The Easter Formula

I got to wondering how they figure out what date Easter will be on each year so I turned to my old friend Wikipedia. Turns out the formula couldn't be simpler. Easter is the first Sunday after the first fourteenth day of the moon that is on or after the ecclesiastical vernal equinox. Also, the cycle of Easter dates repeats after exactly 5,700,000 years. Seeing as I have a hard time remembering what date today is, I think I'll leave the Easter calculation to someone else.

Earth Hour

On March 29th at 8pm CST, downtown Chicago and the Magnificent Mile will go dark for one hour. The City of Chicago, the World Wildlife Fund and ComEd (yes, that ComEd) are encouraging residents to participate and turn off the light for one hour. Not exactly what you'd consider fringe organizations with zany agendas. Kinda makes you think.  Read more at http://www.earthhourus.org/chicago.php.  If you don't happen to live in the Chicago area, quite a few other cities are participating.

Simple Man

I admit it, when I find a pair of shoes I like, I'd be perfectly happy to wear those same shoes every day for the rest of my life. I'd have no problems purchasing multiple pairs of the same shoes (maybe in different colors, maybe not) and wearing them for every occasion. Despite the stress this might put on my marriage and family relationships, I'd be smiling on the inside enjoying my shoes. Although you'd never know it to look at me, each pair of shoes I own is the result of a great struggle to find exactly the perfect look, fit, and attitude. It's not fashion so much as the taming of my own internal neuroses. So, imagine my shock and terror when I discovered Simple Shoes had stopped making my beloved O.S Sneaker Creeper Shoe for Men! Damn you Simple shoes! No more natural crepe outsoles, no more canvas and suede upper, no more smug satisfaction. You call yourself a "nice little shoe company"? Would a nice little shoe company do this to me? But have no fear, thanks to the miracle of the Interweb, a found a nice little company that has my shoes on closeout. In case your wondering, yes, I ordered more than one pair. So if you were thinking of getting yourself a pair, that's fine, just leave the size 11s alone! The minutiae of my daily life, isn't is fascinating?

Wii-nomics 101

The weakening dollar causes no concern in the microeconomic universe of our household. We don't waste our time trading in the Dollar, Euro, or the Loonie (I just like saying that last one). Nope, our medium of exchange is the VGH. What's a VGH you ask? It's the only thing with any real value around here, the Video Game Hour. One VGH = One hour of Wii time. I can tell you exactly where the poverty line is too: it's 365 VGH per year. Anything less puts you squarely below it. Allowance in dollars is meaningless, those are just green pieces of paper. If I want to see some real action say, for example, the gutters cleaned, all I have to do is offer up an extra VGH for the day. The VGH is no fiat currency, for you see, it is backed by a real object, time. We can't just make more of it so, the supply is limited. Watch out though, because the dreaded HWH (Homework Hour) is always nipping at the heels of the VGH. The last time I checked, the VGH was still trading higher. As summer approaches, the value of the VGH skyrockets as the chorus of "go outside and play" rings through our little economy. In warm weather, the VGH becomes even more precious. Little do my fellow inhabitants know, I'm secretly hoarding VGH's. Now if I could just find the time to spend them.