Mistakes we have made . . .

...l rooms, and before scum and slime clogged up the pump. While the pump was solar powered, the profligate use of water was not the best example to set here in draught prone Los Angeles. After a few months we gave up, filled it in with soil and now strawberries grow there happily. We hear that Materials and Applications, a neighborhood landscape architecture firm that runs an amazing outdoor gallery, has stopped designing water features unless they...

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Lights Made from Soda Bottles

...Via Make Blog, a clever homebrew solar light made from soda bottles. I’m a bit skeptical about how you could make these watertight, but for an outbuilding or patio roof they might make for a nice low cost alternative to solar tubes or skylights....

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What Preparedness Lessons Did You Learn From Hurricane Sandy?

...’ve wanted for a while, but never had the funds for (or forgot about) is a solar powered generator. That sure would have made my life a lot easier this week! 6) have an evacuation plan. I have no idea how to get out of Staten Island by bus. I always take the ferry because it’s close and convenient. 7) what happened in Breezy Point, Queens (a 6 alarm fire that destroyed a block of houses) could happen anywhere. Make sure that the stuff that’s price...

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Lila Downs Video Showing Tortilla Making in Oaxaca

...ngeles Bread Bakers sent me a link to this music video that shows tortilla making in Oaxaca. The song is “Palomo Del Comalito” (Dove of the Comalito) by Lila Downs. Note the huge corn tortillas, proof of the regional diversity of Mexican cuisine (and one of the many details I got wrong in my tortilla press post–thanks for the corrections Gloria). Lyrics in English after the jump. The beautiful people of this land Grind corn A miracle of their hand...

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Saturday Tweets: #FlyingLess, VHS Making a Comeback and Alanis Morissette Impressions

...witter.com/a5B7J0aHX1 — Wrath Of Gnon (@wrathofgnon) March 19, 2018 VHS is making a comeback https://t.co/cankAKwcRR — Root Simple (@rootsimple) March 20, 2018 The auto industry has already established primacy over our cities. Now they want primacy over our bodies too? Enough. Tech solutions with dubious ethical implications don’t give us the future I want to live in. https://t.co/WbypKPrr0F — Eric Bruins (@ejfbruins) March 22, 2018 Love Dan Pears...

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