Mass hypnosis and brunettes

Life is funny sometimes, quite often actually. Or maybe just terribly predictable when it comes to large groups of people - which was the basis for Issac Asimov's Foundation series. Anyway, it appears that it's no accident that the days with the highest number of visitors to The Balanced Guy are when the thumbnail that accompanies the link is of an attractive woman.

Like this ---->

Not that I try to use sex to gain readers, but as the old saying goes "sex sells". So I go with the flow. And I think that by life being "funny" I mean both funny ha-ha AND funny hmmmm.....

Being that this is a holiday weekend, I'm going to keep this posting a bit shorter than usual. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends - make sure you let them know how thankful you are they are in your life; don't automatically assume they know. Being told you mean something to someone is a powerful positive force in your life.

1. The Competitor - Sports
2. Mr. Muscle - Fitness and Health
   
3. Your Ride - Cars
4. Greenbacks - Career/Money/Finance
5. Toys - Gadgets (i.e. boys toys)
6. Tasty Licks - Music, Movies, Books and other Entertainment
   
7. Arguing - Politics
8. The Great Outdoors - hunting, camping, extreme sports
   
9. WWWD? (What Would Ward Do?...think about it, it'll come to you) - Family
10. Black Socks & Flip-Flops - Personal Appearance
    
11. Honeydew - Home Improvement/Tools
12. The Wide World - Travel/Vacation
13. Eye Candy

Your Ride - Nothing takes up an entire evening like a one hour car repair job after work. So we were coming home from the Delaware Water Gap Sunday evening when I asked my wife "is that smoke coming out from under the hood or dust?" (We'd just come to a stop on a back road). "I think it was dust" says she. Next time we stopped there was no doubt something was coming out from under the hood of our 2001 Chrysler Town & Country LX mini van with 116,000+ miles on it - and no, that's not a pic of my van but wish it was...remember those custom vans when we were kids?

So we pull over and I check under the hood and feel a bit perplexed. There was some kind of fluid all over the place and it looks (which scared the hell out of me) that it was coming from the power steering fluid reservoir. However it didn't look like power steering fluid but I could see no other place it could be coming from. Long story short, when we got home I determined there was a hole in the cooling system, specifically in the thermostat housing cover. Major sense of relief that it was only that and not a problem in the power steering. So a quick call to Advance Auto Parts - no dice, the part was too specialized for them to carry. A call to the local Chrysler dealer - bingo they had it in stock. With the gasket, about $30. I get home and take it apart - now pay attention here - the thermostat was a mess. Lesson learned - should've just bought a new thermostat when the guy at the parts counter asked if I wanted one the first time I was there. At this point it's about 8:30 at night. Luckily the Chrysler dealer parts department is open 24 hours!! New thermostat - $11. Needless to say I wrapped it all up around 11 PM and it cost me about $50 to DIY. I'm guessing the price tag to have it repaired at the dealer would have been around $250 if not more.


The Great Outdoors - If you're looking for someplace to get away to for the day and you're in the NY/NJ/PA region, try the Delaware Water Gap if you've never been there - or even if you have but it's been a while. We've hiked there several times over the years and it never fails to amaze for its beauty regardless of the time of year. It's also a great hike for the family no matter what age your kids are - if they are infants put them in a back pack.

To get there from Jersey, take I-80 West...it runs right through the Gap and trail heads are off the highway. The basic hike at the Gap itself (as opposed to some of the other areas like Sunfish Pond) takes about 4 hours round trip. To get to the top of Mt. Tammany you have the choice of two routes - the Red Dot Trail or the Blue Dot Trail. The Red Dot is shorter (1.5 miles) but steeper while the Blue Dot is about 2.5 miles. We prefer to go steeper earlier and then follow the Blue Dot back which takes you along the absolutely stunning Dunnfield Creek. Following one waterfall after the next, each prettier than the one before it is a great way to wind up your hike. Words of caution - bring plenty of water, snacks and be prepared for the weather to change without warning. It's also usually quite cooler and windier at the top (as you might expect.)

Black Socks & Flip-Flops - I've known for a few years now that I'm getting a bit thinner on top and have opted out of fighting it with any hair re-growth chemicals or (God forbid) a rug. But when going through some recent pics , there was one taken from behind and slightly above me. All I can say is "yikes!" Since I'm 6'4", most people don't often notice my hair is not as thick as it once was - but I know. Thus every few months I go down the path of pulling out the Wahl clippers (the same ones I mentioned in my first posting), slap on a #3 fence and go to work. About 10 minutes later I emerge a new, and very different-looking, man. Best thing is that my wife likes the look. So, while the bald look has been popular for a number of years now like me you might not want to go for that complete look or maybe haven't given it thought. Instead you might want to ask someone you trust if you've been fooling yourself about your hair.