I love news stories like this:

Antarctic base gets condom haul before winter

There are about 125 staff left on Antartica for the winter and 16,500 condoms have been delivered.

As the article mentioned: they "would be made available, free of charge, to staff throughout the year to avoid the potential embarrassment of having to buy them."

So...that's about 132 condoms per person.

The winter lasts about 3-4 months.

I think that comes out to 1.1 condom per person per day?!? (someone please check my math)

No wonder the ice caps are melting...there seems to be a whole lot a lovin' going on down there!


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25054286/?GT1=43001

Walkin' in Sunshine - oh yeah!

I took a cue from Middle Girl's blog and went for a walk today at lunch time!

It is a gorgeous day here in the City of Brotherly Love and I really needed to get away from my desk and just move!

This time of year there aren't too many tourists around so you can walk around and enjoy the uncrowded narrow sidewalks.

The section of Philly that I work in is called "Old City ". It's in the historical area of the city where Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell are. There are lots of hip restaurants and clubs to go to and a bit of shopping as well.

I bypassed Old City today and decided to walk down 3rd Street towards South Street, cause that's where all the Hippies Meet!!!

Since it was such a nice day...all the kids from St. Peter's were out playing in the parking lot/playground. One kid kept yelling: "I found a purple one, I found a purple one!" I was kind of curious as to what exactly he found, but didn't want to look like a pedo and just kept on walking!

I continued down 3rd and actually passed South Street and went down to Bainbridge...because...well...I never have been there before and thought...why not?

There isn't much going on down there, so I headed back up to South and then walked towards Penns Landing so I could walk along the Delaware River and enjoy the water.

A cute little lesbian dog walker was walking a little Westie and I just HAD to stop and pet the dog (since I have two of them at home) and make some small talk. I don't really know if she was a lesbian or not, but I am of the mind that everyone is gay unless they prove it to me otherwise! (I read a really cool blog today called East End Boys and West End Girls that had a very interesting post about diversity, check it out when you can!)

Penns Landing was bright and sunny and warm! Really warm! I took off my coat because I was starting to sweat! The crew inside the Workshop on the Water for the Seaport Museum had the doors open and you could hear saws a buzzing with activity. Looks like they were building a boat of some kind...I tried to peak in a little, but there were a bunch of guys hanging out and I felt kind of shy and odd all of a sudden. (Hey - VC, they are looking for volunteers!!!)

There were a good amount of people out walking and basking in the sun...I guess we all had the same idea...it was just too pretty to be inside.

From Penns Landing I hopped back onto Chestnut street and then stopped at Double Shots Espresso Cafe for a yummy latte and then reluctantly headed back to the office.

It was great to get out...just to stretch the legs and look at something else besides my computer screen for a while!

Dive - I know I promised you pictures of the area I live in...and they are coming...a snafu at the photo place set me back because they didn't give me a CD when I developed my film so I will have to scan them in, but I hope this was a nice diversion for the moment!

Here's a little map of my walk!






Peace all!

Love this!!!

British man puts out fire with aunt's underwear


LONDON - From baggy knickers to the ultimate hotpants: Jenny Marsey's miraculous underwear saved the day by doubling as an emergency fire blanket when her kitchen caught alight.

Son John Marsey and his cousin Darren Lines were frying bread in her kitchen Sunday when fire broke out and Lines grabbed the nearest thing from a pile of washing to put it out — his aunt's billowing, extra-large, powder blue underwear.

He doused it with water, tossed it over the fire and put out the flames, said a spokesman for the local Cleveland Fire Brigade, speaking anonymously in line with department policy.

Lines' swift thinking saved the kitchen of the home at Hartlepool, northeast England, but left Marsey's underwear slightly scorched.

"It could have been a lot worse," said Marsey. "My family could have been in hospital but the knickers saved the day. I'm just grateful to the boys."

The fire brigade spokesman said that the general principle — using a large, wet cloth to cover a grease fire — was a sound one. As for using underwear: "Clearly it depends on what size you are," he said, "but I don't want to go there."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22471827/?GT1=10755

What a GREAT story

I absolutely love this story - I have named this young lady as a person hero of mine.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22397372/

U.S. teen brings new school to rural Cambodia
Student raised $52,000 after reading about hardships of country's youth

BANTEAY SREY, Cambodia - Hundreds of Cambodian villagers welcomed the arrival of a new school Wednesday, a gift from an American teenager who raised $52,000 after reading about the hardships of growing up in Cambodia.
Rachel Rosenfeld, 17, made her first visit to the Southeast Asian country for the opening of the R.S. Rosenfeld School, which brings five computers and Internet access to 300 primary school students in a small village of Siem Reap province, a poverty stricken area that is home to the country's famed Angkor Wat temple complex.
Rosenfeld, of Harrison, New York, said she learned about the village of Srah Khvav after reading a newspaper article last year that discussed the plight of poor Cambodian children who often have no access to education. The American said she was horrified to learn that some young Cambodian girls end up being sold into prostitution by their parents.
The teen said she set out to help after spending most of last year battling a stomach disorder that caused her constant pain. She required months of medical treatment that forced her to miss a year of school.
To raise money, Rosenfeld sent out hundreds of fundraising letters, sold T-shirts and offered naming rights for several structures in the school, a statement said. The $52,000 she raised was supplemented by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, which contributed $10,000 and $13,000, respectively, said her mother, Lisa Rosenfeld.
"It makes me feel great to know that I was able to help so many people," the teen said when contacted by telephone. "Just seeing everyone so happy (today). It meant a lot to me."
She was accompanied by her parents, grandparents and her brother and sister.
Children in white shirts and navy pants, the Cambodian school uniform, stood in two neat lines and clapped as Rosenfeld and her family arrived. The students pressed their palms together in a sign of respect and thanks.
"Going to school is very important to everyone's future," Rosenfeld said at the opening ceremony, according to a statement. "If I can build this school, then each of you can set goals for yourselves that you can reach."
"Aim very high, and you'll be surprised what you can achieve," she said.
Ung Serei Dy, an education official from Siem Reap province, said the school was only one of two in the village.
"The school donated by Rachel Rosenfeld is very important to us," he said, adding that she had "set a standard that all of us should learn from.