Enter battery skyscrapers.

At the end of May, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the architecture and engineering firm behind some of the world’s tallest buildings, announced a partnership with the energy storage company Energy Vault to develop new gravity energy storage solutions.

That includes a design for a skyscraper that would use a motor powered by electricity from the grid to elevate giant blocks when energy demand is low.

These blocks would store the electricity as “potential” energy.

When there is demand, the blocks would be lowered, releasing the energy, which would be converted into electricity. (CNN)

It sounds like the conversion to clean energy won’t be easy, but possible!

Months ago, my wife planted a flower in the kitchen near a window.

We were not familiar with the flower, but, to our amazement, it flourished year-round.

Do you flourish year-round?

Remember, your degree of happiness is entirely up to you.

That flower made the adjustments necessary to thrive in its new environment.

YOU CAN DO THAT TOO!

If you awaken with a frown, your day will go likewise.

Or, given the same circumstances, a smile allows for possibilities.

Like the flower in our kitchen, “Bloom Where You’re Planted!”

If not today, when?

(New York Times Column, “Here To Help”)

Looking to make more friends?

Here are 5 ideas:

ANSWER THE QUESTION: “I AM ____?” Such as a mom, a gardner, a book lover. Join communities that reflect your attributes.

BECOME A REGULAR: The more times you show up where people gather, the more opportunities you have to make a connection.

GET CLOSER TO YOUR NEIGHBORS: To meet your neighbors, try doing them a small kindness.

JOIN A GROUP: Push yourself to join an existing group in which a friend is already a member.

CONTACT A PERSON WHO HAS HELPED YOU IN YOUR LIFE: Contact them and tell them how you appreciate their previous kindness. Maybe, it will form a closer bond.

If not today, when?

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Today’s blog is for all the athletes who dedicate their young lives to winning an olympic medal and return home EMPTY HANDED.

I believe the title of this blog is appropriate.

Can you imagine the sacrifices made by their fanilies?

I’m sure most of them struggled to find the money to go to Paris.

And after losing, the families have to pick up the emotional pieces…

…and try to console their athlete.

Our world is not populated only by those who win.

It is mostly populated by those who TRY TO WIN!

May GOD bless them!

Yes, it’s another example of opposites attract.

I’m ready to go in the morning.

When I wake up, I get up!

My wife is a night person.

So, it’s harder for her to greet mornings.

All the evidence, however, says that opposites RARELY attract.

I don’t really think there is some formula for love.

I think all your senses are in play when you are attracted to a possible mate for life!

And that’s the way it should be.

According to me!

Years ago, we were at a party and my wife met a man who said he was concerned about his marriage now that the kids were raised.

He didn’t feel he and his wife had anything in common.

Sure enough, they were divorced two years later.

When the kids are no longer living under your roof, it’s different.

Before the kids came along, it was just the two of you.

And now it’s just the two of you again.

Hopefully both of you have matured and been shaped by your life experiences.

It is essential that along the way you have carved out activities that you can do together. It is so important that both of you are “interesting” people with lots in common so the relationship can continue to thrive and grow after the kids are gone.

The plan to have a vibrant marriage is not optional. It should begin from the very beginning and continue to the very end.

You must consciously grow your relationship all the way.

If not today, when?

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Today is Kelly Ortberg’s first day as CEO of Boeing. He’s already winning praise – for his work location.

Ortberg has decided he will work out of Boeing’s offices in Seattle, which had been the company’s home for its first 85 years before it moved its corporate headquarters to Chicago in 2001.

The new CEO said in a memo to staff Thursday that he decided to work 2,300 miles from the company’s current corporate offices in Arlington, Virginia, to help restore trust in the company’s commercial aircraft business.

“Because what we do is complex, I firmly believe that we need to get closer to the production lines and development programs across the company,” Ortberg said in the letter.

“I plan to be based in Seattle so that I can be close to the commercial airplane programs.”

Ortberg said he’d be on the factory floor today. (New York CNN)

I don’t have an opinion on Boeing, but I DO HAVE AN OPINION ON CEO’S.

They often get lost in the daily politics of HQ.

So, all CEO’S must be close to the ACTION!

If not today, when?

We’re driving to Chicago to visit my sick brother.

As you may know, in Chicago, the traffic is stop and go, bumper to bumper.

We were driving in an underpass.

We were in 4 lanes of traffic with a lane merging into our lane.

There was a tiny island between the lanes.

On that island stood a little girl standing alone and waving to us.

She was about 9 years old and was begging for money.

I was shocked and couldn’t believe she was all alone in that dangerous location.

The traffic pushed us past her in an instant and she still haunts me three days later.

Our first reaction would logically be, “Where are her parents?”

Of course I dn’t know the answer to that question.

Here’s my question, “Are we compassionate?”

Are we concerned about the plight of the poor?

Do we reach out to the less fortunate?

If not today, when?

30% of Americans aged 18 to 34 say they are lonely every day or several times a week.

Single adults are twice as likely as married adults to say they have been lonely on a weekly basis.

Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer.

Is there a co-worker, neighbor or church member whom you could reach out to? There are so many lonely people looking for friendship and you can be the one who initiates it.

What is the worst thing that could happen? You invite someone for coffee and they say, “no thank you.” It is their loss.

Go on to the next person. Eventually someone will gladly take you up on your offer. Yes it takes a certain amount of courage but look at it this way.

You are the one doing the good deed. You are the person reaching out. You are solving your loneliness issue by enriching your circle of people who want to spend time together.

You won’t regret it.

My wife was standing in the line at the meat counter in our grocery store. She heard a woman saying she was buying meat for herself because she would be alone during the holidays.

My wife introduced herself and asked the woman if she would like to join us on Christmas Eve.

The woman said, “I am Jewish but I would love to come.” She came and was delightful. She brought a large box of candy which endeared her to everyone! She invited my wife out to lunch later that month and she became a friend.

Try it. More than once if you need to. Within no time you will have new friends of your choosing and people to add to your circle of life.

Loneliness goodbye!

The importance of adequate hydration is essential for good health.

We need to drink 2 to 3 quarts of water or water-based drinks per day.

Hear are the benefits:

Carries nutrients & oxygen to all cells in the body

Helps convert food into energy

Lubricates joints

Regulates body temperature

Moistens oxygen for breathing

Essential for our senses to work properly.

(Texas Health & Human Services)