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| I like to think that I'm pretty good at geography, but I was a little humbled to learn that North America includes Greenland today:
the United Nations defines the continent of North America as including three different regions: Northern America (Canada, the United States, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Greenland, and Bermuda), Central America (Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama), and the Caribbean (26 countries and territories). The CIA World Factbook takes a similar stance. "North America is commonly understood to include the island of Greenland, the isles of the Caribbean, and to extend south all the way to the Isthmus of Panama,"
(source: Slate.com)
Given that Greenland is a province of Denmark, I just assumed it was part of Europe. It's easy to feel smug when looking at Sarah Palin's reported ignorance of geography or Barack Obama refererence to "57 states" but it's humbling to discover one's own lack of basic knowledge 
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| I've been really bummed today because I didn't get the job at Navy Labs in San Diego that I really wanted. I was browsing the newspaper and sulking over dinner and I happened to come across my horoscope for today:
"You have imagined a certain path, but perhaps haven't considered a second or third alternate that might satisfy you even more. Open your mind to new versions of your future."
Obviously a bored horoscope writer could toss this crap out any day for any astrological sign, but I have to admit that it was a little consoling to read it at a moment when I felt my dreams had been dashed. I suppose this is how people get sucked into psychic hotlines, cults and Amway....
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| I was looking at some old photos today and I found some pictures from a Mexican Midget Rodeo my brother and I went to in August 2002. Looking at the pictures brings back warm feelings of how fascinating and friendly the midgets were and I get an odd feeling of wonderment at how fat I was and how dorky my brother looked. Looking at these old pictures, I can't believe that I'm looking at myself. 
When I see pictures of myself from elementary school, I quickly recognize that I'm seeing someone I used to be. These photos are only about 4 1/2 years old and I can't immediately identify them as myself. It's not just the extra body fat, lack of musculature and lighter skin; there are are other intangible things that I intuitively sense but can't consciously identify. Oh yeah, and the midgets were really cool. | | |
| Even if I live a hundred more years, I will never be in a better photo:
Vannessa, Jay and Melissa Thanksgiving Weekend 2005
What caption would you suggest? Go ahead, do your worst! | | |
| Yay! I accomplished one of my New Year's Goals today: 100 push-ups in one day.
I didn't do 100 straight push-ups (that's my goal for 2006), but I did do 10 sets of 10 good push ups (leaning forward on the toes, chest barely touching the ground). I probably could have done this earlier, but I was preoccupied, so I thought I'd give it a try today.
All my New Year's Goals this year are fitness related since I know that their achievement depends solely on me. Most people make New Year's Goals or Resolutions that depend on other people cooperating or acting in some other desired way (e.g. "I will get a promotion," "I will date my dreamgirl"). Most goals that depend on others' actions are achievable, but I prefer to make goals that depend solely on my behavior. Unfortunately, most great achievements do depend, at least in part, on the actions of other people. If I can accomplish something by myself, then it probably isn't too profound (e.g. 100 push-ups in a day). | | |
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