Home & Garden: The Big Chill

Are you looking for a bit of retro for your kitchen? I found the perfect fridge and stove combination for you. Created by a Boulder Colorado company called Big Chill, these 50's looking stoves and refrigerators will remind you of the ones grandma had.

Unlike grandmas, these are state of the art products with the latest in features and technology. All are available in an array of "fifties" colors and can be shipped anywhere in the United States.

I don't know what our decorating instructors would say about lime green kitchen appliances, but, I think these things are groovy!

Personal Finance: Protecting Our Parents and Grandparents

The New York Times ran an article late last week titled Bilking the Elderly with a Corporate Assist. My first reaction was an urge to "wring some necks." Conning money out of the elderly is one of the lowest, dirtiest crimes in the world.

After taking a deep breath, I realized that this article is a wake-up call for all of us. As our population ages, we need to protect our parents, grandparents, and older friends, from these types of legal crimes. Once a senior gives up information to a phone solicitor, that information can be used over and over to drain a bank account. Some banks work to deny those electronic withdrawals, but, some get through and they are technically legal. According to the article, some banks like Wachovia even seem complicit in the process by facilitating the transactions according to the article.

What can you do. First, Read the article. It's a good starting place. Second, talk with the elders in your care about not giving out banking and private information over the phone. If they are interested in a product, have the company send a brochure so you can help them make sure the company is valid. Lastly, stay informed. Checkout the State Attorneys website on occassion at access.wa.gov for scams that are targeting the elderly and make sure your loved ones know to be aware.

As with many things in life, knowledge is truely power.

Self Discovery: Read to Expand Your Mind

Reading is good. You have been told that since kindergarten. Reading makes you a better person, gets you your next promotion, and expands your knowledge base in incredible ways. Reading should be part of everyones life.

Reading for a purpose is very different than reading for recreation. You have to prepare in a different way and be very systematic in how you go about it. For professionals, time spent reading is as important as sleep and education.

I stumbled across a great article on the Productivity 101 website that had some great tips on reading to expand your knowledge. I picked up three key things from this article:

• Read Outside Your Field... I have a wide variety of interests. Even with this wide variety, as a professional I need to keep expanding what I know. Reading is a easy way to do this.
• Don't Be Afraid to Give Up... If the book is not engaging you or you don't really get it, move on to something else. If you are forcing the issue you will just be wasting time and not actually learning anything.
• Take Notes... I have started keeping a small notepad with my books. Make notes about things you learn that you want to investigate, other books to read and key concepts you want to remember. Just writing the notes will increase your retention greatly.

Checkout the article for more information. Don't forget about Community Educations Reading and Writing workshops.

Home and Garden: Slugs on the March

We’ve all had that sinking feeling of checking on our young garden plants only to find their leaves stripped off the stems by slugs or snails. Staring open-mouthed in disbelief at the pathetic remains, we find our shock quickly followed by indignation and then desperation as we try to think of some way to keep the pests away. But before you reach for the snail bait, you might want to consider some other less toxic ways of getting the job done. (Pets and birds may also like those tasty little pellets.)

The Sustainable Gardening Tips website offers seven methods for controlling garden snails and slugs, including beer and salt lines. If you have other ideas of your own to suggest, please share them by clicking on “comments” below. We can use all the help we can get!

Photography: Create Your Own Wallpaper

Ran across this great little tip on the Dumb Little Man Blog. This blog aways has great tips and tricks for everyday living and technology. The article explained how to take any picture and prepare it to be turned into wall-sized art.

The process requires knowing someone who has Adobe Illustrator, but, I bet a local print shop could help with the process. There was also a link in the article to a more detailed story in Wired magazine about large format printing and where to ship your picture once it's ready to have it printed in large format.

Can you imagine the possibilities for your kid's rooms? I personally would love to have one wall in my entertainment room covered with a print from Star Wars or the 'bullet" scene from Matrix!
photo: courtesy of Dumb Little Man website

Click here for the article.