This is not my... Week 24 07
21/06/07 - Late for work again
This Section; Background; The point
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but someone has to do it... |
Working from home today - woo hoo.
Not only does it mean that I can potter about in my pjamas but - apparently - it is also good for the environment.
There is no need to commute. No need to be in an air conditioned office and far more time spent on important pursuits - such as assessing cuticle growth - than on the computer.
Brilliant.
According to the Telegraph this is only something you can claim in summer though (in the winter you will put the heating on / use more lights etc) but that is perfect.
More than happy to work from the park in the warm months and in the office by a ready supply of hot chocolate when it is a bit nippy.
Anyhow - best be getting along in any case. First stop is the pile of filing that has been lurking for about four months.
Very tempted just to sacrifice it all in the name of recycling. (Who needs contracts/bills/Tiddlywink course certificates anyway...?)
Happy Friday though - have a great weekend!
x
21/06/07 - Late for work again
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But excited about the dark... |
So just wanted to sneak a mention of the Capital FM 'Lights out London' campaign.
The plan is to get as many lights off as possible between 9 - 10 this evening to highlight energy saving.
As they point out:
"Lighting accounts for 25% of all electricity consumed worldwide"
So using a bit less, or bulbs which are more energy efficient wouldn't be a bad thing.
Anyhow - perfect excuse for some star gazing, surreptitious canoodling or childish games that involve hiding in cupboards hoping that someone will actually find you at some point.
Have fun!
x
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does have some benefits... |
I mean there is erm... erm... well - not 100% sure about a whole raft of benefits but there is the ability to resist buying unnecessary plastic toys.
Well - until the kids arrive I guess.
Not sure if it was the same for you but a few years back it seemed a great idea to buy a lot of junk.
Action men, remote control cars, something illuminous orange with no discernable function etc - all in an ironic nod to childhood and because it was cheaper than buying anything more useful.
Now though, other than a small blue nodding thing, bright pink flamingo and a lie detector (ok so there are still a few things... but they were bought ages ago...) the house is fairly toy free.
Which is - in a round about way - good news for the environment.
It was reported yesterday that China is making more power plants than previously thought.
Not ideal in the battle against rising temperatures.
Cynics have thus returned from the woodwork to suggest that there is no point in us taking action if China is going to continue in this vein.
What they fail to dwell on though is that the Chinese are making more power to make more things so that they can sell them to us.
"Let us not forget that the average Chinese emits just 3.5 tonnes of CO2 per year, whereas Britons emit nearly 10 tonnes and Americans 20 tonnes. The West moved its manufacturing base to China knowing it was vastly more polluting than Japan, Europe or the US." Greenpeace.
So - yeah - older, wiser (ahem) and less likely to buy random items to clutter the living room.
It's not all bad.
x
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but had a nice lie in... |
You may have noticed previous moaning about my twisted ankle (if not, I twisted my ankle - 'moan like an irritating child' - it is so dull) which has somewhat hindered any crazy antics and causing of havoc.
As a plus though it has enforced a bit of a go slow which has actually been really refreshing.
One side effect is a new found ability to do the - ever energy efficient - sleeping thing.
Loads of it.
(I like to think it is due to its restorative powers rather than the fact that I am innately lazy...)
Anyhow - that is basically a long winded way of saying that, though there is all sorts of things to write about, I am late for work so instead have to hop out the door.
Ah well.
Have a fabulous day!
x
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or what...!? |
Well - possibly 'what' in most peoples eyes but for me, a moment of joy and wonder...
The parable of the dimmer switch
Ages ago in the dark mists of time we got the kitchen re-wired. There was amazement and awe when the electrician suggested the addition of a dimmer swicth.
No longer would winter mornings be seared onto our retinas with the harsh light of a full 60 watts. The struggle to locate the coffee granules could take place in gently increasing illumination.
But things were not all as they seemed.
Oh no.
Once the re-wiring had been finished and the general excitement of all was assured, the bomb shell came.
"What do you mean you can't use energy saving light bulbs with a dimmer switch...?"
Shock, tears, recrimination and much pounding of fists ensued*.
But there was nothing to be done.
The electrician had gone.
It was either a full fat bulb or some death defying DIY.
We chose full fat.
And a little bit of happiness fell from our lives.
But it came to pass that with time the wounds healed.
We began to accept that some things are as they are and not how we want them to be.
Until - one day news arrived of an astonishing nature.
As with the awakening of a coma victim, a miracle had happened.**
The energy efficient dimmer light bulb had been created and could be purchased from the Greenshop.
ANGEL SONG
Joy to the world!
N all that.
Have a crazy assed day out there. Don't try to top that for excitement though - someone could get hurt...
x
* Well - clearly it didn't but - hey - artisitc license and all.
** Is that going a bit far?
This section will be a daily, well - Monday to Friday daily, editorial. (Have to keep some time aside to keep up the ritual wine drinking / dancing as if being chased by bees.)
I promise to make it my mission to investigate something each day on exciting forays to find new stuff, fun stuff, ethical stuff and anything involving break dancing men with extremely toned physiques.
Let me know if you think of something I should go and visit or if you have any great ideas or information. (Any dodgy suggestions will be politely declined... or not so politely, depending entirely on what they are!)
For today, though, please just have a look below to find out how this whole thing came about. I hope that you are having a lovely morning.
See you tomorrow,
Susie x
Background to This is not my...
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What is this site all about?
Well, as all good ventures do, it started in the pub with the ominous words "I know, why don't we...?" |
What was different, though, was that it still seemed like a good plan in the morning (and somewhat less injurious than trying out extreme ironing, the other suggestion...)
Anyway - once again we had been supping beers and putting the world to rights when someone mentioned the unmentionable, despite our disaffection with the state of the world, none of us was actually doing anything positive to change it.
Whether this was complacency or apathy, who knows - but we were definitely leaving it to others to make decisions and take action for us on issues about which we felt strongly.
We live in a free society, but often things seem to happen as a fait accompli. The war in Iraq, ID cards, the fact that we will eventually succumb to watching some of Big Brother no matter how hard we try...
And we just go along with it. But that is ok, right? I mean, we aren't exactly encouraging the abuse of others - are we?
Ok - so maybe my new top might have been made under less-than-perfect conditions and I suppose that means I am supporting those conditions, but - I have to buy something to wear, so what other choice do I have?
And that was the problem. What - and where - are the choices?
So we decided to investigate. Surely in this free society we have other options; we just need to know how to find them.
So we went online. There are some great directories already for ethical and/or environmentally friendly products, but for us these didn't go far enough. We were on a bit of a roll and decided that these products deserved more active promotion.
We wanted to make as many people as possible aware of the practical things they can do to live life in a better way.
So on this site we will provide information about easy, positive and ethical consumer choices. These are choices that won’t necessarily cost you more, either.
In our directories you will find environmentally friendly and ethical companies and products across the following categories:
Clothes
Energy
Food and Drink
Health and Beauty
Home and Garden
Office
Recycling
Restaurants
You will also find plenty more to lure you back to the site on a regular basis. So come back to have a wee look.
Plus we will be working on video's, events and curious antics to keep important issues in the public eye – and provide us with much entertainment and amusement at the same time.
Give us a shout if you want to get involved!
Anyhow - take a look. Explore… investigate… probe away.
We hope you like it; we hope you use it.
