Walking Clean And Green: A Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW) Challenge!

Systematically walking the neighborhood
brings fun, profit and a tidy environment!

This week's "Change The World Wednesday Challenge" s pretty simple:

"This week take a walk and pick up trash. Then, come back here and tell us what you found (photos of what you collected would be great)!" 

My walk back from the bus stop has 8 possible routes: two east-west streets and four north-south streets. I try to hit each route at least once a every two weeks, and 9 days out of 10pick up one or more aluminum cans and plastic bottles. The bottles go into my recycling bin and the cans, squashed, go into the old wicker basket in my back yard.
Earlier this week, I had to drive to some other chores, so I put the cans in the trunk and dropped them off at SoDo recycling. At 40 cents a pound, I went away with a clear profit, especially considering that I hadn't had to make a special trip - all the walking and the one drive were things I was doing anyway!
This sort of recycling won't make anyone rich, but every little bit helps. My neighborhood is a little bit cleaner, our economy is a little bit healthier, I had a fun chat with the guy at the recycling center ( you know that old cast iron sink I tossed last month? I could've recycled that too at 9 cents a pound. Oh well, live and learn!! ).
In her challenge, Reduce Footprints asked for photos of what I'd picked up on my walk and ... in a real sense ... it was the money pictured above. Go Green!

Re-roofing underway!

Midway through tearoff
with metal roofing in foreground

We're getting our house re-roofed!
When we bought this place, we knew the roof would have to be replaced, but we put it off on the grounds that patching leaks was easy and the cost of replacement would be high.
However, an analysis with Solterra Systems of Seattle and Portland showed us that combining solar electric panels on the south side with a roofing would pay off in the long run --- and we're here for the long run!
The tear-off started last week. Of course it's a mess right now but the end result will be great!

Go2Meeting Treated Me Right

I expected to lose some money in cancelling my Go2Meeting account, and was pleasantly surprised that it didn't happen. Since I freely criticize companies when they treat me shabbily, I feel obliged to point out when a company treats me well.
A few months back, I responded to a free 30-day trial of Go2Meeting. It's a very user-friendly facility for doing web conferences, and I had thought that I would be organizing some. However, the projects I was thinking of using it for didn't come through, so I didn't use it after a few experiments.
However, I neglected to close the account. The terms of the 30-day free trial were clear; after the 30 day period, they'd start charging me month-by-month. It is completely my fault that I didn't cancel the thing when I decided I wasn't using it; by way of explanation I'll point out that I've been very very very very busy, but that doesn't excuse my noncancellation.
I noticed a charge by Go2Meeting; it was hard to miss since they sent me an email notification. I decided I'd better get to it and cancel the thing before another month goes by, but a month goes by and I am reminded that I have cancelled nothing because Go2Meeting sends me another notification.
THIS gets my attention; I've recently started ranking "to-dos" in terms of immediate financial impact, and the monthly fee was a nice concrete impact that bubbled the item near the top of my list quickly. I called their customer service to cancel, hoping that if I acted quickly I could get the most recent monthly charge reversed. If they insisted on sticking to the letter of the contract, there's no way I could think of forcing them to reverse the charges, but I figured it didn't hurt to ask. After all, I had not used the product after the free trial period.
I was pleasantly surprised when the customer service rep, after checking my usage and hearing my intention to close the account because I didn't use it, told me that they were reversing all charges. Perhaps this sort of thing happens a lot and they didn't want to hassle with angry forgetful people, or perhaps they just wanted to maintain a good image; either way, it worked. I hope to need a service like Go2Meeting soon, and their ready willingness not to charge me for a service that I had not actually used ... even though the letter of the contract strongly suggested they'd be entitled to hold on to at least some of the money ... has left me with a very good impression of the values of the company. The rep mentioned that the account was being inactivated but if I ever needed their service, I could reactivate it anytime (for the usual monthly fee of course).
To complete the business, I received email notification of the refunds within a day; this is a huge contrast to the days or weeks of delays I have experienced with some other companies not to be named.
Clearly, if and when I need an internet conferencing solution, I will feel confident to go back to Go2Meeting.
Fair's fair ... the above is my unvarnished experience!
Here's their website:
http://www.gotomeeting.com

4freeCLE newsletter: lots of online seminars about law et cetera

My weekly newsletter has kicked it up a notch with better graphics. Do you like?

4freeCLE: The Free CLE Newsletter! April 2, 2012 In This Issue On-Demand CLEs Webinar CLEs In-Person CLEs More About Us April 13 DEADLINE for Scholarshipsl The Pathways to Justice Conference, June 7-8, 2012 at UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, offers up to 10 MCLE credit. Legal services advocates, court staff or contractors and justice partners from small and rural programs may be able to attend free if you apply for a scholarship by April 13.   Read More Here! . On-Demand CLE Turn an idle hour into CLE credit with these free videos, available to you here and now! Client Interviewing and Using LawHelpCA.org to Find Client Resources. Techniques and tips for interviewing clients. By LAAF.  Current Developments in Conflicts of Interest. An overview of the rules pertaining to conflicts of interest, focusing on those set forth by the ABA and the California Bar Association. By Lexvid.  Emerging Trends in Legal Ethics and Professionalism: Today and in the Future. Trends and Recent Developments in Professional Responsibility. By the Peoria County Bar Association and the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission Of the Supreme Court of Illinois.  Ethics And Justice For All. The background, benefits and ethical underpinnings of Pro Bono Publico service for in-house and outside counsel. By Trial.com. Webinar CLE Free webinars combine the immediacy and credit of live programs with the convenience of internet access! April 3: Taxing Families: The Troubling Disconnect Between State and Federal Law. Tension between federal tax law and state arrangements such as domestic partnerships, civil unions and gay marriage. By CWRU School of Law. Also presented in-person (Cleveland). April 4: Classifying Workers: Who is an Employee and Who is an Independent Contractor? Potential pitfalls of worker misclassification, and how to protect a business. By Olshan Grundmand.  April 5: How Rejection Affects People. Laboratory work on how social rejection affects people, including effects on aggression, helping and self-defeating behavior. By CWRU School of Law. Also presented in-person (Cleveland).     April 6: Social Media for Lawyers. Week 9 of Topics In Digital Law Practice features "Earnie the Attorney", the award-winning weblog author. By the Center for Computer-Aided Legal Instruction.   April 10: Calculating Child Support for Clients with Reduced Income.Training for participants in the WSBA Moderate Means Program. By Washington State Bar Association. Also presented in-person (Seattle). April 10: Child Support Basics. Basics of Minnesota Child Support Statutes. By Minnesota Legal Services Coalition. April 12: Understanding Trade Controls and Sanctions in the 2012 Global Economy. How sanctions programs from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) impact doing business in today's global economy. By LexisNexis.   In-Person CLEs Unless otherwise stated, events are accredited in the state of location, and may be eligible for credit in other states via application or reciprocity. Often events involve terms and conditions, e.g. association membership or volunteer service.  April 3/Boston: Family Law 101 - Volunteer Training. By VLP.  April 3/Cleveland: Taxing Families: The Troubling Disconnect Between State and Federal Law. By Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Also presented as webinar.  April 3/NYC: Representing the Buyer: Coop and Condo Due Diligence and Contract Matters. By MarcIsrael.com. April 5/Cleveland: How Rejection Affects People. By Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Also presented as webinar.    April 10/Salem, OR: Elections Law. Free to Marion County Bar members.    April 10/Seattle: Calculating Child Support for Clients with Reduced Income. Training for lawyers in WSBA's Moderate Means Program. By WSBA. Also presented as webinar.  Apr 11/Cleveland, OH: Closing the Gap: Differences Between Male and Female Communications Styles in the Legal Profession. By Case Downtown Lecture Series. April 11/Seattle: A Guide to the French Legal System. By WSBA International Practice Section. Apr 11/Stillwater, MN: A New Way to Eliminate Bias in Mediation. By Washington County Law Library and Washington County Bar Association.  Apr 16/Boston: Intro to Guardianship of Minors. By VLP.  Apr 17/Pittsburgh: Practicing Green: Redeveloping Industrial Brownfields. By Allegheny County Bar Association Young Lawyer Division.   Apr 19/Minneapolis, MN: Family Law Volunteer Seminar and Reception. By Volunteer Lawyers Network and the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis.   April 25/Atlanta: Veterans Pro Bono Program Training. By Morris, Manning & Martin LLP and the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program.  April 27/Miami: Veterans Pro Bono Program Training. By Greenberg Traurig LLP and the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program. Register now to ensure seating. Was This Issue Forwarded To You? Get Your Own Subscription For Free!  4freeCLE is delivered weekly and will always be free.  Sign up now!

Honor, Not Law: an Article on Law and Battlefield Discipline

Armed Forces Journal published a very interesting article entitled
"Honor, Not Law: Rules of engagement are only a small part of battlefield discipline"

"...The military can and should do a better job teaching troops the law of armed conflict, but this would not have prevented civilian deaths in Haditha nor the abuse of enemy corpses in Afghanistan.

The problem of battlefield discipline goes beyond the law of armed conflict. The law is society’s response to undisciplined or unethical conduct. It does an OK job of sorting out the aftermath of an incident and categorizing the participants as either guilty or not guilty. But the law often falls short as a catalyst for ethical behavior, especially on the battlefield.

Law is the judgment of the community at large, but the impetus for ethical conduct among warriors must come from other warriors. The real challenge for commanders is not just to teach their troops about the law of armed conflict but to inculcate in their troops the ethos of the professional warrior — to instill an abiding sense of honor.
It is not enough for soldiers to know the rules, or even to follow them. Without deep reserves of character and psychological strength, troops in high-stress battlefield situations may fall prey to undisciplined impulses. Honor, not law, is the key to battlefield discipline...."

Read the whole article. We who are civilians may be thankful if we never need to understand the subject in practical terms, but when we, the civilian population, give directions to our military "Go there, do that!" we need to understand this stuff.

The World Avoided: The Good News about CFC Bans Saving the Ozone

Here's a pretty amazing article, that shows how smart we were to take action:

Summer ultraviolet (UV) index
used to alert people to the
intensity of sun-burning radiation
at the peak of the day
triples as ozone is depleted
in the "world avoided" scenario.
 Credit: NASA/Paul Newman, et. al.;
published in Atmospheric
Chemistry and Physics

"The year is 2065. Nearly two-thirds of Earth's ozone is gone -- not just over the poles, but everywhere. The infamous ozone hole over Antarctica, first discovered in the 1980s, is a year-round fixture, with a twin over the North Pole. The ultraviolet (UV) radiation falling on mid-latitude cities like Washington, D.C., is strong enough to cause sunburn in just five minutes. DNA-mutating UV radiation is up 650 percent, with likely harmful effects on plants, animals and human skin cancer rates.

Such is the world we would have inherited if 193 nations had not agreed to ban ozone-depleting substances, according to atmospheric chemists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Bilthoven.

Led by Goddard scientist Paul Newman, the team simulated "what might have been" if chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and similar chemicals were not banned through the treaty known as the Montreal Protocol. The simulation used a comprehensive model that included atmospheric chemical effects, wind changes, and radiation changes. The analysis has been published online in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics...."

Read the whole thing:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/world_avoided.html

Making Seafood Bisque for Soup Night At Big Al's

Big Al's has had a Soup Contest most Sunday's for about a year. Here, Kris faces the Challenge of Seafood Bisque!

Etch-A-Mitt!

Make Your Own Etch-A-Mitt!

The basic Etch-A-Mitt was created by Mike Spicer (!thanks Mike!). I added word balloons for your convenience. Copy and use widely!

Our Own Power Plants!

Signing the Contract with
Kevin from Solterra Systems

Using less oil has become more practical for my family because the roof on the house we bought last year was in such bad shape that we could install solar cells only after reroofing.

That's good news becuase now the credit union will finance the roof on the same loan as the cells! The CU isn't being charitable of course; the reason they don't normally finance roofs is the difficulty of repossession, whereas the solar units are relatively easy to move and resell should there be a default on the loan. So the upshot is that the CU has a secured loan that pays them well, and we will be generating most of our own electricity (here in cloudy Seattle!) and occasionally feeding a bit into the grid.

I had thought that the incentives and so forth were simply social engineering, and perhaps there is some of that, but what I have come to realize is that I am effectively capitalizing peak-load generating capacity for Seattle City Light! Electricity usage peaks (during the week) roughly the same time as peak solar energy production (10am-2pm) so my units are not competing against the cheap baseload generators, but against the expensive stuff that kicks in when everyone's running their work computers etc. City Light *could* invest in more capacity but instead *I* and other homeowners are taking the risk and borrowing the capital. My investment breaks even in 14 years (which may not sound fast, but remember, I'm not investing any labor time into this!), and after that it's pure profit.

Yay micro-capitalism!