5 Online Things That Didn't Make Me LOL

Getting cabin fever yet? Looking for something to distract you? Me, too. So I turned to the Internet ─ because it's a solid source of irony and dark humor ─ and here's what I found.

1. Comments on Sen. Murkowski's resolution to halt EPA's greenhouse gas regulation hit the bipartisan nail on the head, but that doesn't mean that the "other party" is any less guilty of playing fast and loose with words.

From an EPonline visitor on Jan. 27: "Now that "bi-partisan" has become the new watch word for change, its use by politicians like Senator Murkowski renders the word meaningless. Really, 35 Republicans and 3 Democrats, means that Washington is pulling together for the good of all? I doubt it!"

Note, however, this use clearly satisfies Webster's definition of bi-partisan: of, relating to, or involving members of two parties. Technically, only two members of each party need to be involved.

2. You can download some innocuous application software on your iPhone for free or typically a minimal cost. Among my favorites are Redmedia's 8h2o that helps you remember how many glasses of water you’ve had and JPL Web Design Company's Alternative Energy, which is a poll asking how you think government should support alternative sources of energy. Why?

3. Michael Epstein from Mount Saint Mary's University was doing some research on earthenware water vessels lined with a clay containing a potassium-uranium-vanadate mineral. The Radium Ore Revigator Company sold several hundred thousand of these jugs between 1920 and the mid-1930s to "treat or cure" arthritis, flatulence, senility, and poisoning ailments. Lee Yu, one of the researchers, commented: "It’s amazing to me how eager companies were to commercialize new discoveries without a clear understanding of the risks involved."

4. The green job outlook just got a little brighter. With the economy being down, it seems that some families are breaking up. Studies have shown that divorced individuals are likely to remarry; so enter the green wedding expert. The Web site offers a guide listing 15 wedding professionals who have proven themselves to be leaders in the green community. The site also shares information about green certification available to those who want to make bigger bucks.

5. Finally, an observation. I really don't think that we will ever completely eliminate pollution, and I am amazed every time I see a company claim it is the first to accomplish some new engineering or remedial feat. I guess I don't understand the value in being first in this case. If you are a believer in zero footprints of all kinds and you work in the environmental field, have you considered what you will do in your next career?

Posted by L.K. Williams, EPonline on Jan 28, 2010