I want to talk about our environment. Not just because Earth Day has passed, but because this may be our last chance to make a difference before Mother Earth is tipped out of balance. 

 

I'm not crying wolf, but I know our Earth isn't so healthy. Sure cycles of ice ages and polar ice melts are normal, but the difference this time around is the short window of time in which this is occurring. 

 

We're quite evolved in our sciences and we (humans) have made countless analyses on our direct impact to this planet. The polar ice caps are melting faster than ever before, and the ocean levels may be on the rise. 

 

What does this mean for me and what can I do to help? It means our young generation may be displaced by increases in the water levels. It means as the ocean temperatures rise, hurricanes may become more frequent, due to hurricanes gaining their energy directly from the heat of the ocean(s). 

 

What can I do? Consume less. You may have heard it before: reduce, reuse, recycle.

 

Reduce: 

Walk instead of drive. Humans are very car-dependent, but can you walk instead? How about car-pool, or utilize public transportation? Plant a tree, even if you don't have property in which to plant a tree, support environmental groups that do plant trees. Carbon Offset is another option. Carbonfund.org is a leading not-for-profit organization that helps in this initiative.  

 

A natural resource that we can reduce the use of is water. Using less water isn't really that hard. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth, use less water in the shower. Some say take shorter showers, but also not have the water turned on "full blast". Another thing to think about... water bottles. Each time we buy a bottle of water... after we drink the water (or whatever beverage), we still have the empty bottle left over. Recycling is an option, but how about using a home-water filter and reduce the use of the plastic bottles? The plastic starts to breakdown after 1,000 years on this Earth. And the beverage we've enjoyed is long forgotten about, but that plastic container still exists. Think about it.

Reuse:

Instead of throwing out an old computer or tv or phone or clothes or shoes or whatever; consider donating it to a local thrift store if it is still functional. The trash just ends up in a landfill. Somebody may be on a very tight budget and their means may include shopping at a thrift store. Got a plastic bag from your recent store purchase? Don't trash it, try to use it for something else. Trash can liner is a popular way to reuse it. Think of other things you can reuse.

 

Recycle: 

Many recycling options exist nowadays, but what do you recycle and how often do you recycle?  It's embarrassing to admit, but when I moved to Miami, there was a recycling bin. But after a while it disappeared, and I didn't even notice it. Until recently. Now condo management in the building I live in just recently returned that separate bin in which to recycle. Before everything would just go to the landfills. I was part of that non-recycling group. In Chicago recycling was abundant, not so here in Miami Beach. But *I* can make that difference. And I want to make that difference. And now I do make a difference. And it feels good. 

 

Here's a way to alleviate all those grocery store plastic bags: bring your own cloth bag(s). It's way stronger (even stronger than double or triple bagged) and and lasts a long time. I've been using the same ones for about 8 years and now they are showing signs of wear and tear... the stitching is starting to come undone. If you don't remember to bring cloth bags with you every time, it's ok. But try to implement substituting cloth bags for those obnoxious and environmentally hazardous plastic ones. If you do have a car, just keep them in your car, and at the grocery store there right there. But why just for the grocery store? Why not use that bag at Target and Walgreens, too? It may not feel like it makes *that* much of a difference, but it really does! 

 

You may choose to use paper bags, but isn't that wasteful, using one paper bag just to lug home your groceries? And when you're home you've still got that paper bag... which is derived from resources from our planet. Please try to go Cloth.   

 

This is not to instill guilt, it is showing some simple options we can do every day to make a difference on the planet in which we inhabit. 

 

 

Speaking about Stuff... check out this::: 

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

 it talks about a cycle that's ingrained into us from our society, but we can unlearn it. And that's just where I am. I'm actually (finally) beginning to really appreciate what I've got, and not to replace or upgrade because there's something newer or better out there. 

 

Peace, Love & Recycling,

=)

chRisto

I saw the documentary film "Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden" directed by Morgan Spurlock ("Super Size Me") and it was pretty good. Most people across the world seem to have similar concerns and we maybe even agree that our governments don't make decisions that truly represent its citizens. Ok, some will be satisfied with decisions, but other may strongly disagree with those decisions.

In the film this came to my mind: remember when 911 (nine-one-one) was *the* number to dial to contact emergency personnel. Now 911 (nine eleven) represents the tragic day that the World Trade Center and Pentagon sustained severe damage due to _______. I left that blank because there's been much controversy as to the actual occurrences on that day. There's been much speculation that it was an inside job, and I also hold that speculation that the U.S. government has severely manipulated significant facts regarding that day.

After reviewing numerous documentaries and several sources, my primary belief is that there were strong influences from the U.S. gov't that had placed incendiary devices inside the structure before the planes slammed into that iconic building.

OK, that's just my take on it. You may agree or disagree. I'm not discussing the originations here, I'm simply expressing my opinion on this still touchy topic.


Onto another topic:
The 2008 presidential race. I don't like McCain, he's conservative, homophobic, pro-religion+state, and I despise the opportunity he took when he went to Iraq to talk to the troops... I see that as a low-ball publicity stunt. The national media followed him there and reported it to us, so I'm getting the impression that they're (somewhat) tainted, as well.

Hillary has been slinging shit from her high horse. He ads are attacking Obama, and she's mean about it. But her hypocrisy annoys me the most. Obama quoted his good friend without sourcing his friends words-- so what?
I _used_ to like Hillary, and when I lived in Chicago I got to hear her speak there at an event. She was brilliant, but now she's deeply involved in the political game of trying to get her foot in the White House door. And we all know (ok, maybe we don't, but I'm pretty sure) that Bill has unfinished business from his Presidency that he wants to complete. And the financial gains and many other perks they'll gain. But that's for any candidate elected into the Commander in Chief. But now her true colors are showing, and I resent her for her uneven slamming of the opponent. She is a great speaker, but her selfish interests in seeking that desired/coveted position are what may allow her to tarnish her own morals just to get what she wants.

Obama isn't fueled by the special interests. He understands people (not doing the mouth work, such as Hillary is doing) and I think he's the one who'll best the best for the job. International affairs may not be his strong suit, but he'll have many resources at his disposal to assist him along the way. Look at George W. Bush... his incompetence and lack of eloquent speech structure and sentence formation didn't stop him. But I'm in no way suggesting that Obama is incompetent.


So, only 271 days left until Bush is ousted. He should've been impeached for the grandeur lies he threw at us about weapons of mass destruction and his reasons to invade Iraq. His re-election was not clean, either. Good riddance Mr. Bush.


Peace & One Love,
chRisto

Greetings Nestlé,

I am writing this letter after watching the ABC News
program Nightline "Flying Squad: Elephants Fight for
Survival", that aired on Tuesday December 11, 2007.

I am outraged to hear the response of a Nestlé
spokesperson when asked about the possibility of
Nestlé being involved in the destruction of a
protected national forest with the possibility of
growing coffee beans for one of its brands.

A Nestlé spokesperson response to ABC News: "It might
come --we have no way of knowing-- from illegal
sources. Law enforcement is not our task. ... We are
working with local farmers to increase output from
legal, existing plantations."

This demeanor is not aligned with my beliefs of good
business practices, and I am boycotting Nestlé brand
products until I feel assured that this irresponsible,
reckless, selfish and negligent attitude is changed to
support our entire world. I understand Nestlé wants
to experience financial gains, but doing so in a
malicious and destructive manner with disregard to
natural and environmental resources is, in my opinion,
ignorant and irresponsible.

I have read Nestlé's Creating Shared Value and
creating social responsibility on the Nestlé website,
but I find your spokesperson quoted above contradicts
that supposed philosophy. Perhaps the spokesperson
misspoke, but I am not willing to accept that as a
viable response from Nestlé. Also, I will not accept
the termination of employment of that spokesperson,
because I do believe that Nestlé's practices may be
less than admirable in this affair, and that
spokesperson simply stated the truth about the Nestlé
company.

This letter is being distributed by myself to all of
my friends and contacts, because alleged actions such
as the one referred to in this letter should never be
tolerated.

I am interested to hear further information on this
topic from Nestlé and I invite Nestlé to contact me
directly.

Best regards,

chRisto Rein

indi9oc@yahoo.com

go to this link and which one do you see? can you see both? http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22556281-661,00.html

the Karma Ghost ---hehehe

I'll put this in list format::: 1. I feel very content. 2. MacBook. So I received my MacBook, which will replace my beloved iBook G4. The transfer of files, documents, pictures, settings, etc. took just more than an hour (usually it would take days to do all of that!); this time it was so fast because with Apples you can connect a FireWire to both and click a couple buttons, and it's doing all the transfers for me. While I sit back and watch some Cartoon Network. This computer is even better than my iBook. My iBook was great, absolutely no problems with it, but every two years I upgrade my computer. The iBook didn't have additional memory on it (not that it needed it, cuz it's still speedy after 2 years-- unlike the unreliable -my opinion- PC's). But macs are so solid and stable, I may be able to extend that time period, before I replace this one. The new Leopard operating system gets released today!!! Mine is in the mail, shold be here by next week. YAY!!! 3. ankle. My ankle healing is making progress, the pain is minimal, but some times I feel it more than others. I'm still going lighter than normal on it, such as, •still• no sk8boarding. I miss sk8ing!!! But I want a good, complete, healthy healing process first, before I jeopardize that by wanting to joy ride on my board. I gotta say that I've been very good and patient. 4. work. David Bowie's song "Changes" playing in background for this one::: There have been numerous changes at work. Staff departures, shifts, and additions. As we've learned, change is a constant, so it just takes some adapting. We're strong and we can do it. 5. election season. This is the time of year when I get all these annoying political sponsored telephone interruptions for campaigners. Thank god for caller-ID, if it's not a name or number I recognize, my answering machine gets to do its work. I guess that's the price to pay of being a registered voter. A week-and-a-half is Election Day, so I'm sure in the upcoming week I'll be receiving even more anoying calls by candidates I don't want to hear from. Are you registered to vote? 6. october 2005, october 2006. In October 2005 Hurricane Wilma passed through this region with damaging winds. I made it through that. October 2006 my ceiling collapsed due to inept repair being done. I survived that traumatic ordeal as well. October 2007. Making it through the limited mobility of a serious ankle sprain. I know I'll make it through this, too. 7. rainy day. Looks like today is going to be a rainy day. YAY--- I have the day off, so I can sit back and enjoy the rain dripping through the green trees and shrubs.

I just ordered my (custom) 13" MacBook in White, with add'l memory & hard drive. It comes installed with iWork '08 and iLife '08. The Leopard will ship separately, but I guess that's ok. I'm reluctant to part with my beloved iBook G4 Rista, but I know my replacement Mac will give me lots of reliability, just as my Rista did for 2 solid years. Luna, as I've already named my new Mac, will have a glossy-display screen (the matte displays are only avail on the MacBook Pro). The matte display provides a truer color to the color palatte, but the glossy display has a crisper image, such as when viewing pictures and videos. I don't touch the display very often (at least I don't think I do, but maybe the matte display hides all my fingerprints); but if I do touch the display, I'll need to wipe it clean more often. I guess I can deal with that. I've been anticipating the release of Leopard, with its 300 improvements, since last year. I've saved the $$ for a while now, earning interest in the bank as I waited. So finally, after much waiting & patience, it's nearly here. Luna will be delivered with the following configuration: Processor 065-7304 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Memory 065-7307 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB Hard Drive 065-7312 160GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm Optical Drive 065-7315 Superdrive 8x Apple Software Solutions 065-7553 iWork '08 Preinstalled Keyboard/Mac OS Language 065-7324 Keyboard/Mac OS Country Kit/AEX 065-7330 Country Kit YAY for me... and for my anticipation of my new mac =) As you can see, I am feeling better than the past coupla days. ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- ------------------------ ------ ----- -------- -------- ------ ---- ------ -------- ------------ --------------------

*I urgently needed a few days off work,but I knew the Boss would not allow me to take leave. I thought that maybe if I acted "Crazy" he would tell me to take a few days off.
So, I hung upside-down on the ceiling and made funny noises.
My co-worker (who's blonde) asked me what I was doing. I told her that I was pretending to be a light bulb, so that the Boss might think I was "Crazy" and give me a few days off.
A few minutes later the Boss came into the office and asked,
"What in the name of good GOD are you doing?"
I told him I was a light bulb.
He said, "You are clearly stressed out." Go home and recuperate for a
couple of days."
I jumped down and walked out of the office...
When my co-worker (the blonde) followed me, the Boss asked her,
"..And where do you think you're going?!"
(You're gonna love this...)
She said, "I'm going home, too. You can't possibly expect me to work
in the dark!"*

ok, not exactly what happened, but I am taking an extra day off work this week due to too much stress there. And my supervisor is *great* because she said yes when I asked!!! But this story is funny, and time-appropriate. LOL YOU ARE WELCOME HERE :) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- oh yeah, my last doctor visit for my sprained ankle resulted in my official 'release', meaning I don't need to return to the doc unless the pain persists for another month or so. The pain comes and goes, and it seems to be more present with rainy weather. Uh Oh, one of those weather-predicting injuries LOL .

Many thanks to: • D A V I D • AND Gendai-Ki Reiki Shihan
for reminding me of this significant movie/statement, and sharing it once again with all of you!
Date: Sep 28, 2007 1:00 AM


http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/


..

Many of you have already seen this...I post this for those who've yet had a chance to watch and contemplate what's presented in this documentary.
And it makes me want to throw my television (with it's narrow/selected news broadcasting) out the window!!! ∞ • ∞ • ∞ • ∞ • ∞ • ∞ • ∞ • ∞ • ∞ • ∞ • ∞ http://www.thefutureoffood.com/ http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Future_of_Food/70038794?trkid=189530&strkid=975714856_0_0 ::: This documentary by Deborah Koons Garcia (wife of Jerry Garcia-- of the Grateful Dead) on our food supply chain and Genetically Modified foods is another gem. Helps my trust of independently owned food stores. Peace and Love to all, Risto

At 12:01 EDT on Friday 12 October Planet Mercury goes retrograde. This retrograde begins @ 9:01 pm Thursday 11 October in PDT. (EDT=Eastern Daylight Saving Time; PDT=Pacific Daylight Saving Time)

Mercury retrograde in Scorpio (October 12-23) is likely to cause costly misunderstandings particularly over dramatic or passionate subjects such as birth, death, sex, secrecy, or jeolousy.
Mercury retrograde in Libra (October 23-November 1) will likely cause numerous miscommunications between friends and among partners. By late October, negotiations among friends may be confusing and frustrating, and it may be difficult to make decisions. Try to give speakers a decent chance before jumping all over their words, but expect to hear a sufficient dose of harsh criticisms from other people. Interruptions are likely to occur during discussions. A key to getting through the Mercury retrograde period is to be attentive to important details, some of which may prove to be life saving details while Mercury is in Scorpio.

-excerpt from Celestial Forecaster 2007 by Annie Bones-