tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7435378050340048842024-03-07T21:28:48.174-08:00Melina's WorldMelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-54430125885560931052012-11-07T06:05:00.000-08:002013-03-03T11:59:43.706-08:00Election ReformYes, this is a big topic, but I would like to deal with a small part of it.<br/><br/>In watching the TedEd video on <a title="Does Your Vote Count" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9H3gvnN468" target="_blank">Does Your Vote Count</a> I was reminded that a lot of states (and provinces etc) are often known to always vote for the same party. While reading my twitter feed, I was reminded that this past week the Google searches for <a title="Gizmodo - Who is running" href="http://gizmodo.com/5958141/america-people-are-googling-who-is-running-for-president-right-up-to-the-end" target="_blank">"Who is running for President"</a> spiked. Those two together speak to a population (global, I'm sure) that votes for the party, not the person.<br/><br/>Reading my Facebook feed, I came across a friend who at least gave a reason why she would not vote for one of the candidates. Not a reason I would consider a reason to vote for the other guy, but a reason she is passionate about and therefore, a valid reason.<br/><br/>Therefore, my proposal for election reform is to have a separate piece of paper that you have to fill out that says WHY you voted for the person you did. Not for the party. Not why you didn't vote for the other guy. But why you chose the person you voted for. I have determined that this can not determine if the vote will be counted (Florida has proved that in the past), and judging for validity would cause issues beyond belief. However, a suggested, second paper that is not counted as a vote that says: I voted for _______ because _____. This provides good feedback on why people are voting the way they are. In the future this would help all candidates campaign to what people are thinking (ok, I'm not sure if this is a good thing) and be a good classification system for what people actually care about. I propose these forms are classified by independent people who can tag them with key words like policies, economy, human rights, jerk, religion, good hair or whatever other underlying reason is given.<br/><br/>The outcomes should force people into thinking about the reason for their vote, as hopefully the answer "well (s)he belongs to (my party)" will make people realize that that is not the best reason to vote for someone as the parties have (apparently) evolved over time. As well, it would be quite interesting to see why people vote the way they do. I wonder how many people would say things that contradict what the candidate said or what they say their policies will be.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-84195892644364864582012-11-03T15:51:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.701-08:00Customer ServiceWe ordered dinner from Boston Pizza today, delivery. The whole order arrived relatively quickly, but no one checked to make sure that what we received is what we ordered. By the time I finally got to my meal (feeding baby comes first), I realize that they have brought me the wrong sandwich. I also can't eat what they brought me because it is too spicy for my limited diet. We eventually call and complain and the manager says that he was waiting for our call. Now, it has been a year since I've worked in customer service, but isn't the first rule of making a mistake fixing it as soon as you realize that it has been made? The manager noticed that he had given us the wrong meal, but he did nothing to fix it until we complained. Clearly he had access to our address, so why not send a second delivery guy right away? Why wait for us to complain? Once we called, he offered to send out the sandwich, but that was an hour later. I had no desire to eat that late, the family meal was long over. Instead, he will mail us a gift card that is $2 more than the price of the meal we didn't receive. Right, so now we have to give them more business? I would rather not.<br/><br/>When did customer service become something you do after a complaint is made? Proactively fixing our (small) issue would have made a world of difference. Due to circumstances, if they had sent my food as soon as they noticed their error, the replacement food probably would have arrived before I had even sat down to eat. This would have given me an awesome story to tell. Instead, I got to eat a $13 side salad, the ingredients of which I already have in my fridge. Thank you Boston Pizza for making an already difficult day more difficult. Obviously they can't have known this, nor was this done on purpose, but not proactively fixing the problem was on purpose and therefore, I will do my best to not go to the restaurant chain again.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-77104067836188660892012-06-14T12:51:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.696-08:00KittyAbout two and a half years ago, I got a cat. Her name is Tenny, she was from a rescue organization. She loves exploring and finding that small spot to hide. Normal cat stuff. Because she lived the first 8 months of her life in a shelter, I think she learned that making noise doesn't do anything. No human is going to come running if you complain, so when she first came to my house, she was silent. She purred, eventually, once she trusted us, but nothing else.<br/><br/>It took her a few weeks to warm up to us, and realize that we were going to keep her. Eventually she came out of the crawl space, and she started wanting attention. Still silently, and because of a birth defect, she couldn't jump on the couch, so we had to try to catch her to give her the attention she wanted.<br/><br/>Then, one day the husband left a dresser drawer open, no big deal, right? Well, Tenny decided to climb into that soft bed of clothes. Due to a shift in weight, the drawer then closed. She must have been stuck in there for hours, and we had no idea. Eventually, we realized that we hadn't seen her in a while (luckily it was a weekend, so we were home) and started searching the house. We found her and figured out that we couldn't leave things open.<br/><br/>When we went on holidays the next summer, we left her with my Aunt who has a very vocal cat. And, low and behold, when we came back, our dear silent Tenny was replaced with one that yowls exactly like my Aunt's cat. How I miss my silent Tenny.<br/><br/>The good news is that after a couple of years, she has gotten much stronger and can now jump onto our laps while we are sitting, but can not quite make the distance to the table or counter height. This is perfect as I would hate to have to try to train her to not go on the table or counter. We just have to have the chairs pushed in all the time, or she does go on the table and eats my plants. Tenny also runs around the house as quickly as she can. Now, I live in a three level split, with about 440 sq feet on each level, so her space is quite limited, and the stairs are relatively short. I can not wait to get a bigger house to give her more room to run around it. I just hope that it does not give her the extra strength needed to jump to counter level.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-23200205550567954842012-06-12T07:40:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.692-08:00Changes to ComeFor a while now, I have been meaning to cut back on the crappy diet and really work towards a healthier lifestyle. Having heard horror stories similar to <a title="Just Don't Dew It" href="http://www.epbot.com/2012/06/just-dont-dew-it.html" target="_blank">this one</a> I have cut out some pop, and all diet pop. However, I really have to cut out all caffeine, all refined foods, and most importantly increase healthy veggies. I realize that this should have started a year ago, before I tried to get pregnant, but better late than never I guess.<br/><br/>I am looking for simple, healthy and great tasting meals for my family. Simple because, so far, I have not been a fan of cooking. That is one thing that I will most definitely have to convince myself that I love and is worth doing. Ok, I know that it is worth doing, I just have to actually do it.<br/><br/>One small thing I started this week, and hope to be able to continue, is to have a frozen lemon in my freezer. That way, I can add a small bump of fresh Vitamin C to any meal with just a few passes over the grater, and basically no cleanup. I tried it on my homemade banana bread and it is wonderful. Now to test it on the pizza in the fridge and other foods as they pass through the house.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-71358574974430581402012-06-03T09:27:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.685-08:00We Stopped Dreaming - Neil deGrasse Tyson<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIZU8cQWXc">We Stopped Dreaming - Neil deGrasse Tyson</a><br/><br/>Transcript of We Stopped Dreaming by Neil deGrasse Tyson<br/><br/><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves /> <w:TrackFormatting /> <w:PunctuationKerning /> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas /> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF /> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-CA</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> 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Roman";<br/>mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;<br/>mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;<br/>mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;<br/>mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";<br/>mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}<br/>--> <!--[endif] --><br/><br/>Here’s what happened, in the 1960’s, we were at war with the Soviet Union, Cold war, and a little bit of hot war over in Vie- South East Asia. So, we fear them because they put up Sputnik. Which, by the way people forget, was an emptied out casing of an intercontinental ballistic missile. And, Sputnik itself means ‘fellow travellers’ it was all peaceful, but it was a ballistic missile head, without explosives. So that was a signal and we freaked in America. So NASA got founded on the fear factor of Sputnik. Alright, so, we then go to the moon on the fear factor that Russia will control high ground. Then, we go to the moon, space enthusiasts say “oh, we’re on the moon by ’69, we’ll be on mars in another ten years”. They completely did not understand why we got to the moon in the first place. We were at war, once we saw that Russia was not ready to land on the moon, we stopped going to the moon. That should not surprise anybody looking back on it.<br/>Meanwhile, however, that entire era galvanized the nation. Forget the war as a driver; it galvanized us all to dream about tomorrow, to think about the homes of tomorrow, the cities of tomorrow, the food of tomorrow. Everything was future world, future land. The world’s fair, all of this was focused on enabling people to make tomorrow come. That was a cultural mindset the space program brought upon us. And, we reaped the benefits of economic growth because you had people wanting to become scientists and engineers who are the people who enable tomorrow to exist today. And, even if you are not a scientist or technologist, you will value that activity and that, in the 21st century are the foundations of tomorrow’s economies and without it we might as well just slide back to the caves, because where we are headed right now, broke.<br/>I’m tired of saying this, but I have to say it again. The NASA budget is 4/10th of one penny on a tax dollar. If I held up a tax dollar, and I cut, horizontally into it 4/10th of one percent of its width, it does not even get you into the ink. So, I will not accept a statement that says we can’t afford it.<br/>Do you realize that the 850 billion dollar bank bailout, that sum of money is greater than the entire 50 year running budget of NASA, and so when someone says we don’t have enough money for this space probe. I’m asking, no, it’s not that you don’t have enough money, it’s that the distribution of money that you’re spending is warped in some way that you are removing the one thing that gives people something to dream about tomorrow. The home of tomorrow, the city of tomorrow, transportation of tomorrow. All that ended in the 1970’s, after we stopped going to the moon, it all ended, we stopped dreaming. And so, I worry that decisions that Congress makes doesn’t factor in the consequences of those decisions on tomorrow. They are playing for the quarterly report, they are playing for the next election cycle and that it mortgaging the actual future of this nation. Tomorrow’s gone.<br/>If you double NASA’s budget, right now it’s half a penny on the dollar, make it a penny, go ahead, make it a penny, go ahead, be bold. That would be enough to go to mars soon, with people, and go back to the moon, and onto asteroids. NASA, as best as I can judge, is a force of nature like none other and so what worries me is that if you take away the manned program. A program, which if you advance frontiers you make – heroes are made. There is a force operating on the educational pipeline that will stimulate the formation of scientists, engineers, mathematicians and technologists. You birth these people into society. They are the ones that make tomorrow come.<br/>A half a penny. That buys the space station, the space shuttles, all the NASA centers, the rovers, the Hubble telescope, all the astronauts, all of that. Nobody’s dreaming about tomorrow anymore. The most powerful agency on the dreams of a nation is currently underfunded to do what it needs to be doing, and that’s making dreams come true.<br/>How much would you pay for the universe?Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-58195644574551569832012-01-26T05:44:00.000-08:002013-03-03T11:59:43.681-08:00New HampshireI just read an article <a href="http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2012/01/new-hampshire-legislature-considers-license-to-discriminate-bill/" target="_blank">here</a> about how in New Hampshire they want to make it legal to refuse to "provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges to an individual <strong>if the request is related to the solemnization, celebration, or promotion of a marriage</strong> and providing such services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges would be a violation of the person’s conscience or religious faith." This opens up many other issues. Since it's not just about same sex marriages, it's about all of them. Can I move there and open up a wedding facility that only caters to same sex, interracial and other contested marriages? I refuse to marry a white man to a white woman as it is my belief that they get enough privileges and don't need any more. According to the law, no actions could be taken against me, as it is my conscience that is guiding my decision.<br/><br/>What ever happened to the US being the home of the free? Is there a little number next to that line that goes to a footnote that says As long as you are a straight, white person who enjoys the same past times as I do? You can have freedom, as long as it does not disrupt my outdated image of a perfect society? A society that is long gone, and has evolved into something containing many different colours and ideas.<br/><br/>Two other states are tabling laws that give school children a free pass on bullying, if they are making hateful statements about gays or being gay. What message does that send? I realize that in many ways to be successful in the US you have to at least appear to be a Christian, and that homosexuality is bad according to Christians. But, I know that the bible says a whole lot of other things that we ignore now. So, why do we keep this idea around? If it is illegal to discriminate based on other things, why is it still ok to discriminate against homosexuality (it being a choice or not is irrelevant )? You're not allowed to discriminate against me because I'm a woman, or because I choose to have a family (not-choice and choice respectively).<br/><br/>Land of the Free, so give your people their freedom. All of your people. You don't get to decide who is a worthy citizen and who is not, that ended with the civil rights movement, and women getting the vote. We are all equal under the law, so how can you make it legal to discriminate against homosexuality?Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-21908261261496775392011-12-02T13:33:00.000-08:002013-03-03T11:59:43.671-08:00FriendsI'm going through a big life event soon, and due to various circumstances, I'm only inviting blood relatives. A friend of mine for the past seven years had always assumed she would be involved with the event. Now, she's mad at me. It's my fault, I'm too happy, too excited. I want to tell people all about it. I guess saying "guess what, that awesome thing is happening, but you can't come" is bitchy. I have to stop telling people. I have to stop talking about it to people who are close to me but I'm excluding. That's what I'm doing, I'm excluding people who I have confided in for years. I guess this habit of telling myself that I have no friends is really just me pushing my friends away, and an old habit from back in the day when I really did have no friends.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-79107432294154892542011-10-06T11:08:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.667-08:00ConvincingI hear this all the time, people wanting to suppress ideas because the are 'dangerous'. I do not get it. Do they think that people buy into every new idea that crosses their path? Because if that were true, I would be in so much debt. I could not do anything without having to buy a new car, or drink beer, and I certainly could not work because I would have to go to Mexico and the Bahama's. Don't people realize that trying to suppress an idea can make it more dangerous? In that, young people will want to find out about it, and will think that it is an important idea because it is being suppressed?<br/><br/>Teenagers drink and smoke because they are not allowed to, because it is an 'adult' thing to do. (I am not suggesting to make it easier for teens to do those things, it is merely the easiest example.)<br/><br/>So, why ban books that are clearly fantasy because they promote witchcraft? People are smarter than that, kids are smarter than that. Give people the benefit of the doubt.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-61380081769867946492011-08-15T13:29:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.663-08:00Tired, all the timeThere was a time when I took some sort of sleeping pill almost every night. This was melatonin, anti-histamines or alcohol. At the same time, without realizing the irony of it all, I was tired all. the. time. Like, yawning all day, could not do anything I wanted to do. Always tired. I went to the doctor, he ordered tests, they were all normal. How could this be? I'm always tired, this is not normal. A friend told me that she got her antibodies tested and she has some auto immune disorder that sounded a lot like what I had, mostly irritable and tired all the time. I thought about going to get tested for that. I didn't, mostly because I was so tired all the time, I didn't want to deal with going to the doctor again.<br/><br/>For some reason, I'm not sure why, I stopped with the sleep aides. I went to sleep better. I slept better. I had energy. Of course, about that same time I also started taking Korean Red Ginseng, which is advertised to give you energy, keep you awake. It worked, magically. But, thinking back, it could have been that I stopped with the sleep aides once I found a way to stay awake. At about the same time I also started taking a multivitamin. This probably didn't hurt either. Last night, I did take a melatonin, I knew hubby would be coming home from work late, and I wanted to sleep through it. It worked, except all day, I was soo tired. I can't believe that it took this long to figure out that my being tired was only because I always had, what I call, a drug hangover. I knew that it was the drugs enough to give it a name, but not to make the connection that it lasted all day, or for days, or that the alcohol had more of an effect than I had though.<br/><br/>Of course, now I just started having a cup of coffee first thing in the morning while I check email. I'm not sure if this is any better, but at least I'm having my multivitamin and not my malatonin.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-43250509025790813742011-07-09T03:53:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.654-08:00Why Apples SellI'm in the market for a new laptop. A small, cheap, powerful one. I've enlisted the help of my computer expert brother, and we've spent the last hour sifting through the various websites looking for the best deal. Prices vary widely and seemingly randomly, and the important details are hard to figure out. Things like battery life, screen resolution and weight matter when I'll be stuck at school for 8 hours on Saturday afternoon this fall, but you can't sort by that.<br/><br/>This is why Apples sell so well. They have (I think) three options, all logically priced based on obvious differences to the consumer. If I were a less patient and stubborn person, I probably would have bought one by now. Instead, I'll head over to asus.com and see what I can find.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-71610651713802010092011-04-25T12:36:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.644-08:00Cancer UpdateBack in October 2008 I posted about a friend who had recently found out he had brain cancer, at 24. I talked with him a bit then, we talked about getting together in Edmonton over Christmas because he would have been there for treatment and I was there to visit family. That never happened, I don't think we even talked again after that. So, today I was going through my friends list on Facebook, deleting the people I don't talk to anymore, and I decided to check up on him. It turns out that he passed away on March 7, 2010. He was supposed to have five years, he only got one and a half.<br/><br/>I'm so sorry that I never got the chance to see him again, to say goodbye.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-66783072519718650392011-02-22T01:37:00.000-08:002013-03-03T11:59:43.640-08:00Why the Justice system doesn't work (a thought)When disciplining children and pets, it's well known that you have to catch them in the act and discipline right away, so they know exactly what they are being punished for. Why don't we do this for criminals? Maybe the system doesn't work because you speed, you get a letter in the mail two weeks later.<br/><br/>You rob a bank, you're put in holding for up to three years while you wait for trial.<br/><br/>If you get bail for your crime, you go on with life. For a few years anyway, until the trial.<br/><br/>Depending on your crime, you've either moved past that phase of your life so punishment is irrelevant, or you've kept going in your life of crime while waiting for your first punishment. This doesn't teach the criminal, or the kids. Justice should be swift, then maybe you'll learn why you are being punished. I realize that there needs to be time for an investigation, but due process is what makes the justice system fail to work.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-6973090763857170482011-01-12T04:05:00.000-08:002013-03-03T11:59:43.635-08:00What to doWhat do you do when you have responsibility for a project that you have little control over, little direction for, and are completely unqualified for? How are you supposed to pull it off when ideas are shot down, and your systems are destroyed without a second thought? You have a budget, but horrific resources. Everyone else knows better, and yet it's up to you to solve the problems. Any decisions made are criticized all around, but no viable suggestions are offered.<br/><br/>What if you have voiced your objections about the project, your concerns, your reasons for feeling completely unqualified, your explanations for your actions? And all you get is to keep working at it. How are you supposed to continue when you'd really really rather turn around and walk away from it all.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-771893456407197332010-11-09T04:41:00.000-08:002013-03-03T11:59:43.631-08:00Travel issuesOne of my friends from work is traveling to Florida this weekend, so we were talking about flight plans and the issue of those body scanners came up. From what H heard from her friend, they don't really give you a choice on the matter. You get in a line, and if you're in the body scanner line, you have to go through. Even a pregnant lady went through because she was scared of not getting on the plane. And then, I realized something. I am much more uncomfortable with flying, especially into the US, because of the 'safety measures' than I am with the idea that someone will smuggle a bomb on board. Now, I'm not sure if that's because I'm Canadian, and I've never been robbed in any way (*knock on wood*) or even beat up (brother excluded). And, I fully support randomly testing the outside of my laptop for explosives residue, and I'm ok with putting my shoes through the x-ray machine. But keep your eyes outside my clothes.<br/><br/>I realize that as a small white girl, I'm low on the list of stereotypical bombers, so (fair or not) I'm probably low on the random cavity search list, but the idea of walking into a scanner and having a full body x-ray creeps me out. I know the person watching the x-rays does not get to see the people, and the security guards who see us, don't get to see the x-rays. Well, probably not. Maybe. Unless, <a title="Feds admit storing checkpoint body scan images" href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20012583-281.html" target="_blank">they keep the x-ray pictures</a>, for 'training purposes'. There's so much room for abuse, and it really creeps me out.<br/><br/>I can't find the link right now, but I'm sure I saw an article that said that behaviour screening is one of the more effective methods of screening. So, train up some airport security guards, make it a cool profession (come on, who doesn't want to be able to read people like the guy in Lie To Me), and make it public that you can not hide your intentions. How many people would try to get a bomb on board if some random guard at the airport would be able to see that you were anxious to get on the plane, not because you don't want to see your mother on the other end, not because you're scared of flying as such, but because you don't want to get caught. You're then pulled aside, for a conversation. Nothing intimidating, not an interrogation room, but a waiting room. This more trained guy or girl, then walks in and chats about where you're going, and the president, and how awesome this country is. And, if he sees that you are just nervous about flying, you're on your way. And, if he sees that you hate this country, well, then you get a trip through the full body scanner, and whatever other technology they can create. But, us normal travelers, us 99.9% of people who just want to go on vacation or to the conference in Vegas, why must we prove our innocence in such an invasive way? Apparently, because a handful of people every year decide they want to kill someone?<br/><br/>Thanks, I'll take my car.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-59459296942491262472010-11-02T01:08:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.627-08:00Healthy Child, Healthy World<a href="<span class="mceItemObject" width=\"560\" height=\"340\"><span name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/5vAVkv1LBx8&hl=en_US&fs=1&\" class="mceItemParam"></span></param><span name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" class="mceItemParam"></span></param><span name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" class="mceItemParam"></span></param><span class="mceItemEmbed" src="\" mce_src="\""http://www.youtube.com/v/5vAVkv1LBx8&hl=en_US&fs=1&\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\"></span></span>"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vAVkv1LBx8&feature=player_embedded">Healthy Child, Healthy World</a><br/></a><br/><br/>Not that I'm planning on having children just yet, soon, but not next week, but the idea holds true for everyone. I want to live a long healthy life, and that includes trying to minimize the crap that goes into my body. As a society, we have become very complacent and trusting of major corporations (which I don't understand, but I'll save details for another day). Granted, there is a whole lot of science that we can't really understand without a PhD is chemical engineering, so it's hard to judge what is ok and what is not. My general rule is that if I can't pronounce it and/or understand what it is made of or how it is made, it's probably not good for me, and should not be in my food or clothing.<br/>But, we run out of time, we have work, hobbies, social media, pets, and the green lawn with the white picket fence to take care of. We forget to take care of ourselves and have real relationships with those around us. I've lived in my house for almost a year and a half, I have said hi to my neighbours, but I don't know their names, what they do for fun or anything like that.<br/>It's time to get back to basics, trust your neighbours, grow some of your own food, and stop buying pre-made everything (ok, so I'm not perfect, last night I bought ready to bake pumpkin pie filling).<br/>I pledge to reclaim my house from chemicals before I start my family.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-34044143077795939582010-08-21T06:28:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.623-08:00Flying Cross CountryOk, I learned my lesson. Flying from Calgary to Toronto overnight is not a good idea. Sleep is hard to come by in the small uncomfortable seats, and leaving at midnight and arriving four hours later at 6am local is hard when you want to be functional the next day. I had a three hour nap that pretty much negated the point of flying overnight.<br/><br/>Now I just have to deal with this mistake one more time... when I fly home I leave around 10pm and arrive just after 1am, and have to work the next day. Ugh.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-1101448100354554102010-08-19T13:37:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.618-08:00Fake Injury<div id="testArtCol_a" class="art-layout-a"><br/><br/>Spanish police said Friday they had arrested a 66-year-old Chilean at Barcelona airport after discovering his broken leg was supported by a “cast” made out of cocaine.<br/><br/>The man, who had hobbled off a flight from Santiago, was carrying more of the drug in fake beer cans and two hollowed-out stools.</div><br/><div id="testArtCol_b" class="art-layout-b"><br/><br/>“The man had a fractured leg and the ‘plaster cast’ that was immobilizing it was entirely made from cocaine,” a statement said. He “displayed an open fracture of the tibia and the fibula, and has been transferred to a clinic for an operation.”<br/><br/>Spanish police are particularly wary about so-called “hot flights” from South America and had their suspicions about this man, which proved to be well-founded.</div>Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-30771656408835205692010-08-19T13:17:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.604-08:00Road Rash Queen<a class="body user_content" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.theroadrashqueen.com/" target="_new">The Road Rash Queen</a> - Link has graphic images from the days after this story happened.<br/><br/>By April Phillips<br/><br/>Brittany Morrow was 22 years old when she hopped on the back of her friend Shaun’s Suzuki GSX-R750 back in September 2005. She was planning to join the Marine Corps and had her heart set on becoming a combat correspondent. She also loved riding and considered herself an experienced passenger. She was excited to be on a sport bike—even if it was as a passenger.<br/><br/>To prepare herself, she put on a pair of sunglasses and shed her cowboy hat for an oversized helmet. She donned a pair of Capri pants and a sweatshirt over her bikini.<br/><br/>“I thought nothing of the fact that I had practically no protection against the asphalt if anything were to happen. I figured that we couldn’t get into a wreck. It simply wouldn’t happen to me,” Morrow said.<br/><br/>Forty-five minutes into the ride, Morrow wished she’d been a little more thorough when choosing her personal protective equipment.<br/><br/>“I started to slide back on the seat and felt the cool air fill the small space between my chest and Shaun’s back. I felt a rush of wind hit my face like a brick and our bodies separated,” she said.<br/><br/>The force of the wind ripped her off the seat in an instant. Soon, she was grinding across the surface of the highway, and Morrow said she felt every single inch of the 522-foot tumble.<br/><br/>“I didn’t lose consciousness, but I remember wishing that I had,” she said. “I knew this was far worse than anything I had ever gone through, and I was convinced I would not live to see the next day,” she said.<br/><br/>Morrow spent the next two months in a hospital. She had third-degree road rash-burns covering 55 percent of her body. She lost half of her left breast. She severed the tendons in her left pinky finger and dislocated her right big toe. The accident also caused indirect health problems. She lost a lot of blood and ended up contracting pneumonia. She suffered a blood infection, a blood clot on one of her legs, and an adverse reaction to one of her three blood transfusions.<br/><br/>“My road rash was so severe that my skin was not going to grow back on its own. I had lost too much surface area for the doctors to simply suture me together and send me home. My thighs were the only two places that had not received any abrasions,” Morrow described.<br/><br/>In order for her open wounds to heal, the doctors had to cut off a thick layer of healthy skin from her thighs, place it over her burns and surgically staple the new skin in place. There wasn’t enough skin on her thighs to graft all the wounds at once, so the doctors had to choose which areas to repair first and which had to wait. As a reaction to medication, her long, blond hair fell out.<br/><br/>It’s been nearly two and a half years since Morrow fell off that motorcycle. She knew the physical healing process would be a long, tough journey, but she also realized that she had some emotional scars.<br/><br/>“My heart felt heavy, knowing something I loved so much had almost cost me my life,” she said.<br/><br/>That’s when Morrow decided that she had to get her own motorcycle and ride again. She’s now a trained and licensed rider. She owns two motorcycles—a Yamaha R6 and a Honda CBR600F4i. She takes part in track days and is learning to stunt ride. What’s even sexier is that Morrow works on her own bikes. This time, she’s doing it right.<br/><br/>“Riding prepared for the worst possibilities will always help protect you from injury in even the smallest wreck. I believe that wearing gear is an attitude that can save your life. Accepting the risk before you even swing your leg over your bike and protecting yourself in case it happens will make you ride smarter and safer and might even prevent an accident altogether,” she said.<br/><br/>Morrow is a protective apparel spokesperson and has also purchased the rights to TheRoadRashQueen.com, an online forum where she can share her experience and urge others to always wear the proper gear. She travels the country telling others how to protect themselves. She enjoys taking her message to the military, because she feels grateful to give something back to those who protect America.<br/><br/>“Protect others by protecting yourself,” she said. “Ride with the attitude that you are needed so desperately by those around you, including your country. You can’t afford to risk riding without your gear.”Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-19949213762593264332010-08-15T16:05:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.600-08:00You know when...You know when there's something that you would love to be able to do, but there's no point, because it's just not worth it? That's me. I'm currently on vacation with my family, and I've had a long day, and I would love to go to sleep, but, due to sleeping arrangements, if I go to sleep now, I'll just be woken up when my roommates come to bed. They're loud, and have pets, who are loud. There's just no point in going to sleep, but I have absolutely no desire to stay awake and do anything else either. Ugh.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-5857116285761438982010-07-15T09:18:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.596-08:00Does God Have Free Will?God is omnipotent. Being omnipotent means you can do anything you want. If God doesn’t have free will, he wouldn’t be very omnipotent. And being omnipotent means he can peer into his own future, to view it in perfect detail. But, if he sees his own future, then his choices are predetermined, and he's not omnipotent. Or, if he can’t see the future, then he’s not omnipotent. Omnipotence is trickier than it seems.<br/><br/>*No, this argument is not me declaring my belief in god, it's me liking the argument that Scott Adams brings up in his book <a class="body user_content" rel="nofollow" href="http://nowscape.com/godsdebris.pdf" target="_new">God's Debris</a>.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-29060459892974577052010-04-15T02:15:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.592-08:00Your Video Game Owns Your SOUL"UK games retailer GameStation revealed that it legally owns the souls of thousands of customers, thanks to a clause it secretly added to the online terms and conditions for its website. The 'Immortal Soul Clause' was added as part of an attempt to highlight how few customers read the terms and conditions of an online sale. GameStation claims that 88 percent of customers did not read the clause, which gives legal ownership of the customer's soul over to the UK-based games retailer. The remaining 12 percent of customers however did notice the clause and clicked the relevant opt-out box, netting themselves a £5 GBP gift voucher in the process."Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-69304732603438425852009-11-23T05:36:00.000-08:002013-03-03T11:59:43.587-08:00Smart WomenWOMEN WHO KNOW THEIR PLACE<br/><br/>Barbara Walters, of 20/20, did a story on gender roles in Kabul, Afghanistan, several years before the Afghan conflict.<br/><br/>She noted that women customarily walked five paces behind their husbands.<br/><br/>She recently returned to Kabuland observed that women still walk behind their husbands. Despite the overthrow of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women now seem happy to maintain the old custom.<br/><br/>Ms Walters approached one of the Afghani women and asked, 'Why do you now seem happy with an old custom that you once tried so desperately to change?'<br/><br/>The woman looked Ms.Walters straight in the eyes, and without hesitation said, 'Land Mines.'Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-82398565425442347332009-09-13T05:45:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.583-08:00Truth<div id="4ko1ifgxte97" class="blog_post_body freeform_post_body"><br/><div class="blog_post" style="display: block;">The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers, wider freeways but narrower viewpoints. We spend more but have less; we buy more but enjoy is less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences but less time. We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge but less judgment; more experts but more problems; more medicine but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We have learned how to make a living but not a life; we've added years to life but not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back but have trouble crossing the street to me the new neighbour. We've conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things but not better things. We've cleaned up the air but polluted the soul. We've split the atom but not our prejudice. We write more but learn less. We plan more but accomplish less. We've learned to rush but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever but have less communication. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men and short character; steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace but domestic warfare; more leisure but less fun; more kinds of food but less nutrition. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, of fancier houses but broken homes. These are the days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom. (Moorehead, n.d.)</div><br/></div>Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-29705714472426906582009-08-25T10:39:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.579-08:0030 Day Shred - Day 1Jillian thoroughly kicked my ass. Taking a shower after was hard, as my biceps hurt. Not quite as bad as when I first went to the gym, but I work out more now than I did when I first started at the gym. Few of the excersizes hurt while I was doing them, however now that I'm done and showered I can feel the pain starting to creep into my muscles. There's also a very good chance that I have not been that sweaty in a long time. This could be because I did the workout right after work while the house was hot. I've got to get into the habit of getting up early and doing it first thing in the morning. Then it's cooler in the house, and I'll mostly have time for it.<br/><br/>In other news, I'm going to Fabricland right away to get a pattern for.. something. I found this great website: <a title="Mod Cloth Clothing" href="http://www.modcloth.com" target="_blank">Modcloth</a> which has all kinds of retro and indie dresses. I'd like to eventually start making those kinds of dresses. But, we'll see how this first stuff goes and reevaluate later. I'm sure my grandmother would be so proud of me if I did. She is a wonderful seamstress, and my mother as wel. Sometimes you just have to follow the family tradition, even if it is initially hoisted upon you by force.<br/><br/>Also, nasty breakups are not fun. A tip to the break-up-ee: Never ask for a commitment from the person who just broke up with you. Also, if they ask for something small, like time and distance, give it to them. It's the only way they won't hate.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743537805034004884.post-71774607907406193662009-07-31T03:37:00.000-07:002013-03-03T11:59:43.575-08:00The Way I See It #76The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up, and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.Melinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398966183678212210noreply@blogger.com0