Today's Invention

Disappointment

Ok, I didn’t invent disappointment but I’m feeling it right now. I just found out that Audi has implemented one of my ideas into their current line of luxury cars. Audi is now including SD slots as an option in some of their cars. I had this very idea a year and a half ago. I’m not even going to pretend that I had this idea first but I did predict that the portable storage industry was heading in this direction. Now, I probably wasn’t the only one to think of this application a year ago, nor the first, but it’s good to know my thinking was on the right track.

Today's Scene

Today’s scene takes us to the starting line of the NHRA drag racing quarter-finals where a reporter is interviewing ,”Candy”, one of the few female drivers in the sport. The reporter has just a few minutes before she gets the green light, so he shouted a couple questions over the roar of the engines.

Reporter: “Do you feel that you have something to prove out here to the male drivers in drag racing”?

Candy: “No. Women have come a long way in sports and this is just another example. We can do anything a man can do”.

Reporter: “What about the stereotypes of a women driver? Do the other drivers joke about it”?

Candy (laughing): “Ya, some do but they’re jealous. I just let my driving do the talking”.

Reporter: “Alright, good luck to you Candy”.

The scene is framed now from the perspective of the press box. “Candy’s” car is in the foreground slightly obscuring her opponent’s car. The starting lights begin the count down to green. The scene switches and is now being viewed on TV from the live footage of one of the cable stations. The engines are revving in anticipation. The lights go green! “Candy’s” opponent gets a good start. “Candy” punches the accelerator and goes from 0 to 60 in just a split second but in reverse crashing into the grand stand. That’s today’s scene.

Today's Free Flow

Dogwood Trees
-Eric Crouch

Deep in the woods far from human needs, I wandered upon a forgotten path lined with dogwood trees.

I followed the overgrowth to a stone foundation, which punctuated the rows of trees like a dot of exclamation.

What a structure must have stood so grand so not to be out done by the beauty of the leaves.
And what must have been thought of the path that such care was taken to outline it with dogwood trees.

That drew the eye along its path to rest upon this majestic habitation. Its a memory that lingers now forgotten outside this stone foundation.

Despite man’s best effort to preserve its creation there’s nothing here to see,
beyond this forgotten path lined with dogwood trees.



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Flat Panel Guitar Amp

I could possibly be persuaded to sell a kidney or two for this!

I wet my pants when.................

Those who know me would say that I have an unrealistic fear of sharks. They say that because I live in East Tennessee and don’t go near salt water. Not wanting to die is not an unrealistic fear and not wanting to be eaten isn’t either. Follow me on my logic here. Would we not kill a Great White shark that waddled up on a beach just because it was curious? Sure we would! It is in our nature to do so. Of course we wouldn’t if it was a seal or a whale, something cute, but a shark we’d stomp a mud hole in. Kill the killer, right. Can you foresee a bunch of eco-nuts banding together to gently steer the shark back out into the ocean where everyone is swimming. No. Similarly, we shouldn’t expect anything different from the shark if we showed up in its environment. Realistically, in comparison, man is the more dangerous, but let’s not split hairs here. If I look like shark food in shark infested waters, well then you really can’t blame a shark for taking a bite out of me.

My fears were only slightly diminished after reading of a new device from SeaChange that repels sharks with a strong electrical field. It’s called the Shark Shield. I still won’t ever voluntarily go diving wearing one of these, but it will make it easier for me to get on a boat knowing that life vests will someday be equipped with theses.

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Tired of that same old knife set?

Now, if there was just a way that I could dress it up like some people I know.....Hmmmm.

Read more about it

Today's Scene

Our hero must work at least 35 hours a week and wear a tracking device to meet the requirements of his early parole. Today's scene finds our hero working as a shoe salesman in JC Penney’s; his first day. In most cases an addiction to methadone and several felonies would've disqualified him from employment here but the shoe department manager owed our hero's parole officer a favor. It seems he was once in a fix in a Mexican border town and the parole officer helped him out of it. The manager considered the debt paid after hiring our hero. He knew he was taking a chance. Research shows that people just don't buy shoes from salesmen with tattoos of tears on their cheeks and self inflicted etchings.

Our hero's first effort was to be applauded; even his parole officer said so. "He displayed self control.”, his manager said. Frequent affirmation was recommended by the prison 's resident psychiatrist, "You just don't know what will set him off". The customer was a young mother and her six-year-old son. Right away there was tension. The boy took one look at our hero and said, "You are a scary man". Kids are so cute. Tact just doesn't occur to them. Our hero ground his teeth and stooped to the boy's level. Eye to eye now he says, "I'm rubber you're glue. It bounces off of me and sticks to you". That's today's scene.

Today's Invention

The Task Timer

I’ve got something for those of us who are multi-taskers by necessity, not by desire. The more I stack on my plate the more likely I am to spill something. I can handle two or three things going on at once , but the more I have going on the more likely it is that I’ll get confused over the details or forget one all together.

I created the Task Timer to keep over lapping tasks on track. The Task Timer is, on a very basic level, just a timer.. You set it for however long you want to devote to each task and it beeps when it’s time to move to the next task. The Timer is most effective if the user stops the current task and moves to the next task at the sound of the beep no matter what stage of the current task they are in. This method establishes the “I’ll sleep on it” effect when the task’s turn comes back around the progressio. It is based on the principle that we can solve problems and overcome obstacles by actually not dwelling on them in our conscience mind but letting our sub-conscious work through the roadblock. The concept comes from the book, The Breakout Principle by Dr. Herbert Benson. We can simulate this, in a small way, by stopping what we are working on and devote our thoughts to a different task. This is a beneficial side effect of the Task Timer’s true purpose, which is to keep our projects efficiently moving forward.

I’ll use myself as an example. I work best in four to five minute bursts of concentrated problem solving. I would set the Task Ticker to beep at five minutes intervals. I move to the next task at each beep. I can set the Task Timer to beep or flash a light at each increment. It can also be designed to wear inconspicuously or be set aside on a desk or workspace. The Task Timer, in whatever way it is used, has the potential to optimize the time we spend on solving problems and minimize the confusion we create by jumping, haphazardly, between them.

Today's Free Flow

Two sticks tell a tale.

as just one does as well.

Either way, a mark is made.

And, maybe, yearly remembered on that special day.

If not then, then maybe next time, but all in due time.

All in due time.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Today's Scene

Today’s scene has our hero reading a scripture up in front of his church congregation. He has prepared for this day for two weeks. He is a rather nervous guy and he wanted to do a good job. Our hero practiced every night until the scripture flowed from his lips in Shakespearian fashion. The day arrived and our hero was ready despite his stage fright. He was impeccably dressed in a pressed white shirt with a smart red tie. The pants were creased to perfection. And no one really paid much attention at all to the Bud Lite undershirt conspicuously visible through our hero’s dress shirt. That’s today’s scene.

The Sound of a Kettle Drum- a forgotten memory

I was playing softball with by church league team when I remembered an incident from my childhood that I had buried somewhere in a corner of my mind. I see it all now as if I’m standing just to the left of the entire scene. I was a kid playing catcher in a league that used a pitching machine. I was too old to be hitting off a tee but too young to handle a pitcher. Our little arms just didn’t have the strength and accuracy to get a ball across the plate. We still had a pitcher but he just hung out on the pitcher's mound next to the pitching machine. The machine always threw strikes but it couldn’t stop me from distrusting it when I stepped into that batter’s box. I had a bit of a phobia. Things changed, however, on defense. I had the easiest job. I was the catcher squatting behind the plate. I knew where the ball was going each time; right across the plate. I'’d catch it on strikes and just watch it sail off when the batter got a hold of it. On one particular occasion neither happened. This is a little embarrassing, but funny. I don’t remember how it affected me then and maybe that’s why I really didn’t remember it until recently.

I remember the batter swung and missed. I must have lost focus because I missed it too. Now boys require and extra piece of equipment. A ball and bat aren'’t the only things boys take to the ball field. It is just an odd coincidence that the need for a jock and cup coincides with a boys’ awareness of modesty. It’s a touchy subject eventhough we’'d joke about it in locker rooms. That ball I missed hit my cup center mast and the percussion of it reverberated audibly like a kettle drum. The cup did its job as is was designed to do; maybe it did it too well. The ball ricocheted back from between my legs and back to the pitcher even before the sound was out of my ears.

I don’t remember my reaction much less anyone else’s. I wonder if I’'d laugh now. For that matter, I wonder if I laughed then. I think it’'s funny and I think about it now everytime I see a catcher.

Today's Scene

Today’s scene takes us to a jogging trail in the woods where our hero is getting some exercise. He is wearing a red velour jogging suit and a headband. Our hero is still flush with joy after a date that went well the night before. The scene is framed so that all you see is our hero from the waist up. He has got a goofy love lorn look on his face and his arms are swinging away like he doesn’t have a care in the world. The background music is an old Rod Stewart tune that is just barely distinguishable above the sounds of the forest. Without warning, and with lightning fast suddenness, a bear attacks our hero. All the audience is left with is a forest scene with a trail running off into the distance. That's today's scene.

Today's Scene

Today's scene has our hero getting on an elevator in a shopping mall. There is an up-scale department store on the first level that he is interested in. The department store is right next to the elevator and boasts the latest in men’s fashions. The entrance is entirely glass and is used to show off the store’s sharply dressed mannequins. Our Hero takes three steps off the elevator and bangs into the glass wall. His face smacks firmly into the glass spreading his face out unnaturally as viewed from the other side. As our Hero slides to his knees he spots a toddler in a stroller through the smudged glass laughing at him. That’s today’s scene.

We stood and clapped.

Our church was been praying for a member's nephew whose military unit has been serving in Iraq. The nephew recently returned from his tour unharmed. It was an answered prayer. Today in church he got up, and with his uncle at his side, and with a warble in his voice, thanked our church for our prayers. He reassured us that he knew God was protecting him. We all stood and clapped impart due to our patriotism and partly due to our joy in an answered prayer. It was hard holding back a tear despite the fact that I'd never seen the guy before. The only connection we had were our prayers, so I was surprised the way it touched me. I noticed as I looked around that I wasn't the only one. Prayer is a powerful thing.

The voices in your head have escaped!

This is really interesting. A speaker that sharply focuses sound to certain areas from long distances. Researchers say that sound can be projected in such a way that the targeted audience hears the sound as if they were at its point of origin, yet people just two feet away can't hear anything.

Blogging-A good chance to witness

I've noticed that a lot of people are using blogs to vent a frustration, or emotional pain. These blogs aren’t directed towards any particular audience other than just the author. I’ve read some that implicitly state this and others that flat out said their blogs were for their therapeutic purposes. Many are voices of desperation. Every once in a while I’ll comment on one that really worries me. I’ll leave just a short note of encouragement. It’s a good witness opportunity. I encourage everyone to do this. There is just too much hurt out here. I can’t, in good conscience, eavesdrop on someone’s pain and then just surf the next blog or turn on the TV. I’ve got the answers, the good news, and posting comments is a good way to witness and show others you care. If you saw someone in danger, would you not shout out a warning? If you had the cure for cancer, would you not share it? Christians don’t have the bandaid for this life’s problems, we have the salve. Not all Christians are going to be good at administering it. In fact, some of us really mess it up. But remember this, If one doctor miss diagnoses you, you don’t swear of doctors all together, do you? Let’s hope not. If you see a witness opportunity while you are blogging, then take it. Apply the salve and let God do the healing.

Amazon's free MP3 Download Site

Click here to view Amazon's free MP3 download site.
This looks like an ad but it's not. Basically, it's just a reminder for me to check it out.

What's next for me? Men's highheels?

Welcome the dawn of the age of The Man Purse. I will give just two more years before men everywhere realize the necessity of a stylish accessory to store all of their gadgets. Enter the man purse. It’s starting to catch on. I am just about to flag down the Band Wagon myself. Really! My pockets are bursting. I stuff them everyday with keys, cell phone, digital voice recorder, pack of gum, Chapstick, change and a pair of nail clippers. I feel like Winona Ryder in a department store! Men were once able to just throw on a pair of cargo pants for added storage but even that is not enough theses days. And you really can’t get away with that look at a power lunch with your boss and a couple of clients.

So here I am at a crossroads. One direction is a step toward the effeminate looking, yet vogue, Man Purse and the other is the one I’m on now. Do I continue to stuff my pockets until I look like I’m wearing saddle bags or do I start shopping for a purse?

I believe that I’ve come across a more doable option for me; a backpack. It is more of a transitional move until the Man Purse movement catches on. I know it’s gutless. I see it as the equivalent to getting a toupee. You hide on the fringes until you can’t hide any more, then one day you just show up bald. I’m sure one day I’ll just show up with a Man Purse. You really still can’t get away with bringing a backpack to a power lunch, but I don’t do power lunches. A power lunch for me would be drive-through, so it’s not an issue for me. I’m just solving my own dilemma right now. The other gutless men of the world will have to deal with their own insecurities.

This Guy Has Got It Figured Out!!!

The media has been slowly programing us how to think since tin cans where connected with string. Johnny says it best. Hint.....zeros and ones are how computers communicate. It's binary. Check out the link above! It's funny.

Today's Random Thought

Who would mow the grass in our medians if we didn’t have prison work camps and work release programs?