Don’t Throw Away Your VCR!

Thought this was worth sharing…

Happy Independence Day (2009)

[aka Fourth of July]
This is the time of the year for all of us to reflect on what a great country we live in. If it wasn’t for the sacrifices that so many people have made over the years, we would not have the freedom we so enjoy.

Here in the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.

Independence Day and Baltimore Fireworks at the Inner Harbor

Commemorate Independence Day with festive fireworks, live music and family fun at Cricket 4th of July Celebration. On Saturday, July 4, thousands of visitors can observe the holiday at the city’s historic Inner Harbor. At 4:30pm, guests can enjoy dynamic musical selections by Reverb, an a cappella group, followed by Electric Brigade, the Navy’s premier contemporary entertainment ensemble, at 8pm. Performances will take place at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater, located at Light and Pratt streets. The annual fireworks display, which is produced by Zambelli Fireworks Internationale starts at 9:30pm. During the choreographed fireworks show, Electric Brigade will entertain the audience with today’s popular music and patriotic selections. The multicolored fireworks can be seen from Harbor East, Federal Hill, Fell’s Point, Canton and other surroundings areas. During the holiday weekend, visitors are encouraged to ride the MTA Bus, Metro Subway and Light Rail for weekend festivities.

Cricket 4th of July Celebration is presented by Mayor Sheila Dixon, produced by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, sponsored by Cricket, and supported by Corrigan Sports Enterprises, Harborplace & The Gallery, Ocean Spray, Verizon Wireless, Fruit 2o Essentials and CITYPEEK.com.

Event-goers are encouraged to enjoy all that downtown Baltimore and the Inner Harbor has to offer by visiting attractions, museums, restaurants, eateries and retail shops.

CRICKET 4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION Schedule of Events

4:30-6:30pm Reverb, a cappella

8:00-9:30pm Electric Brigade, a U.S. Naval Academy Band

9:30-9:48pm Fireworks Show

For more information on Cricket 4th of July Celebration, call 1-877-BALTIMORE or visit www.promotionandarts.com.

Be safe and enjoy the 4th of July!

Energy Drain?

I have read and seen articles about this – now I am going to test this to see if in fact it is true.

They state that in our homes there are a ton of small steps (besides changing your light bulbs) that we can take to help reduce our electric bills. So this being the first day of July, let’s start with something easy. It shouldn’t even take 10 minutes to do.

Phantom Energy Loads - We all have a bunch of little things plugged in all the time. Like our Coffee Pot. We can set it to automatically turn off if we forget but apparently they say that even when it is off – It is still using Electricity?! The majority of Electrical Devices pull what is called a phantom or vampire load when it’s off.

Are you a Technology junkie, like me? This will probably help the most then. Let’s take a look at some things we often forget about because these items can be as much as 5% of your Energy bill.

* Ipod Charger
* Laptop Charger
* Cell Phone Charger
* TV’s in rooms that we don’t use
* Cable Boxes
* Coffee Pots
* Toasters
* Chargers for Electric Drills or other tools
* Electric Toothbrushes or Razors

In an average family of 4 with Technology based items being popular, with 4 cell phones and 4 Ipods, it is pulling quite a bit of energy. Before you leave the house, just go unplug all of them.

To learn a little more about Phantom Energy Loads, here is a short article on Treehugger about it.