Subject to Change

Charlie Sykes did a topic on phone/customer support today. Yes, I called in. So watch his podcast section.

This is a good time to remind you all about the “IVR Cheat Sheet” or Human List. Use it next time you want a real person to talk to.

I just got some new toys in the mail. So, I put together a really crude video to test them out.

[Youtube]mx_bZ2T2urU[/Youtube]

Chroma Key is going to be so much fun!

I’ve said once or twice that I have concerns about the actual environmental impact of compact fluorescent light bulbs. In particular, I’ve noted that the bulbs contain mercury, which is definitely not something to be taken lightly!

Now, it would appear that actual scientists (in lab coats and everything) have caught up with me. They’re questioning whether a safe disposal method can be made practical.

One problem with recycling is that it isn’t cheap.

Larry Chalfan, executive director of the Zero Waste Alliance environmental group, said the value of the metal, glass and mercury reclaimed from recycling fails to offset the cost of the process. “Someone has to pay,” he said.

Costs can range from 20 cents to 50 cents per bulb — not a paltry sum when some CFLs sell for less than $2 at Wal-Mart.

But, compared with the overall lifecycle cost of buying and using a bulb, recycling would be less than 1 percent, said Paul Abernathy, executive director of the Association of Lighting & Mercury Recyclers, “a small price to keep the mercury out of the environment.”

Alternatively, another way to keep mercury from CFLs out of the environment is to not buy them!

Another obstacle lies in the fragility of the bulbs and their mercury content.

“People who are going to accumulate these things from the public are going to have to address the fact that breakage will happen,” Abernathy said. “There’s the potential for contamination, and I think right now people are a little hesitant to volunteer to take on this liability.”

The U.S. government has no single recycling plan in mind, said Matt Hale, director of the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste.

Among the alternatives are special curbside collections by municipalities, mail-back programs by manufacturers and drop-off programs at various places, including retail stores that sell CFLs, he said.

Cool! A mail back program! How do I get my four-foot fluorescent tube into a letter sized envelope? Will it blend?

Huge hat tip to Jib, for finding the original article.

An astronaut on the international space station will be coming home a little late. Damage to one of the space shuttles has delayed its launch in June. NASA had better hurry, though, because she’s already jonesing for her sushi fix.

So Williams — who got a bit of attention for her accident with wasabi which wound up on the walls of the space station — may have to wait a little longer to go to her favorite sushi restaurant in Houston.

Trust me, I know what women can be like if you deprive them of sushi for too long.

“We’re doing things we can as best we can to make her happy, and perhaps launch some special items that will make her more comfortable for that extended period of time,” said Kirk Shireman, NASA’s deputy manager of the space station program. “Aside from that, there’s not a whole lot that one can do.”

Here’s what you can do: find a way to freeze dry sushi, ASAP!

A Chicago Yacht club is being sued because they failed to save a choking woman, even though an employee attempted the Heimlich maneuver. Her husband says that 911 was not called soon enough.

While we hope to never find ourselves in a similar situation, a few questions come to mind: What is the right thing to do in that situation? Do you stand by, and for fear that you might get sued, not help someone in distress? Why was it the ultimate responsibility of the club employees to call 911? Because they initiated the Heimlich? Couldn’t anyone have picked up a phone and made the call for help?

Not to put to fine a point on it, but everybody screwed up, including her husband. Anyone could have, and should have, called 911 right away.

Now that we have a child, I’ve been hearing more mommy war stories. Over the weekend a friend of mine told us how she was chewed out by a woman for trying to breastfeed her infant in a bathroom stall. Just where this woman expected her to feed her child discretely is a total mystery.

I can understand not wanting to see women breastfeeding in public. I’ll forgive people for being uncomfortable seeing it, even if there’s no exposed breast. Was this woman complaining that she could hear it? Should we be concerned that breastfeeding in public will become the next big vice, right after Governor Doyle personally guns down the last of the smokers?

I’m taking a poll. Observe the following image and tell me which you find more offensive (and why): the smokers forced to stand outside the building because no one wants to breathe second-hand smoke, or the women breastfeeding outside because no one can stand second-hand boobies.

I want detailed answers, so leave a comment.

The inventor of the laser said that he saw no practical purpose for it.

Now, they’re being used to help you quit smoking?

I’m going to find a way to make a laser diaper changer!

Everybody’s been using this tool to put their name in lights.

I found another use for it:

I got my name in lights with notcelebrity.co.uk

Are you sick of high gas prices, or concerned about the environment? Are you brewing your own biodiesel yet?

Do you think you’re a pioneer? A hero? A thrifty individual?

You might be a criminal. If you haven’t paid taxes on your home brew, the state wants to talk to you.

Apparently, biodiesel makers have to pay an inspection fee of two cents a gallon. Plus, if it’s blended with diesel that is used on the roads, the makers also have to pay another 31 cents a gallon.

Forgive me, but doesn’t an “inspection fee” imply that there was some sort of inspection actually performed? Who’s in charge of inspecting hobbyist’s biodiesel operations? I’ve got some questions for them, like: what do you do all day long?

Kelly and I have been looking forward to the maple syrup season. When we found out that this was the weekend for Riveredge Nature Center‘s Maple Magic Open House, we were thrilled.

Today was perfect day to enjoy the fresh air! We packed up Cole and met Phelony Jones for a short hike and a few sweets. Thankfully, Cole really seems to enjoy being outside.

We decided to finish the afternoon by admiring the guns at Cabela’s. What a day, huh?