skiing and the environment

There is an article in today's free Metro newspaper about ski areas that are "using" wind power. Well, actually, what they are doing is buying the equivalent amout of energy they use from wind-generated resources. In the New England area, these ski areas are:

Sugarloaf, Mount Sunapee (I really like this mountain), Sunday River, Shawnee Peak, Okemo, Stratton. For those in Colorado, Aspen Skiing Co. and Vail Resorts. More and more are going to do this, check out the National Ski Areas Association Green Room for more info.

Support these mountains. Money talks.

If you want to participate buying wind power as an individual, go here:

Renewable Choice

I am convinced that geothermal, solar and wind power should be our sustainable future (I'm not looking for a debate). It's a long (and could be impossible) road, tho, so baby steps are necessary (hybrid cars, etc.). And while we have done a lot to clean up our environment and can see how nature can rebound (which is why it's important to get to a sustainable future, there is hope), we have a long way to go.

You're probably thinking, "Why does she ski at all then?" Because I've made a compromise and I'm not ashamed to admit to it. I feel joy when skiing. All of us reach a point where we compromise on the environmental issue unless we're willing to live in a house we built out of recycled materials, do our own farming, walk to the store, etc., we're compromising. It's just what level are we willing to do so? At the moment, I do not want to give up skiing. This isn't a judgment. It's just my observations on the whole issue.

Posted by jennj at 01:30 PM | Comments (0)

technology is hard ("math is hard" - simpsons)

Just a moment ago while checking voice mail I accidentally hit button that made the speed of the individual's message slow down and so they sounded stoned. HAHAHA. Fortunately it resets to normal when you hang up. I can only imagine my help desk call, "Yeah, the people who have left me voice mail sound really stoned. Can you fix that?"

Posted by jennj at 12:40 PM | Comments (1)

casino royale

Saw Casino Royale over the holiday. See extended entry - spoilers abound.

I liked it a lot and you should go see it. It's not perfect but Daniel Craig can play Bond anytime he likes. Especially when his body is in such great shape. My god the man is hot. I bet you could bounce quarters off his butt. As my friend Y says, "He completes me." hehehe.

Anyway, he has just the right amount of humor, rakishness, cruelty and suave that I expect from Bond. When I read the books over 20 years ago as a teen, my two favorites were Casino Royale and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I don't have a perfect memory so I'm not sure how much it matches the book (well, the book is set in the cold war, so I know that doesn't match). But in the movie, when Bond quits to go off with Vesper, it's reminiscent of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Bond gets married and then his wife is killed - I cried when I read it and then remember remarking to a friend that I couldn't believe I was crying because of a James Bond novel).

Anyway, we knew Vesper was doomed to be killed. I mean, seriously, Diamonds are Forever for Bond but not girls.

The chase scene on foot at the beginning was awesome. Nbh looked up the name of the moves used, but I've now forgotten it. I'll have to bug him again tonight.

I liked that they introduce Felix Leiter. The Astin Martin car crash was spectacular and painful to watch. The Bond torture scene was painful to watch, I can't imagine what it's like for a guy to watch. And did I mention that Craig is hawt? Man, I can't wait for the DVD. I wonder what the extras will contain.

Things I didn't like: When Vesper and Mathis turn to each other and remark about the tell. I kinda felt that they were talking down to the audience. Hellooooo, we heard Bond mention what the tell was. Yeesh. It just seemed oddly out of place and momentarily took me out of the movie. There needed to be a bit more background on Le Chiffre. And the recovery period/love stuff with Vesper dragged on a bit too long. Less lovey dovey, more sex and action, please.

I'm looking forward to the next one in 2008. Yum.

Posted by jennj at 11:35 AM | Comments (5)

i can't believe i ate the whole thing

We’re back. A long post ensues.

So we were playing dominoes with nbh’s mom and grandmother. I kept saying “goddammit” when things weren’t going my way. Nbh’s grandmother was like, “Every time she says that she’s losing her religion!” nbh’s mom, “Mom, they’re atheists.” Um. That may be true in nbh’s case. I’m agnostic. Anyway, at one point when grandma left the room, nbh chastised mom cause he’s tried not to mention anything he believes religion-wise to his grandmother. I guess it wouldn’t be a family holiday if there wasn’t something uncomfortable said or done, eh?

It was a good trip. I enjoy the time with nbh’s family even though there isn’t a lot in common except alcohol and playing cards. But I’m okay with that. We laugh a lot and get loud and that’s always good for the soul. We went to see his second cousins M & K dance at the children’s ballet version of The Nutcracker at the Akron civic theatre. We did this two years ago also. I don’t like ballet. But the kids are cute and family, so we went again. Anyway, they had bigger roles this time and it was great seeing how far they’ve advanced. M is very good. They had a special guest in this year’s performance. A little girl whose spine was severed by her foster father when he abused her (may he rot in jail forever) at the age of 2 played a role in the opening scene at the Christmas party. You can read her story here. It’s heartbreaking but it’s cool that they could find a way for her to participate in the ballet.

I ate way too much. Why oh why do people have to add cream of mushroom soup to green beans? Yuck. Just steam them with some salt, pepper and olive oil. Oh well. I think my favorite dish was the sweet potato bake that had a topping made of brown sugar, butter and pecans. Yum.

Anyway, flying AirTran into Akron was perfect. The airport is close to nbh’s family and isn’t crowded at all. We may try to go and visit his mom (who has finally decided to stay and live in Ohio – long story) more now that we have this option. It’s a very simple flight for a weekend trip.

Glad we’re home. Off to do some laundry……

Posted by jennj at 02:58 PM | Comments (4)

oh my

Sucks to be the Secretary of Education:

"What’s more embarrassing than being Secretary of Education and having your ass handed to you on Celebrity Jeopardy? Being Secretary of Education and having your ass handed to you on Celebrity Jeopardy by Lenny from “Laverne & Shirley.”

She was more than twenty thousand dollars behind at the start of Final Jeopardy."

Posted by jennj at 06:22 PM | Comments (3)

happy thanksgiving (early)

We're heading off to Ohio for the weekend very early tomorrow morning to spend the holiday with nbh's family. Hope you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Posted by jennj at 05:45 PM | Comments (0)

this is funny

It's only 1 minute 19 seconds. It's a clip from Craig Ferguson's late night show making fun of Donald Rumsfield.....

Posted by jennj at 07:43 PM | Comments (0)

tired

Our friend S invited us and others to stay at her brother's Nantucket house this last weekend. I'm very tired today. And way, way behind on homework. But it was worth it. We had a beautiful, sunny day on Saturday and took the opportunity to wander around the island. Much food and alcohol was had. A good time all around.

Posted by jennj at 01:23 PM | Comments (0)

grrrr

While I like the new web interface for .Mac, it's freakin' slow. I'd actually prefer the old interface right now.

Posted by jennj at 01:20 PM | Comments (0)

ACK!

Creepy old guy in flasher trench coat sitting next to me on train: stop staring! Someone better ask to sit between us or I am moving seats at the next stop!

Update: a woman is now sitting between is and he is staring at her now.

Posted by jennj at 05:01 PM | Comments (4)

movies movies movies

What movies are you wanting to see?

I'm trying to figure out when we're going to see Casino Royale, Happy Feet, The Departed (I can't believe mess saw it before me - dude, you never see movies), Borat, For Your Consideration, Babel, Harsh Times (Christian Bale...although, with a 42% RT, I may have to netflix it...) and Stranger Than Fiction and this doesn't even factor in what opens next week. There are others but they've been relegated to the netflix queue due to time limitations....

Posted by jennj at 12:55 PM | Comments (4)

uh, yeah

Have been sick (was during most of the convention - which was fine as it was...um...poorly attended, shall we say). Feeling the best today, which is good as I'm going coat shopping tonight with R, D, A and S (RADS?).

Spoiler alert: In the meantime, have caught up on Lost and seen Nathan Fillion. Heh. I know he's on again after their haitus and then I will probably stop watching. It takes Hurley more time to get back to camp than Sayeed, Jin and Sun?! Yes, I know he's overweight, but like, they made it back in what looks like 1 day when it took them longer to sail. Huh? And when did Sayeed kill the first polar bear? And it looks like they're introducing two more characters when they can't even keep track of their current list. Phooey. You have to have some closure on some of these story lines but they keep introducing more and forgetting about the earlier ones and not closing a thing. Nathan, the things I do for you.

Posted by jennj at 11:53 AM | Comments (0)

f*ckin' a

I just played many games of Fluxx with the inventor (I didn't win any of them). I beat him at Chrononauts, one of their other games. And I got a special keeper that I can't wait to show off. And mom and dad picked up an early xmas present for nbh that I want to talk about but have to keep secret except to tease him through this blog post. Awesome.

p.s. I also got to play a Fluxx prototype they're working on.

Posted by jennj at 12:15 PM | Comments (2)

cool

The gaming guests of honor are "Looney Labs". Makers of one of my favorite games on the planet, Fluxx. I gotta meet these folks.

Posted by jennj at 05:45 PM | Comments (0)

at the con

The parental units and I arrived last night in Rochester for Astronomicon where they are fan guests of honor. Nbh couldn't come because he's in training for his new job this weekend. Wah.

Continued natterings in the extended entry......

They took many of the guests out last night to dinner and it was a good time. I have decided Julie Czerneda is one of my heroes. She's awesome and her husband is too. Great people. I have only read one of her books, In the Company of Others, which I enjoyed very much. I have to check out more. Tony Weisskopf is awesome also and we got to have a nice conversation with her to/from the restaurant as we drove in my car. Turns out that her husband knows my parents from the SCA. Small world. There's also another small world part of this in that Julie knows Lee who nbh works/is friends with.

The convention organizers are very nice and this convention apparently gets about 200-300 attendees. If you're in the area, you should come on by (yeah, okay, like there's a likelihood there's someone who reads my blog who lives nearby...but ya never know).

On the drive to Rochester we stopped at the Dr. Seuss sculpture garden in Springfield, MA. We finally found it despite the directions we got from the website. Nice little place to stop if you're looking to break up a road trip. We then had lunch at the Miss Albany Diner in well, Albany. Mom ordered a sandwich I may have to make at home: smoked gouda, honey mustard, granny smith apples and ham. Yum.

Anyway, looking forward to the rest of the con and our quest to find a decent cup of coffee in downtown Rochester.....(oy the stuff we had at breakfast sucked..I ended up getting a diet coke for my caffeine infusion)....

Posted by jennj at 10:00 AM | Comments (1)

crash after the sugar rush

So, the Dems did very well. Now what?

It's weird living in a state with blue laws. I'd never heard of such a thing until I moved here. MA voted against allowing grocery stores to sell wine. Now, there _are_ some grocery stores that can sell wine. For example, Trader Joe's in Framingham. I asked them the other day why they can sell wine and beer. Turns out that when you open a new grocery chain in the state, three of the stores are allowed to sell wine and beer. Framingham is one of the first three. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah. It just seems odd to me that people would be against this kind of thing. I guess if you're used to the Puritan way it's hard to change. I wasn't that passionate about getting it passed, anyway. While it's annoying to go to a second store in order to get wine for dinner, it's not impossible. C'est le vie.

Posted by jennj at 03:17 PM | Comments (4)

not sure what is up

I'm in a crappy mood today. Have hit "delete" in response to a couple of e-mails from co-workers rather than respond with irritated argument and/or comment. Especially when my response would come across as me being a tool for no good reason. Bleah. My parental units are in town and I'm taking off for a five day weekend. Can't wait to get away from work.

Posted by jennj at 01:22 PM | Comments (2)

election day humor

Not quite the photo op you want distributed when campaigning and your name is Charlie Bass.

And, Top Ten Tuesdays: What Propositions Are We Voting For?:

Prop. THX-1138: Prohibits George Lucas from ever getting behind a camera again.

Posted by jennj at 01:30 PM | Comments (2)

jeebus

It's 2006 and doesn't anybody understand that when you release new software/hardware there's always a spike in support/operational issues and you should staff and plan accordingly?

I'm talking about the problems happening with voting machines today. Yeesh.

And does technology really have to be the answer to everything? (ironic coming from this gadget girl, no?)

Posted by jennj at 01:19 PM | Comments (6)

i love the KFM

"Listen, we've all had the questionable hook-up. We get it. Bush didn't seem at all crazy when you met him at the club. And sure you dabbled in faith-based stuff, and maybe his foreign policy was a little naive, but come on -- sexy, sexy tax cuts."

Posted by jennj at 04:03 PM | Comments (2)

mid-term election thoughts

My friend Hal posted a quote from Ronald Reagan that really spoke to me and I decided to share with you. I'm having a hard time with the mid-term as I don't really like either party. Yet, I'm tired of the GOP control over all three branches of government. Yet, I don't think that the Dems are going to be very effective anyway. I want a third party at this point. Heck, I miss the old republican party. Here's the quote:

"Next Tuesday all of you will go to the polls... and make a decision. I think when you make that decision, it might be well if you would ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was? Do you feel that our security is as safe, that we're as strong as we were four years ago?"

Please vote.

If you are uncertain whether or not your senator or rep is up for re-election look here:

Senate seats up for grabs
Rep seats up for grabs

Posted by jennj at 08:50 AM | Comments (7)

kinda bummed

I was asked to speak at a conference next year and I've had to turn it down. This would have been a great opportunity for me but with some high profile projects reaching some major milestones at the same time as the conference I couldn't say yes in good conscience. I've left it open for the future so maybe it'll happen eventually....

Posted by jennj at 02:18 PM | Comments (2)

neat

Check out this site: How can I recycle this? Creative ideas for reusing or recycling random stuff

Posted by jennj at 07:16 PM | Comments (0)

aaarrrgggghhhh

From Bush's interview with Rush Limbaugh today:

"Give me a second here, Rush, because I want to share something with you. I am deeply concerned about a country, the United States, leaving the Middle East. I am worried that rival forms of extremists will battle for power, obviously creating incredible damage if they do so; that they will topple modern governments, that they will be in a position to use oil as a tool to blackmail the West. People say, "What do you mean by that?" I say, "If they control oil resources, then they pull oil off the market in order to run the price up, and they will do so unless we abandon Israel, for example, or unless we abandon allies."

So, what, we weren't in this position before we invaded? They didn't control the resources then? So it _is_ a war about oil. Thanks for clearing that up, Dubya.

Posted by jennj at 06:32 PM | Comments (5)