This is one of those blog posts that act as a note-to-self. and, I hope help others in the same boat. If you have a SnapScan 1300 portable and want to use it on Ubuntu Linux 14.04 LTS, follow these directions. They worked for me. (I found that from this page, so thanks all around.)
Category: Office
Art store run!
Went by the Utrecht art supplies store. Loose pencil (also china markers and colored pencils, in lieu of markers), gum erasers, metal rulers, gummed paper tape and a wide variety of paper supplies — all without additional plastic or extra packaging. Which is why I think of the art stores as good office supplies stores.
Brass brads keep papers together
OK: three posts in the last 2 years is a pretty poor result. I’ll try to do better. Now some plastic reduction. I bought these brass brads to keep papers together. They’re fun and remind me of elementary school book reports and high school plays. Inexpensive, reusable and not a bit of plastic.
Low plastic? Shop on campus
I was in Athens, Georgia last weekend for a University of Georgia alumni event. One fun thing about being in a college town is shopping for items unavailable elsewhere. (Metro D.C. is — what? — thirty times the size, but it’s easier to get beer-making supplies in Athens, for instance.) One such product line is… Continue reading Low plastic? Shop on campus
Low plastic office: Hollinger boxes
A truly paperless office, even if desirable, is very hard to organize. Paper is just too useful a product and paper printed quickly becomes paper stored. There are many metal filing tools for those who want to avoid plastic, but these are often packed in plastic or are simply too large or unwieldy for the… Continue reading Low plastic office: Hollinger boxes
Getting rid of phone books
Today, NPR had a segment (“The Phone Book’s Days Appear Numbered”) about a California bill to make white page directories opt-in, the problems associated with their production and disposal and about the overall decline of the utility of phonebooks. (These are, of course, mostly paper — a valuable resource in its own right — but… Continue reading Getting rid of phone books
Low Plastic Office: rubber bands
I’ve been thinking about reducing plastic use in the office which — after home — is the place it makes the most sense for me and for many others. I want to point out the obvious: rubber bands are really handy. I use them to bundle papers, including files. I use them to cinch cables… Continue reading Low Plastic Office: rubber bands
Keeping packing peanuts out of landfills
We can agree that plastic packing peanuts are best avoided, who actually seeks them out? Indeed, they seek us in the goods we order or gifts we receive. We get many at work, and they’re not recyclable through the usual waste streams. But shipping companies will sometimes take them and reuse them. The Plastic Loose… Continue reading Keeping packing peanuts out of landfills
Low plastic office: alternative to highlighters
What would a low-plastic highlighter — a felt-tipped pen for accenting text passages — look like? And why do we need them. Half the time, when I want to highlight a few words or lines on page, I just circle or underline them. With what? My red pencil, of course. (Call it a carry over… Continue reading Low plastic office: alternative to highlighters
Lowish-plastic computer followup
I still love the little Ubuntu Linux computer from Zareason I wrote about in December. So much that I’ll spill the beans and note that I didn’t get for myself, but for my employer. (Hi gang!) And we’ve gotten more since. What I didn’t mention then is that you only get the computer: no mouse,… Continue reading Lowish-plastic computer followup