Happy Planet Index

Your personal Happy Planet Index (HPI) is 36, which is similar to that of countries such as Solomon Islands, Armenia or South Africa. Sorry to say that this is below the world average of 46. For those living in the UK, you’ll also be disappointed to hear your score is below the national average. Your score is above that of your country, 28.8. Below is a breakdown of the various components that make up your HPI score.
You:	36
Average:	43.4 [Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]
Life Expectancy Hurray! Your life expectancy is well above average for your gender and country. Probably, you're doing all the major things right - eating well, not smoking, getting regular exercise, and you're lucky enough to have the right genes. Are there any more ways you could make a difference? Some factors that improve your life expectancy are more surprising than others. For example, giving up your car, avoiding living alone, moving out of the city and shrugging off stress.
You:	88
Average:	80.8 [Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]
Ecological Footprint Your ecological footprint is 7.4 global hectares, or 4.11 planets. Your ecological footprint is below average for the country you live in. Oh dear! You are using between three and five times your share of the planet's resources, even assuming no resources are set aside for other species. That's well above the world average, and even above the average for most industrialised countries. Perhaps it's time to start taking action. Here are some of the most effective steps that everyone can make to reduce their footprint: Leave your car in the garage. Car use has a huge impact on ecological footprint. Obviously it's more difficult for people in certain circumstances, but where possible, try to use public transport more. Or, even better, get on a bike! It's obvious, but we have to say it. Conserve energy. Turn off the lights when you leave a room, buy energy-efficient bulbs and appliances, turn off your TV completely, rather than leave it on standby. Reduce your waste. If there are ways to recycle where you live, try and do so. If you have a garden, start a compost heap. Re-use plastic bags. Give away clothes you don't use, rather than throwing them away. There are hundreds of little things you can do. You don't have to become vegetarian, but cutting down on meat, particularly beef, and particularly from animals fed by imported soya feed, is an effective step to reducing your footprint. It has to be said that air travel is one of the biggest contributors to many people's footprints. For example, flying direct from London to Sydney and back would add 5.44 g ha to your footprint - that's the average Briton's footprint for an entire year. Flights with a connection add even more polluting air miles.
You:	7.4
Average:	5.38 [Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]
Life Satisfaction You reported a life satisfaction of 7, which is about average for many Western countries, including the UK, Spain and Italy. Worldwide, 58% of respondents in the World Values Survey reported a life satisfaction of 7 or lower.
You:	7
Average:	6.76 [Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]
Well-being The new economics foundation (nef) recognises that there's more to life than feeling good, which is why our model for well-being is based on four domains – personal feelings, personal functionings, social feelings and social functionings. 'Feelings' refers to your attitude to the way you, your future and society are. 'Functionings' looks at whether you have the opportunities to do the things that bring you well-being. Like with life satisfaction, a score of 5 is theoretically the middle score, but, given the way most people respond to surveys, is below average.
Personal Feelings In this online questionnaire, personal feelings are assessed with two questions – one testing your optimism and one testing your self-esteem. You have some anxieties about the future or yourself which are affecting your overall well-being. These are not too severe though...
You:	4.5
Average:	6.04 [Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]
Personal Functionings In this online questionnaire personal functionings are assessed with five questions – two evaluating your subjective opinion on your health and how activity you are, the other three testing you for feelings of autonomy, purpose and worth. You are healthy and overall feel autonomous, purposeful and able to demonstrate your abilities to others.
You:	7.06
Average:	6.15 [Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]
Social Feelings In this online questionnaire social feelings are assessed with four questions – three assessing your opinion of your community, whilst the last looks at personal relationships. You have a strong sense of trust and belonging in your community and a happy personal life.
You:	5.48
Average:	5.68 [Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]
Social Functionings In this online questionnaire social functionings are assessed with four questions – two assessing your job / studies, one your free time, and one your community participation. If you did not respond to the work / study questions, your score is judged purely on the other two aspects. You are satisfied with your job / course - it is interesting, and only occasionally stressful. Further it normally leaves you enough time to do the things you want to do.
You:	6.49
Average:	5.6 [Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]

Calculations for the Footprint are based on, and are copyright of, Best Foot Forward Limited. Please note that calculations for the Footprint and life expectancy are based on UK statistics. Conversion factors are used for other countries, but these are conservative and may underestimate differences.

Karma?

Weird things are going my way, wholly unexpectedly.

I bought a Bluetooth from eBay. It was counterfeit. (I know, surprise!)

I reported it to Motorola and filed a protest with Paypal. Motorola replaced it for me and Paypal refunded my money.

Today, I am the owner of a free, genuine Bluetooth.

I ordered a dozen loaves of raisin bread. The bread I received wasn't what I ordered.

I tried to return it for a refund or exchange. The store doesn't have what I ordered (well then, why did they advertise it?) so they're refunding my money. But they don't want their bread back.

Today I am the owner of 12 free loaves of raisin bread.

I really wasn't trying to manipulate my way into any of this.

I wonder what number 3 is going to be . . .

Yep, Gristedes mostly sucks

As previously explained, I emailed Gristedes' customer service on Friday evening. To my pleasant surprise, I received the following reply on Sunday:

In a message dated 3/18/2007 2:36:21 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, CustomerService@Gristedes.com writes:

Dear Ms. B:

Thank you for your e-mail and thank you for ordering from Gristedes Online Supermarkets of New York. In response to your e-mail, I will submit a request to have UPS pick this up from the address you provided upon placing your order. Once we have confirmation that this is back in transit to us here in New York, we will re-ship the correct product back out to you. Thank you in advance for your patience.

In the meantime, if there is anything else we can help you with, feel free to contact us at this e-mail address. Thank you for your business and we look forward to your next order with us. Have a great day!

Best,

Carolina Urena
Customer Service
Gristedes Online Supermarkets of New York
(e) customerservice@gristedes.com
(ph) 866-239-9806
(FX) 212-243-7932

So far so good. Monday and Tuesday go by and UPS is a no show. Now we're talking perishable goods here (with sell by dates of 3/15/07 and 3/17/07) so yesterday evening I email again, informing that UPS has not stopped by and inquiring if a call tag was in fact issued.

To my dismay, here is the response to my inquiry:

In a message dated 3/21/2007 10:10:06 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time, CustomerService@Gristedes.com writes:

Dear Ms. B:

Thank you for your e-mail and thank you for ordering from Gristedes Online Supermarkets of New York. In response to your e-mail, I do apologize for the delay in having this order picked up. I have inquired about the pick up and have been informed that the product you received is the actual Arnold Raisin Cinnamon Bread however the package has changed to reflect the type of raisins used in the bread. I have contacted the manufacturer in order to verify this information and they have confirmed that the Sun maid is indeed the Arnolds Raisin Cinnamon Bread. Please inform us if you still wish to have this product picked up. If you wish to verify this information you can view on the back of the package in small letters that the manufacturer is Arnolds Foods Company Inc.

In the meantime, if you have any further questions, feel free to contact me at this e-mail address. Thank you for your patronage and we look forward to your next order with us. Have a great day!

Best,

Carolina Urena
Customer Service
Gristedes Online Supermarkets of New York
(e) customerservice@gristedes.com
(ph) 866-239-9806
(FX) 212-243-7932

To which I reply (after doing about 30 seconds of online research):

Dear Ms. Urena,

Per our telephone conversation, I will expect an email confirming that a call tag has been issued to UPS for pick-up of this order. As I mentioned, I can buy Sun-Maid Cinnamon Swirl Raisin bread in my local supermarket and not have to pay shipping.

According to the Arnold's website, http://arnold.gwbakeries.com/subcat.cfm/subcatId/58, the Sun-Maid Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread is a different product from the Arnold Raisin Cinnamon bread. The UPC for the Arnold bread is 7341005205 and the UPC for the Sun-Maid bread is 7341005240.

If the Arnold bread is available, I would love return the Sun-Maid bread for an exchange. However, if Gristedes is unable to provide the Arnold bread, I will expect a full refund.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

I am offended by the fact that someone at Gristedes actually thought I would buy their lame explanation.

I am taking an inordinate amount of satisfaction from the fact that I was able to blow their argument out of the water.

Whatever

I'm over it.

The Company Bitch has gone private again. It probably happened a couple of days ago.

I just thought she was being lame and not posting anything since her feed wasn't changing.

Nope, she's just being all secretive again.

Oh well, screw it.

With 55 million choices, it shouldn't be too hard to replace her.

Futile Care

I am so pessimistic for so many reasons about the likelihood of any meaningful healthcare reform being accomplished in this country.

Somebody's paying for this and it's not the Gonzales family.

Dying Tot Brings Futile Care Bill to Forefront

By PAUL J. WEBER

AP

AUSTIN (March 21) - A dying toddler facing removal of his life support system received a reprieve Tuesday when hospital officials agreed to keep his breathing device running until at least April 10.

The decision came hours after attorneys for Emilio Gonzales, a 16-month-old who doctors believe has Leigh's disease, filed a temporary restraining order request to prevent removal of his life support. Gonzales, who has been at Children's Hospital in Austin since December, was scheduled to be taken off life support Friday.

The deadline extension also came hours after Catarina Gonzales, Emilio's mother, appeared at the Capitol with lawmakers who support a bill that would prohibit hospitals from stopping life-sustaining treatment while a family pursues a transfer or other care.

Under the current law, doctors are obligated to give only 10 days notice before withdrawing treatment when further care is deemed medically futile, even over the wishes of the patient and family.

"It's very good news because it give us more time," said Jerri Ward, the Gonzales family attorney.

A spokeswoman for Seton Family of Hospitals confirmed the extension and said the two sides agreed to keep each other apprised of efforts to find a facility for Emilio.

Doctors believe he is suffering from a degenerative neurological disorder causing his brain tissue to die.

The fight between the Gonzales family and the hospital underscores legislation filed in the House and Senate that would prevent hospitals from stopping treatment while a transfer to a new facility or doctor is pending.

"I know my son is going to die," Catarina Gonzales at the Capitol before the extension was granted. "I just want him to go as natural as he can. Not by someone telling me that we're going to take him off the ventilator because there's no use."

Michael Regier, general counsel for the Seton Family of Hospitals, said the toddler is in seizures half the time and has no purposeful movement. Catarina Gonzales said Emilio reacts to speech and is not brain dead.

State Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, said that while he is respectful of doctors' opinions and hospital resources, no one but the family or patient should decide when to pull the plug.

"Ten days is not long enough for a patient in these circumstances," said Hughes, who is trying to pass the House bill.

The current 1999 law is increasingly under fire from patient advocates, disability rights groups and Texas Right to Life, best known for its anti-abortion efforts.

Texas is one of the few states with a timetable for cutting off a patient's life-sustaining treatment, according to studies cited by activist groups.

Under the current law, a doctor's decision to refuse a family's wishes to continue life-sustaining treatment is subject to review by a hospital ethics or medical committee. The patient and family get 48 hours' notice of the meeting.

Hughes' bill remains in committee awaiting an unscheduled hearing.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.

Music and Lyrics

Silly. Lighthearted. Cute. "Cheesy and proud of it"

A washed up singer (Grant) is given a couple days to compose a chart-topping hit for an aspiring teen sensation. Though he's never written lyrics in his life, he sparks with an offbeat younger woman (Barrymore) with a flair for words.

The main gag of the movie is that Grant's band, Pop!, is basically a bad (and I guess straight) Wham! and it's pretty amusing to anyone who remembers Wham! (me) and even to those young enough not to (my 15 year old daughter).

Grant's character is shades of George Wade in Two Weeks Notice while Barrymore's reminded me of Lucy Whitmore in Fifty First Dates.

If you like Grant and Barrymore playing to type, this movie's for you.

It has a sweet, slightly unexpected climax and the denouement with its VH1 pop-up bubbles is quite entertaining.

The soundtrack is incredibly bad 80s pop music so, of course, immediately after we saw the movie, Rachel bought it from iTunes and has been looping it endlessly ever since. They're the type of songs which are almost impossible to get out of your head. Ugh.

Thank you for Smoking

I learned in 1982, when I saw and read The World According to Garp, that, as a rule, if I saw the movie before I read the book, I liked them both but if I reversed the order, I was invariably disappointed by the movie.

So far the only exception that comes to mind is Brokeback Mountain but that was a short story. The key seems to be that whichever version has more detail should be experienced after that which has less detail.

The rule certainly held true with Thank You for Smoking. After reading the book, the movie was quite disappointing in its omissions. Rather than enjoying the movie for itself, I was left puzzling over the process of deciding what to include and what to omit.

That being said, in an effort to focus solely on the movie, let me point out that it was nominated for 15 awards, including two Golden Globes, and that it won six of those 15 (altho neither of the GG's). For those who place stock in such awards, this is an indication that while the movie suffers in comparison to the novel, when considered on its own, it merits a viewing.

The plot outline from IMDB:

Tobacco industry lobbyist Nick Naylor has a seemingly impossible task: promoting cigarette smoking in a time when the health hazards of the activity have become too plain to ignore. Nick, however, revels in his job, using argument and twisted logic to place, as often as not, his clients in the positions of either altruistic do-gooders or victims. Nick's son Joey needs to understand and respect his dad's philosophy, and Nick works hard to respond to that need without compromising his lack of values. When a beautiful news reporter betrays Nick's sexually-achieved trust, his world seems in danger of collapsing. But there's always one more coffin nail in Nick's pack. Written by Jim Beaver {jumblejim@prodigy.net}

This week's favorite

My favorite from this week's PostSecret.

On Quoting Shakespeare

Saw this poster in the library at Grand Junction High School last week when we were there for the monthly People to People meeting.

On Quoting Shakespeare

If you cannot understand my argument, and declare ``It's Greek to me'', you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger; if your wish is farther to the thought; if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a fool's paradise -why, be that as it may, the more fool you , for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare; if you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage, if you think it is high time and that that is the long and short of it, if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out even if it involves your own flesh and blood, if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play, if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, then - to give the devil his due - if the truth were known (for surely you have a tongue in your head) you are quoting Shakespeare; even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing, if you wish I was dead as a door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore, a laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, then - by Jove! O Lord! Tut tut! For goodness' sake! What the dickens! But me no buts! - it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare.

Bernard Levin

Gristedes Sucks! (maybe . . .)

I ordered this:




















I received this:

This does not make me happy.

I could buy Sun-maid here in my own grocery store and not have to pay $2.50 per loaf for shipping.

Since I didn't find out until late yesterday afternoon and since I live two time zones away, Gristedes' online customer service was already closed when I emailed and called.

And, of course, it was Friday afternoon so they won't be getting back to me until Monday. While I've got a dozen loaves of perishable bread that I didn't order and I don't want waiting to be returned.

This was all very disappointing.

That's what I get for being excited about something . . .

She's Baaaaack!

CB's back!

Or more accurately, since she never went anywhere, she's letting the masses in again.

Maybe it was all just a dream, a la Bobby & Pam.

Maybe she just needed to feel the love.

Whatever.

I'm just looking forward to reading The Company Bitch again.

Ghost Rider

I'm a sucker for Nicolas Cage in tough guy hero roles.

I also tend to enjoy movies based on comic books.

If it weren't for that, Ghost Rider doesn't have much to recommend it.

But, since those two things are what they are, I liked Ghost Rider.

There's honor, evil, love, greed, tragedy and triumph.

Due to a deal with the devil that he made years ago, Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stunt rider, has been indestructible. Now, it's time for the devil to collect, only Johnny's not going to go along willingly.

Sam Elliott and Peter Fonda played to type which to my mind is a good thing.

In an effort to appeal to the teenage boy element, it was a bit too graphic for me so I spent a fair amount of time covering my eyes.

Wild Hogs

This movie was stupid.

But I liked it.

The critics didn't and all of their criticisms are accurate.

But I still liked it. (and I don't usually like stupid.)

Since it was No. 1 at the box office the weekend it opened, I guess I wasn't alone.

A group of us at work were talking about seeing it and another co-worker said, "I heard it sucked." We thought she was kidding at first but when I googled it, I discovered that, yep, the critics were saying it sucked.

So we went anyhow.

And most likely because we had lowered expectations, we all enjoyed it.

Now, like I said, it was stupid. It was borderline homophobic, predictable and painful at times.

But it was fun. John Travolta's characterization of the uber-successful, model-marrying, now it's all falling apart, Woody Stevens cracked me up. William H. Macy's clueless nerd, Dudley Frank, was endearing. The road trip portions of the movie made Steve and me want to go on a motorcycle trip. There was an amusing cameo at the climax of the movie and a cute bit involving Extreme Makeover: Home Edition at the end of the movie.

It was filmed on location in Madrid (mad-rid), New Mexico, one of the towns on the Turquoise Trail which Steve and I passed through on our honeymoon.

So, in the world of thumbs up, thumbs down, it gets a thumbs up. In the world of number of stars, I'm at a loss.

So sad

Blogger: Permission denied.

This blog is open to invited readers only

It doesn't look like you have been invited to read this blog. If you think this is a mistake, you might want to contact the blog author and request an invitation.

This is the message I get when I try to access The Company Bitch, one of a handful of blogs which I read regularly. This is a bummer.

I'm going to miss CB and her witty, wry observations about her work, Re-Boyfriend and her family.

And it appears that I'm not the only one:

Give Me My Blue Blanket.

Stephanie Land

yrun(two)dp?

Untitled In My Head

Life on the Couch

CB, will you let us back in?

At least AtomicTumor is still going strong . . .

Happy Birthday to Me

I just bought myself a dozen loaves of bread.

From a grocery store in New York.

I hope they fit in the freezer.

Wow.

Rachel starts Driver's Ed on Tuesday.

Bobby Yang Returns!

Sweet!!

Bobby's coming back to play at Highlands again on Saturday, March 31. If it's anything like his last show there, wow!

I have tickets to see Felicity Huffman in aspen soap that night too.

It's also the Red Onion's closing night.

And to top it all off, it's my birthday eve.

Party on.

Moving to Lagos, Nigeria

Bob & Lisa, my brother and his girlfriend, are moving to Lagos, Nigeria at the beginning of April for 3 years.

It's a move that has me and my siblings intrigued and has all of our parents concerned.

They went last month to scope it all out and Lisa's blogging their move.

I think that's cool and am looking forward to keeping up with them on their adventure.

Steve and I are wondering if they'll be allowed to have visitors.

Chinese Snow Removal

Hmmmm.

Oops, wrong ski

This is the ski I demo'd but in pink.

This one is the K2 Nancy; the one pictured in my last post was the K2 Phat Love.

What's the difference I asked? "Well, it's a whole different ski" was the helpful response.

This just after I was told that, no, I couldn't demo the Nancy today since it was already out. Of course, if he had let me take it last night like I wanted to . . .

Sorta took the wind out of my sails. At the very least, it cost the ski shop a sale unless the manager wants to beat the $499 price with free shipping and no tax that I found online.

Of course now there are more complications in that I just bought plane tickets to go to Sayulita in May so maybe I shouldn't spend the money on the skis. As much as I'd like to pretend like I can do both, probably not wise. Highlands does close four weeks from today and then it's one income for two months.

But we're not going to San Francisco for Spring Break . . .

But we still have to pay for Rachel's European Odyssey . . .

Went skiing today even though I couldn't demo the cool skis and it's amazing what a difference a sunny day makes to the conditions. Thick, yogurty stuff that was especially tough on my thin waisted Atomic Balanzes.

If I don't buy the powder skis, we'll probably have a good dump again before the end of the season . . .

So tired

Steve made (?) me demo some powder skis on Thursday and I was really wishing I was on them today. So much so that I'm going to demo them again tomorrow and am seriously considering treating myself to them for my upcoming "big" (ends in a 5!) birthday.

Today dawned clear and cold (say 0 degrees). Steve rode his bike to work for an early morning with a 6:45 am clock in so that the patrol could do the control work necessary to keep the mountain safe and get the Highland Bowl open.

With 29 inches of snow in the last week (most of it Wednesday - Friday), there was plenty of snow to control.

After debating whether I wanted to get out of my warm bed to go out skiing in the single degree temps I was seeing during the 8 am hour, I put an extra layer on and caught the bus to Highlands. Today was the last Women's College so I decided to take advantage of the stellar conditions and get a little learning in too.

Hooked up with a class taught by one of my neighbors and as I told her at lunch, it was a perfect clinic. We started slow, going over some basics on some easier terrain but then it got fun when we dropped into Steeplechase and Temerity doing laps on the Deep Temerity lift.

Highlands was packed (for Highlands). At 1 pm, we skied up to the DT lift, only to find approximately 150-200 people in line down there. It was quite the scene but even so, we waited in line for 6 minutes.

6 minutes! How can you complain about that?

I was a bit sorry that I had put the extra layer on while we were skiing Temerity (hard work there) but was thankful for it again after lunch when we moved to the Oly Bowl side where the wind was quite fierce.

Maus: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History and Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman

I first heard of this work when a friend blogged about it. Shortly thereafter I was in a book buying frenzy at our local bookstore (which was recently saved from the developers but that's another story) so I went looking for and bought it.

Since this is nonfiction, it can't rightly be called a graphic novel. I'm not sure what the correct term is. Graphic book?

Anyhow, either way, it's an interesting concept. It's very efficient. As I started it, I thought about all of the narrative with which the author didn't need to bother. Not being much of a comic book reader, I found at first that I was ignoring the artwork, focusing on the verbiage instead. After a short period of consciously forcing myself to both read and look, it became more habitual.

The books were very effective at conveying the slow yet inexorable march towards the Final Solution. The troubled father-son relationship and the comparisons between Vladek and other survivors provided a perspective on the post-war repercussions and fall-0ut.

I would have liked a more satisfying resolution of Vladek and Art's relationship but then it wouldn't have been nonfiction, would it?

Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley

What fun!

Filled with larger than life characters and escapades, this novel successfully portrays a "merchant of death," a lobbyist for the tobacco industry, in a sympathetic light.

While I've been aware of this work since the movie was being promoted, I was caught unawares by the whole cloak and dagger aspect.

This novel is more about corporate infighting set in a lobbying firm which provides much fodder for juicy ironies.

Looking forward to seeing the movie.

Bad weather?

The Epic flag flying today at Aspen Highlands for the first time all season.

I woke up this morning, my day off, to a foot of new snow. My first thought was how glad I am to live in a place where bad weather is good weather.

I thought about how in a day or so, I'd be hearing about the horrible weather and interstate closures in eastern Colorado, the flight cancellations in Chicago and the ice storms on the east coast.

Not here. Here, we get a big storm and we're excited.

So I got up and went skiing.

Powder Day!

Talk to the Hand by Lynne Truss

Read this last night. Yep. Picked it up at 7ish and finished it at 10ish.

So, it's a quick read.

That's probably the best thing I can say about it.

I'm not sure if it's because I'm not of the right generation (ie, my elbow skin doesn't pucker enough) or because I'm not from the right country (read, not English) but I found this book highly annoying.

I read the book feeling like the woman in the dentist's waiting room who shocked and outraged Truss when she said she was listening to the "hi-fi" that Truss wanted to turn off. There was so much of Truss' rant that I just didn't get.

There was a preoccupation with class that also escaped me. Probably the whole not being British thing.

Truss rants about rudeness but then disparages people who are "pro-social." She fusses about people who call her cell phone when she has bad reception but somehow can't come up with the solution of turning it off.

I guess I'm just not in tune with the Grumpy Old Lady school of thought.

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

Winner of the 2006 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

Melancholy.

This book is aptly titled. All of the characters struggle with difficult circumstances and these struggles are portrayed in a way which is riveting. The novel takes place alternately in India and in New York City and deals with people who hail from a multi-generational history of loss.

In this way, it is disheartening.

And yet,

There are glimpses of joy. Amidst all the struggle, there are uplifting moments.

I come away, depressed by the intractability of the poverty, the culpability of the players in their circumstances, the conspiracy of history and colonialism but also encouraged by the human skill and desire to survive, to find solace and comfort in the small details even while the big picture seems overwhelming.

There's also an interesting video of Kiran Desai speaking on this book at Meet the Author.

Old news

Listening to This American Life this morning, I learned for the first time of an EPA decision in November of 2005 to cite the Blommer Chocolate Factory for clean air violations which would (did?) result in the factory installing filters.

According to Crain's Chicago Business, the downside of the filters (downside to most) is that they will also put an end to the chocolate aromas which, since 1939, have delighted tourists and commuters.

I can't say for sure that I was ever really aware of this phenomenon, living in the suburbs as I did, but I want to say that I was. Either way, it seems a loss. (and yes, I'm aware that not all would agree)

To my mind, this is yet another example of government intrusion.

The Chicago Tribune article and the This American Life segment both pointed out how the EPA has refused to take action on more than 7600 violations by Illinois power plants at the same time it was citing Blommer's with two violations.

Hmmm. Perhaps Blommer's needs more political clout and a better lobbyist . . .

Intrusive

Vermont lawmakers are considering a measure that would ban eating, drinking, smoking, reading, writing, personal grooming, playing an instrument, "interacting with pets or cargo," talking on a cell phone, or using any other personal communication device while driving. The punishment: a fine of up to $600.

I think they left out quite a few distractions.

There's the obvious tuning the radio or changing a CD. There's singing along with the radio or CD.

There's looking at your speedometer or any of the displays on your dashboard, even when or especially when you hear a loud clunk in the undercarriage.

Adjusting the heat or the defroster takes your undivided attention away from the road. What's the big deal about fogged windows anyhow?

Talking to your children while driving can be quite distracting. Wait, talking period is problematic.

Your hands should be at ten and two on the steering wheel at all times, no exceptions. You have a stick shift? Ban those too!

I'm pretty put off by all of the ridiculous paternalistic intrusions of government.

Bobby Yang

As I've mentioned in the past, the opportunities for quality free live music around here are astounding.

Last Sunday evening was yet another example. In Snowmass Village, The Samples were performing.

But better yet, at Aspen Highlands' apres ski, Bobby Yang, my former neighbor, was performing at ZG Grill.

Bobby started at approximately 3:30 pm and just kept on keeping on. He finished some time just shy of 10 pm.

Unbelievable.

Bobby, who's been called a heavy metal violinist, performs really high energy instrumental arrangements of many well known rock tunes and consistently rocks the house. I bought both of his CDs and like them both, but recommend the newer one, Yang It! Bobby Yang Live at Eddie's Attic, more highly since it better captures the energy he generates onstage.

Steve and I also saw him on Valentine's Day at BellyUp Aspen and he rocked there too.

The only problem with that show was that it was past our bedtime . . .

A literary evening

Our bookclub, which we once called "Lila's Bookclub" due to its lack of a formal moniker, has been revived. See, Lila moved to Las Vegas (we all wondered why) for a while and without her, the bookclub kind of foundered. But she's back and so is Lila's Bookclub. (She hated that name; maybe that's why she left?)

Our first book (in our most recent go-around) was March by Geraldine Brooks. Due to Steve's calendar dyslexia, I missed that discussion but highly recommend the book.

Most of us were not looking forward to the discussion of our second book, The Shadow of His Wings by Gereon Goldmann. Since bookclub is predominantly made up of co-workers, we have the opportunity to engage in pre-discussions and the consensus was that this book sucked.

However, being that none of us had picked the book, we were unsure as to whether this month's hostess (who had picked the book) would agree with our assessment.

There was an almost audible sigh of relief from all around the table when she started the conversation by remarking on how utterly disappointed she was with the book. She had been enticed by a jacket blurb which we all agreed made the book look promising.

We spent the rest of the evening lambasting the book and the author. It did, however, make for a spirited conversation and provided an opening to veer onto tangents about living in Germany, visiting Japan, and the emotional repercussions of war.

Immediately prior to rushing over to bookclub, Rachel and I went to see Lisa See, the author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I found her style and rapport with the audience engaging. She provided some great details about her family background and how it lead her to her storyline choices.

Next bookclub book is The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which I've already read but I am eagerly anticipating the discussion.

Monday morning quarterbacking

Once again, I'm frustrated with a news story regarding a politician and the purported need for an apology.

Last time, it was the John Kerry flap.

This time, it's the insistent call for an apology from Hillary Clinton.

Seems that some people who would otherwise support Hillary are insisting that she apologize for her 2002 vote on the Iraq war.

Some guy who was interviewed on NPR the weekend before last insisted that although he agreed with absolutely everything Hillary was about, he could not "hear" her until she apologized.

I think this is a crock.

Talk about Monday morning quarterbacking. For people to be so shortsighted that they would judge an action taken 5 years ago by the current information and intervening events, I find disappointing.

It also solidifies my pessimism about the chances of success for either Obama or Hillary.

While I will willingly vote for either one of them, I don't have enough faith (especially after the last two presidential elections) in the American public to believe that either has a hope of winning in the general election.

The Language of Threads by Gail Tsukiyama

Another enjoyable read.

Set in Hong Kong before and during World War II, this book, like Snow Falling on Cedars, gave me a here-to-fore unseen (by me) glimpse of people dealing with the consequences of war.

The Language of Threads follows Pei and Jei Shin, whom we met in Women of the Silk, as they flee the Japanese in China for Hong Kong. We watch as the two women settle into their new life, only to have their lives disrupted again as the Japanese follow them to Hong Kong.

Pei reminds me of Celie in The Color Purple, a lowly woman surviving and then triumphing. The parallels include, but aren't limited to, the lost sister and the means to success.

Getting to know you . . .

Welcome to the 2007 edition of getting to know your friends. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends, if you did not know them already.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 11 a.m.

2. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Ghost Rider

4. What is your favorite TV show? Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Heroes, The West Wing

5. What is your middle name? Bridget

6. What is your favorite cuisine? Mediterranean

7. What foods do you dislike? Beans

8. Your favorite chips? Citrus tortilla chips from the Big Wrap

9. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Eye to the Telescope (KT Tunstall)

10. What kind of car do you drive? Toyota Rav4

11. Favorite sandwich? Caprese panini

12. What are characteristics you can't stand? arrogance, condescension, and a sense of entitlement

13. What are your favorite clothes? jeans and a cami

14. If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would it be? Greece

15. Favorite brand of clothing? CAbi

16. Where would you want to retire? Aspen

17. Favorite time of day? Early morning

18. Where were you born? Chicago

19. Where have you lived? Chicago, Florida, DC, Maryland, Aspen

20. What is your favorite sport to watch? college basketball

21. Pepsi or Coke? neither. Fresca

22. Redsox or Yankees? Neither. Cubs (but only out of habit)

23. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Morning

24. Pedicure or manicure? Both

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? Nope.

26. What did you want to be when you were little? Congresswoman

27. What is your best childhood memory? Christmas Eve

28. Piercing? 4 - ears 3, navel 1

29. Ever been to Africa? No

30. Ever been toilet papering? Yes

31. Been in a car accident? Yes

32. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

33. Favorite restaurant? Takah Sushi

34. Favorite flower? Calla lilies

35. Favorite ice cream? - Haagen Dazs coffee

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Subway

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? 0

38. From whom did you get your last e-mail? Paypal's dispute resolution center

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Costco

40. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Rachel

41. Last person you went to dinner with? Kim, Anne & Dewayne for a business meeting at Boogie's Diner.

42. What are you listening to right now? NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday

43. What is your favorite color? i can't pick one.

44. How many tattoos do you have? two, for now.

45. What time did you finish this blog post? 1:07 pm MST

46. Favorite magazine? Smithsonian Magazine

~Bridget

Can't win for losing?

It turns out that in addition to being good for the environment, compact fluorescent light bulbs are bad for the environment.

Ain't that always the way?

CFLs contain mercury and should be recycled to avoid mercury exposure and contamination.

However, only certain facilities are set up to recycle CFLs. I checked earth911.org and found out that my closest recycling center is in . . .

Phoenix.

Granted, CFLs are supposed to have a two year warranty so I guess I only have to drive the 708 miles to Phoenix once every couple of years to properly dispose of my hazardous waste . . .

On the upside, a friend tells me I can get dimmable CFLs at buylighting.com.

Hmmm, if they break in transit, who's responsible for the mercury cleanup?

Good Google, Bad Google?

I might piss off a friend with this post. If so, I apologize in advance.

Google has a plan. Well, Google actually has many plans but this plan specifically has to do with digitizing books, lots of books and making them searchable.

As a internet-phile and as a former student who did a lot of researching in her time, I find this idea very attractive. I remember sitting on the floor in the library with books stacked up around me, searching indexes for what I thought were very intuitive search words and totally striking out. I might be exaggerating but through the haze of memory, I recall the time spent on researching as being largely wasted.

So little return on my investment of so much time.

Google proposes to digitize books, make them searchable and provide snippets,

basic information about the book, similar to a card catalog, and, in some cases, a few snippets -- sentences of your search terms in context.

What a boon for researchers, educators, enthusiasts and the authors and publishers whose books are found by these researchers, educators and enthusiasts.

I find what I'm looking for much more quickly and then I still have to buy the book or go to the library to get full access.

And yet, publishers and authors are concerned. They're worried about copyright infringement.

I'm afraid I don't understand why. I've read the complaints and the concerns (as well as a defense) but I don't get it.

Or perhaps I just don't agree.

As Google has proposed the project, it seems like a win-win. I get much quicker information about works that I didn't even know existed and authors and publishers get much wider exposure.

Perhaps my assessment is simplistic. But it seems pretty straightforward to me.

Love Letter to My Husband

From AOL's Best and Worst Valentine's Dates:

What Others Are Saying

• "The guy I was dating last year accidentally sent me the flowers meant for the girl he was cheating on me with. What a Valentine's Day."
  -- Sacsquared

I have a story like this one. Talking on the phone on Valentine's Day to a guy I was dating (had been dating for years), working out the details of getting together. Hang up. Phone rings almost immediately. Guy asks to speak to another woman, a woman whom Guy had totally denied having anything to do with.

Hmmm.

I say, "Oh no, you didn't!" and hang up. So much for that Valentine's Day . . .

I wish I could say that was the last time that Guy (or any other guy for that matter) cheated on me.

I was a little too forgiving of trifling men in my younger days.

But I am happy and proud and blessed to be able to say that, in my wiser and more self respecting nowadays, I have a man I trust, a man who values me, a man who is faithful.

Valentine's Day, which was once a day of pain, is now and has been for the last six years a day of joy and love.

Thank you, Steve. I love you.

People to People

As I've previously mentioned, Rachel has been invited to be a Student Ambassador with the People to People Ambassador Program. She will be participating in the European Odyssey, which will take her to France, Italy and Greece, and includes a homestay in France.

The group that Rachel will be traveling with is based out of Grand Junction and one of the requirements of the program is attendance at monthly meetings in Grand Junction. Due to our aforementioned misadventure, we missed the first meeting so Sunday was our first meeting.

I must say that I'm pretty impressed. It really is educational tourism. The kids have assignments which basically force them to learn about the areas that they'll be visiting. The meetings include activities to help the kids get to know each other before they travel and activities to help prepare the kids for travel and give them an idea as to what to expect. (Rachel has to bring a packed suitcase to the next meeting.) The leaders clearly put a lot of time into putting this all together.

There are kids in Rachel's group who have already traveled with P2P and are going again which, as far as I'm concerned, is a good recommendation.

Go Google!

There I was, listening to Robert Siegel of NPR's All Things Considered extol the virtues of compact fluorescent light bulbs and fussing out loud to the radio about how CFLs aren't dimmable.

I know this because Steve's been wanting to replace all of our light bulbs with compact fluorescents. He installed a new fixture in his studio and equipped it with CFLs. I find the light a bit bright and harsh so was hoping to put the fixture on a dimmer when, to my dismay, I discovered that CFLs aren't dimmable (thankfully before I purchased the dimmer switch I had in my hand). I checked every CFL in Lowes or Home Depot or wherever I was.

So, I'm feeling pretty smug, thinking this is a pretty significant shortcoming that NPR is neglecting to mention. I'm feeling so smug that I'm planning out a blog post about how NPR's segment totally missed this very important detail. I poach the CFL image above from the NPR website and then, in a cautious moment, decide to google dimmable CFLs.

Lo and behold, they (there's that they again) do make dimmable CFLs.

Well now. Ain't that somethin' to chew on.

Not that I know where I can procure them. But at least I know they exist.

Bad boy good guy

I read today that they (the ubiquitous they) are making Speed Racer into a movie (to be released in March of '08)

I find this very exciting.

When I was a kid who wasn't supposed to watch TV on weekdays, we would sneak and watch Speed Racer. I loved Speed Racer.

Of course, I really liked Racer X, the bad boy good guy. Speed Racer was a little too much of a goody goody.

If Mom wasn't home, we would set up our homework and after school snacks on the kitchen table and crowd around the small kitchen TV, all the while keeping a keen ear out for the sound of the garage door opening.

It was a good day when we made it all the way through an episode.

"Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer, he's a demon on wheels. He's a demon and he's gonna be chasin' after someone. " -- from memory; I'm so proud of myself.

The Upside of Blogging

Blogging serves a multitude of purposes. It can be therapeutic or entertaining or boredom relieving. It can keep friends and family up to date. It can provide an outlet for ramblings.

But twice in the last month and a half, yet another upside of blogging has presented itself.

For those paying attention, blogging also provides clues as to desires.

In August, Rachel posted about how much she likes the triquetra. At Christmas, her dad and step-mom surprised her with a triquetra necklace. She wears it every day.

More importantly to me, Rachel has also posted multiple times that Giordano's Pizza is her favorite pizza and I have posted about how hard it is to get good Chicago pizza in Aspen. Well, yesterday we got a special delivery, a frozen pizza from Giordano's! It's an awesome thank you gift from one of our recent houseguests.

We'll be cooking it up tonight!

Boohoo

Sitemeter is malfunctioning.

The links aren't working so I can't see from where my most recent visitors hail.

So sad . . .

Pet peeve

The fact that it's snowing in LA & Tennessee doesn't refute global warming!

Especially with the crazy winter we're having this year, I'm getting so tired of people saying that this weather phenomenon or that weather phenomenon disproves global warming.

They all need to really watch An Inconvenient Truth, not just pretend like they know what it was about.

According to the rocket scientists at NASA:

The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time.

So, cut it out already!

Cool pix

On January 25, a photo exhibit opened on Aspen Mountain, the RedBull illume Image Quest. The opening was timed to coincide with a free outdoor concert by Everclear.

The exhibit consists of 50 photographs by "45 of the world's top action and adventure sports photographers," each mounted on one of two sides of a cube illuminated from the inside. The 25 cubes were set up on Aspen Mountain, on five different levels with an impressive set of stairs leading up to the exhibit.

It is all quite visually stunning. From the sight of the lighted cubes from town (or my front porch) at night to the view of town, still all lit up with its holiday finery to the photos themselves, illuminated from within, it's a unique feast for the eyes.

They are conducting voting for a People's Choice award on their website (and via text message). I voted for my favorite:

Fear Itself

Boston's mayor, Tom Menino, threatens. among other things, to ask the FCC to yank Turner Broadcasting's license.

Does the FCC issue licenses to cable networks?

We've got Lite Brites which were up for weeks in numerous cities all of the sudden being pegged as IEDs by the vigilant in Boston?

I thought the people who created IEDs went to great lengths to hide them as opposed to lighting them up and drawing attention to them.

But the spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, Russ Knocke, was quick to praise Boston officials' response to the terrorist threat.

Are these people all morons?

I did appreciate how sceptical the judge who arraigned Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens was about the ability of the assistant attorney general to make the charge of placing a hoax device.

Someone told me once that the measure of a successful advertisement was whether you remembered the name of the product afterwards.

As someone who had previously never heard of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, I have to say that, by that measure, this advertising campaign was successful.

Bandwagon jumpa

For the first time in over four years, our American flag is no longer flying in front of our house.

We have replaced it with a Bears flag.

I will freely admit that, being TV-less, I have not followed the Bears regularly in years but as a born and bred Chicagoan, I claim an absolute right to take full ownership in the Bears' current Super Bowl appearance.

I clearly remember their last Superbowl appearance which occurred while I was a law student in DC. Even though I had not lived in Chicago for approximately 5 years at that point, the ties were still strong and I followed the team all season (the football pools we first year law students engaged in were a strong incentive).

This year I was so excited when the Bears won their trip to the Superbowl that Steve and I seriously considered spending $1000 to fly to Santa Barbara for our friends' Superbowl party.

Go Bears!!!