This article raises some interesting points about environmentalism. I don't agree with all of them, but most are apt -- and they're not things that everyone is taking into consideration.

Tags: economics, environment, politics
Current Mood: busy

There is a company that specializes in making secret passages for your house.

This goes on my list of Fun Things to Do with Entirely Too Much Money.

Tags: personal
Current Mood: busy

Today several friends came over to help with yardwork. Specifically, we made several trips to a place that was giving away free mulch -- it's where yard waste is collected, and they chip it up. We managed to get five pickup truck loads. This was much better than we expected; with six people to unload, there were more of use than could even fit in and around the truck, so we were able to take turns and not wreck anyone. I now have a lovely hill of mulch for use on the hedges, raspberry patches, and so forth. Huzzah for community effort!

Third Saturday of the month, we've arranged to swap off and do the same for the truck owner's yard. She has a newly planted orchard to care for, and a fencerow of raspberries established last year, and some other stuff. That's going be community accessible space too.

Yeah, community building is a lot of work. There are times when we get into horrible arguments and just about want to strangle each other. But then there are days like today, when it just flows and everything gets done so much better and faster than expected. It's like laboriously hiking up a mountain, and every once in a while you get this breathtaking view of the peak on your way up. For such days, I am grateful and gratified.

Tags: community, gardening, personal
Current Mood: satisfied

It has been argued that the point of going to war in Iraq was to influence Iraq to behave in a more civilized manner, citing such offenses as theocracy, misogyny, terrorism, and corruption. Since then, we've had American leaders braying about their beliefs in public, we've lost more of our civil rights, women were again denied the right to equal pay for equal work, the government is threatening to bomb the devil out of anyone and everyone who doesn't do what they want ... and oh yes, this gem:

Contractors Gone Wild   By Bruce Falconer
Allegations of widespread mismanagement and corruption among private contractors in Iraq are nothing new; if anything, tales of cronyism, over-billing, and embezzlement have become so frequent that our national tolerance for them seems only to have increased as the Iraq War has drawn on. Even so, the testimony earlier this week of three whistleblowers before the Senate's Democratic Policy Committee (DPC) stands out for the sheer outrageousness of their accusations - namely that U.S. private contractors looted Iraqi palaces and ministries, stole military equipment, fenced supplies destined for U.S. troops, and even operated a prostitution ring that may have contributed to the death of fellow contractor. Yet despite its focus on such salacious matters as sex and corruption, the session earned little media attention.

Supposing that Iraq were the pit of barbarism that its opponents allege it to be ... exactly who is influencing whom, here?

Tags: news, politics
Current Mood: busy