chuck kottke

Ah, my own personal spam thread! Thousands of servers, whirring and spinning all for this stuff!:laugh3: (what would Ian say?) Since cars only last 12 & 1/2 years, why not make the bodies out of compostable plastics reinforced with wool? A good way to keep value in the local farm economy, and make it so a green can can be truly green - just turn it every so many days, and when the pile of auto bodies is done, spread it on the field for a good crop!

Fantastic Marie! I wish you well in your language studies (quite the leap of language groups!!), and your efforts to raise funds! I'm trying to rack my brains - I know a sociologist (actually a geneticist) who did sociological studies on the AIDS problem in Africa's nations - she's quite well known, but her name escapes my mind at the moment...

:laugh3: I thought about that, but then I said to myself, "is London really all that overcast?" Guess I was wrong! Thanks for the clarification. Sounds like energy in the greater British Isles will be coming from wave and tidal power, wind and biomass then?? (or maybe they can put up some solar panels in Spain, and run a wire through the chunnel?:sunny:).. So now I know why the English papers always highlights "sunny destinations"!;)

Lore, where art thou?:hug:

:oBob Dylan does visit this site - I'm quite sure he's alive!:laugh3: .. I thought about this recently for some reason. I always thought it would be nice to invite Bob Dylan, Gwen Moore, Gwen Eiffel, Morgan Freeman, Vladimir Putin, Cheryl Crow, Bill Nye, Chalmers Johnson, Ted Turner, Madelin Albright, Ed Begley Jr., Paul McCartney, Chris Martin, Gwen Paltrow, and their adorable Apple and Moses, Oh heck, since healthcare reform is tops, why not Howard Dean, and John Kerry (gotta have at least one Eastern Liberal); Elton John could do a number or two on the piano, and Johnny could hum along:laugh3:. Will - I've got some cool sounding sleigh bells, if you're interested? And Guy's BMW - could park it in the barn for safe keeping (sorry - no valet parking here). Gosh, Aunt Vi's bell - what have you guys been doing to it?:stunned: Anyhow, I think I'd need more than 10 rooms, although if the weather's nice, we could all camp out in the field, and do some trout fishing.. I think I'll need to add on about 30 rooms! (oh hey, bring Madonna along too, and her youngster - nice to have someone to dance with as well.):cool: Whatever happened to Leslie Feist and her tomatoes? Being her along, if she's not too busy - the tomatoes are getting ripe in the garden, and sweet corn galore in a few days - all 100% organic!;)

I sure hope they put the money into insulation, proper moisture control, top-of-the line air handling equipment, and a lot of solar panels! How would it look if Chris and Gwen went through all the trouble to help out people in Africa's poorest places, and then contribute to global warming??;) Maybe they could compete with Ed Begley's place in sunny Cal-e-forn-I-A?

If we think of our lives, our minds as containing the thoughts and feelings of others, so that when someone dies, perhaps they are not dead - just living in our heads? The flux of life, of human patterns of thought and feeling, and of things not dependent on time, but that transcend the life of any one person. Consider the cathedral, for example. Several generations to construct, yet they are completed by the ideas of those who begin them..

:laugh3:Well, it looks funny - the preview (it's a spoof film) looked hilarious - based on the classic "zombie" films, where the monsters have to eat the brains of the living to get smarter, and when all the dumb people are caught, the zombies gradually have to evolve so they can catch the smart people. Eventually they evolve far enough to have culture, and form a band (the Beatles / Zombies). I will do a search. Results: The Zombeatles! The Zombeatles: All You Need is Brains (2009) | Fatally Yours

Welcome Danni ! Glad to hear you like Clocks!;)

Lore, have you seen the new Beetles Mockumentary?

I could have worked with Eno, but to do his job? Hmm., it sounds a bit daunting. I think Coldplay would need someone as innovative and creative as Les Paul, and just as talented.

Believe in yourself, test yourself, change the world one step at a time. If none take the high road, then none will ever rise above the low road. Rebuilding Rome didn't happen in a day, but a thousand small steps in coordinated fashion. Think, reflect, act, repeat. We will be the change we wish to see.

All the water everywhere, and not a drop to spare. BumPer (check out Crow's song - it's quite good!)Sheryl Crow’s Music Videos – Discover music, videos, concerts, & pictures at Last.fm

All I know, could fit into something the size of a cantaloupe. All we know is expansive beyond the wildest imagination. What don't you know? Perhaps the answer is simply blowing on the wind, as a prayer flag in Tibet, or a yodel in Switzerland.

Steinway Grand! +++++++++++

Relax, it's OK.:escaping::wink2::escaping2:

True Dave - and a lot of that is mark-up. One of the local farms here is considering bottling their own milk, and selling direct to consumers. But that's only milk - and works well if there's a mix of other things. A few of the other farmers got together and have been selling their own beef and pork, and there are quite a few pick-you-owns here, even an organic one. I might try and freeze a lot of vegetables for winter, and market them in the tundra season - heck, if a pack of frozen veggies goes for $2.45 at the local store, and what I've got to sell is organic / sustainable, perhaps a good money maker! Yes, the economy has begun to rebound, if only tacitly thus far - a lot of people still unemployed, and people with the cash clam up when the economy is cold as well. And it's "boutique" priced, this organic food - maybe the market's not strong enough yet for volume sales to lower the price of the foods, but it's true - it is high. Buy local & sell local is really #1, as you know how it's been grown/raised, it's 100% fresh, keeps the money in the local economy, and save tons of fuel! (I know - not possible with everything - and then we're all looking to find the best solution for trade as well - so much political BS to overcome - I like the 'fair trade' idea quite a lot, and hope it stays true to it's saying.)

:cool:Cool Idea, Rick! 50cc's should be plenty of power for a scooter, and exceptionally efficient. For myself, I'm considering a bicycle with a trailer, hoping low traffic density will allow me safe travels here. I might propose a bicycle trail system to the board; if they'll consider it is another matter. Found this song by Sheryl Crow quite entertaining:Sheryl Crow’s Music Videos – Discover music, videos, concerts, & pictures at Last.fm

:thumbsup:Fantastic!! No one of us can do it, but together we can. I'm just thinking about what would really change people's lives - the US sends tons of military air, but only a trickle of humanitarian air and infrastructure assistance to places like Somalia and Afghanistan. If we're going to win over people, the best way is through peaceful measures that markedly improve people's lives; So, I again think of reform to the campaign finance process, and curtailing the influence of lobbyists in Washington - the aid from our government, the government where we the people are in charge, can go to places where it's really needed.

Here's something that few past my radar screens a few years back:Sinclair C5 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia &: Twike - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Twike and the Sinclair! There it is - the perfect match - pedaling, getting exercise, and putting a little of that power into the wheels! While not ideal (what vehicle ever is?), the concept is a fantastic one, and could well save millions of Americans from "burger-death"/ heart disease and atherosclerosis. Perhaps to upsize it a bit, give it more speed, better aerodynamics - it would be a good fit in the Aptera, Tesla, Volt, etc. - get exercise while making headway on the freeway!

Quite true of the past, Nick, but the future may hold more hope - as the word gets out, and the exploit driven types of businesses and governments begin more and more to face the courts and the court of public opinion about their behaviors. Jared Diamond came to the realization of what damage colonialism had done, but the future doesn't always follow the past precisely as we might predict, so I am hopeful. Somalia has ample coastal water, and ample sunshine - it would be a good fit, and provide much-needed jobs and hope for the young men and women there - a win-win - the jobs would create goods efficiently, use renewable energy, provide ample water for citizens, crops, and livestock, and the surpluses could then be sold on the markets for other needs; To literally "prime the pump" of the economic engine.

A thread devoted to your ideas, thoughts, and inspiration about offering hope to those in need on the African continent... I had a thought about those poor Somalis who have turned to piracy to alleviate their poverty; this is what happens anywhere when people become desperately poor - resource wars, crime, etc. - anything to survive, and some angst against those who have. In America, at one time, it was Bonnie and Clyde - and the depths of poverty that led to desperate acts, also gave them cover during poverty times in the US.Bonnie and Clyde - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia To change the situation, and reduce the odds of people turning to the extreme, it would be good to get some water to those poor Somali farmers. A desalination plant or two, and something to grow that the world would like - a cash crop to keep everyone fed and to be well off enough to no longer be in need - but to do the desalination right, so there's no environmental problems with it. For every cubic meter of sea water desalinated, there's about a cubic foot of salt left over. Some entrepreneuring Australians have proposed a desalination plant, powered with solar power, and the brine waste is left to dry in salt flats, which may be later sold for various uses (table salts, etc.). Doing so on a larger scale may not be the answer for everyone, as there's more salt from the ocean than tables to put it on! So, I thought - perhaps, with a solar furnace, the salt could be used to create salt-glazed building products for use there as well -- salt, put into the kiln, glazes the ceramic objects being fired. It becomes part of the glass coating the ceramic, and is bound against weathering - no problems with salt contaminating ground water, or brine concentrations exceeding ocean life's capacity to handle it either. So that was an idea I had today, thinking about living (as we do) on sandy soils, where water from rain can be scarce at times in the summer.. It would be a boost to the economy there - building materials of local clay, sand and salt; clean fresh water for Somalis and crops; and things to sell and trade with - wares, fruits, grains, goat cheeses, etc. How about it? What would Oxfam and Coldplay have to say??

Devotchka? I was.. I was thinking, after watching the UW research channel, getting bit by 1,000 irradiated, malaria - infected mosquitoes is effective as an immunization against malaria? I can just see the volunteers lining up!:laugh3: good god, there's got to be a better way to administer some radiation "attenuated" spirochetes to a patient! I can just see it - "this will work, just be patient Mr. Gates... Yes, those are live mosquitoes - just listen to them flap their little wings with joy! Only 500 more - the swelling and itching goes away in a few months, and then you're worry-free!"

Post your connections to Coldplay and Green Cars Here!

science with a human face. Ed Abbey.