There Ain't No Such Thing as Scrap!

My mom and dad both grew up during the depression. They were pretty frugal people, even when they started to make some decent money. Perhaps that's when my Pack Rat tendencies began, by watching them play out their own upbringing. Wherever, or whenever it began, I have become a master at holding onto things (you never know when you might need it).

What does this have to do with "Scrap"? Well... for those who are clayers, you've probably figured out I'm talking about scrap polymer clay.

The stuff that gets trimmed off of canes, cut around templates, balled up and put on the corner of your workspace. For me... it's the stuff that collects on my work table until I have to do something or I'll run out of space.

(That's not to say I don't throw away clay... some of it just isn't viable - you know, the stuff that falls on the floor you haven't swept in... er... um... years).

So, being said Pack Rat, I got creative. I have collected a multitude of ways to reuse my scrap clay. And now I've put together a tutorial to help folks use up their scrap in creative... and frankly, pretty fun ways.

I'm almost done with it (the tutorial) - all the photos are ready to go, along with my outline. Just have to put some words to it. Heh... that's all. If you're interested in what I might have to say about using scrap, the tutorial will be on my Etsy Site soon. (That's soon in "Mel" time, so... don't hold your breath. But it will happen.)

And, in the category of weird, wonderful and... well, in this case... worrisome...
There's an article at NewScientist.com about how privacy-invasive advertising is stepping out of the virtual world and into the real world. There are companies who will be watching you from their billboards, and change the ad depending on your age or sex. Companies will have advertising that will see who's looking at it, and record intel about you with little cameras. I'm sorry, but that's just plain creepy. But I suppose it's no worse than the dossiers that have been accumulated by corporations about us, which are being sold to other corporations so they can... well... do whatever they do to us.

Heh. Creepy.

On the flip side, however, there's an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about a bill that recently passed in PA that bans forced identity chips in humans. Perhaps jumping the gun a bit... but perhaps not. At the very least, it's good to know someone is paying attention.

*shivers*

Am I sounding paranoid?

*Note to self: Stop watching spy movies and scifi tv shows.*