I'm not sure if I have any regular readers... certainly no-one has mentioned my little break from writing this blog. I've had a month's holiday... over Christmas and New Year I just didn't feel like writing anything. And no-one noticed! Well, no-one asked why I wasn't keeping to my usual once a week routine. I didn't go anywhere on holiday, I've been at home, looking after the children, my wife, cooking, composting, managing logpiles, doing occasional Professor Fiddlesticks gigs and trying to keep on top of the paperwork. I suppose I've been a bit low, not as far as depressed, but not feeling my usual joyful optimistic self.
But I'm back to normal now, I'm determined to get back on track and
do a Green Man blog every week from now on, like I did in 2008 and a
big chunk of 07. I made a New Year's Resolution to complete my book
which is about giving up cannabis... I was a user for 22 years and am
now, this month, two years into being drug free.
I am still collecting data from people who have given up, via a questionnaire. The book is still being written but more people's stories would be most welcome! I miss using weed sometimes, but the benefits of not using it outweigh the enjoyment I got. The book is not about persuading people to stop, just to provide information to those considering it.
I am optimistic about life generally, and about the year ahead
especially. I'm delighted that Barack Obama is about to take over the
Presidency of the United States... not an easy job when facing
economic recession, peak oil, climate change, but he's a level-headed
guy and will be a breath of fresh air after the current clown. If you
are an optimist, you might like to consider looking at The Optimists Society,
and today (Monday 19th January) is International Optimism Day.
These lovely people ask us to give a smile to someone in the street, to perform a 'random act of kindness' such as telling a colleague that you really enjoy working with them (hey, only if it's true!), and invite you to 'Grin and Beat It' which is at the Comedy Store in Oxenden St, London, from 1pm til 2.30pm.... for a Laughter Workshop, and a performance by L Vaughan Spencer 'The Gangsta Motivator'!! And it's free!
This blog is supposed to help you, the reader, be greener, or live more sustainably and ethically. So, this link might help. How many of you have to print stuff? Well, most of you, I bet! I'm a bit unusual, as I have deliberately not got a printer, but if I had, I know I'd prefer to replace my ink cartridges less often rather than more often. So how to do that? (read on!)
Some clever Dutch people called Spranq have invented a font called 'Ecofont' which is free to download and free to use, and should save you 20% on ink costs. It uses less ink but is just as readable as 'normal' fonts, by having tiny holes in the letters! How innovative is that?
So, if you do one green thing this week, download Ecofont and use it for your printed documents. And, like the ethos surrounding the Optimists Society, it would be a good thing to pass it on, and share it with others. The more people using 20% less printer ink and toner, the better!