The Horror

...Bloggist and committed bike commuter Will Campbell (his mileage indicates that he’s got the Kool-aid in those bottle cages), has smacked down Cato institute stormtrooper Randall O’Toole in an ongoing debate on cycling in the pages of the L.A. Times. Urban Velo #5 is available for download and it’s free. Lastly, Commute by Bike has some tips on how to ride in cold weather without opening the wallet for expensive clothing. Here’s this morning’s Vitu...

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Out of Water!

...Now!, the first book in Process Media’s Self-Reliance series (our book the Urban Homesteader, due out in May, is the third in this series). It’s one of the more expensive options in water storage, with new drums costing several hundred dollars, but avoids the problem of an off taste that plastic can impart. But while there’s something to be said for avoiding all sources of potential crankiness when the shit cometh down, stainless steel drums are a...

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Why You Should Proof Bread in the Refrigerator

...slow proofing may give the beneficial culture in a sourdough culture more time to pre-digest the flour. Researchers are looking at the possibility that sourdough cultures and long fermentation times may alleviate wheat allergies. There’s no solid proof of this but it makes intuitive sense to me. Loaves proofed in the fridge hold their shape better when baked. Proofing in the fridge slows down but does not entirely stop fermentation. With the brea...

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The Stoic Week Handbook

...ypically within our control, even if it might not feel like it some of the time. The Stoics were systems thinkers, The cosmos is like a single living being. Like all other living beings it is in a continual process of change. So, when facing the world we ought to see ourselves as part of it. We are but one small component or element within a much larger entity. We are not the centre of the world and it is not all about us. The larger process of ch...

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Shoemaking Advice?

...The subject matter was usually a mushroom, or a cluster of mushrooms. Sometimes an owl. More rarely a Holly Hobby-type figure. Here endeth the lesson.) Free People actually seems like a fine book. It basically steps you through making one basic type of shoe that you can modify in different ways. Erik wailed about the horrible hippie-ness of it all when I showed him the illustrations of what I might make, but he wears cheap Chinese martial art sho...

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