All Politics Are Local

November 6, 2012

I thought it appropriate on election day to repeat one of my favorite equations for happiness–a stoic flowchart that comes via Mark Fraenfelder of BoingBoing. At the end of the day, about half of America will be happy, and half will be dismayed. All we can do is remember that beyond voting, we cannot control the outcome of the election. So a stoic would advise us to not to rail against what we cannot change or affect, but to focus on what we can...

Read…

Climate Change and Personal Responsibility

Mrs. Homegrown

June 28, 2013

Age of Limits, Thoughtstylings

63 Comments

...we, as individuals, acknowledge the cost of our lifestyle and, if it seems appropriate to us after reflection, take action to alter that lifestyle. Leaving personal responsibility out of the equation has a two-fold effect. First, it makes the issue abstract. It becomes someone else’s problem and someone else’s fault. Then the blame game begins. Second, it makes us feel disempowered: if the problem is all about politics and industry, it’s too big f...

Read…

StoveTec’s Hot Rocket Stoves

Mr. Homegrown

August 12, 2009

Appropriate Technology, Preparedness, Rocket Stove

16 Comments

...tested one, the $37 to $40 price is a bargain. Rocket stoves are a simple “appropriate” technology that burns small pieces of wood and charcoal efficiently. We’ve blogged about them before and even constructed our own out of a vent pipe and bricks. Instead of burning a log to cook you can use trimmings from trees, bushes and even agricultural waste. According to StoveTec, “StoveTec Stoves, rocket stoves invented by Dr. Larry Winiarski, use 40-50%...

Read…

It’s official: I’m a Ham

Mr. Homegrown

November 15, 2013

Appropriate Technology

13 Comments

...gled with math less had I had a hobby to motivate studying. My interest in appropriate technology was another reason. There is a ham I met online who is constructing a website that will be of interest to readers of this blog–he was inspired by John Michael Greer’s writing on ham radio. I’ll share that website when it’s ready to go public. Passing the test was easy, but I’ve got a lot of work to do. I have no radio, nor do I have any experience usi...

Read…

Josey Baker on Bread: Whole, Wild, Wet, Slow and Bold

Mr. Homegrown

November 23, 2015

Bread, Fermentation, Food

4 Comments

...erd Josey Baker. Baker and his mentor Dave Miller (yes, they do have oddly appropriate surnames) have developed a style of baking that Josey has turned into set of five principles, a kind of Kama Sutra of bread: whole, wild, wet, slow and bold. Let’s get funky and break that down. Whole To make white flour, all the good stuff in wheat is sifted out, leaving it lifeless. Even “whole wheat” breads are made with a significant proportion of white flou...

Read…