Pollution watch

The BBC is keeping track of the pollution levels in Beijing as the city tries to reduce the pollution levels for the Olympics. Today the pollution is really low, but yesterday it was pretty high. If you click through the days you can see how drastically it changes. Sometimes, it looks like the city is covered in fog.

Just so you know how crazy I am

Oregon has quite a few wind farms, and is slated to get the world's largest wind farm sometime soon. Wind farms are really pretty. There's something serene about the stark white turbines slowly spinning. My favorite thing is to see them from the air when I am flying back into Oregon.

So, what if these wind farms have some unforeseen effect, for example with the weather? What if by absorbing the energy in the wind, they affect weather patterns? You know, kind of like the butterfly effect in chaos theory, where a butterfly flapping its wings in China changes the weather in New York.

Portland Composts!

Today, I finally got my composting cart from whoever takes my garbage and recycling away. It also came with a new cart for recyclables. The exciting thing is that now Portland is recycling plastic tubs. I won't completely embarrass myself by admiting to the Internet how many plastic tubs I have been saving up in my cupboard because I just can't bear to thow them away into the landfill. I'll just embarrass myself a little by admitting that I have them :)

I had been excited because I thought that the composters would take anything compostable: food scraps, yard debris, and paper products like coffee filters and paper towels. However, the directions say just to put food scraps and yard debris in the can. I am already composting those things in my yard, so I'm not sure what I'll put into the composting bin. I will probably use it like I used my yard debris bin -- to get rid of weeds and invasive plants.

Interesting: Good and Bad

In an attempt to reduce pollution for the olympics, Beijing is reducing the number of cars on the road each day. They are doing this by plate number. If your plate is even, you can drive on certain days; if odd, the other days. This way they reduce the number of cars on the road by about half each day.

The cool thing about this will be the results. Will they be able to reduce pollution significantly? How quickly will it happen? Will people go back to driving after the driving restrictions are lifted, or will they continue to take public transportation?

The bad thing about this is the problem. The pollution is so bad that some athletes can't compete.

Probiotics good for Preemies

It helps their little guts stay healthy.

The Emperor's New Clothes

It amazes me how many journalists I hear pronouncing nuclear as nucular like President Bush. I wonder why this is. In one newscast, I heard the news person say it both ways. Webster's dictionary says that it is an alternative pronunciation, but not an acceptable alternative, whatever that means.

So, are we watching language evolve in front of our very eyes? Is the mispronunciation of this word so widespread that the word is changing? If so, it's pretty cool, but it still annoys me when people pronounce it that way. I mean, really, Homer Simpson says it that way. Do we really want to emulate Homer Simpson?

Portland is the Best

Just so you know how I feel: Portland is the Best! The city of Portland has a website and on it you can make requests for low-cost bike lane repairs. I have done this three times with great success. The first time I was totally surprised that they seemed to listen. I asked that some weeds that were overtaking the bike lane be chopped back so that the bicyclist didn't have to choose between getting ripped to shreds by blackberry vines and getting smashed by a bus. Within a week or so, the weeds were chopped back. I thought that perhaps it was a coincidence, and that the bike lane was due for maintenance anyway. The next time I wrote in, there were some crews doing work on the side of the road and they kept leaving big rocks and sticks and mud in the bike lane, which happens to be heavily used by bike commuters. I incidentally got a flat tire because I hit one of the rocks. I asked if the crews could please clean up. I got a response from that request pretty quickly and the mess was cleaned up. Just a few days ago, I asked if the weeds could be chopped back again, and yesterday on my ride home, I noticed that it was done.

Yay for Portland!

Winning the War Against The Slugs

Thanks to the summer heat, I am beginning to win the war against the slugs. I am still having trouble with blue jays that think I am feeding them every time I plant seeds, but at least the slugs are under control now. Look!

I have a baby tomato! And look!

I have roses! Usually, the deer eat all of my rose buds before they bloom. I could sometimes keep them away if I spray something stinky in the yard like perfume, but they were real pests. This past year Mick fenced off the back yard and the dogs are out there a lot. The deer don't seem to be jumping the fence just to get my roses. They have nipped a few buds that were at the top of the plants over the top of the fence, though.

Busy Summer

It's been a busy summer trying to get the house in shape for sale, running the ice cream business, and trying to do my schoolwork. At least one of us knows how to take it easy.

This is mentaljr hard at work in the dry ice area. He's napping on a bin that is about 1/4 full of dry ice. Don't worry, though, there are several thick pads and blankets between him and the ice. It makes for a nice napping spot, I guess.

Scary

Yesterday, I was driving on the freeway after dropping mentaljr off at the warehouse. I saw a big truck carrying lots and lots of the new curbside compost bins that are being distributed around town. I thought, Yay! maybe my compost bin is on that truck!. I was in the lane next to the truck, somewhat behind it. All of a sudden, I noticed that one of the bins was flying off the top of the truck. It hit the road and then bounced a couple of times. Luckily:
1) I was in the lane next to the truck, because otherwise, it looked like the bin would have hit my windshield.
2) It was after rush hour, so there wasn't much traffic on the freeway. The bin did not hit any cars, and I don't believe there were any accidents as a result of cars having to stop to avoid the bin.
Scary!

Sunscreen Study

This website has the results of a sunscreen study, rating brands by various factors. It appears to be very thorough. My favorite sunscreen rated a 7 (bad), because of questionable ingredients. Perhaps I will rethink the sunscreen I use.

No way

That's all I have to say.