The Good Stuff

Landfill Harmonic. Kind of puts it all in perspective,...

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:24:00 -0500

Landfill Harmonic.

Kind of puts it all in perspective, don’t ya think?

When was the last time you…

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:50:15 -0400

When was the last time you…

The Story of Stuff

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:38:00 -0400

The Story of Stuff:

Everyone needs to watch this brilliant, enlightening piece. Go ahead, click it—it gets your brain on the right track.

TerraCycle -- Outsmarting Waste

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:15:21 -0400

TerraCycle -- Outsmarting Waste:

These guys got it. I learned about TerraCycle a few years ago when I was buying their liquid worm poop and their organic deer-be-gone stuff. Boy have they changed. Now they’re going the full monty and are administering FREE programs that pay us consumers (yeah, they actually PAY us!) to help collect non-recyclable packaging, which is then upcycled or recycled into eco-friendly products. It’s that simple - they’ve partnered with folks on both end of the consumption spectrum - the waste generators (in terms of packaging), like Kraft and Nabisco, and then the waste recyclers (manufacturers worldwide) who then make re-sellable products. And they pay us to get stuff from point A to point B.

And check out what we can send them to recycle (and we send for free, too): stuff like flip flops, scotch tape dispensers, old pens (!), chewing gum packaging, corks, and so much more! And again, they pay us for this stuff!

It’s a win win win, for the manufacturer, the consumer, schools/churches/clubs who join a “brigade,” and best of all, the environment. No more excuses for any of us!

Kickstarter: Fund & Follow Creativity

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:48:00 -0500

Kickstarter: Fund & Follow Creativity:

This one just in - and it’s a site extremely worth your time poking around on. The concept is beautiful in its simplicity, described as a new form of commerce and patronage. Say you have a great creative idea—small or large—that you’re passionate and sincere about and want to pursue, but you need funding to push it forward. Kickstarter provides a forum for you to clearly articulate your idea and put a shout out for funding to the millions of people who have their eye on this site. And for a very specified time frame, you have the floor. You can even have the floor if you don’t need funding and just want to get the word out about your project. All ideas must be creative. And best of all - it’s free. Kickstarter only take a very small and fair cut if your project ultimately meets its funding goals.

Seriously. Take a look. I hope it’s the look of the future.

Ever wonder… how much of the water actually makes it...

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:52:00 -0500

Ever wonder…

how much of the water actually makes it into their mouths? I do, because so damn much of it always ends up on the floor, at least at our house.

Seems like a lot of work, doesn’t it?

How many people really recycle the tubes from the toilet paper...

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:41:00 -0500

Time for Tubeless TP (seriously)

How many people really recycle the tubes from the toilet paper rolls? Not me, usually. And I’m not the only one; according to last week’s Independent, 17 billion TP tubes are produced yearly in the US, and we throw most of ‘em away, resulting in some 160 million pounds of trash. And I know I could check out Greenpeace’s Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide (and so could you) to find out which brands are environmentally sound, but I won’t, because we’ll just continue to get the same Kirkland brand TP we always do at Costco.

Or maybe not. Apparently Kimberly-Clark (home of Kleenex, Cottenelle, and Scott brands) is rolling out to Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs in the northeast a tubeless roll of TP. Not only will it not unravel, as one might expect, but it’ll allow us to use every last piece of TP in the package (saving us from having to pick off glued-on remainders in those desperate moments). And the best part is that 40% of the toilet paper itself will come from either recycled sources or sustainably grown forests—and by the end of this year, NONE of it from Canada’s Boreal Forest, the largest old growth forest in the continent. That’s right. We’re wiping our bums with first-growth splendor.

We can thank Greenpeace for the major paradigm shift, who, along with other environmental groups, leaned on the paper giant to do the right thing. Now it’s our turn, even if it means having to go to Walmart for awhile to do it. Time to put our money where our, well, you know.
You can check out the Indy article here.

I didn’t actually go in and sniff around, but my pal Maria...

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:55:00 -0500

I didn’t actually go in and sniff around, but my pal Maria and I probably shoulda. We did stop and smile though.

Curb New Purchases - Swap Instead

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 10:49:00 -0500

Curb New Purchases - Swap Instead:

I’d be so remiss if I didn’t post this bit I found in this morning’s News and Observer. The point of this story (“Web Gives Swap Shops a Global Spin”) is that, rather than, when we need something, giving in to our first instinct to buy it new, consider obtaining that item or service instead by trade. Think of all the good this generates. We demand just a bit less from the planet as we re-use, rather than toss out (straining landfills) and buy (straining natural resources). We get the satisfaction of community interaction, we get our neighbor what she needs and give her the opportunity to help us out. The good generated here just keeps on generating. So, just to get started, here’s a website that points you in local places to begin swapping online: www.communityswapshop.com/regions. Elsewhere try swap.com (for books, movies, and CDs), snapgoods,com (to rent stuff you don’t use much, like ice cream makers or underwater cameras), relayrides.com (car borrowing), dignswap.com (clothes and accessories), and timebanks.org (personal time and services). This rocks.

Free Hugs Ok, so, given that the original “Free Hugs” video has...

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:32:00 -0500

Free Hugs

Ok, so, given that the original “Free Hugs” video has been viewed more than 66 million times on YouTube, this post can’t come as new news to many. But to be honest, this concept, as well as this video, was my original inspiration for blogging.

The video I have here isn’t the original. Back in 2004 an Australian known only as “Juan Mann” suffered some serious depression and while out one night was approached by a total stranger—who simply hugged him. That was all it took. He started the “Free Hugs” campaign, which, apparently, happens all over the world now. These hugs are meant to be random acts of kindness—selfless acts done just to make others feel better.

This particular video features Free Hugs in Hollywood. Make sure your volume’s working, as it’s accompanied by a way familiar tune done by a completely unexpected artist. Note the color change.

Am I the only one who gets all misty when I watch this?

Dos Perros Wins Best In Class!

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:25:00 -0500

Dos Perros Wins Best In Class!:

Well, they didn’t get some of the details right (Charlie blew into town in 2002, not 2005), and they described Jujube more than Dos Perros, but that’s OK. Today Greg Cox proclaimed Dos Perros “Best In Class, Contemporary Mexican.” He’s the food writer for our local newspaper. (Just click on the link above, when you get to the website, just use their down arrow to get to Dos Perros.)

Congratulations Charlie and Crew at Dos Perros!

Promising Treatment for Coke/Meth Addicts, Starting in Durham, NC!

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:55:00 -0500

So here’s something going on right here in Durham that also rocks, but very differently from the way Jack and Mick do. A long post, I know.

Right now I’m doing contract work for Duke, writing for a few websites across the organization. One of my favorite parts is contacting Duke researchers, usually those connected with translational research, learn what they’re up to, and then write about their work in a way that the rest of us can understand. When I took this position, I didn’t think it’d be nearly as interesting as it’s turning out to be—or as chalk full of genuine goodness. Here’s an example of what I mean.

Dr. Tong Lee is a super-interesting and surprisingly laid-back guy who works at the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences - picture below. I visited him recently in his lab (located in a building that smells suspiciously like hay and mouse poop) to learn more about the research he’s doing to help addicts beat their meth and cocaine addiction. Cool already, huh?

I didn’t know (did you?) that there’s a drug combination out there that, if given to coke or meth addicts in two separate doses over a couple-week period, will literally—and I mean literally—erase the memory of how bad it feels when a high wears off (which is what inspires the cravings addicts have for more meth or coke; not necessarily to feel good, but to avoid feeling really really bad). It’s true. If you give a coke or meth addict a dose of the generic equivalent of Ritalin, it gives them a soft-core high similar to, but not nearly as intense as what they’d normally get from coke (or meth). Those effects will last for about 3.5 hours, after which time they’re given the generic equivalent of Zofran (an anti-vomiting drug usually administered to those in chemo). This second dose slips in as the high’s wearing off to “chip away” at that mountain of memory that houses the pain and dis-ease that happens when a coke/meth buzz wears off. And if you give these people this dual dose once a day for a couple weeks—the cravings go away! Their brain has literally been altered, and their physical memories of the after-effects of coke/meth are gone.

Now, as cool as this is, it’s not ideal, particularly because drug addicts aren’t notorious for complying with treatment. Get ‘em sortta high and the chance that they’ll take round two 3.5 hours later is pretty slim. And treatment clinics don’t want to be responsible for making sure they do – they have their hands full already.

So here’s where Dr. Lee and his team comes in. They’ve actually worked with two pharmaceutical companies to make a drug that combines both the Ritalin/Zofran equivalents into one pill; a pill that delivers the Ritalin/high effects immediately, and then, 3.5 hours later, the Zofran/memory-erasing part. A beautiful and necessary efficiency. No need for addicts to remember their second dose; no need for drug clinics to babysit addicts for 3.5-hour stretches of time.

And Durham addicts will be the first to try it out. Any minute now Dr. Lee’s team will get the green light from the FDA to move forward, and when they do (anticipated in the next couple weeks), they’ll take this combo drug treatment to the Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers (TROSA), a comprehensive, long-term, residential substance abuse recovery program right here in Durham, NC. There, volunteers will get the single-dose treatment for two weeks, and my friends the researchers have every reason to believe that this affordable and easy-to-administer drug will do the trick and leave these folks free from the “need” they feel to use coke or meth.

Now, obviously it’s more complicated than all this, and one question I had for Dr. Lee was, how are they going to know that those who have gone through treatment won’t someday get back out there and do these drugs? Well, we won’t know. There’s no guarantee. But what we will know is that that drive they had to do it will be gone, which is more than half the battle in folks who want to get clean. And as Dr. Lee explained, “You go get a flu vaccine and you don’t get the flu this year. That’s no guarantee that you won’t ever get the flu again, but at least we know you’re so much less susceptible now than you were before.” I bought that.

I’ll post the link to my actual story about this research as soon as my editor releases it. You’ll find it on the home page of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute, where some of my other stuff is, too. (Not that you’d know which pieces are mine; my editor won’t publish bylines. Don’t even get me started…) Would love to hear your thoughts. Oh, and here’s a picture of Dr. Lee. Great guy.

Months ago, the Fearrington House Restaurant asked Charlie if he...

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 21:14:00 -0500

Chris and Charlie, workin' the room

Colin, Christian, Chef Charlie, & Max

Chefs Charlie and Colin

Months ago, the Fearrington House Restaurant asked Charlie if he wouldn’t mind stepping into the Fearrington kitchen and being the guest chef for a special wine dinner they were planning for January. This was quite the honor, actually, and involved Charlie teaming up with their own Chef Colin Bedford, tasting some of the most beautiful and inspiring wines coming out of Washington state right now, and pairing these beauties to seven courses, the likes of which included a shabby ol’ “Butter Poached Lobster with Blood Orange & “Nuoc Cham” Espuma, with Fennel, Pineapple, and Cashew.” The dinner went down two nights ago (and because I happened to be married to Charlie, I was given a pass on the $125 entry fee. Bonus.)

But you know the SUPER-cool thing about this dinner? It’s that the wine maker, whom you see in the lighter suit in these pictures, is Christian Sparkman, of Sparkman Cellars, who just happened to be the best man at our wedding and one of Charlie’s best all-time pals. The night will live long in infamy.

The tall guy in the shot is Chef Colin himself, and the other with the hanky in his breast pocket is Wine Director Maximilian Kast. Great guys. A great event. We’re all so lucky.

This is me and my dad, probably one of the best pictures I have...

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:56:31 -0500

This is me and my dad, probably one of the best pictures I have of him. Some folks say we look a lot alike. I love him a lot; more on him soon.

"Gratitude is the sign of noble souls."

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 14:03:11 -0500

“Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.”

- Aesop

I just heard about this on NPR today driving home from work and...

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:10:08 -0500

I just heard about this on NPR today driving home from work and knew instantly I needed to upload it here. Exactly in the Christmas spirit, wouldn’t you say?

It doesn’t look like much…, and it hardly translates...

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:56:00 -0500

It doesn’t look like much…, and it hardly translates into that Australian vacation we planned and are now canceling for February, but there’s a lot to that little rectangular box you see now attached to the brick wall (yeah, next to one of our four rain barrels). That little tank-less water-heating beauty, in T-minus about 30 minutes, will be on track to save us up to 60% in gas bills next year and countless wasted gallons down the shower drain as we shiver naked, waiting for the shower to get hot. AND it means hot water instantly for hand and face washing.. AND, as an added bonus, it’ll get us about a $1,300 tax credit come April, thanks Obama!