James Koss

Thanks for sharing this interesting conversation. I can tell that they've both fought hard to make their communities, but I can also tell that older guys don't realize how much worse life has become. More expensive, less opportunities, greater demands, and more social isolation than ever. Sure it used to be hard and messed up even before, but by now it's way worse - and it's still escalating.

A community is when people have your back and you have theirs, no matter how difficult it gets. But Stephen is running party-town flavored with nature. Of course that works. But what about the agriculture? And the community? Almost two hours without showing that their agriculture is feeding them and that their members are protected, rather than just another expat business with transient customers and guests.

And both guys can tell that the corporate hammer is still banging, as loud as ever. And those corporations that spray kids with chemicals aren't just doing it for money; they think it's funny and deserving. And the only people stopping them from finally getting rid of anyone who points out their crimes is going to disappear with my generation, because we can't buy land and find a wife and so on.

I hope that older guys shift gears before it's too late. Drop the pretense about learning skills, having fun, or whatever else gives someone the right to exist. We need to come together to live a natural life, or the corporations win. And they are winning.

eric fisher wrote:
Interesting account, I really find this stuff fascinating. It's a tough call. How would you engage someone like me who is good at making tough and usually effective decisions but prefers to be distant wrapped up in his own head most of the time and cannot abide constant meetings.  

It's funny to be reminded of this post after 5 years. Gotta love how online conversations never have to go stale.

Some community designs may plan long term to reduce regular meddling in the community's functions, with the increased risk and penalty of being slower to adapt when issues are discovered or argued about. With that said, any community that doesn't have a place for both the very social and active (usually the young) and the more isolated and thinking (usually the old) isn't wholesome and won't last into its second generation stable.

Watched it recently. Not surprisingly, it's very well made. However, I wouldn't recommend watching it. It's a shame that awareness towards environmental issues, pollution and destruction, is layered over political motivations and interests, rather than the issues themselves. In both the short and long run, history and logic say it'll go in the wrong direction; less solutions, more problems.

* Post edited to follow forum publication rules.

Deb Rebel wrote:Try going higher in K, natural daylight is 6700k to 7000k, readily available is 6500K.

Those are blue lights. Not white. The sun gives off a light that feels white, neutral, neither blue nor much yellow. This is well noticed with gemstones, when examining them. A 5000K light is ideal for seeing the gemstone similar to how it would appear under daylight, colors and blemishes. Also, bluelight feels like shit, while natural white light feels good! Real good! I've felt the difference for long months. And finally, for the camera, the blueish lights make you... blueish.

Steven Kovacs wrote:I'm in Massachusetts, where the "Greenlite" bulbs are highly subsidized and are available at the local reuse center, so others may not have access to the same kind of inexpensive, seemingly well-made bulbs.

Talking LED quality, I'm in Israel and only found relevant LEDs online, from eBay; China. Shipping is a big issue, so most sites offering bulbs would have expensive shipping. There might be a better option out there, but I haven't found it.

For me, the deal maker/breaker was 4500K to 5000K (Natural Light) bulbs. I can only find those online and in LEDs. That light is superior to any yellow or blue light. Recording myself on video means that I look yellowish - everything looks yellowish. >< Which is bad.

Alas, the LEDs don't actually seem to last that long, compared to other bulbs. Some lasted 3 months of heavy usage, while others died after just over a month even. :S

I find their experience fascinating, and I love how they're sharing it. Not quite my cup of tea, but I wonder if they'd do this for, say, 10 years. Either improve on it and continue, or figure out it's "too much" or something and quit it. There's something about being road-bound that doesn't attract me. Thanks for sharing.

Just picked a small branch, a twig really from some local fruiting tree. Some form of cherry tree. Works just fine. I bet almost any twig would work, as long as the fibers suit you.

Ah, on a personal note, I'm actually not welcome to move to America. You guys over there are very unaware of how difficult it is for anyone to move over. o-O It's pretty much impossible, for me. Your gov' won't let me.

I'll try your advice. I'll get a small variety of seeds, and setup for the coming Autumn.

Oh, I won't be doing anything very meaningful, other than tiny research. Israel is notorious for the lack of land availability. There's no option for land here. At all. Nothing. Not even trying anything on public land... no place is untouched. Unless you're inheriting it, which is very rare.

There's only one month in the year where rainfall is at its peak. About January. The rest of the year is strictly dry. No summer rains: (I'm more into the hills, which could go as low as half the rainfall in this chart)
http://en.climate-data.org/location/2900/

Also, the grazing I mentioned is done by regional Arabs. It's not possible for me to own animals... super expensive and bureaucracy. The Arabs have their herds from before the state, so some are still at it. They are let to graze around here, once a year, to trim the herbage. And it's in-season, so anything grown on public land won't make it. All local councils are also bound, by law, to send people with machines to trim everything that wasn't grazed. It's stupid, I know.

Anyhow, I will try these methods on a 1m square plot, just to see how anything catches. Just like I did with my failed hugelkultur bed.

Pffff Frost. Over here? Nope. The Mediterranean sea is too close.

Actually, a lot of plants I seed seem to die either before shooting out - seeds eaten by bugs, or when young - roots eaten by bugs! It might be more of a local thing to my region, but maybe it's still a cycles issue. That's a fascinating way to look at it. Just seed some every month, and see which month takes the best.

Sadly, instead of becoming better plant growers, cultures over here just focused more on grazing sheep and goats. I love my cheese, but it's just no excuse. Not to mention the grazing doesn't let any cultured plant take. o-O Only the wild herbs and grains seem to be hardy enough.