Aging wrinkles the skin;
quitting wrinkles the soul.

- General Douglas MacArthur

I hate how true this is. You can find more funny comics like this at www.thedoghousediaries.com

If you, like me, find yourself wondering, “What happened to all those great curling matches?” you may want to check out the top ten signs that you have Olympic Withdrawal.

My favorite:

You’re curling on your patio with a Swiffer and a fruit cake

That would work? I’ll have to try it… anyone want to join my curling team?

I tripped into this 40 minute long documentary the other day called Lemonade. The economy these past few years has been tough across the board, but certain sectors have felt extra pain. Advertising agencies have definitely felt the hit. In Lemonade, Erik Proulx creates a great film about what happens when people don’t ask, “Where’s my next job?” but instead ask “What is my calling?”

You can learn more about it at http://www.lemonademovie.com . You can also watch it for free at Hulu. This movie was good for my heart… it’s encouraging to see that the universal desire for “more, better,” which is so often the cause of problems, can translate into people doing good things (even people who are not of my particular worldview). When life throws you a curve ball, you don’t have to throw your hands up and despair. You can reinvent. It’s a neat little documentary. My apologies to my friends in Canada, for whom Hulu does not work.

How often do you get to quote a guy best known for having huge ears?

Action is greater than writing. A good man is a nobler object of contemplation than a great author. There are but two things worth living for: to do what is worthy of being written; and to write what is worthy of being read.

- Ross Perot

The problem with the Olympics being in Vancouver is that on occasion the hockey games start ridiculously late. So, you’re reading this Saturday morning. But, I’m writing it Friday evening, at around 7:30 et. Two hours before Canada plays Slovakia to see who goes to the Gold Medal game. When you’re reading this, I may be incredibly excited. We might have a date with Team USA Sunday afternoon. Or, we may have a date with Finland today for the bronze medal match. I wouldn’t be so excited about that. I mean, it’d be better than 2006 when we didn’t medal… and in fact ended up 7th. But, it’d be a real bummer to not at least have a place in the gold medal game.

Of course, if Team USA comes out playing like they did against Finland, it might not matter. They were good. They looked like we did against Russia. They scored a lot.

But, however this ends up, whether Canada wins a gold medal or ends up ranked 4th, I know where my allegiance is. Go Canada!

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”

- General Colin Powell

If that’s not true, I don’t know what is.

Go Canada Go!

We are experiencing an unusual winter for southern West Virginia. By the end of last week, we’d experienced more snow than the National Weather Service has recorded for a whole winter in this area. And it’s still falling.

Of course, I take great pride in being Canadian and being the conqueror of snow, but man… this is starting to get to me. Ice building up on the roof and in the eaves. Driveway turning into a bobsled run (with a 4 inch ice pack… and speeds of up to 30 km/h).

Here, then, are three ways to keep your sanity while fighting snow

1. Make it personal. The snow trying to cover your walkway? It’s trying to show you who’s boss! Don’t let it. Put on your best movieguy voice and say, “This time… it’s personal.” Or, go for the Kevin McAllister (Home Alone, for those of you who can’t remember it), “This is it. Don’t get scared now.”

2. Use so much ice melt that it actually becomes a challenge to see if the snow can build up on top of it. (If you’re doing this, I’d recommend something that won’t kill your lawn or the ozone layer.) This is 8th grade science at it’s best. Snow versus salt. Who will win? Don’t bother videotaping this, it’ll probably be boring.

3. Play in the snow. Secret true fact that they only teach Canadians: Snow hates being played in. If you play in it, it loses its power. So, get out there. Throw a snowball. (Don’t hit your wife in the face accidentally. It’s a bad idea.) Build a snowman. Recreate the scary snowmen from Calvin and Hobbes. Take pictures. Put them on the Internet. Have fun with it!

There’s a funny little article on eHow.com called How to Write a Best-selling Book. When I first saw the title, I rolled my eyes. I mean, c’mon, if it was just a matter of a few easy steps, wouldn’t someone have written this article before now.

Upon reading the article, I found that it was tongue-in-cheek, and — as a bonus — actually pretty funny.

It’s fairly non-linear (you can’t precisely do the list in order and expect a logical conclusion), but I found it very helpful to furthering my writing career. Especially the sixth (and final) point:

Include lots and lots of vampires. Everyone loves vampires.

I can’t believe I never thought of that!