Advanced Rhinocerology

Scott Alexander has written two books about how people who succeed are like rhinos. The first book is Rhinoceros Success, and the other is Advanced Rhinocerology, which I just finished.

The books are a little cheesy and steeped in rhino metaphors. However, both books do serve their purpose as motivational reads. There are a lot of things that Alexander talks about that will challenge your traditional thinking when it comes to work. I will also tell you, that if you are in a government job and like it, don’t read this book. But if you are in a government job and hate it, read this book.

There were several little nuggets and challenges I am taking away from this short read and I would recommend both of these titles to you.

New to Astronomy

A coworker of mine has discovered a new interest outside of the US Civil War. I like the US Civil War and I don’t mind talking about it with him, although he does most of the talking, but sometimes I could use a new topic. So, now his new topic is “Space,” and I want to encourage it. It’s a subject that does interest me a little, but to be honest, I know very little.

From NASA to Astronomy, I have never really done much beyond sitting outside at night and looking at the stars wondering how people find lions, rabbits, dippers, bears, etc… So, I picked up my first book on astronomy by Jay M. Pasachoff. It’s very simple, with a few maps of the stars. It’s enough to allow me to have an elementary conversation with someone on the subject.

I do feel smarter and do appreciate just a little more about the “infinity and beyond”.

Are You Human?

After you have messed up, sinned, done wrong, or did something stupid, you might have said “Well, I’m only human.” Well, stop saying it. Here is why.

How did God create us as humans? Did God create humans with the intent to screw up? No. I think when we use this little saying it is insulting to Father. His intent was not for us to be sinful creatures. Yes, all of us are human and all of us have sinned, but to say sinning is a result of being human, I think is inaccurate. If that were the case, then what was Jesus? Was he not human?

Perhaps we should think of ourselves as less than human, and realize that Jesus showed us how to live as a human. And to be human again means God redeemed us from being less than what he intended our lives to be.

Does this make since?

Cake Insurance

Today is my wife’s birthday and I am sure she is expecting a cake. Since she loves Publix cakes, I was a good husband and ordered it yesterday so it would be ready for the little party this evening.

So, I stopped by Publix at lunch to pick it up so I would not have to stop on the way home and delay my arrival. I arrived back to work and realized I needed to take the cake inside due to heat advisory of a 103 degrees today. I picked it up off the front passenger seat an began to bring it across the car as I exited the driver side, but I forgot about the gear shift.

The cake went barreling to the floor. The round cake was now oval and the pink roses were now pink blobs. The cake was officially undecorated in a split second. Now I have to order a new cake for tonight.

I’m pretty sure I am not the only one to have dropped a cake before and this whole incident made me wonder why I haven’t ever seen bakeries offer cake insurance? I can see it now, “for an extra dollar, we will replace your cake at no extra charge if it is dropped or damaged.” I’m not saying it is a great idea for the customer, but I would think the bakery could make some extra money. As cheap as I am, I am sure I wouldn’t have bought it…before today.

Do you know of anyone that offers cake insurance?

Dirt Roads

There is one thing I don’t miss from growing up. That’s dirt roads. When I grew up in Davie County, NC, there were still quite a few dirt roads but now most of them have been paved over. Dirt roads may have some nostalgia, but all-in-all I appreciate a well surfaced road.

My Granny lived on Mr. Henry Road, which was dirt until about the time I became a teenager. I spent many days over at her house and a lot of memories have to do with that old dirt road. We use to sit out on the front porch of her house and swing in the huge heavy metal gliding bench. It was the kind that had the matching metal chairs. This must have been the trendy patio furniture of the 60’s and 70’s because every old person I knew at the time had a set of these. As we sat there we could hear the gravel rumble and see the dust storm coming from cars a mile away. Usually a car would come about every 30 minutes to an hour. I recall every time a car came down the road, we always went out to wave and see who was coming. Most of the time Granny knew who it was and if she didn’t, she always speculated who it might have been and where they were going. Around lunch time, the mailman came, she could always tell if it was him because the crunching gravel sound would stop every time he made a stop at a previous house. So, when we heard him coming, we made the walk down the hill to greet him.

I also remember watching those people who just washed their car. They would drive about 10 mph with a naive notion that their car would remain dust free. When ever Mr Henry (my step-grandfather), would hitch up the mules to the wagon, we ride up and down that dusty road in our one wagon wagon train. Sometimes, we could catch up with those cars driving so slow. It was also nice of those cars that passed us to slow down so we weren’t engulfed in their cloud of dust.

I guess, what I hated most about dirt roads, was the fact that riding a bike on them was absolutely no fun. There was no coasting. It was pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal, and try to keep the handle bars straight. If the road grader had recently scraped the road, I’d just have to park the bike, riding was impossible.

Much like Dinner Bells and Clothes Lines my son just won’t be able to appreciate dirt roads.