There's a woman that comes into the library.. she must be about 80…. million years old.

She rides her bike around town, and occassionally I'll see her almost plow down some kid that has made the mistake of thinking that the sidewalk was for walking. She's safe though, because she wears her bike helmet. The thing that gets me is that sometimes - she'll wear her helmet the entire time she's in the library, which can be over an hour. Sometimes she takes it off, but we still call her the bike helmet lady.

I don't like her. The helmet thing bugs me, but that's not a big deal. She's got some attitude going on that really bugs me. She keeps typing letters to people, and I've given up trying to show her how to print it and just do it for her, but I'm getting sick of her walking up to the desk, doing her "come here" hand gesture and then saying "Sir, you need to come help me." She emphasizes the "need" turning it from a request for help to a command. And she has no problem doing this while I'm helping someone else.

Get this though - lately she's been riding her bike without her helmet, but she still wears it in the library.

366 days. 285 posts.

Not a bad run.

It feels like a lot has happened over the past year, but looking back, not a whole lot has changed. I'm still dealing with the same problems, living in the same area, working the same job.. but you know what? Other than the constant tiredness I seem to be suffering from, I feel good. I remember where I was a year ago, and whether I appear better off or worse to the rest of the world, I feel better about myself.

One year ago, this blog was started by a person that had almost given up, someone that was grasping for a bit more attention. I still face the depression occassionally, but it doesn't have the hold that it used to, and the worst I've had to face lately I've been able to just sleep off.. I couldn't do that before.

Those of you that have stuck by, read what I consider to be nonsense, commented on ideas that I've had (whether they were plausible or "off the wall"), or have contributed in any other way.. thank you. Thank you for making this blog (with all of it's 2 readers :P) what it is today, and for helping to make me what I am today.

There's no telling what the next year will bring, but I'm optimistic.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a candle to blow out, and a wish to make.

Ahah! Now u haz to rub mah tumee!

More lolcats!

Sitting in my office listening to techno(?!). No motivation to do any work whatsoever today. My life = meh.

Ask sparxMind is still pretty new, and all the questions received have been from people that I know (except for one).

I guess the big question is "Why should I ask you a question?", and the answer: to get an answer. Seriously though, some people seem to be entertained by the drivel that I write, so this is a way for you, and them, to direct that to something more in tune with your interests. Also, once I get 30 questions (from different people), or August 1st hits - whichever comes later - I plan to offer a $10 amazon gift certificate to one lucky question submitter every month. This amount may go up, or be offered in a form other than an amazon cert, but for now that's where it's at.

Here is the first round of questions that were submitted:

• Where should I go on vacation?
• Will the Cubs win the 2008 World Series?
• How much does an iPhone plan really cost? Will it work overseas?
• How do I get rid of centipedes in my basement?
• Spam spelled backwards is "maps".. what's their connection?
• What's the most influential book you've read?
• What's the difference between democrats and republicans?

It's interesting.. we go through the day with our cell phones, our computers, our vehicles, TVs, mp3 players, etc, etc, etc. We take advantage of some pretty advanced technology every day. And newer, faster, better, more advanced things are brought into the world every day. Our lives are constantly being upgraded by scientific progress, by technological advancements - many that we deal with every day, but many more that we never see, and may never even think about during the course of our lives.

It wasn't that long ago that we didn't have running water, electricity, effective transportation, or even an easy way to look up or share information with others. And that's probably the biggest and most important change that human civilization has seen - the internet - an instantaneous way for ideas and information to travel across and throughout the entire planet. It's this shrinking of the world that I think will bring about the next big change, which is focusing on the "little guy" again.

There are still vast areas of the world where people live without running water, without electricity, and without a way to communicate with or travel to even their neighboring villages. There are a few philanthropic people that are devoting their time and resources to modernizing this un-modern world. A few years back there was some guy that was working on cheap shelters made from reinforced water-proofed cardboard, that could be shipped flattened cheaply and built quickly and easily. There's the OLPC (one laptop per child) project that aimed to provide laptops to children in impoverished countries to help with their education. And lately there have been a number of stories about people working on cheap methods for these areas to produce electricity to help them with their daily lives.

By taking this approach, and re-working things from the bottom up, we all benefit. These people are here, and they're people just like you and me, so why shouldn't they be able to live a bit easier and enjoy their time here more? I mean, as long as we just give them tools, and don't start trying to indoctrinate them with religion or anything, I can't come up with any reason why we shouldn't.

People seem to be inherently selfish. But I think that with the increasing amount of information being spread, and the resources available, a few more people will step up and start trying to change the world. And that's all it takes.

No matter how difficult or hard things get, I can usually come up with something to compare my life to in order to make me feel better.. temporarily. Like paperclips.

Somewhere there is a factory that produces paperclips. And in that factory.. there are people that work in a factory that makes paperclips.

Unfortunately, the "it could be worse" feeling fades quickly. I just wish this all was easier - I don't understand why it can't be.