Your Open Floor Plan is a Death Trap

November 27, 2017

Design

...shorter time to flashover, rapid changes in fire dynamics, shorter escape times, shorter time to collapse.” It turns out that nobody was considering fire safety as trends in materials and living arrangements have changed in recent years. While the number of structure fires has stayed the same since the 2000s the death rate has increased (U.S. Fire Service Fatalities in Structure Fires 1977-2009 Rita F. Fahy, Ph.D. June 2010). Let’s take a closer...

Read…

Putting Your Civic House in Order: How the Young Members of the Family Help

Mr. Homegrown

July 10, 2017

Gardening

3 Comments

...and so, on, should be encouraged and that exhibits should be arranged from time to time at the stores of local merchants, in the parks, or suitable places; that all possible aid should be secured from parent and teacher associations, civic and improvement associations; that children should be credited at school for supervised home activities: that more attention should be given the teaching of agriculture in the intermediate schools for the purpos...

Read…

America’s Worst Remodeling Disaster?

Mr. Homegrown

June 21, 2017

Design

8 Comments

...I’m not seeing a lot of stuff built post-WWII that’s standing the test of time. New buildings should have to prove their worth, and that’s a high bar. But, perhaps, I’m making the same mistake. Only time will tell. Sources Biography of Greene and Greene, An Enlightened Client. Post-remodeling Dunn residence photos: https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/kt538nd8wj/ “Outside In: The Architecture of Smith and Williams” Edited by Jocelyn Gibbs, Debi...

Read…

What’s Your Everyday Carry?

Mr. Homegrown

May 9, 2017

Preparedness

11 Comments

...Rebar comes with a belt holster which allows me to carry the Rebar at all times, even on occasions when I’m in a suit and tie. Women, who lack pockets and, often, belts might not be able to accommodate the bulky Rebar into their EDC. Leatherman sells a smaller multi-tool called the “Juice” (inadvertent OJ reference?) that Kelly used to carry. Kelly lost her Juice which confirms the advantage of the belt holster (and her rant about women’s pockets...

Read…

Front Yard Update: Welcome to Crazy Town

Mrs. Homegrown

May 20, 2016

Back to the Garden, front yard series, Gardening

22 Comments

...lching soon as the wildflowers and other spring annuals finish up. At that time I might have to make some decisions about the sunflowers. It will be interesting to see what the slope looks like without the sunflowers hogging all the attention. There are also summer and fall bloomers hidden in there, who will hopefully come to the foreground later this year. Overall, I’m happy enough to wait and see how this system stabilizes over time. It’s not pe...

Read…