Rules

Over the course of the year, students will hear me quote several rules that I've established to help improve study/life habits. While my original list of rules was small, after a period as a fan of the TV show NCIS, I incorporated some of the rules that Mark Harmon's character rattled off throughout the seasons. Later, quite unexpectedly, the whole thing took on a life of its own and new rules followed. This whole thing is meant to be taken in a lighthearted, though useful, frame of mind.

• Rule #1: Solve a problem anyway you can.

• Rule #2: When in doubt, draw a picture.

• Rule #3: K.I.S.S. first.

• Rule #4: Screw your courage to the sticking place.

• Rule #5: If it's not yours, then it's still not yours.

• Rule #6: Never apologize unnecessarily.

• Rule #7: Always be specific when you tell a story.

• Rule #8: Never take anything for granted.

• Rule #9: Never go anywhere without a knife.

• Rule #10: Never get personally involved in a problem.

• Rule #11: Fresh practice is the best practice.

• Rule #12: Never date a co-worker.

• Rule #13: Never, ever involve lawyers.

• Rule #14: Sit down and stay down, a solution will present itself.

• Rule #15: Always work as a team.

• Rule #16: Never tell someone the odds.

• Rule #17: A night's sleep and a cup of coffee will improve most problems.

• Rule #18: It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission.

• Rule #19: In taking off on the first wave at a new spot, take off with a friend - if anything happens it will happen equally and won't hurt so bad that way.

• Rule #20: Everybody's got to leave some blood on the floor.

• Rule #21: Always travel with a book and a towel.

• Rule #22: Don't make a drummer angry. You wouldn't like them when they're angry.

• Rule #23: Never mess with a drummer's beverage.

• Rule #24: A solution may produce more than an answer.

• Rule #25: Don't look at the dogs.

• Rule #26: The best wine's from home wherever you're from.

• Rule #27: There are two ways to get something done: 1st way they never notice you; 2nd way they only notice you.

• Rule #28: Keep a shovel handy.

• Rule #29: Always break for carrot cake.

• Rule #30: It ain't all buttons and charts, Little Albatross.

• Rule #31: Don't be a "BS" decorator.

• Rule #32: Don't go to bed mad.

• Rule #33: Absorb chaos, give back calm.

• Rule #34: There are times when it is acceptable to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

• Rule #35: Everyone's your brother until the rent comes due.

• Rule #36: There's no point disarming a bomb after it's already gone off.

• Rule #37: Paddle your own canoe.

• Rule #38: Patience powers perseverance.

• Rule #39: Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.

• Rule #40: If it seems like someone's out to get you, they are.

• Rule #41: Avoid the mirror.

• Rule #42: Don't accept an apology from somebody who just sucker punched you.

• Rule #43: Go outside. Remain.

• Rule #44: There's nothing that can't be made better with a story.

• Rule #45: Family first.

• Rule #46: You don't have to be faster than a predator, you just have to be faster than the person next to you.

• Rule #47: A soldier can't control conditions on the ground, only how they react to them.

• Rule #48: Good against remotes is one thing. Good against the living? That's something else.

• Rule #49: Get a hobby.

• Rule #50: You can lose, but that doesn't mean you have to like it.

• Rule #51: Sometimes you're wrong.

• Rule #52: When do you build an ark? Before the rain.

• Rule #53: It doesn't matter what IT is, if you're not having fun doing IT, you're not doing IT right.

• Rule #54: Always take a banana to a party.

• Rule #55: If you need a bigger boat, get one.

• Rule #56: It's always the raptor you don't see.

• Rule #57: Don't let scoundrels dictate the terms of honor.

• Rule #58: Never drive faster than you can see.

• Rule #59: Technology gets better everyday, but most of the time all you need is a stick of gum, a pocket knife, and a smile.

• Rule #60: Whenever there's doubt, there is no doubt.

• Rule #61: Say "please" and "thank you" often.

• Rule #62: Good swords are kept in their sheaths.

• Rule #63: You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

• Rule #64: Have a good place to park.

• Rule #65: Put away some money so you can die someplace warm and don't ever touch it. Not for anyone. Ever.