My folks just turned me on to a new reality show (now in its second season) called “Living With Ed” that follows Ed Begley Jr. and his wife and their “green”/energy independence lifestyle, and their energy audits of their fellow Hollywood stars. I haven’t seen the show yet, but I love the concept and think it’s terrific that people are putting their money where their mouths are. It’s one thing for a star or politician to show up to some events in a Toyota Prius or mention s/he drives a Prius; it’s another for them to improve their energy and water usage, etc. by actually “going green”. And have no doubt about it, he is definitely going green — he generates so much power through solar and wind that he actually resells it back to the public utility.

* Wikipedia: Ed Begley Jr.
* Talking with Ed, on Al Gore and the power of reality TV

* Begley’s official site, environment section

And, before the negasauruses come out of the woodwork, look at it this way — yes, he and his fellow Hollywood stars have considerably income and wealth, but those that choose to use it “for good, rather than evil” (in this case, to be more environmentally and socially responsible) should be lauded. It’s never easy to buck the status quo. Besides, these guys and their investments are helping to beta test these new technologies for the rest of us.

Unlike Al Gore, Begley and others like him are actually walking the walk, not just talking the talk.

How much crap do you throw away? If you’re a Berkeley, California, man who’s been saving his trash for the past year, you know the answer to that question — approximately 96 cubic feet of non-compostable waste (including 15 to 16 pounds of trash he generated while on vacation in Hawaii!) I wouldn’t want to visit the fellow, but I do like his style –

“When we throw something away, what does ‘away’ mean? There’s no such thing as ‘away.”‘ — Ari Derfel, the trash-saver (Save Your Trash — his blog)

I’d like to see him reprise the project at a future date, if he ever has a child. Something like this would quickly inspire most of us to go through the hassle of using cloth, instead of disposable, diapers.

Sara has her first tooth*! It just broke the surface of her lower gumline this morning. I haven’t been able to take a photo of it yet, and she’s been a bit of a crank-monster today. She’s had one dose of infant Tylenol for the discomfort, and she’s drinking her formula and nursing a little less today since I think it hurts for her to create suction.

* Sadly, she also has her first shiner, after toppling over and whacking her eye socket on the lip of my laptop. Poor baby… this mobility thing is dangerous!

Thank you, Noah! I forgot to visit the site, yesterday. I hope you are doing well. Didja get the Christmas card, or do I need a new address for you?

And for something completely different — Cuteness Alert: Sammy Sings Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. 

A Quick Recap, Thus Far

• December 28, 1973 – I was born in Southern California in Orange County.
• 1974 – My father started working at the USAA office in San Antonio, Texas. He moved down before my mom and I did, to start work.
• 1977 – We are back in Southern California, where my father’s been working at a now-defunct regional USAA office there. My brother, Thomas, was born in San Francisco in late April. Being at the hospital, standing outside the nursery, is the earliest memory I can recall. I was three years old.
• 1982-83 — My parents, brother and I moved from near San Diego, California to San Antonio, Texas, after my father was transferred back to USAA’s corporate headquarters here.
• 1985 — A record snowfall occurred in San Antonio and throughout South Texas, depositing up to 14 inches of snow on the ground between January 11 and January 13. I remember our family packed up and tried to drive up to a restaurant in Leon Valley on January 12 to celebrate Mom’s birthday, but we turned back when we saw all these SAPD cruisers haphazardly parked in herringbone fashion all the way up a steep, icy hill on Bandera Road.
• 1986 — The Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51L, “Teacher in Space” mission) was destroyed shortly after lift-off while I was in 6th grade Social Studies class. I was already a geek and was engrossed in the U.S. space program. My childhood dream was to become an astronaut.
• 1987 — I attended U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, in August. It was my first time on a commercial aircraft, and my first time traveling without my parents. I was 13 (14 that December).
• 1988 — Justin and I met online over the summer, via the dial-up hobbiest Bulletin Board Systems in San Antonio, Texas; I spent a lot of time on Justin’s BBS, DreamScape. We didn’t meet in person until the following summer, however.
• 1989 – Justin graduated from high school on the Southside of San Antonio. I lived on the opposite side of town, over a thirty minute drive away. I didn’t have a car, or a license. I started my dial-up hobbiest BBS, Tranquility Base.
• 1992 – I graduated from high school on the Northside of San Antonio. Justin attended my graduation, along with my parents and brother. Justin and I went out to eat at the Olive Garden to celebrate, afterwards. Hehehe… I got my driver’s license, finally, and a new car (1992 Toyota Corolla) thanks to my parents. Justin started working at USAA, after years working at Software Etc.
• 1993 – I took a semester or two off before starting college at UTSA, declaring a major in Information Systems.
• 1995 — I shuttered my Bulletin Board System on Valentine’s Day, as did Justin; all the users had disappeared, gone to the World Wide Web and USENet. I set up my first website, a travelogue called the “South Texas Outdoor Recreation Pages” (STORP), which became the precursor to my still thriving Texas travel site, Wild Texas.
• 1998 — Justin and I both finally left our respective family nests and moved in together between October and December. We married at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas, on December 12 — the same day as my college commencement (Yes, I took forever to graduate.) I figured we’d been together for so long (ten years, already, by this point) that I’d rather walk down the aisle on that day than walk the stage to accept my diploma.
• 1999 – I worked for the U.S. Navy at Randolph Air Force Base, and then secured a job at USAA, myself, as a web designer/developer.
• 2000/2001 – Justin and I bought and moved into our first home. (We are still in this home as of December 2007.)
• 2002 – My father was laid off from USAA on the anniversary of his 28th year of service with the company. Justin earned his Private Pilot certificate (pilot’s license) in March — a major achievement that we were both very proud of, and still are to this day.
• 2003 – I resigned from USAA on August 7. At the time, I was convinced it was to “pursue my dreams.” In reality, it was to flee an increasingly toxic work environment and reclaim my sanity. I think I was the canary in the coal mine, and started reacting to the toxicity a couple years before it got to my co-workers (most of whom have now also moved on–each to better and brighter things.)
• 2005 – I severed my ACL and had knee surgery on February 4. I underwent rehab/physical therapy for three months, and was in the best shape of my life. (I had abs! Hehe)
• 2006 – We sold my Corolla and purchased a 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid on March 6. We started trying to conceive, and in August, we were blessed to discover I was pregnant. We announced it to our families, and then online here on GeekHabitat. The estimated due date (EDD) was April 1, 2007.
• 2007 – Our daughter, Sara, joined us on March 15, born via c-section. We came home three days later. She was in perfect health, with just a bit of jaundice and a petite build (6.5 lbs.)
• 2008 — I can’t wait to see what’s in store — all the firsts that we are and will experience with Sara in the coming weeks, months and year are enough to make every day an exciting one! Just in December 2007, alone, Sara has mastered crawling forwards, pulling up to a standing position, standing unaided for several seconds, and getting back down to a seated position after standing.

In World News, Today … sigh

More of man’s inhumanity to man. We go wild with freakish surprise when a wild, caged animal breaks free and attacks, yet we don’t seem to realize we humans are an apex predator, ourselves… except we’re different. Not only are we endowed with logic, remorse, intelligence and “culture,” we are also the only animal that primarily attacks members of its own species.