1. The obvious thing – sunblock. You don’t have to be a global warming fanatic to know about the potential damage of your skin due to sun exposure. Use sunblock liberally and frequently. Grease stains are easier to get out than cancers.
2. Eye protection is underrated. Sunglasses can ease significant stress on the eyes, and prevent wear and tear on all the little eye-parts that many of us take for granted.
3. Consume liquids. I saw this being followed, but maybe water to beer in a two-to-one ratio would be a little better. Too much alcohol is a compounding problem – you may get dehydrated and you may also forget item #1 above.

I saw a number of people today neglecting 1, 2, or all 3 of these rules.  You don’t want to be one of them later today. Ouch!

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

This morning we took a walk along the beach in the picture here, and a lone surfer was enjoying mild wave action. Later in the day, around lunchtime, this beach was very crowded. As we enjoyed a lunch in a little cafe overlooking the beach, we witnessed a mild commotion as a gentleman was pulled from the water with obvious head injuries. He did not have a surf or boogie board, he was simply pounded by the waves into a rough interaction with the sand.

There were warning flags along the beach that the surf was dangerous and you should not body surf, but people were diving into waves that were easily 6-8 feet. It looked like fun. Not huge waves, but big enough to bring on the hurt.

While we were at the same cafe, we noticed the family sitting nearby that included a child, about 4 years old, with curly red hair and fair skin. And sun poisoning. He had cream on his face, his eyes were nearly swollen shut, and they had a tube of SPF50 sitting on the table. I’m not throwing stones here, I did the same thing with one of my kids, and that’s why I would have prepared differently.

So while it is a long way from time to worry about surf and intense sun for many of my North American friends, its worth noting that safety is always a consideration. Being careful out there is a 24/7 concern.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Last week we had a family wedding – the oldest of our two boys and his best friend, the love of his life. Matt and Kellie had a great time in the weeks, days and hours leading up to the main event, and they had a fabulous honeymoon.

For the rest of us, it has been as hectic as my old theater days. I took time off from work to accommodate the many tasks and airport trips that were involved. We had many family members stay with us off and on and served several group meals. The last guest left Sunday, the young couple’s beagle, who stayed with us while they went to St. Lucia.

As life gets back to some level of normalcy, I was thinking about things that need re-focus, that I need to pay attention to again to be my best.

1. Every trip to the store does not have to be fast. I am no longer in a rush, and taking my time is one of the most important things I can do to assure my safety – and my sanity.
2. I need to re-focus at work. I have earned lots of vacation time, but I rarely take more than a week at a time. This time I was off for nearly two full weeks, so a lot went on while I was gone. I work with a small team, so others carried a lot of work and were more than happy to get me back in the loop. I tried to minimize the stories of the wedding (unless they asked of course).
3. Exercise. I am way off plan for the year, and certainly for the last 4 weeks. Time to refocus and be fully prepared for an injury-free half marathon in October.
4. Food. The last of the leftovers are gone. Baked Ziti. Sausage, peppers and onions. Cakes. Chips. Time to eat smart again. I’m not even stepping on a scale for at least two weeks.
5. Taking care of the mother-of-the-groom. This was our second wedding, our daughter was married 6 years ago. I remember that following all the activity the lull was also sort of sad. What will we do now? Fortunately, I’ve got some ideas in mind.
6. My dog looks lonely. Not sure what to do about that.

Big life events are fun and exciting. But I think I’m looking forward to a period of normalcy.

Let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists are more clever. Lots.

My company offers a generous policy, and as a long-term employee I get plenty of time off. Some I use to get things done around the house, some to visit family, but this last week was a combination of working around the house, just taking it easy and reading or watching movies a couple of rainy days, and getting away with my wife of 22 years to celebrate our anniversary.

I used to cash-in some vacation, but now I plan to use it all. Here are the big reasons why.

1. To be my best at work, I need to get work out of my thinking space once in a while.
2. To be my best for my family, I need to dedicate time to them. No work email. No phone calls.
3. To be my best for me, I need to keep my exercise routine, and time off gives me a great opportunity to get to my routine back.
4. Getting completely away from my normal environment is very freeing.
5. It’s great to get paid without even thinking about work!

All things considered, a well-rested and clearer thinking employee is likely to make better decisions regarding his personal safety as well.

Is vacation just time away from work for you? Or do you use it as a way to re-boot and start fresh?

Let’s be careful out there!

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists are more clever. Lots.

© Copyright by Fisheries & Allied Aquacultures Image Gallery

As we approach the Fourth of July holiday, I’m not going to preach about the dangers of fireworks. After all, I am sure you all have heard horror stories where people lean over a rocket they are lighting and it goes off into their face, or the ones where people want to throw a firecracker, only it goes off in their hands.

Less dangerous was the story of my cousin Steve. Steve liked to fish. There is a particular fish in Lake Erie that is fun to catch, but not the best to eat. It’s knows as a sheepshead. Back in the 1960′s,Steve used to take an M-80 ( a sort of recreational explosive) and put it into the fish’s throat and light it. The M-80 has a waterproof fuse. The fish would swim to the depths, and in a few seconds little bits of fish would be floating around. Sometimes this led to other, more desirable fish coming around to feed on the pieces.

So, my uncle Bob has us out on his nice, new fishing boat, and cousin Steve catches a sheepshead, rigs it up and of course, it swims directly downward as they always do. Around the second or third fish however, the unexpected happens. The fish chooses not to swim, but instead sort of flops around on the top of the water, right next to the boat. Needless to say, though the fallout was not radioactive, neither was it pleasant. So I learned to leave the fireworks to the professionals, who are trained to be prepared for the unexpected.

I hope your holiday is a safe one!

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.