Christmas is coming...

But first, I declare that we shall have blizzard in many parts of Minnesota and the Dakotas. No, seriously. It's not in my area but I suspect the roads (and my car too) are just a solid sheet of ice. As you may recall from what I wrote five minutes ago the temperature came down here pretty fast from temperatures so high the snow pack was melting.

I started re-reading some of my posts from earlier this year and I really enjoyed it. I'm already putting some thought into my next year in review post. Last year's was a fun way to sum up the year without writing out a billion Christmas cards. (I really don't get those.) I started re-living the kitchen fiasco remodel which began in January and felt truly over around May. I also got to look at Mark and Irmghard's wedding again. And re-live Mom telling me my looser cousin didn't even call me to tell me he was engaged. Send an email or something. Seriously.

I also spent a kind of long time watching various Star Trek movies. I am not ashamed. To cap off my productivity for the day, I did laundry (and actually got it folded which should count as it's own accomplishment), "did" the dishes (by loading the dishwasher and turning it on), and wrapped so many presents I ran out of paper.

I was planning on wrapping more presents tomorrow but I just saw the weather report. I think it'll be quite a commitment to see my mentee tomorrow night. It's sad that one of those days when I want to be outside as little as possible is coming in December instead of the middle of January where they belong.

And to wrap the day up, I want to share with you what I've learned this weekend:

Related to the environment:

• On Thursday Amanda and I were watching my new cable and saw an ad for clean coal. I look at her and said, "that's just make-believe right?" The commercial bore me out, and it turns out that Newsweek thinks it's crap too. And the follow up, So does the potential Secretary of Energy. I'm so happy for the environment right now.


• One hundred years ago, people tried to guess what it'd be like to be alive now. Some of them are pretty funny but most of them are pretty accurate. I wonder how accurate our lists will be about the next 100 years.

Political or similar:

• What's an "alternative currency"? Well, it's not money for gay people but that was a good guess. It's a new way of thinking about the value of goods and work, perfect for when the economy is lower than death valley. The article really caught my eye because it mentions Khayelitsha Township. That's one of the places I visited in South Africa this October. The first picture is Khayelitsha.


• One of my favorite things about voting in Minnesota is same day registration. It always keeps things interesting. Turns out not so much in Ohio. Someone is still mad they lost in November and trying to do something about it.


• And, just another reason to love Kentucky. I keep trying to think of the angle where this helps the governor and screws the state. Something about not paying taxes on that 10% of the income. I wonder if it knocked him down a tax bracket. (Hey, I love Kentucky but he's still a politician.) Maybe he really is a good guy just trying to do the right thing.


• I think I knew intellectually that diabetes is responsible for a truckload of amputations. But now, Handicap International is making Diabetes a priority because it's responsible for 70% of all amputations. Way more than landmines where the organization had focused lots of effort. Wow. Just, wow.

On a lighter note:

• Remember when you could pull a prank like stealing the baby Jesus from a manger and it was funny. Don't do that anymore. It's not worth the theft charges and (I'd imagine in the case of the menorahs) hate crimes charge somewhere along the way. Technology can be so helpful sometimes.


• Finally, to Kelly and Amanda (mostly to Amanda), I think when we get together to celebrate Christmas we should make this. Just think of all the awesome things you could do with that. It could be bacon, cucumber, lettuce and mayo (for I fear the "T" in the BLT), there could be blue cheese in there, maybe even a little pineapple and mozzerla for a "pine and swine" experience. I'm just saying...