Energy Vampires?

Megan in California reminded me of something I read the other day:

"At some point, you might look into the energy savings of unplugging appliances that one is not using at the moment. Even when our machines are turned off, if they’re plugged in they’re drawing small amounts of energy, and over time those small amounts can add up, adding stress to our power plants and grids, and dollars to our monthly energy bills."

So true!

From StopGlobalWarming.org

Unplug Un-Used Electronics

Even when electronic devices are turned off, they use energy. Save over 1,000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $256 per year.

From The People's Media

Become a Vampire Slayer: How to Cut Hidden Energy Costs in Your Home

Jane owns a computer, a DVD/VCR player, a stereo, an electric treadmill, a cordless phone and a digital camera. John doesn't own any of these electronic devices. So that probably accounts for Jane's higher energy usage, right? But she doesn't use these devices on a daily basis. She leaves them plugged in, but she makes sure they are all turned off when they're not in use to help save electric. Unfortunately, "off" doesn't really mean "off" when it comes to energy-sucking electronics. Jane needs to learn how to become a Vampire Slayer and cut hidden energy costs in her home.

The term "Vampire" has been widely used to describe electronic devices that suck power even when they're turned off.

"Vampire" seems to be an appropriate term since they suck power with their "two teeth", or, the prongs of the plug when it's placed in an outlet.

If you're wondering whether wasted Vampire power is really a problem across the United States, then consider these facts: according to the EnergyStar website, televisions waste approximately 25% in Vampire power. VCR's suck up about 30%, and cordless phones eat up a whopping 66%.

As far as your electric bill is concerned, if you have very many Vampires in your home that are sucking up power even when appliances are turned off, you can be spending approximately 10 - 20 percent more on your monthly bills than you need to. It's estimated that the electricity that's lost to Vampires in the United States is somewhere between $1 billion to $3.5 billion every year.

If you need further proof of this energy hog, turn off all of the lights in your home, then walk around and take a quick tour. You'll see two dots on your microwave's control panel, maybe an illuminated "on/off" button on your stereo, lit-up clock displays and probably many more tiny lights that use electric. Other energy Vampires are chargers, printers, cordless power tools, power adapters and low voltage transformers.

So, how can you become a Vampire Slayer and cut hidden energy costs in your home? It's really pretty simple. Unplug electronic devices like microwaves, televisions, stereos and cell phone chargers when they're not in use.

Oh yeah...

Alright, alright. I'm a total geek. I've been re-reading the 6th Harry Potter book to prepare fr the summer release of the 7th book (yipee!). I'll admit it. I'm thoroughly hooked. Not the more literary, most philosophical, most unqiye story-telling... but DAMN its fun and makes me weepy.

However. While reading I discovered this passage which I think means something to us now... check it:

"Don't you see?Voldemort himself craeted his worst enemy, just as tyrants everywhere do. Have you any idea how uch tyrants fear the people the oppress? All of them realize that, one day, amonst their many victims there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back!" - Dumbledore

Bush? Kim? That jerk bully from middle school?

They got it coming...

New GREEN blog

Not the Green Party, though it will be a party in the name of green!

I've started a new blog called EASY BEING GREEN.

I've started an online experiment/blog that will track my work towards a green life. Follow my experiments in reducing my carbon footprint and energy usage with easy practical methods and changes. We'll see what works, what is easy, and what really helps. Then T=try some of these ideas yourself!

This is a chance to share how easy and cost-efficient green living can be. It's not green evangelism, it's a shared experiemnt in the convenient truth of living in a eco-friendly way.

Watch, learn, and join me! Let's make a difference adn prove that it's EASY BEING GREEN!

Cool!... I mean warm... whatever

OSLO, Norway - Former Vice President Al Gore was nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his wide-reaching efforts to draw the world’s attention to the dangers of global warming, a Norwegian lawmaker said Thursday.

“A prerequisite for winning the Nobel Peace Prize is making a difference, and Al Gore has made a difference,” Conservative Member of Parliament Boerge Brende, a former minister of environment and then of trade, told The Associated Press.

Brende said he joined political opponent Heidi Soerensen of the Socialist Left Party to nominate Gore as well as Canadian Inuit activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier before the nomination deadline expired Thursday.

more here

Things I liked in 5th grade that I still like now

1) Converse All Star High Tops
In 5th Grade they were purple with curly shoe laces. Now they're black

2) Gummi Bears
Nuff said.

3) Mac n' Cheese from a box
In 5th Grade, the blue box. Now I go for the organic kind.

4) Coloring with Crayons

Its remarkably theraputic.

5) Knowing the right answer and getting credit for it

Never goes of style

6) Watching the Oscars

So dreamy!

7) My sis and I sleeping together on Christmas Eve so we can wake up at the same time

So precious, I know, but true. Dave got to witness this odd behavior this year :) Welcome to the fam!

Red Eye

How Do We See Red? Count the Ways

(NYT.com)

Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us, that sweet Hallmark holiday when you can have anything your heart desires, so long as it’s red. Red roses, red nighties, red shoes and red socks. Red Oreo filling, red bagels, red lox.

As it happens, red is an exquisite ambassador for love, and in more ways than people may realize. Not only is red the color of the blood that flushes the face and swells the pelvis and that one swears one would spill to save the beloved’s prized hide. It is also a fine metaphoric mate for the complexity and contrariness of love. In red we see shades of life, death, fury, shame, courage, anguish, pride and the occasional overuse of exfoliants designed to combat signs of aging. Red is bright and bold and has a big lipsticked mouth, through which it happily speaks out of all sides at once. Yoo-hoo! yodels red, come close, have a look. Stop right there, red amends, one false move and you’re dead.

Such visual semiotics are not limited to the human race. Red is the premier signaling color in the natural world, variously showcasing a fruitful bounty, warning of a fatal poison or boasting of a sturdy constitution and the genes to match. Red, in other words, is the poster child for the poster, for colors that have something important to say. “Our visual system was shaped by colors already in use among many plants and animals, and red in particular stands out against the green backdrop of nature,” said Dr. Nicholas Humphrey, a philosopher at the London School of Economics and the author of “Seeing Red: A Study in Consciousness.” “If you want to make a point, you make it in red.”

read more here

Birthdays

Today is my birthday. It's lost its initial 5th Grade luster of course, but is still a moment to reflect. A quarter of a century old... damn...

I've changed a lot the last few years, as people often do. I've grown, grown up, grown close, grown together, grown into my my skin and my love and my... my words. You know its hard not to be a bit cheesy when talking about yourself. Forgive.

I've started sending my mother birthday cards on my birthday... a big, girly Carebear birthday card that said thanks for having me. She did the work, from now on she gets the credit... and a carebear card :)

Good work, Mom!

Gush Gush Gush

So I posted a while back about my boyfriend's film THE SIGNAL making it to Sundance Film Festival. Well, the dust has settled ... and the kicked royal butt!

To be virtual nobodies from Atlanta (not exactly the film capital of the world) and to show up at one of the most prestigious and closely watched film festivals in the world AND end up selling your film (one of only about 20 or so out of 125 films)... needless to say, IT'S A BIG DAMN DEAL.

Atlanta-made 'Signal' gets sold at Sundance

More importantly though... is that it's not a big deal. They deserve this. This is a bit of a girlfriend gush, but the fact is that these film makers are talented, uniquely attuned to culture and art, and smart as hell. It should be obvious that they are making waves with this strange, beautiful, horror-filled film.

Quint saw THE SIGNAL at Sundance! Did he think it was the worst of the fest or the discovery of Sundance?

Sure it's a great underdog story (small-town boys make it big) - but the real story is that true artists made it big. They aren't selling there souls for fame, and they aren't in it for the money (there isn't that much floating around at present, though some articles would make you believe the contrary: see "Low-budget horror film signals a Hollywood ending for four Atlanta filmmakers") . David is finally prepared to start a career making films that should be made, and films that are done well. This is the true bonanza.

I couldn't be more proud and more curious as to David's next step (and all of the filmmakers and artists involved in the project). Its a good day for independant art.

The team!
(From left): Jacob Gentry, AJ Bowen, Dan Bush, Cheri Christian, Alexander Motlagh, David Bruckner, actor Scott Poythress and actor Chad McKnight from "The Signal" at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. CREDIT: Mark Mainz/Getty Images

God bless groundhogs

Bucking a trend, Punxsutawney Phil doesn't see shadow

February 2, 2007

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A new pair of hands pulled Punxsutawney Phil from his stump this year, so it was only fitting that the groundhog offered a new prediction.
Phil did not see his shadow on Friday, which, according to German folklore, means folks can expect an early spring instead of six more weeks of winter.

Since 1886, Phil has seen his shadow 96 times, hasn't seen it 15 times and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

The last time Phil failed to see his shadow was in 1999. (Watch fuzzy Phil make his prediction, the crowd goes wild )

More than 15,000 revelers milled about in a misty snow waiting for the prediction, as fireworks exploded overhead and the "Pennsylvania Polka" and other music blared in the background.
Sammi Gainor, 17, said she and her father first attended the ceremony about four years ago.

"Since then it's really been just good memories of things I do together with my dad," she said.

"It's just kind of fun seeing people go so crazy about a groundhog," Richard Gainor said.

God bless groundhogs, and God bless America...