Organic products and recyclable packaging Dec 16, 2008
People who subscribe to the idea of organic products usually come from one of two camps:  (1) It's better for the environment, or (2) it's better for the end-user.  The question is, what's more important, the earth or its inhabitants?  Lots of organic products come in non-recyclable packaging, which, when viewed from the environmentalist's perspective, sort of negates the fact that they're organic.  Sure, you're not dumping chemicals into the ground to fertilize those carrots, but the plastic bag they're packaged in will still end up in a landfill, where it'll stay for billions and billions of years.  It's the same with milk.  For whatever reason, milk comes in either a plastic or cardboard container.  But this time, the plastic is recyclable; the cardboard isn't.  I'd actually be willing to pay more money for a plastic container of organic milk whose packaging can be reused, rather than a cardboard container that'll just take up space in a dump.  Hooray for us humans who've reduced the amount of harmful chemicals we introduce into our bodies through our food, but shame on us for not doing anything about the amount of packaging waste we produce. #products
Multiple use coffee cup Dec 16, 2008
I use my plastic and metal coffee cup about 6 or 7 times (i.e. pretty much every day of the week) between washings.  My rationale is that I'm putting the exact same thing in it day after day, so the very thing that qualifies as making it dirty is just an old version of what I'll be putting in it again.  The only reason I end up washing it is because I'm afraid of bacteria and mold-grown super monsters that will likely eat my brains when I'm sleeping.  Unlike some people in my household, I don't feel the need to wash it after a single use. #products
Library deadlines Dec 15, 2008
The library is the best thing ever.  You can borrow movies, music, video games, and oh yeah, books, which are all bought with your taxes.  If they don't have something you want, you can ask them to get it (they'll usually say yes).  However, the one bad part about the library is that you can only borrow things for a certain amount of time.  And for my local library, anything I borrow through inter-library loan can't be renewed.  So here I am with several video games and books that I can't renew, all due back in the next two or three weeks, which means I'm spending inordinate amounts of time consuming media.  This is the bad part amount borrowing vs. owning:  Not being able to read and play at your own pace. #entertainment
Food truck Dec 12, 2008
There's a food truck at work.  It's not the first job I've had that was visited by a food truck.  It's just some dude in a fancy pickup truck that sells coffee and sandwiches and usually dispenses change with a belt-mounted contraption.  But his truck has a specific-sounding horn, or at least he beeps his horn in such a way that's it's impossible to mistake it for anyone other than him.  And like gnats drawn to light, or sharks to blood, all the workers shuffle out of their respective buildings and gather around the food truck to drink crappy coffee and make small talk with the driver.  Nothing he offers is particularly good or different, but because he comes in a truck to specific workplaces, he seems to make a killing.  It's just so weird to be doing something at work and to have time totally stop and everyone's ears perk up at the sound of the food truck's beeping horn approaching.  We humans are strange creatures. #business
Beard commitment Dec 12, 2008
I have a newfound respect for people with beards.  I haven't shaved for the past few weeks, and my slightly orange-ish facial hair is longer than it's ever been.  And it's torture.  It feels like I'm wearing a wool scarf on my face.  A wool scarf that keeps moving around, creating new spots of discomfort and itchiness.  And then there's the scraggly-ness.  You've never lived until you've felt a hair from your face poke itself into your nostril or your mouth.  And of course eating is always an adventure.  Maybe other people don't have these problems.  And for that, they're blessed.  But putting up with this for months and months until you finally have a full beard (and presumably forget it's even there) is such a commitment, I respect the men who do it.  I'm shaving tonight. #lifestyle
Red 40 (7) Dec 11, 2008
I found out over the Thanksgiving weekend that my sister's 4-year-old son has adverse reactions to Red Dye #40.  It makes him crazy.  I'd never heard of that before and was a little skeptical.  But sure enough, one night he was acting crazy, and we determined that he had eaten a good amount of red jello.  Could be a coincidence.  Maybe not. 

Wikipedia's entry on this seemingly harmless dye is probably the scariest thing I've ever read.  Not only is it linked with hyperactive behavior in children, but it's actually banned in several European countries.  The tendency is to think, meh, it's a harmless dye; what could it possibly do to me?  But disodium 6-hydroxy-5-((2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)azo)-2-naphthalene-sulfonate isn't all that harmless.  I wonder what other strange chemicals are used in the things we eat and drink on a daily basis? #health
Double pack Dec 11, 2008
Retailers are getting away with highway robbery by selling certain individually-packaged items (small batteries, car headlights) for a few cents less than dual-packaged items, essentially convincing people to buy the more expensive but more economical double pack.  For example, the double pack of watch batteries I just bought cost something like $4.50, while the single pack cost $4.  Any idiot can figure out that the double pack is a better deal, but I have a feeling the price of the single pack is artificially inflated in order to force customers into buying more than they need.  And even though the customer is getting a better deal, they're still spending more money than they need to, which of course benefits the retailer. #business
Fixing stuff (2) Dec 11, 2008
I had the pleasure of replacing the battery in Wendy's watch today.  It wasn't hard, but like anything that doesn't seem hard, there were a few bumps along the road.  After I finished removing the four microscopic screws, I promptly dropped one on the carpet under my desk, which couldn't have a busier color pattern.  I looked for a while but decided it would probably still work with only three.  I took the back cover off and figured out that it was nearly impossible to actually get the battery out.  I spent a few minutes trying different things while attempting to keep all the delicate, cheaply-made components intact.  After a few minutes, I gave up and used brute force (which wasn't much because it was a watch), breaking a little plastic piece that holds the battery in place.  I figured, eh, let's see what happens; it'll probably still go back together.  I went to Walmart to find a replacement battery, and there weren't any in the electronics section.  The jewelry department had them though, and $5 and two batteries later (they come in a double pack) I was in business.  I looked under my desk at work a few more times just in case I developed Superman vision, and lo and behold, I found the lost screw.  I put the new battery in the back, forced the cover in place, put all four screws back in, and it worked.  This sums up pretty much every experience I've ever had trying to fix things. #psychology
People looking for me Dec 11, 2008
I have a pretty predictable schedule:  I sit at my desk at work for 9 hours every day except Saturday and Sunday.  I rarely deviate from that schedule, but it seems like whenever I do, that's when somebody is looking for me.  A few weeks ago I was in a different building at work for the week, and lo and behold, my boss urgently needed to see me.  And of course several of my co-workers mentioned this to me when they saw me later in the day.  The same thing happened when I was in training for a week.  Suddenly I was asked to complete work for an important project that urgently needed results immediately.  Of course this couldn't have happened during my normal schedule, which is the same 98% of the time.  And I feel like the same thing is about to happen in the next few days.  I emailed a guy at work to tell him I had some old textbooks and documents that he could pick up or else I was gonna get rid of them.  He emailed me back to say he'd be over sometime in the next few days.  I'm positive he'll come during the one minute and thirty seconds I'm in the bathroom. #business
BBQ eating disorder Dec 10, 2008
I have to confess that I have a problem when it comes to eating barbecued food (what I would define as "smothered in BBQ sauce"), whether it's ribs or pulled pork or some other barbecued concoction I haven't discovered yet:  I tend to overeat almost until the point of death.  This is a problem.  When it's happening, I know I should stop.  Most humans are smart enough, unlike dogs, to stop eating when they're full.  But when pork is involved, and that pork is covered in BBQ sauce, I seem to lose all will power and self-control.  It feels like what I would imagine a cocaine addict might feel:  It's just so good, I can't stop.  It gets to the point where I'm definitely not hungry and it isn't even enjoyable anymore, but I'll continue shoveling it into my mouth because it feels good.  I know my body can only handle a certain volume of food, but if given the opportunity, I might go past that limit when barbecued pork is involved. #food