Look At This Quarter

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

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

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...

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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+

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

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

Seri-Worldwide, http://lettertorobin1.site.aplus.net/id435.html Carlos 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

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Where does gold come from?

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

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

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

Bernanke puzzled by weak consumer spending

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

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

Organic electronic devices could be printed on ordinary CDs and DVDs

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

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 college’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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you!

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

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

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..."

What Are We Capable Of - THIS IS ANONYMOUS!

Animito

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

Try it! It really works!

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

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

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!!

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

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

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.


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