Jay Gaulard Blog

We Met Whole Foods Today

Monday, April 28th, 2008

If there is one thing that should motivate you to move to a new town, it should be Whole Foods.

I remember a few weeks ago when the realtor was showing us houses in this area, she said, “Ooh, and they are building a brand new Whole Foods here. It should be open in a few days. We are all VERY excited.” Laura and I were sitting there like, “Uh huh. What in the heck is Whole Foods?” Of course we nodded because we knew our realtor wouldn’t lead us astray.

So, what is Whole Foods? Here is a clip from their website: “Our motto — Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet — emphasizes that our vision reaches far beyond just being a food retailer. Our success in fulfilling our vision is measured by customer satisfaction, Team Member excellence and happiness, return on capital investment, improvement in the state of the environment, and local and larger community support.” Let me just tell you, they live up to their motto.

A few days ago, Laura informed me that we should make a visit to this new grocery store. We still don’t have natural gas (next Monday), so we have to eat items that can be cooked in the microwave or cold, such as our famous wraps or sandwiches. You really should try them. I was pretty excited because Whole Foods is located in Glastonbury and if you have never visited, Glastonbury is my kind of town…well off.

Well, today was the day. We drove over to the store and started walking to the entrance. One of our all time most favorite stores in the world is Wegmans. We were wondering if this one would be better or worse. When we got inside, I asked a woman from the florist section if they have plastic bag recycling. I have had a pile in my back seat for a few weeks now. She walked me over to the recycling area. I put the bags in the bin and from that point on, we were in heaven. You should see the place. Ok, you know the organic section at regular supermarkets? Well, this whole store is like that. Up and down every single isle is the highest quality food you have ever seen. We were looking for Folgers coffee and they didn’t have it…too regular. We had to buy a different (twice as expensive) brand. I will say that the shopping experience unexpectedly cost much more than anticipated, but it is kind of worth it. I don’t think we will be doing all our food shopping there, but as far as fun and healthy food shopping goes, this is the place. What a niche.

When we were done putting all our items in our cart, we wandered over to the check out register. The first question the girl asked us was how many bags we had, meaning reusable bags. Man, what a trip. Just the way she assumed that we had them told me I was among my kind of folk. Unfortunately, we only had one bag. As it turned out, that was all we needed because we stuffed it to the gills.

Oh, before I forget, Whole Foods has a realy good micro brew area. I was looking through it when I said that we should leave the isle before I buy something. Just as we turned around and started to leave, something sucked me back to the beer like it was a huge magnet and I had an iron plate in my chest. I bought “Fuel Cafe Coffee Flavored Stout” by Lakefront Brewery. I am drinking it right now and it tastes a lot like Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout, but without that bite. It’s much smoother and very good.

After we left the food store, we drove over to Home Depot for a few things. Then, we traveled back to the hometown to drop something off at the post office. What a pleasant day. Over and out.

Hubble, Going Green, Web Hosting and Recycling or Hell

Tuesday, March 11th, 2008

Top 10 Hubble Images of All Time

As the title says, this article lists the top ten Hubble space satellite images ever taken. Hubble has been in operation since 1990, and now after serving almost for 20 years it is time to list the very best images taken by Hubble.

3 Extreme Ways To Go Green

Recycle, schmecycle. These days, saving the Earth requires a lot more than just collecting cans.

Warning: The Web Hosting Business is Not For Kids

I admire teenagers (including many of you) who do take the step into the on-line world, but Web Hosting is a business which you should attempt only if you are serious and only if you are not after a quick buck. Why? Because you will fail and drag your customers with you when this happens.

Recycle or go to Hell, warns Vatican

Failing to recycle plastic bags could find you spending eternity in Hell, the Vatican said after drawing up a list of seven deadly sins for our times. The seven, which include polluting the environment, were announced by Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, a close ally of the Pope and the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary…

5 Tips to Improve Search Rank

Optimizing your website for search engines can be a time consuming and costly process if you don’t know what you are doing. Utilize these five search engine optimization tips provided by a professional SEO firm to improve your organic search engine rank.

Recycled Paper, Solar Collecting, Beautiful Bridges and Wind Power

Saturday, March 8th, 2008

Tips On How To Choose the Right Recycled Paper

When you go to the store and stand in front of the many reams or packages of paper, it’s hard to know what to buy.

Solar Collecting Roads Heat Buildings in Denmark

Solar is a highly efficient for heating water. Combining it with underground storage, and a year-round system can be created where the system can cover heating requirements in the winter and cooling in the summer.

10 Most Beautiful Bridges in the World

Bridges are stylish: from classical to modern, they are as much a work of art as they are marvels of engineering. To celebrate the wonders of “classic” bridges, here are Neatorama’s picks for the Top 10 Most Beautiful Bridges in the World.

NBC11 First TV Station In U.S. To Be Powered By Wind

As of Friday, March 7, 2008, NBC11 has become the first television in the U.S. to be powered by wind. The station has offset its electricity with 100 percent certified energy certificates, according to station officials.

When To Use An Ultraviolet System To Purify Your Drinking Water

Ultraviolet (UV) light water filtration and purification has been used for well over one hundred years to make drinking water safe. Today it is used by some of the largest cities in the world to purify their municipal drinking water supplies. These cities include New York, Rotterdam, Seattle, and many others in Europe, Asia, and North America.

Reusable Shopping Bags

Monday, February 4th, 2008

I was in Home Depot over the weekend getting some stuff. I was in the molding aisle when I overheard some dude talking to a nice couple. We were all in the same boat…looking for molding. The dude and the couple were talking about recycled materials used in the molding…I think. Then, somehow they got onto the shopping bag issue. You know, the bags at grocery stores and Wal-Mart stores.

The lady mentioned something about how you can recycle your used bags at the grocery stores. This is something I learned only a few weeks ago. She also mentioned that the store will actually give you a credit if you bring your own bag(s). I thought that was pretty cool, but have never experienced it myself.

Then, the dude starts talking about how so many recycled products are more expensive than their non-recycled counterparts. He said that it boggled his mind why that is. He continued to ask why in the world he would pay more for a recycled product when he could get the non-recycled product for less. He again said that his mind was boggled. It was even confused. I, being the guy who just spent almost double the regular cost for paper towels and toilet paper (100% recycled), was eager to jump in. I wanted to tell the man that by purchasing the recycled products, he was doing something good for the bigger picture. But I didn’t. My urge faded away when I realized my words would be lost on him. He kind of stuck me as the type of guy who was set in his ways. Being the “tough talker” he was, I most likely would’ve come off as some liberal San Fransiscan. From my experience, many of these Home Depot shoppers I come across, don’t seem to have rational views on societal issues. I walked away thinking of how stupid he was.

By the time I got to the end of the aisle, I realize that he did have a point. Most people are heavily influenced by what’s in their wallets. If this recycled product thing is ever going to take off, the producers of these products have to stop punishing people for buying them. Isn’t it weird that so much stuff out there that is good for you and good for the planet costs twice as much as all the junk that isn’t? Things are a little backwards, in my opinion.

Anyway, Laura and I went shopping at the local expensive Hannaford that night. We brought two of our reusable tote bags with us. When I arrived at the checkout area and the nice lady noticed we had two of our own bags, she credited us five cents each. I know that isn’t much, but I thought it was pretty cool. The whole way home I kept on talking about how I was going to write about it.

When we arrived back at the house, I was still thinking. I mentioned how neat it was for stores to reward people for using their own shopping bags. Then, as I was entering the house, I remembered an article that I read the day before. It was about how, in Dublin, after a tax was introduced on plastic bags, their use dropped 94%. I began to think about the fact that I never once saw anyone else in Hannaford with their own reusable shopping bags. I am sure people use them, but I have never seen them. Strange. Perhaps rewarding people for using their own bags is good, but punishing them for not is better. After all, a 94% reduction is plastic bag use is something to write home about.

Asteroids, Garbage, Earth and the New Green

Monday, December 31st, 2007

Huge Asteroid Headed for Earth–Too Close for Comfort

It is headed our way, and it’s a big one, but the chances of hitting Earth are 1-in-3030, and it won’t be in the neighborhood until 2048. Naturally, a rock of that size would do significant damage to the planet. The asteroid is 130 meters across–that’s about 142 yards or 1-1/2 football fields, if you’re American.

Continent-sized floating garbage patch threatens food chain

In one of the few places on Earth where people can rarely be found, the human race has well and truly made its mark. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean lies a floating garbage patch twice the size of Britain. A place where the water is filled with six times as much plastic as plankton, a plastic-plankton soup that is entering the food chain.

Planet Earth 2007: Top 10 Science Revelations

From the damning climate report by the IPCC to projections of an impending peak in global oil production, 2007 was full of startling findings and prognostications about the blue marble we call home.

Blue is the new green

Advertising firm JWT predicts that one of the top trends of 2008 will see blue replacing green as the color of environmentalism, social conscience, and all-round niceness.

How to Recycle Your Christmas Tree

If you had a real Christmas tree this year how are you planning to get rid of it? Here is a short guide on how to properly dispose of your Christmas tree.

Hydrogen Cars, Broadband, Recycling and AMD

Monday, November 19th, 2007

Blogger takes Honda’s $10m hydrogen fuel cell FCX Clarity for a test drive

What would you do if Honda handed you the keys to a $10 million car that emits only water vapor? Everything legal, that’s what. Read AutoblogGreen’s first in-depth review of a car some lucky people will be able to lease next summer. When will the rest of us get to drive a hydrogen car?

Broadband speeds days numbered?

Enjoy your speedy broadband Web access while you can. The Web will start to slow down as early as 2010, as use of interactive and video-intensive services overwhelms local cable, phone and wireless Internet providers

Think Recycling Computers Is A Good Thing? Think Again

Most people think they’re helping the earth when they recycle their old computers, televisions and cell phones. But chances are they’re contributing to a global trade in electronic trash that endangers workers and pollutes the environment overseas

Is AMD Doomed?

Can a $622M dollar cash infusion plus reasonably profitable GPUs give AMD enough breathing room to prove its gamble on true quad core was a good one? The jury is still out, but the portents are not very encouraging. The tech world really needs a scrappy, nimble CPU company like AMD, just like it needs a scrappy, cool computer company like Apple.

Why Car Salesmen Think its Okay to Screw you, And what you can do about it!

This is a good article on common arguments a car salesman may throw at you during the buying process. Very informative, kind of funny, but SO true!

Soaker Hose for the Garden

Tuesday, June 19th, 2007

As you may know, I like to plant things and admire the things I plant. I even like Planters Peanuts. I take it personally when things droop or die.

You may also know that the success of any new plant depends on many things, but one of them is the amount of water they receive. So many people sit there and watch the trees and shrubs that they just planted a few days ago die. I would think that many of them scratch their heads in wonder.

If you ask any of my neighbors what I do in the evening, they would probably tell you that I like to walk down the road and back as well as water the gardens. I do water a lot. I always knew that my hose and sprinkler method was not the most efficient way to do things, but that’s what I have to work with.

Laura came home the other night with a new shipment of plants she got from her friend. We planted them with some success. Some are taking off and some are half dead. Since such new plants require a lot of water and a lot of attention, I decided to get some of those soaker hoses I have heard about in the past. They are much more efficient than regular watering methods and are partially made with recycled tires. It’s all good.

If you are interested in water conservation via soaker hoses, you can check out these resources…

- Saving Water Partnership
- Fiskars Bulk Soaker Hose
- Garden and Soaker Hoses (EPA)

I have to say, these hoses are pretty cool. When you turn them on, you just watch them get wet. I did this last night and wondered if they were actually doing anything. Then, I dug my hand under the mulch to see that they were.

Save some water, give ‘em a shot.

What Can I Compost?

Thursday, June 14th, 2007

So Laura and I have decided that it would be a good idea to cut down even more on our garbage output. We thought that composting would be a great thing to do…and it is.

I started looking up different things online about composting, such as various composters, what I can compost and different composting blogs. The “How to Make Compost” link has a great table down towards the middle of the page that includes what to and what not to compost.

So far, we are just separating our garbage. Right now, we actually have more garbage to recycle than regular trash, so that’s good. The only thing is that we won’t really have much to compost and that’s a little disappointing. Oh well…

I thought that I might offer a few links about composting and gardening as a whole…I just took the list from the blog I mentioned above. I am fairly sure that the site owners won’t mind a few extra links to them.

Clean Air Gardening
Compost Guide Home
Composter Store
Practical Environmentalist
Dirt: Amy Stewart organic gardening blog
Compost Bin Blog
Onion Gardening
Garden Plant Care
Garden Tool Guide
Texas Gardening Tips
Urban Farmer
Veggie Gardening Tips
Calendula & Concrete
North Country Maturing Gardener
skippy’s vegetable garden
The Inadvertent Gardener
In My Kitchen Garden
Can You Dig It
Vegetables for Breakfast
Outdoor Furniture Guide
Clean Air Gardening blog
Italian Cooking Supply blog

I want to get one of those really cool tumbler type composters in the future, but I think it would be a good idea to wait until we actually have something to put in it. I don’t bag or rake up our grass clippings, because that would be taking all the Nitrogen right off the lawn…the very thing I want to keep in there.

If I pick up a composter in the future, you can count on some nice photos right here.

How To Deal With Junk Mail

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007

Can you believe the amount of junk mail you receive every day?

When I get home from work, I walk to the mailbox. I usually have a smile on my face and some pep in my step. I open the mailbox, and to my dismay, I discover a heaping pile of wasted paper.

A few months ago, I began renting a PO box from the local post office. I never put the address on anything and never used it. I was curious a few weeks later to see if there was anything in it. I walked into the post office and opened the PO box. The thing was jam packed full of more wasted paper. Needless to say, I am returning the key to the box.

On a trip to Home Depot earlier this week, I was listening to NPR (National Public Radio). As far as I am concerned, that is the only intelligent conversation on the air today. They were talking about the “National Do Not Call Registry.” I think the DJ’s words went something like this: “Back when you signed up for the Do Not Call list, I’m sure you didn’t realize that your actions were contributing to the clear cutting of forests to make paper for more junk mail.” Of course, that’s from my poor memory. They were talking about how much more junk mail there is now that companies can’t call so many people.

I was talking last night about how much junk mail I get. Do you know that I probably get about five credit card offers a week? Most of them are from the credit card company I already have a card with!!!

If you are getting fed up with this, like I am, what can you do about it? I found some pretty good websites that talk about it.

- Do-it-yourself: Stop junk mail, email and phone calls
- Stopping the junk mail tree killers
- Greendimes.com - Restore your sanity and our planet

Something really has to be done about this. Where we live, our recycling is picked up every two weeks. Every two weeks, we have an entire 32 gallon garbage can filled with paper and more that won’t fit. Every two weeks. I would say that 80% of this paper we didn’t ask for. That’s just crazy.