There’s this common perception that real, healthy food like fresh fruits and vegetables are way overpriced compared to the unhealthy highly processed fake foods out there. Well, to lay the smack down on that the USDA just published a study showing the opposite is true. Listen to this: It turns out that when you drop the flawed metric of measuring the price of food as $/calorie and switch to something like $/serving, things turn out a lot better for real…
I just started something today that I am really excited about. I signed up for the National Bike Challenge, which seeks to get 50,000 people to ride 10 million miles by the end of August. The more you ride, the more points you get and the more points you get the more prizes you’re eligible for such as some pretty nice bikes or at least a water bottle. You can compete with people at your work or university. Anyway, I’m…
For about two months we have had a garage full of these: and one of these: Yeah, that’s right. Instead of blowing the extra cash flow from our tax return on something fun like a TV or vacation, Audrey let me air seal and insulate our attic and install a whole house fan. I know, that seems pretty lame. However, I had a few good arguments working for me: Insulating the attic would save us about $80 on our gas…
I have a confession. I never liked American cheese. I usually didn’t like the hamburger that it came on either. Honestly I never really liked many of the things kids were supposed to love. I always thought there was something wrong with me. I know for a fact that I drove my parents crazy with my picky eating. (Sorry about that Mom.) Nevertheless, I was the typical male college student by the time I left home. I couldn’t cook to…
We got a new toy at work that I have been dying to try out. The infra-red camera lets you see and take pictures of heat. About a week and a half ago we had a real cold snap outside so I took it as an opportunity to borrow it and try it out. Here’s what I found: I ventured inside to get a better idea of where the problem spots were . . . The good news is there…
In honor of Thanksgiving being this week, here’s a creative way to cook your turkey: Okay, so I really wanted to talk about light bulbs. I am a firm believer in doing things that are “green.” However, I am also a believer that those things should save me some green as well. As astute readers of our blog may have noticed, we bought an old house a few months ago. In an ongoing series of blog posts I’m going to…
When we were house shopping, commute time to my work was a very important part of the decision. We were quite adamant about it and had even picked out a neighborhood. Nevertheless, our real estate agent found it difficult to believe. We were shown several houses that were “only 15 minutes farther away” and supposedly cost less. Ultimately, we got our way and paid a little bit more for a shorter commute. Now as I leave work and turn onto…
Audrey has really been jonesing for a diaper sprayer lately. Buying one outright they cost $45, but the other day she found this tutorial on how to make one out of a few bits and pieces from Home Depot for allegedly around $20. So the Saturday before last we set out with our list of random plumbing parts. After staring at the wall of valves and nipples and compression fittings and toilet stoppers for about 15 minutes I made the…