I ran cross-country in high school, and when I’d cross the finish line, I’d be in “aerobic distress,” i.e. close to barfing. The same thing with each major book. By the time it’s sent to the printers, I’m wasted. This time, when the tiny homes book was done (almost 2 months ago), and I should have been kicking back, tiredness and stress caused a couple of wild and crazy incidents. I stepped wrongly off a step ladder in the greenhouse and tore a muscle in my shoulder (rotator cuff). I still had to go to the Frankfurt Book Fair, and then to Hong Kong to oversee printing, so couldn’t do proper rehab work. Lugging luggage etc.
Then, finally home, the last night of the San Francisco Green Festival, I got on my skateboard heading back to my truck, with a loaded backpack (yes, yes) , was skating along in the darkened streets and my cell phone rang. Well, I’m rollin’, guess I’ll just answer it, and bang! I was on the ground, hit head on pavement. Happened so fast. No helmet. I know, I know. It’s not that I’m immature and stupid, it’s just that sometimes I’m immature and stupid. Well I was fortunate. I had a 2-week long black eye and week-long lump, but being hard-headed helped here. Lucky.
Now I’m embarking on a program to heal the shoulder without surgery if possible. Physical therapy, acupuncture, strengthening exercises. I want this body part back! Such a drag — can’t paddle, dig clams, do much of any upper-body stuff. So many parts have to work to lead an active life. All the joints, tendons, muscles, not to mention the organs, all necessary components of what Dr. Henry Bieler called “the magnificent human body.” All things we take for granted until the well runs dry.
I’m missin’ that water.
“What’s green, affordable and rolls on wheels? The ‘Molecule House,’ built by Jason Dietz and his father Michael in Felton (Calif.).
I was sitting at the Scotts Valley Car Wash this summer when I looked over at the mobile home lot and saw the cutest cottage beckoning me over. At around $48,000, it offers a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and two loft bedrooms which can accommodate queen beds.
‘These little houses are all built ‘green,’ Dietz said. ‘We use as many non-toxic components as we can, so on the outside all the wood is sealed with vegetable oil, not harsh chemicals, and the inside is painted with all zero VOC milk paints.’ Dietz sources all his construction materials from Santa Cruz County, including the redwood lap siding from Big Creek Lumber’
“It’s a 2×4 construction built like a regular house, with copper wiring and double paned windows. The real wood will stand the test of time and there is no formaldehyde or off-gassing like you would get in a manufactured home.’…”
“In order to preserve gene diversity of major food crops, international institutions have established a series of green gene banks, which store samples of genetic material of various strains of each plant species.
“…Svalbard Seed Bank is meant as a sort of safety net, a reserve of last resort and the vault functions like a genetic safety deposit box. It stores duplicate specimens from genebanks worldwide and while the Svalbard seed bank owns the building, the individual depositor owns the contents of his or her box and the access to individual specimens is regulated by their respective depositors.
Read More …
“Rainbow in her first season (William Starling Burgess, 1934 – photography: Edwin J. Levick)”
30 archival photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/104097160874903509775/ClassicYachts#5328191589328327010
Sent us by Godfrey Stephens
Randy’s Vision: This 26′ polished aluminum beauty features a flying bridge, complete with driving station and room for 5 passengers on the roof.
https://www.blastolene.com/Work_in_Progress/deco.htm
Sent us by Mike Whitehead
by Kent Griswold, tinyhouseblog, November 29th, 2011
“We weren’t looking to buy a boat, we definitely weren’t looking to buy a tugboat, we were just looking. We have a home in Port Townsend, Washington but the commute into the city for work was too much to do everyday, so at the time we were renting a house in Ballard (a neighborhood of Seattle). It was a nice house in a great neighborhood, but we really weren’t keen on being renters. When we saw the tug on craigslist we were just curious, but once we looked at the boat we realized we could stop being renters and have a place of our own in Seattle. A place on the water with a million dollar view.…”
https://tinyhouseblog.com/floating-homes/tugboat-tiny-house/
Ziggy’s Cob Cottage is featured in our forthcoming book Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter. Next year Ziggy is hosting a timber frame workshop in northeastern Missouri. Date: June 10-23, 2012
Location: Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage
Cost: $2,000, 25% deposit
All-inclusive: includes lodging and 3 square meals a day at the Milkweed Mercantile Organic Cafe
Sustainable Design: Build a 300 sq. ft. timber frame house with passive solar design, greenhouse, roundwood porch and balcony.
All timber framing is to be completed using hand tools and traditional techniques exclusively –square rule layout, scribing, etc.
https://small-scale.net/yearofmud/2011/11/22/timber-framing-workshop-2012-build-a-timber-frame-home/
