God Jul!

Just a quick note to with you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

And just in case you wanted that in a few other languages:

Armenian - Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev
Asturian - Bones Navidaes & Gayoleru anu nuevu!
Bulu - Duma e bo'o
Danish - Glædelig Jul og godt nytår
French - Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!
Galician - Bon Nadal e Bo Ani Novo
Irish - Nollaig Shona Dhuit
Nii - Nim Ono
Swedish - God Jul och Gott Nytt År

Nifty, eh? Remember, the "J" in Swedish sounds like "Y".

Just in case anyone needs it, here is the Christmas story as it is told in Luke 2: 1-20.

And don't forget, you can watch Queen Elizabeth's Christmas address on YouTube along with other royal footage here.

Have a warm, safe, and wonderful Christmas!

I'm not that into chains

Time for another Dale Carnegie moment of Zen from my weekly email:

"We forge the chains we wear in life."
--Charles Dickens

Embrace things in your life that drive you to achieve, and start letting go of those things that do not. It is difficult to distinguish the category in which any of your activities belong, but paying attention to your choices and their consequences will sponsor the awareness you'll need to make better life choices in the future.

Remember the small things that make you happy, and use them to battle things that loom much larger and stress you out.

Consider these suggestions:

• Fill your mind with thoughts of peace, courage, hope, and health
• Never try to get even with your enemies
• Expect ingratitude
• Count your blessings, not your troubles
• Try not to imitate others
• Create happiness for others

Source: Dale Carnegie Course

If no one has noticed, the Carnegie principles are very big on self responsibility and creating your own opportunities for change. I believe that this approach to life and business is the only way to be happy and successful. If you won't do the things that will make you succeed, who will?

I'm definitely still working on the being happy and successful part, and I don't exactly exemplify the Dale Carnegie principles to the extent that I feel that I should, but I wanted to share this with anyone who cares to read it. What really matters is that we keep moving forward.

It's all in your head

You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind.

--Dale Carnegie (1888 - 1955)

"Difficult Commute" may be an understatement

Apparently, this:

equals this:


















(Red is bad.)

(Thanks, Google traffic.)

When I left my house at 5:45 a.m. there was about 3" of new snow, on top of whatever was already there, and it was still coming down pretty hard. Needless to say, road conditions were terrible, so I decided to stay in the "north office" instead of going the extra 55 miles down to the "field office," since the first 15 miles alone took me 45 minutes.

At least it looks / feels / seems like winter now!

New Slang: "That's So Congress"

i.e.: Not likely to get over a 14% approval rating.

To be used instead of "that's so gay / retarded / stupid."

I'm not sure if anyone who is not 'in the know' will get it, but they'll just say it because everyone else is saying it. Because they're so congress. ;)