Sometimes, it's the random things...

I am bored at work... not for lack of work to do, but for lack of a desire to do it. So I decided to see how far back and how far forward my Outlook Calendar goes. The answer raised some questions in my mind...

The earliest date available is 4/1/1601... and the latest date available is 8/31/4500. (it actually didn't take long to find this out... so don't think I have spend all day on this)

Now my questions are these: Who chose these arbitrary dates and why? I mean seriously... why would you not start time on January 1 and end it on December 31? And the years themselves are pretty random.

Someone make sense of this for me... I honestly may not be able to sleep with this issue looming over me. That is what I get for not working while at work...

It's The Little Things

I walked into Starbucks this past Sunday, and the red cups were out... a sure sign that the Christmas Season has begun. I make a big deal out of that every year, and as my good friend Laurie Johnson said last year... "it's the little things in life." It really is. I mean red cups? What is special about that? Well, the Starbucks slogan for this year sums it up... "It only happens ONCE a year." Yes, I know that I am a slave to the corporate machine... but cut me some slack on that. This post isn't meant to highlight Starbucks... but rather to state that I enjoy this time of year very much.

This morning, I was in Starbucks... with my red cup of coffee... reading Proverbs. (no, I was not posing Greg). It is finally cold outside... so the coffee served the purpose of warming me up (in addition to meeting my addiction fix). Fewer things are more enjoyable to me than a good cup of coffee and reading God's Word.

And to continue with the little things in my day... I have begun playing Christmas music in my office. Today is Harry Connick Jr.

Of course, all these little things only serve as lagniappe as compared to the real reason for the joy of Christmas - that being the birth of Jesus Christ. I was talking with a friend of mine earlier this week, and we decided that God is amazingly subtle. Specifically, we were talking about the compilation and preservation of the Bible over the years... and how strikingly subtle He was in those two issues. And I rasied the point that He speaks in the "still small voice" (see 1 Kings 19:11)... and then when we look at how He chose to have our Savior enter this world... it is remarkably subtle and low key. See... it really is the little things in life that truly make the difference. A Baby born in a dirty stable... Who is at the same time the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Who knew?

So now you need to respond with your favorite "little things" about this time of year. (and they don't have to be spiritual...)

Safety First - Logic Last?

This morning, I attended a required safety meeting here at work. We do these every quarter, and it basically is a push for the company to operate safely and avoid instances that will lead to "Lost Time Incidents." We were all challenged to talk to one another about unsafe practices that we see in the building. Now I am all for working safely... especially in areas that have large machinery and chemicals and the like.

But the big example that was given today took place in our office building. Apparently, someone thought is might be "safe" to stand on the top rung of a ladder to work on some wiring. Well... the person fell and it created a Lost Time Incident. They presenters made such a big deal out of this... and said that it might have been avoided if someone had warned the individual of his poor choice to stand on the top rung of the ladder.

So my question is this... who doesn't know that such an action is unsafe? I mean really... who in this world (beyond the age of 7) is unaware of the precarious situation created by standing on the top rung of a ladder?