Doing something green with my money
Posted by morgan-daley | Filed under Life
You know how I recycled those old phones? Well now I’m going to do something green with the small amount of money I received.
I was happy to recycle my old mobile phones, but then found that I could even sell them for recycling and thought that even better! As I wasn’t expecting the money, but got it for doing something environmentally friendly, I now want to spend the money on something equally environmentally friendly.
So my wife and I, this weekend, will be going down to our local nursery and buying a tree for the garden. We’re not sure which type yet, but we want a nice sized tree! Something that’s already going to make an impact both visually and environmentally.
I’m not eco-crazy as some people seem to be. I recycle, water my yard with grey water, and don’t over-heat or cool my house. My wife and I considered a solar hot-water system but honestly, we just don’t get enough sunlight here!
As a side note here, did you know that there is actually a company based entirely around the sale of paper products made entirely from elephant dung? These people are aiding the elephant conservation efforts in parts of Asia, where the elephant population numbers are becoming worryingly low.
There’s also a variety of ‘Poo in a Box’ gifts (yes, you read that correctly) where you give someone what is ostensibly a box of dung from either an elephant, rhinoceros, or reindeer, from which a flower or plant will grow. I think it’s cute, but I don’t think I’d want it in my house. It is completely odourless, so perhaps it’d be alright.
We have a few nice trees in the yard, but I’ve always wanted to add a few more. It’s nice to have the motivation to actually make that happen!
Until next time, dear reader, I will remain,
Being reasonably green,
Mr. Daley
Tags: eco-friendly, green
Hunting for Ancient Trees
Posted by morgan-daley | Filed under Life
My post on the Goat Horn Tree lead me to a very interesting website.
The Woodland Trust is a British organisation most of us will be familiar with, dedicated to the preservation of our ancient trees. They recruit help from all over Britain, looking for and documenting those trees which are ‘old and fat’ to keep them safe from then on. You might think that, hey, these trees have been there for half a millennia, why do we need to take care of them now? But some of the trees already catalogued are showing serious signs of wear and tear. If we care for them before their canopies collapse or something like that, then we can help them live a lot longer. Also, if the trees are listed and protected, then of course they can’t be cut down by anyone who wants to!
There are tens of thousands of trees recorded so far, but the Ancient Tree Hunt group aims to have recorded over 100,000 by the end of next year. That’s a tall order of fat trees, but I think this is something that everyone can get behind and hopefully the ATH will zoom over the mark! Oh, and by the way, the way to determine if a tree is an Ancient is based on the informal measurement of ‘hugs’. Yes, that’s right, they hug the trees. Isn’t that awesome? I think so! It’s 3 adult hugs for an oak, 2 for a beech, 1 for a Scots Pine or Rowan, and a wrist hugmeasure for a birch.
Now, after finding that news story about the blooming Goat Horn Tree and then stumbling across this website (though I’d actually heard of the ATH before this) I now have a strong desire to plan a holiday (I think early Autumn would be great for this) around driving from ancient tree to ancient tree around a certain area. Even just sticking to the southern end of England, you could have a very enjoyable road trip of tree seeing.
I spoke with my wife (who absolutely adores trees, especially old ones, let alone ancient ones!) and she loves the idea! So, now to get out the interactive map on the site and plan our very own tree hunt!
Until next time, dear reader, I will remain,
Hugging trees,
Mr. Daley
Tags: Ancient Tree Hunt, holiday, The Woodland Trust
Deciding together
Posted by morgan-daley | Filed under Life
My clinic was looking for new cleaning staff which is something that we all decided together.
The clinic where I work isn’t your average one. It’s not a situation where there’s a boss and the rest of us are employees, no, it’s more of a co-op situation. We all work as equals, and make decisions about the business as a whole together.
We have admin staff who run all the financial aspects of things, the accounts payable and ensuring that our salaries are paid, but inviting new colleagues into the group is a decision we all make, not just one person higher up than the rest. We work in a nice little building, with nine different offices, each of us having our own office. Not all of us are psychologists like myself, but we are all health professionals of one sort or another. It’s a very equitable, calm, and pleasant working environment, and I’m very happy to be a part of it.
Last month the contract came up for the company we had cleaning the offices. None of us were really happy with the company that had been doing the job previously, so we decided to search for a new group. We found one we liked who specialise in office cleaning (I believe they’re hiring, by the way) who have a very good reputation, so we’re trying a three month probationary contract with them. This is something that we all decided upon, and it leaves me quite happy knowing that I’ve got a measure of control over my working environment.
Many of my patients are stressed greatly due to their jobs, and I am often frustrated when trying to help these people because their working environments often resist the change that could help these people be more relaxed and happy. In one case an older gentleman who was coming to see me because he wasn’t sleeping, told me that he was greatly stressed at work because he had to use the bathroom facilities a lot (it happens when you’re older!) but he felt like his boss was always noting the time not spent in his office working. We worked up a plan of management for the patient, and eventually he was feeling much better, but it did take longer than it had to if there had have been an atmosphere of support at his work.
Until next time, dear reader, I will remain,
Working happily as part of a good team,
Mr. Daley
Tags: work
Old tree, new tricks
Posted by morgan-daley | Filed under Life, news
Another good news story I thought I’d share here.
In 1908 E.H. Wilson, a collector of plants, brought a specimen of a rare Goat Horn Tree back to Ireland from mainland China. Over one hundred years later, there is a living descendent of the specimen in the Rowallane Gardens in Saintfield, Northern Ireland. That little tree has been living there for the past 90 years, and this year, for the very first time ever, it decided to bloom.
There are only two Goat Horn Trees in the UK, and the other has bloomed a couple of times over the past century. No one is sure why, but early this month the tree started to grow flower buds, which started to open a week or so later. Apparently the blossoms have a light scent, and there are expected to be hundreds of flowers on the tree before it’s bloom is done. After the flowers are gone, the tree grows long, curved, spindle-shaped fruits that give the tree it’s name, as they look like goat horns.
It’s lovely to hear of something like this. The tree is very rare and is obviously well taken care of by the gardeners at Rowallane Gardens! I attempted to Google what the trees look like in general, or a picture of the fruit, but I can’t actually find any! A testament to the rarity of the plant indeed!
Fortunately Treehugger, the site with the article, has a picture of the actual tree in question, though only the flowers. I’m rather looking forward to seeing what these goat-horn like fruits will look like!
So do you know of a rare tree in your area? Or do you have a favourite tree near by? I’d love to tour the country one day and visit all the ancient trees listed on The Wood Trust site.
Until next time, dear reader, I will remain,
Visiting old trees,
Mr. Daley
Tags: flowering, Goat Horn Tree, Ireland
Personal pet peeve
Posted by morgan-daley | Filed under Life
It’s silly, but there’s a little pet peeve I have.
Everyone has pet peeves. Things that for one reason or another, irritate us. I’m not immune to this, and as irrational and silly as it is… I disliked those mass produced motivational posters. You know the ones, block mounted with a big black frame, a picture of a landscape or something similar, and a ‘motivational’ phrase underneath.
These have been very popular for the last decade or so, and you’ll often see them in offices, waiting room, and schools. When I go see my GP, I think to myself, ‘What could possibly make waiting in a small room with annoying elevator music going for forty-five minutes more irksome? Why, an onslaught of hackneyed and generic motivational posters. The room has six of them. I know them all by rote now. I don’t want to, but I see them there, the same ones for the past seven years, and they’re ingrained in my memory.
Ah well, if that’s the worst of visiting my doctor then I should be thankful! I am thankful for my good health! I’m also considering donating a set of new pictures for the waiting room as well!
Whilst I was looking for unusual gift ideas for my wife, I found a site called ThinkGeek. I was looking for an excellent USB memory drive for her as her old one is becoming unreliable and I wanted to get her one that was cute and fun. Whilst there I was browsing and found that have a substantial list of ‘demotivational‘ posters which are quite fun! I wouldn’t want those up around me, either, but at least it’ll bring a quite chuckle to me when I’m faced with the regular motivational ones again as I’ll be remembering the alternate versions!
So what are your pet peeves, dear reader?
Until next time, dear reader, I will remain,
Finding new pictures for that waiting room,
Mr. Daley
Tags: demotivational posters, motivational posters, pet peeves
A special gift
Posted by morgan-daley | Filed under Life
I found something online the other day that I think is a very special gift.
My wife’s birthday is in September, and as I was searching the web for something a bit different, I had the idea of buying her a unusual gift, I happened across just the sort of thing I was after.
A long time ago I had heard of buying the right to name a star and I had wanted to do this for my wife ever since. Call me a romantic, but there’s something very special in knowing someone wanted to forever have a star named after you. When I found the Name a Star Giftbox, I knew that no matter what else I bought for her as well, I would certainly be buying my wife this gift for her birthday.
I’ve thought ahead, too, to the issue of actually finding the star, and I’ve just spent the last fifteen minutes playing with the thoroughly engrossing Stellarium software. It’s free, open source, software that’s actually used in some planetariums, and after a short while of pressing the different buttons to see what happens, I’ve found it to be utterly amazing! I’ve always had an appreciate for the night sky and this software really keys into that. Honestly, I’ve seen amazing pictures of stars and space, but I’ve never had control over it like I do with this. Honestly, regardless of whether or not you’re naming a star for someone, I strongly recommend you get this software package! I think it would be perfect for teaching children, too, and you can really zoom in and get a nice picture of each of the planets. I would pay quite a bit for software like this, the fact that it’s free is quite surprising!
Oh, and just a note about my previous post regarding The Talking Parcel; Online shopping saves the day again, you can buy the book on Amazon if you’re interested!
Until next time, dear reader, I will remain,
Anticipating naming a star after my wife,
Mr. Daley
Tags: birthday, name a star, star, Stellarium, wife
Revisiting a childhood favourite
Posted by morgan-daley | Filed under Life
I ran across a book I fondly remembered a few weeks back, and have been picking it up to read every so often since.
When I was a child, I loved to read. I read all sorts of children’s books, and eventually started in on small children’s novels. One of the first such novels, in fact, the first, was a book by Gerald Durrell called The Talking Parcel. Upon Googling the book I’ve found that it was also made into a film, but I’ve never seen it.
As a young boy I loved the adventure of the book. It seemed very long when I was a child, but now that I’m re-reading it I’m finding that it’s actually a fairly short novel. It centres around a group of three children finding a talking parrot and helping him stop the Cockatrice from taking over Mythologia. As an adult it seems a little ludicrous, but as a child I thought it was absolutely marvellous.
There’s always a sense of trepidation when revisiting things from one’s childhood. Will the experience of this thing as an adult diminish the memory of that thing as a child? Will it now seem silly when it then seemed amazing? You get a similar sense of apprehension when you’re about to see a film based on a book you like.
It’s been refreshing reading something so… innocent. It’s a very enjoyable read, more so, I must say, than I had anticipated. Part of me had assumed that, upon reading this book as an adult, that I would find it wasn’t actually all that good. I was mentally prepared to read the book and find it embarrassingly silly or… something, but I’m find that, especially with that expectation, the book is better than I had hoped! On that note, I think I may just have to sit in the shade of a tree outside and read a few pages!
Until next time, dear reader, I will remain,
Enjoying a good book,
Mr. Daley
Tags: childhood, The Talking Parcel
Cupcakes for men?
Posted by morgan-daley | Filed under Life
I suppose cupcakes aren’t the manliest things, but a fellow from New York is changing that.
You see, the fellow, David Arrick, was a lawyer for a Wall Street company before the recession hit, and when it did hit, he lost his job. In the process of tightening his belt he decided he’d learn how to cook, and put his interest and knowledge of baking to good use. He figured that cupcakes are taking New York (and the rest of the world) by storm at the moment, and businesses centred around the treats were doing very well. With a group of bakers, he devised twelve flavours for cupcakes, aimed at men. He called his business ‘Butch Bakery’.
He’s since opened a business – though orders are online only at this stage – and is doing very well for himself. He’s planning to have a store opened in New York by the end of the year, and is also working on a cookbook and perhaps even a reality TV show!
These are some pretty excellent looking cupcakes, I have to say, and the flavours are very interesting. Quite original, I’d say, and the flavours would have appeal for all adults, even perhaps children of mature palette.
I believe the B-52 sounds delicious (Kahlua-soaked madagascar vanilla cake with Bailey’s bavarian filling), as does the Jackhammer (Our chocolate cake with chocolate hazelnut filling and hazelnut buttercream will rock your world), though I dare say you couldn’t eat one of these very often as they seem very rich!
It’s nice to see a success story coming out of all the financial turmoil that hit the US (and the world!) in the past two years, especially one that I know many people will be enjoying. Arrick has stated that his business has grown by 500% in less than a year, and he’s currently shipping around 500 cupcakes per week, though he’d like to up that to around 2000 eventually. At US$4.25, that’s not bad at all. Good show old chap!
Until next time, dear reader, I will remain,
Resisting the allure of a cupcake induced sugar-coma,
Mr. Daley
Tags: cupcakes
Be careful with your accounts
Posted by morgan-daley | Filed under Life
Ah, good old BBC News, one of the few good news services.
I was reading through the site today and found this article warning people about those packaged bank accounts. I have to say I couldn’t agree more! It’s a wonder to me what the banks will try to push onto their customers and expect them to willingly take up these rather awful deals!
I can’t stand that about banks. They’re one of those organisations that makes millions and millions of pounds every year, for essentially doing incredibly little, and yet they’re constantly increasing the fees you have to pay just to have an account!
It’s good to visit an independent financial advisor every few years as they’ll often put you onto the best bank account that’s around at that time. Even if your current account is actually a very good one, banks reserve the right to change the fee structure at any time they like, which means you might need to start doing your banking elsewhere if they start to play tricks with your fees!
It’s also good to keep up to date on financial news from more than one site as there’s so much going on in the financial world that you’ll often find the smaller news stories aren’t covered by all news outlets.
I believe that everyone is entitled to recompense for hard work, and I think that’s partly why I find myself so aggravated by banking executives. Often it seems like they do very little, and get paid a great deal, whilst the branch workers at banks seem to be running around working very hard, and they don’t get paid a great deal for it. I know there’s a sense of being rewarded for working at something long enough to be higher up in a given company, and that there’s higher pay in part to compensate for increased responsibility for the company, but still… It would be nice if they weren’t clamouring to make more money off us through fees and such.
Until next time, dear reader, I will remain,
Paying fees,
Mr. Daley
Celebration of life!
Posted by morgan-daley | Filed under Life, news
Some people never get it.
Does it seem to you that there are always people waiting for any given event, any news story, just waiting for it to break so that they can sit there and judge and scorn? So that they can tisk and tut and say that other people are insensitive? It seems that way to me, sometimes, and it’s not something I like.
The Daily Mail struck me as being one of the above mentioned types when I heard the news earlier this month of the family who made a video of themselves dancing at different locations across Poland associated with the Holocaust.
When I first saw this video I thought it was excellent. I thought the family in question was brave and that they were doing a good thing. I can’t imagine it was easy for them to do this, to be at those places with the history, the severely oppressing history, all around you, and turn on a disco song and dance. But that’s what they did, and the did it for a good reason. Jane Korman, the artist behind the video and daughter of Adolek Korman, an 89 year old survivor of Auschwitz, felt that people needed to be reminded of the lessons learned in the aftermath of the Holocaust, and that the images people usually see have in a way desensitised them to what happened and what we need to take away from what happened.
So often we focus on all the lives that were lost in concentration camps all across Europe during the Holocaust, but it’s equally important to focus on those who survived. Those who made it out of those death camps. As Adolek, the elderly patriarch of the family seen dancing in the video, who was imprisoned at the Auschwitz camp, said during an interview with the BBC “we are alive, we survived, we are dancing to the song of survival”. He later said in the interview when asked about the video being seen by hundreds of thousands of people on YouTube “I think it is wonderful that so many people looked at it, of course not everyone can understand why we dance in Auschwitz…
There are certainly a lot of naysayers about this artwork, but I think they’ve missed the point. A comment from a Polish person to the YouTube video said that “this has caused us much pain; Nothing more than silence is needed in these places where they filmed” but I disagree. I think that if a survivor of the camp can come back and dance, then other people should be able to understand, appreciate, and respect what it is to turn and face the worst of humanity and boldly say ‘I survived’. Adolek’s response to this comment was that it was hard to know how to respond “…but again, we survived, we created a generation, a new generation, a beautiful generation” and I think that’s so eloquent and really all that needs to be said.
Until next time, dear reader, I will remain,
Celebrating life,
Mr. Daley
Tags: art, celebration of life, Dancing at Auschwitz, survival
