Living In Syn: October 2008

Friday, October 31, 2008

Low-water use landscaping, here and there

Here's another information resource about landscape water conservation in Pima County: http://ag.arizona.edu/pima/smartscape/

If you have similar resources for your location, if distant from the desert southwest, please share in the comments section. What kind of water conservation efforts exist in more moist climates? For example, the Portland Water Bureau provides information for its customers at http://www.portlandonline.com/WATER/index.cfm?c=29334

Tucson Water Home Toilet Rebate and Toilet Information for All!

I installed my water efficient toilets in October 2006, so I can't make use of this, but maybe you can. Tucson Water is offering rebates to help qualifying customers replace old, inefficient pre-1991 toilets with new, high-performance, water-efficient toilet fixtures. See this website for a list of over 200 USEPA-approved toilets. (Readers who don't live in Tucson can check this out, too.) http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pp/find_het.htm

If any of you, my readers, make use of information on this Blog, will you let me know in the comments section? I'd like to hear if any of this makes any practical difference. Thanks!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Resources regarding electronic recycling and environmental solutions

I've been looking for work, and giving some of these social/professional networking sites a try. I got this tidbit from a Sustainability Professionals group discussion on LinkedIn. Take note of the disclaimer, but see if any of this information helps you make decisions about what to do with electronic waste.

SmartEE Consulting: smart e-recycling and environmental solutions
http://www.smarteeconsulting.com/resources/

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

NaNoWriMo loves HeatherHeather

Well, I did it. You can track my progress and goofy communiqués at the NaNoWriMo Website. Wouldn't it be cool if I could sell the results of this effort to pay child support? (Wait until I tell you THAT story. Stay tuned.)

NaNoWriMo: Write a 175-page novel in a month

It's that time again... and THIS time I'm gonna do it. Perhaps I'll be able to keep you posted. (You never know with this blog...) Check out this excerpt from the site's 'About' page. Then register, if you dare, and donate, if you care...

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

What is NaNoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

In 2007, we had over 100,000 participants. More than 15,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

So, to recap:

What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time.

Who: You! We can't do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let's write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.

Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era's most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.

When: You can sign up anytime to add your name to the roster and browse the forums. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

Still confused? Just visit the How NaNoWriMo Works page!

Bibliofile and other adventures

I'm trying to get back to some semblance of normal life after the devastating events of late (more about those another time). In revisiting the blog, I found myself overwhelmed by my sidebar of links. I don't want to lose easy access to these resources, so I'll put them here in a post. We'll see what happens with the sidebar later.

Enjoy...

Sustainability

Arid Lands Newsletter

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

Office of Arid Lands Studies

Rainwater Harvesting for Dry Lands