tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024Thu, 24 May 2012 06:30:59 +0000no-digAvilaham leek and potato bakewind powerfishlightingalternative car fuelsfreecappuccinoeco-drivingvertical livinghomesteadingprojectseBayfirewoodrecommended readingSkypewillowAsturiassustainabilitysolar heatinglifehackingdownsizingcider makingoff-grid livingcut your own hairnanotechnologynuclear powermulchrecipesrenewable energylettuceegg fried ricedumpster divingcontainer growingsailing and boatingsconesheadphone repairglobal warmingwificarbon footprintplastic weldingclimate changecomputersfurnituredietcorporate greedhousinghome insulationdrainagepollutionSpainhuntingfreeganubuntuself-relianceenergy savingskip divingmoney savingonion growingcarbon capturecar boot salesGM foodH5N1democracyoccupyLSXclean coalchocolate muffinssavoniusoverpopulationchristmasgoldenvironmentelectric vehiclesfreecycleglobalisationmend itlocal foodpolicepolytunnelcurryelectricitygreen lifestylehumanurewatertreesbreadbatteriesscooterhome heatingphotovoltaicpermacultureSpanishflourecopunkwood stovesbio-fuelpotatoestelephonefrugal livingchicken stockbird flurecyclingpopulationcouponspoliticsvegetable growingvideosfuel povertytelevisionelectronicseconomicsenergyorange juicefabric softenerpestsfoodwood gasvolunteeringwwoofcoffeecompostingcommunicationsseptic systempeak oilhealthclothes washingIrelandmoneytransportationzero carbonhttp://www.ecopunk.org.uk/noreply@blogger.com (James)Blogger1033125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-9081633892190867106Wed, 23 May 2012 11:30:00 +00002012-05-24T07:30:59.943+01:00renewable energy They won't have anything to do with nuclear or fossil fuels but put a renewable energy source near them and they go mental. What are they going to do when the last power station is shut down? We know the type and they love their electricity so where do they think a future electricity supply is going to come from? We can get a taste of what is to come by looking at Japan. All Japanese nuclearhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/uU5xFETYpec/arent-nimbys-idiots.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/uU5xFETYpec" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2012/05/arent-nimbys-idiots.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-3763293171883452895Sat, 05 May 2012 13:02:00 +00002012-05-13T09:30:01.571+01:00mulchvegetable growing With slightly warmer weather the vegetables are putting on a spurt of growth. So too are the weeds. The compost, made last year, is full of clover and grass seed which is eager to start growing. In the picture above I have shallots growing in an old fish box. It's too fiddly weeding it so I decided to use newspaper mulch to keep the weeds down. Just tear the paper into strips and ensure thathttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/svsmMh0lYJ8/newspaper-mulch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/svsmMh0lYJ8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2012/05/newspaper-mulch.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-911316252836750030Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:57:00 +00002012-04-16T16:39:55.117+01:00 I will be contending with odd weather and drought this year. Already, early potato growth has died following a few unusually frosty nights for April. My tomato plants are indoors tonight and probably every night this week. Many more counties in the southern half of England are now officially in drought. Water authorities have banned the use of hose pipes. I don't usually use a hose to water myhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/C7sOX5zDLvI/tough-year-for-growing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/C7sOX5zDLvI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2012/04/tough-year-for-growing.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-6512997862598694269Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:17:00 +00002012-04-05T16:17:32.226+01:00 More cyberpunk than ecopunk but important all the same. The government is going to snoop on us even more than they already do. All web, email and mobile phone traffic is to be monitored. As I have said in the past, the rise of China will not mean that we make the Chinese government more Western but that Western governments will become more Chinese. Some say that there will be checks and http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/iej165eQ6KU/big-brother-gets-bigger.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/iej165eQ6KU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2012/04/big-brother-gets-bigger.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-5259172354869558003Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:42:00 +00002012-03-30T09:47:48.083+01:00 I have often wondered what the big run-down of Western Civilisation will be like. Violent like last summer's riots or some display of intelligence from our celebrity obsessed nation. Okay, that is asking too much. The former is much more likely. When people are desperate they steal. We see it already, not only during the riots of 2011. Theft of metals are never off the news. And now people http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/XM-j5ZZmzFc/scramble-for-resources.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/XM-j5ZZmzFc" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2012/03/scramble-for-resources.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-4495966769849755560Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:47:00 +00002012-03-15T14:47:56.156Zbreadfood An article on the BBC website reminded me of bread waste. My parents are always wasting bread. Two days after buying it a loaf is pushed to the back of the bread bin and a new loaf bought. I am always collecting bread from them and putting it to good use. Often, the excuse is "It's gone hard!" The reason why bread goes a little firm after two or three days is loss of water. A simple cure for http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/-yQHXpZXk-s/nuke-your-bread-to-make-it-last.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/-yQHXpZXk-s" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2012/03/nuke-your-bread-to-make-it-last.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-2794771679223804984Tue, 28 Feb 2012 12:40:00 +00002012-02-28T12:44:03.437Z The BBC reports that London has shanty towns though you won't be able to comment on the news story because you might say something against the multi-cult and the BBC doesn't like that. Asians looking to make more money out of the UK, build shacks at the bottom of their gardens and rent them out to a never ending stream of illegal immigrants. London, one of the richest cities in the world, is http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/hE51D6NKAto/uk-is-shit-everyone-for-themselves.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/hE51D6NKAto" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2012/02/uk-is-shit-everyone-for-themselves.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-2792833697619330006Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:49:00 +00002012-02-07T15:49:35.886ZcouponsCut as in don't bother. When you go to the cheapest supermarkets in the country and never buy processed food then there is little point to cutting out coupons. I have talked about coupons in the past but will do so again seeing as the BBC is running a story on "Extreme Couponing", a fad over there (America) and therefore coming here (soon). But probably not. Everything I buy is the cheapest http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/m7dAU-9nguk/cut-coupons.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/m7dAU-9nguk" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2012/02/cut-coupons.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-540386477737350532Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:26:00 +00002012-02-05T23:29:30.373Z "Service with a Scowl" should be the motto of the US Customs and Border Protection. Any time I went to New York, to work for Reuters, I would be berated by the CBP staff in a manner that reminded me of any Western movie where someone is passing through town and is looked upon as a being from another planet. And now the CBP turns people back because of the content of their Twitter accounts. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/OUfeWFMO1io/how-many-more-reasons-do-i-need-to-not.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/OUfeWFMO1io" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2012/01/how-many-more-reasons-do-i-need-to-not.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-876163588393153114Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:01:00 +00002012-01-26T19:47:13.978Z The not so great and the anything but good are meeting in Davos for their yearly get together. Rudderless and without ideas they bleat their perennial mantra of growth. One simpleton says, "By 2030, 4.8 billion people will be middle-class... And once people are in the middle class, they start to consume and drive economic growth." Notwithstanding my hatred of the word "middle-class", the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/sSR2ZFWEnAs/they-still-dont-get-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/sSR2ZFWEnAs" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2012/01/they-still-dont-get-it.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-9079942774876997749Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:13:00 +00002012-01-27T15:21:01.838Z I've just finished reading When China Rules the World by Martin Jacques. I'm glad I bought a refurbished Kindle reader (£10 discount from Amazon) as it means I read an awful lot more. Having sold off a few hundred books during my period of downsizing and not being surrounded by stacks of books, I found myself reading less. The Kindle has turned that around. Most books are free, you just have http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/ncCN325o5ZQ/when-china-rules-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/ncCN325o5ZQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2012/01/when-china-rules-world.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-3461746852328553157Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:10:00 +00002012-01-06T12:18:56.363Z I popped into the supermarket this morning, after collecting a few Freecycle items. The supermarket was desperately getting people to spend by playing muzak with a consumption theme. An awful cover version of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" being one unsavoury example. I bought three tins of ASDA tomato soup for 72p and noticed someone else buying the same but of the Heinz variety, for http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/z33-uRNIzMA/do-you-self-price.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/z33-uRNIzMA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2012/01/do-you-self-price.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-7172365766412324569Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:32:00 +00002012-01-03T19:32:53.856Z When the shop is not going out of business and they are willing to sell something for a 90% discount. As I've mentioned before, I find it amazing that people are willing to pay for things that cost next to nothing to be made in China, shipped in containers to our shores and then have a couple of zeros added to the price tag. There is no such thing as a free lunch. If a shop can afford to http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/8KrmB9mutws/when-is-sale-not-sale.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/8KrmB9mutws" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2012/01/when-is-sale-not-sale.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-5254165371697991641Sat, 31 Dec 2011 15:03:00 +00002012-01-01T21:32:58.386Z That's another year negotiated, on the cheap. It's been a year of realisations. The main one being that I don't need to live in the middle of nowhere to live the way that I do. In fact, it is easier to live cheaply in an urban environment than it is in the countryside. When I lived in the countryside of County Kerry you had to drive everywhere and pay for an awful of petrol or you didn't drivehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/JgXIRK6yjsA/farewell-2011.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/JgXIRK6yjsA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2011/12/farewell-2011.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-8009046893559814183Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:16:00 +00002011-12-21T09:18:55.642Z I took the car out, on a rare journey, to collect some stuff on Freecycle. Driving is not easy when only one in four street lights is on. Such is life in the UK where councils are forced to switch off street lights to make ends meet. I don't ever expect things to get back to "normal". As other parts of the world develop, the west will regress until the west and the rest meet somewhere at a http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/s7TQNlxdY1M/decline-of-western-civilisation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/s7TQNlxdY1M" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2011/12/decline-of-western-civilisation.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-6883161757928490521Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:53:00 +00002011-12-07T12:40:26.287Z Plenty in the news to make one angry with the world. Particularly the so-called free and democratic west. I must admit, as a boy during the Cold War I was well and truly duped into the term, free and democratic west. You are only free so long as you keep your mouth shut, watch television and buy junk you don't really need. And on with the rant... I suppose the Occupy camps in North America http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/i3NDdPlVgK0/in-news.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/i3NDdPlVgK0" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2011/11/in-news.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-4592809426850956019Fri, 18 Nov 2011 22:15:00 +00002011-11-19T12:51:14.865Zrecycling I took all the scrap metals I collected during the year to a local dealer and earned £26. I took that money straight to a supermarket and stocked up with a month's worth of food to supplement what I grew in the garden this year. With copper at over £3000 per tonne, brass at £2200, aluminium at £500 and motors/transformers at £300 there is money to be made from even a modest amount of scrap. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/DK50UXgr7Vc/months-food-for-half-hours-work.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/DK50UXgr7Vc" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2011/11/months-food-for-half-hours-work.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-1529646048577706349Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:24:00 +00002011-11-01T12:25:25.446ZSkypecommunicationsNokia is opening up free Wifi in central London. This is the sort of thing I want to see throughout the country. The Internet is empowering, as we have seen throughout the Arab world this year. Along with food, water, and a roof over your head, the Internet should be a basic necessity for all. Now I won't have to wardrive (warwalk) for free Internet access when I am next in London. The http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/hw4e78MoS54/free-telephone-calls-in-central-london.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/hw4e78MoS54" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2011/11/free-telephone-calls-in-central-london.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-2227252205771622603Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:17:00 +00002011-11-01T11:17:35.466ZpopulationSo, the population surpasses 7 billion. Time for celebration. Well, the earth only has a carrying capacity for 1 billion, if we all live to the standard the west enjoys. And, as our "betters" in positions of "leadership" believe that they are going to drag everyone in the world out of poverty, I shan't be celebrating, just preparing for population collapse. The scenes that we saw in our cities http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/eycUn0J1En0/7-billion-6-billion-too-many.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)6<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/eycUn0J1En0" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2011/11/7-billion-6-billion-too-many.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-6992795206300621895Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:54:00 +00002011-10-30T18:54:53.219ZSkypecommunicationsIt was always my intention to use my recently purchased (on eBay) Nokia E63 as a WiFi phone rather than paying the extortionate fees for using a 3G mobile network when there are plenty of WiFi networks that cost nothing. As soon as my parcel arrived from the eBay seller, I went to Skype website's Symbian download page for Nokia phones. The installation was simple enough. I called Skype's test http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/XaHzEdAANPQ/skype-running-on-nokia-e63-after-little.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/XaHzEdAANPQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2011/10/skype-running-on-nokia-e63-after-little.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-4792200107179524292Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:25:00 +00002011-10-26T10:25:34.989+01:00occupyLSX During the recent looting in London and the rest of the UK, the media kept us "up to date" but above all frightened whilst never doing the same about the bankers, corporations and politicians that loot from us daily. Now, "Occupy" protesters throughout the world are being harried by the media. The media reports on the (anything but) poor church losing £20,000 a day because it had to close for http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/9ERdaBMfDN4/and-now-television-shows-its-true.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/9ERdaBMfDN4" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2011/10/and-now-television-shows-its-true.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-7534397665634539638Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:43:00 +00002011-10-25T11:20:35.787+01:00telephonefrugal livingeBaySkypecommunications Not a new one. Not one on contract. Not even one that I am going to use as a Pay As You Go phone. I was impressed with the Nokia E63 when it came out, a number of years ago. In particular, the option to use WiFi rather than the latest Pay Through The Nose generation of mobile telephony. I also liked the full qwerty keyboard rather than a greasy touchscreen that will fail to work after a year http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/V-2Iyo7dQfc/erm-i-bought-mobile-phone.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/V-2Iyo7dQfc" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2011/10/erm-i-bought-mobile-phone.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-2378023499683217483Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:02:00 +00002011-10-23T15:03:24.382+01:00 The Libyan people are free... to watch, as western countries trip over each other in the mad scramble to buy oil with worthless bits of paper and, before the Libyans know what has happened to them, forced to buy weapons and other bits of rubbish they don't need, with the same bits of paper that have devalued in their hands. When I spent time in México, I was told of a saying, "México is so farhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/U1pL84BE9fE/all-hail-gaddafi-dead-libya-free.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/U1pL84BE9fE" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2011/10/all-hail-gaddafi-dead-libya-free.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-826121045637426269Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:37:00 +00002011-10-23T20:02:10.245+01:00occupyLSX So, the Occupy London Stock Exchange protesters have, through their actions, closed St Paul's Cathedral. What nonsense! Obviously, a corporate donor to the Church of England has leaned on the church. Of course, the first corporations were created by the church. Huge money making organisations centred around monasteries. Indulgences, relics and control over the people. It's like the French http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/Dk1W1EK_aOk/church-shows-its-true-colours.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/Dk1W1EK_aOk" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2011/10/church-shows-its-true-colours.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13068024.post-224472377143360824Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:44:00 +00002011-10-19T11:46:45.401+01:00economics It seems to be an odd question. How on Earth can 1% control 99%? After all, we are supposed to be in a democracy. We are many. They are few. In reality, we do not live in a democracy. We live in a plutocracy where the 1% with real wealth use their wealth to divide and conquer the nation. Admiral Nelson was greeted by a superior force at the Battle of Trafalgar. He divided the Spanish and http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecopunk/~3/yRh3tvjAgaM/how-do-1-control-99.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ecopunk/~4/yRh3tvjAgaM" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.ecopunk.org.uk/2011/10/how-do-1-control-99.html