Yay Water!!

No more Well Water!

As of last Thursday we were finally hooked up to the local water supply. Also, we recently discovered that the cable company has ran lines out by our house so we can get cable too if we desire. Slowly but surely, all the conveniences of suburbia are creeping in to our rural slice of farm country.

Today we had the water softener removed. Our well sits on top of a huge pyrite deposit (sulfur & iron), so without the water softener we get smelly orange water. The softener took care of that, but made rinsing off in the shower take forever. Also, when the water evaporated, it left white salt deposits behind. The salt also made the water undrinkable - I couldn't stand the taste, and noticed my nails became rather brittle when I was still drinking it. So for the past year I have been filling up gallon jugs of water over at the nearby water utility for a quarter a pop.

And now we have that very same water coming out of our tap!

Yay water!!

Ditzy Cam!

New camera - New Ditzy pictures

New Camera

Just picked up a new Kodak digital camera a few weeks ago. It even has a panoramic setting.

Here is a panoramic picture of my home on the farm...

Me + Mondays = Bleh!

Fun BSG Quiz...

Which Battlestar Galactica Character Are You?

More on Battlestar Galactica. Created by BuddyTV

My Two minutes of fame

I made it onto the local news station this week as part of WTOL 11's EcoTrack segment.

I can't say I was given any warning. My boss let me know about an hour before the camera crews came. Luckily I shaved that morning!

Watch the video

EcoTrack 11 Report: A GIS to help farmers and growers

Posted: Mar 24, 2008 6:07 PM EST

The University of Toledo's Geography department is rolling out a new mapping tool that all farmers and growers should see. It's called the Maumee Basin GIS, reports News 11's James Canterbury.

"It's an information management service web site where you can interactively look at some maps of the Maumee River Basin and its watershed," explains Timothy Ault, senior researcher in University of Toledo's geography department. "You go through and basically see where streams, roads are and other info like what kind of soil is found in what area."

Not only will the Maumee Basin GIS help gardeners select the right plants for their soil type, but Ault hopes it will make environmental differences by tracking erosion in the watershed.

"Many of these fields have an entire drainage system and ditches, which means anything draining into the ditches is going to immediately get to Lake Erie through these ditches," Ault explains.

Ault says area farmers may be able to prevent harsh chemicals from getting into the water supply by using a conservation practice called no-tilling. It prevents erosion but also means more money in growers' pockets.

"The nutrients that are in the farmer's land and soil are very important," Ault says. "They are what help the crop. So if that is getting washed away, that means the farmer is going to spend more money to have to treat the field again in the Spring."

To see if the Maumee Basin GIS would help you get ready for the growing season, visit www.maumee.utoledo.edu.

Clinton forgets 2008; plans for 2012 presidential bid

As Hillary Clinton's probability of gaining the Democratic nomination becomes more and more remote, I wonder why it is she stays in the race, slinging mud against the Obama campaign.

I think I have just figured out the the Clintons' strategy.

Her goal is not a 2008 victory, but a 2012 one.

The game plan is this:

1) Clinton can't win the Democratic nomination. The math is against her. She will not have a chance in Nov. 2008. Even with Pennsylvania. Not possible

2) If Obama wins, then it may well be another 8 years before she gets a chance again to run for president. And, by then, she would be considered a has-been.

3) If McCain wins, then Obama just couldn't close the deal in Nov. 2008. The Dems picked the wrong candidate. With McCain, we will have a 72yr. old president. Most likely a one-termer.

4) A McCain presidency means she could run again in 2012 as the Democratic nominee that should have been nominated in 2008.

Thus, to win the White House, she needs to make sure that Obama loses in Novemeber.

Now, with that in mind, consider this Hillary Clinton soundbyte:

"Now, I think you'll be able to imagine many things Senator McCain will be able to say. He's never been the president, but he will put forth his lifetime of experience. I will put forth my lifetime of experience. Senator Obama will put forth an [anti-war] speech he made in 2002."

She'll endorse McCain before she'll endorse Obama.

Anything to win.