and praying I don't get zapped.
There has been a rather disturbing meme in the landscape of American politics as of late. It would seem that Hannity and Beck in their usual race to the bottom of the barrel have captured the potential wind in the sails of certain elements of the emergency prep/survivalist movement.
First a couple things up front, I do not wish to debate or cast dispersions at the nature of the movement itself. The following observations have more to do with timing and the age old question "cui bono?" Second, because I believe in transparency I voted Democrat this time around, though at one point or another I have voted for candidates from just about every party (except the american Nazi party for obvious reasons). Unlike the windbags on TV and radio, I'm not going to claim I'm independent of anything. I'm not registered, but I have a worldview that can generally be described currently as an american liberal by textbook (not a pundit's) definition. Lastly, though I have some familiarity with many aspects of the movement via persons I grew up around, I am largely an outsider looking in, so if I misconstrue anything, no offense is intended.
On with the show.
During the 1990's a growing number of people became interested in emergency preparedness, or more specifically on the means by which individuals or groups might survive cataclysmic, regional or societal collapse. Granted, the movement was by no means recent, but it certainly gained prominence even if brief in the public mind at that time. This as you may well recall was, by and large "the Clinton Years." By and large the literature focused on two primary threats in a post cataclysm world (be it nuclear, weather, technological infrastructure failure) The first threat is usually "zombies" the faceless masses (or perhaps even your neighbors) who did not prepare and come seeking whatever resources you may have, they may range from annoying, to deadly. Second is the government itself, many believe that our own government would in fact be the source of the collapse in some cases, or in the matter I wish to touch upon, the nature of government would be such that people might find need to put Jefferson's axiom of refreshing the tree of liberty into practice.
That is what concerns me today. I will not argue that our nation stands upon a precipice of great peril. I will not debate that by and large the priorities of our society are misaligned. I do not question the sovereignty of the individual nor the responsibility of the individual to prepare to at least a minor extent. Only a fool would be caught without a shovel in the winter.
What I do wish to contest is the encouragement that evangelists from the minority party in government seem to be engaging in. I don't think there is any way to get around specifics at this point so here goes, where was the outrage during the last 8 years? From my point of view, the loss of things like Habeas Corpus, indefinite imprisonment, widespread wiretapping, and I'm sure several other things I missed, should have been a wake up call for those who are feeling the itch to raise their rifles today. I grew up at the tail end of the cold war, so I know what its like to go to bed wondering if the commies will come (thanks a lot Red Dawn). Commie socialist pinko was a dirty word back then and it still is now. So why is it that certain elements of the media feel the need to incite old fears? Quite frankly (and this is of course my opinion) the reason is, because its all they have left. Certain media personalities have made their living by championing causes for one team. Now that the shoe is on the other foot they have gone from speaking like Tories to playing Paul Revere. They have traded authentic elitism for pseudo populism. They have turned their screeds from decrying those upset by loss of civil liberties and the abuse of power in wartime, to revisiting the red baiting of the past. Gone is the mantra "love it or leave it," todays meme is "get ready for civil war." You cannot espouse authoritarianism one day and libertarianism the next without great leaps of intellectual dishonesty.
What does their elitism have to do with the message of emergency preparedness or survivalism?
They are out of people to market to at the moment. Narcissistic by nature these creatures need an audience. Turn off your TV and radio, read a book, plant something. Let these gasbags starve. If you happen to prep, don't be fooled into believing these people are on your side. They may ultimately be self fulfilling prophecies, by instilling fear uncertainty and doubt: panic, hording and scarcity will ensue, and its all downhill from there.
But the fundamental question I am left with dear readers, are the principles of survivalism (most notably its defensive posture) necessarily the province of one political party?
Does a person's disposition on a spectrum of liberal to conservative (for the sake of simplicty) dictate the temper of their response? We both may garden, we both may be interested in solar energy, in food security, self sufficiency. But whereas I am concerned about the frightening consolidation of corporations and the vast profits being used to manipulate society for monetary gain. My friends on the other side of the aisle would say we have more to fear from our own government, and at times our own neighbor, but such has been the thesis of modern conservatism (or at least as I have observed it.) Again, no offense, just observation.
Is it a case of country mouse/city mouse? Does my thinking that allotment gardens and urban co-ops seem so palatable simply because I am a suburban liberal. Were I conservative, would a "bug-out" bag and plan be the logical course of action?
Or is it something else, do we fall into a much deeper category of meta consciousness. Does a predisposition to vote a certain way or face crisis a certain way speak more to their opinion of society, or rather humankind itself? Does it come down to a battle of Hobbes vs. Locke? Or is it more a matter of rugged individualism vs. cooperative interdependence.
I'm talking myself dizzy right now. I'd love to hear from all of you, but please lets keep it civil. I touched a third rail but I don't want the passion which strains to break our bonds of affection. ;)
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Fact!
Fact!
Warm homemade bread and homegrown chamomile tea is the perfect winter evening snack.
Fact!
seriously though, a question for no-knead veterans: do you end up with a lot of bubbles in the bread? The first couple loaves from the batch were fine, but the last two have a lot of air bubbles, does this have anything to do with the age of the dough? I should provide pictures, these are not the usual bubble holes that are common in artisan style bread, I had a couple that were the diameter of a quarter. That seems a bit large to me.
Warm homemade bread and homegrown chamomile tea is the perfect winter evening snack.
Fact!
seriously though, a question for no-knead veterans: do you end up with a lot of bubbles in the bread? The first couple loaves from the batch were fine, but the last two have a lot of air bubbles, does this have anything to do with the age of the dough? I should provide pictures, these are not the usual bubble holes that are common in artisan style bread, I had a couple that were the diameter of a quarter. That seems a bit large to me.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
playing 30 questions
one acre homestead in ohio wants to know more about his readership.
Other Questions-
Basic Questions About You
1-What is the biggest goal of your lifestyle?
To be liberated, to achieve that often talked about, never worked towards sense of balance, to finally grab the tiller on this boat and steer my own course.
1-What is the biggest goal of your lifestyle?
To be liberated, to achieve that often talked about, never worked towards sense of balance, to finally grab the tiller on this boat and steer my own course.
2-When did you start this lifestyle? Very gently about 5 years ago.
3-What was your main motivation? Fear, I don't know if I truly saw this stuff coming or I am just paranoid and made a lucky guess.
4-Did you have any previous experience in anything you're doing now? Childhood of occasional baking, gardening, carpentry.
5-Does your spouse/signifiacant other (if you have one) share the same ideas? Not exactly, but she's not against it either.
6-Do your friends and family understand and support these choices? What about your kids? I guess you could say "Kinda, sorta" to each.
7-How happy are you with your achievements so far? I wish I was farther along, but so far so good.
8-Are you more of a gardener, homesteader, prepper, health concience, "green"' or a combination of several? I started out a panic-prepper, but now its more of the other categories, I realized the destination wasn't the goal, as bikers say, its the journey that matters.
9-Has this change of lifestyle affected your personality? I would say definitely, its made me more conscious of waste, but also of the potential to change. If its possible, I think I have become simultaneously bitter and optimistic.
10-Has it changed your view of your life before? Not really, I am who I am.
11-What about how you view others that don't understand it or naysay? I can't fault people who make choices based on the data at hand and the lens of their particular worldview, its people who manufacture a web of ideology for convenience or just because they don't want to change that I find annoying. I'd rather focus on dealing with people who are at least receptive.
12-If you could convince someone to live the way you do in ONE sentance, what would you say?
By voluntarily choosing how you will live, you will remember what its like to be truly alive.Other Questions-
1-How large is your vegetable garden? several areas spread out for about 200 square feet.
2-Do you grow any fruits, and what and how many? we have a smallish blackberry bush, a pair of pawpaw trees that have yet to produce
3-Do you have any animals and what are they? (other than pets) just dogs
4-Do you can/dehydrate/freeze/store your own produce? to some extent, soups and jams
5-Do you work with mainly power tools or hand tools in your gardens and others? (wood cutting, splitting, tiller vs. broadfork etc...) In garden, I work exclusively with hand tools, its small enough that one person can do it in a reasonable amount of time.
6-Do you compost? absolutely
7-Do you recycle? absolutely
8-Do you consider yourself energy consience? (conserving to save $) yes
9-Do you make any of your own household cleaners? no but its been on my mind
10-Do you make your own bread? there is no substitute for warm crusty homemade bread (baked a loaf last night in fact).
11- If in an emergency situation, are you able to not leave home for a week? How about a month? A year?? a week maybe, but no longer.
12-Are you tired of answering questions yet? I can do a few more.
13-If you prep, what do you consider to be your most useful tool/items the phrase "don't panic"
14-Are you able to heat your home without gas or fuel oil? does electricity count?
15-Are you able to cook without gas or electricity? got a grill out back and I know how to use it.
16-Again, if in an emercency situation, could you live in the wild or out of a tent? ( camping,hunt/fish, cook,etc.) I probably could, I used to camp with a very minimum of supplies in H.S. but I haven't done anything like that lately (its been at least ten years, lets put it that way)
17-Have you ever practiced your prep skills? (turning off main power for a day or 2) How did you do? (this can include a power outage due to weather as a test) Not voluntarily, but when it did happen, we did just fine.
18-Do you have the knowledge & skills (plus tools) to hunt and fish for food? I probably could, but my dietary choices do not make it necessary. I considered whether I would voluntarily kill and prep and animal to eat, and decided that since I couldn't stomach the process I had no right to eat the product. In a "lost in the wilderness for weeks" situation I probably could if I had the tools. I did fish a lot as a child.
19-If you don't prep, why not? It would likely drive my family nuts, and put me in a very obsessive mental state.
20-Do you or can you sew your own clothes and make your own bedding? I just made a window shade as a matter of fact.
21-Can you field dress a deer, drink a coffee, smoke a cigarette, make a cell phone call, light a fire, AND answer all of my annoying questions at the same time? lol thanks for playing! I can multitask, but not the same tasks as you.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
And they're off!
I suppose this officially commences the 2009 growing season. I started six things on thursday evening in the aerogarden. Most are perennials (self-heal, skullcap, garden sorrel, soapwort, and roman chamomile..or was it german, I don't remember honestly, I grow both, but this was the perennial.) I did start Holy Basil and Czech Black hot pepper which will eventually get moved to pots in the sunroom when they get too big for the aerogarden.
So far the only sprout is the chamomile, not surprising, but this is the the part I hate...waiting.
In other news I opted to use linoleum tile for the sunroom floor. Why? because we had some left over. Ultimately I figure the most sustainable solution is to use what I already have. I'm still waiting on that door. This going in and out of the sunroom through a window is getting ridiculous.
Does anyone have recommendations on pot size for growing salad crops indoors? (mache, spinach, lettuce)
So far the only sprout is the chamomile, not surprising, but this is the the part I hate...waiting.
In other news I opted to use linoleum tile for the sunroom floor. Why? because we had some left over. Ultimately I figure the most sustainable solution is to use what I already have. I'm still waiting on that door. This going in and out of the sunroom through a window is getting ridiculous.
Does anyone have recommendations on pot size for growing salad crops indoors? (mache, spinach, lettuce)
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Book Review: Mycellium Running
Mycellium Running by Paul Stamets. Ten Speed Press
When most people think of fungus they think of either mushrooms like the beloved (or in some unfortunate circumstances, hated) Portabella...or the stuff that grows on toenails.
Not so for the author Paul Stamets and his fellow mycologists. The fungal kingdom has a rich history (establishing early terrestrial dominance in the primordial world) and an essential role to this day. The early portions of the book are dedicated to a quite in depth discussion of the nature, taxonomic divisions, and niche relationships between fungal species. In spite of the depth, the material is still accessible for the layperson, thanks to an abundance of diagrams, photos, and microscopic images. Comparisons between the nature of mycellial mats, and cosmic nebulae, or
most striking, a diagram of the internet itself made it quite evident that these structures permeate every cubic micrometer of living soil in a self healing network. Soil structure itself is largely determined by the presence and type of fungal species.
The discussion continues to a more in depth exploration of the three primary types of fungus as defined by role. As a general note, the author's primary frame of reference is old growth forests in the pacific northwest, which is quite apt since the variety of flora in various states of life and decomposition provides the widest selection of fungal species for study. The drawback of course is that most of us can only drool at the photos, since local sources of some specific hardwood species are not available in all areas.
The primary focus of this book is the author's thesis that since fungus build the world, fungus can save the world, or at least that is the message I took away from it. Various strategies are discussed for using fungus species to sequester heavy metal pollution from soils, break down aromatic hydrocarbon pollution (petrol), remediate toxins (amazingly including VX and sarin nerve gas). Fungal applications for pesticide (as a focused narrow spectrum solution rather than an irresponsible scorched earth application), and possible use in biofuels are also included. The variety and effectiveness of the applications in trials was quite impressive.
Medicinal applications are also discussed, and the general impression left in the reader is the author's acceptance use and appreciation for ALL members of the mushroom kingdom as having medicinal properties...save for the fatally toxic. In fact, he goes so far as to document which species have properties which promote healing of various conditions. No extensive documentation of proof in trials in mentioned. However, given the author's disposition and profession as a scientist, I doubt the recommendations come without scientific basis. His mention of fungus as the starting point in the development of most modern antibiotics lends more credence to that supposition. Also included is a quite frank discussion of why psilocybe containing mushrooms do not deserve classification as an illicit drug, since they do not cause neurological damage, and the effects of repeated use discourage frequent habitual use. Despite my initial disregard of the matter (likely due in part to a very straight laced upbringing,) I am inclined now to agree.
All of the aforementioned is "big picture" stuff, which admittedly has little to do with my garden, and quest for a more self sufficiency right? Not so fast. The latter part of the book is dedicated to the cultivation of various fungal species, including a rather nice guide to identifying and propagating specific varieties from wild specimens. One area I wish was expanded upon was the role of fungus as companions in the garden. A discussion of mycorrhizal fungus was enough to confirm the results Malcolm Beck described in Lessons in Nature. More interesting still was the possible uses of some species of above ground fruiting edibles as companions to vegetable crops. I was disappointed that more research and thus more rec commendations were not included. Perhaps this will be forthcoming in another book, perhaps I need to experiment with this myself. I am curious as to the effectiveness of using antibacterial and antiviral properties of fungus grown in proximity to species of plants susceptible to infection. Geez, is that a perfect Phd project or what!?
Perhaps the biggest endorsement I can offer for this book is the brief but poignant name dropping of my favorite fiction author, the late Frank Herbert. Apparently a friend of Stamets and fellow mushroom cultivator (of MANY different varieties,) in a few brief paragraphs, the inspiration for many key elements in the Dune series became quite apparent.
My overall rating of this work is quite dependent on audience. This book should not be one of the first to purchase on your quest to natural living. There are prerequisite pieces of knowledge that are essential to fully appreciating this book. However, I now believe that any discussion of permaculture is incomplete without referring to the research covered in this book. In the college of natural farming, this is likely 300 level curriculum. This does not provide a full discussion of cultivation, though it provides more than what I would call an introduction to it. One could certainly begin growing their own mushrooms with only this book but it would not be a complete reference to it.
Overall I give it an A but with the above caveats. As I said, permaculture is incomplete without it. If you are just starting out, grab How to Grow more Vegetables... and Gaia's Garden then while you're sitting around watching the corn grow, read Dune. And once you are more comfortable with the principles of permaculture, read this book, twice.
When most people think of fungus they think of either mushrooms like the beloved (or in some unfortunate circumstances, hated) Portabella...or the stuff that grows on toenails.
Not so for the author Paul Stamets and his fellow mycologists. The fungal kingdom has a rich history (establishing early terrestrial dominance in the primordial world) and an essential role to this day. The early portions of the book are dedicated to a quite in depth discussion of the nature, taxonomic divisions, and niche relationships between fungal species. In spite of the depth, the material is still accessible for the layperson, thanks to an abundance of diagrams, photos, and microscopic images. Comparisons between the nature of mycellial mats, and cosmic nebulae, or
most striking, a diagram of the internet itself made it quite evident that these structures permeate every cubic micrometer of living soil in a self healing network. Soil structure itself is largely determined by the presence and type of fungal species.
The discussion continues to a more in depth exploration of the three primary types of fungus as defined by role. As a general note, the author's primary frame of reference is old growth forests in the pacific northwest, which is quite apt since the variety of flora in various states of life and decomposition provides the widest selection of fungal species for study. The drawback of course is that most of us can only drool at the photos, since local sources of some specific hardwood species are not available in all areas.
The primary focus of this book is the author's thesis that since fungus build the world, fungus can save the world, or at least that is the message I took away from it. Various strategies are discussed for using fungus species to sequester heavy metal pollution from soils, break down aromatic hydrocarbon pollution (petrol), remediate toxins (amazingly including VX and sarin nerve gas). Fungal applications for pesticide (as a focused narrow spectrum solution rather than an irresponsible scorched earth application), and possible use in biofuels are also included. The variety and effectiveness of the applications in trials was quite impressive.
Medicinal applications are also discussed, and the general impression left in the reader is the author's acceptance use and appreciation for ALL members of the mushroom kingdom as having medicinal properties...save for the fatally toxic. In fact, he goes so far as to document which species have properties which promote healing of various conditions. No extensive documentation of proof in trials in mentioned. However, given the author's disposition and profession as a scientist, I doubt the recommendations come without scientific basis. His mention of fungus as the starting point in the development of most modern antibiotics lends more credence to that supposition. Also included is a quite frank discussion of why psilocybe containing mushrooms do not deserve classification as an illicit drug, since they do not cause neurological damage, and the effects of repeated use discourage frequent habitual use. Despite my initial disregard of the matter (likely due in part to a very straight laced upbringing,) I am inclined now to agree.
All of the aforementioned is "big picture" stuff, which admittedly has little to do with my garden, and quest for a more self sufficiency right? Not so fast. The latter part of the book is dedicated to the cultivation of various fungal species, including a rather nice guide to identifying and propagating specific varieties from wild specimens. One area I wish was expanded upon was the role of fungus as companions in the garden. A discussion of mycorrhizal fungus was enough to confirm the results Malcolm Beck described in Lessons in Nature. More interesting still was the possible uses of some species of above ground fruiting edibles as companions to vegetable crops. I was disappointed that more research and thus more rec commendations were not included. Perhaps this will be forthcoming in another book, perhaps I need to experiment with this myself. I am curious as to the effectiveness of using antibacterial and antiviral properties of fungus grown in proximity to species of plants susceptible to infection. Geez, is that a perfect Phd project or what!?
Perhaps the biggest endorsement I can offer for this book is the brief but poignant name dropping of my favorite fiction author, the late Frank Herbert. Apparently a friend of Stamets and fellow mushroom cultivator (of MANY different varieties,) in a few brief paragraphs, the inspiration for many key elements in the Dune series became quite apparent.
My overall rating of this work is quite dependent on audience. This book should not be one of the first to purchase on your quest to natural living. There are prerequisite pieces of knowledge that are essential to fully appreciating this book. However, I now believe that any discussion of permaculture is incomplete without referring to the research covered in this book. In the college of natural farming, this is likely 300 level curriculum. This does not provide a full discussion of cultivation, though it provides more than what I would call an introduction to it. One could certainly begin growing their own mushrooms with only this book but it would not be a complete reference to it.
Overall I give it an A but with the above caveats. As I said, permaculture is incomplete without it. If you are just starting out, grab How to Grow more Vegetables... and Gaia's Garden then while you're sitting around watching the corn grow, read Dune. And once you are more comfortable with the principles of permaculture, read this book, twice.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A productive weekend
As promised, the process pictures of the mostly finished sunroom...mostly.
Step one, tear out the bushes.
done.
Next they dug the holes for the footings (which was photographically uninteresting) then put in concrete footers and built the deck portion (which has an insulated floor).
then they pretty much did the rest in two days. I didn't get a picture of just the walls in place, (and I wasn't about to stand outside yesterday morning and take pictures of them working.)
Here is the finished product.
Note I have the blinds pulled down on the side windows (which are an enormous 57" wide). We got cellular blinds for the windows, and between that and the low-e glass, it was pretty warm yesterday despite being isolated still from the rest of the house. Note that I still have to put a door where the windows are, so entering the room does not involve gymnastics.
And that very same day, I put three dwarf citrus trees on order from Growquest.
I did a lot more this weekend. Starting with the window to the kitchen door (on the north side of the house.) We were contemplating making our own shades for the sunroom from "Warm window" fabric available at jo-ann fabrics. By the yard it is quite pricey, but one of the employees wholeheartedly endorsed the results. So we decided on a test. Make one for the kitchen, and if we like the results, do the whole sunroom. All in all it took about 3 hours to make a 24"x40" shade and hang it. I would rate the results as "not bad." A the part of me that thinks things like "I see where the errors are, and I know I can do the next one better," kicked into gear. Unfortunately the lobbying efforts did not pay off, and I can understand. The materials alone were helaciously expensive. Granted, some things you had to buy in bulk, like cordage, the brass rings, the eyelet screws, and a branded weight rod (instead of just using some 3/8" round bar stock and cutting it to length.) but at $140 it is hefty. And professional looking it ain't. So we compromised and got some rather nice cellular shades which do a decent job of insulating.
I really should have followed the optional step of spraying some kind of light adhesive between the insulation layer and the inside facing fabric to give it a more crisp look. In all fairness we used a rather heavy upholstery fabric as well. I'd love to give it another try on some other windows. Maybe the bedroom windows of the kids rooms which face north and west. It would mean saving up a bit first, as I said, quite expensive, but you can definitely feel the difference if you put your hand behind the shade at night.
And on a different note, I made my first loaf of "no-knead" bread. It looked and smelled amazing. Fresh warm bread made a nice complement to Chicken Marsala and wild mushroom risotto for valentines day. (In my case it was "chicken" made with Quorn cutlets.)
I did notice that I should let the stone warm up a little longer, as the bottom wasn't quite as crisp as the top...which as you can see from the picture, was perfect. It was extremely well recieved. In fact, it was gone before the evening was out. I have plenty of dough and I will make another tonight with a little longer warm up time.
I also put cabinet doors on the area below the counter where our garbage/recycling bins sit, but for some reason they weren't on the card.
One last thing, last night my wife inquired now that the sunroom is "done" why I don't have anything growing out there yet. Simple answer: After everything that went on, I'm tired. Of course that was yesterday, today I'm rested.
Step one, tear out the bushes.
done.
Next they dug the holes for the footings (which was photographically uninteresting) then put in concrete footers and built the deck portion (which has an insulated floor).
then they pretty much did the rest in two days. I didn't get a picture of just the walls in place, (and I wasn't about to stand outside yesterday morning and take pictures of them working.)
Here is the finished product.
Note I have the blinds pulled down on the side windows (which are an enormous 57" wide). We got cellular blinds for the windows, and between that and the low-e glass, it was pretty warm yesterday despite being isolated still from the rest of the house. Note that I still have to put a door where the windows are, so entering the room does not involve gymnastics.
And that very same day, I put three dwarf citrus trees on order from Growquest.
I did a lot more this weekend. Starting with the window to the kitchen door (on the north side of the house.) We were contemplating making our own shades for the sunroom from "Warm window" fabric available at jo-ann fabrics. By the yard it is quite pricey, but one of the employees wholeheartedly endorsed the results. So we decided on a test. Make one for the kitchen, and if we like the results, do the whole sunroom. All in all it took about 3 hours to make a 24"x40" shade and hang it. I would rate the results as "not bad." A the part of me that thinks things like "I see where the errors are, and I know I can do the next one better," kicked into gear. Unfortunately the lobbying efforts did not pay off, and I can understand. The materials alone were helaciously expensive. Granted, some things you had to buy in bulk, like cordage, the brass rings, the eyelet screws, and a branded weight rod (instead of just using some 3/8" round bar stock and cutting it to length.) but at $140 it is hefty. And professional looking it ain't. So we compromised and got some rather nice cellular shades which do a decent job of insulating.
I really should have followed the optional step of spraying some kind of light adhesive between the insulation layer and the inside facing fabric to give it a more crisp look. In all fairness we used a rather heavy upholstery fabric as well. I'd love to give it another try on some other windows. Maybe the bedroom windows of the kids rooms which face north and west. It would mean saving up a bit first, as I said, quite expensive, but you can definitely feel the difference if you put your hand behind the shade at night.
And on a different note, I made my first loaf of "no-knead" bread. It looked and smelled amazing. Fresh warm bread made a nice complement to Chicken Marsala and wild mushroom risotto for valentines day. (In my case it was "chicken" made with Quorn cutlets.)
I did notice that I should let the stone warm up a little longer, as the bottom wasn't quite as crisp as the top...which as you can see from the picture, was perfect. It was extremely well recieved. In fact, it was gone before the evening was out. I have plenty of dough and I will make another tonight with a little longer warm up time.
I also put cabinet doors on the area below the counter where our garbage/recycling bins sit, but for some reason they weren't on the card.
One last thing, last night my wife inquired now that the sunroom is "done" why I don't have anything growing out there yet. Simple answer: After everything that went on, I'm tired. Of course that was yesterday, today I'm rested.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Finally, HFCS ads we can all get behind!
the first comes courtesy of the folks who brought us King Corn, which is more relevant now than ever.
A funny (sarcastic)spoof:
This guy brings the real facts (my fav):
Joe Biden agrees:
This next one Is a bit longer but perhaps the most informative of all of them
BTW I wish I had the money to pay for a pop up ad that attached itself to videos. The irony is delicious.
A funny (sarcastic)spoof:
This guy brings the real facts (my fav):
Joe Biden agrees:
This next one Is a bit longer but perhaps the most informative of all of them
BTW I wish I had the money to pay for a pop up ad that attached itself to videos. The irony is delicious.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
What do hfcs ad's and rats have in common?
They are both disease carrying invasive pests. click the image and read the caption below the movie.
In other news...
I took a fistfull of pictures of the vacant space left by the bushes, which my wife accurately characterized as "sad and empty." Not for long though, the holes for footers have been dug and the siding pulled away where the sunroom will fit to the outside wall. I'll take more pics tonight and hopefully remember the memory card tomorrow morning.
Groovy Green found an article on what in my opinion is the perfect stimulus package. Being vegetarian I don't normally espouse metaphors that encourage bird killing, no matter how many times the stone gets reused, but it fits.
Sharon Astyk rounds up 25 crops no one should be without. And if the above stimulus plan gets picked up on, I might actually have room to grow them all.
And lastly, sometimes the things that are the hardest to pick up on are the ones right under your nose. Apparently there is a fairly well established greenie group in Syracuse. I might just leave my shell yet.
by the way, holy February heat wave batman, it hit the 50's here in Syracuse!?
Groovy Green found an article on what in my opinion is the perfect stimulus package. Being vegetarian I don't normally espouse metaphors that encourage bird killing, no matter how many times the stone gets reused, but it fits.
Sharon Astyk rounds up 25 crops no one should be without. And if the above stimulus plan gets picked up on, I might actually have room to grow them all.
And lastly, sometimes the things that are the hardest to pick up on are the ones right under your nose. Apparently there is a fairly well established greenie group in Syracuse. I might just leave my shell yet.
by the way, holy February heat wave batman, it hit the 50's here in Syracuse!?
Friday, February 6, 2009
Its GO time
At long last, the sunroom will start... monday to be precise. I have to borrow a chainsaw to get the bushes out of the way, but that shouldn't be a problem. We have had arctic like weather and the ground is as hard as a rock right now, lucky I'm not the one who will be digging the footers.
Before, after and in process pictures to follow.
Before, after and in process pictures to follow.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Brain Droppings
First of all thank you to those who dropped a quick word or two on the HFCS mercury issue, and thank you to Jennifer for giving us all the "deep breath, calm-down," moment I think everyone needed. I certainly agree that this is not the apocalypse, but its another darn good reason to keep HFSC out of the fridge, pantry, etc. HFCS is ultimately the symptom of the corn overproduction inherent in our current system. If it werent for the broken ag policy in this nation, HFSC would be as expensive, if not more, than cane sugar.
Also important to remember is two failings of the FDA, first the allowance of the term natural, and second, the tacit allowance of mercury to be in HFCS (even in small amounts) without adequate public notification. I am paraphrasing Jules Dervaes: "The corporations won't do it, the government can't do it." Personally I don't believe the thought bomb that government exists to perpetuate its own excess, and government officials are only concerned with appealing to the highest bidder. I think again we are looking at a structural failing where elected officials must raise obscene amounts of money DAILY in order to fund their re-election just to be competitive. This compromises the integrity of the policy making process to the extent we see today. What do these two things have to do with each other?
I'm not really sure but they both have me thinking today.
And just to keep the pattern of ending on a good note: If this doesn't make you smile, nothing will.
Also important to remember is two failings of the FDA, first the allowance of the term natural, and second, the tacit allowance of mercury to be in HFCS (even in small amounts) without adequate public notification. I am paraphrasing Jules Dervaes: "The corporations won't do it, the government can't do it." Personally I don't believe the thought bomb that government exists to perpetuate its own excess, and government officials are only concerned with appealing to the highest bidder. I think again we are looking at a structural failing where elected officials must raise obscene amounts of money DAILY in order to fund their re-election just to be competitive. This compromises the integrity of the policy making process to the extent we see today. What do these two things have to do with each other?
I'm not really sure but they both have me thinking today.
And just to keep the pattern of ending on a good note: If this doesn't make you smile, nothing will.
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