Does a colon slow you down?

In response to last week’s imponderable question, “Does a colon slow you down?,” my birthday bud Jon observed, “No, but a colonoscopy does” while my sailing friend Norm countered, “A colon does not slow me down.  A colonoscopy speeds me up.”    

My temple friend Lesley recalled, “Absolutely, especially when running a race and pit-stops are unfortunately needed!”

When my equestrian friend Royce pondered, “It's according to if it's a colon or a semi-colon,” from temple friend Richard explained, “It depends upon whether you are referring to a colon as punctuation or part of the anatomy. In punctuation, a colon precedes a list, so reading the list will slow you down, whereas a semicolon is simply a break within a sentence to separate two ideas.  In anatomy, a whole colon would be considered a good thing, but a semicolon is probably not such a good thing.”

My production management friend Ray warned, “Only if it ruptures.”  Yet my cycling friend Ted observed, “Quite the contrary!! When it's misbehaving it can quite speed you up!”

My sister-in-law Lorrie replied, “I'm thinking that life without a colon would be particularly slow.”   And my dad’s beach buddy Bob concluded, “No, but it can store a lot of material before disposal.”

My cousin Greg called out, “Grammatically speaking it keeps you going.”

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

What is a pump kin to?

Life is too short for drama and petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly, and forgive quickly.

Hal

Thank you to the people of many different faiths who wrote yesterday to condemn the hate-motivated violence against a Jewish synagogue in Pittsburgh.  When do we say ‘enough is enough,’ put aside political differences and have a respectful conversation about bigotry, xenophobia, hate of other religions, races, ethnicity, sexual orientation?  To quote our rabbi, “We see ourselves as Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, and other religions; G-d sees us all as G-d’s children.”  What does it take to have the conversation (and no, this is not a “Hmmm”)?   Please strengthen (y)our resolve to talk respectfully with others so that we can prevent these tragedies, which may in part be mental health related.

For my part of respectful conversation, save the date:  I’m helping plan the 14th annual Thanksgiving Ecumenical Celebration on Thu, Nov 15 at 7p.  Click here for details because this is an annual display of respectful conversation and reflection.

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.

What is old?

In response to last week’s imponderable question, “What is old?,” my engineering friend Steve wrote precisely, “It’s all relative!” to which my business development friend Ray added, “What we in the U.S. consider old would be ‘new’ in other parts of the world. People 65 years old were considered old. Such is not the case today.”

My telecom friend Gus shared, “Old can be classic, time-honored, experienced, seasoned, enduring, ageless, long lasting. On the other hand, old can be ancient, antiquated, archaic, dated, decrepit, fossilized, kaput. It all depends on your perspective, state of mind and / or state of health.   In my case I’m not getting old, I’m getting better (and apparently more arrogant).”

My cycling friend Ted replied, “The oldest thing in the universe is the Universe, but according to my kids, it's me,” to which my equestrian friend Royce countered, “G-d.”

And my dad’s beach buddy Bob lamented, “Old is everything that happened through yesterday...most of which is worth forgetting.”

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

Does a colon slow you down?

Life is too short for drama and petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly, and forgive quickly.

Hal

There were 2 replies to the prior week’s question.  My health coaching friend Beth noted that the “definition of bingeing is an act of excessive or compulsive consumption (as of food); went on an eating binge; binge drinking.  It’s pretty common.  As a Health Coach, I see it more often than others,” to which my sailing friend Glenn replied,”I guess I missed this one because I was blacked out.”

This Wed is World Polio Day and a day to be proud to be a Rotarian.  Only 19 cases of WPV have been documented throughout the world in 2018; these were in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.

When is it considered bingeing?

In response to last week’s imponderable question, “When is it considered bingeing?,” my social media friend Mark pointed out, “When you are too embarrassed to tell your friends about it. Or worse, you do it when your spouse is out or asleep.”

My cousin Wes  acknowledged, “As a lone ranger, eating a package of Voortman sugar cookies during  a 3 hours drive. HiHo Sugar away!”

My sister-in-law Lorrie explained, “When you totally overdo it but it felt oh, so good….until the next day.”

My neighbor Al concluded, “If it involves a funnel and a hose, or wearing a diaper,” after which my equestrian friend Royce replied, “I hate to sound redundant, but is this a Kavanaugh question?”

My dad’s beach buddy Bob lamented, “It is a prolonged period—hours to days—in which an addict ingests increased amounts of cocaine, crack, alcohol or another abuse substance, often without rest,  I am too old for it.

And my business development friend Ray responded, “When consumption of anything – material or otherwise – is in such excess that your world resembles a blowfish in distress!”

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

What is old? [from my colleague Tricia)

Life is too short for drama and petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly, and forgive quickly.

Hal

Save the date:  I’m helping plan the 14th annual Thanksgiving Ecumenical Celebration on Thu, Nov 15 at 7p.  Click here for details.

Do you know a small business in ATL that is paying too much for healthcare (or can’t afford to offer healthcare benefits)?  As part of a solution that was covered in Atlanta Business Journal and Coastal Seasons (cover story starts on pg 24), I would appreciate an introduction to that business.

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.

The future is already here. Is it evenly distributed?

In response to last week’s imponderable question, “The future is already here. Is it evenly distributed?,” my social media friend Mark replied, “I missed it. I’ll have to catch “the future” next time. Maybe tomorrow.”

My equestrian friend Royce asked, “Is this a "Bitcoin" question?”

My temple friend Richard called out, “Like most things, the future is distributed in a “normal” distribution (i.e., the famous bell-shaped curve).  In other words, for a small percentage of us, the future will be very bright indeed. For an equally small percentage, the future will prove to be very dismal.  For the rest of us, it’ll be OK… some good, some bad.  When contemplating the future, it is best to keep in mind every day that “today is the tomorrow that we dreaded yesterday.”

My dad’s beach buddy Bob lamented, “I personally do not like the way the pie is cut and distributed forst to my enemies.”

And my college roomie John suggested, “No, Hal gets all the fun!”

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

When is it considered bingeing? [from my friend Blake]

Life is too short for drama and petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly, and forgive quickly.

Hal

Save the date:  I’m helping plan the 14th annual Thanksgiving Ecumenical Celebration on Thu, Nov 15 at 7p.  Click here for details.

Do you know a small business in ATL that is paying too much for healthcare (or can’t afford to offer healthcare benefits)?  As part of a solution that was covered in Atlanta Business Journal and Coastal Seasons (cover story starts on pg 24), I would appreciate an introduction to that business.

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.