Getting Hardscaping Right

...do it right the first time, rather than re-do badly done projects multiple times. Go where contractors get materials not the big box stores. A recent trip to Home Depot reminded me about how ugly most of their stuff is. Get materials delivered. I once dropped a very heavy load of Trex on a steep hill near our home and watched, in horror, as it slid a hundred feet down the road. Thankfully no one got hurt. But it was not fun to reload the car on a...

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LA’s Parkway Garden Dilemma: Not Fixed Yet

...non-profits and individuals like Ron Finley. If you had done this the last time we would not be wasting time and money to re-craft the parkway regulations. Throw out your plant lists. There are a lot of species of plants on the planet! Why can I plant Achillea millefolium but not Danthonia californica? Avoiding plant lists also goes for using the word “edible.” Most “weeds” are edible. Marijuana is edible (but would probably not last long in the p...

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Free Biodynamic Composting Seminar in LA on November 16th

...rt–for free! We’ll be there. Date: Saturday, November 16th (rain or shine) Time: 10 AM – 1 PM Location: The Pico-La Brea area. You’ll get the exact address when you RSVP. RSVP to Rayna: larayna@gmail.com And here’s the details: Learn the Secrets of BioDynamic Composting from Jack McAndrews Recognized as one of America’s leading experts on biodynamic organic agriculture, Jack’s biodynamic composts have been the secret behind some of the most beauti...

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The Elysium Delusion

...nate Mars reality show participants, I say we haven’t been spending enough time looking down at our feet. The fact is that earth is a paradise, space is a vacuum and Mars is a hell. We have to work with what we have. In my cranky opinion, the future is in down-to-earth appropriate technology, not space stations.We need to plant gardens here on earth not in the vacuum of space. I’ll note that the farms in these space colonies look an awful lot like...

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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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