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Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Flights stopped at Reagan airport in DC area because of a fire alarm in the control tower
All flights in and out of Reagan National Airport in the Washington, D.C., area came to a halt Monday morning because of a fire alarm in the control tower. The Federal Aviation Administration said the order to stop all flights went out just before 10:45 a.m. and was slated to remain in effect until noon. The FAA statement did not say whether any fire was found in the tower — just that all flights heading into the airport were paused 'due to a fire alarm in the air traffic control tower.' Reagan airport was the site of the nation's deadliest plane crash since 2001 when an Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet in the skies over the capital and killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft. That crash, combined with a series of other crashes and close calls since then, have stoked fears about the safety of air travel. Josh Funk, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
My obsessiveness shines during back-to-school season
It's that time of year again I sat on the floor in the closet, sifting through a wicker basket stuffed to the brim with Barbie dolls. My eyes started to get a little watery, and it wasn't from all the dust. That's a thing that happened this week. I'm not thrilled about it. We're not talking full-on tears or anything, but it was enough to get the point across. If there had been anyone around to see them, I probably could've explained the watery eyes away as allergies or contact lens problems. There wasn't anyone around. That's kind of the point, actually. The kids were back at school — two of them, inexplicably, in middle school now, and the third and last, the owner of the basket of dolls, in fourth grade, just two short years away from leaving elementary school behind. I considered letting the dog join me upstairs to tamp down the loneliness. He would've bounded up to sit right beside me (or more likely, on top of me) while I attempted to make myself feel useful and productive in some nebulous way by moving stuff around in a cluttered and neglected closet. He's also a semi-professional at licking away tears, so his presence would've solved several problems, but I'm a very strict dog owner, and I believe in setting firm boundaries. I've been thinking a lot about what matters and what doesn't lately. And by lately, I mean the last 15 to 20 years or so. Any of y'all ever do this? Nah, it's probably just me. In the age of Artificial Intelligence, I remain the most human, and therefore, the most prone to insufferable navel gazing. It's the very unique burden that I alone must bear. (Don't argue with me, please. I'm not trying to be relatable right now. I'm trying to be special, unique, one of a kind on this stupid spinning rock in an infinitesimal speck of an ever-expanding universe. I'm at that point of writing a piece where I'm prone to giving up, so abject delusion is the only way I can motivate myself to see this thing through. Thank you for your understanding.) The first couple of weeks of each new school year, it's not enough for me to clean out a disastrous closet or scrub some toilets or read a book or shop for some interesting groceries and cook them for dinner after a summer of sloth and fast-food takeout. No, I can't just do normal things, because I am a man of letters and words and thoughts. I contain multitudes, more layers than a bagful of onions. Instead of just getting on with my life and mowing the grass, I prefer to spend a lot of time obsessing over every decision I have to make, like a toddler fixating on the color of her dinner plate. It's what I'm best at. I feel like I evolved from an amoeba to this specific lifeform so I could go pro at obsessing over the minutiae of daily existence. I'm this way pretty much all the time because being an obsessive requires constant vigilance and training, but like an athlete preparing for a big competition, I like to focus my energies on reaching peak neuroticism at key transitional times of the year, like back to school, end of school, and New Year's. I'm not talking about big things here: where to live, what type of career to start at age 44, whether the bunny cages should be cleaned daily or every other day. Everyone obsesses over those. But only the universe's chosen ones obsess over things like where their kid should play basketball while civilization crumbles, if sweeping the kitchen floor is worth it in the grander scheme, and if getting the car's oil changed is really a necessity when death comes for all of us eventually anyway. Before I started excavating the closet, I asked my daughter if we could donate some of her larger Barbie items that were taking up a lot of space and hadn't been touched in quite some time. The dolls are easy to store away, but pink airplanes and boats and RVs are a bit more cumbersome. 'No.' She didn't take any time to obsess over her decision. It was a bit of a disappointment, and I was slightly exasperated because I was looking forward to making that closet empty. For some reason, it felt meaningful, if only for a moment, so I was determined to chase that high. But my daughter's response was mostly a relief because it gave me free rein to give up. I could put off the work for another year or so and table my death spiral contemplation of the passage of time for at least a couple of hours. The afternoon of the first day of school, the children returned home as they tend to do, and a couple of neighborhood friends floated our way, also as they tend to do. My daughter and her best friend were playing Roblox in the bedroom, and the friend's 4-year-old brother, who always tags along on their visits, was apparently getting bored. 'Andrew! Bailey wants you to play Barbies with him!' The friend shouted. I got up from my computer and trudged upstairs, feeling both annoyed and mildly exhilarated. I don't get asked to play much anymore. Flying a large pink airplane around the house used to be one of my primary job responsibilities, and now it's not. And while that's probably a good thing by any objective measure, it's still a little jarring. The realization causes a crisis of identity. If I'm not a Barbie airplane pilot anymore, what am I? The occasional presence of a 4-year-old in the house, once again, after all these years of not having a 4-year-old in the house, is a blessing in some ways. Most importantly, it allows me to escape reality. As long as I can pretend that I'm still a Barbie airplane pilot, I don't have to obsess over what or who I'm going to be next. It's almost impossible to obsess over questions of value and what matters when a 4-year-old is making those decisions for you. Moving the stupid plane around matters. A lot. And it always will. (Until it doesn't… but no use thinking about that part now.) So, I crawled around on my hands and knees, moving planes and RVs and boats all over the carpeted floor for about twenty minutes until it was time for the kids to head home. It was miserable and wonderful. That night at bedtime, my daughter took a victory lap. 'See, I told you we should keep the Barbie stuff. I kept it so you and Bailey would have something to play with.' I mean, it seemed a little dubious and convenient, but I had a hard time arguing the point. Probably doesn't matter anyway. The only thing that really matters is maintaining a supply of 4-year-olds to keep me and my junk closet full of toys relevant for as long as possible. Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
5 Hard Things To Do Right Now If You Want An Easy Life
People think living a calm, enjoyable and soft life means opting out of hard work and difficult conversations. That chilling out and taking it slow means staying away from pushing themselves and well within their comfort zone. But it's a myth. And it's costing your peace. Shying away from doing hard things does not mean you live an easy life. It means you make it harder for yourself. You inadvertently teach yourself that you're not capable of effort, struggle and abrasiveness. You run from confrontation, drama and grind. You train your brain to be helpless. Your life becomes harder. Your comfort zone shrinks. Small problems appear bigger. You should have pushed through. Peace, happiness and comfort are on the other side of effort, courage and fear. Build your tolerance before you settle for comfort. Earn your rest before you take it. It's not toxic. It's real. Operating far below your capacity will be the hardest thing at all. Avoiding hard things is setting you up for failure. Find peace and happiness by doing hard things: 5 to do right now That friend from school you still have a vendetta against but still hang out with. That family feud that was brushed under the carpet. Unspoken rules with your other half, and that topic you don't mention. The easy thing is not to bring them up. But it's costing your peace. Bring them up, and you have to talk. Share your point of view, understand their side, Empathise. Apologise. Agree to move forward productively and commit to being direct with each other going forward. The more you can be your most unfiltered self and the less you need to think before you speak, the better your life. Lower cortisol. No looking over your shoulder. Less to prove. Call them now and have the chat. People won't ask direct questions because they're afraid of the answer. They won't stand on stage because they're scared of being booed off. Rejection, abandonment, humiliation. One of these is holding you back. Figure out which one. Release its power over you. You might think having an easy life involves simply avoiding situations where crushing blows might come your way. Not going for that big opportunity, not starting your YouTube channel, not approaching that person you admire. But they'll still happen. You'll feel the same emotions, but for smaller wins. Ones that aren't actually worth your time. Discipline is hard. Sticking to a schedule is hard. Making decisions is hard. But once it's all in place, you're free. Most people don't take the first step. They shy away from structure and prefer to flow. They stay flexible and bumble through the day. They believe they are free, but they are trapped. Maybe you are too. Halted by indecision, getting distracted by whatever happens to be going on, making case-by-case decisions almost every hour. Stop flitting around and stop straddling strategies by making the plan that becomes your default. Start simple. The timings of when you wake up, work and eat. What you eat, where you work and what you prioritise at this moment in time. Change your plans whenever you want, but have the basics in place. The easy thing is to not let people down. To say yes to every partnership, event and opportunity. To jump on the call, let them pick your brain, and book your calendar out with whoever wants to see you. The hard thing is to be ruthless. Cut your options, burn your bridges and politely decline even when they'll be crushed. Most people don't want to be seen as unreasonable. But being too reasonable gets you walked all over. Other people's priorities overrun your life unless you're intentional about what you won't do. Make your plan, then ignore all the others. Leave the WhatsApp groups, say no to the event even if everyone is going. Focus is difficult and hardly anyone masters the skill. But focusing over a long enough period opens up options reserved for those that do. The easy thing is to stay confused. To collect more information, read another book, watch another video. To tell yourself you need more clarity before you can move. But deep down, you know exactly what needs doing. You're just scared to admit it because then you'd have to do it. The hard thing is accepting that you already have the answers. They're uncomfortable, inconvenient, and probably expensive. But they're there. Stop using confusion as a shield. Stop hiding behind "I don't know" when you do. The path forward is clear, you just don't like where it leads. Maybe it means leaving that job, ending that relationship, or investing in that thing you've been avoiding. Whatever it is, pretending you need more time to figure it out is keeping you stuck. Make the decision. Take the step. Your future self is waiting for you to catch up. Do the difficult things now for an easier life later Every time you dodge discomfort, you make your world smaller. Every time you push through, you expand what's possible. The hard things are the price of admission to the life you want. Repair your closest relationships and clear the air. Figure out what you're running from and face it head on. Define your dream day structure and stick to it. Shut down almost every option except the ones that matter. Stop pretending you don't know what to do when you absolutely do. The comfortable life you're chasing is waiting on the other side of these uncomfortable actions. Your move, champion.
