Hope you’ve had a fun St. Patrick’s Day…
We’ve been Dublin over with laughter!
Did I really just say that?
(Yes, I O’Reilly did.)
Hope you’ve had a fun St. Patrick’s Day…
We’ve been Dublin over with laughter!
Did I really just say that?
(Yes, I O’Reilly did.)
When I arrived home last night, light snow was falling on New York City. The street was quiet. My footprints (and luggage tracks) were the first to disturb the sidewalk snow. It was a welcome scene.
This morning’s cityscape was very different.
Building superintendents and doormen had arisen early to litter the sidewalks with salt, which burns the paws of dogs and can make them sick if they lick it. Plus, the chemicals in the melting ice can contaminate the soil and ground water.
And yet building owners continue to spread it quite liberally, every snowy morning.
I’m not saying leave sidewalks untreated — simply use a safer melting alternative.
Our good friends at Morton Salt make an ice melt that is salt free, chloride free, and organic. It doesn’t irritate dog paws or tummies and melts below 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Does it cost a bit more? Like most green-friendly products, it is a bit more expensive. But stacked against the high price our pets and the environment pay, I’d say it’s well worth it.
I’m going to talk to my building super today.
“You say traction; I say corrosive chemicals. Let’s call the whole thing off!”
Posted in Commentary, Dogs, Environment, Green, Home, Life, Weather
Tagged building super, contaminated ground water, dog paws, Dogs, doorman, environment, friends, green, home, ice, ice melt, life, Morton Salt, New York City, pets, sidewalk salt, snow, weather
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your branches green delight us!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, What’s next for you we should discuss.
You grace our homes with twinkle lights, Then hug the curb — that’s just not right.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Plus, my dog pees on you.
A lot.
Posted in Comedy, Commentary, Environment, Green, Holiday, Humor, Life, Music
Tagged Christmas, Christmas tree, comedy, commentary, dog walking, environment, green, Holiday, Humor, life, New York City, o christmas tree, recycling, twinkle lights
I’m okay not knowing everything.
For instance, I had never heard of the Asian long-horned beetle. Then I saw this poster in the subway.
Now I not only know what the gnarly bugs look like, but that they’re killing our trees. And we need to stop them…and never move firewood.
Never move firewood? Okay.
Hardwood trees in my adopted state of New York have been destroyed; trees in Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey, too. Trees in forests and cities all across America are at risk.
I went into the subway for a ride, not an education on scary bugs. But unfortunately, you can’t erase unwelcome memories Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-style in real life.
So, if I have to have this tree killer’s image in my head, so do you.
If you see one, report it to 866-702-9938. Better yet, they recommend you catch a few in a jar and freeze them, or take digital pictures. Both will aide officials in identifying the beetles.
Got it? Good. Now go de-bug your brains. Pet a warm, fuzzy puppy…or read celebrity dish in US Weekly.
That’s my plan.
Posted in Advertising, Animals, Business, Education, Environment, Green, Health, Humor, Life, Travel
Tagged advertising, animals, Asian long-horned beetle, beetlebusters, beetles, bugs, Business, commentary, erase memories, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind movie, family, firewood, Humor, Illinois, life, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, subway, subway advertising, subway poster, Travel, tree killer, trees
Today on Twitter, there’s a trending topic called:
ThingsNotToDoOnPublicTransportation
This is a subject near and dear to my heart, because public transportation has been a way of life for me since I moved to Boston way back in 2000.
I took one look at the parking situation, sold my car, and vowed to walk, take the subway or hail a cab for all my transportation needs.
I’m in New York City now and haven’t regretted a day.
That being said, public transportation does put you ‘up close and personal’ with people — some you want to meet, some you don’t. It doesn’t bother me overmuch, but for the people on Twitter today, their comments have some recurring themes:
Perhaps I should start a new trending topic:
ThingsSouthernersDoOnPublicTransportation
Posted in Comedy, Commentary, Green, Humor, Internet, Life, transportation, Travel
Tagged boombox, Boston, comedy, commentary, earbuds, Humor, Internet, iPod, life, Manhattan, New York City, public transportation, Relationships, subway, taxi, ThingsNotToDoOnPublicTransportation, ThingsSouthernersDoOnPublicTransportation, Travel, Twitter, Twitter trending topic, walking
Have you spent the morning after the 4th perusing your friends’ vacation snaps online?
I know I have.
I stayed in Manhattan this year, but many folks left the city to find their bliss. The question is: how did they decide whether to drive or fly?
I found a nifty calculator on BeFrugal.com that helps you compare the cost and time of both modes of transportation, so you can make the best choice for every trip.
Just enter your starting and ending destinations, the length of your stay, even the estimated price of hotels along the way if you were to drive. The calculator will show you the relative cost of the trip by car and plane in dollars and hours.
It even tells you the carbon footprint for each — my, they’ve thought of everything!
Well…not everything.
Which is why I would like to propose my own travel calculator….which I believe simplifies things quite a bit. You only have to answer two questions.
I hope this has been helpful.
Posted in Airplanes, Automobiles, Cars, Commentary, Family, Finances, Green, Holiday, Humor, Life, transportation, Travel, Vacation
Tagged airplanes, automobiles, BeFrugal.com, carbon footprint, cars, commentary, family, finances, Fourth of July, green, Holiday, hotel costs, Humor, life, summer, trains, Travel, travel calcualtor, vacation, vacation photos
Would you take a punch for some pad thai?
Stir-fried rice noodles, eggs, bean sprouts, and any combination of shrimp, chicken or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts and lime juice. When I’m at a Thai restaurant, I find it hard to order anything else.
But would I willingly get in a fist fight for my fav?
Two ladies in a Manhattan Trader Joe’s did.
The altercation started when one woman’s son ‘interfered’ with the other’s husband’s attempt to pick up a pad thai in the produce section. Words were exchanged, followed by a slap.
Now the two families are continuing the clash in court, contesting an attempted harassment charge.
All over a package of pad thai — and vegan pad thai at that.
And I here I thought vegans were all about peace and love and serenity. Just goes to show you…
Eating all that tofu makes you testy.
Posted in Cooking, Dieting, Family, Foods, Green, Health, Home, Humor, Life, News, Shopping, Travel
Tagged Business, commentary, family, family court, fist fight, food, Foods, Health, Humor, Manhattan, New York City, news, packaged pad thai, pad thai, produce section, punch, rice noodles, shopping, thai food, thai restaurants, tofu, Trader Joes, Travel, vegan pad thai
This ad makes me feel lazy
What have you accomplished today?
A billboard in Lima, Peru converts air into purified water for drinking.
Let’s hear it for the University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC) and ad agency Mayo Publicidad. Thanks to their ingenuity, families in that desert community have access to over 25 gallons of purified water a day.
I think I can add a couple of things to my to-do list…
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Posted in Advertising, Commentary, Environment, Green, Humor, Life, Nature, Travel
Tagged advertising, advertising agency, air converted into water, commentary, desert, environment, green, Humor, life, Lima Peru, Mayo Publicidad, nature, Peru, purified water, to-do list, Travel, UTEC