2023 RESOLUTIONS ROUND-UP

> Average 1 road trip per month. A. Ten so far with 3 months to go. Lois is headed to Denver next week for the annual Hill Sister Bash. We have plans for more road trips in OCT & DEC.

> Lose 5 lbs. A+. I've lost 15 lbs so far.

> Add to our national park list. A. We visited Biscayne NP in FL last FEB. The sisters plan on visiting Rocky Mt NP. I visited it during a family vacation in 1971.

> Avoid desserts. B. I slipped a little on our trip to Europe last JUNE, but overall I've done better than expected.

> Exercise and/or walk at least 4X/week. B-. We walked a lot to prepare for our trip to Europe, then did a lot of walking, some of it quite strenuous, while on that trip. Than I went on hiatus, but started walking again recently; also doing pilates from time-to-time.

> Publish my "Buzzwords" devotions book. C. Progress has been slow. I finished writing it. Lois proofed it. Now I'm proofing it one more time, & then I need to find a publisher.

> Write a "Chapter & Verse" devotion book. A+. I finished writing it ahead of schedule.

> G.P.A. B+

ACCIDENT UPDATE

Those of you who follow my posts know that I was in a serious auto accident nearly 8 months ago. I spent a little over 2 weeks on the hospital & almost 10 days in a rehab facility. Here's my progress report.

* Broke 3 ribs, probably due to the seat belt restraining me. I had those ribs plated, which speeded up the recovery process. They're still tender but not painful.

* Fractured my right hand, due to the air bag deploying. I had surgery & 3 pins inserted. Those pins were removed, & I've done a lot of hand exercises. I still do those exercises off & on. It rarely bothers me.

* Dislocated my pinky, also due to the air bag. It was "relocated." Still sore from time-to-time.

* Bit through my tongue, again, the air bag. I had 2 stitches, which eventually dissolved. Ever had lidocaine injected into your tongue? I wouldn't recommend it.

* Knocked out 1 front tooth & experienced trauma on 2 other front teeth, ditto the airbag. I had a dental implant on the tooth that got knocked out & root canals on those other teeth. I recently had crowns "installed" on 2 of those teeth. Hopefully, no more crowns in the future.

* The fire truck that hit me after I ran a stop sign almost t-boned me. [In my defense, glare from the sun contributed to my carelessness.] I could have been more seriously injured or worse. God is good.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

We recently finished the latest season of "Star Trek Discovery." Now we're binge-watching "Star Trek Strange New Worlds." It's disappointing how woke these 2 series, along with so many other series. Still, we soldier on. I'm also watching "Asian Tsunami:  The Deadliest Wave," about the 2,004 tsunami, the deadliest on record, that caused 230,000 lives. Pretty sobering.

WHAT I'M READING

I just finished reading "Into the Great Emptiness:  Peril & Survival on the Greenland Ice Cap," by David Roberts. It started slow but gained traction, so I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars. Last night I started reading "The Lincoln Highway," a novel by Amor Towles. I don't read many novels, & it's too early to tell how much I'll enjoy it.

CRIMINAL MINDS

"AZ 10-yr-old caught speeding in car as father sat in the passenger seat." Fox News Online

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE NEBRASKA

"Steer & its owner pulled over by police. Bull in vehicle has been popular in area parades. A car driving with a bull in it was pulled over by police earlier this week in Norfolk." Norfolk Daily News 9/1. True story. Even made Fox News Online. No bull!

CLIMATE CHANGE

"DeSantis slams climate alarmists saying that adopting leftist policies will stop hurricanes:  'It's a lie!'" Daily Wire

TOP 10 COLLEGE MAJORS *

* Source:  Big Red Printer's Press

1. Business

2. Engineering

3. Health professions

4. Psychology

5. Social sciences

6. Media & communications

7. Biomedical & biological sciences

8. Computer & information technology

9. Visual & performing arts

10. Education

TRENDING NEWS FROM THE BABYLON BEE

"Melania Trump indicted for wearing white after Labor Day."

"Local man having trouble getting friends to sign up for his WNBA fantasy league."

TODAY'S TRIVIA

"If you're healthy, your stomach is home to more than 400 different bacteria strains." Uncle John's Awesome 35th Anniversary Bathroom Reader

HERE'S TO YOUR HEALTH

"For constipation, drink a tablespoon of olive oil." Reader's Digest, June 2022

POLITICAL POTPOURRI

"The media still refuses to cover the fact that a huge number of President Joe Biden's closest aides are Obama's closest political allies. Obama resides in Washington, D.C.; all of the people who made policy for him now make policy for Biden. And yet nobody talks about the Obama influence in the current White House.

"All of this is part of a broader pact on the part of every major apparatus in American life to mirror Obama's perceptions of the world. In Obama's own mind, he was a world-historical figure; that's why, in 2010, when he received a predictable shellacking in a midterm election, he responded by suggesting that his opposition was actually motivated by vicious racism & brutal bigotry. The media mirrored that perspective; so did entertainment; so did tech companies. The immaculate, solid wall of support for Obama's intersectional coalition is intimately connected to direct allegiance from the movers & shakers toward Obama's persona . . . 

"But that victory--that triumph--came at the expense of the American people, who were promised a racial conciliator & a man of honor by a media invested in that lie. When the truth materialized & our institutions continued to perpetuate a lie, our institutions collapsed. We live in the era of Barack Obama still." Column by Ben Shapiro, Norfolk Daily News, 8/14

BAN ELECTRIC VEHICLES?

"The New York Fire Department recently reported that so far this year there have been 108 lithium-ion battery fires in NYC, which have injured 66 people & killed 13 . . . Last year there were more than 200 fires from batteries from e-bikes, EVs & other devices. A fire ignited at an e-bike shop & killed 4 people near midnight on the morning of 6/20. Two individuals were left in critical condition . . . FDNY also reports that in just 3 years, lithium-ion fires have surpassed those started by cooking & smoking as the most common causes of fatal fires in NYC. It's happening all over the country as these blazes have become more commonplace. Cars & e-bikes are randomly blowing up in driveways & garages . . . 

"And yet the same scaremongers on the left who have zero tolerance & want bans for small risks when it comes to everything from swimming pool diving boards, gas stoves, plastic straws, vaping, fireworks, & so on, have a surprising high pain threshold when it comes to people dying or suffering critical injuries from 'green' electric battery fires . . . But with EVs, the greens are pushing aside any concerns about collateral damage of deaths & injuries. Biden wants to mandate that nearly all new cars sold in the U.S. be EVs by 2032. If that happens, many thousands of Americans may die or be injured from electric vehicle fires." Column by Stephen More, NDN, 8/16

"Electric vehicles catch fire after Hurricane Idalia flooding." DW

DEPT. OF SHAMELESS JOKE-STEALING

"A woman in MN has set a Guinness World Record for world's longest fingernails--also, world's worst texter." Late Night with Seth Meyer 

CLEARING YOUR NAME *

* Source:  Reader's Digest, July/Aug 2022

Governments across the world have made certain names illegal, sometimes after parents have tried to bestow them. You cannot name your child:

> Friday in Italy

> Robocop in Mexico

> Thor in Portugal

> Nutella in France

> 007 in Malaysia