Virtually Home

Being away from home is tough but technology helps. Through the magic of the Intarwebs and a tiny camera I can get blown a virtual kiss from 700 miles away. It's not as good as being there, but it's the next best thing.

1,4-Dioxane

According to Wikipedia, 1,4-Dioxane is a clear colorless compound which is a liquid at room temperature. Oh, and it's also classified by the IARC as a substance "possibly carcinogenic to humans due to the fact that it is a known carcinogen in animals." Given that, I would assume you wouldn't readily find Dioxane in very many products. I would be wrong. It has been found as a contaminant in baby soap, moisturizers, hair dyes, and quite a few other cosmetics. For the scary facts, take a look here. It may be my bald ignorance speaking, but why does baby shampoo need to have 38 ingredients?

Giving Back Sunday

When going on a business trip, I've always found it easier to slip out early in the morning while everyone else is blissfully asleep. Leaving on Sunday, giving hugs, waving goodbye, and wasting part of the precious weekend at the airport all just rub me the wrong way. A bad start to a worse trip. It's been snowing since before mankind inhabited this planet. How is it that we're still brought to a standstill by the fluffy white stuff? Maybe air travel is a dead end. We may want to look into tube technology. Although, I'm sure I'd have to share my tube with a fat guy and a two-year-old who screams "no" at the top of her lungs, over and over, for forty minutes. She even overcame my innate Dad ability to block out the sound of a crying child (sorry honey, I would have gotten up but I didn't hear the baby crying). Here's a tip for the parents: repeating "you're OK" over and over does not seem to help as clearly, she is not OK. So my two hour flight only took four, no problem. No problem until I discover that Avis' night shift is comprised entirely of one elderly gentleman who is apparently here on the worker exchange program from Tibet. Then just to add insult to injury, I arrive at a completely abandoned Sheraton Hotel to be greeted by a computerized self check-in system. Only too bad for me because, as it politely informs me, the self check-in is closed between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM. Because why would you want the self check-in to be operating when the reception desk is closed? I guess even computers need a break. Oh well, I can only comfort myself with the knowledge that the voyage home will probably be worse.

Doomed to Repeat It

The next two weeks will be like a greatest (or worst) hits tour of all my least favorite past projects. It starts out in Philadelphia and then meanders over to Boston. Thankfully, they'll both be short visits. First a corporate feel good meeting and then some intense SharePoint training guaranteed to turn me into an expert. I can already feel the phantom headaches from the death marches of projects past. Where's the Excedrin?

More Green Cleaning

The Illinois House is proposing legislation that would switch our schools over to green cleaning products. The EPA estimated that the air in our schools is 5 to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air. We shouldn't be exposing kids to this. One school has already begun the switch, Lockport Township High School. Good for them. Let's hope the rest of the state follows their example.

Cleaning Products

An interesting article from the New York Times about the safety of the cleaning products we use. I don't know if Windex or Pledge is bad for you but this quote does freak me out: "Since last September, a state law has required schools in New York to use cleaning products that do not contain any carcinogens, reproductive toxins or scents that could aggravate asthma..." Unless I'm missing something, they just banned carcinogens in September! I don't even want to know what a "reproductive toxin" is.

JetBlue

This is how you handle it when a company makes a mistake. You own up to it, apologize, and fix the problem. Extra points for posting the explanation on YouTube and doing it quickly. As the other airlines whine about fuel costs and treat their customers like cattle, it's good to see that somebody out there understands that training your employees and treating the customers well is the way to stay in business. It may be painful in the short term but, I think it will pay off for them in the long term.

2008 Presidential Candidate Selector

If you can't decide who you'll support in 2008, head over to the Presidential Candidate Selector and answer a few questions about what issues matter to you. According to the results, Barack Obama is a 100% match based on my views. I wonder if he needs a running mate....

Must-See Documentaries

I don't know if it's a recent phenomenon or if I finally started paying attention, but it seems like there have been a lot of really good documentaries lately. Movies that really challenge what you think and inspire you to make a change. Here's just a few in no particular order:

• Super Size Me - This movie changed my attitude about fast food more that anything I've ever seen or read. I still crave the occasional double cheeseburger though.
• An Inconvenient Truth - It lays out an undeniable picture of our present situation but also offers us hope for a solution. I think Al Gore is doing more good than he ever could have as President.
• Why We Fight - War is a business. When there is money to be made, you can't believe anything you're being told. This isn't just about Iraq. Eisenhower warned us and apparently nobody listened.
• Who Killed the Electric Car? - Money at stake and once again, you can't believe what you're told. Hydrogen is a carrot we'll forever chase but never reach. If this one doesn't make you angry, I don't know what will.
• Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room - We see the real people who's lives were ruined because their leaders lacked honesty and integrity. As a white collar worker, it made me question my managers motives and promise myself never to invest to heavily in the company I work for.
• Empire of Dreams: The Story of Star Wars - They can't all be socially redeeming and, as a Kevin Smith character once said, there is only one true trilogy, and it ain't Lord of the Rings. For a Star Wars fan, a fascinating history of the movies.
• Anything by Michael Moore - Of course no list of must-see documentaries is complete without Roger and Me, Bowling for Columbine, and Fahrenheit 9/11. Each one a reminder of the fact that events happen to real people.

So there you go, fill up your NetFlix queue and learn something.

Radiation or Something

This is the International Atomic Energy Agency's new symbol for radiation. Apparently, the old symbol wasn't clear enough. This one is also multi-purpose. It can be used to indicate the presence of radiation, pirates, or joggers. Does this have anything to do with the current threat level? Today is a jogging pirate. You've been warned.

Damn You Elegant Farmer!

Weeks of healthy eating down the drain thanks to you and your pie! I can't even drive near lovely Mukwonago, Wisconsin, without a stop at The Elegant Farmer. The giant smiley face on the barn mocking me. It knows I have no self control. That Apple Pie Baked in a Paper Bag® must have some sort of illegal substance baked into its crust. All other pies are just pale imitations. One day I'll figure out the secret of your crust and then you'll be sorry. I must have more pie!

Fireworks, Lightning, and a Comet

This is a great picture taken on a beach in Australia. Where else can you see fireworks, lightning, and a comet all in the same place?

Raw

We picked up a small container of something called Really Raw Honey from a local store the other day on a whim. Never, let me repeat this, never have I tasted honey this good. This is unprocessed stuff taken right from the hive. It still has little crunchy bits of pollen and wax in it. It's just unbelievable stuff. Next time I see a bee hive I'm going to have a hard time not sticking my arm inside it Winnie the Pooh style.

A Whale of a Screw Up

This video has been floating around the Intarwebs since before we had that new fangled YouTube. I guess way back in 1970 things were different because if a whale washed up on shore today, I'm pretty sure blowing it up with dynamite would be pretty low on the list of solutions. Although, if you let a bunch of 10 year old boys solve the problem, that might be their preferred solution.

Nine Inch Nails

There's a lot of supposition that this site has something to do with the upcoming Nine Inch Nails album. Click around and it gets interesting. People are also convinced that this site, this one, this one, this one, this one, and this one are all related in some way as well. If you can figure it out, you obviously have more free time than I do.

A Day at the Museum

It was a great day to play hookey from work and head to the museum with my two favorite girls. The Museum of Science and Industry has changed a lot since I was a kid but a few old favorites still remain:

• The people sliced up like a loaves of bread and pressed between glass. How do I get that gig when I die? Grossing out kids for years to come.
• The "Petroleum Planet" - fossil fuels and petrochemicals are your friends (sponsored by Big Oil)!
• The perpetually out of order Coal Mine. I don't think there's an actual exhibit, just a sign that says "Closed Today".
• The mini-circus dioramas. I can't think of anything funny to say about them but for some reason they stick out in my memory.
• The street of yesterday. It always pissed me off that you couldn't go in the stores!
• The half a toilet that really flushes. That's funny all by itself.

As a parent, so much of your enjoyment comes from seeing the amazement in children when they experience something for the first time. The "look at that" moments don't come often enough but, they're great when they do. Now if we could just find a way to get the sliced up guy's but over to the half a toilet, that would be gold!

Drop the Lotion!

This is enough to make you think twice about that deodorant or sunscreen you're using. Even better, the next time you're working with bleach or some other caustic chemical, think about this. Take a piece of garlic and cut it in half. Wear rubber gloves so that you don't get any on your hands and keep it away from your nose so you don't smell it. Take the garlic and rub it on the bottom of your foot. Throw the garlic away, or save it for a recipe depending on how picky you are about food. Have a seat and wait patiently for about 20 minutes. Notice a strange taste in your mouth? You guessed it, garlic. It took 22 minutes for me to notice the taste and no, I didn't save the garlic. Feel free to wash your foot (or not) afterwards. Then, think about what was in the soap you used, the dye in your hair and the oven cleaner you used without wearing rubber gloves. If garlic made it through the thickest skin on your body, what else have you absorbed? It's enough to make you want to live in a bubble.

Wonder Spot

Looks like you can't stop the forward march of progress even in the Wisconsin Dells. The Wonder Spot is getting torn down to make way for a road. Drive carefully and pay attention because that gravity vortex pulls pretty hard to one side.