The Trench ... or... How I Spend Sundays

This is a picture of the trench that I'm slowly digging in an effort to rid the back yard of excess rainwater. A rain garden is in the works, but it won't be enough. The trench is running down the middle of a berm, which we had to put in as part of the garage effort. It has never worked, so I'm going to level out the berm, put the trench in and channel the water out to the street. Like all of our neighbors.
If I keep going at this rate, I MIGHT have it done by August.



We have clay soil, so rainwater doesn't sink into the soil.... it just runs off. So, during the summer we have flash floods..... I took this picture last week during a storm that lasted about 1/2 hour.

Ride Your Bike to Work - Blame ZIPCAR

Entered the ZIPCAR Low Car Diet competition. Get away from your car - bikes, transit passes, etc.

Geek Award of the Day

An email with this headline floated across my in-box today.
SIM President says Worst of Recession Over

Imagine my disappointment when I read the text and learned that this is NOT a new release/ community of THE SIMS - The SIMS as Economists, but is, instead, just the President of the Society for Information Management (SIM).

I had visions of creating little economists with graphs and statistics.

Once an Economics major, always an Economics major !

Sunscreen...... A Whiter Shade of Pale

Best = Bull Frog SPF 36 SPRAY. Dries ammost instantly and doesn't seem to rub off. Drawbacks: you can TASTE it as it soaks into your skin, and you really can't spray it, because you'll end up breathing it.
Worst = Bull Frog SPF 50 lotion. Unless you're at a Halloween party as Bela Lugosi, skip this. It goes on white, doesn't soak in, rubs off, and just sits on your skin like some white grease. Might as well use zinc oxide, which at least comes in colors.
OK = Neutragena Sport Face SPF 70+. Not sure if an SPD 70+ is even possible, but at least it doesn't melt into your eyes or rub off.