Author: swakim

Last minute things to do this weekend

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Halloween is just a few days away, and that means Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. It’s time to panic folks, the HOLIDAYS ARE HERE!

Or, on second thought let’s not. How about we take advantage of this last weekend of calm before the storm, and cross off some non-holiday related to-do items instead? Some of them can even be fun.

First off, Saturday is National Drug take back day. It runs from 10 – 2 pm. So, get that checked off the list.

Next, take stock of how much Halloween candy you still have left for the big day. Yes, I know you already bought some, and you know why I’m telling you to take stock.

Then, there’s the pets. Grooming or vet appointments that can be taken care of now, will be considerably less stressful than if they’re happening at the same time as the human festivities down the road.

I know that it’s still crazy hot in most places, but that just means the cold is gonna sneak up on us even faster this year. Get your garden, and/or potted plants ready.

Now for some fun. Take a breath, and enjoy a free moment for yourself before it gets too cold, or the holiday schedules get in the way. Take a lunch break where you (and just you) want to go. Read a few chapters in that book you’re ignoring, or just wander through Costco one afternoon, without any particular goal in mind. Just stop and smell the roses.

Finally, plan a scary movie night for after everyone, and everything, has wound down for the night. Embrace spooky season one last time, by getting some popcorn and your favorite blanket, then just hit PLAY.

ICC 2024 breaks the Internet

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It’s one of those good news, bad news kinda things. This year’s International Coastal Cleanup day was so popular that the CleanSwell app crashed. Oops. The app is run by the Ocean Conservatory group, and is used by people around the world to record how much trash is being removed from the world’s beaches. This is utilized throughout the year, but is especially busy during the annual coastal cleanup up day in September.

After not being able to record my results, I reached out to find out why. The response that came back was that so many people were trying to do the same thing, at the same time time; and so it overloaded the app. They fixed it, and I was able to record everything. However, can we just take a moment to acknowledge that it crashed because on that day, so many people cared about the Earth that they got up early on a Saturday, and went out to clean up other people’s trash? The only thing better would be if someone hadn’t left it out in the world, in the first place.

The early results show that almost 18.5 million people volunteered, and it resulted in over 383 million pounds of trash being removed from the oceans, and shorelines of the world.

If you missed out, don’t fret, you can still help by cleaning up, in and around, your house. Many local communities will be hosting a large item cleanup event in October. Check with your city officials, or your local waste management company for details.

Has the Paris Olympics hurt the eco movement?

Daily writing prompt
What are you curious about?
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Photo by Anthony ud83dude42 on Pexels.com

Global warming, climate change, ocean pollution, and an ever increasing number of endangered species, just to name a few; we all know the problems our world faces. There are various ways that humanity can address these issues, but generally these solutions are applied only one or two at a time. When the Paris Olympic committee started planning for this year’s Summer Olympics, they decided to tackle several all at once. The goal was made clear, they wanted this to be the most eco-friendly Olympics ever held. Even before the games got started though, some problems were already being talked about.

One of the biggest was of course, the Seine river. Long considered to be too poluted with raw sewage for swimming, it was was now going to be the location of multiple swimming competitions. However, even as the games play on, those competitions are being pushed back due to higher than acceptable bacteria levels.

Then there’s the complaints about the hard cardboard beds, the too few bottle water refill stations, and the list goes on.

While no one can deny that France’s environmental goals were well intended, the way they were executed apparently leaves much to be desired.

So, this leaves me wondering, in a world that desperately needs to take action to save itself, did the good intentions of the Paris games actually do more harm to the cause, than good?

Is the future so bright anymore?

Daily writing prompt
What are you most worried about for the future?
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Most people would probably recognize the quote about “the only thing to fear is fear itself.” It’s been a favorite saying for decades now. In a way, it was also the mantra of the last half of the 20th century. Unfortunately for those of us now living in the first half of the 21st century, I worry that the old saying may no longer be true.

Right now, I think that the thing we have to fear is apathy, and that does worry me for the future.

Looking around the world today it’s easy to find the many problems we face. Sadly, it’s equally just as easy to find a whole lot of people who just don’t care that we do.

Yes, there are many vocal members of our species who are trying to change things (for good or bad), but considering we have about 8.5 billion people on the planet right now….where are the rest of those voices?

Schools Out, clutter in?

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With school out, the avalanche of school papers coming home will begin. There will always be some things that you’ll want to keep, especially if you have small children, but the vast majority probably needs to go. Just take a deep breath and start going through it now, while you’re still thinking about it. No need to find it all waiting for you once school begins again. A note of caution though, you will want to wait for the final grades to be posted before you actually toss anything, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start sorting now.

Aside from the regular cute drawings and school awards/certificates, you might also want to keep a few examples of your child’s work. This can sometimes come in handy if there’s ever a need to discuss changes in your child’s progress. Having your own file of examples to refer to can prove helpful. Anything with glitter, glue, etc. will need to be thrown away outright. However, the rest can probably be safely recycled. Make sure that none of it is special to your kid first of course, but after that you’ll be surprised at how good it can feel to let it all go. After that it’s time to enjoy the summer break.

Returning our attention to Earth Day

LEGO recycling truck recently scene at a local Target store. Picture by Salena Wakim, do not reuse, duplicate, or alter without permission and credit

With all that is going on in the world these days, one might be forgiven for letting Earth Day slip their mind this year. Sadly, many will probably overlook it entirely, but now we should be revisiting the importance of this day more than ever. It’s time we returned out attention to Earth Day.

I won’t list all the eco catastrophies we’ve had in the last 12 months. For one thing you’ve heard it all before, and for another, unfortunately there are so many the list really wouldn’t fit in this space. Suffice it to say, there’s been a lot, and as such, there’s even more work to do to fix the situation. Despite the heavy need, there’s still so many other problems right now, that eco awareness is both higher than it’s been for a while, and yet equally not being acknowledged in everyday activities on a large scale.

Increasing awareness amongst all the generations is key to fighting this problem, but that is easier said than done. Various organizations and businesses have noticed though, and are wading in to help. This includes companies like Kleenex issuing a special ‘National Parks’ themed packaging line, Disney releasing their Earth Day centric reusable bag line, and LEGO putting out a Recycling Truck builder kit (see image above).

The semiannual Drug Take Back Day will take place on Saturday 4/27, just at the tail end of Earth Week, in an attempt to prevent not only drug misuse, but also to prevent unwanted drugs from ending up in our waterways. The EPA has a variety of online resources to help you teach your children about the importance of the day as well. There’s also some free Earth Day templates for you to use on Instagram, to help promote Earth Day awareness. Many private citizens will be out doing beach, forest, and park cleanups this week too. I know it might seem like the message is getting buried under the avalanche of bad news coming at us from so many directions, but it’s important that you remember you’re not alone. Others do care, and we all need each other to pitch n and help, if we’re going to succeed in making it better. The UN just put out a statement saying that we only have approx two years left to really mitigate any future to climate related problems.

So, regardless if you celebrate by attending an event, working on spreading Earth Day awareness, or by taking stock of your own eco street cred, the important thing is that you do in fact celebrate it, and pitch in.

Happy Earth Day Everyone.

Let’s talk about the lottery vs savings debate

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For any one person who loves to play the lottery, there’s another person who equally loves to chide them for throwing their money away. This is a battle of ideologies.

One says that someone has to win, and if that person is me, then all my fantasies can come true. People who follow this line of thinking will often think of all the ways they’d go about spending, savings, investing, and even giving away some of those winnings.

As hopeful as the first mentality might be, the other way of thinking takes a decidedly more glass half full kind of approach. They will actively argue that the likelihood of that winner being you is astronomically not in your favor. Therefore, by purchasing that ticket you might as well be flushing it down the toilet. Theses people will also follow up by declaring that if you’d put that ticket money in a savings instead, then you’d be better off financially for real.

While both standpoints have their pros and cons, theirs is an argument that will probably never end. However, that leaves us with the question, are either of them actually right? I mean, yeah, you literally can’t win if you don’t play; however it’s equally true that the vast majority of tickets purchased will not result in even a free ticket type win. I guess it ultimately comes down to what makes you happier, the hope of winning, or the knowledge you have money set aside for savings.

I guess one way to test the success of both options would be to run a month long experiment. It would be simple enough. All you’d have to do is 1st, buy however many lotto tickets you normally would throughout the course of the month. Then, once you’ve made your lottery purchase for the week, let’s say you spent $5, you will then also place $5 into an envelope for savings. The next time you purchase lottery tickets you do the same thing, and so on, for a month. Then, at the end of the month look at how playing the lotto made you feel vs. how still having the money in the envelope does. Perhaps this is how we can finally figure out which path works best for us individually.

So, how about it, are you game to try? If you do, please leave a comment below, and tell us how it went.

Should your top three items be green

Daily writing prompt
What are three objects you couldn’t live without?
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“What are the three objects you couldn’t live without?”

That’s the question of the day. The answers will undoubtedly vary, depending on who’s answering, but here’s not only my two cents on the topic, but also my take on whether or not they should be green as well.

So, to get started, let me just clarify that I am actually only including “objects.” Therefore, nothing such as family, pets, good health, etc. will be considered a valid answer for this list. Also, I don’t want to suggest that things like insulin, EPI pens, or oxygen machines aren’t absolutely necessary, but I don’t happen to need any of those things right now, so they’re not on my list. (If you do need those things, please make sure to remember them as you’re writing your own list of top three.). Finally, things like a job, a house, and money are all equally important, but alas, not really the angle I’m going for here.

Now, that I’ve eliminated the big guys, lets move into my TOP 3 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT! (Dramatic enough for you?)

  1. Chocolate (what? I just eliminated most of the big serious ticket items, what did you think was left?) This has saved the day more than once for me. Should it be greener, well yes. Sadly, even when the larger companies have tried to do an organic version of their mainstream products ( ex: Hershey bar and Reece’s peanut butter cups) they always taste overly sugary, and waxy for some reason. Can the standard version become more eco friendly, and still taste the same. Yes, but that means the supply chain will need to be cleaned up. Doable, but facing an uphill battle across the industry.
  2. Vacation destinations to be clear, I don’t really get to travel hardly at all anymore. What I value about all these places is that they can inspire dreams/fantasies of what might be. This can spur on savings, planning, and eventually joy. How does that last one work? Well, if you enjoy the vacation that’s obvious, but I mean it can do it even before you book a ticket. Think of all the times you’ve watched a travel show, or checked out a website online. The very act of imagining yourself there, can make you happy just from the possibilities alone. Can it be green to travel, YES. It’s all in your choices. Even if the location isn’t taking steps to be eco friendly, that doesn’t mean you can’t be. Be that mindful traveler, and make sure you try to minimize your own impact as much as you can.
  3. Chocolate ice cream (or even chocolate coated ice cream) ok, maybe I was hungry when I wrote this, and dreaming about attending one if those chocolate festivals. Whatever…oh, and see point 1 for all the justifications. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to the kitchen ASAP.

    Here’s to a happy 2024

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    2023 has been pretty brutal, so the bar isn’t all that high for 2024 to be better, but still lets take a moment to all collectively hope that it will be.

    With two wars raging, environmental problems, an economy that is freaking many people out, and the ever present concerns surrounding China, is it any wonder that people are unsure of what the future holds? The good news is that there are several organizations out there trying to fix things.

    Every community has some sort of food assistance campaign now, as well as homeless outreach. Most colleges have programs set up to assist their students in a similar way. Neighborhood clean ups are ongoing throughout the year in most cities, and several beach, lake, and park cleanups are scheduled throughout the year now.

    We still have the larger concerns of course, like crazy weather threats, rolling blackouts, major storms, and wildfires, but there are groups like Esri working on that too. Over the summer the Esri User Conference in San Diego covered a myriad of ways government and local groups were getting together to better coordinate evacuation and rescue efforts, plus cleanup and rebuilding; and it all starts with a central hub to find needed information in real time, which Esri is helping to build.

    Many other such efforts are underway world wide, so there is hope that 2024 will be better for us all. Happy New Year everyone!