It's Official
I am now middle aged. I found a grey hair. On my arm. Not on my head. I studied it for at least 10 minutes while I waited for the bus to ascertain whether or not it is bleached-blond from the sun, or an actual, honest-to-goodness, well earned by life experience, grey hair.

Then I found another on the other arm.

Thankfully, I recently shaved my legs so as to maintain my elitist standing among the recreational cyclists on the Sammamish River Trail (a.k.a., the Burke Gilman Trail). While I was at it, I shaved my chest and back (this required help). It's amazing how much stronger you look without all that body hair covering it up. So, the lack of body hair relieves me of finding any more greys (I plucked the two arm hairs).

Is this because I am back in the corporate world?

It is high time I started blogging again. I have at least one reader out there, and she is very tired of Chuck Norris facts!

Part 1: How to find yourself a service that doesn't violate your ethics.

Recently Bree and I wanted to join the world of in-the-mail movie rental. The obvious choise for us was Netflix, but my manager at work said they are right wing! He based this claim on a friend of his receiving right-wing videos just before the 2004 election, that upon contacting Netflix, was told "They are on the house." He cancelled his subscription. Now, from what I have found since then, this is an isolated incident. Why didn't we choose Blockbuster? The association with Viacom meant they were at least whacko pro-lifers at the executive level, but tonight my buddy tells me they split up long ago. So, here we are with a Netflix subscription, and I am confused about whether I can support giving them my money.

Why do I care? It is simple - if I can choose to give my money to a good enough service provider (e.g., movie rental) that supports causes I believe in, and none that I do not, then I will choose that one. But how to find out? Part Two of this blog entry will explore some basic ways to find out if you should stop going to that favorite restaurant chain (e.g. Chipotle before they split with McDonald's), or stop buying from Whole Foods (are they really the Wal-Mart of organic grocers?), etc.

I will try to post back sooner this time...thanks for your patience!

This may be the funniest thing I have ever read:
http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/

In other news: it is still too warm for winter.

Dubya and the Weather
I blame King George for this lame Minnesota winter. In the three winters we have experienced since our return from Redmond, we have gotten either no snow with cold snaps that lasted a short time, or a bit more snow and rain with temps so warm any snow goes away in a hurry. And now, with last year being one of the warmest on record, we are looking at a super lame winter. (note: I like a cold and snowy winter - it means you can actually do winter stuff, which I like) The forecast for this coming Wednesday is in the mid 40's!

How can I blame W? Let's compare data from Minneapolis from
January 8th for the past 11 years:

Year     Actual High          Departure
1996     21 F                     +0
1997     28 F                     +7
1998     36 F                     +15
1999     10 F                     -11
2000     37 F                     +16

2001     23 F                     +2
2002     45 F                     +24 (record)
2003     54 F                     +33 (record)
2004     20 F                     -1
2005     20 F                     -1
2006     34 F                     +13

Now, you might argue that during those five years of Clinton we had some above average temps, but you'd be forgetting about El Nino (1998 was one of the warmest on record). I think that the two record days speak for themselves. 2005 was one of the warmest years on record, despite Jan 8th being normal (Nature, Dec 21, 2005) and there's no El Nino effect. More climate digging reveals that we had a number of warmest ever winter days during King George's reign, whereas other warmest days are scattered throughout the record for the last 30 years. You could also argue that the climate moves slowly, but you'd be both right and wrong, as it can respond quickly. Face it - it's his fault.

We'll be moving to Seattle in a few months, and while this year looks to be better for snow in the Cascade mountains, last year's drought could spawn more. Dubya's administration discounts global warming and eschews pro-environmental policies based on establish science, claiming they hurt the economy. I only hope there's still time to correct the disastrous pro-industry, record-emission-pumping ways of this country's republican leadership. I want my winters back.