Hey everyone!! Filling in for Alex today.

I've added a few more fantastic books to the SBU audible account (Gabby will get the physical copies for the break room as well). A couple of these are books that I started to listen to after watching a new documentary up on Netflix called Mercury 13. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

It chronicles a group of women in the 60s who trained for space flight. And wow is it impressive and inspiring. They underwent the exact same physical and psychological tests that NASA had the Mercury 7 undergo, and the women either matched or outperformed the first astronauts in almost every area. It is shocking to see the intense discrimination they were up against -- from male journalists at the time, as well as the original male astronauts, all the way to the top with Lyndon Johnson clearly pushing back against the Mercury 13 program.

Not to reveal too many spoilers, but the first woman in space ended up not being an American, but a Russian: Valentina Tereshkova, who orbited the Earth 48 times in 1960. We had to wait until 1983 to have the first American woman in space. 1983! Clearly we in the U.S. have been quite a bit slower in learning to treat all humans equally.  

Some of the SBU books I've added are by top female authors discussing strategies for empowering both women and men. Go check it out, highly recommended! Even today these are rough waters to navigate, for both women and men. The way I see it: our generation (that is, yours and my generation, all of us here) inherited a world from our parents & grandparents, a world that has quite a few battle scars, broken bones, and is far from perfect. It's our job to take it, and improve everything we can about it. Let's see if we can make it better than any generation before us. No more facepalm moments for the human race!

P.S. Here are the new SBU additions:

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No matter what you choose, SlideBelts has a 1-year limited warranty on everything they sell. Even if you are outside your first year, they take each issue on a case-by-case basis to ensure that they offer the greatest guest service possible. With so many different ratchet belt options available today, it can be difficult to pick a brand. SlideBelts not only has the benefit of having the widest selection of ratchet belt straps and buckles, but they also stand behind their quality work.

Life happens, and sometimes things fail. With SlideBelts you have the benefit of the best guest service. If your ratchet belt has any issues, they will be there to help you out. These belts are made from the highest quality products and will make any other ratchet belt look like the cheap knock-offs they are. Rethink your belt and find the last belt company you will ever need.

Hey guys!

As most of you probably know, I love cats. I adore all animals but it has been brought to my attention that I talk about my cats, Fiona and Cassidy, entirely too much, (no offense to my dog Korben who I love very much). 

Today for my loop post, guess what I'm gonna talk about some more? Cats. Here are 5 fun facts about kitties!

1. Cats spend 70% of the day sleeping. (Awesome.)

2. For 20 years, the mayor of Talkeetna, a small town in Alaska, was a cat. (What a boss.)

3. In 2013, a cat ran for a mayor in Mexico. (Sick, but it would seem that this cat was less of a boss than Alaska cat.)

4. Cats can't taste sweet things. (Then why do my cats always hover over me with hungry eyes when I'm eating ice cream?) 

5. A cat can jump about six times its own height. (Cassidy, despite being a rotund little fellow, can definitely do this...I've seen that cat jump insanely high and wall run trying to catch the elusive red dot from the laser pointer.)

That's all I got for you today! :) Happy Friday, y'all!