Here's an idea...

 

For one week try keeping a list of all of the people whom you selflessly help each day.  This list isn't for anybody else, I won't be publishing mine, it's just for you.  Just so you can be aware of the good you do AND...more importantly, I think you'll find yourself looking more actively for ways to add more names to that list.

 

Maintaining the list becomes somewhat self-fulfilling.  You start to keep it and you see a name on there, then two names, then three.  Pretty soon you WANT four.  Then you want five.  You helped 3 people yesterday, you'll want to help 4 tomorrow.  Pretty soon the list is getting pretty long each day.  And wouldn't it be nice to live in a world where people had a LONG list of people they had selflessly helped that day?

 

Let me clarify one point - only selfless assistance counts.  If you stopped to let somebody pull out in traffic that's good.  If you did it so you could take their parking space then that's not bad, but there's a certain element of self-interest there so I wouldn't count it.

 

Stop to help somebody pick up something they dropped?  Good.  Help somebody carry their groceries to the car?  Good.  Take the time to care for a sick friend?  Very good.

 

Give it a try.  Remember, the list is just for you.  If you're diligent about it by the end of the week you'll probably be feeling pretty good about yourself...and you'll find that you like to help people.

 

-B-

Never thought I'd long for the day when the media could spend all their time letting us know whether Britney was or wasn't in rehab.

 

This Virginia Tech shooting situation is a tragedy that reaches far beyond the 33 lives lost and the many more wounded.  So many families in pain today and my heart goes out to them.

 

-B-

Like many runners I have multiple pairs of shoes.  In fact I have three pairs which I loosely rotate to give each pair a chance to "recover" before my next run and so that they wear fairly evenly.  I buy a new pair about every 2-3 months and rotate the oldest pair out.  Like most runners I tend to wear the same brand/model every time and that can make it hard to keep track of which pair is which...and sometimes even which left goes with which right!

 

My solution you can see below.  When I get a new pair of shoes I take a Sharpie marker and I make a single black dot on the heel of each of the new shoes.  Then I take my previous "one-dots" and add a second dot to their heels.  I take my previous "two-dots" and add a third dot to their heels.  My previous "three-dots" get a line through the dots and that means I don't run in them anymore.  I may still wear them to the gym, to work in the yard or what-not.

 

This system makes it easy to keep track of which shoes are which and to keep the pairs together.

 

-B-

 

P.S. the sharp-eyed among you might notice that a few months back I changed shoe brands.  My current three-dots are Saucony Stabils.  My two newer pairs are New Balance 816s.

Yes, I like ice cream.  Good chance you do too.  If you're buying your ice cream in the half-gallon size (as I tend to) and storing it in the freezer at home then this tip is for you.

 

Don't put your ice cream in the door of the freezer.  Why?  Because every time you open the freezer door there is air flow past the door which induces a bit of a warming effect on the ice cream.  The door of the freezer is the warmest part of the freezer (sort like like the dryest part of Hilo, I know) and ice cream and heat are not a good mix if you want your ice cream to still be good days or weeks from now.

 

So put that ice cream on a shelf in the freezer and push it back a bit where it can stay nice and cold.  Then it will still be good the next time you go to have some.

 

-B-

Every 4-6 months you should clean the carpets in your place.  Why?  Keeps them looking better and SMELLING better.

 

Don't panic.  You can rent a carpet cleaning machine from Home Depot for under $25 a day and this is a big, loud, heavy, power tool.  So you can do it shirtless and wearing jeans and look tough.  Resist the temptation to wear your tool belt too - that crosses the line from macho to goofy.

 

-B-

This post has no real point other than I promised her I'd do it.

 

So...TSgt Dana L. Harmon of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina....this post is for you babe!

 

Maybe you'll finally show up on Google. 

 

-B-

 

P.S. I *AM* going to get a decent picture of you soon.

Geez, I hope that's not true but here's something you can do to upgrade your look:  Get an instant shine sponge.  They're cheap (under $10) and you can give your shoes a quick once-over before you head out to your day.  I have one that I keep on the shelf next to my shoes.  Before I put my shoes on I give each one maybe 5-10 seconds of "shine".  10-20 seconds a day and my shoes look reasonably decent -- certainly better than the dull, scuffed, look they had before.

 

-B-

I've heard a lot over the years about "Natural Weight" or the weight "your body wants to be" and while I haven't placed a lot of stock in it I think I'm gradually coming to accept that there is a weight that your body is going to be, sort of an equillibrium weight, short of drastic measure.

 

When I was a younger man and living in Kaimuki I was 196 pounds and 10.6% body fat.  But I was younger and far more active then - I lived about 6 miles from my office and rode my bike to work almost every day (in fact I was the Hawaii Bicycling League's "Commuter of the Month" once).  I even occasionally ran to work with my work clothes in a backpack.

 

Now I live in Ewa which means my commute is by auto most of the time and I'm just not quite as active as I was.  Plus I'm 34 years old.  (O.k. I'm 36.  Shut up.)  Could I get back to 196 lbs and 10.6% body fat?  Maybe, but the lifestyle changes I'd have to make to achieve it just aren't worth it to me.  Though I do live on a largely low-fat diet and I do exercise regularly (I'm doing the San Diego Marathon June 3rd) I also enjoy the occcasional slice of pizza and I do enjoy a steak or a cheeseburger now and then.  I'd probably have to go Vegan and double my exercise routine to get back into that kind of shape.  Not gonna happen.

 

My current shape is pretty good, and slowly improving.  I'm about 210 lbs and around 15% body fat.  Most of the time I have abs that you can sort of see.  A recent long trip to the mainland wrecked both my diet and my exercise routine but now that I'm home both are back on track.  Realistically I think the shady side of 210 and maybe 13% body fat is probably where I'll plateau.  Those just seem to be the "natural weight" for my lifestyle.

 

And I've decided that I'm fine with that.

 

-B-

Just saw an ad for "Firehouse Dog."  It's a "talking dog" movie like so many before it -- heroic mutt befriends 12 year old boy and wacky hijinks ensue.  Naturally the dog talks, either actually or nominally, and he voice is provided by Chevy Chase or somebody like that (though in this edition it appears that maybe the dog won't actually have a voice).

 

None of that is especially remarkable - ABC Family will probably be running "Firehouse Dog" in a few months - but what did surprise me is that somehow "Firehouse Dog" got itself a PG rating.  PG?  For a "mutt foils hapless burglars with kid's skateboard" movie?

 

O.K., so it's a slow morning.

 

-B-