I know I’m always preaching about the evils of over-consumerism and buying things for the sake of spending money, but you see, I really have a need for a new camera at the moment.

Having a new baby necessitates this fact. In the six months since my son was born,  while far from being “countless” — after all, I’m just too lazy to count at the moment — let’s just say that I have taken A LOT photos. Maybe it’s because of this, or maybe it’s because Sony has been putting out a lot of crap products. Perhaps it’s a combination of both with the occasional, “oops I dropped the camera again,” but we need a new camera. Our three-year-old Cybershot is on its last legs. The LCD may or may not work, depending on its mood, but when it does work, it’s horribly blurry and fuzzy.

OK, maybe NEED is a strong word. Sure, I can probably make it last a few more years. I can do without the LCD screen and just shoot from the optical viewfinder. This makes reviewing images on the camera impossible, but that’s why we plug them into our computers, right? The photos it takes are adequate for posting shots of the baby online for friends and family, and printing them out using one of those kiosks isn’t so bad either.

Let’s just say that I WANT a new camera. Specifically, I want to upgrade from a point-and-shoot to a DSLR — a “real” digital camera. This is like upgrading from my point-and-shoot film cameras to a “real” 35mm. There’s something to be said about the feel of a real camera in your hands, not to mention the sound of the shutter.

So while I say “tsk tsk” when buying unnecessary things, I do believe in buying higher quality items because they are investments. I’ve had two 35mm cameras since the 80s, and they both still work. A good starter DSLR camera will last us for years, and it’s something I can build and improve upon over time with different lenses and accessories.

With this in mind, I am most likely going to order a Canon Digital Rebel XTi tomorrow (body only but with a separate 50mm f/1.8 lens).

Categories: gear
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I saw this bit this morning on Gizmodo: there are some British inventors who have designed a new washing machine that only uses one cup of water (with detergent). According to the original article in the Daily Mail, that’s less than 2% of what conventional washers use. Hooray for water conservation!

The machine, currently dubbed the Xeros, also uses a ton (well, 44lbs) of little plastic chips during the wash; they say the heated water helps remove dirt, and the little plastic chips absorb them. The chips are filtered out at the end and can be used up to 100 times.

At first the “heated” thing concerned me, but the energy to heat one cup of water is probably pretty insignificant. However, what still bothers me is … plastic chips? So even though they’re reusable (up to six months, says the DM), I can’t help but think about the resources used to make (and make and make and make) those plastic chips. The article does not mention anything about how those chips are produced — are they at least recycled plastic? Why not just use Soap Nuts? (Though I suppose one cup of water won’t be enough for the Soap Nuts to work.)

Categories: technology, gear
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A friend of mine recently listed her top seven baby products and it got me thinking about some of the things we could do with (and without).

1. SwaddleMe Adjustable Infant Wrap in Organic Cotton: This straight-jacket was great in keeping Ethan’s arms from flailing all over the place and helped him sleep longer/more peacefully.

2. bumGenius 2.0 and 3.0 one-size pocket diapers: These are our work-horse, day and night time diapers. Goes on and off easily, the fabric against baby’s bum is soft and wicks away wetness. Even though Ethan didn’t really fit into them until he was at least 8lbs, I think it’s great that they’ll fit him until he’s ready to potty train.

3. goodmama one-side fitted diapers: Like our bumGenius dipes, these are also one-size so they’ll grow with Ethan until he’s ready to potty train. I only use these at home since they normally require a cover, but they’re so lovely that I don’t like covering them up. (Wetness will seep through, which is OK, because by then Ethan’s onesie is usually covered in spit-up and needs changing anyway.)

4. Cloth wipes: I keep a stack of cloth wipes wherever I change the baby along with a spray bottle of water with a bit of baby wash. I either spray the cloth or spray the baby directly (usually after #2s). Our wipes come from a variety of sources, including Sewing Mom Just Accessories Etc. and Fussybutt, as well as STACKS from other mamas who no longer need theirs through Diaper Swappers.

5. method squeaky green baby hair + body wash and lotion: I’m a big fan of method products, and I just LOVE the scent of their baby wash and lotion. While there are a few things in the list of ingredients that I have no clue about, they do claim that they are free of phthalates and parabens.

6. Nature’s Touch™ Baby Papasan™ Cradle Swing: Not green, but oh, what a lifesaver at times! It’s where Ethan naps during the day.

7. Unbleached Indian Prefold diapers: We use preemie-sized prefolds with covers (Imse Vimse and Bummis) when Ethan was still too small to fit into his one-size diapers. Now they serve as great burp cloths and rags! We also have some larger, infant-sized prefolds that we sometimes use as diapers, but mostly they also get used as burp cloths as well. We got ours from Little-Lions.

8. Summer Infant Color Handheld Video Monitor: Also not green, but we put Ethan to bed in his own room as soon as he came home from the hospital, so having this around is an absolute necessity. Having color isn’t all that useful right now since we only use this at night when the lights are off in his room, so the image will be in night-vision mode.

9. Electric water kettle: This isn’t really a baby item as I had it before even getting pregnant, but it’s become so much more useful since. When Ethan was getting mama’s milk, I would use this to quickly heat up some water so I could make a warm water bath for the bottle of milk since our tap takes waaaay too long to warm up. Now that Ethan’s on formula, I use this to boil the water to mix with the powdered formula.

10. BornFree bottles: One of the most-trusted BPA-free plastic bottles out there. Ethan transitioned to these bottles as soon as he could eat more than what those itty-bitty bottles from the hospital could hold without any problems. Ethan also doesn’t seem to have any problems with extra air intake from using these bottles.

I also find the wide-neck SO much easier to clean using a bottle brush. They now also come in glass, which we might try when we need to get more of the bigger sized bottles.

Categories: diapers, gear, baby, shopping
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My new laptop case arrived today! Too freakin’ bad they sent the WRONG one! So not only did they send me the Eco Jacket instead of the Eco Sleeve (which would a score), but unfortunately, it’s too damn small for my laptop so it’s unusable.

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Categories: gear
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I’ve been looking for an eco-friendly case or sleeve for the new MacBook and decided to get an act2 GreenSmart Laptop Sleeve by Shoreline. It was a choice between that and something handmade from Etsy, specifically one of these Felt Safe sleeves by Manoeuvre.

I decided to go with the GreenSmart sleeves after reading a review of another product by Shoreline at Sustainablog and, well, because I like ‘em. (Though a nagging voice in the back of my head keeps saying that it may be the less “green” option of the two.) Their site says that the outer and inner fabric is made from 100% post-consumer PET water and soda bottles (six to eight 16oz plastic bottles), with the padding made from 100% recycled industrial material (what exactly does that mean anyway?). And at $24.99 each, it was hard to pass up.

Categories: gear
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Yeah OK, so this hippie’s got a shiny new toy … I just received a MacBook Pro for my birthday, and it’s fuuuun.

Categories: gear, random
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