Change the World Wednesday – 30th Jul

The 26th was the third birthday for this blog. I have passed 200 followers and more than 1,000 ‘likes’. Actually, I got the 1337 (LEET) award for likes.

Ever wondered what this 1337 means, why that is significant?

No, me neither. But I stumbled across the answer in my browsing. It means ‘elite’ and stems from the code used principally by hackers, 31337, later shortened to 1337, LEET.

One more useless fact bought to your screen by too much coffee.

Small is back with us this week.

The world returns to normal.

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This week’s CTWW is about batteries.

The reusable type.

 

If you are not using rechargeable batteries, please make plans to buy them when you next need batteries. As you replace single-use versions, be sure to recycle them rather than toss them into the trash bin.

 

OR …

If you have already made the switch to rechargeable batteries, please find one single-use item in your home and replace it with a reusable version.

 

OR …

If you’ve banned single-use items from your life, please share one of your favorite “upgrades” to reusable.

 

I have had a bad experience with battery rechargers. I gave up on them as I had six go ‘fut’ within a short space of time and at around R$35 a time, that’s expensive.

I actually use very few batteries. I have my TV remote that I rarely use (I turn my TV off at the set), which leaves the batteries enough power to run my wall clock for a couple of months. So I get double use from my normal batteries.

I changed my camera from an external rechargeable battery type, to an internal rechargeable battery, that has never failed me.

That’s it! No other batteries in the house.

Sharing one of my favourite upgrades to “reusable”; here’s one that will surprise you:

Old pizza boxes

Yes, I upgrade, repurpose and recycle my pizza boxes.

When Clorinha was a kitten, she’s a big pussy now. I used my pizza box base with sand as a litter box.

When it’s full, put on the lid for easy stinkless disposal.

My litter boxes went on the compost heap, and turned over the compost on top. Two months later… POOF! All gone.

Now that she’s a big pussy, my pizza boxes go out for the recycle collection.

That’s all for this week.

 

Change the World Wednesday – 18th April

Time Flies - I found this on a photoshop contest, I've probably broken every copyright rule in the book, but you see more hre. http://www.freakingnews.com/Big-Ben-Pictures----1925.asp

Wow, the week has gone fast… again.

I find that as I get older times flies. It does, much faster than it used to. It seems only a short time ago that I used to comment on how fast the years went. Now I’m measuring the lightning speed of each week.

This week is weird. Monday, was normal, until the moment I put my foot out the door. Tue – Fri I have split days; yes, almost a week where I go to work twice in the same day. That’s incredibly tedious. I have already been to work, 7am start, and I have been back home for three hours. It has taken me that long to get back into my routine. If you do happen to flip back and read the Monday post, you’ll find that I have a very clever cat.

I have fish thawing for lunch. I am going to try a new idea. I have some Alaskan pollack, that I am going to poach in homemade tomato sauce with capers.

My big surprise last week. I won a prize.

Prizes just don’t normally enter my life. I have won very few and then of little value or consequence, so I was rather chuffed to win a copy of Born to Blood during the promotion week on Reduce Footprints guest post by SB Knight. Rather made my day.

I began reading it on reception. As I don’t have an eReader or a Kindle, Brian was kind enough to organise and send me a .pdf copy.

It’s the first novel that I have attempted to read via ‘the screen’ and it’s rather hard going. As an avid reader in the past, I do enjoy that ‘papery’ feel.

However, the book is worth the extra effort to concentrate. I’m a little more than half the way through, and getting to the interesting bit. I’ll keep you posted.

On with this week’s CTWW challenge:

This week take a walk and pick up trash. Then, come back here and tell us what you found (photos of what you collected would be great)!

Hmmm, great. This is something that I do as a matter of course. Especially around our local little praça (park). I hate seeing trash littering up the kids playground and the pathways. I used to make the effort on Sunday mornings, but since I have been confined to the walking stick, it’s not so frequent. I still do it occasionally. I pick up the roadside litter in front of my part of the street and wander along until I have filled a plastic shopping bag. No, not from my house, I find one somewhere in the park and use it; thereby recycling as well.

Some of the local kids in front of the praça

My camera is still having an identity crisis. Sometimes it decides it wants to be a camera, and sometimes not. At the moment it’s having an apoplectic fit and the battery cover is held in place by a rubber band. I have to get a new SD card as well, the one I have has decided it wants to be ‘read only’ and won’t let me erase images to make some room. Isn’t technology fun?

So there won’t be any pictures of me, or the rubbish. But I will give you a glimpse of the praça. The kids actually walked off and left the bottle and disposable cups on the ground, but threw them in the rubbish mumbling “velho caduco” (grumpy old man) after I drew their attention to the fact. A grumpy old man I maybe, but the praça is better for it. The photo is the view out my gate. Notice the old paralelopipado (paving stones) that make the roadway. Unfortunately they are being replaced by ashphalt as the road requires mending.

There you have it.