Chapter 82.6: Rocky Mountains Crash to Earth

I've never lived in Colorado, so it doesn't affect me as much as it does the people out there, but as a journalist, I can't help but feel sad for the death of yet another newspaper. The Rocky Mountain News published its final edition today, just a few weeks short of its 150th anniversary.

I don't have personal stories to share about what that paper meant to me, but I'm sure they exist, and I'd be happy to have people share them here in comments.

Journalism remains popular with college students. I see news of new fellowships and grants for journalists all the time, and I hear from college students that they want to get into journalism. So I know the interest is out there. What isn't out there right now is a viable business model that would allow many of the old papers to continue to exist. The old model isn't working anymore.

Papers have gone online, and that's good. I suspect many of them eventually will only exist online. And that isn't as good, because not everyone has access to the Internet. That's a discussion for another time.

If nothing else, I'll reflect on the death of a grand old paper, what it means for the hundreds of people who worked there and their families, and look forward to the future of journalism, because people remain unchanged in their desire to have access to objectively presented information.

Chapter 82.5: Spring Cleaning

It's cold and breezy still, but the sun is shining and my mood isn't as dark as it was last night. Amazing what a couple of sleeping babies and cups of coffee can do to a person.

Anyway, I have had a lot of things on my mind lately, one of the least of which is this blog, which I cherish but have been neglecting lately. So I decided to give it a little bit of a makeover — nothing too earth shattering (there really are not many template choices when one has a free blog) — and mark a milestone.

Recently, I crossed over the 500 post mark. I'm not quite sure which one it was (though I'm thinking it might have to do with dirty diapers). But since I have a few posts in the hopper and others that are actually notes for myself (who knows what evil lurks in the post lists of man...), it's possible that this one is #500.

I've also added a followers list. I don't expect too many, but as that little woman in the Poltergeist movie said: "All are welcome. All are welcome."

In the grand scheme of things, 500 blog posts is not much of an accomplishment. I may, however, try to do something to mark my five-year "blogoversary," which is a few months away.

Anyway, enjoy your weekend. There's a lot of work still to do.

Chapter 82.4: Matt Recommends - Diaper Genie

Everyone knows the three basic functions of an infant: eating, sleeping, and pooping. Well, as far as I can tell, you can't get through that last function without a hygenic place to send the diapers. Enter Diaper Genie.

The idea behind Diaper Genie is simple: store diapers without letting the stink leak out into the air. With newborns, it's hard to say how much the scented Diaper Genie bag covers the odor, but I've not noticed a stink yet, so I take that as a positive. Working with Diaper Genie is easy too, though I'll admit it wasn't so obvious to set up when I first put it together. Mind you I was looking at the real possibility of tossing the dirty items in a supermarket baggie otherwise.

The disposal is a silo that stores a couple dozen diapers at a time, which are twisted to section off each diaper, leading to a string of pearls when it's time to toss them out.

Simple, efficient, and oh my dear, so necessary. Diaper Genie should be in the homes of every new parent.

Chapter 82.3: To Seek Out New Life and New Civilizations...

Now this seems pretty cool! The folks in charge of the Hubble Telescope have created a contest in which people can vote for what they think it should explore next. I remember not too long ago people were talking about letting the Hubble die an ignominious death, so I'm glad to see people still see value in the work it continues to do.

But the contest ends on March 1, so go out there and seek out new life and new civilizations. Boldly go where only Hubble can go right now.

Chapter 82.2: In Vino Veritas

I love finding inspiring stories about alcohol.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in favor of inebriates running (or driving) rampant across America or the world, wreaking havoc on unsuspecting (or perhaps also drunken) neighbors, or destroying lives and families. But I'm all in favor of appropriate use of social elixirs to smooth out the rough edges of life.

Apparently, I'm not the only one and this idea is as old as civilization. In the New York Times the other day, an item was published in one of their blogs by a teacher whose students asked about the abundance of drinking in Homer's The Odyssey. Of course, Greeks weren't the only folks enjoying the fruit of the vine back then. It was common to drink alcoholic beverages, as the Times piece notes.

But Homer and others of his era also demonstrated that alcohol should be used in moderation — let me refine that: alcohol should be enjoyed, but used in moderation. Okay, maybe I'm editorializing a little about what Homer meant.

But I love the way the writer concluded his piece:

I wasn’t quite satisfied, and the question continued to bother me until, days later, I found a passage in “The Odyssey” that succinctly captures the complexity of the Greek attitude towards alcohol. Odysseus is speaking to a sympathetic swineherd, and though he is in disguise, the words have the unmistakable ring of honesty:


[I]t is the wine that leads me on, the wild wine
that sets the wisest man to sing at the top of his lungs,
laugh like a fool – it drives the man to dancing...it even
tempts him to blurt out stories better never told.

After two decades away from home, there must have been so much to say, so many bottled-up tales of friends lost and battles won. Somebody get the poor guy another round.