Trike Drifting in SNOW

This is weird. So WEIRD!

Hunky actor Christian Bale in "Reign of Fire"

The Wizard was watching Reign of Fire yesterday and one of my favourite hunks starred in it. Christian Bale. I could not get over the fact he looks soooo much like James Brolin! Take a look below and let me know what you think, in the comments!

Here are some comparisons of the two (Both Hunk-a-delic men):

Do or Do Not... There is no try.

The significance is hiding in the insignificant. Appreciate everything.

-- ECKHART TOLLE



I have complete faith in the continued absurdity of whatever's going on.

-- Jon Stewart, comedian



I deas are like fish.

If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you've got to go deeper.

Down deep, the fish are more powerful and more pure. They're huge and abstract. And they're very beautiful.

-- David Lynch, filmmaker



How many times have you encountered the saying, “When the student is ready, the Master appears?” Do you know why that is true? The door opens inward. The Master is everywhere, but the student has to open his mind to hear the Master's voice.

-- ROBERT ANTON WILSON



I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it.

-- Garrison Keillor, writer



It is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don't like something, it is empirically not good. I don't like Chinese food, but I don't write articles trying to prove it doesn't exist.

-- Tina Fey, actress/comedian



The future is always beginning now.

-- Mark Strand, poet

I think we're lost buddy....

Life Lessons and Advice from an 80 Year Old Man

1. Have a firm handshake.
2. Look people in the eye.
3. Sing in the shower.
4. Own a great stereo system.
5. If in a fight, hit first and hit hard.
6. Keep secrets.
7. Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday.
8. Always accept an outstretched hand.
9. Be brave. Even if you're not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.
10. Whistle.

11. Avoid sarcastic remarks.
12. Choose your life's mate carefully. From this one decision will come 90 per cent of all your happiness or misery.
13. Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.
14. Lend only those books you never care to see again.
15. Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.
16. When playing games with children, let them win.
17. Give people a second chance, but not a third.
18. Be romantic.
19. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
20. Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters, nothing is as important as it first seems.
21. Don't allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It's there for our convenience, not the caller's.

22. Be a good loser.
23. Be a good winner.
24. Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret.
25. When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go.
26. Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born.
27. Keep it simple.
28. Beware of the person who has nothing to lose.
29. Don't burn bridges. You'll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.
30. Live your life so that your epitaph could read, No Regrets

31. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.
32. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
33. Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped you.
34. Take charge of your attitude. Don't let someone else choose it for you.
35. Visit friends and relatives when they are in hospital; you need only stay a few minutes.
36. Begin each day with some of your favourite music.
37. Once in a while, take the scenic route.
38. Send a lot of Valentine cards. Sign them, 'Someone who thinks you're terrific.'
39. Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice.
40. Keep a note pad and pencil on your bed-side table. Million-dollar ideas sometimes strike at 3 a.m.

41. Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial their job.
42. Send your loved ones flowers. Think of a reason later.
43. Make someone's day by paying the toll for the person in the car behind you.
44. Become someone's hero.
45. Marry only for love.
46. Count your blessings.
47. Compliment the meal when you're a guest in someone's home.
48. Wave at the children on a school bus.
49. Remember that 80 per cent of the success in any job is based on your ability to deal with people.
50. Don't expect life to be fair

Source: Pat Divilly

STNG has THE best Data plan!

You asked The Wizard - Why are there Gideon Bibles in Hotel rooms

This is the first post of a series of posts where loyal 'OZ' reader's submit a question for the amazing and powerful Wizard of 'OZ'. I will endeavour to answer the questions as accurately as possible.

Do you have a question where even the mighty Google couldn't help you? Click on the "Contact The Wizard" link in the right column of 'OZ' - The 'Other' Side of the Rainbow, or leave a comment...

Thanks to Michele from Boca Raton, FL for her question: Why are there Gideon Bibles in Hotel rooms?

I found this to be the best answer, provided by TheStraightDope

Many would suspect the Gideon Society has something to do with it.

The Gideons (http://www.gideons.org/), formed in 1899 in Janesville, Wisconsin, are the oldest Christian business and professional men's association in the United States with 130,000 members located in more than 170 countries.

In the early days, most of the Gideons were traveling salesmen who wanted to be effecitve Christian witnesses while on the road. They decided to place a Bible at the reception desk in each hotel they frequented so patrons could borrow it. The Bible also served as a silent witness in these hotels after the Gideons had checked out. Today, the Gideons place more than 45,000,000 bibles annually in prisons, hospitals, military bases and, of course, hotel rooms.

But if you want to know who started the phenomenon of placing Bibles in hotel rooms, the credit goes to the International Bible Society (www.gospelcom.net/ibs/).

Founded in 1809 in New York, the International Bible Society is one of the leading publishers of ethnic scriptures, publishing Bibles in more than 350 languages (the 1810 Bengali translation is still in use in India). The IBS provided Bibles to Civil War soldiers, and, according to communications coordinator Stephanie Nelson, started putting Bibles in hotels in 1823 -- more than 75 years before the Gideons started their ministry.

There is no jealousy or competitive fervor between the groups. Each expresses admiration for the other's work.

You've got to admire both. They just want everyone to curl up with a Good Book.

— Songbird

The Gideons also distributed pocket New Testament copies to students in Canada throught the 1970's. The Wizard has one.

Also feel free to take the bible from a hotel room, they will just replace it.

Six easy tech hacks to make your life better

Article from Shaw.ca/Newsletter

Want to start 2017 off ahead of the game? Check out these simple hacks to use technology more efficiently and effectively. Here's to a new year of doing things better.

1. Charge your phone faster

Your phone has drained down to three per cent battery and you don't have much time to wait for it to power back up. Now what? Set it to Airplane Mode. This will stop the battery drain that staying connected requires and will speed up the charging process. Also, if you have an iPad charger, use that more powerful charger instead of your iPhone one as it will help do the job quicker.

2. Download any video on YouTube

Funny cat videos, hair-styling tutorials, Psy performing Gangnam Style—YouTube is the place for watching all your favourite guilty pleasures. But did you know you can download videos on YouTube? Just type "ss" before the "youtube" part of a video's URL link. For example, www.youtube.com/watch becomes www.ssyoutube.com/watch. Choose from different file types and any resolution up to the original quality. Just make sure the videos you select aren't copyrighted.

3. Get quick articles summaries

Ever see a post and wonder if it's worthwhile to read the whole article? Use the free Chrome extension TLDR to summarize any web page, article or blog post on Google Chrome. TLDR stands for "too long; didn't read" and efficiently offers the gist of a story so you can decide if you want to take the time to read the whole article.

4. Delete online accounts

Think of how many online accounts you've opened over the years with various services and retailers. You're probably no longer using several and those companies shouldn't have access to your information anymore. Some websites make it easy to cancel an account, but others do the opposite. To guide you through severing online ties and remind you of outdated accounts, use Accountkiller.com or JustDelete.me to delete accounts from popular websites such as Skype and Hotmail.

5. Use less data with Google Chrome's Data Saver

Any way to save on data usage is a win. Google Chrome for mobile now lets you reduce data traffic and speed up browsing with Data Saver. Not only can you lower your cell phone bill, you can also load webpages faster on slow connections. But keep in mind that Data Saver doesn’t work on secure pages.

6. Sign up for free WiFi**

Another easy way to save data is through Shaw Go WiFi, free for Shaw Internet subscribers. You can stream, download, post and email with unlimited access to more than 80,000 hotspots nationwide. Doing so can save you $$ per month on data*. Now that's a sure-fire way to make life better.

* Dollars saving removed - call Shaw for pricing.
** I have it with Shaw - therefore I have many hotspots in the city to take advantage of. Click here to order Shaw internet. Nope, I am not making any money from this and i am not associated with Shaw in any way.I just liked the article!

Three Wise Monkeys

See no evil, Speak no evil, Hear no evil

Before yopu all write to me, I am aware these are not monkeys. Read on McDuff...

The three wise monkeys (Japanese: 三猿 Hepburn: san'en or sanzaru?, alternatively 三匹の猿 sanbiki no saru, literally "three monkeys"), sometimes called the three mystic apes,are a pictorial maxim. Together they embody the proverbial principle "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". The three monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil.

There are various meanings ascribed to the monkeys and the proverb including associations with being of good mind, speech and action. In the Western world the phrase is often used to refer to those who deal with impropriety by turning a blind eye.

Outside Japan the monkeys' names are sometimes given as Mizaru, Mikazaru, and Mazaru, as the last two names were corrupted from the Japanese originals. The monkeys are Japanese macaques, a common species in Japan.

ZEN

Don't think about it, just do it. Most of your stress is in your thinking about what you have to do, but if you just do it you find the doing is easy. It's the thinking that's hard.

AJAHN BRAHM


In a snowfall that covers the winter grass

a white heron

uses his own whiteness

to disappear.

DŌGEN




I am alive. I am here. I am trying. That is enough.

DELE OLANUBI

Diversity

ello art

by @heytvm, ello.com

by Trevor Van Meter, HeyTVM.com

That moment when you see the infinite possibilities of 2017! Let's do this!

Predictions from the 1950’s

These are funny now, but they were serious back then.

Atomic Flying Car

1.“I’ll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, its’ going to be impossible to buy a weeks groceries for $20.”
2. “Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won’t be long when $5000 will only buy a used one.”
3. “If cigarettes keep going up in price, I’m going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous.”
4. “Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?”
5. “The Government is wanting to get its hands on everything. Pretty soon it’s going to be impossible to run a family business or farm.”
6. “If they raise the minimum wage to $1, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store.”
7. “When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 50 cents a gallon. Guess we’d be better off leaving the car in the garage.”
8. “Kids today are impossible. Those duck tail hair cuts make it impossible to stay groomed. Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls.”
9. “Also, their music drives me wild. This ‘Rock Around The Clock’ thing is nothing but racket.”
10. “I’m afraid to send my kids to the movies any more. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying ‘damn’ in ‘Gone With The Wind,’ it seems every movie has a ‘hell’ or a ‘damn’ in it.”
11. “Also, it won’t be long until couples are sleeping in the same bed in the movies. What is this world coming to?”
12. “Marilyn Monroe is now showing her bra and panties, so apparently there are no standards anymore.”

Quick Factoid

If a slow-moving bicycle passes a parked car on an empty road, how fast does it hit the stationary wall ahead? 165 miles per hour according to the most popular model of laser gun...

--more--

Watch Where You Park Your Car...

The 50 Least Likely Things You'll Hear at a Wal-Mart

1) "Thank you."
2) "We can actually move in the Receiving bay."
3) "May I help you?"
4) "I love my job."
5) "Yes, the manager's here, hard at work."
6) "Wow. I got paid more than I thought I would."
7) "The customer is always right, so here's your refund."
8) "Take five."
9) "I'm worried about the store manager- I'm afraid that he's working himself to death."
10) "Try the snack bar. They have the best food you've ever had."

11) "Why would I want to leave here for a better paying job?"
12) "These valuable career skills will get me far in life."
13) "Well done."
14) "The manager will be in any minute. I can hardly wait."
15) "The bathroom is so clean, I think I'll eat my lunch there."
16) "There's no one named Bubba or Earline that works here."
17) "Hello, I'm the manager. How may I resolve your problem?"
18) "Let me get that for you."
19) "We're almost out of Bibles and Star Wars merchandise."
20) "Why are you so happy?"

21) "I'm bringing my little girl with me tomorrow for 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day' and she's so excited!"
22) "My kid said yesterday that when he grows up, he wants to work here, too."
23) "Who was that nice young associate who'd helped me?"
24) "After I aced my aptitude tests, the counselor said that I'd be best suited for either rocket science, neurology, or working at a Wal-Mart. Obviously, I made the right choice."
25) "I've never been sexually harassed or have had sex with any member of store management."
26) "I'm going to Europe this summer for my vacation."
27) "Don't these little blue vests look adorable?"
28) "I talked my friend into leaving his six figure a year job to work here."
29) "…and when I told the loan officer that I worked for Wal-Mart, he immediately wrote out the check right there in the bank."
30) "This store has been here a year already and not one customer has brought a personal injury suit against us."

31) "We have too many cashiers on duty."
32) "Yes, I can fix that problem."
33) "I always thought that I had to work until I was 65, but thanks to Wal-Mart, I can put in for early retirement."
34) "…and the manager listened with rapt attention to every word I said."
35) "Thank God I rejected Microsoft's and IBM's offers to come in on the ground floor and went to work for Wal-Mart, instead."
36) "I can see myself here twenty years from now."
37) "I can see myself here a year from now."
38) "What I love about being a/an (insert any job title) is the variety and challenge."
39) "God, that last CBL was murder!"
40) "At our last high school reunion, my wife rubbed it everyone's faces that I work for Wal-Mart."

41) "So I stood up and said, 'I don't care how much money you offer me, Mr. Gates; Wal-Mart can beat your offer.'"
42) "…and after my surgery, the manager told me not to come in until I could walk."
43) "Everything they say in the Wal-Mart commercials is true."
44) "Where do you people come by this high quality help?"
45) "My kid never tells his friends that I work here; He hates to brag."
46) "Whenever I feel blue, I just remind myself that I work at Wal-Mart."
47) "Isn't Wal-Mart culture and haute culture kind of the same thing?"
48) "It's amazing, isn't it, how Wal-Mart can do so well and still co-exist with a thriving downtown?"
49) "…so, based on your excellent performance review, I'm raising your rate of pay so that it actually exceeds the cost of living."
50) "What do you know! They actually are as friendly, attractive and relatively sane as in the commercials!"

Should you keep reading this flow chart?

The 65 Year Old Mother

With all the new technology regarding fertility recently, a 65-year-old friend of mine was able to give birth. When she was discharged from the hospital and went home, I went to visit.

'May I see the new baby?' I asked.

'Not yet,' She said 'I'll make coffee and we can visit for a while first.'

Thirty minutes had passed, and I asked, 'May I see the new baby now?'

'No, not yet,' She said.

After another few minutes had elapsed, I asked again, 'May I see the baby now?'

'No, not yet,' replied my friend.

Growing very impatient, I asked, 'Well, when can I see the baby?'

'WHEN HE CRIES!' she told me.

'WHEN HE CRIES?' I demanded.
'Why do I have to wait until he CRIES?'

'BECAUSE I FORGOT WHERE I PUT HIM, OK?'

New Survey for 'OZ' Readers for 2017!

Why are you using a pencil?

2 letters from a happy couple

To My Dear Wife,

You will surely understand that I have certain needs that you with your 54 years can no longer supply. I am very happy with you and I value you as a good wife. Therefore, after reading this letter, I hope that you will not wrongly interpret the fact that I will be spending the evening with my 18 year old secretary at the Comfort Inn Hotel.

Please don't be perturbed - I shall be home before midnight. When the man came home, he found the following letter on the dining room table.


To My Dear Husband,

I received your letter and thank you for your honesty.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that you are also 54 years old. At the same time, I would like to inform you that while you read this, I will be at the Hotel Fiesta with Michael my tennis coach, who, like your secretary, is also 18 years old. As a successful businessman with your excellent knowledge of math, you will understand that we are in the same situation, although with one small difference.

18 goes in to 54 a lot more times than 54 goes into 18. Therefore, I will not be back until lunchtime tomorrow.