Beau M. Davidson

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since Dec 20, 2015
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Beau Micah Davidson is a permaculturist and natural builder, lo-tech mycologist, herb farmer, acoustical and audio engineer, homesteader, tradesman, artist, husband, and dad. Prior to homesteading and permaculture, his experience included a successful career in the Nashville music industry, a painters and fine finishers apprenticeship in Melbourne, Australia, and an analog recording studio in the urban core of Kansas City.  This is where he met his wife, Kristen, and together, they fell in love with soil & microbes, started a family, and moved to Beau's 6-generation farm in South Central Kansas, where they now specialize in growing and wildcrafting culinary and medicinal herbs, mushrooms, and woodland goods.  Beau and Kristen serve on the Leadership Team for Estuaries, a ministry seeking to incite a cultural ecology that fosters spiritually holistic, emotionally healthy, and intellectually rich believers who are capable of engaging meaningfully with culture.  He holds a B.S. in Recording Industry Management: Production & Technology, with minors in Mass Communications and Film.
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Recent posts by Beau M. Davidson

Phil Stevens wrote:If you need portability and low power consumption, a Raspberry Pi or similar running Linux with e-ink display might do what you want and be very DIY friendly.



I will consider this - thanks.
1 week ago

Daniel Andy wrote:As a software engineer, i suggest a less portable solition: a regular pc with an e-ink monitor.  They make separate monitors you can plug into a regular pc, touchscreen if you want it.

Given that durability and repairability are (or should be!) Key concerns for any technology you buy...theres just no way a tablet will fit that.

Tablets and phones become e waste at a much faster rate  and volume than desktop PCs do.

Its also important to mention that unlike tablets and phones, PCs do not run out of viable security updates in a handful of years of use.

A standard pc with replacemeable components connected to a monitor that does what you want is the way to go.



This is a great idea.  I will dabble with it a bit.

For certain applications, I do need a bit of portability.  For instance, taking work into the sunshine where a normal monitor is difficult to see, and record-keeping, instruction, and planning in the field.  

But your pc with e-ink display scores very high by most permie tech standards.  

Thanks.
1 week ago
My daughter brought home a little cup of dragon tounge beans from school yesterday.  Never grown them - excited to watch her progress.

Jeremy VanGelder wrote:I haven't tried it. But the PineNote runs Linux.



Have you used a pinenote, Jeremy?
1 week ago
80% of the common respondents are going to poopoo this question, or try to divert it into more primitive solutions, because said device has a circuit board and stuff, and costs dollars instead of sunchoke tubers.  

I know, I know, "just use paper and pencil," or "you can make your own paper with nettle fiber" etc etc etc.

But this is an internet forum that exists upon a digital foundation, and a big chunk of the world out there is interested in relevant, modern tech that addresses some permie concerns.  

A couple years ago, at Uncle Mud's request, Paul talked about a pathway for the quasi-connected permie to get a thinkpad, load up some version of linux, and render this long-lived computer a servant to the agrarian, rather than vice versa.  I see this inquiry as adjacent to that.  

So I beseech thee - have you used a digital device with a non-glowing display that meets your needs in the field and in the biologically appropriate home of the permie in the year of our lord, 2026?  If so, please respond.  I call upon your assistance.  
1 week ago
I'm still on that kick of trying not to use glowing screens when the sun's not shining, but my work at present demands certain things must be done after sunset or before sunrise.

My wife has a ReMarkable, which she likes a lot, but it's basically a digital replacement for paper books, notepads, and pencils.  I borrow it sometimes for notes or reading.  It's cool, and it does things I like, but mostly I like paper and pencil.  When I need things a computer does, the ReMarkable will not do them.

There are a few foreign brands of e-ink phones out there that seem like they might do okay, but they're still just a phone, and the reviews are mixed.  For writing at lengh, I need a keyboard and larger screen (even though I'm usually looking over the top of it), and I want something I can use in the sun and doesn't glow at night.

I'm thinking of trying Daylight's DC-1.  Any permies using that?

There are things I like about it:
- e-ink, optional dimmable warm backlight
- supposedly fast refresh
- seems like it will support most of my worky-correspondence, homestead management field work, copywriting, and late study needs, though I'll have to keep doing video editing and web development and testing on desktop.

There are things I wish it was that it isn't:
- I don't love android and wish it was a Linux-compatible machine with an e-ink display

There are things I don't know about it:
- How long will it last?  
- Will it survive occasional, mild abuse?
- Will it support all the stupid apps I have to occasionally use?
1 week ago
Since permies is an internet space, there is some black hat vs white hat stuff going on here, too.  

I feel like it takes some spoons to do white hat stuff in a black hat world,

But, having done so results in gaining more spoons, and keeping more spoons than you would have lost in the black hat path.  

There is permaculture in that - doing the hard work of creating a healthy online ecosystem that attempts to be sleaze-proof is hard work, and slow work, and constant work, but it is the more spoon-conserving and spoon-replicating path.

Sure, you hit some weeks of sleaze-surge, but the net positive of the small, daily work is exponential over the long haul.
Esteban Rang the Bel!  He just cashed in on 10% of the funds in the BEL for making 100 picture and story-rich posts about his experience in the Bootcamp.  

Way to go, Esteban

As such, we need a new wave of investment to build the fund back up.  Who can I put down for $100?  $500?  

Seriously, who could resist this face?

4 weeks ago

Esteban Ademovski wrote:

Beau M. Davidson wrote:

Esteban Ademovski wrote:Boom 💥  ... I'm ringing the bell ... I hit my 100th post yesterday

https://permies.com/t/192/361444/quiet-hours-bootcamp-grind-Esteban

It has been such a great experience being here at Wheaton Labs ... learning a lot and having many laughs along the way ...



Hey, congrats Esteban!!  Well done!



Thank you so much, Beau!

It’s truly been a joy documenting my experiences at Wheaton Labs and reaching that 100th post milestone — ringing the bell felt like a meaningful moment in the journey.

When you have a chance, could you please send me a PM? I have a few questions about what comes next after ringing the bell and what you’ll need from me moving forward.

Thank you again 🙏




I sent you an email.  Did you get that?
4 weeks ago

Esteban Ademovski wrote:Boom 💥  ... I'm ringing the bell ... I hit my 100th post yesterday

https://permies.com/t/192/361444/quiet-hours-bootcamp-grind-Esteban

It has been such a great experience being here at Wheaton Labs ... learning a lot and having many laughs along the way ...



Hey, congrats Esteban!!  Well done!
1 month ago