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Magnificent Desolation
April 18, 2008

http://www.thespaceshop.com/fcormade.html

Something that I had really wanted to see when it was still out in theatres was the IMAX film narrated by Tom Hanks: Magnificent Desolation. It's a movie about the moon put together with stunning visuals. After purchasing this film, narrated by Tom Cruise, I was blown away by the quality in terms of both the visuals and presentation. I can't wait to see more IMAX space stuff!

Another interesting one:
http://www.thespaceshop.com/imdvdhaco.html

Something that I'm really looking forward to is when they create an IMAX movie of the completed station when there is a crew of perhaps 6 people. They could base the movie on the final few shuttle missions, and conclude it with the final mission, making the final touches on the structure and celebrating in orbit the completion of such a monumental accomplishment.



Accomplished: 3 minute showers for a year
April 18, 2008

Last year I sent out to conserve some water and energy by seeing if I could live with a short three minute shower each day for a year. One year later, I've saved about 14,000 litres of hot water. Not bad! (That said, it's interesting to consider that if you really want to save water, it's quite possible to wet your body with 0.5 litres of water, lather yourself up, and then rinse off with another 2 litres, which translates to a 15 second shower!)

Now that I'm done, I think I'll try to keep it up. There's something to be said for speedy showers even beyond saving water and energy: They get you moving in the morning! Taking 7-10 minutes in the shower is just another form of procrastination. Being speedy, on the other hand, gets you in the mind set that you have places to go and things to do. I like it.

Today I came across a neat blog:
greenasathistle.com

Welcome to Green as a Thistle. My name is Vanessa, I'm a journalist at the National Post, based in Toronto. When I saw the documentary An Inconven— no, just kidding. Now that organic is the new bl— OK, no, seriously now. In short, this blog began somewhere between dissing Stéphane Dion's dog (named Kyoto) and finding myself amongst a group of eco-hipsters drinking hemp beer at an anti-styrofoam party. I decided to take on a bit of a challenge: Spend each day, for an entire calendar year, doing one thing that betters the environment. The idea is that everything I do, I keep doing (so if I switch brands, it's a permanent switch; if I turn down my thermostat, I keep it down), so that by day 365, I'll be living as green a lifestyle as it gets. I hope, in the end, this proves that being an environmentalist doesn't necessarily have to require massive change, compromise or Greenpeace levels of dedication — it can be simple, and inspiring.



Planning for Europe
April 18, 2008

Meredith and I are starting to get excited about hopefully travelling to Europe this summer. As we plan, there is a real tension between wanting to see a lot VS wanting the trip to still be somewhat relaxing and enjoyable. We admittedly tend to be a bit psycho in terms of how much we want to experience!

Here's a current rough plan: (2 week trip)

Fly to London, then fly to Amsterdam, and then hop on a train to Belgium
Brussels, Belgium
Strasbourg, France
Zurich, Switzerland
Interlachen, Switzerland
Florence, Italy
Rome, Italy
Naples, Italy
Fly from Rome to Lisbon
Lisbon, Portugal
Madrid, Spain
Barcelona, Spain
Nice & Cannes, France
Monaco
Fly from Nice to London, then fly home

Doesn't quite seem realistic does it! Like I said, we're a little psycho.

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