Disqus - Latest Comments for Ben

Re: Time Capsule Alternatives, Windows 7 and Using Droid in Europe

Ben — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:15:57 -0000

I recommend the well-tested hard disks and external enclosures offered by Other World Computing.

Re: A MacBook Surprise

Ben — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:08:50 -0000

Regarding online sellers of Macs and greater discounts, I recommend shopping Apple's refurbished store. Even if you walk into an Apple retrail store to handle a computer and ensure it's right, refurbished computers were returned for any number of reasons, fixed up to be like new, and resold at a deeper discount (often 15-25%). http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialde...

Re: Upgrading Macs

Ben — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:07:42 -0000

As Apple also hasn't yet announced an official release date (more specific than the September time frame) nor started taking pre-orders, I don't think Apple has "officially" stated that Snow Leopard won't be available to Tiger users at either the previous normal price of $129 or any other price point for that matter.

Do you know something we don't?

Re: Deciphering Windows 7 Upgrades: The Official Chart

Ben — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:45:56 -0000

Can you address how this compares to the upgrade choices of Mac users to Snow Leopard?

Re: Ech2o: Filtered Water When You Don’t Have a Filter

Ben — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:31:54 -0000

How do I keep track of 100 gallons/500 refills?

Re: Some General Tips for Switch to Mac From Windows

Ben — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:16:27 -0000

In addition to Spotlight, which I believe is easily faster for opening applications than clicking through Start > Programs, you also didn't mention the status menus on the right side of the menubar. These are equivalent to icons in Windows' System Tray on the right side of the Task Bar.

Finally, in addition to the Dock, the Apple menu, and Spotlight, the Mac simplifies file/program opening by making them easily accessible in the Finder via the Go menu.

Re: Video: Recharging Transportation - Alternative Energy Cars

Ben — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 12:15:32 -0000

Plus, I thought the rest of the world measured fuel economy in "litres per 100 kilometers." This is the first I've heard of "km/l."

Re: Wasteless at 30,000 Feet – First Class Dining with no Disposables

Ben — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:29:01 -0000

What airline?

Re: Millennium EcoSystem Assessment

Ben — Thu, 07 Apr 2005 10:07:03 -0000

Millenni(um/al) is spelled with two Ns, folks.

Re: Battery Doctor: Reconditioning Batteries

Ben — Fri, 08 Apr 2005 19:43:05 -0000

I don't know but my Battery Manager Ultra works pretty well. Wish I could suggest a place to get one; Real Goods doesn't carry it anymore.

Re: LED's everywhere

Ben — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 07:05:08 -0000

Um . . . yes, dimmable CFLs are available:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/factsheets/ef2.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=dimmable+compact...>

Re: LED's everywhere

Ben — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 07:08:37 -0000

Even LRC states the fact:

http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/lighthealth/aarp/designers/lightingolderadults/choosingsources.asp

Re: Reflexite bicycle trouserbands

Ben — Wed, 11 May 2005 11:12:34 -0000

Another opportunity is coupled with a safety lighting product, for any bikers whose pants + shins are thick enough: The Nite Ize Marker Band

http://alnk.org/ruggednut</p>

Aren't fiber optics cool!

$10.50 at www.brightguy.com. Shipping starts at $5.75.

Re: The Hydrogen Economy isn't Coming Soon

Ben — Sat, 14 May 2005 16:08:18 -0000

Well, at the same time, David Freeman (Western Hydrogen Storage) is reminding us that internal combustion engines would be quite happy with hydrogen and we can get busy producing it by electrolysis with electricity from intermittent renewable sources like sun and wind.

As he said Tuesday at the Great Energy Efficiency Debate II:

There's no money to bring new technology to the market because deregulation is trying to make a buck; see The Corporation and you'll understand. So, we can't change on a dime but we could turn on a dollar and you're [the automakers] not doing anything about it. Get a response by getting a million Americans to ask for a hydrogen-run vehicle.

Re: Kill-a-Watt

Ben — Wed, 18 May 2005 09:38:42 -0000

Could you have made any more obvious that your photo on this post is backward?

Re: Eco-efficient Air Conditioning: DeLonghi Pinguino

Ben — Sat, 21 May 2005 15:57:53 -0000

How does this compare to using bottled ice?

Re: Pedalite Self Charging Bike Light

Ben — Wed, 25 May 2005 12:17:26 -0000

Would be nice if they supported toe clips.

Re: Car windows up & AC on versus windows down: which is more efficient??

Ben — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 08:28:07 -0000

What about vents? Hows the mileage if they drive (I don't drive) with the AC off, the windows closed, and the vents open. Therefore, no suffocation.

Re: Natural Deodorant From A Natural Perspective

Ben — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 11:37:45 -0000

I've been using Tom's unscented deodorant for years. No complaints. What's the problem?

Re: More Green Chemicals Please

Ben — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 16:59:25 -0000

Next week:

Joint Meeting of the 2nd International Conference on Green and Sustainable Chemistry and the 9th Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference

Taking Measure of Green Progress: Opportunities to Meet Global Challenges

June 20-24, 2005

Hotel Washington

Washington, D.C.

Re: Eco-Tips: Conserving Water

Ben — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 12:00:14 -0000

Filling the sink with water to wash the dishes is quite a waste! Instead, dilute your dish soap (I squirt into an Ecover bottle about an inch of Ecover soap and fill with water) and squirt for a second or so on a good sponge. I prefer the Dobie sponge, which is really good at removing food from dishes with little effort or water, and laters well with little water loss.

With the soap and water already in the sponge, wash a sink full of dishes. Then, rinse with cold water.

Dobie: http://www.3m.com/us/home_leisure/scotchbrite/p...>

Re: Bike USA 2005

Ben — Thu, 14 Jul 2005 08:30:45 -0000

Now, why would they use solar cells on a bike trailer when they could just use the power of their peddling to charge their devices?

Re: Bananas for Fuel

Ben — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 08:36:58 -0000

I didn't know Australia was growing bananas.

Re: Q&A: Halloween Candy

Ben — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 08:29:33 -0000

Give out fresh fruit! (apples at this time of year, of course).

Re: Just what we needed Dept: the DR Leaf and Lawn Vacuum

Ben — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 08:41:54 -0000

Fertilize!?! Who fertilizes a lawn? Who needs to cut it at all? Landscape with species that don't need watering or cutting, please. Let grass go dormant if it prefers. It need not be green constantly.

Re: Aqua Helix: A Half Gallon Per Minute Showerhead

Ben — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 14:09:28 -0000

I just placed an order through Sustainable Village. Note about "developing countries" and the lack of "United States" in country list were misleading, but shipping rates are based on UPS within continental U.S., so I went ahead with it. Just didn't select a country. I've received my order confirmation. I'll let you know what happens.

Re: Community Supported Agriculture in Downtown Manhattan

Ben — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 13:12:35 -0000

Tuv Ha'aretz is a Jewish CSA run out of Manhattan.

Re: LightCap by Simply Brilliant (names say it all)

Ben — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 11:49:58 -0000

On top of that, polycarbonate is one of the poorer choices for food-safe plastic.

Re: TreeHugger Asks: Who's Your Favorite Green Musician?

Ben — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 13:48:08 -0000

Magpie

Protium

Re: Carry Your Own Cutlery

Ben — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 10:23:06 -0000

That fork looks pretty nice, but I'll stick to my folding SIGG cutlery.

Re: Survey: Do You Like Daylight Saving Time?

Ben — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:53:44 -0000

I prefer the evening light. Not sure yet about morning darkness, given I live and work in pretty much the same place (at a retreat center). However, Dad asked a good question over the weekend. He said, "Tonight we lose an hour to Daylight Savings Time and just a week ago a leap year gave us an extra day. Could they have been combined and we would have netted 23 hours all at once?"

Re: Survey: Have Your Water Habits Changed?

Ben — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:12:19 -0000

I have been drinking lots of water for several years now, staying especially hydrated throughout the day, so going without water for more than a short while in any weather, my mouth gets dry. I don't have any intentions to stop this behavior.

Re: Survey: Do You Clean Green?

Ben — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:55:05 -0000

I just completed a transition for Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center to switch to green cleaning products. Most of them are from EcoLogic Solutions. (We're now paying 5¢ a gallon for potwashing detergent that doesn't give potwashers headaches and about 20¢ a gallon for floor cleaner with the same feature.) We're also going to start buying Biokleen premium laundry detergent (bleach built in, as it appears) and we've been gradually switching to 800 mL bag-in-box soap dispensers for unscented hand soap from Organic & Nature.

Re: Survey: Do We Need a Gas Tax Holiday?

Ben — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:33:22 -0000

Investigating oil giants would be good for putting their tremendous profits to better use, but strategically raising gas prices with driving taxes in markets where public and alternative transit is available and convenient would be smart, too.

Re: Video: Recharging Transportation - Alternative Energy Cars

Ben — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 09:15:32 -0000

Plus, I thought the rest of the world measured fuel economy in "litres per 100 kilometers." This is the first I've heard of "km/l."

Re: Wasteless at 30,000 Feet – First Class Dining with no Disposables

Ben — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:29:01 -0000

What airline?

Re: Elevator Etiquette

Ben — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 22:44:18 -0000

In some elevators, pressing a floor button (already pressed or not) is the quickest way to get the doors closed. This is especially useful when the Door Close button is hard to locate, less responsive, or sometimes even nonexistent.

Re: the better to wake you with

Ben — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:34:40 -0000

This unfortunately for the merchant assumes that I don't already have daylight streaming through my window and birds chirping outside when I wake up .

Re: Elevator Etiquette

Ben — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 22:44:18 -0000

Re: the better to wake you with

Ben — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:34:40 -0000

This unfortunately for the merchant assumes that I don't already have daylight streaming through my window and birds chirping outside when I wake up .

Re: Elevator Etiquette

Ben — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 22:44:18 -0000

Re: the better to wake you with

Ben — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:34:40 -0000

This unfortunately for the merchant assumes that I don't already have daylight streaming through my window and birds chirping outside when I wake up .