3 months ago I bought a pair of boots from Kmart for $8 reduced from $30. They were simple and cute.. I liked them but I knew at that price they were unlikely to last. To prove my point I bought them anyway and kept the receipt on my fridge for when they would inevitably fall apart. So pretty much on the mark they have now carked it. I’ll post a photo on here soon. Basically the sole has come unstuck on my left foot and the heal on the right foot. I’m going to take them back to Kmart and ask for an exchange. I haven’t worn them that much, perhaps twice a week. I’m sure staff will think I’m nuts, since they were only $8 but still it’s the principal. We live in a throw away culture and someone has to be the one to complain.
So the point is, cheap shoes last 3 months or less so I could spend 3 times the amount and hope that they last 3 times as long.
When I take the shoes back to Kmart I am going to provide feedback, if they have one of those feedback forms, saying I’d rather pay a bit more for the shoes to last more than 3 months. Or else they should come with an official exp date. "These will only last 3 months"
Meanwhile, I will continue to keep returning the shoes every 3 months for a similar pair.
I’ll keep you posted!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Old News, New Uses
I've begun working on a kitchen mat made if old news paper. I've created tiny rolls of news and coiled it around to create a fibrous woven look. It's a slow and tedious job but I'm looking forward to the end result! 
Friday, October 21, 2011
Report a Typo
If you see a typo let me know! email:
rachaelhopebyrnes [at] gmail [dot] com
Or else I suppose I could get an editor or even proof read myself.... naaaaah.... I know YOU really want to do that instead because you're a proud and accurate speller and want to be all "boasty-I'm-so-good-at-spelling-king-of the-grammar-castle-kind-of-thing". Great! It's a deal then. Email me!
xxx
PS... don't report a typo if it's just to solicit business as an editor, promoter, publicist, label etc... I'm not hiring right now!
rachaelhopebyrnes [at] gmail [dot] com
Or else I suppose I could get an editor or even proof read myself.... naaaaah.... I know YOU really want to do that instead because you're a proud and accurate speller and want to be all "boasty-I'm-so-good-at-spelling-king-of the-grammar-castle-kind-of-thing". Great! It's a deal then. Email me!
xxx
PS... don't report a typo if it's just to solicit business as an editor, promoter, publicist, label etc... I'm not hiring right now!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Things you don't need and why: part 1
Some people find it helpful to work with budgets. Personally, I find life too unpredictable for these to ever work out they way I plan. I'm often left bewildered when say, my brand new sneakers get stolen at the gym kind of thing.... Or a generous fan donates $600 towards my music recording. How could I have planned those things?
Instead, I apply this simply question to every EVERY SINGLE PURCHASE I make.
Do I really need this?
And when I say need, I'm not talking about about basic survival needs like food, water and shelter. Of course we need those things. I'm talking about the full spectrum of human needs that make up a sustainable and fulfilling life. Needs that people like Maslow mapped out in his famous hierarchy of needs; the need to be safe, to belong, to receive and give love, to have esteem and a sense of meaning and purpose.
Simply asking the question, do I really need this invites truth to be present. I see a giant block of chocolate on special at coles... only $2 ... I'm tempted, but wait a second.. do I really need this? Yes I need to eat and yes pleasure, joy and satisfaction are also needs but do I really need this right now? Will it diminish my experience of pleasure, joy and satisfaction in the future? When's the last time I indulged in chocolate? Is it ok to indulge now or should I wait until later when I've done a 2 hour bush walk, for example, and my body can really use it?
The answers are never straight forward and involve a complex weighing up of the pros and cons of making choices for the benefit of now against the benefit of the future. However, still asking those questions, for me seems to invite a certain "knowing". There's some kind of subconscious weighing up of all these things in my mind and if I be still with it, for just a moment, I know the answer. In this case NO now is not the right time to binge on a block of chocolate. It only seems like a tiny amount of money but all those things add up to a large sum which could bring me immense pleasure and joy with something that truly contributes in a lasting way to my sense of meaning and purpose. 200 times of saying no to a binge on chocolate might mean for example a $400 microphone or a membership at the gym.
I'm not saying I'm a saint when it comes to the discipline of not buying things I don't need. Believe me I can be a total sucker. There are some things I definately need to work on BIG TIME but I can say I have interrupted thousands of impulse purchases this way and saved myself squillions of dollars doing so.
Today I ran out of moisturiser and contemplated my next purchase. Do I really need moisturiser I asked myself. In my early 20s a naturopath told me to use basic olive oil as moisturiser. She said it's the key ingredient in many products and you can just put a few drops on a new chux super wipe, mix with water and cleanse you face with it. I tried this at the time and it worked pretty well. My face felt awesome afterwards. I never liked the chux part though, I felt like I was treating my face like a dirty dishes and the wipes were hard to get the oil out of. So I went back to using moisturiser. Today I had a brainwave. I put a few drops of oil mixed with a few drops of water directly in my palms then rubbed the mixture vigorously between my hands and then applied it to my face. It was just the right amount to leave my face feeling moisturised and my hands not too greasy afterwards. It sounds a bit gross but I promise you it works really well if you get the right proportions.
My naturopath also said if you can't eat it don't put it on your skin. Most moisturisers a full of petrochemicals and other nasty substances like methylparaben a widely used synthetic preservative that's been linked to breast cancer, endocrine disruption, reproductive problems, and developmental defects. Maybe the idea of putting food on your face sounds revolting but the alternative is even more revolting if you think about it. Oil dredged up from the bowels of the earth mixed with these potentially hazardous chemicals. I know what I'm opting for.
Of course there are plenty of natural, organic and safe products on the market so, if you can afford them then sure.. maybe that would be cool for you. For me, your dearest scamp, I'm pretty happy with plain old olive oil.
Conclusion 1: No I don't need chocolate right now
Conclusion 2: No I don't need comercial moisterisers, or even chux super wipes (except in the kitchen)
Stay tuned my dear reader until part 2: other things you don't need and why
Instead, I apply this simply question to every EVERY SINGLE PURCHASE I make.
Do I really need this?
And when I say need, I'm not talking about about basic survival needs like food, water and shelter. Of course we need those things. I'm talking about the full spectrum of human needs that make up a sustainable and fulfilling life. Needs that people like Maslow mapped out in his famous hierarchy of needs; the need to be safe, to belong, to receive and give love, to have esteem and a sense of meaning and purpose.
Simply asking the question, do I really need this invites truth to be present. I see a giant block of chocolate on special at coles... only $2 ... I'm tempted, but wait a second.. do I really need this? Yes I need to eat and yes pleasure, joy and satisfaction are also needs but do I really need this right now? Will it diminish my experience of pleasure, joy and satisfaction in the future? When's the last time I indulged in chocolate? Is it ok to indulge now or should I wait until later when I've done a 2 hour bush walk, for example, and my body can really use it?
The answers are never straight forward and involve a complex weighing up of the pros and cons of making choices for the benefit of now against the benefit of the future. However, still asking those questions, for me seems to invite a certain "knowing". There's some kind of subconscious weighing up of all these things in my mind and if I be still with it, for just a moment, I know the answer. In this case NO now is not the right time to binge on a block of chocolate. It only seems like a tiny amount of money but all those things add up to a large sum which could bring me immense pleasure and joy with something that truly contributes in a lasting way to my sense of meaning and purpose. 200 times of saying no to a binge on chocolate might mean for example a $400 microphone or a membership at the gym.
I'm not saying I'm a saint when it comes to the discipline of not buying things I don't need. Believe me I can be a total sucker. There are some things I definately need to work on BIG TIME but I can say I have interrupted thousands of impulse purchases this way and saved myself squillions of dollars doing so.
Today I ran out of moisturiser and contemplated my next purchase. Do I really need moisturiser I asked myself. In my early 20s a naturopath told me to use basic olive oil as moisturiser. She said it's the key ingredient in many products and you can just put a few drops on a new chux super wipe, mix with water and cleanse you face with it. I tried this at the time and it worked pretty well. My face felt awesome afterwards. I never liked the chux part though, I felt like I was treating my face like a dirty dishes and the wipes were hard to get the oil out of. So I went back to using moisturiser. Today I had a brainwave. I put a few drops of oil mixed with a few drops of water directly in my palms then rubbed the mixture vigorously between my hands and then applied it to my face. It was just the right amount to leave my face feeling moisturised and my hands not too greasy afterwards. It sounds a bit gross but I promise you it works really well if you get the right proportions.
My naturopath also said if you can't eat it don't put it on your skin. Most moisturisers a full of petrochemicals and other nasty substances like methylparaben a widely used synthetic preservative that's been linked to breast cancer, endocrine disruption, reproductive problems, and developmental defects. Maybe the idea of putting food on your face sounds revolting but the alternative is even more revolting if you think about it. Oil dredged up from the bowels of the earth mixed with these potentially hazardous chemicals. I know what I'm opting for.
Of course there are plenty of natural, organic and safe products on the market so, if you can afford them then sure.. maybe that would be cool for you. For me, your dearest scamp, I'm pretty happy with plain old olive oil.
Conclusion 1: No I don't need chocolate right now
Conclusion 2: No I don't need comercial moisterisers, or even chux super wipes (except in the kitchen)
Stay tuned my dear reader until part 2: other things you don't need and why
Sunday, July 17, 2011
How to make bad wine taste good
There are few things more satisfying than a glass of high quality wine. The delight of a smooth round full bodied red that doesn't leave the slightest hint of vinegar in your mouth is simply magic. On a tight povo budget though, a $25 bottle of wine may be a luxury that's hard to afford. Especially if you have a tendency to over indulge once you get started. That's where mulled wine comes in handy (...and there's the iced white wine conversion trick too...but I'll talk about that in a bit)
Mulled Wine
Typically mulled wine is red wine heated with sugar, spices and citrus fruit. There are many traditional variations but most commonly the beverage is made with red wine, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, sugar and sliced oranges.
I have tried several recipes including the standard one and I can honestly say I have never witnessed such a dramatic, almost alchemical, conversion. I've made mulled wine with cheap and nasty wine and with good quality wine and have noticed the end result is pretty much the same... simply AMAZING, especially if you hand grate a nutmeg as part of the process. I've made mulled wine with the cheapest bottle of red I could find ($4.95 sacred hill*) and created a rich, full bodied, round, lovely, spicy, warm and delightful alcoholic beverage. Of course the spices and fruit cost money too but they are a fraction of the cost of buying a good quality bottle of red.
Iced White Wine (with a splash of water)
If you've never done this before, it might sound ridiculous but trust me, putting ice in wine with a little bit of cold water completely transforms an awful bottle. I came across this by accident one summer at a BBQ when the fridge was way too packed to fit another wine bottle in. They had an ice machine in the front of their fridge so I decided to improvise. Low on cash that week I'd bought a cheap clean skin on the way, hoping I might have got lucky with a decent wine in a generic bottle. But no, one sniff of the bottle and I realised it was a shocker so I decided to add a splash of water as well to take the edge off. Surprisingly the taste reminded me of a lovely crisp sav blanc that I'd had at a restaurant the week before. When the ice had completely melted it was even better. Shocked, but pleasantly delighted, I tried it out on a few friends to see what they thought. The vote was unanimous: ice and water adds about $10 of value to the bottle **.
I tested this out again and again with different cheap brands (even sacred hill white*) with the same positive result. The other thing I realised about watering down the wine a little bit is that, it's less alcoholic so it's easier to drink sensibly in moderation! It's a bit like drinking light beer.
Moral of the story:
*Note: Usually there is nothing sacred about Sacred Hill wine. Although if you follow my instructions you might start believing in magic.
**For best results leave the ice to melt for a few minutes before drinking!
Mulled Wine
Typically mulled wine is red wine heated with sugar, spices and citrus fruit. There are many traditional variations but most commonly the beverage is made with red wine, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, sugar and sliced oranges.
I have tried several recipes including the standard one and I can honestly say I have never witnessed such a dramatic, almost alchemical, conversion. I've made mulled wine with cheap and nasty wine and with good quality wine and have noticed the end result is pretty much the same... simply AMAZING, especially if you hand grate a nutmeg as part of the process. I've made mulled wine with the cheapest bottle of red I could find ($4.95 sacred hill*) and created a rich, full bodied, round, lovely, spicy, warm and delightful alcoholic beverage. Of course the spices and fruit cost money too but they are a fraction of the cost of buying a good quality bottle of red.
But maybe you prefer white? Then read on...
Iced White Wine (with a splash of water)
If you've never done this before, it might sound ridiculous but trust me, putting ice in wine with a little bit of cold water completely transforms an awful bottle. I came across this by accident one summer at a BBQ when the fridge was way too packed to fit another wine bottle in. They had an ice machine in the front of their fridge so I decided to improvise. Low on cash that week I'd bought a cheap clean skin on the way, hoping I might have got lucky with a decent wine in a generic bottle. But no, one sniff of the bottle and I realised it was a shocker so I decided to add a splash of water as well to take the edge off. Surprisingly the taste reminded me of a lovely crisp sav blanc that I'd had at a restaurant the week before. When the ice had completely melted it was even better. Shocked, but pleasantly delighted, I tried it out on a few friends to see what they thought. The vote was unanimous: ice and water adds about $10 of value to the bottle **.
I tested this out again and again with different cheap brands (even sacred hill white*) with the same positive result. The other thing I realised about watering down the wine a little bit is that, it's less alcoholic so it's easier to drink sensibly in moderation! It's a bit like drinking light beer.
Moral of the story:
LESS expensive wine + spice or water and ice = a happy alchemist with MORE money in the bank.
*Note: Usually there is nothing sacred about Sacred Hill wine. Although if you follow my instructions you might start believing in magic.
**For best results leave the ice to melt for a few minutes before drinking!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Green PC: Guilt Free Eco Machines
When it comes to buying computers I've always found an incredible bargain! Usually out of necessity, I've trawled second hand computer shops to find a suitable low budget laptop and searched the Internet for obscure freeware software (like paint.net , a free photoshop-ish program I use to do my gig posters - see example left). After my last laptop was stolen in 2009, I bought a second hand Mac from a friend for $50. It was so cheap because it was almost ancient (2005) in computer standards. However in the interim between then and now, when it was still compatible with standard programs, it was a good sturdy machine. I would have kept going with it had I been able to download programs like the latest version of Itunes for my Iphone or use USB Internet at high speed. There came a time where I had to say goodbye to the old Mac and buy something new.It was a tricky time to buy a new computer I didn't really have a budget for it. How do you get a computer without any money I asked myself? I looked into leasing a new Mac but I didn't have the salary to get the finance approved. Second hand computers were still $600 (which I didn't have) and with the pace of technological change I wondered how quickly the second hand machine would become obsolete too. Then a friend told me about Green PC. A not for profit organisation that recycles and refurbishes computers for low income earners. They're part of a mother organisation called InfoXchange whose purpose is to improve access to new information technologies among low-income and disadvantaged groups.
I purchased a premium refurbished PC for $175!!! AMAZING! I had my doubts to begin with as it seemed too good to be true. The computer package boasted the latest version of Microsoft Office, virus protection and a 1 year warranty all included in the price, no hidden costs! I asked suspiciously if it would be very fast and the customer service person assured me that it would be fast enough for my requirements. When I set up my PC I was pleasantly surprised that it worked really well!!!What I love most about this computer is that it's built by a workshop of technicians who are based in Melbourne, earning proper wages, unlike the factory workers overseas where new computers are built. The team of trained technicians at Green PC completely rebuild and test each computer system. It's a guilt free eco machine!
Coincidentally, around the time I bought this computer I came across this article "Apple's Chinese workers treated inhumanely, like machines" about the atrocious working conditions at Apple Mac factories. I also saw this article "Workers in Chinese Apple factories forced to sign pledges not to commit suicide" about the absurd measures these factories are going to in order to prevent and respond to a suicide epidemic. (Could they possibly just improve the working conditions rather than hangs nets up!!) After reading these shocking stories I was even happier with my Green PC choice. I'm sure the parts that made up my computer were originally built in similarly oppressive environments, however at least Green PC allows the materials to be reused, increasing the life span of components that would otherwise end up as landfill.
All in all I'm delighted with my Green PC and you can find out more about the organisation here
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Facebook Killed the Blog Star
Hey guys,
Sorry I haven't been posting much on this blog!! Sadly I admit facebook has consumed much of my online interactive time. I have sacrificed quality content for random musings, kooky youtubes and amusing short grabs. It was fun for a while but now I've reached saturation point and my mind is craving depth and text... yes text!!! I miss text. I miss using that part of my brain that has to think, imagine and ponder over a longer period of time. I like the anonymity and simplicity of text and I worry about its future? Will everything become a moving image? Will all telephone calls become video calls? Will all email be replaced by facemail? Will text become almost irrelevant in 10 years time? I'm not anti video or anti facebook it's just that the pace of change is frightening and I'm concerned that it's stressing people out, that it's creating a kind of scrambled brain syndrome as people in all walks of life feel increasingly chained to their computers. Is it time to go backwards?
When facebook first came out I resisted it for about a year. Happy with my blogs and my_myspace and other online tools like my folk ally open mic page, I felt I had more than enough mediums to communicate and interact online. Increasingly I felt the pressure to join facebook as many other fellow musicians had fan pages and event spaces that were helping them to network and attract fans. With everyone else on there I worried that I could miss out on opportunities if I denied the technology any further and so I decided if I can't fight it I'll join it and make it work for me... and it did. It has been a great way to manage my gigs and let people know what's coming up. It's also been a handy way for me to find out about other people's events and gigs.
It's handy for now, but soon everything is about to change and I could potentially be starting all over again in terms of social networking. There's a new cat on the scene called Diaspora, which is currently being developed and threatens facebook in a big way. Diaspora, being launched in October this year, is a decentralised social networking site that provides an alternative to facebook's centralised "spying for free" kind of approach. Diaspora works by letting users set up their own server (or "pod") to host content; pods can then interact to share status updates, photographs and other social data. The developers argue that people give up their privacy by using facebook and that when you give up that data, you’re giving it up forever. The value facebook provides is negligible they say, in the scale of what they are doing. Diaspora promises to deliver a social networking platform that doesn't compromise our privacy rights. With over $200,000 in start up donations Diaspora could possibly be the next facebook.
I'm happy for the developers of Diaspora. Anything that protects the rights of it's users is a good thing. I'm still concerned though, that I will have yet another online space to maintain!! It's double entry madness.. I've got my facebook personal, facebook fan page, myspace, blogger blogs, normal email, work email, rachaelbyrnes.com website, mail chimp email list, folk alley open mic page and triple J unearthed page. At least I don't have twitter!!
It's getting ridiculous and it's an irony laughing at me as I write on this less is more blog. I've got to do something about it. One thing is to return here to my blogs, and write some genuine content rather than something banal like "just ate pasta" which sadly gets a lot of comments on facebook.
So here I am and I'm committing to an interesting post coming up next about my new Green PC... a recycled PC made from old computer parts. It cost me $170 and I'm totally happy with it.. It's a great initiative.. Article coming soon!
Sorry I haven't been posting much on this blog!! Sadly I admit facebook has consumed much of my online interactive time. I have sacrificed quality content for random musings, kooky youtubes and amusing short grabs. It was fun for a while but now I've reached saturation point and my mind is craving depth and text... yes text!!! I miss text. I miss using that part of my brain that has to think, imagine and ponder over a longer period of time. I like the anonymity and simplicity of text and I worry about its future? Will everything become a moving image? Will all telephone calls become video calls? Will all email be replaced by facemail? Will text become almost irrelevant in 10 years time? I'm not anti video or anti facebook it's just that the pace of change is frightening and I'm concerned that it's stressing people out, that it's creating a kind of scrambled brain syndrome as people in all walks of life feel increasingly chained to their computers. Is it time to go backwards?
When facebook first came out I resisted it for about a year. Happy with my blogs and my_myspace and other online tools like my folk ally open mic page, I felt I had more than enough mediums to communicate and interact online. Increasingly I felt the pressure to join facebook as many other fellow musicians had fan pages and event spaces that were helping them to network and attract fans. With everyone else on there I worried that I could miss out on opportunities if I denied the technology any further and so I decided if I can't fight it I'll join it and make it work for me... and it did. It has been a great way to manage my gigs and let people know what's coming up. It's also been a handy way for me to find out about other people's events and gigs.
It's handy for now, but soon everything is about to change and I could potentially be starting all over again in terms of social networking. There's a new cat on the scene called Diaspora, which is currently being developed and threatens facebook in a big way. Diaspora, being launched in October this year, is a decentralised social networking site that provides an alternative to facebook's centralised "spying for free" kind of approach. Diaspora works by letting users set up their own server (or "pod") to host content; pods can then interact to share status updates, photographs and other social data. The developers argue that people give up their privacy by using facebook and that when you give up that data, you’re giving it up forever. The value facebook provides is negligible they say, in the scale of what they are doing. Diaspora promises to deliver a social networking platform that doesn't compromise our privacy rights. With over $200,000 in start up donations Diaspora could possibly be the next facebook.
I'm happy for the developers of Diaspora. Anything that protects the rights of it's users is a good thing. I'm still concerned though, that I will have yet another online space to maintain!! It's double entry madness.. I've got my facebook personal, facebook fan page, myspace, blogger blogs, normal email, work email, rachaelbyrnes.com website, mail chimp email list, folk alley open mic page and triple J unearthed page. At least I don't have twitter!!
It's getting ridiculous and it's an irony laughing at me as I write on this less is more blog. I've got to do something about it. One thing is to return here to my blogs, and write some genuine content rather than something banal like "just ate pasta" which sadly gets a lot of comments on facebook.
So here I am and I'm committing to an interesting post coming up next about my new Green PC... a recycled PC made from old computer parts. It cost me $170 and I'm totally happy with it.. It's a great initiative.. Article coming soon!
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