|
|
I’m probably joining a very big bandwagon here, but I don’t care - they need to find a way to let Vermontasaurus live.
You’ve probably heard about it, but if not, here’s the short form: Brian Boland, a gentleman in Vermont, decided to turn a bunch of trash, scrap lumber, discarded broken ladders, and you name it, into a… well, a dinosaur-ish creature. This was apparently a spontaneous idea, and a fun one, and the stuff was just trash and junk, and he (and a bunch of volunteers) made - Ta Da - Vermontasaurus:
Vermontasaurus, The Only One Of His Kind
And they - the guvmint, the revooners, the permit people, the Official Nameless Ones, are probably going to make him tear it down. It’s probably a fire hazard, or somebody might stab themselves on a rusty nail, or maybe kids will god forbid play on it.
Yes, kids should probably stay off it. And I guess they have to think about the fire thing - although the ‘raw materials’ trash was allowed to collect, and nobody hollered about it. But either way, dammit, this is Art, or at least Fresh Air, this was spontaneous or so we’re told, and it’s fun. At a time when we could use a little of that - well we always need fun, truly - but right now? with all the bad news out there? Come on.
Let the Vermontasaurus live.
Only, maybe not so much. Like most of us (well here in the U.S. anyway) we recently got a letter from the U.S. Census Bureau (or whatever their official name is) telling us that we were going to get a letter from them soon, requesting accurate updated census information about our household.
Then we got the census form. Then a few days later, we got another piece of mail from them, reminding us how important the Census Data is, and saying if we hadn’t mailed it back yet, would we please remember to do so Real Soon.
Now first off this seems like a lot of (expensive) mail for them to generate. The guys on the news say it’s worth it because there are so many people who won’t bother, and the census people have to send real live humans to each house that doesn’t respond, to get accurate data, etc etc. Okay fine, I’ll go along with that.
But: the instructions on the census form very clearly state that you are supposed to fill out the form with accurate information AS OF APRIL 1, 2010. And they’re already asking why we haven’t returned the form. Note that I am writing this blog entry on March 27, 2010 - and we received the “why haven’t you returned your form yet” postcard FIVE DAYS AGO.
Well, duh, it’s not April 1, 2010 yet. (Gotta wondered who picked April-Fools-Day as a return date, too.)
I know a lot of households won’t change from, say, March 20 to April 1. But, sadly, many of them will. People die, people move out, people split up. The kids leave. The kids come home. His or her kids come home - and need to be counted in census because they have to fit into classrooms.
So is this a case of “you can have it now, or you can have it right”? Do they want us to follow their instructions? If not, why did they include them? And if they DO want us to follow their instructions, why are they bugging us?
I’m one of those people who makes stuff. I sew, I do crafts, I make things for the house, etc etc. And I’m fairly knowledgeable about fabric. Felt is a fabric that used to be made out of, well, smushed up wool leftovers. It’s always offered great vivid colors, but it ‘pills’ and frays and it’s not sturdy, so oh well.
But! I have been re-educated here. Not only have I found some great colors in oh-so-useful felt, but it is made ENTIRELY from recycled stuff - even better, from recycled bottles! They’ve made a soft fabric - from bottles. And it’s not expensive!
The colors are clear and vivid - and from what the vendor writes, the fabric does NOT fray or fall apart in the wash. (Old-style felt, forget it, you wouldn’t dare toss it in the washer). And she has it in many colors! And she even has it in this camoflauge pattern!
 Camouflage felt fabric!
Now honestly, that wouldn’t be my personal choice - but lots of people would love it (imagine a pillow made with this felt, sitting on your couch in the den).
I will happily promote this vendor - K and C Supplies on Etsy. She is finding / sourcing / selling a product that is not only entirely recycled, but it’s pretty and soft and nice!
Talk about the best of all possible products. Go buy some!
So first off I should say that I never use dryer sheets. I don’t think we need them (the only thing that ever gets static-y is the few silk things we’ve got, and I’m totally willing to deal with that). I think it is a deliberate Proctor-and-Grumble-ish advertising invention to make us think we need them. And, we have birds. The fake perfume in the dryer sheets is poison to birds (and to us too, only we are bigger).
But a whole lot of people do use them, and think they need them. So I’m just asking, if you buy them, please do reuse them! Turns out there are a bunch of nifty things to do with them. These ideas aren’t original with me - I’ve gotten this handy list from Daily Green Cheapskate over on Yahoo. (Love that name, by the way.)
 A few highlights from the “how to reuse dryer sheets” list:
1. Use them more than once. (Back when I did use them, years ago, this totally worked. They’re good for three-four washes at least.)
2. Anti-static dust wipes (use them to clean your monitor and TV screen - they’re great for that).
3. Pot scrubbers and sink / tub scrubs.
4. Dust-free blinds: Not only do spent dryer sheets make a handy wipe for metal and plastic blinds, but the chemicals in them help to repel dust.
5. Get your shine on: When used as a polishing rag, dryer sheets make mirrors and chrome appliances shine. They’re also great for cleaning windows and other glass.
They’re also recommended as sort-of-sachet. Put one in your glove box or underwear drawer so you can smell that creepy sweet scent for ages. (Can you tell I don’t like the smell? Yeah.)
Check out the full article here.
And for even more super useful info on how to go green easily, go to The Green Cheapskate Blog. There are TONS of good ideas there.
And it’s fun. And you’ll feel good about it 
I saw the most amazing creation over at Ecofriend.org. This building is a teahouse, very much in the tradition of a handcrafted Japanese structure - but this one is made entirely of recycled paper.
Now this time I’m not suggesting we should go build our house out of recycled paper - at least, not without an engineer’s knowledge of materials and how to adapt them to building techniques. But I do suggest that we could all be inspired by this structure.
One, we can learn - or remember, because we already know it - the all-important concepts of reuse, rethink, recycle… and “rethink” is a real important part of that trio. Take a look at some of the stuff you’re about to discard. Some of it can have a new life. Some of it can have a very COOL new life.
And if a building out of recycled paper isn’t in your immediate future - what about an ottoman or footstool, built with “bricks” you made yourself of paper? Or… well, you’ll think of things. Unleash your Mad Creative Scientist and make something for yourself!
Woo hoo! I don’t know details yet but it doesn’t matter - we’ve rescued Captain Phillips!
Check out Drudge Report or Yahoo News.
Back to our regular programming shortly
I just saw a revised mention of the article I talked about earlier. Now it says that the university (in Amsterdam I think? I’m hurrying so not sure right now) - anyway, the people who developed the “intelligent programs” have a robot working with their programs.
They named the robot Adam. And they have already made a second robot. Named Eve.
Insert Twilight Zone music here.
Wow. Just saw an article from Reuters that says some scientists are developing “robots (computers anyway) that can think”.
Of course that’s an oversimplification designed to get headlines, but it does say that programs have been developed that can reason and create hypotheses, determine and then check results. It’s on a baby scale so far but still… wow.
Talk about a double-edged sword. The article talks about how these programs could “take over much of the routine work in research laboratories”. This would be terrific for efficiency (and probably cost-savings). It could also lead to, well, all those computers-take-over-the-world-scenarios that SF has loved for years.
“Terminator”, anyone?
|
|
