Dirttime.org

What Would You Like To Read?

2010-07-08T20:38:29Z

I just put together an anonymous survey to help guide the content I’ll be posting in my new blog on YaelWrites.com. Please do fill it out to let me know what you want me to write about–and I’ll get to it!

The survey has just two short questions. First, you’ll check off one or more topics that you’d be interested in reading about. Next, you can write any other comments you might have.

Thank you in advance for your participation. I really appreciate it.

The survey link is here:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WZNHJCX

We’ve Moved

2010-07-06T04:03:50Z

After many years of maintaining a blog right here at DirtTime.org, I’ve decided to move my site to YaelWrites.com.

Although this new site primarily serves as a dynamic writing portfolio, I also plan on updating the blog with weekly posts on everything from books to food to philosophy and politics to, of course, plant medicine and wilderness survival.

In fact, if you head over to YaelWrites.com right now, you can see live video footage of the monkeys I saw on a hike in Costa Rica!

(If you are subscribing through an RSS feed, please head to YaelWrites.com to subscribe.)

Thank you for your continued support–in the comments section, on facebook and twitter, through e-mail, phone calls and letters, or simply by reading. It is very much appreciated.

And here’s to the next chapter!

Bugs Be Gone

2010-06-26T18:54:41Z

Bugs! Mosquitoes, ticks, flies and other pests can ruin outings and even transmit such diseases as West Nile Virus and Lyme Disease. Most commercial bug sprays are toxic and, worse yet, ineffective. What’s a nature lover to do?

Luckily, there are natural options, including foods, vitamins, essential oils and more. Learn to banish bugs the natural way by signing up for Bugs Be Gone.

You’ll get:

* an audio recording with information to help you keep away pesky critters–while sparing your health and the environment

* a PDF file of the material covered–which you can refer to in the weeks and months to come

* your very own non-toxic bug spray, made according to your specifications

All this for just $25.00. Supplies are limited, so this will only be available for the first ten people. Sign up today to make sure you’re one of them! The audio file and PDF will be sent to you on July 1st, and I’ll handcraft your bug spray, according to your preferences, and mail it out within two business days.

Milk Moon

2010-05-23T22:35:26Z

In following the Full Moon Feast moon cycles, the next moon upon us is Milk Moon. Since I’ve already written about raw milk, and there’s some great resources found on the internet, I’ll post the links. And although the legalization of raw milk in Wisconsin is (hopefully) pending, it is ironic that I have to buy my milk on the black market through a dealer. Ain’t this the dairy state? The book contains recipes for homemade yogurt, yogurt cheese peras, and kefir… but I have yet to try these recipes out. The warm frothed milk with saffron and cardamom is tasty, though, and I’ve made clabbered cottage cheese already. I tested the recipe for creamy salad dressing, but had to substitute cream for creme fraiche (who knows where I’d find such a thing.)

Anyway, here’s some milk resources:

A little bit about dairy in a Paleo diet, by the amazing Jen Higgins.

The Campaign for Real Milk, by the Weston A. Price Foundation

Some Like It Raw–an article I wrote about raw milk a couple years ago

Question the Rules: My Review

2010-05-19T21:06:28Z

I have a love-hate relationship with (or should I say, addiction to) information products. I’ve probably spent a cool thousand trying to learn how to successfully launch an e-book, start a small business, market my writing, build an empire, get right with money, and work on my patterns… mostly with limited success, I must admit.

When I got word that Question the Rules program was launching, I totally didn’t want to pay for it. But when I heard that Lee and Johnny were looking for guinea pigs for a discounted price, I couldn’t resist putting my critic hat on and going for broke. Here’s my review, and some of my favorite tunes. (I’d tell you how cool these guys are, but that wouldn’t be very punk rock. Let’s just say they’re normal guys that picked up a ton of cool shit along the way, along with the ability to distill it. Or, if that’s not enough, their the bios are plastered on the site.)

Described as “the nonconformist’s punk rock, DIY, nuts-and-bolts guide to creating the business and life you really want, starting with what you already have,” Question the Rules is a vast collection of audio files covering some essential but often neglected aspects of the whole business-building thing.

The first module is about the d.i.y. mindset. As someone who started self-publishing at the age of twelve (cutting out strips of typewritten prose, pasting them on dark magazine-ad cutouts and spraypainting the whole thing with Halloween hair paint before heading to Staple’s) I think I needed the reminder that the punk rock mindset can apply to many things–like, maybe even things I’m trying to do today.

The second module covers goal-setting, but not in the annoying school counselor or Franklin Covey “will that meet your needs over time?” way. Instead the focus is on figuring out what your real goals are, and what you can do to realize those goals right now without waiting for some moment in the far-off future.

The third module is on belief and faith, but not in a church sermon or New Age-y type of way. Although I’m pretty much agnostic, this section pretty much made sense to me. At this point, my cynical self was getting a bit edgy since I couldn’t find anything to rip apart.

The final module was actually a series of three audio files on the ins and outs of networking and how to do it in a non-slimy way that doesn’t piss people off (but still helps you get what you want.)

Finally, there are a ton of bonus interviews with some rock stars, including a few that don’t have a zillion interviews plastered all over the internet. (In addition, Lee and Johnny give good interviews and focused on specifics that are different than the bajillion other interviews out there.)

PROS: I found the content incredibly useful and a lot of fun to listen to. I liked that it’s not a cut-and-dried, step-by-step approach but focuses more on philosophy and mindset in addition to personal anecdotes we can sometimes apply to our own lives and businesses (or use our own brains and creativity to adapt to our unique circumstances). In the world of self-professed internet gurus, I found the approach refreshing. So many products are authoritarian step-by-step guides found everywhere that often don’t work for unique situations. And then the developers wonder why they’re getting a lot of e-mail with questions (as people try to fit their circular businesses and lives into a box-shaped pattern) and wonder why people guru-ify them (the inevitable outcome of a “do what I did and be rich and famous like me” approach). And as someone who grew up with a love for all things punk rock (I was a part of the riot grrrl movement), I got personal satisfaction out of seeing the strategies I was attracted to back in the day applied to the type of work I’m attempting to do now.

CONS: Although there are practical strategies, this is definitely not an overnight effort, nor is it specific to any one industry. If looking for specific results in the short-term, this is probably not the product to buy. It’s great food for thought that will help with long-term strategy, and can help put you back in the right direction, but it’s certainly not something I’d see as absolutely essential. Also, they mispronounced Sedoku.

MY EXPERIENCE: It may be a coincidence, but I happened to land a couple of nice gigs I didn’t apply for shortly after listening to the QRT audio–and while contemplating the approaches described. (Of course, I also work my little tale off, which may have something to do with it. But I’ve been doing that for years.) And even though Ben Weasel pissed off my middle school self in the early ’90s when he wrote a song about how he didn’t give a shit about Nicaragua (he can’t even spell it right), QTR-inspired nostalgia still compelled me to go buy Screeching Weasel tickets for this summer. Watch out! It could happen to you!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the review and music. Check out Question the Rules here, if you’re interested. And feel free to post your favorite punk rock vid links in the comments. I miss that shit.