Blog Action Day - I'm a work in progress....

So today is blog action day, an idea i guess that i support, but to be honest, i am not 100% sure i know what to write....i am not an "environmentalist" by any stretch....as an example, i recently got into an argument with someone from California who was trying to persuade me to only buy local produce....she obviously never tried to get a halfway decent strawberry in new york in november....i didn't win, or really try to win, that argument..

but i am a new parent, and i do tend to think every once in a while about the world my kids will live in - admittedly mostly with envy as to what technological advances will be made - but sometimes, about the enviornment ....While i am not comfortable in committing to any sort of zealot level antics, i will see what i can do to make sure i am leaving this planet in relatively similar, if not better shape, than if i hadn't been here at all...

so maybe for this "Blog Action Day" thing, i will just take a quick inventory of what I have done so far to make this world a better place

1. I have used twitter and facebook to keep in touch with people, which is a lot more convenient and environmentally friendly than sending letters through the mail, or using 2 tin cans and string
2. i allowed a family of raccoons to live in my attic for a portion of the year (you can email me though to find out how that story ended)
3. I have procrastinated decision (and am still procrastinating) buying a 2nd car, which has lead me to take a taxi to and from my house and the train station..often sharing the cab with other passengers - some of whom smell better than others...
4. I spent almost $700 in whole foods last month...that HAS to count for something
5. I looked up "Carbon Footprint" on wikipedia, so i can nod my head with a bit of certainty when I listen to Al Gore
6. I have not gone on my treadmill in like 2 years. i guess that saves on electricity, but not really sure if there'll be any Certified Emission Reduction (thanks wikipedia) as a result
7. I listened patiently to my mother in law when she told me that California is going to slide into the ocean (more problems for my strawberries in november conflict) after she saw it on the discovery channel
8. I've resisted the temptation to pursue a private pilot license, saving on tons of fuel that i no doubt would've burned through
9. When I played golf this summer at harbor links golf course, i complied with all the "environmentally protected" area signs...though i did make a handful of large contributions in terms of golf balls...not sure how that balances out in terms of CER
10. I always curse under my breath at smokers on the LIRR platform...more cause it makes me stink of cigarettes, but i HAVE to believe that if more people cursed at smokers on train platforms, some people would be less prone to pollute the air that way

So all in all, I am a work in progress, and while the idea of blog action day seems a bit contrived, a lot like Secretaries Day (no offense meant to anyone knocking em dead in that field, i used to be one, and a rather crappy one i might add), it did get me to reflect a bit on what I've done, and what more i can do to make the world an ok place for luke, madison and sam to live in.

Fixing a Hole....

What's raccoon remediation without a little bit of collateral damage?

One of the guys cleaning up the attic apparently stepped in the wrong place....

not to worry, its not like there is going to be a steady flow of contaminated insulation and raccoon feces falling through to our bedroom....oh, wait....

In the bottom photo, you can see the remediation job supervisor, looking at her team's handy work with sheer adoration and affection...love you too marjorie....

Attic Clean Up - Complete - Well, almost...

Wish the clean up company would've let me know before hand, but they were unable to complete the attic clean up in 1 day.....They'll be finishing up this morning, but because they couldn't finish, our house ended up looking like something out of E.T. , with ventilation pipes running through the house....

Let the raccoon clean up begin

the cleaning up of the mess caused by our uninvited upstairs raccoon neighbors has officially started.....how these guys escaped discovery's "dirty jobs" is beyond me....

I've got my own mask on as well, though not as heavy duty as these E.T. wannabees...

Supplies

A typical batch of supplies....should get us through a week or so.

October 2007 Video of Sam, Luke and Maddie

The Mets Collapse - Who is really responsible? a.k.a. Glavine's ride on the Mets vessel

I've been a mets fan since i was old enough to understand baseball...I spent time out on the field when i was 7, met Steve Henderson, Alex Trevino and a bunch of other players, and have always rooted for them, no matter what.

I watched the collapse these last couple of weeks, and have tried to read as much as possible about the potential reasons...While Willie deserves his share of the blame, after all, he is the leader of the team, and must take some responsibility, i blame someone else - not reyes, for disappearing, or the non-existent relief staff - to me, it is all about Glavine.

Glavine was never, and is not now, a real Met. He is an Atlanta Brave, and assume that when he goes to the Hall of Fame, it will be in a Braves uniform. He rode the Mets vessel, taking advantage of Omar Minaya's fine tuned offense, to victory # 300....And after that? Gave up. Gave up while on the mound, seemingly gave up in the clubhouse, where based on tv coverage, he couldn't be seen talking to any of the younger pitchers, providing the much needed leadership in the clubhouse....and post-300th win - checked out.

In so many categories, there is an obvious slip in performance after the game in Chi-town when he won 300...Innings pitched, ERA, Wins, Hits allowed...all dropped after that 300th win....

It is what we call in business "short timers disease"....Once an employee gives notice, you know that their productivity and their focus will wane...In my mind, this is exactly what happened, and while there's a long list of people who contributed, Glavine, and his blown opportunities to lead as well as to win, is my one throat to choke (proverbially that is, as he'd probably kick my ass).