I Gave Up Facebook for a Week and Didn’t Miss It

December 7, 2015

...Call it passive aggressive, but I’m going to unfollow “friends” who post nothing but divisive click bait. I may unplug on Sundays entirely. I’ve got some dense books to read. I want to give the last word to Root Simple reader Federico, who uses Facebook to post pictures of his amazing sketchbook (I’d miss seeing those images if I deleted my account). Federico suggested some rules for using social media based on Michael Pollan’s food rules: “Post...

Read…

The Primitive Technology Guy

Mr. Homegrown

December 27, 2016

Appropriate Technology, Water and Power

7 Comments

...e these wordless videos, shot in northern extreme of Queensland, Australia uses a “show me don’t tell me” philosophy of film making that I greatly admire. No long, babbling intros! Kelly was especially impressed with his pump drill fire starting technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEl-Y1NvBVI He has a blog that describes the content of his videos in more detail. People like John Townsend and the Primitive Technology guy are the good side of...

Read…

Saturday Linkages: Basil Downy Mildew, Bees and Grow Lights

Mr. Homegrown

June 21, 2014

Saturday Linkages

2 Comments

...s.html … Old fencing blades as tomato stakes: http://www.fencing.net/14758/uses-old-fencing-blades-tomato-stakes/ … Interesting new wind turbine design–it’s shaped like a nautilus: http://www.treehugger.com/wind-technology/silent-wind-turbines-could-generate-half-household-energy.html … A bacteria that helps produce stay fresh AND saves the bats AND saves the bees??? http://magazine.gsu.edu/article/future-food/ … Fascinating food history–the histo...

Read…

What’s the Best Solar Food Dryer?

Mr. Homegrown

June 10, 2014

Food, Food Preservation, Solar, Water and Power

15 Comments

...works great. You do need to remember to bring in the food at night to prevent rehydration and spoilage (for some reason I often flake out and forget to bring in the food). For awhile I had an electric Excalibur Dehydrator on loan and it’s a lot more convenient. But, of course, it uses electricity and makes a lot of noise. Since I built my Appalachian Dryer Scanlin has decided that it’s not necessary to use insulation. This makes the project even s...

Read…

013 Keeping Chickens with Terry Golson of Hencam.com

Mr. Homegrown

August 20, 2014

Animals, Chickens, Podcasts

4 Comments

...you should have in your chicken first aid kit. Terry’s “spa treatment” she uses to deal with egg binding. Doing a chicken necropsy. Why Terry doesn’t keep roosters. Where to source chicks and pullets. When and how to euthanize a sick chicken. I mention free necropsies provided by the University of California Extension Service for California residents. What Terry thinks about those rooster rings that supposedly keep roosters from crowing (hint: she...

Read…