Taming the Energy Hogs

I was forwarded this informative article from the New York Times and I think it's worthy of passing along. Seems like very good PR for the Kill-o-watt thingamajiggy! Figure out which of YOUR devices are using needless energy and pull the plug!

The latest news

Is that Greg took a 6 month contract in Los Angeles. Which is obviously tough but check out where he is living.

We're going out this weekend, and next, and probably a lot the whole time. So if you will be in SoCal this summer look us up! Redondo Beach.

"Redshirting" for K-G

I just devoured this article from today's New York Times on the starting age of kindergarteners. I think I mentioned previously it's something I have agonized over a bit. Either I start her in August as planned (and save myself $650 a month), or wait, and try to give her a developmental advantage over her classmates that she may not need. The part that I found particularly thought-provoking is this:

But perhaps those kids with the pencils in their ears — at least the less-affluent ones — don’t need “the gift of time” but rather to be brought into the schools. Forty-two years after Lyndon Johnson inaugurated Head Start, access to quality early education still highly correlates with class; and one serious side effect of pushing back the cutoffs is that while well-off kids with delayed enrollment will spend another year in preschool, probably doing what kindergartners did a generation ago, less-well-off children may, as the literacy specialist Katie Eller put it, spend “another year watching TV in the basement with Grandma.” What’s more, given the socioeconomics of redshirting — and the luxury involved in delaying for a year the free day care that is public school — the oldest child in any given class is more likely to be well off and the youngest child is more likely to be poor. “You almost have a double advantage coming to the well-off kids,” says Samuel J. Meisels, president of Erikson Institute, a graduate school in child development in Chicago. “From a public-policy point of view I find this very distressing.”

The article went on to point out that the youngest kids in the class, regardless of any arbitrary cutoff date, will always be the hardest to teach. We are vitims of the vagaries of the school calendar. So as states race to give their own kids an edge by pushing back the cutoffs to September 1st and earlier (as in Oregon where we almost had planned to start Kindergarten), it has a hugely disporportionate effect on the most disadvantaged of kids (what else is new, I guess).

Regardless, it did point out that the fact that we, as parents, are even strssing about this issue bodes pretty well for Amelie's future academic success. I hope that will be true. We'll see how it goes this year. If it's NOT going well, then, Greg can take a contract job in Europe or something and we'll just skip that year later on. :)

Marnie's first wedding picture

Crickets (the dog) was the ring bearer.

A month plus...ooops, where was I?

Busy month! Marnie is getting MARRIED next week, y'all!! We took a short trip to San Diego and Orange County, I had my 34th birthday party (Fiesta de Cinco - Ole!), I pulled weeds on Earth Day (buffel grass sucks! and I fell down Piestewa Peak!), went to the zoo (thanks, Dawn!). I have photos, and they are coming. Just thought it was time I checked in.

BYO Bag

This will help with one of those items on the list - always bring your own bag to every store. The kit is $19.95, good deal! I usually remember when I grocery shop but I will try to always keep one of my euro string bags in my purse (stretchy!) - or refuse a bag sometimes.

Another Great List of Things We Can Do

Featured on Here and Now today, Time's 51 things you can to to fight global warming.

I already wrote a note to my mayor asking him to make Phoenix an LED city (and a Cool City as well).

Let's all work on one a day! :)

Free Veggie Burger

Buy one get one Bocas at Johnny Rockets retro diners. Click for the coupon thru 3/31/07. Yum!

Amelie and her Sisters

Amelie does not have imaginary friends, she has imaginary siblings. Usually their names are "Fluffy" and "Molly" and the others vary but they are numerous. Talk about laying on the parent-of-an-only-child guilt! Anyway, through the magic of digital photography, here is a photo of Amelie, Molly, and Fluffy.

Amelie's Best Day EVER

This past Friday, I got a message from a lady named Jan at Kaleidoscope Horses. The horses are the public art project that has appeared on street corners (Chicago has cows, and here we do huge fiberglass horses). She was going down the list of Sierra Club members in our newsletter, they had some wildlife-themed horses, and would we have anyone who could maybe pull them in the Parada Del Sol, Scottsdale's long-running rodeo parade? So I said OK, if I would be able to bring Amelie. My vision: she wear a shirt promoting CF bulbs and smile and walk with me as I pulled huge horse through parade. Her vision: she wear a princess dress and ride the horse while waving as I pull horse AND her through parade. Guess from the pictures who won? But she was SO excited, and also, there was an extra horse that we got to graffiti, to which I added my CF bulb message, amongst others, so no biggie. And Greg managed to sneak in and walk with us most of the route. Then we went for pizza and a walk through the park. After that we went to the mall for flower girl dress shopping, so Amelie says it was definitely the best day EVER.

McCain is Running (duh)

He's been sewing up his sheep's clothing (or it's more like one of those masks that have two different faces that change depending on whether you're looking from the right or the left) for 10 years, but McCain is now officially (kinda) running again, as of his appearance on Letterman last night. At least the press love-fest is pretty much over. PEOPLE: he has been my senator for as long as I have been able to vote. Nothing special- another right winger that takes calculated moderate positions enough to look like a "maverick". Plus he's already 72, and for the troop surge. Eh, whatever.

Police Tickets Vent

I suppose I should be grateful. I never thought I would ever see the day that the Police would be here in concert. I was 11 when they split in 1984. HOWEVER...let me just say a word or two about "fan club" presales. They set up a web site (thepolicetour.com) and to get access to ticket presale codes (and various other "stuff" like access to videos and things) you had to pay an EXTRA $100. Plus ticket sales are through Ticketmaster, so you are already being completely raked over. I think that this only really encourages people to scalp. MAYBE if only the ticket purchaser could use these tickets, that would be one thing, but they are already all over the web at INSANE prices. It sets up a predatory situation and I am definitely feeling the (ahem) sting. I'll be scrambling with the riffraff on Monday morning trying to get what's left over. Oh well!

Life on a warmer planet

I was cynically thinking about what life could very possibly be like as global warming progresses, (no skiing, mass extinctions, etc). Now here's a good article in Salon on getting ready for life on a post-GCC planet. I was also thinking that it's so ironic that Florida will be the state responsible for putting the guy in office who is so much to blame for putting their state under water one day(plan that Disney World vacation now, folks). But I digress.

We also have the cheery news that those of us using the Colorado river for our sprawl party (AZ, NV, CA, I am looking at you) will have even less to fight over. Super.

I never posted Christmas photos

Just two, Amelie's super cool dollhouse (Santa painted it pink, yesterday she was saying she wants it RED - we'll see if she persists), and in front of the tree in the footie PJ's. Check out the cool LED red lights! Love those!

Attention, Bone Mama fans

Ah, KUKQ, late 80's. Your crappy AM signal. Your kick ass play list. Most of all, Mary McCann in the mornings. Polka, anyone? So, great news! Mary has a radio show on the ol' W-W-W. I know, probably not news to everyone, when the Zone turned to crap the first time she left for greener web pastures. But for one reason or another, I was a step or two behind her whereabouts. But now, I have found it, and I share with you this. I checked out the play list and it is chock full of goodies. I can't wait to listen (sadly straming audio is strictly verboten here at the ol' office - meanies!). Cause for celebration, I say. I missed you, Mary! God, Phoenix radio does suck.

New Year's Resolutions that Really Make a Difference

I was SO excited to hear about An Inconvenient Truth's 2 Oscar nominations yesterday. I think it HAS to be a shoo-in. As great as the other docs may be, what other documentary will people remember in 40 years as having made a real difference?

In honor of AIT, here is a list of New Year's Resolutions you can make that will really make a difference.

And how LAME is Bush's 20% in 10 years plan ("Bold", ABC? Really??) - and it wouldn't even bring down carbon that much! Ludicrous.

I think we'll be planning something for this, check it out: http://www.stepitup2007.org/

Wake Up, Detroit!

Hello!!!! Nobody wants your ugly, nasty, gas guzzlers anymore! Where has this guy been? This GM exec says higher fuel standards will really hurt US automakers. Yeah, right. Thanks, GM, for the H2 and H3, and for disassembling mass transit in the 40's, and dropping the EV-1 - they're keeping up the good work, all right!

Now, you may say, but, hey, they are working on that plug-in hybrid - OK, fine, but they are pushing bio-fuels (boo) and hybrids lite (mileage sucks) plus they have no batteries for the plug-in. Let's see some results.

Oh Crap Global Warming Moment of the Day

Crucial link in marine food chain withers, satellite data show

By Seth Borenstein
Associated PRess
Dec. 6, 2006 11:24 AM


WASHINGTON - The critical base of the ocean food web is shrinking as the world's seas warm, new NASA satellite data show. The discovery has scientists worried about how much food will grow in the future for the world's marine life.

The data show a significant link between warmer water - either from the El Nino weather phenomenon or global warming - and reduced production of phytoplankton of the world's oceans, according to a study in Thursday's journal Nature.

Phytoplankton are the microscopic plant life that zooplankton and other marine animals eat, essentially the grain crop of the world's oceans. Rest of article here.


Now go to carbonfund.org and offset a year's carbon for your family and friends for Christmas. There is no better gift this year than the future of life on Earth, dontcha think?

"HDTV" Friday and Plasma vs LCD

As sooo many people will spend Friday shopping, and as this is the year of the flat screen, so they say, it is actually important that everyone know that LCD TVs are MORE EFFICIENT than plasmas. See this article on Daily Kos. Cars are not the only gas guzzlers out there, and plasmas are the Humvee of the TV. Pass it on. And consider waiting, both types got 25% more efficient this year. Prices will most likely go down, and efficiency is on the way up. Slippers make a nice gift!

On another note, Friday is National Buy Nothing Day. Consider it. :)

Give a turkey something to be thankful for

Have a gentle Thanksgiving! We'll be trying the Veggie Turkey Breast. Faux meat is really not even necessary and Amelie completely shuns it, but it's nice for the old folks (us included) to have a center to the meal. Happy Thanksgiving!