Soft Drink ≠ Soda

It bugs me when people refer to sodas as "soft drinks" with the implication that Gatorade, juices, milk, water, etc. are excluded from the category of "soft drink." Of course, a hard drink is one containing alcohol. Drinks without alcohol are all soft drinks.

What set me off about this is a stupid panel on the side of one of those stupid "FridgePack" 12-pack of cans of Coke. It says something like "who knew soft drinks could be hydrating?" Umm...I think that's the definition of water. Gatorade's a good hydrator. Sodas don't hydrate you...or maybe they do, before the caffeine dehydrates you more.

Unforgivable...

Wanna laugh? Watch this.

Pick #87

Flickerstick - "Beautiful" from Welcome Home the Astronauts

I heard this song on Pandora and I really like it. Pandora's probably a better way to find new music than reading my blog.

Ante Up

Counter

I am amazed at how many people have visited my blog in the past year. Without the counter, I'd probably still think that only a handful of people ever looked at it. Turns out that 2645 is about 80 times more than I would have predicted before adding the counter.

CFL: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

By now, many of my friends have moved on to points in their lives where they have to pay for their own expenses. For my friends who have to pay their own utility bills [or if they leave the light on as long as they are awake (even if not in the room)], I like to get them compact fluorescent light bulbs. In a way, I'm forcing my agenda on them and they like it. That's right, they'll be saving energy. Also, they're saving money. I think it's a sweet setup and everybody wins.

I've tried to do this with canvas bags before. The problem is that people forget to use them or don't like the color or something. With the lights, you screw it in and it works just like any other light & there's no more effort involved. I call that "incentive compatibility."

Summer Jeans?

Nobody wears long sleeve shirts in the summer, so why do they wear jeans. I mean, it gets hot. Triple digit heat index here.

I understand why people who need to wear jeans do so. For example, roofers, landscapers, and cowboys all want solar protection. Fine. What about college students? What are they thinking when they put on pants in the summer time? T-shirts are fine, they aren't wearing button-downs. It shouldn't be for dressing up or fashion and I don't see how it could be for comfort, so why do they do it?