Good morning and what is your goal today? If you can’t answer that question, do not get out of bed. If you start your day without a goal, without a destination, you are going to be wasting it - a rudderless ship that lets the waves and the wind determine where you end your day. Whatever the goal may be, or the number of them, make sure your day today is spent navigating towards something. Put a rudder on your daily navigation through life and aim at a port (or two) that you want to dock at. And make sure that port is worthy of your time and efforts. Wishes for a great and meaningful day to all, Hugs and love too, David/

What is Economics? It is the study of the use of scarce resources which have alternative uses. Wishes for a great day to all, each one a gift, Hugs too, David/

When you enter into a conversation with another human being, connect with them. Sounds silly, but more times than not, this simple rule is not followed Focus on that person Stand square to them Make and maintain eye contact Make them important to you Be there in the moment with them Do NOT get ready to speak before they are done speaking Complement them Put yourself in their place What do they want or need, or perhaps, what do you want or need Always be Positive Create as much value in the conversation as possible When the conversation is finished, keep it going, offer to be there for them, ask them to be there for you. There is nothing more powerful than a group of humans. That person is now your teammate, and you are now part of a group. Wishes for a great day, Each one a gift, Hugs too David/

What is the meaning of life? It is a question that is pondered often. It is also a question that you should never ponder. Ever! The Only question you should ask yourself about life, your life is: What positive value can I create in my life? What positive value can I create in my life for myself and others? Simple. Done. Wishes for a great day to all, each one a gift, Hugs too, David/

Pyrex is glass that is heat and chemical resistant. Test tubes are made from it for that reason. Imagine….. That your parents are Pyrex test tubes. You were created not from human parents but by a concoction of elements and chemicals. And by accident. How would that make you feel? Now take that Pyrex test tube and imagine…. That there was an intelligent agent putting that recipe together in that test tube from where you originated. That you were created intentionally, for a purpose. Now you can see the importance of a belief in intelligent design as the origination of the Big Bang Theory. And obviously the fact that that is the best explanation as to its origin. The most important thing that you can have in life is a purpose to live for. Hard stop. Without purpose you are a rudderless boat in the sea of life.  Wishes for a great day, Hugs and love too, David/

Please don’t. Never, ever, ride a bicycle outside. It is not a matter of if you are going to fall or have an accident. It is only a matter of when. Over the past several weeks, including this morning on my way to work, several people riding a bicycle almost died.  One was a good friend of mine who recently spent more than a week in the ICU, had emergency cervical spine decompression, a chest tube placed to reinflate his lung, and still does not have full function of one of his arms. The other was this morning. A person riding a bicycle fell on the 86th street transverse and, luckily for her, a person driving a car saw her on the road in the middle of the [busy] street, placed his car in the middle of the street and protected her from traffic traveling in both directions. Given it was pitch black with very little illumination from streetlamps located dozens of yards apart – a miracle she did not get run over by traffic. He got out of his car, lifted her off the pavement and carried her to the sidewalk. The ONLY bicycle you should ride is a Peloton or similar indoor bike, which I think is one of the best forms of exercise available. I have over 17,500 miles on my Peloton, without ever traveling one inch. Wishes for a great day to all, each one a gift, Hugs too, David/

This is my second post on dry brining, the first involved steaks . It is a gamechanger in a positive way. I also dry brine my turkey. And you follow the same principles. 1. Clean the turkey 2. Dry it off. 3. Use a cookie sheet and rack. a. I put aluminum foil on the cookie sheet to make clean up easier 4. Use a binder such as olive oil or butter. 5. Apply a light coat of salt to the turkey, both sides if you spatchcocked yours. a. I use Maldon Sea Salt 6. Put it in the refrigerator the day prior to cooking. Remember not to add any more salt when you season the turkey before you cook it. Wishes for a great day to all, Each one a gift, Hugs too, David/

If you have to cook one turkey, this is the ONLY way to do it. I say that with 99.99% confidence built over decades of cooking multiple turkeys. We average over 50 adults at our home every Thanksgiving. I make at least three turkeys for them. On occasion a 4th one pops up. There is nothing easier to make and better to eat than a spatchcocked turkey. And it makes no difference where you cook it. Inside or outside. Here is a link that demonstrates how to do it. Helpful hints: 1. Make sure the turkey is not frozen 2. Get a good pair of scissors. By taking out the turkey’s spine you get to cook the turkey without having to heat up the cavity – which causes your turkey to be overcooked, and dry year after year. Here are some other helpful tips: 1. 14-16lbs MAXIMUM. Never get a turkey larger than 16lbs 2. Dry Brine. If you can, spatchcock it the day before Thanksgiving and salt it. Put it on a baking pan/cookie sheet so the salt can be absorbed. This will create the juiciest turkey you ever tasted. 3. Seasoning. You do you. I like turkey made this way, simple. I take it out of the fridge an hour before I am going to cook it. Add some black pepper, granulated garlic, and onion powder. If you want some color, a touch of paprika. Either way, you do you. 4. Thermometer. I LOVE the Meater Probe . Get one. It will prevent you from overcooking your turkey and anything else you use it with. 5. 160 Degrees. Remove the turkey from the heat source when it hits 160 degrees. The carry over cooking will take it to 165 degrees and a degree higher or two. 6. WAIT. Do NOT slice the turkey for 15 to 20 minutes after you take it out of the heat source. Wishes for a great Thanksgiving to all, Each day is a gift, David/

If you have a curious mind and willingly entertain different points of view, then continue reading. If not, it might be best to stop here. Consider this a form of a trigger warning (still getting used to that concept). Did you or do you ever wonder about how you, how we humans got here? Do you believe we evolved from a “lower” form of life such as chimpanzees? Did you ever fully explore the concept of evolution? Did you find any gaps or holes as to why it may be the wrong answer as to how we got here? I don’t want to dive deep here. There is a book you should read that I just finished; it's free if you have a kindle- Darwin's Doubts. Here are some brief thoughts as to why the theory of evolution does not explain how humans got here. 1. The Big Bang Theory. That there was a birthing moment to our universe and the several Trillion other universes we know of. If you believe in the Big Bang Theory (a universally accepted theory) then how do you explain it being the Big Bang and Evolution? Something from nothing is not evolution. Put another way: Evolution is about survival, Not about arrival. 2. The Cambrian Explosion. It is an interval of time about 538.8 million years ago and is referred to as the Biological Big Bang. It lasted for about 13 – 25 million years and during that period there was an “explosion” of new life forms. There remains no explanation as to how so many new forms of life evolved so quickly – too short a period of time for evolution to have possibly been a cause. 3. Junk DNA. The theory of Evolution requires us to have DNA that is “junk”, that we evolved from to where we are. And that over the course of time, the amount of “useless” DNA would continue to increase as we evolved from lower forms of life. Less than 5% of our DNA is junk whereas if Evolution is how we got here the amount should be far greater. 4. Mutations in our DNA that occur early in biological development where it can lead to the greatest changes in form and function lead to death and demise universally. And if the “mutation” survived, and survived long enough the ability to reproduce itself is infinitely small. 5. Epigenetics. It is the “stuff” in your cells that is not DNA but controls the formation of your body. They are not susceptible to mutations in your DNA. Evolution by definition does not involve them. 6. Consciousness. What evolutionary benefit does it derive from? Why can we think about stuff outside the need for us to survive, much less thrive. Music, philosophy, physics, and pass this on to successive generations. Where did that evolve from? 7. Primordial Soup. That stuff billions of years after the Big Bang- that after the Earth was formed after the birth of our Sun supposedly gave rise to life. What was that primordial soup made of? Chemicals such as sodium and chloride. Where did they come from and how do you get to the formation of DNA much less a cell wall? The original chicken and egg question. You cannot have DNA without a cell wall to protect it, and you can’t have a cell wall without DNA. These are just a few holes in the dike that is the Theory of Evolution. I hope that you choose to explore this further. Why you should do so is important and will be an upcoming post. Wishes for a great day to all, each one a gift. Hugs too, David/