Daylight savings makes March Hotter

This is hilarious

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/4/24/92513/5844

Earth Day

I learned of this company, Mission Playground, today at the Balboa Park Earth Day Festival. They've got some great eco clothes, very cool shirts, with great messages, and very affordable.

new readers?

By the way, I've noticed some new readers... If you're out there, drop me a comment and let me know if you have a blog or a site. I'd be interested in reading your stuff.

shame

I am a big fan of the perpetual pilgram solbeam, and always anxiously await her new posts. This one is excellent just like her other ones, but is different in that it really makes you think about your place in the world. And it makes me thankful and privileged, but also ashamed to be American.

questions, comments, etc

A while back I started a 43 things page. I also have a Zaadz page. In a way these sites are all the same, they are just another "community" for people like me. People who are searching for something, some meaning, and some release from reality (I suppose it's not reality really, it's the anti-reality, or modern conforming society.) But anyway, these sites are great, the problem is I can't stick to just one and I usually forget about it after I start my page. But I often float back to them to check them out, and they do indeed serve a purpose. They do remind me to remember what I really want, or more importantly they remind me to keep questioning what I want. Because when we become complacent, that's when we become just like everyone else.

I've been wanting a tattoo for a while. So has my wife. She has picked a perfect symbol for a tattoo, one that represents the life stage she is currently in, and one that will help her move forward. I don't know what tattoo I want. Though I know what I want it to represent, but I don't know what it is. I want something that will be like all these websites, something that will be a daily reminder to be true to myself, to follow my dreams, to set my own goals, and mostly to remind myself that life is a journey, that it should be lived, and to remind myself not to forget these things. But I don't know if there is one symbol of image that represents that, is there?

In other news, even though both my wife and I are still not exactly where we want to be, and still are "working for the man" there have been some recent developments (mostly of her doing) that indicate that we are moving in the proper direction, that in a few years we may be exactly where we want to be, and that we may one day be free to follow our dreams.

Another reason why people don't like public transportation

Because there are just too many crazy people. Two different days last week I overheard two different conversations where people were talking about friends of theirs who were in prison for murder. Both talked about it like it was no big deal, and new the details of the murders. Then yesterday was the first time I actually felt really uncomfortable because I really thought there would be a violent situation on the bus.

And still I can't get over the fact that there are so many actual crazy people with real mental illness in San Diego. I see them daily, and most are off like off the deep end crazy. Talking to themselves, or doing things that clearly indication that they have no concept of reality. And also I can't get over the fact of how much poverty is really in America's Finest City.... Sad.

Also, I can't wait to move, which we'll be doing next month, then I don't have to ride the crazy "from the ghetto" bus. I'll be able to ride the halfway crazy from the beach bus... which will be a nice break for sure.

Letter to the city of San Diego

I am writing as a envionmentally conscious resident of the City of San Diego, and am specifically concerned about the use of leaf blowers in the city. Let me preface my email by saying I couldn't find an appropriate contact address on the city website, so this email is the closest one I could find on the Environmental Services page. I apologize if I've sent this email to the wrong place, if I have can you please forward it to the appropriate person/department?

I have thought about the use of leaf blowers in the past in terms of both the air and noise pollution that they emit, but really it struck me the other day as I was jogging through Balboa Park and nearly choked on dust cloud as I ran through an area where a member of the maintenance crew was using a leaf blower.

The issue of noise is probably the most obvious, and I'm sure nearly every person at some point has had to shut their windows at home to try to eliminate the annoying sound of a leaf blower chugging away. And I'm also sure most people are aware of the pollution emitted by the engines. But the thing that strikes me in particular is the absurdity of what most people use them for -- not even to move leaves, but to "clean" sidewalks and walkways. I've watched with amazement (with windows closed to keep the dust out) as the gardeners at my apartment use their blowers to blow dust and debris around, sending the cloud out into the street. And as soon as they leave, that dust settles, and a little breeze kicks up or a car goes by, and the dust is back where it started. And of course nothing has been gained, except some extra noise and dust.

Anyway, all my complaints aside, I've heard of many other California cities who have successfully banned the use of leaf blowers, and would like to urge the city of San Diego to consider doing the same. It would save the ears and lungs of many San Diegans, and would save unsuspecting joggers like myself from choking on dust while running in the city parks. We live in a beautiful city, but as we all know the climate is dry and desert like in most places, and of course everywhere in the Southern California air quality is a concern, so it seems a bit ironic that we have people using these leaf blowers to stir dust up into the air just so the sidewalks and walkways look temporarily "clean".

Thank you for reading this.

Regards,