Say what you will, it’s honest labor
Honest labor is always a boon. It blesses him who is able and willing to do what needs doing, not only with a paycheck but with an undeniable sense of accomplishment. The latter is something our increasingly entitled generation – aka snowflakes – just don’t get or want, despite whining for the fruits of labor.
Some jobs, however, do require a bit more fortitude than even the most industrious can muster. “Needs must” is a great motivator.
This sewer worker, employed by Dhaka City Corporation in Bangladesh, is a prime example, doing the dive without hazmat gear or even protective goggles to clear the pipes after a spate of heavy flooding that clearly demonstrated – yikes – the insufficiency of the current drainage system. What with a population upwards of 14 million in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, improvements are forever in demand; but the how of getting there is the problem.
“The City Corporation and the local Water Supply and Sewerage Authority have recently been at loggerheads over how best to resolve the issue, which has been compounded by extensive road digging related to the laying of new sewerage and drainage lines,” says the Telegraph.
But increased problems will, eventually, result in increased job opportunities as tasks are tackled, and those with the drive to get things done take advantage of prevailing opportunity.
KISS: Keep it Simple, Stupid
Easy to read is a good thing. Remember the hubbub about Donald Trump speaking during the past presidential campaign at a fourth-grade level? Well, despite the elitist hype that only leads otherwise thinking folks to do what they shouldn’t, being easily understood is not a bad thing. Speaking simply does not equate to being a simpleton.
This also, not surprisingly, holds true for the written word. The understated yet undeniably moving Ernest Hemingway stuck to simple truths and the words that most easily conveyed them.
This embracing of simplicity isn’t so much a negation of sophistication, but the espousal of wisdom as concerns human nature and how, precisely, to reach people and get things done. Even the United States Navy agrees. According to Wikipedia, the KISS principle (Keep it Simple, Stupid) was adopted in 1960 and “States that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided.”
You don’t say!
So, when it comes to communication – an absolute necessity in any endeavor – simple is smarter. Contently reports that while there are Americans who can read advanced material, “Most of us don’t read at that level, it turns out. (Or if we can, we hate to.)
Here’s what research says about how many Americans even can read well:
Surprising, no? Check out how your writing rates!
Thieving seagull
Not all things are as they appear. Take, for instance, the case of the casually laid false teeth. The picture to the right shows what appears to be a seagull looking to abscond with a pair of false teeth, no doubt absently set aside while their owner navigated the discomfort of a wayward blackberry seed during lunchtime.
The Poke reports Spotted Newton Abbot’s conclusion that “Someone’s false teeth were found on a bench on Torquay Harbor at lunchtime. Unfortunately, anyone missing them will need to contact the seagull as he flew away with them!”
But while the photograph and summary seem to support one another, observer Sadie Curtis asks, “How do we know it (the seagull) didn’t eat the person and just leave the teeth? Seagulls round here are savage.”
How indeed!
Help for Snowflake thumb-suckers
If you can’t beat ’em – in this case, the compulsion to suck your fingers or nibble on nails – then make ’em taste good. This latest creation from Prosecco Italian white wine takes it a step further, combining nail polish not only with that which tickles the taste buds but with one of the world’s all-time favorites for getting wasted – booze!
Take a look at the video below describing this latest mashup of nail polish with – brace yourself – alcohol.
[jwplayer fmXgJVlG]
That’s right. “For the ultimate treat-yo-self manicure,” according to Food and Wine. “You can now give your fingernails the royal treatment with Prosecco-flavored nail polish. This polish, created by Groupon, is actually made with Prosecco. Just note that while a Groupon for it claims you can even lick the polish to get some of the Prosecco flavor the all-caps DO NOT DRINK warning on the product page tells another story.”
Seriously? Thanks for the warning, but who in their right mind would drink a bottle of nail polish? Okay, forget the question.
Have the blues got you down?
Crayola, forever on the bright side, is holding a contest to give a proper name to its new and improved blue crayon. While those fond of other shades may lament, “The crayon company used National Crayon Day (March 31) to announce it was retiring the yellow crayon called Dandelion and that a blue crayon would eventually replace it in the classic 24-color box.”
The origin of the new shade was “discovered in 2009 by scientists at Oregon State University – the first new blue pigment found in 200 years,” according to CNET.
Entries are welcome through June 2 with the top five being voted on July 1. The winning name will be announced the following September.
“And don’t feel too bad for Dandelion,” notes the article. “Crayola is hawking his death tour for all it’s worth, even selling a two-pound Dandelion crayon and an entire 64-count box of his regular-sized crayon.”
Mosey on down to the watering hole
In the spirit of “Build it, and he will come,” that Kevin Costner line from “Field of Dreams,” Southwest Texas alternative energy and sustainable living research group, the Field Lab (FTL), set up the following candid camera in the form of a bucket of water in the desert. The resulting outtakes, however, were no dream but rather the quirky capture of man meeting one of nature’s basic needs.
Take a peek at the cast of characters making the most of a refreshing opportunity in “The Bucket,” the resulting Friday Night Film brought to you by FTL:
[jwplayer mjlibxPv]
“Everybody loves water in the desert,” FTL comments on their indie film. “I was pleasantly surprised during the edit to see that George made an appearance. I know him from all the other rabbits because of the tiny notch in his ear. A burro just happened to come by in time to be included. Ben went against the script and decided to just nudge the bucket. You can lead a steer to water but you can’t make him drink.”
Word is the “swimming bees” were rescued.
