true heroes walking among us

tried to fit this in a comment on the last post, but the link was too long. for my fellow grammarians, i think you'll find this article enjoyable (and reassuring that there are some out there carrying out our mission). courtesy of big buddy, official finkipedia editor emeritus:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2004367117_danny23.html

look! another grammar rant!

i've hit you with most of my grammar pet peeves, but there are plenty more things that i come across that are worthy of a rant. here's one from today, the greeting of a letter from another physician: "to all perspective members,"

maybe there are some members of his organization that have a good outlook on things and get the big picture, but i believe he is addressing those of us who are not yet members. of course "prospective" is the term he was looking for (pun intended).

it's not easy being green

after pledging on tuesday to be greener, i cut my lawn on thursday and bagged some of the clippings into 3 large trash bags. my green conscience kicked in that night (fueled no doubt by the renewable energy source that is catholic guilt), and i spent an hour searching online about how best to deal with grass clippings.

the consensus across multiple websites was, of course, to leave them on the lawn. most sites agreed that long clippings (like the ones that were in my bags) didn't sit too well on lawns, but this could be avoided by just cutting more frequently. no one seemed to have very good advice for those of us who had already let the lawn get too tall. so i looked for other alternatives to leaving them on the lawn.

apparently grass clippings make great mulch, if you want green mulch that turns a yellow brown when dry and smells like a sewer when wet. they can also be composted by digging a "shallow hole" and covering them with dirt. i have an acre of grass to cut- a shallow hole to fit my clippings would have to be about 40 feet in diameter. one site did recommend using the clippings as a blanket to kill weeds along fence lines, which seemed like the most reasonable resting place for my clippings at this point.

so, after another cutting today and a collection of clippings from most of the lawn, i now have a 60 ft long, 18 inch high "blanket" of grass clippings all along the back of our property. after the rain coming our way tonight, it should take care of the weeds quickly while providing the lovely aroma of spring in the country.

yay! new e-friends!

the online finkiverse is expanding again. you'll notice a new official finkipedia-endorsed blog, lovemomworklife. authored by one half of one of my favorite duos in the world, n. is a great friend and the wife of my college roommate, bucket. (maybe she'll let him guest-post as to the origin of that nickname).

definitely plenty of blog material for her- a beautiful family, a career in advertising, and an ongoing renovation of her 100+ year old hudson river valley home. and she uses capital letters, so if you're into that kind of stuff, check it out.

earth day

i think i've always been a little "greener" than the average person- years as a boy scout provided me with a healthy respect for the outdoors. but there are two particular experiences i've had that have pushed me more down the tree-hugging path.

the first of which was an ecology class i took in college, a requirement for all bio majors. the prof i had was an amazing guy- absolutely loved his job and was so passionate about ecology and the environment. we went on field trips weekly, from the woods of connecticut where we counted trees, to his own backyard where we saw his compost pile. i've always thought that his passion for the earth tied in so well the jesuit beliefs of faith, peace and justice.

the second experience was a mission trip to jamaica, also in college, during which i lived for a week and a half in the slums of kingston. our section of the city had indoor plumbing, but the water was only a slow trickle and didn't run at all after late morning. the abject poverty helped give me a greater appreciation for the resources we all have and take for granted.

i'm still far from being as green as i'd like to be - i own a gas guzzling monster SUV, have dual-zone AC, and have incandescent bulbs in every fixture of my home. but i'm trying- i recycle about everything i can, i use as little water and energy at home as possible, and am certainly considering composting my trash and purchasing a hybrid vehicle.

whatever your views on global warming, i don't think you can argue that renewable energy sources and more common sense resource management are good ideas. maybe someday in the not-too-distant future, the opinions of those in power will be the same, and we'll have some progress towards environmental justice.

seg-way cool

one of the things i got to check out while at WDW was a segway exhibit at epcot. they show you a 10+ minute video on the history of the segway, then let you take one for a test roll. just a short down-and-back on a carpeted path, only about 60 feet round trip, but enough of a test to get an idea of how cool these things are.

i must admit, i've been skeptical about them from the get-go, and find it hilarious to see mall security and city police zipping around on these things. but they're incredibly cool, easy to use, and after riding one i can see how they would be helpful for many situations.

disney offers two segway tours- one of the countries around epcot (done before park opening) and one cross-country segway tour at their campground. something i'll definitely look into next trip.

back to the grind

back after a very enjoyable, albeit initially soggy trip to the sunshine state.

spent the week with my folks and my sister and her family doing the disney thing. tough getting 11 people on the same schedule, but we managed pretty well i think. had some good meals, a few great meals, and saw some cool things (make sure you catch "soarin'" at epcot if you're headed to disney anytime).

drove straight thru from orlando to middletown on the way back- about 16 1/2 hours, most of it overnight. comment of the week came from owen, who woke up when stopping for breakfast at 7AM (after sleeping in the car for 9 hours straight) and asked , "did we stop at a hotel last night?"

runners-up for the comments of the week:
owen, upon seeing all our bags packed and sitting on the bed of the hotel room friday morning, "are we leaving today?"
brendan, waking up next to me after the first night of the trip, "dad, i think your toothpaste wore off during the night"

por favor, mantengas alejado de las puertas

you're on your own for the next week and a half- headed out tomorrow to the house of mouse for grandpa eddie's retirement celebration. we're driving down, which means 15 hours of radio disney and south of the border billboards. stop tomorrow night in GA, then the rest of the way friday AM.

the boys got new nintendo DS's for easter, which should keep them occupied nicely. brendan surrendered his old leapster to molly, which she's taken to and will hopefully find interesting enough to engage her for at least a few hundred miles.

plenty of blog fodder to come from this trip, to be sure!