Have You Been Tested?

I had no idea that radon gas was the second leading cause of lung cancer! I thought it would be asbestos, aerosol or some other pollutant that’s obviously present.
The Surgeon General and the EPA both recommend that every home be tested for radon gas. I just purchased a test kit for $15. It’s a small paper-sealed tray containing charcoal bits. You simply let it sit in your home for 2 days and then mail it to a lab (at no additional fee). I should get my results in a few weeks.
Apparently, it’s easy (if not cheap) for a contractor to correct high radon levels in your home. Test yours today!

Ivory Towers

I’ve been busy with lots of classes lately. I was back at the U of Cincinnati a couple weeks ago and found this sculpture of their mascot, the bearcat. I had a class there in the autumn and this sculpture, the circle drive that serves as its home and the building to which the drive leads weren’t there!
I work at a Big Ten university and it’s amazing how quickly things change on a campus. Buildings are razed and replaced at a furious pace. Sometimes, I’m in awe of the money that is spent at educational institutions. Then, again, I’ve put a lot of money into education, too.
An alumni recently donated $100 million for a business school. One. Hundred. Million. I can’t fathom having that kind of money and this guy has enough to give away that much!

Florida

Some cool shots from Florida:

Straight up a palm tree.

Dolphin at a marine rescue facility.

Long shadows.

This gulf coast sand is as fine and soft as chalk.

St Pete’s Pier, slated for demolition.

There’s orange juice in this ice cream!

Disney owns central Florida.

Trying To Improve

I’m working on some emotional stuff right now; a couple items are dominating my thoughts.
I’m trying to balance contradictory perspectives on dealing with people who exhibit behaviors that aren’t good for me. First, there’s the concept that we have a responsibility to ourselves to remove things from our lives that aren’t good for us and replace them with things that are. Then, there’s the idea of sticking by people, even when they’re unlovable. Hmm, it’s clear which stance to take, but you still have to balance the impact on yourself. (Again with the theory of duality; this is a constant in my life.)

I’m also working on better accepting criticism from those in my personal life. I believe that how criticism is delivered is immensely important. I can’t ever see myself taking part in an intervention; they go against everything I feel and have learned about delivering feedback, starting with: it should be done in private. Yet, I don’t have a lot of feedback experts in my life, so it often comes more harshly than what I think is beneficial, and I get hung up on that.
My boss sends her staff a Thought Of The Day. Today’s was a piece about saying nothing but, “Thank you” in response to criticism. Timely advice . . .

Sarge's Art Show

Favorite of James (age 3).

My sister currently has a show running and yesterday was the artist's reception. It was at Pentamere Winery in Tecumseh, so we got to taste wines while viewing her work!

People's Choice Favorite.

No Matter How You Spell It . . .

Remember this cozy little dinner party of less than three years ago? That’s Condi Rice preparing to partake of a traditional Libyan dinner as the invited guest of Moammar Gadhafi. He hosted her at his Tripoli palace and showered her with gifts and impeccable hospitality. After he renounced terrorism and the use of WMD in
2003, western politicos and journalists began using a different spelling of his name, I guess to distance him from the psychotic genius/thug formerly known as Kadaffi. The Rice invitation was heralded as a new beginning for Libyan/US relations.
I remember one time theorizing with Butch about how Osama bin Laden has been able to avoid all of the US’s resources, money and manpower to prevent capture. I don’t think I could hide from the feds for more than two hours! Butch, in a characteristic laughable-but-feasible theory, decided that OBL was “sitting in some palace somewhere with Kadaffi, sucking on a martini.”
Do you suppose there’s actually such a thing as a reformed terrorist?