The Smell of Spring

May 15, 2014

I've decided I don't need to worry about Global Warming.

Long before that happens, we'll all have died from inhaling the lawn fertilizer and the crop pesticides that get sprayed every spring and summer.

Free Book

May 15, 2014

Sovereign Ground, the book I plugged a few weeks ago, is free on Amazon Kindle today and tomorrow. Log on to Amazon, type in "Sovereign Ground", and download it to the Kindle.

Should They Try a New Strategy?

May 2, 2014

I just read that Kellogg’s is having trouble with its cereal sales. Even though they’re launching a major ad campaign on the nutritional benefits of cereal, sales for its breakfast division fell 5.5%, as gains for Pop-Tarts were dragged down by continuing declines in cereal. (Italics mine.)

If the Pop-Tarts are gaining sales, maybe focusing on nutrition isn’t the way to go.

The Hidden Hazard of Coaching

April 29, 2014

I never really thought about one of the challenges faced by athletic coaches until I started my martial arts class—but it’s a doozy: 

Biorhythms. They can really take a toll on your ability.

There are 8 classes each month, and for three of them I don’t really feel like going. Most of the time I go anyway, and sometimes it turns out to be a good thing, and sometimes it doesn’t. The last two times I've been pathetic.

“Go home and practice!” says the teacher at the end of class; and I want to snarl, "I have been practicing!" because I've practiced this form at least 150 times. But you'd never know it. 

So, multiply this phenomenon by the number of people on a team, and it’s amazing that the team can get anything done. If only one person on a softball team is having an off day at each practice, it can still impact the team pretty strongly.

So, my hat is off to all you coaches (and to the athletes who make it work). Good luck!

A Shameless Plug for "Sovereign Ground"

April 29, 2014

Hey, Everybody,

A friend of mine has written a book, and I’m plugging it here because I really enjoyed it. The book is Sovereign Ground by Hilarey Johnson.

I’m kind of a book snob, and not shy about skipping to the end or ditching a book altogether if I don’t think it's worth bothering with. Not only did I not skip to the end of this one, but I dreamed about it one night, and almost made myself late to work one morning by reading it.

It’s about a girl in a tough living situation who applies for a bussing job at a seedy club, and discovers that she can make better money dancing. It’s voluntary, and she’s actually making friends as well as money, so who’s it hurting, she says?

Unfortunately, things get sticky fairly soon. And one of the friends she makes keeps trying to point her toward Christianity, but she doesn't think that the mode of life he's recommending will pay the bills. (I like this girl's sense of humor, by the way.)

Sovereign Ground is available on Amazon. It's going to be available for free May 15 and 16 on Amazon Goodreads, so take a gander.

And buy lots of copies.

Happy May Day

May 1, 2014

Happy May Day!

We used to give out May Baskets when I was a kid, but I don't think anybody does that any more (except me, to the kids next door).

Too bad. It was fun.