Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on November 8, 2012
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on November 8, 2012
Ambient office = .073 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .093 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain = .077 microsieverts per hour
Cooked sliced turkey from grocery store = .060 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .101 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .081 microsieverts per hour
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on November 7, 2012
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on November 7, 2012
Ambient office = .087 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .114 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain = .110 microsieverts per hour
Red seedless grapes from grocery store = .078 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .100 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .078 microsieverts per hour
Seed companies are numerous
Ordering your seeds can be a challenge, but if you know what to look for in seed companies, it is easier to order seeds with confidence. Here is some advice on what you can do to find the best seed company to order all of your seeds from to know for certain they will germinate properly and provide you with the beautiful or bountiful garden you are trying to get.
Get in the Christmas mood by shopping at your nearest Dollar Store
Christmas shopping is stressful. Christmas shopping can be expensive. Plus, you may just not be in the spirit, yet. What do you do? You can wait until the last minute and you can do all your shopping in a panic, as well as in a rush. You could also start your shopping at a fun place such as your nearest Dollar Store.
Consider this. You know the Dollar Store will have a lot of Christmas decorations out by now. These decorations are always unique and inexpensive. They are fun to look at and within one’s budget. This alone can help get you in the spirit.
Once you get into the spirit, you can begin browsing the store for small trinkets and little ifs and ands that make perfect small presents. This store also carries perfect stocking stuffer gifts. This will help you begin to tackle that shopping list.
You can begin in the toy section if you have little ones on your list. These stores always carry toy items: small cars, cute stuffed animals, puzzles, yo-yos, doll babies and a variety of other creative toy gifts. In the stationary department, you can find: cute tablets, calendars, nice pens, coloring books, activity books for children and grownups and markers. For those on your list who enjoy making crafts, you can also pick up some nice craft items such as unique sewing items, flowers, etc.
Finally, one can pick up many needed beauty items that can make useful gifts. One can even purchase a few of these gifts and place them in nice baskets or cosmetic bags to make a larger gift. This can include: nail files, nail clippers, hair barrettes, hair clips, pony tail holders, combs, brushes, makeup sponges, makeup brushes, small mirrors and even some nice makeup.
Of course, while you are beginning your Christmas shopping, you can pick up some new Christmas wrapping and some fun Christmas decorations. Hopefully, before you leave the store you will be in the Christmas mood.
Caring for farm animals during winter
Raising livestock is a great way to make money. However, when the winter months arrive, you should consider a few elements to make sure your animals are properly cared for. Here are two of the main considerations you should make when raising your farm animals during winter.
Redskins/ Eagles game should be exciting to watch
The 3-6 Redskins will face the 3-6 Eagles this Sunday at 1 PM ET at Washington’s FedEx Field. Both teams come into the game at 3-6, but have had two very different seasons. After a fast start, the Eagles have slid and rumors have begun to swirl about the future of longtime coach Andy Reid. The Eagles have been on quite the losing streak and have faltered on both sides of the ball. Rookie Nick Foles, from Arizona, may be Reid’s last chance to be saved. Foles will start due to an injured Michael Vick.
Last week Vick was injured in the teams 38-23 loss against division rival Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles are now all but eliminated from any playoff hopes barring a sweep of the rest of their games. Perhaps Foles can provide at least enough sparks for the team to have some hope headed into next year. Judging on Vick’s recent season, Foles could easily win the starting job over all together. He did end up with good numbers last week as he completed 22 of 32 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown. He did get intercepted once however.
The Redskins, in the meantime, have played in some very competitive matchups this year. Lately, however, they have seemed to fall back a bit in terms of offensive production. Their defense has also continued to struggle throughout. Last week they were on a bye, but before that they lost 21-13 against the Panthers at home. The loss was surely a head scratcher, but we will see how the Redskins bounce back.
Act for the animals
While there are some sickos out there, I really believe that most of us do care about animals and their safety. Here are a few ways we can each take action for animals this week and help keep them safe.
Ensure the safety of animal habitat
Now that the elections are over, we must make sure that our elected officials make protecting our National Parks a priority. In addition to caring about animals, most Americans also care about these parks—but even more importantly, they provide a home to animals all across the nation. Click here to send a message to President Obama and Congress asking that they make protecting our National Parks a priority.
Help educate about puppy mills
Sheryl Crow has a special place in the heart of St. Louisans around where I live because she is from our area. So when I heard that she had made a PSA against puppy mills, I thought it was brilliant and I wanted to share it with all of my friends. Click here to check out Crow’s new public service announcement and to share it with everyone you know. You can also pledge to end puppy mills and help educate others about their horrors and how important it is to get puppies from rescue shelters instead of breeders.
Speak out for chimps
Chimps are so close to humans that I just don’t understand why people would want to keep them to use for entertainment purposes, which is what James Casey does. Casey is a known animal abuser, yet he is applying for a permit to keep primates to use in his for-profit business. I don’t approve this without the abuse record, let alone with it; why do we continue thinking that because we speak English and wear clothing we have the right to torture and exploit animals for money rather than allow them to live in peace? Click here to read more or to send a message to the town commissioner asking that Casey not be allowed to continue owning and using chimpanzees.
Ask Congress to save the environment
If the past summer told us anything, it’s that weather in the 100s for weeks on end is a dangerous, scary situation. It’s time to address climate change and other environmental concerns, not sacrifice the environment on the altar of the economy as many politicians would do. Click here to ask that our environment—our home as well as the home of the animals—is made a priority.
Take charge of your own happiness
On Sunday, I turned the big 3-0. Like most birthdays, it went by without much recognition. I’m the mom of a young child, so I don’t do what I used to do for my birthday—spend the day with my husband shopping, dining out, seeing movies, whatever. I used to buy an instrument from World Market every birthday. These days, we can’t afford a sitter AND a date, so we don’t usually do anything. He does make me my favorite soup and I do take the day off, which is nice.
That morning I decided to make my own happiness. I knew I wouldn’t be getting any surprises—I’m the one who throws them, not who gets them, I usually think bitterly—so I’d better create my own. I really did my best; I sang with my kiddo—my husband was working for the day—and we watched Bored Shorts, which is my new favorite show.
I tried to make an origami Batman, but gave up in the middle of the 17-minute video, and I treated myself to some caramel gelato and red wine—both things I’d bought just for the occasion weeks ago when we could. I wrote a lot in my journal, which was also nice. All in all, not a very exciting day, but it was fine.
This attitude, however, affected everything. There were moments when I felt pretty down—I also had a stomachache off and on over the weekend, which wasn’t fun!—but save for a rant with my best friend, overall I kept a pretty positive attitude. And guess what happened? Over the week, I had so many surprises!
An unexpected check from an old job came in and we paid off some bills—and even ate out once. I was serenaded at the post office, and a brand new book came in the mail from my sister. My best friend came over for a plain old play date (which is fun enough, since it’s our play date, too!) and instead made me a party, complete with dinner and a shirt she handmade just for me.
I felt pretty damn special all week long—but even more than that, I felt “got,” which is what every woman (and maybe men, too; I don’t know) wants for her birthday. We want to know people are thinking of us, and that they get us; they know us. Would all of these festivities happened had I maintained a gloomy mood? Probably, but maybe not. And because I chose to keep myself busy doing things I enjoyed rather than sulk about things I couldn’t control, I had a pretty stellar birthday.
Texans look for 9th win against the Jaguars
The 8-1 Houston Texans should get a victory this week against the 1-8 Jacksonville Jaguars. The game will start at 1 PM ET in Houston at Reliant Stadium. This game will match up the leagues win leader against the NFL’s worst record team. Both these teams are obviously headed in different directions, as the Texan are looking for the number one seed in the league and the Jags look to get the number one pick next year. The game itself could not be more lopsided on both sides of the ball.
Beginning with the offenses, The Texans gain about 100 more yards of total offense a game. Most of this comes from their run game which nearly doubles the average yardage of the Jaguars. Houston rushes for 137 yards a game while the Jaguars rush for just 79. This is primarily due to the loss of star running back Maurice Jones Drew who is hoping to get back to action soon. The Texans also average nearly double the amount of points scored a game as well. Houston has scored 27.8 poits a game this year while the Jaguars average just 14.1.
Defensively, Houston gives up 100 plus fewer yards total a game in comparison to the Jaguars. They also, once again, are nearly double the production of the Jaguars in points given up. Houston, to this point has allowed just 15.9 points a game compared to 27.3 by Jacksonville. Needless to say, a Jaguars win would be a miracle, but the NFL is an any given Sunday type of league.
Assume nothing with your kids
Would you even send a nine-year-old, for that matter? My daughter is a Daisy Scout, and we went to our first lock-in together over the weekend. I wasn’t feeling all that well—and I had been up the entire night before writing—so you can bet it was a rough night! But we had fun, my kid was a trooper, and we went home a couple hours early because, let’s face it, most seven-year-olds can’t stay up until six AM!
Though my daughter had to have a parent due to her Daisy status, any scouts in second grade or higher did not have to have a parent present. This, to me, was mind-boggling. It wasn’t like the kids were assigned a group leader to stick to all night long—or if they were, I sure didn’t notice it. I saw children my daughter’s age milling about, sometimes all alone, and sometimes even in the pool area.
This was shocking to me. I know I’ve been more protective of my child than other parents at some points in my life; she was premature and I spent the first three months of her life worrying over her incubator, changing diapers around a cluster of wires, and gently shaking her if she “forgot” to breathe and her stats sank. That’s sheer terror, folks, and I can tell you that after something like that, you’re damn skippy a mom is careful.
That said, my daughter’s been climbing the big boulder at our park since she was four with me spotting. She’s brave and strong and awesome, and I don’t hold her back—but I do make sure I’m there if she needs me. She didn’t know anyone during this lock-in, for example—it was our first activity with scouts—but when she did play with new friends, I hung back, found a spot, and smiled, occasionally taking pictures.
But to not go at all—to leave a child that young to navigate a whole recreation center, including pool, alone just boggles my mind. Another mom pointed out a tiny girl she’d been watching at the pool who was all alone, smaller than my daughter. The mom was there with her own kids, but she confessed that this poor kid was so small that she was keeping an eye on her, too.
After that, I made it a point to do the same, but I still couldn’t help but wonder at people who just assume it’s fine to drop their kids off—whether it’s at a camp or a lock-in or anything else. Believe me, I would love a cheap sitter, too, and a night off is tempting! But I would never put my child in jeopardy like that and just assume she’d be under someone’s watchful gaze the entire time just for one night off.