Luxury Carmakers Plan New Features for Obese Drivers

Wow, maybe we’re too happy, at least with the way we feed ourselves. Porsche, Mercedes and BMW are all planning redesigns of their luxury cars, to accommodate ‘larger’ drivers.

Quite a few automakers have already made their seats larger in recent years, to allow everyone to fit in. Now, Mercedes is planning heavy-duty door handles that hold up when ‘larger customers’ push themselves out of their cars. Porsche is installing steering wheels that elevate when the car stops, so the heftier driver can get in and out more easily. BMW has a redesign effort underway called ‘plump my ride’, based on a study of how obesity affects mobility while driving.

It’s really remarkable that we have to do this. Have we lost our minds, or just our peace of mind?

If you are not a subsciber, go ahead and sign up, so you’ll always get the latest bridge back to sanity.

Brenda

Be careful with that rock

The scene of the crime: a Denny’s restaurant in California.
The perpetrator: a grandmother in her 70′s.
The crime: Possession . . . of a piece of moon rock the size of a grain of rice.

She says: My husband received it as a gift from Neil Armstrong. Neil says he never gave anybody a moon rock, ever. Rather than pay the asking price of $1.7 million dollars, NASA simply took it back, but never filed any charges.

Over the years, NASA has sent hundreds of moon rocks to celebs, states and nations, but they remain US government property. Those in possession often break them into smaller pieces, so they do surface on the black market, like the grandmother’s little treasure. Close to 100 foreign nations say they have ‘misplaced’ their particular piece of the rock. A moon rock even turned up a few weeks back in Bill Clinton’s gubernatorial files.

I’ve seen a moon rock, embedded in stained glass at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. It’s a little black spot in the center of a white disc in a central panel of a massive stained glass window that’s about forty feet off the ground. Honestly, I was impressed, even at that distance. . . . but not $1.7 million dollars worth.

I’d pay $1.7 million for a little peace of mind, but not a piece of the moon.

How about you? Post a comment, so we’ll know what you’re thinking..

Brenda.

Reality Distortion Field.. Jobs and Apple.. and Truth

Steve Jobs…. The secret of his success came down to a single-minded determination to have things his way. Early employees of Apple Computer called it the Reality Distortion Field. The vision, the mission, the purpose of Apple in its inception was conformity to a crazy dream .. unrealistic deadlines, impossible tasks and a way to remake the world. As he approached his death, Jobs granted unlimited access to a CBS interviewer, a reporter who told everything exactly as it was. 60 minutes told the story.

Steve Jobs came from a tough background, abandoned, adopted and ultimately fathering a daughter he would not acknowledge, ignoring life’s realty checks. Ultimately, he gave everything he had to his vision, leaving Apple to start Next Computers, and then returning to what mattered most.

Sometimes, happiness means being content, knowing you have done the right thing, and ignoring everyone else’s vision of reality to create your own truth. Are you up to the task?

Perhaps it’s a dream to conquer Everest, to stand atop the highest point in the world. Maybe it is something simple, a peaceful life, building a great family. Whatever it may be, pursue it. Change reality. Be a factor. Be unrelenting. Go for it, and tell me what life’s summit means to you.

I am standing on my own personal summit, waiting for your comments.

Send this to a friend and share the dream

Your Sherpa,

Brenda

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

It’s hard to believe that one person would own eighteen Bengal tigers, seventeen lions, eight bears, a monkey and a baboon. That’s remarkable. More amazing is the fact that Terry Thompson turned them all loose, wreaking havoc on the Ohio countryside. The animals were ‘showing aggressive behavior’, according to a sheriff, and had to be taken down before nightfall.

Even if you have everything you want, (a zoo, for instance), it won’t necessarily make you happy. Get featured on the Rachael Ray show, and it apparently won’t make you happy, either. After unleashing panic, Thompson took his own life.

Be careful what you surround yourself with… possessions, pets or people. What looks like the key to happiness might be a one-way ticket out of town. Stop. Reflect.  Look at the environment you have chosen, and don’t be afraid to admit you have made bad choices. Then, take steps toward simplicity and sanity.  That, my friends, is a good way to avoid tragedy.

What would possess Terry Thompson to create and then destroy a zoo? What do you think? Post a comment, please. I’m curious.

Your Sherpa guide,
Brenda.

Occupy Wall Street But Vacate Your Morals

I read another news story today about thievery. This one was not as high profile as the president’s podium but still an unwarranted crime. The New York Post published an unusual story this morning on the “occupy wall street protests.” Apparently, thieves are stealing money and possessions from the protesters overnight. (Let’s disregard the fact that these are protesters and they might not agree politically with you. They are still humans and worthy of sympathy.)

These are the repercussions of camping out in NYC, I guess, but why steal? Is there a selfish gain that is worth someone else’s misery?  Where do these people come from that would just take others’ money?

Thanks for reading, please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Your guide,
-Brenda

Presidential Podium Stolen?!

So, someone stole President Obama’s podium last night along with his presidential seal and teleprompter. They drove off with a van with everything inside.  Hmmm . . . does anyone, in their everyday life, need a  teleprompter? Maybe they love Obama so much that they want something that belongs to him . . .  or are they simply a thief?

What makes someone take what doesn’t belong to them, especially with the risk of taking the presidential PODIUM. Who needs a podium, anyway?

What does the perpetrator really need? What do they want? There are so many people that just aren’t where they need to be. They need something more.  They need something they don’t have. So they think, by stealing, they might get closer to peace, to who they want to be.

The Sherpas of Nepal respect possessions. Especially on Everest, where a bottle of oxygen or a tent can mean life or death.

Can a thief ever be happy?

Story here.

Your guide,
-Brenda

Change isn’t always what you drop in a tip jar

You are the only one who can examine your time and use it the way you want. If you are not happy with the way you are spending your time, then ask a few questions, and think them through carefully: Do you want to change? How well do you deal with change? Can you embrace what change means? Does it stop you in your tracks?

One gentle woman, interviewed on her 100^th birthday, was asked to share a secret to her happiness.

She said, “When it rains, I let it.”

This woman knew what she could change, and what she couldn’t. When you put yourself in perspective, as she has, you’ll often accept that the only way to use your time differently is to see things the way they are, take action and create change. The art of change is your obstacle, not the way you spend your time. Change can be embraced, seen as an opportunity for a different life.

Please share this with your friends and subscribe to my blog at the top right of the page.

Your Guide,
-Brenda