A little snow Jan 15, 2008
It snowed in northern NJ yesterday and today, though it pretty much all melted (even from this morning). 



It also snowed in Iraq last week, as seen in this picture from my sister: 



Iraq:  The new winter getaway destination! #nature
Celebrities and charities Jan 15, 2008
Watching Celebrity Apprentice brought an idea to mind:  There's something wrong with the combination of celebrities and charities.  Ooh ooh!  I know what it is!  Celebrities make buttloads of money, so much so that they can easily match the annual earnings of several large charities.  So watching a bunch of rich (though B- and C-list) celebrities struggle to try to raise money for their favorite charity is just stupid.  Open up your big fat wallets.  Use your millions and millions of dollars to actually make an impact.  Watching Stephen Baldwin hand a **$60,000** check to a cancer foundation was pitiful.  $60,000 was a fraction of the price of one of your cars.  $60,000 was the amount you paid to have sprinklers installed in your front lawn.  Instead of urging and pleading with people to give money to your favorite charities, why don't you do it yourself? #psychology
Injuries never heal Jan 15, 2008
I think I've convinced myself that injuries never fully heal.  I sprained my ankle when I was a junior in high school (8 years ago).  I did all the proper rehab and was fully healed.  I went on to live a happy and productive (that's questionable) life.  I'm physically active and have regularly done things to test the ability of my healed ankle.  For most activities, I'm fine.  I'm even fine walking along rocky trails in the woods and occasionally twisting my ankle.  But certain things I do have a very specific effect on the exact part of my ankle that was sprained.  It's been 8 years and I've proven myself to be fully recovered, but some things still hurt.  This isn't an isolated incident or injury, and it doesn't only happen with me.  I see it in professional sports all the time.  A player gets injured, recovers, and ends up either re-injuring the same thing or having problems later on down the road.  It also happens with people who can "feel" a storm coming in because their knees or hips ache.  It seems like there's a certain amount of permanent damage done with serious and semi-serious injuries. #health
UPS Whiteboard (2) Jan 15, 2008
I think those UPS Whiteboard commercials that are mostly played during football games are stupid.  What annoys me most is that UPS hired some shaggy-haired artist to draw pictures that illustrate frighteningly simple points.  For example, here's my impression of the guy on the commercials: 
"You know how you sometimes have to mail packages?"
*squiggle* *squiggle* *draw* *draw*
"Well instead of taking them to the UPS store, you can also deposit them in a UPS drop box."
*erase* *erase* *squiggle* *draw*
"Whether you use the UPS store or a UPS drop box, UPS will still mail your packages to the right place."
"That's the beauty of the UPS Multiple Acceptance SystemTM."
"Let's add some mud flaps on the truck and a stupid smile on the person putting a package in the drop box."
*squiggle* *squiggle*
For whatever reason, UPS treats it like rocket science, complete with complicated terminology and needless illustrations.  I just don't get what the big deal is.  You give your package to UPS and they mail it.  That's it.  Why are their commercials and sponsorships and websites devoted to this? #entertainment