May the 4th has become known as "Star Wars Day"! Built on the idea of May the (force) 4th be with you. I wanted to use

this day to tell you about my recent trip on a Disney Star Wars cruise. I got to take my wife and 2 youngest sons (still in high school) on the cruise which offers Star Wa r s m o v i e s , c h a r a c t e r s , memorabilia, and of course the awesome "Star Wars Day at Sea". Being like a big kid, I signed up for a couple of "character encounters". My encounter with Darth Vader was quite scary. The dude is like 6 foot 5 in the Darth costume and he has the "real"

Jame Earl Jones voice - I assume from a voice converter box. He said that I looked like I might be part of the "rebel alliance". I was lucky to even get a picture

before he pulled out his light saber and tried to chase me down. On another encounter, I got to meet R2D2 and C3PO. These droids were alive and active. C3PO shook my hand when I walked up and talked to me ad lib in the C3PO voice. Meanwhile, R2D2 was blinking a n d c h i r p i n g w i t h h i s computerized "voice" during the entire photo encounter. It was so real I couldn't believe it. I had to get a photo to "prove" I

I remet two of t h e m o s t o u t s t a n d i n g m o v i e characters of all time. Although R2D2 is soooo cool, the wit and wisdom of C 3 P O h a s a l w a y s m a d e him my favorite. My wife and kids were too tired to want to get up to meet R2D2 at 8am. Sure I was on vacation but I would have gotten up at 5am to see these guys! During the cruise we could watch any Star Wars movie we wanted o n d e m a n d e x c e p t F o rc e Awakens which was only in the theater. They have a full size theater on the ship just for showing movies! On the ship's opening departure party, they have a lot of Star Wars and Disney characters there to "see us off”. This deck party has a lot of music and dancing and typical Disney show flare. On the Day at Sea you can buy the BB8 cup (you can see it in the Darth Vader picture) or a Bobo Fett cup.

TORRID TECH TALKMay 2017

At night they have another deck party where there is a mob of people dancing and celebrating in Star Wars costumes.There are so many light sabers out on the deck and costumes that it makes for a really cool experience.

This article is mainly about "STAR WARS" but the cruise itself is fantastic. Find the package of your choice and enjoy the fruits of your labor as you sail across the sea!

When people face a daunting task, it often feels like the most important thing to do is act and act quickly. Michael Hyatt, a best-selling leadership coach, says it is often best to create the vision before worrying about strategies and goals. Although closely linked, a vision helps to define what is trying to be accomplished rather than how. If a person cannot identify what it is they are trying to achieve, the goals and strategy will always be shifting because they will have to hit a moving target. Crystallizing the vision causes the target to stay still and allows for the rest to fall into place more quickly. An exercise in vision creation: When Michael Hyatt was presented with a challenging situation, his first instinct was to hit the ground running and not to have high expectations for the outcome of himself and his team. Unfortunately, this strategy wouldn't have inspired anyone and it certainly wouldn't have meant great success because it is in itself self-limiting. Instead, he took the time necessary to step back from the situation and determine the ideal outcome that he was looking to obtain. This meant looking past the current reality and imagining what could be possible under ideal circumstances. Once he wrote down a list of those ideal outcomes and gave himself a realistic timeline, it became much easier to determine how to reach them and to break them down into more manageable goals for his team. Goals are still important With all of the talk around creating a vision, don't underestimate the importance of goals in the overall strategy. The crucial step is that the vision comes first in order to create a better way of determining the right goals and how to go about achieving them. All of these pieces work together to provide a blueprint for finding the ideal outcome in the future.

VISION > GOAL SETTING

If you really want to cut your grocery expense in half -- or more -- don't make a shopping list until you plan your meals. Money experts are in near unanimity about meal planning as a way to save on grocery costs. The advantage of meal planning is that you buy just what you actually eat, cutting down on food waste and time spent figuring out every meal. According to SimpleDollar.com, if you make a meal plan you'll find that you usually eat simply, even if you do like to fantasize about the fancy meals you see on Facebook. Meal planning can allow for hurry-up meals and make room for more creative cooking. The key is: Plan first. Use the weekly grocery flyer in your local newspaper to find deeply discounted items. The Simple Dollar recommends identifying three discounted items and planning six meals around them. Using the discounted items as a base, plan your meals for a week.

How much can you save? Writing in Simple Dollar, Holly Johnson says she feeds her family of four on $150 per week by creating meal plans and shopping sales. Here's how her grocery list roughly breaks down:

• Produce: $52, including fruits, lettuce, carrots, celery parsnips, cabbage squash, tomatoes. • Core Foods: $51, including bread, eggs, milk, noodles, cereal, vegetable broth, juice, cheese, beans, peanut

butter and soup. • Snacks: $10, crackers and granola bars. • Drinks: $14, beer, soda, tea. • Total: $127.25.

Among the meals Johnson planned for the week: Vegetable soup, vegetable lasagna, egg sandwiches, spaghetti squash and sauce, grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Perks That Matter Most Uncanny Pain

Relief

Want to stay out of pain? Vacuum the carpet or walk the dog.

A new study shows that older adults who do any sort of light to moderate activity feel less pain and are equipped to b l o c k p a i n m o r e effectively.

The new research by K e l l e y N a u g l e a n d colleagues at Indiana U n i v e r s i t y - P u r d u e Indianapolis, shows that even light activity (like housework or a stroll) c a n h e l p p r e v e n t chronic pain. Activity may even be therapy for pain and it might prevent pain. The study followed a group of older adults w h o h a d l i g h t t o m o d e r a t e a c t i v i t y. Moderate activity was that which might cause them to sweat.

The higher levels of activity, the lower the pain, the study found. But the results also showed that subjects didn't have to be an a th le te . Even l igh t activity resulted in the test subjects feeling less pain and blocking pain sensations.

The results suggested it might be possible to match a physical activity to specific pain as a treatment.

A study by Glassdoor found that three out of five, or 57%, of people report benefits and perks being among their top considerations before accepting a job. Also, 4 out of 5 people say they would prefer new perks over a pay raise. Business Insider found that "non-monetary benefits can make all the difference" in times of talent shortage. Furthermore, Business Insider found that new hires want more vacation days. They also want to work from home. What companies are offering While free parking seems ordinary, there are some perks that are anything but. ADP took a look around workplaces and found some valuable perks.

• Netflix supports a full year of paid maternity and paternity leave. • Airbnb offers an annual $2,000 travel stipend. • Asana covers executive and life coaching services. • Scripps Health offers pet insurance plus you can have your pet in the office. • Google has medical care on site and nap pods, among its many benefits.

ADP notes that offering perks may have a positive impact on your employer brand but it's still important to avoid "confusing non-financial compensation with an effective employer branding strategy." ADP pointed to a Forbes article in which a CEO says, "all of the perks in the world will not improve employee morale if the underlying culture sucks." What employees really want Perhaps the most interesting find about what employees want is that what they want costs employers little to no money. Surveyor 15Five found that 81% of workers preferred better open communication with their bosses to perks like free food and gym memberships.

Get the Giggles!

Burn Notice 1. Which TV western opened every week

with the burning of a map? a-"Bonanza," b-"Laredo," c-"The Virginian," d-"The Big Valley"

2. For which film did George Burns win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor? a-"Oh God," b-"The Sunshine Boys," c-"18 Again," d-"Going in Style"

3. Which city was burned by the Great Fire of 1666? a-Prague, b-Chicago, c-London, d-St. Petersburg.

4. An anthropomorphic fireball named Burnie is the mascot of which NBA team? a-Miami Heat, b-Cleveland Cavaliers, c-Orlando Magic, d-Washington Wizards

5. "Burning Down the House" was the first top ten single for which rock band? a-The Ramones, b-Television, c-Blondie, d-Talking Heads

6. The Black Rock Desert, a dried lake bed, is the site of the annual Burning Man festival held in which U.S. state? a-California, b-Utah, c-South Dakota, d-Nevada

7. In 2002, Donovan Patton replaced Steve Burns as the host of which kids' TV show? a-"Blue's Clues," b-"Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego," c-"Yo Gabba Gabba," d-"Gullah Gullah Island"

8. The writer Rodolfo burns his manuscript in an effort to stay warm in the opening act of which Puccini opera? a-"Tosca," b-"La Boheme," c-"Turnadot," d-"Manon Lescault"

9. Edward Burns and Shannyn Sossamon starred in the 2008 remake of which 2004 Japanese horror film? a-"The Ring," b-"The Grudge," c-"Pulse," d-"One Missed Call”

10.Which Broadway musical ran for 964 performances in the 1960s starring David Burns, Jack Gilford, and Zero Mostel? a-"The Producers," b-"Camelot," c-"A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the Forum," d-"Fiddler on the Roof"

BEBOP BLUES

BOOGIE CLASSICAL COUNTRY

DISCO DOO WOP

DOWNBEAT DUB EMO FOLK FUNK

GANGSTA GARAGE GOSPEL

GRUNGE HARD ROCK

HIP HOP HONKY TONK

JAZZ MARIACHI

MOOD MOTOWN MUZAK

NEW AGE POP

PUNK RAGGA

RAGTIME RAP

RAVE ROCK AND ROLL

ROCKABILITY SOUL

SWING TECHNO

Across 1. Third degree? 4. Arbor Day month 9. "Seinfeld" uncle 10. Indian yogurt dish 11. Ashes holder 12. Pottery pot 13. Estuaries 15. Atomic number 2 16. Kilmer classic 18. The Bay St. 20. Athenian magistrate 23. Boredom 25. It needs refinement 26. Japanese Down 1. Pudding fruit

2. Deli offering 3. Coffee break snack 4. Sports with bows and arrows (Fr.) 5. 3.26 light-years 6. "Flying Down to ___" 7. Allergic reaction 8. Cottage site 14. Kind of center 17. Holler 18. Cold cuts, e.g. 19. "Green Gables" girl 21. Approximately 22. "Cool!" 24. Eighty-six

** The Title of the puzzle is a clue to the word in the shaded diagonal.

Whitsunday or

Shavuoth

Answers to Burn Notice: 1-a, 2-b, 3-c, 4-a, 5-d, 6-d, 7-a, 8-b, 9-d, 10-c,

For summer boating fun and safety, take along the most important device you'll never need: Your PLB (Personal Location Beacon)… or at least you hope you'll never need. In 2014, about 240 people did need one and, because they had one, they were saved.

Imagine a lovely afternoon sailing a catamaran off the Florida coast when the sky starts to darken. Just about then

the wind kicks up, now you can't see land. The wind and waves blast the boat and your mast snaps. With a PLB device, you could be rescued.

The PLB is not just for boating either. You could plan a lovely hike on a lonely trail in the wilderness. If you fall into ravine and break your leg, only the PLB can give you that last-hope chance of rescue.

Personal Locator Beacons are high-powered devices that send emergency distress signals. They transmit a distress signal at 406 mhz, which is monitored by NOAA - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center.

Once a signal is received, satellites fix the location and relay the coordinates to rescuers.

The best PLBs are equipped with GPS, according to rei.com. With GPS, rescuers can fix on your location within a

100 meters. Look for a PLB with some kind of signal device built in, such as an LED light.

Each PLB device should be registered with NOAA. That way, if an emergency ever occurs, your medical information is available as well as your identity.

There are many kinds of PLBs, designed for use in water and hiking, and they range in cost from $150 up to $500 and more. That might seem little salty for a device designed to be activated once -- if at all. But if you need help, this is technology that, for the first time in the history of mankind, c a n b r i n g help in the wilderness.

Outdoor Summer Safety: Boating~ Hiking

1860 Sandy Plains Rd. Suite 204-129Marietta, GA 30066www.torrid-tech.com888-333-5095

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