Saturday Linkages: Rocket Stoves, Big Cargo Bikes and Shopping for the Apocalypse

Image: BoingBoing.

Image: BoingBoing.

The Flying Tortoise: A Very Gorgeous Little Rocket Mass Type Terracotta… http://theflyingtortoise.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-very-gorgeous-little-rocket-mass-type.html?spref=tw …

How to mount staghorn ferns in your garden http://bit.ly/1nosn5W  #diy

Getting to the root of gardening’s role in mental wellness | Victory Gardens Blog | http://buff.ly/1o3lIkd 

Darrel Morrison’s Addition to the Brooklyn Botanic… http://landscapeofmeaning.blogspot.com/2014/04/darrel-morrisons-addition-to-brooklyn.html?spref=tw …

Giethoorn: This small town in the Netherlands has no roads but instead, miles of canals and over 100 bridges http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/giethoorn …

BBC News – The slow death of purposeless walking http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27186709 …

World’s largest cargo bike: http://www.nicojungel.net/space.html 

What is a Broody Coop? http://hencam.com/thevintagehen/2014/05/broody-coop-2/ …

The revenge of the lawn http://boingboing.net/2014/05/07/the-revenge-of-the-lawn.html …

How to shop for the apocalypse » The Spectator http://specc.ie/1o6VDhe 

Can I master fencing, the sport for vicious brainiacs? http://www.slate.com/articles/life/human_guinea_pig/2009/06/chess_with_knives.html …

Space-age refrigeration, 1968 via @BoingBoing http://boingboing.net/2014/05/08/space-age-refrigeration-

Climate: Rising C02 levels to hit grain nutrition http://www.seeddaily.com/reports/Climate_Rising_C02_levels_to_hit_grain_nutrition_999.html …

It came from the faucet http://boingboing.net/2014/05/07/brain-eating-amoebas-in-my-wa.html …

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8 Comments

  1. I read the ‘Can I master Fencing’ article from Slate. And wanted to share that Filipino Eskrima is probably 10 times as interesting and more accessible especially in the downtown LA area, plenty of backyard groups, very down to earth, not elitist. Click on my name for one example.

    • Hey Marcus–thanks for sharing. I’ve been thinking of writing a blog post on why I’m obsessed with fencing. I’ll have to add Eskrima to that post. Looks like you are involved in some very cool stuff.

  2. Mr. Homegrown,

    Eskrima itself comes from Spanish (and I guess French as well) for fencing. Click on my name again for a youtube video of how it looks.

    What differentiates it from modern Olympic style fencing is that Filipino fencing still retains much of the empty hand movements.

    And if still interested, google “the Bladed Hand” documentary, very recent very good. Contact said blog for more info, that couple are good folk, they’ll point you to the right people near-by.

    • “What differentiates it from modern Olympic style fencing is that Filipino fencing still retains much of the empty hand movements.”
      I thought is was because modern fencing is primarily about the sword and never had a proper empty hands aspect. While in eskrima a skilled practitioner is supposed to be able to handle or be able to fight with stick, knife, sword or empty hands? And/or in pairs mixed or matched of the previously mentioned weapons. Granted those differences are probably a result of an emphasis on competition vs being a martial art.

  3. Thanks much for the article about bacteria. I’m not a scientist, but my dad’s a doctor of microbiology, so I was raised with a healthy respect of and fascination for unseen entities. He always had a special (yes, weird) fondness for food poisoning-causing “bugs”, as he called them. Unfortunately, he’d always answer my childish questions as if he were talking to another Ph.D.

  4. Big fan of the sword arts and one observation I need to add. Because the scoring in Modern fencing is done by electronics more emphasis is placed on reflex and reaction time than form and fencing tactics. I’m more of a Kendo(Japanese fencing) practitioner and have tried Filipino Eskrima, I find both quite enjoyable especially if you can find a proper school to learn them at.

    • Hey Dean, I’ve been meaning to do a post about fencing one of these days. I just got back into it (modern Epee fencing, that is) last year after a multi-year break due to injuries. Kelly used to fence too and I’m attempting to coax her back into it. I have a lot of respect for both Kendo and Eskrima. But, at this point, I have a long investment in time in Olympic fencing and I enjoy it. Plus I’ve got a neighbor who carpools with me and a bunch of friends in the sport. Epee has been electrified the longest (since the 1930s, I think) and it definitely changed things–it’s less a “conversation of the blades” and more hit or be hit. It’s a great workout and I love the strategy and mind games. Some folks may enjoy other sword arts better. And modern fencing has foil and saber–which are very different from each other and epee. Another reason I’ve stuck it out in epee is that I’m kind of built for it even though I’m pretty bad and getting old.

  5. I have an deep love of the sword/martial arts in general(I blame my parents due to vague memories of seeing samurai or yakuza movies in little tokyo as a small child in the 70’s). I find epee quite interesting perhaps because its the closest to its dueling origins compared to foil and sabre, first blood drawn winning and touches can be scored anywhere by point. That last part probably helped in epee being the first to be electrified.
    Personally when it comes to things like fencing or martial arts its about doing what you love and enjoy. Getting back to these things after a multi year break can be tough but stick with it, I’m trying to get back to kendo after over a decade off due to injuries and being a house-husband(trying to get the son to start). Funny story I started dating my wife when I ran into her when she started doing kendo at the dojo where I was doing kendo(I originally met her at the comic shop I worked at about a year before and remembered her).
    Interesting there is a connection between kendo and fencing(sabre) in Torao Mori. When he moved to the US he helped introduce kendo and learned sabre(becoming a badass at it), there’s a memorial kendo tournament held locally every few years.
    http://www.fie.org/en/centennial/hall-of-fame/mori-torao-jpn-105-2854?idPage=4

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