Looking on the Bright Side (Again)

I was reading an article the other day discussing the effect recent major earthquakes have had on our planet.  Eastern Japan is now 3.96m (13ft) closer to North America, which shortened the day a whopping 1.6 microseconds.  In addition, the whole country sank down 0.61m (2ft), which together not only pulled the Earth's mass towards the Equator but also closer to the centre of the planet.

It's the whole centrifugal force thing that's causing the faster spin - the mass has moved more central and closer in, which increases the rotation speed.

Last year's earthquake in Chile had a smaller but similar effect on Earth's rotation.  The 2004 quake in Sumatra measured 9.1 and lasted 10 minutes (I can't imagine what that'd be like.  Try holding your breath for just one minute and see how happy it makes you feel).  As a result, our day became shorter by 6.8 microseconds.

So, the Earth is spinning faster, which means we have shorter days and therefore less time to get everything done.  Don't know about you but I miss those ~10 microseconds.  The good news is that it also means gravity is having more of an effect.  I'm now a little happier about getting on the bathroom scales.

Kia Kaha Christchurch

 By now you've likely heard about the recent earthquake which hit Christchurch, NZ.  TV, newspapers and blogs have all been loaded up with heart-rending images and reports.  This devastation is not my home; this is a war zone happening somewhere else.  It's hard to get my mind around it.

I got two calls the day the earthquake hit (Tues in NZ, Mon evening in ATL) - one from Mum to say she was okay and another from a friend checking on my family.  Mum's good like that; I find out family's okay before things make it into the news here.  Streaming NewstalkZB has helped greatly to keep up with what's going on and how people are doing in Christchurch and around the country.  One caller suggested people change the voicemail on their phones to say that they're okay.  Even if family and friends can't reach you, they still know you're alive.

Last night I received an email from the New Zealand Consulate in Atlanta, GA.  The Consul has been sending out regular updates which help give a feeling of connection to home. The internet is mightily impersonal when what you really need is human voices and a familiar accent.  Kiwi Expat organisation KEA posted on Facebook asking us to wear black and red - Canterbury's colours - on Fri 25 Feb and Sat 25 Feb.

Probably the only time in my life I'll wear Canterbury colours intentionally.  But this isn't about rugby.  This is about Kiwis doing what we do best in a crisis.  Kia Kaha Christchurch.

Honey Bees

When was the last time you saw a honey bee?  You may have heard something about the recent decline in honey bees.  Today I realised where they've all gone.  Watched any of the Soccer World Cup?  And you thought that buzzing was kazoos...

Okay, so I'm making light of a serious worry.  Ever thought about what the hard working honey bee does for us?  Why We Need Bees explains:

"More than $15 billion a year in U.S. crops are pollinated by bees, including apples, berries, cantaloupes, cucumbers, alfalfa, and almonds.  U.S. honey bees also produce about $150 million in honey annually. But fewer bees means the economy takes a hit: The global economic cost of bee decline, including lower crop yields and
increased production costs, has been estimated at as high as $5.7 billion per year."

As much as I didn't enjoy being stung two separate times as a teenager, I've always been fascinated by honey bees.  And they need our help.

Vinegar!

Lately I've been using vinegar for cleaning all sorts of things.  It's a lot cheaper than standard cleaners and not as bad for the environment.  My two favourites (so far) are:

• use white vinegar instead of fabric softener in the final rinse.  You don't need much; half fill one of those plastic ball things that you can buy for fabric softener for a full load of clothes.
• apple cider vinegar is great on hair instead of conditioner.  Pour about a cup over your hair after shampooing - it will get rid of soap build-up and leave your hair shiny and soft.  They say you can use vinegar for a rinse every time you wash your hair, but I do it once a week or every other week.

Don't worry about having a vinegar smell - it's gone by the time it dries (the only time this hasn't happened was when I got a bit overzealous with one load of laundry and put in twice as much as I needed...).  Clothes come out smelling fresh like they've been hanging outside in clean air to dry.  Recently I reverted to fabric softener for a laundry load (the vinegar bottle was downstairs and I couldn't be bothered getting it) and when the clothes were dry I almost choked on the strong, sickly sweet smell of the fabric softener.  And I use a mildly scented one...  You don't notice how strongly they smell until you quit using them for a while.

There are plenty of web pages with tips, two good ones are HERE and HERE.  It's great for some plants too - azaleas, gardenias and rhododendrons love it apparently.  And it will stop ants from coming in the house.  Yay for vinegar!