hp - what is up with them?
it’s highly commendable that hp encloses a pre-paid envelope with their ink cartridges that you can use to mail your used-up cartridges back to them, but has anyone noticed that hp and many other printer cartridges come wrapped in a pretty sturdy plastic (?) softpak encased in a huge cardboard box? it doesn’t seem like there is any reason for the box to be almost two times the size of the actual cartridge.
i tried to contact hp about this conundrum, but check out their contact page: http://welcome.hp.com/gms/us/en/contact_us.html
does anyone know why they’re incommunicado right now when i need to speak to them more than ever?
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global warming, more than a bit scary
a bit funny at first, but creepy later on. either way, it gets the point across.
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black kenneth cole blazer size 4 brand new - free!
brand new with tags
msrp $139
one pocket, fully lined
54% polyester, 44% rayon, 2% lycra
18″ across chest and 28″ from top to bottom
style: 2558507
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bento box
food is expensive. those of us who work in the city know that finding a filling lunch for less than 5 bucks can be a near-impossible feat. cheapassfood.com has been an invaluable resource for me, but i’ve decided to take my lunch frugality to the next level. i almost always make too much food for dinner, so packing a bento box is a simple way to save a ton of loot. according to this nifty lunch calculator, i could save $1,250 a year by packing lunch everyday. and that’s if i assume that my packed lunch has a cost of $3.00. if i assume that it has a cost of 0 dollars because it is part of my dinner from the night before, i save $2,000 a year! that’s a vacation to aruba!
yeah, we’re all busy, but the trick is in the planning. if you prepare your tupperware and have it ready for your leftovers, you’ll save a lot more time than you would running downstairs to pick up a salad at pret.
here is a bento box that i made the other night. the contents are somen noodles, broad noodles, bean sprouts sauteed in butter, avocado and lemon tuna salad, chawan mushi and potato salad roll-ups (leftover potato salad wrapped in a slice of store-bought turkey…so easy and soooo good). the garnish is a sliced beet and a piece of turkey leftover from the roll-ups. to serve, just pour some tsuyu (a super low-calorie mixture of dashi, sweetened soy sauce and mirin) over the noodles.
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it don’t hurt that people who pack their lunch usually consume less calories because they know what is going into their food. and think about all the containers you’ll be saving! no brainer, if you ask me.
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crunchy eggs with salmorejo
crunchy eggs are perfect for a mid-afternoon or late night snack and salmorejo is a guilt-free pleasure.
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for the salmorejo:
3 tomatoes or one can of stewed tomatoes
3 slices of white bread
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsps olive oil
1 tbsp vinegar
- blend all of the ingredients and serve in a jug.
for the crunchy eggs:
2 eggs and one egg yolk (save the white for a soufflé)
small bag of your favorite potato chips or triscuits if you want to go with a healthier alternative
half an onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
salt & pepper to taste
- heat up a non-stick skillet and pour in a small amount of olive oil.
- sauté the onion on low heat until clear and soft.
- beat the eggs in a medium bowl. stir in half of the crushed potato chips and let stand for 5 minutes. add the remaining chips and garlic and season with salt and pepper.
- pour the egg mixture over the onions that are already in the pan and cook over moderately high heat until the bottom is set and golden, about 3 minutes. then flip the eggs onto a plate and slide back into the pan, uncooked side down. cook for another 2 minutes and serve with salmorejo and some sliced jalapeños.
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original penguin silk two-tone babydoll top size s
i think the title pretty much says it all, but here are a few more details:
grey and pink
97% silk and 3% spandex
brand new
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graunch
imagine using this puppy to compact all your trash into artful cubes and possibly even using those cubes to build walls. it’s patent pending and i haven’t been able to find any other information on it but will keep you updated when i do!
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strange days: why we desperately need this downturn
we knew that we had problems when the sub-prime stuff went down, but it didn’t seem to phase most young professionals in nyc or make them think twice about copping multiple $500 suits at the barney’s warehouse sale (yes, that’s a steal but do you really need 3 of them?) and shelling out $600 for bottle service at pacha.
then all this new stuff went down. oddly enough, the day i started this blog was the day that speculation about lehman’s demise began spreading violently around the media. now that many of the planned job cuts have been “unplanned” due to the barclays intervention (that’s the latest intel i have, but what do i know), i can be totally selfish and discuss what this new environment means for swyyne. much of the content that i had planned to write about may not be relevant for much longer. for example, my first post explained that i started swyyne to try to counteract the life of excess that I, and many of my peers were leading in our country. is it possible that recent events could have already accomplished, in one fell swoop, what i spent countless hours of wordpress installing (please tell me that the famous “5 minute install” didn’t work perfectly the first time for the rest of you too) and html tweaking on? on the other hand, if people really are reducing their pig-like ways in nyc and around the country due to our failing economy, that’s awesome!
to put it all into perspective, people are supposedly still buying in some categories, but cutting back…a lot. i think that this will make pushing clothing swaps and bartering sites a lot easier (www.meetup.com has some great swap-a-thons and time out new york hosted one recently too). another interesting tidbit is that many thrift shops across the country are running out of inventory as the demographic of consumers who used to shop at wal-mart have descended to the next tier on the store chain. remember those popular organization shows on hgtv that told you to throw out or give away all the clutter in your crib? that was all fine and dandy except that they forgot to tell you to stop buying new stuff to replace it! those shows must have had pretty good ratings because for awhile, i could not walk into my neighborhood thrift shop without having to step on huge sacks of things that other people were donating. it hasn’t been like that lately though. the less stuff people can buy, the less stuff they have to give away.
i’m not saying that we should stop buying completely. there is no disputing that our economy needs consumers to consume. shopping is one of my favorite pastimes and i will never give it up. but i do think we need to send a message to the companies that make the clothes, electronics, vehicles and food we buy that we aren’t satisfied with a pretty face anymore. i want my stuff to be attractive, well-designed, sustainable and green. and i am willing to pay extra for the whole package, maybe not that much extra, but extra. a little competition is what made this country great.
drinking, you’ll be glad to know, has not fallen out of favor with the wall-street crowd in this cruel financial climate. but you might be seeing a lot less suits at places like marquee because they’re all at places like 123 burger shot beer and continental. oh, and anyone who ever thought they were too good for well drinks can keep dishing out $10 for a shot of goose, or you can just drink that stuff that comes in a plastic jug with the rest of us.
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insomniacs rejoice!
why is it that the more sleep we need, the less we actually end up getting?
for a long time, i had trouble konking out before 1am. as a welcome side-effect to a trip to europe (one that didn’t involve partying until 5 in the morning every night), the 6 hour time difference reset me perfectly so that falling asleep at 11pm was normal for me when i got back to nyc. nice. but that was a month ago, and the hour of my slumber has gradually gotten later and later. with the dollar so weak, another trip to europe isn’t really an option.
but i’m not worried. i just heard about a new drank in town. yeah, that’s right, i said drank.
drank’s motto, “just slow your roll”, alludes to its hip-hop roots, but unlike it’s drug-laced counterpart, purple drank (see wiki), drank uses legal and natural ingredients like melatonin, valerian root and rosehips to relax the mind and body. does anyone know if the other ingredients are healthy/natural?
drank retails for about $2.50. my experiences to be reported in future posts…
dave chappelle’s views on purple drank
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when a paper shredder just won’t do
between the two people living in my household, the junkmail pile that accumulates is inane! most of it is credit card offers and those pesky mailing labels that organizations seeking donations send out (fyi Médecins Sans Frontières, i think you guys are great, but i don’t send out 100 pieces of mail everyday so i really don’t need any more return labels with balloons and flags on them). not only is junkmail bad for the environment and our sanity, it can lead to serious security breaches as well.
what to do? https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t is a legit site (wiki it if unconvinced) that allows you to “opt out” of receiving these types of offers for 5 years! i tried it two weeks ago and have not received even one piece of credit card-related junkmail since. joy!
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sanyo eneloop demonstration
Wednesday, September 17, 02:00 PM EDT
tomorrow! at the Felissimo Design House, 10 West 56th Street, New York City (map).
“Kazuhisa Mizuta, from Sanyo’s Advanced Design Center will share the concept and story behind the development of the Eneloop Universe series. These exciting and innovative re-chargeable batteries and battery operated accessories promote a sustainable lifestyle in an easy and fun manner. They fuse high design and ecological sensibility in everyday use products.”
+ scope Eneloopy (could’ve put a little more creativity into the name, but i digress), the melt-worthy battery-life checker:
you simply place the battery into his, uh, body cavity, and his nose will light up if there is still a charge.
i really hope this lady is there tomorrow too…
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japanese steamed egg custard (chawan mushi)
chawan mushi means “tea cup steam” and has always been one of my favorite comfort foods because of it’s savory, creamy and smooth texture. it’s surprisingly low in calories too, which is precisely why i always have two portions.
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note: for any chawan mushi purists out there, i know that the addition of the gelatin is a bit kooky, but after trying the sea urchin egg custard at en, i knew i had to take this recipe up a notch. i think that adding the gelatin creates a richer, more luxurious texture on the tongue.
for the custard:
3 eggs (i sometimes use 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk if i want it to be craaazy)
2 1/2 cups dashi soup stock which can be made by dissolving 3 teaspoons full of dashi in 2 1/2 cups of lukewarm water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp soy sauce
1 packet of unflavored gelatin dissolved in 1 cup of water (follow instructions on the packet)
fillings (optional):
1/2 a hard-boiled egg
3 cubes of mozzarella cheese
1/4 packet of mentai or ikura spaghetti mix (i can’t live without this stuff, you can cop it at JAS Mart or Sunrise Mart) 
whatever else you feel like
1. gently mix all the ingredients for the custard together in a large bowl, taking care not to make it frothy
2. fill 6 ceramic cups or ramekins with your fillings, saving some if you want to top the chawan mushis as they set
3. pour the custard mixture over your fillings
4. fill a large pot with water until it is 1 1/2″ deep
5. arrange the cups in the pot and cook covered over super-low heat for 15 minutes or until they set
6. if you saved any fillings in step 2, sprinkle them on top of the chawan mushi a couple of minutes before they are done so that they sink into the custard a bit, but are still visible
7. inhale chawan mushis liberally (after they cool, please)
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it tastes really good cold too (over ice chips)!
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nine west leather and tweed peep toe slingbacks size 8
these are tres chic and hardly worn, but i gotta say my goodbyes.
they have a 3 inch stacked heel and a hint of metallic sparkle.
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letter to my unborn blog
This is an email that I wrote to my best friends last night, but it really applies to everyone reading this (except for the part where I mention Lil - that’s meant for just Lil):
Guess what? My blog is finally up!
Only a few of you know about it, but I was really motivated to start up this venture when I finally realized that I’ve been using clothes, electronics and food and other random tchotchkes to try to make myself happy, spending more and more money and creating more and more waste that I couldn’t see once I threw it down the chute or onto the curb. Lillian showed me a great site http://storyofstuff.com/ about where all the stuff that we buy comes from and where it ends up, which added even more fuel to the fire under me. Thanks Lil!
It’s still pretty unclear to me whether or not other most young people in our city and our planet feel the same way, but I don’t think I can wait until they do. Green living is such a trend right now, and yet I see the majority of my co-workers throwing their empty soda bottles in with their regular trash and going through a new coffee cup every time they grab a refill.
What’s goin’ on?!
Before I start beating people up, I’m training myself to feel guilty about using multiple plastic spoons everyday and grabbing 20 paper napkins with my grubby paws (when I really only need one or two). I’m re-educating myself about the needlessness and waste of buying brand new, designer, throwaway clothes every week so that I can wear them to some rooftop lounge…once. And little by little, I feel these tiny triumphs building up. And I have to say - it feels f*#@in’ good!
You guys know that I’m not a good proselytizer. I don’t think that making people see what I see is one of my strong points. I suppose actually seeing what I see takes up all the energy I have, and I admit that some of what I see is freakin’ weird. So if anyone can tell me if this makes any sense, I would appreciate it. There’s no point in my huffing and puffing if it the picture’s vague.
The site is still pretty pubescent, so don’t be cruel! Hell, it’s still in the incubator if you want to get all metaphorical. And before that it was just a little gleam in my eye. Ting*
Anyways, I would really love it if you guys could visit and tell me what you think… I feel that each one of you could bring a fresh perspective and I am 100% sure that there are a lot of wrinkles that need smoothing out.
Thanks guys!
<3 da piggie
P.S. send me pics of clothes that you want to swap!
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pink motorola razr
verizon cdma network
gently used with just a few tiny scratches
in box with charger
email me if you can give her a new home
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why is this a site?
swyyne has always been an experiment for me. with all of the other super eco sites out there, i've been feeling like i want to contribute something just a bit different. so for now, here are my random musings.
look for stuff
feed yourself