Author: Kevscott1

This weekend marked my return to OCR (Obstacle Course Racing) since my knee and leg issues with Lyme Disease were resolved. The Spartan Super at Mountain Creek was a good challenge, and I could not have picked a “better” day. It was cold and rainy, and the runoff destroyed the course as it had been raining for a while. The vertical parts of the mountain were challenging. At points, you had to crawl up the mountain. The descents were impossible to navigate without slipping in the mud. The obstacles were soaked and muddy and almost impossible to complete. I would not change a thing. I like doing what others do not and attempting to do it well. I cannot wait for the next one.

What one thing do you like to do that others choose not to do? What pushes your comfort level?

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong

Meetings

Two types of people go to meetings. The first one is prepared, knows their talking points and counterarguments, and is interested in contributing to the outcome. The other just shows up and wastes everyone’s time with stupid questions about the information they did not take the time to read and side conversations about the latest correct event. I hate long meetings and when my time is wasted, especially by the unprepared.

Be on point, and Be prepared.

Many things can separate you from the pack, and few will have a more significant impact than being the most prepared person in the room.

Every time I go to a meeting, I expect 3 things: to be the smartest about my topic, the fittest person in the room, and the most prepared. The best sessions take place when others push me in all 3 areas.

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong.

We are finally getting some rain in Northwestern, NJ, so I thought it was a good time to bring up driving in wet weather.

Why does everyone slow down to a ludicrous speed when it rains? I was driving to work this morning when the forecast called for heavy rainstorms throughout the day. A trail of 10 cars followed behind someone going 12 mph in a 35 mph zone. Why? The rain was nowhere near us yet.

Do you notice that certain drivers, like those in front of you, drive super slow when it rains? Why? Do they think that by driving slowly, they can count every drop of rain that strikes their vehicle? Is this superslow driving really safe, especially for those cars behind you? We have minimum speeds on the highway that one must maintain, and maybe we need the same for our local roads to remove those unsuitable for driving. It is one thing to drive with caution, and it is another thing to drive with fear. If you go with fear, you are a danger to everyone else on the road.

 Stay off the roads if you are not courageous enough to drive at an appropriate speed.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy.

My wife and I are fortunate enough to take all four of our parents out to Easter Brunch each year. We go to one of our favorite restaurants that offer a great variety of food, and we usually have a date night at the same restaurant three or four times a year. It is rumored that Albert Einstein used to frequent this restaurant for its food. As science educators, this small slice of trivia is pretty cool.

We arrived 5 minutes early for our 2 pm reservation. The person behind us had a 2:15 reservation. She promptly went to the young hostess, asking where her seats were, and when she found out, she was not happy with their location. She was trying to be the star of the show. She seemed to watch too many Housewives of… episodes and thought this is how normal people act. The lady asked to be moved and gave several reasons her group needed to be given preference. I find this amusing, as the brunch was by reservation only. If I had seating requirements, I would communicate these needs while making the reservation. Since her reservation was at 2:15, I assumed the hostess would solve her issues once we were seated. Instead, the hostess switched the seating arrangements and sat her group first. At 2:10, I approached the hostess and asked why we were still waiting. She said our table was not ready yet. I told her I overheard her speaking to the head waitress that you were switching tables to accommodate the other group, yet they were seated before us. We had an earlier reservation, and this was not acceptable. We were seated shortly after that and had another great Easter Brunch.

In reviewing the unpleasant start to a fantastic brunch with our family, I am unhappy with the person who came in and tried to influence everyone else’s day with her need to be the star of the show. I recognize that the hostess was young and needed more experience to handle the selfish customer without inconveniencing anyone else. I am disappointed that a manager was not at the front desk to assist the young hostess, check in on her,  and help her to learn to make good decisions. I am also disappointed that I am still thinking about the situation and that it still bothers me, and I need to let it go. It was a great day with our family, and this is most important.

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong

Based on my scores, every golf outing is a bad gold outing. I try, but I could be better. More importantly, I could be more consistent in my practice and the course. However, I have much fun playing golf with my friends and family. They respect my availability and encourage me when I do well, especially when I try.

Recently, I had an outing where I played poorly compared to my average and my handicap. It was all mental. I lacked mental focus because I did not prepare physically or mentally to play the round. I did not go to the range to hit golf balls before playing. I did not lay out my kit the night before and forgot two items I needed on the course. During the round, I was so focused on not being prepared that I did not focus on my play, my form, and the mistakes I was making.

As a coach, I preach performance and preparation every day. Yet, I should have done the same regarding the golf outing. I may have great ideas and strategies to offer others, but they are no good if I first remember to utilize them myself.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy

What is up with drivers these days? Everywhere I go, people stop in the middle of the roadway to let others go. Why? Are they being nice, or do they want to cause an accident?

Most of the police officers that I speak with tell me that stopping to let others go is a leading cause of accidents. Yet, people do it all of the time. It is one thing if traffic is snarled and there is nowhere to go, and it is another thing when you stop a traffic flow to let someone turn into your lane. 

Why are we trying to be nice to someone by ignoring the people behind us? It makes no sense. Everyone knows they have to wait for a stop sign. Should we feel bad for them following the rules of the road? Is this like baseball, where unwritten rules govern and ruin the game? Or is this a group of drivers who want to rewrite how to drive by making it logical to stop in the middle of the road and potentially cause accidents to those behind them? 

Keep driving. The other drivers will eventually get to where they need to go, and the drivers behind you will be safer.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy.

My oldest son and I go out to dinner every Tuesday. He picks the place, we go, bring it home, eat, and talk. Today, he picked one of our favorite pizzerias. We went in and looked at the choices. I was disappointed that my favorite meat slice was not made. The slices I got were good, but I wanted great. The service, or should I say the server, was not good either. He was slow and clearly not into his job, which included serving us. After I paid, I left a small tip in the tip jar. When we got to the car, my son asked me why I had left a tip. When I explained, he interrupted me and said, “I do not think he deserved it.” He was right. The person did not go above and beyond to serve my son or me. The server did not have my favorite slices ready. The server did not have a positive attitude, and he did not deserve the tip. I clearly sent

the wrong message by rewarding the server with extra compensation. He is going to expect that going forward. I had a message to learn as well. It is not ok to receive poor service and provide the server with a tip. We both failed the interview.

Please ban Laser Pointers from any and all presentations from this time forward. 

They drive me nuts.

Can anyone explain the reason for using laser pointers? Is it to blind the audience or cause them to enter an epileptic shock trying to find the bouncing dot like a dog chasing a… well yeah, a laser pointer? What is their point besides allowing the presenter to have their little mini lightsaber to spread fear in the eyes of the audience? 

The other day, I attended a presentation about current issues in education. The presenter used a laser pointer. The presenter effectively used the laser pointer to give me motion sickness while reviewing everything in her 3,000-word per-slide presentation.  She used the device as effectively as a drunken pirate steers a ship. After a few hours, I thought she was using the laser pointer to point to unimportant words in her slides. She went so far as to use the laser pointer to outline what she was reading from the presentation my bosses spent good money to send me to. While searching for the remains of my lunch that were robbed from me by the motion-sickness bandits, I realized this was a waste of my time, my bosses’ money, and the energy in the laser pointer she wielded like Jack the Ripper.

When I was a little kid learning how to read, we watched movies that asked us to follow the bouncing ball that bounced on top of words as they were read to the class. This bouncing ball was smoother than the presenter’s use of the dreaded laser pointer. No fear of being stabbed in the eye by a light beam stimulated by an emission of radiation.

Toward the end, the presentation got worse. When the presenter stopped to talk about a slide, she would face the audience with the laser pointer in her hand. She never remembered to turn the laser pointer off. We would duck as the laser pointer made its way around the room. The presenter’s hands were moving as if she was the Philhomarnic’s next conductor. When her tempo changed suddenly, and her hands took a sudden sharp turn, participants ducked behind each other, hoping the mass of the person next to them would allow them to see clearly when the event was over.

There is no need for laser pointers. Please join me in banning them for life.

Every day is an interview.

Just Be Better

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong.

I hate bad driving even more when I am the bad driver.

Every once in a while, I notice my agitation growing inside me while driving, especially when I am behind a slow driver. I am not patient when stuck behind a slow driver, AKA Slo-mo-fo, Farty McOldperson, etc. The problem is that I get so frustrated that I become the next bad driver.

Case in point. I was getting out of work and stuck behind someone who was not moving when the light turned green. I flashed my high beams. The driver looked up from his phone and started driving very slowly. So slowly, it seemed that he was trying to get me stuck at the red light. I got through, but maybe I shouldn’t have. The light turned yellow as the driver in front of me went, then it turned red when I was in the middle of completing the turn. The driver then proceeded to go 10 miles an hour to get to the next block. At this point, I was livid and following too close behind. At the next turn, the driver did not go when there was space. Instead, he waited and turned at the last possible moment. I was stuck waiting for my opening, which I took. After getting into the traffic flow, I  passed the annoying driver that influenced my driving habits and went to my appointment. A few moments later, that same car causing me aggravation, passed me on the left. Now I was irate, but I let it go. 

As I was in the waiting room, I realized that my reactions took me off my desired path. The first goal is to get to my destination safely, and the second is to get there on time. The bad driver might have affected the second goal, but I was the one who would affect the first goal.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy