Internet Radio

Time Capsule
After moving from Seattle to Florida to Alabama to South Carolina my husband finally unpacked his trains. I am happy he finally has taken his trains out and hope that he will get some track and the hobby of his youth will be reborn. Trains are cool – but the newspaper they are packed in serves as fun little time capsule.

Waste of Resources
As far as old newspaper goes, the page I am looking at is not even in the running. The content of the front page of the Seattle Times Personal Technology section puts in a category of relatively old.  In his article “Internet Radio,” Mark Matassa calls listing to downloaded broadcasts “metaphorical radio” and goes on to call listening to Internet radio a ridicules waste or misallocation of resources. Matassa compares using a $3,000 computer and a 56-kilobyte modem to download audio files with a $9 Emerson radio and gives radio the win for quality, reliability and ease of use. I remember the constant buffering interruptions that made dial up an unacceptable way to listen to audio content, but by 1999 when the article the Seattle Times published the article, I already had broadband for a few years and I as happy with the quality of online audio content.  

Internet Kills the Radio Star
Today, according to the Pew Research Project, 56% of American adults have a smart phone, and as of last summer, more than 73% of households have adopted broadband. I am listening to a “customized” station on Pandora while I write. Internet Radio means that you can move half way around the world and still listen to morning-drive show stream from your hometown.  Access to some breed or another of Internet radio has changed the way we discover new music and given us access to programing worldwide. Granted, on the right kind of night an AM radio signals can “skip” around the world, but now for the majority of us Internet Radio kills the $9 Emerson in so many ways.  For my friends in Kodiak, AK and Fort Peck, Montana. Do not get rid of your transistors yet. For everyone else, I’m glad you have broad-band. Happy streaming.

Getting My Kicks on the Super Highway

Conflicted
I am conflicted. On one hand I hate the idea of getting into my car and driving from store to store looking for the exact brand, size and style of cross trainers that I wear. A quick search online and I can almost guarantee that I’ll have exactly what I want in two days. Direct to my front door delivery works for me.

Box Guilt
I feel guilty when my shoes arrive in a cardboard box within another cardboard box. There is usually a pile of cardboard in my dining room, where I unwrap my online purchases. Granted on the weekend, we load up the cardboard and take it to the recycling drop site, but the energy to produce and breakdown and reuse the boxes is wasted.

So I have to ask - is it better for the environment to buy online or get in my car and go shopping?

Carbon Footprint
Wasted cardboard aside, the e-commerce model beats conventional shopping by consuming less energy to get a pair my preferred kicks to my door.  A 2009 Carnegie Mellon study showed that Buy.com’s model had a lower carbon footprint than a brick and mortar model.  Since the study, online retailers like Amazon have increased their efficiency by improving their distribution models.

Pre-Cycling

Beef vs. Veggie Protein
I know the resources that it takes to produce one pound of beef far exceeds that of an equivalent amount of vegetable protein.

The trouble is, I really like beef and I don’t care for soy. I lack the motivation to say give up red meat. I have switched to non-dairy milk, though the credit goes to my delicate constitution rather than my resolve to reduce my carbon footprint.

Water Resources
To produce one pound of beef it takes:

• 1,799 gallons of water
• 6.6 pounds of grain  (plus irrigation)
• 36.2 pounds of roughage or grass feed (plus irrigation)
• 18.6 gallons of water for processing

Source: http://www.waterfootprint.org

How do I assuage my meat eater guilt? I take small steps to cut what I use and do my best to recycle as much as I can.

Reduce
I can take credit for reducing the things that I buy. The cure? Watching Hoarders on A&E. Now I practice “pre-cycling.” When shopping for the sake of shopping, I practice visualization.  I see the item in my home then I imagine it in a box marked "Goodwill." Most of the time that is enough to keep my credit card in my pocket.

My husband's job provides a great opportunity to learn to divest ourselves of the things we don't use. In three years we moved from Florida to Alabama to South Carolina. I've learned to live like I am getting ready to move. The goal is to to get rid of everything that we don't expect to need.

I have also learned to reduce what I already have by boxing it up to take it to Habitat for Humanity ReStore.  My donations escape the landfill and enable someone else to purchase affordable goods. The ReStore’s proceeds are used to build simple, affordable homes in my county.
Coming from the “green” Pacific Northwest, I have been frustrated by the lack of curb side recycling and the lack of electronic waste restrictions. The satisfaction of doing the right thing is enough to motivate me to take my paper, plastic, electronics and aluminum to recycling drop sites.

Find Recycling Opportunities your community.

Want to know about about the water foot print of foods? Try this National Geographic Change the Course Tool:  How Much H2O is Embedded in Every Day Life?

Milo and Rose Meet Santa

Milo and Riley Rose are Jack Russell "Shorties."

Yes they are very full of energy and champion They have two states: on, and off.

Hobbies: Chasing squirrels, digging trenches in pursuit of moles, long walks and lap warming.

Special Ability: Knowing it is 4:30 and time for a walk.

During "squirrel hours" they are on the alert for those cheeky varmints live on nuts.

One special day a squirrel fell from a high branch and landed right in front of Milo, both were so stunned they forgot for a moment that they were arch enemies. The bushy tailed bugger escaped unharmed. The same can not be said for close to a dozen others. Many squirrels, snakes, rats, lizards, opossums have met their doom in our yard.  Our dogs make us feel safe.

If Santa doesn't look thrilled - it was very hot on the December day this picture was taken. Gromit our senior puppy did not get to sit on Santa's lap - he gets nervous and has a real issue with strange men.

Avoiding the Gun Control Trap

No Locking Horns
Gun control discussions always follows in the wake of mass shootings. To be objective it is fair to acknowledge both sides have valid arguments.   In my case, I know my feelings that do not line up every one, I make a desperate  play to bend subject away from guns.

An obvious vector  is to talk about mental health reform. One side might argue there is a need for increased access to competent care while the other favors tracking individuals who suffer from mental illness.  Before you know it, you are standing in another mine field.  I am reminded of the tag line of the eighties movie War Games, “the only way to win, is to not play.”

How do you cross the mass shooting mine field without losing a limb or at least a friend? 

Acts of Kindness
Today the families of the Sandy Hook tragedy asked that their loved ones be remembered by “acts of kindness.” Over the last year, with much reflection the families agree that the best way to honor their loved one doesn't is to simply be kind.
Take a moment to think of the how actions can feed the seeds of hate or nurture the growth of good.

Think of every person that you encounter in a given day as someone who needs to be recognized as important. Smile and genuinely ask how people are, wish the store clerk a good day, ask about the guy who takes your groceries to your car how his day is going.

Empathy and Encouragement
Use the powerful tools of empathy and encouragement. Do you get frustrated with technical support? Remember the person on the end of the phone rarely gets calls from happy customers, let him know you understand. When you get exceptional service, forward your praise to a manager.

If you have every been lonely, invite someone to sit down for a cup of coffee or to share a holiday. If you have ever been discouraged, tell someone who is struggling that things will get better and that they have everything they need to see them through.