Good crops and The Panic of 1873

Surprisingly, economic historians are currently battling it out on whether the “circumstances” we are in now resemble those of The Great Panic of 1873 more than those of the Great Depression of 1929 or for that matter the 1983 recession! (more). As economics has forever suffered from a lack of identity as either an [...]

Solar Water Heater for less than $5!

Kate Melua has a song that begins with the improbable statistic, “there are nine million bicycles in Beijing, that’s a fact’, which I would love to challenge, but I always let her go with it-after all I have never been to China and I am enchanted by her voice.
Here is another statistic from that mysterious [...]

Low Income Solar Farmers?

While reading the 2005 Energy Policy Act summary in wikipedia today, I momentarily wished I lived in Colorado where, unlike other states, they actually pay cash for you to supply solar energy to the utility company. (more)
This 2005 Energy Policy Act has a provision in it to allow independent power producers-you, the homeowner- to connect [...]

Affordable Housing or Couch Potatoes?

In the early sixties we were taken aback when Marshall McLuhan declared that it did not matter if television broadcasted children’s shows or violent programming, the effect of television on society would be identical! (Understanding Media). Back then we used to joke around more about stuff like that and so we named the “effect” [...]

First Time Homebuyers Credit

The Senate is considering whether to increase the first time home buyers credit from $7500 to $15000, and to make it a straight credit and not a repayable loan. The fate of that measure is in the balance.(more)
It crossed my mind that first time home buyers might be able to use that credit to [...]

King Carrot’s birthday bash

My sixtieth birthday arrived last week and I wanted to spend the day doing all the activities I would like to occupy my next forty years with…like growing food in our yard, and nourishing its soil.
But what should I plant in my yard? I chose carrots although I don’t know [...]