Carie exceeded her target, but don't let that discourage you if you still want to give. In fact, as Peter says, "Give until it feels good."
Everyone is awesome.
8 years ago
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Help Carie reach her goal?
Most of you know that my friend Carie has what we call "the cancer." She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. Now, she's on her second bout at the ripe ol' age of 32 (but her 33rd birthday is this month!), and it seems to be not so much going away. In fact, it appears to be rudely persistent despite chemo and radiation and all sort of other activities that are hellish to endure.
Carie is walking in a Charity Thingy. She's going to walk five miles while having cancer and a post-chemo body. She's not met her donation target, so if you want to contribute, click this link. And I saw that lots of you (who have met Carie maybe once?) already donated (as well as having donated last year), so big thanks for being teh awesome.
Carie is walking in a Charity Thingy. She's going to walk five miles while having cancer and a post-chemo body. She's not met her donation target, so if you want to contribute, click this link. And I saw that lots of you (who have met Carie maybe once?) already donated (as well as having donated last year), so big thanks for being teh awesome.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
!!!
No sign of the hermit crab, but I think I saw the fish this morning! He hides out in the rocks, so maybe he wasn't killed. He's probably pretty pissed off, though.
Cross your fingers. I know it's only a few animals-you-can't-even-pet, but it's so depressing when they die from something preventable.
Cross your fingers. I know it's only a few animals-you-can't-even-pet, but it's so depressing when they die from something preventable.
Normally, I wouldn't ask for a mulligan
After a long-ish week of insomnia, low productivity, a busted Blackberry, snotty blog comments about Atlas, dismaying work emails and a sick favorite bee dog, I got inspired tonight when I found out that one of my saltwater fish I thought long dead was alive! I scrubbed parts and tanks, swapped out the light fixture on the saltwater tank, tidied up the surplus pumps, etc, and then made fresh saltwater. My fingernails still smell like algae, even after my shower.
After I poured the last bucket of seawater into the tank, I went to double-check the salinity and got shocked. I don't know how long electricity was running through the water, but I probably killed everything, including the little damsel fish I was so surprised and happy to see alive. At least it may explain why all three of my goldfish all died suddenly while I was in India (the light fixture was from their tank).
My life is overall really good (and seems especially so after reading the depressing stories about Myanmar), but can somebody turn off the firehouse of small, dismaying events that has been hitting this week?
After I poured the last bucket of seawater into the tank, I went to double-check the salinity and got shocked. I don't know how long electricity was running through the water, but I probably killed everything, including the little damsel fish I was so surprised and happy to see alive. At least it may explain why all three of my goldfish all died suddenly while I was in India (the light fixture was from their tank).
My life is overall really good (and seems especially so after reading the depressing stories about Myanmar), but can somebody turn off the firehouse of small, dismaying events that has been hitting this week?
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
"Who's hungry?"
Yesterday, I had the chance to take a tour of a production facility for a potential client. Many seed-stage start-ups consist of a server rack and maybe a coffee maker, so it's fun to go to places that can make actual "things." Plus, how many of you went home and told your roommate/spouse/parent, "I toured a rendering facility"?
The facility was interesting. Mike and I got the full tour, and they thoughtfully provided us jackets to keep the smell off our clothes. I learned all about the meat and oil recycling process and how it goes from "wasted chicken at Costco" to biodiesel input and pet food. For those among you who don't know, I have a pretty keen sniffer (a by-product of an obsessively hygienic restaurateur mother). The tour was worth the stink, though because
1) Factories are cool!
2) Evaluating companies we may invest in means learning the technology.
3) It's funny to see your partner fighting nausea.
We stood next to barrels and barrels of fat trimmings, meat scraps, fish and chicken, all getting ready to be cooked up and broken down. The facility takes truckloads of meat-waste and renders it into usable product, and they only create about one trashcan of waste per week. We got to see the massive tanks of oils and the entire line that cooks and distills meat with a full narrative of how it breaks down. Red meat turn stringy and then brakes down into a high-protein, but the chicken fibers and hollow bones get ground into a sand-like substance that's less useful. Both end up smelling really, really weird, especially with the dampness and warmth of the air (they also take out, clean, and cool the water leftover in the scraps). Apparently, you have to keep the meat-meal dry, or all manner of cooties end up growing in it (E. coli, salmonella, weird mold). We saw the meat meal in a little room in great big piles, ready to shovel into containers headed for pet food facilities in the Philippines.
Publish Post
I like the philosophical cleanliness, but it's going to be rough if I work on site. Also, I'd struggle not to constantly announce "Soylent Green..is...PEOPLE"
The facility was interesting. Mike and I got the full tour, and they thoughtfully provided us jackets to keep the smell off our clothes. I learned all about the meat and oil recycling process and how it goes from "wasted chicken at Costco" to biodiesel input and pet food. For those among you who don't know, I have a pretty keen sniffer (a by-product of an obsessively hygienic restaurateur mother). The tour was worth the stink, though because
1) Factories are cool!
2) Evaluating companies we may invest in means learning the technology.
3) It's funny to see your partner fighting nausea.
We stood next to barrels and barrels of fat trimmings, meat scraps, fish and chicken, all getting ready to be cooked up and broken down. The facility takes truckloads of meat-waste and renders it into usable product, and they only create about one trashcan of waste per week. We got to see the massive tanks of oils and the entire line that cooks and distills meat with a full narrative of how it breaks down. Red meat turn stringy and then brakes down into a high-protein, but the chicken fibers and hollow bones get ground into a sand-like substance that's less useful. Both end up smelling really, really weird, especially with the dampness and warmth of the air (they also take out, clean, and cool the water leftover in the scraps). Apparently, you have to keep the meat-meal dry, or all manner of cooties end up growing in it (E. coli, salmonella, weird mold). We saw the meat meal in a little room in great big piles, ready to shovel into containers headed for pet food facilities in the Philippines.
Publish Post
I like the philosophical cleanliness, but it's going to be rough if I work on site. Also, I'd struggle not to constantly announce "Soylent Green..is...PEOPLE"
Monday, May 5, 2008
Clippy 2.0?
Maybe I'm feeling a little cynical today, but isn't this Microsoft presentation landing page just Clippy in human form? Make sure you see "Finance Manager Martin." He's the Clippiest.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Ain't No Party Like a Princess Party
Last night I attended a royalty-themed birthday party. The gala featured a truly fantastic female Prince impersonator, go-go dancers, a tribute to a cupcake with a Journey soundtrack, dancing adult Boy Scouts, live Jew's harp playing, Snow White dancing to REO Speedwagon, public spankings, and interpretive hula-hooping. I dressed as Princess Mia of Genobia from The Princess Diaries. The birthday girls had FANTASTIC dresses (sadly, I only stayed late enough to see three costume changes--I think more were coming).
The next round of fiestas will be for Cinco de Mayo is coming up. I may attend a party (though one had been canceled), but mainly I'm excited to see TOPH's tiny dog con sombrero! The only thing better than a theme party is dressing up a pet for a theme party. I wonder how long I could keep my cats in ponchos?
The next round of fiestas will be for Cinco de Mayo is coming up. I may attend a party (though one had been canceled), but mainly I'm excited to see TOPH's tiny dog con sombrero! The only thing better than a theme party is dressing up a pet for a theme party. I wonder how long I could keep my cats in ponchos?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
