The 3000 Mile Oil Change Myth Debunked

See for yourself. Often, the "green" thing to do is to change your oil LESS...go figure !

http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/UsedOil/OilChange/

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Dilbert Creator Scott Adams Tries to Build an Eco-Friendly House - WSJ.com

Dilbert Creator Scott Adams Tries to Build an Eco-Friendly House - WSJ.com

The truth hurts sometimes...and sometimes its very funny too. ~ Tim

PlantLife - 9/10/10 "Learning to Let it Bee"

By Tim King

One of my very observant little neighbors stopped by the other day to inform us that there was a “huge bees’ nest” in one of the large oak trees in our yard. Being one of the more imaginative kids in the neighborhood, we at first took her claim with a grain of salt.

However, after taking a look at her discovery – with its busy inhabitants going in and out – we realized she wasn’t exaggerating, much.

Looking back now, as we first ventured out into the yard, I half expected to hear the low, basal toned drumming of thousands of insects winding up for an attack. Almost instantly after hearing about the nest, the word “killer” and images of John Belushi dressed in a yellow and black leotard came flashing into my head. Damn pop culture.

Next, the image of Mr. Belushi was replaced (thankfully) by somebody literally covered with thousands of buzzing insects.

We’ve all seen TV programs with people who have covered themselves from head to toe with bees in order (I guess) to show the rest of us that bees are not aggressive by nature, rather only lash out against outside aggression or threats. However, rather than passivity, I see this more as a calm before the inevitable storm.

Like a balloon in a needle factory, one wrong move and “pop!” goes the beekeeper.

For me at least, the understanding that bees are a critical component of our ecosystem, does little to supplant the simple fact that a bee sting hurts - a lot! There’s an old saying that my father used to use when explaining the business of sales to me. It said “the bitter sting of poor customer service lingers longer than the sweet taste of a low price.”

Clearly a painful bee sting has left more of an impression on me than any sweet voiced Nasonex® spokesbug could ever replace.

I’m a little ashamed to admit that while I can appreciate and understand the very important role that bees play in pollination and all things green, my first response to an unplanned buzzing in my personal space is to track, smack and scamper – fast!

Go ahead, call me a bee NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) but whenever I see bees, along with their ill tempered cousins the wasp and hornet, I instantly feel the need to protect (or at least inform) those around me. Who among us has not, with a mild expression of terror or at least discomfort, alerted a total stranger to the proximity of some yellow jacketed intruder? I know I have.

So it was these first, “natural” impulses that I have been trying to quell for the last few days.

After all, the many residents of this gray, papery nest (roughly the size of a basketball) have obviously been active for the entire summer. To my knowledge, they have dutifully refrained from any strategic attack or rampant abduction of small children, pets or errant tourist visiting our neighborhood.

It seems they have a job to do, and they are singularly focused on doing it.

Plus, at more than 50 feet in the air, I’m sure that the bees traveling incessantly back and forth to parts unknown are as equally unaware of the activities in the yard below, as we were once of them.

If not for the keen eye of an inquisitive youngster, I may have remained forever blissfully ignorant to this entire population cohabitating our little patch of earth.

Perhaps, if they become a nuisance or if the nest grows to size that my neighbors or I become uncomfortable with, I may have to have them removed. But for now, I feel sort of lucky that out of all the oak trees, in all the world, these little guys flew into mine.

And that’s the bee’s knees in my book.


Tim King is a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association who sees the forest and the trees from his home in Scarborough, Maine. He can be contacted at sylvan.sauntering@gmail.com

Study: Kids Think Foods Labeled With Popular TV Cartoon Characters Taste Better - Courant.com

....as my 6 year old would say, "Duh!"

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-cartoon-food-marketing-0621-20100621,0,2776506.story

Active Travels | get up & go!

Cool site about getting outside and "doing" something.

http://www.activetravels.com/

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Americans Use Too Much Laundry Detergent - WSJ.com

The dirty truth about detergent use...although i'd like to see MY kids stains removed without soap, regardless of the "agitation" in my washer. ~ Tim

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703808904575025021214910714.html?mod=igoogle_wsj_gadgv1&

A cleaner image for energy from trash?

We're spoiled because there are so many place to hide trash here in the US. How long before we run out of space ?

http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&ObjectId=MzgyMDM

Fenway Park Grass Seed & Fertilizer | Major League Turf

if only you could hire a staff of 30 to come and take care of your lawn after you plant the stuff (and have an unlimited budget) ~Tim

http://www.scotts.com/smg/templates/index.jsp?pageUrl=mlb_boston

T-Mobile Says Co-Branded Fender Entry Struck a Chord

I think they are on the right track here. might not produce killer numbers of units sold, but will nail guys like me who want to be associated with a cool icon/brand.

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/direct/e3ib5454b923e9fb74351f7b95c805df682

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Just dandy in Scarborough: Young performers learn the value of practice, friendly competition | The Forecaster

Great article about a great program...no mention of how nervous it makes parents to see their kids up on 6 foot unicycles though !

http://www.theforecaster.net/content/s-scardandies-040910

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Spare a Square ?

A drunk staggers into a Catholic Church, enters a confessional booth,
sits down, but says nothing.

The Priest coughs a few times to get his attention

but the drunk continues to sit there.

Finally, the Priest pounds three times on the wall .

The drunk mumbles, "ain't no use knockin', there's no paper on this
side either!"

--
Tim King
Scarborough, Maine

Be true to your work, your word, and your friend. ~ Henry David Thoreau

http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=553903&trk=tab_pro

Robins

Are having a field day in my lawn. Seems as though the 72 hours of rain has helped to bring all the worms to the surface for a breath of air. [GULP!]



--
Tim King
Scarborough, Maine

Be true to your work, your word, and your friend. ~ Henry David Thoreau

http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=553903&trk=tab_pro

Broadturn Farm: The Beans of Scarborough Maine

Keep up to date with the Farm at Broadturn in Scarborough

http://broadturnfarm.blogspot.com/2010/03/beans-of-scarborough-maine.html

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Smart Water Meters Take Hold in California - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com

Say goodbye to 'Dumb Water'

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/smart-water-meters-take-hold-in-california/

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Good Wine Under $20: Primitivo from Puglia

My boss got me a bottle of this for my birthday and it was very good. now i need to find out where he bought it !

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2009/04/primitivo-from-puglia.html

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Fire Can Be Good For Global Warming : NPR

In other words, all things in moderation.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124980708&ft=1&f=1025

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Red Claws Trounce T-Birds…Again : Celtics Town

Follow the Red Claws

http://www.celticstown.com/2010/03/20/redclaws128tbirds111/

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'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' Review: Swedish Suspense - TIME

wife read this...and i'm going to soon too.

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1973433,00.html

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Garth Stein - Author Garth Stein - The Art of Racing in the Rain

A great book that puts an interesting perspective on things.

http://www.garthstein.com/index.php

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Gotta get back at it - but how ??

I'm getting so bad at capturing my ideas here. Since I've been using Facebook and Twitter it's just so much easier to share stuff on those platforms. I do see the value in keeping some permanence to all this online chatter though. It's kind of an online time capsule to look back and see what i was thinking about 2-3-4 years ago. I hope to find a tool that allows me to add stuff here at the same time i post elsewhere. Any suggestions ???