Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Happy Earth Day!


Go hug a tree!!!

1. Bank Online - Online Banking, BillPay and Paperless Statements
Not only will you save time and money with online services, you'll help the environment. If every U.S. household stopped receiving paper bills and statements, 687,000 tons of paper would be saved every year, enough to circle the Earth 239 times.
Javelin Strategy and Research: www.payitgreen.org/get-the-facts.html

2. Bright Idea

At home, replace your light bulbs with CFL bulbs. If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star qualified bulb, it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars¹.
¹www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls

3. B.Y.O.Bag
Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide. That amounts to over one million per minute. Billions of bags end up in land fills each year. When shopping, bring your own reusable bags. Most grocers offer them for less than $1.50. The reusable bags preserve resources by cutting down on the huge number of paper and plastic bags that are discarded annually.
www.reusablebags.com/facts.php

4. Give up the Glow
A screen saver is not an energy saver. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 75% of all electricity consumed in the home is standby power used to keep electronics running when those TVs, DVRs, computers, monitors and stereos are "off.” For example, turning off your computer when not in use would save you about $70 a year. The carbon impact would be even greater; shutting it off would reduce the machine's carbon emissions by 83%. Unplug to save more.
www.time.com/time/specials/2007/environment

Bonus Tip: Pass the Green Torch
Going green with your children is a great way to spend time together, have fun as a family, and develop habits in your children that will benefit the environment for years to come. Check out www.kidsbegreen.org to help your children go (and grow) green! Give your kids the responsibility for your family's recycling program. Consider matching whatever they earn through recycling. They'll learn about going green and saving money at the same time.
www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/green-living/ways-to-go-green-4

Want to know your financial paper footprint? Click here

Monday, April 13, 2009

Vail Powder Day

Two weekends ago, Melissa and I drove up to Vail and had the best powder day of the season. With more than five feet in the past two weeks and a report of 13 inches Saturday morning, we were knee deep in powder while it continued to dump all day. We spent the majority of our time in Sun Down Bowl, with hardly anyone else in sight!

NOTE: This is my first movie using iMovie. The video is from our digital cameras, so the quality and lighting is bad. I'd like to have some tracks slowed down or sped up, but this program does not allow that in the version I have. Anyways, enjoy a very amateur video.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Friday, April 3, 2009

RitzSushi

The new frontier in metropolitan cuisine.

~Main Course~
Cheeses, veggies, herbs & dips.


~Dessert~
A shot of organic milk with banana, chocolate, strawberry preserves & cocoa powder.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Begining A New Era

I have decided to get a fresh start on life.
With the worsening economy, print publications going down the drain and my itch for adventure, I have pulled together all my savings, the $50.23 that is left in my 401k plan which I contributed to over the past six years, sold off my iTunes collection to a 95 year old grandmother in Iowa and packed up my belongings.

"Brazil or Bust!," my sign said as I stuck out my thumb along I-25 in Denver. I got some strange looks, a dollar from a guy in a shiny Beamer, and no ride. So I turned to DIA and a 10 hr flight to Macapa. There goes the cash from my iTunes transaction.

After arriving in the wet city of Macapa, I decided to hoof it into the jungle and see what I could see on the way. From thousand foot waterfalls of Guarna to 20 inch tall pigmies, nuts that fell from the canopy and made my stomach turn when I ate them to bright orange flamingos that followed my every step, I saw it all.

After 39 days and 39 nights of trekking through inland Brazil, I arrived at my destination – Sugancuan Transhumance (Stilted Pasture Hut).

ST, as I like to call it, will be my home now. Similar huts are used as temporary shelter by local people, but I will be taking up permanent residence in mine. My 401k withdrawal should cover rent for a couple years. I'm like a king here!

There is no internet access, but the cell phone signal is phenomenal. Even better than when I lived in Denver. So I will blog and text via Verizon. I've actually set up a contract with Verizon as supplemental income. Every time I mention Verizon in my blogs, I get a dollar, Verizon. So at this Verizon rate, I should be able to save up for another Verizon year at Casa de ST very soon. Verizon.

Well, that's it for now. I need to head out for a Giant Peccary hunt this evening. They taste great in a Shepard's Pie. Everyone is more than welcome to visit at anytime. Just bring along your blow darts and a few songs for my iPod would be appreciated.

Signing off from the ST - Adeus e tenha um bom dia