After the city crew accidentally demolished a five-car garage, Linda Stango, the Community Development Commissioner for Rochester, N.Y. said, “We just misidentified which building it was.”

My grandfather taught me to measure twice and cut once. In other words, practice care before you do something that is irreversible. Some mistakes can be fixed with the backspace key and others with a bottle of white out or an apology. Others cannot.

Proverbs 27:12 (NASB) “A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, the naive proceed and pay the penalty.”

NASA announced that they will replace a braking mechanism in the Space Shuttles after discovering that some of the gears were installed backward. The reversed gears were found in the Shuttle Discovery recently. They were in the least stress prone position, and therefore never failed. The investigation found that a spare set of gears was also installed backward and would have ended up in a much more high-stress location in the spacecraft's tail.

Shuttle program manager Bill Parsons said he has launched an investigation into why the rudder speed gears, which are all old original parts in the shuttle fleet, were never inspected during more than twenty years of flight. If one of the improperly installed gears had been in a high stress position, it could have caused a disastrous crash when the spacecraft landed. The rudder speed brake is used to guide and slow the shuttle as it comes in for landing. If one of the four sets of gears operating the mechanism jammed, the craft could not land safely.

Parsons said, "Because of the way these gears go together, you can actually make a mistake and put them in incorrectly, and there was not a good process back in the timeframe to catch mistakes." Parson says the manufacturer of the parts now has better quality control, but adds, ""Bottom line is, it was not good."

—http://aol.svc.news.aol.com, Shuttle Gears were Installed Backward, March 23, 2004. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

1 Tim. 1:18-19 NIV “Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, [19] holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.”

The Tampa Tribune apologized to readers and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday after mistakenly running an editorial saying the hockey team had lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. “We took a puck in the gut this morning,'” Editorial Page Editor Rosemary Goudreau wrote in a statement on the newspaper's affiliated Web site, TBO.com.

Publisher Gil Thelen said it was unclear how the mistake was made Monday night as the newspaper rushed to press following the Lightning's 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames. The Tribune had prepared two editorials - one for a win and one for a loss. But despite placing the correct editorial in its computerized page-making system, the one prepared for a loss appeared in the newspaper's entire 275,000 press run.

Thelen and Tribune Editor Frank Denton said the newspaper was investigating the error to make sure it doesn't happen again. The incorrect editorial began: “The Tampa Bay Lightning didn't win the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup last night. But the team had a championship season nevertheless.”

The correct editorial, which didn't get in the paper, lauded the Lightning and credited the team for generating pride and excitement in the community.

—Associated Press June 8, 2004, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Dave Bootsma, To read the latest "Keepin' the Faith" by Bootsma, click http://www.newbeginningsvernon.com/articles.html.

There are two possible endings to your life, but if you are in Christ the end has already been decided and guaranteed: victory, life, heaven.

2 Cor. 5:17 (NIV) “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

The name, ‘David F. Kies’ is on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. David’s name has a small diamond etched in the stone next to it, indicating that he was killed in action. Though the Memorial says David is dead, today he lives in Wisconsin with his wife and five children.

David did serve his country in Vietnam, but the diamond indicating he gave his life in battle is a mistake. David was seriously injured in combat near Saigon. He and his partner were on night patrol when one of them stepped on a mine. David’s buddy was killed instantly. Though David lost both of his legs, he survived the ordeal. A clerical error originally listed both men as dead.

Mistakes can happen on credit records, court records, and even military records, but there will never be any errors in God’s records. The names of everyone who trusts Jesus Christ as their Savior is written in a book called “The Lamb’s Book of Life.” Those whose names are written in God’s book are secure forever. God makes no mistakes.

—Our Daily Bread, October 27, 2002, No Mistakes, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Revelation 21:27 NIV “Nothing impure will ever enter it (God’s holy city), nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

The folks in Amarillo Texas were mighty proud of 14-year-old Caitlin Campbell, a hometown girl who made it to the National Spelling Bee. They were so proud that they put up a billboard congratulating her on her accomplishment. However, they misspelled her name, leaving out the p in Campbell.

The billboard company plans to correct the error, but it just goes to show that everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes they are comical, and other times they are grievous, but everyone makes mistakes.

Peter Rhodes of Queenstown New Zealand thought it was a great joke. The government isn't laughing. Peter, who isn't a big fan of local government bureaucracy, filled out a voter registration card for his dog Toby. He registered the animal as a 28-year-old rodent exterminator and signed the card with a "squiggle and Toby's paw print." He was surprised when he opened his mail and found written confirmation of Toby's enrollment for an upcoming election.

Murray Wicks, an election official, isn't amused. "It's an offense, and whoever's done it will be in the hands of the police," he said.

—http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050923/ap_on_fe_st/new_zealand_canine_voter Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Everyone makes mistakes. Unfortunately, for Mr. Rhodes, his mistake might just be costlier than the government's.

Hebrews 12:15 (ESV) [15] See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

Authorities in New York are trying to figure out why the pilot of a National Guard F-16 fighter jet mistakenly fired 25 rounds of ammunition at a middle school in New Jersey.

The Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School in South New Jersey was hit by non-exploding 20 millimeter bullets, which left puncture marks in the school's roof and asphalt outside the building. Fortunately, school was not in session at the time, and the only person in the building, a janitor, was not injured.

A spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs told reporters said the pilot was supposed to fire the rounds 3 1/2 miles away at a military target range.Authorities say they are still investigating how the pilot assigned to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, mistook the school for his intended target.

—Reuters, Unbelievable...., Friday November 5, 2004. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

A misplaced decimal point gave drivers in Omaha Nebraska a good deal on gas, and even some threats of violence. Carolyn Folsom, who occasionally helps her brother and father run a self-service, attendant-less gas station, said she goofed Wednesday when she entered prices into the computer that runs the fuel pumps. A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was supposed to cost $1.89, but due to the mistake was selling for 18 cents.

About 500 gallons of gas were sold before the mistake was discovered, costing the business about $1000. Since there are no attendants and the only way to pay is at the pump, the mistake went unnoticed for several hours. A fuel truck driver who came to deliver gas discovered the problem and tried to block the entrance with his truck. By then, the word about the cheap gas was out, and one irate person threatened the driver of the fuel truck with a hammer if he didn't get out of the way.

Folsom said her father fixed the price later that evening. She said, "I don't know if my finger missed the nine or what. The whole family is laughing about this. I will never live this down." She said her father had forgiven the mistake.

—Associated Press, Mistake Puts Gas Price at Only 18 cents, January 27, 2005. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Col. 3:13 (NIV) "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

With only a couple laps to go in a race he thought he was winning, Dutch Ice Skater Sven Kramer was troubled when he looked into the stands. He saw his girlfriend as he passed. Instead of cheering, she had buried her face in her hands. Kramer said he knew that something was not right. When he finished the race, the skater found out how bad things were.

After finishing the 10,000 meter race in 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games in front of the other competitors, Kramer learned that he had skated the last eight laps of the race in the wrong lane. The mistake meant automatic disqualification. Kramer threw his protective glasses in disgust when he learned that his coach sent him to the wrong lane on a changeover. The mistake cost Kramer dearly. Though he finished first, he would receive no medal, nothing in return for months of training and practice before the Olympic Games. Though he could have blamed his coach, Kramer took responsibility saying, “I was on my way to make the right decision and right before the corner, I changed my decision because of the advice from the (coach). At the end of the day, it is my responsibility. I am the skater on the ice. I have to do it.”

--Blunder Costs Dutch Skater Gold Medal, http://olympics.fanhouse.com/2010/02/23/blunder-costs-dutch-skater-gold-medal/ ; February 23, 2010. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

1 Corinthians 9:25-27 (NIV) “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (26) Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. (27) No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

Automobile manufacturer Toyota has recently taken a big hit after recalling millions of cars worldwide over concerns of faulty accelerators. After months of investigation safety officials say they have not found any problems other than concerns the manufacturer expressed. Their research found that in more than half of the crashes blamed on sudden acceleration, data from the “black boxes” in the vehicle showed the driver was not stepping on the brake at the time of the accident, indicating the problem might have been driver error.

Though officials stress the investigation in continuing, they say the data supports Toyota’s assertion that electronic defects were not to blame for the incidents. The report does not specify driver error as a cause of unintended acceleration, but officials familiar with the research say the findings point to pedal misapplication, mistakenly hitting the gas instead of the brakes. In other words, the data suggests the biggest problem with the cars was the driver, not the equipment.

http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748704164904575421603167046966.html Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

1 John 1:8-9 (CEV) (8) If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts. (9) But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.

A Florida college student conducting a casual search on Google found out that he was wanted for murder. Zachary Garcia is a University of Florida student who works at a sandwich shop. The other Zachery Garcia (spelled with an “e” instead of an “a” before the ry) is a Florida teen accused of murder. After contacting authorities, Zachary discovered he was the victim of a mistake by Polk County authorities who failed to notice the subtle difference in spelling between the men’s names when they posted a wanted notice on the police website. They even went as far as posting the wrong driver’s license picture taken from Florida Motor vehicle records.

Authorities quickly corrected their mistake when Zachary notified them. The sandwich making Garcia said his problems are not nearly as complicated as his namesake’s who allegedly broke into and house and was charged because one of his accomplices was killed by the homeowner. Zachary said, ”Everybody makes mistakes.” He admits he occasionally messes up a sandwich, but added, “But for somebody to get --the photo of a suspect wrong…it’s not a sandwich, it’s somebody’s life you’re playing with.” He said, “I was just very shocked and angry that someone put my name up there and said I did something I didn’t do.”

--College Student Googles Himself, Finds Out He’s a Teenager Wanted For Murder, http://www.switched.com/2010/11/30/zachary-garcia-google-himself-wanted-murder ; November 30, 2010, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Psalm 19:12 (CEV) None of us know our faults. Forgive me when I sin without knowing it.

An elderly German man who wanted to seal off the entrance to his cellar accidentally bricked himself into the room instead. Police said the man became aware of his mistake after the work was complete. After camping out in the cellar for a few days, the man decided to free himself by knocking down a wall. Instead of demolishing the wall he had just completed, the man decided to knock down the wall into his neighbor’s basement instead. The neighbor’s had been at odds for some time, so they called the police when the man next door began they heard drilling on the backside of the wall. Police said they were waiting for the man when he freed himself, and described the elderly man’s actions as “pretty stupid.”

--German pensioner bricks himself into his own cellar, http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101125/od_nm/us_germany_cellar; November 25, 2010, Submitted Jim Sandell.

Proverbs 5:21-22 (CEV) (21) The LORD sees everything, and he watches us closely. (22) Sinners are trapped and caught by their own evil deeds.

Three Englishmen decided to sail across the English Channel on their 7-foot dinghy. After an 11-hour struggle they were “rescued” from their adventure. They thought they had reached France. Actually, they were only two miles from where they had started.

It is easy to be sincere, but sincerely wrong. They really believed they were in France. They greeted their rescuers with, “Bonjour.” The determination of right and wrong isn’t dependent on how honestly we believe. Truth determines right and wrong, not opinion.

John 14:6 (ESV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The Association of Surfing Professionals admitted that they made an embarrassing mistake when they declared the new Surfing World Champion. The organization presented American Kelly Slater with his 11th World Title after he won his third round heat at a tour event in San Francisco. At that point, officials calculated Salter had built an unbeatable lead over his closest rival Owen Wright in the season points race. Three days later, officials realized they had made a mistake calculating tiebreakers and though Salter was ahead in the points race, he was not assured of winning the title.

Slater is the most successful surfer the sport has seen to date. He became the youngest man to win the title when he won his first title at age 20, in 1992. Though he was given the title prematurely, the good news for Salter was that he was still very close to winning the points race. Officials said he only needed to win one more heat, either in San Francisco or at the final event in Hawaii to claim the title. Mathematically, Wright could claim the actual title if he won three straight events, but officials said that would be very difficult to accomplish. The association has not said what would happen if Salter were defeated, but world tour manager Renato Hickel said, “This was a mistake. In the end, we’re responsible for this and should be held accountable.”

--Oops! World Body mistakenly crowned Slater as surf champ, http://news.yahoo.com/oops-world-body-mistakenly-crowned-slater-surf-champ-232647959.html ; November 4, 2011, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Galatians 6:4-5 (CEV) “Do your own work well, and then you will have something to be proud of. But don't compare yourself with others. (5) We each must carry our own load.”

Police in Sicily recently issued a record fine for a car that had chalked up 2,000 years worth of interest for illegally parking. The owner of the car had to go to the hospital for a dizzy spell after opening the letter demanding 32,000 Euros ($44,500 US) in fines. Officials corrected the mistake after they realized a police officer had entered the year 208, rather than 2008, into a computer that calculated fines. The woman’s husband paid the 102-euro fine after police acknowledged the error. The woman was expected to recover, but is not likely to park in the wrong place again.

-- Whopping fine in Italy on parked car dating back to 208 AD, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jqMZuViMuWYab3w3UG6_j6ZHlTiQ?docId=CNG.14aa3c39acb7aa2afe81b730b6f7ceeb.101 ; October 26, 2011, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Colossians 1:13-14 (CEV) “God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son, (14) who forgives our sins and sets us free.”

According to an official report released recently, a groggy Air Canada pilot mistook the planet Venus for an aircraft and sent his airliner diving toward the Atlantic Ocean below. The incident, which took place in January 2011, injured 16 of the passengers and crew. The official report stated the misidentification occurred on night on board a Boeing 767 traveling from Toronto to Zurich. Authorities say the pilot was disoriented after a nap and was told that a cargo plane was approaching directly in front of them and a thousand feet below. The First Officer saw the planet Venus and thought it was the other plane, which he thought was directly ahead and descending toward them. To avoid a collision, he put the plane into a sudden sharp dive. The plane dropped about 400 feet before the captain pulled back up on the controls and leveled the aircraft.

The report said seven passengers required hospital treatment following the incident. The airline expressed regret for the injuries and said it has taken steps to prevent a similar occurrence. The said regulations only permit 40-minute naps, but the pilot had been asleep for 75, which meant he fell into a deep sleep, and became disoriented when awakened. It noted that Air Canada only requires two pilots on trans-Atlantic flights while American carriers require three to share the load. The airline responded to the report saying new procedures would be in place soon. The official report warning about flight deck procedures saying, “Under the effects of significant sleep inertia (when performance and situational awareness are degraded immediately after waking up), the first officer perceived the oncoming traffic as being on a collision course and began a descent to avoid it.”

--Sleepy Air Canada pilot thought Venus was a plane, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/17/uk-canada-aircanada-incident-idUSLNE83G01820120417; April 17, 2012, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Romans 13:11-12 (GW) (11) You know the times {in which we are living}. It's time for you to wake up. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first became believers. (12) The night is almost over, and the day is near. So we should get rid of the things that belong to the dark and take up the weapons that belong to the light.

Melanie Marken was exhausted. Getting off the airplane in Bloomington, she was ready to find her hotel and get some rest. This is when she made a disconcerting discovery. She was in the wrong Bloomington. Her business was in Bloomington, Indiana, she was in Bloomington, Illinois. Her travel agent had booked her flight to the wrong city. Instead of a much needed rest, she rented a car and drove 5 hours to her meeting.

Melanie wasn’t off track because she intentionally did something wrong. She sincerely thought she was in the right place and the right time. She had done everything according to what she believed to be the truth. However, she was wrong.

When we discover that we are wrong, it doesn’t matter if we were sincere or not.

Some people find themselves in the wrong place in their relationship with the Lord. It doesn’t matter if they were sincere or not—it is possible to be sincerely wrong. The spiritual solution for such errors is simple.

1 John 1:9 (ESV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Bao Lulin works in a restaurant in Guizho, China. Customers were forever asking her why she didn’t recognize them. She began to feel there was something wrong with her. Too many people were certain they knew her. Then she discovered why. She had an identical twin sister from whom she had been separated at birth living a few hundred miles away.
I
It is really tough to meet the unknown expectations others have of you. Jesus had trouble meeting the unrealistic and false expectations of his own followers.--Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Matthew 20:21-23 (HCSB) (21) “What do you want?” He asked her. “Promise,” she said to Him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and the other on Your left, in Your kingdom.” (22) But Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” “We are able,” they said to Him. (23) He told them, “You will indeed drink My cup. But to sit at My right and left is not Mine to give; instead, it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

People are continually knocking on 59-year-old Wayne Dobson’s door claiming that he has their stolen iPhones. Dobson says for the past two years, strangers have come to his door, claiming that he has their phone, and a couple of times the police have come to his house responding to domestic violence calls. Things have gotten so bad, that Dobson put up a sign reading, “No lost cell phones.” Dobson’s troubles seem to be related to the way that the cell phones use a system of triangulation to determine their location. A technician who investigated the problem said the GPS systems the phones use is not precise, and his address apparently becomes a default location for the entire area. The problem appears isolated to one particular cell phone provider and they have promised to research the problem in hopes of finding a solution. In the meantime, Dobson will still have to deal with angry strangers demanding that he return their phone. Sometimes we have to pay for other people’s mistakes.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Apple iPhone tracking app sends police to same Las Vegas man, by Chenda Ngak, http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57564153/apple-iphone-tracking-app-sends-police-to-same-las-vegas-ma, Accessed January 15, 2013.

1 Peter 3:17 (NLT) Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

A very tired employee at a German bank fell asleep at the keyboard while entering a transaction and accidentally turned a small transfer into a $200 million order. The man was supposed to transfer 62.40 Euros from a bank account belonging to a retiree. Because he was nodding off, he accidentally entered 222,222,222.22 euro, roughly equal to $293 million American dollars. To make matters worse, his co-worker apparently missed the error and verified that it was correct. The error was quickly discovered, but the colleague who should have seen it was fired. The co-worker thought it was not fair for him to lose his job since the other person entered the mistake, so he took the case to court and got his job back. The court ruled the original mistake was an accident, and it is not likely the first employee will face any action either.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

German Bank Employee Falls Asleep Accidently Transferring Millions, http://www.inquisitr.com/696685/german-bank-employee-falls-asleep-accidently-transferring-millions, Accessed June 11, 2013.

An Australian hospital had a lot of apologizing to do after mistakenly sending out notices that 200 of its patients had died. Austin hospital had inadvertently changed the templates that the hospital typically sends out to notify doctors that a patient has been discharged. The result was that rather than telling doctors that their patient had been released, the physicians were informed their patients had died. The Australian Medical Association said the error was unacceptable and distressing to family doctor, and other officials said it was an example of an overworked health system. A spokesperson for the hospital said “We apologized unreservedly to affected clinics who, for the most part, were very understanding about the error.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

--Australian hospital accidentally declares 200 patients dead, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/14/us-australia-patients-death-idUSKBN0GE0FN20140814, Accessed August 14, 2014.

Proverbs 24:16 (NASB) For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.

The Colorado Rockies handed out 15,000 shirts to fans attending a recent home game. The only problem was, the shirts were meant to honor their shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, but his name was spelled wrong. The team incorrectly spelled the player’s name “Tulowizki,” and said they decide to hand out the shirts out because many fans came to the game to get the jersey. After the game, the Rockies apologized and offered fans an opportunity to exchange the bloopers jersey in September along with a free ticket to a game. In the meantime many fans tried to capitalize on the mistake by offering the jersey’s for up to as much as $300 on the Internet many others posted pictures of themselves on social media wearing the misprinted shirts. After the mistake, the team noted that the only thing that did go right that day was that they won the game.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

--Rockies give out shirts honoring Tulowitzki - but spell his name wrong,
http://news.yahoo.com/rockies-shirts-honoring-tulowitzki-spell-name-wrong-045617858--mlb.html, Accessed July 27, 2014.

Ephesians 5:15 (NASB) Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,

Authorities in northern China say a woman ruined her brand new Porsche seconds after leaving the showroom when she confused the gas pedal and the brake. The 27-year-old-woman had just turned out of the garage and was on her way home when she suddenly accelerated into a line of cars waiting at a red light. Police said none of the other cars were moving at the time, so the women will bear the full responsibility for the collision, which damaged the Porsche Boxster and four other cars. Several of the salesmen were still waving good bye when they witnessed the accident. They ran to help when they saw what happened. One of the salesmen said, “We all ran over and she wasn’t hurt but the car was a real mess. We pushed it back to the showroom where it is with the mechanics. He added, “We’d warned her that it was a very powerful car.” —Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/woman-smashes-brand-new-50k-4261551#rlabs=1, Accessed September 15, 2014.

Ecclesiastes 2:11 (HCSB) When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

Some mistakes are more costly than others. Alvin Cross violated probation and ended up back in jail when he texted the wrong person asking if he had some weed. By mistake, he sent the message to his probation officer.—Jim L. Wilson

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/24/alvin-cross-jr-weed-text-probation-officer_n_6041572.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news (accessed 10-27-14)

Galatians 6:7 (HCSB) Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap,

Sometimes a slip of the tongue can be funny, but when they happen a lot, they become more of an annoyance. When U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon expressed his gratitude for the hosting of a major conference in Vienna, he mistaken offered thanks to the nation of Australia. When aides informed him of the mistake, the Secretary apologized to the people of Austria by addressing an issue they have dealt with many times; the fact that many tourists often say Australia when they mean Austria. As a result many souvenir shops sell t-shirts with a picture of a kangaroo that has been crossed out and the slogan about a lack of the marsupials in Austria. The U.N. Secretary General made a reference in his apology saying, he knows full well that there are “no kangaroos in Austria.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Tourists yes, but the UN chief? In slip of tongue he thanks Australia instead of Austria, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/11/03/tourists-yes-but-un-chief-in-slip-tongue-thanks-australia-instead-austria/, Accessed November 3, 2014.

Proverbs 15:2 (NKJV) “The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.”

An electronic sign meant to welcome tourists to Miami Beach briefly offered visitors a confusing message when it malfunctioned. The flashing, portable sign along a causeway read, ”Welcome visitors! Prohibited.” It was actually supposed to flash a message reading “Welcome visitors! Prohibited on the beach: glass, metal, alcohol, and Styrofoam.” Once the malfunction was discovered, the sign was removed. A spokeswoman said Miami Beach always welcomes visitors and apologized for the unintentional message.—Jim L. Wilson & Jim Sandell

Malfunctioning Miami Beach welcome sign sends mixed message, http://news.yahoo.com/malfunctioning-miami-beach-welcome-sign-sends-mixed-message-130331430.html, Accessed March 4, 2015.

Proverbs 25:11 (HCSB) A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples on a silver tray.

Carnegie Mellon University accidentally told 800 applicants that they had won a place in one of the school’s computer science programs and then had to retract those letters. The letters were sent by email and retracted hours later, but not before many of the people had already told their family and friends the happy, but incorrect news. In the retraction email, the school said that they appreciate the student’s interest in the program, but regretted that they were unable to offer them admission. They also asked each person to acknowledge that they had received the email. A spokesman for the University said, “We understand the disappointment created by this mistake.”
—Jim L. Wilson & Jim Sandell.

Carnegie Mellon University wrongly tells 800 applicants they got in, http://news.yahoo.com/carnegie-mellon-university-wrongly-tells-800-applicants-got-170237894.html , Accessed February 18, 2015.

Proverbs 15:20 (HCSB) A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

A county in Oregon decided to change the attribution for a quote on a veterans monument to “Unknown” after they were unable to prove that George Washington said it. The quote about respect for military veterans had often been attributed to the first president, so the county included that on the monument. They discovered later that no one has been able to actually document when and where Washington was supposed to have used the words. Rather than replacing the entire quote, the county decided it would be cheaper to simply change the attribution. As a result it only cost $700 to fix the monument, rather than $4,000. A scholar who studies George Washington said that he had no problem with storytelling, but added, “I do not think that the use of unproven ‘facts” in political debate or in public forums is ever innocuous.”
—Jim L. Wilson & Jim Sandell.

Quote on Deschutes County veterans monument not from George Washington; 'Unknown' now credited, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/01/22/quote-on-deschutes-county-veterans-monument-not-from-george-washington-unknown, Accessed January 22, 2015.

Psalm 41:6 (NKJV) And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it.

When responders were preparing to take the body of a Milwaukee man to the Medical Investigator’s office, they were surprised when the man suddenly began moving and visibly breathing. Authorities had been called to the man’s apartment after his girlfriend call to report that she had not heard from him for two days. When medics arrived, they found the man cold, pale, and rigid at the foot of his bed. They did not try to resuscitate him because they assumed he had been dead for some time. Instead, they called the medical examiner and notified the man’s family. As the examiners’s staff was getting ready to transport the body, the man began to move. He was taken to a nearby hospital instead, and admitted to an intensive care unit.— Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Milwaukee man pronounced dead, then moves and breathes – authorities, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/22/us-usa-alive-wisconsin-idUSKBN0O71QI20150522, Accessed May 22, 2015

Psalm 37:24 (HCSB) (24) Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the LORD holds his hand.

Ken Slusher says he received such a large bill that it would be funny, if it wasn’t creating problems for them to finance a new home. Their cell phone provider sent them a bill for $2 million for one month of service. He says the problems began when they switched carriers, and the first bill was six times higher than they expected and showed a previous balance of $451. They thought they had resolved the issues, but cancelled the service anyway. After they returned the phones, the $2 million dollar bill arrived. Slusher says everyone agrees there has been a mistake, but collectors have begun calling them, and their bank will not approve a mortgage on a new home they want to purchase. A spokesperson for the cellular company says the issue is being resolved, but Slusher said, “The number of errors and the comedy of which they happened is astounding to me.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Couple fighting with Verizon over $2M bill, by Elizabeth Armstrong Moore,
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/09/24/verizon-2-million-bill-oregon/72740842/?hootPostID=5b0831658ce8af52fae2c26dcfdc8ac6, Accessed September 24, 2015.

Psalm 19:12 (HCSB) Who perceives his unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.

Police in western Colorado received a tip that there was methamphetamine in a home. An informant gave them an exact address and specific details, but those turned out to be incorrect. Officer broke down the door and smashed windows entering the home only to find an innocent family. The department will replace the windows, replace the doors, and even replace the family’s carpet. A spokesperson said, “We are so grateful that no one was hurt, and we want to publically apologize to the family and acknowledge what a frightening and disconcerting experience this must have been for them.” —Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

https://www.yahoo.com/news/officers-raid-colorado-home-drugs-innocent-family-171655430.html, Access September 15, 2016.

Mistakes

Laura Linham’s driver’s license has a typo—it says she is from the “Unityed Kingdom” instead of United Kingdom. Commenting on the error, Linham said, "It also makes me wish the photo on the card was better, so I could be less embarrassed when I whip it out and show everyone the typo."—Jim L. Wilson

Mistakes

In the 1995 movie Clueless, Alicia Silverstone plays Cher Horowitz, or does she? As it turns out, an earlier version of the script had the character’s name as Cher Hamilton, but the production team changed it. However, they failed to catch a report card used in one scene with the surname “Hamilton.”—Jim L. Wilson

A South African man suffered an asthma attack and seemed to lack a heartbeat. Sent to the morgue, he was locked in a refrigerated compartment. After 21 hours, he woke up. His cries for help frightened workers at the mortuary so they called the police to protect them from an irate ghost. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

In this case, the man was left for dead, but he wasn’t. Those who heard his cries for help were foolish enough to believe he was a ghost, but not insightful enough to believe they’d made a mistake and locked up a living man in a morgue.

Proverbs 24:16 (HCSB)“Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin.”

Helen Wheeker and her husband, George Nobel flew to Ogdensburg, New York after an airline representative put them on the wrong plane. A spokesperson for the airline said a malfunctioning boarding-pass scanner did not catch the mix-up. The airline gave the couple a full refund and flew them back to Florida to catch the correct flight home.--By Jim Sandell.

Elderly couple on wrong flight; end up in NY, not Michigan,

Ecclesiastes 10:4 (HCSB)“If the ruler’s anger rises against you, don’t leave your place, for calmness puts great offenses to rest.”

February 14, 2017 was like any other workday at Spangahlem Airbase in Germany until a message took everyone by surprise. A simple red message popped up on all of the computers on the base warning, “Missile Inbound. Seek Shelter Immediately!” Officials say they were not sure how many people were affected by the alert and that it took eight minutes before a message appeared telling personnel to “disregard” the missile alert. Major Byron McGarry said one of the post controllers was building a template for this sort of emergency. When he sent the design to a superior for approval, the controller accidentally sent it to the entire computer system, which issued the alert. McGarry said those responsible for the blooper had been counseled. He called the incident, “a teaching opportunity.”–Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Incoming! False Missile Warning Rattles Air Force Crew, By Mary Papenfuss, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/false-missile-air-force_us_58aa80efe4b037d17d29284f, Accessed February 20, 2017,

Proverbs 21:28 (HCSB)“A lying witness will perish, but the one who listens will speak successfully.”

An Australian man said a lot of unwanted visitors have been coming to his house after Google maps accidentally labeled it as a pizzeria. Michael McElwee said he thought it was a simple mistake when the first person knocked on his door trying to deliver magazines for the pizza restaurant, but it wasn’t long before more and more people showed up. One person who came wanted to apply for a job. After some investigation, McElwee discovered that his home had been labeled incorrectly. He said he wasn’t sure how many people came to his door thinking it was a pizza place. He added, “It is like getting your identity stolen. Your house has been stolen and put in as a pizza shop. My daughter has been approached by people wanting to know what time we open.”–Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Google maps error leads pizzeria customers to man's home, by Ben Hooper,

Psalm 43:3 (CSB)“Send your light and your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling place.”

We all have to live with our mistakes and even adapt to them, but a Swedish Mom has taken living with her mistakes to a new level. She asked a tattoo artist to put her children’s names Nova and Kevin on her arm. When the artist misspelled Kevin’s name as Kelvin, she decided to go with it. Instead of paying to have the errant “l” removed, she changed her son’s name to Kelvin. —Jim L. Wilson

A new employee at a Massachusetts pawnshop paid $50 for a violin that turned out to be worth 5,000 times that amount. A local television reports said the employee at LBC Boutique and Loan had no idea what he was buying when he paid $50 for a Ferdinando Gagliano violin, which was hand built in 1759. The store manager Dylan McDermitt said the instrument is worth an estimated $250,000 and the bows alone are worth over $16,000. He said local police discovered the violin was during a break-in and they returned the instrument to the owner. McDermitt said in the future employees will be required to ask people who bring violins in to play them, to demonstrate the instruments belong to them.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

In 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey writes, “It’s not what happens to us, but our response to what happens to use that hurts us.” —Jim L. Wilson

Possibly the biggest moment in the 2018 NBA Finals was the timeout that J.R. Smith did not call. “With the score tied at 107-107 after George Hill made the first of two free throws, Smith grabbed the rebound off a would-be go-ahead shot in the paint when Hill missed the second one. With 4.5 seconds remaining, Smith immediately put the ball on the floor and dribbled out beyond the 3-point line.”

Smith could have told reporters that he thought that the Cavs were up by one or that he did not know they had any timeouts left but instead he told reporters that he knew the score was tied and expected someone else to call the timeout, which made him look worse.—Jim L. Wilson and Bobby Oh

Proverbs 14:5 (CSB) “An honest witness does not deceive, but a dishonest witness utters lies.”

Millions of new Australian $50 bills contain an embarrassing typographical error that was overlooked before the bills were printed and circulated. The bills are most widely circulated in Australia and makes up about half of the total value of banknotes in use. The new note was introduced in October 2018 and includes security features designed to make it harder to counterfeit and includes tactile elements for the visually impaired. The note bears the likeness of Edith Cowan, the first woman to serve in the Australian legislature. The typographical error appears in an excerpt from one of Cowan’s speeches. The word responsibility is spelled incorrectly three times in quotes on the note. The Central Bank has taken responsibility for the error, but has not announced plans to make corrections.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-banknotes-typo/australias-central-bank-takes-responsibilty-for-note-typo-idUSKCN1SF096

When Lee Ann Walker became aware that she was in violation of a new rule put into place by the USGA and R&A, she reported the infraction to officials and added 58 penalty strokes to her score at the 2019 Senior LPGA Championship.

Attention to detail is important—in this particular case, it was a costly mistake. Everybody makes mistakes. They key is to learn from them, and move on.—Jim L. Wilson

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead,

It really is a world wide web! Sheila Pereira thought she was signing up to run a half Marathon in her hometown, but later discovered that it was not going to be in Worcester, Massachusetts, but would be in Worcester, England.

She did not let her mistake keep her from her goals. She ran anyway. When the organizers learned that she clocked a time of “two hours and five minutes” they sent her a medal.

Everybody makes mistakes. The question is what do you do when you make one? —Jim L. Wilson

No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. One motorist in England said he forgot that he was driving a van rather than piloting his boat and drove right into flood waters. The local flood warden sent out a tweet, “Why do I bother advising drivers when they think ‘I know better’?”

Do you ever feel that way? “Why do I bother with advice when my advisees think they know better than I do?” The Old Testament book of Proverbs has a wealth of wisdom about listening to good counsel. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

Have you ever been on a journey, with someone else at the wheel, where you thought you were going someplace, only to end up in a completely different location? Happened not so long ago to the passengers on a British Airways flight out of London City Airport. They thought they were on a flight to Dusseldorf Germany, but the plane landed in Edinburgh, Scotland; much to the surprise of the passengers who “only realized the error when the plane landed and the ‘welcome to Edinburgh’ announcement was made.”

According to WDL, the aircraft leasing company, the pilots filed the flight plan paperwork incorrectly, and the crew were following the flight schedule from the previous day. They claim that passenger safety was never at risk, and they are investigating how this could happen. However, what strikes me as strange is that both the crew and the passengers seemed to be unaware of what had happened until landing in Edinburgh.

It seems that complacency and carelessness were the culprits here. The crew in picking up the wrong flight plan and not double-checking, and the passengers in blithely and routinely trusting that the crew had everything in hand and were going in the right direction. —Jim L. Wilson and Derick Wilson

A Texas family said a fire that burned their front yard was started with their 12 year-year-old’s Christmas gift. Nissa-Lynn Parson said her son Cayden received a magnifying glass and after opening gifts, the boy and his brothers decided to use the gift to burn holes in a newspaper in the driveway. The paper burst into flames and the wind picked it and carried it onto the lawn. The grass ignited quickly, and ran into the house to get help. The fire was extinguished quickly and the only damage was some melted lights and a scorched lawn. Parson said it was an accident and was not as bad as it could have been. She told a local reporter, “Instead of a tragedy, it will now be a Christmas to remember.” —Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

There is no doubt that identity theft is on the rise, and the collecting and selling of personal information, and fake ID’s is now big business. There seems to be a huge market for fake ID’s especially, and not always for illegal immigrants wishing to commit immigration fraud. Seems it might also be a resource for teenagers wishing to appear older than they are, for a variety of reasons, such as driving, or buying alcohol.

For example, a Canadian teenager recently called the police to report that a fake ID he ordered online failed to arrive. To add insult to injury, the teen gave his personal information to the vendor, thus exposing himself to identity theft. It is not known how widespread the problem is, but it prompted the police to issue warnings about the potential consequences of buying and selling fake ID’s and advising parents to talk to their children about it.

As I was reading this story, it prompted me to think about all those people who think they can get into heaven using false pretenses, or fake ID’s if you like: being a Church Member, their parent’s faith, a Grandad who was a Baptist Preacher, etc. But Jesus said there is only one way . . . through Him!—Jim L. Wilson and Derick Wilson.

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

It has often been said that pigs will eat almost anything, including animal or even human flesh, given the chance. Unfortunately for one Polish pig farmer, it happened to him. The farmer, from Lubin, about 260 miles West of Warzaw, was last seen alive on December 31, 2019. However, a neighbor discovered what were believed to be his remains 8 days later. According to the Lubin District Prosecutor, Magdalena Serafin, as reported in the Gazeta Wrocławska, “the body was almost entirely eaten, with just a few bones and skull fragments remaining.”

No details were forthcoming about how he died, but it may have been a heart attack or a fall. But what is clear, the free-roaming pigs fed on him.

I think the moral of the story is, don’t die amongst pigs . . . you could get eaten by them!—Jim L. Wilson and Derick Wilson

Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.

The family of a Scottish farmer issued an apology to an entire community after their bull accidentally knocked out power for 700 homes. Hazel Loughton said the bull, named Ron, was trying to scratch an itch and ended up knocking the transformer box to the ground, knocking out the power. Laughton posted the apology on social media and framed it so that it appeared that Ron wanted to apologize for the inconvenience. She said Ron was “happy to be alive” after managing to avoid an 11,000 volt shock from the fallen transformer. The local utility company repaired the transformer and restored power in a matter of hours. –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

“When you succeed, speak about it softly or let others mention it for you. But when you make a mistake say it clearly and loudly, so that everyone can learn and profit from your errors. In other words, ‘Whisper wins and shout mistakes.’”

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.

Timothee Mottin owns a café-restaurant in the French Alps and has gathered a collection of items from mishaps on the Mont Blanc glacier. His most recent find is copies of Indian newspapers with headlines for 1966 when Indira Gandhi became India’s first woman prime minister. The papers were probably aboard an Air India plane that crashed on the mountain in 1966. Mottin said the papers were drying and are in very good condition. He said he as lucky to find them when he did because they had just melted after being encased in ice for around 60 years. Mottin makes his finds available to visitors who come to his café to view them and enjoy some coffee. He said other artifacts from the mountain continue to show up as they thaw from the ice each year. The most stunning find occurred in 2013 when a box of emeralds, sapphires and rubies worth nearly $275,000 emerged from the glacier ice. The box was thought to have come from another plane crash in 1966. —Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Painstakingly centered on the bricks of the entry into a parking garage in a Maldon, England are the words “NO ENRY.” The craftsman left out the “T” of the word entry. The Maldon District Council said the error would soon be corrected, but added, "If you're having a bad day... just know that someone else is having a worse day than you."

Rodney King Jr., a Detroit resident order pizza for dinner. With anticipation, he was watching his front door camera to see when the pizza arrived. He was hungry and was ready to eat.

Finally, the delivery driver arrived. However, the pizza fell out of the box as the driver carried it to the door.

"As soon as I saw the pizza hit the floor, my heart sank a little bit," King said. "I was hungry, but I was really hoping he would do the right thing."

He didn’t. The driver put the pizza back into the box and left it at the door and walked away.

Of course, the delivery service refunded King’s money when he complained, and is no longer using the driver’s service.

Everyone makes mistakes. Some people try to cover it up, others admit it when they do. The cover-up is usually worse than the mistake.

The city of Brooksville, Florida discovered they had accidentally sold the town water town when a local business purchased an unused municipal building beneath the tower. The businessman Bobby Read, only wanted the building so he could convert it into a gym. When he went to the county to get the address for the new business location, he was told the parcel of land he had purchased also included the town’s water tower. Read graciously, deeded the tower back to the city at no charge, but the city manager admitted the legal description of the land caused the confusion. Mark Kutney said the city’s redevelopment agency director resigned after the incident, but added, “We’re human. Sometimes we make a mistake.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

When he didn’t get the sauce with his Chicken McNuggets, Robert Golwitzer allegedly called McDonalds to threaten to blow the place up. The satisfaction he might have felt was short-lived however, because the Ankeny, Iowa police arrested him for the bomb threat.

Seems like some people could you some lighten up sauce to go with its disappointment.

An intern at HBO Max mistakenly sent out a test email to a portion of their mailing list. The company followed up by apologizing for the mistake and threw the intern under the bus. The response from those receiving the message was supportive of the intern. One user wrote, “Once, when I was a junior copywriter, I applied to my dream job at @TheAtlantic and wrote “copyrighter” on my résumé. Like, I misspelled the job I wanted, which was a job for good spellers.” Another wrote, “Dear Intern, when I was 25, I made a PDF assigning each employee to the Muppet they reminded me of the most. I meant to send it to my work friend, but I accidentally sent it to the entire company. My supervisor (Beaker) wanted to fire me, but the owners (Bert & Ernie) intervened.”

A New Jersey man who cleans homes to supplement his income shared the story of how he accidentally went to a townhouse and left it spotless. Louis Angelino said he often cleans homes for friends to make extra money and was schedule to clean the home for his friend Mark. He arrived and found the key in the expected place under the doormat and let himself in. He spent the next two and half hours cleaning and playing with the cats when Mark called and asked if he had been able to get by his place. Angelino told him he was done and he and the cats were waiting for him to walk in. Angelino was shocked when Mark told him he didn’t have cats. Angelino discovered he had written down the wrong address and cleaned a neighbor’s house instead. He left a note apologizing, and the neighbors, Tom and Beth Motzel were thrilled. Tom said, he was shocked that someone had broken into their home and cleaned everything. He said Angelino cleaned up after the cats, fed them and left everything spotless. When Angelino apologized, Motzel asked if he could keep his number for future cleaning needs—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/07/14/Louis-Angelino-cleaning-fairy-New-Jersey-wrong-house/3171626275693