Shamelessly Tooting Our Own Horn

October 8, 2006

...iveLA clan took second place in the slightly-over-the-hill division with a time of 12:09 (missing the gold by two seconds). Our reward is the ugly medal you see here, the fact that the race proceeds benefited the community programs of the YMCA, and the knowledge that should the shit hit the fan in downtown LA, we can beat the crowds to the heliport. SurviveLA was too obsessed with winning to document the journey, but the enterprising folks at Metr...

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Kent’s Composting Tips and Secret Weapon

Mr. Homegrown

October 27, 2006

Composting, Gardening, Vegetable Gardening

...perts say no fats should go in, I’ve yet to see (or smell) a problem. Each time I add new kitchen scraps, I add 1-2 shovels-full of dry leaves and some water if needed, turning and mixing the old and new stuff with a cultivator or shovel to aerate the pile. The proportion of dry to wet material is important. There should be enough dry leaves so the compost is kinda’ fluffy and moist, not soggy, but the dry material shouldn’t overwhelm the wet eith...

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Hexayurt

Mr. Homegrown

October 31, 2006

Preparedness

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...gned by software engineer Vinay Gupta, who is working on this project full time, the “Hexayurt” costs somewhere between $200 and $500 to build, and requires only six cuts for each unit. The Hexayurt stacks flat for easy deployment in emergencies. Gupta has a suggested “Infrastructure Package” which includes heat, lights, water purification, and a composting toilet bringing the cost up somewhat, but still much less than FEMA’s $30,000 trailers. Whi...

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Roundup

Mr. Homegrown

November 9, 2006

Thoughtstylings

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...t we have not evaluated the number of cancers potentially induced, nor the time frame within which they would declare themselves,” Belle acknowledges. There is, indeed, direct evidence that glyphosate inhibits an important process called RNA transcription in animals, at a concentration well below the level that is recommended for commercial spray application. There is also new research that shows that brief exposure to commercial glyphosate causes...

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Country Wisdom

Mr. Homegrown

November 18, 2006

Resources

...ished in the 1970s and oriented to the “back to the land” movement of that time. While geared to country living there is plenty in here for city dwellers such as ourselves. Divided into sections covering animals, cooking, crafts, gardening, health and wellbeing, and home repair/construction, Country Wisdom has straightforward advice with clear illustrations. While we don’t anticipate having to skin and eat bear anytime soon, “Bear meat is dark and...

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