September 2021
Geiger Readings for Sep 18, 2021
Latitude 47.704656 Longitude -122.318745
Ambient office = 115 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 114 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 118 nanosieverts per hour
Wooly Bear Caterpillar Predictions
Most people are well aware of the annual groundhog predictions issued each February, where we find out whether or not the spring will arrive early or be delayed based on the shadow of a groundhog. But how many people are aware that there are several other animals with predictions associated with them, including the wooly bear caterpillar?
Canceling Household Debt
As so many Americans face hardship and eviction notices during a global pandemic, some leaders want to act as if everything is normal while others are trying to actually address these problems head-on. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is one of them. Tlaib has introduced the Maintaining Access to Essential Services Act in the U.S. House to help alleviate some of the pain that people are facing right now.
Boosters Approved for Elderly, High-Risk
Lately I've been wishing we could get boosters of our Covid-19 shots after finding out how much more protection you can get with a booster or during the period immediately following the shots--not to mention finding out how many people I know who've had breakthrough cases.
Cool Cat News This Week
This week there have been lots of great stories about cats in the news. Here are just a few highlights:
Out-of-Print Board Games
Hearing that many board games are now out of print made my heart sink a little today. I don't know why it never even occurred to me that board games might go out of print just like old books do, but why wouldn't they? We have so many new games that some of the old games will just have to make way for the new ones. That doesn't take the sting away, but it does explain why so many favorites get updates to remain relevant and appealing to new generations.
Kauai Family Restaurant
Craving Hawaiian food in the Seattle area? Kauai Family Restaurant in Georgetown is the perfect place for some delicious takeout. Breakfast is served all day, and it ranges from short stacks of French Toast (which do stop at noon) to Kalua pork, Loco Moco and Spam. Yes, you can get white or fried rice with breakfast.
Mask And Vax Orders Reminiscent of 80s Seatbelt Pushback
Saving lives with a moment of inconvenience is nothing new. In fact, arguing that one's freedom is more important than saving lives seems to be a repetitive refrain in the United States. Just check out these old clips of people arguing against the seatbelt mandates that were created in the 1980s. People compared it to Big Brother in 1984. Seatbelts have been estimated to save over 300,000 lives, far fewer than the number of people who've died from Covid-19, yet we continue to implement them.
Glitches in the Matrix
Do you have a glitch in the matrix story? If you've never heard of these, they consist of times when events in your life just seemed as if they stopped, had a glitch in time and space, or even had something out-of-this-world happen. Have you ever found yourself walking on a sidewalk and suddenly looked up and you were surrounded by beings that weren't human, only to blink and have them disappear? Have you ever called a number and talked to yourself? These are just a few weird examples.
Treats With Canned Pumpkin
Canned pumpkin is one of my all-time favorite dessert staples. I love that you can control how much sugar or sweetener you use and how very versatile it is. Canned pumpkin is good for smoothies, pies, baked goods, dips--even for dog tummies if you use it plain (no canned pie filling!). You'd better believe I keep a lot of that on hand in the fall!
A Quest for Bath Bombs
According to some of the indie bath and body companies I like to buy from, bath bombs are scarce these days because there's a shortage of citric acid, which is a key ingredient in their production. Some of the shortages we're experiencing seem so random. For years we've heard about everything from chocolate to coffee (which are still possible to probable...) going scarce, but we've seen everything from TP to beauty products during the pandemic. It's not how I expected. How about you?
The Sealy Challenge
Named after poet and teacher Nicole Sealey, The Sealey Challenge is a call to really expand your mind and your breadth of reading material with a simple yet possibly big task: reading a book of poetry every day during the month of August. The challenge is to read a completely different, full book daily, not just a single book throughout the entire month! This may be an enormous challenge for many but certainly a rewarding experience for any!
New Family Guy Covid Vaccine PSA
If the nation's leading medical experts, scientists and doctors from around the world aren't enough to convince someone to get the Covid-19 vaccine, do you think their favorite animated characters could get the job done? That's what Family Guy producers must be hoping with this new animated PSA featuring Brian, Stewie and Peter Griffin.
$1 Halloween Hacks
Why I've never searched for $1 tutorials on YouTube, I don't know, but I am downright amazed by the sheer number of them. There are $1 tutorials for everything, from house storage ideas to holiday decorations to handmade gift ideas. Some of them are a little clunky but most of them are really cool. I'm especially impressed by the ideas that use an item for something it was never even intended for, or that upgrade the item into something really special.
Vaccine For Kids Is Close
Up until now, children ages up to 11 have not been able to receive a vaccination against Covid. Many have argued that it wasn't a big deal since kids don't get the illness as badly as adults, but there have been enough children who've gotten severely ill or died from the disease to cause worry, especially with schools opening back up and kids once again packed together on buses and inside classrooms.
Alternatives to Dissection
My son is in the 10th grade this year, and since we homeschool I bookmarked a free website where we could perform frog dissections online, without an actual frog, many years ago. I knew it was an important part of the curriculum, but I also love frogs, so it seemed like the best solution. Unfortunately it has been so long that the program I bookmarked no longer exists!
Zookeeper Gives Gorillas Covid
If it's your job to care for beings in any capacity, you need to make sure those beings don't get sick or harmed to the best of your ability. In the midst of a pandemic, that needs to include not spreading an illness. And the beings who are protected need to include non-human ones as well.
More Whale Sightings
The British Antarctic Society has some fantastic news to share! They've spotted 55 different blue whales recently, which is an incredible increase from the two blue whales they spotted in 2018. How exciting to think that these majestic creatures may be increasing, and how inspiring to think that there's hope for any species to grow in 2021. So many things seem so bleak lately that it's been difficult to feel hopeful for many of us sometimes, so this is such a lovely story.
Grateful Dead PJs
It's so funny. Every year when I look for Grateful Dead swag for a friend's birthday, I get a new idea and wonder, "Do they even make those?" Of course they do. This year I thought about buying him some Deadhead pajamas and thought that I'd never seen any before. After searching I was happy to see that there are plenty of designs being sold right now!