College Football 2014, Week Fourteen!

The Michigan State Spartans finished their regular season on the road against the Penn State Nittany Lions.   The Spartans handled them easily and finished the regular season with ten (10) wins.  And, with several losses and close games among the top-ten teams this week, the Spartans should finish in the top-ten for sure.  The Big Ten continues to have four (4) teams ranked in the AP top-25 poll: Ohio State (#7), Michigan State (#10), Wisconsin (#14) and Minnesota (#22).  Next up for the Spartans, one of the major bowls on New Year’s Day?  Go Green!

The upsets this week included:
Mississippi State (#4) losing to Ole Miss (#18).
Georgia (#8) losing to Georgia Tech (#16) by six (6) points in overtime.
UCLA (#9) losing to unranked Stanford.
Marshall (#19) losing to unranked Western Kentucky by one (1) point in overtime.

The close calls this week (games that were won by a touchdown or less) included:
Florida State (#1) defeating unranked Florida by only five (5) points.
Baylor (#5) defeating unranked Texas Tech by only two (2) points.
Arizona (#12) defeating Arizona State (#13) by only seven (7) points.
Missouri (#17) defeating unranked Arkansas by only seven (7) points.
Louisville (#24) defeating unranked Kentucky by only four (4) points.

Top-25 match-ups won by the higher-ranked team included:
Arizona State (#13) losing to Arizona (#12).
Auburn (#15) losing to Alabama (#2).
Minnesota (#22) losing to Wisconsin (#14).

Trivia in the Kitchen, Number Seventeen!

Okay, everyone knows (I think) that people feel sleepy after eating their Thanksgiving turkey because of the tryptophan in poultry.  Did you know that when combined with carbohydrates tryptophan-rich foods like dairy, soy, nuts, and legumes produce even more sleep-inducing amino acids?  So, following your Thanksgiving turkey, have some cereal with milk – the perfect bedtime snack.

What snacks do you eat just before bed?  Are there foods that keep you up (let’s not count caffeine)?  Are there any food that relax you?

Praying a la MBTI!

Here is a bit of humor that was shared during a recent workshop. It takes the sixteen combinations of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicators and posits how they would pray . . . slighlty sacrilegious, seemingly accurate, and very funny.  Enjoy!

ISTJ . . . Lord help me to relax about insignificant details beginning tomorrow at 11:41.23 AM, EST.

ISTP . . . God help me to consider people’s feeling, even if most of them ARE hypersensitive.

ESTP . . . God help me to take responsibility for my own actions, even though they are usually NOT my fault.

ESTJ . . . God, help me to not try to RUN everything.  But, if you need some help, just ask.

ISFJ . . . Lord, help me to be more laid back and help me to do it EXACTLY right.

ISFP . . . Lord, help me to stand up for my rights (if you don’t mind my asking).

ESFP . . . God help me to take things more seriously, especially parties and dancing.

ESFJ . . . God give me patience, and I mean right NOW.

INFJ . . . Lord help me not be a perfectionist (did I spell that correctly?).

INFP . . . God, help me to finish everything I sta

ENFP . . . God, help me to keep my mind on one th-Look a bird-ing at a time.

ENFJ . . . God help me to do only what I can and trust you for the rest.  Do you mind putting that in writing?

INTJ . . . Lord keep me open to others’ ideas, WRONG though they may be.

INTP . . . Lord help me be less independent, but let me do it my way.

ENTP . . . Lord help me follow established procedures today.  On second thought, I’ll settle for a few minutes.

ENTJ . . . Lord, help me slowdownandnotrushthroughwhatIdo.

Happy Thanksgiving, 2015!

Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November.

Some Fun Facts:  did you know . . .

• that 46.3 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles or more for Thanksgiving in 2014?
• that 242 million turkeys are expected to be raised in the United States in 2014?
• that 856 million pounds of cranberries are expected to be produced in the United States in 2014?
• that 2.4 billion pounds of sweet potatoes are expected to be produced in the United States in 2014?
• that turkeys can have heart attacks?
• that Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be our national bird?
• that Thomas Jefferson thought the concept of “Thanksgiving” was the most ridiculous idea he’d ever heard?
• that it was not declared a National Holiday until 1941?

The Proper Clothes!

Yet another installment of manners from the Goops!

Clothes
When you are playing in the dirt,
You should wear clothes you cannot hurt;
It will not matter, when they’re worn,
If they are just a little torn.

But when you’re really nicely dressed,
Be careful of your Sunday best!
You must not crawl upon your knees;
Be careful of your elbows, please!

Source: Goops and How to Be Them: a Manual of Manners for Polite Infants Inculcating Many Juvenile Virtues Both by Precept and Example by Gelett Burgess.

Are You A True Leader?!

An article crossed my inbox last week (by Henry S. Givray, President & CEO, SmithBucklin) that identified the “12 distinguishing qualities that define true leaders.”  How many of these characteristics are reflected in you and your leadership style?

1. Uncompromised integrity in both words and action.
2. Striving hard to earn trust and readily giving it.
3. Courage and self-confidence to do the right thing versus what’s convenient, expedient, popular or personally beneficial.
4. Honoring one’s word by always delivering on promises and commitments.
5. Resolute determination to surface and confront issues and conflict with openness and candor balanced with diplomacy and empathy.
6. Accountability, defined as embracing ownership of actions, decisions, commitments and results – yours and those of the people who answer to you.
7. A steadfast work ethic and commitment to personal excellence.
8. Authentic humility.
9. Compassion, kindness and genuine caring for others.
10. A genuine desire to serve others; putting service ahead of self-interest.
11. Tough-minded optimism.
12. A high degree of self-awareness.

Here’s a link to the full article.

Source: http://www.boardforward.com

Uncommon!

I can honestly say that I’ve never used this word before, but I may have to start finding ways.  For example: if you are expecting to find that recherche gift amidst the hysteria of Black Friday shoppers, you may want to rethink your strategy.

recherche

\ ruh-sher-SHAY \, adjective;

1. Uncommon; exotic; rare.

2. Exquisite; choice.

3. Excessively refined; affected.

4. Pretentious; overblown.

Source: http://www.dictionary.com

College Football 2014, Week Thirteen!

The Michigan State Spartans hosted the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers and were able to win easily to improve to 9-2 overall (6-1 in the Big Ten).    The Big Ten continues to have four (4) teams ranked in the AP top-25 poll: Ohio State (#7), Michigan State (#10), Wisconsin (#14), and Nebraska (#21). And when compared to the College Football Playoff rankings, the numbers change slightly (6, 11, 16, and 23), but a fifth Big Ten team joins the mix at #25 — Minnesota.  Next up for the Spartans, on the road to finish up the regular season against the Nittany Lions of Penn State.  Go Green!

The upsets this week included:
Ole Miss (#8) losing to unranked Arkansas.
Nebraska (#21) losing to unranked Minnesota by four (4) points.

The close calls this week (games that were won by a touchdown or less) included:
Florida State (#1) defeating unranked Boston College by only three (3) points.
Wisconsin (#14) defeating unranked Iowa by only two (2) points.
Kansas State (#12) defeating unranked West Virginia by six (6) points.

Top-25 match-ups won by the higher-ranked team included:
Arizona (#15) defeating Utah (#20).
UCLA (#11) defeating USC (#24).

Trivia in the Kitchen, Number Sixteen!

Did you know that . . . veganism denotes a way of life that avoids the use of any animal products.  As early as 1909 the ethics of eating dairy products was being debated within the vegetarian movement.  The term “vegan” was first coined in 1944 by Donald Watson who started the very first vegan society that year (in Great Britain).  The first American vegan society was established in 1948 by Catherine T. Nimmo and Rubin Abramowitz.

The early proponents of veganism included:

Roger Crab (1621–1680)
James Pierrepont Greaves (1777–1842)
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)
Sylvester Graham (1794–1851)
Amos Bronson Alcott (1799–1888)
Donald Watson (1910–2005)
H. Jay Dinshah (1933–2000)

Do you have any ethical views on food or food preparation?  What are your sacred “cows?” I’m certainly no vegetarian let alone a vegan — I’m a carnivore for sure.

Some Orchestral Fun!

Happy Friday! Here is a wonderful video to help bring a smile to your face as we end the work week. Rainer Hersch certainly seems to be enjoying his work. What a delight!