A Library for a Post-Electricity Future

July 2, 2015

...ecent episode of WNYC’s On the Media took a look at what would happen if a solar flare or electomagnetic pulse zapped our access to the Interwebs. What will we do when we can’t Instagram our taco platters? One of the segments of the show profiles Rocky Rawlins, who runs a fantastic website, survivorlibrary.com. The library is a trove of pre-electricity how-to books, everything from building your own steam engine to beekeeping, navigation, parlor g...

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Failed Experiment: Bermuda Buttercup or Sour Grass (Oxalis pes-caprae) as Dye

Mrs. Homegrown

January 31, 2013

Domesticus, Herbs, Mistakes

26 Comments

...t porch. The day turned out to be cloudy and cool, so I don’t believe that solar energy aided my cause. Then, I ended up leaving the pot out all night long. In the morning some of the Oxalis had turned olive, other parts were still bright green. So I decided it was not done and put it on the stove, bringing it to a bare simmer as described for the direct heat method. In the meanwhile, I rose above my lazy half-assery and scoured my fabric–two whit...

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Saturday Tweets: Mostly Instructables

Mr. Homegrown

January 2, 2016

Saturday Linkages

1 Comment

...t.co/e2ZZeqJyp8 — Root Simple (@rootsimple) December 29, 2015 ARDUINO MPPT SOLAR CHARGE CONTROLLER (Version-3.0) https://t.co/BZNxlqfeO3 — Root Simple (@rootsimple) December 29, 2015 Flexible And Light Stone Material https://t.co/63Hk2gV4kc — Root Simple (@rootsimple) December 27, 2015 How to create a fiber optic starfield ceiling https://t.co/N0LkvpmTHZ — Root Simple (@rootsimple) December 27, 2015 Hand-cut dovetails with a hacksaw ! https://t.co...

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When the Cat’s Away the Mice Will Play

Mr. Homegrown

May 22, 2014

Thoughtstylings

8 Comments

...mple compound. I took the opportunity to make a slight modification to the homestead. I don’t think she’s noticed yet. Consider this post an inside challenge. Kelly–I dare you to find what I did. No hints yet. Readers–have you done any projects while your significant other is out of town? Kelly’s Response: So no, I did not notice his “intervention.” Worse, I didn’t even see this post. Bad blogger, bad. He had to call my attention to it. Then I sea...

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Plastic or Wood?

Mr. Homegrown

June 7, 2007

Thoughtstylings

4 Comments

...these are the new rules. We are going to phase as many plastics out of the homestead as we can. We won’t toss what we have in the landfill right now, but when it is time to replace it, this is how it’s going down: Wood and metal utensils instead of plastic Glass storage containers instead of Tupperwear Wool blankets instead of Polarfleece blankets Down filling instead of polyester filling (even for allergy sufferers)* Silk and wool fabrics for ath...

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