21 May

Happy Birthday, Mr. T!

Whales

Whales have always fascinated me, particularly humpback whales. They are so huge yet move through the ocean with grace. A fond memory I have of a visit to Cape Cod is going on a whale watch and seeing a few of them splashing around in the north Atlantic. Granted, you can see a whale at Sea World or a similar theme park, but there's nothing quite like seeing a several-ton animal thrash about in the open ocean. I remember wondering at the time of the whale watch if it's fun for them...building up speed, shooting up past the surface, then coming down into the water and making a magnificent splash.

Interestingly, the nubbings on their fins have inspired an engineer to build a better blade. These new blades can get up to 20% more power out of the wind, according to the article. It'll be interesting to see how these blades impact the green energy movement, since their design contradicts the earlier theory that smooth blades are best.

Rihanna vs. Madonna

Oh, How about a round of applause, Yeah
A standing ovation
Oooooo, Yeah
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

You look so dumb right now
Standing outside my house
Trying to apologize
You’re so ugly when you cry
Please, just cut it out

[Chorus]
Don’t tell me you’re sorry cuz you’re not
Baby when I know you’re only sorry you got caught
But you put on quite a show
You really had me going
But now it’s time to go
Curtain’s finally closing
That was quite a show
Very entertaining
But it’s over now (But it’s over now)
Go on and take a bow

Grab your clothes and get gone (get gone)
You better hurry up
Before the sprinklers come on (come on)
Talkin’ bout'
Girl, I love you, you’re the one
This just looks like a re-run
Please, what else is on (on)

[Chorus]
And don't tell me you’re sorry cuz you’re not
Baby when I know you’re only sorry you got caught
But you put on quite a show
You really had me going
But now it’s time to go
Curtain’s finally closing
That was quite a show
Very entertaining
But it’s over now (But it’s over now)
Go on and take a bow

[Bridge]
Oh, And the award for
The best lie goes to you (goes to you)
For making me believe (that you)
That you could be faithful to me
Let's hear your speech, Out

How about a round of applause
A standing ovation

But you put on quite a show
Really had me going
Now it’s time to go
Curtain’s finally closing
That was quite a show
Very entertaining
But it’s over now (But it’s over now)
Go on and take a bow
But it’s over now

Sorry Rihanna, you can't beat the Queen:

Take a bow, the night is over
This masquerade is getting older
Light are low, the curtains down
There's no one here
[There's no one here, there's no one in the crowd]
Say your lines but do you feel them
Do you mean what you say when there's no one around [no one around]
Watching you, watching me, one lonely star
[One lonely star you don't know who you are]

Chorus:

I've always been in love with you [always with you]
I guess you've always known it's true [you know it's true]
You took my love for granted, why oh why
The show is over, say good-bye

Say good-bye [bye bye], say good-bye

Make them laugh, it comes so easy
When you get to the part
Where you're breaking my heart [breaking my heart]
Hide behind your smile, all the world loves a clown
[Just make 'em smile the whole world loves a clown]
Wish you well, I cannot stay
You deserve an award for the role that you played [role that you played]
No more masquerade, you're one lonely star
[One lonely star and you don't know who you are]

(chorus, repeat)

Say good-bye [bye bye], say good-bye

All the world is a stage [world is a stage]
And everyone has their part [has their part]
But how was I to know which way the story'd go
How was I to know you'd break
[You'd break, you'd break, you'd break]
You'd break my heart

I've always been in love with you
[I've always been in love with you]
Guess you've always known
You took my love for granted, why oh why
The show is over, say good-bye

(chorus)

Say good-bye [bye bye], say good-bye
Say good-bye

Sometimes, you can't outdo the classics. Does anyone do anything original these days?

Economic downturn - a boon to the environment?

So gas prices have hit all-time highs, food shortages are plaguing various countries, and prices on just about everything are inching up due to higher fuel costs.

I submit that this economic downturn may help the environment.

With less money, people must make decisions as to what is most important. We all must eat and keep a place to live, but also must travel at times to work and find clothes to wear to said work. With the rising costs of gas and clothing, we must work around it. For clothing, let's hit the thrift stores and the Goodwills. As for decreasing the amount of gas used, let's try to forgo A/C when possible (hard in the summer, but if you travel during the evening and morning it's not that bad), bike when we can, keep our tires inflated, and if possible, downsize to smaller, more efficient cars.

The interesting thing is that the less we purchase and use, the more helpful it is to the environment. The less fossil fuels we burn, the better. The less clothing that is produced means less energy consumed. That's just those two things though. I haven't even touched upon starting a small vegetable garden or eating less pre-processed and packaged food.

I wonder if we will see an increase in thrift store shopping or vegetable gardens over the next year or so, or however long this recession lasts.

Mother's Day

There are several mothers in my life as well as my own, who takes the cake. So I wish you all a happy day today, and know that we appreciate you EVERY day of the year, not just today. We're blessed to have you around.

Burma

It's hard to imagine the death toll from any natural disaster being 100,000 people. The last time something like this happened was the tsunami back in Christmas 2004, and if I'm not mistaken, rebuilding is still going on.

I feel fortunate to live in a country where if a hurricane or major storm happens by, we have an organized (well, with the exception of hurricane Katrina) way of receiving help.

Here you can see a map of the flooding and how it has affected the area.

Relax

(taken on the UCF boardwalk by the student union, last Friday)

This was a nice place to rest before graduation last Friday. Gave me some time to reflect on the semester and on the fact that a year from now I'll have my bachelor's degree (at last).

Summer is almost here with its adventures and challenges, as well as the heat. The good thing is that at least the temperature differential here is less than you'd have in the north in the wintertime... 90's outside, 78 inside.