Is it
T H A T
s i m p l e:
CHANGE YOUR WORDS
CHANGE YOUR WORLD
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm of the Day :
F I N D O U T
(say it differently)
USE FRESH WORDS
not to be heard
but experienced. . .
Who Cares - What Matters
Is it
T H A T
s i m p l e:
CHANGE YOUR WORDS
CHANGE YOUR WORLD
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm of the Day :
F I N D O U T
(say it differently)
USE FRESH WORDS
not to be heard
but experienced. . .
The FORECASTS
are now becoming
NOW CASTS
and it’s freezing
l i t e r a l l y
with the high being a balmy -1 below zero
NOT COUNTING THE WIND CHILL. . .
and it on the cellular level has huge consequences
that we hopefully will never have to experience
but maybe need to understand any way
Here we are bracing for their coldest temperatures in decades today and the rest of this week with conditions predicted to feel like 50 degrees below zero or colder in areas of the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa, . Temperatures in Chicago are also predicted to dip below negative 25 for the first time since the mid-1980s, AccuWeather says.
Health officials have warned residents to stay indoors as much as possible, since the brutal cold in just minutes. But what actually happens to your body in the frigid air? TIME asked Dr. Ronald Furnival, a pediatric emergency physician and a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
Almost as soon as you step outside, your body starts to siphon blood flow away from your extremities to focus on keeping your brain and internal organs warm. That’s why your fingers, toes and ears tend to get cold before your core, Furnival says.
“The blood vessels would start to contract and reduce blood flow” to areas including the face, ears, nose and fingers as a “defense mechanism” against extreme cold, Furnival says.
For most people, at least in the short-term, this adjustment is pretty harmless. But Furnival says people with preexisting heart conditions may be at risk of complications associated with these blood pressure changes, especially if they try to do strenuous outdoor activity like shoveling snow.
In extreme cold, frostbite — or the freezing of skin and underlying tissues — can start to set in after just five to 15 minutes outside, Furnival says. The process can be especially quick if your skin is wet, or if you’re not properly covered up with hats, gloves and boots, in addition to warm clothing.
“Exposed extremities and digits and things can get frostbite fairly quickly,” Furnival says. “If there’s a strong wind and the weather’s pretty cold and the windchill is pretty low, then it goes a lot faster.” Risk of frostbite intensifies whenever the temperature drops below five degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Mayo Clinic, and becomes especially pronounced when cold and wind cause temperatures to fall below negative 16.6 degrees.
While mild to moderate frostbite can be reversed with warm water and blankets, severe frostbite can lead to permanent or long-lasting damage in the affected area. Signs of frostbite include a prickling feeling, followed by numbness and changes in the skin’s color and appearance. It may turn pale, red or blue, or take on a waxy look, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Furnival says signs of hypothermia, or a core body temperature that falls below 95 degrees, can surface after just 30 minutes to an hour in frigid temperatures.
“You start to have some decrease in your central temperature, so you can have some mild hypothermia to moderate hypothermia develop,” Furnival says. “People might start to feel confused and start to slur their words and start to have some neurologic changes. Some of the central core organs might be affected, so they might have problems with rapid heart rate and even worsening of the extremities, if blood flow is further reduced to those extremities.”
Furnival says individuals with preexisting medical conditions and children, who have less insulation, are at particular risk. But everybody, even otherwise healthy adults, should be aware of these dangers and take appropriate precautions, Furnival says.
“Cover up as well as you can with hats and gloves and mittens and boots and warm clothing, and then limit your exposure outside,” he recommends. “It’s okay to go outside, but you have to prepare for it, and you have to be coming in periodically to warm back up.”
Brutal Cold. . .
But is it the worst kind of
C O L D
experienced. . . ?
. . .Maybe the worst
the most
B R U T A L K I N D O F C O L D
comes from us
A L L
W H O H O L D
T H E L I G H T
W H O C O N T A I N S
T H E W A R M T H
and actually refuses to share it
or only shares it
with a
s e l e c t e d f e w
Can it be
T H A T
s i m p l e
o r
T H A T
d i f f i c u l t. . .
Maybe with the
C O L D
it’s not so much time to
B U N D L E U P
but a true opportunity to
O P E N U P
TO ALL
FOR ALL
BECAUSE OF ALL
Write to Jamie Ducharme at jamie.ducharme@time.com.
Top selling movie over the past couple of weeks. . .
A third remake of
A S T A R I S B O R N
The worst thing about
A S T A R I S B O R N
isn’t a movie critic’s bad review
or petty criticisms. . .
The worst thing about
A S T A R I S B O R N
is N O T
r e c o g n i z i n g
the STAR BORN IN YOU
never quite noticing
or passing over
d i s r e g a r d i n g
your talents
your dreams
your aspirations
your essence
Because of Someone Else’s
o p i n i o n
or lack of one
about youYou are not a firecracker
that’s mere lit and momentarily sparkles
or a nub of a candle almost burnt out
d i a m o n d
s h i n i n g a l w a y s
refusing to be seen
or s h o w n
. . .d i s p l a y e d
Pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst:
O P E N Y O U R E Y E S
BE BLINDED
BY YOUR OWN
L I G H T
and then
S H I N E
e v e n b r i g h t e r
A N O T H E R B I R T H D A Y. . .
s u r v i v e d
I almost always get a standing ovation during one of my presentations when I let the audience know:
“IF I WERE YOUR CEO, I WOULD MAKE IT MANDATORY, NON-NEGOTIABLE FOR EVERY EMPLOYEE TO NOT ONLY HAVE THEIR BIRTHDAY OFF, BUT THE DAY BEFORE AND AFTER; IN FACT, IF YOU WERE CAUGHT WORKING ON YOUR BIRTHDAY OR THE DAY’S BEFORE AND FOLLOWING, YOU WOULD BE FIRED ON THE SPOT; AND BEFORE YOU EVER BECAME AN EMPLOYEE OF MINE, YOU HAVE TO SIGN A DOCUMENT STATING YOU UNDERSTOOD THESE TERMS AND WOULD BE TERMINATED FOR VIOLATING THEM!”
W H Y ?
Because it’s more than a billion dollar loss each year that unscheduled PTO days are costing companies, agencies, and employers. What a better way to compensate each employee, NOT WITH A RAISE, BONUS, or even additional sick or additional time off, but by actually SHOWING THEM just how important you are to their respective organizations/agencies and to management in particular. What a lightning strike of PROACTIVITY in sensing, understanding and ACTING on how everyone should celebrate THEMSELVES. . .
A HAPPY, A VALIDATED, A AFFIMRED EMPLOYEE is a productive employee, right?
Well, it gets raved reviews and loud cheers and even a few job offers for me to become, at least, an interim CEO. . .
In that vein,
I did exactly that this past week as I celebrated
M E
I took a vacation from myself and
visited myself on in one fell swoop;
and it’s been great;
not only do I even more highly recommend it,
there’ll never be another time that I won’t REPEAT IT. . .
And. . .
What a FANTASTICAL DAY. Thanks for all of the warm Birthday wishes, thoughts and expressions. I am severely humbled and severely gratified by this magically enchanted life I live because of all of the wonderful people who surround me. Each and everyone of you prove unequivocally how greatly healed I am by RELATIONSHIPS and CONNECTION; these are most powerful mediums and medicines in their own rights. You inspire me to want to be better and to help me spend my days helping serve others, SERVE OTHERS. . .
You see, this makes it all
not just another BIRTHDAY. . .
everything we do
especially special days
are always more than j u s t
ANOTHER’S. . .
H o w. . .
How can we assure that anything goes beyond
J U S T A N O T H E R :
By intentionally making I T so;
As I travel towards 64 years on this little blue ball
each day I’ll attempt to be a
P E R S O N O F N O A G E
to protect myself from
JUST ANOTHER
I’ll notice what I recognize:
(and now invite you to do the same)
TEN THOUSAND FLOWERS IN SPRING, THE MOON IN THE AUTUMN,
A COOL BREEZE IN SUMMER, SNOW IN WINTER,
IF YOUR MIND ISN’T CLOUDED BY UNNECESSARY THINGS,
THIS IS BEST SEASON OF YOUR LIFE
By Wu Men (Hui-k’ai)
Kind of makes wearing the Birthday Sombrero Hat
s p e c i a l
C O M M E R C I A L S
. . .DO YOU LIKE THEM?
Q U I C K:
What’s your Favorite Commerical?
What’s the Commercial you dislike the most?
It’s hard watching your favorite TV Show
It’s hard watching a Sporting Event
It’s hard flipping through television at any time and not getting caught by one;
But hold on there
Caring Catalysts
the Stats are out:
Though marketers probably don’t want to think about it, Americans really don’t like advertising very much. A 2012 survey by Mancx found that advertising is a big complaint about the internet (54 percent of those surveyed think there are too many ads), and a Gallup survey found that 37 percent of people have a negative view of the advertising industry overall. A Harris poll conducted last summer found that millennials—that darling group that every advertiser is courting—are especially ad-averse: seventy-four percent object to being singled out by brands in their social media feeds, and a whopping 56 percent have quit a social media site just to get away from the ads.
So it’s worth pointing out a finding by a just-released study from the Burson-Marsteller Fan Experience (BMFE): fifty-three percent of Americans say they’d be disappointed if the Super Bowl went commercial free—and that number is actually up 5 percent from last year.
Setting aside that a commercial-free Super Bowl is probably never going to happen, think about what that means: Could the Big Game possibly be the only time of year that people actually want to stare at advertising?
“Yes, without a doubt,” said BMFE chair Jason Teitler—and there’s a reason, he adds. “People want to see what the brands are doing because it constitutes entertainment.”
Another way of putting this: Most ads that Americans encounter these days—from pop-ups to pre-rolls to sponsored tweets—are usually not fun. But Super Bowl ads usually are, so watching them doesn’t feel like the poke in the shoulder that ads so often are.
BMFE’s findings (drawn from a sample group of 1,000 Super Bowl fans) mirror some of those revealed last summer by HubSpot Research. HubSpot polled 1,055 consumers and learned that 85 percent of them believed “not all ads are bad,” yet many people found advertising to be intrusive, unprofessional, or even insulting to their intelligence.
Another key finding of BMFE’s survey: Not only do Americans generally enjoy watching Super Bowl spots, they wish brands would quit releasing them days or even weeks before the game.
“We found a lot of people who’d prefer to see the ads for the first time during the game,” Teitler said. “They want the surprise factor.” If a brand is going to drop $5 million for a “big punch,” he said, “why not do it in the biggest way possible?”
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. . .
Still not a big fan, you?
But in many ways,
though we might not like them a whole
Our day to day
L I F E
is in full-out-right-in-search
of a Commercial Break. . .
Hence,
we go to dinner
we go to the movies
we go to concerts
we got to play
we go on vacations
we go to museums
we go to galleries
we go shopping
WE GO. . .
Maybe the
U L T I M A T E C O M M E R C I A L
is the one advertising
what it BEGS us to buy
Maybe the Utmost Commercial of all
is the one that touts
is the one that urges
is the one that illustrates
is the one that inspires
is the one that motivates
us to
G I V E
(for free with no motive to receive or benefit)
S T O P
D o n ‘ t t o u c h
T H A T
c h a n n e l
It’s really not about perspective. . .
It’s all merely about
Y O U R
P E R S P E C T I V E
. . .and then again it’s not about your
p e r s p e c t i v e
it’s all about your
s h a r e d
p e r s p e c t i v e
and then again,
it’s not about your shared
p e r s p e c t i v e,
it’s about your received
p e r s p e c t i v e,
and then again
it’s not about your received
p e r c e p t i o n,
it’s about your perceived
p e r s p e c t i v e,
and then again
it’s not about your perceived
p e r c e p t i o n
it’s just about. . .
well. . .
p e r c e p t i o n —
(y o u r s)
and. . .
just what is
i t ?
L E S S ?
Have you ever felt
as if you just could get comfortable
for just more than a few seconds,
that your life would take on a different
S H A P E ?
Easy for what you wish for. . .
There’s probably nothing that a Study hasn’t been done. . .
EVEN AMOEBA’S. . .
A few years back there was a study done by Researchers at the University of California, Berkley.
The Researchers did an experiment that involved
a l o n e l y Amoeba
and placing it into a perfectly stress-free environment. . .
It was absolutely
P E R F E C T !
Ideal temperature
Optimal concentration of moisture
Constant Food Supply
P E R F E C T !
The Amoeba had an environment where literally,
there were absolutely no adjustments to be made or compensated for whatsoever.
It’s kind of easy to assume, isn’t it,
that this was one happy little A m o e b a . . .
Whatever it is that gives Amoebas ulcers and high blood pressure was gone–
A B S E N T
And. . .and here comes the funny,
no, the scary part:
I T D I E D !
The study,
which was run over and over again, hypothesized. . .
PROVED apparently there is something about all living creatures,
AMOEBAS included, that demands
C H A L L E N G E !
We. . .ohhhhhh nooooooooooo,
seemingly require CHANGE.
We require V A R I E T Y. . .
Adaptation and Challenge are just as necessary as food and air.
GET THIS:
Comfort all by itself
A Stress-free atmosphere
Total Ideal Conditions over a long,
sustained period of time
are D E A D L Y !
Is it true?
Or is it just
Amoeba-related?
Maybe the whole deal of
B E I N G
thriving,
living creatures
is that we need
Change
Alteration
Variety
Action
Stimulation
Modification
Real, live, day-to-day consequences. . .
L I F E. . .
We are living,
walking,
breathing
C h e m i s t r y sets that prove we need
C H A N G E
to remain the same to continue to grow under the not-so-noticable Microscope called the World’s eye.
Maybe. . .maybe it really is true:
We are quite the
P R O J E C T
(ALWAYS ONGOING. . .and THRIVING because of it)
BEWARE OF THE LONELY AMOEBA–
it’s deadly!
Hmmmmmmmm of the Day:
THE ONLY THING CONSTANT IS CHANGE
is actually a HEALTHY THING!
Do you l ike
C H A N G E ?
Pssssssst. . .
Check yourself–l i t e r a l l y–
even at this very nano-second
you’re changing cell by cell !
Can’t feel a thing, huh. . . ?
or, c a n y o u ?
Is it really that unusual?
What is really unusual is that I buy books ONLY at a book store.
I buy them usually everywhere but a conventional Book Store–
DO THEY EXIST ANYMORE?
I recently bought BAGS of books at a Library Book sale and I was cataloging them
(just like I have about 6500 before them)
and I was looking through them one by one as I took them from the papered sack the above note fell out of one from a novel from Eli Wiesel,
THE OATH
THE NOTE on onion skin paper:
10/2001
PRAY FOR THE PFISTER FAMILY
ESPECIALLY ALICE WHO LOST
HER HUSBAND IN THE EXPLOSION AND FIRE
THIS PAST WEEK THAT CONSUMED THEIR HOUSE
LAST WEEK
ALICE HAS BEEN A PART OF THE BIBLE STUDY
I’VE BEEN A PART OF FOR THE PAST 30 YEARS. . . .
Coincidence?
Words have Power.
Written;
Spoken;
Prayed;
LIVED!
I don’t know Alice
I don’t know Benny
I don’t know about the explosion or the fire
I don’t know about the Bible study of 30 years
I don’t know the writer
But I know. . .
WE KNOW. . .
The power of such a request.
I didn’t unpack the rest of the books that day.
I unpacked some contents of my heart. . .
Before you do another thing, do what I did after I first read the scribbled note
P A U S E
R E F L E C T
H O N O R the note;
do what it asks
in your own way:
P R A Y
and Wonder. . .mull over just what would happen if someone actually unpacked the book of your life, from some sale, no less?
What would Slip from out of your pages?
What Message would be scribbled for someone to discover, to undertake?
Would it be a personal request–just for you. . .
or a Plea, a most sincere petition–a prayer for Another?
The Pages of your Book will undoubtedly
be turned
dog eared
overly thumbed through
perused. . . .
What Message will they hold. . .share?
Careful…even now, your blank pages are being written upon.