“Sometimes it squirts when you get to the end of it.”
No more free meals, squirrels!
Well, I shouldn’t have to worry about any more wildlife encounters like this one. Our initial solution for the hole in the garbage can lid was duct tape, but it’s been peeling away over time and we needed to find an alternative soon.
As it turned out, that alternative was offered by the garbage company. We sent in a request and now our old brown plastic can has been replaced by a giant pink garbage container. It’s pink because we paid a little extra to support breast cancer research; it’s also pink because it’s awesome. I wish I could see the looks on people’s faces as they drive down the street seeing green and blue and boring garbage and recycling bins and then BAM! Pink.
Just to help you all appreciate how awesome this change is, here are the two garbage containers sitting next to each other:

Diversity in Mensa
“Okay, we’ve talked about quantum mechanics… what’s next?”
“FART JOKES!”
Why go on strike against #SOPA and #PIPA?
I found a video created by “Fight for the Future” that provides a brief explanation—less than five minutes—about SOPA, Protect IP and their potential consequences. (I can’t embed said video in a blog entry, so here’s a link instead.)
Going on strike against #SOPA and #PIPA
I’m sure that some/most/all of you have heard about SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and Protect IP, bills that Congress will be voting on coming up on January 24th. I’ve posted some opinions about the subject on various websites that aren’t this one—no, I don’t know why I haven’t put them on here—but suffice it to say that I think the bills are bad. Very bad for many, many reasons.
I haven’t gathered a lot of in-depth information or done a whole lot of analysis about the subject and thus can’t share it with you, but tomorrow, the 18th, will be the perfect time for you to find out more. That’s because on the 18th, the Internet is going on strike, my blog included.
shawnbakken.net will send you to a SOPA STRIKE website (thus, your opportunity to learn more), but it’s only for a day and it’s a minor effort compared to other sites that will be shutting down as well: Google, Wikipedia, reddit, Twitpic, Minecraft, etc. (Consequently, if you need to look up something on the Internet tomorrow, you’re fucked.) Still, it’s my own little way of saying that the bills are bad. Very bad for many, many reasons.
After tomorrow, I’ll try to write a little more a little more often… writing a blog entry every day in November was only a temporary habit, it seems. Nevertheless, first things first—show Congress and the Senate that once again, they’re completely out of the loop and are listening to lobbyists more than the people they’re representing. (If we’re lucky, some of the bills’ supporters will try looking up something on the Internet tomorrow and be fucked, too.) Hope everyone has a pleasant January 18th and I’ll see you on the other side.
And God’s birthday present is…
My older brother Brent works the night shift, so he called us while driving home at 8:00 this morning to declare that it’s 39 degrees on his 39th birthday. 39 degrees on January 9th in Minnesota. We haven’t had any sub-zero temperatures yet this winter. We are getting spoiled rotten and as soon as it gets back to normal weather conditions around here, I can only imagine how much people will be bitching about the cold and snow…

