Use our landfills, or we'll sue!

More enviro news out of California. I heard the tail-end of this on "As It Happens" last night, so was intrigued to learn more. Eddie House of San Carlos, CA, has cancelled his trash collections service because he found that he could recycle or safely dispose of everything himself. Now the city is suing him, seeking a court order to make him not only reinstate weekly pick-ups, but also to reimburse the city for attorney and court fees. It doesn't get much dumber than this. Mr. House went so far as to propose bi-weekly collection as a compromise, but no, that wasn't good enough for the fat cats down in city hall.

I've been wondering myself for quite a while why we don't recycle more. At my house we have a huge trash can that, each week, goes to the curb accompanied by a much smaller bin for recyclables. Shouldn't it be the other way around? So much of the stuff we consider "trash" can be recycled - why not change "trash collection" into "recycling service." Shift the paradigm, people, and use the clutch! Even better, remove the onus of sorting from the customer - many a time I find myself wondering, can this go in the recycling? And as often as not, if I don't know, it goes to the trash. People are lazy, and there's empirical evidence that, when confronted with a decision and a shortage of information, people take the path of least resistance. Make it easier, and more people will do it.

Worst. Directions. Ever. (Graphics edition!)

In preparation for my new lappy, I'm checking out the bargain-priced Micro$~1 software available through the U. On the main page of the University Computer Services web site, I noticed the link "Where can I park at UCS?" The graphic they've put together to point out their parking spaces is hilarious. (I'll post it here, since who knows if it'll disappear after word gets around that the Lady with a Hat, Arbiter of eQuality, has dissed them.)

Finally, my laziness pays off!

I just got an email from the University that tells me:

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is forecasting an Air Pollution Health Advisory for the Twin Cities metro area from Sunday July 22 through Thursday July 25.

It goes on to discuss some details of the advisory, including those most likely to be affected:

Sensitive groups include those with respiratory problems such as asthma (and cardiovascular problems if it is a fine particle event) as well as senior citizens, children and physically active adults. (emphasis added)

I am vindicated in my rejection of exercise!

Summer Vacation, Part 4

Aaaah, summer. That magical time of year when temperatures rise to WTF and humidity makes the outdoors all but unbearable.

Here I am basking in the cool of Central Air, trying to get focused on school work. The dog occasionally pesters me, and the cats love the laptop, and I need to start writing a paper. Meanwhile, laundry tumbles in the washer and dryer, and I consider the pros and cons of going to the grocery store (pro: get more food; con: have to leave house).

We've [redacted] the most recent episode of [redacted], but haven't watched it yet - it's the middle of a [redacted], and I am trying to hold off watching until we have both parts. Can I make it? Place your bets!

A disrupted sleep pattern adds to the complexity of my life. Wow, it's tough being an unemployed American.

Last weekend, Ben & I went up to the Twin Cities. I did a little homework, and we went to see Daywatch (based (mostly) on the book Nightwatch, and sequel to the film of that name), then we had dinner with friends Melissa & Shane & Jessica & her husband Gabe, then a couple of drinks. Mmmm... drinks.

Curse you, Blogger.com

A friend pointed me at one of her friend's LiveJournal entries today. I was looking at it, and I thought, I wonder if they have better customization & templates than does Blogger.com. Of course, the only way to find out was to sign up for an account, so I did, and I perused their templates, etc., and found that they have wider range of templates, including one with three columns, vs. the limiting 2-column maximum of Blogger.

Then, I tried doing that previous entry, and I wanted to insert the piece from that job posting, and it was murderously difficult to format it and get it to look decent. The HTML-editing capacity of Blogger, and the ability to get things to look the way you want them to look, is woeful in its deficiency. So annoying! It makes me wish I'd done a little more research and comparison before starting up this here blog.

Now, those of you that know me are thinking, "Here we go - now we're going to have to update all our links, because he's going to switch over to LiveJournal, and then after a while he'll get tired of that, and look for something else." As much as I want greater control over the appearances, though, I'm not going to jump to another system of templates and limitations. What I really ought to do is get a proper site organized, and set up the blog there (sadly, ladywithahat.com is taken). Alas, laziness wins out, and I'll just have to accept the limitations hereof, for the time being.

However, anybody out there with experience with other blogging systems or who has their own site (this means you ;-)) - feel free to offer your insight and opinions on this particular quandary.

Too funny not to be shared

MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless
Yeah, I's got lazy agin.

Maybe I should have a limit of one links-only post per (time period). Or I could add a section over there on the right for transient links like these?

Lamest. Post. Ever.

A post to another blog's post? Are you even trying?