OMGZ!!!!! Mommy (Human Mommy) did something really mean to me this morning!! First she put the covered litterbox into the bedroom where that Pumpkin boy cat likes to spend his stupid time. Then she put a water bowl there. Then she took our FOOD bowls and put them in the bedroom at breakfast time, and then she went out into the closet and shut the ( Read more... )

For years (since a spirited debate on one of my LJ posts, though I can't find it at the moment), I've wondered what happens to old clothes that get donated, but then rejected as unsaleable at a thrift store.

Well, this article provides some answers, although it's focused more on clothes that don't sell in the stores in the first place. Feel free ( Read more... )

Those vehicles may be just too gosh darn quiet!

Just a few words about yesterday: I was the assistant teacher in RE class, as was phoenix_glow, but my class was pretty much well-behaved. What gives? Last meeting of the six-week "simplicity circle," followed by laundry and the baronial business meeting.

Speaking of simplicity and sustainability, this is a thought-provoking post: What will happen to the ( Read more... )

Read at will. Or not.

lesliepear's alma mater will have the greenest roof in town.

Interesting article about the Hubble constant. (I wonder how all those undergraduate labs on the topic are getting changed to reflect current data.)

A story that at least a couple of men on my f-list might be interested in: could polygamy be the key to long life? And hey, ( Read more... )

Interesting article in the NY Times Magazine about the European population decline. The focus is on the birth rate, not so much on the growing gap between retirement and death, but it does make you think about the factors behind decisions, to have kids or not to have kids, how many to have, gender roles within families, and whether population ( Read more... )

What is up with the underpants of todayHonestly. Even though I've bought my last several multi-packs of underpants at Target, they're of a name brand. Yet after just a few machine washings, the damned waistband is unraveling. Or there is a hole somewhere. Or there's a weak point that I can poke my finger through ( Read more... )

Various links:

Someone at AlterNet writes about the "supersized life" (spending more than one's income, college debt, etc.) and the corresponding decline of progressive politicsNot too long ago I took the cost of tuition, room and board for my freshman year of college -- a round $6,000, thirty years ago -- and put it into one of those Web ( Read more... )

Something that might have gotten buried in the deluge coming out of Fenway: A Catholic school north of Boston has banned the Harry Potter books. Remind me why my mother refused to send me to parochial school...?

On a much lighter note, try saying THIS headline three times fast: Hubble Spies Shells of Sparkling Stars Around QuasarWhat happens to ( Read more... )

First of all, there's a tour of solar homes in the Washington-Baltimore area this coming weekend (October 1 and 2). You can download a "ticket" from that Web site.

Second, there's going to be another Solar Decathlon in DC this October. I really enjoyed the previous one in 2002. I also think it's cool that the UMass-Dartmouth team plans to donate ( Read more... )