Penn & Teller on Recycling

For those of you unfamiliar with Penn & Teller and the Showtime show Bulls**t, they tackle a variety of topics and basically set out to debunk everything. If you are a skeptic of most anything like I am you probably would find it enjoyable. Warning: The language can be unsuitable for kids. Well I guess depends on what you teach your kids but anyways.



If the above video peeks your interest, check out the rest: Part 2 & Part 3

It can be disheartening to those that are recycling diehards like me. I just covered my ears on the parts that made me question why I still recycle.

Hacking it up

Since I started my basement remodel I have been researching ways to repurpose the different components I already have. This exposed me to a bunch of websites that I never knew existed. These sites take "hacking" to new levels.

Lifehacker - Hack your personal life with all sorts of shortcuts.
Ikea Hacker - Who doesn't love Ikea?
DesignBoom - Hacking everyday products.
Instructables - Lots of interesting ideas here. I plan to post here eventually as well. This is my new favorite site.

Computer modding is another interest of mine. Check out what people with good ideas and alot of free time do to take their computers to the next level. Here are some of my favorites:

Bender PC
Humidor Server
Spider case
Rodent PC

Is a nickel worth your time?

Last year I had planned to write an article about recycling soda cans and bottles. To be specific, recycling to get my deposit back, not recycling in the general sense. Time passed and I forgot all about it but my conclusion was that it a waste of time.

Alot has changed economically speaking since my original intended post date back in July 2008 which begs the question, is a nickel really worth my time now? Up until now I pretty much have been throwing the few soda cans I collect into the recycling bin and not bothering to get my deposit back. Caulk it up to laziness. After some evaluation I've decided it wasn't much effort to actually collect those cans and cash them in when I go to the supermarket. A few nickels won't make any dent in my bills but seeing the country as a whole buckling down it just seemed wasteful not to.

The recycling centers seem busier these days also so I'm assuming I'm not the only one. I've seen alot more people rummaging through recycling bins too. Just another sign of the times I guess.

New Project: Basement Workshop

I found my winter project! I currently have an existing "workshop" area but as my family continues to grow so do my storage needs. This coupled with my wife's classroom materials coming home for the next couple years, I could have a problem on my hands.

Thus I have been banished to the basement corner room. As you can see from the picture it currently serves as gym, server room and storage. That white box is my wife's wedding dress :)

Another benefit from this move is I will now have an area I can lock up. I know off the top of my head there is a small axe within easy reach of a child. That's just for starters.

I wouldn't classify this as a full on green project. It's more an exercise in seeing how much I can repurpose while not spending a dime. I have a variety of stuff which I salvaged from other non functioning components. Screws, brackets, wood, all sorts of random goodness that I'm sure will come in handy.

My motto for this project: If I don't have it, make it :)

Dumping the Planner

I always kick off the year with a new planner. Nothing fancy just a monthly calendar. This year I decided to go green and do everything online with Google Calendar.

Google Calendar does everything you would expect and some. The nicest features are the ability to allow others to view and post to your calendar and the email auto reminders. Now my wife says I have no excuse for missing appointments. I'm sure I can come up with something :)

Green New Year's Resolutions

As we all compile our to-do lists for the coming year, take a moment and think about what little things you can do to improve your life and lessen your impact on the planet. Here's my list in no particular order:

Recycle more. Everyone recycles their glass and plastics (or so we hope) but how about those other random items? I've amassed quite a collection of maybe recycling. We'll see what's salvageable and what's not.

Convert one person to recycle...at least a little bit. You might be hard pressed to find someone that doesn't recycle anything. I know a few. Some with good reasons, some without. This is going to be the hardest one to do.

Invest in green companies.

Reduce water consumption. I basically stopped watering everything but my garden last year and the results were somewhat acceptable. Aside from the rain barrel which I wanted to install last year, I will explore other options.

Expand the garden. Plan to go organic again this year but will look at the possibility of adding fruit trees and expanding my vegetable selection.

De clutter my home and recycle/donate/sell everything.

Cancel all junk mail/catalog subscriptions. I'm pretty good and have cancelled most. Some I do enjoy getting, others are a waste. Going strictly online in '09.

I do have a couple resolutions for the website as well.

Blog more often. New year, greater focus or so I hope.

Start a weekly monthly blog carnival. OK I don't want to set the bar too high just yet. Monthly is a good start :)

Feel free to share your green resolutions as well. Happy 2009!