Recycled crafting etc

The news today reported on Lights Out...a movement to turn out lights in big cities for a half hour or an hour at night. Lights that really are not necessary like office buildings that are empty, large lit signage for advertising. Basically its a black out to raise awareness for energy consumption reduction. Useless gesture? I don't think so...like any campaign, a hook is needed to catch the attention of the general public. Rome and now London have given it their shots, what about other urban centers? And how much energy is saved by these blackouts? For sure it is not a negligible amount! We are now in the summer season where we may not be heating a building but cooling it so energy demands are still high and often cause stress on electrical supplies. A large reduction in unecessary lighting and the light pollution it causes could be a very good thing. A walk beneath STARS in the central city anyone?
Crafting with recycled stuffs: I am interested in this from a knitting standpoint and have 3 or 4 sweaters waiting for "frogging" meaning waiting to be ripped apart for their yarn yardage. This is an idea that is gaining interest among earth and frugal minded knitters and sometimes you can score a luxury fiber for a pittance at a thrift shop or clearance sale. I would like to do more of this but in using my spare time actually knitting I haven't yet gotten around to the recycling. I guess I will have two stashes: one of new yarns and one of sweaters waiting to be recycled for their yarns. ;oD Could be worse right? http://www.neauveau.com/recycledyarn.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/recycledyarn/?yguid=196305498
http://www.az.com/~andrade/knit/thrifty.html
Here are 3 links to get ya started on recycling yarn for your handy works. Never forget you can recycle old clothes for their fabric to save money on your sewing habit too.

Dishwasher Powder

(Gratuitous boat shot: Look windpowered travel!!!)

I have been using a homemade version of dishwasher powder for awhile made from a 1:1 ratio of baking soda to Borax. I am unimpressed. I tried adding salt. Still not happy. My glasses are cloudy coated (can scratch it with my fingernail so its not etching) and some dishes just do not come out clean.

I am unhappy with this recipe and so far all the homemade recipes I can find are pretty close to this with perhaps citric acid added.

Thus, the great dishwasher powder experiment of May 2007 came to and ignomious end...with me buying some chlorine free stuff at Zellers on a major sale discount (Amilya's Soapworks). Sweet.