Melissa Macey's Posts - Urgent Evoke2024-03-28T10:16:21ZMelissa Maceyhttp://www.urgentevoke.com/profile/MelissaMaceyhttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2209212115?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://www.urgentevoke.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=37i4akb62e0by&xn_auth=noAN umbrella that lights up?tag:www.urgentevoke.com,2010-03-20:4871302:BlogPost:498622010-03-20T12:02:10.000ZMelissa Maceyhttp://www.urgentevoke.com/profile/MelissaMacey
So here's <a href="http://www.yankodesign.com/2008/12/08/umbrella-lights-the-way/">an innovation</a>: An umbrella that takes the kinetic energy from raindrops hitting a conductive membrane<br />
called PDVF and transforms that energy into <span style="font-style: italic;">electrical</span> energy powering embedded LEDs.<br></br>1. Rain<br></br>2. PDVF membrane<br></br>gives 3. electrical energy.<br></br><br></br>Sang-Kyun Park has created a pretty awesome way to navigate a rainy night, but I can see a wider potential…
So here's <a href="http://www.yankodesign.com/2008/12/08/umbrella-lights-the-way/">an innovation</a>: An umbrella that takes the kinetic energy from raindrops hitting a conductive membrane<br />
called PDVF and transforms that energy into <span style="font-style: italic;">electrical</span> energy powering embedded LEDs.<br/>1. Rain<br/>2. PDVF membrane<br/>gives 3. electrical energy.<br/><br/>Sang-Kyun Park has created a pretty awesome way to navigate a rainy night, but I can see a wider potential application, if the size of the membrane could be increased and fitted any where (or kept in a mobile state) can we not generate electricity to be used for <span style="font-style: italic;">anything</span>, not just LEDs?<br/><br/>Without being of a scientific mind and having the actual article in front of me, it is hard to say, but it certainly seems like there is the possibility to expand on this idea.<br/><br/><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinylidene_fluoride">Here</a> is a wikipedia primer on PDVF: key points to note might include it's "relative low cost" and applications such as "piping products, sheet, tubing, films, plate" and even more interestingly - as a paint! Could a roof be made of/coated with a membrane of this sort?<br/><br/><a href="http://members.iinet.net.au/%7Ejacob/worldrf.html">This page</a> says the highest average rainfall is in Hawaii... I'd volunteer to scope out the scene there any day!<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br/></span>Hidden Hungertag:www.urgentevoke.com,2010-03-15:4871302:BlogPost:366662010-03-15T11:28:48.000ZMelissa Maceyhttp://www.urgentevoke.com/profile/MelissaMacey
A few of you have seen my posts regarding hunger within a relatively well off society.<br></br>I thought you might like this <a href="http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/gm07autumn/health_pork.html">link</a> and graph:<br></br><br></br><p style="text-align: left;"><br></br></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/gm07autumn/images/pyramid.jpg"></img></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;">There are a number of us interested in why healthy eating winds up being a more expensive option for some people. This is simply…</p>
A few of you have seen my posts regarding hunger within a relatively well off society.<br/>I thought you might like this <a href="http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/gm07autumn/health_pork.html">link</a> and graph:<br/><br/><p style="text-align: left;"><br/></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/gm07autumn/images/pyramid.jpg"/></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;">There are a number of us interested in why healthy eating winds up being a more expensive option for some people. This is simply one example. Kitchen gardens, common veggie patches and fruiting trees on public land are all viable alternatives for providing nutritious, low-cost food to all. <br/></p>Dinner 2020tag:www.urgentevoke.com,2010-03-13:4871302:BlogPost:351212010-03-13T23:35:59.000ZMelissa Maceyhttp://www.urgentevoke.com/profile/MelissaMacey
Give my garden 10 years and I will hopefully have it <span style="font-style: italic;">down pat</span>. Rotating seasonal crops, a rich soil from a well established compost system and established fruit trees. Much like my father's. Dinner will look very much like what we had growing up - hearty stews and home made pies. Having the whole family around, and anyone who imght be extended family because they need a feed. The door will always be welcome and there will be plenty to go around because…
Give my garden 10 years and I will hopefully have it <span style="font-style: italic;">down pat</span>. Rotating seasonal crops, a rich soil from a well established compost system and established fruit trees. Much like my father's. Dinner will look very much like what we had growing up - hearty stews and home made pies. Having the whole family around, and anyone who imght be extended family because they need a feed. The door will always be welcome and there will be plenty to go around because we will plant for excess.<br/>And, as happens now, the excess will be shared - trays of eggs or bags of tomatoes given to my neighbours. We won't have tomato soup from a can, we will make it to use up what we have.<br/><br/>I will tell you a curious thing - when you do have seasonal veg, and a lot of, everyone cooks the same thing, but in their own way, so there is a community built around competitive cooking. Whose soup is best? Who bakes the best mulberry pie? Who was cleverest in using the off-cuts? A convergence on what is in season that creates a community or strengthens a family. <br/><br/>In 2020 I hope to be impressing my father with a desert made of the fruit of the sapote tree. I've not tried to cook with them before, so it will be some kind of experimental dessert, but since they are the "chocolate pudding fruit" I'm pretty confident it will be delicious!<br/>The Available Garden.tag:www.urgentevoke.com,2010-03-11:4871302:BlogPost:300982010-03-11T04:45:47.000ZMelissa Maceyhttp://www.urgentevoke.com/profile/MelissaMacey
So I've decided to take the free food thing across the road.<br></br><br></br>My goal is to plant some fruit trees on the fence-line so that kids (and adults too!) can help themselves to a nutritious snack any time they want.<br></br>The question becomes: Which fruit? <br></br><br></br>It is a matter of what will grow in the position chosen and what will be an attractive food for kids.<br></br>To this end, I've bid on a couple of trees that I haven't seen in my local nurseries, but which should grow well and be very…
So I've decided to take the free food thing across the road.<br/><br/>My goal is to plant some fruit trees on the fence-line so that kids (and adults too!) can help themselves to a nutritious snack any time they want.<br/>The question becomes: Which fruit? <br/><br/>It is a matter of what will grow in the position chosen and what will be an attractive food for kids.<br/>To this end, I've bid on a couple of trees that I haven't seen in my local nurseries, but which should grow well and be very tasty:<br/><br/>The amazing black sapote tree (Diospyros digyna) is
native to Mexico. The fruit it produces is very sought after because<br />
of it's amazing taste. IT TASTES JUST LIKE CHOCOLATE PUDDING. That is<br />
not the only amazingly great thing about the tree, but the fruit has up<br />
to 2 times the vitamin C as an orange.<br/><br/>&<br/><br/>Ice cream Bean (Inga edulis)
<br />
They put out large pods<br />
containing a row of seeds. Each seed is coated in a white cotton-like layer<br />
that tastes like vanilla ice cream. They are ready to pick when the pods bulge<br />
outwards in the centre. A fast growing shade tree that is<br />
native to South America and are planted<br />
there on a rotational basis with other crops, as they return soil fertility<br />
after slashing and burning.<br/><br/>I think these two trees sound like something that will grow well in the position chosen, will be tasty and will offer a nutritional benefit to kids. <br/><br/>I would love to find some tasty "bush foods", shrubs and bushes native to Australia, but I think these two choices are a good start. <br/>I have uploaded some pics of the intended position, and will update when plants arrive and are settled into their new home.<br/>Local Food Shortage.tag:www.urgentevoke.com,2010-03-11:4871302:BlogPost:299972010-03-11T03:37:13.000ZMelissa Maceyhttp://www.urgentevoke.com/profile/MelissaMacey
Man, this takes me back.<br></br>A little background first: I am living in the same street that I grew up in 20-odd years ago. I moved away and came back to raise my son close to my parents. So I have a really good knowledge of this area, and about projects that have been tried in this area going back quite a ways.<br></br>So, in the 80's there was this push to ensure that school kids got the right start to the day by having a decent breakfast. In under-privileged areas breakfast just wasn't happening…
Man, this takes me back.<br/>A little background first: I am living in the same street that I grew up in 20-odd years ago. I moved away and came back to raise my son close to my parents. So I have a really good knowledge of this area, and about projects that have been tried in this area going back quite a ways.<br/>So, in the 80's there was this push to ensure that school kids got the right start to the day by having a decent breakfast. In under-privileged areas breakfast just wasn't happening in many families. So the govt. stepped in and started having breakfast clubs at schools, giving the local kids access to some cereal and some fruit.<br/><br/>When I am asked to consider the food issue close to my area, the truth is we are a relatively well-off place. We are under-privileged only by Australian standards. In terms of international standards, we are so well off it is sort of embarrassing. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to improve the situation for the lowest rungs of the ladder.<br/><br/>I'm lucky because I live across the road from the school. The main entry gate is across from my drive-way. I don't see a whole lot of early arrivals. I wonder if the program still operates, or if it has been slowly eroded or canned altogether. It doesn't lessen the value of it as an idea. <br/><br/>If not this school, then maybe other schools can or are benefiting from a similar program. Maybe it isn't breakfast - maybe it's a lunch program. Maybe it's something inspired by Jamie Oliver's <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/school-dinners">experiment</a>. <br/><br/>Anyway, my point is this: the hunger issue in a comparatively wealthy society may not be so obvious. It might be a hidden hunger - a hunger that looks like it's being fed because it's ok <span style="font-style: italic;">some of the time</span>. Or it gets <span style="font-style: italic;">some</span> food (though not nutritious). Or it overlooks one of the most important meals of the day because it's difficult to get consistently good food happening when everyone is flying out the door to work and school and it's just not a priority.<br/><br/>So let's make it a priority: Good food for children. No hidden hunger. No making do just because there is worse. Let's not make average acceptable - let's aim high.<br/><br/>Just because dinner is taken care of, doesn't mean we can't try to improve breakfast and lunch.<br/>2020 Call to Armstag:www.urgentevoke.com,2010-03-10:4871302:BlogPost:278382010-03-10T10:42:08.000ZMelissa Maceyhttp://www.urgentevoke.com/profile/MelissaMacey
Come 2020 my son will be 13. I hope that will mean we are more mobile. <br></br>I want to be travelling the world with him, taking him to different countries to teach him languages and cultures outside our own. Even if that isn't possible I will tell you what I can almost certainly say I will be doing.<br></br><br></br>Australia is a big place. Our remote regions have some of the most disadvantaged communities - there is poverty, a lack of education, a lack of opportunity, racism and staggeringly short…
Come 2020 my son will be 13. I hope that will mean we are more mobile. <br/>I want to be travelling the world with him, taking him to different countries to teach him languages and cultures outside our own. Even if that isn't possible I will tell you what I can almost certainly say I will be doing.<br/><br/>Australia is a big place. Our remote regions have some of the most disadvantaged communities - there is poverty, a lack of education, a lack of opportunity, racism and staggeringly short life expectancy. A lack of infrastructure, poor access to medical facilities, a lack of government attention and funding. People suffer just because they live so far away, and yet, encouraging growth outside of metropolitan regions is the only way to develop our country without compromising ideals that are intrinsic to our culture - the notion of a home, with a backyard, and parks and bushland.<br/><br/>So in 2020 I will be travelling. Maybe it won't be to Africa or South America. Maybe it will be to the Red Centre or Cairns. I will earn money as I do now, in hospitality, but my job will exposing my son to different circumstances. When the call comes, young as he may be, I would hope to bring him with me, not as a tag-a-long but as a contributing team member. <br/><br/>This is an achievable goal. I mightn't be able to learn to practice medicine and join Doctors Without Borders, or become a calm and persuasive diplomat, or take a position on a sustainability discussion panel, but I can raise a boy who is empathetic and critical. He may not answer the call to arms with me, but if I succeed, he will contribute no matter what he chooses to do.<br/>Hero: Malcolm Gladwelltag:www.urgentevoke.com,2010-03-10:4871302:BlogPost:274032010-03-10T06:37:16.000ZMelissa Maceyhttp://www.urgentevoke.com/profile/MelissaMacey
<a href="http://twitter.com/gladwell">http://twitter.com/gladwell</a><br></br><br></br>This guy keeps turning up. Every time I follow a thought/link/essay down a rabbit hole, there he is, crazy hair, frenetic energy and just BAM big ideas. He gets me excited about thinking critically, about questioning what we do and why. I see this as part of that secret from ym first blog post - the whole <span style="font-style: italic;">using the existing platforms</span> thing - because you must ask if there isn't…
<a href="http://twitter.com/gladwell">http://twitter.com/gladwell</a><br/><br/>This guy keeps turning up. Every time I follow a thought/link/essay down a rabbit hole, there he is, crazy hair, frenetic energy and just BAM big ideas. He gets me excited about thinking critically, about questioning what we do and why. I see this as part of that secret from ym first blog post - the whole <span style="font-style: italic;">using the existing platforms</span> thing - because you must ask if there isn't a better way, or more that can be done, with what we have.<br/><br/>I would love to sit in on one of his speeches. I've tried sharing them through various forums and social networking sites, where available as video, but the truth is I would just love to sit in a an audience all being inspired to re-consider what is there.<br/><br/>Found out he's on twitter and his books are available through <a href="http://www.betterworldbooks.com/">http://www.betterworldbooks.com</a> so I've followed him and ordered a couple of his books. For the record, that is a really good site to buy books from, as they contribute profits to literacy programs and I'm sure I don't need to sell anyone on that. <br/><br/>Anyway, he's my social innovator role model / <span style="font-weight: bold;">HERO</span> because he <span style="font-style: italic;">questions</span>, and questioning is a good start.<br/>Using existing platforms.tag:www.urgentevoke.com,2010-03-10:4871302:BlogPost:273592010-03-10T06:07:28.000ZMelissa Maceyhttp://www.urgentevoke.com/profile/MelissaMacey
I'm thinking here in terms of what I have, right here in Toronto West, that I can use.<br></br>Yeah, a net connection.<br></br>Also: I am right across the street from a school. A primary school.<br></br>I have a background in theatre studies that included political and community theatre and have methodologies relating to collaborations, oral histories and self-expression that might be useful.<br></br>I have a 2 year old son (a point of inspiration, a ticket into the school community, a handy child's point of…
I'm thinking here in terms of what I have, right here in Toronto West, that I can use.<br/>Yeah, a net connection.<br/>Also: I am right across the street from a school. A primary school.<br/>I have a background in theatre studies that included political and community theatre and have methodologies relating to collaborations, oral histories and self-expression that might be useful.<br/>I have a 2 year old son (a point of inspiration, a ticket into the school community, a handy child's point of view and a completely unbiased sounding board who will say no straight up if a thing doesn't feel right to him).<br/>I have an imagination.<br/>Right-oh, let's get crackin'.<br/>