Poop Assumes its Rightful Place as Valuable Energy Source

I ran across this news article today. Here's a clip of it:

Feb. 23, 2006 — San Francisco is hoping to convert its dog dung into energy that may be able to power everything from an electricity-generating turbine to a home stove, according to Norcal Waste Systems Inc., which oversees garbage collection, recycling and disposal for San Francisco and several other Northern California cities.

San Francisco is believed to be the first U.S. city to explore the energy potential of dog feces. A pilot test program may begin within the next few months.

"The city of San Francisco has a goal of 75-percent landfill diversion by 2010 and zero waste to landfill by 2020," said Robert Reed, Norcal's spokesman. "According to a recent waste characterization study, 3.8 percent of garbage from residential collections was animal feces — mostly from dogs and cats, although other animals could have been represented."

If you haven't read enough about the powerful potential of poop (I love alliteration), click here. I really do love San Francisco!!

Lost in Chicago in Uncomfortable Shoes and The Woman Carrying the Ladder

I was in the Windy City on Monday night and Tuesday for an audition. Being that Brad and I arrived at our hotel at half past 11pm, and we both had auditions the next day, very little time was allowed for meandering around our nation's third most-populous village. However, since my audition was over at 4:30 and Brad and I really hadn't intended to vacate the city of jazz, liquor and cabaret, I had some time to hang out with a smelly old piece of rubbish....that's right, Laura! Laura and I met at this cute café type place called Cosí (yes, I'm getting excited with the accents), and we had ourselves a Chai; actually, I had the Chai because I remember Laura and I laughing about it (different story), and I seem to recall that Laura didn't have anything. Anyways..... so Laura and I hung out at Cosí for a while and then I called Brad and told him that I would be walking back to the hotel (which was only five or six long blocks away). Now those of you who know me know that I'm not what one would consider the foremost navegably minded person in the land, and so on my way back to the hotel, I did happen to make seven or eight wrong turns leading me to the Christian Science church! I really don't know how that happened. At one point, I was even so happy and proud of my intelligence that I found the sign for the Westin (our hotel) and followed it all the way. Naturally, Chicago has multiple Westins unbeknownst to me, and it was the incorrect one. But whatever, so here I was confusedly pacing the streets of Chicago awaiting Bradley to retrieve me from my near half-hour of aimless bumbling, and what do I see?

Two women talking, one of which was carrying a ladder.

I mean, you can't make this stuff up, folks. This is exactly why I loved San Francisco. People are freaking weird. She was just talking to her friend like it was perfectly natural for her to be carrying a ladder. And why shouldn't she be? What if she sees an apple gleaming high up in a tree? Won't she be glad to have been prepared enough to have her ladder readily accessible?? Now I admit that I cheated my way pretty much entirely through Cub Scouts, but I'm pretty sure that carrying a pocket knife and a flashlight deems you "a prepared person." A ladder might be a little bit excessive. And this was no little stepstool, this was like a 10-foot wooden ladder. Who knows.

But finally, Bradley came and whisked me out of the trenches of the city, and we were on our way back to Bloomington. Which was good, because I was still wearing my brown Kenneth Cole square-toed shoes, and my feet were pretty much loathing me at that point.

Well, I hope this has been random enough for you to want to do something productive with your day! Take care, everyone.

P.S. I suspect that my eighth grade English teacher is reading my blog now. So I'll go ahead and admit that "navegably" is not a word, but I still think it's fabulous.

A Game to Make You Smarter

Last Monday I discovered a new and fascinating little game called Sudoku (soo-do-koo). Actually according to my Japanese friend, Kimiko, it would be more like (soo-oo-do-koo), but we'll go with either pronunciation for the time being. Although I think it's important to have a good concept of proper pronunciation when you are reading. I went through the entire first book of Harry Potter prouncing poor Hermione's name wrong. I should have know that (her-me-own) was not right on the money, but J.K. doesn't even tell us the proper pronunciation until very late in the book, if even in the first book at all! I'll need Hilary to provide a ruling on that. Anyways, the IDS, the IU newspaper, has a Sudoku puzzle every day along with the crossword puzzle. Monday and Tuesday are a level 1 difficulty, Wednesday a 2, Thursday a 3 and finally a level 4 (the most challenging) on Friday. Thus far I've completed each of the three puzzles, and I am eagerly anticipating tomorrow's level 3 zinger. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the game and/or its history, feel free to click here for a Wikipedia crash course.

Oh, P.S. This game will make you smarter. I'm just a trombone player, and after 3 of these puzzles, I feel like my mind has been expanded in ways that were unimaginable! Try it, it'll change your life!

And P.P.S., my friend Rachel is a freak of nature at these puzzles. I watched her do today's level 2 in a matter of minutes. I finished in a record 53 minutes. But timing's not what's important, only the immense satisfaction that immediately ensues a completed grid.

Have a nice day :-)

A Mid-Afternoon Stream of Consciousness

...but oh well. And I can't be glad enough for this day to be over. It's like I'm being eaten alive by higher education, and I've just about had enough of this! Hopefully tonight goes well and I don't sound completely like a moron tonight. Although I really don't think I'll be able to have a high F by tonight. I guess I'll just close my eyes and hope for the best. Darn you, Ludwig! Rehearsal should be good today. Just the longest and highest piece I've ever had to play in my entire life. Darn you, Wolfgang! What ever happened to the good old days when the trombones just played in the middle of the staff? That's why they make trumpets you know? We can only play so high, and then it's someone else's job to play those notes...

IU Music History Course M402 to be Officially Renamed M40Boo

BLOOMINGTON, IN - Wannabe trustee of Indiana University, Jeff Marcilliat, announced in a private press conference yesterday that the Jacobs School of Music would be renaming its second half of a two-semester history cycle, M402, to M40Boo. Marcilliat said that this change was prompted by a riot on the Bloomington campus last Wednesday when students "just couldn't take it anymore." Marcilliat and his colleagues are hopeful that this change will bring even more prestige to a musical institution of an already outstanding caliber. For further information on this historic event in the life of Indiana University, please contact the psychiatric ward of the Bloomington Hospital.