Beyond Swiffer

A couple of months ago, I tried to mop the floor. Mop, not Swiffer. I carefully swept everywhere first, trying to remove all the dust. When I was finished mopping however, wet dustballs clung to the white strings like leeches. I used copious amounts of water and then, discovering that the sink was clogged, used more water and cleaning agent to unclog it. There was no way that entire process was better for the environment than a discarded Swiffer cloth--was there?

This weekend I mopped my bedroom floor for the first time in months. I have a special sponge mop for this, and use Murphy's wood soap. The sponge mop took about 10 seconds to clean, though I still regretted the dirty chemical-ridden water that I had to pour down the drain. That couldn't be good for the ducks, either.

Tonight, I came across this article. One of their suggestions is to mix vinegar and baking soda with some warm water and use that to clean your floors (with a sponge mop, of course). This doesn't sound too time-consuming and is certainly inexpensive. I plan to try it sometime in the coming week. I am skeptical about some of their suggestions, though. Buying natural sponges from "sponge farms" sounds more expensive and I doubt that they last any longer. And while using a dishwasher might be more efficient, I don't have one, and will have to continue wasting water the old-fashioned way.

Finally, here are 2 saving water suggestions I probably won't try, but wholeheartedly support those who do:
1. Recycle your greywater. Save the water from the shower or dishwasher and use it to mop the floor.

2. Instead of showers or baths, try bathing with a bucket. Whenever I visit my relatives in Asia, they fill a bucket with water, hand you a jug, and you're good to go. This includes washing your hair and shaving your legs. Trust me, it can be done.

On University Administration

I am constantly surprised by the level of bureaucracy in University administrative offices. This morning I submitted the paperwork to advance to candidacy for the PhD. One of my labmates heard me complaining about the $65 fee and claimed that he hadn't paid anything. Since he's in a different department, I went to our (new) departmental secretary (sorry, administrative assisstant) and asked if our department could also waive the fee. She refused. Then, I asked our lab's administrative assisstant if our advisor has ever been charged the fee. He also said no. So when I submitted my check to the Graduate Office, I asked if it was common to have this mismatch between departments. I was told that all students paid their own fee and my labmate must have slipped through the cracks. Not wanting to incriminate him, I let the subject drop. What gets me is that if didn't submit a check and just hoped I'd "slip through the cracks", I would instead be notified on graduation day that I hadn't fulfilled requirements and would be delayed a semester in receiving my degree. That's what happens to the chump (chumpette?) who actually reads these pesky forms.

On Grammar

My research advisor forbids the use of split infinitives and gerunds. The split infinitive issue is, in my opinion, archaic, especially as using them usually increases clarity, a crucial aspect of scientific writing. The gerund rule is uniquely his. I think this symbolizes the dominance of old white males in science. Just because some woman in her 50s told my advisor in the 50s that split infinitives were a bad idea, does not mean that currently accepted standards are in some way inferior. How is anyone surprised at the prevalence of outmoded thinking when it comes to women in science when it is such a big issue in even small, far less significant aspects of the field?

On "Elements of Style"

After a fitful night's sleep (I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter), I spent the day "working from home". Sometime mid-afternoon, I stopped pretending to respond to reviewer comments re: the discussion section and picked up Wendy Wasserstein's "Elements of Style". I got the book for my birthday and while I feel compelled to finish it, I've now descended into the blahs. A page or two of irony about the idle rich of NYC wearing Prada and drinking champagne is fun; an entire novel is draining. Even if it is meant to be ironic, inhabiting the minds of these superficial characters is zapping the fun out of life. It is also rendering me incapable of deciding whether to accomodate reviewer #1 and remove any discussion of papers x and y.