Totally Rad

I am in love with this project.  I don't even know how long it's been going on; I've been watching it on and off for a couple of years.  It's unbelievable how far they've come in the last few years.  It was on my radar last week because they're looking for votes to come to the Maker Faire.

From their blog, Factor e Farm this is their mission:

“We are farmer scientists – working to develop a world class research center for decentralization technologies using open source permaculture and technology to work together for providing basic needs and self replicating the entire operation at the cost of scrap metal.”

Global Village Construction Set in 2 Minutes from Marcin Jakubowski on Vimeo.

They are basically designing and building a set of machines and methods that are open source, which means the plans are free for all,  called the Global Village Construction Set.  You should check out the videos and the wiki for their group, because it's hard to even fathom what they are doing (it's so AMBITIOUS).  Essentially, the set is just about everything you would need to build a community, from the house you live in to the food you eat, from scratch. 

On the wiki page, you can see another 2 minute video of progress with the Construction Set, including the compressed earth building blocks.  If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you can see the "packages" they're open sourcing.  I mean, really, it's just too much!  You can get an operational saw mill going using scrap metal and their free plans.  Plus, it's all highly efficient and sustainable.  Imagine! 

What a beautiful world.  *swoon*

Move Your Money

As we were enjoying our holiday break, and thinking about the new year, Erik and I made the decision to move our money. This article (which I re-looked up to link to here, and which makes my blood boil all over again reading it now....ergh!) spoke directly to my heart in these matters. I've always had high disdain for politicians, all of them. (I remain a fan of Obama, however, I believe that he is naive to try to work in the system...dude, it's broken. Move on.)

I'm about to go and on, so I'm trying out a "jump" to spare your burning eyes from my nonsense.

Read more »

Helping

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."
- Fred Rogers

I feel unbearable sadness at the images and words that are coming over from Haiti. My life goes on, my boys are here and safe, and I feel immeasurable gratitude for our good fortune. I am reaching out, in whatever ways I can, and places like Partners in Health, The Red Cross, and Yele Haiti have made it incredibly easy to donate money. And, all three organizations already have established presence in Haiti; they know what to do, and how to do it. I choose to ignore the Limbaughs and the Robertsons of the world. Find the people who are helping. Then help them.

A New Day

It's inauguration day! It's inauguration day!

Our wee family has been reeling from the tragic start of 2009 that has included the shockingly brutal passing of my father-in-law. His brief battle with cancer started in November, when we found out that he had an already progressed form of pancreatic cancer. We're slowly finding center again. Today will help. We're fans. We're hopeful.

And I won't be watching. I've tivo-ed the festivities, and I will watch it this evening, when I know that everybody has made it to the other side, happy and safe. My friend JD is a Washingtonian (Washingtonite? DCer? Beltwayer? What is the correct term??) and we've been emailing about all the excitment. She's going today, despite her aversion to crowds (holy!) so she can represent for all the people who are cheering him on from a distance.

Being a long-time resident, she even mentioned how "hope" and "change" have moved from campaign rhetoric to a palpable feeling in the air. Everybody is doing it.

So will we. One day, the sadness will find a proper space in our hearts and home and Erik will make peace with not having a dad any more. He will probably be forever changed by this, but it won't be a bad thing.

Hoping and dreaming and changing.