Stuff and Such

This Summer has been a season of crisis. First, Lux cut herself, then I got six stitches, then Lux broke her wrist, then Emily got into a car accident and I have had some unpleasant dealings with people. Sigh. The weather is clearly changing over now, with morning temps in the low 50's and the days not often reaching over 78 degrees. I am hoping the Fall will bring some Bounty.

I guess that all this dark weather this month really threw me for a spin. I have reasonably strong Seasonal Affective Disorder, and I NEED sunlight. I made the mistake of not using my full spectrum light box to supplement the gray, dim light we actually did get. The past few days have been glorious, though, and I have been out and about walking Lux many times a day, soaking in the rays, smelling the sunflowers, and seeing the beginnings of leaves turning colors already.

Now that the Olympics is over I am following the DNC in Denver. I can't watch a lot of it, because it grates on my nerves after a while, but there are some true gems in the speeches ("The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits" fer example), and I love the mental gymnastics that the news anchors go through after, trying to dissect every little thing. (Thus my cartoon of earlier this morning). I wonder if Hillary actually PLANNED way in advance for Bill to say what she felt she could not, or if they decided after hearing what the media said about her speech. Either way, it surely helps to have a partner in the Game sometimes (though I do believe he was a bit of a hindrance during the Primaries). And, for the record, Chelsea turned out okay, don'tcha think? She no longer looks like a braces-clad potato. And she clearly did not inherit her mothers gigantic calves. Thank the Lord.

I wonder how much booze is being sold in Denver right about now. Frankly, I think a few Mojitos would lube the gears right nicely at that altitude. I know when I was there, after hiking in the Rockies, my then husband and I went to a Mexican place in Estes Park for dinner and split a pitcher of Margaritas and we stumbled back to the Stanley Hotel (yes, THAT Stanley Hotel. He spent a few summers as manager there so they comped us a room for a week!). I was not prepared for the altitude enhanced alcohol buzz. Man! You could probably get high just sucking on a breath mint up there.

But, oh, the flickering golden aspens are so Totally Keen...

Your Daily Dose of Cool Things:

Click Here for the NPR story on Nano Technology and Energy

Click Here for another interesting article on this subject

Basically the low-down is this: nano (teeny tiny) antennas are capable of collecting the residual infared heat waves from the heating of the earth by the Sun. The cool thing is that unlike voltaic collectors which, at best, can only harvest about 20% of the energy (and only when the sun is out), nano antennas can collect up to 80 percent!! (even in the dark) The issue is in transferring the energy into usable wavelengths. This process is currently taking up way to much of the out-put energy. But they are working on it.


Your Daily Dose of Wonderful Design:

Click Here for more about these Yummy chairs from Scandanavian Modern

Your Daily Dose of Inspiring Words:

"If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life." - Rachel Carson

Your Daily Dose of Wicked-Good Food:

Saucy Burger

Simple. Tasty. Easy to Do!

Just add 1 teaspoon of Oyster Sauce to your burger before shaping into a patty!