Monday, April 28, 2008

Spring!

At 6:17 it was 54 degrees at Snowbird's tram base.

Spring is here, my friends.

Slushy snow sports for at least the next two months.

I predict Snowbird's final day will be July 4.

I love winter, but I think I am having a scandalous affair with summer.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Why can't you just leave the poor guy alone?!

zefrank has the best video ever for the worlds most craptastic song. (Oh and my post is not technically Rickrolling, given that my reference is specifically to said craptastica.)

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Earth Day Challenge Day 7: Sweep the Porch


Earth Day Challenge Day 7: Sweep the Porch
Originally uploaded by Theorris

I thought about doing something big for the last day of the Challenge, and also because it is Earth Day, but then something that Hightouchmegastore wrote on her blog about the small things that we do are really what is going to make a difference, and I realized that this is what the Challenge is really about: we do make a difference in the small things we choose to do. Yes the big things are important (hell I've already given up driving for all intents and purposes) but the small things that we can continue to do beyond the EDC are what really matters. As a matter of fact all of my things I think I can keep doing.

Now as for sweeping, there are a couple of benefits: you don't waste water by hosing down the porch and secondly you cut down on vacuuming because not as much of the outside is tracked inside. Sweeping the porch, in fact, used to be a daily activity for our ancestors. I still recall that every morning my grandmother would go out and give the porch a once over. Why? So she didn't have to spend more time sweeping her carpet. Of course by the time I recall her doing this, she had a vacuum and it was simple for her, but old, and much more earth-friendly habits died hard with her.

My grandfather, as well, would regularly rake the yard for the same purposes. It was interesting whenever they came and visited: the yard was raked and the porches were swept.

I think I'll make it a part of my daily routine to sweep the porch.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Earth Day Challenge Day 6: Set Energy Savings on my computer


Earth Day Challenge Day 6: Set Energy Savings on my computer
Originally uploaded by Theorris

Somewhere along the way I set my computer up with very energy conservation unfriendly setting. While the default of 10 minutes for sleep mode is not the greatest, it is better than the 2 hours it was set at before. Yeesh.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Earth Day Challege Day 5: Buy a carbon offset


Earth Day Challege Day 5: Buy a carbon offset
Originally uploaded by Theorris

I was traveling quite a lot this spring, therefore I am buying a carbon offset. This one from NativeEnergy funds alternative energy. I was thinking about buying one that plants trees too.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Earth Day Challege Day 4: Wash on Cold


Earth Day Challege Day 4: Wash on Cold
Originally uploaded by Theorris

Ok this is an easy one, really since I only do laundry once a week as it is. Basically there isn't much reason to wash on anything but cold these days (aside from sheets, I guess). Most of the clothes we buy state that they should be washed on cold as it is, and they last longer when you do. Washing on cold saves energy and therefore money, which means I can buy more of yesterday's challenge item.

Bag the bag

Here you go, lisa b and Dr. Write: bag the bag! Link

Friday, April 18, 2008

Earth Day Challenge Day 3: Buy Local (Beer!)


Earth Day Challenge Day 3: Buy Local (Beer!)
Originally uploaded by Theorris

In Utah it can be a bit difficult to buy local given our short growing seasons (because of altitude) and the fact that many Utah farms have been replaced by sprawling suburbs. It is possible, of course, to buy local and there are even a few farms left in the Salt Lake Valley (but not many). One thing that Utah has, however, are some pretty tasty local brews. Although this will be a somewhat pricey commitment, I vow to only drink Utah brewed bear for the next 4 days.

And what am I drinking? Uinta Brewing's Blue Sky Ale. Tasty.

Color Wars 2008

If my March/April weren't hell on wheels I would have joined Color Wars 2008.

Oh well.

I am particularly looking forward to SmackTalk Haiku, as I look forward to all things Haiku and most smack talk when it has to do with basketball. I shall, therefore, offer you a SmackTalk Haiku in anticipation of of the Jazz trouncing the Rockets tomorrow night:

The only red glare
Will be from your spanked asses
Oh flopping Rockets

Woo hoo, a Star-spangled Banner reference!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

EDC 2: OFF or Finally doing what my mother told me


EDC 2: OFF or Finally doing what my mother told me
Originally uploaded by Theorris

Years ago my mother used to yell at us kids repeatedly to shut the lights off. Being a kid, of course, I never listened which generally prompted her to yell, yet again, "Do you need every light in the house on!" My zealous desire to light my little part of the world, has lead to the very bad habit of leaving lights on for rooms where no one enters for hours.

This has got to stop--even if I have replaced most of the light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs, it is still a waste. I vow, therefore, to turn lights off when not needed. Hopefully this will stick passed the 6 days left in EDC.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

DIY low-flow toilet!


DIY low-flow toilet!
Originally uploaded by Theorris

This is my first Earth Day Challenge activity: a DIY low-flow toilet. In sequence above is how it is done. Fr 1) Get a jar of some sort. Here I have secured a 1 quart Vlassic pickle jar. Open the toilet and get ready to 2) submerge said jar in the tank. It is important that you place the jar in the tank and not the bowl. Placing the jar in the bowl will cause nothing but sorrow. Placing the jar in the tank will save you, your local water constabulary, and the earth the amount of water your jar contains. 3) place the lid on the jar. This is strictly optional, as according to the laws of gravity water is not going to mysteriously fly out of the jar once the tank is empty, no matter if it desires to return to the ocean via the sewer system. 4) Be proud of your earth-friendly efforts.

The story so far...

The Earth Day Challenge has begun! So far (and I'll be updating this post as I see more action),

  1. Dr. Write has gone baggy-less for lunch.
  2. Arts Enthusiast is looking for a job she can walk to.
  3. Hightouchmegastore has put reusable shopping bags in her car!

I'm waiting to return home to post my initial earth-friend maneuver, since I also need to take a picture of it for the Earth Day Challenge flickr group, but I will note that it has something to do with, you guessed it, the toilet! Now I know you are looking forward to what I have to post!

In any case, I might note that I did retrieve my lunch bag from its nearly month-long trip to pantry isolation. Being out of town a lot really messes with bringing lunch to work. I suppose that could be my first day's thing, but a toilet is just so much more photogenic!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Earth Day Challenge Begins April 16

Oy: April 16 came upon us quickly, eh? I don't have 7 things to do yet, so I'm going to have to think fast and do some research.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Fascinating fact #1

Do you know how sulfa drugs (one of the first antibiotics) work? Well apparently certain cavorting wee beasties (also known as bacteria) need a vitamin that is similar in chemical construction to the sulfa drugs in order to survive. When sulfa is applied, the wee beasties think it is Thanksgiving and gorge themselves on the pseudo-food. As it turns out, bad luck for them, the sulfa compounds do not provide anything for the reproductive cycle and the bacteria end up childless and condemned to a lonely life in the bacterial equivalent of the old folks home and the grim reaper (in this case white blood cells), takes care of the rest. Therefore, no offspring: no infection.

Fascinating!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Pure radio pleasure

I was attending to work, traveling to yet another conference today, so I had the pleasure of listening to Hot Rod call the game for the Jazz against los Nuggets. There is nothing like hearing how the best team in the NBA (Utah) trounced another good NBA team (Denver) while traveling through the marrow of the world.

Jazz.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Home cookin' at its finest! Get your biscuits and Muddy Gravy!

It is good to see that home cooking is still favored in Dallas.

Case in point:

  1. How many times can the Jazz be fouled and never get the call yet someone even breaths on Terry or Nowitski and it is free trip to the line?
  2. How hard a foul does poor Korver have to take in the last minute of the game before they call a foul for him and then don't give the ball back to Dallas?
  3. How many times do they have to foul Williams on a three point shot before the officials call it? (Apparently not twice as that is how many times he was fouled at the end of the game.)

Did you notice that it was Rat Face who was officiating? Only Dick Bavetta is better at throwing games for whoever the Jazz are playing against. Well there was that ref who was BUSTED for betting against the Jazz (among other teams) but he was just the fall guy for the shenanigans that basically pervade NBA officiating.

Think I have an ax to grind?

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Utah Jazz: Utah secures another division title - Salt Lake Tribune

That's right: Utah Jazz: Utah secures another division title - Salt Lake Tribune. Over the last couple of games the Jazz seem to have discovered that they can indeed play defense and shut high-scoring teams down.

The playoffs are going to be great. Even if the Jazz dive out early, I am going to look back on this season with great fondness.

Monday, April 07, 2008

Big River Sunrise


Big River Sunrise
Originally uploaded by Theorris

The Mississippi at Sunrise. My hotel in New Orleans had a great view of the river churning away below.

Gone Fishing

I recieved the following email this morning from friend Fallinahole (or J.T. as he sometimes wont to comment here) about the recent Stanley Fish review of the upcoming book French Theory: How Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze, & Co. Transformed the Intellectual Life of the United States:
I guess all I can do is sit back and entertain myself with ceaseless mockery of everything, especially myself (whatever that is). JT
to which I responded
I don't think Fish is saying that is all that Deconstruction does: he is saying that part of the problem is that Deconstructionists ended their analysis and took up positions that could easily be deconstructed themselves. Ultimately I think, as he
says, D is a farce in its very approach, or a war-like drama. Now, of course, he doesn't offer anything in its stead in this article, but he has elsewhere. He always has been a firebrand, and that seems to be an end unto itself for him. I think it is more interesting to look at the response that came from the other side. "No!" they shouted. "There is a truth and a falsehood to the things out there in the world that we may observe! It has nothing to do with the language we use to think the world (or ourselves.) " They refuse to take into consideration that our minds thinking the world shapes that world (not in a "real sense," as fish points out, but in an epistemological one.) They are the scary ones; the ones who adhere to an "out there" truth that is not shaped by our personal and shared "texts."

What does all that imply? Hmm.

Your criticism is well taken, but what is the implication of what the opposition might entail? Whose reality is going to construct the world understanding then? Richard Dawkins?


Perhaps JT will respond further here.

Update: JT did respond--
Agreed. The "No! REAL TRUTH, ABSOLUTE TRUTH!!!!" freaks seem much more problematic than the PC police or the true nihilists, whether T-truthers as fundamentalist Christian, fundamentalist Atheist (Dawkins), or whatever. It seems to me the only reasonable approach is one that recognizes the significant contributions of Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze, etc.-- but that does not imply that one must discard the idea that there is a world out there (its absurd to take constructivism to the point of idealism). Some mash of language, physical world, and social construction is always going to be present. But without attending to issues of power, definition (i.e. of self, term, society -- that always leaves some out), history, motivation, etc. we more easily succumb to our worst tendencies. I think the French have helped us all become more honest if nothing else -- their topics are no less "real" than the putative concreteness of the physical world.

Frankly, the relational issues (whether micro or macro) attended to by the French (or continental theorists generally) are more significant than analyzing the fuck out of some, say, ethical, concept ad infinitum.

JT

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

No fooling

I've been too busy to even think of one prank to play on any one, let alone prank on the blog. I have, however, had the odd good idea that pops into my head about the blog:
  1. A "Fascinating Facts" series, since I apparently know a lot about nothing in particular (no doubt this will go the same way as all my other failed attempt at being consistent with any thing on this site).
  2. A discourse on places I have wanted to see in the past but no longer wish to see, accompanied by a similar discourse on places I would really like to see but most likely never will.
  3. A list of links for the Earth Day Challenge to inspire fellow travelers on conservation methods they can engage in.
  4. An inventory of the pens that have made their way into my pen bucket. (This one would be visual and perhaps haiku.)
  5. A tribute to odd socks. (Again visual, but not poetic.)
  6. A recap of the Jazz season with a clear explanation of their massively good second half of the season.
  7. A better review of Scott Kelby's 7 Point System than I posted on librarything.
  8. A post about the best prank I ever pulled: calling my sister, getting the answering machine, adopting a gruff voice and saying "This is Mike Jenkins of Utah Liquid Fertilizer. We've got 200 gallons of liquid fertilizer to deliver and are just calling to confirm when you can accept delivery." She fell for it and was calling frantically various businesses to see what the deal was.
Well I guess I have accomplished number 8, but I suspect I won't have time for the other nonsense and sense (#3) in May. Sucks for Earth Day challengers, I guess.

It bodes

So for his second ever outing in the NBA, Fesenko was thwacked again. In his previous Jazz experience it was a elbow to the eye, which causes for instant court-side stitches. Last night it was a forearm to the nose (and more blood).

Talk about welcome to the NBA.

In other Fesenko news, my friend Hopabout saw him at the store buying flowers the Saturday before last. She speculated, of course, that he was going on a date. She found the whole experience of seeing him doing this "cute."