wild mushrooms

Since my last post, I've learned so much more about mushrooms. I've been slowly making my way though a collection of books by Paul Stamets and took some time to dabble in both cultivation and collecting wild mushrooms. If you're not familiar with PS, check him out on TED: 6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World.

Chicken of the Woods (pictured above)
I wish I had taken a photo before I picked it. They're so pretty and bright. This one was found at a park and unfortunately was embedded with little black sandy particles. I'm not sure what they were but it might have to do with growing low to the ground and being hit frequently with debris from the lawn mower. They have a nice smell and texture so I look forward to finding these again someday, hopefully without contaminants.

Gem-studded (not pictured) and Giant Puffballs

The first ones I saw were little gem-studded puffballs out in an alfalfa field that had just been mowed. After that, I started noticing them all over the lawn. Then I found several giant puffballs at a nearby park and brought a few home with me. I peeled, diced and cooked a few handfuls with eggs and black pepper. The mushrooms just took on the flavor of the eggs and made the texture a little fluffier. Some people also fry puffballs or slice them thinly to use like crepes. (It looks like I picked all of them, but don't worry, the ones I got were from three different places.)

Coral Fungi

Another edible mushroom I found in the woods recently. Although, I didn't attempt to harvest any because I didn't know what it was at the time. At first I thought it was cauliflower fungi, but it's more branchy and less wavy.


Shaggy Mane
I saw so many of these this year but it's another example of a variety that I didn't try because I had no idea what they were until later. The young white plump mushrooms look so much different from the delicate mature bells with greyish coloring. Oh, the pains of going without a field guide. I really need to pick one up. All my pics were blurry, but here's a good one that I found online.

spring foraging

Once it finally stopped raining this morning, I decided to go out foraging for greens to eat for lunch. There is a small lake with a trail around it nearby, which seemed like a good place for my first attempt of the season. I thought I'd find all kinds of wild edibles, but ended up with only dandelion greens and something I thought was chickweed (pictured above) but wasn't. It was kind of disappointing but on my way back I found a single yellow morel mushroom that totally cheered me up. I can't wait to do more mushroom hunting this year.

how to drop out

An article called How to Drop Out by Ran Prieur was mentioned on an early retirement forum last week and I'm really impressed. I also liked most of his other essays and novel, which are all free to read and available on the site. I've never found anybody writing about topics like society, survival, sustainability, morals, etc. who has such a similar world view to my own. If you totally hate this, you probably already don't like most of what I have to say.

"I think it's good to be dependent on equals, on friends and family with whom you have a healthy relationship, and it's good for them to be dependent on you. The kind of dependence that I'm against, that I would like to wipe off the Earth forever, is where someone has you over a barrel, where you have to do what they say because if you don't, they will withhold something that you need. The essence of "dropping out" is to cut dependencies on a system of power-over, and replace them with dependencies on a system of power-with."

That's all for now. I'll leave you with my new favourite xkcd webcomic. Don't forget to mouse-over.

2009 Called

dumpster diving

I think the way I feel about dumpsters is how most people feel about holidays. While they might not regularly eat pumpkin pie with whipped cream or drink eggnog, the holidays roll around and their standard assortment of foods are supplanted with special treats. A friend and I had been talking about going dumpster diving for a while now and after watching I Love Trash and a few other youtube videos on the topic we finally ventured out on Tuesday night to see what we could find. We’re new at this so we went to several different places to get a better idea of our options. While there were a few disappointments (trash compactors) at some of the stores that we expected to be the most promising, we still ended up getting lots of great stuff. While it’s not something normally on our menu, John and I were able to enjoy the luxury of dumpster Greek yogurt with sliced bananas without thinking about the dairy industry or paying something stupid like $6 for a tiny container. There was a whole trash can full of all different kinds of yogurt. Got lots of other good stuff too. Yay!

documentaries

John and I sometimes watch movies while we eat dinner and have been on a documentary kick lately. Here is a list of some of the films we've seen recently. We are always on the lookout for more on all kinds of topics, so suggestions are encouraged.

China Blue

"China Blue takes viewers inside a blue jeans factory in southern China, where teenage workers struggle to survive harsh working conditions. Providing perspectives from both the top and bottom levels of the factory’s hierarchy, the film looks at complex issues of globalization from the human level."

Documentaries about topics like globalization and sweat shops are often emotionally draining and come off as preachy to the point of almost if not totally unwatchable. Everybody already knows sweat shops are bad; however, this film was surprisingly well done and illuminating. It gives a much closer look at what things are really like for individual people. Ups, downs and all. There is actually a story here and it's easy to relate, especially to the sweet and optimistic teen girl central to the film.

I Love Trash

"Two friends decide to do an experiment in dumpster diving. They rent an unfurnished apartment and arrive with only the clothes they are wearing and a flashlight. They decide not to buy any things for 3 months and instead to find all their needs in the trash. They furnish their apartment lavishly. They eat decadently. They dress sharp, and create beautiful art, all from the trash."

This was inspiring and fun to watch. Some of the comments I read about this before watching it criticized the choice of interview subjects, but I have no complaints about that at all. As I'm getting older I'm able to appreciate the reality of things like this rather than judging and discounting right away based on the way people talk, act and look. I get the impression that many people would prefer to watch identical copies of themselves engaging in activities they personally would never do.

I only tried dumpster diving once as a teenager after my friends and I heard about it. We didn't need or want anything specific and our curiosity led us to an alley behind several shops and found a dumpster packed full of pornography magazines then lost interest and moved on. This documentary shed a new light on dumpster diving for me after seeing how many useful things, even food, can be found in perfect condition. I expect this to become one of my favourite hobbies.


Hackers Wanted

"This film explores the origin of true hackers vs. today's computer criminals by following the adventures of Adrian Lamo and other well-intentioned hackers, who found security holes and pointed them out so they might be fixed, only to eventually be arrested. Commonly thought of as computer criminals and vandals, a true hacker is an innovative thinker able to "hack" himself out of a given problem or situation, whether it be computer related or not."

This is a topic that has affected a few people I've known but is otherwise not something that usually interests me. John and I watched it the other night because we ran out of options and it was actually quite enjoyable. I really liked the take on hacking as something that is not exclusive to computers. Plus, Adrian Lamo (sometimes known as the homeless hacker) is a very interesting and brilliant character and I was glad to hear his story.

The War on Kids

"The War on Kids shows how American public schools have failed in their mission to provide education, erode the country's democratic foundation by denying the most basic civil rights to youth, and often resemble prisons."

The film focuses on public schools and while my issues with education are much broader, I did learn quite a few things from watching it. The main thing was the connection between antidepressants and every single school shooting in the country. It's shocking. Although, it makes sense why people don't really talk about things like that. I remember withdrawing from an antidepressant cocktail as a teenager. It's mentally excruciating and luckily for everyone around me I have the personality type that internalizes things like that. Being on the drugs turns you into an indifferent shell of what once was a human being and coming down spins the world out of control. Poor kids.

People spend too much time focusing on how to make schools better when they are functioning perfectly for their actual purpose—to control the flow of new workers into the market.


Alcohol can be a Gas

"See David Blume give a riveting 2-hour-and-40-minute presentation about alcohol fuel. This professionally filmed talk starts with the amazing history of alcohol (it was the first auto fuel), and covers a wide range of topics—exploding the myths told about alcohol, and giving a primer on how to produce it, car conversion methods, available tax credits, and far, far more."

I can't wait to convert the mini truck. If you only watch a single video in 2011, let it be this one.

Dirt!

"Dirt! is an astonishing, humorous and substantial look at the glorious and unappreciated ground beneath our feet. Dirt! reveals how repairing our relationship with dirt can create new possibilities for all life on earth."

Despite the talks about Indian farmer suicides and the degradation of the planet, this film was a bit more upbeat than many of the documentaries I tend to watch. It's encouraging to rethink the way we regard dirt. Maybe in the future, treating someone like dirt will mean that we recognize our inability to live without treating them well.

Dark Days

"The film follows a group of people living in an abandoned section of the New York City underground railway system."

After reading Daniel Quinn's books, Beyond Civilization and After Dachau, I've been especially interested in people living "beyond civilization" in places such as the underground tunnels in cities like New York and Las Vegas. This was funny, artful, impressive, entertaining and most people would consider the end to be a happy one. I found it to be a bit disappointing because reintegrating these people who have successfully lived outside of society for so long is the opposite of progress. We need more self-reliant outsiders, not less.

What are your favourite documentaries?

every day is an anniversary of something

John and I met in September of 2004 (I was 19 and he had just turned 21) and spent our third date moving my stuff into our new apartment. We got engaged soon after and married on November 17, 2006 in a courthouse with two witnesses. That's almost four years ago and is the reason why I'm bringing this up. People often ask us what we're doing for our anniversary and are surprised when we don't have any special plans in mind. We have both time and money to get dressed up, go out to a nice restaurant and buy each other gifts or anything like that but we'd rather not. What I really want is for every day to be meaningful and to appreciate all our time together.

Today (a day with no historical significance to me) was just as enjoyable or perhaps more than my wedding day. We shared a bowl of brussel sprouts while John read a chapter aloud from Early Retirement Extreme (something we do when we both want to read the same book at the same time) and talked about some of the concepts. It's after discussions like that when I feel our relationship has ascended to a deeper level—something I didn't particularly experience when our legal status changed from single to married. So if I had to celebrate anything, it would be the days when we have the kind of talks that lead to a greater understanding of each other and ourselves. Since that happens all the time, close to every day, I'd have time for nothing else if I allowed myself to get too distracted by anniversaries.

mini truck

Last night we found a mini truck for sale in a neighboring city. John and I talked about eventually getting one of these or making something similar to replace the scooters, but didn't plan on making a purchase any time soon. Although, we're both in the habit of looking for microcars and things like that just to have a better idea of our options when the time comes. After reading about it, we thought it would be worth finding out more so we went for a test drive. It seemed too perfect to pass up so we decided to just go for it. We weren't sure that it would fit in the trailer without having to alter the work bench, but luckily it's just the right size. It's only 9'9" long and a little over 4' wide. :)

My brother is buying my Honda Metropolitan, so we'll go get it out of storage and drop it off for him tomorrow. Then we'll be left with a 2009 50cc Honda Ruckus (plus a compatible 150cc engine) and a 2007 Ruckus with a completed 150cc swap to sell. We'll have to organize the trailer as well to make room for it. I think it'll be worth it to have this little truck instead because it will be functional even through some parts of the winter that would be unsafe scooter weather and offer some cover in the rain. It also has a 4x6 truck bed that can fold down into a flatbed and comes with a canvas covered wagon attachment.

It's a 1968 Cony 360 Wide Mini Truck in great condition and only 2,675 original miles. Newer versions of similar trucks are not street legal, but this one is old so the new restrictions do not apply. We will have to get plates and insurance on it but the current owner pays only about $125/year for everything. It goes about 50 MPH and gets about 50 MPG, which is acceptable for our transportation needs. I found some old brochures and more information about Cony vehicles online here.

What I really love about it is that it looks a lot like a tiny version of the mobile condo. Perhaps sometime in the future, we'll paint it to match. :)

Goodbye, house.

We had planned on staying until the end of October at an RV park and moving to the other side of town when it closed for the season. Our plans have changed twice over the last few days.

I was browsing craigslist real estate and found a cheap house for rent, about the same as lot rent at a mobile home park. The long driveway, 2 car garage, 1.6 acres and privacy seemed like it was a way better option. There were only a few problems with this. The house was super gross and we'd have to heat it enough to keep the pipes from freezing. Not a perfect situation or the best neighborhood but not a total deal breaker. The real problem was the gate and angle at which we'd need to enter in order to squeeze the truck inside. We'd have needed to drive all over the grass across the street to get it straight. It seemed like we could do it quickly and without damaging the lawn but I had a lot of anxiety about it. We decided to just go for it anyway, trim some trees and do whatever else we'd have to do to make it work.

It was only out of curiosity that John found something else later the same day. I didn't think it was worth the time and wasn't feeling up for rejection but I went along with it just to be a good sport. John thought if we could talk to the property owner and explain our situation perhaps we could work something out. The guy ended up being really nice about it and agreed to let us stay through the winter for way cheaper than any of our other options. The only issue is that he's going out of town and wanted to see it and get us set up there before he leaves, so we're moving tomorrow. We'll still take the rest of the week to gradually move the rest of our stuff but the goal is to get though most things tomorrow before we go.

I was trying to think of what I'll miss about my house but there are only a few, mostly insignificant things. 1. Instant hot water for tea. Now I'll actually have to use a tea pot and plan ahead a few minutes. I think I can handle that. 2. Internet access. I'm not sure what the internet situation is at the new place. I doubt I can pick up free wifi in such a rural area so I might have to go to the library if the property owner doesn't already have it there. I guess that's all. I thought I'd miss my bath tub and bookshelf but I don't care about them anymore.

packing

I'm almost finished packing my closet and ended up with more empty space than I expected. The one full top bin is just miscellaneous clothes that I don't wear often but still wanted to keep. The bottom left is seasonal/occasional stuff like formal accessories, swimsuits, beach towels, hats, gloves and scarves. The middle is underwear, socks and tank tops. The right is shoes. There are two empty bins on top and the entire bottom shelf for non-clothing stuff. I might put the wonder wash on top of the dryer or in John's closet so I can fit the spin dryer in mine as well as the clothes steamer. Or perhaps I can store the bucket inside the dryer. I might also make room in there for my backpack (if I don't keep it next to my chair) and my sewing machine.

Today I'm going to sort and pack kitchen stuff. This will be the real challenge to see if I can fit everything into the two refrigerator cabinet drawers. I think these are the things I want to keep.

1. Calphalon multipot/stock pot with steamer inserts
2. Staub 6.5 quart cast iron French oven (outside w/ the solar oven?)
3. Le Creuset 3-1/2 Qt. cast iron covered braiser
4. All-Clad 5 piece utensil set
5. Silicon spatula
6. Cuisinart handyprep food processor
7. Forks & Spoons
8. Knives: 7" Santoku, two 3" paring, 6" cleaver, 7" fillet
9. White melamine plates and bowls
10. Two travel tea mugs
11. Norpro egg timer
12. Flexible cutting mats
13. 38-cup, 8-cup, two 3-3/5-cup, four 1-2/7-cup food storage containers with lids
14. Stainless steel measuring cups and spoons
15. 4 cup plastic measuring cup (maybe)
16. Poach pods
17. Sprout garden

We keep our water bottles with us so I don't think they'll ever need to be packed. I'll also keep a grater and maybe a coffee grinder but since I don't use them for food they'll probably be stored in the closet or in an outside box.

soap

With deer hunting season coming up in a few months, I might be able to get some cheap or free tallow to make soap. I'll also check local butcher shops and farms to see what other options are available. It would be fun to make my own lye out of wood ashes as well but I think I'll ease into this gradually.

First, I figured it would be a good idea to make sure we even like tallow soap, aka pioneer soap. I ordered a bar from a seller on Etsy who makes it with lye and tallow rendered from grass fed belted galloway suet which would have otherwise been thrown away. She didn't have any full bars cured at the time so she sent me a box of big scrap pieces and a free bar of tallow shaving soap, too. I just got it yesterday and love it so far.

[UPDATE: People we know butchered some cows and saved the fat so we could all try making soap together. It took much longer than I anticipated but it was fun and turned out well.]

phone service

I got our phone bill lowered from $95/month down to $75, but that still seems a bit excessive. John and I rarely make actual calls so I'm thinking about switching over to a text only plan. It would cost $40/month for both of us to have unlimited texts and we can unlock and use our current phones. Then for the few times when we do need to make calls, receive voicemail or picture/video messages we can use the new google voice service, which for at least this year is free. I'd be more likely to listen to a voicemail if it came to my email rather than my phone anyway.

I'd have switched to a tracfone or other prepay long ago if not for my inability to find a compatible phone with a qwerty keyboard.

[UPDATE: We no longer have phones and exclusively use Google Voice.]

appropriate tech

I saw this clip on the Open Source Ecology blog and really liked what Karl Hess had to say about technology. Whenever I hear people talking about appropriate technology, I often get the impression that their idea of what is appropriate is arrived upon arbitrarily or simply by limiting themselves to low-tech. Not this guy.

it's educational

I couldn't decide what to do for my next degree so I just picked Environmental Studies because I like talking to people about things like that. Good reason, right? I took an ES course as an elective last year and hated it. It was so watered down and riddled with political crap disguised as facts. If you buy carbon credits, it reduces your environmental impact. Right. Very smart. Hopefully this program won't just be more of the same, but I won't be surprised if it is.

The only actually valuable course I've ever taken was Public Speaking which was a general education requirement for my degree program. I took it at the local community college because I couldn't bear to pay full price just to embarrass myself. I was surprised by how fulfilling and fun it turned out to be and not just because I convinced John to take it with me. I prefer quiet one-on-one conversations, so taking the class forced me to address one of my biggest weaknesses. That's what I want. I want to take a class and feel like I've grown or changed in some way in the end.

I'm already trying to figure out what to do next in case this ES thing doesn't stick. Maybe Anthropology and/or Botany. Most of the things that really interest me are not available in the form of a degree program but I'll take what I can get.

groceries

I've been using produce bags like this for a while now and can officially say that I really like them. Aside from the obvious benefit of not wasting plastic bags, they look nicer and allow the produce to breathe. That was a problem before with things like spinach or cilantro turning to mush in the plastic if not used right away.

I've also been getting better at planning our meals so we have less food waste. Last week, the only extra was a single golden beet that rolled to the back of the refrigerator. Rather than throw it away, I'll be adding it into a pot along with chicken bones, carrot, celery and onion tops to make stock. Once we're in the condo, things like this with longer cook times at lower temps will likely be made in a solar oven as often as possible.

DIY haircuts

I haven't colored my hair in almost four years and neither John nor I have had a professional haircut in the past few. I've been cutting my dad's hair for as long as I can remember but had no idea what I was doing. The positive reinforcement I got from him never pressed me to learn more about techniques. He'd reach back to feel it and without looking in a mirror he'd say, "It looks great, honey!"

After watching a barber cut John's hair a few times, I got a better idea of the right way to do it. We got hair scissors and John watched some youtube videos about it to learn how to cut mine as well. Then he decided that he wanted a simpler, lower maintenance style and got some clippers to cut his short. That's something he can do himself, but my hair is long and I still need help. I had been wanting to construct a cutting guide to make it easier to do it myself and I found this video. I guess somebody beat me to it. :) I also like the method in the second video of just putting it in a band and hacking it off.

poached pepper

I don't like to use cooking oil or butter so when we eat eggs they're either poached or hard boiled. One of my favourite kitchen accessories is my little set of poach pods because they eliminate the mess. With our new water system, keeping particulate out of the dishwater will keep it maintenance free for much longer. They just float on top of the water and the egg can be eaten right out of the pod.



I was making John's lunch and had a green pepper cut in half sitting next to one of the pods and I noticed that it looked like it would do basically the same thing. Whether or not it could float wouldn't be relevant since cooking the pepper would be a desired effect. It seemed like something that people would do, so I looked online and the closest thing I could find was quiche filled whole peppers. I usually think bell peppers are better raw but this (plus a handful of spinach) was definitely my favourite breakfast I've had in a while. John calls it a reverse omelet and I think that's a better way (for us) to do it. Lots of vegetables + one egg and not the other way around.

heartache

It's exceptionally rare for me to encounter something I want that I cannot have. It's not always right away but eventually I'll get it. I think this is mostly because the way I feel about life leads me to not want very much that isn't practical. So on the rare occasion that I set my sights on something beyond my means and allow that yearning to sink in, it hurts me so badly. My heart aches for this island.

It's 167 acres on the Tennessee River which would be so perfect. It has everything that I'd want in a property. Water access. Natural forest. Privacy. When I remind myself that those are the reasons why I like this place, I realize that it doesn't have to be this island, or any island, actually. Although, I can't stop hoping that the owner will get desperate and drop the price gradually over the next five years until we can afford it. Or that we'll find more people who are equally committed to starting a community to share costs. I wish somebody would just buy it already so I can move on.

lotionless

I tried to make lotion today and it didn't turn out the way I thought it would. I vaguely remember making a really simple lotion in a chem lab and learning that it's nothing more than oil, water and an emulsifier.

As soon as it's gone, I'll find a locally sourced alternative but I have five pounds of organic raw shea butter that I bought a long time ago so I used that. I melted it with beeswax in a makeshift double boiler. Then I added it to boiling water in a jar and stirred. At first it wasn't coming together and I started to think it wasn't going to work, but eventually after more stirring, it seemed to form an emulsion. It was sort of thick so I poured a bit into a small glass container and a lip balm pot. I added more boiling water to the main jar and stirred it again. It seemed like it was fine. But then once the lip balm started to harden, I pressed it and water squirted out. It seemed more like the oil/wax formed a sponge with the water rather than an emulsion.

I don't know if it's because I didn't stir it fast enough for long enough in the beginning (I quickly checked online to see if I was doing it correctly) and maybe that pause was what effed it up. Or the ratios were wrong. Or I should use different ingredients. Or the water wasn't hot enough. Or the oil/wax cooled too much while I was getting the water ready. I don't know.

[UPDATE: It turns out that beeswax is not an emulsifier. I guess I should have browsed around a bit more before accepting the first thing I read on the internet.]


I didn't want to waste everything I had just made so I drained and pressed out the water. I put some back into the containers to be used as chapstick and made a questionable deodorant paste out of the rest. I'm not going to let things like this discourage me. At least now I won't have to worry about chapstick for a while. I'll read more and try again until I get it right.

stranger danger

It was 3 A.M. at Meijer and and there was a guy at the uscan talking to a seemingly annoyed cashier. While I was scanning my stuff, he came over to ask me if I was going a certain way on Tyler Rd, which I wasn't. He said thanks anyway and started back before I stopped him. He had full tattoo sleeves and was getting all sorts of judgmental looks from the cashier and the other employee who was in the area, and the look on his face said that had been going on for a while. I felt like I had to stand up for him. I asked how far and said I'd take him. The cashier "casually" came over to me and asked if I was alone because he was creeping her out, and she looked concerned. I told her not to worry about it.

I couldn't just leave him there with those bitches. Culturally, we're supposed to say no to helping someone even when it's not particularly inconvenient and we don't have anything better to do. He said he took a cab there and was in the store for too long so the driver left. It seemed as though he had been trying to get the cashier to find a way to to call a cab company for him and nobody would help him. Honestly, I think the situation was more dangerous for him because someone could have taken advantage of his vulnerability.

So, he turned out to be a perfectly nice young man. I dropped him off at his parents' house and that was that. Surprise, I didn't get murdered.

squatters

When John and I first bought our house, we started some major renovations right away. Our lease was able to be extended so we lived in our apartment for another month and spent all our free time gutting and remodeling the new place. We got some carpet installed upstairs and John finally finished one of the bathrooms the day before we were supposed to turn in our apartment keys. One thing I'm starting to learn about projects of this size is that they tend to take a lot longer than scheduled. We spent the first year with only plywood subfloors on the main floor and nothing (not even cabinets) to resemble a kitchen other than a refrigerator in the family room perched up on top of a stack of plywood. I cooked on a little single burner camp stove in what was supposed to be the dining room and did the dishes in a utility sink in the basement. We sat on flipped over 5 gallon buckets and old lawn furniture.

It was all so stressful and exciting. The whole process of making something into our own was wonderful and I felt really proud of it. Even though we're giving it up, I'm glad for this experience. That's not to say I didn't spend a few days sobbing and wondering wtf we were doing but buying the house was mostly okay. I can say that I've tried it and know that this life is not for me. It's not that I'm disappointed about how things turned out—they're exactly what I wanted. I got it. Now I want something else.

Four years of filling up the house and now it is being emptied out again. We're back to living like squatters. The furniture is gone so we've been using van seats and upside down boxes as tables.

I really like my life.

one small step

This is our newly paperless bathroom.

I'm switching to cloth "toilet paper" (aka family cloth) and I'm super excited about it. Luckily, I have a friend who started doing this before me so I could wait to hear about her experiences before trying it for myself. (Read about other people who also switched to cloth here & here.) We have been talking about this for a while but finally got around to testing it out. I thought it would be a good idea to get comfortable with it now before we move so we're not overwhelmed by yet another adjustment to the new living arrangement if we decide to keep doing this while we're on the road.

I was going to make my own cloths but ended up finding some that I really liked so I just ordered them. They're made of unbleached terry and flannel stitched together in 8x8 squares. I also got a drawstring wet bag made of PUL.


For me, this isn't just about the environment. Sure, that pulls me in this direction but my mission is a selfish one. I care about survival, comfort, and costs. There will be a day when everyone is in a panic over things they think they can't live without but I'll have lived without them for years or at least be comfortable enough with alternatives to not be inconveniences in an unsettling way. I don't want to rely on a system that I can't stand and continuously pay for products I don't need. There is going to be a day when even reusable cloth underwear will be a revolting, time consuming thing of the past. It's already starting. What's next? Where do you draw the line?

Exactly the same as regular underwear but the package says it's disposable. Terrible idea, brilliant marketing.

ruckatak

+ =

(in progress)


This week has been a whirlwind of change for the concept of my daily driver. I had a brand new little 50cc Honda Metropolitan scooter, which was fine for most things but definitely had its drawbacks in certain areas. The high mpg and no requirements for a license plate or insurance were the most important features to me--the rest I could take it or leave it.

One thing that John started noticing when frequenting a forum for his (similar) scooter, a Honda Ruckus, is that many people were removing their 50cc engines and replacing them with larger ones. So, we discussed this possibility and decided that it's a smart choice for both of us. The added speed will make it easier to ride our scooters in nearly every situation except for the rare case of hauling large objects and extremely bad weather. We recently sold our new GMC Sierra to make way for a junky old Ford Windstar, which happens to get way better gas mileage and does not lack any functions that we wished to utilize in the truck. So, that's a back-up/winter vehicle for us, at least for now.

John found a Ruckus that already had a GY6 engine swap for sale in Chicago. We took a trip to pick it up and sent it off to my brother-in-law for some modifications. He recently went to a motorcycle swap event and found a second scooter for parts, a 150cc Rakatak, that will work for our purposes. He ended up swapping out my engine (to save for later use on John's Ruckus) because the Rakatak comes with silver wheels and mine has red wheels. It's perfect because mine is grey/black/silver and John's is red/black, so it'll save us from needing additional mods down the road. We'll now have larger wheels with disc brakes and it'll be a lot safer.

So, now with my (Ruckus+Rakatak=) Ruckatak on its way, I feel like I'm (secretly and safely) slipping past the constraints of the law and getting to do something in a way that makes sense to me (as a short term solution) on my own terms. Another win.

ishmael

I usually try to avoid religious discussions when possible, mostly because the people who share my perspective already know and those who don’t will either try to convince me to change or just end up feeling hurt/defensive about the whole thing in the end. The point is that I think it’s pointless and I’ve always kept my quiet impostor status within this culture because that’s what I’ve been told to do. Keep your head down and if (and only if) anyone demands to know, say you're nondenominational or claim agnosticism because there is something more gentle about not flat out denying the existence of any one person’s favourite deity.

The one thing that I have the most difficulty in understanding about religion is the explanations of the afterlife that are regarded as a comfort to these people in facing their fear of death. To me, even the most optimistic depiction of their heaven falls into the realm of horrific nightmares when compared to what I have come to understand about composting. There is something so (seemingly, yet not) miraculous about all of it and when I stand with my feet touching the dirt and know it is reeling with microorganisms and worms and insects rushing to break it all down, I feel that I could die at any second and experience no profound loss, just like the life and death and change that I know pulses beneath me, and everywhere.

So I’m usually incredibly bored with any drawn out discussions relating to the bible or any other variation of that sort of thing, as it is irrelevant to me in every way other than its persistent approach and my constant tiptoed retreat. But last night, I encountered my first truly pleasant account of a nonthreatening use of mythology to make some points. The book talked about the history of some religious texts and it didn’t wreck the whole thing for me. It was actually relevant and helpful in aiding my understanding of the author’s points. If you haven’t read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, you really should. It's not about religion--it's more about sustainability. Actual sustainability (not green bandwagon bs.) (Free PDF available here.) You’ll have to get through the first parts where it’s strange that a main character is nonhuman, but that part is necessary to get an outsider’s perspective.

I heard of this book because in a final paper (titled: destruction to our own demise) for my last art class, I wrote about three art forms and their relationship/method/ability to express my chosen theme. I used a painting, Loch Bottom; a sculpture, Melting Men; and Pearl Jam’s music video for Do the Evolution. It turns out that PJ wrote the album (Yield) after the entire band had passed around and were inspired by this book (Ishmael) while traveling on their tour bus. Specifically, a clear response to the story is expressed by Do the Evolution in which a sarcastic depiction of the arrogant perception that within modern society, man is above all else. Man is the finale of creation. When I think back about how that song felt so significant to my thirteen-year-old self, I wish that I had known then of its origins so I could have read the book. It’s not so much that my ideas have been massively altered by it now since I'm already pursuing a radically alternative lifestyle (well, maybe they have) but I wonder if I would have come to these same conclusions sooner and more gracefully.




According to your maps, the world of thought is coterminous with your culture. It ends at the border of your culture, and if you venture beyond that border, you simply fall off the edge of the world.

I usually try to go easy with book recommendations, as I'm sure we all have plenty on our "to read" lists. I read so many things that I'd consider interesting and inspirational but this isn't just a cool book. It's the beginning of something more important than that.

introduction

I'm a relatively private person but recently I've been trying to put myself out there to make some symbiotic connections. I guess going public with a personal blog is a sort of tribute to that idea. To say the things that make me who I am then toss them out into the universe as bait for new friends.

I hope you like me.