Small Time living

Jay Schafer of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company in Sebastopol has cramped his own style.

Have you ever yearned for the simple life?

Less stuff is part of the process, and with less stuff can be less space. We tend to fill up the space we have with an array of wonderful objects we can live without.

Ever move to a bigger house? It doesn't take long to fill it up.

Have you ever been turned away when bringing you excess stuff to Goodwill or salvation Army? ....that's embarrassing!

Did you ever consider how much we purchase for the sake of how impressed others will be with our "stuff"? .......... From the furniture to the car to the clothes to the electronics... Surely, we enjoy our stuff (me especially). I can justify the "need" for most of it... Affording it creates a whole other dillemma.

-provocative thought of the moment: Impress yourself with nothing.

Jay has as little as 40 sq feet of fully self contained home on a trailer, and is now producing similar homes for others who are taking the plunge into the simple.

He plans to build a community of these homes.

Water

Eat local, drink local.

Portland Oregon is a leader in "eat local" concept, with 13 farmer's markets encouraging restaurants and locals to support their own economies, and preserving open space. The US Green Building Council has certified more buildings in Portland than any other.

....Your thoughts on water? ..... Yes, you.

What does it cost us to bring water in from Fiji? (Answer: A bunch.)

More than 1 million bottles per day are produced by Fiji, while over 50% of people in Fiji do not have reliable drinking water!

Thanks to "Fast Company", One of my favorite magazines, for telling the story.

38 billion plastic bottles are entering our landfills, annually! This can't be good.

image by http://www.sxc.hu/profile/tellgraf

Free Anti Virus

Nothing new...... but thought I'd mention that this free anti virus has worked fine for a number of our family pc's for a few years now

http://free.grisoft.com/ - Free AVG

I never minded paying $39 bucks for Norton for one machine, but when we started to get 5 or 6 computers connected ....that's when I started to squeak.

I heard that the "unprotected" windows machine, once connected to the internet, can be infected in less time than it takes to do the standard windows and other software updates! (ancient article)

.... Apple and Linux don't have this issue... hmmm

South Cabin Network, VT

What to do on a rainy day at the cabin? Network the computers and share the cellular air card internet connection!

Don't worry... we played plenty of cards and ate s'mores, too....

High tech camping... thanks to the Sprint Card!... and the technical "know how" of Rob of the Doyle gang from Boston.

This is Clevr

Upload images, stich'em together, embed or share... Clevr

One Laptop Per Child... ..and for me too?

Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing Blog writes ... and I agree: "I'll buy three for a developing country if I can buy one more for myself".

This, in response to the announcement by Mary Lou Jepsen, CTO of the One Laptop Per Child Foundation, that they may sell the (rugged $100) laptops in the developed world next Christmas, marking them up to either $350 or $525.

I think they would sell like hotcakes if each purchase made even one available to a developing nation's child.

The foundation "One Laptop Per Child"- (founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Nicholas Negroponte) has a production cost of about $175. Jepson tells more in an interview with Reuters.

Learn more: http://www.olpcnews.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/$100_laptop

http://www.redhatmagazine.com/2007/02/23/building-the-xo-introducing-sugar/

on another note, I'm excited about loading one of my older machines up with a Linux OS.....

The fedora project and knoppix.com are calling my name! I'll let you know how it goes!

Here's a provacative thought.... 'free software that gives the rest a run for it's money!'

There is a God

You can use any evidence you like for proving God..... or disproving, for that matter. But, if there is a plumber at your house, that just happened to be there for a few minutes, dropping off his son......And you are leaving on a family vacation the next day, scrambling to get it all together....... and that's when your water heater decides to blow up and spew water all over the laundry room.... . . . . Either that mean's that God likes to provide solutions...... or it means that the plumber planted a grenade in the water heater because he needed a side job!

Well, that's how it went..... Suzanne conveniently noticed the water-rushing-in-the-closet-sound,...and we now have a nice new water heater in place. What a mess it would have been if it had happened today. We could have had water running for two weeks!

Don was well positioned to be of assistance!

I've got other examples of why God is good that are probably a bit better than what I've just described!!! But, it's good to be able to see examples every day. I mean, he knows that water heaters don't last forever...especially with funky country well water, I just appreciate his sense of timing. My cup runneth over!

The Pygmalian Effect, in Effect

Landon is 12 and on the little league all-stars. He hit 3 home runs during the regular season, but hasn't really "found his bat" yet in the all-star games.

He's been to the batting cages a little more lately, and once Suzanne told him to go back to his comfortable stance, (even though the coach had suggested something that looked dreadfully uncomfortable), he has started to, at least knock some singles and doubles.

Just before Landon's last at bat in tonight's game, I whispered to him, "Hey, I'll be just over the center field fence, I want you to hit it to me....,Or would you like me in right or left field?".

He confirmed the center would be fine, and I proceeded to trot out there with Eliana(5), as Landon stepped up to the plate.

On the 3-1 pitch, [carrrraaack!], he launched it beautifully over the right-center field fence for a 3 run homer.

...Am I taking some credit? .....Heck YES! I'm a super proud dad, and really he's got the talent, and he's doing all the hard work and practice. I didn't just tell him I "thought" he could..... I assumed, and knew he could,and only asked him, "Where?". I love that 'limited choice' technique.

Did you ever accomplish something, because someone believed that you could?

There are some studies that show how powerful our expectations really are..... the elementary school study in San Francisco and the study involving welders. Do your own study!

Rock On, Earth!

"The last thing the planet needs is a rock concert," The Who's singer Roger Daltrey recently told a British newspaper.

In response to the 'Live Earth" concert, criticized for it's "lack of achieveable goals"

"Live Earth was inspired and is backed by former Vice President Al Gore's campaign to force global warming onto the international political agenda by generating a groundswell of public concern."

I just liked Daltry's comment...... ... it provokes thought.

The "proceeds" which go to the "Alliance for climate protection" the nonprofit, chaired by Gore.... OK....... nice website

I know what I'd do...I'd rent a hybrid from Hertz. They're donating a dollar per hybrid rental to the National Park Foundation. :o)