rivergal’s Recent Comments

• Click here to view comment in original post

  When I was growing up in Australia, our wall outlets did not have these switches.  However, I have a feeling that the reason they are now being used has something to do with the fact household current in Australia and NZ is about double the voltage of that found in most of N. America and Europe.  This makes it extremely lethal if you poke a paper clip into an active wall socket in NZ or Oz.  But presumably it's possible to add switches to US outlet boxes.  Just be aware that anything mechanical can and will fail on occasion!

  On Ask Umbra on smarter outlets posted 3 months ago 9 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Cleaning a cup in a shared bathroom?

  How do you go about cleaning a cup when using a bathroom with multiple sinkless stalls and an open sink area?  I can see using one at home or at work if you have a "one holer" bathroom there, but that's not the case in most office buildings, public buildings, at airports, etc.  The shared public bathroom also makes reusable pad management problematic.  Please advise!

  P.S. the mirror adjustment comment in the Lunapad review had me laughing hysterically . . .On A review of eco-minded feminine products posted 12 months ago 46 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Another plastic solution!

  We bought a house previously occupied by a couple with a huge carbon footprint and are still adapting it to our more thrifty ways.  Among other things it has a "fireplace" consisting of some ceramic logs surrounded by natural gas piping in what was once an open hearth, with a large pilot light.  The damper is designed to be left partially open to vent the pilot's combustion products, which could include deadly CO, so until we re-engineer the fireplace (are looking into wood or pellet-burning inserts but Anchorage AK has lousy wood compared to Vermont where I hail from), we are using a black plastic garbage bag to reduce air leaks.  The colder it gets, the more strongly does this cheap rectangle of heavy mil plastic suction itself over the decorative glass fireplace door.

  We could replace the pilot with an electronic ignition system and shut the flue completely (maybe by using a plastic ball!), but since we can't bring ourselves to enjoy watching the heat from hundreds of cubic feet of gas go straight up the chimney, this seems counterproductive.  Instead we'd like to use the fireplace for a back-up heating system so that when the power goes out for a week after our next 9.2 earthquake, we'll still be able to heat parts of the house.  Temps average below freezing from late September through late April here, i.e. over 1/2 the year, so backup power, heat and water is important!On Umbra on unused fireplaces posted 1 year ago 2 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Cold climate driveways

  Here in Anchorage AK we have a gravel driveway, which is much safer to walk on than asphalt during the winter because the gravel provides some traction.  Alaskans do not usually expect bare pavement on driving surfaces and most of our roads and drives remain white from late October through mid-April.  It's relatively easy to shovel new snow off the hard-packed snow/ice surface no matter whether there's concrete, asphalt, or gravel underneath.  We don't have sources of cheap salt and the sun is not high or strong enough to melt snow off roads until mid-spring, so we use "sand" (really small gravel that does a number on our windshields) and studded tires (or Blizzaks) for traction.

  Plastic grid usually has to be anchored and/or ballasted to hold it in place, using gravel in the cells.  It has the advantage of keeping the gravel in one place, too, but I don't think it's suitable for driveways with much slope.  Anywhere there's frost heaving masonery and concrete can cause problems -- that's why flexible asphalt is so popular up north.

  Porous pavement is perfect for most parking areas but may need to be vacuumed -- using a special machine -- to keep fine particles from clogging the pores over time, especially if you use sand on your drive or if your car picks up a lot of sand and grime from street applications.

  Whatever you do, just don't get a heated drive!  You'd be suprised how popular they are here (well, given what you all are finding out about our Guv, maybe not . . .) and I cringe every time I see steam rising from one of them.On Umbra on driveways posted 1 year, 1 month ago 9 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Women and Hg

  Too bad the report apparently omitted the two states with by far the highest per capita consumption of seafood.  

  Can you guess which states these are?  (Hint: one has a longer coastline than the other 49 states combined and both celebrate their 50th anniversary of statehood next year.  Also, neither of them fit conveniently on a map of the Lower 48 and one of them has a governor who's McCain's running mate.)

  Sure hope you've figured it out by now . . . as a woman who lives in one of these states, eats a lot of fish, and who lived in New England and the Maritime Provinces for a total of 25 years, I'd kinda like to see more about my state's risk!On Snippets from the news posted 1 year, 1 month ago 1 Response