The Week in Review

I've been meaning to post since last Tuesday, but have had a lot going on. Well, just one thing, really, but it took a long time.

I went to a global warming panel discussion Tuesday evening. The main speaker was Bill Bradbury, the Oregon Secretary of State. He gave what was basically a 45 minute, abbreviated version of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. He did a good job, as I believe he has been trained by Gore to give these presentations. The main message of the meeting was that we really need to do something soon or we're all screwed. I've felt this way for a long time and am struggling to figure out what I can do to help. One means to this end is contained in the 2030 Challenge. I'll bet you didn't know that almost half of all energy usage in the United States goes towards the operation of buildings. Globally, the percentage is even higher. The goal of the 2030 challenge is to reduce this percentage drastically, eventually producing buildings that are net producers of energy, by 2030, of course. If you want more information on global warming in general and how you can help out check out Focus the Nation. Or just look up global warming in your favorite search engine and click on a few of the results.

For the rest of the week, I pretended to be a painter. As in, I helped to paint a kitchen, making a few bucks in the process. I worked long hours and pretty much got up way too early and went to bed when I was done. That takes us through Saturday.

On Sunday, I went to a barbecue. I brought a leather mug that I got at a renaissance festival several years ago and lots of people thought it was super cool. One girl asked when I got it and was rather disappointed when I told her that it was from a renaissance festival nearly 3000 miles away in the general vicinity of Harrisburg, PA. I said she should just look around at renaissance festivals in the area, but she revealed that she already has, as she plays a pirate at various festivals around the area. But then I remembered that I had a card from the company that made it and promised to give her any information that the card contained. If you've never seen my mug, it is the Celtic Square, as pictured here. I also got to use a pair of poweriser brand spring stilts. They were for someone a fair amount heavier than I, so I couldn't get much air, but it was neat to be on stilts for the first time. I jumped around for a bit and wished I had something to juggle.

Well, that's my week in review. Hope you have enjoyed it.