My Brand New Homebrew Soda Carbonator

...avoid sugary drinks as well, so that leaves me with a total drinks menu of water, herbal teas, sparkling water and for big thrills, sparkling waters with add-ins like fruit juice, shrubs, a bit of homemade syrup, etc. I go through quite a lot of sparkling water on a weekly basis. Now, as a rule I try not to drink stuff out of plastic bottles. Mineral waters still come in glass, but club soda is pretty much always in plastic these days. I’ve had to...

Read…

Cold brewed tisanes, teas and coffee: Your summertime best friends

...good simple infusions are to have around. A few cucumber slices, a cup of watermelon chunks, a handful raspberries–all these things make iced water a little more fun. Just use whatever you have leftover on any given day–that spare half of a lemon, a melon slice that no one seems to want, that extra handful of herbs. My favorite Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles, Cacao, puts sprigs of rosemary in its table water. Other herbal experiments Experimen...

Read…

Meet the Amazing Sierra Newt

...unds and off trails. So imagine my surprise when, hanging out by a stream (Water! Living water! I hadn’t seen any for months) I found one of these guys coiled up and still on the bottom of the stream bed. It looked so out of place–I thought it might be dead, dropped in there by a predator, perhaps? So I poked it with a stick — a favorite primate tool–and was surprised to see Mr. or Ms. Newt jump up all affronted and wander off under water. He (I’m...

Read…

Local Politician Tom LaBonge Wants LA Covered in Astroturf and the City to Pay For It

...o give them more money?] A recent study revealed that the annual amount of water needed to maintain the average lawn each year is about 34,000 gallons or about 670 bathtubs full of water. The quality and appearance of synthetic turf has gained popularity, and especially with the drought, turf has become more accepted. [By whom? It’s still plastic. And you need to water it in the summer to make it cool enough to walk on and to wash out pet urine. I...

Read…

Introducing the People Washer

...the bather a warm shower, then begins ultrasonic washing with bubbly warm water. Then the bath fills with warm water to a set level, at which point the water intake automatically shuts off and the hot water begins to whirl, cleaning the body even more thoroughly. While the water whirls, small rubber balls float around in the water, massage the skin, and relax the muscles. After seven minutes of washing and rubber-ball massage, the bath water drai...

Read…