In my early 20s, road trips were fun adventures with friends. They were often about the destination, but the drive itself always resulted in some good stories. In my mid-30s, I still enjoy road trips, and I enjoy them for the trip itself.
These last two weekends, I have had the opportunity to take road trips with some of my favorite people. Last week it was with members of my critique group, and then yesterday with C.
It’s dedicated conversation time, where no one feels like they should be doing something else, and it’s just a nice way to connect.
Archive for May, 2012
In Praise of Road Trips
20
May
Blog Feature: Frugal Portland
19
May
Frugal Portland is a new blog to me, but I enjoy it quite a bit. I’m featuring it because this afternoon, I am most likely making a road trip down to Portland in order to drop a bed off for my cousin (and maybe a vacuum). Since Portland is on my mind, I figured it should be on yours, too.
I want to highlight her post on getting your First Job Out of College, because I think that’s something a lot of college kids aren’t prepared for- not going to work, but not having a definitive end point in sight.
Your Money Friday: Work Wardrobe
18
May
Always of greater concern to women than men, today’s Your Money thread focuses on the work wardrobe. Where do you buy your clothes? How much do you spend? How dressy do you need to look?
A number of posters appear to like thrift and consignment stores. I might look in a consignment store, but I would not shop for work clothes in a thrift store. Not because I do not think I’d find them there, but because there are people who need to be able to find business dress at thrift store prices, and I am not one of them.
Even Dinosaurs Got Old
16
May
After a certain age, it seems like almost every day we “discover” a new creak in our joints, new stiffness or maybe even arthritis pain. We lament that we are not as young as we used to be. Well, it is not just those of us living in modern times who have suffered from the pains of old age. Even dinosaurs got arthritis.
Scientists studying a pliosaur (think Loch Ness monster) from the Mesozoic era have discovered that the reptile suffered from a degenerative disease much like arthritis, and that a bone that could heal eventually led to its death.
Faster Than Light Travel
15
May
We’re not there yet, but we are getting closer. A rocket powered by smashing matter and antimatter together could get us to about 70% the speed of light. I know that doesn’t make it seem like we are close to faster than light travel, but please note that the previous top speed was 33% the speed of light. That’s a jump of 37%. Another jump of that magnitude takes us over.
Still, I think my favorite thing about this is that the pair of people who did the research were a senior research fellow and a senior in high school.
#MythBusters (ep188)
14
May
I know the MythBusters love guns and gun myths, but if they are now able to get the rights to do Burn Notice myths, why was this the first one? I was not surprised the bullets through the undercarriage myth was busted, even though the components looked good.
The most important part of the surfing a shockwave myth came at the end, in their attempt to make it work. They coated a blanket in bed liner. Now I want to know if a blanket coated in bed liner would protect me from a blast. Exactly how strong is bed liner?
Movie Review: Clash of the Titans (2010)
13
May
We recently saw the new Clash of the Titans. It mostly seemed like many scenes had been filmed and then ended up on the cutting room floor- especially of our two hunters who inserted themselves into the traveling party, got Perseus his shield, and the disappeared again, except for a brief cameo at the end. They ended up simply confusing us more than anything else, as we tried to keep track of who was who.
Then there were the random desert guys, who also appeared briefly and then left the party. I am still not certain what their purpose was.
Blog Feature: Tales and Tails
12
May
Let me start by saying that if you want to see some lovely photographs of dogs, you definitely need to head over to Tales and Tails. And while the Greyhounds, both Bunny and Blueberry, are absolutely gorgeous, I am partial to the shepherds. I grew up with an amazing GSD, so I just cannot help but be like everyone else, including the vet school students, and be in love with little Kuster. I am partial to crazy Morgan, though, too. And I just want to give her a hug, not that she would ever let me, but I want to.
Your Money Friday: Live with Roommates?
11
May
This has been a hot topic over at YM all week. Would you live with roommates to save money? A majority of the regular YM posters are 30s or older, with established families, so a lot of the instant reactions were along the lines of “not at my age” “I am too set in my ways to live with anyone” and “with kids in the house, absolutely not”.
Still, one of the defining factors of how people answered this thread was whether they considered roommates to be random strangers found through an ad in the paper, or friends or family.