Hi class!

Okay, so the final project for my class, (see this if you don’t know what I mean) is on Thursday, and I can’t make it because of a work commitment. So this post is my very special shout-out ot all the members of From Blogs to Buzz in case they check it out while I’m not around. Hey guys! Show yourself around and enjoy. The blog is a mashup of environmental living tips and ways to stretch your budget in NY. Hope you find something useful. There’s posts for theater lovers, sports fans, foodies, and fashionistas. I’d love to hear comments with more suggestions, so chime in with things I’ve left out.

Fix your power leak

If you had a leaky faucet, you’d fix it, right? Of course you would. In addition to driving you insane, the dripping would raise your utility bills, and even the non-environmentalists among us don’t enjoy such a complete waste of a resource as this. (At least I hope, particularly with what’s been going on down south.) And yet many people don’t realize that the appliances and electronics around your house are in essence creating dozens of leaky outlets, slowly draining your finances and the earth’s resources for no reason at all. The power used is called “phantom drain,” and it uses a small amount of power even when things are turned off. Not everything is affected, (lights for example), but most consumer electronics, things like cell phone chargers, speakers, TVs, dvd players, etc continue to suck power out of the wall even when off. The solution is to get a power strip, and plug all nonessential items into it for easy total off/on action. You’ll want to leave your Tivo off the strip, but aside from that, almost everything can be plugged in with no problem. You should notice a difference in your bills, and you’ll be saving resources as well.

Good theater is right this way

Did you know that you can catch a lot of off-broadway shows for free? If you’re willing to put in a little work, you can see some great shows for nothing. The key is ushering. Many off-broadway theaters use volunteer ushers, who can see the show for simply seating guests, and sometimes doing some after-theater cleanup. Here’s a list from New York magazine to get you started, but if there’s a show you want to check out, call up and see if they need volunteers. This method is bad for the impulsive…you have to schedule well in advance. And you’re not going to catch the Lion King, Spamalot, or any of the other major Broadway mega-hits using this method. But if what you’re after is a cheap night of great entertainment, then right this way.