Keep it classy

I'll probably post more sporadically from here on out, as school has started again. This semester will be trial by fire, since I'm taking 100% concentration classes, and will be doing major project work. Still, I'll try to post things as I come across them.

On that note, I thought this report was interesting. Ultimately, it posits that landfilling may have a lower carbon footprint than recycling in some situations. I'm a realist, and I don't necessarily assume this isn't true. Still, I'd be interested to see the actual Life Cycle Analyses and determine what factors were included (or, perhaps more telling, whether any factors were excluded).

Back to life, back to reality

I realize I forgot to explain my short posting hiatus in advance. I spent a week down in Florida with a close friend. Included in the week were stop-offs in Myrtle Beach, Charleston, St. Augustine, and Beaufort (the SC one, pronounced BYOO-fert). Highlights of the week:
: a week of great hair (oh, sand and salt water, what excellent hair product you are)
: manatee cove (my first in-person manatees! at least a dozen of them making their Darth Vader noises.)
: a pre-storm rainbow (whaaaa?)
: too many dolphins to count
: a kitten chasing a bug
: midday naps every single day
: delicious black tip shark kebabs
: the best grouper sandwich I've had (fresh, local seafood, yum.)
: watching the meteor shower through a gap in the palms while lying on the grass
: water glinting like diamonds
: assembling bookshelves (yes, I found this exciting. yes, I am so like my dad.)
: exaggeration and fable-telling galore!
: going to the beach for sunrise, only to be surprise witness to a space launch
: no, seriously, I watched a vessel leave Earth's atmosphere. its smoke trail glinted gold in the rising sun. I was in the Atlantic Ocean, waves splashing against me, surrounded by surfers lying on boards and watching. yes, you may now commence eating your heart out.
: happening across the elusive suburban Central Florida gay in the wild
: souvenir shopping for my house family
: so many different types of mango!
: the smallest church in America
: the nicest convenience store operator in Florida, by far. with the most strangely gay-friendly souvenir selection, and a wealth of amazingly fabulous tacky souvenirs
: a stop-off for a psychic reading from a spiritual advisor
: time with my bestie, duh!

Anyway, speaking of amusing internet video reviews:

Canon 7D vs. Barbie Video Girl from Brandon Bloch on Vimeo.

(yeah, I know. I made that segue up completely.)

brighten your day

This popped up in my reader, and I opened it during a break from working. It made my day brighter, so I thought I'd share.

yin and yang

Well, with good news, there is generally bad (and vice versa).

To that tune, a debacle in an Indiana hospital in which a transwoman was denied medical care mars the reputation of medical professionals. I'm glad that--for once--it's not in the Deep South.

Also, not only did California's Prop 8 get overturned yesterday in California's supreme court (in a stunning decision based on multiple findings of fact, beginning on page 54), it also inspired Lady Gaga. Rejoice, all ye!

Also, my school will be paid for this year, as I'm officially a Graduate Assistant. Huzzah!

Avast, there be pirates in these here waters!

This is by far one of the coolest (if not necessarily all that useful) things I have ever, ever seen. I wonder how one might pirate a vinyl inclusive of both sides (without having to make two separate vinyls), and whether it would be possible to repair scratches on the pirated copy.

They can't take that away from me

Noooo! Yet another thing scientists have taken away from me. First the Brontosaurus, then Pluto as a planet, and now the Triceratops?!

I don't know if I can handle this. My childhood is slowly crumbling around me, like so many stale cookies. Maybe I'll just refuse to believe it.

Cooking, naturally

Some of the tweeps I follow signed up for this cooking class from Central Carolina Community College, which is how I caught wind of it. It sounds like a pretty neat concept. I wonder how much of the program will be split toward cooking technique versus nutrition versus actual menu planning (generally its own course in culinary school, but still...).

[EDIT: Clearly, I should read more. There's a basic breakdown of the course structure here, though it's not specific about the time commitments for each segment. That'll teach me to post before exploring thoroughly.]

What color is Triple Bottom Line sustainability?

A thought-provoking question from Joel Makower of GreenBiz.com. Just what color is the Triple Bottom Line? "Green" seems inappropriate, but is "blue"--as is suggested at one point--too loaded with political baggage? Is there a better term for folks concerned with the 3 P's (People, Planet, Performance/Profit)?

I'll be interested to see what emerges in the common lexicon.

green apparel supply chain

WSJ recently posted an interesting article on an effort by 100 major apparel manufacturers to track the footprint of your footwear (and other wearables). You should check it out here, and be sure to click the tab for the diagram demonstrating the footprint of a pair of Levi's. It's really eye-opening how much of the environmental footprint actually occurs after purchase, with washing and drying.

As an aside, I was raised to use cold-water wash for everything except a bleach load of whites. Do other people actually use warm or hot for everything? It's not even a good thing to use for preservation of colors, folks. I promise, things get just as clean in cold water.