Once in a...

Tomorrow there will be a "blue moon" which only means that it is the second full moon to occur within the same month. Despite the saying, blue moons are fairly common, and not really very blue. Ironic hu?  According to astrophysicist, and all around awesome dude, Neil DeGrassee Tyson, a they happen on average once every 2.3 years. So not so rare. But you know what would be? A photograph of TWO blue moons at the same time! There will be two at my house tomorrow night, and I'll be there with camera ready! Stay tuned for the photo of this amazing celestial convergence!

Playing God

(Photo borrowed from article linked below)

This morning I read an article that I found disturbing. I've seen it many times before with different animals, but the story is basically the same. We (humans) mess up a habitat which causes something to go awry within the ecosystem. Then we try to fix it, but really have no idea of the implications of our actions. Then we think we have the right to eradicate one animal, that we decided is somehow the bad guy and doesn't belong, while going out of our way to protect the one that we claim is unfairly being predated and needs to be saved. We compound one wrong by slapping another one on top of it.
This time it involves whales and seagulls. Apparently in Argentina there was an explosion of seagulls due to copious amounts of trash left exposed in landfills and by humans. These particular seagulls are special in that they discovered (about 10 years ago) that they could snack on right whales when they surfaced to breath. So in addition to eating week old french fries and garbage, they also dine on fresh whale meat. It's called adaption, and it's a remarkable, and beautiful thing that life does. It wasn't so bad (for the whales) when the population was small, the whales could stave off a few birds, and the birds got a good meal. But now it is a different story. The birds are many, and not only do they attack adults they also attack the infant whales, creating open sores that are prone to infections. Now the whales are in trouble. Now the gulls are "bad".
The attacks are so intense that whale watching trade has gone down because people are "horrified" to see the birds converge upon the whales as they breach the surface to take a breath.
So what are they going to do? Shoot the seagulls. Can you believe that? There is actually a plan to spend a hundred days following the whales and shooting every seagull that tries to take a bite.
This makes me angry. Not because I don't feel bad for the whales, but because I do feel bad for the gulls. They aren't doing anything wrong. They are doing exactly what any animal in a position of overabundant food  source and no predation would do. Expand and multiply. For crying out loud WE do it, as can been seen by the 6 billion people that inhabit our planet. Should we start shooting people because we take advantage of other animals? We are worse than the gulls.
And it makes me angry that instead of immediately implementing a plan to cut down on the trash left in the open (which would quickly bring the population back into equilibrium, and which they are planning but not till later), they opt to just shoot a bunch of innocent birds.
I think this is not only irresponsible, but just plain stupid. The article I read made the gulls seem like the villains, and the whales like the victims. But that's not true. WE are the villains. The whales and the gulls are both victims. Maybe the gulls a little more so since they will get no sympathy from those of us who get to play god.

For the full article click HERE.

Happy Game Day!!!

One of my all time favorite photos of my boys! Happy Game Day everyone!!!

The Story of the Earth

My mom got me a couple really neat old books. One was written by T.H. Huxley aka "Darwin's Bulldog", and the other by a geology professor from The King's College in London called "The Story of the Earth". The latter was written and published in 1895. Quite an interesting read!
Being a post-tectonics geologist, it is almost impossible for me to comprehend what geology was before anyone knew that the crust of the earth was broken up into plates and moved around forming mountain chains and building and breaking apart continents. I mean how else can you explain the Himalayas?
In some ways the geologists of 100 years ago understood our field so well, to the point that their "laws" of original horizontality, cross cutting, and uniformity are still true today.
But then I read about their explanation for how mountain chains form, or the mechanisms for deformation and I'm struck by how wrong they were. (Not that I think this is a fault of theirs. Certainly not. They were doing the best they could with the information and technology they had.) They cited everything from shrinking and expanding rock (somehow due to infiltration of water) to tides to explain volcanoes and mountain building!
It's amazing that geology has come so far so quickly. And I am glad I got to be in on it on this side of the "Tectonic Revolution". It's been really neat to look at a subject I love so dearly through they eyes of an expert in the field that lived over one hundred years ago. It's may not be scientifically accurate, but it's still such an enlightening window into my chosen field. It's an early chapter from a story about a group of scientists searching for the truth about the earth. Maybe they didn't quite make it there in 1895, but those that came after them kept searching, and thinking and trying, and eventually they (we) figured it out. As Newton (Sir Issac, not Wayne or Cam) famously said "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."

What About Saturday?

Jeff Saturday

I can't believe in all my football talk I forgot to mention Jeff Saturday! What in the heck was I thinking?!? His tenure with Peyton Manning and the Colts was epic, some say they were the best center/QB in NFL history, and I believe it. But that was then, and this is now. Now Manning is a Bronco, and Saturday is a Packer! And I couldn't be happier. Welcome Jeff!
Anyway, from what I have seen he is doing really well. I think he might have missed a tackle in last weeks game that was a little ugly (or was that Newhouse?) but over all I think he's transitioning into the Packers  offensive line pretty flawlessly. And I love that he comes from Indie where Payton Manning ran a no huddle offense most of the time. That is huge because with Rodgers getting more opportunities to call the plays on the field we really need someone at center used to the fast paced tempo. Last year the offense did the best when they ran the no huddle (and it's so much more fun to watch!!!) and I think that can only be improved upon with a veteran like Jeff Saturday snapping the ball. I am very excited.

Color Me Rad

I just registered for my first race! It's a small one, called Color Me Rad, and it's local. I am not sure anyone takes it seriously to even recognize a winner, but I'm doing it anyway. A friend of my started a team, and the money goes to charity, AND the best part is we get to throw colored corn starch at each other at the end!!!! I can't wait. I love to make a mess, and I love to run, so it's pretty much the perfect race for me.
It starts at 9:00 am this Saturday morning, and I am guessing it will take me about 45 minutes to run. I'll post pictures as soon as I have any to share! Yay! My first race!

Invasion

I have a love hate relationship with technology. On the one hand it's miraculous, and so handy and useful and brilliant. But on the other it is confusing and over-achieving, and so beyond my puny intellect. We have all seen movies that depict the devistation of humanity through the sentience of machines. Well, I am especially feeling that now.
I took my iPad to the coffee shop the other day. I did some stuff, and then as I was leaving I decided to put it in my purse. My phone was in there too. Suddenly I heard music playing. One of the songs I downloaded to my phone. I pulled out my phone but no sound was coming from it. I was confused. I held it up to my ear as other coffee shop patrons stared. WTF? I pulled out my iPad and realized the song was comming from it. But I never put music on there! I scrambled to turn it off. I stepped into the parking lot, and upon further inspection all the music from my phone was suddenly on my iPad! It was like there was some kind of conversation going on in my purse that I was unaware of. My phone and my iPad are apparenly very close friends. I did not know this.
Then today I was doing laundry. I threw in a load of darks. I started the machine. Then I found a few other things I wanted to add. But the machine wouldn't open! It was locked. There was a red "no" light and everything. I spent 10 minutes trying to open it, but the washer was having none of it. I was denied. And again I was like WTF? My washing machine gets to tell me what I can and can't do? How is that even possible?!?
I hate to say it, because technology is so great in so many ways, but today...right now, it's freaking me out.

Pre-Season Game 3

It was nice to see the starters on the field for the first half of the game. Besides one uncharacteristically bad throw by Rodgers that got picked off, the offense was pretty good I thought. I am still not a huge fan of using Cobb as a starter, but OK. Jennings and Nelson, and even Driver had nice catches. And what about Cedric Benson being a Packer?!? I thought he did awesome. Much better than the running backs we've had out there the last couple weeks, although Tyler had a couple good runs later in the game. I really think Benson is going to be key for us. I wish we could get Maurice Jones-Drew who is holding out for contract reasons in Jacksonville, but Benson is good enough for me. Even so Rodgers was the leading rusher of the game, and scored two TD's on his own. The left tackle (Newhouse?) needs to step it up a notch , but I thought the O-Line did ok too.
The D showed up as well. The starters held the Bengals to two field goals in the first half. Tramon Williams had some great saves on the ball, Matthews looked amazing, and Perry seems to slowly be getting the hang of things. I have to say there wasn't much I didn't like about how the defense played. They just need to keep it up.
Then we began the third quarter.....and everything came unglued again. There were several 3-and-outs on both sides of the ball, some bad throws, dropped passes. Our defense looked a little better than the offense, and the interception at the end of the game was nice. Highlights for me in the second-string defense were McMillian, and....crap, I can't remember his name...but the other guy. You know who I mean right? LOL.
Anyway. I feel pretty good now about the starters. Things seemed on track. But pretty much everyone else has me worried. I don't think Harrell will be around by the time the season starts, and that makes me wonder who the Packers would sign as a backup QB. I don't even know who is available.
Oh and one final thing. I love AJ Hawks new haircut! I can't believe how much better he looks. I don't know why, but getting rid of his long hair went a million miles toward making him more handsome. Bravo.
Only one more preseason game left and then it's the real thing. Can't wait!

One More Week of Summer

My Sweetie Pie and I at Jazz on the Plazz!

I know. Technically fall doesn't start until September 22. But MY fall begins next Thursday, a week from today. It must be so to accommodate my Christmas season which I also begin a little earlier than normal. I love Christmas (clearly) but that doesn't mean I want to cut my Autumn celebration short. I want to have plenty of time for fall leaves, spiced candles, pumpkins, maybe even a hay ride and a trip to an apple orchard. And of course, football season (the real one) is fast approaching, a sure indicator that nights are will be growing longer and days cooler.
I have decided to start my fall next Thursday because it will be Labor Day weekend, and extra long, so I will have plenty of time to dig out all my fall decorations. Then I have a short work week and the following Sunday will be the Packers/Niners game! Then 3 days later we are off on vacation! By the time we get home real fall (i.e. the Autumn Equinox) will have already started anyway. Hooray!
Not to get ahead of myself though, that means I still have one glorious week of summer left to savor, before I switch gears. One week left to lay by the pool and get a tan. One week to finish up the Pina Colada mix in the freezer. One week to enjoy my patriotic red,white and blue summer decor, one more week to pack a picnic and enjoy the outdoor music venues in town. One more week to wear all the summer clothes I haven't yet. I plan to make every moment count. One last hooray for summer!

LOL Cats

I found a slide show on Huffington Post that I found to be super hilarious. It was titled "Cats: They just don't give a F*ck". I'm not sure what is more funny that the cats don't seem to mind, or that the owners thought of doing this in the first place. Either way, I can't help but laugh out loud. They make me almost want a cat. Almost. Here are a few of the more hilarious shots. Enjoy!

Golf: A Novel

This past weekend was my company golf tournament. That's right, not only did I play golf, I played eighteen holes of the stuff! I know you'll all be shocked to learn that my team didn't place. I think it had something to do with the fact that I haven't picked up a club since last years tourney. Or maybe it's just because I spend too much time enjoying the beer and golf cart aspects of the game? Anyway, I managed to capture the essence of my whole day to share with you in a "literary way" while I was out on the course! (All photos in chronological order.)

Golf: A Novel

Chapter 1: The Dream

Chapter 2: Optimism

Chapter 3: The Villain

Chapter 4: The Rally

Chapter 5: Strategizing

Chapter 6: The Bitter Truth

Chapter 7: Consolation

Conclusion:

Preseason Game 2

Rookie WR Jarrett Boykin

I hate to begin a post with OMG, but I'm afraid it's the only acronym that adequately describes my exasperation concerning the Packers and their performance in game 2 of the preseason. What the heck?! We loose by 25 points to Cleveland? Seriously? It's embarrassing (no offense to the Browns). I know that it's mostly the backups that played, but is that really supposed to offer me any comfort at this point? They are the guys that will have to take over the team if any of the starters get hurt! And they were terrible! The first string guys did OK, but almost everyone else was just awful. Our back up QB Graham Harrell has me pretty worried. He threw 2, almost three, interceptions. And we ended both the first half and the game with interceptions! Boo. I mean at this point, if Rodgers goes down, I'd probably be a better back up quarterback than the one we've got on the roster. I am not trying to be mean, and I know it's hard for the back up guys because they don't get as many reps or as much consistency with whom they play with, but still. They need to step up, or do something, they are professional football players after all. I am glad I am not Mike MaCarthy right now. I'd be so stressed out.

So it was another flop of a week. I almost didn't make it through the whole game, but I forced myself to hang on till the bitter, bitter, end, which I mentioned was an interception thrown by our 3rd backup QB. It was his only play of the game. Boo again. 

There was one light in the abyss that was our second string offense, and that was wide receiver Jarrett Boykin. He made some great plays, and in my opinion is going to be a much better performer than Randall Cobb (who everyone thinks is the new up-and-coming wide out). I think Cobb is a lot like James Jones, he makes too many mistakes at critical times and if I were the coach, I'm not sure I'd keep either of them on the team. But we will see. Hopefully they will prove me wrong. But mark my words, Boykin will do well.

One final thought I have is I thought BJ Smith filled in great for the injured Desmond Bishop at the linebacker position. I was a little worried after hearing Bishop would be out for a while, but I think Smith has it under control. Wheew. That's good news. 

We play the Bengals on Thursday. I wish I believed in luck or karma or psychic energy, because then I could send some their way. But I don't. So I guess I'm just going to have to rely on their abilities to improve and do better. Come on guys! You are the Packers. Lets get it done this week!

Book Review: Turing's Cathedral

Last month for book club we read Turing's Cathedral by George Dyson. It's basically a history of the invention of the digital computer. To be honest I thought the book (not the subject) was pretty awful. It was tough to read and there were a lot of tangents, and unrelated information. It was sort of all over the place, and for no reason. One of the members in my book club (after watching an interview) even thought the author George Dyson, might even have a learning impediment. But I did still manage to take away a few interesting points. The first is that I didn't realize how much of our technology came about because of military projects. Computers and then the Internet etc, all of that came from military programs and research. The digital computer was invented to help calculate blast radius of hypothetical nuclear explosions, and to decode encrypted German messages. Crazy hu? It's interesting to note too that when the military "declassified" information the technology it became available to everyone, whereas if the Internet,or computers would have been invented by a private company, they would have had a monopoly and control,and things would be very different (much more expensive) now I think. So that's one cool thing about it all coming from where it did.

The other thing I thought that was interesting albeit sad, was the tragic end of Alan Turing himself. Apparently despite his genius, and his contributions as a mathematician and scientist the thing that most people of his day remembered him for was the fact that he was gay. In the 1950's in Britain, being gay was actually illegal. So he was stripped of his security clearance, kicked off his job and humiliated, and given the choice between the spending the rest of his life in prison or being chemically castrated. He chose the latter. Two years later he committed suicide. 

It makes me angry that his sexual orientation was allowed to overshadow everything else in his life including his professional and scientific accomplishments. It's so ridiculous. Look at all the progress he made, who cares if he's gay? In a way I feel like we've come a long way form those times, but then just last week, I saw all this stuff about the CEO of Chick-fil-A being anti-gay marriage, and I think to myself WTF? Why is this still an issue? Sigh...

Anyway, like I said, the book itself wasn't great, and I wouldn't recommend it really, but at the same time, it was a good starting point to learn something interesting about how our good old PC's came about.

Happy Game Day (Again!)

Today we are playing the Cleveland Browns. There won't be a live broadcast out here on the West Coast, but I am going to try to figure out when it will be playing on the NFL Network, and catch it then. It's just as well since I have kickboxing tonight and I've been on a roll with it this week. So I might be a little late in my commentary. But per usual, I am wearing my Packers jersey all day to show my team spirit! I decided to wear my Woodson one, even though he probably won't take the field today. Only 24 days till the real season opener against San Francisco (if only they were playing here instead of Green Bay!).
Funny story though- I was at Safeway last Thursday to pick up snacks for the game, and while I was at the checkout the cashier got a call (on the store phone). He answered it, and frowned then hung up and said to me "That was the manager, he told me to tell you that Nelson is a beast? [I was wearing my Jordy Nelson jersey] And he thinks the Packers will win today." LOL...It was pretty funny. He must have saw me on the video cameras above the checkouts.
Anyway, for all y'all that can catch the game, Happy Game Day!

Persied Meteor Shower

I tried my best to catch the meteor shower this past weekend, but I wasn't much impressed. I took a nap, and had my BF wake me up at 11:00, so I could go out and look. I spent an hour outside and saw 6 meteors, only two of which were really bright. I tried to set my camera up, but there were so many lights (since I just went outside my apartment) that all my photo's were washed out, and none of them caught any of the meteors. Lame. Not that it isn't cool to see a meteor, but I have always seemed to have better luck with the Leonid showers in late November (I think). Oh well, it was worth a try.

Pre-Season: Game 1

So after all my excitement over the first game of the season it was a bit of a dud. The offense didn't do all that great, Starks is out, Desmond Bishop has to get hamstring surgery...need I go on? I mean, it's not time to panic yet or anything, but we have an awful lot of injuries for it being so early in the season. But if the next couple games look anything like this one did then I might begin to worry.
One cool thing about the game (that has nothing to do with the Packers) is that is was the first NFL game in which a member of the officiating crew was a woman! Neato. I have to say I was a little disappointed when Nate Perry got a penalty for celebrating his first take down (and I think the lady ref is the one who called it) but over all I thought she did a really solid job. The whole reason she was there in the first place is because the officials that normally ref the games are in a lockout, so they are bringing in college and other referees to fill in.
Other than that, I can't say I was too impressed by anything....hopefully our next game against the Bengals goes better. Speaking of Bengals we just signed Cedric Benson, who used to play for the Bengals. I am not sure if I think that was such a great idea or not. He had a few really good season with Cincinnati, but he got into some off-the-field shenanigans that I don't like at all. We'll see I guess.

Happy First Game Day!!!!

On my way to work, Game Day morning!

Showing Packer pride at the office!

It's finally here! After almost 7 months the Packers will re-take the field tonight against the San Diego Chargers (which is incidentally why I had to make my San Diego Burritos on Tuesday)! I know it's only pre-season, but honestly I don't care. I'll take it!
I decided in honor of the first game I'd wear my Jordy Nelson jersey to work. My BF got it for me for Xmas last year (isn't he just the best?!?That's why he's my BF;) and it was just the one I would have wanted if I wasn't so cheap and unwilling to get it for myself. But the season was mostly over by then, so I barely got a chance to wear it. But that will change now!
I am making special prime rib sandwiches for dinner (Wisconsin Style:), and will have my butt firmly planted  in my living room for the 5:00pm kickoff. The only thing I'll be doing between five and 8:00 besides watching the game  is holding down my side of the couch;)
What a glorious, glorious day it is!!! What a sublime Thursday, and what an enchanting evening it will be! *Sigh* Oh football season, how I've missed you! How I've longed for you to take up my Sundays (and Monday nights, and some Thursdays), and stress me out, and give me an excuse to go to a bar and drink mimosas at 10:00 am. How I've missed the anticipation of Game Day and the angelic sound of John Gruden and Al Michaels voices as they do the play-by-play! How I've missed cheering for the Green and Gold! But it's here! It's FINALLY here! Football season has come! And it makes me so happy! So I will issue my first official  "Go Pack" of the 2012 season! And say welcome back old friend football, I've missed you!

San Diego Style Burritos

I was watching Diners, Drive-In's and Dives the other day and the host Guy was down in San Diego having something called a "San Diego style" burrito. Basically it's a burrito with french fries in it instead of rice and beans. Brilliant! I decided I needed to try it out. I made my own version of it (like I do with almost every recipe) and it was pretty delish! How good, you wonder? Well, my Sweetie-Pie ate three of them! LOL. Yep that's right!
So what went into these delicious tortilla wrapped bundles of joy? Lots of onions, some leftover marinated grilled chicken, and a few spices (garlic salt, Mexican oregano, cumin, cayanne...i.e.whatever you have laying around) fried in a pan on the stove, pico de gallo from Chili's (what? I was too lazy to make my own), garlic fries from Trader Joes, avocado, shredded cheese, real Mexican sour cream (like it was made there and sent to my BF from his dad!), and a splash of La Vic "orange" Sauce (don't know whats in it but its vegan, and so delicious!). Yum-E!
I didn't take a picture of it, since it just looks a...burrito and you can't see inside, but trust me it was super good! Don't get me wrong, I love the NorCal burritos too, pretty much any kind of burrito actually, but a burrito with french fries in it? Shoot. That's like having your cake and eating it too.
So next time you don't know what to make for dinner, give these southern California treats a try;)

The Hall of Fame Game

Yesterday marked the first day of the NFL preseason games!!! As you can (or cannot) imagine, I was very excited. It was the Saints and the Cardinals, not exactly my two favorite teams, but who cares!?! It was real honest-to-god NFL football! Yippee! Yahoo!
Anyway, a couple quick notes since I have no Packers info to share until they have their pre-season opener on Thursday. Beginning with NFL news.
First of all the news about Andy Reid's son dying was awful. So sad. Reid is the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, and his son was only 29.
Second, congrats to the Hall of fame inductees. I don't know any of them (I am not one of those football fans who pretends to know stuff I don't;), but I am sure they accomplished great things to make it into the Hall of Fame. So nice work.
Third, LOL to Dion Sanders who picked himself as the number one person to be inducted into the hall of fame. That was pretty funny. Especially because I am pretty sure he was serious. His nickname is "Primetime" for a reason I guess.
Now onto the actual  game:
Drew Brees is still awesome. Shocker right? Anyway the first drive was like clockwork and it ended in a touchdown, which is all typical of Brees and his starting offense.
Kevin Kolb injured himself almost immediately. Again shocker right? The guys has never played more than 9 games in a season in his career, and is always injured. It was a rib injury. Skelton (the backup QB) came in and played OK. They were competing for the starting position and it looks like Skelton will probably get it. Also- Kolb need's to shave his goatee thing. It's ugly, and it makes him look like a tool.
But I've saved the best for last! The best part of the whole game was when Mike Mayock (one of the two NFL network commentators) started sing "Play that Funky Music" on air! OMG I was laughing so hard! It was so hilarious, and then when he switched to falsetto for the high note, it was even more hilarious! And when Mooch (Steve Mariucci) texted him never to do it again, it was even MORE hilarious. Good times;)
Mayock is not my favorite announcer, because I generally think he is too statistical in his announcing, but I was impressed last night.
Also the commercial with Eli Manning and Demarcus Ware, was pretty funny too.
Ahhhh...football season! I'm so glad you are back!

Celebrating 500

Yesterday while at the gym, I ran my 500th mile! And I did it all in my lovable, perfect, wonderful, running shoes!!! I started back to running in mid-March, and have been trying to go at least 4 days a week. Sometimes I make it 10 miles, sometimes only five depending on my mood, (and what other stuff I'd rather be doing;) But it all adds up, and at this very moment it adds up to 500 miles! It's hard to believe I have run 500 miles staring at the scene above, but it's true. I don't even watch the attached TV. I just listen to music, think about things, plan dinners and blogs, make mental lists of what I need at the grocery store, and daydream about upcoming vacations and Christmas, and before I know it I'm done for the day. Yay!
I wonder if I could make it a thousand miles before the year is out? Hmmmm....