The Agrarian Mandate

Why Food? (A Christian-Agrarian Perspective) in The Deliberate Agrarian

Movie: Back to Eden

Back to Eden is a really interesting movie about using wood chip mulch for gardening.  Numerous references are made to the Bible.

Jingle

I'm a prepper, he's a prepper, she's a prepper, we're all preppers, wouldn't you like to be a prepper, too?

Like Money in the Bank

Looking at the crisis in Europe, I wonder if soon the expression "like money in the bank" will reverse its meaning, becoming something that appears to have value but it really worthless.

Doing vs. Thinking

When we want to do things, we need coordination.  Our muscles must move in sync.  When they don't it's classified as a disease.

Thinking is different.  When neurons all fire in sync, that is a disease.  Each neuron needs to be able to act independently.

Living Like Kings

Here's an amusing thought I've had: take anyone receiving public assistance and offer them the chance to live like kings did 500 years ago, for as long as they like.  No electricity.  No plumbing.  Drafty castles.  I wonder how many would last a week....

Simple Everyday Living: Pun Fun

I love these!  Pun fun from Simple Everyday Living

Too Many McMansions

U.S. overbuilt in big houses, planners find by Roger Showley in UT San Diego

Letting Go

"What if we questioned the assumption that a decline in material wealth and energy use must lead to a decline in quality of life?"  Doug Hanvey, "Letting Go", Transition Voice, June 26, 2012

The Beginning of Knowledge

The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7 ASV).


If you don't want to do what's right, don't even bother with religion.  Just go do what you want, and accept the consequences.

Recipe: Chicken Corn Ramen

When I'm by myself I tend to eat food that is quick and easy to prepare.  The challenge is making sure it is still not too bad in terms of nutrition (as opposed to grabbing a candy bar or hopping in my car and getting some fast food).  I thought I'd share one of my newest recipes:

Ingredients:

• 1 packet chicken ramen noodles
• 1 can cream corn
• 1 cup cooked cubed chicken

Steps:

1. Prepare ramen according to directions.
2. Drain.
3. Add cream corn and chicken.
4. Stir well and enjoy!

Cleaning Pots

No Elbow Grease Required on 500 Dollar Tomato

DIY Bikes

These look cool:  Atomic Zombie

My New Toys Tools

I was looking to get a new rechargeable string trimmer, so when Home Depot had one with a free blower, I jumped at the chance to get it.  I always thought a blower was a bit of an extravagance, as I could simply use a rake, but I definitely wanted the extra battery.  I have found, though, that the blower works well for seeing what I've missed in trimming.  A rake doesn't do as good a job.  More surprising, I discovered a blower works great on a gravel driveway (as long as the wind isn't too strong) for separating the organic matter from the gravel.

From Straw to Straw

From Straw to Straw

Last year I had two straw bales here.  Over the winter the one on the right sprouted, and the barley grew on nothing but straw.

Car Camping

Sixbears brought back so many good memories with his post on a "Fall Back Position".  Of course living out of your car is only fun when you don't have to.  Ironically, I think in the post-Peak Oil age, taking a many-week-long trip around the continent will be much more valuable.

Why new energy sources can't work

Exotic energy sources like what's featured in the movie Thrive will never work, not (just) because they violate the laws of physics (after all, we don't know all of them).  The problem is that we only have one sink to get rid of waste heat, by radiating it out into space.  We can't make space colder or the planet larger, so the only way to radiate more heat is to make the planet hotter.  Not a good solution.

A Peak Oil Scenario

Something to consider: what if Peak Oil consists of gasoline at $2.50 a gallon, but all the local gas stations have gone out of business, so you have to drive 100 miles and wait in line for 4 hours to buy gas, and you can only get 10 gallons at a time?

Radical Deflation

 "Haircuts for All . . . or Free Money?" by Richard Heinberg in The End of Growth

Transforming Money

Sacred Economics: Money, Gift, and Community in an Age of Transition by Charles Eisenstein

The Folly of Shale Gas

"Natural Gas: Where Endless Money Went to Die" at ZeroHedge.com

Explaining Social Media with Donuts

Original article on Geek.com

Happy Solistice!!

I hope those of you in the Northern Hemisphere are enjoying the shortest night!  For those in the Southern Hemisphere, the days will be getting longer from here.  :-)

Welcome!!

Welcome to my new blog!!  I'm not abandoning my old blog, The Long Ascent.  I may have gotten behind in my blog with all the offline world is demanding of me, but I still have a lot of important things to discuss.  This blog is a companion, for everyday matters, a combination of keeping a journal of daily life and a true weblog of interesting things I find surfing the web.  It will be much more stream-of-consciousness with erratic but frequent posting, with no polish and only a little spit.

In addition to letting you know what I am doing, I will start recording my ideas for future posts on The Long Ascent here.  Please feel free to jump in and comment, I won't be moderating except for egregiously off-topic or repetitious spam.  (Yes, if you have something to sell that is on-topic, I welcome the chance to learn more.)

The bottom line: The Long Ascent is about the destination, Going Upslope is about the journey.

Enjoy!