Pecuniarities

Heating water in the microwave to use for cooking with other appliances can reduce energy costs by shaving minutes off cooking time.

Photo © Darren Hester for openphoto.net
A Simple Cooling System
Heat naturally diffuses from areas of higher concentration to areas of lower concentration. And cold being the absence of energy, a block of ice literally draws heat out of the air.
As was mentioned in P. Pince’s recent article, our air conditioning system is on holiday at this [...]

How to keep your home cool with basic scientific principles and thermodynamics. Save money on utilities and air conditioning with logical and simple methods.

When we brought Sophie home, we gave her a baby-wipe bath (she couldn’t have a real bath as she had recently been spayed) because she was so dirty from being at the animal shelter. As soon as we finished cleaning her up, she began sneezing. A couple of days later, after being licked about the [...]

For the lucky few who have extra leisure time this summer, I thought I’d put together some suggestions for productive and fun activities that will help enhance your personal, academic and/or professional life. Some of these suggestions are addressed as if to young people (students, adolescents, etc.) but can also apply to grown-ups.
My suggestions are [...]

There is nothing like a vacation with the whole family. Four-legged family members add a lot of fun to the trip, but they also add a lot of work and responsibility. (I’m thinking maybe each two legs is the equivalent of one two-legged person’s worth of energy.)
As I mentioned in my previous post, Frugal Travel [...]

- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack

Whenever I used to hear this quote, my reaction would be something like “Yeah, okay.” I’d figure that it was probably true but never really gave it much thought, and it pretty much went in one ear and out the other. But now that I’m getting a little on in [...]