I couldn’t take it anymore!
The world is filled with just too many dumb-ass ideas.
I joined the Skeptics Society today.
Please, people… start reading, and start thinking.
Technorati Tags: Science
Category: General
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Skeptics Unite!
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AZ Aloha Festival
Just happened to pick up a newspaper Friday and discovered there was an Hawaiian (and Pacific Islander) festival in Phoenix called the AZ Aloha Festival this weekend.
We took the kids (or should I say, “keiki”?) down to see what it was like. I really was surprised to see how much larger it was than either the Japanese or Chinese festivals.
Not only did they encompass all of Heritage Square, but they’d spilled well over into the ASU downtown center. The crowds when it first opened were quite a bit more massive than the other festivals, although things seemed to be thinning out rather quickly in the afternoon.
Had some pretty good vilovilo chicken and discovered the name of a Japanese place in Mesa (The Nagasaki Grill) that sells curry katsu – I’ll have to get down there and review them soon.
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Reach Them While They’re Young
We stopped to buy groceries in Sprouts yesterday.
Spouts is a little too loony for doing our general shopping, but it’s got some things you just can’t find elsewhere, and sometimes they have some great bargains on meats.
While I was waiting to for the reset of the family to take a group bathroom break, I had the chance to peruse the breakfast cereal aisle and found something totally unexpected.
I thought the whole area would be populated with flavorless, sugarless, oatmeal and whole grain derivatives.
While I did find those, I also found the EnviroKidz line of breakfast cereals, “Amazon Frosted Flakes”, “Cheetah Chomps”, “Gorilla Munch”, “Koala Crisp”, “Orangutan-O’s” and “Peanut Butter Panda Puffs.”
It’s a line of kids cereals where you can choose gluten free, whole grain, vegetarian, trans fat free breakfasts sweetened with “evaporated cane juice.”
Each box has a cute endangered animal motif to keeps the kids going “Awwww” and if that isn’t enough to get a green-hearted parent to buy these cereals, they donate 1% of their sales to endangered species, habitat conservation and education.
I suppose there’s nothing wrong with that, but somehow it makes me feel all cynical.
Technorati Tags: Family, Food, Kids, Commentary
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More Things That Go Bump In The Night
That last entry needs a bit more clarification.
Within 1 minute after the tiny San Clemente earthquake, I happened to be in the bathroom when the shampoo bottle mysteriously fell from a solid perch on the shelf, although I didn’t know that’s what it was at the time because the shower door was closed.
I thought Michelle had done something outside the bathroom, but when I exited, she hadn’t been there.
About 2 minutes later, I heard yet another solid bump. This time I was in the living room and the best I could tell it was from the bedroom area.
Bother Michelle and Irene were in my sight the moment it happened, and neither caused it. James was in his crib, presumably asleep, although, he’d been really kicking up a fuss.
It was that second thump, which I couldn’t track down, that lead me to check the USGS to see of there had been any earthquakes in the area.
Just seconds after I posted that last entry, Irene came running into my room.
“I went into James’ room and he is missing from his crib!” she said in a panic.
Presumably she phrased it that way to give me a good scare because when I asked if he’d climbed out of the crib she said, “Yes. He’s asleep on the floor”
I’m guessing that must have been the second thump I heard.
Not an auspicious way for him to spend his birthday, because before we found out, the clock ticked over to March 12th, 2006 – his first birthday.
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Earthquake?
A few minutes ago, things started to fall off the shelves in our shower. There was nothing near and nothing bumping things as best I could tell. (As it happens I was only a few feet away from the shower.)
I quickly checked the USGS website and discovered that, within a minute of the things falling off the wall there was this earthquake just off San Clemente Island.
Initial estimate puts it at a 3.1 earthquake, which is nothing, and over 360 miles away.
I my memory serves me right, earthquake waves travel somewhere between 2.5 and 5 miles per second, which would have put the wave here within 2 minutes.
I find it hard to believe it was the shock of such a tiny earthquake so far away, but the alternative is ghosts…
Technorati Tags: Blog
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Rain At Last!
It hasn’t rained in Phoenix since October 18th. It’s been the longest dry streak ever.
143 days without rain, but this morning I awoke to the most glorious sound. Water dripping outside my bedroom window. (Or, if it had turned out to be not raining, a most distressing sound.)
I decided I’d better sneak out and get a picture before it stopped.
We were in Taiwan on October 18th, so I don’t know how long its been since I saw rain here in Phoenix.
It sure is nice to see the rain today… and, they had to cancel the Taiwanese moms picnic today!
Additional note, 4/2/2006My mistake, it wasn’t the longest ever. I don’t know what all the weathermen were all worked up about.
Technorati Tags: Blog
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The Mitsubishi Jet Towel
One of the cool things you occasionally see in Taiwan, is the Mitsubishi Jet Towel.
It’s a air hand dryer that actually works. You shove your hands into a trough and high pressure air jets push the water right off them. It’s rather like the way they simulate high-G acceleration in movies, where they air jet the actors’ cheeks.
Anyway, at last they’re available in the USA. My I recommend to any company that has those worthless air blowers to replace them with these jet towels.
I’ve never understood how anyone could think that the air blowers are viable. They take 30-40 seconds, if you’re lucky, to dry your hands. There’s usually one, maybe two in a restroom, which may have 5 or 6 sinks. Do the math, there’s going to be people who skip washing because they know they can’t dry their hands.
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The Nut With The Chain
We were returning home this evening around 10:00PM, driving down Thomas, near 3rd Avenue, when I spied a person in the middle of the road.
He crouching down along the center line, about 10 feet from the intersection, facing our direction. He was an older man, wearing a levi jacket and baseball cap.
He was hoping around the road in a squatty, dance-like way, a little like that gremlin in the classic Twilight Zone episode with William Shatner. He was also making aggressive moves towards the cars passing him and swinging a chain.
He didn’t hit anybody and as we passed, I could see in the rearview mirror that he decided to leave the road.
There’s something you don’t see everyday.
