Neil’s blog

Originally published at Neihilisms. You can comment here or there.

start writing something here or put this to bed. It seems like facebook has taken over where this left off.....

Originally published at Neihilisms. You can comment here or there.

To my baby momma - thank you for every little thing you do - I am a better person because of you - our daughters will become strong women because of you - our home is a home because of you - I love you.

Originally published at Neihilisms. You can comment here or there.

Yup - Jess asked me if I want to spend my 40th birthday in Boston...woot! We've even got Sox tickets for the day after. So if anyone is planning on being around, I will be back in beantown July 10-13th :-)

And our seats (4th row right field box):

Originally published at Neihilisms. You can comment here or there.

The Patriots took out the Jags tonight...sweet. Just two more games to go. Very nice.

Any chance the Chargers can take out the Colts tomorrow ?!?

Originally published at Neihilisms. You can comment here or there.

Originally published at Neihilisms. You can comment here or there.

Happy Holidays from ours to yours. Looking forward to a great 2008.

Originally published at Neihilisms. You can comment here or there.

nuff said

Originally published at Neihilisms. You can comment here or there.

Hit Ri-Ra for lunch today and now I am nostalgic for home. Damn.

Originally published at Neihilisms. You can comment here or there.

Its been a looonnnng season (I've watching 100+ games this year) but its paid off. Congrats go out the Boston Red Sox, 2007 World Champions! Woot!

Originally published at Neihilisms. You can comment here or there.

About 2 months ago my home printer died. I contemplated picking up a new one right away but procrastinated. Now, I don't miss it at all. I realized that most of the things I was printing (aside from photos - I have a photo printer for that) were web pages that I generally only need one small piece of information and have found that it is just as easy to jot it down on a scrap piece of paper (imagine that!). About a week ago I was asked to join a "paper reduction working group" at the office and began to think about reducing my use of paper in both places.

After a fair amount of poking around on the web and some common sense, I've put together my list of things to do as well as one "get involved" task.

1) Eliminate junk mail and credit card offers. I cannot believe how much paper I throw away every day. Go to this link https://www.dmachoice.org/MPS/ and fill out the form.

2) Stop buying paper towels - switch to the microfiber sheets that are washable and resusable

3) Buy all recycled paper products (especially toilet paper)

4) Switch to paperless billing on as many of your bills as possible (nearly all of my creditors have this option now)

5) Swap magazines for their online equivalent (try zinio.com)

6) Buy in bulk whenever possible

7) Make your own grocery sacks (I know, this is pretty hard core) http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=177482.msg1837265;topicseen#msg1837265

And at work:

1) Proofread before printing!

2) Print everything in duplex

3) Leverage web documents whenever possible

4) Require passwords on printers and conduct regular audits (which groups print the most?)

5) Conference calls rather than face to face meetings

6) Don't bring copies for all attendees (you always bring too many anyway!)

7) For crying out loud turn off separator sheets (that was so 70s)

And here is my "Get Involved" tip:

1) Start a write-in petition to your local grocer, bookstore, etc. to eliminate paper receipts. If you use a key fob they know who you are, so why can't they email you your receipt? I love the fact that the Apple Store does this and I really wish every store would do this!

And if you want to research on your own, here are some links to get you started:

The Fully Electronic Office (or Clinical Trial) Myth
http://www.actmagazine.com/appliedclinicaltrials/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=125553

Paperless office
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paperless_office

Quit Paper
http://www.quitpaper.com/

6 Tips for a Paperless Office
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/technology/communications/6_tips_for_a_paperless_office.mspx

Paperless Home
http://headworx.slupik.com/2006/06/paperless-home.html

Paperless Office? Get Real
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/article.php/3703551

California (Reduce Paper Use)
http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/BizWaste/Posters/PCFiles.htm

Cutting Paper
http://eetd.lbl.gov/paper/

Circle of Life: Reducing Paper Use
http://www.circleoflifefoundation.org/education/sustainable/reducing/reduce_paper.htm

Conservatree: Green Paper
http://www.conservatree.org/learn/Essential%20Issues/EIintro.shtml

Direct Marketing Mailing Lists
https://www.dmachoice.org/consumerassistance.html

Ecology.com: The Paper Chase
http://www.ecology.com/feature-stories/paper-chase/index.html

American Forest and Paper Association
http://www.afandpa.org/

Green Guardian: Office Paper Calculator
http://greenguardian.com/business/p_calc.asp