HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

The National Geographic Society doesn’t really use Star Trek teleporters to save money, but more importantly, valuable resources on travel.  It would have been cool though, right? Instead, they have been using LifeSize HD video conferencing equipment. It is a teleconferencing system that allows researchers, writers, and employees to get together in real time, from wherever they are on the planet.

Of course, they could always do a conference call, but you can’t exactly show people your dinosaur bone through the phone. Webcams might work, but they don’t exactly have “whole room” technology where multiple people can tune in at one location. I remember the old video conferencing units that were jumpy, and caused you to break down and pick up the phone instead. Nowadays, technology is more advanced, and you don’t have that unbearable ten second lag and “one at a time talking” that used to happen. Money is saved, fuel is saved, and productiviy has increased.  I would call that great stewardship of grants and donations!

Previously, I was introduced to and wrote about the Mosquito Magnet. It works on the principle of attracting and trapping the female egglayers, to keep you and your pets safe. After a few weeks, the mosquito population boom will bust. In the meantime, there are no harmful chemicals that will effect you, your dog, your cat, or wildlife. The attractant is carbon dioxide. The mosquitos are naturally attracted to it, thinking that it is naturally a trail to an air breathing, hot blooded mammal to bite.

Upon further reading, I discovered that octenol is a secondary ingredient. It mimics human breath, as 1-Octen-3-ol, the scientific name, is actually contained in sweat and breath.   DEET supposedly deadens a mosquito’s receptors for this, and that is why it repels skeeters.  Of course, DEET can be poisonous and is not a good choice for people who are sensitive to it, or to many pets.  The octenol in the Mosquito Magnet acts as “interference” and the mosquito is attracted to the larger source and gets trapped inside.  Black flies and those little gnats that I usually call “no-see-ums” also meet their maker.

I was very impressed by the information that was available from the manufacturer, both scientific info to file in my head, as well as practical “how to” information.  It is so importabt to be educated on the items you are using, especially if they control your environment.

Spring is in the air, and a few things usually happen. “Blue Sky Fever” runs through offices in epidemic proportions. This disease is caused by the weather being too beautiful to possibly go to work. If you are not in a relationship and wish to be, the season sometimes causes you to look a little more longingly at watching happy couples walk by. If you are in one, sometimes one hears wedding bells a little bit louder. In that case, and you are a gal whose guy agrees, than Diamonds may just be a girl’s best friend.

However, I am finding that while many people take care to buy American or environmentally friendlier automobiles and other big ticket items, they neglect to think about those things when it comes to diamonds. Diamonds, of course, are natural, so you don’t have to worry about any artificial poisons, etcetera. The big buzz about diamonds is making sure you are not buying “conflict diamonds.” What is a conflict diamond? According to United Nations, conflict diamonds, also called blood diamonds, are traded on the black market in war-torn areas. They sometimes find their way into the hands of legitimate dealers as well.

Diane Irvine, CEO for Blue Nile commented on the subject in an interview with Puget Sound Business Journal:

We take it very seriously. We have very rigid rules in place. We work with all our suppliers to ensure they are a legitimate source of diamonds. If customers are interested we are able to speak of that and assure customers we are a legitimate and clean source of diamonds.

First there was sustainable coffee, and fabrics, and now there seems to be sustainable diamonds. It seems that not only can you use Blue Nile because of the frugality of saving money, but you can also rest easy knowing that they strive to eliminate products that would go against your sensibilities.  If you make small purchases thinking about the bigger impact, think about the large ones too.  There is not necessarily a “necessary evil” lurking about.

There has been a lot of controversy over sprinklers in some parts of the country. When you live in a more arid climate, it may be better to xeriscape, by planting the right plant in the right place and using the minimum amount of water. On the other hand, what if you want to grow vegetables and don’t have the rainfall? Vegetables need more water than say, a cactus. The whole thing boils down to this: Are we getting brownie points for being frugal and sustainable by growing our own stuff, or are we being sustainable and frugal by not watering anything at all?

I think, maybe things really lay in the middle of the road. If you set up a sprinkler system at the top of the hill, it will all run down right? There is a website about

There was info on a website for Fort Worth Sprinkler Systems that brought up a good point:

A beautiful lawn and garden takes effort and money.If you take pride in doing much of the work yourself, you know how labor intensive that can be. You can do away with some of the work by using an automatic sprinkler system to take care of your lawn and garden.You won’t have to drag the garden hose out and try to guess at how much water everything needs.

In effect, if you use a sprinkler system strategically and sparingly, you could actually be using a lot less water. A hose creates a lot of run off if just let to sit. Also, if you time is at a commodity, you can have the veggie garden lightly misted while you clean up the house or the rest of the yard. Afterall, you want to get finished, as it is not good to water at the height of the day, even though sometimes that is when you have the time.