The Perks of Blogging

Wow. I can understand now why some bloggers see their blogs as income producers. You remember my post on Friday, about Jest Red wine? Well, the folks at Jest Wines saw my post (the beauty that is technorati, I'm guessing), and they liked what they saw. (They said I "totally got what they are about", the blogger says, smugly.) So they offered to send a few bottles as a thank you. Rock on, Jest Wines people!

Now one thing I am, is a fast learner. So really, I just wanted to say to you all how cool it is that Toyota has come out with the Prius. Unfortunately, when our car got smashed 18 months ago, they were on back order (way back), so we weren't able to consider it. The Honda Civic Hybrid was super cool, but it is all fitted out with leather seats and XM satellite radio, which ups the price beyond what a freelancer and an academic's family can afford (and really, Honda, the Consort is one of the few and the proud which educates the next generation of Honda employees and Honda executives' dependents, remember that!)

And, being the radical environmentalists we are, at heart, I just wanted to shout out to Real Goods that we think they do a fantabulous job selling folks products for an ecologically sustainable future. If we could, we would refit our house with all sorts of great products like solar panels, so we could get off the grid, and maybe even give something back to the community; a solar-powered water pump; maybe convert to geothermal heating; and definitely get a high-efficiency refrigerator like SunFrost.

But you know, sometimes surprises are the best.

Oh, and Oxford? Impera was very impressed when we visited the UK a couple of years ago, and has been talking ever since about maybe doing her studies at your prestigious institution when she gets to college age (only 6 years away!). I told her that I've heard say that maybe the whole Oxbridge rep has become overstated in the past decades, but she has a lot of faith in that new committee the government established that is charged with strengthening your academic results. Anyway, if you think about it, maybe having an intelligent young spokesperson for your school may be the way to go. (What's the cost of one full-ride scholarship in comparison with the income potential from heightened international interest? Think about it. I've got plenty of sidebar space -- let's talk.)