Category: Everything Else

I am still without a working camera, so I’ll be posting some old shots, as wells as my favorite no-known-copyright photographs from the Library of Congress. No comment on how much time I regularly spend sifting through historic photographs, I think we’ve well established how much of a nerd I am already.

On to the weekend reading…

Apparently it costs the New York Times twice as much to print the newspaper as it would to send each subscriber a free Kindle. Brilliant! Although the green-ness of the Kindle is debatable, I’m happy to accept a free one from any quarter…

37 Ways to Reuse Clothing. My favorite: making mittens out of old sweaters (cut the arms off first to make draft dodgers!)

I think this is the fifth time I’ve brought up this article, but I love it so much: Ed Begley Jr. and Bill Nye are eco-neighbors, competing to one-up each other on the eco-front. Summoning the same sense of eco-competition, some utility companies are grading customers based on peer performance. Some use smiley faces vs. frowny faces, while others give a percentage. This practice is based on a study which

left different messages on doorknobs in a middle-class neighborhood north of San Diego. One type urged the residents to conserve energy to save the earth for future generations; another emphasized financial savings. But the only kind of message to have any significant effect, Dr. Cialdini said, was one that said neighbors had already taken steps to curb their energy use.

“It is fundamental and primitive,” said Dr. Cialdini, who owns a stake in Positive Energy. “The mere perception of the normal behavior of those around us is very powerful.”

I love it! County vs. county, state vs. state…who doesn’t love winning?

PETA plays race card at dog show. I’m not even going to explain it, you’ll just have to read it for yourself. As an environmentalist, I have to say I find PETA vaguely embarrassing, but they know how to get attention.

CFLs vs. LEDs vs. incandescents: Which is the best deal overall?

Local mom does eco-good: East Coast Greening is a Delaware business run by moms, educating families on how to detox their homes. Even better, their business is steadily growing… proving that going green is possible even in a down economy.

On the same note, organic food sales are on the rise. In the wake of all the food recalls, discovering that there’s mercury in high fructose corn syrup, and I don’t even know what all, are people starting to consider where their food comes from and what goes into it?

“Mommy, Are We Poor?” An interesting article on how the recession might be good for providing youth with perspective.

Report claims video games are good for kids, boosting creativity, cooperation, and strategic reflection. Right. Also boosts nervous jitters, sibling bickering, and all-around ability to irritate parental units. (P.S. I wrote this article. Leave me a comment?)

Finally, help Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology learn more about bird populations by participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend! Click here for details.

That’s all folks! Have a good weekend!

Tragedy is when I cut my finger.

Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die.

-Mel Brooks

Long story short, I was interviewed for a magazine and they asked for a picture of me with the kids. Which I do not have, since I am always the one behind the camera.

So after much abuse Jeff agreed to go outside and take the picture. I get the kids cleaned up, I brush my hair (I should really do that more often), and we go out and shoot a gazillion pictures because my kids are incapable of smiling like normal human beings.

And then—

Jeff dropped my camera. Lens fully extended. Into the drippy, sloppy mud.

I’m pretty sure some condensation got behind the lens. The lens cover doesn’t shut. And even if it did, I’d be worried about the lens getting scratched- there is definitely mud in there.

So the question now is- do I pony up $200 for a new point-and-shoot? Or wait until the end of the year when I have (optimistically) saved up enough to buy a DSLR?

OK, it’s not real tragedy. But I feel like I’m missing a hand.

You can help support Trees for the Future just by purchasing your favorite Celestial Seasonings teas. For every box of tea you buy between January 1 and March 31, Celestial Seasonings will sponsor the planting of trees all around the world—up to one million trees in all. You might say we’re planting trees one cup at a time!

You can also plant a tree in their virtual forest. For each virtual tree planted, Celestial Seasonings will sponsor the planting of a real one.

This is sheer nonsense: You can now buy Disney branded eggs. Not free-range, not organic, not anything interesting or relevant. Just stamped with Disney pictures and wrapped in Disney packaging, in the hopes that I will cave under pressure in the dairy aisle. Disney: quit. marketing. to. my. kids.

This is also sheer nonsense: Nature Words Dropped From Children’s Dictionary. This is an article I wrote for Eco Child’s Play; please hop on over and leave me a comment!

The full list of words dropped and added can be found here.

Inquiring minds want to know: Is Ikea green?

Back in the day, before Christmas, I mentioned that Tom’s shoes was attempting to raise 30,000 shoes for kids in need through their buy one, donate one program. I’m happy to report they exceeded their goal, donating 37,000 pairs in Ethiopia!

Good news: Obama lifts SCHIP restrictions:

Ending a two-year effort by Democrats, Obama signed legislation Wednesday that will enable about 7 million children to continue coverage through SCHIP and allow another 4 million to sign up. The president sees expansion of government health insurance to millions of lower-income children as a first step of several to come in providing coverage for all Americans.

The decision by the Commission gives the staff more time to finalize four proposed rules which could relieve certain materials and products from lead testing and to issue more guidance on when testing is required and how it is to be conducted.

This disturbing story comes courtesy of my brother: A father driving his three kids home on a snowy road makes an illegal lane change and sees the flashing lights of a police car behind him. He then slowly pulls to the rightmost lane and looks for a safe place to stop. Decelerating to about 5 mph, he prepares to stop and is rammed by the police officer. He is then arrested at gunpoint and spends two nights in jail.

More details and video of the traffic stop here.

To me, this is a really scary story. I drive like a granny in the snow, and I can assure you I would not be quickly crossing all those lanes of traffic to pull over. And as my brother points out, we’ve often heard that we are supposed to look for safe places to stop, even waiting to find a public place if we are uncertain as to the authenticity of the police vehicle. To be rammed and face an officer’s gun, with small children in the car? Terrifying. Truly.

Finally, I’m sure you know all about the peanut butter recall (full list of recalled products here). Just a reminder to check and see if your pet’s foods and treats are on the recall list, and to take precautions with your backyard birds too.

High of 59 degrees in these parts today, hallelujah!
Pardon me while I head outside.