Wiki-hypochondria

I won't have time tomorrow tonight to make my weekly post here because we will be attending Griffin's nursery school graduation. Griff told Brett tonight at bedtime, "It won't be as long as Uncle Scott's but it will be just as good." He was referring to Scott's Ph.D. ceremony at Northern Illinois University three weeks ago. Anyway, I'm very excited to see what Griffin's teachers have planned. The kids have been practicing all week. Griffin's graduation partner is Billy Koertgoede and Kali's partner is Maddy Brown. These names have been talked about all year. Ah, what a good year it has been. I'm sad to see it end, although in a certain sense it ended for me three months ago when I went back to work. I'll write more about it after tomorrow when I can post the link to the school.
A fantastic new idea occurred to me today: a daily email subscription service with reminders on how to not accidentally kill yourself. For example, did you know that when potassium benzoate and citric acid combine they become carcinogens? They do and these are two of the main ingredients in Mountain Dew. Red wine, however, contributes to a long life (er, actually the article says that it slows aging, which I may have remembered if I weren't drinking.). Anyway, I have found that wikipedia is awesome. I love it almost as much as google. Wiki is where I found the info today about potassium benzoate and citric acid, as well as the Japanese concept of karoshi, which refers to working oneself to death. Not a good idea.
I've also been reading again about the radiation risks associated with cell phone use and other electromagnetic fields (WiFi is an example). There was an outcry in 1999 and since then I have heard zilch until last week. Perhaps it is related to Senator Ted Kennedy's glioma diagnosis. Oddly, his experience has made me less frightened of having a brain tumor. My new concern is type 2 diabetes after reading an article from Men's Health. It made a fairly serious impression on me, ergo my new concern about ingredient lists. But, just as I learned to like Mountain Dew and Oreos, I can unlearn liking them.
Okay, there was something I wanted to write about the power of Om, but I can't think of it. Some good news today: we received our monthly electric bill and, even with the additional charge from the green energy program, we cut our bill by a third! Yes, it is more than $25 less than last month's bill, which itself was down significantly from last year. Woohoo! A big part of my strategy has been to power off the "vampires" before going to work and bed: the televisions and laptop are all plugged into sources that I can flip a switch to power down. Cell phone chargers are plugged in only while recharging the battery. I'm also drying some of my laundry on a rack. Next, other small appliances and better monitoring of lights. And, I'll have to give some serious attention to my water bill, which is up by $30 in four years. Maybe a leak? Yes, I've become obsessed with "green."
My other "obsession" has been the Democratic primary, which came to an end last night when my candidate became the presumptive nominee. Tonight, the NYTimes headline announces Clinton to End Bid and Endorse Obama. I won't belabor the point too much since two people I respect bunches were fervent supporters of HRC and are probably feeling sad. Although it cannot be as bad as we all felt on that first Wednesday in November 2004 when John Kerry lost one of the most important elections in my lifetime. I remember that day in vivid detail, and can now almost laugh about the stolen election enough to enjoy this clip from The Onion. My new boss sent the clip to me, how cool is that?