Nostr notes by Simon Forman

A regional #fiberart collective(?) that does good work connecting ...

2026-08-23T16:38:16Z

A regional #fiberart collective(?) that does good work connecting local growers (of fibers and dye, etc.) with weavers and other fiber artists and crafters.

https://fibershed.org/

#Permaculture #SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday

"Our Last, Best Chance to Cool the Earth", Bill McKibben, ...

2026-08-16T20:28:03Z

"Our Last, Best Chance to Cool the Earth", Bill McKibben, 2026

> the price of clean energy has plunged, making it cheaper than ever to power the world without burning fossil fuels

> "Energy from heaven, not from hell,"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LTGzEzDat0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_McKibben

#SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday

"Discovering an Oasis in the American Desert" by Craig ...

2026-08-15T18:15:22Z

"Discovering an Oasis in the American Desert" by Craig Mackintosh, feat. Geoff Lawton and Brad Lancaster, 2014

> ...built by men with carts and horses during the Roosevelt years in the 1930s.

> The soil was springy and spongy when you walked on it. Like an uncompacted garden bed it was full of mulch captured by rain water. Eighty years of humus was deposited here during flash floods, without any help from mankind.

https://web.archive.org/web/20240321075408/https://www.permaculturenews.org/2014/10/11/discovering-oasis-american-desert/

#Permaculture

Me, sitting inside: 'Man I sure wish I had some friends and a ...

2026-08-15T15:46:10Z

Me, sitting inside: 'Man I sure wish I had some friends and a little social life.'

Me, going outside: 'Dear God in heaven please don't let me have to meet or interact with any of these goobers.'

You know about humus, right? I was watching this TED talk about ...

2026-08-11T21:13:54Z

You know about humus, right?

I was watching this TED talk about it and the speaker opens with this bit of anecdote about folks tyring to save the world and they don't know about humus.

You gotta know about humus. To a first approximation making humus is your main job. If you're not making humus you're part of the problem kiddo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humus

#Permaculture #Gardening #Ecology

(Bloddy hell the word "humus" wasn't in the spellchecker!)

111111111² = 12345678987654321 So that's neat.

2026-08-11T17:54:12Z

111111111² = 12345678987654321

So that's neat.

Ah, no. Who's that?

2026-08-10T18:21:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…5hqj
_________________________

Ah, no. Who's that?

Cheers! It's in Northern California near Redding, at the top ...

2026-08-10T17:47:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…dq64
_________________________

Cheers! It's in Northern California near Redding, at the top of the Central Valley.

And yeah, probably my biggest weakness is that I'm a recluse and have no one to help other than my sister, who drives me out there and back, but she is not into it otherwise.

https://ariadne.systems/Green_Hills.html

But, man, am I ever frustrated. Holy crap this sucks. I've ...

2026-08-10T17:16:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…u5c0
_________________________

But, man, am I ever frustrated. Holy crap this sucks. I've got a box full of about five hundred varieties of seeds. (Where's the list? Here it is: https://ariadne.systems/Seed_Library.html I haven't worked on the site for months. Yeesh.) I have all these seeds, I have twenty acres of land, still can't get there. 😭

It kinda sucks, but overall I can't complain. One nice thing ...

2026-08-10T17:10:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…w0p6
_________________________

It kinda sucks, but overall I can't complain. One nice thing is that the room has a huge OLED TV with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 or about 3/4ths of an acre. So many pixels! I have like all the pixels y'all! It's about nine times the size of my laptop monitor. So that's nice.

We spent much of this year so far slowly and painfully trying to ...

2026-08-10T17:09:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…mx46
_________________________

We spent much of this year so far slowly and painfully trying to set up camp up there on the land, but various events made that hard, including a devastating flood. Then the heat came on suddenly in May and it became too hot to work or stay out there. So since then we have spent roughly three months couped up in a cheap hotel in town.

I first heard about Permacuture from reading about it in my ...

2026-08-10T17:08:55Z

I first heard about Permacuture from reading about it in my parent's copy of The Next Whole Earth Catalog back in the late 80's.

After years of dreaming about it I finally got some land on which to grow a food forest. Unfortunately, it's got kind of an unusual microclimate and soil type, so it's not really practical to grow lots of different things outside. Also there's a high risk of wildfire. So then I got the idea of making a kind of conservatory, basically a food forest under glass.

Lindisfarne Tapes > In 1972 William Irwin Thompson founded the ...

2026-08-09T00:26:22Z

Lindisfarne Tapes

> In 1972 William Irwin Thompson founded the Lindisfarne Association as an alternative way for the humanities to develop in a scientific and technical civilization. Lindisfarne became an association of scientists, artists, scholars, and contemplatives devoted to the study and realization of a new planetary culture.

https://centerforneweconomics.org/envision/legacy/lindisfarne-tapes/

Wow! Amazing stuff here! All kinds of awesome people participated. Scroll down for Archive links.

#SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday

> The Integral Urban House was a pioneering 1970s experiment ...

2026-08-08T21:53:14Z

> The Integral Urban House was a pioneering 1970s experiment in self-reliant urban homesteading. ... Elements of the home included a vegetable garden, chickens, rabbits, a fish pond, beehives, a composting toilet, solar power and more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integral_Urban_House

#SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday

RE: https://fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/117032260522773757 We are at ...

2026-08-03T16:46:21Z

RE: https://fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/117032260522773757

We are at the "bombing rivers" stage of drought.

quoting
note1sf7…3w6z

"Romanian naval forces carried out a controlled explosion to help redirect cooling water from the drought-hit Danube to the country’s last working nuclear ⁠reactor, while neighbouring Hungary said it may be able to eke out two more days of power from its only atomic plant.

Both countries have been forced to shut down nuclear reactors cooled by the Danube for the first time, as record-low water levels deepen fears of an energy crisis across the region."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/03/romania-blasts-divert-danube-water-nuclear-reactor-energy-crisis-hungary
#Climate
1/n

"Ecological design applied", 2003, John Todd, Erica J.G. ...

2026-08-01T21:18:30Z

"Ecological design applied", 2003, John Todd, Erica J.G. Brown, Erik Wells

> The five case studies presented here represent applications of ecological design in five areas: sewage treatment, the restoration of a polluted body of water, the treatment of high strength industrial waste in lagoons, the integration of ecological systems with architecture, and an agriculturally based Eco-Park.

https://www.uvm.edu/giee/pubpdfs/Todd_2003_Ecological_Engineering.pdf

#Permaculture #SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday

"Capillary irrigation of container grown nursery stock" ...

2026-08-01T18:56:33Z

"Capillary irrigation of container grown nursery stock"

> This factsheet summarises the benefits of low level irrigation systems in the production of container grown hardy nursery stock. It covers the principles, requirements, management needs and costs of the following systems:

Capillary sand beds
Capillary matting
Ebb and flood systems
Sand in-fill beds

(Free PDF)

https://horticulture.ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/capillary-irrigation-of-container-grown-nursery-stock

#Permaculture #SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday

Huzzah! You can't see it but I'm doing a little happy ...

2026-07-31T19:44:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…8ws0
_________________________

Huzzah! You can't see it but I'm doing a little happy dance. ❤️ 🌱 💃

SO if everybody could just, y'know, stop driving, stop ...

2026-07-31T17:01:40Z

SO if everybody could just, y'know, stop driving, stop flying, buy less crap, and plants some trees, that would be swell, m'kaaaay?

The "Permaculture Designer's Guide" is one of the ...

2026-07-24T22:06:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…vcs0
_________________________

The "Permaculture Designer's Guide" is one of the best books on design ever.

🇦🇺 : https://tagaripublications.com/product/permaculture-a-designers-manual/

🇨🇦 & 🇺🇸 : https://tagari-usa.com/product/permaculture-a-designers-manual/

#Permaculture

I should perhaps mention that when I use the term "grok" ...

2026-07-24T20:12:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…2p9c
_________________________

I should perhaps mention that when I use the term "grok" it is the original Martian, and nothing to do with any shit-eating goose-stepping AI, okay? Good.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land

http://growbiointensive.org/grow_main.html The system uses ...

2026-07-24T20:07:41Z

http://growbiointensive.org/grow_main.html

The system uses 5000ft² (465m²) per person, provides a complete diet, and builds topsoil volume and fertility over time.

They're selling it but there's more than enough information to grok the system w/o paying (if you're broke or just cheap.)

The key points are:

- Double-Dug, Raised Beds

- Composting

- Intensive Planting

- Companion Planting

- Carbon Farming

- Calorie Farming

- The Use of Open-Pollinated Seeds

- A Whole-System Farming Method

many "Permies" (as we call ourselves) elect to charge ...

2026-07-24T19:47:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…ntl2
_________________________

many "Permies" (as we call ourselves) elect to charge money to teach Permaculture, and even the main textbook "Permaculture: A Designer's Manual" has been scarce on the ground and hard to get for years. I think it's a little better now? You can order it online and get it delivered.

I think Permaculture et. al. would have spread faster if people taught it for free (and made money from selling the surplus they developed on their Permaculture farm, eh?)

These systems work. They scale (which is not surprising when you ...

2026-07-24T19:45:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…sz4f
_________________________

These systems work. They scale (which is not surprising when you think about it, they are made of four-billion-year-old self-improving nano-technology that optimizes for exponential reproduction at all levels simultaneously, aka "life".)

These days it has reached "critical mass" and the concepts of applied ecology are rolling out all over. You can search the Youtube for videos of massive projects in India, for example.

If there's one systemic problem it's that #Permaculture ...

2026-07-24T19:45:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…jm6j
_________________________

If there's one systemic problem it's that #Permaculture is diametrically opposed to extractive economic systems. (E.g. modern agriculture is/was more akin to mining than ecosystem design.) Monsanto (just to pick on them) has no place in a tessellation of ecological small-holdings.

Consider #Permaculture, a school of applied ecology that's ...

2026-07-24T19:44:21Z

Consider #Permaculture, a school of applied ecology that's become popular all over the world since it was started by a government-employed ecologist and co. in the late 1970's. The explicit goal of this design school is to create and maintain agriculturally productive ecosystems that improve soil fertility and volume over time (the "permanent" part of "Permanent Agriculture".)

Re-posting this video again. I've tried it out and yeah, ...

2026-07-24T19:07:50Z

Re-posting this video again. I've tried it out and yeah, laminated cardboard with wheat paste totally works, the result is as strong as wood (and a little lighter.)

This is a near-perfect way to bootstrap structures and buildings. You can use waste cardboard, and wheat paste is incredibly cheap.

I want to try sodium silicate ("waterglass") as a glue, it should make the resulting material fireproof and as durable as stone.

#SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45JhacvmXV8

On-Farm Composting Handbook, 1992 > this book remains a staple ...

2026-07-23T22:47:08Z

On-Farm Composting Handbook, 1992

> this book remains a staple in composting education programs. The 11 chapters cover: benefits and drawbacks of composting; the composting process; raw materials; composting methods; composting operations, management, site and environmental considerations, using compost, marketing agricultural compost, farm composting economics, and other options for waste management and composting.

Free PDF

https://ecommons.cornell.edu/items/c66de614-e524-46a3-a4cb-031c9a1e7e11

#Compostodon #Composting #Gardening

> The Nand Game! > You are going to build a computer ...

2026-07-23T20:50:57Z

> The Nand Game!

> You are going to build a computer starting from basic components.

> The game consists of a series of levels. In each level, you are tasked with building a component that behaves according to a specification. This component can then be used as a building block in the next level.

https://nandgame.com/

#PermaComputing

In re: building with seawater I give you Seacrete aka Biorock: ...

2026-07-10T18:45:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…3sa8
_________________________

In re: building with seawater I give you Seacrete aka Biorock:

> a cement-like engineering material formed when a small electric current is passed between underwater metal electrodes placed in seawater causing dissolved minerals to accrete onto the cathode to form a thick layer of limestone. This 'accretion process' can be used to create building materials...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biorock

#SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday (early)

We can construct buildings out of leaves and stone and seawater. ...

2026-07-10T18:24:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…ymuk
_________________________

We can construct buildings out of leaves and stone and seawater. We can grow food and clothing and medicine and flowers. We can clean the air and water. We don't have to live in fear and misery anymore. The world, the living world all around you, wants you to be happy and successful, in a way that adds to the happiness and success of all life, all living beings everywhere. Don't cower, don't get distracted. We're almost there.

What I mean is that if the economic system cannot (for whatever ...

2026-07-10T18:19:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…k3gd
_________________________

What I mean is that if the economic system cannot (for whatever reason) support UBI then UBI is a pipe dream. If it's possible at all it's due to science and technology, and therefore anyone anywhere can employ that science and technology to just do it, without needing to get other people on board to vote it into practice. I figure that once people see a technological AND ecologically harmonious lifestyle they'll naturally want it for themselves.

Here's the thing about Universal Basic Income: it only makes ...

2026-07-10T18:19:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…7fag
_________________________

Here's the thing about Universal Basic Income: it only makes sense if our technology and industry has gotten to the point where we can support it, but that means that it's not dependent on psychology or politics or whatever. We can just go ahead and implement it on whatever scale we like.

The point of computers is to obviate the need for drudgery. Now ...

2026-07-10T17:58:51Z

The point of computers is to obviate the need for drudgery. Now that we have computers (and motors and sensors) we should, generally speaking, not have to earn a living anymore.

Hemenway's lecture: "Permaculture can save Humanity and ...

2026-06-14T15:59:43Z

Hemenway's lecture: "Permaculture can save Humanity and the Earth but not Civilization"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nLKHYHmPbo

#Permaculture #SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday

The frog was successfully released at the pond. I couldn't ...

2026-06-02T17:44:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…gawj
_________________________

The frog was successfully released at the pond. I couldn't get a good photo of it, but here's one of the pond.

(How cool is it that there's this smack of nature in the center of this city block? Asphalt and concrete all around and yet there's this outpost of the real world.)

Here is the frog. It should be safe in there until dusk. Behind ...

2026-06-02T01:10:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…sghe
_________________________

Here is the frog. It should be safe in there until dusk. Behind the hotel there is an unkempt semi-wild field, in the corner of the field there's a large depression, and in that depression is a rather nice pond. The little frog should be okay there, eh?

Sister went up to the land yesterday and brought back all the ...

2026-06-01T21:49:50Z

Sister went up to the land yesterday and brought back all the loose (that is to say in pots) plants, and water the in-the-ground ones.

A Pacific Chorus Frog (was Pacific Tree Frog but science scienced it more better and is now "Chorus") hitched a ride in the chocolate trees' tub.

The plan is to wait until dusk and release it near a nearby known frog haunt.

I want to keep it as a pet, of course, but no, that would not be responsible.

(Photos to follow, by and by...)

If you're reading this toot you've probably already heard ...

2026-05-26T18:17:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…jgqt
_________________________

If you're reading this toot you've probably already heard of Permaculture, Syntropic agriculture, etc. We know what to do to grow our food in ways that contribute to the life of the Earth rather than wear it down, eh?

"Treating the Farm as an Ecosystem"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUmIdq0D6-A

In re: ecologically harmonious food gardens we have an example of ...

2026-05-26T18:13:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…kguv
_________________________

In re: ecologically harmonious food gardens we have an example of a minimal system that produces a complete diet and regenerates the soil in Jeavons' GROW BioIntensive system. It requires about two tennis courts of space per adult. That serves as a lower bound for how much space per adult is needed.

https://www.growbiointensive.org/

The important thing about this is that it's possible to grow ...

2026-05-26T18:09:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…z4sz
_________________________

The important thing about this is that it's possible to grow the materials to build more protective huts and homes and other infrastructure within the system. It's self-reproducing because it's all constructed of self-reproducing plants and animals. This recursive nature allows for exponential growth of the ecologically harmonious mode of civilization, which is what we need if we're going to correct our course in time to avert the worst of the disasters we're facing.

Now instead of steel and wood these structures use paper made ...

2026-05-26T18:09:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…zygf
_________________________

Now instead of steel and wood these structures use paper made from leaves and reinforced with glue to form structures lighter and stronger than wood. This is a relatively new and under-explored area of construction.

E.g. see the work of Shigeru Ban: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigeru_Ban#Use_of_paper_as_a_building_material

Water is cycled through a system of tanks that purify it using a ...

2026-05-26T18:08:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…dx7u
_________________________

Water is cycled through a system of tanks that purify it using a kind of artificial wetlands, producing plants and fish. Bathrooms and kitchens work the same: faucets with hot and cold potable water, flush toilets, etc. but the water is reused locally and all "waste" reclaimed into the system.

E.g.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-sRcVkZ9yg

The point is that there's a kind of protective shell that has ...

2026-05-26T18:07:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…m25y
_________________________

The point is that there's a kind of protective shell that has some serious space inside it, and that this shell is built somewhere in a factory and then deployed quickly and cheaply. Then inside these protective giant huts there are food gardens and homes. The gardens are ecologically harmonious, more on that in a bit, and the homes are structurally minimal, like tents, but spacious and comfortable.

You could imagine that these huts could be quite large, like ...

2026-05-26T18:07:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…3603
_________________________

You could imagine that these huts could be quite large, like Hangar One, "one of the world's largest freestanding structures, covering 8 acres (32,000 m2; 3.2 ha)" a huge empty structure for housing airships (blimps, etc.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangar_One_(Moffett_Federal_Airfield)

Start with something like a Quonset hut, "a lightweight ...

2026-05-26T18:07:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…7jhn
_________________________

Start with something like a Quonset hut, "a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel with a semi-circular cross-section." But much larger, and instead of steel it uses panels of... but I'll come to that in a minute.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quonset_hut

I'm going to try to get at the pith of the idea, the essence ...

2026-05-26T18:06:49Z

I'm going to try to get at the pith of the idea, the essence of what we have to do to get through this period of time and come out the other side, into a world where we live and work in harmony with nature.

Imagine that you're a climate refugee. That is to say that your home and town have been destroyed by wildfire or floods or just too much heat, and you have to rebuild from scratch (either on the same site or somewhere else.)

If you are not a climate refugee yet, just give it a minute.

> Peasants are the main or sole food providers to more than ...

2026-05-16T15:32:23Z

> Peasants are the main or sole food providers to more than 70% of the world’s people ... with less (often much less) than 25% of the resources [of all ag].

"Who Will Feed Us? The Industrial Food Chain vs the Peasant Food Web", 2017

https://etcgroup.org/content/who-will-feed-us-industrial-food-chain-vs-peasant-food-web

(Free PDF: http://www.etcgroup.org/sites/www.etcgroup.org/files/files/etc-whowillfeedus-english-webshare.pdf

#Permaculture #SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday

"Vegetable Cross-Pollination Guide" from Populuxe Seed ...

2026-05-16T06:59:55Z

"Vegetable Cross-Pollination Guide" from Populuxe Seed Bank

https://theseedbank.net/articles-info-how-tos/vegetable-cross-pollination-guide/

#Permaculture #gardening #SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday

I planted just a bit of the Hopi Blue corn. Hopefully it's ...

2026-04-16T15:04:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…p7uz
_________________________

I planted just a bit of the Hopi Blue corn. Hopefully it's adapted to the heat and dry summer. I took a mattock, spiked a hole in the ground, dropped in three kernels and a handful of good soil, tamped it down, and now the rain has watered it all. It's crude, but it might work?

I also transplanted those Beefy Resilient bean plants that I started in snails...

I learned new stars: Rigel and Sirius, Castor and Pollux, ...

2026-04-16T15:01:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…f894
_________________________

I learned new stars: Rigel and Sirius, Castor and Pollux, Procyon, (I'm starting from Betelgeuse and the Orion constellation) and Jupiter is hanging out around there too right now.

(I always felt a little like a poseur being a space nerd yet not knowing the stars, it's nice to finally come around and get back into astronomy. I had a telescope as a kid but it wasn't very strong. You could see the Moon and her craters.)

So we're back in a hotel (last night). High winds advisory ...

2026-04-16T14:56:24Z

So we're back in a hotel (last night). High winds advisory for today. This is the longest that we have stayed up on the land, over two weeks.

The thing about nature (vs. "the city") is that it's deeply grounding (no pun intended) even as it's a little more physically demanding.

I literally cannot open to the Universe in this little comfortable box the way I can in the cold wet hot dry windy world.

People always ask, "Won't everyone just sit on the couch ...

2026-03-15T20:48:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…sr88
_________________________

People always ask, "Won't everyone just sit on the couch playing video games?" like that's a goddamned problem. FFS we should be so lucky that our biggest problem is too many sedentary gamers.

As our machinery becomes more sophisticated we should alter the ...

2026-03-15T20:48:19Z

As our machinery becomes more sophisticated we should alter the economic regime so that everyone is taken care of automatically, so you don't have to "earn a living" and can instead dedicate yourself to your vocation or hobbies or family or whatever.

> The first ‘active’ greenhouse to be built, as was ...

2026-03-15T05:54:28Z

> The first ‘active’ greenhouse to be built, as was discovered by chance in 2001 in a historical document, was in 15th century AD Korea. On the basis of the surviving document, entitled ‘Growing Vegetables During Winter’, a reconstruction of the greenhouse was made, and it was found to combine traditional heating technology with sophisticated heat retention features and control of condensation.

https://londonkoreanlinks.net/2019/11/22/the-worlds-first-active-greenhouse/

Via: https://permies.com/t/262705/Medieval-Korean-oiled-paper-greenhouses

#Permaculture #SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday

Here's a fellow who really knows where his towel is. ...

2026-03-09T05:43:19Z

Here's a fellow who really knows where his towel is.

#SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday #Homestead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa63fqDHmTQ

Seeds y'all! It took me a day and a half but I entered all my ...

2026-02-20T17:24:39Z

Seeds y'all!

It took me a day and a half but I entered all my seeds into a list on my computer. I have over five hundred varieties, mostly food crops but lots of other things as well.

This is in support of a #SeedLibrary and to help with planning for Spring.

#Permaculture #Gardening #SolarPunk

Nostr event nevent1qqsfynkphd2vlpywu28f9t4wrh76ny5sas5qne6f9ghqjw2x43kmrnszypgz78vylnlj79cahns3ndgsapvdsnawjkkmyfv9un742065k8cz2qyk2zx

2026-01-17T19:00:31Z

Medicine, properly understood, is a branch of ecology.

👍 Yeah, eh? I saw this in a footnote on an article about ...

2026-01-12T07:38:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…jymc
_________________________

👍 Yeah, eh? I saw this in a footnote on an article about making electric resistance heating elements.

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2025/10/how-to-build-an-electric-heating-element-from-scratch/

"Hot diodes!: Dirt cheap cooking and electricity for the ...

2026-01-11T03:33:17Z

"Hot diodes!: Dirt cheap cooking and electricity for the global poor?"

> using a chain of diodes instead of a resistive heater extracts more energy from a solar panel over a variety of solar intensities

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.deveng.2019.100044

#SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday

Folks, if I "go dark" know that I greatly appreciate our ...

2025-10-31T13:13:36Z

Folks, if I "go dark" know that I greatly appreciate our time together, and remember:

Stop driving,
Stop flying,
Stop buying (so much) crap.

Buy food from people you know.

-and-

Repent! Quit your job! Slack off!

The world ends tomorrow and YOU may DIE!

"Cinva Ram" simple manual rammed earth brick making ...

2025-10-25T17:56:12Z

"Cinva Ram" simple manual rammed earth brick making machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHfSd1Lkgss

https://www.dejongarchitecture.ca/research/cinva-ram

Sustainable durable construction can be this simple and straightforward. This puts a "floor" (no pun intended) on the building process in terms of embodied energy and infrastructure needed to construct durable buildings without cutting down a million trees, or emitting CO2 from concrete, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rammed_earth

https://www.appropedia.org/Rammed_earth

#SolarPunk #SolarPunkSunday #Permaculture

I'm still gigging off that article posted to the #SolarPunk ...

2025-10-24T17:25:31Z

I'm still gigging off that article posted to the #SolarPunk hashtag the other day dismissing spirituality in re: ecological harmony and fixing the climate...

First, yes, ecological literacy is crucial! As evolved organic beings it's insane to speak of "ecological literacy", because to do so is to tacitly admit how far we have allowed our civilizational trances to disconnect and drift away from the real world. Remember: Nature is real, city is artificial.

"salon" is a good word for that, eh?

2025-09-26T17:05:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…5cqh
_________________________

"salon" is a good word for that, eh?

I think the Whole Earth Catalogs (and the magazines and other ...

2025-09-21T15:18:42Z

I think the Whole Earth Catalogs (and the magazines and other things too) count as #SolarPunk, especially the "Next Whole Earth Catalog" (see "The Rising Sun" neighborhood newsletter excerpts in the lower left corners of the left page of each spread.) This book was where I first read about #Permaculture for example.

https://wholeearth.info/p/the-next-whole-earth-catalog-fall-1980

#SolarPunkSunday

We must align our small human ambitions with that most audacious ...

2025-09-13T18:12:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…hxtj
_________________________

We must align our small human ambitions with that most audacious Ambition of the goddess Gaia: eternity.

All life works together to continue living.

#Thue program for Laws of Form arithmetic. ()()::=() (())::= ::= ...

2025-08-13T21:37:44Z

#Thue program for Laws of Form arithmetic.

()()::=()
(())::=
::=

Thue: https://wiki.xxiivv.com/site/thue.html
LoF: http://www.markability.net/
LoF: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Form

#esolang #logic

In re: substack, I get that people need money. (I have been poor ...

2025-08-05T16:05:24Z

In re: substack, I get that people need money. (I have been poor most of my life.)

But "I need to give some money to people who support Nazis in order to get money myself." is BS. That person keeps shop (for a newsletter!) in occupied territory rather than anywhere else in the free world.

This is not Vichy France! They could leave any time.

Being scared, even of losing money, is not a good enough reason to pay to stay.

oh that's brutal! I'm so sorry. With friends like those ...

2025-08-04T14:32:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…apw0
_________________________

oh that's brutal! I'm so sorry. With friends like those who needs enemies, eh? Wow.

Yeah, I closed the tab at: "An AWS consultant who’d been ...

2025-08-04T14:02:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…asgj
_________________________

Yeah, I closed the tab at: "An AWS consultant who’d been covering my bills disappeared, citing losses from the FTX collapse."

Just so. It's a terrible loss, and I feel for them (I've ...

2025-08-04T14:00:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…ax0g
_________________________

Just so. It's a terrible loss, and I feel for them (I've been there. It sucks!) But the lesson here is to not trust a single point of failure (and to be careful to correctly identify those points!)

Also AWS sucks.

This person clearly misunderstands the concept of heterogeneous ...

2025-08-04T13:43:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…f36w
_________________________

This person clearly misunderstands the concept of heterogeneous redundant storage. They say so in the opening paragraph:

> Before anyone says “you put all your eggs in one basket,” let me be clear: I didn’t. I put them in one provider...

I don't think people like that can be helped.

We had to work hard to convince ourselves that cars were more ...

2025-07-20T00:51:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…m70t
_________________________

We had to work hard to convince ourselves that cars were more important than pedestrian lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxopfjXkArM

Don't think of "the homeless" as a group or a class, ...

2025-07-16T14:04:21Z

Don't think of "the homeless" as a group or a class, that's the first step in dehumanizing us. Normal folks want to avoid thinking about how it could happen to them, so there's a strong psychological "force" to perceive homeless folks as "not like us". The simple truth is that there are lots of different reasons why people wind up on the streets.

Oh no, I meant it in a good, a reassuring way.

2025-07-01T04:59:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…0k8c
_________________________

Oh no, I meant it in a good, a reassuring way.

Nostr event nevent1qqs89hkfth5kjz4j4c09m5grd5uw72my409qgy830fnykwvdn9pkh7szypgz78vylnlj79cahns3ndgsapvdsnawjkkmyfv9un742065k8cz2hlwky0

2025-07-01T03:58:19Z

Just a gentle reminder that Steve Martin is still alive.

The "global system of economics and governance actively ...

2025-06-20T22:31:07Z

The "global system of economics and governance actively incentivizing ecological devastation and imprisoning and killing those who stand up to it" *IS* the stupid insanity.

People blame Capitalism but the capitalists are slaves to the ...

2025-06-07T15:13:20Z

People blame Capitalism but the capitalists are slaves to the consumers. Stop buying it and they stop selling it. You know they will sell you Che t-shirts and Guy masks all day long.

straight-on, pedal to the metal, right at that wall/cliff ...

2025-05-26T17:36:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…9eku
_________________________

straight-on, pedal to the metal, right at that wall/cliff

Wherefor art thou Xists!?

BTW, living in harmony with nature and the world ecology ...

2025-05-26T17:30:31Z

BTW, living in harmony with nature and the world ecology isn't a "progressive cause". It's a do-or-die requirement of any durable society at all.

It's not some "nice to have", it's the foundation of life at all. Spoil the soil and you starve. Care for the soil and live.

I was homeless for about 4 or 5 years, so believe me when I say, ...

2025-05-13T15:31:01Z

I was homeless for about 4 or 5 years, so believe me when I say, rousting folks from their camps is super cruel. It's torment. It's beyond fucked up that such a rich nation punishes and torments our weak and damaged family, friends, and neighbors.

An oldie but a goodie. This is an excellent introduction to the ...

2025-04-10T14:12:29Z

An oldie but a goodie. This is an excellent introduction to the science of Ecology and how the living world works:

"Why Big Fierce Animals Are Rare: An Ecologist's Perspective", Paul Colinvaux, 1979

https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691178080/why-big-fierce-animals-are-rare

#Ecology #Permaculture #gardening

I picked up some Kenaf seeds from Siskiyou Seeds: > a fast ...

2025-04-01T15:30:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…ndvp
_________________________

I picked up some Kenaf seeds from Siskiyou Seeds:

> a fast growing plant that can be harvested after 3–4 months

> This hibiscus beat out hundreds of other plants in a USDA study seeking to identify the best alternatives to pine pulp for making newsprint paper. Kenaf won because it makes very fine paper, with 20% less energy than wood pulp requires, and with no clear-cutting of forests. It was recently used in Japan to make the world's thinnest paper.

https://www.siskiyouseeds.com/collections/grains/products/kenaf-ming-hong

I've posted this once before I think. Here's Shigeru Ban ...

2025-04-01T15:25:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…67ux
_________________________

I've posted this once before I think. Here's Shigeru Ban talking about the (very nice!) structures he builds with paper tubes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q43uXdOKPD8

As the title says, "Make Sodium Silicate (AKA "Water ...

2025-04-01T15:16:53Z

As the title says, "Make Sodium Silicate (AKA "Water Glass") from Cat Litter and Drain Opener"

This seems like one of the more detailed examples.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip-jDuM25FE

The idea here is that you use waterglass (what an awesome word!) to make paper into strong and fireproof building material.

One more time... (Apologies to those who have heard this before.) ...

2025-03-27T15:22:49Z

One more time... (Apologies to those who have heard this before.)

All the solutions we need to solve the climate crisis and take care of everybody at a decent standard of living while regenerating the damage we've done to the Earth's ecosystem (you know, that thing that makes the air) have already been developed.

1/5

All winter long it was just a stick. I would pass by and whisper, ...

2025-03-15T17:59:16Z

All winter long it was just a stick. I would pass by and whisper, "I expect great things in the Spring..."

No disappointment here. The Nanking Cherry has erupted in greenery.

#Permaculture #gardening

(What are "skews"?)

2025-03-14T17:03:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…qxjs
_________________________

(What are "skews"?)

There is a life energy. Cities mute the energy. Lack of ...

2025-02-09T15:55:18Z

There is a life energy. Cities mute the energy. Lack of connection to the Earth, chronic reduced flow of this energy, results in arrested development ("Hey, that's the name of the show!")

That's why it seems like the world is run by demented children: because it effectively is. Cities themselves are the "lead in the water" of life.

We need to regroup in the woods.

@npub1rgf…7ecj This is great stuff! Cheers! I've never ...

2025-02-02T19:49:23Z

Broadfork (npub1rgf…7ecj) This is great stuff! Cheers! I've never heard of John Kempf (Advancing Eco Agriculture) before.

"Plant Health Pyramid"

> As we have accomplished [resistance to diseases and insects] in the field on many types of crops, we’ve noticed a gradual evolution of plant health as plants become healthier and healthier at different stages of nutritional integrity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1wJefaFrVI

https://advancingecoag.com/article/plant-health-pyramid-1-photosynthesis/

https://advancingecoag.com/article/plant-health-pyramid-2/

https://advancingecoag.com/article/plant-health-pyramid-3/

https://advancingecoag.com/article/plant-health-pyramid-4/

Have you looked at dusty plasma yet? Dust in plasma can arrange ...

2025-01-09T16:04:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…xxkn
_________________________

Have you looked at dusty plasma yet? Dust in plasma can arrange in crystal lattice structures. Fun stuff.

A crude what you might call "metabolism" for a ...

2025-01-07T16:17:08Z

A crude what you might call "metabolism" for a regenerative village. It starts with the sun, of course, and it generates potable water, food, and carbon-neutral fuel all while improving the volume and vitality of the soil without causing any pollution whatsoever.

Based on:
• Ecology Action's GROW BioIntensive® system http://growbiointensive.org/
• David Blume's system from Whiskey Hill Farms & Science Center https://www.whiskeyhillfarms.com/
• Todd et. al. https://www.toddecological.com/

#Permaculture #SolarPunk

Simple copper coil and cob(?) water heater. ...

2024-12-29T01:49:46Z

Simple copper coil and cob(?) water heater.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9BQGamXLMk

#SolarPunk #Permaculture

You can put a wire mesh cage in a pond over 2m deep (low oxygen ...

2024-12-23T01:14:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…7gu2
_________________________

You can put a wire mesh cage in a pond over 2m deep (low oxygen that far down) with a tube to send organic material into it (with lid and maybe a plunger) and a funnel over it to catch methane. Top of funnel is 11" below water surface, which provides standard 15psi gas pressure to your stove/furnace/etc.

This is either in "PERMACULTURE: a Designer's Manual" or something Farmer Dave Blume told me in person? I'll see if I can find it...

It turns out the cheapest way to store water (temporarily!) are ...

2024-12-20T23:59:44Z

It turns out the cheapest way to store water (temporarily!) are these new above-ground backyard inflatable pools. I just got three of them that together will hold just under 11000 liters (3000 gallons) for US$200, about 1/10th the cost of a proper water tank.

These will be part of the greenhouse aquaculture system. Two of them will be kept at about 27℃ (80℉) and the third at about 50℃ (120℉) by a combination of compost heater, solar collector, and rocket mass heater.

#AriadneSystems

I don't mean good vs. evil good. I mean in the evolutionary ...

2024-12-10T15:56:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…7pcm
_________________________

I don't mean good vs. evil good. I mean in the evolutionary sense of what is the right course of action to keep the whole thing going as long as possible.

Even life Herself doesn't know the answer. Gaia is mortal, ...

2024-12-10T15:41:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…yaej
_________________________

Even life Herself doesn't know the answer. Gaia is mortal, evolved and evolving, just as we are.

She faces the same existential questions as we. Why am I here? WTF is going on? Oh shit, there are rocks in the sky!?

The ultimate question: what is good?

The thing about health is that it has no definition. You know it ...

2024-12-10T15:38:23Z

The thing about health is that it has no definition. You know it when you see it but it can't be defined.

> Every happy family is happy in the same way, every unhappy family is unhappy in a particular way.

Paraphrasing somebody, Tolstoy?

Anyway, each disease is a thing, health is more than the absence of disease, yet it is not a specific thing or condition.

So what is health? It cannot be divorced from the health of the world around you.

What is the evolutionary goal?

That's the root of the problems: the resistance to the flow ...

2024-12-09T01:42:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…tql5
_________________________

That's the root of the problems: the resistance to the flow of life energy. The mushroom and other friends can help us unblock, it's about creating "set and setting"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_and_setting

I'm developing an art style for Ariadne Systems and I really ...

2024-12-09T01:15:58Z

I'm developing an art style for Ariadne Systems and I really like the work of Yuumei ( https://www.yuumeiart.com/ ).

This image in particular has a fantastic vibe. The misty evening, the warm light, the balance of building and plant life.

This feels like a fun kind of world to live in...