Recycled Fixes

I love to tinker and fix things around the house especially when I can reuse and recycle materials in the fix. We recently moved into a new place and I have been fixing things around the house (still a rental, our landlords are lucky). The yard is totally thrashed and I have been slowly cleaning it up. In addition to not caring for the yard, the previous renters had a dog, which did not help matters. I decided to start small, and reworked the dirt patch on the side of the drive way. Using bricks I found wedged under the fence in various place (I assume to keep the dog from digging out), I build the brick pad you see below to keep the garbage cans on. I planted some greens and a tomato next to the pad.

Protect Marriage!

Marriage is under attack...from divorce. Did you know that over 50% end in divorce? We need to protect marriage and end divorce!

http://rescuemarriage.org/

here's a gem: "When my child read that Ronald Reagan had gotten a divorce in his history textbook, he cried for a week. Shame on you, public school system!"

Opt Out.

Tired of credit card solicitations? I found this website where you can opt of those annoying credit card solicitations: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre17.shtm if you would like to do the whole process again, you can opt-out for five years; otherwise you can opt-opt permanently, but that requires mailing in a form you print out .

Collect them all!

I was going through my old baseball cards this weekend and I found a few desert storm cards from the first gulf war, All I can say is WTF?! "Hey kids, laying a land-mine is fun!" "We call indiscriminately killing people with bombs dropped from planes 'Carpet Bombing.'" I can't believe these were ever made, let alone that I have some in my possession!

Republicans Still Floundering

Really?! Comon' Republicans can't you do better? You have Kenneth from 30 Rock or Mr. Rogers (depending who you ask) giving your rebuttal. He could not have been more patronizing if he had tried. Mr. Jindal it is not persuasive when you say you are not taking stimulus money but are actually taking 3.7 of the 3.8 billion dollars offered. I think you should take it, just don't act like your not.

So, for those of you counting at home, the list of new Republican leader are:

Sarah Palin- VP nominee (ignorant Alaskan pit-bull)
Michael Steele- RNC Chairman (wants to "apply [Republican ideas] to urban-suburban hip-hop
settings)
Bobby Jindal- Louisiana Governor (see above).

Republicans, you can do better.

As Advertised
(Obama a presidential review)

Thus far, I am quite pleased with how true to the campaign the Obama Presidency has been. Everyone is watching and critiquing the presidency thus far, so I add my voice. First of the tone and tenor of the administration is completely different than the Bush administration. While the bi-partisan efforts have been largely snubbed by the republican, his efforts seem genuine and he is engaging them, so there is promise in the future. Despite the current economic collapse, which has taken a good measure of attention, he is addressing the problem and incorporating policy measures that reflect his the campaign platform: universal access to health care, energy investment with environmental reform and investment in education. There have been other policy changes, the closing of Gitmo, the end of torture, acknowledgement of Afganistan as a regional problem in the context of Pakistan and India and the plan for draw-down in Iraq. There have been specific legislative measures as well, SCHIP for child health care, the Leadbeater act for fair pay. Obama has done more than most presidents do in their first hundred days and has looked good doing it. It is great who has mastery of the English language.

Pretty much dead on...

Demetri Martin has a new show on comedy central (you may recognize him from the daily show). I love this sketch! you should check out his other stuff too.

Important Things with Demetri MartinWed 10:30pm / 9:30c

Power - Creedocide

Joke of the Day
Stand-Up Comedy

Get Funny Ringtones
More Funny Videos

Happy Birthday Darwin

I intended to post this morning, but I have been working in the lab. Anyway, today is Darwin's Birthday- 200 years old. Too bad your dead. On second thought... Personally, I rank Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection (props to Alfred Russel Wallace) up there with Copernicus's observation of heliocentricity. These two really provided perspective to humanity i.e. put humans in their place. Copernicus took earth out of the center of the universe and Darwin broke down the great chain of being. If you haven't read The Origin of Species, it is quite a slog. At times it is stunning, Darwin's ability as a naturalist is amazing. However, at time he has to resort to hand waving, due to the lack of information, i.e. genetics, the concept of the gene etc. which were just being discovered by Mendel and would not really be incorporated until The Modern Synthesis. Nonetheless a truly brillant man worthy of celebration.

Bacon Done Right.

I just learned of the Bacon explosion yesterday. Needless to say, I am impressed. At 5,000 calories and 500 grams of fat, I know what I am going to do with the 10lbs of bacon I purchased at cost-co ;). The New York Times has an article on the Bacon Explosion phenomenon.

Drought

As many of you may know, California is experiencing a drought. Although it is important to always use resources wisely, it is critical during times of scarcity. The East Bay Municipal Utility District is offering free water saving devices. You can check them out here.

The Funniest Interview Ever!

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Sport Report - Chicken Wing Spokesman Richard Lobb

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Paul McCartney Appearance

Funny Political Videos
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I ain't as good as I once was...

I'm not even as good once as I ever was, but I can still get my ass over the barrier. The Former Aggie Horsecow Team (FAHT) had a strong showing a few weeks ago at the Diablo Valley college all-comers meet. I hadn't run in a week, but I manged to not kill myself and looked respectable over the barriers. I forgot how fun and easy the steeplechase is!

PETA

Oh, man! PETA is so awesome. Too bad bacon is delicious. You can see more.

'Veggie Love': PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad

Inauguration Day

So, I am back in california now. Below are some more pictures from Inauguration day. This first one is where I watched the inauguration from. Although I wasn't pressed against the fence, I could touch it.

Looking back down the mall was amazing, just a see of humanity. It was so cold you could see heat rising off the people like the street on a hot day.

Here is Rick Warren praying, when they introduced him some people booed. I yelled, "Separate church and state!" I said the same when people said, "Amen."


Here he is the man of the hour...

Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible for me. I love you all.

Picking-up the Ticket

Monday morning I headed down to the Cannon House Office Building to pick-up my ticket, turns out a couple of thousand other people had to do that as well. I was on the early side, but as I left people were streaming out of the metro.

I started in line by the bench near the person in the red coat. The line stretched down around the corner as far as I could see. Everyone had to pass through airport style security (metal detector, x-ray, shoes off). Once the building opened it took about an hour for me to make in to the building. When I left I heard the line was over two and a half hours long!


The temperature was fairly low, I am guessing high twenties or low thirties. We had a brief scare when it started snowing, but it only lasted for a few minutes.

Right before I got in the building, a group of high school students came out and I recognized a letterman jacket. There was a contingent from Davis High. Go Blue Devils!


Here I am with the congressman before I picked up my ticket. He had a nice food spread in his office and was chatting with people as they came by to pick up their tickets.


Once I had my ticket packet, I jumped onto the metro and headed back out to my Aunt and Uncle's in Alexandria, VA and we went to see the farm.

Inauguration

Tired. More tomorrow.

Mr. Fairclough Goes to Washington

Here I am leaving this morning. I don't know where I will be relative to TV cameras but look for the red hat and the Proterospongia flag.

Off like a prom dress!

Alright, I am off to catch my flight to the Presidential Inauguration! I will try to post pictures, video and commentary during the trip, so check back. I'll say, "hi" to Obama for everyone.

The Problem Articulated

Making fun of Republicans, it's fun AND easy.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Reagraham Lincool

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Not What She Intended

Last night I started reading Frances Moore Lappe's classic Diet for a Small Planet. The seminal work in socially responsible eating, Lappe catalogues the impact of our food choice on the planet and our fellow inhabitants. Written nearly a decade before I was born, I had to laugh as I read the introduction where she describes how she began writing the book by repeatedly using the phrase, "I followed my nose..." Having growing up in the next generation, this phrase immediately evokes images of Toucan Sam from the fruit loops commericals. Not the imagery she intended...

Too True.

WTF?

Remember Joe the Plumber? This guy in case you forgot:

Well, now this flaming moron is going to Gaza to be a reporter for pjtv.com. Holy Shit! Jesus Christ! I think my head is about to explode. This is too funny. Protected by God. HAHAHHAHAHAAHA!

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Burger at 1600

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Clean Coal?

Shortly before the end of the year the Tenesse Valley Athority had a little accident. The picture above is from the TVA (Via Bay & Environment Blog). This house was deluged when a retention pond for coal ash burst, spilling an estimated 1 billion gallons of sludge, a years’ worth of waste from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s adjacent coal-burning power plant, over an area of 300 acres. Coal ash contains fun stuff like, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. This is stuff we don't want in the air (hence the sludge pool) but it is less regulated that house hold trash. I have been surprised by how little coverage this has gotten since it the biggest toxic spill our country has so far experienced. Clean coal anyone?

The Growth of Wal-Mart

My friend, who is a cartographer of sorts, sent me a link to this website that plots the growth of Wal-Mart by store location over time across America. Talk about two Americas.

The Dangers of Skiing

Well, this seemed like a good first post for 2009. A skier in Vail, Co, fell out of the chair lift. Fortunately, his pants got caught and prevented him from falling to the ground. Unfortunately, he was suspended half-naked from the chair for fifteen minutes before he was rescued. Talk about shrinkage. There are more pictures here.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone. I'll be posting regularly again next week.