News Trend Resistance To Change|Actual

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."

 -Maya Angelou

Welcome to the hardest working room in my house.

Not only does the laundry room do battle against a dozen loads of laundry a week, but this is the main thoroughfare to the garage, and the pets' dining area.

Well, I should say that my two previous dogs took all their meals here but not Gracie. She is a wild woman who must dine outside. It's not so much her table manners that cause the problem. She literally eats every bite of her food without so much as dropping a crumb because, you know, crumbs are delicious.

And though she drinks like a thirsty camel, she doesn't splash around too badly. No, the problem comes when my beautifully feathered Irish Setter lifts her head from the drinking bowl, and water streams in cascades and rivulets from her lips to her chest and on a good day, all the way down to her belly. She's earned the nickname, Niagara Falls, and it suits her well.

But wait. Back to my point.

The thing about this room is that despite the constant wear and tear, I've done very little in the way of updates or some much needed renovations.

Oh, the walls have been painted a few times. They are still my white of choice, Behr's Bleached Linen.

We've run through a few washers and driers over the years. These seemingly small Bosch units run plenty big super-sized loads even though the machines maintain sleeker profiles than the typical American brands. Love.

And maybe ten years ago, I hung my second-born's monochrome circle art and three wood shelves along the main wall, which definitely bumped up the style factor.

This $20 bought me a whole lot of happiness.

I also sprung for a bitty little mirror with a round wooden peg which I inexplicably love. My purse hangs there and every time I pick it up or drop it off, that mirror sparks a new round of joy in my heart.

See the item on the white board that says "laundry room floor"? Yeah. That's been there for years.

But otherwise, the laundry room carries on much the same as it always has. And it has become somewhat of a battered affair.

Natural birch peg railings came from Crate and Barrel back in the day. I think I may have bought them before we moved from Chicago.

Hanging baskets were a catalog purchase from the babyhood days. The larger one, which now holds my daughters' slip ons, used to house a stash of my favorite catalogs back in the day. Oh, the memories of the hours I used to spend quietly window shopping through catalogs while my babies took their afternoon naps. What an extravagant use of my precious time.

And that white board is a relic of the homeschooling era, when it was taken down off the wall and carted around the house for endless purposes, most of which had nothing to do with me. Now it mostly stays fastened to the wall, covered in lists of appointments, project notes, and the ubiquitous to-dos.

The dish to the right of the faucet is the cats' watering hole - usually there are a couple more dishes on the counter holding the dregs of one of their wet food feasts. However, Gracie makes a daily habit of jumping up and grabbing the dishes, carrying them off in her teeth to her spot on the couch where she carefully licks out every molecule of cat food. It's cute but very annoying.

I gotta be honest though - this room has been worn to a frazzle. The sink bears the scars of three decades of painting projects cleaned up here, the old Formica counter tops belong in a mid-century museum, and the floors - well, they have died an undignified death.

It's time - no, it's a decade beyond time - for me to get some work done here. The money has been set aside for a reasonable renovation and I've got a pretty good idea of what I want.

So why don't I just pull the trigger and give this room some love?

I can't say for sure.

Maybe it's these crazy, uncertain times.

Maybe I have attachment issues.

Maybe I secretly love that almond Formica.

Whatever the reason, I recently opened my eyes to find that my resistance to change has led this room to devolve to a messy, cluttered, and ugly space. I'd let the room languish. And a few weeks ago, I decided to fight back.

What do you do with wet dish towels that are waiting to join a load of laundry? My system is to hang them on the side of the washer so they can dry as they bide their time, a solution that is practical but not all that cute.

So I've dedicated myself to a new laundry room attitude. I cleaned out the cupboards so that my supplies no longer have to jostle for space. I restyled the shelves to my satisfaction. Bought a few new towels. Added a happy plant. Cleaned up the clutter on the peg racks.

And probably most importantly, I've been on top of my cleaning routine - sweeping the floor daily, staying on top of getting the clean laundry put away, wiping down the counter pretty much every time I walk by,  And I'm finding, much to my surprise, that even with her obvious bumps and bruises, there's still some life in this old girl.

Someday, I will indeed get a new counter - running the entire length of the wall, fingers crossed - and a new floor that is not 80s vinyl. Maybe I'll even ditch the unsightly but incredibly functional plastic laundry baskets.

Gracie says she's not here to critique the decor - she's just hoping to steal some more cat food.

For now, I'll just keep wiping up the cat hair, acknowledging my resistance to change, and waiting for my laundry room's time to come.

News Trend Birthdays In The Time Of Covid |Actual

You can't make them out in this photo, but beneath the glossy surface of chocolate icing stand three fluffy layers of decadently rich chocolate cake. And if that doesn't say happy birthday, I don't know what does.

Happy birthday to my first-born daughter. Today was her big day, and along with all of our usual ceremony and tradition, we found a way to celebrate Covid-style.

Though she lives nearby - when traffic is clear, just a fifteen minute shot down the expressway - we have kept our social distance these past few months. We text pretty much every day, and made a few six-feet-apart rendezvous for some drop-off and pick-up situations, but as far as actual visits go, we have not hung out since this all began.

But we both decided, she and I, that because we have all been very careful in protecting ourselves from infection, we all felt confident in our health and decided to give this visit a go.

And it was lovely. She rolled in around noon, and we went right to work in the kitchen. Taking turns, we pulled together a triple layer chocolate cake, a deep dish of homemade lasagne, caesar salad right down to the homemade croutons and anchovy dressing, and a loaf of garlic-rosemary bread.

In the midst of all that, we also fit in my usual walk with Gracie, plenty of texting with Younger Sister 2, and a considerable amount of tomfoolery with Younger Sisters 3 and 4.

We then ate dinner

opened presents

collapsed in the family room

eventually revived ourselves for cake and ice cream

and then collapsed again.

In other words, it was a simple and homespun day of birthday fun.

And though Covid forced us to keep the day simple, it also reminded us of what matters most.

Birthdays are for being with the people you love.

Zebra Technologies Stratix PGA Tour Superstore Retail Mobility Video

Improve customer service while cutting costs with mobility solutions from Stratix. In this retail mobility success story, you'll see how fast growing PGA tour superstores are using mobile handhelds, and mobile printers to drive greater efficiency in their operations. Our philosophy is to grow the game of gold. We have a huge selection of junior products, as well as women's products that can't be found at any other golf store anywhere.

With a typical size of about 60,000 square feet, a PGA tour superstore stocks about 30,000 items, and serves about 750 customers a day. Their goal, improve customer service by reducing the time that store associates spend tasking. What is tasking? It's making price changes. It's taking cycle counts, be sure our inventories are correct, and making necessary adjustments.

PGA tour superstores turn to Stratix for help integrating a mobility solution that will allow to operate more efficiently. We run pretty lean and mean, as far as the back office infrastructure. Try to keep the overhead to a minimum, so that's why a partner in mobility is very important. For it's mobile platform, PGA tour superstore selected rugged mobile devices from Motorola, and mobile printers from Zebra.

All installed and maintained by Stratix. It's just basically pushing a button, scanning it, and turning on the printer and printing out a label. I mean couldn't be any easier. It saves us, I would say, at least 50% if not 75% of time.

You scan the skew, and it reprints a new price label for you, almost instantly, and away you go. It helps on returns. We take a return if it comes back with a receipt to the club desk here. It allows us to go ahead and type in the skew, and immediately put a label back on it, and get it back out on the floor so we can hopefully sell that product.

So with mobile allocation, what we can do is obviously run our low stocks, and help keep ourselves in a better stock position. Helps us with daily operations as far as price changes and cycle counts. So what were the lessons that PGA tour superstore has learned implementing a mobile solution for their business? For one thing, store associates quickly come to rely on. It has to work 100% of the time.

If it doesn't work, you know, the world comes to a stop, so you have to keep it up and operational, which is actually kind of lesson number two, you have to maintain the equipment. For PGA tour superstore the decision to implement a mobility solution, and utilize Stratix to install and maintain it has quickly paid off. It's helped the retail chain improve on job one, raising the bar on customer service. We are going to survive with good customer service, and the only way you can provide that good customer service is to actually be there and help the customer.

So to label the store, to be able to do inventories in the store, to be able to receive product quickly in the store there's no option, you have to do it with mobile technology. Mobile technology working for the enterprise. Stratix, we understand mobility, and the people who use it..

VIDEO Retail development to continue in Sand Springs

TODAY MANY PROJECTS ARE IN THE. WORKS IN SIN SPRINGS. RON TERRELL HAS AN UPDATE ON A. PROJECT HE HAS BEEN FOLLOWING.

FROM THE START. Reporter: FOX 23 WAS THERE. IN AUGUST 2014 FOR THE. GROUNDBREAKING AT THEIR RIVER.

WEST IN SAND SPRINGS. YOU CAN NOW SEE SIGNS OF. PROGRESS. I SPOKE WITH THE MAYOR AND HE.

SAID IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF. TIME. OUR THOUGHT WAS ONCE WE. STARTED THINGS DON'T IT WILL.

CREATE INTEREST AND WILL BRING. PEOPLE IN. CITY LEADERS SAY THEY ARE. EXCITED ABOUT THE PACE OF THE.

PROJECT. THERE ARE STILL SOME. LOTS AVAILABLE THAT THOSE ARE. GOING AND ARE SEVERAL.

PROPERTIES THAT ARE OPEN WHICH. MOVED FROM ITS LOCATION NORTH. OF HERE. SOON TO OPEN IS AN ALDIE.

GROCERY STORE. THE POLICE CHEIF HELPS THE CITY. WITH DEVELOPMENT PLANNING. WE THINK WE WILL BE DONE IN.

ONE YEAR. ONCE THE RIVER WEST IS. COMPLETED IT IS ON TO THE. CITY'S NEXT BIG PROJECT EXPECT.

25 ACRE RETAIL DEVELOPMENT OVER. AT THE OLD STEEL LAND IN SAND. SPRINGS THAT WILL CHANGE THE. LAND SCAPE.

RAILROAD MANAGEMENT COMPANY. PURCHASED THE STEEL PLANT LAST. SUMMER FOR THE PURPOSE OF. RETAIL DEVELOPMENT.

THE CITY IS ON BOARD TO HELP. THEM OUT. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS. FINISH UP.

THEN WE CAN JUMP OVER. AND HELP WITH THE PLANS. HE ALSO FOUND OUT WHEN WE. CAN EXPECT TO HEAR.

ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE COMING..

Top 10 Arcade Racing Games

10. A little rusty by now, Burnout: Paradise
is a legend. I wasn't a big fan back then and still aren't, but anyone that knows anything
about racers needs to admit that this game hit the spot with the open-world goodness,
the excellently modelled crashes with the car-body being crunched, with different events
to be chosen from the map and great graphics for its time, this gem certainly may charm
many players. 9.

Ridge Racer: Unbounded is fairly similar
in both gameplay and graphics to Split/Second, but its at least 1 class quality lower. Its
not a top notch product, a rather boring one for longer plays, but if you ran out of ideas
- this one may kill it for ya. 8. The Crew was a major release and one of
the recent flagships for Ubisoft.

It is now pretty stable and awaits a big update with
the release of The Crew: Wild Run, when the graphics will be enhanced (allegedly). As
for the looks, the game did not impress me, as for the driving itself - the cars are poorly
responsive and require getting used to. However, the open-world setting with various tasks
to be done and a reasonably long campaign with random coop events prove that The Crew
has much content to offer. Keep in mind that we recommend trying it out first before buying.

7. Blur was a strong competitor to Split/Second
at the time of the release and many people tended to feel that Blur had the upper hand.
I can see where this was going from, but for me personally the steering and pretty monotone
graphics, as well as poor diversity of the single-player campaign left a lacking experience.
Nevertheless, if you are a fan of arcade racers - you definitely need to check this one out! 6. Skydrift is a game that has been neglected
by the community, so it died off concerning multiplayer real fast, for no good reason.
The game is superb with its nicely designed tracks, 3d maneuvering, various power-ups
and weapons that may change the course of every race in a matter of seconds. The single-player
campaign is enough entertaining to say that the game is well worth its price! 5.

The king of arcade racing for now, in its
raw classic glory, is Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed. The notion of the tracks
requiring different types of vehicles and that your machine adapts to this, being either
a car, a boat or a plane is very refreshing and grants plenty of replayability. This game
has no competitor on the PC platform when it comes to couch coop party fun. 4.

Codemasters really made a gem out of DiRT
3, not only by incorporating an excellent gameplay model with a deeply customizable
difficulty level, but also with versatility of the events from standard rally and time
events, and gymkhana stuns, buggy and truck races as well. The scenery and weather conditions
vary and there's really plenty of content here, not to mention that it still looks great.
It's also worth mentioning that if you get the retail key and register the game on Steam,
you get all the available DLCs for free! 3. GRID 2 has the most awesome introduction
with the vintage Ford Mustang that likes to drift like a devil! As with both gaming series
from Codemasters (that is DiRT and GRID) you may setup your assists so you can actually
make an arcade racer out of it. The graphics are awesome and well optimised, a great choice
for all racing fans, especially those that are not maybe exactly up for simulation, but
some extra difficulty is welcome.

2. Split/Second is a vastly underestimated
game. The setting is quite simple, yet effective - you drive through rigged tracks through
cities or sites where explosive charges may be triggered by the racers, blowing up trucks,
collapsing buildings, but if you gather more power by drifiting and other stunts, you can
do even more damage and planes crash down from the sky, towers fall to the ground and
the track routes change to reflect the alteration of the scenery. A great game with terrific
driving model, very comfortable to steer.

1. NFS: Hot Pursuit and its close competitor
- Rivals are top racing games in this line-up. Rivals would've won, if not for the horrific
server disconnects, constant crashes and texture pop-ins in the distance. Nevertheless, the
driving experience, the graphics and audio are unmatched in the series.

Overall fantastic
arcade racing family, with these two as top of the line, also with The Run and Most Wanted
worth mentioning as well. That's it guys and girls, best arcade racers
there are. I'm sure you know at least a couple of more like Blazerush, Driver: San Francisco,
Distance or Flatout series and plenty of others. Let us know about them in the comments! Thanks for watching, this's been Godless from
Pitlord.Eu, now go burn some gas..

This Pit Crew Member Got Hit By A Race CarWhy He Still Loves His Job

- Even after being nailed by the car, I'm not gonna stop. If I get hurt enough,
maybe that'll deter me from being so enthusiastic about it, but until that day comes, it's still the coolest thing
I could possibly think of going and doing on a Sunday. It's fun, and it's fun
to be a part of the race 'cause if we screw it up, we screw up where the
car finishes essentially. So it makes it that much more fun 'cause you're actually part of it.

It's not just the driver at that point. The crew has a say-so in what's going on. What does it take to be that guy? Bottom line, it takes dedication, concentration,
obviously the will to put yourself in that kind
of harm's environment and being able to handle, let's call it, high-pressure environments. That's a good way to describe that.

I wear a heart monitor, and you're totally calm
and cool as a cucumber and then when you know
you're 10 seconds out, your heart rate increases. It's crazy. And you get done and you're pretty high for, you know, 40 seconds, then you come back down to reality, like okay, that was it. Now we wait around for the next one, ha.

Everybody's kind of at risk, for sure. The fueler especially is at risk 'cause he's got a big
giant fuel hose in his hand that's pumping a lot of gallons per second and if that malfunctions and breaks, he's gonna be doused in
a very flammable liquid and has the potential to go up in flames. It's happened before. Inside front, me, I'm in a prime position to be hit by the car, for sure because I've got a wall behind me and nowhere to go, essentially.

So if the driver screws
up coming into the box, normally, I can get pummeled pretty well. No one's safe. It was our first stop of the race. Kyle was a rookie this year.

He just made a small mistake and locked up and basically, once the car
was 10, 12 feet away from me, like, I knew it was coming. And in the video, you can see me kind of hesitate a little
bit, but car made contact. I instantly stood up, I didn't
feel anything was wrong, and we finished the pit
stop and that was it. Once I got over the wall,
then reality kind of set in, like, wow, you know, I
just got hit by the car.

Medical came over and
made sure I was okay. Then team management made
sure I was all right. Indy Car made sure I was okay. I felt fine, I stayed in it.

I didn't wanna stop, it's the Indy 500. I think you just have to, you have to keep it in
the back of your head. You know, I know there's people out there that have done this for years
that have never been hurt and that's a good thing. And then I've worked with people who have been severely
hurt to the point where three years later,
they're still doing rehab and reconstructive surgeries
and pins and screws and they're not going
over the wall anymore, they don't want to.

If we do three pit stops in a race, and the race is two and
a half hours long, that that 30 seconds of work that
we did throughout the race is worth every ounce of
stress and frustration and being tired and long
hours and this and that. That 30 seconds is
totally worth everything..

This 28-Year-Old Supercross Racer Has 20 Minutes To Make $1 Million

- Where do you draw the line
for a super aggressive pass? That pass was over the line. - Yeah, that's racing. Sometimes things like
that happen, you know? - When I'm on the bike,
I try to focus on myself. The heart rate is high,
the breathing is high.

Sometimes you battle with somebody else and there is tensions,
and the adrenaline of it is something unique. - [Announcer] Monster
Energy Supercross ready to drop the gate on the 450 championship. They battled all year from coast to coast They're set to settle it here in Vegas. (Intense music) - [Narrator] This is Supercross.

The motorcycle racing series that fills stadiums across America. At the final round of the
2018 season in Las Vegas, it all comes down to the main event where one racer will ride
off with a championship bonus worth more than one million dollars. This year the field is
narrowed to two men. Current points leader
Jason Anderson simply needs to finish in the top ten
and the championship is his.

That is, unless one other
racer finishes first. For the controversial French
Supercross star Marvin Musquin, it's all or nothing. But Musquin better watch his back because Eli Tomac aims to spoil
his run at the championship. Even if Tomac wins the race,
he won't have enough points for the championship, or the big money.

But revenge? Some would say that's priceless. The sport of off-road
motorcycle racing, or motocross, debuted in England in the 1920's. By the late '40's, it had invaded the U.S. And in the early '70's the
sport moved into stadiums where it became known as Supercross.

- [Announcer] For all the
champagne, glory, and gold, we are underway! - [Narrator] By the '80's,
it was a national obsession. It inspired movies, video games, and garnered lucrative sponsorship deals for the sport's biggest stars. For today's Supercross athletes, the goal is pretty much the same. Win races, and collect
checks from sponsors.

- [Announcer] Welcome to Sam
Boyd Stadium, here in Las Vegas for our 2018 Championship Weekend. I'd like to begin today by
bringing out our athletes who are gonna fill out our stage. First up, the rider number 25 the Red Bull KTM Marvin Musquin. - [Narrator] One of the
sport's biggest stars is 28-year-old Marvin Musquin from France.

On his last trip to
Vegas, he hit the jackpot. - [Announcer] Marvin
Musquin wins all three! - [Narrator] Eight months earlier, he won the Monster Energy Cup and a check for a million
bucks after winning all three main events. - [Interviewer] What's
your mindset coming into tomorrow night's race? (Clock ticks) - [Announcer] One of the
most controversial finishes this season, half a lap to go, Musquin sees his opening, smashes into the side
of Tomac, takes him out, the crowd not happy,
they were booing Musquin. - [Narrator] Musquin's move
at Foxborough got him the win and pushed him into contention
for the championship.

But it pushed Eli Tomac even further out. - [Interviewer] Eli, just take us through what happened out there. - [Eli] A lap and a half to go, coming around, off the
finish line, down the strait, and I just got blasted from
the inside on that second turn. It was out of nowhere
and it was a cheap shot.

- [Marvin] Yeah, I'm
sorry about what happened with the crash. I mean, it could have been bad for me too. So, you know, for a 450 win
main, sometimes you gotta try your hardest and - But, where do you draw the line? Like, for a super aggressive pass. That pass was over the line.

- Yeah, that's racing, you know? Sometimes, we could talk
about stuff like that a long time, so, things
like that happen, you know? The mindset is the same as last weekend. I wanna do my best and see what happens. I'm born on the motocross track. My dad used to race,
and my brother as well.

Every single weekend I
grew up going to the races and to the practice track and from that I knew I wanted
to be a motocross racer. - [Narrator] Along with
racing, Marvin has always had another constant in his life. His wife Mathilde, who
travels with Marvin on the grueling Supercross tour. - We've been together since we were 15.

Back then I was working for a
French magazine for motocross with kids, and I just
happened to interview Marvin and that's how it all started. We became friends for a while,
and then started dating, and that's it! - [Narrator] Thanks to
her consistent presence on Marvin's social media, she's become a star in her own right. - She motivates me, she
keeps me on track definitely. She takes care of me every
single day, and she's always supportive, good days and bad days.

- [Narrator] Before the championship event the racers get a chance
to inspect the track and get in a few practice laps. - [Aldon Baker] I think
people don't understand what the athlete actually goes
through on a motocross bike. The cardio part of it is pretty intense and the heart rates are around 180, between 170 and 180 beats per minute. So we've got to condition
the athlete for that.

- [Marvin] You want to be as
fast as you can for 20 minutes, so definitely if the
breathing gets too high or you can't relax, then it's not good, so because of the heart rate being so high you have to have really good endurance. - Marvin, Marvin, Marvin! Marvelous Marvin, we love you! (Crowd cheers and yells) - [Marvin] Definitely what
happened in Foxborough is following me right now. The crowd was a little tough on me. A lot of booing, but I had really great
feedback from my fans.

Like I said, I really
try to focus on myself, and that actually gets me more power. (Intense music) - [Announcer] Let's hear
it for Marvin Musquin! (Crowd cheers) - [Announcer] When he was
introduced to the crowd here in Las Vegas tonight,
a chorus of boos rained down on top of the French rider. - [Narrator] Before the main event, the riders in the 450 class
compete in preliminary heats to determine their position
at the starting line. Eli Tomec will go first.

- [Announcer] Heat one. Let's drop the gate! Tomec falls way back! - [Narrator] Tomec
stumbled out of the gate trailing big behind the Australian former champion, Chad Reed. (Techno music) - [Announcer] Here comes Tomec,
closing in on the outside but can't get past him just yet. - [Narrator] But Tomec
soon gained ground on Reed.

- [Announcer] And just like that Eli Tomec gets past Reed! - [Narrator] Tomec came
from behind to win his heat. But would he have
anything left in the tank for the big race? Then it was Musquin's turn. - [Announcer] Here we go. 450 Heat number 2.

- [Narrator] Even with overall
points leader, Jason Anderson on his tail, Marvin
Musquin never looked back and won the race with ease. - [Announcer] Alright! We've got one more championship to go. - [Narrator] The main event
is comprised of 20 minutes plus one lap. First to cross the finish line wins.

All Anderson needs to do
is finish in the top ten. But if Musquin wins, he takes the trophy. - [Announcer] Jason Anderson,
Marvin Musquin, and Eli Tomac looking to be a spoiler on that number 3! (Tense music) Tomac takes it! Musquin is right behind him! Anderson back in eighth! - [Narrator] With Anderson
holding steady in the top ten, it would be a game of cat and mouse between Tomac and Musquin. - [Announcer] Musquin coming after Tomac! He's gotta win here tonight.

Musquin getting even closer to Eli Tomac! - [Narrator] Musquin
stayed on top of Tomac. - [Announcer] He's getting closer! - [Narrator] Til he ran into some trouble. - [Announcer] Now look at this. As they went through some lapped riders Musquin gets held up a little bit.

Can Musquin make this time back up? Does he have it in him to
try to win this final main? Eli Tomac opening up right here. Marvin Musquin trying to keep that gap. - [Narrator] But the gap never closed. Thanks to the speed of Tomac there was just too much separation.

- [Announcer] Eli Tomac
takes the win in Las Vegas, the final one of 2018 as he makes his way
around on the final lap, the 2018 Monster Energy
AMA Supercross and FIM. World champion is Jason Anderson! - [Mathilde] When there is a bad moment or a race that doesn't go well, I know right away what's
going into his mind. I hate for him to have that
feeling, you know, I hate it. So I just want to console him
as much as I can and tell him it's going to be okay.

There is more races, and
it's okay to have a bad one. - [Marvin] I knew it was going
to be a tough main event. My goal was just to keep
charging, and to keep pushing. Racing, it's crazy, anything can happen.

The last few rounds we were
able to fight for the win, so that's really important, and I'm looking forward to the future. (Audience claps) - [Announcer] Jason, would you
mind holding that trophy up one more time for all
the people in the crowd on the big screen? Here we go! Up in the air! Let's hear it for your champion! (Somber music) (intense music).