This is not my... Week 4 2008
23/01/08 - A late entry
22/01/08 - Oh dear
21/01/08 - I want to ride my bicycle
23/01/08 - A late entry
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for the new years resolution list... |
So 'learn a break dance move' and 'avoid running for the train' have been going well.
(Aka - have been whole heartedly replaced with 'jogging for the train' and 'dancing like a monkey clinging an electric fence'.)
So I thought I would throw another in to the mix.
Yes - it's that darned insulation again.
It has been my mission to sort it out since October last year... as yet to no avail. Therefore, I am challenging myself to have it done one month today.
(Calendar month that is... well - at this rate - the extra two days could make or break!)
There really is no excuse though - the mayor is now giving all London residents cheap insulation (check out how to get yours here), you can just as easily order the Warmcell - more environmentally friendly stuff - on-line and my friend has already offered to put it in the loft for me.
So feeling pretty positive about this.
Cue inspirational Rocky montage music... Come on guys: 'It aint over till it's over...' - deep...
Have a good one.
Susie x
P.s. Insulation based facts nicked from the London gov. site:
"If all Londoners insulated their homes properly London could save up to 700,000 tonnes of CO2."
"If you home is un-insulated you could be losing around half of your homes heat loss through your walls and loft. Insulating your home could save you up to £200 a year on your energy bills."
Do it... do it... do it...
x
22/01/08 - Oh dear
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Not good news if you've been doing a spot of wheeling and dealing... |
With shares devaluing by (a totally incomprehensible number of) billions.
But - never fear, once again my utterly appalling rudimentary economics have the answer!
Investment and innovation in renewable energy. Especially solar.
(Yeay. Woo hoo. Etc.)
The guys at Nanosolar claim that they have just created the first cost efficient solar panels - which you just print. (See full Guardian article for a much better explanation.)
Which - if they work - would be incredible.
And the guys at American Scientist go further and give a full account of how the US can become a solar country - allowing it energy independence and to become a world leader in new technologies.
Ah yes - all we need to do is:
Spend More
(The age old Keynesian multiplier effect... I think... really should have paid more attention in Economics lessons...)
Anyhow - not one to shy from doing my bit and in a bid to help the global economy - I shall go straight out and buy some new shoes!
See - sacrificing for others again...
Have a good one.
Susie x
21/01/08 - I want to ride my bicycle
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I want to ride my bike... |
At home this weekend and chatting to my parents when the inevitable question came up.
"So, what are your plans for the year...?"
As ever they were praying for:
"Actually, you know, I might find a nice boy, settle down and make sure my full time job with health benefits has a good pension."
So dealt with:
"I might adapt an electric bike to run on solar power and cycle round the world."
quite well considering.
(If you can count 'I absolutely forbid it' as quite well...)
Anyhow - regardless of whether that happens or not, (anyone fancy a little trip?) I am newly enamored by these electric bikes.
They are amazing!
For long distance travel they aren't perhaps the quickest - but if you are trying to ditch the car around town but don't want to get sweaty on they way to work - they could be just the thing.
http://www.50cycles.com/index.shtml
http://www.schwinnbike.com/products/intbikes_category.php?id=1
Anyhow - back to the day job for now.
Have a great start to the week!
Susie x
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.
