Steampunk

I am SO digging Steampunk. Steampunk is a subgenre of speculative fiction or science fiction that emphasizes anachronistic technology, usually from the Victorian age. It is also used to refer to a trend in fashion and music. Think League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Here is a picture that illustrates the Steampunk genre.

Here are some examples of things in Steampunk style that I love. This is a picture of the save the date cards I want to send out for our 20th anniversary renewal of vows party:

I have been looking at earrings since I only own one pair. If I could choose any earrings right now, here are some Steampunk style ones I would order:

sly trickster

I took out my "starter" earrings 2 weeks before I was supposed to and put these suckers in. It feels downright strange to have big things hanging from holes in my earlobes. It IS a strange thing we women do. What made us think this up in the first place? I will look it up.

Quotation of the day: "That sly trickster."--Rebekah, when Jerry and I told her in the middle of the night that we had just hunted down her escape chinchilla and returned him to his cage.

flag on the back

Picture of the day. My patriotic coworker.

humanure

In my last post I mentioned that my coworker Don told me that Vietnam no longer uses human manure. But that got me thinking: what's wrong with human manure? It can't be that different from other animals' poo. I brought this up with Don: do we just not use human manure on principle, because it just seems grosser than cow manure? Does the idea just hit too close to home, kind of like the fact that we eat cow muscle but not cat muscle: the idea of eating cat muscle hits too close to home?

He assured me that human poo does indeed smell worse than other animals' poo.

Skeptical, I looked it up.

Some background: through time and in different areas, human poo has been called "night soil" because it has been collected from homes at night in what are called "honey buckets." Then it is disposed of in various ways. Sometimes it is used as fertilizer.

After doing a bit of research, I wrote this email to Don:

Don-

I read about night soil and honey buckets. Gross and full of
pathogens. But it looks like there is a good process now for making
“humanure,” which, when treated properly, does not stink. It has to heat
and sit for 1-2 years though before it can be used. You can read about the
process here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanure

Also,
looks like the diet is what makes human manure so much more stinky than other
animals’. Look at what Wikipedia says:

“Manures with a
particularly unpleasant odor (such as human sewage or slurry from intensive pig
farming) is usually knifed (injected) directly into the soil to reduce release
of the odor. Manure from pigs and cattle is usually spread on fields using a
manure spreader. Due to the relatively lower level of proteins in vegetable
matter, herbivore manure has a milder smell than the dung of carnivores or
omnivores – for example, elephant dung is practically odorless. However,
herbivore slurry which has undergone anaerobic fermentation may develop more
unpleasant odors, and this can be a problem in some agricultural
regions.”

So I guess that says something about me, since I am a
vegetarian. :) I have heard it said of someone, “He thinks his poo
doesn’t stink.” Which of course is meant to say that he thinks he is above
everyone else. But maybe his poo really DOESN’T stink, and therefore he IS
above everyone else!

It’s all very interesting to me.

And to think I almost worked from home today! It was worth going because of the above new treasures of knowledge I gained.

Please thankfully note that I have not included a picture with this post, though I was sorely tempted.

you smell like Asia

Here is my coworker Mary Beth riding a scooter through the hallways at work.

My coworker Don recently went back to Vietnam. He fought in the war there. He says there are a few obviously different things he noticed: they no longer use human manure, the drinking water is clean, and there are smiling happy people there. While he was telling me this, yet a third coworker walked by Don, sniffed him, and said, "You smell like Asia."

effects of climate on aging

Click here to see Aubrey's profile as a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation College Scholar. These folks are paying for Aubrey's college education. [By the way, I think whoever wrote up this profile mistook all of her years at LDS Girls' Camp as Girl Scouts. Oh well, close enough.]

Today I did some research on how climate affects the aging process. [By the way #2: you can also spell it "ageing," which is chiefly British] One article said

When your skin is dry, it becomes less pliable and less elastic. As a result, it
can’t bounce back as well as it could when it was supple and moist. The result
is that untreated dry skin over a prolonged period is going to look older, is
going to be more likely to show wrinkles, and may even be more prone to skin
disorders, such as psoriasis.

Another site says this

Hot temperatures combined with low humidity (such as you'd find in Arizona
or Southern California) suck the moisture from your skin, literally baking it.
Wind and cold combined with low humidity (such as you might find in high desert
or mountain regions) can cause dry, flaky skin as well. Dust and dirt blowing in
the air contributes to clogging pores. Dry climates can also cause certain skin
conditions like eczema, keratosis pilarsis, psoriasis and dermatitis to flare
up. Skin cancer is a concern in dry climates as well, where sunny days with
little or no cloud cover are plentiful and the sun's rays are strong...Obviously
if you live in a tropical climate with high humidity, you also face the dangers
of sun damage and skin cancer as noted above.

Although it's not technically a "climate," urban environments have certain
factors that affect the skin. High levels of smog and air pollution can clog the
pores, choking the skin, as well as cause free radical damage that accelerates
the visible aging process of the skin.

These tiny airborne particles do more damage than most people realize.
Because of their small size, these pollutants are often able to easily penetrate
tissues, airways and other membranes. Others are so small they can be easily
absorbed by the skin or mucus membranes of the mouth, airway and nasal passages
resulting in dramatic damage.

Ozone, one of the main components found in smog, promotes tissue
destruction through a strong chemical reaction and free radical damage that
results in loss of collagen and cellular integrity.

I never found anything that said that cool climates and humidity speed up the aging process. In fact, Berry & Kohn's Operating Room Technique (2004) says that one climate does not affect the aging process more than another. It is interesting enough that I actually hand copied the text into this blog posting (and added in the italics emphasis), because it wouldn't let me cut and paste. But it does seem to contradict itself a few times.

Exposure to natural and synthetic elements in the environment may
accelerate the aging process. Although climate is often blamed for an
increased rate of aging, studies indicate that the natural flow of the aging
process is comparable among different geographic regions. Tropical
climates are cited most often as areas of premature aging. Studies of
tropical populations show that aging is not accelerated by the temperature,
although mortality in these areas is affected by poor nutrition, parasites, and
tropical diseases. Both tropical and desert groups tested did not show any
mean blood pressure elevations diagnostic of hypertension, arteriosclerosis, or
coronary artery disease between the ages of 20 and 83 years. The most
astounding finding was the absence of angina pectoris and sudden heart attack
deaths. This may be partly a result of a physically strenuous lifestyle
and a diet that is low in animal fat.

Extremes of climate do not seem to accelerate the aging
process. Studies involving Eskimo populations have shown that,
despite the difficult conditions of their lifestyles, blood pressure and
cholesterol measurements do not vary significantly between the ages of 20 and 54
years. Mortality is affected by the harshness of the cold climate and the
risk of physical injury or death associated with hunting and lifestyle
practices.

Altitude has not been shown to accelerate the aging process.
Studies performed among Peruvian Indians have shown stable blood pressures in a
range lower than that of persons living at sea level. Incidence of
ischemic heart disease is very low at higher altitudes. In several
documented communities of mountain-dwelling people, many residents were older
than 100 years.

All very interesting. I guess what I take from this is that yer gonna age fastly wherever you live, unless you take steps to slow it down. Those steps are the subject of another post that I am never going to write.

Las Vegas 40th birthday pics

Here are some pictures of my trip to Las Vegas to celebrate my 40th birthday.

This is in Utah just before Lindy and I drove to Las Vegas together. Pictured are old high school friends Brett Brinton, Tamera Brinton, me, Lindy Hatch, Jan Turley, and Jace Turley. That last person, I discovered, sure likes maple syrup straight.

Going to see Phantom of the Opera. Left to right: my sister Amanda, me, my sister April, and my momIn the theater: sister-in-law Christa, brother Guy, April, meLindy, me, April, Christa, Guy, MomSister April and me

Me going with the whole family to race go-carts

Go-carting is where I got this bruise:

Me opening the best present I have ever received: a photo album full of pictures of my whole life with many of the people whom I like best. It also included a letter from each person telling about memories they have of me. April and my mom made it, and bless their hearts for it. Clockwise from left: me, Amanda, Christa, Lindy, and Guy.

Me, Amanda, and half of Lindy

Me, mom, AprilMeMe and Amanda at a cabana the family (that includes Lindy) had for the afternoon

Me and Lindy:
Clockwise from left: Christa, Mom, Amanda, Dad's wife Chris, Dad, April, half-sister Heather, me, Lindy, Guy
April and HeatherGetting my ears pierced for the first time ever. Before:

During:
After: