Tippy Tap, Beta Version

...lastic, I’ll use a water jug or a bottle which held something edible, like cooking oil. Next, I gave the bottle a quick coat of paint because I couldn’t scrape off the label and couldn’t stand to wash my hands while that psychotic, chemical peddling teddy bear stared up at me. The mechanics of building a tippy tap are quite simple, but fairly situational, so you’ll have to improvise around the shape of the water bottle you choose, and decide on a...

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What Preparedness Lessons Did You Learn From Hurricane Sandy?

...’ve wanted for a while, but never had the funds for (or forgot about) is a solar powered generator. That sure would have made my life a lot easier this week! 6) have an evacuation plan. I have no idea how to get out of Staten Island by bus. I always take the ferry because it’s close and convenient. 7) what happened in Breezy Point, Queens (a 6 alarm fire that destroyed a block of houses) could happen anywhere. Make sure that the stuff that’s price...

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On Moon Bases, Free Parking and One Hell of a Grim Swedish Science Fiction Movie

...at we can screw things up here and escape to space stations, mars or other solar systems. While space offers lots of free parking potential, the simple fact is that life outside earth is inhospitable in the extreme and the distances involved in reaching other solar systems make that travel impossible. I can think of no better warning of the vastness and horror of space than a recent Swedish movie Aniara, based on an epic poem, which you can watch...

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Weekend Linkages: Quilts, Pedways and Past Futures

...Quilt, Solar System. 1983.0618.01. Ellen Harding Baker’s “Solar System” Quilt Nobody Drives in LA — Exploring Downtown’s Calvin S. Hamilton Pedway A 19th-Century Vision of the Year 2000 The Best Commuter Bike Lights A digital archive of graphic design related items that are available on the Internet Archives (via Recomendo) Soda Can Aluminum Chuck Glider...

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Of Love and Compressed Air

...s an alternative to chemical batteries and ways to compress air with wind, solar and hydro power. Some Amish communities use compressed air as a way of separating themselves from the “English” world and its power grid. In fact, compressed air is sometimes referred to as “Amish Electricity.” While the Amish compress air mostly with diesel generators, some use windmills. The Amish convert kitchen appliances to run on compressed air as well as power...

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