Asparagus and Ghosts

So, in my last post I said I pretty much hated Dave Matthews and Pearl Jam. I might as well have said I hate babies and puppies, but I did get some understanding from a couple of people. (For the record, I have a dog I love, and a kid on the way). I was thinking though, sometimes music or other things can be associated with certain things you like/dislike, bad experiences, ghosts from the past, and it can change your perspective on the music or other things. Another example is certain smells- I will smell one thing or another and suddenly be at grandma's house at Christmas. Maybe I do the same thing with certain songs/artists without knowing it. Whatever. I still don't like Dave or Eddie, anymore at least.

Otherwise I had a great day today. Woke up, fertilized the lawn and headed out to go mushroom hunting with my brother and mom. I will have to get back to you about the morels, I only found 2 today. I think it was still a little early for my spots, but I had an incredible hike through some bluffs and timber around Monmouth. We then switched gears and went and gathered some asparagus. Daisy went riding with us on the 4-wheeler, we went and gathered the asparagus and rode the 4 wheeler around the pond. Beautiful day to be out there. I love fresh asparagus in the spring!

Two Artists I never want to hear again...Dave Matthews and Eddie Vedder

Many of my friends like these guys. I know, maybe they had a huge influence on their genre of music and multiple other bands. I don't care. I only listen to XM radio anymore, and there must be a lot of late 20's to late 30-somethings that listen to XM also, as Pearl Jam and Dave Matthews get a lot of play. With Matthews, it may be overexposure. Sure, I ran around singing "What would you say?" over and over in my head happily for a while, but why couldn't Dave Matthews fade into obscurity like the guy who sang 'Rock Me Amadeus'? (Ok, so Falco couldn't hold Dave's jock, but I still wish I had never heard the next 10 years of Matthews that I have.)

I do feel like I should like Matthews. I listen to Ben Folds, Modest Mouse, Sublime, Eels, and never grow tired of them. Even years after many of the same sounds. But to me, every Matthews song is the same, every album the same and it has become UBER-annoying. Matthews is the pot-smoking fraternity guys Phish, and since I was never in a fraternity and don't smoke pot, maybe that's why I can't identify.

As far as Pearl Jam, I have no specific reason. I never really got into them, and Eddie Vedder's voice is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me now. There were times in the past where I like a few Pearl Jam songs, and even loved the Yield album, but I just can't do it anymore Eddie, sorry.

My Earth Day Special: Vampire Appliances

Have you heard of Vampire Appliances? Me neither. Despite my Ford Explorer, I like to think myself green-'ish'. I probably have a lot of work to do before I meet Bio-diesel burning folks standards. So, since I am not now or ever getting rid of my SUV, I am going to try to look at other things I can do better. I was surprised to find out about all the little Vampirish machines we have in our homes constantly sucking energy ala Strahd when we aren't looking.
"Vampire" Appliances -- They Suck Electricity Even When Switched Off -- Cost Consumers $3 Billion A Year, Says Cornell Energy Expert According to the article, standby electricity can consume anywhere from 10-25% of home's total electricity bill. A satellite receiver or DVD player can consume 9$ per year. When you start thinking about all the things in your house that have 'standby' or clocks/timers it adds up. I have 2 DVR's, 1 DVD, a Wii, clocks, radios, microwave, oven and other appliaces that all have standby modes. Since most of our electricity comes from fossil fuel, this contributes to greenhouse gases and air pollutants.

So, what can we do? Here's tips from the article:
o If timers and other features aren't being used, consumers can turn off their most wasteful appliances by plugging them into fuse-protected power strips (also known as surge protectors) that, when turned off, can disrupt the flow of electricity when the appliances aren't being used.

o Consumers can encourage their U.S. representatives to support legislation that would require labeling of appliances with their standby energy requirements.

o When choosing a new appliance, consumers can research if it uses less than 1 watt of standby power by accessing web sites such as http://standby.lbl.gov/data/1wproducts.html at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Shower Shock Caffeinated Soap: On a completely unrelated side note, they are now making caffeinated soap. Mmmmmm.

AirCare Month for Peltgrande

Hey Mav, Goose here. Locked, loaded and ready to go.
Kinnick from the air. We were circling around to land. I like this pic because you can see the practice fields and baseball field in the back.
Flying back from Muscatine at dusk with a sick neonate we saw some beautiful views of the sky.

Dave Jennings skibums art

So, I took India class at UNI with Fogarty. I sat next to a guy named Dave Jennings. Excellent artist, and I always used to bug him to draw different stuff. I ended up talking to him for a while the other night and he sent me a pic he recently drew. I thought it was pretty cool so I posted it. Dave, what's the story behind the pic?

Will the real David Skorton please stand up?

Just in, The University of Iowa hired Todd Lickliter of Butler to be the next men's basketball coach, or did they? Rewind. Curiously, he looks strangely like former University of Iowa Cardiologist and University President David Skorton. Coincidence? I think not. Is Todd Lickliter really leaving Butler? Well, there is no spoon.

It has been Skorton all along. Skorton the Cardiologist. Skorton the University of Iowa President. Skorton the Cornell University President. Skorton the Butler Basketball Coach. But even him, the mastermind of deception couldn't pull off the big one. He couldn't pull off being a cardiologist, a president of a Big Ten University and the Iowa Men's Basketball Coach all at once. But, he's wiley. Welcome Todd Lickliter, born unto Skorton's ultimate dream, coaching the Iowa Hawkeye Basketball team. So he does the simplest thing. The thing so obvious that we would all miss it. K.I.S.S. Keep it Simple Stupid. He created Todd Lickliter, began coaching Butler to build a basketball resume, and then conveniently took the Cornell President job. Skorton, now out of sight, out of mind.

Several people have information suggesting Skorton may have cut a deal with Bowlsby before he left to ensure Alford's departure, but this is merely speculation, unlike the facts I present.

Now, "Lickliter", successful basketball coach with resume, gets hired as The University of Iowa Basketball coach. LOOK again, look at the pictures. Another pre-arranged deal with Bowlsby and/or Barta? Chances are yes. My bets are President "Skorton" reitres in the next few days from Cornell University. Well, we do have to consider other possibilities. Maybe there is no SKORTON, and Lickliter is the mastermind. However, no matter who is the chicken, or who is the egg, they ultimately are one, and they, I mean he, is the NEW University of Iowa Basketball Coach.

I will leave you with this, which really summarizes my findings:
"entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem",
or, if you can't read pig-latin:
"All things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the best one."