If I had lots and lots of money, this is what I would do all the time. Seriously. Check it out if you're interested in global volunteering.

Clarke's Three Laws

Gulag

Hanlon's Razor

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Did you know that Lady Godiva's ride through the streets was also the beginning of the phrase "peeping tom". She told everyone to get in their houses and shut the windows and doors. They did so in order that she might help them from being taxed by her husband. However, one lucky soul decided to 'peep', and this person was supposedly struck blind.

Epic Failure.

Murphy's Law

Terrible Movies--Here are a few horrible movies I've watched and enjoyed to some extent.

Pterodactyl
Dinocroc
Snakeheads
The Curse of the Komodo
The Librarian
Adventures of Young Van Helsing

They are all pretty much B movies, but still...kind of amusing in their own bad way.

Check out the Olympic medal count history. It's pretty cool.

Failure (fail, phail or flop) in general refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It may be viewed as the opposite of success. Product failure ranges from failure to sell the product to fracture of the product, in the worst cases leading to personal injury, the province of forensic engineering. (according to wikipedia)

Fail.

I just want to be happy.

Wanna go to Antarctica? I know I sure do. However, the cost of such an awesome trip (at a minimum) is around $3,500. That's just for the trip itself. That doesn't include an airline ticket round trip to Argentina. I'd really like to go someday. Anyone else want to go? It'll be fun!

Inefficiency plagues us all. It is one of my biggest pet peeves. I learned while working at Scoops that it's okay to take things into your own hands. If you see a problem at work, at home, wherever, it's okay to fix it! Being a new and young employee at the time, I saw problems and did not fix them. One of my co-workers saw a problem and took it into her own hands to fix it. That was such a great lesson for me to learn. Though it may seem simply or obvious to some of you, this was not so for me until that day. Since then, I have taken things that I see as a problem into my own hands to make them better. Documents at one of my offices are more automated. Scoops kept up with (and still keeps up with to this day I hope) a list of drinks and recipes so no one has to ask over and over. The labels at the shelter are now laminated so they can be cleaned with water without replacing them every week or two weeks. These are simple things that make life easier. I cannot stand such problems when there are easy ways to fix them. Life would be so much better if things were done quickly and efficiently. Here's my only problem with my plan. The faster things get done, the more free time there is right? Wrong. The faster you get it done, the more work gets piled on. There has to be a balance in here somewhere.

For those who don't know the plagues of Egypt or those who have forgotten...here they are according to Wikipedia:
The plagues as they appear in the Bible are:

1. (Exodus 7:14-25) rivers and other water sources turned to blood killing all fish and other water life. (Dam)
2. (Exodus 7:26-8:11) amphibians (commonly believed to be frogs) (Tsfardeia)
3. (Exodus 8:12-15) lice or gnats (Kinim)
4. (Exodus 8:16-28) beasts or flies[2] (Arov)
5. (Exodus 9:1-7) disease on livestock (Dever)
6. (Exodus 9:8-12) unhealable boils (Shkhin)
7. (Exodus 9:13-35) hail mixed with fire (Barad)
8. (Exodus 10:1-20) locusts (Arbeh)
9. (Exodus 10:21-29) darkness (Choshech)
10. (Exodus 11:1-12:36) death of the first-born of all Egyptian families. (Makat Bechorot)

PS. Dinoflagellate!

I found this little tid-bit about the Italian--Sicilian Mafia on Wikipedia. How curious.

Ten Commandments

In November 2007 Sicilian police reported to have found a list of "Ten Commandments" in the hideout of mafia boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo. Similar to the Biblical Ten Commandments, they are thought to be a guideline on how to be a good, respectful honorable mafioso. The commandments are as follows:[22]

1. No one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do it.
2. Never look at the wives of friends.
3. Never be seen with cops.
4. Don't go to pubs and clubs.
5. Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty - even if your wife's about to give birth.
6. Appointments must absolutely be respected.
7. Wives must be treated with respect.
8. When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth.
9. Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families.
10. People who can't be part of Cosa Nostra: anyone who has a close relative in the police, anyone with a two-timing relative in the family, anyone who behaves badly and doesn't hold to moral values.

If you asked the wind when he laughed the most, would he tell it was when he tickled through the trees' new Spring leaves? And if you asked the trees when they were the most satisfied, would they tell you it was when they were inebriated with the waters of the earth during the hot Summer months? And would the waters of the earth tell you they were the most sad when the trees cried their leafy tears to the earth as Fall progressed? And would the earth be at her coziest protected from the bitter wind by a blanket of snow in the midst of Winter? I do not know. I do not know. I do not know.

Bigfoot has been found!

Bigfoot, Big Foot, Sasquatch, call him what you will; he has been found in GA! Get excited. It's probably a hoax, but you never know! At the very least it's amusing and intriguing.

Want a puppy or kitty?

If you're like me, you love animals. I have been volunteering at the local animal control/animal shelter, and it has been eye-opening. I've really learned a lot about taking care of animals and just how many animals come into our one shelter on a daily basis. It's phenomenal how many dogs and cats are in the world. It's also amazing how many of these animals get adopted into (hopefully) loving homes. However, this is not a 'no kill' shelter. This means when there isn't enough room, they have to euthanize some of the animals. They generally do this once a week, and they hate it, and I hate it. So what's the point? My point to you is to check a local animal shelter if you want to adopt an animal before you go to a pet store or breeder. If you know exactly what you want, then maybe you'll have to go to a breeder, but check an animal shelter first. Then be sure that you've thought about what you are getting yourself into. These animals are adorable when they are young; we all know that. However, they will grow into dogs and cats and will be a dog or a cat longer than a puppy or a kitten. It's not a year commitment; it's a life commitment to take care of the animal. Once you have your pet, spay or neuter it, get it micro-chipped, and have fun. Just use your brain. I hate when we have animals that come in that are just abandoned or even worse surrendered by their owners. Don't let an animal down. They love and trust you in their innocence.

I have so much to offer.

I just watched a Zaxby's commercial for their new Nibbler snack, and they're really good. I'm not overly hungry; it just looked tasty. I had an interview today with SeaChem. We're watching the Olympics, and I'm sleepy. I was worried about the interview I guess 'cause in my dream I was with Kuester, Liz, and Lyd, and I kept telling them I had to leave so I could get enough sleep for my interview. We were at Steph's apt, and I had driven Liz and Lyd. They all wanted to go clubbing, but I just had to get back. It was special. In other news, check out Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal.

It's official--ticks are God's grossest creation.

Being the math nerd that I am, I went through to figure out how many athletes are attending the Olympics, the country's estimated population, and then the percentage that that was. Basically what percentage of a population would attend the Olympics as athletes. I didn't know if there would be a pattern or correlation or anything, but it was interesting regardless. If I get the chance, maybe I'll put up the results. There are a lot of countries. The smaller the population, even with one person, there can be a high percentage, so it's interesting, but I don't know what it means yet.

Information on the war between Georgia and Russia. This is Time Magazine's report. Check it out.
Map of the region. This is the United Nations Map--keep that in mind.
South Ossetia.
Abkhazia.

When I turned the TV on today, I was shocked to see Russia and Georgia at war. I had no idea that was even a remote possibility, and it irks me more to not know these things since I have a soft spot in my heart for good ol' Russia and Georgia. I hate to see anyone at war. It's just such a shame. Then the news people were wondering about whether or not the U.S. should get involved, and I honestly don't know. I thought for a fleeting moment, 'why don't we just butt out of it?', but if we can help? I just don't know.

I found a cute website. It's a really really cute website. In fact, it's called cuteoverload.com. You should check it out if you like cute things, like pandas, polar bears, kitties, bunnies, etc. I sure do like cute things, so this is a good site for me. Go check it out. Now.

For those who aren't aware, a whole bunch of gorillas have recently been discovered. I find it hard to believe that we missed over 100,000 lowland gorillas. I mean how do you miss a population that large? On the other hand, that gives me hope that there are always new things to be discovered.

Well, I was going to do a little bit about the Monster of Montauk, but Mr. Curran beat me to it. Instead, I'll pass all my readers on to his blog where you can go to his link, and see the crazy picture of the Monster of Montauk.

'"If we knew each morning that there was going to be another morning, and on and on and on, we'd tend not to notice the sunrise, or hear the birds, or the waves rolling into the shore. We'd tend not to treasure our time with the people we love. Simply the awareness that our mortal lives had a beginning and will have an end enhances our quality of living. Perhaps it's even more intense when we know that the termination of the body is near, but it shouldn't be."' (59 -- A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle)
There are days when I feel like I have all the time in the world, and really, it's not true. That's not to say I should be panicked about life, but there should be a healthy recognition of our own mortality. We can really live in the moment if we keep this simple thing in mind--we will not be here forever, so make the most of every moment. That isn't always easy nor is it always kept in mind, but it's nice to have a friendly reminder every now and again.

Jane Lindskold is the author of a series of seven books about wolves. Well it's about a woman (Firekeeper) who is raised by wolves, her wolf companion Blind Seer, and what happens to the two of them as they become involved with humans. Anyway, I enjoy the books and would recommend them as fun reads for anyone who likes to read about characters that are developed really quite well. Anyway, here's one long set of quotes that I enjoy:
"Meddler, I have thinked..."
"Thought," Derian muttered reflexively.
"Thought a great deal about this," Firekeeper continued, choosing her words with care.
A long time ago, Derian had told her a poorly chosen word was like tainted water and could create sickness. Then she had not believed him, but now she had seen enough that she knew her friend had been right.
"In my thinking," she went on, "I have tried to understand what is meant by love. First, I thought about mating, but I think that love is more than mating. Humans are different than wolves in this, because they are in season almost all the time and so their heads confuse desire and love. I think this is one way the wolf way is wiser. Wolves are only in season for a short time each year, and even then, for the good of the pack, only the Ones breed."
She drew in a deep breath, knowing she was oversimplifying, but knowing this must be said, even if this talk of mating was making Derian's face turn a little red.
"Wolves understand," Firekeeper continued, "that love is for more. Love is trusting someone will guard your back. Love is knowing that when you are wounded, that your loved one will drag food to where you are fallen. Love is knowing that you would do this for the other, even if doing that means going hungry for yourself. Love is knowing that when you die, someone will care enough to sing of you to the moon."

It's a long quote, but I enjoy it. There's more to it, but I don't want to ruin anything if anyone reads it. Good times though. Read them if you're so inclined.

Wii Fit

So as a surprise, I got the Wii Fit for my birthday, and I hadn't tried it out for a few days waiting on a cover for it, but tonight I was tired of sitting around, so I busted it out. I've just done some of the beginning stuff, but it's really quite fun. It's a good way to get in a work out that is fun, and it keeps track of all the information. It also gives you goals to shoot for (you set them up), but it can help you reach them (I think). Anyway, if you have a wii and want to work out but don't have someone to work out with or live in the middle of nowhere and it's freaking hot, check it out!

For those who aren't aware, Barnes & Noble is in association with Quamut or the other way around...anyway, if you check out the Quamut Website, they put up new information on all sorts of topics from taking care of house pets (dogs, cats, hamsters and the like) and setting up e-bay. They have one new set/pamphlet of information per day, and the ones that they put up each day are free. It's a nice site, and they have some random good information. Check it out in your free time...or every day.