Duct tape

Duct tape is truly an amazing tool with a variety of functions.  Though, I've never actually seen it used on duct work.  I have seen ladies with purses made completely out of duct tape.  Car parts can be made more structurally sound with enough duct tape.   Duct tape even comes in crazy patterns so it can be worn as an accessory. 

I suggest that every parent of small children have a roll on hand at all times--at least in the evening.  I have never seen anything that works more effectively to ensure a young toddler's night time bowel movement stays safe and secure in the diaper, instead of finding it's way out to become supplies for midnight finger painting.

It's quite simple; put the diaper on like normal and place a piece of tape horizontally across the diaper tabs.The next morning will be much more pleasant, guaranteed.

Morality

In the discussion of morality, it is inevitable that one would hear "this works for you, but not for me."  That is only indicative of the fact that people have different perceptions. 

As C.S. Lewis asserted, the fact that someone believes something is moral or not means they have to have something as their moral compass.  It may or may not be based in truth.

Moral law, as with any other universal law, cannot change based upon individual preferences.

Something is or is not moral.  Our perceptions of morality are irrelevant when we look at what it is or is not. Individuals change, morality doesn't.

Christmas too?

The late NYU professor, Neil Postman, wrote a frighteningly accurate book called "Amusing Ourselves to Death. "  He discusses how our culture has become one of narcissistic self gratification and amusement.  

He's right.  But, too bad there aren't just a few things we can protect from that...like Christmas.   The king of the universe decides to come to Earth and we decide to make up a story about a portly hypoglycemic  cat burgler that brings joy to all the children of the world. 
It is amazing how our amusement has spread to our interpretation of reality and what is offensive to others.  We can say happy holidays --or my favorite, seasons greetings--but we don't want to hurt any feelings with a merry Christmas.   Personal preferences have no impact on reality.  Unfortunately,  preferences are often based on what amuses instead of things that matter.

Sleep

Sleep is an amazing thing, a basic necessity, like breathing.   When it is gone,  it is even more amazing how mean we become.   My favorite is waking up telling my wife, "I may have been a little nasty last night, but I don't remember. " 

Don't be too polite

Have you ever wondered why grumpy old people are grumpy old people? 
It's quite simple really--each person is only born with a certain amount of manors.  If we use too many of them when we're young, they'll all be gone by the time we're old.  It would be best to spread them out over time.  Maybe hold the door here--provide an unprompted thank you there.  It's harmless if spread out.  But, don't make if a habit or you'll wake up one day and that pleasant disposition may turn into an air of discontent.

Maslow's hierarchy. All we need is stuff.

Most people have heard of Abraham Maslow.  Many diverse academic disciplines study his work--communication, psychology, business, and sociology, to name a few.  But, has anyone ever heard of anything other than Maslow's hierarchy of needs?  He asserts that we all have to meet the following need order.   They are are physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, and self actualization.

The self actualization it the pinnacle; it is what everyone should aspire to.  Some describe this as becoming self fulfilled realizing your personal potential.  It's an interesting theory to think about.  It appears at some point along the way the self actualization steps shifted and the self actualization piece was forgotten.  High esteem seems to be the pinnacle for many now.

These days we are bombarded with so many advertisements.  Our dreams--our full potential takes a back seat to what we are told that our dreams should be.  Amazingly, people go into debt to buy the BMWs, Volvos, and Mercedes cars of (someones) dreams.  They may not perform any better than something else.  In fact, they all depreciate the same.  But, at least we can believe that we're impressing people that we don't know or care about.

Maslow has to have been wrong.  That self actualization thing is probably just a waste of time.  All we need is stuff to build our esteem.  Why go any further?

Runners are weird

A co-worker once told me that runners are a little weird.  Being one, I didn't quite understand.

The other day I was having a conversation with another runner friend.  We were asking each other how the other person's injuries were doing.  "I'm still nursing it a little bit,"  I had to reply when he asked how I was doing.  I asked him how he was.  "My knee is good, but my nipple hurts when I run,"  he replied. 

How do you reply to something like that? For me it was easy--I simply told him to put a band-aid on it.  While we were on the subject of chaffed body parts, we started talking about Body Glide.  It looks like deodorant, but you can rub it all over to keep from chaffing.  We simply wondered how we ever survived without it.

I wonder, don't most people have salt tablets, power bars, gels, and electrolyte drinks for breakfast?

I really don't understand what that co-worker was talking about.