In Praise of Backward Compatibility

May 24, 2016

...nd the IBM Selectric typewriter. Note that this obsession is not to be confused with Steampunk, despite my past prediction that we’d see the return of the monocle. No, my fantasy world involves a narrow tie, a cocktail in one hand and a heavy phone handset in the other. I’ve written about it many times before but I’d like to repeat one of the things that I admire most about the Western Electric 500 and mid-20th century telephony in general: the pr...

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I’ll Need This Someday: Clutter Control for Artists and Creatives

Mr. Homegrown

June 8, 2016

Domesticus, Tidying up

13 Comments

...if I can’t find it in the street or through social media, I can always buy used materials at our local ReStore, which benefits Habitat for Humanity. The same principle applies to new technology. I just heard Kevin Kelly discussing his latest book and I really like his advice to only buy technology five minutes before you need it. That way you don’t end up with things you don’t need and you also have the benefit of having the latest version. I’d be...

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Of paper wasps and scrub jays

Mrs. Homegrown

June 2, 2015

Bees, Gardening, Insects, Nature Awareness

15 Comments

...p and took the entire nest in her beak–random wasps still attached– and flapped off with it into the clear blue sky. Perhaps to enjoy the creamy center in privacy–or perhaps to feed her babies? One wasp returned to sit forlornly in the place where the nest used to be. I don’t often use the term bad ass, but that was bad ass. And the moral? If you don’t want paper wasps in your eaves, do your best to attract birds to your yard. Especially brassy th...

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Talking About the Weather

Mr. Homegrown

December 1, 2014

Thoughtstylings

18 Comments

...c and Atmospheric Administration’s forecasts with greater frequency than I used to. You would think that those NOAA forecasts would be devoid of humor. You would be wrong. As befits anyone who has to wrestle with a complex system, NOAA’s writings have a personal voice, especially when you click on the “Forecast Discussion” link to read a kind of raw discussion between NOAA scientists. Here’s a recent all-caps missive from a NOAA forecast discussio...

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Citrus limetta, a.k.a. Sweet Lemon, a.k.a. Sweet Lime

Mr. Homegrown

May 11, 2015

Fruit Trees, Gardening

3 Comments

...take because what she thought was a lemon turned out to be Citrus limetta, labeled as “sweet lime”. Unlike a lemon, it’s sweet with lime flavor notes and a hard to describe exotic backspin. Adding to the confusion, sweet limes are also known as sweet lemons and a host of other popular names in the Middle East and India where they are popular. Though somewhat watery, I like to eat them fresh, but they are most commonly used for juice. I should note...

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