Friday, February 27, 2009

Beautiful Skies

I wish a camera or words could truly capture or describe what I've been seeing in the skies this evening. This has to be the most gorgeous sight I've seen. I went out tonight at about 6:00 to pick up some food for dinner. On my way home I happened to look up and saw the moon and Venus in the sky. The moon was a crescent moon, but it seemed that it was lying on it's back. It was dusk and the skies weren't totally dark and black, so you could still see the terrain, mountains, and craters of the moon. Venus seemed brighter than ever and it was positioned really close to the moon. It was so beautiful and so distracting, I'm surprised I didn't drive off the road. I just now stepped out onto my balcony to look at the sky again, and it still amazes me. Right now I can't see the moon and Venus from my balcony, but the sky still looks amazing. The skies are so clear and there is not a cloud to be seen, and the stars are so incredibly bright. All I can say is that it is absolutely beautiful tonight! And in a few brief moments this evening, I completely forgot all of the stresses that bothered me all week.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

More Things That Make Me Question (and Hate) the Human Race

I've read and seen a number of things in the news this week that make me question the intelligence of the human race.

Bottled tap water: One story that caught my attention happened to be a story in the L.A. Times about an entrepreneur who is selling bottled New York tap water. It's tap water, in a bottle, and people are willing to pay $1.50 for it. What? Maybe I'm biased because I could never truly understand the whole bottled water idea and craze. Sure, I can see that there are times when bottled water is important and when it comes in handy. If you're always on the go or constantly traveling, it makes sense. However, you could also use a reusable watter bottle, like a Sigg. If your city's tap water is especially bad, it makes sense to use bottled water. However, you could also buy a water filter, like a Britta. And, naturally, it's usually a good idea to have bottled water in your natural disaster kit. But I honestly don't understand the reasoning behind buying bottled water on a regular basis. It seems wasteful to spend money on water. And, also, the mini-environmentalist in me doesn't like the idea of all that plastic lying around if people don't make an effort to recycle the bottles. Yet, I suppose this entrepreneur is a genius because people seem to be falling for it. It almost makes me wish I had thought of it. People seem foolish enough to fall for any trend that seems hip and/or exotic. Maybe I should go into business of selling manure by telling people it comes from the exotic and endangered lynx of the Swiss Alps. I bet I could sell it for $300 a pound!

Michelle Obama's Arms: There seems to be a kerfuffle and uproar over the dress that Michelle Obama wore when President Obama gave his speech to Congress. I've seen it in news stories and in the reader comments section to those news stories. And, yes, I realize that I mentioned in a previous post that I hate reader comments, but unfortunately I read these because they were so, naturally, idiotic, but I digress. Apparently there are some people out there who were horrified and mortified that she dared to wear a sleeveless dress. "How dare she wear a sleeveless dress during such an event?!" people questioned and exclaimed. "How dare she wear a sleeveless dress during the winter?!" others would later ask. Who are these people? This is what they care about? They need to get a hobby and/or get a life!

Reading directions: Ok, this doesn't have anything to do with something I read in the news, but I'm on a roll with ranting, so why stop... I really hate it when people don't read directions or instructions. I work in publishing. Our lives revolve around words, and our lives revolve around reading those words. So when I write a letter or e-mail or when I fill out a form, I expect people to read what I write. This doesn't always happen, and it drives me out of my mind!

Current mood: agitated
Current drink: vanilla soy milk

Friday, February 20, 2009

Plague

It was another busy week at work. There were deadlines, crises, and crazy people to deal with, but that's a typical week. The worst part of this week is that a new cold or flu is making its way through the office. So far four people in our department alone have already gotten sick—and there is only ten in our department—and now the sickness is making its way through the rest of the office. It really is like a plague. So far—knock on wood—I've been able to avoid it. But, then again, I always seem to avoid whatever disease is spreading through the office. I'm not sure what is wrong with everyone's immune system, or maybe my immune system is just made of steel. Who knows. I just hope I can keep resisting these colds and flus, because based on the looks of some people and the sounds and fluids coming out of their bodies, this latest flu must be really awful.

Current mood: tired
Current music: iTunes on shuffle—Anna Nalick "Catalyst"
Current drink: orange juice—preventative measure!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Spoke Too Soon

Just a few days ago I was patting myself on the back because I refused to bring work home with me over the weekend. I made grand statements that I was going to put my foot down and not work overtime! Well, today I worked a 10-hour day. I got to work at 8:00 and left after 6:00. I had lunch, but I ate it at my desk in between tasks. The day just turned into a non-stop race, and I'm exhausted...

But, I treated myself after work and picked up some food from Wahoo's on the way home. I had a giant chicken bowl with tons of black beans and rice and a big glass of root beer... I wish it were a real beer... I still need to go to the liquor store... Sigh...

Current mood: tired and full
Currently watching: Rachel Maddow
Current drink: Barq's root beer

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Smart City

Here is a nice piece from NBC's Nightly News about Boulder and their new smart grid.


Monday, February 16, 2009

This and That, Holiday Edition

I'm coming to the end of a long weekend. Because today is President's Day we had the day off from work. So what have I been doing all weekend? Well, I'll tell you one thing I haven't been doing—working! Because things are so busy at work, I occasionally have to work over the weekends. I really don't like doing it, but sometimes I have to just to keep on top of things. Because I don't get paid overtime and because we're not going to get raises or bonuses this year, I also don't want to make a habit of working more than I get paid for. This weekend, I could very well have brought work home with me. I have plenty to do and a lot of deadlines to meet this week. But I put my foot down and refused to bring work home. This is also the last holiday we have between now and May, so I wanted to take full advantage of the long weekend. I didn't want to work, and I didn't want to even think about work. I put it all out of my mind. And it turned into a great weekend. I spent a lot of time reading and writing and basically doing nothing. It was wonderful and relaxing. And now that I am fully relaxed and rested, I'll be able to tackle the week ahead. I should really do this more often...

Current mood: rested
Current music: iTunes on shuffle—Melissa Etheridge "An Unexpected Rain"
Current drink: soy milk—healthy, but really wishing I made a trip to the liquor store for some wine or whiskey or Cognac

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Things I'm Sick Of

A small list of things I'm sick of...in no particular order:

The Republican Party: Do I really need to say much other than what a bunch of sore losers, whiners, and hypocrites. I'm so sick of their grandstanding and self-righteous preaching. I'm sick of their attacks on and total lack of support for Obama and his administration. And I seem to remember over the past few years that when anyone opposed Bush they would say that that person was anti-American and unpatriotic. Again, I will say, hypocrites!

Nadya Suleman (a.k.a Octo Mom): I have one word, "crazy." What sane woman with six kids, no job, no income, and no home would want to have another eight kids? I feel bad for her children. And I feel bad for the state of California which will have to pay to support this new dysfunctional family.

Reality TV: Do we really need a reality TV show for everyone and everything out there? I will admit that I've certainly watched my share of reality TV shows. I was in high school when the first Real World came out. Back then it was new and fresh and exciting. Those kids had hopes and dreams and aspirations. They dealt with real issues like racism or homophobia or religion. Now there is a reality show for everything and everyone. You want to marry a complete stranger for a million dollars? There is a show for you. Oh, the sanctity of marriage! You want to hook-up with an aging rock star and call it true love? There is a show for you. Do you want to compete with twenty other men and women to win the heart of a bisexual internet "star"? There is a show for you. Now, thanks to MTV andVH1, we have reality show spinoffs where reality "stars" get reality shows of their own. Soon the reality shows spread and multiply faster than STDs through unprotected orgies. And there really is no better way to describe this. I'll still admit that I watch a few reality shows like Top Chef or Biggest Loser, but these tend to be shows where people are trying to reach a dream or trying to improve their lives. And, sure I watch Man vs. Wild, but that's because Bear is just amazing...and crazy...and pretty good looking.

Reader comments: These days I tend to read the news online instead of through an old fashioned newspaper. It's cheaper (well, free, actually), it's ecofriendly, and it's quicker and more up-to-date. The one disadvantage of online news sources, however, are the reader comments that accompany most stories. There really ought to be an IQ test before you can post a reader comment, because you really see the most idiotic and moronic comments on these sites.

Current mood: glad tomorrow is a holiday
Current music: iTunes on shuffle—Michelle Branch "Breathe"

Friday, February 13, 2009

Public Service Announcement

In these tough economic times—to use a popular cliché these days—the people of this country are looking for ways to put more money in their pockets. Some people work two jobs or work freelance or sell eggs or internal organs. However, other people try to get rich quick by spending money on lottery tickets. To be perfectly honest, this might be something I'll start doing soon, too. But a word to the wise: If you buy one of those scratcher lottery tickets, please wait until you are in a safe area before you start scratching away. Scratching your lottery ticket while meandering through a busy and crowded parking lot probably isn't the best or the safest thing to do. How do you expect to collect any winnings if you cluelessly step in front of a racing car? And, I'm sorry, if I run you over and if you have a winning ticket, I'm taking it because I would really like to take a vacation to Greece. So, please, for your own safety, people, wait until you are safely in your car or safely at home before you scratch that lottery ticket.

Current mood: glad it's Friday
Current music: iTunes on shuffle—Beth Waters "White Rabbit"

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Update

I haven't been posting much lately because there really hasn't been all that much to report. I'm still busy at work, but that goes without saying. Things are still busy and things are still crazy, but that's a good thing. At least I'm still very fortunate to have a job. Life, in general, has been pretty quiet, and I sort of like it that way right now.

That's really all I have right now... I'll try to come up with something more pensive—or more pointless—later.

Current mood: a little tired
Current music: iTunes on shuffle—Faith Hill "Breathe"
Current drink: coffee