Survival Chic

It would seem that preparedness is now hip, with SurviveLA’s mention in a Los Angeles Alternative article entitled “Duck and Cover”. While the article correctly states that we at SurviveLA are on the more eco-crunchy side of things, we think it’s important to restate what we are not – we are not part of what Setha M. Low, an environmental psychology professor calls the “new emotions of home: fear and paranoia and insecurity.” You see, the Man wan...

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Saturday Linkages: Will Your Next House Be Built With Mushrooms?

...ug: http://boingboing.net/2012/10/08/howto-make-a-sandwich-caddy-ou.html … Preparedness Tegaderm 3M product for applying dressing over bleeding injury: http://boingboing.net/2012/10/11/tegaderm.html … How to Tell Time Like a Soldier | The Art of Manliness http://artofmanliness.com/2012/10/11/how-to-tell-time-like-a-soldier/ … DesignFast Fungi Bricks: Mushroom Blocks Better than Concrete?! | Designs & Ideas on Dornob http://dornob.com/fast-fungi-br...

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Out of Water!

...g water in steel drums, which we first learned about in Aton Edward’s book Preparedness Now!, the first book in Process Media’s Self-Reliance series (our book the Urban Homesteader, due out in May, is the third in this series). It’s one of the more expensive options in water storage, with new drums costing several hundred dollars, but avoids the problem of an off taste that plastic can impart. But while there’s something to be said for avoiding al...

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How to save tomato seed

...are bone dry, transfer to envelopes or glass jars for storage. Be sure to label! *I just lost a batch to germination. I blame the heat. It didn’t seem like they’d be fermenting that long, but after I drained my seeds I saw the tiny little white nubbins poking out of the seeds. Now I have to begin again. This is one reason why you should not wait ’til your last tomato to think about saving seeds. Also, this is a reminder to keep a close eye on you...

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Stickers for the Organic Gardener

...Boing a clever re-purposing: “Evil Mad Scientist Labs wants you to proudly label your organic garden with these handsome “Now Slower and with More Bugs!” stickers, originally produced to adorn software products. The influence of the Slow Food movement is increasing, and gardening is getting ever more popular. Even the tech bloggers are posting about local pollinators and getting beehives. In this environment, it is fitting that a new use has been...

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