Nový Mlýn - green tech south bohemia

Hmm, things are very, very quiet on the Ebay front at present.

I’ve been trying to sort out Paypal. In order to change to my married name, you actually have to FAX stuff to them. Via a fax machine (a type of technology for sending documents before the Internet was invented). Didn’t they get wrid of those in the 80’s?. I have scans of relevant docs such as my marriage certificate & other ID cards, however absolutely no access to a fax. It seems so archaic. I’ve requested the email address of their Name Change Department… in the end I had to go through the complaints section of their web site as it kept routing me to a page to print out to fax to them.

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A whole day spent filing and sorting in preparation for our impending move. Pottering is becoming unbearable. There are so many bits that just don’t have a natural home. I’ve started packing clothes, and then abandoned it; begun tidying the office (generating sacks full of paper to be recycled) & left it more of a mess than before. And then there’s the cats. I hadn’t thought about how I’d feel about leaving them. Especially with Melia being so old. I know that they will be well cared for by our housemates, and there’s no point in taking them out during our three month trial, but still… it’ll be strange in a catless home.

Luckily, the laptop has been particularly temperamental today - flinging me out without a moment’s notice, so there’s been less temptation to sit around and meddle with various websites and projects.

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In 11 days we’ll be in the Czech Republic. Once we have moved into our flat & sorted ourselves out (bedding, lamps, kettle etc.) we need to find a car. Not yet sure if it’s possible to get hold of a diesel skoda - so that we can use biodiesel.

We are going to apply for a mortgage so that we can redo the roof, water & electrics as soon as possible. So… project management. I need a financial plan & timeline. Learning from the wedding (pragueweddings.com - at which costs doubled between their quote and the actual event - they’d not fixed any prices with suppliers & seemed to put the costs up at a whim) I need to tie suppliers down to costs & allow contingency.

Finally, it’s beginning to feel real.

Time is galloping on & we are still in denial about the impending move - now two weeks away. Still no nearer to being ready, apart from the help of a friend who has magnanimously offered to borrow our ironing board for an indefinite period.

Also thinking about doing some kind of audio diary or something of our experience in South Bohemia. On sunday there was a radio programme on about water. The presenter said that he ‘literally dissolved into the water’ he was watching. This gives me hope that even I could aspire to the dizzying heights of broadcast quality journalism on radio 4, or youtube or something.

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So, in exactly 3 weeks time, we’ll be in Tabor (after paying for the carbon footprint, of course).

Is this an appropriate time to start thinking - what on earth am I doing??? Mike reckons he doesn’t need to do any planning for the move because I’ll do it. It’ll be funny when he realises we’ve moved to Central Europe without any trousers.

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A blender competition: publicised on www.blenderartists.org - contests,

The challenge:

Produce a 3d model of bog, using the technical information available on the bog website (www.bogblog.org).
The inside of the unit must be built as realistically as possible, within the confines of the specifications on the bog website.

The outside of the unit can be rendered in any material - the aesthetic is the only consideration.

Landscape - up to you. Put bog where you want, or leave it freestanding.

Prize: £100 for the best model, as judged by 500 year vision. Payment will be made via paypal. Payment will be made within two weeks of the winner being announced. Read the rest of this entry »

I would like to do a study of where our electricity goes. It’s sunday morning, the meter reads 10592. It was 2478 when we moved in on 1st April 2005. We’ve used 8114 units in 22 months. (22x 30.33= 667 days). So… 12.16 units a day.

Currently, Good Energy charge me a standing charge of 14.02 per day, and 11.57 pence per kWh. That should be £1.53 per day. £46.36 per month.
What happens with those 12.16 units a day: Read the rest of this entry »

A list of lifestyle adaptations I live by:

1. Cycle to work (with dynamo lights)
2. Drink french wine, not australian (less food miles!!!)
3. All low energy lightbulbs (where possible)
4. Boil only the water I need
5. Onya bags - no plastic bags
6. Reduced water shower head
7. Sort waste (compost, reuse, recycle)
8. Use rechargeable batteries
9. Compensate for flights via carbon footprinting
10. Switch tv off when not in use
11. Shower/bath water butt.
12. NO solo car journeys
13. Soap, not shower gel
14. Ecover products (washing powder/washing up liquid)
15. Vinegar & lavendar oil for cleaning bathroom/kitchen surfaces
16. Renewable energy supplier
17. Milk delivered in glass bottles (no nasty leachy plastics)

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