Greenfleet is an absolutely brilliant organisation that should exist everywhere in the world. Not only that, every single soul on earth should know about them.

What they basically do is plant trees on your behalf to sustain the amount of harmful emissions you produce from driving a car, taking a flight, or simply living.

The burden of being unenvironmentally friendly simply for my own inconvenience has always weighed heavily on my mind. And yet, in all honesty, I really cannot see how I can go about without a car, or travel without using a plane. I don't get seasick, but I really don't think I could handle spending months on sea.

I try to do my part in saving the environment as best as I can, and yet I'm fully aware that I'm doing far from enough.

So it's good to know that there are organisations out there who will plant trees that will cancel out the damage I'm doing to the environment. And not just that, trees are being planted where they can be most effective.

I for one am really glad that I can in some way do my part to save the environment, and in a tax deductible manner at that!

Word has to get out and people really do need to get on board! Start doing your part now before it all becomes too late!

Technorati tags: greenfleet, greenhouse emissions, environment

Update: Oh my goodness, and the things it can do!

As forewarned, I have wasted several precious moments of my life just being absolutely fascinated by Line Rider.

Draw a line, or several different lines, and see this little guy sled down/across/off it. My first try actually didn't even take off. Poor dude fell backwards into a neverending abyss.

It was cool.

{Thanks to ...thoughts... for the link.}

Technorati tags: line rider, game, fun

It still feels somewhat bizarre to see this:

Can't wait to receive the magazine. It's not the first time I've been published, but I have to admit that I still get a buzz when I see my name on something other than on my own website!

Freelance writing is extremely fun. The only problem is that I've got all these potential story ideas and places I could pitch to, but when you're freelancing on top of a full-time job, there never seems to be enough time to do anything!

Just submitted an article today, and I still have two more due before the end of the year!

Technorati tags: writing, Australian Christian Woman, magazine

Adventist Church's TV advertising back in 1989

I couldn't help but have a bit of a giggle watching this.

Listen to me, you islands;
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born the LORD called me;
from my birth he has made mention of my name.

He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
and concealed me in his quiver.

Isaiah 49:1-2

How are arrows made?

Firstly, a shaft needs to be found, but it must not be simply any stick. Nor should it be a green stick, full of life, budding and swaying in the wind.

A good arrow shaft is one that has dried up, been blown about in the wind, battered, and is now lying on the ground, seemingly dead and useless.

The arrowmaker will pick that stick up, use his knife and cut away and file down any bumps in order to make the stick as straight as possible. And then he ties a rock to it and throws it in the river to seemingly drown.

The stick doesn't stay there for a day or two. It sits in there, wet and cold, soaking in all the moisture and is picked up again by the arrowmaker at the end of eight weeks.

By this time, the stick is pretty much like spaghetti and simply flops around. But the arrowmaker isn't done yet. This time, he attaches a string to one end of the stick and ties it to a tree. Then he does the same to the other end, stretches the stick and then ties it to another tree.

He returns a day later, not to release the stick from the pain, but to stretch it further so that any sagging is removed. That is repeated day after day, the stick is stretched to its limits, for another eight weeks.

When the stick is removed from the trees, it is now much straighter than it ever have been. But the arrowmaker isn't done yet. He picks up his knife and starts shaving at the stick again. Shaving at it to make sure there are no bumps, and that nothing is sticking out that will cause it to catch the wind and fly in a direction it wasn't meant to.

And then the shaft is ready.

And that's when the arrowmaker attaches the point to the arrow...

And that's when whatever I was listening to at worship stopped. Unfortunately, I won't get to hear the end of the story but what I've heard this morning was enough to make me feel encouraged.

How many times have we felt like God's abandoned us? How many times have we felt discouraged, frustrated and in a ditch?

Maybe we're simply arrow shafts in the making.

Technorati tags: arrows, Christianity, God

Dove - Evolution

I always knew they photoshopped women in billboard and mag ads, but I never realised it was to THAT extent!

Looking forward to the ads coming to Australia...

{Thanks to Think Personality for the link.}

I broke the Guinness World Record!

Well, not by myself.

The office got involved in the Stand Up Against Poverty campaign on Monday and it has just been announced:

The world record for the most people to 'Stand Up Against Poverty' in 24 hours was set on 15 - 16 October 2006 for the United Nation's Millennium Campaign and involved a massive total of 23,542,614 participants in 11,646 events around the globe.

Here's my claim to fame:

Technorati tags: stand up against poverty, campaign, world record

Fox News Anchor Gets Money Shoved Down Her Shirt LIVE

The work hazards of being a news anchor has no limits.

{Thanks to Media Orchard for the link.}

This Breathing Earth thing really had me mesmerised.

It basically shows you in real time a map of the world, detailing every birth and death that happens in seconds, as well as the amount of CO2 emissions we produce.

Fascinating stuff. Rather scary too.

And while you're at it, try the Ecological Footprint Quiz. It actually shows you the footprint you leave on the planet and how many earths would be required in order to sustain your kind of lifestyle if everybody else lived like you!

My results were pretty sobering...

{Thanks to Snarkmarket for the link.}

Technorati tags: breathing earth, ecology

Why view normal pictures when you can do them the ascii way?

Before:

After:

Technorati tags: asciiconvert, photos, fun

Oh my goodness, how catty can car advertisers get?

This is just absolutely hilarious. And make sure you view it in sequence. You will not expect the punchline.

Technorati tags: car ads, advertising

Photos from my South Coast holiday now up!

Technorati tags: south coast, Australia

Here's a chinese IQ game to while away some Monday-itis.

It only took me a few hours to solve the puzzle (I think I've just revealed my IQ level, or the lack of one).

Try some of the wrong combinations as well. It makes for a really amusing consequence.

Technorati tags: game

When I was 14, I had a psychopath for a dentist.

She believed that I had some sort of gum disease and was intent on "getting the dirty blood out". Every visit to the dentist (about one every three months) was filled with dread as she would brandish the sharp thing that every dentist uses and proceed to poke at my gums.

I couldn't see what she was doing, but I'm quite sure she would run the sharp thing down my gums and take bits of it out. I was left with a rather bloodied mouth by the end of every visit.

Naturally, it did not take long before I begged my mother to stop these visits.

I have not been to a dentist since then. Oh, there was a visit a few years back when I had a dentist look into my mouth to see if my wisdom teeth were growing fine. They were, and that was the end of that visit. He tried to get me to have my teeth checked and cleaned, but I very politely declined.

It's been more then ten years since a proper visit to the dentist, but because of that, a lot of friends have found out that I'm a little pedantic when it comes to oral hygiene. Where possible, I would brush my teeth after every meal and floss every evening. I even used to carry a toothbrush in my handbag, but now simply leave a spare toothbrush and toothpaste at work.

There was no way I was going to a dentist in the near future, and I would ensure I have good dental health to make sure no unplanned visits happened.

Well, I just went to a dentist this morning. Nothing sparked it off, I simply felt it was high time I paid a visit to one. I could have a mouth full of rotting teeth and be toothless before I turned 30. If that was going to happen, I guess I wanted to know now.

On my way to the dentist, there were only two thoughts running through my head.

"What have you gotten yourself into Mel?" and "Oh God, help me."

The dentist was a rather happy cheery sort of guy. He took some x-rays and then proceeded to peer into my mouth. What he said next completely relaxed me.

"You have wonderful teeth. There will not need to be much work here. All we have to do is some scaling and cleaning and you'll be fine," he said. "I'll have to retire if everybody had teeth like yours."

The scaling and cleaning was slightly painful, my entire body tensed up and tears actually did run down my face. The sound of whatever he was using next to my teeth made me want to curl up in a ball, and my entire mouth feels extremely funny right now. But it was a relief to hear that there were no big dramas. Or attempts to "get the dirty blood out".

Well, he hasn't processed my x-rays yet, so I could still have some work that needs to be done.

There's blood lining some of my teeth right now, but it's good to know that not all dentists are psychopaths. I still wouldn't jump at the chance to visit a dentist and would probably continue to avoid doing so as best as I can, but I guess it's not that bad.

Ten more years to my next appointment!

Technorati tags: dentist, dental care, teeth

Reading about the Amish and their reaction to the tragic shootings in their community makes me want to be one as well.

Not because I'm a strong advocate of living back to the basics (I'm too reliant on technology for that), but just their incredible power to forgive the shooter and his family, even to the point of raising funds for them and bringing food to them, their quiet manner, their humility...

Oh, I'm sure they have their own internal problems like any other community, but their Christlike manner is looking very appealing right now.

Technorati tags: Amish, shootings, Christianity

For those with possibly a bit more money to spare, considering buying (RED).

According to the (RED) manifesto:

All things being equal, they are not.

As first world consumers, we have tremendous power. What we collectively choose to buy, or not to buy, can change the course of life and history on this planet....

If you buy a (RED) product or sign up for a (RED) service, at no cost to you, a (RED) company will give some of their profits to buy and distribute the anti-retroviral medicine to our brothers and sisters dying of AIDS in Africa.

Not surprisingly, (RED) is founded by U2's Bono and Bobby Shriver, chairman of DATA.

Products are unavailable for purchase at the moment, but check out the websites anyway because they are extremely well done.

Addressing the HIV/AIDS issue through consumerism. It's a perfect example of improving on something we obviously cannot change. Pity (or ironical) that it's obviously targetted towards the upper-middle class spenders. Or rather, those who would willingly spend on branded products.

Technorati tags: (RED), shopping, AIDS

This is pretty cool!

You get to view all your Flickr pics on either an all-black or all-white background. No more distractions!

Speaking of pics, travelled down the South Coast to Bega and back during the long weekend.

Went across the Grand Pacific Drive, visited blowholes at Kiama, went horseriding, visited a dairy and dodged cow pee, had a baby cow suck on my fingers, watched Daniel chase a baby lamb, visited the Bega Cheese Factory, stayed in a farm and pulled out bagfuls of fireweed.

Will post pics soon.

{Thanks to Micropersuasion for the link.}

Technorati tags: flickr, photography, south coast, Australia