HerringLaw: Civil Rights & Discrimination Law in Iowa

Reusing and Recycling and Repurposing

I've always hated waste, so it's not unusual to do the spring/fall cleaning and have SalvationArmy or DAV come pick up those items.  But I've also happened upon "recycling networks" - one is through www.freecycle.org and the other is through www.reuseitnetwork.org.  There's also a website where you can buy recycled items [www.reuseit.com].

I have for years used the Des Moines Freecycle site and then started up using the local Reuseit site [a Yahoo group].  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DesMoinesIAMetroReuseit/  The whole purpose of these sites is that you list items you are offering or that you want - free of charge - and there are others in the community who may want or need them and they come get them and will use them and you don't have to deal with trashing or giving them away.  

I am constantly amazed by what other people will find useful in their lives.  For instance, some people like to tinker with things or have talents with electrical appliances, so that old computers, tvs, radios, and kitchen appliances are just fine with them, for parts, for fixing up or whatever.  And it's one less thing in the landfill.

This was brought home to me today:  I am cleaning out old papers and found some genealogical charts I made when I was studying British history = charts of the kings of England and the like.  Some from books and some I'd put together from readings.  Of no use to me now = but I posted about it and have 4-5 people already who have indicated they'd like to be given the charts.  So, I've cut down on my trash/recycling and someone else has benefited from taking it off my hands.  A win win solution.

 

Caring for Cloth Grocery Bags - Lots of helpful info here!

Caring for Cloth Grocery Bags

Reusable cloth grocery bags are a great way to help drastically reduce the number of plastic "disposable" grocery bags that end up in landfills. Those plastic bags, which are made from nonrenewable petrochemicals, can take more than 1,000 years to decompose! Though cloth grocery bags are more environmentally friendly, their longer life spans mean they can become moldy or messy with frequent reuse.

How do you move things between your Mac computer & iOS devices?

I was just talking to someone about what she's going to do because her Mac is too old to be updated to Lion and use the iCloud.  The iCloud will make sharing between all your Apple devices [computer, iPad, iPhone, AppleTV] much easier, the idea being that the information/material is in the 'cloud' and resourced by the devices when needed/wanted.  [n.b., nothing is totally safe, so you're wise to have backup copies of your most important and irreplaceable things, whether they're in the cloud or not = Murphy's Law].

Thinking a bit, I realized that I'm doing this myself now [I don't yet have iCloud].  I'm not sure about music [but since they're digital files they can be copied elsewhere, I think].  I have the following Cloud accounts, all free:  3GB at Dropbox, 5GB at SugarSync and 5GB at Evernote.  With each, but particularly with dropbox and Evernote you can email things to your account and they will be there for you.  Then you go to your desktop or iPad or iPhone apps [all free] and access the document or item you need.  Remember that anything you take out of the Dropbox on the Cloud or computer/pad etc. is removed, not copied and moved.

So, go to Dropbox or Evernote or SugarSync [I'm sure there are others!] and read the explanations for what you get.  You can run some tests [after all, they're free] and see which you like.  At least til you join the iCloud, this might be sufficient.

 

[I'm researching cloud computing as backup storage and hope to write about that in the near term.]

Rules for Clarity

"To be understood, the writing must be clear and organized. To be clear, it must be as simple as possible. To be simple, it must be focused. To be persuasive, it must be clear, simple and focused." former Justice Mark McCormick (in today's seminar materials)

Painless Buying Experience

Here's a prescription for buying something you really want relatively painlessly:  set up a savings account at SmartyPig...let the savings accumulate and interest too....get a RewardsCard [a debit card tied to the money in the SmartyPig account]...buy at one of the many retailers with which there is a SmartyPig link....pay for it with the RewardsCard [which has been filled up with the account money once your goal is met] .... get cash back for the purchase, which goes back into the RewardsCard account.

The saving was painless, since it was done monthly [a friend years ago told me the thing to do was to 'pay yourself' first, then the rest, making saving a high priority], the buying was easy and getting both interest and a refund amount to do so was a great thing

I have a number of accounts at SmartyPig, one for computer and camera items, one for household, one for travel, etc.  When I need/want something, I look to these savings for funds and avoid the credit card. 

A helpful website for conversions & a GREAT application too

I was trying to convert volumes and came across this which deals with all sorts of conversions that might be needed:  http://www.asknumbers.com/

There is also a great application for your iPhone or iPad called AppBoxPro.  It has all sorts of features:  alarm clock, date calculator, currency and loan calculators, translators, unit calculator, flashlight.  It's truly essential.  One of the best 99 cents I've spent.

Identity Theft and How to Combat It.

In 2007, a U.S. couple fell victim to identity theft when a criminal accessed their online bank account and stole $26,500 from a home equity credit line. The money was transferred to an Austrian bank that refused to return the funds to Citizens Financial Bank. So Citizens Financial informed the couple that they were liable for the loss. When the couple refused to pay, the bank notified the credit bureaus that their account was delinquent and threatened to foreclose on their home. So the couple sued the bank, claiming violations of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as well as accusing the bank of negligence.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Time to get your free credit reports...but be careful

Loads of people/sites out there want to offer services, but if you go through the FTC [Federal Trade Commission] website you'll find the office site,  Annual Credit Reports.  It's a fairly easy process and you can download your free report and review it later and then get in touch if there are errors.  Good idea to do this once a year.

 just a flower picture, from the Veneto Region, in Italy.

Salmon, grilled by Mark

If your favorite celebrity were coming to your house for dinner, what would be the main course and why?
Submitted by Noshtopia

 My husband grills a mean salmon and it's delicious and good for you as well.

DoNotCall Registry - for both landlines and mobile

Go to DoNotCall.gov and register your phone numbers and you can stop those irritating solicitations.  And you can file a complaint if you do get pestered.  I've registered my home and business number but had forgotten my mobile, but took care of that just today.

Your registration will not expire. Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. Read more about it at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/04/dncfyi.shtm.