Sonny the Alien: The Sink

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Sonny and Chad were at the mall.

Chad needed new pants for work. Sonny needed new joggers.

Sonny stopped mid-stride.

“I seem to have imbibed a bit too much hydrogen hydroxide. I am going to utilize the public restroom.”

Chad didn’t look up from his phone. “Cool. I’ll wait here.”

Sonny entered the restroom.

After successfully navigating the urinal—an achievement he had quietly begun to take pride in—he approached the sink.

And stopped.

It was like nothing he had ever seen before.

Sleek. Chrome. Minimalist.

Suspicious.

No knobs. No handles. No clear way to operate it.

Sonny narrowed his large, glowing eyes.

He gently touched the top.

Nothing.

He tapped it.

Nothing.

He leaned down and inspected the underside like he was analyzing a lightspeed accelerometer.

Then stepped back.

Arms crossed. Hand on chin.

Thinking.

He approached again.

“Perhaps it requires a verbal command.”

He cleared his throat.

“ON!”

Nothing.

He tried again.

“WATER!”

Nothing.

Now louder—

“WATER, ON!”

Silence.

The door creaked open. Chad walked in.

“Dude, what are you doing? They can hear you on the other side of the mall.”

Sonny didn’t look away from the sink.

“Chad…this sink appears to be a decoy. Water does not emit from it.”

Chad chuckled. “It’s automatic, man.”

Sonny blinked.

“Automatic…what?”

Chad stepped forward, dropped his bags, and casually placed his hands under the faucet.

Water flowed instantly.

Sonny’s eyes widened. “…it recognizes you.”

Chad paused. “…what?”

Sonny leaned in. “Be honest. Have you bonded with this machine?”

Chad smirked. “Yeah, we went on a date last week. It didn’t call me back though.”

Sonny stepped closer to the sink. “Does it know your DNA?”

Chad grabbed his bags. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”

Sonny turned, dead serious. “Chad, you are my closest Earth ally. Tell me the truth…how does this faucet know you?”

Chad started walking out. “BRO, IT’S AN AUTOMATIC SINK.”

Sonny slowly turned back, and stared at the faucet. “I’m on to you.”

He pulled out his Earth Log device and began typing.

Chad claims certain water dispensers operate via motion detection. However, the sink responded immediately to him…and resisted me. I suspect a selective recognition system. Possibly emotionally-based. DNA may also be involved. The machine seems to be forming bonds with its users.

Sonny slowly extended his hands under the faucet.

Nothing.

He froze.

Then—

Water.

Sonny’s eyes lit up. “I HAVE GAINED ITS TRUST.”

Your Job’s Not Safe

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A friend of mine got laid off.

Blindsided. No warning. Just gone.

Her story isn’t rare—and it’s been happening throughout history.

Your job isn’t safe.

Things change, and fast.

Ask a blacksmith in 1910.

A newspaper editor in 2005.

A taxi driver in 2015.

Whole industries rise, peak, and vanish.

You have to be ready.

Reskill. Retool. Stay nimble. Build backups.

Maybe even create your own job.

Because one thing’s for sure—you need to create your own security.

Your company may care about you…until it doesn’t. Until it can’t.

So watch out for #1.

You.

The Cost of Cheap

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Most times, cheap costs more.

You think you’re saving money, time, or energy—but you’re paying in frustration, rework, and regret.

That tool that breaks halfway through the job.

That rushed decision that turns into six months of damage control.

That relationship made on convenience, not values.

Cheap isn’t just about money—it’s about mindset.

It’s about internalizing that the long way is the shortcut.

Quality compounds.

Craft takes time.

Trust takes consistency.

When you invest in doing it right; your tools, your team, your body, your code—the returns are exponential.

Cheap fades fast.

Quality builds forever.

In Frame Vol. 14: The Fog

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In Frame Vol. 14: The Fog

Some seasons don’t give you clarity.

No clear path. No clean answers. No visibility on what’s ahead.

Just cold and fog in front of you.

Most people stop here.

They wait for certainty. They wait for perfect conditions. They wait until they can “see” the outcome.

Builders don’t.

They move anyway.

Rep by rep. Step by step. Day by day.

Not because the path is clear…but because stagnancy isn’t an option.

The Weight You Don’t Put Down

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In the gym, the rule is simple: pick the weight up, put the weight down, rest, repeat.

Clear boundaries. Clear reps. Clear finish lines.

Outside the gym, it’s different.

There are weights you never put down—responsibility, presence, integrity, patience, protection, guidance.

These aren’t reps.

They’re lifelong lifts.

The goal isn’t to rest by dropping them.

The goal is to get strong enough that carrying them becomes part of your natural movement.

Don’t wait for the weight to disappear—it won’t.

Train for the version of you who carries it with ease.

Because this shift changes everything:

Hard becomes normal and normal becomes effortless.

The weight doesn’t change.

You do.

And once you grow into it, what once crushed you becomes the very force that shapes you.

Don’t escape the weight—evolve into the man who can carry it.

Bioengineered Foods: The Real Truth

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Bioengineered Foods: The Real Truth

I was standing in the cereal aisle the other day.

Holding a box of Honey Nut Cheerios like it was some kind of moral dilemma.

“Contains bioengineered ingredients.”

Sounds intense.

Like I’m about to eat something cooked up in a lab by a guy in a hazmat suit.

And it got me thinking…

Are we looking at one of the greatest achievements of human ingenuity?

Or are we slowly poisoning ourselves?

Is Bioengineered Food Good or Bad?

Depending on who you ask, it’s either:

A scientific breakthrough that feeds the world

Or a corporate experiment gone wrong

You’ll hear talking points from both sides:

“Bioengineering has been happening forever.”

“It’s a small change—completely harmless.”

And then:

“It’s humans meddling with nature again.”

“It causes cancer.”

Strong claims.

But here’s the problem…

Almost anyone can say anything. That doesn’t make it true.

If you want real answers, you have to look at the actual science.

What Bioengineered Food Actually Is

“Bioengineered” (formerly GMO) simply means:

We modified a plant’s DNA to give it a specific trait.

Usually for things like:

  • Pest resistance
  • Herbicide tolerance
  • Better yield or shelf life

That’s it.

No glowing apples. No sci-fi mutations.

Just targeted changes to make crops more efficient.

The Real Truth (Cutting Through the Noise)

Here’s what matters:

Major scientific bodies like the World Health Organization, National Academy of Sciences, and the FDA have found that approved GMO foods are safe to eat.

No solid evidence showing:

  • Increased cancer risk
  • Hormonal disruption
  • Long-term toxicity

So no…

You’re not slowly dying because you ate cereal.

But Here’s Where It Gets Murky

The real concerns aren’t the genes…

They’re the systems around them.

  • Some crops are paired with heavy herbicide use.
  • Many GMO ingredients show up in ultra-processed foods.
  • Industrial agriculture has trade-offs.

So when people say “GMO food is bad”…

They’re usually reacting to the modern food environment—not the genetic modification itself.

How the Builder Operates

You don’t build a strong mind and body by obsessing over labels.

You build it with:

  • Real food
  • Plenty of protein
  • Healthy fats
  • Micronutrients and fiber
  • Discipline
  • Consistency

Would it be ideal if everything was organic and perfect?

Sure.

But that’s not the world we live in.

A mix of organic and conventional works.

A bowl of cereal once in a while? Fine. Going out to eat? Fine. Dessert? Fine.

Brickwall’s Way

Yeah…I’ll still crush a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with whole milk.

Because I understand what it is.

And more importantly…

I control how it fits into my life.

Mostly real, whole food meals.

Some organic. Some conventional.

The cereal? Ice cream? Pizza?

That’s relief—not the foundation.

In the End

Bioengineered food isn’t the enemy.

Confusion is. Fear is. Lack of discipline is.

Don’t get distracted by buzzwords.

Focus on what actually moves the needle.

Build your body. Build your health.

Brick by brick.

Reading Is Training for the Mind

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Most people think reading means novels or textbooks.

They think it has to be hours with a book in hand.

But reading isn’t about format—it’s about feeding your mind.

Sure, it can be a book. It can also be a blog. A magazine. A newspaper. Even AI summarizing something for you, if that’s what you like.

The point is this: reading is resistance training for thought.

Every sentence you absorb forces your mind to wrestle with ideas, perspectives, and clarity.

Skip it, and your mind gets flabby and weak.

Do it daily, and your thinking grows muscular and strong.

It doesn’t take hours—fifteen focused minutes beats fifteen distracted scrolls.

Read something that builds you, every day. Books, blogs, or briefs—just make it weight, not fluff.

The Busy Trap

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Being busy feels productive. It gives the illusion of forward motion.

But busy doesn’t always equal progress.

You can work 10 hours a day and still wake up a year later in the same spot—burned out, frustrated, wondering where all your effort went.

The trap?

You confuse doing things with building something. You confuse urgency with importance. You confuse motion with mission.

Ask yourself:

  • Is what I’m doing right now building my future—or just reacting to someone else’s priorities?
  • Will this task leave a legacy—or vanish in a cloud of digital dust?
  • Am I adding bricks to the wall—or just chasing dopamine hits from moving things around?

Cut the fluff. Don’t just check boxes.