One of the biggest barriers to learning anything new is our preconceived notions about it, and food and cooking are no different in that respect. We tend to think of cooking as somewhat mysterious, and our thoughts in that realm are concentrated on the extremely linear; everything is a recipe. This can be a hindrance [...]
Internet Connected Appliances Save Money?
According to an Information Week article, there is a test going on in Washington and Oregon to use real-time pricing data to let people make smarter choices about energy use.
The GridWise Initiative, led by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, is testing dryers, thermostats, and water heaters that are wirelessly connected to a server, which uses [...]
Zero Energy House
Ideal Homes, of Norman Oklahoma have built a model home that produces as much energy as it consumes in a year and combines “renewable energy technologies with advanced energy-efficient construction.”
Incorporating 5.3 kW photo cells, a ground source heat pump, fresh-air indoor HVAC system, low-e vinyl windows, and insulation systems in walls, ceilings and around foundations [...]
College Towns
I’m sitting this morning at a table on the sidewalk in front of Adrianna’s having the first good cup of coffee in months that I didn’t roast myself, and pondering the possibilities for cheap and frugal living that seem to exist only in (southern?) college towns.
College towns, like Columbia, have a lot of things that [...]
The War Against Stuff
When you make an effort to minimize the amount of stuff you have, it is amazing how big 950 square feet can be…
Unnecessary Things
When I first began looking at how we could live well on less money, one of the first things that I noticed is that a lot of “modern conveniences” instead of truly being conveniences actually cost you more in both time and money than simply doing them an “old-fashioned” manual way. I cataloged quite a few of these, and will be writing about them individually in the future. For now, I want to explain how I began to think about these supposed necessities of modern life.
These are the ramblings of 