Mandie's Space

Next Monday will be manic...I'm already prepping for it!  I take the LSAT on Monday and I'm not even sure I'm able to go to law school!!  Unfortunately, the LSAT is only offered 4 times per year and law apps should be in by Christmas break.  If I totally bomb Monday's test, I can retake the exam in October and still get my app in on time.  Of course, I'm hoping that won't be an issue...time will tell

The average little league game in the minors (7-9 year olds) is just under 2 hours.  Our team almost always manages to go over 2 hours by a few minutes.  Today, we set a record!  We started our game at 9am and didn't complete it until 12:45!!!  That's almost 4 hours of little league baseball....did I mention these are 7-9 year olds with the attention span of a gnat??  CRAZY...PAINFUL...RIDICULOUS!!!  I can think of a few other descriptors but we'll keep this appropriate:-)  The culprit for the long game...a 12 year old umpire with a miniscule strike zone appropriate for a much older crew and a pitching limit per pitcher per game.  My son's team did win...although after the 2nd or 3rd hour, the excitement of a win dies considerably!! 

We have…its true!!  Obama…Clinton…who cares!?!?  This is Union County where the biggest thing on the ballot has nothing to do with District 16 State Senate Seats or Presidential Primaries but Hyperion.  Hyperion who…Hyperion what??  Hyperion Energy Center (aka oil refinery and power plant) has requested rezoning of 10,000 acres of farm land to industrial so they can take the steps to build this $10 billion project.  There are so many for and against….signs, petitions, mass emails, slanderous advertising, you name it…I’ve seen it!!  Those for it are looking for energy, employment, and economic stimulus (of a permanent nature…not the ridiculous temp stuff the government keeps saying will fix all our problems) and those against fear cancer, contaminants, and crime.  While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I am sick of the “cherry picked” stats and quotes, information omissions, and flat out lies being sent to my house on a daily basis.  (Someone has obviously read Huff and Geis’s, How to Lie With Statistics.)  If I was against Hyperion in the beginning (which I wasn’t) I would vote for it simply because I’m tired of having my intelligence insulted on a daily basis by Save Union County and C.O.O.P. (Citizens Opposed to Oil Pollution).  Do they honestly think that I’m such an idiot I wouldn’t notice the information they don’t report, their scare tactics, and their mis-quotes?  Do they think I wouldn’t look-up everything they said to verify it?  Do they think I’m going to over-look the fact that they lied?  Apparently!!  Since my intelligence has been insulted, I have agreed to help Hyperion by “working the polls” tomorrow during the election.  I voted last week so I’m done there but now my goals have become to respond to negative emails and letters I receive with facts (not produced by Hyperion but those which my personal research has found) and make sure as many people understand they’ve been duped by these “concerned citizens” who refuse to disclose where their funding comes from and who claim to be environmentally conscious by filling my mail box (and therefore the landfills) with massive amounts of mailers, flyers, and letters while they spout the evils of Hyperion and try to convince me that oil is becoming obsolete.  Really??  Do they not realize that it takes oil to mill the paper they print their ads on, oil to produce the ink on their ads, and oil to deliver their ads to my house?  Hmmm…perhaps I should insult their intelligenceJ  I do think we are starting to use less oil and that is FANTASTIC but obsolete?  I think not.  I could go on for HOURS but I've already done it....many times!! 

 

 

Make it yourself!!!  This is a trip!  It makes me want to go out and buy a cheap car and test my "do-it-youself" skills  Thanks to TC for sending me this link!

http://www.wesh.com/automotive/16093985/detail.html

Ok...I'm a South Dakota 'farm' girl so this is a bit bizarre for me   The idea of meat being grown in a lab for dinner is strange...although I'm not entirely opposed to it.  I am not a PETA member so the idea of not killing animals isn't my motivation for liking this idea.  I like the idea of less livestock in general.  Aside from ranching being a VERY inefficient way to utilize land, livestock is the #1 culprit of methane emissions and ranks significantly in all other kinds of emissions.  Wouldn't it be great if the need for livestock declined?  The downside...ranchers out of work!!

This is terribly sad!  I've always thought Heath Ledger was a very talented actor and he was my age!!  I've also always had a huge crush on him but that's a given.  I don't believe this was a suicide and hope the autopsy will prove that once complete.  My condolences to his friends, family, and fans.

For all the environmentalists, animal rights activists, soapboxes, and platforms everywhere...here it is.

What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating another endangered animal or an endangered plant?

Ummm....DUH!!!  I've always said that with all the bad press fast food chains receive for their high calorie and fat foods, someone needs to take a look at the sit-down restaurant menus and GASP!!  While this list is pretty minimal in comparison to some of the other meals that boast more than a full day's worth of calories and 2 or 3 days worth of fat each, it's a good start.

For more in-depth information on the foods you thought you loved...try Calorie King.  I will warn you, it will make you VERY leery of eating out.  The thought of the fat and calorie content of some of my favorite dishes, literally makes me sick!  One of my favorites was the same as eating a double quarter pounder with cheese meal, super-sized, with a chocolate shake instead of pop...TWICE!!

As we all anxiously await the 7th book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to be released on July 21st and the 5th movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix coming to theaters on July 13th, here's a little funny yet slightly disturbing Harry Potter Cartoon.

 

 http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view.php?id=125471

 

Also, I've heard many comments on the age of the Harry Potter cast...including a very clever shout-out in Epic Movie (very funny movie...highly recommended!)  At least these three are still teenagers!  That's more than we can say for the twenty and thrity-somethings which make up the casts of Dawson's Creek, Smallville, The OC, Falcon Beach, and so on