Climate Crisis Summit

...&t=4749s Climate scientist Peter Kalmus, a friend of Root Simple and a guest on our podcast (116 and 39), took a long train trip this past week to be a part of the Climate Crisis Summit in Iowa with Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Here’s what Peter had to say on the Twitters, I’ve found two articles since Bernie’s climate summit. One in NYT which focused condescendingly on the “buddy movie” aspect (not climate), and one in the Iowa St...

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A Rogue Mariner on the Upper Thames

...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbPgP6wIF44 Roger Barnes describes himself as an architect, writer and artist. But, while he promises to get around to an architectural video someday, he fills his YouTube channel with advise on sailing and camping in a small dinghy. As one of the commenters sums it up, “The more stuff you have in your boat, the less room there is for fun.” Sounds like good, general life advice....

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I Just Got a Covid Vaccine

...well as more visits for blood tests to see if my immune system made antibodies. They also gave me an app to report symptoms as well as my very own personal Covid test kit in case I have Covid symptoms (that, to be clear, won’t be caused by the vaccine but could happen if I, say, start attending TikTok influencer parties in the Hollywood hills). Don’t worry, I’m too old for TikTok influencer parties. I won’t ever know the results of the antibody t...

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How to Seed a Pomegranate

...ore as there are roads to Rome, I’ve found this particular technique the easiest. First choose a large bowl to prevent splatter and subsequent spousal arguments. Then slice the pomegranate in half along its equator. Take a spatula or other sturdy object and then spank the back until the seeds release (this sounds more erotic than it actual is). If I’m lazy I just pick out the pith from the bowl. If I’m more thorough I’ll fill the bowl with water s...

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Make Your Own Chalkboard Paint II

One of the more successful projects around the Root Simple compound was making our own chalkboard paint and using it to label all of the cabinets in our garage workshop. In the past month, inspired by a visit from über-maker Federico Tobon, I’ve taken up the task of pimping out the workshop with a proper workbench and table saw. I’ll blog about Workshop 2.0 when I’m finished with the renovation, but the chalkboard paint hack is worth a repeat men...

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