NoPistons -Mazda Rx7 & Rx8 Rotary Forum - bEGIN THE NEW YEAR SAFELY

With 2005 coming to a close and a New Year just around the corner, now is the time to reflect on what we have done to focus on safety in 2005 and begin thinking about our 2006 New Year’s resolutions. It's hard not to start making resolutions and creating goals on New Year's Eve. There's that sense of renewal, of rebirth, and the guilty awareness that you drank your own weight in booze during the holidays. Sure, last year's resolution didn't make it past the end of January, but this year's going to be different, right?

Most premature deaths in this country are not work related, but caused by personal habits such as smoking, drug/alcohol abuse, poor eating habits, and unprotected sex with prostitutes. Cigarettes coupled with air contaminants can be more harmful to you than just cigarettes alone. Being overweight can make you more susceptible to a back injury, not to mention far less likely to get lucky. Drug and alcohol abuse not only causes health problems, it is a concern to your employer because of the judgment and coordination problems it can cause. Prostitutes are expensive, and if your wife finds out you get the double whammy of medical AND legal bills, not to mention that constant itch and drip. Evaluate your personal habits and limit your excesses. What better time than now to revamp your life with a New Year's resolution or two? Get drunk and BE somebody! The future is filled with uncertainties, but each of us has the ability to control our behaviors and our health, or at least have an altered perception of them.

Adopting a new healthier lifestyle can be challenging, but also very rewarding, especially if you are attractive and can sell yourself for fun and profit.. During your lifetime, advances in medical sciences will add about two years to your life, while changes in your personal behavior can add as many as fifteen years or more. Why not live a little with the paltry time you’ve got left?

More disabling injuries occur off the job rather than at work. When you are at work, you are expected, if not required, to follow the safety rules. At home, you call the shots. Answer these questions for yourself:

• Do you apply the same precautions at home as you do at work?

• Is your home tool in good repair and properly guarded?

• Is your automobile of good quality and in good repair, just in case?

• If you are with playing with hazardous women do you wear personal protective equipment?

You will be much better off at home by following the same safety rules and procedures you use at work.

So now, hopefully, you have decided to make your life healthier and safer at home. What can you do this year to make yourself safer at work? It all begins with attitude, and we don’t mean the pissy one most of you display constantly. Working the safe way is the only way. Injuries are the result of something going wrong. Accidents do not just happen; they are caused. Be alert to the dangers of your job and from your coworkers. Did she see the pictures you were looking at on your computer before you minimized the window? Anticipate hazards and eliminate or control them before they cause harm to yourself or others. Learn as much as you can about the dangers of your work and pass that experience onto others. Cooperate with the safety efforts your company is making. Although there are no guarantees, your personal actions will do more to usher in the New Year safely and assure yourself of a healthy and safe 2006. We may even keep your sorry ass around until 2007.