Love Without Boundaries is the non-profit organization that my calendar and marathon supported this past year … and through your generous donations (about 40,000 RMB, or $5,400), we were able to touch the precious lives of the orphans of Loudi.

Hopefully this new video gives you a tiny picture of the tremendous things that LWB does. Your generosity isn’t just keeping these kids warm …
it’s distributing hope on the other side of the globe!

So thanks!

When you’ve finally squeezed every last drop out of your tube of toothpaste, get out those scissors … by cutting it in half you can easily brush your teeth for another week!

Every three or four weeks during my year in China, I would go to the local salon for some special treatment. They’d shampoo it up, massage my scalp and shoulders, cut my hair, shampoo and massage it again, clean out my ears (and eyes, if I wanted), blow dry my hair, and style it however I wanted. An hour of pampered service … for two dollars and fifty cents!

Now it’s just me and my clippers in the bathroom on a Friday night.

Just don’t.

[original photo]

Ok … don’t ask me why, but I was wondering the other day what would happen to the human body if it was exposed to the vacuum of outer space. You know, without a space suit and all that jazz.

Now, I’m not a big fan of NASA and all of their wasteful shenanigans … but according to this website, it actually happened once in one of their tests:

At NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center (now renamed Johnson Space Center), we had a test subject accidentally exposed to a near vacuum (less than 1 psi) in an incident involving a leaking space suit in a vacuum chamber back in ‘65. He remained conscious for about 14 seconds, which is about the time it takes for oxygen-deprived blood to go from the lungs to the brain.

The suit probably did not reach a hard vacuum, and we began re-pressurizing the chamber within 15 seconds. The subject regained consciousness at around 15,000 feet equivalent altitude. The subject later reported that he could feel and hear the air leaking out, and his last conscious memory was of the water on his tongue beginning to boil.

Yikes! I think I’ll keep my day job …

This makes me happy.

[via ze]

Want to taste what I tasted all last year? Well, you just might have your chance. A new cookbook has just been published that focuses on the spicy food of Hunan Province … and my mouth is watering!

Reviews in both The New York Times and The Boston Globe glow about this book, extolling not only the recipes but also the way the book represents everyday life in Hunan.

After living there for a year, I’m really curious about the way that this book paints the town … and I’m curious if it prescribes even a fraction of the amount of “la jiao” (spicy peppers) that I experienced on a daily basis.

Today, when Hunan again enjoys plentiful food “as bold and colorful as its people,” is the first moment in history at which a Western cookbook writer could have lived in friendship with Hunanese, and the last at which she could have collected first-hand memories of the Cultural Revolution.

Mmm … I think I’m going to have to pick up a copy …

Well, it’s official … after a two-month-long hunt, I have finally found a home that I really like, bargained for a fair price, and set a closing date (November 28th, four days after my birthday and three days before Louie’s). I’ll make a post a little later on about why I’m buying a home … but for now, I’ll just give you the what.

If you’re a “visual” person, you can check out this nice virtual tour of the property (with fancy music and everything). If you’re more of a “literate” individual, here’s some information on the place from a recent email that I sent to my family.

It’s a solid old (built in 1905) two-family home in Silverton, Ohio (about 15-18 minutes from school) … here is the listing with lots of photos and here is an aerial view. The outside has a two car garage with new doors and one new opener, the off-street parking can fit 4 cars, it has a covered front porch and walkout patio with a level yard, and it has new replacement windows, roof, carpet, and exterior paint. The basement is dirt-old … stone walls and everything … but it seems pretty solid and could even become the future home of a ping pong, pool, or fussball table!

The first-floor unit (where I will live) has been completely remodeled … 1078 square feet, 2 bedrooms and one bath, a master bed with 2 closets and a bay window, a new kitchen with tile floor and corian counters and wood cabinets, and hardwood floors throughout. It’s pretty nice, and the second bedroom is perfect for another renter or to just keep as a nice guest bedroom (come and visit me!).

The second unit, 1478 square feet, has 2 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms on the second floor and a remodeled loft bedroom (converted attic) on the third floor. It has a kitchen and a living area too … and currently all three bedrooms are rented under separate leases (the renters share the living room and kitchen and bathrooms).

The two units have separate (and new) gas heat/central air systems, separate utility bills, and share the washer/dryer in the basement. The second floor could use some work (old bathrooms and kitchen), but the current renters seem pretty content and I would probably only touch them (the units, not the renters) if I needed to.

I’ve got a lot to do in the next week … find the best mortgage, get the place inspected, go over the contingiencies, arrange the utilities and insurance, meet the tenants and figure out how to best approach landlording, and get all of my things ready to move.

It’s pretty sweet … the path in front of me is lit, and I’m stepping out!

When I meet people, they often seem to already have an opinion about me. It’s weird, man. And it makes me wonder how much of that is because of this website …

Here are some of the interesting Internet searches that have led people to webeldotnet recently:

Let’s get married poems
how to play super mario brothers on the keyboard
mao mausoleum 2007 renovation
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roboclaw
Loudi educational bureau, Loudi, Hunan, China
chuck norris quote of the day
don imus website
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chinese surname lan origins 蓝
“barrel of fun” foot massager
perks for being an apple employee
dirty feet photos
scare tactics crying wolf -tv -video
bengay, marathon, pain
where on an envelope should the “important documents enclosed” words go?
photos of fishing with birds in China
hearse for sale
Why are the Shia and Sunni fighing
frugal gourmet blog
in her pants
superman love poems
charlie zimkus
hypercolor paint
rationale and teaching and “reflective thought”
Tibit Hurts when going down stairs
daughter “left out” sleepover
teachers camping comments
police bus exhaust
men and avoiding intimacy
hunan province loudi hot springs -henan
“i wish there was a website”
emily magee from ohio
sir lancelot
why chinese hates japanese
matzah bust
bottled water verses tap water
time-lapse paintball
mistakes in choosing their love - blog archive
4
girl VS boy discipline in China
Cola Cola and Bodjanac

And my top five favorites …

hasidic bobble head
how can i get a copy of my old ohio hunter safety course
how do I pronounce Le Chatelier?
1998 dodge caravan KILL SWITCH
need for chinese egg donor

Which are your favs?

These men and women in Gloucester, UK are competing in the annual “Cheese Rolling” competition. They’re not just falling … they’re chasing an 8lb double gloucester cheese.

Should I have put this post in the Sports category?

[via digg and Paul]

I love this Dr. Seuss quotation!

[original photo]