So, anyone who knows me knows that I don't drink caffeinated beverages. Nor do I typically drink carbonated beverages. The former is because I was told caffeine can trigger migraines, the latter because I was told the phosphor in carbonated drinks contributes to osteoporosis.

This second connection is actually dubious. The original observation was that women in recent generations have more osteoporosis than older generations, and, hey, they drink more sodas, so there must be a connection, a link between the rise in soda consumption and the rise in osteoporosis. The first theory that developed was that the phosphor in the soda was leeching the calcium from the bones, causing the osteoporosis increase.

The link, however, is that the increase in soda consumption resulted in a decrease of milk consumption, and therefore a decrease in calcium consumption. This decrease in calcium consumption meant less calcium in the bones of the latest generation of women (and men, actually), and hence an increase in osteoporosis.

There are probably a larger number of factors, such as reduced sunlight exposure (vitamin D!), increased toxin consumption, less weight bearing exercise and the other factors we don't know about, but the one I kept with me (quite irrationally) is the phospor in carbonated beverages can cause oestoporosis, so don't drink it!

So much did that stick with me, that ten years later I actually recall an otherwise unremarkable hike with Hester Bell. Hester and I were hiking in the San Gabriel mountains, on a hike similar to hikes where the idea for Amerigon was fostered by Lon Bell. I very much enjoyed spending time with Hester. Lon, on the other hand, intimidated the hell out of me.

And I still don't drink many sodas. I will on occasion, however. Take last week, for example. Kris was at work until after 4:00 am. I stayed up as best I could waiting for him. The next day, I was tired. So tired. So, at lunch, I had my first full Coke in years. Yes, years. Not just a sip from Kris's cup. Not a shared Coke. A full Coke.

Caffeine and all.

My first moblog! This is going to be fun.

Kris bought me a new phone last week and I'M PRETTy excited about it. Though I seem to have fatter fingers than I thought I did.

We'll see how this goes. I have a camera phone so maybe more impromptu pictures. Or maybe not. I am sure I'm going to need to streamline my blog entry process though. I can't even find the freaking comma key.

Update! Kris found the comma key for me! blob-M. Whoo!

Great.

Much to Kris' excitement and anticipation, the 2005 MLB season starts today.

Boston vs NY Yankees.

Oh joy. Must... contain... excitement.

Not.

Today was a full-on gardening day. Previously, I'd been following my own advice and spending 20 minutes a day working on the yards. I had managed to clear out the side yard in three days, but today was going to be full day of working on the gardens.

Imagine having 10 cubic yards of organic compost dumped into your driveway. Better yet, here's a picture of what it looks like. We purchased and moved 12 cubic yards of compost into the back yard garden this two years ago, to great success in the garden. 12' sunflowers with 18" heads, more food than we could eat, a billion tomatoes, yeah. If you're in the Bay Area, and need organic compost, I highly recommend Wheeler Farm. The prices are great (about 1/3 the cost of compost from any gardening or home improvement store), and the owners fantastic.

So, moving this compost. The goal was to move it from the front driveway, to the back garden area. Full preparation of the garden involved tilling the garden, moving the compost to the garden, spreading the compost, then, if needed, tilling again.

Which is what I did.

Alone.

Kris was sick, so I ended up moving all the compost myself for today. He managed to keep the girls from bark-bark-barking at me all day, which was good. But it was a lot of work.

Even with all the compost moving, I barely made a dent in my 5 cubic yards of the 10 cubic yards in the driveway.

Took me about 4 hours to move as much as I did. It took me a while to get started because of the cascading issues for the tools.

To move the compost, I needed the wheelbarrow.

To use the wheelbarrow, I needed to dump the current compost (from my compostor) out of it.

To move that compost out, I needed to have a place to move it to.

To create a space to move the compost to, I had to cut down, clear, and move plants next to the house where they don't belong.

To cut, clear and move, I had to, well, it keeps going. I spent the first 40+ minutes cleaning up the various parts of the yard just so that I could just get going. Urf.

I still have the compost for the side yard to place. And the front yard.