Battery Tester works great, saves batteries!

If you haven't switched over to recycled batteries yet, you can make sure that you don't accidently throw away good batteries. This simple battery tester is very inexpensive, easy to use, and it allowed me to avoid throwing away quite a few batteries, since I wasn't sure which ones were dead, and which ones had "juice" left in them. Highly recommended for everyone!

Enchanted Honeycomb in Canada moving "off the grid"

We had to go to a wedding in Gray Creek, British Columbia. It is about 4 hours from the nearest airport (Spokane), so it is a bit isolated (even for Canada). What we found was a great oasis of nature.

We needed a place to stay, and the local bed and breakfast places were pretty expensive. We wanted to find something more affordable, so we searched Craigslist for an alternative. What we found seemed to fit our needs. It was near the lake, close to the wedding, and much more affordable. The house was owned by Charles, and we communicated via email for a couple weeks about the details and directions to get there.

When we arrived, we were happy to find a secluded home. To our pleasant surprise, the home was hand built, and the homesite was being setup to be self-sufficient in the future (more on that below).

Charles has been living in the area for a while, so he was very helpful with directions, places to eat and get snacks, and advice on things to do. If you've never been to the area, it's nice to have someone local to talk to and ask questions.

They even spent a couple hours with us on Saturday before the wedding ceremony, showing us around the vast amounts of land that he owned, and explaining the future plans he had in mind.



We first walked down to the lakefront, and hopped into the canoes for a short trip around the area. The mountains on the other side of the lake are well within reach, if you want to canoe to the other side. We didn't have much time, so we stayed pretty close, and just enjoyed the views and calmness of the lake. The water is a little cold, so we decided to forgo swimming, but it is so clear and clean that you could drink from it. Not often can you see the bottom of a lake. They have also set the foundations for a couple cabins or yurts to be built next to the lake in the near future, so we are excited about coming back to check those out when they are complete.

We walked back up the mountain, and headed through the trails for a short hike. We didn't climb up too high, but we did get some incredible views of the lake and mountains. It would be easy to get lost, so we were glad we had tour guides.



When we arrived back at the house, we were shown the horses, ducks and chickens. They will serve multiple purposes in the future. The three horses will be used for transportation, and will help with plowing and other chores. The chickens and ducks provide eggs. All the animal manure will be used in the future to produce methane, which will be used to generate electricity, and move them further "off the grid". In addition, there was a compost pile and organic garden, which provides the soil and vegetables throughout the summer months. They also showed us the plans for a gazebo, greenhouse (for year round gardening) and a horse stable. This will provide many different housing options for guests. Their future plans for the area not only include housing, but workshops, activites and other educational opportunities for those wanting to live a more sustainable lifestyle.



The room was very affordable, especially compared to other nearby hotels or Bed and Breakfast rooms that run over $100 per night. For one week, you can stay there for about $300 (about $40 per day). The price can fluctuate due to the number of days you stay, and whether a weekend is included. Obviously you won't get the same amenities as those other places, but most guests are looking for something more unique, and aren't concerned with the same things most hotel guests would expect. That being said, you do not need to compromise a great night sleep by choosing to stay here. The beds were very comfortable and we had everything we needed. We also had a great view of the lake and mountain background.



As a bonus on our last day, Ellie made us a Spanish omelette to go, which really hit the spot. We were pressed for time, as we needed to get to the ferry early enough to get a spot, so we didn't have time to stop and eat.

We would DEFINITELY stay there again. If you haven't been to Kootenay Lake, it is something wonderful to see, and we highly recommend setting up a vacation to check it out. For more information on the Enchanted Honeycomb, contact Charles Hughes or call 250-227-6944.

Black and Decker Power Consumption Monitor

I have been using it for about two months now, and I think it is great! I can turn items on and off and see what they cost to run. This also gives me an estimate of what my monthly bill is actually going to be, instead of waiting for a surprise when the bill comes. Most people are not able to get this kind of detail on their bills without having a device like this.

Here are some examples of what I've discovered with this device:

Normal Electric use = $0.03-$0.04 per hour
Air conditioner on = $0.29-$0.38 per hour addtl
Water Heater on = $0.04-$0.12 per hour addtl



Some of these costs aren't maintained the entire time. For example, the air conditioner doesn't run 100% when its on, only while it's trying to ramp up to the correct temperature, then it backs off and is in a maintain mode. The bottom line is that you can observe how these changes affect your costs.



Installation was pretty simple. All I had to do was make a simple hookup on the outside of my gas meter using a screwdriver. You do have to program the device (instructions inside pretty straight forward) and lookup your billing rates from your electric company, but it's information you should be knowledgeable of anyways.

Cost is about $100. Check out the details at the link below.

Black and Decker Power Consumption Monitor

Current Energy Store in Dallas

For the past year or so, I have wanted to create a store that only sold eco-friendly items, like solar powered items, low flow toilets, automatic composters, energy monitors and organic cotton tees. Turns out Current Energy in Dallas had the idea a couple years earlier. I was able to visit it recently (there's only one right now).



All the products you can imagine. The one store you don't have to worry about what you're buying, because it is all good for the environment.

Visit their website, where you can order these products online

Current Energy Dallas

Starlite Lounge in San Diego

When you first walk through the odd-shaped entrance, you are immediately hit with the uniqueness of this restaurant. We had definitely never been in a restaurant that looked like this. Very cool! Supposedly it is based upon the Alfred Hitchcock movie 'North by Northwest' (which I've seen ironically, since I've hardly seen any classic movies). It is dark like a lounge, but perfect for a date, or a night out with friends.



It was busy when we arrived on a Friday night, so we decided to eat at the bar. No problem, it was just the two of us, so it worked out great! We were also dressed pretty casual, but they have a no dress code policy, so we didn't feel obligated to dress up. However, if you and your date want to walk in with a tuxedo and evening dress, that would not be too formal for this place.



We ordered an organic beer and cider from Samuel Smith, which was excellent. I hadn't heard of them before, but I intend to look for them more in the future. They originate out of England, but have distribution out of Washington state. The food is made with local and/or organic ingredients as much as possible, and they support good sustainable practices, which you hope all restaurants are doing by now.

I ordered the steak, which was an 8 oz. prime flat iron, asparagus, organic potatoes, and nasturtium flower butter. I try to minimize the amount of beef I eat, so usually only when I eat out at a nice place do I allow myself to go for beef. It tasted great. My wife ordered the burger (also a rarity for her), which was an all natural Brandt beef patty, Gruyere cheese, caramelized onions served on a
brioche bun with dijonaise, house made pickles & fries. She also enjoyed her meal (and I helped her finish it off).

The only major problem we had was the location. It was a little ways from many other restaurants and stores, so unless you live nearby, you probably want to drive (safer due to its proximity to I-5 and the amount of traffic you encounter). When you get there, you have to park in a residential area a couple blocks away (on a busy night). Not much they can do to control that, so I won't dock them any points.

You can look at their menu here: Starlite Menu

If you're in the San Diego area, and are looking for a cool place to eat organic food, Starlite is definitely the place for you. Visit their website at: StarliteSanDiego.com for more information.

Review of Solio Solar Powered Charger

I received the much-anticipated Solio charger as a gift recently, and I couldn't wait to try it out. The thought of having my cell phone taken "off the grid" was pretty cool.



When I received the package, I was impressed that it came in a reused Motorola cell phone box. They could have chosen a fancy packaging with their logo out of virgin materials, but instead chose to keep with their green image.

Since I have an iPhone, I had to order a special attachment for the charger. When it arrived, it took me a while to figure out that I had to use my computer USB adapter for the iPhone, along with their adapter cable, in order to get things to connect together properly. I made a call to customer service, and they were able to set me straight. The instructions provided were mainly pictures of what to do, which usually are sufficient, but i kept looking for some written instructions for specific issues like this one. Once I got the pieces aligned, I was able to start capturing the sun for my own personal use.

You need to first charge your Solio via the computer first, before charging your device. I fully charged the Solio, but had trouble getting the charge transferred to my iPhone. Turns out you have to turn off your cell phone completely to have the device begin charging back up. That wasn't very clear either. Finally, some success! I was able to charge my phone from the Solio. Next step, getting a charge from the sun, instead of my computer!

I work in an office building that doesn't have any nearby windows, so I used the cool suction cup feature to set the charger on my car windshield while I was at work. I work in Florida, so sunshine is not a problem. After work was done, I expected to find a partial charge on the device, but was disappointed to find the same charge level as when I left it.

What happened?

Turns out the Solio likes to have a direct sunlight right at the device, otherwise it doesn't show a red charge light, and therefore is not charging. Maybe I am unfamiliar with solar technology, but I figured you could just lay the charger on the dashboard, and any sunlight, direct or not, would get captured. Since a full charge requires 12-24 hours of direct sun, i've been unable to get a full charge. I think I would probably need to go out to my car every couple hours and adjust the device so it has the best position to capture sunlight. Maybe I need to park my car in a certain angle so there are no shadows or nearby cars to block the sunlight. I think I need to completely rethink my parking situation at work.



Bottom line, I so wanted this device to be an easy way to avoid charging my phone with electricity, but it has been really frustrating so far. The company gets an A for effort, but I would rate it a C for execution so far. I haven't given up hope yet, but I've been pretty disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high to begin with. Look for updates later, if I find success with this device. If I can find a spot that gets good sunlight most of the day (without leaving it outside, or on top of my car), then that might take care of my main issues.

Oat: The new renewable energy?

I saw this mentioned on an environmental website the other day, and thought it was pretty cool, especially since I'm a former alum.

"According to a University of Iowa video, burning oat hulls - instead of just coal - saves about $1 million per year for the school. It gets the oat hulls from a Quaker Oats facility, which is just a short distance away in Cedar Rapids, IA. By 2010, the university plans to reduce its energy consumption by 10 percent and use renewable sources to generate 15 percent of all energy on campus."

There is also a short video developed by the University of Iowa to describe the "oat hulls" used to generate power.