Quick Hits: Tobacco farmers face changes. Balko’s new book. Intercourse to climax.

• Like buggy whip and horseshoe manufacturers a century ago, tobacco farmers are learning that times change. We’re all focused on being healthier today, and their profits (and subsidies) have fallen. They’re not alone. Hostess bakers, Saturn factory workers, and just about every newspaper out there have change staring them directly in the face. In the coming years, educators, television journalism, and a whole host of unforeseen industries are going to join them. When change has come in your life, did you lie down and accept your fate, or have you started looking for a new perspective? Start seeing problems as opportunities to make improvements. Embrace change.

• Radley Balko, award-winning criminal justice and civil liberty investigative journalist (and all around bad-ass), is getting ready to release the must-read book on the militarization of police in America this Summer. As part of his push, he’s been posting the sordid details of a different militarized police operation every weekday to his blog (he claims to have over two years worth of material at that rate, with more coming in the time). It’s important to remember that there are no actual officially published numbers regarding these kinds of activities (SWAT raids, etc.) in America. So, until state and local agencies become more transparent, anecdotal evidence and extrapolation are the best we can do. If you want to learn more, check out this interview with Balko regarding the upcoming book.

• How long is it from Intercourse to Climax? Well, that depends. If you’re a man, you probably take a slight left onto PA-283, and head past Harrisburg on your way to Climax, PA – a quick 4 hours away. However, if you’re a woman, you’ll likely take a left onto N Hills Rd, winding your way through Maryland until you get on the I-95 and eventually arrive in Climax, GA – which is a 15 hour trip. It’s important to keep in mind that women need to leave about 11 hours earlier if both partners want arrive at their destination simultaneously, but you probably knew that already. Next time, we’ll discuss the best routes to Coxsackie from the Meat Packing District in NYC.

My Daily Trawl

I don’t feel like putting out a Quick Hit post tonight, but I wanted to stick to my schedule. There are only have a couple of links in my buffer that I really want to share, so they’re going to wait until I have a few more  (or I’ll post them on Saturday, we’ll see).

Anyway, I’ve been asked a few times how I fill a buffer of “valuable or important or cool or funny or weird or awesome” things that grab my attention to share every week. It’s not that complicated, really. Google Reader is my friend, and really easy to use if you have an account with Google. I use it to skim around thirty blogs every day (that number changes based on activity). Not all of them post every day, but some post several times a day so it evens out.

When I say skim, I mean it. Usually, I read the title and then maybe scan the first paragraph or two to see if I want to go any further. So, out of the fifty or so posts I see every morning or afternoon, I might read twelve to fifteen. And from the sixty to one hundred posts I read every week, I share five to ten. So, not that complicated.

Of course, there are a handful which I don’t skim. I read just about everything they post, and I think you should, too.

• Dan Miller – Dan is probably the premiere career coach in the country. He’s the author of 48 Days to the Work You Love (my review is here), No More Mondays, and, most recently, Wisdom Meets Passion which he wrote with his son Jared. I’m a huge fan of his optimistic outlook and his view of what work looks like in the modern world.

• Seth Godin – Genius man of marketing, with insights that apply to just about everything in the world today. Brilliant with his brevity, saying so much with so few words.

• Stuff Christians Like by John Acuff – SCL jumps nimbly between funny, smart, and sensitive. It’s never a dull read.

• Radley Balko – Balko is a tremendous, and award-winning, source of criminal justice and civil liberty investigative journalism. He has been a biweekly columnist with Fox News, a policy analyst for the Cato Institute, a senior editor for Reason magazine, and now is a senior writer for Huffington Post. His work on police militarization is unfortunately unmatched.

• IKEA Hackers – I’m a confessed IKEA junkie, and the ideas that they come up with on this site range from bizarre to brilliant.

Anyway, I’ll be back to the usual schedule next week. Thanks for indulging me.

Quick Hits of the Week

• Is it OK to settle a debt for less than the amount owed? It’s legal to do it, and thanks to the recent recession a large number of people have learned how to game the system. Usually payments are stopped, and the credit score is sacrificed, to gain some negotiating power with the lender. Still, even though it’s legal and happens frequently, is it ethical? Is it something that followers of Jesus should be doing? As a finance coach, and a Christian, I never advise anyone who comes to me to not pay on a debt if they can afford to pay and still keep themselves healthy, safe, and productive. Honor your agreements, but feed your family first.

• It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned the TSA, but a couple of juxtaposing posts by author Christopher Elliott made me want to bring them up again. First, he suggests that there are five things you should never say to a TSA agent. Then, after a bit of backlash from that post, he suggests that there are five instances that you should stand up to the TSA. I think the main thing Elliott is trying to point out is that attitude makes a lot of difference when dealing with these situations. I agree with that. My recent trip to Nashville required me to fly, and I got the chance to experience the new nude image scan devices. No, I didn’t opt out. Yes, I did ask for a souvenir print of the image. No, the agents didn’t respond to my request.

• I can’t remember what led me to start following this blog, but Marc and Angel Hack Life is an excellent source of productivity tips. I’d love to know how they generate such great lists three days a week, but they’ve got a good thing going. For example here are twelve choices that you should make for your future.

• A Florida Sheriff’s Deputy claims he could smell marijuana in a car traveling 35 mph and with the windows up. They should consider drafting him into the Justice League. What happened after he used his super sniffer was described as “going a little too far” by the Deputy’s supervisor, but it makes me glad I don’t live in Florida, and it’s the kind of thing that makes me worry about our future.

• Finally, a headline that boggles the mind. You have to wonder what life events led up to him making that particular series of choices.

Is there something valuable or important or cool or funny or weird or awesome out there I missed this week? I can’t hit it all, but you should let me know about it by dropping me a line or sharing it in the comments below! I’d appreciate the heads up.

Quick Hits of the Week

• Comfort is a big idol in our home. A lot of the decisions I’ve made have been swayed by how uncomfortable the choices were going to be. That meant our home was uninviting for a long time, because I don’t like to be surrounded with a lot of people or noise. It also meant that I avoided opportunities to lead others, because I’m uncomfortable being responsible for anyone other than myself. Of course, that meant that I missed out on a number of chances to grow and learn and find purpose in my life, because the really important things in life all happen when you’re outside of your comfort zone, and Michael Hyatt wants to encourage all of us to visit there more frequently. So next time a tough decision comes up, I need to be willing to choose the option that makes me the least comfortable. You should, too.

• We only have a television to watch an occasional movie or to play the Wii, so we don’t have cable and we don’t use an antenna. (An antenna? Really? Are we back in the 80’s?) That means we haven’t watched any of this year’s  Olympic games. Even so, there is no way I could have missed Michael Phelps huge achievement. Fact: He’s earned one medal more than Argentina has in its 112-year Olympic history. Want to know more? Here are 21 other astonishing facts about this astonishing young man and his 22 medals.

• Based on what I’ve read so far, I find myself liking Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait. He seems like a stand-up guy who is actually working to change the culture of the Anaheim city government in such a way that encourages kindness, service and freedom. He and Newark Mayor Cory Booker should get together and create a how-to series on city leadership. Unfortunately, Mayor Tait’s efforts don’t appear to have filtered down to the Anaheim PD quickly enough. It will be interesting to see his short-term and long-term responses to the situation surrounding the protests. I pray that he finds the wisdom and courage he needs as he goes forward.

• Allow me to be mean for a few seconds here. I want you to take a few moments and really evaluate the friends that you spend the most time with. Are they the kind of people that you want to be like, or are they just a bunch of losers that are fun to be around? You will be the average of your five closest friends, so it’s important that you’re spending time with the right people. Think about your life as an exclusive club. The people and activities you let past the red velvet rope at the door need to be helping you set the atmosphere you want inside. Keep the negative influences out, and implement strategies to bounce them out when they sneak in. Kick the losers out like Dalton at the Double Deuce.

• Finally, here’s a twist on Newton’s Cradle that makes it much cooler. Now somebody needs to make one that arcs electricity out each end and we can call it Tesla’s Cradle.

Is there something valuable or important or cool or funny or weird or awesome out there I missed this week? I can’t hit it all, but you should let me know about it by dropping me a line or sharing it in the comments below! I’d appreciate the heads up. First person to identify the movie reference above will receive an official Bodey-Bonus-Buck worth absolutely nothing, and my gratitude for actually paying attention. Thanks.