The Flow Hive: a Solution in Search of a Problem

...a more practical level, it seems to me that the ease of the tapping could lead inexperienced beekeepers to over-tap the hive. Now, the inventors say this system is less stressful to the hive, because you don’t have to remove the frames for harvest, or even to check to see if the frames are ready for harvest. And this is true. It is a novel system, where the plastic comb is built so that frame splits open and lets the honey drain out secretly, as...

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Baking Bread with Specialty Malts

...se these exact grains. Stick your head in the grain bins and let your nose lead you. In a 2-pound sourdough rye loaf Hadjiandreou’s recipe calls for 20 grams of chocolate malt and 40 grams each of the other two grains. A lighter hand with the dark malts will reduce the chance of bitter bread. To soak or not to soak Usually when I add whole grains or seeds to bread I like to soak them for a few hours in hot water. But when I tried this with the spe...

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Meet the Solavore Sport Solar Oven

...our first trial, and had trouble getting the oven up to cooking temp–which lead to a lentil disaster. I failed to notice the lid clips were there at all first time out because they are not immediately obvious. They are small metal hooks which are permanently affixed through holes in the oven’s body. They come up over the lip of the lid to hold it down tight. The good thing about these clips is that they are very simple and would be easy to replace...

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Saturday Tweets: RIP Mary Oliver

...) January 16, 2019 Southern California // Big Crops, Big Money. Rare front page of the Los Angeles Times Annual Midwinter, from January 1915@KCET @JDevis @ginapollack @LAFarmGirl @RachelSurls #LAFoodways pic.twitter.com/Q3EyWeUWJo — ADSAUSAGE (@adsausage) January 17, 2019 Russian company wants to put giant ads in low-Earth orbit; they could display corporate logos “and other brand emblems, as well as allow governments to flash urgent notifications...

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The Ultimate Earth Bed: A Mattress Made of Sand

...sessed with the idea of a mattress alternative for a while. Then she got a lead on an exciting bed option, and she shared it with us, saying basically, “I know this couple that you have to meet. They’ve made a bed out of sand!” So we went to meet Michael Garcia and Stephanie Wing-Garcia and their sand mattress. They live just a few minutes from our house, in a big, sunny apartment full of beautiful things–and they sleep on a king sized bed which c...

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