Blue Boat Home learning to live together sustainably

I've been seeing magazine and newsletter articles for some time promoting the new "smart" surge protector that shut off power to peripheral devices when a "master" device is turned off, but I figured we didn't need one because we usually turn off our power strips manually.  In practice, though, we often weren't turning off the one in the living room, because we'd turn off the TV with the remote and then walk away, go to bed, etc.  So I decided to pick up a Philips mo

This is a response to a blog post called "When will White People Stop Making Movies like Avatar?" by Annalee Newitz.  The post made me upset when I first read it, but I hadn't seen Avatar yet, and besides, her argument is protected by the good old rhetorical ploy, "If this makes you feel defensive, you must be a racist."  Now that I've seen the film, I disagree more strongly on a number of po

Simon has always scooted the water dish.  Ever since he was a kitten, he's spilled water on the floor by scooting the dish around with his paw.  I tried heavier dishes (but then you have to lift them to the sink), I tried putting obstacles in the way (but he can lift the bowl out), I tried putting heavy objects on top (but then you have to move them to get the dish out), I tried putting the dish inside a larger tray (but then it gets scummy an

My sister's blog featured a link to this recipe for a homemade hydration drink which sounds very palatable and effective.

Soon after I bought my first recumbent bike, I became a devotee of chain wax instead of oil.  When I was a kid, we always used 3-in-1 oil on our chains, but it only took one application of that stuff to the long dangly chain of a Bike-E to make me realize my error -- oil got all over my leg!  I had to remove all the oil with a rag and replace it with wax.  I was so sold on wax that once when I took my bike to a small-town shop for unrelated

Back in September, I wrote about our frustration in trying to follow Consumer Reports' guidance in buying appliances, including a dehumidifier (pictured at right).  Then in November I reported on the energy consumption of our appliances, including the dehumidifier, which was the number on

I like to dry laundry outside whenever possible, but Jessie's not into scratchy towels, nor ragweed, and the weather doesn't always cooperate, so we wind up using the dryer about half the time.  Our high-efficiency dryer is fantastic, but it can whip up a lot of static.  My anti-static gun was not helpful -- you'd need at least one extra arm (or a very atte

Many of my friends in Fairfield, Iowa, are in an uproar right now about a new cell-phone tower that, unlike the existing two towers on the outskirts of town, is near homes and a few blocks from an elementary school.  Here's some of the existing press about the controversy:

Jessie and I saw some solar-powered, LED Christmas lights for sale at Target and just knew we had to try them this year.  They're made by a company called New-Ray, and here's a commercial I just found, to give you an idea what I'm talking about: