2015 Resolutions

...gain. (For reference, see this post from 2013) 3) Learn to surf. I’ve been making a little progress. I’m not a surfer yet by any means, but I’m getting good at paddling and spinning the board, but need to work on speed and timing. I need to spend more concentrated time in the water this coming year. So, what is my score? About 60%? Next up: resolutions for 2015 A joint project for Erik and Kelly: Refurbishing the kitchen: new paint, new floor, cle...

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My Brand New Homebrew Soda Carbonator

...load overall. The set up isn’t cheap — we’ll talk about the price of the parts in the next post. I’m the first to admit it won’t make sense for every household, but it is actually a very worthwhile investment for us. The other great thing about this device is that it will carbonate just about anything you can cram into a bottle. You’re not limited to just charging water and then adding flavor to it. The mind reels with the possibilities. My first...

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The Energy Environment Simulator

...nment Simulator, dated October 8, 1974. From the patent description: Each participant makes policy decisions to adjust energy demands and energy source allocations and observes, in compressed time, the consequences of their decisions. The time element is adjustable by means of a variable system clock, typically one simulated century passes each minute. The natural energy reserves are simulated in an analog computer circuit and the rate of depletio...

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How to make your soup wonderful: Wild food soup stock

...It still looks good. Pascal says this is a traditional European method of making instant soup stock, but instead of using it as a stock by itself, I’ve been using it as a finishing touch at the end of cooking up a pot of something. It really helps at that tricky moment when you’re standing over your soup pot, spoon in hand, asking yourself, What does this soup need? Somehow it improves the flavor in a subtle, magical way–and in the meantime, garn...

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Connect with Nature Project #2: Rediscover Your Feet

...ing your own two feet. They are the primary interface between you and the earth, but they are often neglected and abused, shoved into hoof-like boxes, forcing you to clomp around as if you are numb from the knee down. How can you know the earth if you can’t even feel it? The simplest way to reconnect with your feet is to just take short walk with bare feet. Grass and sand are great , but don’t wait until you have somewhere “nice” to walk. Go for a...

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