By Robert J. Pennington

I have a small business, I mean, really small. No partners, boards, employees, no office, just me. It is like the “atom” of the business universe, unable to be further reduced, split or simplified. It serves its purpose of providing my economic livelihood, with a simplistic ease. As with any business, the dollars and cents of it flow through a bank, my clearinghouse for income generated by my little enterprising atom. In technical terms I am a sole proprietor, cash accounting, a minimalist of capitalism. My simplistic approach to my business extended to banking, just the basics–a checking account to move dollars to and fro, with a savings account to accumulate the occasional bounty. All is handed over to a very gifted and thorough accountant. Credit was in the form of a credit card. The credit card is where my simple world became a lot more complicated. I have had credit cards from an early age. It took me till after college to truly understand the advantages and consequences of having credit and using it wisely. Mortgages, loans, and the other credit depending activities have been relatively painless to obtain despite being self-employed in the arts. Continue reading Bob vs. Bank

Last Thursday, a panel of business leaders spoke at Antioch University to a full room of entrepreneurs, students, faculty and members of the business community. Each gave a great presentation on how their company is working to create social and environmental benefits through innovative practices.

by Jen Pennington
Originally posted on the This Old House site’s call for Holiday DIY disaster stories.
Our holiday disaster was just last year, 2008. We drove through snowstorms from Seattle to Salt Lake City to get to our small 600 sq ft., 1-bedroom condo there. The condo was previously being used by my Mother-in-Law, who had [...]

Part of the Green Green Owner/Builder series
by Jen Pennington
Since I’ve been writing about efficient alternative vehicles and recently with coverage of the November SEMA 2009 show, it’s probably only fair that I share some of our own auto choices. While purchasing a hybrid would surely be nice, it was not practical for us at the [...]

by Jen Pennington
Photos by Robert J. Pennington

When you think of mobile home travel, a really big, gas guzzling RV or motor home comes to mind. The kind that needs a hook-up to a water and power supply and seeks to impose itself on the very environment it’s meant to enjoy. At SEMA 2009 amidst all [...]

by Jen Pennington
Photos by Robert J. Pennington
This year at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturer’s Association (SEMA) 2009 show in Las Vegas, there seemed to be a great gathering of beautifully customized and enhanced Mustangs and Camaros. All I can say is, what Mustang or Camaro isn’t sexy with a body like that? But to most motorheads [...]

by Jen Pennington
photos by Robert J. Pennington
Today at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturing Association (SEMA) 2009 show in Las Vegas, in the midst of some very sweet cars, parts and accessories, it’s easy to get sucked into the shiny beauty of gorgeous machines. An unveil by color master/designer Chip Foose and builder Peter Klutt on their [...]

By DeJay Noy, Integral Consulting Inc.
If you’ve recently picked up a newspaper, browsed through a magazine at the doctor’s office, or watched football games on the tube, you’ve no doubt run across ads or articles about green computing, or “virtualization” of computer systems. You may not have given this topic much thought, or maybe dismissed [...]

Part of the Green Green Owner/Builder series
by Jen Pennington
When you first start to think about building a house, you think in large sweeps. How you move about a space, what it should be made of and how it should breathe. A concrete floor, radiant heating system, energy efficient windows, doors and appliances, good room flow, [...]

Now that my husband Bob and I have built two small sheds and a 110 sq. ft cabin, it was time to take on the Big House. A term generally reserved for a jailhouse, the locked in feeling to this project both financially and physically has us doing two to five with some time off for good behavior.