FOOD 5.2 MOBILITY 0.7 SHELTER 7.4 GOODS/SERVICES 5.4 TOTAL FOOTPRINT 19 (in acres) IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON. WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON. IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 4.2 PLANETS. via Pale Blue Dot I know that we could do better than 19 acres per person just around the house. David drives a lot farther to work each day; his acreage is higher than mine. The fact that we don’t have kids is another factor that reduces our footprint – we don’t have any…
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Rob gets a call that his cousin William has lost a leg while stationed in Iraq. He goes to Andrews Air Force Base to meet the plane at 2 a.m. Why 2 a.m.? Ssssh!
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Experts figure perhaps 70 Utah women a year terminate their pregnancies due to fatal fetal deformities. In most cases, doctors induce labor early to terminate the pregnancy. Doctors are horrified at the options they now will have to present to those traumatized women. And they are angry at lawmakers who they say patched together problematic legislation to make a political statement in an election year. “It’s such a politically volatile issue because the word abortion is in there,” said one Wasatch Front obstetrician who wanted to remain anonymous. “The representatives who passed this law did not understand the repercussions of…
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The only US jurisdiction currently to allow homosexual weddings has suspended them while equally moving to grant such unions historic legal recognition. A circuit judge in Multnomah County, Oregon, ordered a freeze on gay marriage licenses to give the State Legislature a chance to formalise them. Judge Frank Bearden also ordered the state to recognise the 3,022 licenses issued in the county since 3 March. The move is a first for the entire US, where the issue has divided opinion. There are plenty of related links in the right hand column in this article. When I lived in Oregon, in…
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I had jury duty today. I’m extremely happy to announce that I don’t have jury duty tomorrow – I’m not sure why not, but I was excused after the first round of “voir dire.” I was excused by the prosecutors – first one called up to sit in the jury box, first one excused. As I was leaving with one of the other lucky excusees, I leaned over and whispered “score!” gleefully (we were out in the hallway with our checks for $17.50 in hand). I wouldn’t mind serving – just not at California Avenue Criminal Court. It’s a pain…
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Just a couple of orange couch potatos – I love this photo. Actually, there’s a whole series of shots, but the ones showing me full length are too horrible for the Internet. Stuey’s also the reason I’m in a gardening frame of mind. I got all the plants in the ground tonight at last – somehow $95 worth of perennials looks kinda small, but I’m pretty sure they’ll grow (some of them will grow to 2 – 3 feet). There’ll be a rain barrel right near them so watering them won’t be a chore. I got lupine, spiked gayfeather, blue…
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An example of synchronicity? The world knows no boundaries of nation or language; if it’s spring, there’re plants for sale tempting people to try to get them to grow. Earlier today I was plant-shopping in Schaumburg. Meanwhile, Mediatinker was plant-shopping in Japan. Lamb’s Ear is the softest plant ever. I love stroking its leaves and was very happy to do so at the herb shop we visited today. I didn’t buy any, though. Instead I picked up parsely, sage, rosemary, thyme, margoram, basil, shiso, lemon balm, tarragon, wild strawberry, lettuce, yarrow, lavender, and eucalyptus. I would have purchased more, but…
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Air America Radio is looking to hire an intern. Duties: Escorting guests to and from The O’Franken Factor studio. Venturing out into the city to accomplish time-sensitive missions. Supporting Team O’Franken in its various online and offline activities. Pay: The job’s strictly volunteer, but it will pay out – big – in terms of hands-on experience in a deadline-driven radio work environment. It will also be occasionally hilarious. I’m thinking “time-sensitive missions” probably means “be back by 1255pm with the sandwiches.” Still, it could be an amazing opportunity for somebody.
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The father of a Columbine High School victim found a cool welcome when he tried to attend an NRA event to engage VP Cheney about the assault weapon ban, which is due to expire this fall: Mauser entered the convention hall where the NRA was meeting, but was turned away by a security guard as several conventioneers applauded. A couple of conventioneers yelled “Get a life” and “Vote for Bush.” Mauser said the NRA “is an organization with a Field and Stream magazine membership, but a Soldier of Fortune magazine leadership.” Nice.
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Let me start by saying that I can’t stand daylilies. My mom had them in a hardscrabble little bed in front of the porch for years, and one of my garden chores used to be deadheading the daylilies. They’re really boring flowers; there’s no scent and they’re ridiculously hardy, so they can’t be killed off by anything short of a mini-Ice Age. They grow, they bloom, the flowers die, they keep growing and blooming. Meh.