Alright, alright! I'll give you a bit of Egypt news...
From the BBC: Egypt press law 'violates rights'
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Fun trip on Friday!
No links today...just a bit about my life! Imagine that!
I went on a bus trip Friday with some people from my church in Tanta. We went to 3 different monesteries, then to the beach for awhile. At the end of the trip, we went to a big mall. Some people in the group really wanted to go...and it allowed me to have good Chinese food! I also convinced my friend George to try Chinese for the first time!
We left at 7am in the morning and returned about midnight! So...I was really tired and slept in this morning before our Conversation Class.
Off now to relax with some friends...
I went on a bus trip Friday with some people from my church in Tanta. We went to 3 different monesteries, then to the beach for awhile. At the end of the trip, we went to a big mall. Some people in the group really wanted to go...and it allowed me to have good Chinese food! I also convinced my friend George to try Chinese for the first time!
We left at 7am in the morning and returned about midnight! So...I was really tired and slept in this morning before our Conversation Class.
Off now to relax with some friends...
Thursday, July 13, 2006
FlyaKite OSX
FlyaKite OSX may be the coolest program (and website) that I've ever used!
Essentially, you use it to make your PC look/act like it's running Apple OSX.
Okay...I've become a teacher, but I'm still a geek!
Essentially, you use it to make your PC look/act like it's running Apple OSX.
Okay...I've become a teacher, but I'm still a geek!
Welcome to my newest visitor!!!
Imagine my surprise to see that yesterday someone from the Netherlands stopped by to read my Blog. Yes, I know it's silly to get excited about this and I feel like I should have gotten over things like that back in the late '90s, but it's still cool! *laugh*
But...how did this person find my Blog?
Ah, what a great free web statistics program I have! Thanks SiteMeter for helping me solve the mystery! *grin* Keep reading for the story...
Apparently, this person went to: http://search.yahoo.com and typed in:
cosmic cup coffee shop pallana
...and it returned as #9 on the list, my Blog entry from March 2002.
This was me commenting on "The Royal Tenenbaums".
Ah, the crazy links the Internet leads us to!!!! *laugh* I just wish that more people would search for this same thing and find my Blog!
But...how did this person find my Blog?
Ah, what a great free web statistics program I have! Thanks SiteMeter for helping me solve the mystery! *grin* Keep reading for the story...
Apparently, this person went to: http://search.yahoo.com and typed in:
cosmic cup coffee shop pallana
...and it returned as #9 on the list, my Blog entry from March 2002.
This was me commenting on "The Royal Tenenbaums".
Ah, the crazy links the Internet leads us to!!!! *laugh* I just wish that more people would search for this same thing and find my Blog!
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
A request! I want to hear from you!
In an effort to start re-connecting with people back in the U.S., I need your help. If I haven't heard from you in a long time, please email me! Tell me what's been happening in your life... Or if we do email sometimes, but you forget to mention important things, please write to tell me that.
Use any email address you have for me. I check them all and then I'll reply with my most recent one. I don't want to type it here b/c then I might start getting spam!
Off to class now! I teach 2 classes on Monday and Wednesday, so this is my busy day!
Use any email address you have for me. I check them all and then I'll reply with my most recent one. I don't want to type it here b/c then I might start getting spam!
Off to class now! I teach 2 classes on Monday and Wednesday, so this is my busy day!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Running on empty
Not much in the tank today, but I'll do what I can!
1) The BBC asks: "Is al-Qaeda's 'leader' in Iraq really in an Egyptian prison?"
2) Kottke.org has gathered some links/info about "the head butt" seen 'round the world. Apparently, some newspapers hired lip-readers and translations are available of the results.
3) Fuel from the Midwest, Not the Middle East tells about biodiesel stations in Ohio (from the Toledo Blade, via Motor Trend)
4) Did you hear about the guy who made a coast-to-coast trip in a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado, powered by vegetable oil? I found information from the company that converted the truck and also the daily updates from during the trip. This seems to have been a highly-publicized thing, with sponsors, media coverage, etc.
1) The BBC asks: "Is al-Qaeda's 'leader' in Iraq really in an Egyptian prison?"
2) Kottke.org has gathered some links/info about "the head butt" seen 'round the world. Apparently, some newspapers hired lip-readers and translations are available of the results.
3) Fuel from the Midwest, Not the Middle East tells about biodiesel stations in Ohio (from the Toledo Blade, via Motor Trend)
4) Did you hear about the guy who made a coast-to-coast trip in a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado, powered by vegetable oil? I found information from the company that converted the truck and also the daily updates from during the trip. This seems to have been a highly-publicized thing, with sponsors, media coverage, etc.
Monday, July 10, 2006
"Dreams Must Die"
"Why Dreams Must Die if Peace is to Come" is the title of a very interesting editorial from the BBC's Middle East editor in Jerusalem, Jeremy Bowen about the thinking behind the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and what has to change. Comments?
Dental Care and the Environment
Yeah, yeah...I'm writing about the environment again! You better get used to it!
Recently at a grocery store in Tanta, I discovered 2 different types of toothbrushes with replacable heads. What a great idea! Why did it never occur to me before? One was from a German company called Fuchs and the other was from an Italian company called Silver Care. (unfortunately, the store didn't sell the replacement heads...but I'll look in Cairo)
With a bit of searching, I found an American company with similar products with an environmentally-friendly touch: Eco-Dent
You buy the toothbrush with 1 head and then buy replacements in packages of 3. Can anyone give me reasons _not_ to stop using whatever toothbrush you're using now and buy these???
I also found an interesting bit of student writing on this topic, from a student organization at Lewis and Clark College.
Recently at a grocery store in Tanta, I discovered 2 different types of toothbrushes with replacable heads. What a great idea! Why did it never occur to me before? One was from a German company called Fuchs and the other was from an Italian company called Silver Care. (unfortunately, the store didn't sell the replacement heads...but I'll look in Cairo)
With a bit of searching, I found an American company with similar products with an environmentally-friendly touch: Eco-Dent
You buy the toothbrush with 1 head and then buy replacements in packages of 3. Can anyone give me reasons _not_ to stop using whatever toothbrush you're using now and buy these???
I also found an interesting bit of student writing on this topic, from a student organization at Lewis and Clark College.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Diesel Racecar Wins! (can vegetable oil be next?)
From Popular Science:
Diesel Wins Respect (and Florida’s 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race)
If I'm not careful, I'm going to turn into a "car person"! *laugh*
Diesel Wins Respect (and Florida’s 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race)
If I'm not careful, I'm going to turn into a "car person"! *laugh*
Very Fast Food
I'm sitting here in my friend George's computer company and using his DSL connection.
I just ran out to get sandwiches for a late lunch.
How long did it take me? Well, I'm listening to the live radio feed from WRIF and when I left, a song was playing and when I came back...the same song was still on!
That's efficiency! (or a really long song *smile*)
I just ran out to get sandwiches for a late lunch.
How long did it take me? Well, I'm listening to the live radio feed from WRIF and when I left, a song was playing and when I came back...the same song was still on!
That's efficiency! (or a really long song *smile*)
Michigan in the Movies
Last night, I watched The Upside of Anger, with Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, and two appearance by "the Grand Poobah" (Arthur Penhallow, who's been the grand voice of Detroit's 101.1 WRIF radio for over 35 years)
It's a baseball movie.
Well...not really.
It's a movie _about_ baseball.
No, that's not right, either.
It's about what an old baseball player does after retirement.
Um, kinda.
What it's really about is a middle-aged woman with 4 daughters and their life. Costner's character is only a part of that life.
It was really fun to see the scenes set at the WRIF studios, to have lots of cars with Michigan license plates, and for several shots to be at the University of Michigan. I had to keep pausing the movie to look at details. Fortunately, I was watching alone so I could even find that they went to a Farmer Jack store for their groceries! (that's where I used to get some of my groceries when I lived in Clawson and Royal Oak)
Saturday was a big day. First, I came back to Tanta after a couple of days in Cairo. Then I helped with our Conversation class, observed while my director taught a class, and watched the World Cup 3rd/4th place match between Germany and Portugal.
Today, I'm spending a bit of time on the Internet and chatting with my nephew. After that, I'll go to substitute for one of our other teachers in her class and then go to watch the final World Cup match between France and Italy after that. I'm pulling for France to win, but I'll be sad either way b/c it's been really wonderful to watch such great matches. Now, it's back to music videos and American movies on the TVs of most cafes.
It's a baseball movie.
Well...not really.
It's a movie _about_ baseball.
No, that's not right, either.
It's about what an old baseball player does after retirement.
Um, kinda.
What it's really about is a middle-aged woman with 4 daughters and their life. Costner's character is only a part of that life.
It was really fun to see the scenes set at the WRIF studios, to have lots of cars with Michigan license plates, and for several shots to be at the University of Michigan. I had to keep pausing the movie to look at details. Fortunately, I was watching alone so I could even find that they went to a Farmer Jack store for their groceries! (that's where I used to get some of my groceries when I lived in Clawson and Royal Oak)
Saturday was a big day. First, I came back to Tanta after a couple of days in Cairo. Then I helped with our Conversation class, observed while my director taught a class, and watched the World Cup 3rd/4th place match between Germany and Portugal.
Today, I'm spending a bit of time on the Internet and chatting with my nephew. After that, I'll go to substitute for one of our other teachers in her class and then go to watch the final World Cup match between France and Italy after that. I'm pulling for France to win, but I'll be sad either way b/c it's been really wonderful to watch such great matches. Now, it's back to music videos and American movies on the TVs of most cafes.
A little behind on the news
Well, it seems like I'm a bit late in "discovering" cars that burn used cooking oil. This afternoon, I did a Google search with just the really basic terms of "cooking", "oil", and "diesel". The number of results was in the thousands! Including these:
--the creator of the Diesel engine talked in 1912 about using vegetable oils in his engines
--July 1, 2006 Washington Post article: "Grease Guzzlers"
--GreaseCar.com and PlantDrive.com which sell conversion kits for various types of cars/trucks
--the BBC was reporting on this topic back in August 2002
--a local ABC station from Michigan with details about a recent Consumer Reports test of a car they converted to run on cooking oil
But my personal favorite and at the top of my "high potential for disaster list" is:
"Home mixing of used vegetable oil into fuel for diesel engines"
--the creator of the Diesel engine talked in 1912 about using vegetable oils in his engines
--July 1, 2006 Washington Post article: "Grease Guzzlers"
--GreaseCar.com and PlantDrive.com which sell conversion kits for various types of cars/trucks
--the BBC was reporting on this topic back in August 2002
--a local ABC station from Michigan with details about a recent Consumer Reports test of a car they converted to run on cooking oil
But my personal favorite and at the top of my "high potential for disaster list" is:
"Home mixing of used vegetable oil into fuel for diesel engines"
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