263 episodes

An Ounce provides amusing stories, ideas, wisdom, and a positive attitude with informative commentary, and interviews with experts. An Ounce is a short format podcast (less than 15 minutes per episode) that encourages the listener to consider for themselves ways they can create a more robust, resilient, and joyful life an ounce at a time. Topics of the podcast include a smattering of all kinds of subjects. The listener will gain insights from stories encouraging a good attitude, personal responsibility, and presentations promoting learning, doing, and expanding one's understanding and experience. The podcast will expound unique and useful life hacks and deliver informative interviews with experts. Looking for something to make you smile, tips that can make life better, insights that can help you see life more clearly, the wisdom that will build resilience, ideas that will make you think, something you can share with others, a timely podcast with an easy charm that will make you smile? You found it!

An Ounce Jim Fugate

    • History
    • 5.0 • 18 Ratings

An Ounce provides amusing stories, ideas, wisdom, and a positive attitude with informative commentary, and interviews with experts. An Ounce is a short format podcast (less than 15 minutes per episode) that encourages the listener to consider for themselves ways they can create a more robust, resilient, and joyful life an ounce at a time. Topics of the podcast include a smattering of all kinds of subjects. The listener will gain insights from stories encouraging a good attitude, personal responsibility, and presentations promoting learning, doing, and expanding one's understanding and experience. The podcast will expound unique and useful life hacks and deliver informative interviews with experts. Looking for something to make you smile, tips that can make life better, insights that can help you see life more clearly, the wisdom that will build resilience, ideas that will make you think, something you can share with others, a timely podcast with an easy charm that will make you smile? You found it!

    Standing in a Tornado & Other Distractions

    Standing in a Tornado & Other Distractions

     The human creature, in spite of its enormous brain power, can often glitch just a bit. For Example: looking for your car keys and realizing they are in your hand. Or, the moment you walk into a grocery store, you forget what you were planning to get.
    Some street hustlers and politicians use this tendency we have to hyper focus on one thing to cause us to miss something else. Like a pickpocket team – while one bumps into the mark from the front, the one in the back lifts the wallet – the mark doesn’t have a clue that soon they will be canceling all their credit cards. 
    Or sometimes there is the one who is in - head over heels – in so much that they can’t see that the other is just not that into them. Everyone else can see it – how did they miss it? 
    There are times when distraction grabs us, and then we miss something critical. It can be a genuine problem.
    This little parable comes from personal experience as a firefighter. The time I found myself standing in a tornado of fire - and not having a clue. 
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    • 10 min
    The Unlikely Lawrence of Arabia

    The Unlikely Lawrence of Arabia

     In the late 1980s, a shocking discovery was made. What was found was north of Kansas City, about 45-to 50 feet below a corn field. A mule. A mule in its harness and still tied to a rail. Due to the depth of the find, and the lack of oxygen, the deceased mule was quite well-preserved. 
    Along with this mule was found about 200 tons of various supplies. Food items of all types, clothing, simple farm equipment, and even fine and intact China.
    Was this poor mule responsible for transporting 200 tons of cargo? Nope – that would be ridiculous. 
    The Mule was a passenger n the Steam Boat Arabia when she sunk in the Missouri River in 1856. The steamboat, the mule, and the supplies were lost for over 130 years. But how did they all end up 1/2 mile from the river and 45 feet under a corn field?

    Also See:
    https://www.1856.com/arabia-story
    https://www.messynessychic.com/2015/12/01/what-was-found-and-still-edible-inside-a-150-year-old-sunken-steamboat/
    https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/travel/2010/02/23/treasures-of-steamboat-arabia-which-sank-in-1856-displayed-at-kansas-city-museum/ 
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    • 7 min
    The Curse of the Goat Head

    The Curse of the Goat Head

     There are many things in our natural world that should be feared – or at least respected. But then, there are those things which are feared – and probably don’t need to be.
    And then, there is the stuff that looks harmless, but you find out it is lying to you.
    The one you really need to look out for. The true torturer of man and beast. It is the ‘Southern European Puncture Vine’. This nasty little bit of fauna is a cute, low-lying, green, succulent looking, and kinda leafy little sucker, with small bright yellow flowers. Looks kind, nice, sweet, inviting even – but do not be deceived. This is no harmless little plant, it is noxious, poisonous, and mean.  And it’s packing a concealed weapon. And its entire purpose for existence is to puncture your skin, inflame the entry would with a little caustic poison, and hold on as long as possible. 
    Out here in the desert southwest, we’ve given it a dis-affectionate nickname: Goat head.

    The Goat Head also carries several other names, including:
    Southern European Puncture Vine
    Devils Thorn 
    Tribulus Terrestris

    Also see:
    https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/WEEDS/puncturevine.html
    https://nazinvasiveplants.org/goathead
    https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=57203 
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    • 11 min
    Saturn, Jupiter and Mars; and the Black Death

    Saturn, Jupiter and Mars; and the Black Death

     In the 14th century, as soon as someone complained of a headache, they became suspect. This might be accompanied by fever and chills. Then the tongue might begin to swell, and turn a white-ish color. The lymph nodes would swell. Finally, black and purple spots began to appear on the skin. And when they did, the outcome was all but certain – death would follow in a week or less. 
    This was a very real and agonizing reality for those who contracted the Black Death, and those who lost loved ones to it. 
    The reason, according to scholars at the university of Paris at the time, was because of what happened in the sky on March 20th, 1945. That was the night that Saturn, Jupiter and Mars came together in an alignment. This triple conjunction within the 40th degree of Aquarius was the event that created a horrible plague. 
    But perhaps… that planets in alignment thing might not have had a thing to with it.

    https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/black-death-is-created-allegedly
    https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/black-death
    https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/plague/causes/treatise.php#:~:text=The%20celestial%20cause%20was%20the,and%20Jupiter%20would%20bring%20disaster.
    https://astrosociety.org/news-publications/mercury-online/mercury-online.html/article/2020/09/03/the-black-death-scapegoat-conjunction-of-1345
    https://www.cloverleaflocal.org/Downloads/Plaguebooklet.pdf
    https://www.learningleaders.com/insights/correlation-vs-causation
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    • 6 min
    Lost History: Whatever Happened?

    Lost History: Whatever Happened?

     It is impressive the volumes of information we have on history. The history of our Nation, our civilization, and our world. Incredible that we can look back hundreds of years and identify, with genealogical records, a single precious but unremarkable person. But sadly, even in our contemporary world, there are those who have lived and died – and there is no record…no one knows they ever existed. 
    Recording the now, and holding on to it for reference – looking back on the documentation of the past… well, accuracy in the record is a precarious thing.  And when it comes to things like history, stuff gets a little fuzzy (kinda like new math). 
    There are those who have declared that 97% of history is lost. It seems a large but believable number, and is probably just an arbitrary guess. 

    What do you think?

     https://www.infinityexplorers.com/the-lost-human-history-97-of-human-history-is-lost/ 
    https://mysteriesrunsolved.com/lost-human-history/ 
    https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earth-lost-25-billion-years-worth-evolutionary-history-just-130000-years-180970558/ 
    https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxdzzb/a-billion-years-of-time-are-mysteriously-missing-scientists-think-they-know-why 
    https://www.archivesfoundation.org/newsletter/missing-history/ 
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    • 7 min
    Nellie Bly

    Nellie Bly

     Inspired by the 1873 Jules Vern fiction novel, Around the World in 80 Days, Bly decided to make a quick trip around the world herself – with the goal of besting that 80 day benchmark. 

    In 1889 Bly set out from Hoboken, New Jersey. She traveled light. Her only luggage was a small bag – and no change of clothing. Throughout the journey she used the transportation modes of the day as they were available; including trains, ships, horses, the rickshaw, sampan, and even a burro.
    Finally, she arrived where she began, In Hoboken – and set a world record. Snatching the glory from the fictional Phileas Fogg - who had held for 16 years the ‘fictional’ record of 80 days. Nellie Bly completed the trip in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes, and 14 seconds.

    Also See:
    https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/nellie-bly
    https://wams.nyhistory.org/modernizing-america/modern-womanhood/nellie-bly/
    https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-nellie-bly 
    We've Got A New YouTube Channel - Watch, listen and most definitely subscribe and share!

    • 9 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
18 Ratings

18 Ratings

Jacef ,

Great Bite Sized Messages

I love that the stories are so easy to apply to my life. Plus, the length of the episodes are perfect for my short commute to work.

JadefireDev ,

An Ounce that is worth a pound

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting James a while back and learned about his podcast then. It sounded interesting and I gave it a listen. After that first listen, I added an episode of An Ounce between all the my podcasts. Every episode either made me smile or gave me something to think about.

Life got in the way and I stopped listening to all my podcasts the last few months. When I started listening to shows again, I realized
how much I’ve missed this one. It’s a gem!

If I ever get too busy again, I’ll make sure to carve out time to listen to An Ounce. Each episode has at least one “ah-ha” moment. Sometimes it’s the Ounce sometimes it’s something else. Thank you for providing An Ounce although sometimes the episodes are more like pounds.

broolsen ,

So glad I found this!

Thank you so much for these beautiful uplifting stories with so much bad going on in the world it is good to hear of beautiful faith building stories that connect with each one of us thank you for the very calm and beautiful way you present these stories Jim

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