Serious about the environment? If so, build an earthship

If you're really serious about preserving the earth's resources, you can build and live in an "earthship." Each type of earthship is defined by the following set of principles: * Thermal/Solar Heating & Cooling * Solar & Wind Electricity * Contained Sewage Treatment * Building with Natural & Recycled Materials * Water Harvesting * Food Production For instance, with regard to electricity,

Earthships produce their own electricity with a prepackaged photovoltaic / wind power system. This energy is stored in batteries and supplied to your electrical outlets. Earthships can have multiple sources of power, all automated, including grid-intertie.

Lots of photos and details regarding earthships can be viewed at this website. There are many varieties, including retrofitted pre-existing housing, described here, this section serving as another review of the basic principles. Here is a video introduction:

Continue ReadingSerious about the environment? If so, build an earthship

Pick your plot

A friend sent me the this youtube, "The Time Machine," which allows you to chose your path through a time travel adventure. I hadn't seen this sort of thing before, and can't quite decide whether the choice points are entertaining or annoying, as a general principle. It's obvious that the authors of this particular video had a fund time creating it.

Continue ReadingPick your plot

The psychology of becoming a soldier

In 1983, PBS gave this extraordinary unvarnished view of what it means to be trained to be a soldier. The six-part documentary is called "Anybody's Son Will Do," and the documentary focuses on boot camp at Paris Island. Here's one of the opening quotes: "The secret about basic training is that it's not really about teaching people things at all. It's about changing people so that they can do things they wouldn't have dreamed of doing otherwise." In Part III, the instructor asks the trainees to name that special person to whom they are dedicating all of their hard training. The answer: To your enemy, so that he can "die for his country." The commentator adds that it doesn't really matter who the enemy is. Rather, it's the idea of an "outside threat that binds a combat unit together so strongly that its members will make the most extraordinary sacrifices for each other." In part V, the commentator mentions another key point of basic training: They indoctrinate the recruits with the idea that the enemy--whoever he may be--is not fully human, and so it's all right to kill him." Here's an excerpt from an actual training session (also from Part V, starting at the 2:30 mark), discussing the extent which the Marines need to destroy the enemy:

You want to rip out his eyeballs, you want to tear apart his love machine. You want to destroy him, privates! You don't wanna have nothing left of him. You want to send him home in a glad bag to his mommy." [loud laughing from the recruits] . . . Marines are born trained killers, and you've got to prove that every day."
Here's part I: It's apparent throughout this documentary that soldier training depends upon hating one's enemy. It is also apparent that many of the members of the military are religious. Somehow, through this mix, the religious command to "Love your enemy" co-exists with the military command to "Hate your enemy."

Continue ReadingThe psychology of becoming a soldier

Ross Perot, Ron Paul, Sarah Palin?

I'm perforce following the antics of the Tea Party movement. This organization couldn't have snowballed without the Web 2.0 social networking system to enable it. Perot didn't have any access to such power in 1992. Ron Paul tried, but it hadn't yet reached critical mass. This is probably the answer to a question I recently posted as a response on (facepalm) FaceBook:

Where was that Tea Party 7 years ago, after the president declared "Mission Accomplished" in that elective war? That excursion from reality was a significant factor in converting the budget surplus he inherited into record debt. As was his creation of the largest government bureaucracy ever (Homeland Security) nominally to do what other agencies were already supposed to be doing. Then his decision to roll back those pesky banking regulations established in the 1930's to prevent lenders from packaging bad debts as good bets, sure has worked out well.

But now there is a coordinated effort to undermine the legacy political process by uniting people of disparate intentions under a single banner. Anarchists, Libertarians, Christian-nationists, assault-rifles-for-the-kids, and anti-taxers now gather together in front of cameras from every corner of the nation. Who is the current figurehead of the movement? Sarah Palin. Not that Ron Paul is yet out of the running. But certain faith-based reports count him out of Tea Party support. Maybe I'm just confused, but I'd really like to see an actual Tea Party party in the next big election. This would be a true referendum on how much support they have. But as near as I can tell from my casual reading, the Tea Party goal is not to take responsibility, but rather to sink candidates from the other parties who disagree with their very particular simple positions on complex issues.

Continue ReadingRoss Perot, Ron Paul, Sarah Palin?

William Black shoots straight about Lehman Fraud

William Black speaks bluntly about what should be criminal acts of the government and Lehman. He talks about the pathetic staffing of federal regulators, that don't constitute excuses (as some are now claiming), but admissions. These plain and undeniable facts should be on the front page of every newspaper. Our government caved to the pressure of the entities being regulated and crippled its own investigative team. We need to hear a lot more rhetoric of this clarity and tone.

Continue ReadingWilliam Black shoots straight about Lehman Fraud