National Tolkien Reading Day

A long time ago, or many years into the future, a group of individuals, including Elijah Wood, took a long, long walk. This walk was so long, it took several books/movies in order to mark this journey, and for this, I say, Happy National Tolkien Reading Day!

J. R. R. Tolkien, or John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, was an English writer, who wrote classic books such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series. The Tolkien Society created National Tolkien Reading Day in 2003, in an effort to encourage the masses to pick up one of Tolkien’s works and sift through the pages. Why March 25^th? Well, this date commemorates the fall of Sauron, a power-hungry villain from the Lord of the Rings, who is responsible for the creation of THE ring. In other words, as per my roommate, he “f*cks sh*t up!” And so, Lyndsey, in honor of such a day, I will give into the tortuous sounds in which you used to drive me mad last year…

Happy first day back to classes, teach!

Here is the link for today's poll!

National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day

Well, today is both healthy and delicious, yet a little bit bad! Happy National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day!

Chocolate covered raisins have no known origin, but are assumed to have been created in Germany. In the US Raisinets are the most popular brand of chocolate covered raisin, while in Canada its Glosette (my personal preference, when I could eat them!). These little nuggets of tastiness are an excellent snack, as they have all the benefits of raisins but with a chocolaty blanket to protect them! And you know the greatest benefit of eating raisins, right? If you said dietary fiber, you are correct! 

Since our polling system has been deleting votes, I will not be posting the polls in my usual fashion. To vote on today's poll, click here. 

National Energy Education Day

Happy National Energy Education Day! 

Energy can be defined in multiple ways, but for the purposes of the educational value I wish to impart on you, I will be using the following definition: “a fundamental entity of nature that is transferred between parts of a system in the production of physical change within the system and usually regarded as the capacity for doing work.” There are many forms of energy such as:

·      Thermal energy

·      Electric energy

·      Nuclear energy         

·      Magnetic energy

·      Sound energy

·      Mass

Energy forms are considered to be a part of one of two different groups: kinetic or potential energy. Kinetic energy is “the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity.” Potential energy is “the energy of an object or a system due to the position of the body or the arrangement of the particles of the system.” Additionally, it is possible to possess characteristics of both energy categories.

Thomas young was the first person to use the term “energy,” in 1807. And while there is much more history to learn about energy (done so easily by clicking the links throughout this post), I have run out of energy.

           

Haha, while looking up an energy related joke, I came across this. Being as I live in a university town, there is plenty of this goin’ on. A good solution, I must admit!

(http://withfriendship.com/images/f/27665/Energy-crisis-pic.png)

But, since I mentioned an energy joke, here it is:

A renewable energy scientist walks into a solar array and asks a panel Watt it could do for him.

One last thing - I’d like to give a little shout out to my roommate, Mandy, because today also happens to be National Toast Day! I hope today’s toast is as exciting and energy inducing as the ones previous!

World Water Day

Iiiiiiiiitttttttttttttts World Water Day! YAY! Another opportunity to talk about how much I dislike bottled water! Sorry folks…

World Water Day is a day dedicated to education the masses on the importance of making water a human right, and also to bring awareness to the issue that many do not have access to fresh, potable water. In North America, we are fortunate enough, particularly in Canada, to have access to the water sources we do! This is one of the many reasons it drives me crazy that so many people are foolish enough to purchase (single serve) bottles of water! The purpose of this “product” is to sustain us in times of emergency, not because it’s convenient or trendy! The impacts of this practice are terrifying. If we all stopped drinking bottled water “just because” many of our environmental issues wouldn’t exist!

So, I give you homework! Here are a few docs to watch, so that you can understand the impacts of your decisions.

Tapped           Garbage Island          Flow - For the Love of Water

Blue Gold - World Water Wars        The Story of Bottled Water 

Also, here’s a Water.Org campaign from spokesperson, Matt Damon. While I think he brings attention to the issue, I’m not sure his “protest” is taken seriously in the delivery of this video. Thoughts?

National Single Parent’s Day

Today is National Single Parent’s Day. As I’m not sure single parents get enough credit, I think this day is extremely important! I, myself, grew up with a single Mom who remains to be one of the most amazing and inspiring people I have ever known. She is smart, compassionate, friendly, kind, and strong! I know for sure I would not be the person I am today without her. She always put my brother and I first (and still continues to do so, although, I think she’s finally starting to put herself first now), and made endless sacrifices to ensure our health and happiness. She’s one of my heroes (my brother and my grandfather – her father – are the others)!

We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, but she made what we had go a long way. In fact, most times, we had no idea how little we had. She used her creativity to provide us with countless hours of fun, with what we now tease her for, doing crafts! We did crafts all the time, sometimes inviting the entire neighborhood in to participate. Pretty awesome for someone struggling to make ends meet.

I know I’m not the only person whose parents are no longer together. I also know I’m not the only one lucky enough to have a parent as supportive and understanding as my Mom. Even though it makes me sad when she tells me she thinks she wasn’t a good Mom, I think the best thing she did for us was make mistakes, and not be afraid to do so. This taught us to follow our hearts, and not to be afraid to fail. Note: I’m in no way suggesting my Mom has failed, just that in her recognition that she is not perfect, we (my brother and I) do not feel as though we must be either. Instead, we strive to be the best we can be, and have a better understanding of the impact one person can make on the world, no matter how big or small that world might be!

So to my Mom, and all the other single parents out there, I say thank you! It can’t be easy tackling such a hard job, but you do it without complaint. Thank you for always being there for us, and making us feel like we’re important.