Randomn3ss

Yippee yay, it’s earth day!

Earth day was created in 1970 as a global environmental awareness initiative. It is now observed in 175 countries and supported by progressive action organizations such as the Sierra Club, Greenpeace and the Earth Day Network. (Thank you Wikipedia.)

Some great, green + fun websites for earth day and beyond:

1. Buy local foods, support local farms. Visit Local Harvest to find local farms and farmers markets. Go out and pet a goat.
2. Carpool. Check out eRideShare to find local peeps that are looking to share rides. You can even search for someone to carpool across the country with.
3. Remove yourself from junk mail lists. Check out GreenDimes, sign up to be removed from junk mailings and in turn they’ll send you a dollar, plant a tree on your behalf, or send you a free green ‘zine. Everybody wins! (FYI: When you sign up for this they will ask for credit card information to verify your identity. Sort of like what paypal does. It’s been a few months since I signed up and so far no funny business.)
4. Once you go black, you never go back… take a walk on the dark side: Blackle is Google powered and eco-friendly.
5. Recycle your goods and get new ones at freecycle. This site will hook you up with a local group that supports the reuse of anything and everything. Although the site is a little difficult to navigate, once you’re in there seems to be a lot of activity going on in each of the different areas. There’s a slightly loved television stand in York, PA with your name on it.
6. Go zero! The Conservation Fund will help you measure your very own carbon emissions and tell you how many trees you need to plant to offset your consumption. I’ve got 16 trees to plant this year to outweigh my emission consumptions. Damn. I had better get started. You can do it yourself or they allow you to make a donation for whatever the cost comes out to be to plant your trees.
7. Get free stuff (by paying for it) at the Sierra Club. Right now, $15 will get you a membership (usually around $35), and a handy backpack for a thank you gift.
8. Be a green person/dog/baby. I bought my dog these organic treats in the shape of little cupcakes that he refuses to eat from a store I found on Green People. They also have eco friendly and holistic business listings for people too. And their travel section has some really neat stuff.
9. Save on gas. With gas prices expected to hit $4 this summer, be sure to get your daily feul economy tips for some serious advice on saving money at the gas tank and saving the environment.
10. Read up. Eco Chick’s blog is as sassy as it is green. And I don’t use the word *sassy* often. Starre Vartan’s website is funny, smart and earth friendly. And how could a girl named Starre not be cool? Be sure to read her list of what not to do for Earth Day. As she says, because mother earth is a woman. Yeah!

It is true, we all need to be a little greener. Without the earth we won’t be here.

April 22 also happens to be the democratic primary in PA, so get out and vote all you registered Pennsylvanians. Polls are open 7am – 8pm, your local polling place is usually within walking distance to your house. Brody and I will be on our way to our designated voting center bright and early wearing our Obama buttons. See you there.

I enjoy a nice bathroom when I’m out and about, but is a $430,000 luxury bathroom really needed at China’s famed Shaolin Temple?  I understand that there are huge volumes of visitors from all around the world that visit there, but those monks tend to live a rather simple life, why should they need to change to accommodate us visitors?

The simple life of monks at China’s famed Shaolin Temple got an upgrade with the installation of luxury restrooms worth $430,000.The official Xinhua News Agency said the most lavish of the restrooms measures more than 150 square meters.

It is equipped with a diaper changing station for infants, uniformed cleaners and a foyer with an LCD television.

The good news is that it won’t cost you a dime to watch the TV while tacking a crap there.

Source: The Canadian Press

Earlier this month I shared photos of the diamond mine in Canada where they dig a big hole to get a little rock, apparently several people are fascinated with large, man-made holes in the earth’s surface because a recently popular submission to digg showed off 7 amazing holes. The diamond mine I shared was on this list, along with an amazing photo of a glory hole, and before you get to excited, I’m referring to,

a glory hole is used when a dam is at full capacity and water needs to be drained from the reservoir.

This photo is of the Monticello Dam in California.

To see more amazing glory holes, check out Fogonazo’s website.

The History Channel’s recent show, Ice Road Truckers, documented the struggle to get mining supplies to the Diavk Diamond Minds over lakes which freeze enough to allow heavy trucks to transfer the loads, all inside the northern most parts of Canada in temperatures as low as -40F. The trucking routes are used because flying items is too costly, the downside is that there is only a small window of a few months during the winter that the ice is thick enough to carry these heavy loads. What’s all this for? Diamonds, little tiny rocks. So what does this mine look like when the ice hasn’t frozen over the northern part of the world?

Pretty big hole for such a small reward. More photos can be seen here.

Not to be outdone, check out the biggest hole in the world, located in Russia

All this, just for silly little diamonds.

The US has been experiencing a steady growth in population for the entirety of its existence. Not quite a year ago, America welcomed its 300 millionth citizen, something I personally view as a blessing and a curse. Not all countries however are growing like the US, example #1: Russia. Those kooky Russkies have come up with a plan to tackle their low birth rate because, according to the Associated Press, a la the Washington Times, Russia’s population has been declining since the 1990’s and is expected to fall below 100 million by 2050. Their solution? The declaration of September 12th the “Day of Conception,” where everyone gets the day off to go home and hump.

The hope is for a brood of babies exactly nine months later, on Russia’s national day. Couples who “give birth to a patriot” during the June 12 festivities win money, cars, refrigerators and other prizes.

One couple won 250,000 rubles, or about $10,000 US. I’d live with that much snow if it meant I got paid to have babies!

Sadly, the body of lost travel writer and mountaineer Clem Lindenmayer has been found on the slope of Gonga Shan in the Sichuan province of China.

Click here to read the full story.

And, yes, I do feel like an ass for previously pointing out the irony of being a lost travel writer. But, you know, it’s still ironic.

Source: news.com.au

One of my claims to fame is being the only Hamilton College Russian Studies major of 2005. Everyone asks me: “Why Russian studies?” And I answer: “Because there’s all sorts of weird and cool shit going on there. And Putin is hot.”

Here’s another reason why Russia is awesome (despite shutting down AllOfMP3.com… it’s being re-routed, so be easy). After you read the article, be sure to watch the accompanying video (linked up in the article). The news source, Pravda (”Truth”), has been around since Soviet times, so their reputation is dubious, but they’re pretty much the only news game in town.

Anyway - some fishermen found an alien fish with a face and ate it.

Source: Pravda Online

On Saturday, a video surfaced on mainstream Greek media outlets depicting Greek police officers brutalizing migrant workers. In the video (taken on a camera phone), the officers force the 2 men to beat up one another as well as beatings from the officers themselves.

Apparently, the video has been widely circulated amongst Greek police officers over the past year. The video made it’s way to the “general public” when it was uploaded to a publicly shared site. The ever-vigilant Indymedia.org jumped all over it and delivered it to the worldwide masses.

Currently, Greek Prime Minister Karamanlis is still standing behind his Minister of Public Order. This is understandable as incidents such as these have sadly become commonplace within the Greek police.

Please be advised that the video is rather unsettling. Video Link

Translation of the video can be found here

Sucks to be this guy:

A search has been launched for an Australian travel writer missing for more than a month in a mountainous region of China.

Clem Lindenmayer, a 47-year-old Victorian man who has written for the travel guidebook company Lonely Planet, disappeared while hiking near Minya Konka mountain, also known as Gongga Shan.

Not only is it bad enough to get lost in an ass-backwards region of China, but it’s just plain embarrassing to be a renound trekker and travel-guide writer and not be able to get back out to civilization.  On a more serious note, the article suggests that this isn’t a typical “lost in the wilderness” case, but that the situation may be the result of foul play.  There is plenty of speculation, but no concrete answers yet.  I’m going to watch this one, it’s pretty interesting, and might play into China’s already-struggling relations with democratic countries.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Despite my avid running, lifting weights, and bouts of drunken arm-wresting, this article alone makes me feel like a complete slug.

Apa, who goes by one name, reached the 29,035-foot summit with seven other Sherpas and a Western climber, said Ang Tshering, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. Apa, 46, is one of the most respected climbers in the mountaineering community. His closest competitor — fellow Sherpa guide Chewang Nima, 41 — scaled the peak a 14th time last year.

Unreal, right?

Furhter proves my theory that certain humans are just genetically bred for certain athletic endeavors (like Kenyans for fast distance running, Scandinavians for lifting heavy logs and stuff… you know what I mean). If you read Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, you know that climbing Everest is no easy task and even for the experienced climber, it can be a death sentence. I can’t imagine pushing my body to that type of extreme. Thus, I’m picking up some Taco Bell, putting on sweatpants, and laying on my couch because that is what I am built for.

Source: ESPN

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