Happy 311 Day. Friday’s by virtue, are generally pretty good days. But, for me it has been an exceptionally good Friday (so far). I went online to pay bills and saw that our car insurance premium had mysteriously increased for the second time recently. I was a bit perturbed, so I called in and asked for an explanation. I was told that it is just a general increase for all of the policy holders in my area. I asked her if there was anything that she could do for me, since I had been with them for 8 years. “Sorry but no,” I was told. So, out of a mixture of curiosity and spite, I went to a competing company’s website and jumped through all of the hoops to request a quote. The final number was less than a quarter of what we are currently paying. I thought for sure that I must have done something wrong. So, I followed up with a phone call to the prospective new insurer’s customer service. As it turns out, the online quote was accurate, and I had indeed been screwed over by my current provider. So, in two weeks when my current policy expires, we will have an extra $350 per month to allocate in less painful ways.

After this, I was feeling kind of lucky. So, I decided to go for broke and call my credit card, to see if they would lower my interest rate. They did. Whaaaaaa? When I hung up with the credit card people, I was half tempted to call my landlord and see if he would lower our rent, hahahahah. On top of everything else, the rain has given way to sunshine and warmish temps.

Ok, so obviously everyone else’s Friday is not going nearly this well. I’m referring to the entire Pacific basin, specifically Japan. I feel super sad for those guys right now. Despite having watched “The Cove.” I strongly feel that Japanese people, generally are way to cute/nice/smart for something this crappy to happen to. I’m sure that the smart factor did play a huge role in mitigating damage, though. I remember learning about their super advanced earthquake proofing that was part of the building code over there. Things like foundations with springs in them, and furniture strapped to the wall.  Amazing people. Despite how saddening all of the news has been, I can’t help but be awed by the incredible images that have come across the net. Here are a few links:

• Boston Globe Big Picture (consistently one of my favs)
• Here are a couple of links to videos that Boingboing posted video 1 and video 2
• This one kind of sums it up, from Anota Bien.

In order to not end this post on a depressing note, here are links to some much more light-hearted items that I have liked during the week:

• Motorized off road skateboard by Fiik on Uncrate. Includes wireless hand held throttle.
• iPhone case made from stacked and cross-cut old Skate Decks, by Grove.
• Nat Geo built the house from Pixar’s “Up” and flew it using helium balloons.
• Speaking of Awesome Japanese stuff, a short beautifully shot documentary on Japan’s Keirin Racing Academy.
• A bunch of art that I shot at Scope, broken down by Nick Schonberger on Complex.
• And finally– why didn’t they have this when I was in Law School?

Apologies for the redundancy for anyone who subscribes to my G-reader shared items, or is my FB Friend. Don’t forget to try your luck, by participating in giveaway #2.

[Photo: Greta, By: Me]

The first one caught my eye because it is about a guy who lives in a cave in Moab. It’s called “Could you survive without money? Meet the guy who does.” It was in the latest issue of Details. It is basically about a guy named Daniel Suelo who used to be a college professor before swearing off modern capitalism, and reverting to living off of the land.

The author follows Suelo around Moab, documenting the way that he subsists from dumpster diving, eating road kill, and sleeping in a cave.

I confess that the main reason that I was interested in the article is because it involves Moab. Frankly, I would be very surprised if Suelo is the only guy in Moab who lives in a cave. As I was reading it, I thought that his ideas also probably seem pretty tame compared to some of the other philosophies that abound in that region. It certainly is a beautiful place to be homeless though.

I also thought that the idea of swearing off money was an interesting one. It is a quick read, so even if you hate it, you won’t be wasting more than a few minutes. Christopher Ketcham is the author. The photo is by Mark Heithoff. Here is the link.

The next article that really grabbed me, this week is called “Never Forget,” by Michael Patemiti. The article ran in the latest issue of GQ. I am not sure how to best describe this article. I want to call it deeply disturbing, but it is also a heart-breaker. Definitely only read it, if you have a strong stomach. The story details the atrocities that occurred in Cambodia during the reign of the Khmer Rouge.

The author focuses on one labor camp specifically, called S-21, where roughly 15,000 Cambodians were tortured and murdered. The story also catches up a couple of the seven people who survived the camp, as well as telling the story of the former Khmer Rouge operative who was in charge of running the camp.

I definitely recommend this story, not only as an extremely moving story, but as a fantastic piece of journalism. Here is the link.