Halloween

Yes, they celebrate this American event even in Singapore! My son's preschool held a halloween party and they had to dress in fancy dress. He wore an outfit that I had made for him in 2006 when he attended a friend's animal-themed birthday party. Anyway, he was a rooster (very fitting since he's born in the year of the rooster). This was made from a hand-me-down wrap for babies and scraps of red material. If you're a parent, you will know that the wrap comes with a hood so you can, with a little imagination, transform it into any animal. So, there's really no need to go out and buy an expensive tacky costume which will then get chucked to one side. A reconstructed one can be made into something else later on!

TH liked the transformation a lot and was cockle doodling :-) Please note, he didn't wear those pjs to school :-p

Linking up to http://threadingmyway.blogspot.com.au

"Green" bread

This bread store has been advertising it's "Love Our Earth" campaign. Another store giving out yet another free bag!!! I think we have too many of them now. Isn't one enough?

I thought it was a bit of greenwashing as well. Anyway, there's a very good greenwashing series in the Guardian and this week they talk about energy firms branding coal as "clean coal". You might recall that Singapore is going to be building one of those in Tuas and it will be complete in 2012.

Starhub digital set top box

We have just converted our analogue set top box to digital. Eeks... you have to have it on standby mode for it to be effective. Plus, you have to switch your TV on to actually see which channel you are changing to (why would I want to do that if I just want to record something on video). Definitely not energy friendly.

This was my conversation with a colleague (if you are reading this, you know who you are!) about the set top box:

Me - I don't like the new digital set top box

Col - Why?

Me - You have to keep it on all the time. If you don't, it will take a few minutes to upload onto the TV every time you switch it on.

Col - Aiyah, leave it on all the time lah!

Me - I don't like to leave it on standby mode :-p

Col - grumble grumble.....

The case of the missing recycling bin

Where has the recycling bin gone now? Last year, we had a large recycling bin placed in our HDB estate. It disappeared at the beginning of the year and then it reappeared and I was going to take a photo of it.....yeah, it's gone again.....who would want to steal it?

Update - I have decided to write in a complaint to my town council. I think it was stolen. I wonder whether it is the karanguni man or someone who stole it? That's my theory anyway. But how can anyone steal it without being caught?

Yale University's Overall Nutrional Quality Index

Here's another way to convince your loved ones to eat more veggies & cereals, and less meat. It is slightly flawed in that I think it forgot about the concept of a balanced diet, but it took this to convince my hubby to eat whole meal bread vs white bread.

A quick overview: Those that scored 100/100 were broccoli (yay!), okra, orange, green beans, pineapple. Oat meal was at 89. White bread scored a 10, while at rock bottom was a popsicle with 1. I suppose it depends on what type. I guess the home-made ones don't count? :-p

More at www.nuval.com

Otis lift buttons

Did you read about the Otis lift buttons being radioactive? Otis said that they would replace all that were installed in France. I wonder if there are any in Singapore?

Laced cups

Another reconstruction in progress. One of my ... ahem.... bras has a torn patch at the top of its cup. It's fairly new so I was quite surprised...sigh.

Anyways, I decided to sew some scrap lace onto the affected cup, and to balance it out I will have to add the same lace to the other side.

My hubby commented that it wouldnt' be as soft as before and might make me break out or something like that :-p what a comment.....

The Nappy Debate - again!!!

A while back we blogged about nappies. The consultant, Environmental Resources Management Limited (ERM) was commissioned by the UK Government's Department for Environment to do another study on the environmental impact of disposable vs. reusable nappies. The last study they did was in 2005 so this one is basically an update.

The results of the study:
a) "confirms the conclusion that there is little or no difference in terms" of environmental impacts between disposable and reusable diapersystemsshows environmental improvements for disposable diapers, e g asignificant reduction in the global warming potential by 12 per centsince the earlier study. This is due primarily due to a reduction ofthe average weight of disposable diapers by 13.5 per cent and areduction in diaper manufacturing energy requirements.
b) shows that 'the average 2006 disposable diaper would result in a globalwarming impact of approximately 550 kg of carbon dioxide equivalentsused over the time a child is typically in diapers'. For cloth diapers the study states 'the baseline scenario based on average washer and drier use produced a global warming impact of approximately 570 kg ofcarbon dioxide equivalents.

Hmmm.....

According to the study, the cloth nappy users can reduce their environmental impacts by:
a) Line drying outside whenever possible
b) Tumble drying as little as possible
c) When replacing appliances, choosing more energy efficient appliances(A+ rated machines are preferred)
d) Not washing above 60°C
e) Washing fuller loads
f) Reusing nappies on other children.

What about the fact that the cloth nappies have an after-life ? I think that makes the reusable type even more environmentally friendly many times over!
a) U can cut them into small pieces and they make great table-wipes, face-wipes, rags for cleaning/wiping
b) They make good blankies (esp in hot weather)
c) Sew them together to make pillow protectors, mattress protectors, furniture protectors, car seat protectors when your little ones are being toilet trained
d) Cut them into strips and crochet them into a bag, bathroom mat
e) ....... anyone else?

Recycle Mini Challenge

It's time to show off your sewing talents! Nikkishell has launched a Recycle Mini Challenge for all you creative reconstruction sewers!

THE RULES: • You need to be a registered member of Burdastyle to take part. • Your creation MUST be recycled. • You must upload your creation into the ‘Mini Challenge’ category by Sunday the 26th of October. • When you upload your creation you must give a detailed description of how you made your creation, the patterns, how-to's or techniques you used, materials you used and how it was recycled etc. • Show us your ‘before’ materials in a photograph.

Does anyone want to participate? I don't have much time but I'm very interested in seeing the creativity :-) Will update you on my favourites!

My natural make-up remover

I don't wear much make-up except for work and special occasions. The other day I ran out of make-up remover and forgot to purchase some. Anyway, I decided to use olive oil instead and found that it doesn't sting my eyes and more importantly, it gets EVERYTHING off. It's true, I had some mascara on today (the water proof type) and it came off. I didn't have to tug hard with the cotton wool and my eyes felt comfortable afterwards; no stinging. I didn't need lots of the olive oil either, which is what I would need using normal make-up remover. Anyway, after getting the make-up off I just rinsed with warm water and my skin felt smoooooooth :-)

I now put a small bottle of olive oil in the bathroom :-)

Starbucks - Misleading?

By now, most of you will have read about Starbucks wasting water. PUB even sent their officers in and just today, I read that all of Singapore's Starbucks and Spinelli stores will not be using the dipper wells.

I am actually rather uncomfortable with the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, I believe in saving water. However, the way journalism and the environmentalists have stirred things up seems to have made it get out of hand. Here are some of my thoughts on the issue. You are entitled to yours too :-)

a) An example of bad journalism. I think the original article which was published in The Telegraph totally missed the point. It's about the dipper well technology which was wasting water. It is misleading to point the finger at Starbucks as it's a US requirement (see below). OK, they are wasting water, but other places are also practising this e.g. ice cream parlours, other coffee places etc. Hence, shouldn't we be targeting the others as well?

b) Why is someone griping about this issue NOW? The dipper well has been around quite a while.

c) Does Singapore have a food & safety requirement which requires something like a dipper well ? I checked on the US FDA website and there is a requirement. The dipper well is designed to meet "3-304.12 In-Use Utensils, Between-Use Storage. (D) In running water of sufficient velocity to flush particulates to the drain, if used with moist food such as ice cream or mashed potatoes".

The Singlet

(after -note the bulge!)
(before and after)

When my dad came to visit me in July, it was so hot that all he could wear in the house was a singlet and shorts (not to mention knee-high socks with sandals). My son caught onto this and wanted to emulate grandpa. So, he had to have those singlets..... purleeze mummy? I couldn't find some decent ones (can anyone tell me why they sell toddler singlets that look like laundry nets?) so I decided that it was time to whip out the sewing machine and attempt to reconstruct a few of mine. Anyway, the machine acted wierd so now I've sewn everything by hand.

Here's a tute:

a) get a sleevless T-shirt that just fits your toddler and lay it over the larger one. Make sure that you arrange them so that the shoulders of both meet.

b) using your chalk, make an outline of the smaller t-shirt.

c) then cut around the smaller t but allow for a seam allowance

d) sew together at the sides

e) cut the ends of the sleeves and the bottom of the large T and sew them onto the sleeves and the bottom of the smaller one so that you have a nice finish. Then, turn inside out.

f) tadah! put on toddler and admire.....

Should I use plastic bags?

Eeks! Today was a dilemma. I don't have anymore plastic bags from the supermarket to hold my household rubbish. We are required to put our rubbish in plastic bags before popping them down the rubbish chute. What shall I do?

a) Ask the supermarket for only what I need i.e. 1 plastic bag/day.
b) Don't ask the supermarket for plastic bags but buy rubbish bags instead.

The good side to the economic downturn

In some ways it's good for the environment that the investment banks are no more. Firstly, I don't think i. bankers can earn insane salary anymore (no more 30 month bonuses). This means less air travel, less consumerism and all the other perks (clubs, F1?) that go hand-in-hand with salaries beyond our reach :-) You get the picture!

What CSR?

(photo courtesy of Gothamist)
They hauled (well, not literally) Lehman Brothers CEO (the one with the blue tie) to Capitol Hill yesterday. I can't believe how much money Mr. Fuld made last year!!!! Apparently, Mr. Fuld has property all over the world and one of his executives flew a helicopter to work EVERYDAY!!!
"As CEO, 62-year-old Fuld personally netted $40 million last year, including a $4.3 million bonus. His total compensation during the company's best four years, between 2003 and 2007, were more than $260 million."

Chair Henry Waxman asked him, "You've been able to pocket close to half a billion dollars [since 2000] and my question to you is that fair for a CEO of a company that's now bankrupt? ..."

Here! Here! Is that really FAIR? That sort of money could definitely do a lot of good for causes around the world like fund environmental research & technology, bettering pples lives in developing nations, education etc. I just had to shake my head. To think that Lehmans actually won awards for CSR!!!!

Wisdom of the Ages 3

Okay, the 3rd installment of the Wisdom of the Ages. I have been trying to find info on the environment and Hinduism and got a bit stuck as I'm not familiar with it. Does anyone have any comments?

Anyway, while I was looking, I came across this article which was originally published in Science in 1967. It's called "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis" and it has a different take on what I had earlier posted in Wisdom of the Ages 1. Dr. Lynn White wrote that the environmental troubles we face today are due to Christianity. Her perspective is that unlike Islam or Judaism, Christianity does not believe in animism, or rather that was how it was interpreted over time. And as man is made in the image of God, man is "better" than the other creations.

Controversial, but I think it definitely did spark many Christians to relook this. Afterall, didn't God create the Earth?

It's time to end dirt cheap

With the milk scandal and other stories, I think it is time to re-think the business model of going for the lowest bidder. I have heard the defence of the 2 camps, each coming up with ways to wriggle themselves out of the situation. Fonterra (or any Western organisation with interest in the developing world) say that even though they are a major share holder of San Lu, they don't have much say in the China business - I find that difficult to swallow. Who in their right mind would want to do business there if all they can manage is a few squeaks on the board? I smell greed. The West wants quality but at ridiculously low prices. The Chinese side said that they didn't know about the melamine because it was done by the middle-man. I smell greed again. People should ask questions when a product is ridiculously cheap compared with the competition. If this happens to food, just imagine what happens to the environment or human-rights in such cut-throat market competition. I doubt the West upholds the same environmental or human-rights standards in China or any other developing nation. My hubby's friend mentioned that at Tesco's in the UK they were selling jeans for 4 pounds (~S$7), and they were not even on sale. I immediately thought of cheap labour (exploited?) and pollution. At the end of the day greed rules and it is the consumer and the environment who suffers. Maybe those in China should think about adding value (I mean real value, not wishy washy) to their products and the government their shld stop thinking about itself and act on behalf of its nation (not to mention environment). Consumers are not stupid.

Vegy Meal - Moroccan Eggplant with Garbanzo Beans

My vegy meal on Thursday.... Recipe is at "the world's healthiest foods"

No plastic bags please!

Been going to the supermarket every Saturday to stock up on food. My son and I push the shopping trolley (I'm sure almost everyone has one of these!!!) to the supermarket and I think the cashiers know us as "the family who don't want plastic bags". Well, I do have the trolley, so what's the point, right? And I have the reusable AVA cooler bag that they gave out for free a couple of months ago.