I found this great website via Kirk Lombard, the Sea Forager:
HI THERE!
My name is Hank Shaw.
“I write. I cook. I fish, dig earth, forage, ferment things, brew beer, raise plants, live for food and chase God’s creatures. I drink Scotch or Bud, eat burgers or dine on caviar, depending on my mood or what day of the week it happens to be. I spend my days thinking about new ways to cook and eat anything that walks, flies, swims, crawls, skitters, jumps – or grows. This is my story.”
https://honest-food.net/
Years ago I reasoned that some commercial pot growers would resort to insecticides if they were faced with losing an entire crop due, say, to spider mites. I thought of people buying organic produce at Whole Foods, then smoking marijuana that had been sprayed with toxic chemicals. A friend of mine said, “They’re smoking paraquat.”
Pot smokers, beware. Here is a Google search I did today on the subject:
https://www.google.com/search?q=pesticides+in+marijuana&num=100&newwindow=1&safe=off&source=lnt&tbs=qdr:m&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjTmfLKg8DRAhUpiVQKHVoJD-wQpwUIFA&biw=1402&bih=974
The big commercial operators have a way different modus operandi than people who grow outdoors, with untreated water, compost, organic supplements, and sunshine. No electricity for light or fans, no chemical fertilizers or insecticides, no soil-less, hydroponic wizardry.
AND — I’ve had conversations with people about vaporizers, costing between $200-600. “Oh, way too expensive.” Well, how much are your lungs worth?
Lesley’s been watching the chrysalis every day. She just came in to tell me it had emerged when I was on an important phone call so I handed Evan my iPhone and he shot the pic. Note the shell of the chrysalis at right; how did the butterfly ever fit in that small enclosure? Stunning, and it’s the kind of thing that’s going on in the natural world every moment. As Leonard Cohen says, halleluja!
As I’ve said before, this is the 21st century online Whole Earth Catalog. Same M.O.: People like us writing reviews of cool stuff for other people like us. It’s embarrassing how many things I’ve obtained after reading about them here. These aren’t frivolous purchases; all the stuff is useful to me, stuff I’d never have known about otherwise.
I must point out I have a massive conflict of interest here. I’ve written a lot of CT reviews, and these guys are good friends.
That said, I periodically want to turn people onto this rich source of ad-free advice. It’s just madly useful. Take a look: https://kk.org/cooltools
Write a review and they’ll send you an email of new tools weekly.
Tags: bikes, cameras, cinema, computers, energy, films, food, gardening, kayak, music, photography, science, technology, tools, video 
This has been a life changer. No electronic controls or screen. For oven convection, you turn on the fan. It’s such an upgrade from 25 years of a Jenn-Air. A lot of people prefer it to the Wolf Range these days, it seems.
With this model, when you remove one of the 4 ring grates, there’s a well and about a 2″ space down to the burners; a wok nestles down so you don’t need a ring for it.
Both the burners and oven work better than any stove we’ve ever used.
It’s easy to clean, and a relief not to have to mess with touchscreen controls. Made in America. A wonderful tool.
If you’re a Bay Area person: I got it at CG Appliance Express in Daly City, CA (adjacent to San Francisco), the best place I’ve ever seen for appliances of all kinds.
Note: See Kevin Kelly’s (more complete) review of the BlueStar on Cool Tools at: https://kk.org/cooltools/bluestar-range/
In October 30, 2016 issue of The New York Times
“LONDON — The controversy over genetically modified crops has long focused on largely unsubstantiated fears that they are unsafe to eat.
But an extensive examination by The New York Times indicates that the debate has missed a more basic problem — genetic modification in the United States and Canada has not accelerated increases in crop yields or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemical pesticides.
The promise of genetic modification was twofold: By making crops immune to the effects of weedkillers and inherently resistant to many pests, they would grow so robustly that they would become indispensable to feeding the world’s growing population, while also requiring fewer applications of sprayed pesticides.
Twenty years ago, Europe largely rejected genetic modification at the same time the United States and Canada were embracing it. Comparing results on the two continents, using independent data as well as academic and industry research, shows how the technology has fallen short of the promise.
Broken Promises of Genetically Modified Crops
About 20 years ago, the United States and Canada began introducing genetic modifications in agriculture. Europe did not embrace the technology, yet it achieved increases in yield and decreases in pesticide use on a par with, or even better than, the United States, where genetically modified crops are widely grown.
Read More …
“Focusing on the West Coast and South West
Quail Springs is an educational and land stewardship nonprofit organization dedicated to demonstrating and teaching holistic ways of designing human environments, restoring and revitalizing the land and community, and facilitating deeper understandings of ourselves and one another through immersive experiences in nature. The 2016 Colloquium organizing team consists of the whole Quail Springs team, Sasha Rabin*, Tammy Van, and Rebekah Hacker.”
“The gathering will give focus and priority to the building and builders of the west coast and south west, US.
We ask that all people attending the colloquium have some experience with natural building. This is not the event for the novice builder. That being said, we value the fresh eyes and perspectives, and enthusiasm that comes with a newness to the field. We will strive for a balance of experienced attendees, while also encouraging the next generation of builders.…”
https://www.earthenshelter.com/colloquium.html
*Sasha’s beautiful cob house will be in Small Homes.
Photo: Lloyd Alter
(You probably have to be over 50 to get this.)
