5 Random Facts

Today was one of those days when nothing in particular was grabbing my creative attentions to write about. I'm sure I need to get ahead on posts, so that I can schedule them ahead of time more often so that when these times hits there is something to go, but I'm not there yet. The only thing I saw from others that I perhaps even wanted to address was annoyingly political and belittling of the other view on a couple of Facebook posts I saw this morning. Yet, at this point I am not going to inject fuel into the fires of concepts that will have no resolution until people are willing to work through the issues with thoughtfulness and not rhetoric and "winning" the debates as a goal.

In other words, if people aren't willing to listen, then there is no point in trying to convince them. I've learned its best to sit back and engage with those who are willing to work and discuss any given topic with at least a posture of learning or humility in understanding issues are complex. 

I don't know everything, and neither do you. Lets just remember that.

So instead of a more in-depth post, here are 5 random facts for you. I declare this post OK to link to wikipedia as a legitimate source, but this isn't a scholarly or professional paper anyway.

1. The world's tallest thermometer is located in Baker, California. (Yes, I have been there and done that...taken a picture and even eaten a gyro in a restaurant next-door.) 

2. Kepler-22b is the first planet found in another stars habitable-zone for possible life, and is only 2.4 time the diameter of earth! (Nope haven't been there...yet. Just give me 600 light-years.)

3. Rubber is trading at 170.55 U.S. cents per pound as of today, April 17, 2012. That's down from September of last year, when it was 206.49 per pound. (I think I have enough change lying around to buy a few pounds of natural rubber, but why in the world would I when I already have a RACE-USED Mark Martin tire from Bristol Motor Speedway in the garage!)

4. The top song on Billboard Magazine's charts for April 17. 

• 2012: We Are Young by fun. featuring Janelle Monae
• 2011: ET by Katy Perry featuring Kanye West
• 2010: Rude Boy by Rihanna
• 2009: Boom Boom Pow by Black Eyed Peas
• 2008. Touch My Body by Mariah Cary

 (Can we tell anything at all by this chart and looking at the trends over time? I'm at a loss for anything that jumps out except that it would be harder to make any type of sentence with newer titles like ET or Boom Boom Pow than if you look at titles from previous decades.)

5. My favorite color is blue. My second favorite color is orange. (They don't rhyme, or necessarily make good color combinations. I know, I used to have a pair of orange pants. I still don't know why I bought them on sale...) (I also know this and practice saying it in case I come across the Bridge in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.)