Bumper Stickers and Civil Liberties

For Flickr, I've been photographing bumper stickers (surreptitiously, hopefully). Ithaca is full of great stickers with which I agree, so it's a fun hobby. Recently, I got a shot of the sticker NO, YOU CAN'T HAVE MY CIVIL LIBERTIES, I'M STILL USING THEM. This is one of my favorites, because, in the past eight years, the erosion of civil liberties has been disturbing, more so because masked in the veil of patriotism and safety.

Animal rights and eco- activists are particularly susceptible to violations--we are the biggest terrorist threat facing the nation, according to the FBI. For example, individuals picketing a Honey Baked Ham franchise to raise awareness regarding a vegetarian diet and factory farms were photographed by agents and, I believe, investigated further. It's totally ridiculous! So, sadly, when I hear of new restrictions, I am hardly surprised, though no less appalled.

Today, Bob Torres, vegan extraordinare, has written about a new encroachment on our civil liberties--particularly on the limitations of the state to search and seize without cause. Recently, border patrol agents have been given the authority to seize laptops or other equipment for an unspecified period of time. Check out Bob's post Now They Can Take Your Laptop.

Half Persian 4-1 - Sterling Silver

Last night, I made a Half Persian 4-1 using all sterling silver jump rings. The jump rings have a smaller gauge and inner diameter than those in the Urban Maille kit, which you can see here. (Don't get me wrong--having two different metals makes it MUCH easier to learn the weave.)

Which one do you like better?

Vegan Etsy Team Treasuries

Over the weekend, Vegan Etsy members scored three team treasuries, and I have pieces in two of them! Woo-hoo! Thanks to This is It! Creations for putting my Orange Swirl necklace in her "VEGAN talent" treasury and to Paws In the Sun for putting my Aqua Quartz with Butterfly Charm bracelet in her "Am I Blue?" treasury!


Check out the Vegan Etsy post here for more details.

Another Plug for My Contest

Thanks to Erika Jean for mentioning my "Guess How Many Beads" contest on her blog! She has a great blog, so check it out here!

Half Persian 4-1 - Sterling Silver and Copper

Finally, some jewelry! My mother gave me money to get the new Half Persian 4-1 kit from Urban Maille. The instructions are great and made it really easy to begin a notoriously difficult weave. The kit comes in sterling/copper because it is much easier to learn with two colors of jump rings, but I'm eager to make a bracelet entirely out of sterling silver rings. Thanks, Mother!

Publicity for My Blog Contest

Thanks to the other blogs who have mentioned my blog contest!

Blogging about Blogs and Nenuny's SPOT...

Go Vegan!

I found all these great "Go Vegan" photographs on flickr and made a mosaic using fd's Flickr toys.

Awesome Craig's List Ad

(click to open photograph)

Added to My Wish List

Garbage pick up in Ithaca is strange, at least to me. Instead of paying a monthly fee to the city, we buy stickers that go on trash bins. There are two options: full size (35 lbs) or half size. Each sticker is good for one bin. If the garbage collectors see the trash can on the curb with the sticker, they will stop and retrieve the waste. Recycling, which is collected every other week, is free, and most recyclable items are collected. In general, I think it is a good system because it gives a reward for recycling. Inconvenient, however, are the stickers. They are available at local grocery stores and maybe city hall. Last week, I went to Tops (thinking it would be less crowded than Wegmans) to pick up some stickers. When I walked into the store, a woman was pedaling off on an adult-sized tricycle. "Wow, that's cool," I thought. "I want one!"

I have a very long wish list for the imaginary, fanciful "time when we have extra money." So far, on this list is: 1) a Wii with a Wii fit, 2) a rowing machine, 3) a scooter and 4) a new desk set for my office. And now, an adult tricycle. Today's "Ask Umbra" column on grist.org discusses these strange beasts, although Umbra outlines safety and pracitical issues arising from the three-wheelers. I do have a reasonably good bike, but I am scared to ride it. I didn't learn how to ride a bike until I was quite old in the scheme of things (9 or 10). Also, I don't have a lot of coordination or stamina, so I would be likely to hurt myself, and I certainly can't make it up the hill to our house (though the three-seater wouldn't solve that problem). Looking on George's bicycle map of Ithaca, I saw that the hill's grade is greater than 8%.

Of course, this is all moot since there will never be a time when we have extra money for my extras!

Ithaca Dog Park

Today we went to the Ithaca Dog Park and then walked to the Cayuga Lake shore, where we let Harvey go into the water the length of his leash. He loved it. Walter enjoyed the grassy field at the dog park. Neither of them, however, are too comfortable venturing far from me, and rarely interact with other dogs. Walter did jump up on a picnic table where a gaggle of little girls were sitting. After that, they followed him around and he regretted looking for their stray food.

Photos on Flickr