For those of us who like instant gratification, the world wide web is a wonderful tool. I'm so glad Al Gore invented it! Seriously, though, so much knowledge and information can be discovered at the push of a few buttons.
Take for instance, a couple of years ago I discovered a skunk had fallen into our uncovered window well in our backyard. It was the year we moved into our new home, and we (Ed) hadn't gotten around to getting it appropriately covered up. Initially, we only had mice, voles, birds, and frogs fall into the opening. Then one day, I went into the basement and lo and behold, Pepe Le Pew was snuggled in the corner. As soon as I saw it, I couldn't get out of view quick enough, for fear he would let loose a spray. I threw myself up against the wall like an FBI agent in a raid and carefully peered around the corner to try and get a look at it. I may even have employed the use of a mirror. Holy crap! What now? I have a euchre party at my house in two days, if this thing goes off, that's gonna be a problem!
I immediately called Ed and tenderly reminded him of the downfalls of procrastination. The conversation went something like this--Ed: (sound of telephone ringing) "Hello." Rebecca: "THERE'S A SKUNK IN THE WINDOW WELL THAT I'VE BEEN ASKING YOU TO COVER FOR THE LAST THREE MONTHS!"
After we finished our "conversation," I went to my computer and logged on to the internet to do some research on skunks. I literally type in the words "how to remove a skunk from a window well" and up popped a slew of websites. How can you not love that? I proceeded to learn about skunks and how it was probably more afraid of me and than I was of it. Hah! I'm thinking "no." It gave me suggestions on staying out of its sight, the telltale signs of how it behaves prior to letting "loose", and how to get it out of there. Twenty-four nerve racking hours later, it was gone.
Google, You Tube, WebMD, just to name a few, have changed my life people! Last week, I heard some things about a wacky appearance Joaquin Phoenix made on the Dave Letterman show a couple of nights prior. I didn't see the show and hadn't seen any clips on TV about it yet. So off I went to my search engine. I was able to watch the whole crazy interview. It's definitely a must-see-TV moment. www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/11/joaquin-phoenixs-bizarre_n_166229.html. Dave really does his best to engage Joaquin and is just absolutely hysterical. Be sure to scroll down toward the bottom of the linked page to see the clip.
What's happened to Joaquin? He was kind of funny in "Signs" a few years ago with Mel Gibson (the movie about aliens) and he was great with Reese Witherspoon in "I Walk the Line" which was the movie about Johnny Cash and June Carter. He was so extremely WEIRD on Dave's show. I can only hope he's getting into character for a sequel to "Signs" where he plays a guy that was kidnapped by aliens, had a lobotomy, and then was dumped back on earth or maybe he's getting in character for his next movie "I Snorted a Line."
Another story that caught my eye on the web last week was about a nine year-old boy from Singapore who designed an application for the Iphone called Doodle Kids. Think Etch a Sketch for the Iphone. WOW--he's nine! He's younger than my ski jacket. Be sure to check him out at www.inventorspot.com/articles/nineyearold_designs_iphone_how_far_has_it_come_23467.
That's the thing with the internet. It can make you feel grossly inadequate or supremely superior, depending on what you come across. It can also make you feel like you're developing symptoms of any disease you are currently researching. I have sat at my computer and swear I have felt hives coming over me, tumors growing, not to mention experienced multiple signs of a heart attack that doctors tend to dismiss in women. Sometimes too much knowledge can be a bad thing. Other times, it can be a lifesaver.
The photo above was taken a couple of years back while on vacation with our friends in Petoskey. It was early evening and several of us had gone down to the beach to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, there wasn't a sunset, due to some clouds way, way off in the distance. As we walked around the parking lot and beach area, we noticed that every one's hair was standing on end. We thought it was so funny and just WILD! There was no rain, thunder, or lightning visible from anywhere. Since then I've come to learn that sometimes this can be a sign that lightning is about to strike. Had we been able to Google, we wouldn't have been sitting around giggling. We wouldn't have been saying "Ohmigod...look at your hair! Wow, that's funny....ohmigod, look at YOUR hair!" We would have typed in "hair standing on end outside", seen that it can be a sign that lightning is about to strike and then gotten the heck off of the beach. Fortunately, it all worked out for us. Not so sure about Joaquin, however.
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