Cool Atom Puzzle

Thought this was a pretty stunning puzzle of The Atom. 

With sections for: composition, atomic model, thermonuclear fusion, periodic table, radioactivity, positron emission tomography, fission of uranium, nuclear reactor, and atomic scientists. 

Wow that’s a lot of information for a Puzzle and one very nicely designed at that. 

Congrats on putting this 1,000 piece beauty together. 

These things make me realize how very much I still have to learn–and in this case, it starts with all these small things. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Thought this was a pretty stunning puzzle of The Atom. 

With sections for: composition, atomic model, thermonuclear fusion, periodic table, radioactivity, positron emission tomography, fission of uranium, nuclear reactor, and atomic scientists. 

Wow that’s a lot of information for a Puzzle and one very nicely designed at that. 

Congrats on putting this 1,000 piece beauty together. 

These things make me realize how very much I still have to learn–and in this case, it starts with all these small things. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Rockville Science Fair – 30th Year!

(Source Photos: Andy Blumenthal)

Wherever You Go

So my father used to say this idea about dealing with life’s challenges:

“Wherever you go, that’s where you are!”

If you think about it for a moment, it really is very profound. 

Some people think that they can run away from their problems.

Move here, there, everywhere. 

Change schools, jobs, spouses, whatever. 

But you can’t run away from yourself. 

Wherever you run, you’re still you!

So you need to fix yourself, your problems, your life. 

Yes, sometimes your in a place is bad, a bad fit, the people are bad, the chemistry is bad, the circumstances are bad. 

And then change can certainly be a welcome and good thing.

But when you change the external, the internal has to keep developing and changing as well, so that we learn and grow to be better people.  

Change your place is not a substitute for changing and growing yourself–that is the only constant with change. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal) 

The Nature of Charisma

Young Love

So I took this photo of a painting in a home furnishings store.

Just something really striking about it to me. 

The way the women is leaning into the man and his head/face leans into hers. 

Their focus on the drawing or plans in front of them, where he seems to be sketching out their future together. 

Also, their hands touching and almost clasped.

Young love is beautiful.

When people find each other, by some miracle of G-d.

And the chemistry magically makes 2 people like 1. 

The look they give each other, when their hopes and dreams converge.

Best friends, companions, lovers with the potential to grow ever mightier over time. 

Life not without obstacles that the couple must overcome, supporting each other.

Building a home, raising a family, making a future together come true.

When the minds meet, the hearts yearn for each other, and the souls join.

What a time of joy and blessing…a time to live for and to continue the generations forward and build that which cannot be completed by any man alone. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Love ’em OR Leave ’em

An age old question, “Love ’em or leave ’em?”

I heard one young man say, “I love her…but I’m not in love with her.”

So what’s the difference?

He’s been seeing two girls, one is steady and stable, earns a good income, and is head over heels for him–when he is sick, she makes the chicken soup. 

Then there is this other girl, foreign, cool accent, good-looking, intelligent, has similar interests, but no serious income–however, there is some serious hots there. 

What do you do?

Girl #1 or #2.

Who’s the better bet–Ms. I love her or Gal I’m in love with her?

One women said that years ago, mothers would tell their daughters, “If they bring home a paycheck and look better than a baboon, marry them!”

Back then, marriages were often arranged by the parents or the village elders (“Matchmaker matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch…”).

These days, there is much more a sense of the need for compatibility, chemistry, and passion–I can’t live without him/her.

Without the mutual respect and passion, it might as well be in the bedroom like, “Let’s just get this over with” or something pathetic like that.  

In some ultra religious circles, I’ve heard some women sadly simply referred to as “baby machines.”

Yet on the flip side, I remember hearing this story when I was young about this famous model (it could have been about Bo Derek, but I can’t remember for sure), and they interviewed her husband who was known to have married her for her unbelievable gorgeous looks, and they asked him, “What would you do, if she had a terrible car accident, and was horribly disfigured?” And his cold, hard response was, “I would leave her!”

Ok, so looks are skin deep, and passion is important but doesn’t replace shared values, genuine commitment, and selfless giving to one another. 

Maybe the answer is it’s not 1 or 2, but 1 and 2–we need someone that will make the chicken soup when we are sick, but who we also find hot in the sack. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

What’s With The Best Buds?

I never quite understood the best buds t-shirt wave.

This is especially the case when the person is alone and there is no best bud anywhere to be found. 

We are all social animals, and perhaps, we all wish to have a best bud in our lives–someone to “buddy around with” and who knows and understands us, and unconditionally accepts us. 

Best buds seems to almost be able to read each others minds and finish each others sentences…and they laugh hysterically together about these mindless things for which apparently only they get it. 

When best buds are together, it’s like they are almost in a bubble of their own world, and everyone else is on the outside, if they even exist to the buds at all. 

That’s because bests buds are it–they have history, they share things in common, they think alike, and they work in tandem.

It’s like getting two for the price of one: they are Batman and Robbin, Tonto and The Lone Ranger, Cheech and Chong, Laverne and Shirley, Simon and Garfunkel, and so many other couplings that stick together like peanut butter and jelly. 

If you have a best bud then you already know you don’t need to give them a t-shirt to spell it out–the chemistry already says it all. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Become A HITFIT

A misfit is someone who doesn’t fit in.


He/she is missing the mark in terms of the thing or group they are trying to fit into.


The opposite of missing the target is hitting the target, hence a “hitfit” (my term)–someone who is in congruence with who he/she is and what they can do well. 


At times, we are all misfits–at work, school, places of worship, and even with family and friends–the personality, chemistry, and KSA (knowledge, skills, or abilities) are just not right.


Hence, people miserably fail in one environment or set of circumstance, but yet they thrive in others. 


What happens when you’re the misfit?  


– You feel like you’ve been relegated to moron status, sitting in a corner or closet somewhere (and now envision the dunce cap on your head). 


– Essentailly everyone else seems to be meshing and doing great, but you’re the odd man out. Nothing you seem to do is right, you can’t perform or you just stop trying, and you feel like a worthless sh*t!


But then what happens?


– With courage, determination, and hard work, you pull yourself up by your trousers and you make a significant change in your life–your job, school, community, even your spouse or friends–you’re the shinning star that you always knew or hoped you could be–you’re the hitfit!


I’ve seen this happen again and again with people. 


Why?


So often people are not “bad,” “stupid,” or “losers”–they are just not in their groove for who they are. 


If you give people a chance to find themselves and leverage their strengths,. and strengthen (or challenge) their weaknesses, they can and will do superbly!


None of us are perfect (except G-d)–we are all frail human beings, even the strongest, smartest, fastest, and greatest among us. If you’re put or find yourself in a bad situation–recognize your part in it, but also understand that sometimes it’s just a misfit, and time to make a positive change in life. 


Do you research, test the waters, get primed, and find your hitfit and your happiness–you can do it, with G-d’s help, everyone can! 😉


(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Don’t Just Hire Another You

So the corporate cat is out of the bag…

The New York Times confirms that “more than 80% of employers worldwide named cultural fit as a top hiring priority,” where cultural fit is a sugarcoated synonym for hiring others like themselves!

Your resume influences whether you get an interview, but then “chemistry”–personality (“not qualifications”) takes over–“like you were on a date.”

Often cited reasons for hiring someone:

– Someone you would enjoy “hanging out” with, and “developing close relationships with.”

– Those with “shared experiences,” alma maters, and pedigrees–including “hobbies, hometowns, and biographies…and even “those who played the same sport.”

What about diversity?

Well apparently, it’s still an “old boys network” out there, even though diversity has been found especially important for “jobs involving complex decisions and creativity,”  and so as not to become “overconfident, ignore vital information, and make poor (and even unethical) decisions.”

No doubt, personality and values can also be important in getting along with others in the group–even a few jerks on the team, can create plenty of havoc, discord, and dysfunction. 

Maybe after meeting the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) requirements, one of the litmus tests should be not whether the person is the same as us, but whether they are moral and decent human beings that can act appropriately with others.  

Not an easy thing to judge from some interviews, testing, or even reference checking–even when these are done well, there are still quite a number of hiring surprises that happen.

Or as they say about marriage, you don’t really know the person until you wake up with them in the morning. 

There are also more extensive background checking that can help vet employees, such as in the Federal system, where many sensitive positions require an in-depth security clearance review process that looks at everything from criminal background, financial responsibility, psychological stability, national loyalties, and more. 

We need to know who we are dealing with, not intrusively, but responsibly for good hiring decisions. 

Honestly, you don’t just want to hire the candidate that just looks good, like the pretty girl with no personality or a hideous disposition. 

To be clear, there should never be ANY hiring biases in the workplace–conscious or unconscious. 

Hiring mangers should make sure the person they are hiring is excellent in terms of the KSAs, has a broad set of terrific references, and can reasonably act like a mensch under a broad set of circumstances–the last one is the hardest one to ensure. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Yes, I Mean No

This is a hilarious video of a social experiment.

This girl–a complete stranger–goes up to random guys and asks “Would you have sex with me?”

On the top there is a running counter–thumbs up or down–for how many of these guys say yes or no.

The final count for this girl and the complete strangers is 50-50!

The reactions of the guys who stumble all over themselves ranges from “Are you crazy?” and someone who actually calls the police on her to “Why not?” and “I will definitely have sex with you!” or how about this guy who offered up a middle of the road approach of “Would you like to hang out with us first?”

In a companion video, they reverse the social experiment, and a guy propositions random girls with the same cavalier question.

In 100 cases, he was rejected!

So are women more discriminating? Are they looking for intimacy while men are looking for a physical hookup? Or are men just driven by their chemistry, evolution, and species preservation to procreate far and wide?

While the girl chosen for this experiment is undeniably attractive, given the risk of STDs and AIDS and also broken relationships and even families, you still have to ask yourself are men’s brains fully wired on right? 😉