Dogmometer

It's funny in our house with our pet dog, Trixie. We can usually determine what the weather is like outside by what she does when she comes inside. Anytime it's raining, snowing or just plain cold she comes in and runs around the house at greyhound speeds. This must help generate body heat or generate enough wind to dry her off, we aren't sure which. When it is hot outside and she comes in she will suddenly fall over as if fainting from a case of the vapors. It doesn't happen very often, because Utah doesn't get that hot ;-) but every once-in-awhile you will catch her flopping over on her side mid stride. A few days ago we had a freak snowstorm and I lovingly sent her out in the blizzard to do her business. She came the house at a full sprint and ran 3 or 4 laps around the living room. We decided that we should start documenting how long she runs when she comes in from the cold. We have a theory that if we tracked the duration of her sprints that we could determine the temperature, precipitation type, wind speed and possibly even the barometric pressure. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Going Green

It's no secret how I feel about the whole save the planet / go green thing. I think it's load of what was wafting through Lehi the other day. Everybody who is anybody seems to be jumping on the bandwagon, even major corporations are getting pressured into committing to clean up their act.

Mostly I think it's funny because if anybody really wanted to clean up the planet they would probably start at the places of the planet that are doing the most damage. Here in the good 'ole US of A we have the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) that get paid to think about this stuff for us. Why do you think so many companies don't actually do their manufacturing here anymore? That and the constant need to build smaller and smaller iPods necessitates using smaller and smaller fingers to assemble them. We may draw the line at child labor, but that only applies to American children apparently.

I know it's twisted but I love to see companies, and people, who profess to be earth friendly do things that don't seem to backup up their claims. For instance, the other day I received a "bill" in the mail from Home Depot for my Home Depot Credit Card. When I opened the bill I found, to my amazement, that my current balance owed is $0.00, and that a minimum payment of $0.00 is due no later than April 21st of this year. There is also a warning that a late payment could cost me up to $35.00, which seems a bit excessive to me.

That's right, The Home Depot paid $0.43 to send me a letter to let me know that I owe them nothing and I better pay it right away or else. This 3 page statement thoughtfully includes a self-addressed envelope and a detachable portion to return with my payment. Also included on the 3 pages is a number for credit counseling, just in case I have gone overboard on lumber purchase lately, a list of my recent no purchases and a detailed description how APR is calculated.

I guess I better write them a check so I don't accrue any penalties or fees as a result.