I don't have a kid handy, so I can't verify the supposed awesomeness of this phenomenon, but apparently white noise works like magic to calm a crying baby. A couple of entrepreneurial parents decided to create a neat CD (I especially like the track titles) of white noise, all generated by appliances and other around-the-house sources.
Have any of you tried this approach? Does it really work?
The other day, I came across a BusinessWeek article describing the measures that California has taken to curb their appetite for energy in the wake of their recent energy crisis.
Those West Coast hippies might enjoy regulation a little too much, but at least this time they're pushing in the right direction. State building codes now require fluorescent lighting, which is generally more efficient than incandescent lighting, for new construction and remodels. They have a system of rebates to encourage the purchase of high-efficiency appliances where it helps most: HVAC and refrigerators. They are pushing to require white roofs, which will save quite a bit of energy (via reduced cooling costs) in places that are both hot and sunny.
The only thing mentioned in the article that I don't agree with is renewable-energy requirements for electrical utilities. I think that such demands should be pulled by consumers, not pushed out by producers. If using dino fuel has 'external' costs associated with it (securing Arabian oil fields, treating pollution from coal plants, etc.), then quantify that cost and add an appropriate (and strictly limited in scope!) tax.
Overall, though, it seems California is headed in the right direction wrt energy conservation and independence. For once, I wish the rest of the country (and world) would follow its lead.
Today marks a sad milestone in my adult life. I broke my first dish. It was a small plate, white with a blue stripe around the outside of the rim. His death was not in vain, though; he sacrificed himself to keep my baked potato from landing on the ground[1]. The viewing is being held in a cardboard box next to my kitchen trashcan. The funeral service will occur whenever I get around to taking out the trash[2].
Not to disrepect the recently-deceased, but do you know what my first thought was upon his death? 'Aw, crap. Now I have seven small plates and eight of everything else. Maybe I should accidentally drop one of all the other stuff.'
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[1] Not that I wouldn't have eaten the potato anyway, but it makes me feel better to think that Mr. Plate died in a sacrificial act of bravery.
[2] That could be anywhere between 3 and 30 days from now, depending on how lazy I am and whether I throw away any meat or other stuff that will make my apartment smell like armpits smothered in doody.
