Saturday Tweets: Squirrels and Other Stuff

January 14, 2017

...e https://t.co/78VxfA1FNq — Root Simple (@rootsimple) January 13, 2017 New book of seminal essays and ideas from the iconic Whole Earth Catalog https://t.co/EzVRGlLMjl — Root Simple (@rootsimple) January 13, 2017 Researchers design a handheld centrifuge that only costs 20 cents to make https://t.co/j1aPLieniW — Root Simple (@rootsimple) January 13, 2017 DIY String Light Chandelier for $40 https://t.co/jYVj6Aayt2 — Root Simple (@rootsimple) January...

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A Manual of Needlework and Cutting Out

Mr. Homegrown

February 19, 2019

Domesticus

2 Comments

...Please enjoy this manual of the lost art of hand sewing by Agnes Walker published in 1907 and recommended by YouTube sewing sensation Bernadette Banner. What makes the book useful is that, unlike a lot of sewing resources, there’s not a lot of assumed knowledge. The book also shows the high level of craftsmanship expected of young children before the great crappening of the mid-20th century....

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Bonfire of the Billys

Mr. Homegrown

January 27, 2020

Design

5 Comments

...uthor and woodworker Christopher Schwartz’s said in The Anarchist’s Design Book that, “it annoys me when I see an IKEA Billy bookshelf in a woodworker’s house.” Schwartz goes on to explain why, Yes, you get about 15 linear feet of shelving, plus a carcase that is ridiculously unstable. Only two shelves are fixed. So unless you secure the Billy to the wall (or other Billys), it will rack in short order . . . I say this with experience. When my wife...

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GM and the Red Cars

Mr. Homegrown

April 8, 2019

Transportation

2 Comments

...ing those streetcars. It reminds me of Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism, a book that haunts me every day. In it Fisher describes describes how we all seem to be unable to imagine a future that’s not some dystopian, privatized nightmare of the sort imagined in the 2006 film Children of Men. When I see charts like the one above, taken from a Los Angeles Department of Transportation report, I can’t help but think of Fisher’s book and what Nic suggest...

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I’m Fed Up With Amazon

Mr. Homegrown

December 6, 2019

Thoughtstylings

11 Comments

...(which has always been very generous to Kelly and I as authors–placing our books prominently and hosting a book launch event for us). Right now I’m left with a problem. I’ve got hundreds of Amazon links embedded on this site and need to ponder what I’m going to do about that. When Amazon dumped California-based affiliates a few years ago rather than pay their taxes I switched to Portland-based Powell’s partner program but nobody used it. I’ve also...

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