Author: Paul

Sharing the shiny bits of life since I can remember. I run http://greenergrassmedia.com/.
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Local Food and Local Music

The Bell JarI know some people that are really into local food. And the reasons to eat food grown locally are good:

– You’re saving a ton of fossil fuels, since the food has not been flown from South America or Africa.

– It’s probably fresher.

– You’re supporting local farmers.

Why not apply the same principles to local music? By asking the bands you see to drive all over the country, they are using a lot more fuel than local musicians do in bringing their art to you.

Obviously, this analogy breaks down.If you restrict your diet to only local food, in many parts of the world, you’ll never taste a mango or a papaya. And with music, if you’re an American, you’ll never hear the rich sounds of many British bands.

I do want you to come out to support your local musicians. (The band is The Bell Jar. Local to my town. And good.)

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Save your kids the effort

Crap at My Parents' HouseI love Urban Outfitters. My sister introduced me to the store when she lived in Chicago. They have a collection of eclectic clothes and weird stuff that I occasionally spend money on.

So this book on their shelves caught my eye. My wife Heather spent the better part of six months dealing with this very issue at her parents’ house. They were pretty much too old to deal with getting rid of a house full of stuff before they moved into a much smaller home, so that joy fell to Heather. I helped some, but she did the vast majority of filling the shelves at the local charity shop.

My dad was a huge collector. After he died, it took my mom more than six years to clear out all the stuff that he collected, before she was able to move into a 1-bedroom apartment. (She didn’t want to buy a condo, as she felt like it would be a burden on her kids to have to sell the place!)

So I guess my only point is that if you don’t buy that junky thing that catches your eye, your kids won’t have to give it away later.

Footnotes:

1. Special thanks to my friend James Taylor (not the musician), who inspired this post.

2. Here are some related posts I wrote: Not going to buy it, Let it go, Recapturing that lost childhood and That collector gene.

3. I did not buy the book. And I was amused to see that as of this writing, it was selling for just $1.48, used. Apparently several people decided they didn’t want their kids to have to give it away, much later.

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Excess vs. Reality

Aston Martin DBS Volante Carbon Edition interior, courtesy of Elite ChoiceAston Martin spends 25 hours polishing the paint of their new DBS Volante Carbon Edition. And more than 70 hours of stitching the leather interior. That’s part of why the car costs $302,000.

I would never be able to own such a car. Even if I could afford it, my conscience would prevent me from sinking that much money into a car that gets me to the grocery store as well as our Toyota Corolla. Or maybe the Corolla would do it better, since it will hold more bags of groceries. (My guess is that most Volante owners have someone else do their grocery shopping, so that’s probably not an issue.)

But somehow it comforts me to know that this car exists. It’s not superlative in any category, but it is a work of art. An article in Autoweek magazine told the story of some kids in a minivan seeing the car across two lanes of traffic. They were so wowed by the car that they shouted out to the driver, “Rev the engine! Rev the engine!” This car definitely has a powerful presence.

I’m torn. I know that anyone who spends $302,000 on a car could spend that money feeding starving people. Maybe they haven’t ever lived in Africa, like I have. While we were there, we had friends who didn’t know where their next meal was coming from. And just $10 might feed their family for several days. That reality that makes me pause before I make any extravagant purchase. Can I really justify it?

Photo courtesy of Elite Choice.

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The Instagram Effect

Instagram has totally changed how people take and enjoy photos. It has changed how people share their world with others.

Photo comparison - left is standard and right is via photo app

Instagram is a photo app for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. You take a photo, run it through a filter and then share it with others via Twitter, Facebook or email.

After the filter (right) is normally way more appealing than before. Think of adding salt to your meal.

Before Instagram – and the amazing quality of the camera that’s in the iPhone 4S – a pro would have to summon all their Photoshop skills to improve a picture that Instagram does with just one click.

The knockout combination of the iPhone 4S and Instagram means that normal people can produce amazing photos without having to carry around a phone and a camera.

Give it a shot.

Footnote: Camera Awesome and Dynamic Light are apps that are similar to Instagram. They provide sometimes better effects than Instagram but have weaker sharing features. This photo of our bedroom ceiling was taken with Camera Awesome. So far, Dynamic Light is my favorite of the trio. It’s the only one that’s not free – but it’s only 99c.

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Standard – and good

Sign: Beer: $3, Good Beer: $4Last fall we went to Aspen for a weekend getaway. (We did not take a private jet – just our minivan.)

One evening meal was at a fairly humble pizza place. I loved their drinks menu: “Beer: $3, Good beer: $4.”

All too rarely do we communicate that bluntly. It’s a good thing to do so, as long as we don’t hurt others in our blunt communication.

One friend observed, “You get mad at things, I get mad at people.” She said it in a complimentary way. (And I thanked her.)

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Family skiing

On the chairlift at SolVistaHeather and I skipped work last Friday. We went skiing at SolVista. It’s a family ski area that’s not the closest to Denver, but still within easy driving distance of our home in the suburbs.

We had a great time. The slopes are gentle and smooth. Ben and I loved cruising down one slope as fast as we could – repeatedly. And it’s uncrowded, so we had no fears of any life-threatening accidents.

Rachel, our youngest, did fine, even though she hasn’t been skiing very much. She was able to drift through the trees and navigating a fun course for kids that included skiing through a small “barn.” Jay, our oldest and most adventurous son, had fun doing several stunts in the terrain park.

I know a lot of hard-core skiers and snowboarders would turn their nose up at SolVista, but we loved it. If you’re ever in Colorado and want to have some family skiing fun, SolVista’s the place.

And a final footnote – so you can tell this is not a sponsored post – if you have the cash for a ski condo, the company that runs the resort way overbuilt, so you can get one for a relative steal.

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Review: Fisker Karma vs BMW 335d

Update: This was written in 2012. Since then, BMW has released a 3-series hybrid. Fisker no longer sells the Karma but are planning to sell the Motion model, at some point. Having gone out of business and now back in business, I would guess they are figuring out things like funding.

Fisker Karma carSuper high-performance and green? As you think about your next luxury sedan, you may be thinking about buying a Fisker Karma.

I say that fully kidding – I know that none of my readers are thinking about buying a Fisker Karma.

Anyhow, I read with interest a Car & Driver magazine review of the new Fisker Karma. Think of it as a much faster Chevrolet Volt with a super beautiful body.

The gas engine powers a generator that charges an electric motor that moves the wheels. So it can run only on electric power for about 25 miles.

Why am I comparing the $116,000 Karma to a $44,000 BMW 335d? Here are several reasons:

1. Performance? The BMW is faster than the Karma… BMW = 0-60 miles per hour in 5.3 seconds. The Fisker does 6.1 seconds.

2. Interior room? Similar.

3. Quality of materials, fit and finish? Similar.

4. Fuel economy? BMW wins… 27 miles per gallon vs. the Fisker’s 24.

5. Green? Disposing of all those lithium-ion batteries when they fail to hold a charge anymore will be a nightmare. And diesel is more dirty than gas in some measures but cleaner in others.

BMW 335dThe Fisker is a clear winner in the distinctiveness realm. You won’t see another on your block, guaranteed – no matter where you live. But for everything else, the BMW wins.

A final note: the Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid is definitely a closer vehicle to compare. It costs a closer $100,000, does 0-60 in 4.4 seconds and gets similar fuel economy to the BMW.

Photos are courtesy of the Fisker and BMW websites.

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A new option

Email subscription optionIf you would like to get an email each time I put a new blog post up, you can now subscribe, via the little widget to the right.

Hopefully this will make it easier for some of you to get Shiny Bits goodness.

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