Treehugger

We didn’t abuse the board – hand washing, drying it on edge on a towel so it didn’t stay damp, etc. I think the implementation is flawed – the bamboo apparently warps even under normal use (causing the gaps, faintly visible in the picture), and a single fall can easily snap one of the many seams. Perhaps layering it up in alternating directions or using notched strips would help. Or stronger glue. In any event, these are too fragile for our kitchen. Plus, there is no way to easily contact the company to complain (email? nope… web form? nope…), so I think we’re just going to trash it when it breaks again or becomes unsanitary from the gaps, and skip the TruBamboo next time. Anyone have luck with another kind?

I saw the new All Small & Mighty, Triple Concentrated Liquid Laundry Detergent, Free Clear (yes, that’s a mouthful), which comes in a small container, more like a dish detergent bottle. It isn’t much more expensive than the normal stuff, and with coupons & sales at CVS and Safeway, was actually much cheaper per load. I like the reduced packaging and resources used in shipping it to the store, as well as reduced space taken up at home – in a small apartment, storing big detergent bottles is a pain. And even better, it is easy to put in the laundry basket and haul down to the basement of the building – much better than standard size detergent bottles.

But does it work? Yes. I make sure to let some water run into the washer, add the (surprisingly small amount of) detergent, let the water run for a few more seconds to mix things up, then add the clothes. They smell fine – no problems. This review says that it turned into an unpourable “thick gel” after a while, so I’ve made sure to screw the cap on tightly. Hopefully we won’t have any such troubles, but you’ll hear about it here if we do.

Fortunately, we’ve been learning some basic knots, and in looking for one to lash a box closed, I came across Ian’s Shoelace Site. I love exhaustive niche sites, and this is a doozy. In five minutes, I learned to tie Ian’s Secure Shoelace Knot, and my life is better. It looks difficult, but basically you start like the classic shoe-tying knot, and then make a knot of two rabbit ears instead of doing the make-one-loop-and-tuck-the-other-one-through-the-middle thing. Or something like that. Really, the instructions are good, and this thing doesn’t come apart, even if mine isn’t quite as pretty as the photo on his page.

Once again, a bit of easily-learned skill beats out a $10 gizmo. Plus, I can use the knot with my black dress shoes as well. I’m no fashion maven, but wearing Speed Laces with a suit steps over even my line in the sand. Maybe if I’m really doing triathalons and need to shave seconds from changing shoes after the biking I’ll reconsider Speed Laces for my running shoes. But then again, there’s always “The World’s Fastest Shoelace Knot,” also courtesy of Ian.

Via Treehugger.

But I think we’re almost ready for it as a manufacturer option in the next few years – once people really internalize that they can use it just like a normal car, having the plug-in option to really crank that gas bill down will probably be a welcome improvement. Until then, the enthusiast hacker market can get it from EDrive right now.

Via Gizmodo.

Via Treehugger.

Via I4U.

Now I’m waiting for a good LED light for my home that charges via solar during the day, and gives off light like a candle at night. Nothing to plug in, no cables, no chargers…cool.

Source: TreeHugger.