We’re Car Free

...r into a bad-ass electric vehicle. Or fuel it with our humanure methane digester. Airbrush the Root Simple logo on the door and folks would really notice our arrival at book signings–especially when we do donuts in the parking lot. So, dear readers, what do you think we should do?...

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Picture Sundays: Doberman Chariots

...ve forms of transportation. Our late dog was a Doberman and I remembered a book we used to have about the breed that showed some unusual events that used to be held in South Africa in the 1970s: harness racing with Dobermans and kid jockeys! Remembering just how powerful and fast our Doberman was, I imagine these races were quite a thrill for the kids in those carts. Try this in the US and, no doubt, child protective services would shut down the f...

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How to Answer the Question, “What Should I Do With My Life?”

...could have jumped ahead to what I’m doing now. Unsurprisingly, most of the books on my bookshelf, now and in the past, are how-to tomes relating to the subjects on this blog: gardening, poultry health, beekeeping, food preservation, baking, cooking and self-reliance. There’s another broad category : books relating to symbolism, Carl Jung, Rudolf Steiner and media theory. The rest are oddball topics: electronic circuits, 70s land art and fencing ta...

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Stoicism as a Toolkit for Modern Life

...may be, without wishing for what he has not. In this age of me-centric Facebook updates, we we have a lot to learn from Seneca’s wisdom. If you live in harmony with nature you will never be poor, if you live according what others think, you will never be rich. Suggested Reading I recommend beginning with Seneca’s Letters From a Stoic–-short concise essays that offer a great introduction to stoicism. All of Seneca and Marcus Aurelius are available...

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