April 9, 2012
Open Letter to Raw Indulgence
(I bought a case of Spirulina & Cashew Raw Revolution organic live food bars and had a few things to say about it....)
Please describe your complaint
First of all, I want to thank you for making raw, organic, live food bars!
Second, as someone interested in health, I would certainly not mind a lower sugar (agave) content. I don't need super sweet foods and care more about the protein and other nutrients. Besides, agave is not a healthy sweetener.
Third, and the reason I am compelled to contact you, is that when I received my case of bars, and opened my first bar, I was surprised by the size. Not that it was falsly advertized, exactly, but because it's contained in at least a third more packaging than is necessary. A huge empty area of unecessary packaging. There are discerning consumers out here that do care about this kind of thing. I really hope that the plastic wrapper was not created this large to fit the quote about about "healing the global ecology"... could that be more ironic?
Please tell us what you would like to have done in response to your complaint
Reduce the size of your packaging!
Reduce, or remove, agave and use more dates or other dried fruit?
Sending me other flavors of bars to try would be awesome and I'd tell everyone you're a wonderful company that listens.
Tags
activism (2), letters (4), raw (1), raw-revolution (1), vegetarianism (2)
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March 31, 2012
An open letter to Comcast
Several weeks ago I called and requested that my address be removed from your mailing list. Yet, each week I get a letter from you (addressed to "Jacob Westra or Current Resident") with offers for your service. I've lived here for two and a half years and have never known a "Jacob Westra". While it's also addressed to "Current Resident", this resident does not want to take the time to sort your junk mail into my recycle bin.
Since I do not usually bother to open the envelope, I don't know if they always have it, but the letter this week included a plastic "xfinity", "prepaid card", that I'm not even sure can be recycled, and I know the plastic window on the envelope and glossy insert are not recyclable.
I've used your services in the past, but I currently do not use services from your company. Every time I get one of these letters, wasting resources, or have to turn away pushy door-to-door solicitors of your services, I grow farther from ever returning to choose services from you. This is disrespectful of me, damaging to the environment, and a waste of your marketing dollars. Seeing how Comcast wastes money on this kind of un-environmental marketing, it is obvious I would not get the best services for my money. I choose companies that put my money toward the services I pay for, not toward destroying the environment and throwing money away.
Once again, stop sending me trash and remove this address from your mailing list.
Tags
comcast (1), junk mail (2), letters (4), spam (2)
Catagories
March 19, 2012
Label Crazy and Kitchen Chemistry
I have a crazy love for the way dried goods and preserves look in glass jars neatly labeled on pantry shelves. I tend to buy ingredients more than products, and much of my food ingredients, I buy in bulk. These habits save packaging, save money, and are generally healthier. I often bring empty containers or reused plastic or paper bags into the store to fill from the bulk bins, but when I get them home, I immediately transfer the goods into a more permanent, and preserving, storage solution.
Recently I noticed the look and storage longevity of my baking items were not up to par with the rest of my bulk dried goods so I transfered them into repurposed glass jars. I printed labels on paper, cut them out, and taped them with clear packing tape to the jars.
My stevia and arrowroot powders, since they are from natural plant sources, include their botanical name and an image of the plants on the labels. Stevia rebaudiana, also simply called stevia or sweetleaf, is derived from a plant in the sunflower and chrysanthemum family and can be purchased as a green powder, white powder (more refined), or liquid extract. I actually use all three versions, depending on what I'm making.
The green powder (pictured above) is reported to be 10-15 times sweeter than table sugar, and manufacturers of the white powder and liquid extract claim the products to be 200-300 times sweeter than table sugar. They all have a flavor, slightly bitter, chemical or licorice-like, but the green powder, being less sweet and less refined, seems to me to have more of the flavor. I use it in desserts that wont be overpowered by it.
The xylitol and baking soda jars got images of molecular makeups and chemical formula (thanks to wikipedia), a reminder that cooking is an alchemical process.
I use xylitol, a sugar alcohol sweetener, in my homemade toothpaste (recipes to come), since it is sweet but also has potential to improve dental health. Xylitol, along with white stevia powder, can make a good tasting toothpaste without the artificial sweeteners that are more likely to be harmful.
I also make my own baking powder in order to avoid mystery corn starch and aluminum. I don't make a lot of it at once, since it will loose potency with time and exposure to moisture in air. Although it's very simple, as an absent-minded mad scientist, I can never seem to remember the recipe. For it to always be handy, I included the recipe on the back of the label.
Grain-free baking powder recipe:
1 part baking soda
2 parts cream of tarter
2 parts arrowroot starch
(Incase you are new to this language, a "part" can be any measurement, such as a teaspoon, tablespoon, a small cup, anything of equal portion.)
Tags
diy (3), food (8), jar (1), kitchen (1), label (1), pantry (1), recipe (3), storage (1)
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February 17, 2012
An open letter to the Sierra Club
I may have been a member at one time or donated a modest sum to Sierra Club... but how many US wall maps and stickers and stamps do you think I need? I regularly receive an envelope stuffed heavy with letters and such things and it seems Sierra Club has easily used up the money I've contributed just trying to get me to contribute more. Well I'm unable to contribute more, but if I was, it's obvious that Sierra Club does not use money wisely.
Thank you for using recycled paper, however, I know that makes the printing even more expensive.
Seriously, how many US wall maps do you need to send to one person?
Please use your funds on less junk and remove me from your mailing list.
Update 02/21/2012: Response from Sierra Club
"Thank you for contacting the Sierra Club.
"I have requested that future mailings from the Sierra Club are stopped from being sent to you with the information that you have provided. Please be aware this could take up to 6 weeks to complete. If you are to receive any future mailings from us please mark the envelope as 'Refused' and return to us. This process will ensure prompt removal from our mailing list as well as giving us the ability to reuse many of the enclosed materials.
"We are looking at other, more efficient and less wasteful ways to acquire members including email, internet and phone contacts. But many of our members do not have access to the internet, and prefer not to be called by phone, which is very expensive to facilitate and monitor.
"As a non profit organization, mail fundraising is a technique that is not only cost efficient, but vital to our well-being. The mailings we send give information on current issues, and the majority of the package can be recycled and are made from all recycled materials.
"Also, our total fundraising (mail, phone, email, etc) budget only encompasses about 7.6% of our total budget, while we spend 63.5% on influencing public policy, information, education, and outdoor activities. So, the money we spend on fighting forest depletion at its core, where policy begins, far outweighs the money spent on mail packages that degrade in less than a year - and those mailings solicit substantial financial support for our programs. I'd be happy to send you our latest financial report if you are interested.
"Anyone can opt off of our mail, phone, and email lists at any time."
Update 04/02/2112: I got another thick envelope stuffed with map, stickers, etc.
Tags
junk mail (2), letters (4), sierra club (1), spam (2)
Catagories
February 12, 2012
Bohemia Ranch
Tags
arianna (16), camping (2), friends (11), hike (2), occidental (2), rick (4), waterfalls (2)
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February 4, 2012
Upsidedown
Tags
cartwheels (1), gymnastics (1), handstands (1), micah (12), rick (4), santa-rosa (18)
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January 4, 2012
Acorn Woodpecker
January 3, 2012
Liquid Hand Soap
When I read somewhere online that I could make liquid handsoap out of bar soap, I knew that's what I would do with the old hardening remains of bars that I had been desperately trying to get the most out of instead of throwing them away. I didn't get immediately on the task, but this impowering knowledge gave me justification for retiring the sad little bars into a drawer and replacing them with fresh ones that are easier to get sudsy. The drawer pile built for some months before I decided it was time.
The process of making liquid hand soap is extremely easy and costs almost nothing. I used a recipe that called for a small amount of vegitable glycerine, which I already had on hand for making extracts and toothpaste. Using my patend-pending Wondershreder (antique cheese grater I inherited from my maternal Grandmother), I turned the hard little pieces of soap into "soap flakes", or in my case a blend of soap flakes and soap dust depending on which bar I was working on and how hard I pressed. Obviously, an old hard bar of soap is going to take more muscle to run across a grater, but it doesn't take much to make a batch of liquid soap:
- 1/2 cup grated soap
- 4 cups water
- 1 1/2 tsp vegetable glycerine
Put all the ingredients in a pot over medium-low heat and cook, stiring occationally with a whisk, until the soap flakes are disolved. Let cool overnight. The following day, I poured the goopy liquid into a food processor and blended until smooth before funneling it into a refillable bottle. Since I made enough to fill the bottle at least three times, I stored the remaining soap away and I still have a pile of leftover soap bars.
Different soaps will have different results with thickness. After it's cooled, you can add more water in the processing if necessary to get a thinner consistancy. You can also use an electric hand-mixer or blender instead of a food processor.
I've read recipes online that turn a whole new bar of soap into a gallon of liquid soap. Even with such a splurge, you would yield a savings of over 90% (a $4 bar of soap makes over $40 in liquid soap ). To make a quantity like this, use 1 bar of soap and 2 Tbsp glycerine for a gallon of water. I think in the future I'll try adding essential oils to give mine a fragance.
Tags
diy (3), frugal-living (2), homemade (2), homesteading (2), soap (1)
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December 18, 2011
Hot Club Beelzebub plays the Whiskeydrome
Tags
band (21), bicycle (2), fire (3), games (2), musician (21), night (29), panned (1), party (5), show (21), whiskeydrome (1)
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Arianna Helen