I'll be out of town... but...

I won't be in town or spending much time on the blog-o-sphere until Tuesday. The amazing Michigan adventure has begun. I write you now from the home office of one k_Rahn. Well, her family at least.

It is finally that time. Wedding go-time. Sunday baby. It's on. Best friend marriage.

I leave you with this incredible piece of news today: ROUS(s) are real. (If you haven't seen The Princess Bride you have no idea what I am talking about, and should be slapped - because all people should see The Princess Bride.)

They aren't as big as we thought, but they can find land mines. I'm not kidding. Read on kids - read on.

TECHNOLOGY

Could Giant Rats Eliminate Land Mines in Thailand?

• JILLIAN ANTHONY
  Editorial Intern

• 
  September 28, 2011 • 3:00 pm PDT
• 253 responses

Across the world, African giant-pouched rats are replacing dogs as man’s best friend. For 11 years, Tanzania-based nonprofit APOPO has trained rats to sniff out hidden land mines or life-threatening tuberculosis. Now, APOPO wants to bring its "HeroRATs" from Africa to Asia.

Rats have excellent senses of smell and weigh too little to set off land mines with their bodies, making them the perfect alternative to using robots or humans to find mines in war-torn countries. Plus, they like to socialize, are easy to train, and are motivated almost entirely by food. HeroRATs have already found 861 land mines in Mozambique, allowing trained technicians to destroy the mines before they can harm local residents.

APOPO is in the process of conducting a land mine survey in southern Thailand, in hopes of getting rats involved once more funds are raised. The Cambodian wars of the 1970s led to major battles around the border between the two countries, with the Khmer Rouge planting large numbers of mines on the Thai side. The Thai government has committed to ridding the country of land mines by 2018, which would be all but impossible without NGO involvement. "Many years with very limited funding have meant that they have been trying to do it on their own, and the result is the very traditional approach," program manager Andrew Sully said in a press release announcing his move from APOPO's Mozambique program to Thailand.

It takes nine months and about $8,000 to train each of the 300 HeroRATs at APOPO headquarters in Tanzania, but trainers say the money and lives they save over the long term more than makes up the cost. To learn more about these super-sniffer rodents and the program's expansion to Asia, check out APOPO’s website, where you can even adopta HeroRAT of your own.

Photo courtesy of Brian Johnson

Baggage Loaded and Unloaded

I did it - I actually packed a majority of my suitcase last night.

In the process, I was dismayed to realize that I have very few items for the "cooler months" that I actually like. Just as I was staring at my closet, waiting for things I liked to appear, I realized I had all my favorite items  in the dryer already. I was way ahead of myself. Silly girl. Clearly going to the gym did not revitalize your brain as you had hoped it would.

In the ever constant quest to pack, unpack and repack our both figurative and literal baggage I found myself wondering who is there to help us with that process?

Apparently, Daily GOOD was wondering the same thing when they stumbled upon a new website dedicated to checking one's "emotional baggage." In return for your checked baggage you get a song from a stranger - to encourage you through whatever it is you are going through. This morning I sent off some baggage and got a Bob Marley song in return, and then took on someone's else's baggage and sent them some good old Christian Aguilera.

Check this out - it's pretty neat if you ask me. And if you are reading this... you kind of are asking for my opinions... right?

Check Your Emotional Baggage in Exchange for a Song

• ZAK STONE
  Editor, The Daily GOOD

SHARE THIS

•  148
•  79

• September 27, 2011 • 3:00 pm PDT
• 227 responses

Feeling weighed down by emotional baggage? A new web service offers a quick pick-me-up. Simply upload your drama to Emotional Bag Check—whether your burden relates to relationships, school, or work—and you'll get advice from a stranger in the form of a song she hand-picked to help you cope. Or if you're feeling emotionally generous, you can get a taste of someone else's turmoil and send a song his way to help him deal.

Packing Lists

I have less than two days to get my life together for this trip to Michigan.

I find that packing lists are essential, not because I will forget the small stuff, but because I will forget the big stuff.

Currently my packing list includes:

1. Bridesmaid dress for the wedding you are going to Michigan for

2. Bridesmaid shoes for the wedding...

3. Underwear

4. Socks (it is not going to be sandal weather)

5. Chargers

6. Blow dryer (your hair is short again - you can't let it air dry)

Now, will I remember to bring jewelry for each and every planned outfit? Of course. Will I remember my make up, my nail polish, my hair accessories, my boots? Obviously. That is the stuff I LIKE to pack. That is the stuff I give an inappropriate amount of consideration.

Does anyone else tend to forget the most important stuff when they are packing? I hope I'm not alone in this.

Packing lists make me feel accomplished, although they only seem to get me millimeters closer to being packed. The list is ready, but the laundry isn't done, the suitcase isn't out, the room isn't prepared and the dogs don't have an official sitter.

Yep. I'm screwed.

Day of Birth Celebrations

This weekend was my birthday, and the variety of celebrations could not have been more joy-inducing.

I started with a midnight message of parental harmonies (my parents singing happy birthday in harmony amidst laughter), a 12:24 am birthday call from my significant other to wish me a very happy first 24 minutes of my 24th year of life, and a 9 am haircut to get me snazzy for the very full day.

From there my wonderful friends showed up for a delicious brunch punctuated by bellinis and mimosas (as pictured below)

It should be noted my underage sister was handed a bellini that belonged to an of-age person, so that she wouldn't look left out in the photo. Have no fear, I did not provide her with alcohol during this brunch.

It became one of those brunches who's bellini tab shocks you a bit at the end - but when they are a dollar... I mean come on...

I walked out of Taverna with a plethora of dog toys and treats (which I asked for on my birthday) and another assortment of wonderful gifts from dear friends who don't listen very well to instructions.

That night my wonderful-man-partner took me out to dinner at Ellerbe Fine Foods and wooed me with sustainable, organic, local-grown fine dining. This place could not have been more to my liking. Crumble-crusted red fish with étouffée and french bread, preceded by roasted red pepper mozarella balls... and followed by chocolate zuchinni bread cake and fresh mint ice cream. 

I would call that a bit more than a birthday success. 

Olfactory Overload

I think most people agree that scents have a profound impact on our experiences and our memories. I am someone who is, at times much to my dismay, particularly sensitive to smells. Dish rags at my house get washed twice a week to avoid the smell of mildew (one I cannot tolerate) and I have a "cinnamon" inspired wall flower in our living room to avoid the smell of "dog bed" in the corner.

I can't be the only one so effected by their olfactory experience. Think about it - what smells do you hate? What smells do you love? What memories are those tied to? How important is that part of your experience of any given place or time?

Amber Jones felt even more strongly about the power of the sniffer than I do... check this out.

The City That Always Smells: Scratch-and-Sniff Book Tours New York City's Scents No matter how fine the prose or stunning the photography, any literary attempt to capture the essence of a city will miss the mark on one key characteristic: scent. Urban centers are a menagerie of smells, including everything from the delicious—freshly-baked bread, sizzling garlic, taco trucks—to the atrocious—garbage trucks, roadkill, or the Abercrombie & Fitch cologne counter. Now, first-time author Amber Jones will bring New York City's smells, both good and bad, to the page with a scratch-and-sniff children's book. Jones will whisk readers through 19 neighborhoods and 30 smells, including hot dogs, sewer steam, churros, and fish, following the adventure of one family's trip through the metropolis. Jones told The Guardian that the inspiration for the book arrived while sniffing her way in the direction of a pizza parlor, only to realize that she had stepped in horse manure. Overwhelmed by the scents around her, she decided to make an olfactory guide to the city. Established publishers rejected Jones' idea, citing the cost of production and an assumption that readers wouldn't be interested in sniffing gross, albeit realistic, odors. She didn't what to neutralize the book's grit by including only fresh scents, so she opted to self-publish, and herKickstarter campaign met its $20,000 funding goal last month. Check out the book's website to order a copy.

Old and Married

We got old and people started getting married.

I had somewhat adjusted to this new life-stage when I went to my first wedding with a legitimate significant other and was a part of the "after reception wedding party shenanigans."

But now, in just one week, one of my best friends in the world is getting married. I've known her since the 2nd grade and realized last night while I was raiding the refrigerator, and confronted with her "save the date" on the door, that it is one week away. In exactly one week I will board a plane for Michigan and in 10 days I'll be standing outside, watching her say her vows, kick up her feet and declare "we were just married!"

When did this happen? When did we grow up?

The realities of aging, relationships, work-lives and constant changes has caught up to me. And on this crisp as-close-to-fall-as-we've-gotten day in Fort Worth, I'm appreciating the exciting moments on the horizon.

Toys R' Us sold us a crummy message - who doesn't want to grow up? This new stuff can be pretty great.

Community

My dearest Holly just got back into town and will be staying at my house until early October. It is incredible how much fun it is to set up a bed, some dinner and a "temporary closet" for someone you love and want to have as your guest.

This got me to thinking about how lucky I am to have the community that is my home. I live in a duplex, and the upstairs consists of me, my two incredible roommates, an outdoorsy lady I met in Alabama last summer at church camp and one of my best friends in the world, that I've known since the 6th grade. Oh and don't forget our two pit mix pups that everyone who reads this blog has seen plenty of. Downstairs there's two elementary school teachers and a sustainability guru who just finished her masters in Arizona. Oh and their adopted sassy cat, Rita, of course.

Between the 6 of us, we have 3 adopted animals, two teachers, a nurse, a study abroad coordinator, a future pastor, and a future environment healer. Community dinners each Monday are some of the most entertaining meals you could imagine.

GOOD magazine proposes that everyone find a way to invest in "community" this month. If you have a great idea, I suggest submitting it. Currently, I'm trying to think of how 6 women could spend $500 on a community dinner... I'm sure I'll come up with something.

Loving the GOOD Challenge this Month? Win $500 to Connect Even More Each month, GOOD challenges our community members to do something that will improve the world around us and our own lives. The challenge for September? To connect with other people. In an effort to support this challenge, we want to fund a GOOD meet-up event. Submit your ideas here to apply for $500 to fund your event. If you've been looking to get closer with members of your community, neighborhood, office, or school, this is your shot. Come up with a plan—is it a party, a workshop, a volunteer day, or a beer crawl? Who's invited? And, when is this all going down? You get the idea. Projects can be submitted as a written description, an image, or a YouTube video. We'll accept them from individuals, groups, or on behalf of an organization. Once projects are submitted, rally your colleagues and friends to back your effort and join the GOOD community in deciding which proposal most deserves the cash to make it happen. Act fast: Ideas must be submitted by noon PST on September 30. After that, we'll open up the ideas to a community vote, which will run through noon on October 6. Then, we'll announce a winner on October 10.