Babelogue Linkage

Thanks to the Twin Cities Babelogue for featuring "The Impossible Thrill" in their Minnesota blog of the day spot.

So if you're looking for the futon, turned-guillotine, turned-bike rack entry, you can find it here (you'll need to scroll down to the entry titled "Nice Rack".)

By the way, any new postings will appear below this post until next week. So scroll down to read new postings, and feel free to check back frequently for updates on my random projects, winter biking exploits, and misc musings and rants.

Salvation from the street corner

From a pamphlet recieved from a nice gentleman on the corner by the Walker Library. Usually I would bluntly turn down any literature tossed my way, but it was cold, and the guy seemed nice, so I just took it, said thank you, and kept walking.

Title: "This could be your last 5 Minutes alive!"

Inside, they describe what it would be like to go to the hospital, be declared dead, be sent to a funeral home, mourned, and buried. The message there - live every minute like it's your last. Not practical advice, really, but good food for thought. Fair enough.

Too bad they didn't stop there. On the next page, I'm confronted with the question "Where are you going when you die?" The options:

TO GO TO HELL...
Do nothing! You've already done enough!

TO GO TO HEAVEN ...
1) Believe you are a sinner. [Sweet, I'm thinking, I'm 25% of the way to salvation, baby! This is easy!]

2) Believe you deserve to go to hell. [Crap. Still at 25%. I'm a good person, I don't understand. What's going on here?]

3) Believe Jesus died to pay for your sins. [Fark. This isn't looking good.]

4) Trust Jesus as your savior. [Bloody hell! What does this one even mean?]

Now what. Surely this game is rigged. They give better odds on the Price Is Right. Don't I get a door prize or something? Thanks a lot, old man. Good thing I take NO ORGANIZED RELIGION seriously. And neither should you. I mean, believe whatever you want. I just recommend questioning everything and finding your own path.

Ecological Footprint Quiz

Since my humble little blog is getting a little traffic from the Babelogue link, it's high time I post something useful. Something that might open a few people's eyes and get them thinking. Here goes.

Ever wondered how many Earths would be required if everyone on the planet lived your lifestyle?

This Ecological Footprint Quiz estimates how much productive land and water you need to support what you use and what you discard. After answering 15 easy questions you'll be able to compare your Ecological Footprint to what other people use and to what is available on this planet.

My results? Pretty shocking, actually. I live a pretty frugal lifestyle, don't eat much meat, ride public transit or bike almost everywhere, live in a small condo, minimize the amount of waste I generate, buy much less useless junk than the average person, and still, under best assumptions, this quiz says 4.4 Earths would be required to support a humanity living as I do.

Care to downsize your life, anyone?

Kudos/Demerits (non-inclusive)

Kudos:

1) Path Plowers
Those responsible for clearing snow from the Midtown Greenway, as well as from all the paths around Lake Calhoun, Isles, etc. You guys rock!

Demerits:

1) Hot water abusers
People who take abnormally long showers in the morning, using up all the hot water at exactly the same time everyone else is getting up wanting to take a relaxing hot shower.

2) Non-shovelers
(a) People who don't shovel their sidewalks and/or (b) people with homes on street corners, who don't understand that it's their responsibility to shovel the sidewalk on both sides of their house, and that at the street corner proper, they're supposed to shovel all the way out to the curb on both sides.

and, saving the worst for last ...

3) Liars
People who post profiles on online dating sites, portraying themselves as single, only to disclose later (after you've wasted a ton of time getting to know them) that they're actually unhappily MARRIED.