The best reward card I’ve ever had is the PC financial MasterCard.  In the past five years I’ve accumulated almost $700 of free merchandise which is awesome.  It makes more sense to just have one rewards card that you can use everywhere instead of having to go out of your way or shop at specific places which to me is just a pain in the ass.

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Every time I do research to see what would be better it always comes back to the old school method of shaving.  Straight razors or double edge razors.  I have finally relented and ordered my first double edge razor, a Weishi double edge classic and a 10 pack of Astra double edged blades.

I found the website Fendrihan which turns out to be a Canadian business, (even better) that specializes in all things wet-shave related.  They had some very reasonable prices on double edge razors and blades and I thought why not, I’ve tried everything else.  It cost me less then $30, shipping included for my very first double edge razor and a pack of blades.  It’s amazing how inexpensive the double edge blades are.  For a 10 pack it’s only $3.99, so if you can shave with each blade at least 3 times on each side it’s amazing value for the money.  That would basically be the equivalent of purchasing 20 cartridges which would cost anywhere from $50 to $70.

While I look forward to shaving with a double edge razor I realize there’s going to be quite a learning curve and it will take practice and patience to master the art of wet shaving.  Hopefully it will be time well spent and shaving with a double edge razor will become an enjoyable experience.

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I think you’ll enjoy this little anecdote. First of all, a question… What is the biggest legitimate source of paper that makes it’s way into everyone’s house/residence? I’d have to say it’s toilet paper, we all use it (hopefully) and it’s paper that can’t be recycled (hopefully no one is trying). So all this paper comes in, has a one time use and goes back out to be processed through a sewer treatment plant and ends up bio-degrading somewhere.

Ideally we should all be out there somewhere at least once a year planting a few trees to make up for our usage. Things do come full circle after all and we all pay the price for our own decisions somewhere along the way, good or bad.

So there on the shelf I see Cashmere EnviroCare—made with 100% recycled fibre. Right underneath of that it said “Nothing Feels Like Cashmere”. Well I was thinking somewhat skeptically along the lines of; “Nothing Feels like Recycled Fibre on your Bottom”. I thought it was worth a try and would also like to point out that other brands and companies seem to be doing similar things.

After the fact I will say that recycled fibre is not as bad as I thought it might be. It isn’t as cushy or quite as soft as the not so environmentally friendly stuff however it’s really not that bad. It’s good enough that I would keep using it and not worry about losing skin etc.

In addition purchases also help support Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation which is also nice.

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One thing I haven’t tried yet is following someone and I’m not sure how to reply to others. Perhaps you need to be following someone first or them you to get going with replies. At any rate, enjoying the Twitteredness of Twitter which I suppose would really be Tweeting? ;-)

Update: Figured out the whole reply thing, twitter on!

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Since I started using Kijiji a few months ago I’ve made good use of it and sold many things that normally I would have either given away, thrown out or recycled.  More recently preceding my shifting of residences last week I used Kijiji to sell a lot of things I didn’t need anymore.   It’s amazing how fast people can contact you once you put an ad up.  I had my old apartment rented in less than 12 hours after putting the ad up.

Kijiji is something I will definitely continue to use!

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After reading up on Occam’s Razor I continued on my path of sidetrackedness and somehow ended up learning about Solipsism which I find even more intriguing. For some reason I find all things philosophical captivating, perhaps by my very nature I’m philosophical. I’ve never heard of Solipsism before today although through life experience I’m very familiar with the idea of Solipsism which is “My mind is the only thing that exists”. There’s a surprisingly large amount of information that goes along with this philosophical idea. I didn’t get a chance to read through all the info yet but it’s definitely a topic I’ll revisit.

This little surfing expedition combined with the gleaning of information is a classic example of non linear absorption of information. I started out looking at web design concepts, features and implementation and ended up reading and being more interested with in depth philosophy!

I never did go back to doing any more reading on Web 2.0. It’s all pretty boring stuff anyways, Web 2.0 is more like Web 0.5. Less is more, lots of blank space, 2 columns, content content content. It’s all the very basic fundamentals of good web design in the first place. Maybe some people view this as the rebirth of web design. I think things will more then likely stay the same. With all the millions of websites that make up the web there will always be the good and the bad, no matter what you want to call it!

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The first thing that comes to mind when you think of a spoon or stir stick in relation to coffee or tea is the actual use of such items to actually stir your drink.  What does not position itself foremost in your mind is a moral dilemma or the pursuit of making environmentally sound choices between the two.

Keep in mind that all I’m about to write takes up many words but all these thoughts flow seamlessly through my mind in mere seconds.

I put forth my internal debate to you and it is thus:  At first glance when presented with the choice between a spoon and a stir stick, the spoon seems like the better choice to make.  After a little more thought and following along the lines of a French philosopher who said that one cannot excuse themselves as being an exception but with objective perspective you must realize the outcome if everyone made the same choices, therein determining to a greater degree the cause and effect of your actions; it is realized that the spoon may not be a better choice after all.

Stir sticks by their very plastic design cause waste, they have a short lifespan and are used for only 2 or 3 seconds before ending up in the garbage.  They’re not reusable, not recycled and non-biodegradable.  A spoon can be reused a million times if not more and there is no need to throw them out.  However if 500 people a day or a 1000 or more decide to use the spoon then the consequences end up on par with that of using a stir stick.

In cafeterias where one would be presented such a choice between a spoon and a stir stick, dishwashers are of course the weapon of choice to clean everything for reuse.   1000 dirty spoons equates to quite a few dishwasher loads which also means more detergent, more water and more electricity.  Packaging for detergent also causes waste, one would hope the empty container gets recycled and even so there is waste and pollution to be considered on the manufacturing side of things.  To be considered is the additional use of electricity and the source of it.  Chances are it’s not coming from a renewable source and therefore negatively impacts the environment.

Having said all that it becomes quite clear that the best choice to make between a spoon and a stir stick is neither.  It would be best to avoid the use of either utensil and just swirl your coffee or otherwise put the sweetener and cream in first and then pouring in the coffee or tea to achieve the same result.

Are there others who think along the same lines as me?  Let me know if you do…

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Applying just one extra degree of temperature to water means the difference between something that is simply very hot and something that generates enough force to power a steam engine – a beautifully uncomplicated metaphor that ideally should feed our every endeavor – consistently pushing us to make the extra effort in every task, action and effort we undertake.

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There is always energy between people, it may be positive energy or negative. Some people give others energy and certain individuals are energy suckers. Everyone experiences this everyday but probably doesn’t think about it quite in the terms of ‘energy’. Just think of a good time hanging out with a close friend or having a meaningful conversation with them. The energy you feel is much different from dealing with someone rude and obnoxious or conceited and two-faced. We experience a myriad of energies from different people each and everyday with every interaction. I like to think a smile can brighten someones day, even if you are strangers. It’s a simple gesture each acknowledging the other’s existence while sharing something positive. For society to be a better place everyone has to start with themselves!

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