Custom Search
Web Hosting
10 March, 2010 - 18:14 | by fylThis issue came up for a couple of reasons one being the disaster related to http://statecraft21.com over the last few days. I created the site on a server (http://www.servage.net) where I have an account. The account includes an amazing amount of storage and of bandwidth. But, apparently, a database-heavy application was just not going to fly there.
New Nukes?
8 March, 2010 - 09:49 | by fyl
New nukes? Is the assumption that everyone who understood why nuclear power
is a bad idea has died off?
Back in the 1970s, most of us felt confident that, contrary to Eisenhower's statement about nuclear power would give us "electricity too cheap to meter", people saw that nuclear power was the most expensive option.
Political Discussions
6 March, 2010 - 19:06 | by fylWhen I started this site I told myself I was going to avoid "political discussions". I have almost done that. But, that doesn't mean we don't need a place for such discussions. Unfortunately, every time I go looking for such an arena I find things that are either US-centric or just full of "my party is better than your party" BS. In other words, things that don't discuss issues, just blame all the problems on "the other party".
Water Use
3 March, 2010 - 08:22 | by fyl
In Nicaragua, we are experiencing a drought year. The same is true in many other countries. Even where there is no drought, pumping down the water table is the norm. Unfortunately, we tend to not think about our domestic water use as long as water comes out of the pipe.
If you happen to want to get an idea what your use looks like, I found a handy calculator. Just fill in your usage pattern and it shows the totals. You may be suprised.
The calculator is at http://www.csgnetwork.com/waterusagecalc.html
PV Solar Breakthrough
21 February, 2010 - 10:33 | by fyl
I have been hearing rumors about new PV technology that reduces silicon usage. Today, I saw this ecogeek article that tells the story. Wow is the word that comes to mind.
From the article:
The cells are made of micron-sized silicon wires that are encased in a flexible polymer that can be rolled or bent.
Malls for Guys
13 February, 2010 - 14:45 | by fyl
With the transition of the U.S. economy from an apparent success to an unknown, it seems like there should be a lot of opportunities to recycle things. This idea is but one of them.
One of the current industries that is apparently not doing well are shopping malls. That comes as no surprise as they tend to be full of businesses that want to sell you things you really don't need. Or, things you do need at higher prices than the alternative. While most malls have been built with family appeal, the real audience has traditionally been women.
One of the current industries that is apparently not doing well are shopping malls. That comes as no surprise as they tend to be full of businesses that want to sell you things you really don't need. Or, things you do need at higher prices than the alternative. While most malls have been built with family appeal, the real audience has traditionally been women.
Still Mad at Jimmy
30 January, 2010 - 19:45 | by fyl
It's been over 30 years and I am still made a President Jimmy Carter. I finally decided I better tell him while he is still on the planet. I'm sure he reads this blog so here goes.
While it isn't totally Jimmy's fault that the U.S. never really went to the metric system (details available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_the_United_States ) the real problem was that he was an honest man, not a politician. He said, probably in 1976, that the U.S. would be on the metric system by 1978. I believed him.
Political Bandaids
29 January, 2010 - 14:21 | by fyl
The U.S. Supreme Court decided that non-persons (corporations), while they don't get to vote get to bribe make political contributions. As there was no such thing as a corporation when the Constitution was written, it seems to be that the solution is to eliminate them.
Radical idea? Not really. With infinite life, limited liability and a goal of maximizing profit for the stockholders, they really aren't compatible with a democracy that is supposed to just be representing people.
Life Cooperates
23 January, 2010 - 19:37 | by fyl
I have been reading the book The Final Empire by Wm. H. Kötke which is available as an inexpensive ebook from Author House. While my motivation to read it was because it seems like the authoritative reference for the book Garden Planet by the same author, it has offered a lot of insights into other areas. Life Cooperates is a sub-heading in a chapter titled The Principles of Life.
Working Around The System
20 January, 2010 - 20:22 | by fylIf you have been reading here at all you know that I currently live in Nicaragua and I used to live in the U.S. On http://www.NicaLiving.com I regularly talk about how the same answer to the same question is not all that common. I point out how to work with and/or get around the system.
I also point out how this can be frustrating for someone that came from an "it always works like this" environment. For that reason, I just thought of something I did when I was abou 17 years old in the U.S. and just had to laugh.
Navigation
Sample Links
Why grow your own, consumerism, growing.
Information for English-speakers living in or considering a move to Nicaragua.
Lots of why consumerism is bad info and lots of alternatives. Or, as they say, "Ideas and shared solutions for sustainable & low cost green living."
- All the reasons you don't want to drink milk. Some information is funny, most is scary.
- Pure Core Organic Life Mirror offers a collection of Vegan recipes. Nice site, nice pictures and great recipes.
- An international list of vegetarian and vegan recipes. The majority are in English but there are also many in Spanish and Chinese.
- Great resource for solar cookers/cooking. Lots of plans and ideas. Available in Spanish, French and "something else" as well.
- A relatively short article on how to grow new topsoil. This is a "how to do it" article that is not highly technical. Anyone can do it.
Syndicate
User login
