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Category: Conscious Consumerism: Shopping & Reviews

A Portable Solar Generator for the Internet Addicted

I’ll tell you what hermits realize.

If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet,
you’ll come to understand that you’re connected with everything.

Alan Watts

I have two seemingly conflicting loves: my love of nature and the great outdoors, and my love of technology and the internet.

I want to share them both with my children, but I have full-time employment online and I write for several websites in my “free” time. About nature, and eco-issues, and parenting, and family fun. The problem is, the more time I dedicate outside my actual job to write about those things, the less time I have to actually do them.

This is an inner conflict that really gets me down, sometimes. When I go quiet here, for a while? It’s because I’m trying to even the scales there, for a while.

Once upon a time my solution would have been to just give up, power down and go back to Luddite living, but I’m in too deep now. Not only do I make a living on the internet, but the connections I’ve found there make me feel like I’m making a difference, in some small way. And I’m inspired, daily, by the stories and images and lives that I see.

Muir said of nature, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” And I feel the same about the internet: it fuels a human connection that is unprecedented and complex and important.

We live in a world so different from the one I grew up in. A vibrant global community I can’t walk away from.

But I don’t that online connection to usurp my connection to my children and the natural world.

So I’m looking for alternative solutions to help create a meaningful balance of online time and outdoor family time, beyond the obvious “spend more time offline.” And I’m eyeing up this portable solar generator that can power a laptop.

With this bad boy, I could take the kids camping, unplug during the day, and still be able to blog about it at night (and, you know. Do work so I don’t get fired). My iPad sips energy when compared to my MacBook; I bet I could nearly double the expected use time. And I wouldn’t spend my time with the kids worried about the work and emails piling up for my return home.

It would also come in super handy during events like yesterday’s hurricane, which knocked out my power for 12 hours (which I considered a lucky break, frankly; I expected a much longer wait for power to be restored). We’d been warned power could go up to two weeks before being restored.

I can’t be without internet for over 48 hours. I just can’t. I’d be put so far behind it makes me panicky just considering it.

Hi. My name is Robin and I’m an eco-freak who loves technology.

I’m really excited about the idea of blogging while hiking or camping for extended periods. A thoroughly modern-day Thoreau in his cabin.

Is that weird?

Are you a tech or internet addict? Tell me I’m not alone.

Disclaimer: I am participating in a blog campaign from Bucks2Blog for a portable solar panel company and was compensated. Views, opinions and parenting #fail confessions are my own.

August 29, 2011
Fashion Friday: Back to School Shoes (yes, my kids wear Crocs)
Give a girl the correct footwear
and she can conquer the world.

-Bette Midler

Speaking generally, I don’t do back to school clothes shopping. 12 years of brown plaid uniforms made me cynical about the marketing hype surrounding brand-new wardrobes, dictated by the start of the school year. Why buy new stuff when last year’s duds still do?

I’ll wait until the season changes and we can assess what the kids actually need (and since their choices are sure to be swayed by what the other kids are wearing, we may as well see what’s on the hit list this year).

The exception is the shoes. I don’t think my kids wear closed toe shoes at all over the summer months, and every year as August draws to a close they attempt to stuff their soles into sneaks that have miraculously gone at least two sizes too small.

It’s all that fresh air and sunshine, I guess. And giantess genes.

Good news: this year, the transition from summer to fall doesn’t mean putting away summer comfort, at least for kids. Crocs has released a new line of “school approved” kicks, suitable for the gymnasium and playground. The Crocs Back to School kids’ line is school-approved on the outside (meaning close-toed and close-heeled), but have the same comfort in the inside. And they’re super-cute, with 13 new high-top and low-top styles for kids (boys and girls) from K-8.

I ordered Cass the metallic-purple-on-black argyle version of this one. ARGYLE, people. I love it.

For me, this means:
- no more having to buy rain boots for the kids to slog to the bus stop in, only to have them change shoes as the bus pulls into sight.
- No more having to wash sneakers after playing in the mud, and then going to bed to the thump, thump, thump of shoes in the dryer.
- No more days on end traveling from shoe store to shoe store trying to find something comfortable for all-day, everyday wear for my big-footed children (two with abnormally long, narrow feet; one with square, wide feet).
Confession: I’m a recent Croc convert; I thought they were ugly as sin when they first arrived on the scene. But I truly love their wash-and-wearability so I can allow the kids to play outside and get dirty with abandon. And after purchasing a pair of my own for gardening and latenight dogwalking, I can’t deny the comfort factor. (Mine are the toning Skylar flats.)

AND, here’s where they fit into my eco-sensibility: not only does one pair do the job of three pairs of shoes for younger kids (rain shoes, dress shoes, and mucking-about shoes), but they are easily recyclable. Some Crocs retail stores will take them off your hands directly, or you can send them to Soles4Souls, who will clean them and give them a “second life” by donating to people in need of shoes throughout the world.

Given that just about every kid around has a pair, consider setting up a donation drive at your school or community center!

One more thing.

Not only is Crocs keeping summertime comfort in your shoes all year long, they’re giving away a 4-day, 3-night “summer break” for 4 people to San Diego. The prize includes round-trip airfare, a stay at an oceanside family-friendly hotel, tickets to local attractions, car rental and $200 fun money. You can enter to win on the Crocs Back to School microsite but frankly I’d prefer you just cross your fingers and toes that I win 🙂

Check out the line-up in this video: click on any of the shoes and you’ll be taken to the shoe’s page on the website. There’s a hidden “Easter egg”— find it, click on it and see what happens. Here’s a clue:

Your turn.

How do you handle back to school shopping?

Have you gone to the Croc side?

Thank you to Crocs for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Crocs’ new Back to School line. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.
August 26, 2011
Review: Smurfs Dance Party

La la la-la la la,
Sing a happy song.

La la la-la la la,
Smurf your whole day long.

Seriously, did you ever think the Smurfs would make a comeback?

I’m not certain that I ever watched the Smurfs on TV on purpose as a kid, but back in olden times we only had like six channels and only three of those had cartoons on Saturday mornings. So in between, I don’t know, Care Bears and Pac-Man you were stuck with the Smurfs, and then you had the theme song earwormed all day. Am I right?

When we were in Atlantic City for #FamFriendlyAC Cass received a big swag bag that had a bunch of movie promo posters in it, and one of those was the Smurfs. And I thought, really? Did they need to bring the Smurfs back?

But Cass was hooked, and Smurf fever only intensified when she saw the trailer at Mr. Popper’s Penguins.

She started watching old episodes on YouTube. Reading old Smurf comics online. Wearing Smurfs zinc oxide at the beach. We already know what she’s going to be for Halloween… can you guess? Hint: she’s three apples high and has Goldie Hawn hair.

We tried to Build-a-Bear a Smurf using the coupon the store sent her for her birthday, and people. SMURFS HAD SOLD OUT.

So when we opened a package from Ubisoft containing Smurf Dance Party for the Wii… suffice it to say I was deafened with screeches of joy, and much impromptu dancing was to be had in the land.

I am a HUGE Just Dance fan and kick royal heinie on the Michael Jackson Experience, so I squared my shoulders and put my doubts about the re-emergence of the Smurfs away. For the moment.

The selection of songs is HILARIOUS. Cass loves the songs and sings along, and I’m endlessly amused by her rocking out to songs like Mr. Smurftastic (Shaggy’s “Mr. Bombastic”), The Noisy Smurf (a rendition of Bjork’s “It’s Oh, So, Quiet”), Walk This Way/Smurf This Way, Duck Sauce’s Barbra Streisand, and Who Let the Smurfs Out.

The dancing is not as precisely measured or as vigorous as the regular Just Dance or Michael Jackson versions, which tend to make me actually break a sweat and have sore arms (I take my Wii dancing seriously). That’s fine, since clearly the game is targeted to younger kids, and it’s nice to have a fairly level playing field. Cass played against her Aunt Jessi and I think they both “won” some songs.

If I’m being very honest, I have to say that I find Papa Smurf thrusting and popping his hips to be really weird to watch, but Gargamel makes me laugh out loud every. single. time. Jeff played “Who Let the Smurfs Out” and I was in TEARS.

Cassie’s favorite songs are the ones where Smurfette leads (groan), especially “Everybody Up” (I tried to track down who sings the original but I honestly still don’t know).

All in all, it’s a good time and a great addition to the Elton Family Saturday Game Night. It’s simple enough for the young crowd and funny enough for the older crowd, gets you up and dancing, and hasn’t caused any earworm damage yet.

One of those games, I daresay, that one might call “perfect for the whole family.”

I might even be convinced to watch the movie… maybe.

NOTE: There is video of Cass playing embedded. If you’re an email or RSS subscriber you may need to click through to see it.

You can buy The Smurfs Dance Party at Amazon, if you are so inclined. (If you buy through that link I make a few pennies on the dollar towards a new camera lens.)

Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this UbiChamps blog post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own.

August 22, 2011