Quote of the Day

Shut-up! I can't take it anymore! Argh!
- Catherine Shipman. while yelling at the wall.

In the Kitchen

Cheeze and Crackas.

Ingredients:

Cheeze (any flava)
Crackas (not white people)

Directions:

Slice the cheeze. Place on Cracka. Eat.


Prep time: 1 minute
cook time: 2 seconds

Ceramics

sadly, my only pic from class. Taken by a classmate, who doesn't understand auto focus. oh well. at least he tried.

lately simplified

Our lives ......simplified.

Dan:
1. Got his lunch stolen at work
2. Celebrated Earth Day at Golden Gate Park
3. One day off from work. Went for walk.
4. Witnessed a high speed fly-by 10 feet away. ok, it was an owl, but still.

Cat:
1. trying to make ceramics
2. preparing for Melissa to visit
3. bed ridden with icky illness
4. yelling at rumbling sound that now occurs in kitchen wall.

SF burns......

in the news.....

Highway buckles: Tanker overturns on I-880 connector, igniting thousands of gallons of gas -- key overpass collapses

A tanker truck carrying 8,600 gallons of gasoline had overturned at 3:41 a.m. and burst into flames on the 50-foot-high ramp connecting westbound Interstate 80 to southbound Interstate 880. Within minutes, the ramp above it -- connecting eastbound I-80 to eastbound I-580 -- collapsed in the 3,000-degree cauldron.
The overpass was a critical component of one of the Bay Area's busiest highway interchanges, the MacArthur Maze. The network of connector ramps merges the East Bay's three major highways: Interstates 80, 580 and 880.
The severed highway is a three-lane artery that served about 45,000 vehicles each day, and the damaged two-lane highway below it was used by about 35,000 vehicles, said Caltrans Director Will Kempton. Not since the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 has any other incident caused such major damage to a Bay Area freeway.
Only the tanker driver, who suffered burns to his face, neck and hands, was injured. No other vehicles were involved in the crash or fire.

Sucks to live in East Bay........

Our newest gadget

So Dan and I have finally bit the bullet and bought a new digital camera. I guess our 2.1 megapixel HP with tape on it to keep the batteries from falling out, well, is outdated. So thanks to our friends at Kodak we have a new arrival. Welcome the 5.1 megapixel Kodak Easy Share C533. Check out our first pics! Whoohoo!

Earth Day

So tomorrow is Earth Day. A day in my opinion that should be a vacation day. Although, it is on Sunday. So what are you doing for the planet? here are some easy breazy tips to help out.

JUNK MAIL: millions of trees and billions of gallons of water are used each year for that junk mail you never recycle. want to be rid of it? Write your NAME, ADDRESS, and SIGNATURE to

Mail Preference Service
c/o Direct Marketing Association
PO BOX 643
Carmel, NY 10512
Dont forget to tell them you want your name removed from national mailing lists.

SAVE WATER: your toilet uses 5-7 gallons per flush. what a waste. So fill a plastic bottle (soak off the label first) with water and make sure the cap is tight. place it in the top of the porcelain god away from the flushing mechanism. Water saved! Plus, your bill wont be so high!

CLEAN COFFEE: Buy a reusable coffee filter. The white filters contain chlorine and other harmful chemicals that pollute. The brown are better but still contribute to the ever growing landfill. Really feeling earth friendly? Then go the extra mile and buy SHADE- Grown organic coffee. It preserves the land for birds and doesnt use chemicals or pesticides. Dan and I buy it from Trader Joes for 6.99. what a deal and tasty too! even better, use Luke as your shining example, and go luxurious with a french press. No electricity needed!

NO MORE DRY CLEANING BILLS: dry cleaning is a process which uses chemicals to
"clean" your scrubs. Try to go to a "green clean" place. they're popping up all over the place. I went to the one in Santa Monica. Or even better, hand wash your lace in eco-friendly detergent and hang to dry.

NO MORE NAPKINS: using paper napkins and towels are a huge waste and seriously fill up the landfills. Use cloth. its too obvious to tell you why. when it gets too dirty just rinse in the sink and hang to dry or throw it in with your laundry. use an old t shirt for cleaning along with earth friendly cleaning products. rinse out when done. not only saves the planet, but saves you money.

Good luck and happy Earth Day!

The Newest Installment: Meals, yummy.

PB and J.

Ingredients:
Peanut Butter
Jelly
2 slices of bread

Directions:

using a butter knife, spread jelly on one of the slices of bread. Wipe excess jelly off on other slice. Spread peanut butter on remaining slice. Put sides of bread together to form a sandwich. Enjoy!

prep time: 30 seconds
cook time: 1 minute

Quote of the Day

When you are waiting for the bus and someone asks, "Has the bus come yet?". If the bus came would I be standing here?
-- Billy Connoly

In the San Francisco News

S.F. FIRST CITY TO BAN PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS

Supermarkets and chain pharmacies will have to use recyclable or compostable sacks

aper or plastic? Not anymore in San Francisco.

The city's Board of Supervisors approved groundbreaking legislation Tuesday to outlaw plastic checkout bags at large supermarkets in about six months and large chain pharmacies in about a year.

The ordinance, sponsored by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, is the first such law in any city in the United States and has been drawing global scrutiny this week.

"I am astounded and surprised by the worldwide attention," Mirkarimi said. "Hopefully, other cities and other states will follow suit."

Fifty years ago, plastic bags -- starting first with the sandwich bag -- were seen in the United States as a more sanitary and environmentally friendly alternative to the deforesting paper bag. Now an estimated 180 million plastic bags are distributed to shoppers each year in San Francisco. Made of filmy plastic, they are hard to recycle and easily blow into trees and waterways, where they are blamed for killing marine life. They also occupy much-needed landfill space.

Two years ago, San Francisco officials considered imposing a 17-cent tax on petroleum-based plastic bags before reaching a deal with the California Grocers Association. The agreement called for large supermarkets to reduce by 10 million the number of bags given to shoppers in 2006. The grocers association said it cut back by 7.6 million, but city officials called that figure unreliable and unverifiable because of poor data supplied by markets.

The dispute led to a renewed interest in outlawing the standard plastic bag, which Mirkarimi said Tuesday was a "relic of the past." Under the legislation, which passed 10-1 in the first of two votes, large markets and pharmacies will have the option of using compostable bags made of corn starch or bags made of recyclable paper. San Francisco will join a number of countries, such as Ireland, that already have outlawed plastic bags or have levied a tax on them. Final passage of the legislation is expected at the board's next scheduled meeting, and the mayor is expected to sign it.

From SFGATE.COM

some fun numbers:
Plastic bags by the numbers

180 million

Roughly the number of plastic shopping bags distributed in San Francisco each year.

2 to 3 cents

Amount each bag costs markets, compared with anywhere from 5 to 10 cents for a biodegradable bag.

4 trillion to 5 trillion

Number of nondegradable plastic bags used worldwide annually.

430,000 gallons

Amount of oil needed to produce 100 million nondegradable plastic bags.

Source: S.F. Department of the Environment; Worldwatch Institute

In the San Francisco News

1.

Police confiscate 8,000 plants worth up to $16 million

MILPITAS -- A 19-year-old San Jose man and a teenager have been arrested for allegedly growing marijuana on property near the Calaveras Reservoir where authorities said they confiscated more than 8,000 plants that could have sold for as much $16 million.

Authorities today were working to determine whether any chemicals used to cultivate the plants had seeped into the reservoir, which the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission owns in the hills above Fremont and Milpitas, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Sgt. Ed Wise said.

"These growers are not farmers," Wise said. "All they're concerned about is growing their pot. They're not concerned about respecting the environment. The runoff from these gardens can enter into the streams and enter into the lake, which could contaminate or pollute the drinking water."

So are they in trouble for the Mary J or for pollution?

2.

Small earthquake strikes off the coast near Eureka

Petrolia, Calif. (AP) --

A small quake struck off the coast of Humboldt County on Thursday afternoon, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damages.

The magnitude-4.1 earthquake struck at 3:54 p.m. and was centered about 40 miles southwest of Eureka and 206 miles northwest of Sacramento, according to the U.S. Geological Survey

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, according to a spokeswoman for the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department.

No fish were hurt but reports are still coming in about the starfish. We can't be sure at this time.

3.

Surgeon takes wrong testicle

Los Angeles -- Benjamin Houghton had fewer reasons than most to fear the surgery he had scheduled at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center here to remove his potentially cancerous left testicle.

For one thing, the 47-year-old Air Force veteran and father of four already knew that he could function with a single healthy testicle. For another, he was undergoing surgery in a system that prides itself on pioneering efforts to prevent medical errors.

But in Houghton's case, the VA hospital missed the mark.

Last June 14, doctors mistakenly removed the right testicle instead of the left, according to medical records and a claim filed by Houghton and his wife, Monica, 39.

Now the couple is seeking about $200,000 for future health-care costs outside the VA system and an undisclosed amount in damages. Their claim is pending.

Um, Thats just downright frightening.

Quote of the Day

It's the most important decision I've had to make since 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax.
-- Arnold Schwarzenegger

Big Sur Pics

pics

Big Sur California

For Spring Break, Danny and I went to Big Sur and camped at the Pfeiffer Big Sur camp ground. We hiked some really easy trails, but they had some great views. A very lazy and fun camping trip. The weather was really ideal, however at night I slept in socks, thermal sweats and cotton pants, a thermal undershirt, night gown, sweater and danny's snowboarding jacket. i also had on gloves, neckwarmer, and beanie. I was tucked inside my sleeping bag and then covered in a blanket. And sadly it was only around 40 degrees outside. Guess its safe to say I get cold at night. We got a rare view of the Endangered Stealhead trout and a couple hungry fawns. I got to spy a beautiful bird, no not a condor, but it had a black and white striped tail and a red hood. it looked like some sort of hawk. It was very beautiful. Our campsite was really big and private and not too many bugs. Actually it was virtually skeeter free. which is very nice. As usual we had our share of friendly visiting squirrels and when we were off seeking adventure in the wild, they made their secret, nasty, and deceitful way into our stuff and destroyed our specially bought Entenmann's New York Coffee Crumb Cake. Those sneaky bastards. It was even in a plastic container. Dan was perturbed over the loss of 2 pages of his newspaper which is now the home of some baby squirrel I am sure. Additionally sadly, we paid $21.00 for 3 bundles of wood, that were wet. We struggled nightly to split it and on one occasion a neighboring camper family were overheard complaining about the noise we were making and so their stupid kids decided to remedy the situation by throwing rocks at us. That is until I yelled, "What the hell?!" So as eventful as this all sounds the trip was actaully very relaxing. Check out the pics!