Quince: the “Poster Child of Slowness”

...bor was nice enough to pop by with some she bought local Asian market. The label must have lost something in translation, but refers to a variety called “Pineapple quince”. Karp points out in his article that this is the most prevalent commercial variety. When picked fresh it could conceivably be eaten raw, though the commercial stuff ain’t fresh. Quince is indeed, as one of Karp’s sources notes, “the poster child of slowness.” I tried to make som...

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Non-Toxic Cleaning for the Home

...ally not all that safe–there is no regulation of the use of these terms in labeling. (e.g. Simple Green is neither “green” nor simple!) Check all cleaning products against the EWG database, and keep in mind that even within a single brand, some formulations will be well rated and others poorly rated. A good rule of thumb is to seek unscented products, because fragrances and perfumes carry toxins, and are often at the root of a poor EWG rating. Gre...

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Tippy Tap, Beta Version

...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 hanging method which fits your needs. Some basics: You need support The bottle has to hang fr...

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California’s New Greywater Code: Common Sense Legalized!

...imes spur more innovation like this. Originally slated to go into effect in 2010, the plumbing code was updated as an emergency measure to deal with drought conditions that have plagued the southwestern US for years. Under the new California greywater code: 1. In most cases you won’t need a permit. 2. Allows discharge into a simple mulch basin rather than the expensive and complicated sub-surface emitters required under the old regulations. 3. No...

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Sad foot sign, the end is comin’

...o Park, “Happy Foot Sad Foot” or “HaFoSaFo” for short. Kelly detailed, in a 2010 blog post, the many cultural references to the sign including a novel by Jonathan Lethem. A reader pointed to a song by the Eels. Later we found out that David Foster Wallace used the sign in his posthumously published novel, The Pale King. Allow me to digress for a moment to note that the longest half hour of my life was the time I was part of a film crew interviewin...

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