Microfiche

Kelo Anniversary

2006-06-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

Today marks the first anniversary of the Supreme Court's eminent domain decision in Kelo vs. The City of New London. In this decision the Court ruled that governments could seize private property for economic development. Since then, there have been abuses of this power and many states have stepped up to the legislative plate to trim this law. In a local example, a blighted neighborhood in Topeka was slated for development. However, Jerry's Bikeshop, a locally owned business which had been in that location for over 20 years, refused to sell. This should be the owner's right. However, the city government cited eminent domain and planned to seize the property and give it to a developer who wanted to build a strip mall and apartment complexes in the area. Jerry offered to change the facade of his business to blend with the development, but the developer refused and decided to seize the property. After much protest from Topeka residents, Jerry was allowed to stay as long as he changed his building to match the rest of the development.

So, a grim anniversary indeed. It is very scary to think that your home or business could be taken from you with "fair" compensation (whatever the government decides is fair) in order for another mall or apartment complex to take its place. With the new Bush Supreme Court Justices in place, we shouldn't expect this business-friendly law to be overturned anytime soon.

In gods' names

2006-06-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

Why do civilizations go to war over religion? It dates back for much of human history. What ancient Greek war story doesn't involve a deity egging on one side or another, often for selfish gain or interdeity squabbles. Then of course there are the Crusades and even today there are people fighting over whose god is right. Oddly, I don't think any of the major modern-day religions preach war. In principle, religions should rid the world of war because they teach us what is good and "right." They teach us to love not hate. So where do we humans muck things up? I believe that it is an ignorance of other cultures and an inability or, perhaps, an unwillingness to realize that there are other points of view besides our own. Some cover their acts in faux morality, saying that they are "saving" people. Others preach a burning hatred for any point of view besides their own. It all seems to be born of a need to be right. Perhaps it stems from a fear of death and thinking that your particular idea of an afterlife might be incorrect is so scary that it is better to be sure of your fate than to be open-minded. I'm not sure.

That brings up another question, when, exactly did religion begin? At what point in our evolution were our brains able to come up with such a complex idea? Was it when we realized our own mortality? If that's the case, why don't other species seem to have a religion? Specifically the elephant. Many scientists believe that the elephant is aware of death and its own mortality, even visiting their ancestors' graves. Hmmm. Perhaps they are religious. What an intriguing idea.

Degus

2006-06-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

While working last week, I discovered a fabulously interesting "new" pet. It's a Degu, and it is one charming rodent. Actually, there is some speculation that it may be closer to a rabbit than a rodent, but nevertheless it is too cute. According to the owner of the Degu I met, they are sociable animals that thrive on companionship and they are also quite chattery. I suppose, to us cat folks, it would be the Siamese cat of the pet rodent world. They are fairly long-lived, 10-15 years and, if well-trained, can be affectionate to their human keepers. They love dust baths and like to play. Gracie would probably think this little guy would make a tasty treat, but I think they are pretty darn cute for someone inclined to put in the tremendous amount of time and effort it takes to own an exotic pet.

Kitty on a Leash

2006-06-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I took Gracie for her first leash "walk." She's been getting a little bit of a belly, and I thought the extra exercise would be good for her. Well, walk was most definitely a relative term, as you can see she just wanted to lay down!

She did quite enjoy the outdoors as long as we were on the porch and not in the very scary yard! She rolled and purred and watched birds. I wish she could hear them too because they are very noisy!

I have created a little monster though. She knows we are supposed to go out daily, and if I'm running behind, she lets me know in no uncertain terms that I am to drop whatever it is I'm doing and take Her Royal Highness out immediately!

That's okay, because really who could resist that lovely face?

Gardening

2006-05-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

My iris finally came out this week and I had a surprise! In the middle of my patch of yellow iris, there was one purplish flower. It was lovely, so I took its picture. I also potted some flowers and planted a small patch of wildflowers. Hopefully in six weeks or so, I'll have more pictures of a lovely wildflower garden. Cross your fingers!

Happy 50th, Eames Chair!

2006-05-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Eames Lounge Chair, which is billed as the most comfortable lounge chair in the world, with a price tag to prove it. Filmaker Billy Wilder was the first to acquire this status symbol, but he was far from the last. Manufactured in Michigan in the 1950's, this chair, with its sleek styling, was seen as a segway into modern design. To celebrate this furniture icon, the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan is giving the chair and its matching ottoman their own museum show.

What I'm Reading

2006-05-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

I finished "The Amulet of Samarkand" and must say that it was fabulous! A great escape into a quick read. If you're in the mood for a light book that will really fly by, this is definitely the one for you. I've done two light books in a row, and am feeling a little, well, guilty I suppose. So, it's on to heavier topics and more intelligent shores! I'm going with "The Mighty and The Almighty" by the wonderful Madeleine Albright. I fully expect this to be an interesting and enjoyable read, but as always, I'll let you know.

From the Publisher's Weekly:

"Secretary of State under President Clinton and a devout Catholic (with recently discovered Jewish roots), Albright (Madam Secretary) is especially qualified to tackle the thorny subject of the role of faith in international relations. In a remarkably accessible, even breezy style, she looks at these issues in light of recent history both abroad and at home, from the religious fundamentalism that led to the ouster of the shah of Iran to the invasion of Iraq and American hope that a political culture can emerge there that integrates democracy and Islam. But Albright also looks critically at President Bush, an evangelical Christian who invokes God in the name of fighting "evil." In this ambitious, thoughtful, and wide-ranging treatment, Albright deftly balances the pragmatic need to confront religious-based unrest and the idealistic need to temper one's own personal beliefs in the public realm. While fully acknowledging the threat al- Qaeda poses, Albright rejects the notion that a "clash of civilizations" is in progress and wisely calls for care and nuance in how America approaches international confrontations that are tinged with religion." (May 2)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Blog Updates!

2006-05-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know of an exciting Microfiche update. I will be working on a sidebar entitled "Visit America" where I will be bringing an exciting roadside attraction from every state in the crazy, crazy Union. Don't see your favorite state? Check back, I hope to have all 50 done in a few weeks. I should mention that I am doing this with help for hard-to-find states from the site "Roadside America" Enjoy!

Amazing Salt

2006-05-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about oil lately. Not surprising, since it has been in the news and my cost of commuting has been steadily rising! How does this relate to salt, you ask? Well, salt used to be an international currency. For centuries, it was valued as a rare commodity; wars were fought over salt and it was controlled by the wealthy. Salt rich nations were constantly on alert for attacks by salt-seeking kings. In fact, there is a well-regarded theory that the reason Catholics eat fish on Fridays is because there was a conspiracy by high religious officials to boost the use of salt from saltmines that they had a vested interest in; fish was salted to preserve it before refrigeration, therefore increased fish consumption equaled increased salt consumption! Of course, with modern mining techniques, salt has become quite commonplace, and is no longer an international currency. However, basic economics would teach us that something has to take it's place. Here's where oil comes in. Oil is the modern-day salt. Highly valued, and we all know why the USA goes to war. After oil has had its heyday, what do you think will be the next international currency? My bet is on water.

Interested in salt? I recommend the book "Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky. Equally interesting is his take on cod in his book "Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World."

What I'm Reading

2006-05-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

I've finished "Lost." It was definitely not my favorite of this author's offerings, but the ending made up, in part, for the mediocrity of the rest of the book. I'm still in fluff book mode, so I've taken up a fantasy novel. Part I of the Bartimaeus Trilogy. It is a Harry Potter/Jonathan Strange... sort of tale about magicians in modern-day London. Lots of demons and silliness; it is shaping up to be a wonderful escape, very engaging!

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

2006-05-04T06:28:00.000-07:00

Today marks the beginning of the last weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Beginning in 1970, this festival celebrates the truly unique sound of Jazz and its history. This year, attendence records were broken on the first day, as people streamed to the broken city of New Orleans to revel in the hopeful, resiliant attitude of the people and their music. What a tragedy it would be to lose forever this beautiful city, which is like no other on this planet.

What I'm reading

2006-05-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

I started a new book this weekend. Now that classes are over and I'm "just" working I'll have lots more time to read and sew in the evenings! I started a new (to me) Gregory Maguire book called "Lost." So far it's not as good as the other ones I've read, but I really like this author, so I'm sticking it out to the bitter end. I'll let you know how it goes!

Mars

2006-05-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from NASA's Spirit land rover taken last month on Mars. It's amazing how similar the land features are to those you could find on Earth. Alien landscape indeed.

Childhood Obesity

2006-04-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

I watched Supersize Me last night, and I got inspired to write a blog about school lunches. The more I think about it, the more irritated I become with what we are feeding our kids. I decided to check a few school websites and look at their high school and elementary school lunch menus. The elementary school breakfast in Kansas City today is cheese omelet and cinnamon toast (or a choice of cereal); lunch is breaded chicken nuggets, or baked potato with ham and cheese, or yougurt with animal crackers or a PB&J with sides of mashed potatoes and gravy, strawberries and a roll. I guess at least some of the food groups are represented, but if you notice, there are zero vegetables even offered. And faced with a choice of eggs with cheese or cereal, what is an 8 yr. old going to pick? Are they old enough to make smart choices? Heck, I'm not making smart choices and I'm in my 20s! The high school is worse, today is a choice of the following: Chicken Fried Steak (!), Cheeseburger, BBQ Pork Ribettes, Pizza Hut Pizza, Deli Wrap, Chef Salad, Fruit and Veggie plate. Again, are they old enough yet at 14 to make smart choices? Pizza or salad? Should we be offering pizza daily (yes, it's on the menu DAILY) to American kids when a staggering number of them are obese? There was a child (high school age) in Kansas who had a heart attack this past year. A heart attack; he was obese and had high cholesterol. How sad is this? Where are the parents in all this, are they complaining about the soda and vending machines in the hallways as well as the poor lunch choices? They should be. Is a school any place to be selling Coke and Pepsi products for profit?

By the way, I can't say my school was any better when I was there, although we didn't get to choose, and always had a fruit and vegetable. The main courses were probably horrorible from a nutrition standpoint. I remember my favorite school lunch as a kid
was "weiner surprise" (I know, we snickered a lot about it too). It was a fried hot-dog, cut in half and topped with mashed potatoes and melted cheese. Yep, and we wonder why our kids are fat! Of course, I also had daily phys ed. and played outside a lot, so I'm sure I worked it all off!

On a related note, I also read an article about the disappearance of health class and physical education in schools. No Child Left Behind is so test focused, that there isn't enough time for these classes, not to mention art, theatre and music.

Back from hiatus

2006-04-21T07:26:00.000-07:00

Hello, I've been on a vacation from blogging. My dad was sick, and had to go to the hospital. It turns out he had a 95% blockage to one of the arteries feeding his heart, and 5 other arteries were 70-80% blocked. It was very surprising because, out of all of us in the family, my dad is in the best shape. He's not overweight and gets a lot of physical activity. He was told it is genetic, and that his triple bypass surgery should fix his problem. He is going on the heart diet and walking twice a day. I'm very proud of him, but it was really scary. Your parents are such a constant in your life (or at least mine are), that when you realize they are mere mortals, it really upsets your reality. Well, enough of the personal blogging, I'll get back to topics soon. My class is two weeks from being over, and after that I'll have "just" work going on; then it's no excuses! "Talk" to you soon!

Sensory overload

2006-03-09T06:53:00.000-08:00

Ever wanted to know what it's like to live with the sensory overload type of adult ADD? Here is a great article I came across. She says it much better than I ever have. I have most of these issues, except the olfactory; I've just learned to cope, and it doesn't stress me out nearly as much as it used to, but it can be difficult at times!

http://www.addconsults.com/articles/full.php3?id=1462

Kitty Obsession

2006-03-08T13:16:00.000-08:00

I think I have a problem. A kitty problem. I was a nervous wreck all day today. Gracie had her senior care checkup, and I just knew they'd find problems! I was a wreck! All day I sat at work, barely able to keep from walking across the hall to check in on her, looking up at every opening of the door (which, since I work records, was pretty often) with increased heart rate; waiting for the inevitable bad news. Waiting for the vet or the student to inform me that I was a terrible owner; her teeth were falling out, her nutrition was terrible or worse. I even had a dream last night that they took her away from me to give her to someone else. Well, my student just came in and said she's perfectly healthy. Not even any dental disease. Almost 11 and no bloodwork, T4, Chest X-Ray, dental or ocular abnormalities. Perfect coat. Crabby, but that's just her Torti-tude. Yep, I have a definite kitty problem. I have to do this every 6 months? Thank God I have no children; the stress would ruin me.

2006-03-06T07:52:00.000-08:00

Language Extremists

2006-02-25T16:26:00.000-08:00

I suck at life! Bush is just like Hitler! That was awe-inspiring! The art of language is evolving or, perhaps, devolving. People seem to be losing the ability to articulate how they really feel about something without resorting to extremes. What really brings this to light is the current trend for one side of the political equation, often bloggers or posters on ideologue websites, to equate the other side with Hitler. To me, this represents an extreme lack of the vocabulary necessary to explain your position. Bush is incompetent, greedy, devious, fundamentalist, hypocritical; he's not Hitler. Instead of name-calling, people should start debating. Bringing one's own ideas out into the open to expose liars, manipulators or morons is so much more effective than this extremist tactic. It's sort of the grown-up equivalent of doody-head.

This applies to the other extreme as well. Instead of saying the tiramisu was to die for, how about saying it was delicious? As words continue to be over used in these situations, we continuously have to resort to more extreme adjectives and comparisons to make our points. For instance, take the word "love." I love my family. I also love my cat and friends. I do not love chocolate. I really like chocolate, I think it's delicious and rich, filling my senses with a culinary delight unlike any other sweet food. I do not, however, equate it with love. Isn't it insulting to those who are really deserving of such praise to put them on the same level as food and mundane life events? Isn't it inconsiderate to the memories of Holocaust victims to equate their extreme suffering with our irritation? You tell me.

Olympic Fever

2006-02-17T11:39:00.000-08:00

I love the Olympics: the drama, triumphs, defeats, watching people fall on their ass.....really though, it does tend to make one patriotic. U-S-A,U-S-A,U-S-A!

I spent all day yesterday at home, appropriately enough, iced-in; I watched women's skeleton. I spent most of the day trying to avoid the well-meaning, but very irritating Olympic updates. Then, while watching Bobby Knight on ESPN, I glance down and there, scrolling innocently across the bottom of the screen, UPDATES! Great, there's nothing better than watching sports when you already know the winner. I really feel like they should have posted them in gray or something, a little warning at least. Then, while listening to NPR on the way to work, they give today's winner, with no "turn the volume down" warning. I give up, I'm just not going to listen to the news for another 2 weeks.

I do have one issue with the Olympics this year: the commentators. There are three commentators for figure skating. Scott Hamilton, another guy and some woman. Hamilton will point out something wrong with the performance, but always backs it up with a positive statement, that's nice. This woman, though, nothing's ever good enough! It's so annoying to watch a performance and hear "that spin was not low enough; I've never seen (insert name here) skate so badly", etc. These athletes made it to the Olympics; leave them alone. I also hate reporters; "That was the worst time in Olympic history, Scott, how do you feel?" Congratulations to the athletes for not punching them, I'm not sure I could do the same. I'd really like to hear one of them say "Great, Katie, like I won a million bucks, it was awesome."

Overall, though, a welcome respite from the awful state of the world and everyone's troubles. I highly reccommend it, and may I say "U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A!"

Greenies

2006-02-15T09:36:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd start out with a comment about Greenies. I've seen lots and lots of negative comments about these "death sticks." The charge is that they cause "tons of deaths" in dogs from intestinal obstructions and choking. I have to say that in researching these deaths, most are in puppies or toy breeds of dogs. If you READ the package, it says not to feed the sticks to dogs under 5 lbs (most toy breeds) or under 6 months. Also don't feed if your dog isn't a "chewer." They make lil' bits for little dogs.

Now, most posts about this have said this is BS and that any size should be safe, and they should know that all dogs gulp their food. Really? If you are feeding your 12 week old puppy a treat that is counterindicated for their age, then you must be aware that you are running a risk. They make a treat that is "85% digestible." Notice that it is not 100% digestible, hence the directions on the MAX AMOUNT of the treat to feed per day. Yes, Spot and Muffin are begging for more, but you're the adult here, follow the instructions. Too much would cause obstruction! Coffee hot! Fire Bad! Do you give a six-month old baby a giant hard pretzel stick to eat, then walk away and hope it doesn't choke? Do you sue Rold Gold when the baby dies from choking on it? Um, no. Do you give a toddler an adult-sized piece of steak and then sue the butcher when the child chokes on a piece of meat that was not cut up properly? Seriously people, I've seen a bunch of dogs come through the clinic I work in (in the office, I'm not a veterinary professional) that die from eating a sock or a poisonous house plant or from choking on a rawhide. So I say be careful what you feed your pet, but be aware that if you didn't follow the directions, it's not the company's fault!