On Performing Weddings

This is a post I have been meaning to post for a few months, ever since I had the great honour of presiding at the wedding of my daughter’s best friend, whom I consider to be something of an “adopted” daughter.

My daughter’s friend – we’ll call her Judith, because, well, that’s her name – and her fiance had asked me if I would perform their wedding ceremony. They wanted me to because they wanted it to be someone they knew, who meant something to them. To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, and there were times I felt like perhaps I should have thought twice before saying “yes”, but I was so very honoured that they wanted me, and had asked, and because it was Judith, of course I would do it.

Well, let me tell you that any reservations I had were absolutely for naught.

Performing a wedding turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had.

I had no idea.

It is such an incredible honour to share such an intimate moment between two people. Not just to share it, but to be a part of it. This is a view which the wedding guests – the wedding party – even the bride and groom themselves don’t get. To watch two people, looking into each other’s eyes, tears streaming down their faces, as they dedicate their lives to each other – creating a new life together – to be right there as it happens, and helping them to get there….wow. It is just an absolutely powerful, amazing moment, and is an incredible privelege.

Later, I asked a minister friend of mine, with whom I am quite close and have known for many years, “How come you never told me how amazing this was??”, to which he just smiled (I assume – it was in email) and agreed that it is an incredible experience and wonderful privilege.

So you can imagine how honoured and delighted I was when Judith’s sister, Rachel, asked me to perform her wedding a few months later. And she’d even seen me perform my first wedding, and still wanted me to do it!

So that is what I did yesterday. And it was every bit as amazing.

I had to smile each time when the bride and groom thanked me; I think that they really didn’t realize what an honour it was for me (despite my telling them so, of course).

I’m hooked.

If anyone out there is looking for someone to perform their wedding….

How to Really Remove That Awful Odor: Lava Rocks!

Several years ago an online acquaintance introduced me to a remarkable item. I had been complaining of an obnoxious smell which I simply could not get rid of, and he said “what you need is some of the lava rocks which Lee Valley Tools sell”. “Huh??” I thought. Rocks? Did he have rocks in his head?

But this is a person who is a font of tidbits – always useful – so I trusted him. And I checked it out.

I looked up the lava rock deodorizer on the Lee Valley site, and what I saw was a plastic mesh bag full of, well, rocks. They looked just like the white ornamental rocks, slightly larger than gravel, you often see in flower beds in people’s front yards.

Dubious, yet trusting, I ordered them.

And danged if these things don’t work!

And I have since used them to remove disgusting smells ranging from cigarette smoke clinging to things which I have ordered from eBay (even when the smell had permeated the pages of a book!) to the pervasive perfume left by our unhappy male cat when we went away on vacation.

I don’t know how they work, but they do.

According to the Lee Valley site:

Working like super baking soda, this porous bag of volcanic rock absorbs and neutralizes odors, including strong odors like smoke and perfume.

It works unattended for an unlimited length of time, although it needs to be recharged by placing it in the sun every 6 months and soaking it in salt water then rinsing thoroughly once a year. One of our employees tried it in her vehicle (it had a nasty dog smell). Within a few days, she reported that the odor was gone. Especially useful in musty basements, closets and sheds.

Made from a naturally occurring ionic rock called clinoptilolite. Weighs 2 lb. One bag treats approx. 4800 cubic feet.

—

And I’m here to tell you that it’s all true! Thank you, Sheldon!

And they are only $9.95!!

You can buy them here

Truly Man’s Best Friend: Dogs Able to Detect Smell of Cancer

We’ve always known that dogs possess a super sense of smell, and that they are very protective of their owners.

Now here’s an interesting twist: researchers at Imperial College (my husband’s alma mater, by the way) have determined that dogs can sense cancer by smelling the proteins thrown by a patient with cancer. They first were let on to this by stories of dogs who started acting very strangely towards spots on their owners legs, which turned out to be cancer.

You can read more about this here.

Newsflash: Being Not Poor Makes You More Content Than Being Poor

According to a recently-released poll conducted by the Associated Press of 1,001 people (that one last person made all the difference in the curve, I’m sure), people who earn more money are more likely to be satisfied with their lives than people who make less money.

Wow! Really?!?

Specifically, according to the AP, people who earn more than $75,000 a year are far more likely to say that they are “very satisfied” with their lives as compared to people who make only $25,000 per year or less.

The people who earned between $25,001 and $75,000 were too busy trying to find affordable health care to take part in the survey.

You can read more about it here.

Exactly Whom are the U.S. Airport Security Programs Protecting?

USA Today is reporting that undercover investigators managed to get both weapons and explosives past airport screeners at no fewer than fifteen U.S. airports.

The full results of the investigation were recently disclosed to Congress, with an abbreviated version being released to the public.

John Mica a representative from Florida, and Chairman of a House aviation subcommittee, is quoted as saying that “the results on weapons were “bad enough,” but the results on explosives were “absolutely horrendous.””

While the government has installed explosive-detection devices for baggage which is checked, they have, inexcusably, not mandated such devices for screening of passengers and their carry-on luggage. Because, of course, a passenger is much more likely to stow a weapon or explosive device, and then somehow get into the cargo hold at 30,000 feet to retrieve it. In fact, passengers are usually just sent through metal detectors and only occasionally checked by explosive trace detection equipment.

“You’re not going to find plastic explosives with a metal detector, no matter how hard you try,” said Oregon representative Peter DeFazio, in a blinding bit of logic that had somehow escaped those charged with, you know, keeping us all safe in the unfriendly skies.

This seems to be one more case where the balance of interest weighs in favour of big business concerns, and against our country’s citizens. The odds of any one of the hundreds of flights which go out each day being brought down are relatively low, even though the results are devastating for all involved. On the other hand, think about what it would do to the airline and travel industries if we instituted real security. What’s more important, a few thousand lives, or several hundreds of millions of dollars? You be the judge.

You can read more about this here.

Feds Probe Why Singer Allowed on Jet

From a USA Today headline: Feds Probe Why Singer Allowed on Jet

…because everyone knows that one of the highest security risks in commercial aviation today is that everyone might burst into a round of Kumbaya, rendering the crew somnambulent.

[Ok ok, I realize that with the common knowledge that Yushuf Islam (nee Cat Stevens) was ordered off a U.S. bound plane and returned to Britain takes some of the humour out of this line.]

A Potpourri of Guns

There is just something wrong about the phrase “a potpourri of guns”, don’t you agree?

Actually, more specifically, the phrase was “a potpourri of rifles, handguns and shotguns, including a Rugar Mini-14 assault rifle”. Still just…wrong, yes?

And hey, lest anyone think that I am not an equal opportunity pedant, I find equally wrong the phrase “an arsenal of flowers”.

But the first phrase actually exists, and comes from a news story about someone from San Francisco who was caught with..Jiminy…a pound of methamphetamines with a street value of approximately $30,000, a block of hashish and that potpourri of rifles, handguns and shotguns, including a Rugar Mini-14 assault rifle, and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Twenty-seven firearms in all.

The stash was discovered in the apartment of the suspect, close to a local Catholic high school.

One of our finest, always masters of understatement, opined that “It was far too many guns to have that close to a school.”

Which of course leads one to wonder: what is the cut-off? At what level is it not too many guns to have near a school? Is there a number which is “just the right amount of guns to have near a school”? How about “too few guns for being so close to a school”?

Of course, it is often open season on Catholic school girls.

[You can read more about this here.]

Next Up: Do-It-Yourself Brain Surgery

USA Today is reporting that the FDA has just approved the sale of defibrillators for home use, without a prescription.

According to the story, the FDA “found that the model it approved, Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator, has been designed and labeled in such a way that anyone can follow the directions.”

It goes on to say that “Mickey Eisenberg, a Seattle researcher who has studied cardiac arrest survival, likens the HeartStart to airbags, carbon monoxide detectors or home security systems. “Widespread dissemination, especially in homes of high-risk patients, offers the means to improve these grim mortality statistics.” ”

And hey, what a neat party trick – way better than that little buzzer you palm before you shake someone’s hand!

You can read more about it here.

The Antidote for Anorexiaâ€¦. Happy Meals?

In a move which is just so baffling that I can’t even think of anything snide to say about it, the Olsen twins are in France promoting McDonald’s Happy Meals.

The Happy Meals contain tchotchkes which bear either the names or likenesses of the Olsen twins.

Twin Mary-Kate was recently released from a widely-publicized treatment for anorexia.

Somehow the two just don’t go together. Or shouldn’t.

You can read more here.

Recommended Reading for Everyone: â€œThe Art of the Start” by Guy Kawasaki

Ok, I admit it. I am unabashedly, openly, and happily a fan of Guy Kawasaki. He’s a great guy, with a big heart, caring and empathy for his fellow man (and woman), openly family-focused, and hey, he knows a thing or two about business. He should, being the CEO of Garage Technology Ventures.

So I was honoured and pleased when Guy, whom I consider to be a mentor – because, well, he agreed to be my mentor (I begged, pleaded, and generally debased myself…it wasn’t pretty) – when he asked me to read the draft of a new book he was working on, and give him feedback.

Well, that book, The Art Of The Start: The Time-tested, Battle-hardened Guide For Anyone Starting Anything, was released today, and let me tell you, and I’m speaking from inside knowledge here, it’s a great book.
Run out and buy it right now! Go on, I’ll wait for you.

Oh ok, you can wait. In fact you can buy it from the link below.

Here’s the thing: The Art is such an easy book to read! And it makes so much sense! All of the information, thoughts, and advice offered in The Art (and there are plenty of each) is so straight-forward, and presented so well. With his highly readable and casual style, Guy invites you into the pages, sits you down across from him, and tells it like it is – no BS.

I learned so much reading the advance drafts of this book, and having read it now several times, I can honestly say that there is nobody – NOBODY – who shouldn’t read this book. I guarantee you that if you read this book you will learn something – some things – and will be the better for it. I know that I did, and I was. Every chapter contained lightbulbs which went on, or affirmations of my own sense of “the right way to do things”, or both (in fact, most often both). There are things I learned, and things I took away, from every chapter. Things which can be applied if you are just starting or breathing new life into a project or company, and things to help keep it going and on track.

Do you know the ideal length for a business plan? For a VC pitch? Do you know what VCs are thinking while you’re pitching them? (That isn’t pretty, either.) How much do you really know about the art of schmoozing? What does Guy think of HTML email?

Seriously. Get this book. Here’s the link (disclaimer: this link contains my Amazon affiliate i.d.. If you find this objectionable, you can go directly to Amazon and search for “Kawasaki Art Start” and find the book that way):

By the way, and even Guy doesn’t know this – it was his role as an Apple evangelist which I had in mind when I named this blog. When I realized that I had become an ‘evangelist’ of ideas and products in which I really believed, and in my sharing my enthusiasm for them here.