Quick Updates

I’m home sick today, so with the woozy and the drugs, I’ve only got a little focus left.

Gardening:  I might have planted mint with my oregano, or I might not have.  The things coming up don’t quite look like what’s there.  My basil is definitely basil though and it’s pretty happy.  It’s rained so steadily this month that I’d thought everything I planted a couple weeks ago drowned, but something’s coming up out on the balcony.  It’ll take a few days to figure out what it is.   The hydrangeas from last year survived!  I need to plant more things.

Recycling:  No word from the management on my letter yet.  I’m visiting tomorrow to bring it up.

Biking:  Rain.

There’s probably more but unnnnnnnnggggghh.

Oh yeah this is pretty awesome, perhaps you read about how the EPA does its job now.   Also I signed up for paperless bills and 100% renewable energy from Dominion, it’s official.  Oh, and I bought plane tickets to New Zealand for this summer.  See I bet there’s a lot of stuff like that, but right now I need to go be pitiful closer to the OJ.

Hey yeah it’s Earth Day tomorrow.  If I shake this cold, I’ll be watching The Day After Tomorrow in celebration.  Actually probably will if I still am sick, too.  Woot.  Have a good one.

A New Addition

Last night, the Gentleman Friend and I began a taste-test of organic wines and chocolates.  Difficult work, true, but next week I’ll post our impressions and recommendations, to make your Valentine’s Day picks easier.  

As if that weren’t exciting enough enough, the Gentleman Friend was convinced to sign up as a contributor here after a bottle of Red Truck.  Now we can switch his clunky euphemistic title to his handle Vaialos, and he can tell you for himself how he really feels about my composter.  Welcome, V!

Various Links

Pollution is credited with causing a 40% increase in birth defects in China from 2001 to 2005.  And that’s from a government official, too, not just concerned citizens.

Energy utilities in CA find that ranking their customers against each other encourages them to use less energy.

The good folks at Real Climate explain why that report on how global warming is irreversible doesn’t mean we should just give up composting and buying fair trade and such.

That’s all for tonight, but boy do I have interesting news for you Tuesday night!  That is called a “teaser”.

Good News, Everyone!

They saved almost 400 of the penguins in Brazil!  And Make It Right‘s first green homes are ready for displaced people in New Orleans!

Whew, let’s concentrate on that and forget the rest of the week.  Have a good evening.

Anniversaries

I stuck my first post up here a year ago today.  I’d have some fireworks prepared to celebrate, but I’ve been away for almost a week celebrating two years with the GF.

So, soon.  Meanwhile, thanks for joining in and sticking around!

Among the Boxes

The move is going very well (my walls are ORANGE AND GREEN!  In the good way!) but I have even more exciting news.  While I was away, Biking Person got a blog!  He’ll be writing about biking and home renovations and I assume lots of other stuff, at EcoCheap.  Go say hi!

Meanwhile, I have some Craigslisting to do.  Back later, with Content.

What I Haven’t Been Writing About

It’s more than all this of course, but here’s the backlog of links I didn’t get you this week.

NPR did a story on how the Post Office research center is looking at alternative fuel, efficient routes, green buildings, and new packaging to reduce their costs and environmental impact. You can read the report or listen to the segment at that link.

Nancy Pelosi is putting climate change legislation on hold until we have a new President- specifically, Obama. She answers questions on the decision and talks about climate change policy with the Huffington Post in a video here.

A club in the UK has a dance floor that generates power.  Rock on.

Remember the mean speculators, behaving rationally and legally inside the market system and driving up our oil prices and making us all sad?  They don’t exist.  Oil’s expensive for “real” market reasons and speculators are having little to no impact on it’s soaring prices, according to a task force combining data from a bunch of US financial agencies.  Well, shoot, now we have to place the blame for gas prices where it really lies- with ourselves, our oil subsidies, our poorly planned neighborhoods, our eggs in one basket…whoops.

US Olympians are prepared for the smog conditions in Beijing during the Olympics, but they’re not too worried about it- everyone has to breathe the same foul air, after all.  Meanwhile, China has begun restricting activities in the city to bring air pollution down to non-embarrassing levels for the Games.

What was I up to in the meanwhile?  Well, the liquor store people are getting to know me pretty well, since I’m there asking for boxes all the time.  Also, I saw Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog like 4 times, and you’d love it.  Odd and illuminating watching that superhero tale the same week as The Dark Knight, which was fantastically crafted (yeah yeah, Heath Ledger incredible wow, but Aaron Eckhart gave the performance of his career, too) and somehow not as scary as this.

It’s My Birthday Today

And it’s been pretty sweet. So sweet, in fact, that it has bumped photographs of my tomatoes to tomorrow.

10,000: Thank You All For Reading!

Perhaps it is appropriate that I reach this visitor milestone on Friday the 13th.

Time Makes Fools Of Us All

I promised you a review of The Ovum Factor last night, but life intervened. I’m sorry, and at least now it will be 24 hours more thoughtful?  Maybe.