Safety Third?

           December has not been good to football players. Fans all know about three time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes ending his 2025 season due to injury. His replacement was a guy named Gardner Minshew, who then had his own knee injury, and has been replaced by yet a third guy, Chris Oladokun.

          The Green Bay Packers’ star quarterback, Jordan Love, just pulled out with a concussion. The Dallas Cowboys’ cornerback, Trevon Diggs just had a concussion as well. And Ryan Kelly of the Vikings is also undergoing a concussion evaluation.

          The Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins landed on his head on frozen turf, was cleared to finish the game, but then had concussion symptoms hours later.

          Rams star wide receiver Davante Adams left a game with a hamstring injury. The Packers lost two players—one with a chest injury, another with a torn ACL.

          There’s a solution, you know. This literally never happens when you’re reading a book. Draw your own conclusions.

You also never get injured watching my Youtube Mom videos, filled with hundreds of life hacks.

 

         

Be Smarter than the Thieves

           I recently read a post about what to do when visiting a large city, and your car is filled with presents. Where can you park so that your gifts won’t get stolen?

          Advice poured in.  Most people said it can’t be done. Sad that we even have to consider this, but I promise I have the solution.

          Some recommended valet parking at a hotel, but then others claimed that even valet service isn’t safe anymore.

          One guy suggested leaving a big dog in the car, but then you risk people reporting you for leaving a pet in the car. (And what if the dog
tears up your packages? Or the burglars steal your dog?)

          My brilliant idea? And you could take this on Shark Tank:  Blankets that look like garbage. Or snakes. Or vomit. Or body bags with dead parts sticking out. Simply transfer sharp photos onto fabric, and your stuff will look untouchable. 

          Hey, if AI can create posts that look completely believable, surely this can be transferred onto fabric or sturdy paper. Simply tuck it around your valuables, and off you go, worry-free.

          You’re welcome.  Scan through my blog for more ingenious solutions. OR… watch my short Youtube Mom videos filled with hundreds of life hacks.

My Brilliant Christmas Idea

             Okay, hear me out. Not all of us get our entire families together on Christmas. There are trade-off agreements with in-laws and exes, work schedules, travel expenses, and all kinds of reasons why your family might be missing a few people this year.

            But here’s the solution: Bump the holiday. Hey, Jesus wasn’t even born in December; we all know that. So pick the next weekend, or the next one when flight costs return to normal.

            You’ll still have all the wonderful times together, the memories, the wacky disasters you’ll laugh at for years. They just don’t have to happen on the exact date of Christmas. Then BOTH sides of the family get the excitement of opening gifts, enjoying a feast together, singing carols, taking selfies in front of the tree, making a gingerbread house, playing games, re-enacting the nativity, and all the other traditions you hold dear. You can even take advantage of the after-Christmas sales!

             Brilliant, right? I know. Meanwhile, how about a holiday for neuro-divergent thinkers who come up with this ingenious stuff?

            And check out my Youtube Mom videos—hundreds of quick life hacks you’ll love.

Dirt, Dirt, Everywhere!

          You know I recently visited the ruins in Greece.  Athens has a cool museum where the floor has clear sections that let you look down to a dig below, and see dwellings of a long-ago village, being unearthed.

          It’s remarkable how high the “new” civilization is from the old one. All around Greece and elsewhere, you find such discoveries and they’re always a good 30 or 40 feet below today’s level. 

          So my question is: Where does all this dirt come from, that buries things this deeply?  Sure, there could be one or two places where a landslide covers things. And a volcano buried Pompeii. But all of these places, everywhere? It’s astonishing.

And my next question is: Once you know a scientific wonder is beneath your feet, why do you go ahead and build on top of it, instead of digging it up and finding out what was there before? Have you no curiosity?

I blogged about sleeping just inches from a Viking Graveyard, freshly discovered, here, and if I lived there permanently, you can bet I’d be out there digging with a spoon if I had to.

So I researched this abundance of dirt and here’s the answer: Dirt is constantly in motion. Who knew? Wind, rain, waves, gravity, temperature, and human activity wears away everything—even rocks. This erosion creates “new dirt” that builds up on the old dirt.

Lots of stuff is decaying, as well—trees, dead animals, fungi, leaves, and that fills in as well. Silt near rivers and floodplains builds up fast, and the next thing you know, you have artifacts waiting two meters deep.

I say we start digging. You could have a golden throne in your back yard! (And no, I don’t mean an outhouse.)

Meanwhile, check out my youtube mom videos, filled with quick life hacks you’ll love!

Only in France

            St. Bob (oddly not represented in sculpture there) and I just got back from France. It was fabulous, and the food in Lyon was swoon-worthy. Here are just a few pics:

          However, it seems France has made some strange choices that I would file under “Gee, what could possibly go wrong?”  First, they were so enamored with the symbol of a lion in many of their cities, that they bought a live lion in the 1890s. I know, I know.

Then they thought, “Hey, let’s have a bull fight with the lion against the bull.”  (This happened in the Roubaix arena and in others.) Needless to say, the bull is no match for the strong, fast, cunning predator that a lion is. No word about the longevity of the lion handlers.

The next thing I discovered was when a young woman on the cruise ship decided to join a local marathon. Turns out the entire mass of runners stops several times for wine-tastings. Obviously, no one cares who wins the race, and this might be the only marathon in my lifetime where I'd actually have a chance.

But the most puzzling choice France has made is to let young drivers who have lost their driver’s license, to drive anyway. Yep, anyone aged 14 or over can drive a little two-seater car called a VSP—a voiture sans permis— with as little as four hours of experience behind the wheel.

          No one even knows how many of them are on the road. I know, I know, one seems like too many.  But France has still stolen my heart—if not my pocketbook—and I’ll no doubt return someday, hopefully not too close to any VSP drivers or lions.

Meanwhile, Christmas is coming and the perfect gift is this marvelous short story of mine, just $3.49, in beautiful booklet form. Order some for all the people you know!   

Saving the World Again

         You know how I tend to solve all your problems? Okay not all of them. Maybe some of them.  I told you to shoot seeds from a gun, for easier planting. And I gave you tech support here. I even told you my secret for hanging wallpaper.

          And now I’m saving you—and the world—with my solution to the power grid crisis. Yes, even Forbes magazine published warnings of energy fragility just this last September, citing electric vehicles, AI, internet traffic, and rising electricity demands in all areas.

          So, here’s the secret: Everything should be glow in the dark. Imagine it—roads, street lights, cars, homes, buildings, walkways, closets—everywhere we now think has to be lit with the flip of a switch, could simply glow instead.

          I know, I know, you’re remembering Marie Curie and thinking such radiation is dangerous. But times have changed. (Warning: Scientific explanation coming up.)

Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, replaced the radium in the phosphor dyes that used to coat the dials of clocks and watches.  Now it’s relatively safe, as it doesn’t emit alpha particles.  As long as you don’t eat it or chew on it, no worries!

          Things made of photoluminescent phosphors are also safe. Ditto glow in the dark products that use non-toxic phosphors like zinc sulfide or strontium aluminate. Glow sticks that break and release liquid can irritate eyes and mouths, so (duh) keep from children.

          Imagine how much electricity we could save with these amazing products! Your light bill could almost vanish. Once again, my brain has delivered a sure-fire solution for the future. I just need one of you to take it and run.

AND… don’t forget to buy this super inexpensive but timeless classic of mine for Christmas presents!

Where are the the Women?

    I recently told you about St. Bob becoming The Diet Coke Man. And if you have any friends who love Diet Coke, you will know that they absolutely swear by McDonald’s for having the best soda in a cup.

          Quick science lesson so you’ll know why:  To make up for melting ice that dilutes the flavor, Mickey D’s increases their syrup-to-water ratio. They also use filtered water and they keep it ice cold. Apparently, carbon dioxide dissolves and stays gaseous in super cold liquid. Thus, freshly jazzed up Diet Coke from McDonald’s is snappier, crispier, and spicier.

          So… I agreed to accompany said addict to the Golden Arches and while sitting there—okay, having a soft ice cream cone—I looked around and noticed several single men sitting at the tables. But no women.  Zero women by themselves. This whole idea of men whiling away their breakfast time at McDonald’s does not seem to appeal to women.

          I looked up studies, but none addressed this phenomenon, so I am left to speculate. Wildly, if I wish. Here are my theories:

          When men retire, they’re often at loose ends—what to do? Where to go?  Somebody else has been running the home, so they wander about and finally go get an Egg McMuffin. Women in retirement seem to stay much busier somehow (are we all shopping?)

          Also, while women may indeed enjoy fast food, they’re more likely to get it at the drive-through, rather than sit inside and eat alone. We’re more social and will go to lunch with friends, but we are reluctant to dine alone.

          So there you have it—the answer to the mysteriously strong flavor of Diet Coke at McDonald’s AND the explanation of the weird demographics inside McDonald’s in the mornings.  You’re welcome.

Hey, put down that Coke and subscribe to my Youtube Mom channel,--you’re missing hundreds of quick life hacks!  And... you can get some Christmas shopping done right here!