Glasochrom

 

The Catan Dice Game comes with small marking pads to keep score, but you can get the pdf of the score sheet off the Catan website and print it out full size.

By laminating the pages with plastic (yes I know) I could mark the pages and then re-use them.

I did not want to use a plastic pen to mark them but I found a pencil to do the job - Staedtler Glasochrom.

Pen Replacement

I wrote with a ballpoint pen for many years. My favourite is the Uniball Eye fine (=0.7mm) permanent and waterproof. My favourite colour is wine red - dark and highly visible for marking up engineering drawings.

A warning though do not take it on plane - the change in air pressure causes the ink to leak out. If the cap is on it will fill with ink - permanent and waterproof.

In grade 8, the Canadian teacher did not understand that biro was the Australian term for a pen, after the inventor.

In order to reduce my use of plastic, I am saving my remaining pens for special use. For everyday use I am converting back to pencil.

When I started school, the teacher said that my work was far too grubby and that I needed to change from HB pencils to 4H pencils. I used Copperplate 4H  for the rest of my school days.

Now because I like a thick dark line I am using 4B, and 6B pencils.

 

Measuring Tape

 

As a boy I watched my grandfather use his tape measure - it has a big red button to retract the tape. 

The tape measure was recently given to me. The first foot had a lot of damage and it was hard to use. It also lacked metric markings.

When I looked for a replacement tape blade I found that The Evan's measuring tape was a well loved artifact and is even collected by enthusiasts. Replacement blades were expensive and with freight some offered prices were over $100. And none of the replacement blades were metric.

Instead I purchased a 2 metre metric tape measure with the same blade width for less than $6 from my favourite hardware warehouse. Then I transferred the measuring blade from the new tape measure to the Evan's tape measure.

For curiosity, I disassembled the Evan's tape measure and it is in perfect condition internally - no wonder people collect them.

The tape measure is now ready for another 50 years service.

I also note that the Evan's tape measure has no plastic components and  the $6 tape measure is plastic except the spring and the measuring blade.

Even less bathroom plastic

Left - original blades in plastic holder

Centre - box of 200 new blades

Right top - New blades in cardboard box

As I neared the end of my first packets of double edge razor blades I ordered some more. 

I purchased a box of 200 as the price was low. To my delight they contain no plastic at all. Serendipity. 

Caravan Improvements #5

 The first thing I broke on my caravan - within 2 hours of owing it - was the ventilation hatch winder handle. Of course it was plastic. I looked up the web site and saw that it was a prominently displayed spare part - obviously these things broke all the time.

So I made my own wooden handle by modifying a wooden knob for drawers from my local hardware warehouse [ Bunnings ]. The larger diameter of the wooden knob made the ventilation hatch easier to open and close.

Fresh Cake

 

A glass bowl on a plate keeps the cake fresh without plastic wrap.

Wrong way compass

 I have a wrong way compass - see the middle compass in the photo. Once it pointed to the north correctly but I suspect it suffered a severe knock.

The compass on the left has a bubble.

The compass on the right was previously posted  - it has wrong markings between south and west.

The middle compass is the easiest to use just remember the white end of the needle is north.

Wii reactivation

I am still in lockdown - needing exercise and entertainment.
So I have reactivated my Wii and Wii Fit.
I had to fit all the parts and reconnect them and then program the TV to recognise the Wii. Compliments to Nintendo - the system still works.
Wii Fit complained that it had been too long since I last weighed myself.

Unfortunately the WiiConnect24 service with the weather forecast is no longer available.
But I was able to buy Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings game over the internet at a reasonable price. I enjoyed Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and I am looking forward to continuing his adventures.

Faulty compass

I had this compass for 13 years, today I noticed it was faulty.
The marked divisions between South and West are 200, 320, 340, 280.
Until I realised what was wrong the calculations were driving me crazy.
I will have to replace this plastic.

Radio Fix

My emergency AM/FM radio went silent, it was only 20 years old. It was a Sanyo which I thought was a good brand. It runs on three D cells and so lasts a long long time on battery power.

I opened it up. I did not find any leaking capacitors or burnt tracks. When I plugged in an ear phone it worked.

I guessed that the speaker was faulty. I found a replacement speaker at Jaycar for $4.95. After installing a new speaker it was working again.

Cucumber smile

Growing my own vegetables will not necessarily give me all the food I need.
But it makes me smile.
And a bonus - there is no plastic wrapped around my cucumber.

Still working

As a student engineer in 1980 I purchased a new calculator. From memory it cost about $150 an expensive purchase for me then.

It was designed to fit a shirt pocket - an engineers tool. It uses reverse polish logic to minimise keystrokes; it can do calculations with complex numbers and matrices and is programmable.

I used all through my student years and then my career. I really enjoy using it. It is technology that was built to last. Of course it is made from plastic. It will last as long as batteries are available for it.

Garage Sale

On the weekend I was assisting at a garage sale.

It was noticeable that the majority of enduring items were ceramic, glass, metal and leather. The plastic stuff was usually brittle and or tatty.

People came and went and some found something desirable. A lady found a masonite suitcase it was over 60 years old - older than me - and she wanted it for her suitcase collection. Several people found something to turn into a xmas present. One man went away with a box of xmas decorations.

It did not raise a great deal of money but maybe the purpose of a garage sale is to create happiness.

Plastic bathroom

My bathroom practices seem to generate a lot of plastic waste.
So I am attempting to reduce the amount of plastic I throw away.

1) Snore strips
To aid my breathing at night I was sticking plastic strips across the bridge of my nose let more air in. But it meant that there was waste plastic every day. I now use a nasal spray. The spray still has a plastic spray on top of a glass bottle so it is a reduction not an elimination.

2) Cotton tips
I remember that when I was a child they were rolled-up paper with cotton on each end. Now most brands are plastic sticks with cotton on each end. But, good news, the rolled up paper ones are available - only one brand in one size packet and not the jumbo containers of the plastic ones. Still available is available and still pretty cheap.

3) Soap
I have been using liquid wash from a plastic bottle with a pump dispenser. Soap bars are still available but try finding one without palm oil. Palm oil mostly comes from plantations that used to be rainforest. Even Palmolive seems to have mostly palm with little olive. But some research revealed The Australian Olive Oil Soap made without palm oil and no plastic packaging.

4) Shampoo
My beloved has found a that the hairdresser will refill bottles with shampoo and conditioner at a reasonable price. The formula supplier produces a product without palm oil and is committed to ethical/green principals. The brand is Everescents.

5) Next is shaving without a disposable plastic razor. I shave with a safety razor for the first time last night.

Enduring Plastic

Plastic can last a long time.
In 1988 or 1989 when I was renovating a old Queenslander (style of timber house) I bought a tool box from the discount table at the local Mitre 10 hardware store.
I still have it and with a clean it could pass for new. It was made by Cooper Tools and was branded "Home Improvement" from the name of Tim Allens TV show.

My yellow toolbox at thirty years old.

I think it could last forever.