Busybusybusybusybu...you get the idea

It's been crazy here...as evidenced by the lack of posting. Last weekend was a quick jaunt to a wedding of one of Steven's cousins. Then I came back in time to hit the ground running with several appointments on Monday, and then the EARTH workshop on Tuesday.

The EARTH workshop was...an adventure...EARTH stands for Environmental Awareness Researchers for Tomorrow's Habitat. Don't ask me how they came up with that program. Anyway, it's an environmental science grant program that is in middle schools here in several counties in Kansas. One day every spring we host a whole bunch of them and have a bunch of 25 minutes sessions abut soil, water, and other environmental topics. Yeehaw! I am so not cut out for dealing with middle schoolers on a regular basis.

Today and tomorrow are a little slower, and then Friday is set up for Herb Day on Saturday. Then all day Saturday I'll be working Herb Day. Nice birthday present, huh? Then next week I'll be in Manhattan for yet another training. At least it's the final training!

Quote of the Day

"We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it."

- Madeleine L'Engle

Air Ferns

Steven has an air fern. He's had it for at least 3 years, and he's quite proud of the fact that it is still green...in other words, that he has been able to keep a plant alive for longer than a few months. I vaguely recall a couple other people in the dorm having air ferns.

Well, last night the subject came up yet again, and I made the final determination to learn what an air fern actually is and is not. A quick Google search turned up the fact that air ferns are actually Sertularia argentea...I would give you the entire scientific classification from Kingdom down to Species, but I know you would just stop reading. Anyway, the telling part comes first.

Kingdom: Animalia

Wait....Animalia?!? This is NOT a PLANT! Ah hah! I am vindicated!

As per Wikipedia: Air fern is the name given to a product that is in fact composed of a species of marine animal called Sertularia argentea. These so-called "ferns" are dead and dried colonies of hydrozoans, colonies of marine hydroids. Hydroids are related to corals and jellyfish.

So don't hold your breath waiting for it to grow!

Oh Yeah...I'm Definitely a Nut!

You Are a Cashew

You are laid back, friendly, and easy going. Compared to most people, you have a very mild temperament. You blend in well. You're often the last person to get noticed. But whenever you're gone, people seem to notice right away!

What Nut Are You?

I'm not sure I actually fit this description, but I like cashews, so it works!

Web Safari: Millennials

There have been all kinds of articles and such about my generation, as we are beginning to move into the workforce and everyone is trying to "figure us out" so to speak.

The first link is a look at what millennials mean for the workforce. It is a quite balanced article - it covers the positives that are unique and the differences that don't fit us easily into the modern workplace of the Boomers and Xers.

The next link is a look from the political side. Apparently a majority of millennials fit into the "progressive" mentality. My personal experience is that millennials are less willing to fit themselves into the Republican-Democrat boxes that have been prominent for the past several decades. Millennials also appear to be much much more interested and involved in politics than recent generations. It will be interesting to see what happens as we all mature and settle down with families.

A comparison of Generation X and Millennials.

A look at some of the factors and events that shaped/are shaping Millennials.

A blog devoted to issues relating to Millennials.

A NY Times article that discusses methods of communication and spreading news. A lot of what they say is true...people my age find information exactly the way I did here...you get a link from a friend via email or blog, you share what you read by blogging or emailing about it. I was thinking about the characteristics of my generation recently, as I have been considering ways to reach out to younger audiences for my job. So I went to Google and searched for articles relating to millennials. Then I skimmed through, found other links, etc. And now I'm sharing them with you!

Perspectives from Ghana

Stacia, a former RA from Anders at ISU, is with the Peace Corps in Ghana right now. She has some really interesting pictures and blog posts at her site.

One of her blog posts is her reflections at the 9-month mark in Ghana. Here are some thought-provoking quotes from it:

In America we often here of all the problems that exist in Ghana... poverty, corruption, abuse, gender inequality, lack of water, disease. We seem to think that it exists but can’t be as bad as they want us to believe. We also believe that it’s fixable. But living here for the past 9 months has given me a new perspective.

The corruption is pervasive, the gender inequality is improving in the urban areas, and poverty/water development is in progress. The Ghanaians may be poor, but compared to other countries in Africa, they are doing quite well. The truth is that they’re lives are incredibly difficult, and they don’t have any of the luxuries that we have in America and even small things that we take for granted are beyond their imagination. But they are doing just fine. Most families scrape by with enough food and water to survive. They used to be comfortable with having enough, but now the Western mentality has crept into the minds of the people and suddenly having enough isn’t enough. They want to have more. As much as possible, and they will do unthinkable things to get there.

It will take time, probably a lot of time to change things in Ghana and in Africa, and I truly believe now that development is going to take a lot more than money. Throwing money at a problem won’t do a thing, and the government workers will probably take a chunk of it to line their own pockets in the process. However, step by step, child by child, things can change. Education is at the heart of this change. My job is at the heart of this change. For the majority of teachers in Ghana, teaching is simply the transfer of information. My main goal here isn’t to teach computers. But by teaching computers I hope to transfer real life skills.

I would encourage you to go read all of what she has written and look at the pictures. Eye-opening! The line I put in bold type above is what really stuck out to me. We are so used to...saturated in a culture that says it's okay to always strive for more and more. This mentality doesn't have any less ugly results here, but we are so used to them - so conditioned to accept them as okay - that we don't even notice.

Busy Busy...Doing What?

Since I haven't posted anything recently, it would be fair to assume that I have been extremely busy. Well, I believe I have been busy, but I'm not altogether sure what it is that I've been so busy doing. Last week was fairly busy until the very end of the week. Saturday was the Master Gardeners' Tree Festival, but I didn't have much to do with that other than show up for a couple hours. So far this week I have stayed comfortably busy, but not crazy. I guess I haven't spent very much non-work time around a computer, hence the lack of posts.

My scheduled work is a lot lighter through April, compared to February and March, but the walk-ins and soil tests are increasing. I've got writing up soil test results down pat now, so they don't take very long most of the time.

My coworker's mother-in-law passed away on Sunday, so most of us from the office went to the funeral this morning. This afternoon I'm filming a segment with Ch. 12 called "Does It Work?" about a grass seed product called Patch Perfect. I'm not totally comfortable with the TV part yet, but I'm sure that sooner or later I'll get used to it.