25 Pseudo-random things

26. January 2009 · 1 comment · Categories: climate change, dad, daily life, death, entertainment, environment, facebook, fall, family, fatherhood, food, frowns, frustration, good things, green, health, hope, intelligence, mr. grey, nostalgia, science, sleep, smiles, thoughts, winter

This is for Facebook.

RULES:

Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you.  At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.  If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.

  1. I miss my dad every single day.
  2. I wish I’d pursued cooking as a career.
  3. I wish I’d been better at science and math in high school – I might have followed a different path in college.
  4. I firmly believe that men should polish their shoes.
  5. I believe that unpolished shoes say a lot about a person.  (That means you too ladies.)
  6. I think that vacations should be a minimum of two weeks.
  7. I love to go to the beach in the fall and winter – but I’m not as keen on it in the summer.
  8. The best day of my life was April 12, 2002 – the day I met TKD.
  9. The second best day of my life was December 27, 2007 – the day Mr. Grey was born.
  10. Edinburgh Scotland is my favorite city in the world.
  11. I would rather be fishing, categorically.
  12. I value quality above all else both in the items I purchase and the work I do.
  13. I would like to visit New Zealand.
  14. I find it highly irritating when someone rides my tail on the highway.
  15. I find it even more irritating when said person suddenly decides that they need to pass me on the right when I’ve already put my blinker on indicating that I’m going to move over.
  16. I enjoy playing with Mr. Grey in the morning on the weekends.
  17. I really like it when Mr. Grey falls asleep on my chest – which doesn’t happen that often anymore.
  18. Soup is my favorite food.
  19. Nothing beats the smell of the sea’s salt in the air.
  20. I am always located in the same place, directly above the center of the earth.
  21. I wish oysters were more plentiful in the bay.
  22. I am highly concerned about climate change – so much so that I actually lose sleep over it on a regular basis.
  23. I am learning to like the South.
  24. I would rather live in Maine.
  25. I miss running around in the fields near the house where I grew up.

warmer weather, slightly

21. January 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: climate change, daily life, environment, good things, gratitude, smiles, thoughts, weather, winter

It has been really cold in MD for the first few weeks of 2009.  Well below normal temps.  I’m pretty used to cold weather from my days at Penn State, but it’s been a while here — with every winter since 2002 being warmer than normal.  In December 2006, the leaves still haddn’t fallen from the trees in my yard, which was just plain weird.  

I guess I’ve gotten a little soft on the cold.

At any rate, the next two days are projected to have highs in the 40s and I’m, frankly, giddy about that.

Inauguration

20. January 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: america, culture, daily life, good things, gratitude, hope, intelligence, media, politics, science, smiles, thoughts

I am so thrilled to see Barak Obama take over the office of the Presidency.  I have been overwhelmed several times listening to him speak over the past few months.  It is absolutely astonishing to me to think that America actually elected him.  I am so thrilled by that.  Perhaps the vast majority of Americans are not as ignorant as I once thought.

There are several themes that have emerged in the Obama Rhetoric that I particularly like:

  • Inclusiveness — Obama seems to genuinely believe that his administration must include all people from all walks of life, regardless of race, creed, sexual preference, abilities, political preference, etc.  This is truly fantastic and inspiring.  I hope his administration is as Inclusive as his rhetoric.
  • Transparency — Obama openly plans to be open with his administration.  Certainly there will be times for state secrets, but I’m hopefull that these times will be real and that Obama will not hide behind “state secrets” or “national security” when he knows his policies will not be popular.
  • Intellect — Obama is an intellectual.  He is smart.  He knows the value of debate and the value of facts.  He has said that Science will once again take its rightful place in decision making.

These themes really excite me.  I am really looking forward to having a leader that is intelligent and thought full.  Nothing good comes from decisions made in ignorance.  I’m hopeful that the decisions of the next four years will be made with a decidedly informed mind.

Another Veggie Triumph

15. January 2009 · 3 comments · Categories: cooking, daily life, family, food, good things, health, smiles, vegetables, vegetarian

I’m really getting into this veggie thing.  It’s almost a game now — avoiding meat.  

So, I got home tonight and found that really I had not planned appropriately for dinner and I really was scrounging in the kitchen.  Yes, scrounging.  I have not been to the store in over two weeks – TKD has but we’ve not planned out meals or anything like that and neither of us went over the weekend.  So, the fridge offered very little — in fact it’s as empty as I’ve ever seen it, which is probably good, because it’s usually so full that I can’t put things in it without throwing something out.  At any rate, here’s what I found in the fridge and cupboard: More »

Bottled Water Taste Test

14. January 2009 · 1 comment · Categories: advertising, daily life, environment, green, television

This is great stuff.  We really need to get a handle on the whole bottled water thing.

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