Monday, November 17, 2008

rise #17

I hope this finds all of you well & at peace.

Green tip: Get a home energy audit and use the results as a plan for the next few years, taking on a couple of the items each year. The average American home spends around $1,300 – 2,000 a year on energy (depending on the source you check). Depending on your location and income bracket the audit could be anywhere from $0 – 250, and putting the fixes in place will also cost you money, but by the time you’re done, you’ll likely have cut your home energy bill in half. For more info and some DIY tips, check out the Department of Energy’s website at
DOE

Life tip: Breathe deeply. In fact, take 5 slow, deep breaths right now. Deep breathing relieves stress, expels toxins from the body and lowers blood pressure. Check out
Breathing for more benefits & a simple exercise.

“Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it.” - Soren Kierkegaard

“Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” – Oprah Winfrey

Interesting website/article: Want to build a motorized skateboard, hard drive, universal remote or IPod projector? Want to know how much gas your car uses, how to restore deleted computer files, or when your coffee is ready to drink? Check out
http://www.popsci.com/diy

“The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want.” – Ben Stein

Yummy recipe: Eat nuts! They’re high in protein, omega 3’s and delicious (but they’re also high in calories, so use them as a replacement for other foods). For more info check out
NutInfo. And for recipes check out NutRecipes
RK

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

rise #16

Happy November & more importantly an end to the political ads! YAY!

Green tip: When driving your car, if you’re going to be stopped for at least 10 seconds turn your car off instead of idling. Check out this very short article and save gas & money (likely savings are $50 – 100 per year)
http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/myths/idling.html

Anyone think the car in the picture looks sweet?!?

“A refillable glass bottle used over and over requires about 10 percent as much energy per use as an aluminum can that is recycled. Cleaning, sterilizing, and re-labeling a used bottle requires little energy compared with recycling cans made from aluminum, which has a melting point of 660 degrees Celsius (1,220 degrees Fahrenheit). Banning non-refillables is a quintuple win option - cutting material use, carbon emissions, air pollution, water pollution, and garbage flow to landfills. There are also substantial transport fuel savings, since the refillable containers are simply back-hauled by delivery trucks to the original bottling plants or breweries for refilling.” – Plan B 3.0 by Lester Brown

Interesting website/article: Grist has environmental news, commentary & humor. Check it out at
http://www.grist.org/

Life tip: Set goals for yourself, be it financially, getting work accomplished, learning a new skill or language. Make your goals aggressive but possible, as if they’re too difficult you may get frustrated and give up, or too easy and you might not gain anything from the experience. First set out a few long term goals, then chunk them into smaller, more manageable shorter term goals, as you’ll then be able to see specific progress and can re-evaluate as needed.

"Do, or do not. There is no 'try’." - Jedi Master Yoda

Yummy recipe: Peach ice cream, mmmmm.
http://www.recipegoldmine.com/nosugaradded/peach-ice-cream.html Check out additional non-sugar recipes at http://www.recipegoldmine.com/nosugaradded/nsa.html

Ross
http://rise-rk.blogspot.com