Happiness...

"The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." -- Benjamin Franklin


The pursuit of happiness is one of the fundamental values of our nation. The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”


How do you exercise your right to happiness? Happiness is within your control.

What Is Happiness?
What does it mean to be happy? Happiness is defined by positive emotions such as pleasure, contentment, joy and satisfaction This doesn’t mean that happy people are always happy, but it does mean that they are happy more often than not. Almost half of your personal happiness is within your control!

Positive Thinking
Your attitude plays a huge part in how you look at life, how you see things around you and how you handle different situations. Although you can’t always control what happens, you can control your attitude toward life events. 


Stop a bad day in its tracks. Just because you woke up on the wrong side of the bed doesn’t mean your entire day is ruined. Make an effort to change the course of your day early and don’t let a few bad moments spoil the rest of the day. And remember, when things aren’t going well, tomorrow is a brand new day.


Develop positive friendships. It’s difficult to maintain a positive attitude when your friends or co-workers have negative ones. The company you keep influences your attitude.


Be good to yourself. You can be your own best friend or your own worst enemy. Make sure you eat well and get enough rest. Stress and bad health habits are enough to give anyone a bad attitude.


Look at the bigger picture. One of the best ways to improve your attitude is to take a reality check. Is your life really so bad? Take a good look around you and chances are you’ll gain a new-found appreciation for the things you have. Look at all the things you can be grateful for and your attitude will change for the better.


Ask for a helping hand. If you’re trying to improve your attitude and outlook on life, ask a friend or family member to tell you when you’re slipping back into your negative habits. A gentle reminder to look on the bright side may be all you need.


I don't remember where I found this, but I think it is spot on, Just Say'in :o)

Climate Scientist, Yo!

Warning, contains explicit language, go to YouTube for clean version.

Below is Ripped of and Duplicated (R&D :o) from Stan (see below for link).

There is no reason to complain about the "potential dangers" of nuclear energy when the "actual damage" done by oil spills, coal mining, and natural gas extraction far exceed the "actual damage" done by nuclear accidents.  AND...and this is a big and, which is why I capitalized it...AND nuclear accidents have all (for the most part) actually been accidents.  Oil spills, while they may be accidents, have all been mostly the result of negligence.  And any mind of drilling or mining destroys the environment and pollutes by default as it is part of the process of extracting fossil fuels.

So why are we so stupid?  Why are we so slow to adopt clean energies?  Nuclear energy is a great alternative, but if you are scared of the power, what about solar and wind energies?  They are not only renewable, and free, but the only "damage" they cause is a visual one.  It makes no sense to fight the mass production of turbines and solar panels and the immediate adoption of an overall conversion process that moves us to free energy.  But we do.  Why?  Aesthetics!  Not in my back yard!  I don't want to see it.

Thanks to Stan for posting this.

Ask Uncle Kerouac :o)

Ask Uncle Kerouac, always funny.  Not only that, but I won a caption contest :o)

Sunday Silliness - Collaboration :o)

Sunday Silliness - Cluelessness :o)

Happy Mother's Day

This is a day where we stop to take the time to recognize and honor our mothers, who nurture and protect us, who give of themselves and then some, who love us no matter what we have or have not done. The best image in my mind is the one at the left. My philosophy has always been that this is part of every day, but one day is better than none at all.


So here is hoping that if you are a mother, that you have a glorious day. If you are a son or daughter, I hope you had the chance to tell your Mom how much she means to you, and most importantly, that you love her.

Happy Mother's Day!

New Orleans, here we come :o)

We are NOLA bound, so reading and posting may be lighter than usual :o)


Can't tell you how ready I am for this vacation.  Catch you next week!

 

Leadership Lessons from the Kitchen

Engaged in a fierce battle on a recent Chopped All-Stars, chef Aarón Sanchez quipped, “When brilliance happens, you don’t ask where it came from, you just kind of go with it, ride the wave.”


It didn’t matter that he was referring to making whipped cream out of chickpeas; he might just as well have been talking about the next high-tech innovation or big business idea.


If you watch enough Food Network shows like Iron Chef or Worst Cooks in America, a picture of what greatness is all about begins to emerge. No, not great chefs making great food. but great leaders.


What separates iconic chefs like Bobby Flay, Masimaru Morimoto, and Cat Cora from the millions of competitors around the world is their leadership ability. It’s evident in their behavior, their character, everything they do. Never mind that they’re on TV. They may as well be cooking in one of their restaurants or mentoring an up-and-coming sous chef.


Restaurants deliver product and service like any other business. But make no mistake. The cooking business is a fiercely competitive battleground that breeds great chefs who are also great leaders.


10 Leadership Lessons From Food Network Chefs


Compete to win but respect the enemy. Forget all the politically correct BS - business is about winning. And yes, it is a zero-sum game. It’s all about market share. But that doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t respect your competitors.


Success is about managing and mentoring people. The way chefs move up is by hiring talented cooks and training them to be sous chefs so they can someday run one of their many restaurants. It’s the same as climbing the corporate ladder.


Results are all that matter. It’s what the customer thinks of the product and service that counts. That’s what creates repeat business and loyal customers. You may think you’ve come up with a brilliant dish, but if the folks don’t like it, you failed.


You’ve got to know the business. Steve Jobs isn’t just a brilliant marketer. Warren Buffet isn’t just a smart investor. Bill Gates wasn’t just a great software coder. Just like these iconic leaders, every great chef has a head for the business.


It’s not who you know but what you know. Don’t let anyone tell you success is about who you know. That’s just an excuse for whiners who can’t cut it. Great chefs know everything there is to know about making a restaurant business successful. Period.


Experience is overrated. Even young chefs like Sanchez and Bobby Flay - when he was first starting out - exude such instincts and passion for what they do that you know in a heartbeat they’re going to be successful. That’s why people follow them.


Learn from failure and move on. Failure is how we learn and grow. Failure teaches us how to do things differently. How to do things better. Great chefs don’t dwell on their mistakes. They suck it up and do better next time. After all, there’s always another meal.


Focus on core strengths. Great chefs grow their business around their core strengths. Nobody has ever been successful in the restaurant or cooking business by just doing the same stuff as everyone else. Sure, execution is critical, but innovation and creativity are also requirements for success. Like it or not, smarts matter.


Work hard, play hard. Even while competing at an extraordinarily high level, these chefs never lose their sense of humor and, when it’s over, they party and congratulate each other on a job well done. That’s how it should be.


Source

Science Scene - Not Quite Living Seagull :o)

I find this absolutely fascinating, I recommend watching both videos.  Science and engineering at their best.

A new lifelike seagull ‘bot is one of the most realistic bio-inspired flight machines we’ve seen. SmartBird takes off, flies and lands on its own, flapping its wings and turning its head and tail to steer. It is modeled on the herring gull and its appearance and movements are uncannily similar to the real thing.

Designed by the German firm Festo, which also brought us the elephant-trunk-inspired robotic arm and the autonomous robotic jellyfish, SmartBird is Festo’s newest entry in its Bionic Learning Network program, which involves several universities in the U.S. and Europe and aims to use nature as a model for mechatronic systems.

The bird has a 6.5-foot wingspan, so it’s much larger than a real gull, but it looks pretty much like the real thing, as you can see in the video below.

Source

Sunday Silliness - Changes (2) :o)