaks of me becoming a competant woodworker through regular visits and anticipates me working with him for the forseeable future.

I’ve already had some thoughts about how the lessons you learn working with your hands coorelate to lessons that will serve you will in life. Expect to hear more about this in the future, along with some pictures of my work.

 

Here’s a link to find out more about Nextdoor, the app that enabled this meetup: http://ift.tt/28LjV2M

 

Fried Chicken In The 18th Century?

Don’t Follow Your Passion

Mike Rowe has been questioning the standard advice given to young adults for years and I’m glad to see it starting to gain traction. Heck, he makes me consider signing up for an apprenticeship after ten years working for my present employer!

Save yourself the headache…

Happy Gotcha Day!

One year ago, we brought Ellie home. Life hasn’t been the same since, and for the better! She is the most loving dog I’ve ever known, and has absolutely no idea that other dogs don’t get carried around like a baby the way Ana carries her. She just accepts it like normal, and it’s hilarious to watch.

HT: Challies.com

New song by Switchfoot – Float

Congrats Graduates!

There are more shovel ready jobs than there are people willing to push a shovel. There are jobs waiting for welders, electricians, plumbers, steam fitters, and more. Good paying jobs. GREAT paying jobs! Jobs that won’t leave you with crippling student loan debt. Jobs that will pay you to learn.

But only if you are willing to go for it.

What’s wrong with jobs that require a degree? Nothing! But only if that degree leads to a job in a field that is hiring. Even if you’re BA/BS doesn’t match your future occupation there is a benefit to earning that degree. But the concept that college is a requirement for a fulfilling life or a successful career is a myth that should be challenged at all levels.

http://ift.tt/1YXB9tA

Such a happy Chewbacca!

Her excitement and her laughing makes this a must-see video!

Naked man stuck in chimney was playing “hide and seek”

Source from KCCI.com

People getting stuck in chimneys doesn’t hit the news every day, but it seems to come up more often than it should. As a society, we need to have a serious conversation about this epidemic. Starting with questions such as “What did you expect to happen when you lowered yourself in there?” or “Have you ever heard of someone successfully making it to the fireplace other than Santa Claus?” or “Do you usually play hide and seek in the nude?” or “Assuming the worst, what were you hoping to steal from a local redemption center and what was your plan for a naked escape?”

 

Actually smoking sections are worse

Unless you are pumping chlorine into the restaurant air.