Primal Troy

Downward Class Migration

2012-01-27T05:30:00.000-06:00

In this video Jack Spirko talks about the slippage that has occurred over the past several decades in what it means to be middle class in America. How it's not just that Joe Blow has fallen out of the upper middle class and into the lower middle class but that what it takes to stay in a class position has changed. What roles debt financing play in this and how you can insulate yourself to some degree from it. Well worth checking out!

Resources:

The Survival Podcast Episode 761 - Downward Class Migration - More discussion on this topic.

Joke Of The Day

2012-01-26T05:20:00.000-06:00

A cop stops a Harley for traveling faster than the posted speed limit, so he asks the biker his name.

'Fred,' he replies.

'Fred what?' the officer asks.

'Just Fred,' the man responds.

The officer is in a good mood and thinks he might just give the biker a break and, write him out a warning instead of a ticket. The officer then presses him for the last name.

The man tells him that he used to have a last name but lost it. The officer thinks that he has a nut case on his hands but plays along with it. 'Tell me, Fred, how did you lose your last name?'

The biker replies, 'It's a long story, so stay with me.' I was born Fred Johnson. I studied hard and got good grades. When I got older, I realized that I wanted to be a doctor. I went through college, medical school, internship, residency, and finally got my degree, so I was Fred Johnson, MD.. After a while I got bored being a doctor, so I decided to go back to school.

Dentistry was my dream! Got all the way through School, got my degree, so then I was Fred Johnson, MD, DDS.

Got bored doing dentistry, so I started fooling around with my assistant and she gave me VD, so now I was Fred Johnson, MD, DDS, with VD.

Well, the ADA found out about the VD, so they took away my DDS.

Then I was Fred Johnson, MD, with VD. Then the AMA found out about the ADA taking away my DDS because of the VD, so they took away my MD leaving me as Fred Johnson with VD.

Then the VD took away my Johnson, so now I am Just Fred.

The officer walked away in tears, laughing.

Ever wonder where the nickname "Johnson" came from? Of course you did. It's an old railroad term dating from the age of steam.

The Johnson lever, or Johnson bar, was connected to a gizmo that regulated the point at which steam stopped flowing into the cylinders. You could shut the steam off before the end of the stroke to allow for full expansion of steam by the time the cylinder hit bottom dead center and began the exhaust stroke. This made for more economical running. If you kept the steam on until BDC, you would get more power but at significantly greater fuel and water consumption.

The sign of a good engineer was his ability fiddle with his Johnson untill he got the proper balance of power and speed.

Carrot, Egg and a Cup Of Coffee

2012-01-25T05:48:00.000-06:00

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It
seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she
placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in
a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.

The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she
tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity... boiling water. Each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected it! s liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a
stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when
things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go
forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling........

What To Do With Twiggy Yard Waste

2012-01-24T05:43:00.000-06:00

This article was written by Paul Wheaton of Permies.com and originally posted on his blog. He has graciously given permission to reshare it. Thanks Paul!

Keep those branches, twigs, rotten logs and Christmas trees!

That stuff is gardener's gold! Organic matter!

Winter is the season for pruning trees. Sometimes taking out dangerous trees. I am mystified when people haul the wood away and in the sping they spend money for mulch. And equally mystified by people that rent an obnoxious, loud, smelly chipper.

here is a quick list of a dozen things that can be done with that wood, keeping it on your property and not having to fool with a chipper.

1. Make your own mulch: A huge branch can be reduced to flat mulch in about two minutes with a pruner. I usually clip at the bends in the tigs and branches. A huge pile of branches and twigs will become about 30 times smaller in 15 minutes.

2. Cover it in soil to make hugelkultur. This is best with the logs (green logs work too) and thick branches. This makes for a richer soil that needs less watering. Some people have built tall raised garden beds with this technique and they have a normal garden that doesn't need water all summer. This is an excellent use for a stump - no need to pull it or grind it, just cover it with soil.

3. In Finland they use small branches and twigs between muddy spots and the house. You can make a muddy spot less muddy, or you can create a place near the house to wipe your feet.

4. Put the wood in a dry place for a while and then use it for firewood. Rocket stove technology can heat a home with 90% less wood than a conventional wood stove. So little, that many homes are heated with nothing but tree trimmings that come out of a small yard.

5. If you keep chickens, nothing makes better deep chicken bedding than pine, fir or spruce boughs.

6. Butterfly/bird/wildlife habitat: Just make a big brushpile. This provides habitat for butterflies to lay eggs, and a variety of beneficial insects and other critters. Most permaculture practitioners keep a brushpile somewhere in their yard because they believe that it reduces pest damage for the rest of their garden.

6.1. Snag or stump for wildlife

7. Criss-crossing branches in a compost pile helps to aerate it.

8. With a bit of jute, it's a snap to make a twig trellis or arbor for your garden. Usually in about ten minutes. And when they get old, you can mulch the branches and the jute together.

9. If you have some wood shop skills, you can make chairs, furniture, name tags, coasters, bird houses, benches, planter box, tool handles, coat racks and so much, much more. And if the wood is living black locust wood, whatever you do with that will last about ten times longer outdoors than cedar without a drop of paint or stain.

10. garden stakes

11. Throwing branches and logs into ponds will usually reduce algae problems and give fish and amphibians a place to hide from predators.

12. marshmallow/hotdog sticks!

A lot of this stuff is effectively sequestering your own carbon! It could be a massive step toward your own personal carbon neutrality.

Seeds To Start Indoors

2012-01-23T05:55:00.000-06:00

If you plan to get some of your crops started indoors this year the time is coming up soon for those of us in the DFW area to get the following seeds planted according to Farmer's Almanac:
January 24th til February 7th:

Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Celery
Peppers
Tomatoes

So what are you waiting for?

WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE? GO!!! PLANT SOMETHING BEFORE I SIC MY TYRANNOSAURUS REX ON YA!

Resources:

Farmer's Almanac Best Planting Dates Calendar

Economic Policy

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

So, after reading this article yesterday 'If You Are A Blue Collar Worker In America You Are An Endangered Species' I began to ponder where the trends of the global economy are leading us and what kind of future we can expect for ourselves and, more importantly, our children and their children. The article's author mentioned that businesses would continue to replace people with machines and that's okay. But is it okay? In times past when machines made our work easier and made us therefore more productive that was one thing. Usually when jobs were replaced by machines new jobs were created and people who wanted to work found work of some sort. But in the past decade or more the so called recoveries from the economic recessions have been jobless ones as more and more people are outright replaced by machines and anemic job growth provides few opportunities for new jobs to move into. Remember the futuristic world portrayed by The Jetsons cartoon of the 1960s that depicted a world in which machines and automation would give us a future of 4 hour work days and more leisure time with friends and family? Yeahhhhhh, that didn't happen. Well, for most of us at least. Why not? Hmmm, that might be a topic to look into. ;-) Speaking of, I once again, highly recommend everyone read Marshall Brain's (the founder of How Stuff Works) story Manna at least once in their lives.

But, anyway, when is the last time you saw a machine pay taxes to a government to fund government programs? Human beings with jobs do that, not machines! When is the last time you saw a machine buy a product or use a service from a business? I don't think my truck has ever rented a movie or bought a six pack of beer! By the same token, can the U.S. government collect taxes from workers in China or India? How long can the mega-corporation formula of build it cheap somewhere else and bring it back to the U.S. to sell at a hefty profit work until there are no longer enough gainfully employed people in the U.S. to buy their widgets? At some time or another a tipping point will have to be reached. Where will that point be and how prepared will you be to weather the storm? Can you compete with a worker who lives on 70 cents per hour working 16 hours per day and expect to keep a roof over your head and food on the table? I'm all for free trade as long as it's fair trade. But who benefits from the economic policies our leaders, both political and industrial, have been pursuing?

In the short term the big shot, fat cats at the mega-corporations might benefit but when those machines aren't buying their stuff, because, well, machines don't much give a rats ass about buying stuff and things, and those low wage workers can't afford their stuff and most of the once mighty American middle class has been rendered unemployed or under-employed then whose left to sell to?

By the way, you might want to start growing some of your own food. You'll be glad you did some day. Just sayin'.

A Little Philosophy

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

This one makes the rounds on the internet from time to time and is usually attributed to Charles Shultz, the creator of the popular Peanuts cartoon. But Snopes.com points out the quiz is not actually his creation. In any event, whoever really created it the point is quite valid and if I were the originator I would certainly take credit for such genius...

You don't actually have to take the quiz. Just read this straight through and you'll get the point.

Here's the first quiz:

Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer prize.
Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The facts are, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.

Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today ...... It's already tomorrow in Australia."

SOPA and PIPA Sucks Rocks

2012-01-18T06:30:00.000-06:00

That is all for today.

Tuesday Tool School

2012-01-17T00:00:00.000-06:00

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light . Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh sh--!'

SKILL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes , trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

SON-OF-A-BITCH TOOL: (A personal favorite!) Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling 'Son of a BITCH!' at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need.

Hope you found this informative.

The Earth Club BBS

2012-01-16T06:11:00.000-06:00

Once in awhile I reminisce about those early days of online socializing. I have pretty much always had a fascination with computers and the many things they could be programmed to do. Even in the early 1980's my best friend Layne and I spent many hours tinkering with a Commodore VIC-20 in my mom's garage which we converted to our hangout. In high school we took a Computer Maintenance course which I actually won an award for because in those days I believed I would someday become a computer repair technician but fate had other ideas. But what I wanted to write about today is a brief period in my mid 20s when I ran a little BBS initially started on a 386SX computer in 1992 called The Earth Club. It was located at FidoNet Node 1:130/507 and existed in Arlington, Texas with three phone lines at it's height on which people could dial in at the awesome speeds of, initially 2400bps and eventually 14400 and ultimately 56k by the time of the board's demise in 1995. I had a great time SysOping this board on Aki Antman's SuperBBS code in those wild west days of online life. We played door games like TradeWars, Legend of the Red Dragon, Usurper and many others. I think at the highest level I had 50 door games available to play, hundreds of FidoNet message boards and a files area with all sorts of freeware, shareware and other files for people to download. We had a chat system so up to 4 callers and myself could be online at one time to chat with each other in real time. All the graphics were ANSI back in those days until, toward's the end, some enterprising individuals came up with another graphics format caller RIP (Remote Imaging Protocol) graphics and a guy named Seth (last name escapes me at the moment) came up with another BBS format based on those vector graphics called RoboBBS which I also installed and gave to callers as an option when they first logged in. So they could call in and FrontDoor would ask if they wanted to use the ANSI format of the BBS (SuperBBS) or the awesome RIP Graphics (RoboBBS).

About that time though, suddenly this Internet thing which had, up until that point, mostly only been available to people who were at Universities or worked in some industry with access started becoming available to any everyday schmo like myself who could pony up $20 per month for access to log into an ISP and explore the amazing world of the internet. About that time a web browser called Netscape was allowing web pages to be viewed with formated text and (gasp) graphics! Boy oh boy! How were we ever going to keep them on the farm after this? My little BBS offered a file library of some 40 Megs of files. The internet had FTP sites with seemingly endless files available and more being added all the time. My little BBS had maybe 50 games but only a handful that were popular. The internet had a bunch of games called MUDs, MUSHes and MOOs with hundreds of players online at once. My little BBS had hundreds of message boards. The internet had thousands of UseNet newsgroups. My little BBS could host up to 4 people in chat. The internet could host unlimited chatrooms via IRC (Internet Relay Chat).

Yeah, I knew my goose was cooked so I put the BBS up for sale and a guy from my work answered the ad and came by to pick up the PC (I was buying a new one) with all the files, modems, etc. He ran the BBS for a little while longer before shutting it down too. In the meantime I dove heavily into learning all about this HTML stuff, then Javascript, later some C and Java as well because all of those developments were fascinating to me and I thought I could build so much cool stuff with them, and I did for awhile, but eventually moved on to other things. Where we have come to is indeed a fascinating place but sometimes I still miss the sound of those old modems logging in and jumping up to the computer to see who has logged in to the BBS so I could be available for chat, help them out, whatever. I know there are still a few BBSes around that you can TelNet into for that bit of nostalgia but somehow it's just not the same. Those were some wild times back then and the world was changing very rapidly and it was exciting. Now, it seems that the internet has grown to a point of maturity and more and more people are seeking to control it. Gone are those wild, shoot from the hip days when a guy in his garage, or basement or bedroom could throw together something new and become a huge sensation as people come to play with whatever new toy he has created. Or are they gone altogether? Maybe some of that pioneering spirit lives on but we have to fight ever harder against those people who are trying to crush the little guys and control the internet to suit only their own desires. It's a constant battle but one I see worth fighting because only in freedom can innovation flourish.

Resources:

An Old List of BBSes from the 817 Area Code

Replace The Monkeys!

2012-01-13T06:33:00.000-06:00

OMGs! Friday the 13th! What should we do today? Well....

If you start with a cage containing five monkeys and inside the cage,
hang a banana on a string from the top and then you place a set of stairs
under the banana, before long a monkey will go to the stairs and climb
toward the banana.

      As soon as he touches the stairs, you spray all the other monkeys
      with cold water. After a while another monkey makes an attempt with
      same result ... all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water.
      Pretty soon when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the
      other monkeys will try to prevent it.

      Now, put the cold water away.

      Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one.
      The new monkey sees the banana and attempts to climb the stairs.
      To his shock, all of the other monkeys beat the crap out of him.
      After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb
      the stairs he will be assaulted.

      Next, remove another of the original five monkeys, replacing it
      with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked.
      The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment... with enthusiasm.

      Then, replace a third original monkey with a new one, followed by
      a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to
      the stairs he is attacked. Most of the monkeys that are beating him
      up have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs.
      Neither do they know why they are participating in the beating
      of the newest monkey.

      Finally, having replaced all of the original monkeys, none of
      the remaining monkeys will have ever been sprayed with cold
      water. Nevertheless, none of the monkeys will try to climb
      the stairway for the banana.

      Why, you ask? Because in their minds...
      that is the way it has always been!

      This, my friends, is how Congress operates... and is why,
      from time to time, all of the monkeys need to be REPLACED AT THE SAME TIME!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grammes a week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grammes a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty-four hours? Yes, they swallowed it." - 1984 George Orwell.

Can Your Employer Place A GPS Tracker On YOUR Vehicle Without Your Knowledge? Apparently Yes.

2012-01-12T05:47:00.000-06:00

OK the employer has a right not to get ripped off by the employee skating on time. But how in the hell can the courts agree that an employer can GPS BUG MY PERSONAL VEHICLE and it be ok?

Courts Uphold Ruling Allowing Secret GPS Tracking of Employees

Though the case is headed to the Supreme Court in a few months, police currently have the legal right to place GPS tracking devices on the vehicles of suspected perps. But are employers able to do the same to their employees when they suspect foul play?

According to the NY Appeals Court and Magistrate David Noce, a Missouri federal judge, the answer appears to be “yes.” In both the New York and Missouri court cases, defendants were fired from their positions for forging time and expense sheet...

"If there was hope, it must lie in the proles, because only there in those swarming disregarded masses, 85 per cent of the population of Oceania, could the force to destroy the Party ever be generated. The Party could not be overthrown from within. Its enemies, if it had any enemies, had no way of coming together or even of identifying one another. Even if the legendary Brotherhood existed, as just possibly it might, it was inconceivable that its members could ever assemble in larger numbers than twos and threes. Rebellion meant a look in the eyes, an inflexion of the voice, at the most, an occasional whispered word. But the proles, if only they could somehow become conscious of their own strength, would have no need to conspire. They needed only to rise up and shake themselves like a horse shaking off flies. If they chose they could blow the Party to pieces tomorrow morning. Surely sooner or later it must occur to them to do it? And yet-! “ - George Orwell in his book 1984

"Social" Media and Short Attention Spans

2012-01-11T06:41:00.000-06:00

Awhile back on Google Plus I remember someone was lamenting the fact that people these days seem to be just hit and run posters and commenters. In other words, he would take part in a conversation about a post that he or someone else had made and the comments were just starting to develope into a stimulating conversation then those who had posted stopped posting and moved on to the next big thing. I noticed that I myself pretty much had adopted that mode. It seems to be the nature of the social media sites. Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus all three have a scrolling update of statuses by whoever you are following so you are constantly being served with fresh new content to respond to. This is good in some ways but in others I can see where it leads to what this other guy was complaining about. The social media sites seem to be great tools for networking and building a breadth of social contacts but they aren't much good for depth. You can have hundreds or even thousands of "friends" but outside the ones you know in real life how well do you really get to "know" any of them.

You get to know someone over time by having conversations with them. Learning their likes, dislikes, views on particular topics, how they came to see the world in the way they did etc. Oh sure, you can go check out someone's Profile page and get an overview of things like this but that only goes so far. I think, what the guy was looking for was the long, engaging conversations that generally take place on the various Web Forums or back in the old days used to be carried out on UseNet. There, you can go back and see where a particular conversation started, sometimes even years ago, and developed to the point where it is today. You can see what has already been said and then, after catching up, you can jump in with your two cents and ad something relevant to the conversation. The comments, following a post on the social media sites can sometimes stretch into a pretty decent conversation but after awhile they become unwieldy and that particular post scrolls farther and farther down your feed so it gets to be too much hassle to go dig it back up and continue the discussion. I think, to some extent Facebook is trying to address this with their new Timeline view but I'm not really liking the looks of it. The idea behind it is that you can scroll back and see all the posts someone has made from their profile though and that reminded me of something.....something I started a long time ago....around 2004 I think. Yeah, I started one, did some stuff with it for awhile, got bored, moved on to other things, used it for a dumping ground to save news articles, jokes, quotes and things I liked for awhile. Then somebody on a podcast inspired me to start doing it again.... Oh yeah! My Blog! That's what the Timeline concept reminds me of. :)

If you jog in a jogging suit, lounge in lounging pajamas, and smoke in a smoking jacket, WHY would anyone want to wear a windbreaker??

Who Is Supporting SOPA?

2012-01-10T06:48:00.000-06:00

There are already laws that govern stolen, copyrighted material. The authorities need only find the culprit, bring him/her to the relevant court and carry burden of proof. The trouble with SOPA is that it does what it does without anyone being found guilty in a court of law. Also, it tries to apply U.S. law to entities not under its jurisdiction. If someone in Peru, Bangladesh or wherever is stealing copyrighted material, then go to Peru, Bangladesh or wherever and fight the legal battle there. SOPA is all about control and being pushed by control freaks.

It's amazing that the only thing congress seems to be able to accomplish these days is to screw the American public. In all seriousness Citizens United has created a corporate congress whose only goal is to serve their sugar daddies.

The following representatives have supported this piece of ...... legislation. Let's fire them!

Rep Smith, Lamar [TX-21]
Rep Amodei, Mark E. [NV-2] - 11/3/2011
Rep Baca, Joe [CA-43] - 12/7/2011
Rep Barrow, John [GA-12] - 11/14/2011
Rep Bass, Karen [CA-33] - 11/3/2011
Rep Berman, Howard L. [CA-28] - 10/26/2011
Rep Blackburn, Marsha [TN-7] - 10/26/2011
Rep Bono Mack, Mary [CA-45] - 10/26/2011
Rep Carter, John R. [TX-31] - 11/3/2011
Rep Chabot, Steve [OH-1] - 10/26/2011
Rep Chu, Judy [CA-32] - 11/30/2011
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] - 10/26/2011
Rep Cooper, Jim [TN-5] - 12/12/2011
Rep Deutch, Theodore E. [FL-19] - 10/26/2011
Rep Gallegly, Elton [CA-24] - 10/26/2011
Rep Goodlatte, Bob [VA-6] - 10/26/2011
Rep Griffin, Tim [AR-2] - 10/26/2011
Rep Holden, Tim [PA-17] - 11/30/2011
Rep King, Peter T. [NY-3] - 11/3/2011
Rep Larson, John B. [CT-1] - 11/30/2011
Rep Lujan, Ben Ray [NM-3] - 11/14/2011
Rep Marino, Tom [PA-10] - 11/3/2011
Rep Nunnelee, Alan [MS-1] - 11/3/2011
Rep Owens, William L. [NY-23] - 11/14/2011
Rep Quayle, Benjamin [AZ-3] - 12/13/2011
Rep Ross, Dennis [FL-12] - 10/26/2011
Rep Scalise, Steve [LA-1] - 11/14/2011
Rep Schiff, Adam B. [CA-29] - 10/26/2011
Rep Sherman, Brad [CA-27] - 12/7/2011
Rep Terry, Lee [NE-2] - 10/26/2011
Rep Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [FL-20] - 11/3/2011
Rep Watt, Melvin L. [NC-12] - 11/3/2011

What's The Downside?

2012-01-09T07:04:00.000-06:00

I've mentioned on previous posts that I have recently become an avid listener to Jack Spirko's show The Survival Podcast and have been learning a lot of things along the way. He started his podcast in June of 2008 from his car as he commuted from his home (then) in Arlington, Texas to his work in Frisco Texas Monday through Friday and although the sound quality is kind of bad on those early episodes it is sometimes amusing to hear him go into an auto-rant dealing with the many road hazards presented by the multitude of assclown drivers out there once in awhile. Anyway, I only stumbled upon his show early this past November so in addition to listening to his current broadcasts each weekday I have been working my way through his past episodes and have so far made it to episode number 301. As a point of reference he posted his 815th episode this past Friday. In addition, as he has stated, a virtual college education's worth of knowledge about self reliance and self sufficiency is available on the show's forums which has a very active community of folks from all walks of life and many particular areas of expertise actively participating and learning from one another.

So anyway, I got to thinking to myself the other day, self, how did you get started on all this anyway? What led you to this site and got you started listening to what this nutjob had to say as he was dodging his way through DFW traffic each day? Well, as near as I can remember the starting point for me was when I ran across a guy at work who was, in my opinion, kind of in the tinfoil hat brigade as we call the folks who seem a little too deep into the conspiracy theory, paranoid, "They're going to come round us up and put us in FEMA camps!" stuff. This guy might not have actually been the classic, media image of a modern surivalist. You know the stereotype, some guy hiding in a bunker with his guns, a pile of ammo and a bunch of MREs shaking his fist and yelling they're not going to get him! But he kinda struck me that way even if some of his concerns actually had merit. In our conversation, though, he mentioned a website that had good deals on bulk, storable, food. So I thought, well, you know, we do like to go camping and such and if there are some good prices on this stuff it might be worth checking out. Plus, I liked the idea of having some food around that doesn't require refrigeration in case we ever had a long term power outage from storms or whatever.

So, I got to looking at this stuff and a lot of the packages seemed kind of pricey to me and I got to thinking, there has to be a cost effective way to build your own storable food reserves a little at a time so you can spread the cost out. (I don't do credit card purchases and haven't carried a credit card since 2002 as I have always seen debt as a form of slavery. A view, that I later learned that Jack Spirko also holds by the way.) So I threw some search terms into the ol' Google along those lines and I think one of them came up with an episode of The Survival Podcast in which Jack was talking about that very subject on the show notes. I gave it a listen and found that a lot of what he was saying was stuff I already knew and some of it was stuff I have always wanted to learn more about. Some of it was stuff I didn't agree with too but how often do you 100% agree with anyone?

Well anyway, as he points out, what is the downside to being better prepared for dealing with whatever junk life might decide to throw your way? Not freaked out and paranoid, hiding out in a bunker somewhere but just taking sensible precautions. Don't fear the rain just carry an umbrella! It's a good thing to be prepared for a rainy day. They happen all the time. Sometimes we see them coming and other times they catch us by surprise. As his show's motto states, "Living a better life if times get tough and even if they don't." And sure enough, most of the things he recommends that people do will indeed make your life better even if nothing bad ever happens. But the bad things that can happen aren't all, end of the world, defecation hitting the rotating oscillator type scenarios that make great Hollywood movies. Something that happens all over the world, every single day can create a personal emergency for you and your family. The death of a loved one, a job loss, an extended hospital stay due to illness or injury. So, would being debt free, having extra food on hand so you don't have to worry about getting groceries for awhile as you deal with whatever situation you're in passes not help you out? Plus, when you have extra food (which you're going to eat eventually anyway) then you can take advantage of opportunity buys when there is a sale on something or when prices are too high on another item and you have extra at home you can skip buying it until the prices come back down. So, in the long run, you end up spending less money on groceries on a regular basis. These are just a couple of examples. There are also the advantages to be had from learning to preserve food for longer storage. Learning to grow some of your own food. Recovering some of those basic skills our grandparents and great grand parents had that make you more self reliant. Ways to save energy and lower your bills. Just a few things to think about...

Resources:

Episode 123 - There is No Downside To The Survival Lifestyle

The Survival Podcast Forums

What's Up With Em's Artwork?

2012-01-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

Some of our close friends have asked lately why I'm not posting about art as much as I used to and sharing Emily's newest works. Well, the good news is Em' is still available to take commissions as an artist and Primal Aspects lives on as a business that can provide custom artwork for your home or business but after a series of abysmal shows this past fall Em decided it might be best to refocus the business. The model we were going for was just consuming too much time and money and not paying back enough to be sustainable. Oh don't get me wrong, people love Em's artwork and she has sold a few pieces here and there but by and large people just aren't buying much these days. It's not just us either, a lot of our friends have been experiencing the same things. We visited some friends at one of the handmade crafts shows over the holidays and they too have been seeing disappointing results except for a few who were actually doing exceptionally well with more practical items.

Over the past year or two we have seen several friends with small businesses close up shop and call it quits because the market just isn't there. Ironically, we also saw huge crowds at the big box stores and malls shopping this past holiday season. We even saw some news reports of fights breaking out and one lady spraying another with pepper spray over some goods shipped in from somewhere else. Yes, there is a movement underway to buy local, handmade goods but it is, at this point at least, too small a percentage of the population at large to sustain the business model we were going after. So, we've decided to take a step back and refocus, retool and rework things. In the meantime we are focusing on building our self sufficiency skillsets and spending more time with our kids, our family and our friends. We are thinking of how we would like to restructure the website and the business in general in the coming months. I'm thinking of trying my hand at building things like solar ovens, solar food dehydrators and growing some organic food. We are learning some of the skills my grandparents had that our generation kind of abandoned and somewhere in there I think we are finding ourselves. Somewhere in there I think we will find the new direction we want to head in and we'll take you along for the ride if you want to come with us.

- Better Living Through Art!: http://PrimalAspects.com

Those NASA Boys According To A Navajo Elder

2012-01-05T00:12:00.000-06:00

When NASA was preparing for the Apollo Project, it took the astronauts to a
Navajo reservation in Arizona for training.

One day, a Navajo elder and his son came across the space crew walking among
the rocks. The elder, who spoke only Navajo, asked a question. His son
translated for the NASA people: "What are these guys in the big suits doing?"

One of the astronauts said that they were practicing for a trip to the moon.
When his son relayed this comment the Navajo elder got all excited and asked
if it would be possible to give to the astronauts a message to deliver to the
moon.

Recognizing a promotional opportunity when he saw one, a NASA official
accompanying the astronauts said, "Why certainly!" and told an underling to
get a tape recorder. The Navajo elder's comments into the microphone were
brief.

The NASA official asked the son if he would translate what his father had
said. The son listened to the recording and laughed uproariously. But he
refused to translate. So the NASA people took the tape to a nearby Navajo
village and played it for other members of the tribe. They too laughed long
and loudly but also refused to translate the elder's message to the moon.

Finally, an official government translator was summoned. After he finally
stopped laughing the translator relayed the message: "Watch out for these
assholes - they have come to steal your land."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

My thanks to dudekrtr of the TSP Forums for sharing this one! - Troy

"What kind of recovery is this? We don't know, but if it continues much longer we'll all be unemployed."-Bill Bonner

"The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled and the pubic debt should be reduced. The arrogance of public officialdom should be tempered and controlled. And the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest we become bankrupt. - Cicero, 63 B.C.

Ever Heard Of Amaranth?

2012-01-04T07:30:00.000-06:00

I hadn't until a couple of months ago. I've lived here all my life. 43 years in North America and 39 of those in Texas. I've probably driven by or walked by the stuff numerous times but had no idea what it was. It has the decidedly unflattering common name "Pigweed" but it was to many Native American tribes what wheat is to those of European descent. Amaranth is actually more useful and versatile than wheat and can be easily grown and harvested in a small growing space. It is remarkably nutrient rich, providing a wide array of necessary vitamins. When the plant is young and fresh you can cut leaves from it and use them as you would use spinach. The seeds are often red and in addition to their edibility they make a great burgundy red dye. Not only can you grind the seeds up to make flour which can be used to make flat breads, or combined with other grain flours to make biscuits, muffins, etc. but you can take the seeds and heat them in a skillet and they will pop like popcorn to make a healthy, nutritious snack. Because it is gluten free it won't make light, fluffy breads. But it can be used to make something like a pita bread for wraps or as tortillas. It is a native to America and grows extremely well here. In fact, if left unchecked it could become invasive on you so harvest the seeds judiciously if you grow it or just use it as a green and cut it down before it seeds if you desire.

If this plant is so useful what happened to cause it to fall out of vogue? Amaranth was the staple diet of the ancient Aztecs until Spain conquered their empire. Amaranth was associated with human sacrifice and it is said that Aztec women would make a mixture of ground amaranth seed, honey or human blood then shape it into figures that were eaten in religious ceremony. This horrified the Spaniards. So it was decided that eliminating the amaranth would stop the practice. The grain was forbidden and afterwards became lost to most of civilization for hundreds of years except in a few remote places. Only in recent decades has it been rediscovered and found to be a very useful, nutritious and easy to grow plant. You might want to give it a try!

Resources:

Eleven Non Typical Crops For The Survival Garden - Jack Spirko gives a lot of background and nutritional info about Amaranth and several other non-typical garden crops in this episode of The Survival Podcast from December 22, 2008.

Amaranth on Wikipedia

You Can Buy Amaranth Seeds at Sustainable Seed Company

A Recipe for Using Amaranth As A Rice Substitute

More Info About the Nutritional Value and Uses For Amaranth

Hooray For Montana!

2012-01-03T07:23:00.000-06:00

The U.S Supreme Court decided in 2010 that corporations were people (never mind that you can't put one in jail for breaking the law) and that money was free speech in an abomination to the foundation of our country that the power of government is derived from the people. However the Supreme Court of the state of Montana says, Wait a minute here! Not in our neck of the woods! Good for them! Also, Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont has introduced a petition for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution aptly named the Saving American Democracy Amendment to nullify the Citizens United ruling. If you haven't already, please go sign it! Again that's the:

Saving American Democracy Amendment

I don't typically get much into the political debates these days because it seems that more and more anytime anyone takes one position or another on any particular issue you are automatically branded a this or a that and buried under a mountain of labels that may or may not apply and usually hurled a pile of personal insults or attacks. Robert Crandall, the retired chairman and CEO of American Airlines, a company I have worked for the past 22 years, said in a piece on his blog Bob Crandall Thinks entitled "Morons Or Something Better" that he remembers a time when things were different in America and although I am much younger than he, I too remember a different time. In his words:

"I remember political arguments too – Dewey and Truman, Kennedy and Nixon, Reagan and Carter, and other memorable contests. There were always conflicting opinions within the family and among friends, and there were lots of heated arguments – but politics was something widely and often discussed. Almost everyone read the newspapers, it wasn’t considered rude to bring up politics at a dinner party and everyone was expected to have an opinion – and some facts to support it. And though everyone felt strongly, most people wanted to be – and were -- polite. "

Therein lies the key, people used to be able to politely discuss their points of view with one another and believe me, I, like anyone else is, am much more likely to listen to an opposing view, and maybe even be persuaded to accept it, if it is presented politely and with strong arguments that are irrefutable. But as soon as someone starts in with personal attacks, name calling, etc. I, like most other people, immediately shut down and don't really care to hear any more that the person has to say because they have already insulted me, my intelligence and or my value as a human being. If you really feel strongly about an issue and you would like more of your fellow citizens to go to the polls and vote in favor of your particular viewpoint you would stand a much better chance of doing so if you can convince them of why your point of view is better for them and the nation as a whole than you will by insulting them.

Now granted, I personally believe that, unfortunately, ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001 a great many pieces of legislation and policies were put into place that have undermined our constitution and democracy. I, like many Americans, have to wonder if our votes even mean anything anymore when it seems that no matter who we put in office the agenda seems to be the same because someone else seems to be calling the shots. As some have pointed out, we have moved further from democracy (or Constitutional Republic if you prefer) and towards Fascism (No, not Nazism before that even starts). A system of government in which the powers of giant corporations and the powers of state combine to exploit the economic classes of people for the benefit of those in power. I do believe this decision in Montana and the Amendment proposed by Bernie Sanders is a step in the right direction though. Unfortunately, I am not sure if enough of the public can tear themselves away from their favorite T.V. programming and other distractions long enough to make a difference. Even among those who are paying attention and do realize there is something wrong that needs to be fixed, they are too focused on insulting one another to get together on those items they agree on to make a difference. The old, divide and conquer still works as effectively today as it did in the old Roman Empire.

I think the personal attacks and insults form of "political debate" probably started with talk radio in the 1990s. Sensationalism sells after all. But what are we buying?

Resources:

Alternet Article On Montana Supreme Court Ruling

The Raw Story article on Montana Court Decision

There are other news sources out there. I know those who are very partisan in their politics only accept news from "approved sources". Go see if your news source of choice also has an article. I know main stream media is, these days, pretty much owned and operated by a small handful of people so I take most news with a huge grain of salt and try to find sources from many points of view to try to deduce some kernel of truth hidden in the rhetoric. It's about all we are left with really until more people decide to demand better.

Saving American Democracy Amendment

Morons Or Somethings Better by Bob Crandall

Investing

2012-01-02T07:27:00.001-06:00

What if I was to tell you that I had an investment vehicle you could put $100 into today and for 4 years you get nothing on it....But! From the 4th year forward you would get $200 in return every single year for the rest of your life from your original $100 investment. Would you take it? There's not a mutual fund in the world that has returns like that so where could you possibly get that kind of ROI for such a long period of time? Fruit trees! Yes, fruit trees.

Take your average Peach tree that you can get at a nursery in a 5 gallon bucket ready to plant for about $65 or $70. Now, I couldn't find specific data for here but according to Aggie Horticulture a peach tree growing in the Galveston area will produce about 100 pounds of peaches per year. Looking at the Economic Research Service's Data on Fruit and Vegetable Prices in 2008 Americans paid an average $1.84 per pound for fresh peaches. So that's $184 per year from an initial $70 investment and a few hours of digging a hole and tending your tree now and then. Really not bad all things considered. Don't like peaches? You'll get similar results from most other fruiting varieties. If you really want to get into some money makers check out pretty much any kind of berry producing bush or vine. Blackberries for example averaged $5.18 per pound in 2008. Whether you eat the fruit yourself thereby avoiding having to buy them at the grocery store or take your surplus down to your local farmer's market and sell it off it's still like money growing on trees.

Don't have much space you say? Look into dwarf varieties you can grow in containers on your balcony, patio or in a greenhouse. Can't eat them all at once when harvest time comes? You can freeze some to use later or learn about canning and preserving. There's a lot to be said about the wisdom of our grandparents who knew these skills and lived a much more self sufficient life than we tend to today. Food on the shelf is like money in the bank. When the government tells us what the "core inflation rate" is they strip out the "volatile" food and gas prices to make the numbers look more palatable. Now, how much of your household budget goes into food and gas? When those prices are rising (as they often do at a double digit rate) do you feel that inflationary bite in your budget? Anything you can grow and store yourself today may mitigate that bite later and if you're like most people I know you're going to eat sooner or later anyway.

Most people who know me know that I am big time into supporting your local economy. Not because I have anything against people who live and work in other countries. They need to provide for themselves and their families too and I am all for everyone in the world having an opportunity to pursue their own life, liberty and happiness. But I don't personally know anyone who lives and works in China, Bangladesh or Indonesia. I do personally know people who live and work in the United States and especially in the Dallas / Fort Worth / Arlington area in Texas because that is where I live. So if my buying stuff here helps people here that is all the better in my opinion. Especially when most of the stuff that is hauled in from other places is just making some fat cat who already has more money than anyone would know what to do with all the more rich while exploiting workers by paying barely livable wages in unsafe working conditions that they can get away with in other countries. Anyway, I'm getting off on another tangent here. Sorry about that. My point is that while I enjoy supporting local economies there is no economy more local than the one in your own household.

"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree"....Martin Luther

Resources:

Aggie Horticulture - Herman Auer Q&A on Peaches and Plums

Economic Research Service's Data on Fruit Prices

National Center For Home Food Preservation

Canning and Preserving Food Recipes

Look At This Quarter

2011-12-30T07:52:00.000-06:00

See this dirty old quarter right here? Nothing particularly remarkable about it. Give it to a kid to put in a gum ball machine and it might get you a piece of candy or a little plastic toy that might last 5 minutes. It would take about 12 of them to buy you a gallon of gas if you shop around today. The last time I passed by a QuikTrip station the other day the going price was $3.09 per gallon and just before Christmas it was $2.99. It would take a bunch of quarters to fill up a gas tank.

But look a little closer. This quarter was made in 1955. Hmmm, I wonder what it would have bought you back in 1955 back when it was brand new? Let's take a look: Prices for 1955 Well how about that! In 1955 that quarter could have bought you a gallon of gas all by itself and leave you a couple of pennies over. Add one more penny to that and you could get a postage stamp. Hmmm, anybody drop a penny around here? Or you could get a loaf of bread and a couple of postage stamps with it. I bet you could get something decent out of a gumball machine too! Interesting indeed. Now here's another interesting fact about this dirty old quarter. It's made of 90% pure silver. If you were to melt this quarter down the silver alone in it today would be worth a little over 5 bucks! Check out the melt value over at Coinflation.com. Now 5 bucks today would buy you a gallon of gas and still have a couple of dollars left over. Hmmm, maybe this dirty old silver quarter has kept it's value over the years after all. Compare what $5 today would buy you with what that quarter in 1955 would buy you and it's easy to see that just the silver alone in that quarter has held up very well over the years.

The Coinage Act of 1965 was passed because the cost of silver compared to the constantly devaluing dollar caused coin shortages. People were taking the silver coins out of circulation because they were worth more than face value. And over time they have continued to hold value against the dollar as inflation has eaten away at it. If you were to stick a bunch of dollars under your mattress for 20 years then take them out they wouldn't buy nearly what they will buy you today. However if you had stuck a bunch of silver away 20 years ago you would be able to sell it at todays prices and be much better off. It might be worthwhile to keep an eye on those coins that pass through your fingers or maybe go to a coin shop and pick up a few now and then. ;-)

By the way... Go back to Coinflation and have a look at the melt value of a modern day nickel. Hmmmm, it's melting at about 100% of face value. Oh my goodness! Look here: Congress has been talking about replacing the venerable nickel with a steel nickel. Ya know, there are a lot of nickels in circulation right now and you can get them for a nickel a piece. Might be something to think about. ;-)

Gardening

2011-12-29T09:48:00.001-06:00

After much work in the back yard yesterday and a fair amount of sore muscles this morning the green house is back to being a greenhouse again instead of a storage space for the lawn and gardening equipment. Ever since we cleared the storage building in the back yard out to transform it into Em's backyard solar powered art studio (seen here) most of the stuff that was in there migrated to the garage and into the greenhouse. There is some space behind the building between it and the back fence that we haven't done much with other than keep a compost pile there so I decided to move the pile and use some of the old fence panels we have around here along with an old tarp and put together a simple structure to keep the rain off our lawn and garden tools. It seems to have worked out pretty well and I took one of those $11 grow lights and put it into the green house along with a floodl light (for warmth) with the fern and blackberry plants we have in there now.

According to Farmer's Almanac several of the plants I intend to start this Spring should be sewn the last week of January to the first week of February for my area (for indoor planting). My sister Jeanie told me a week or two ago that our grandfather used to start his tomato plants the last week of December but I'm not going to attempt that this year. We do have a couple of onions going and I tried to get some Spinach seeds from 2009 to germinate indoors under a grow light but no luck. I think they might have been exposed to some extreme temperature swings so I don't expect much out of them. Jeanie and June (another sister who lives in Oregon) want to get together and place a seed order this year so we can pool our resources and get a greater variety. I am planning to take the grapevines out and replace them with a variety of Kiwi's that are said to do well here that don't get the furry peel on the outside like the varieties you see in the grocery stores. They are smaller, about the size of a large grape, but you can slice them up and eat them with the peel on. Did you know Kiwis come from New Zealand? I should have known I guess but I always considered them to be a tropical fruit. Not so! They are said to actually grow quite well here in North America. We'll see I guess. I wish I had paid more attention to my grandfather's when I was a kid. They knew a lot about vegetable gardening (one was a farmer but left the farm and came to work at General Dynamics around World War II the other was a farmer til the day he died). I could have learned a lot from them. My mom always had a green thumb with house plants and I grew up with lots of greenery always around.

But I am learning now and hope to really develop my skills this season. It's good to grow your own food for several reasons. Better, healthier food for your family, good exercise working with the garden, tastier food with varieties you won't find in the grocery stores and it's a great way to combat foodflation. Yes, I think I just invented that word. At least my spellchecker seems to think so! ;-) While looking over our household budget I realized we actually spend more money on food each month than we do on our mortgage. It is the single biggest expense we have. A penny saved is a penny earned so I'm going to try to offset as much of that cost to us that I can. I'd love to hear from more expert gardeners and folks who want to join me on my journey of self sufficiency so please leave me some comments!

Resources:

Tarrant County Master Gardener Association

Gardening Channel - Gardening in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington and North Texas.

Permies - Goofballs That Are Nuts About Permaculture

Aggie Horticulture - Home Vegetable Gardening

The Dirt Doctor Howard Garrett

SquareFoot Gardening - Mel Bartholomew

Solar Ovens

2011-12-28T07:32:00.000-06:00

In our family's journey toward greater self sufficiency one of the goals I have set for 2012 is to build at least one solar oven. I first learned about them while reading a blog years ago and always found the idea of cooking with the power of the sun kind of intriguing but never got around to it. But while I was going through The Survival Podcast show archives a week or so ago I heard Jack Spirko mention a guy up in Canada who built one and in February, during the dead of Winter but on a sunny day, with temperatures in the lower 30s this guy cooked a rack of baby back ribs. Granted it took all day to cook them but they came out perfect!

I had always considered a solar oven to be kind of a Summer thing that would be useful on a hot sunny day. Maybe when out camping if there had been a rain and all the wood was wet so a fire couldn't be built. Or another alternative to charcoal and propane grills to use for cooking in case the electricity went out for an extended length of time. But this guy did it on a cold day! Now I'm hooked. I have been digging deeper into these solar ovens and learning more. There are some sites that sell ready built ones but they seem kind of pricey to me and I love learning by doing it myself. Plus, I've read where some have been put together with cardboard boxes, newspaper, aluminum foil and a piece of glass. So if a rudimentary but working model can be made with so little material that's a pretty handy skill to have in a SHTF scenario.

There are even some sites that have recipes for items you can bake in your solar oven which I will include in my Resources at the bottom of this post. Jack says he likes to use Marie Callender's Cornbread Mix and bake cornbread muffins in his. Well worth a try I'm thinking! After the solar oven I want to try making a solar food dehydrator to preserve some of the excess that we might get from the garden this year if things go well. It should be fun, inexpensive and a good learning experience for myself and the kids. I'll post pictures and maybe a video in the future as I explore this. Check out some of the links I have been researching to learn more:

Resources:

How To Make A Solar Oven on eHow A nice 13 step instruction article.

Sun Oven International Recipes Page Quite a recipe list!

Making and Using a Solar Oven on Backwoods Home Magazine Someone on the TSP Forums posted this link and it has a pretty good looking, basic cardboard box design that might be a good starting point.

Plans For Solar Cookers on SolarCooking.org

Do You Want A Solar Oven? A lot of video tutorials about Solar Cookers and a good chance to see some of the designs in action.

If The Ad Claims...

2011-12-27T07:37:00.000-06:00

If the for sale ad claims... It really means...

rough condition... too bad to lie about

parts car... beyond repair

immaculate... recently washed

contours... recently waxed

engine quiet... if you use 90-weight oil

needs minor overhaul... needs engine

needs major overhaul... Phone the junkyard

burns no oil... (it all leaks out)

rebuilt engine... Cleaned the spark plugs.

Drive it away... I live on a hill.

Drive it anywhere... (within 10 miles)

desirable classic... No one wants it.

rare classic... No one wanted it even when it was new.

stored 20 years... (in a farmer's field)

ran when stored... Won't start.

never apart... Bolts too rounded to loosen.

solid as a rock... rusted solid

restored, with 0 miles... Won't start.

restored, with 2 miles... Won't stay running.

older restoration... First owner washed it.

good investment... Can't be worth much less.

no time to restore it... Can't obtain parts.

95% complete... Other 5% doesn't exist.

Other interests conflict... Spouse's ultimatum: "Either that #!!@&## thing goes or I go!"

Doesn't smoke... when it's out of oil.

New slick racing tires... I burned the tread down to the belts.

Re-upholstered... New K-mart seat covers and floor mats.

Major preformance upgrades... Bolted a new exhaust tip on the tailpipe.

Kept in garage... The scratches are from my cat.

Pampered/adult driven... I'm 17 and I think it's about to die.

Complete restoration... New Earl Scheib paint.

New paint... Don't let it get wet.

Sporty... It's got a floor shifter.

Family car... There's still food under the seats.

Good school/work car... More dents than a golf ball.

Worth $xxx--sacrifice for $xx... I can't believe I paid $xx for it myself.

Lots of extras... Everything that fell off/out is in the trunk.

Quiet engine... You can't hear it over the broken headers.

Traction control... Starts moving only in 2nd gear.

Race modified... It's got Japanese stickers on the back window.

Exotic... It leaves a funny taste in your mouth.

Precision machined... I used a degreaser.

FAST... -ER than my mom's Geo.

A Country Kid Writes Home

2011-12-12T18:25:00.001-06:00

Dear Ma and Pa,

I am well. Hope you are.. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the MarineCorps beats working for old man Minchbya mile. Tell themto join up quick before all of the places are filled.

I was restless at first because you get to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m. But I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smoothyour cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.

Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys thatlive on coffee. Their food, plus yours, holds you until noon when you get fed again.It'sno wonder these cityboys can't walk much.

We go on 'route marches,' which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A 'route march' isaboutas far as to our mailboxat home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.

The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don'tbother you none.

This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting.I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain'tshootingat you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges They come in boxes.

Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, theybreakrealeasy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm aboutthe besttheygotinthis exceptfor that Tug Jordanfromover inSilver Lake.I onlybeathim once.. He joinedupthe same time as me, but I'm only 5'6' and 130 pounds and he's 6'8' and near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get ontothis setup and come stampeding in..

Your loving daughter,

aluce

Poor People?

2011-12-04T13:04:00.001-06:00

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son
on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of
showing his son how poor people can be.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of
what would be considered a very poor family. On their
return from their trip, the Father asked his son,
"How was the trip?"
"It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people can be?" the father
asked.
"Oh Yeah" said the son.
"So what did you learn from the trip?" asked the
father.
The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they
had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of
our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We
have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the
stars at night. Our patio reaches to the
front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a
small piece of land to live on and they have fields
that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve
us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they
grow theirs. We have walls around our property to
protect us, they have friends to protect them."
With this the boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks dad for showing me how
poor we are." Too many times we forget what we have
and concentrate on what we don't have. What is one
person's worthless object is another's prize
possession. It is all based on one's perspective.
Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave
thanks for all the bounty we have, instead of worrying
about wanting more.

Prepper Links and Stuff

2011-11-19T08:33:00.001-06:00

So, because I don't believe the current economic model we've been running under for the past few decades is going to be sustainable for much longer and at some point the problem's our leader's (both the dog and pony show that we "elect" once in awhile to sit in political offices and the deep pocketed "captains of industry" who own them and tell them how things are really going to be run), anyway, those problems will eventually come home to roost and we (the majority of working class Americans) will likely see a huge change in our standard of living. Not to mention the poisons now being sold to us that they call foods and medicines in the stores.

For quite some time Em' and I have been looking at getting some land out in the country and setting up a homestead that works more the way my grandparents farm down in Whitney used to run but with some modern touches. We would like to use some forms of permaculture to grow our own food, produce our own energy and water and generally live off the land save for a few things which we can't produce ourselves. We think this will provide us with a much healthier, happier and sustainable lifestyle than the use it once and throw it away culture that predominates today.

To that end I have been spending a lot of time lately learning more and more about foraging, gardening, preserving food, etc. and have been learning a lot of really cool things that I would like to share here. To start off, here are some links I would like to recommend real quick:

The Survival Podcast - Jack Spirko does a daily podcast in which he talks about things you can do to prepare if times get tough, or even if they don't. Well worth listening to at some point in your daily routine. I have been listening on my commute to and from work.

Prepper Podcast Network - Jack's show is carried along with several other great shows on this network. So it you want more you can find plenty here.

Merriwether's Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Texas and the Southwest - A great place to learn about the many useful plants that you might see, trample on, pull up and throw away or otherwise disregard that actually have some great uses.

That's just a few to get started but I also have more I will post later on subjects such as aquaponics, hugelkultur, rocket mass stoves and heaters, etc. But for now, I need to get down to the Downtown Arlington Farmer's Market to grab some grub.

Google Plus Shared Circle Database

2011-10-27T09:12:00.001-05:00

Looking to get up and running quickly on G+? Want to add a bunch of people who post things on topics you're interested in? Have you tried G+ but got bored because none of your friends from other social networks were getting on and posting things? Well friend, you need the Google+ Shared Circle Database.

>>>>>---Click Here------> TRY IT NOW <----Click Here----<<<<

In it you will find circles with lots of people posting on topics such as:

#Animals #ArtDesign #Authors #Aviation #Business #Celebrity #Comedy #Companies #Education #Entertainment #FashionStyle #FoodBeverage #Games #Geeks #General #Geography #Hobbies #Music #News #Occupation #Philosophy #Photography #Politics #RealEstate #Religion #Science #SocialMedia #Social #Sports #Tech #Web #Women #YouTube

This has been a Public Service Announcement by Primal Troy brought to you by the letter Y and the number 145,176,875,923,758,795.

I Just Deactivated My Facebook Account

2011-10-15T08:22:00.002-05:00

I took a 1 week hiatus from FB right after they implemented their interface changes and announced their new stalking you all over the internet protocols but because a great many of my friends were still hanging on over there and not making the move to Google+ I went back and started seeing what people were up to and finding some cool things to share over on G+ as well.

Now as many of you know there has been a lot of posting lately about the Occupy movement and I have been very into that because there are a great many injustices that I think should be addressed regarding small businesses having the ability to compete effectively against multinational corporations and the odds of a kid born into a poor family still having the ability through hard work and education to rise up and realize the American Dream.

So, up until about 4 days ago my posts, both regarding Occupy issues and humorous ones were getting some thumbs up, comments, etc. Then all of a sudden, nothing, nada, zilch. Not one single post I made on FB since 10/10/2011 received any feedback whatsoever.

Now understand, I have over 900 friends on my friends list and have been on FB for several years now and that has never happened. I always get at least some kind of feedback.

I checked and saw that I am still seen when I comment to posts others have made but my own wall posts were apparently no longer being seen at all.

So, was I being blocked by all of my friends for being too spammy? Considering the content of my posts I could see that being the case were it only my friends who get all of their news from NewsCorp sources and believe everything MSM tells them but my more progressive minded friends would not be likely to do that.

Had someone reported my content to FB and they put a throttle on my posts? Possible I suppose although I didn't post anything particularly offensive and had in fact predominantly reshared posts others had already posted there so that didn't seem likely but who knows.

Had FB itself taken it upon itself to EdgeRank me into non-existence? Ya know, at the risk of sounding a bit paranoid, Mark Zuckerberg is a 1%er and could be engaging in some social engineering. Hmmm.

A bit odd indeed. Anyway, if anyone cares to keep up with me find me on G+, check my blog or email me. Of course I will still be on Digg, Reddit, LinkedIn (occasionally) etc. too.

Call for Transparency in Legislation Amendment, force politicians to repeal the laws they defund behind closed doors. | The White House

2011-09-28T09:06:00.000-05:00

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/%21/petition/call-transparency-legislation-amendment-force-politicians-repeal-laws-they-defund-behind-closed/h1ZHb638?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl

Fresh Off The Easel

2011-09-25T23:10:00.000-05:00

Lady Moon Gazing Upon Mother Earth is an acrylic painting on a stretched canvas measuring 12" x 16" for $100.

Glass Pyramid is an acrylic painting on a gallery wrapped canvas measuring "16 X 20" for $250

Fruit Of Peace was raffled off at CommuniTree on September 24th 2011 to raise funds for Earth Rhythms.

This new hand painted sign was recently completed as a commission for our friend Sherry Blue who will be using it to promote her business. Thank you Sherry! :)

This hand painted sign was recently completed as well and will serve as the logo for our friend Alana to use in promoting her business.

Stay tuned for more!

Transfer Your online Life From Facebook to Google+ | Simplified transfer from facebook to Google+

2011-09-23T08:14:00.002-05:00

Here's a simplified tool to transfer your stuff from Facebook to Google+ and get you started nice and easy!

http://www.homeforgeeks.com/social/transfer-your-online-life-from-facebook-to-google-simplified-transfer-from-facebook-to-google/

First Barbary War

2011-09-12T10:55:00.000-05:00

While reading the comments to an article on Digg today I ran across this comment which caused me to look into a piece of our history I was admittedly not familiar with. Interesting reading indeed...

You've probably heard the hymn of the US Marines which includes the words "to the shores of Tripoli".http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War

No oil involved, they just assumed the US were too weak to defend themselves. Oh boy, did the Barbary Arabs get a rude awakening.Pirate ships and crews from the North Africa's Berber states of Morocco, Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers (the Barbary Coast), although nominally governed by the Ottoman Empire, were the scourge of the Mediterranean. Capturing merchant ships and enslaving or ransoming their crews provided the Muslim rulers of these nations with wealth and naval power. In fact, the Roman Catholic Trinitarian Order or Order of "Mathurins" had operated from France for centuries with the special mission of collecting and disbursing funds for the relief and ransom of prisoners of Mediterranean pirates.The war stemmed from the Barbary pirates’ attacks upon American merchant shipping in an attempt to extort ransom for the lives of captured sailors, and ultimately tribute from the United States to avoid further attacks, much like their standard operating procedure with the various European states...READ MORE

What the Mayan Elders are Saying About 2012 by Carlos Barrios

2011-09-11T10:11:00.001-05:00

Seri-Worldwide, http://lettertorobin1.site.aplus.net/id435.htmlCarlos Barrios, Mayan elder and Ajq’ij (is a ceremonial priest and spiritual guide) of the Eagle Clan. Carlos initiated an investigation into the different Mayan calendars circulating. Carlos along with his brother Gerardo studied with many teachers and interviewed nearly 600 traditional Mayan elders to widen their scope of knowledge.Carlos found out quickly there were several conflicting interpretations of Mayan hieroglyphs, petroglyphs, Sacred Books of 'Chilam Balam' and various ancient text. Carlos found some strong words for those who may have contributed to the confusion:Carlos Barrios: "Anthropologists visit the temple sites and read the inscriptions and make up stories about the Maya, but they do not read the signs correctly. It's just their imagination. Other people write about prophecy in the name of the Maya. They say that the world will end in December 2012. The Mayan elders are angry with this. The world will not end. It will be transformed."

Just Say No to GMO

2011-09-10T14:24:00.000-05:00

This text will be replaced by the player

Where does gold come from?

2011-09-10T09:08:00.000-05:00

Cosmic crashes forging gold: Nuclear reactions in space do produce the heaviest elements

(PhysOrg.com) -- Collisions of neutron stars produce the heaviest elements such as gold or lead. The cosmic site where the heaviest chemical elements such as lead or gold are formed has most likely been identified: Ejected matter from neutron stars merging in a violent collision provides ideal conditions. In detailed numerical simulations, scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and affiliated to the Excellence Cluster Universe and of the Free University of Brussels have verified that the relevant reactions of atomic nuclei do take place in this environment, producing the heaviest elements in the correct abundances.

Mortgage rates fall to lowest level since 1950s, few qualify

2011-09-08T16:36:00.001-05:00

Oh! Check out what the next headline says. Gee ya think?

http://m.usatoday.com/article/money/50319086

Bernanke puzzled by weak consumer spending

2011-09-08T16:32:00.001-05:00

Puzzled? Seriously? Let's see, we have witnessed the crooks on Wall Street who made this big mess by slicing and dicing home mortgages into investment scams, manipulating ratings and cheating the system to put people into homes they couldn't really afford and sell those mortgage bits as safe investments when they were truly risky as hell. Then when the whole house of cards came crashing down those same homeowners who got stock with underwater mortgages in houses that are worth way less than they paid for them got to foot the bill as taxpayers on bailing out these fraudster banks, insurance companies etc. that were deemed "Too Big To Fail".

Then on top of it all credit gets tightened up and credit scores of these people who got hoodwinked by these slicksters are shot all to hell so they can't even qualify for a loan to buy a bag of chips out of a vending machine. 14 million people are out of work, those lucky enough to have a job have fewer hours and/or have seen their wages stagnated while energy and food prices soar.

So this guy, who is supposed to be the economic superstar is puzzled by consumer's being cautious? Really? If these are our best and our brightest folks we are in REAL trouble.

http://m.usatoday.com/article/money/50323554

Audio reveals billionaire Koch brothers' secret political seminar

2011-09-06T17:58:00.001-05:00

http://m.usatoday.com/article/money/546092?articlePage=0

Organic electronic devices could be printed on ordinary CDs and DVDs

2011-09-03T09:50:00.000-05:00

Organic electronic devices could be printed on ordinary CDs and DVDs

(PhysOrg.com) -- Organic electronics – those that involve carbon-based conductors instead of the traditional copper or silicon – have a number of advantages over metal electronics, including their light weight, flexibility, higher efficiency, and lower cost. But one of the biggest things holding them back is the lack of a simple, low-cost method for patterning and printing organic materials. Now in a new study, a team of researchers from the US and Australia has developed a patterning technique in which conducting polymers can be printed with a low-cost infrared laser on an ordinary CD or DVD using the commercially available LightScribe technology.

Wind Turbine to be used as a Teaching Tool at Eastfield College

2011-09-02T12:22:00.002-05:00

Found this on Moonlady News

CONTACT: Amy McDonald, Manager, Public Information and Technical Communication

972-860-7180 phone, 972-860-8324 fax.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 30, 2011

Wind Turbine to be used as a Teaching Tool at Eastfield College

(Mesquite, TX) On August 27, the latest addition to the Alternative/Sustainable Energy program offered at Eastfield College became a reality with the installation of a 50-foot wind turbine. The 3.5 kw wind turbine will be used for instructional purposes, but the turbine is also tied into the collegeâ€™s electrical system through a connection in the Technology (T) Building. When the turbine is not being used for instruction the electricity produced will flow back into the Eastfield system and help power the T Building. The turbine is located on the west side of the T Building on the Eastfield campus, at the intersection of the new Dan Sundermann Drive and Eastfield Parkway.

The design of the turbine tower will enable students to work with the tower, the turbine and the wind blades as the tower is lowered and the turbine is brought to ground level. In addition, the students will be able to see how the system connects with the electrical panel in the T Building, and observe how the electricity generated flows back into the electrical system serving this facility.

The wind turbine was purchased with funds provided by the Texas Legislature through a Texas Comptroller's Office JET (Jobs & Education for Texans) Grant awarded in 2010. The grant award of $147,098 was to enable Eastfield to purchase additional instructional equipment for the Alternative/ Sustainable Energy programs.

The Alternative/Sustainable Energy program features the option of an associate degree or a certificate, both designed to prepare technicians to work in this new and rapidly growing Texas industry. As of August 2010, Eastfield College became one of two community colleges in North Central Texas to offer courses in Alternative/Sustainable Energy.

For more information contact Chuck Dale at 972-860-7670.

Eastfield College, one of the seven Dallas County Community Colleges, is located at 3737 Motley Drive in Mesquite, just north of I-30.

###

Educational opportunities are offered by the Dallas County Community College District without regard to race, color, age, national origin, religion, sex, disability, sexual orientation or genetic information.

Myschevia 2011

2011-09-01T11:57:00.000-05:00

Myschievia is a temporary community that exists as a forum for participant driven creativity and artistic self-expression. There are no spectators, no cash transactions are permitted*, and the event is organized entirely by volunteers. Respect, community, inclusivity, and acceptance are driving principles of the event.

WHEN

Thursday, October 6th through Monday, October 10th, 2011

WHERE

Myschievia is hosted by Armadillo Acres outside of Hughes Springs, Texas

HOW MUCH

Tier One: $45.00 until midnight August 12, 2011
Tier Two: $50.00 until midnight September 2, 2011
Tier Three: $55.00 until midnight October 4, 2011
Kids Ticket: $35.00 until midnight October 4, 2011 (children 3 to 12)
Children 2 and under are free
All ticket sales will end at midnight on October 4, 2011 (12:00am CST on October 5, 2011).

No comp tickets available—even the organizers purchase their own tickets.
No tickets will be sold at the gate. If you do not have a ticket you will be denied entry.
In/Out fee may be charged this year.

Find Out More at ntxb.org

Starting a business: You can't escape risk, so go for it!

2011-08-31T14:23:00.001-05:00

http://m.usatoday.com/article/money/50201314

2011-08-31T11:26:00.000-05:00

Guitars not Guns new DFW chapter seeks Guitar teacher/volunteers

Contact: lila@lilawilliams.com

Guitars not Guns is an established 501(c) (3). We provide guitars and guitar lessons during 8 week sessions to children at risk in the 8-18 age range that normally wouldn’t experience the joy of music via lessons due to their family’s financial situation.
From the Guitars not Guns national web site our goal is clear:
“Using music as a catalyst we encourage children and teens to use their creativity to foster personal development and to help divert them from self-destructive influences such as drugs, alcohol and gang-related activities. By providing free guitars and lessons we hope to engage their creative potential and help them achieve their dreams.”
Studies have proven the benefits of studying music and for a population that is growing due to the world economy it’s more critical than ever that children are given healthy, uplifting experiences. And you never know who the next Stevie Ray or Bonnie Raitt could be! Classes are just forming so location and day/time of first class will be based on teacher and student schedules.

After a brief orientation/training the time required is approximately one hour of class time for the 8 week class session.

Contact lila@lilawilliams.com if you are interested in learning more about GnG.

Thank you

lila lila Williams
972 231 8085214 717 0223 mobile

Found On Moonlady News:

http://www.moonlady.com/indexnews.html

2011-08-31T11:22:00.000-05:00

Levitt Pavilion Fall Concert Series - Arlington

2011 Texas Power Fall Concert Series
September 1 through October 1

http://www.levittpavilionarlington.org/ConcertCalendar/tabid/55/Default.aspx

Free admission. Open lawn seating on lawn chairs and blankets.
Picnics, snacks and coolers with beverages are allowed, including beer
and wine, but no glass containers. Concessions are available at the
pavilion, including burgers, veggie burgers, chicken and quesadillas
from J. Gilligans and snacks, kettle corn, ice cream and snow cones.

For more details about the Levitt Pavilion, please see Your Visit to
the Levitt Pavilion.

The Levitt Pavilion is located in Founders Plaza, 100 W. Abram St., at
the corner of Abram and Center streets, directly across the street
from City Hall.

For additional information, please visit our FAQs page, call the 24-
hour information line at 817.543.4301, or e-mail info@flparlington.org.

Click to download a printable Fall Concert Calendar.

2011 Texas Power Fall Concert Series
Thursday
7:30 p.m.
Friday
7:30 p.m.
Saturday
7:30 p.m.
Sunday
7:30 p.m.
Sept. 1

Brave Combo
Our fall tradition: Everyone’s favorite mosh-pit polka band

2

Jason D. Williams
Reckless rock, Jerry Lee Lewis style, from the Pianimal
3

Melissa Lawson
Heartfelt songs from Arlington’s favorite
country music star

4

Ruthie Foster
Blues delivered straight from the heart of a down-home diva
8

Salero!
High-energy salsa with
a Latin pop
9

Brad Thompson &
Lannie Flowers
A celebration of songwriting from two local lyricists

10

Jamie Richards
Resurrecting the roots of timeless country music

11

Luminate
Spreading light with a crisp, contemporary Christian sound

15

Eleven Hundred Springs
Home-grown, foot-stompin’ Texas music
16

The Burning Hotels
Indie-rock with an
edge all its own

17 Ecofest

Velvet Love Box
(6:30 p.m.)
Acoustic anarchy

Spoonfed Tribe
(8 p.m.)
Persuasive percussion
and melodic mood manipulation

18

No Concert

22

Wayanay Inka
Lose yourself in the enchanting music of
the Peruvian Andes
23

Calhoun
Irresistible indie-pop
and a flawless style
24

Bruce Robison &
Kelly Willis
The master of countrypolitan and alternative country’s
golden goddess

25

Jeff Coffin & the
UTA Jazz Orchestra
Grammy-winning saxophone from a Dave Matthews Band musician

29

Soul Rebels Brass Band
A rebelution of jazz
and funk with a hip-hop sensibility
30

Carolyn Wonderland
A Texas treasure with a dollop of Janis, a slice of Stevie Ray and the
wit of a poet

Oct. 1

Deryl Dodd &
The Homesick Cowboys
Rambunctious Texas music with a contemporary flair

Found On:

Moonlady News
www.Moonlady.com
moonladynews@gmail.com

Unschooling

2011-08-25T10:35:00.001-05:00

http://www.unschooling.com/library/index.shtml

2011-08-24T09:04:00.000-05:00

KatsüK, Interstellar Transmissions & My Wooden Leg - 10/8

More Info
FULL BAND SHOW!!! An out of this World-Beat Gypsy Carnival. Invite your friends, dress in your imagination.

KatsüK - 12
http://www.reverbnation.com/katsuk

Interstellar Transmissions -11
http://www.reverbnation.com/interstellartransmissions

My Wooden Leg - 10
http://www.reverbnation.com/mywoodenleg

Sprint to Get iPhone 5 in October

2011-08-23T19:05:00.001-05:00

http://m.usatoday.com/article/tech/50109148

2011-08-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Genius 13-Year-Old Has a Solar Power Breakthrough

When I was 13 I was smoking cigarettes I'd found on the ground and playing Super Nintendo like it was my life's work. This kid discovered a way to draw 20-50% more power from solar cells. He is way cooler...

http://gizmodo.com/5832557/genius-13+year+old-has-a-solar-power-breakthrough

Green Games Getting Popular

2011-08-17T16:49:00.001-05:00

The fate of Earth is often at stake in popular video games, such as the sci-fi space sagas Halo and Mass Effect. But a growing movement of ecologically conscious games deals with the real destiny of our actual habitat.

http://m.usatoday.com/article/tech/50025992

Nice Dragon

2011-08-15T22:15:00.001-05:00

Saw this painted on the side of a drum up at Feed Your Head yesterday. Thing is, we have a drum just like it with nothing on the side. Hmmmmm..... hey Em! ..... Honey! :)

Buffet says Stop Coddling Megarich

2011-08-15T10:02:00.001-05:00

Thank you!

http://m.usatoday.com/article/money/49975144

2011-08-11T19:01:00.000-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

2011-08-11T09:38:00.001-05:00

AnonOps Communications: UK may disrupt social networks during unrest (fals...: "UK may disrupt social networks during unrest Britain is considering ways to disrupt online social messaging and networks such as Blackberry..."

2011-08-10T23:32:00.000-05:00

What Are We Capable Of - THIS IS ANONYMOUS!

Animito

2011-08-09T18:22:00.001-05:00

This free and easy to use web based application turns your photos, video clips, and music into masterpieces to share with everyone. How cool is that?!.... Well, I don't know for sure just yet, but I intend to find out.

http://animoto.com/

The magic button — Make Everything OK

2011-08-09T17:06:00.000-05:00

Try it! It really works!

http://make-everything-ok.com/

2011-08-06T10:03:00.001-05:00

Hey Ya'll, I have 150 Google+ invites to share so here's a link. Come join me!

https://plus.google.com/_/notifications/ngemlink?path=%2F%3Fgpinv%3Dushpc-aJFLE%3AwrpHqLSAOpM

2011-07-31T08:09:00.000-05:00

ARE THEY METEORITES OR "METEOR-WRONGS"?

Swiped from Moonlady News

FIND OUT DURING THE AUGUST PUBlic KNOWLEDGE
Tuesday, August 2 - 7 p.m.
Magnolia Motor Lounge
(3005 Morton, Fort Worth, TX)

Can you tell a "meteorite" from a "meteor-wrong"? Join Linda Krouse
and Don Garland from the Noble Planetarium for "Look Out For Those
Space Rocks!" as they test your meteoritic knowledge and show off some
real "rocks from space." They'll also provide a brief backgrounder on
the Hubble Space Telescope and what you'll see in the Omni Theater's
summer IMAX feature, Hubble. Attendees will also have an opportunity
to win Omni and Noble Planetarium tickets. PUBlic Knowledge is free to
all guests 21 and up.

Flock A Friend For Charity!!

2011-07-29T05:52:00.001-05:00

Yes, that's not a flamingo, it's a toucan.

Heard about this one on Moonlady News ya'll http:// www.moonlady.com/indexnews.html

There is a flock of pink flamingos moving around North Texas while we sleep. You may wake up one morning this summer to discover you have been "flocked" for a great cause.

The National Autism Association of North Texas is having a summer fundraiser that allows anyone to call in and have a friend or neighbor"flocked" for any size donation! Four dozen pink yard flamingos will appear in their yard overnight along with a sign announcing they have been "flocked" for charity-there is a # for them to call to find out who flocked them where they can donate and also have the flock moved to another location if they want to join in the fun.

They of course do not have to donate, but I am surprised at the generosity of most people. To find out more on the non profit NAA-NT and autism please visit their website http://naa-nt.org/ or contact 214-684- 8940 to have someone "Flocked" for charity!

Aspire To Inspire Before You Expire...: http://PrimalAspects.com

2011-07-20T19:13:00.003-05:00

I've been watching a lot of the videos on YouTube and listening to the music this group has put together and it's some really inspirational stuff. Check it out:

The Inspiration
Playing for Change is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. The idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race. And with this truth firmly fixed in our minds, we set out to share it with the world.

Playing For Change | Peace Through Music

2011-07-19T03:53:00.002-05:00

I PREFER TO CHOOSE MY OWN FRIENDS THANK YOU VERY MUCH FACEBOOK!

Because I want to save these articles for future reference and because the vast overwhelming majority of my friends on Facebook will never see the articles I shared there I am posting a copy of the links here on my blog as well. I was aware of the shift toward social irrelevancy that Facebook decided to make when people with fan pages began noticing less interaction from their fans beginning in December 2010 but thank you Tom Anderson for really driving this home.

Is Social in Google's DNA?

How Facebook Secretly Ends Your Relationships

EdgeRank: The Secret Sauce...

Freedom for Whom?

2011-07-08T16:53:00.000-05:00

"We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United,
and Move to Amend our Constitution."

* * *

"We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and Move to Amend our Constitution."
  
*  *  *

Pending "free trade" deals enslave workers and benefit corporations

Dear friend,

The picnics, parades, and fireworks celebrating our Independence Day have come and gone, and in reality, so has our independence. We are perhaps more enslaved now then we were when we were under the thumb of the British East India Company and the Hudson Bay Company in colonial days.

Corporations have a long history of interference when it comes to governing.

The current trade deals with Korea, Panama, and Columbia are fast-tracking their way through Congress -- more examples of corporations running amok.

Since NAFTA passed, over 28 million jobs have been exported, yet we still have a growing trade deficit. In an effort to "balance the trade deficit", even more Americans will see their jobs exported (which is fully supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce).

Why are we going down this road in a period of extended high unemployment? Why are we going down this road at all?

South Korea 'Free Trade' Deal: Another Funnel for Exploitation
As Obama Meets with Panama's President Martinelli, U.S.-Panama Trade, Tax Agreement Folly Comes into Focus
Why the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia Is Still a Bad Idea
Watch this episode of Alliance for Democracy's Populist Dialogues with Arthur Stamoulis of the Oregon Fair Trade campaign.

Congress must hear our outrage over these pending deals, or they will pass them. Please call your senators and representatives and tell them:

You oppose the Korea, Panama and Columbia free trade deals.
The deals export American jobs to repressive low-wage countries. (No amount of trade assistance dollars will replace lost jobs.)
You stand on the side of American workers, not multinational corporations, and that you'll be sure to vote accordingly.

Click here for more talking points.

Need contact info?

Find your senators' contact info here.
Find representative's contact info here.

We know that calling our Congress people won't be enough to take our democracy back -- we need a Constitutional Amendment to get corporations out of our elections and our government.

Large corporations are the barrier standing in the way of the democracy we deserve. Don't let them add another brick to that wall. Please make your calls today, and invite your like-minded friends and family-members to join Move to Amend for a systemic solution to corporate rule.

In solidarity with workers world-wide,
The Move To Amend Team

Move to Amend

P.O. Box 260217
Madison, WI 53726-0217
United States

End Corporate Rule. Legalize Democracy. Move to Amend.

We're on Facebook & Twitter!

Economy adds a weak 18,000 jobs; unemployment rate is 9.2%

2011-07-08T11:25:00.001-05:00

Meanwhile, as the CEOs rake in huge payouts...

http://m.usatoday.com/article/money/49197570

CEOs reap huge payouts in 2011, corporate filings show

2011-07-08T06:29:00.001-05:00

http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/49186424

2011-06-23T16:18:00.000-05:00

Facebook is funny sometimes.

So I get a wall post from a friend I have known since 7th grade. This is a dude I have been friends with for more than three decades. We went to junior high and high school together. Survived many teenage pranks that probably could very well have landed us in jail, the hospital or dead but somehow didn't. We narrowly missed going to jail one night after getting off work at Taco Bell while still in High School, pulled over by 5 police cars from three different cities who searched my friend's car and us but upon finding nothing gave us a firm talking to and a warning not to be seen in their town for at least a month. Between the two of us this friendship has outlasted 3 marriages, many good times, bad times, rich times and poor times. So at the bottom of this post Facebook has a link that says "See Friendship".

See Friendship? Really Facebook? LOL! You have NO IDEA!

Despite the loss of a leg, Army Ranger is back in the fight

2011-06-20T10:30:00.001-05:00

http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/48628556

Primal Aspects Art Studio now running on Solar Power - http://PrimalAspects.com

Declaration Of Orders We Will Not Obey

2011-06-17T05:50:00.001-05:00

http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2009/03/03/declaration-of-orders-we-will-not-obey/

Primal Aspects Art Studio now running on Solar Power - http://PrimalAspects.com

2011-06-17T03:49:00.000-05:00

Blind Men and An Elephant

I first read one of the versions of this story years ago and have always found it inspirational and instructional...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant

How safe is that foreign airline?

2011-06-17T01:10:00.001-05:00

http://m.usatoday.com/article/money/48517212

Primal Aspects Art Studio now running on Solar Power - http://PrimalAspects.com

More U.S. homes lease solar panels with no upfront costs

2011-06-16T11:44:00.001-05:00

http://m.usatoday.com/article/tech/48365542

Primal Aspects Art Studio now running on Solar Power - http://PrimalAspects.com

Science fiction? Airbus shows off aircraft of the future

2011-06-15T13:39:00.001-05:00

http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/174521

Primal Aspects Art Studio now running on Solar Power - http://PrimalAspects.com

Pay TV boxes hike electric bills, waste energy

2011-06-15T07:01:00.001-05:00

http://m.usatoday.com/article/money/174344

Primal Aspects Art Studio now running on Solar Power - http://PrimalAspects.com

New battery design could give electric vehicles a jolt

2011-06-14T06:16:00.001-05:00

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-battery-electric-vehicles-jolt.html

Primal Aspects Art Studio now running on Solar Power - http://PrimalAspects.com

2011-06-11T05:58:00.004-05:00

SOLAR POWERED ART STUDIO

People have been asking me for details on how I set up Emily's newly converted 250 square foot backyard storage building art studio to use solar power so here is a run down of the project.

Originally I was going to run 2 20 amp circuits from the house for her to use for power out there to run the lighting, tools and a window unit air conditioner for cooling in the summer and a space heater for winter. But then I happened upon this article from treehugger about getting a basic starter solar power system going for $600.

So, I thought, hmmmm, why not?

And so it began...

I started shopping around on Ebay and doing some research on solar panels. Eventually I want to start buying the bricks of cells and soldering together to build our own panels but that's time consuming and this is something we wanted to get going quickly. I ended up going with a pair of 45 watt panels from UL Solar that I snagged for $218.

In the article mentioned above they suggested going with an 800 watt inverter but I wanted something I could run a circular saw, compressor or pretty much anything I might want to plug into it so I sprung for the 3000 watt Tiger Claw from OSP and let me tell ya, that dude is bad to the bone. I've run my saw, compressor, sander, the pump for the kid's swimming pool, the electric weed eater and a bunch of other things without so much as a hiccup. Now the inverter needs to be grounded and there wasn't a good grounding source near the building so I drove an 8 foot grounding rod in next to it and ran a 6 AWG wire to it. Thank goodness for all that rain we had the week before I drove that rod in the ground!

Of course also as the article mentions you need to have a charge controller to keep from over charging your battery(ies) on those hot sunny days when you're not using much power in the studio. Because I plan to expand the system later I went with the 40 amp charge controller from Coleman Air which I snagged off Ebay for $40.

Now, I kinda messed up on the battery because I just went down to AutoZone and picked up a yellow top Optima deep cycle marine battery for just under $200 that's rated at 55 amp hours. But afterwards I learned I could have got a 92 amp hour battery elsewhere for about the same price. Will keep that in mind as I expand the system because from what I've seen so far battery capacity is the first thing I want to upgrade. But I was in a hurry and wanted to get all this working as soon as possible so there it is. It's performing well enough though. Other than mounting the panels to the roof, running my wiring and cables, etc. that's about the gist of it. I ended up just running one 20 amp circuit from the house for backup power and to run the window unit A/C because while this system will run it, the battery can only keep it going for about an hour before it's tapped. Everything else the studio usually runs on does just fine off the battery though and as I said, I sometimes use it to run power tools and the 1.1 amp pump for the small swimming pool too. The best way to make an investment in solar power pay for itself is to use it as often as possible.

So now, on to some of the questions I frequently get asked about all this:

Wouldn't it have been cheaper to get a generator?

Initially yes but generators make noise that the neighbors might find objectionable and solar panels are very quite, in fact I haven't heard a peep out of them since they got here. Also, generators run on gasoline and as I'm sure you've noticed around the stations where they sell that stuff, it ain't cheap. Sunlight, however is still free. So over the 25 years the panels are warrantied for they will more than pay for themselves.

Wouldn't it have been cheaper to have gone ahead and ran that second 20 amp circuit from the house?

Yeah, it would have been but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun and hey, we now have a backup power source in case of a power outage. Plus, there again, over time the free electricity will pay for itself.

What if we have a hail storm?

The panels are rated to take a 1 inch hail stone at 50 miles per hour and come with a 25 year warranty. Could we get bigger hail, oh yes, and if we do I'm sure a lot more will be damaged than just the solar panels. Let's hope not to see it.

How did you mount them?

I used hangar bolts tapped into the rafters with a good portion of sealant then attached two by fours which I then attached the panels to. But there are mounting kits you can buy too if you're not a cheapskate like me. ;-)

Are you nuts?

Well, yeah. ;-)

USA TODAY

2011-06-02T13:49:00.001-05:00

http://m.usatoday.com/article/money/172781

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

DeviantART In The News

2011-06-01T03:23:00.001-05:00

http://m.usatoday.com/article/tech/47857478

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

Chameleon magnets: ability to switch magnets 'on' or 'off' could revolutionize computing

2011-05-30T09:50:00.001-05:00

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-chameleon-magnets-ability-revolutionize.html

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

Satellites discover lost Egyptian pyramids

2011-05-30T09:30:00.001-05:00

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-satellites-lost-egyptian-pyramids.html

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

Details of new type of electric car battery released

2011-05-30T09:24:00.000-05:00

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-electric-car-battery.html

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

2011-05-30T08:27:00.002-05:00

Who Is To Blame When Gas Prices Are $1 More Than Last Year?

http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/47725848

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

Solar Power News | 95 Percent of Light Energy Captured by New Solar Product

2011-05-25T19:43:00.001-05:00

http://solarpowernews.org/95-percent-of-light-energy-captured-by-new-solar-product/

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

2011-05-24T10:45:00.002-05:00

Device can heat home, save money

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new polymer-based solar-thermal device is the first to generate power from both heat and visible sunlight – an advance that could shave the cost of heating a home by as much as 40 percent.

Cool Without AC? 3 Homes in the South Prove It Can Be Done

2011-05-23T21:03:00.001-05:00

http://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-home-living/cool-without-ac-3-homes-in-the-south-prove-it-can-be-done.aspx

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

Applying Moore's Law to Solar PV

2011-05-13T21:46:00.001-05:00

http://www.v-techinc.com/Blog/post/2011/04/26/Applying-Moores-Law-to-Solar-PV.aspx

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

How to Terminate a Patch Panel - wikiHow

2011-05-10T13:23:00.001-05:00

http://www.wikihow.com/Terminate-a-Patch-Panel

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

Inexpensive DIY Solar Power - The $600 Kit : TreeHugger

2011-05-06T11:50:00.001-05:00

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/10/inexpensive_diy.php

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

Religious groups question Goldman on pay - USATODAY.com

2011-05-06T10:18:00.001-05:00

Religious groups question Goldman on pay http://usat.me/46873570

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

Companies' profits march 17% higher - USATODAY.com

2011-05-05T03:39:00.001-05:00

Companies' profits march 17% higher http://usat.me/46820108

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

Online scammers jump on bin Laden news - USATODAY.com

2011-05-05T03:37:00.001-05:00

Online scammers jump on bin Laden news http://usat.me/46811674

Primal Aspects artwork is an important part of a balanced diet. - http://PrimalAspects.com

'Flash sale' websites grow, but so do consumer frustrations - USATODAY.com

2011-04-30T09:41:00.001-05:00

'Flash sale' websites grow, but so do consumer frustrations http://usat.me/46614884

Are You Suffering From Art Deficit Disorder? - http://PrimalAspects.com

ExxonMobil's $10.65B earnings are second-best in company's history - USATODAY.com

2011-04-28T09:04:00.001-05:00

There they go again...

ExxonMobil's $10.65B earnings are second-best in company's history http://usat.me/46597844

Are You Suffering From Art Deficit Disorder? - http://PrimalAspects.com

E.T.E. Tricks of the Trade

2011-04-20T14:23:00.001-05:00

http://www.elec-toolbox.com/tricks/enttofish.htm

Are You Suffering From Art Deficit Disorder? - http://PrimalAspects.com

Builders offer green tract homes with nearly zero utility bills - USATODAY.com

2011-04-20T11:03:00.001-05:00

Builders offer green tract homes with nearly zero utility bills http://usat.me/46295476

Are You Suffering From Art Deficit Disorder? - http://PrimalAspects.com

Creative conduit | Breaktime

2011-04-20T06:29:00.001-05:00

http://forums.finehomebuilding.com/breaktime/general-discussion/creative-conduit

Are You Suffering From Art Deficit Disorder? - http://PrimalAspects.com

American Prosperity: Made in China

2011-04-19T10:34:00.001-05:00

http://rationalrevolution.net/articles/americanprosperity.htm

Are You Suffering From Art Deficit Disorder? - http://PrimalAspects.com

Ampacity Calc: 10 AWG: 35.0A

2011-04-19T08:40:00.001-05:00

Wiring/Table: Conductors (310.16/18)
Temp/Conductors: 75c Copper

Types:RHW, THHW, THW, THWN, XHHW, USE, ZW

Wire Size: 10 AWG
Base Ampacity: 35.0A

# Current Carrying Conductors: 1-3

Ambient Temperature: 26-30c, 78-86F

RESULT: 35.0 Amperes
Be Aware of 240.4(D) OCPD Limitations

Ampacity: 35 Amperes
Continuous: 28.0 Amperes
Be Aware of 240.4(D) OCPD Limitations

Are You Suffering From Art Deficit Disorder? - http://PrimalAspects.com

Couple builds solar-powered home with help from Google - USATODAY.com

2011-04-17T16:16:00.001-05:00

Couple builds solar-powered home with help from Google http://usat.me/46212406

Are You Suffering From Art Deficit Disorder? - http://PrimalAspects.com

Future farm: A sunless, rainless room indoors - USATODAY.com

2011-04-17T12:01:00.001-05:00

Future farm: A sunless, rainless room indoors http://usat.me/46165046

Are You Suffering From Art Deficit Disorder? - http://PrimalAspects.com

Net neutrality: End of the Web as we know it? - USATODAY.com

2011-04-15T03:44:00.001-05:00

Net neutrality: End of the Web as we know it? http://usat.me/46147654

Are You Suffering From Art Deficit Disorder? - http://PrimalAspects.com