Category: environment

Last Chance! Buy Now!

On By JohnIn environment, finance, home improvement, politics, vote with your walletLeave a comment

I think the marketing department for dead-tree magazines needs to go back and think carefully about their sales model.

I used to have a subscription to a certain magazine that focused on Pacific Coast/Mountain lifestyle and modern architecture. I didn’t renew. So they poured on the marketing to try getting me to resubscribe. I keep getting these stupid-assed “Last chance to renew!” “You’ll never get another!” letters, postcards, and emails.
Really? Last chance? Never get another? I don’t think those phrases mean what you think those phrases mean.
What’s to stop me from picking up another copy from a newsstand, taking out one of the four hundred little post-paid subscription cards, and filling it out to get another 24 months for ten bucks?
Oh, right: my loss of interest in your magazine.

Brilliant

On By JohnIn environment, home improvementLeave a comment

Spotted this on one of the British shed blogs — I really like the idea of a detached, functional, year-round home office space. In fact, I’ve been wanting to build one in my own back yard for some time, but haven’t settled on size, cost, savings, or style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag8M90UaSZ0

Now, though, that my daily commute is up to 40 miles (at 15mpg), it’s starting to make more sense to work from home a bit more often and my existing “office” at the house is everything except office-like. Time to redouble my efforts I think.

Good Idea

On By JohnIn environment2 Comments

Not ideal for your ECB, GHB, or your lightweight BOB, but for general camping, these are a neat idea.

Looks like it’s just inexpensive mini Dixie bath cups, some sawdust (don’t use pressure-treated stuff), and a bit of unscented paraffin to coat the sawdust and bind it all loosely together.

Might need to whip some of those up.

Everything’s Fine

On By JohnIn environment, reality, vehicles, workLeave a comment

On account of Zombie Snowpocalypse 2011 ™ and the surprising number of employees working from home or just taking the day off because it’s, uh, snowing in Colorado, I’ll be working from work today.

Roads are completely clear and empty.

—

Zombie Snowpocalypse 2011 ™: Hey, that’s just how the media has been portraying this, the first storm of the season, so that’s what I’m going to call it. They got everyone worked into a frenzy so they’re now terrified to go outside. There were even runs on grocery stores yesterday while the citizenry panicked and bought up all of the perishable items. Alas, for the well-prepared and aware, even if it turns out to be 16″ of snow for the metro area like some talking head predicted, it’s just business as usual.