To Shave or Not to Shave

Ellen still has the trump card on my facial hair.  When I asked her the other day if I should shave, she said, "Dad, November is no shave month - so at least you must keep it during November.  So that is the excuse I use now for the  few remaining people in my network who have not seen my new look.

I was wondering if Movember is the same as No Shave November and discovered they are different.  Both promote health - Movember is broadly Men's Health and No Shave November - American Cancer Society.

It's a great branding and awareness concept - but what's the stubble's edge (show me the money)?

 

Movember requests donations to their foundation.  No Shave November asks that the savings of shaving materials during November be donated to the American Cancer Society.

 

Can this branding even come close to the October pink ribbons of Women's Breast Cancer that started in 1991 with the Susan G. Komen Foundation?  These two men's health awareness similar campaigns started in 2003 and 2004 respectively - so they are 12 years behind.

 

So as men decide whether to participate - November will be a question of:

 

 "To shave or Not to Shave". 

 

 

Life to be Lived

"The soul is where hope lives; not a naïve hope that I will, by some miracle, have my former self restored, but hope that tomorrow, and the day after, can still be days from which a measure of joy, and meaning can be derived.  And from hope springs optimism that, even with great limitations, there is life to be lived."  Thomas Graboys "Finding Hope in the Midst of Despair: My Decade with Parkinson's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia"

I just finished the book "Brain Storms" by Jon Palfreman last night and reflected on those people in my life who have or were given the challenge of a long term (and slow term) disease.  The emotional toil of this for the individual and their loved ones can be difficult and trying.  Understanding the causes and implications of suffering and then dealing with a future view of continued suffering is part of the human condition.  But the final sentence of the quote above hit me squarely in the heart - "There is life to be lived."

So we cope, we depend on others, we search for meaning in spite of the suffering.  For many it reveals a path to hope and joy within their soul.  And for many this is a glimpse into who God is.  Suffering has a place for each of us - a way to see limitations and possibilities.  But most of all it shows us that we need more than ourselves.

"Suffering compels us to seek the God that success makes us think we don't need."   Patrick Morley "How GOD makes men"

Driving Tricks or Tips

Ellen and I are the proud Graduates of the Honda Teen Defensive Driving program which we attended at the Mid-Ohio Racetrack on Saturday. 

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It was a full day of both classroom instruction and three driving practice courses of braking, spinning, and collision avoidance. The return trip was great highway practice for Ellen with torrential rain on a crowded highway at night.

Recommended (if not mandated) by A.M. several times, I can see now why this should be something every parent should consider for their new teen driver.  What a great service Honda has done (with other sponsors also) as the primary sponsor and contributor of the practice cars for the students.

So what did a driver like me (of 40+ years) with only one car accident learn?  Actually quite a few new things:

(1) Never hold the steering wheel in a reverse handhold at the top - if you don't want at least two breaks in your wrist when the airbag drives your wrist into your stomach.
(2) In a spin - look to where you want to end up and not at the obstacle you think you are going to hit.
(3) Adjust your sideview mirrors away from any view of the side of the car.  You should see the middle line and white edge of the side road.
(4) Don't use the one car length per 10 miles per hour safe distance rule.  Instead use the 3-5 second rule.  Count 3 seconds from the time the car in front of you passes a landmark to the time you pass from it.
(5) Cell Phones in car?  NEVER USE THEM (even with hands free).  This takes too long to explain - but I'm convinced of the danger. 

So you can teach on old car dog new driving tricks.  

5C + B

Tonight was an evening of helping Ellen in World History and Math.  She is studying the history of the Middle East from 1100 to 2015 - almost 1000 years of conflict.  However the bulk of the facts she is required to learn 1948 - 2015 I have lived through (and studied as current events when I was a junior).  How humbling to know history - because you lived it!

Then pulling the Pre-Calc memories out of my faded Math degree, I attempted to show my prowess at story problems using algebraic expressions (e.g. 5C + B = f(x) ). Actually Ellen had to correct me several times. 

Thankfully, last night was good preparation for both Middle East  history and  basic algebra.  It was an evening  with J.P. and K.C. which we have labeled Boston Legal #6. The title came to be based on the humor, philosophy and friendship of the closing scenes of the old Boston Legal TV series. 

We tried to solve world problems (which focused primarily on the Middle East) and even did some math:

Company, Conversation, Communing, Cinema ..... and Cigars   +   Bourbon =  F(un)

What is Truth?

It was a full compliment in the Sunday evening Bible Study group as we start a new series "The Truth Project".  The famous question of Pilate to Jesus was "What is Truth?" and that question can be quite different based on the inflection of the words.

http://www.thetruthproject.org/

How coincidental since tonight is Cincinnati Legal #6 (renamed from Boston Legal) and J.P. and I have debated this question for the last 10 years (the first Blog documentation was The Real Story 12/18/2009).

A quick search on the word Truth in my blog found a litany of posts:
5/24/15   "Grace and Truth"
5/20/15  "Truth or Consequences"
6/10/14  "Truth Loyalty and Respect"
5/29/14   Truth in Spending
7/7/13   Seeking Truth
6/2/13  Who is Right
5/1/12  Lie or Truth
4/27/12 Faith provides answer to Truth
4/25/12  Actions tied to Truth
4/12/12  Human Condition - the quest for Truth
4/5/12   There is ABSOLUTE TRUTH
2/6/12   Listen to the Truth
3/14/11  Tougher to Remember a Lie than the Truth
9/7/10  Can you handle the Truth?
5/16/10  Coincidence or Truth
2/26/10 The Raw Truth of Reality
12/18/09  "The Real Story"

So add another to the list ......  What is Truth?  My answer........

A philosophical question that will be debated until you see the face of GOD.

Football Fall Fun & Facts

Saturday was a gorgeous fall day with the first home game for Miami U (Oxford).  Susan, Ellen, her friend S.T. and I enjoyed lunch at 45 East and walking on campus prior to the game.  S.T.  indicated an interest in Florida Universities for her college selection.  As a loyal M.U. graduate, I told her the favorite trivia response when people assume Miami University is in Florida. 

 

"Miami (of Ohio) was a University before Florida was admitted as a state in the Union!

 

Miami was defeated by U.C.  33 -37 in the final minutes. This is the fifth longest college football rivalry - The Battle for the Bell played since 1888.  Given Miami's recent (and almost a record) history of consecutive losses, the alumni felt the day was not lost - after all the weather was perfect.

 

Today is Octoberfest in Cincinnati and Bengals home game (vs San Diego). What a difference in weather also as the announcers contrasted this game from the historic Freezer Bowl AFC playoff game in 1981. 

 

How fun - Fall,  Football and .... for a statistician full of Facts. 

 

 

Pitching Joy in Giving

This week was filled with Philanthropy. Four of the Social Venture Partners (Cincinnati)  cheered Lawn Life to a victory of $9,500 in the Philanthropitch competition of 10 SVP Affiliates. 

It was a fun evening punctuated with Texas BBQ that evening.  From the smiles you can see the contagious joy of giving that is generated when people join together in a community of giving together.