Recycling Phones: Who Cares?
PTA fundraisers, Cell Phones for Soldiers, and now the U.S. Postal Service: All are offering ways for us to recycle our old phones. Now why, you may ask, should someone recycle his/her phone when the trash is conveniently located just a few feet away? Having been tempted to throw my own phone into the garbage/toilet/interstate a number of times, I looked up some info this afternoon and found that electronics are toxic: Cell phones, MP3 players, PDAs and their batteries all contain stuff that's bad for the environment if they're not properly disposed of. And eventually, that can be bad for us, too.
Every script I read at work gets recycled, along with every soda can I drink out of; there are bins all over the place at CNN. If recycling a cell phone is as convenient as a trip to the post office, well, why not?
Carl Azuz, Anchor
The Turner Spelling Bee
Yes, I had to wear a name tag. No, it didn't say "Dork."
The last time I stood up and spelled at a microphone, I was in seventh grade. I'd won the school and county competitions and moved up to the district level, where I was annihilated by some guy who walked in reading Kafka's "Metamorphosis."
I had to look up how to spell "Metamorphosis."
The Turner Executive Spelling Bee, in support of VOX, was a trip back in time. The participants might've left grade school years (or decades) ago, but there were cupcakes and drink boxes to take us right back! And the words? Everything from "poinsettia" to "kamikaze."
In the end, I came in third place and had an AWESOME time doing it. I also learned the hard way that "millennium" has two Ns.
We'd love to hear what word stumped you in your last spelling bee. As for me, I'm gonna study like a seventh-grader for my next competition. Watch out, Kafka.
Carl Azuz, Anchor
Cats, Dogs or Camels?
I read a story today about a camel pageant in the United Arab Emirates. This event pits competitors hump-to-hump for the title of "most beautiful camel in the world." You know how some horses can go for hundreds of thousands of dollars? Well, a good-looking (and I use that term loosely) camel can set you back several million. No joke: CNN reporter Wilf Dinnick heard about a camel in Saudi Arabia worth $4.5 million, and it didn't come with a free house.
I CAN'T IMAGINE ANYTHING THAT DROOLS BEING WORTH $4.5 MILLION.
In the U.S., it's more about cats and dogs. My sister owns two Siamese, and I don't think they're worth more than five bucks (yes, I will get in trouble for saying that). Dogs, on the other hand, are awesome. How can you put a price on your best friend?
So now that you know where I stand, tell us where you do: cats, dogs...or camels?
Carl Azuz, Anchor
Dropping Out
I'm not going to be one of the countless people who tell you to stay in school, no matter what. You've heard all that before. But I couldn't believe the statistics that said graduation rates were less than 50 percent in some major U.S. cities. There must be dozens of reasons why people quit, and we're not criticizing them; it's not our place to do that. But if you're thinking about dropping out, and if Thursday's info on salary differences didn't sway you either way, consider one more thing: Talk to someone who did drop out more than five years ago. See what he/she says about it, and factor that in.
Carl Azuz, Anchor
Recent Comments