Almost Cinco de Mayo link-o

In a world that I barely recognize anymore, it's good to have books. Books are good and orderly, the words are black, the pages white, the pages are numbered consecutively, the planets align. You can pick a genre you like, step outside from time to time, but always come back and know that Koontz will Koontz and Grisham will Grisham.

But in the real world now, where Boy Scouts aren't boys, where Tom Brokaw is a horndog, lettuce can kill you, Cliff Huxtable is a rapist, and Kanye West makes Kim Kardashian look like the brains of the family, I'm tossing in my cards, chomping on the popcorn and rolling my eyes at this sci-fi show called life - while reading a book.

I just ordered 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson. Maybe he can make sense of it all.

Happiness is a pointless goal. Don’t compare yourself with other people, compare yourself with who you were yesterday. No one gets away with anything, ever, so take responsibility for your own life.

One of the rules for men should be: If you don't act like your stuff don't stink, it won't be big news when it does.

Another rule should be: Read the links Haugen provides you:

** If for some crazy reason you actually want to stick around this earth longer than you normally would, here are five habits that can add more than a decade to your life.

The five healthy habits were defined as not smoking; having a body mass index between 18.5 and 25; taking at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day, having no more than one 150ml glass of wine a day for women, or two for men; and having a diet rich in items such as fruit, vegetables and whole grains and low in red meat, saturated fats and sugar. 

** Here's some good timing for this author whose “definitive biography” on Bibi just came out this week: Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu.

** This guy wades into dangerous territory to show (using science) that teachers are not underpaid. Unleash the hounds on him!

Most commentary on teacher pay begins and ends with the observation that public school teachers earn lower salaries than the average college graduate. This is true, but in what other context do we assume that every occupation requiring a college degree should get paid the same? Engineers make about 25 percent more than accountants, but “underpaid” accountants are not demonstrating in the streets.

** The word police are at it again and, boy, am I in troublllllle.