Ecca

Ecca http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca My Journal Copyright 2012, Ecca 2011-04-21T12:35+00:00 journalscape.com http://www.journalscape.com/rssdocs.html JournalScape.com http://www.journalscape.com http://www.journalscape.com/images/poweredby.gif Jenn Reese Regeneration http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2011-04-21-12:35/ I used to wish I could be involved in some kind of multi-generational land management. Not to own the land, but to live on and help caretake an ecological, food-producing landscape. I also used to daydream about a 'handmade life', where everything in my day-to-day household was something I'd either made myself, or received as a gift. Well, in a sense, I'm living the dream. Be careful what you wish for! The handmade life - I appreciate everyone's support as we've been adapting to our situation, we wouldn't have been able to do it without gifts like this laptop I'm currently using, the car I use to get Ernie around, etc. We've done our best to reciprocate as much as we can. But I'm really looking forward to being able to pay my own way again. The eological land management: Our current shared space is a compromise, smaller than the space I envisioned, and more densely crowded with neighbors and housemates. But it's a great testing ground to see how the exercise plays out. The main challenges are, not surprisingly, people issues: 1) Coming to terms with the other caretakers/owners about what actually needs to be done, and what constitute 'improvements.' Turns out 'ecological' covers a whole lot of ground, from native plants, to thriving biodiversity, to pick-and-choose caretaking of charismatic fauna and flora. And having experienced the inner workings of other intentional communities and benevolent organizations, I now recognise that the social dynamics of shared work are a huge part of the burden of any collaborative enterprise. 2) The amount of work involved in actually trying to clean up other people's mess who are ostensibly NOT involved in your landscape. Invasive species removal is a constant issue; we've had a little help from AmeriCorps, and the sponsored wetland mitigation, but most of the onus is on us since this is private land. Neighbors' choices is another - a lot of our neighbors use <a href= http://www.richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp>toxic gick</a> on their lawns and driveways, and a few of them actually pipe the runoff through our fence. Living downstream and trying to grow food, we do not appreciate the mystery 'nutrients' and pesticides from their lawn care efforts, and are putting in our own time and resources to establish colonies of plants and soil biota that can eat these nutrients up before they reach the protected stream. The number of things in a lawn <a href=http://www.ernieanderica.info/gardenandedibleplants>that you can eat,</a> provided you haven't laced it with toxic minerals, is phenomenal. That's not even counting the actual mushrooms that may come from our remediation efforts, which you want to be careful about anyway. (Links above are to two articles, one on <a href= http://www.richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp>'organic lawn care for the cheap and lazy'</a> by my friend Paul, and the other my own photo-essay on spring edibles that grow in our lawn.) 3) My own goals and time management: I envisioned a 'food forest' as a lifestyle that would support my needs more naturally, with seasonal variety. But I'm realising that if I want a lifestyle that allows me to keep building toward a comfortable retirement, or a safety net in case of additional medical emergencies, I still need to work at least that many hours. And I need to be even more coherent in my priorities and planning, than I would if I was working for someone else. 'Doing what I love' is marvelous, but it isn't a job description. I had an insight this year while working on my taxes. Or maybe it was when the state bumped me off the Oregon Health Plan for having a piddling little four-figure retirement account. Anyway, it was all coming together, and I had a watershed moment. I was struggling with feeling sorry for myself over our low income and uncertain lifestyle. Then for some reason, I just kind of settled into thinking of this as 'my business,' and my responsibility, rather than something I could expect Ernie or anyone else to take off my hands. Don't ask me why I was expecting someone else to mind my business, but there it is. Just a sense of relief as I stop trying to struggle with mutually contradictory beliefs. So what is my business? - Teaching hands-on skills - Continuously researching effective ways to teach those skills, and documenting new lessons as intellectual property. - Making cool things that inspire others - Practicing ecological and creative arts, which may be directly beneficial or just props and experience for future living and teaching - Making ends meet by creatively saving money using what I enjoy doing, like wildcrafting. - Supporting Ernie's projects to the extent that they improve our lifestyle and comfort, and leveraging his knowledge and contacts to make my own work more successful. I've gotten some income recently from freelance art and writing projects, which reminds me how much I enjoy doing that kind of work. My business card says 'writing, illustration, and hands-on education,' but that's partly because it rhymes. It does seem to capture the essence though. I know, I told you I was taking responsibility for more coherent planning. Does it sound like I'm getting closer? http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/143670 0 Comments (0) Scientists and the Public http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2010-11-25-03:41/ I found an interesting post on 'Cocktail Party Physics' bout the Top Ten Things the public should know about physics / science. http://twistedphysics.typepad.com/cocktail_party_physics/2007/01/physics_is_fund.html My response was not acceptable to their comments format. I pared it down - still not acceptable. (The phrase was literally, "We cannot accept this data.") So I present for your viewing pleasure, both the pared-down and the original version. You are welcome to comment and all your data will be acceptable, I promise. (And BTW, no, we didn't get the boat after all. Too many HIN numbers, not enough evidence of actual ownership paperwork.) ABRIDGED: I enjoyed reading your suggestions about topics for science literacy - as a former art/physics major, I'm not sure whether I fall into the scientist or non-scientist category. What about a comparable list of things about the public that scientists should know? It took me a while to come up with ten, and it appears I've exceeded my word limit or something - so I'll put the rest of it on journalscape.com/ecca. 1) Language: Big words don't help. State your point clearly, in plain English. Restrict Latinate radicals to absolutely necessary clarifications. 2) Life is messy. Pocket technology, and warranties, should allow for normal life-supporting conditions e.g. moisture and electrolytes. 3) People are monkeys. We evolved to toss banana peels in the bushes. We pry things open. We throw things. Any product requiring 'proper disposal' will be a public menace unless it can break down safely in a ditch, or be exchanged for something shiny. Please consider carefully before incorporating heavy metals or biologically sensitive materials in products available to the public. 4) Thinking is a choice (or a hobby). Mostly, we run on guts and habit. 5) Most experts live outside of academia. Decades or generations of experience in any field create a special reserve of knowledge, calibrated by experience and cultural evolution. Lifelong learning takes a good sense of humor. 6) Share the wonder: ''I don't know" is an important truth. Uncertainty is real. Get used to it. And break it to us gently. 7) Great power = great responsibility. If we don't grasp the implications of your research, and there's a potential for mis-use, maybe you'd better keep it to yourself awhile yet. 8) The Prisoners and Guards Experiment (70's Berkely, I believe? paraphrased by Terry Pratchett) - There is no excess of the worst psychopath that cannot be duplicated by an ordinary, decent person doing a job. The public may rightly be wary of culturally disruptive influences that challenge our moral conventions ... but usually, it just paddles alongside and barters for the latest WMD. 9) Maslow's Pyramid of Needs: No sane person will allow their child to starve, or risk social ostracism, in order to fund basic research. 10) We like to be liked. Save logical arguments for the lab notebook - try "Yes, and..." techniques to communicate with live people. ORIGINAL: (Long comment) I enjoyed reading your suggestions about topics for science literacy - as a former art/physics major, I'm not sure whether I fall into the scientist or non-scientist category. What about a comparable list of things about the public that scientists should know? It took me a while to come up with ten, so please forgive if they aren't well developed. 1) Language: Big words don't help. Working in a science museum, I met kids who literally only read the first word of the instructions, and tried to guess the rest. Popular media coverage of science should be a wake-up call to researchers: these editors know their audience. If best-selling magazines flatter the 5th-grade reader, maybe your instruction manual (or abstract) can too. Big words can make a smart person sound like a smartass: like ego matters more than the person we're trying to reach. State your point clearly, in plain English. Utilize Latin radicals, jargon, or acronyms only when absolutely necessary for clarification. Language skills can create sound-bites for the press: Obscure your answers to irrelevant questions with fragmented and technically complex sentences, then bust out the clear-ringing phrases to propel your core content to prime time. 2) Life is messy. The outside world contains weather, sweat, breath, and sometimes even toilets. Hand-held or pocket technology, and the warranties on such, should withstand normal life-supporting conditions e.g. moisture and electrolytes. 3) A permanent solution to a temporary problem is a permanent problem. We evolved to toss banana peels in the bushes. Any product requiring 'proper disposal' will be a public menace unless it can break down safely in a ditch, or be exchanged for something shiny. Please consider carefully before incorporating heavy metals or biologically sensitive materials in products available to the public. 4) Thinking is a choice. We run on guts and habit. People (including scientists) operate on emotional and biochemical signals much more often than logic. When you argue a point, you are probably also responding on this level - so cultivate a restful heart and calibrate the gut. Use, but do not abuse, social tools like courtesy, food, scent, skin contact, care for family, or eye contact, to advance your goals; save argument for those who actually enjoy it. Likewise, design any public-release products for a trial-and-error learning curve. If you find yourself surprised or appalled by public sentiments, it may be time to do a little field research and re-calibrate your expectations of normal/local human behavior. 5) Most experts live outside of academia. Fishermen, farmers, foresters, matriarchs, K-9 trainers, Vedic singers - decades of experience in any field create a special reserve of knowledge. Where training begins young within a family tradition, we're talking orders of magnitude more accumulated lifetime knowledge than most prime-of-life PhD's; backed up with relevant experience and ground-truthed, finely calibrated intuitions. University-sponsored education projects, where young grad students promote unproven technologies, have overturned and eroded much of the traditional knowledge base that the rural population depends on. The surviving 'great families' have long memories, and the capacity to ignore impressive-sounding babble. So don't be surprised if a deep mistrust pervades your initial contact, or the people who talk to you most readily are idiots. One of the signatures of a lifelong learner is a good sense of humor. 6) Share the wonder: ''I don't know" is an important truth. Again in the museum, we had to convert a lot of young proto-scientists from fact-spouting know-it-alls to useful mentors, modeling "Let's find out together" rather than deflecting questions with dazzling technical supposition. As a college student, my big take-home from quantum mechanics was that there is arguably a third logical state: positive, negative, or uncertain. Uncertainty is real. Both the public and scientists need to recognize the limits of the known, and knowable, and strengthen our ability to tolerate ambiguity and plan for chaos. 7) Great power = great responsibility. Many global threats are the result of large-scale implementation of a new technology by people who are mostly ignorant of its consequences. Researchers are ignorant of the public's habits, and the public is ignorant of the scientific implications. Should people who give up shoe-tying in favor of Velcro be entrusted with gasoline, microwaves, antibiotic hand soap, or GMO wind-pollinated crops? Should people who have technically never left school be entrusted with the well-being and future of everybody else who couldn't wait to leave? If we don't grasp the implications of your research, maybe you'd better keep it to yourself awhile yet. 8) The Prisoners and Guards Experiment (70's Berkely, I believe? paraphrased by Terry Pratchett) - There is no excess of the worst psychopath - or Nazi - that cannot be duplicated by an ordinary, decent person with a job to do. How to maintain ethical, mutually tolerable behavior is a real, divergent problem (there are many solutions, not a single right answer) and each culture has systems in place that help stabilize it. Scientific detachment does not make us immune, and may even increase our capacity to contribute to horrible deeds while doing our best. The public is wise to be wary of abstract power and innovation, as they can disrupt cultural protections and unleash unintended consequences. Usually, though, the public just paddles alongside and barters for the latest WMD. 9) Maslow's Pyramid of Needs: Basic needs (food, shelter, fire, water; security, affection, procreation, social status) trump higher-level values (identity, the search for meaning). A person lacking these basics, or struggling to maintain them, will not likely be moved by arguments about global warming or the search for the origins of the universe. Often, apparently self-destructive behavior turns out to be connected with a more primal need, or with biological controls that to ensure those basic needs are met. School lunch programs do more for public education than juried science fairs, and promises of jobs carry more political weight than promises of knowledge. No sane person will allow their child to starve in order to fund basic research. 10) We like to be liked. Tell someone they're right, or they're smart, or they're important, and they'll do their best to prove you correct. Dismiss them as ignorant, stupid, or trivial, and you've made an enemy. Good scientists get used to being proven wrong, and some even appreciate healthy criticism (though don't try it on your boss too often). But caveats and corrections put most people on the defensive (does that mean they're offensive techniques?), triggering old traumatic math anxiety and replacing clear thoughts with emotional stress and panic. Read Plato. Practice theatrical improv. Study aikido. Learn to use "Yes, and..." techniques to communicate effectively, drawing a conversation forward instead of pushing back into old misunderstandings. http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/140790 0 Comments (0) Lifeboat Project, Phase I http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2010-09-03-09:31/ Ernie and I are looking at acquiring a fixer-upper boat, and encouraging our friends and family to join us. The boat in question is a 35-foot Coronado 1974, affectionately known as "the Winnebago of Boats." It has fore and aft sleeping cabins, a galley, head with small shower, upper deck with a shiny wheel, sails, and sunshade, the works. Sleeps 4-6 in relative privacy, up to 8 with stacking. This model was designed as a small, portable vacation home. Hull and rigging are in fine shape; the original owner lived on this boat dockside for about 30 years. Over the last 5 years, two recent owners have neglected it somewhat, allowing a leaky hatch to damage interior woodwork and upholstery. The engine and nav gear have never been modernized, or really used. The current owner got the boat as collateral on a debt, is tired of paying mooring fees, and needs to turn the boat over quickly, either as scrap or as a fixer-upper project. We're looking at refurbishing or replacing the old engine, ditto the upholstery and galley stove, a thorough cleaning, and refinishing the stained woodwork. At the end of this process, the boat should be worth roughly five times what it costs to acquire and refurbish. Unless of course we are being optimistic. Which I expect we are. So we realistically hope to double our money, and put in a lot of enjoyable time banging knuckles, paying hidden fees, and wrestling with upholstery. We are looking for about 6 "investors" to put some money into the boat with us, or otherwise chip in with work or gear. Ernie's dad has offered a diesel generator, and Ernie's brother is ready to replace the old wiring with new and shiny wiring. Both of our moms have offered to help with the costs. We are still looking for navigation equipment, engine work, and cash for equipment, charts, insurance, fees, and licenses. We'll share the benefits, both nautical and financial, with our co-investors. At the end of the process, probably in a year or two, we intend to sell the boat to a permanent owner in cruise-ready condition. It will help fund Ernie's dream of owning a really big sailboat, currently envisioned as a 40' catamaran, big enough to do our work from (teach self-sufficiency skills, and aid in coastal disaster relief). We're still working out the legal transactions, insurance, etc. We'll call it the Lifeboat Project, Phase I. http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/139395 2 Comments (2) Hub Nugget http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2009-11-09-15:26/ "Hey, Ernie, we just got nominated for a Hub Nugget." "A what?" "A Hub Nugget. It's a feature on the Hub Pages site." "Ohhh." "What did you think it was, something kinky?" "No idea. 'Hey baby, you wanna hub nugget?' 'Check out the hub nuggets on that one!'...." A Hub Nugget is a short, featured article, usually by new members, on the HubPages.com website. We've been posting some articles as "Hubs" lately, freelance writing as winter work. Our joint project on Skin on Frame Boats made the short list for featured 'Hub Nuggets.' The Hub People encouraged us to tell all our friends so you can thoroughly bias the voting in favor of your favorite authors. Here's the link: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-build-a-Skin-on-Frame-boat-and-why Go vote! If you'd rather read about "Sluggie! A love story," or "How to Build Steps," or "Dandelion Wine," just wander by http://hubpages.com/profile/Erica+K+Wisner . Tell me what else you want to see there, and I'll add it. In other news, we're building a labyrinth at MoTA on Scholls Ferry. It's being done almost exclusively by volunteers (occasional contractors for the heavy equipment / earth-moving stuff) and is starting to look pretty neat. Stop by and take a look if you're interested - it's right next to the THPRD pool just south of Allen/Denney on Scholls Ferry. Photos when it's done. Photos of our other recent escapades (boats, mushroom hunting, etc) are at: http://picasaweb.google.com/eritter, http://picasaweb.google.com/eawisner, and the website at http://www.ErnieAndErica.info. Work is slow for us this season, so offers of paying / productive work are welcome. We're planning to take Ernie back to the doctors for a pain management / disability checkup on Thursday, so wish us luck with that. Hope you and yours are well and happy, and enjoying the change of seasons. http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/133763 0 Comments (0) Hibernating in Hubland http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2009-10-26-20:37/ We're entering the slow season for outdoor workshops. Ernie may be building a boat for a friend, but I'm at loose ends. Realistically, I suppose I should be looking for paid work, even gig work. But I've been indulging in some writing practice instead. If you care to read it, there are a range of new samples up at http://hubpages.com/ (Look for my profile - erica k wisner) Comments are welcome - as are topic suggestions. You can also email me if you want to make a specific constructive or editorial comment. http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/133490 0 Comments (0) XKCD webcomic: Alternative Energy Revolution http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2009-04-17-01:10/ Alternative Energy... an impossible dream? <a href=http://xkcd.com/556/>http://xkcd.com/556/</a> :-) http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/129038 0 Comments (0) Ancient Green Design http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2009-03-31-12:13/ I came across this article on ancient "sustainable" technology - reminded me of the Inca stuff I saw in Peru. http://webecoist.com/2009/01/25/ancient-green-architecture-alternative-energy-design/ It brings up the question: Some of these civilizations didn't endure, despite their use of very clever and durable building techniques. Of course, some did - maybe half of the "wonders" cited are still in use today. 1) What is our real purpose in applying such technologies today? 2) To stave off collapse in our lifetimes? 3) To design a legacy of things that work, and can be passed down in place of current, unsustainable, technologies that our children and grandchildren simply won't be able to use, or afford? 4) To preserve natural resources in the hopes of reaching equilibrium between harvest and growth, making life on Earth just a little sweeter until the population grows to meet supply? 5) Or just to feel smarter, like we don't deserve to die off like rabbits because we know how to stretch our carrying capacity? 6) I wonder whether we'll handle the population and climate issues, or whether they'll handle themselves in spite of our cross-directed efforts. wonder, wonder, wonder... here's a seventh: 7) I wonder if the authors will give me permission to reprint this for workshops? http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/128547 1 Comments (1) Why Erica is Sometimes Late http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2009-03-15-23:27/ And Why, When Erica is Late, it is Not Ernie's Fault. Much As Erica Might Wish to Believe Otherwise. <a href =http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090306>http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090306</a> http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/128131 0 Comments (0) If I ran the TSA ... open letter http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2009-03-13-20:12/ Hi, folks, I'm still feeling "on crusade" about Homeland Security. I composed this letter today. I'm sending it to friends and family members who have some relevant experience and interests - travel, ethics, politics, business. I'd appreciate your comments before I send it. If you are interested in adding your name, I'd be happy to include it. If not, that's fine. I'd be especially interested to hear if you disagree with certain points, if any of my suggestions seem worse than our current situation, or whether you think it might be unwise to send it where I intend. Feel free to pass it on, and return comments here or by private email. (ericalady a gmail o com) Thanks, Erica Dear Mr. President, members of Senate and Congress, and Security Administration: Here's an interesting - and sometimes quite funny - article from the Atlantic about our current travel security program. http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/airport-security Please consider abolishing the "enhanced" security measures that delay and intimidate American travelers. These measures may catch fools, but do more to discourage ordinary travelers than to prevent serious new acts of mayhem. We would all benefit from a return to a sensible security program that - consistently checks passenger ID's against flight lists and no-fly lists; and creates due process for legitimate travelers to clear their name in case of confusion with suspected terrorists. - relies only on government-issued ID's that are available to any legitimate traveler, rather than private flight clubs or credit cards. - prohibits only actual weapons like guns, sprays, and explosives; not "weapons" of personal hygeine or ordinary pocket tools. - prohibits dangerous chemicals only based on trained sniffers (dogs) or on-site substance tests, rather than appearance. (Modern chemical technology provides culture and chemical ID grids that can be used effectively with minimal training.) - provides a method for legitimate travelers to declare and securely check their dangerous posessions, such as tools, medical equipment, sporting and hunting gear. - is not a barrier to legitimate business by air, land, or sea. We need to encourage enterprise in this economic crisis. Right now, passengers can easily see one another as fellow sheep, being herded through indignities together, deprived of self-calming activities like knitting or grooming. Each has more in common with harassed fellow travelers than with security officials. When the public is treated like "the enemy," they are unlikely to volunteer additional information that might help avert danger. To enlist the average passenger's aid, we need to treat them as valued friends, allies, and independent observers. We need to respect and foster their capabilities of perception, and of heroism in the face of danger. Instead of a bored request to "take your shoes off," what about a friendly, "See anything we should know about today?" We might even consider asking travelers for a solemn oath, with thumbprint seal, to emphasize the experience of sacred trust. Papers and cards are easily faked or stolen; but loyalty still means something to a large number of Americans. Passenger training could be provided in the form of a series of entertaining videos, games, and articles. (These would need to be well-made, with skilled actors, humor and drama; licensed clips from commercial films might be a good way to create quality "edutainment.") Films could be available for pre-flight entertainment in airports, and for download at the time of online ticket purchase. If they're funny and catchy enough, such training tools may become a popular entertainment like the "School House Rock" cartoons that still circulate online. http://www.wikio.com/video/919488 See also this ladder safety training clip with Charlie Chaplin, and contrast it with other OSHA videos you may have watched: http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/TrainTools/Videos/Library/catalog.asp?VideoID=V0316 You have masses of people arriving at their gates early, with nothing to do but stare at each other. What about offering free kid's "spy quiz" or "scavenger hunt" pages that invite them to play detective: "How many people do you see with identical bags?" "Do you see anyone coming out of the bathroom looking different than they went in?" "Count the colors of people's coats as they go by. What color is most common today? What clothing is most unusual?" "What do spies look like in movies and books? How would you disguise yourself if you wanted to be a spy, but not look like one?" "How many different languages can you hear? Ask your parents or a fellow traveler to teach you a new word or phrase." "Do you see anyone trying to hide something?" "How do other travelers protect their tickets, purses, or bags?" "Do you see any bags being left alone anywhere? If so, tell us right away!" and of course, "Be safe. Don't let anyone touch your bags, don't take anything from a stranger, and stay close to your family or travel companions." Rewards could be offered (in the form of free upgrades or refreshments, coupons, or a raffle for bigger rewards) to travelers providing useful information (not just arrest - also prevention of theft or abuse, or a lost-and-found child or item). Let American travelers be alert and dedicated; let us be eagles instead of sheep. If everyone at the airport was having as much fun as the customs beagle, the world would be a better place. (Though I think we should try to achieve this without the drug-laced chew toys.) When we recruit the entire American traveling public to serve as eyes and ears, and support them with smart security systems and an attitude of respect and shared trust, we can have a substantially more observant, meaningful, and cost-effective system. Thank you for your consideration and ongoing efforts. You hold an important trust, and one deserving of support. Yours, Erica Wisner Portland, Oregon [phone] -- ericalady[email]gmail http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/128092 0 Comments (0) Papers, Please http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2009-03-13-03:09/ So we finally got our paper ducks all lined up in a row, and applied to renew my passport and replace Ernie's. Turns out that it's not just lame clerks. The competent and helpful folks at Multnomah County told us that it's new rule from above, they don't make 'em, they just do their best to explain them and help folks comply. A driver's license is sufficient photo ID, but a state ID issued by the DMV is not. You need secondary ID. (Secondary ID is anything with a photo or signature - credit card, libary card, VA card, work ID, military ID.) Here's why I think this is both wrong and dangerous: 1) It unfairly discriminates against people like seniors and disabled veterans. 2) It encourages people to get/keep a driver's license even if they don't need one (or shouldn't have one). This means more unsafe drivers on the road, and more accidents & injuries like Ernie's. 3) It puts privately created "secondary ID's" on par with official ones, making fraud easier rather than harder (more kinds of ID to check) and makes corporate sponsorship equivalent to national security. Mom says I'll get over being upset by this, and it will be a funny story in 20 years. She suggests getting a debit card instead of a credit card, if that's all it takes, and you don't want to spend beyond your means. But I'm "het up" about it, and for now I seem to be staying that way. I think this might be the best time to nip this fascist trend in the bud. Might as well take a stand about it now, because in 20 years it may be too late. I like the people from the wilder edges of our nation: fishermen, loggers, family-owned businesses, rural laborers, crippled-up old street artists, charming shining-haired widows, oddball educators who like to keep a fountain pen in a briefcase and walk to work in the morning. I don't think these quiet, hardworking citizens deserve to be treated as second-class because they drive a boat or a bicycle or ride a bus, instead of driving a car. Not all of them served in the military; they serve in other ways. Few of them work on "secured" job sites where ID badges are de rigeur. And yes, scandalous though it may be, they don't necessarily all care for the library. Some do spend their paychecks in cash, and save under the mattress, instead of borrowing and lending in a bank. And frankly, I don't want credit card companies deciding who gets approved for an ID. Their track record looks a lot less sterling lately than it did a decade ago. Yes, it's possible to work around it. It's always possible. But in this case, it's taken us almost 3 years of frustration, including: - 6-8 month paperwork delays at the VA, - three address changes and the accompanying updates at the DMV, involving multiple visits due to changing paperwork regulations; - one or two Social Security card re-issues, what with the name change and the moves, - a replacement birth certificate, and - calls and visits to three local passport agencies. The problem with papers that you have to carry all the time, like our state-issued ID or driver's license, is that means that they can be lost or stolen at any time. And if your identity does get stolen, the current system seems to be operating on the principle that suspicion is the same as guilt. Ernie was not able to vote in the last presidential election, because his name was once used as an alias by someone we know (who is now in prison). Someone, somewhere, probably using a computer, connected the dots and decided Ernie was incarcerated and ineligible to vote - or recieve VA disability payments. Ernie's private financial information was included in a letter informing "him" of this decision, sent to the person in prison instead of to Ernie's address of record. Luckily, the prisoner is on good terms with us, and alerted Ernie right away. This prisoner also wrote a letter to the VA to tell them of their error, and apologized again for using Ernie's name. Ernie spent the next week and a half on the phone with the VA, and they issued a "finding" that Ernie would not lose his disability payments. But who knows what ripples are still propagating in the security databases, tarnishing Ernie's good name. A con artist who happened to find Ernie's ID in the street could easily have pocketed the information for future use. If we hadn't known the prisoner personally, our first clue would be when the checks stopped arriving by automatic deposit. So on the one hand, we have the government handing out Ernie's social security number and bank account routing info to a known felon. And on the other hand, we have Homeland Security demanding to see his library card becore they'll allow him to get a passport - subject to the judgement of the passport officials, of course. I think it worked better the way it was before. I'd like the right to see my files and any evidence against me, before it's sent to someone else. I'd like to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and to know that my government treats all its constituents with equal care. I'd like my access to services like passports to depend only on a small number of identifying documents that every US citizen can obtain regardless of financial, physical, employment, or other special status. (And while we're wishing, I'd also like to get my filing cabinet in order so we never, ever have to go through this again!) http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/128075 1 Comments (1) Politics and National Security http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2009-03-06-15:40/ Based on recent news, I've written this letter to my senator. What do you think? Where would you focus our efforts as a nation? * * * Dear Senator, I just got an email about a resolution to assign a "Truth commission" to investigate illegal conduct on the part of former President Bush. While such a commission might be a warning to future presidents, it's a little like shutting the barn door while the horse is being savaged by the bull. We need to un-do the unconstitutional measures that were enacted under Bush, and keep our focus on our nations's needs, not political scores. "Homeland Security" is causing undue restrictions on many of America's small businesses, not to mention ordinary citizens. I've seen local high-tech businesses fail due to unexpected restrictions on investment capital from "overseas" (hiring Mexican factories is fine under NAFTA, but accepting their investors' money is not). I've seen local commercial fishermen's boats reposessed because they can't afford both the mandatory tracking equipment and their marina fees. We should have responded to 9/11 by showing our fearlessness: by traveling more widely to create positive relationships in foreign lands, and to understand global attitudes. Instead, we have greater (and more expensive) travel restrictions than ever before, and we also have lost many of our contitutional rights to privacy and due process under law. It's scary to live in a state where government ID cards are required for travel even within one's hometown. It's downright criminal to find that credit cards are acceptable as ID for certain transactions, but birth certificates and military discharge papers are not. The "ID" requirements under the PATRIOT act may in fact have contributed to the credit problems in our country, by fostering the notion that a credit card is a valid indication of social identity and trustworthiness. We need to stick to constitutional procedures when it comes to crime and identity - and that includes protecting the rights of all citizens and residents, even when they're suspected of dire deeds. "Terror" is not a nation; it's a feeling, and making war on it only creates more of it. If we encourage citizens to be responsible, thrifty, and alert to possible dangers - instead of depriving them of nail clippers like naughty children - we may find that more witnesses willing to give evidence. Our justice system and laws need to protect our country from threats to both its safety and its character. Please bring our soldiers back as soon as possible, put an end to the extraterritorial prison camps, terminate Homeland Security's mandate, and yes, if necessary, impugn our former president for his part in these deeds. But don't forget the rest of our government's responsibility for this mess, for handing him the power in the first place. The Supreme Court for deciding a corrupt election in his favor, and both houses of Congress for granting him wartime powers and unconstitutional authority. I'm hoping that the seriousness of this responsibility is making an impression on you. Please seek a peaceful, humble frame of mind for the decisions you will need to make in the coming months. Yours with serious concern, Erica K Wisner Portland, OR 97221 http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/127884 4 Comments (4) Officially, a Rocket Mass Heater? http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2009-02-26-11:06/ So, we have this ... thing ... in our living room. <a href=http://picasaweb.google.com/eawisner>Pictures of The Thing</a> We built it out of recycled bricks, metal, sand, dirt, and a little bit of fancy stovepipe, tile, and plaster. It burns wood. But it weighs over 6000 lbs, so officially it does not qualify as a woodstove. We gave it a factory-built chimney suitable for a woodstove, and some heat shielding and insulation from the walls like a woodstove, anyhow. At that weight, and given that it's mostly made of masonry, it might be a masonry heater. (These are exempt from UL testing according to the testing companies and masonry heater guys. Oregon building code finding <a href=http://www.cbs.state.or.us/external/bcd/programs/mechanical/interps/93-47.pdf>93-47.pdf</a> describes a type of European masonry stove, and it seems to apply pretty well to what we have here. Except for the shape.). Our Thing is spread out around the room, about 18 inches high, and has a factory-built chimney instead of a masonry chimney. (A masonry heater is usually a giant stone or brick chimney, which puts the smoke from a fireplace or woodstove through some baffles to slow it down and collect more heat from it. <a href=http://mha-net.org/>Masonry Heaters Association, http://mha-net.org</a>) Does it need a reinforced foundation, if there's no possible way it could fall on anybody or bring the house down with it? It can boil water. But it's not our sole cooking device; we use it occasionally for making tea/soup, for fun or in power outages. (A cookstove that is your only way to cook is exempt from EPA even if it smokes like a demon.) It can heat the house pretty well - it was able to bring the thermostat to 61 degrees, in 13-degree weather. We have a furnace in the house, but we don't use it when The Thing is working. And it's really comfy to sit on. (Part of it is a heat-exchanger, where the flue gas runs through a cob bench, so it makes a full-body heating pad or heated sofa/bed.) The flue gas doesn't smell like woodsmoke, or like much of anything. It's basically steam and CO2. On warm days, it makes no visible smoke. Just clear flue gas. On cool days, it puts out clear steam that immediately condenses into white clouds, and then dissolves again as it drifts away. We've had friends over with small children, and lit it for them, and they felt comfortable and safe. We just had two inspectors from Portland's building code team, and one from DEQ, out to have a look at it. They didn't give it a permit, but they didn't deny it, either. It doesn't fit into any existing box. Here's the long version of the story: Ernie was part of the research team for the 2005 edition of the book, Rocket Mass Heaters: Superefficient Woodstoves You Can Build (and cuddle up to!). When he got hurt, we did a workshop as a fund-raiser and built one outdoors at Tryon Life Community Farm <a href=http://www.tryonfarm.org>www.tryonfarm.org</a>). It went over well, and one of the participants had us do another workshop the following year at his house - to heat an outdoor bench and small outbuilding. There's a lot of interest from folks in being able to build one indoors, in a "normal" house. (We have friends and mentors on Oregon's south coast, who have installed these in small cob houses where they are the only cooking and heating device, and they work great. We also know of a few people in various places who have installed them, up-to-code or otherwise, as owner-builders in conventional and/or log houses, and they work well there, too.) We've helped people build a couple of them outdoors for a "warming fire," and they work pretty good - but outdoors is not necessarily where most people want to stay warm. The "Pocket Rocket" was developed for people who have no indoors to go to, and need a warming fire - but it's kinda bulky for most people. Ernie knows a guy who has one on his boat. We can help someone learn how to build a clean fire, and how to clean out their Rumford fireplace so it works better(or refit an "ox-cooker" fireplace to a more Rumford-like configuration for better heat efficiency). And we can show people how to build a Thing as a fancy outdoor cooking or heating device. <a href=http://www.ErnieAndErica.info>www.ErnieAndErica.Info</a> We think these Things are an improvement over what's out there for home solid-fuel heating, in a lot of ways. For example, they put out way less visible smoke that the currently available UL-certified woodstoves, even when the latter are run by competent fire-makers with properly cured wood. (With inexperienced people or wet wood, there's no comparison.) They use about 1/5 to 1/10 the wood for heating that a conventional woodstove would use in the same place. This means a normal, suburban family could get the heat they need without quitting their day job to split wood. They provide an extraordinarily comfortable, direct body-heating option, which means that you can have a variety of people in the house and maintain a temperature gradient that keeps everybody happy. So we'd like to be able to tell people, "Get a permit, and you can put one of these in your home; here's how you do it to code so you don't invalidate your insurance." But nobody's done that yet, at least in Oregon. So we don't know how it would work. So we decided to try it ourselves. The place we're currently renting is part of the Dana property in the Sylvan hills. It's an attached cottage, known as the Annex or "Little House," next door to "the Big House." The family has been thinking about developing this two-family residential property into a sort of ecological retreat or B&B, to preserve its rural character in an increasingly suburban area. (Recent infill has contributed to stormwater and other problems, and the owners are not excited about the idea of seeing their childhood home replaced by 5 or 6 big-footprint McMansions.) So Emily Dana was in favor of installing an efficient wood-burner in the rental house. She paid for the permit application and the parts required for code, as a "capitol investment," and got her hands dirty mixing cob, laying masonry, and cobbing-in the heat-exchange ducting. We got the permit application in September, and we had the stove mostly built by the end of October. We had to wait a while between layers, because of damp (the little house is pretty damp to begin with). Our final work-party to finish the exterior plaster was the weekend after Chinese New Year. The 180-day deadline for our first inspection was still a month or two out, and we thought about calling around to get advice ... but we decided that we'd rather hear it from the officials in charge, than try to please everybody and then hear it from the officials anyway. So we called the Bureau of Development Services, and scheduled an inspection. We were all excited about it, and tidied up the living room, and rescheduled our tax appointment when the inspector needed to come earlier in the day. Inspector John came out, and said, "Wow." Or maybe, "Whoa." He looked in both ends, we lit it off for him, he asked to see the plans, we pulled out the Rocket Stove Book and our photo show, and hunted around for the original design drawings. He said, "This is very cool - but I can't inspect it. I have no idea what to inspect it for. Let me put you in touch with my supervisor." So we called his supervisor, Joe. The first thing he asked when he called back is whether it was a "cooking rocket," or a "rocket mass heater." Good researching! (Cooking rockets were developed for third-world families as an improvement over a 3-brick indoor hearth; they have an L-shaped burn chamber, and are not designed to heat a home. <a href=http://bioenergylists.org/stovesdoc/Pcia/Design%20Principles%20for%20Wood%20Burning%20Cookstoves.pdf>bioenergylists.org</a> or <a href=http://www.aprovecho.net/>aprovecho.net</a>) We had an interesting phone conversation about whether we had a woodstove, a fireplace, or a cookstove. We said, "None of the above." He told us if it heats the house or cooks food it's an appliance (not the term I would have used for a fireplace or chimney, but apparently that's the building code language). And would need EPA approval and UL ratings. We pointed him toward Finding 93-47, which describes "masonry heaters" as an alternative category of solid-fueled device, hand-built, and not considered a UL-testable woodstove on account of the weight. (We had already asked about this by calling <a href=http://www.omni-test.com/>OMNI-Test Labs</a>. They certify woodstoves and other fuel-burning products. They said it sounds like we have a masonry stove, which is exempt; and also, the UL tests are run at three wood-consumption burn rates, all of which are faster than our Thing can swallow wood.) After doing some research, Joe called back and set an appointment for the following Thursday morning, to come see it and bring a DEQ inspector along. We invited him to bring anybody else who wanted to see it, too. Once again, we tidied up and prepared. I got all our design drawings and notes collected into a file, and drafted a new, larger drawing on official-looking architectural vellum. Our inspectors arrived on time (Joe from BSA, Robert from DEQ, and later John stopped back by as well). We showed them what we have, and they asked to see it work, and we discussed options. They could see the value in a "poor man's masonry stove," and Robert from DEQ seemed relieved to find himself among people who knew how to make fire without smoke. But they couldn't pass it, based on the existing code categories. One issue was the permit we'd gotten: it was for a woodstove installation, which means UL-approved or antique woodstoves. For a masonry heater we should have submitted the plans first for a mechanical permit, instead. (The office didn't know this, and they were between issues of the code at the time, so neither did we.) Joe decided to keep our original permit open, meaning we'd have another 180 days to get it inspected again. We could submit the plans for a mechanical permit, and if they needed changes (like a reinforced slab footing suitable for a massive chimney) we could tear out the existing work and re-do it. Um.... Another option would be to submit the plans and information to "OMOA" (another division of BDS), and see if we could get it passed as an "approved alternative." (To my mind, this might be necessary anyway, because of the earthen masonry.) Or it could go through testing at OMNI-Labs and get approved as a heating device, we could put a sticker on it, and they could pass it as an appliance, like a woodstove but different. If we didn't have an electric range, it could be exempted under DEQ as a cookstove. But I kind of like having a kitchen. (My thoughts: Maybe there's an exception for emergency cooking / heating, like the woodstove Grandma used to have in her basement?) So that's where we stand at the moment. Joe, John, and Robert are going to keep talking to their office mates, and showing pictures. We gave them Ernie's card with our website, and hopefully they can find the pictures. We'll give Karl in OMOA a call in a little while once Joe has had a chance to mention this to him, and see what the process is for "approved alternative." It may be a lengthy process, but hopefully we can get a prescriptive, or ideally descriptive, option worked out. That would allow a homeowner to build this "poor man's masonry stove," and burn less fuel with less smoke than any other option we know. <ul>The Thing's good points: <li>Clean <li>Efficient: low-fuel, lots of heat <li>Local biofuel alternative energy <li>Low-cost <li>Low-maintenence (yearly inspection/cleanout, daily ash cleanout and one or two 2-hour firings per day during cold season) <li>Safety: Lower temperatures on exposed surfaces than most heaters, fewer toxic components, fire is mostly recessed away from curious hands. </ul> <ul>Points of concern: <li>Foundations and reinforcement: Seems like overkill to pour a concrete slab with enough rebar to support a 10- or 20-foot chimney, when this stove is basically a slab with a center of mass under a foot from the ground. But existing slab-on-grade may not be enough. <li>Unusual materials: Earthen masonry, recycled metal barrel, and ducting/stovepipe installation specs: These are substantially different from approved Masonry Stove construction methods. (Masonry chimney, high-heat ceramic flues, rebar and concrete footing, hearth or vertical burn chamber door, etc.) We think they're better in many ways (better thermal contact between flues and mass, solid monolithic masonry with integrated tensile reinforcement instead of linear rebar, lower environmental impact and materials costs). And there's some evidence that concrete and rebar are not compatible with earthen masonry in certain applications. But it's not up to us entirely: somebody official needs to agree with us about that. </ul> Other observations from the inspectors: Robert wondered if a child could "fall into" or against the barrel and be burned. The barrel is a substantially lower temperature than the woodstove we had in my home growing up, or the modern ones I've seen in other homes and meeting spaces since 2005. And we've built a fairly substantial cob structure around the stove core. It's ergonomically not that easy to get your body in position to fall into the barrel unless you actually climb onto the sloping cob mass. The kids we've had in the house seemed to get the picture quite easily, and sat happily on the bench or ran around in the other parts of the house. But it could happen; kids do run around and climb on things, and it might one day suffer the same fate as many a family sofa. Proposed solution: John described a screen they'd built from square metal bars, three rails, that served as a "kid fence" without interrupting the radiant heat from their stove. I've been looking for decorative options anyway, and a wrought-iron lattice or sleek modern rail could add something nice to the stove's appearance. (And, Emily observes, it would be somewhere nice to dry mittens, socks, and warm towels for luxuriant showers.) The option that Tryon Farm used for kid-safety (they host school groups, and have toddlers in residence) was a) Ernie designed the stove so the barrel wouldn't overheat easily, and b) they cobbed a sculptural motif around the main part of the barrel in addition, making it difficult to accidentally touch the metal but still possible to cook on it. While thinking about safety, Joe liked the downdraft setup. It's not hot above the wood feed, and it avoids a lot of the problems associated with a "hearth" where fire can fall out onto the floor. From our friends' experience, you'd have to do something really silly like perch a 4-foot long crooked stick of firewood in the stove (more than twice the design length), and then leave it unattended, leaning precariously at odd angles, in order to get it to fall out. One of my favorite aspects is that we can actually burn a single log (of 4" to 5" diameter) and it self-feeds and self-regulates the air. Smokeless, just like the other fuel options. Another speculative option that one of our inspectors suggested in a humorous mood ... would the fact that it's made of local dirt, as old as dinosaurs, and in a traditional manner, possibly qualify it as antique? * * * While we're blue-sky dreaming: I have a design fantasy about creating a "Green Vent" option. People who want to sneak a stove like this into an urban area sometimes use dryer-vent style exhausts to avoid alarming the neighbors. Since there's no smoke, or very little during the first few minutes of a burn cycle, it's reasonably safe - but you wouldn't want people breathing it all the time. What if that exhaust could terminate in a vented "cloche" (small, doorless greenhouse)? It would be kind of like the air handlers that sit by big institutional buildings, but instead of grey metal and buzzing electronics, it would be a haven for tropical cloud-forest plants that would soak up the CO2 and fog and grow to dinosaurian proportions. (Carbon counts during the time of the dinosaurs were more than 10 times current levels, and 25 times the levels before the industrial revolution. Some of those plants are still around, and wouldn't it be interesting to see how big horsetails could really get in their original growing conditions?) You wouldn't want to do this with a greenhouse that people could walk into, because flue gas just isn't that healthy to breathe. But if you could avoid people walking in during or after a burn, or enforce adequate ventilation if they do, it could be an exquisitely "green" solution. What if you did it with a cloche or tent-style greenhouse, where you had to literally pick up and remove the whole enclosure in order to enter the space? Or maybe just a removable wall/large access panel for a larger structure, with fasteners that require tools or codes. Dire warnings could be put on both greenhouse and heater, to avoid firing the Thing while the greenhouse is being tended. It wouldn't be foolproof, but it would be within normal safety parameters for many job sites. A fenced-off forest plot could serve the same purpose, enhancing carbon recapture to force-grow next year's fuel. * * * I think you can see why we're excited about this. We're not likely to become stove contractors even if this passes, but it would certainly enhance our ability to teach people fire science and offer a clean, green, low-cost alternative for home heating. I think heat is going to keep getting more expensive in the coming decades. A Thing like this could make a huge difference for struggling families. Even buying all-new stovepipe, if you do the work yourself, it could cost less than a modern woodstove. (For comparison: We spent about $700 on our so far; $500-600 on factory-built chimney stovepipe, $100 on sand for this and other projects, maybe about $50 on lime, clay, pigment, etc. Our friends who duck the code can build one for about $50, by scrounging scrap metal and used brick. Other friends just got a good-sized, EPA-approved woodstove installed for about $4000, and it smokes way more than a rocket stove. A traditional European masonry heater comes installed for about $10,000-$38,000 - it's a multi-generation investment, suitable for an estate or large, permanent home. These also smoke, though not as much as your average woodstove because they batch-burn instead of smouldering.) So wish us luck. If you have any comments, or want to bring this to someone's notice who might be able to help, we're all ears. http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/127663 2 Comments (2) Lost Job; If Found, Please Call http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2008-12-19-23:26/ Have you seen my job? Last seen less than a month ago. I wasn't fired, I didn't quit, I didn't even call in sick (much) one day I was working, I looked the other direction for a minute, and now it's gone. At first I didn't mind so much. No boss barking, no customers complaining, no more getting up every morning at 7 to feed it. But the longer it's gone, the more I miss it. You'll know it's my job because: ...It's there when the bell rings, without fail, and sometimes overtime on Fridays. ...It's those little things nobody notices, that make the finished product work right. ...It's always got some new challenge. The worst ones are the best ones to remember. ...It turns squirrelly youngsters into responsible and competent adults. I was getting pretty good at it, myself. ...It's how we reach out to each other, not in charity but for mutual benefit. ...It puts food on your table, as well as mine. ...It's where we used to meet, like Sesame Street only with real money. If you find my job, please take good care of it. Call me, and I'll come reclaim it. We miss it terribly. http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/125518 1 Comments (1) Grandmother Project I: Story Older than You? http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2008-12-15-18:58/ The Grandmother Project Scientists can describe the problems of overpopulation, threats like climate change, stray nuclear weapons, and recombinant toxic chemicals. But what do we do about it? Paul Ehrlich in a recent Portland lecture suggested asking social scientists to contribute their understanding of human behavior. Perhaps, he proposed, it's time for a massive study of human behavior similar to the natural sciences' "Milleneum Project." The few social scientists I've met were smart people, and acute observers, but somewhat limited in their social interactions and global predictive abilities. To predict - and provoke - actual human behavior, arguably, advertisers might be better. Or grandmothers. I like grandmothers. Do you have a grandmother who'd be willing to share her perspective on human behavior? Do you know a social scientist who'd be interested in working on a "milleneum project" to understand human behavior well enough to avert immenent disaster? Do you have a question that, in your experience, tends to get a Grandma talking about interesting, relevant, and insightful stories? Are you a grandmother, or grandfather, who has ideas about what it would take to avert the above-mentioned disasters, or a surprising suggestion as to why we're looking in the wrong direction altogether? I'm opening a call for submissions to "The Grandmother Project." Submissions can be emailed to Gramma2000@gmail.com. The stories (or links to them) will be published here, and also on other websites as partnerships become available. E.g. www.ErnieAndErica.info/Grandma_Project Yours sincerely, Erica Wisner granddaughter of Granma Enid McCaffery Ritter and Gran'Mary Coolidge Campbell. Author's note: I began studying permaculture a few years before moving in with my paternal grandmother Enid Ritter. Living with her and caring for her, I learned a lot about my own... cultural heritage is the wrong word. I gained a little perspective into how our family has related to land, and to socio-political problems like the Great Depression, WWII, and the Chemical/Cancer Age. I began to cherish those stories and memories that get passed down from before we were born. I began to hope that by collecting stories - of how things were done, of the kind of memories that scar for life, or are cherished even after death - we might build a better understanding of how to live in the present day, and to hope for a future as bright as our past. Oldest Memories: My oldest second-hand memories: My great-great-grandmother Anne McCaffery, a homesteader in Wisconsin, swore skunk grease made the best boot-polish. (via Enid M Ritter) My great-great-grandmother Granny Cole was against women's sufferage, saying "any woman who couldn't tell her man how to vote, wasn't worth her salt." (via Eleanor C Ritter) The last suviving Civil War veteran, moving slowly along in the memorial day parade in Stanley, WI, made a point to stop and tell Enid's orphaned cousin how pretty she was, "growing up to look just like your mother." Do you have an "oldest memory" that's older than you? http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/125381 0 Comments (0) Mr. & Mrs. Ernie and Erica Wisner http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/2008-08-28-00:22/ I can't believe I haven't written here since April. OK, I can, because it's been a crazy summer, but I sort of thought I would have mentioned at least the wedding. Ernie and I got married June 21st, had a lovely night at a local B&B, and went back to work the 23rd. For pictures, look at: http://picasaweb.google.com/eritter We helped build kayaks, took piratical youngsters out in boats at summer camp. I marched pre-schoolers through the woods for miles (ok, yards) at a stretch. We also helped (not as much as we could have) with the cleanup at Grandma's house, the Dana wetland project, some finish work on a couple kayaks, and so on. We did some painting and cleaning of, and are almost finished moving into, the little annex off the Dana House. And yes, we are planning to squeeze in a honeymoon. We're leaving Monday, in fact. Won't be back until Sept. 15th. So if you want to see us before then, stop by and check out our new apartment between 1pm-5pm on Sunday afternoon. (Please bear in mind that we are not quite settled, so think of this as a "before" version. We're hoping to add some more comfortable flooring and a wood-fired heating unit before winter gets too carried away with itself.) Family and friends are welcome; you already know the place, just head through the carport instead of going up to the main door. Otherwise, happy Labor Day weekend, and please wish us luck on our adventures! http://www.journalscape.com/Ecca/comments/121116 1 Comments (1)