"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
Wasserperson's Blog (28)
The Distant Constituent Project (an Evokation)
http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dgc645xk_22c345xv44
<iframe src="http://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dgc645xk_22c345xv44" frameborder="0" width="410" height="342"></iframe> _origwidth="410" _origwidth="410"
<iframe src="http://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dgc645xk_22c345xv44" frameborder="0" width="410" height="342"></iframe> _origwidth="410" _origwidth="410"
Added by Wasserperson on May 20, 2010 at 6:54am — No Comments
New (tiny) wonders for old (enormous) wisdoms
I painted the backs of these small copper coins
to make them unique among the many that are thrown around and away each day.
In this way, I am trying to preserve the essence of the Yappese Raj
Stones...
Coins that don't…
ContinueAdded by Wasserperson on May 20, 2010 at 3:00am — No Comments
It takes a village to save a city
My hometown of Oakland California has always had a lot of homegrown solutions. We're practically notorious for it, and if you know what I'm talking about then there you are, and if you don't, I'm not going to link to it because the less said about our more infamous moments, the better.
I will say that we've grown up a huge number of charter schools (some good, some not so) and back a couple of decades ago we grew up the historic peace-making agreement between the Blood and Crip gangs,… Continue
I will say that we've grown up a huge number of charter schools (some good, some not so) and back a couple of decades ago we grew up the historic peace-making agreement between the Blood and Crip gangs,… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 20, 2010 at 2:18am — No Comments
Anti-choice IS Anti-life
One of the great schisms of US politics is referred to as the "Pro Choice / Pro Life" divide.
There's a lot of verbal jockeying from both sides to use different words and reframe the issue in more sympathetic ways. People who believe that all human life deserves government protection, even before birth, want to cast the other side as being "Anti Life." And people who believe that women should have the right to choose what happens to their own bodies, even if that means making a choice to… Continue
There's a lot of verbal jockeying from both sides to use different words and reframe the issue in more sympathetic ways. People who believe that all human life deserves government protection, even before birth, want to cast the other side as being "Anti Life." And people who believe that women should have the right to choose what happens to their own bodies, even if that means making a choice to… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 20, 2010 at 1:50am — No Comments
A swift wish list for the next iteration
1. Challenges
In season 2, I'd like EVOKE to directly engage climate change, in three areas
-Advocating/innovating harm reduction strategies
-Preparing for the big disasters to come (already present in season 1)
-Opposing the large corporate interests and other factions that are forestalling significant progress
2. Locations
-China
-The deeply partisan political divides, including the USA and other first world countries
3. Who should… Continue
In season 2, I'd like EVOKE to directly engage climate change, in three areas
-Advocating/innovating harm reduction strategies
-Preparing for the big disasters to come (already present in season 1)
-Opposing the large corporate interests and other factions that are forestalling significant progress
2. Locations
-China
-The deeply partisan political divides, including the USA and other first world countries
3. Who should… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 13, 2010 at 5:33am — No Comments
Deep down at heart... people are... stupid.
Many of the secrets of crisis communication involve managing people's knee-jerk, self-defeating tendencies. We've got a lot of instinctive crisis response strategies that are highly self-destructive when practiced in unison by large groups. That's no surprise--I'd wager that when most people think of "emergency response," they would be quick to put down "crowd control" as a related thought.
Roadside accidents, generally, don't cause traffic because of the blocked lane. The traffic… Continue
Roadside accidents, generally, don't cause traffic because of the blocked lane. The traffic… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 13, 2010 at 5:14am — 15 Comments
You own all the places you can walk to.
I'm adding the Barefoot College to the list of amazing programs that Urgent Evoke has taught me about... Or, rather, encouraged me to go learn from.
Their own self description expresses the most important lesson:
for any rural development activity to be successful and sustainable, it
must be based in the village as well as managed and owned by those whom
it serves. Therefore,… Continue
Their own self description expresses the most important lesson:
for any rural development activity to be successful and sustainable, it
must be based in the village as well as managed and owned by those whom
it serves. Therefore,… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 13, 2010 at 4:17am — No Comments
Calls to actions
Living a stone's throw from the mecca of the digerati, I'm sure the question of how to locally deploy a multi-channel crisis response system like Ushahidi has been answered by much smarter and wiser folks then myself...
For my humble pair of pennies, the best application wouldn't be our life or death emergencies (fire, earthquake, flooding), but rather the emergent challenge of voter education. Oakland and several other local cities are beginning to use Instant Run Off Voting, which I… Continue
For my humble pair of pennies, the best application wouldn't be our life or death emergencies (fire, earthquake, flooding), but rather the emergent challenge of voter education. Oakland and several other local cities are beginning to use Instant Run Off Voting, which I… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 13, 2010 at 4:02am — No Comments
One woman, one world
Last week, I was the early bird that got the worm of making the first donation to Annie Bacon's Kick-Starter project to fund a full recording of her Folk Opera project. This kind of crowd-sourced entrepreneurialism is getting more common, and it's going to breed more and more diverse media from people like Annie. That is to say,… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 13, 2010 at 3:12am — No Comments
A Humble Trading Box
It hasn't gotten much use yet, but I've resurrected my old art project from a decade (!) or so ago--a simple trading box in the Fluxus tradition.
It's a tin box, 3 inches by 6, containing a variety of trinkets--a vial of glitter, and old wristwatch, a metal spinning top, and so on--and a ledger.
The trinkets are the kinds of things that acc**ulate in our purses and drawers, little items of arguable value that acc**ulate in the back… Continue
It's a tin box, 3 inches by 6, containing a variety of trinkets--a vial of glitter, and old wristwatch, a metal spinning top, and so on--and a ledger.
The trinkets are the kinds of things that acc**ulate in our purses and drawers, little items of arguable value that acc**ulate in the back… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 13, 2010 at 2:46am — No Comments
Everybody needs money--that's why they call it money!*
In his book Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Cory Doctorow postulates a reputation economy where everyone's access to goods and services above a subsistence level is based on a qualitative score of their personal acclaim by others, named the Whuffie.
Do a good deed, write a good blog post, do your job well, and you acc**ulate Whuffie, by means of the augmented reality hook-ups in everyone's heads. Now, this implementation depends… Continue
Do a good deed, write a good blog post, do your job well, and you acc**ulate Whuffie, by means of the augmented reality hook-ups in everyone's heads. Now, this implementation depends… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 13, 2010 at 2:38am — 1 Comment
Don't drink it... breath it!*
Impressed as I am with the Story of Stuff people for their work on Bottled Water, I've signed up both to be a social network repeater for them, and to host a screening party.
I'll go through their donation links as well and choose one to help fund.
Their clever, accessible, and informative propaganda does a great job of explaining how our desire for bottled water was manufactured to sell goods, in a way that ends up producing… Continue
I'll go through their donation links as well and choose one to help fund.
Their clever, accessible, and informative propaganda does a great job of explaining how our desire for bottled water was manufactured to sell goods, in a way that ends up producing… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 13, 2010 at 2:20am — No Comments
Convenience isn't convenient
A couple of years ago, I ended a summer program for kids with two flats of bottled water in the back of my car.
This seemed like a great solution to my hydration problem--I knew I ought to be drinking more, and being able to reach behind my seat any time and grab the equivalent of a glass or two was splendid.
Of course, as soon as I mentioned this to one of my more ecologically informed friends, I was suitable chastised and chastened. The global cost of those bottles was… Continue
This seemed like a great solution to my hydration problem--I knew I ought to be drinking more, and being able to reach behind my seat any time and grab the equivalent of a glass or two was splendid.
Of course, as soon as I mentioned this to one of my more ecologically informed friends, I was suitable chastised and chastened. The global cost of those bottles was… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 13, 2010 at 2:09am — 1 Comment
The loins, they give me light...
One of my guilty pleasures is bacon.
I buy it organic, farm raised, from Niman Ranch which is pretty good as meat-raisers go, but still, it's not very healthy and not very sustainable and such a shame that it's so very very delicious.
Like anybody who cooks bacon, or other greasy delights, I've puzzled over time about what's the most responsible way to dispose of the grease. It shouldn't go down the drain, it doesn't really belong… Continue
I buy it organic, farm raised, from Niman Ranch which is pretty good as meat-raisers go, but still, it's not very healthy and not very sustainable and such a shame that it's so very very delicious.
Like anybody who cooks bacon, or other greasy delights, I've puzzled over time about what's the most responsible way to dispose of the grease. It shouldn't go down the drain, it doesn't really belong… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 13, 2010 at 1:48am — No Comments
The Fossil Fool and his Cool Tools
I'd circled around the clever gentlemen who goes by Fossil Fool for a year or three before I really understood his project. The idea of entertainment powered by exercise showed up in a Wired Magazine future forecast awhile before that, and I'm sure that wasn't the first place. I don't know where he got his inspiration--it may be that he's just one of those born tinkerers who kept putting 2 and 3 together until he came up with the perfect 23. What he's… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 13, 2010 at 1:39am — No Comments
Extending Food Security
Three steps I've taken since accepting this mission:
1. Helping the people who moved into the apartment above me build out a garden in our back yard:
I'd started a compost bin (really a luggage trunk), which they dug into the soil. And I happily donated my lawn chairs to their garden area. I've since moved out of that place, but I'm very happy that the big lot, empty except for grass for so many years,… Continue
1. Helping the people who moved into the apartment above me build out a garden in our back yard:
I'd started a compost bin (really a luggage trunk), which they dug into the soil. And I happily donated my lawn chairs to their garden area. I've since moved out of that place, but I'm very happy that the big lot, empty except for grass for so many years,… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 13, 2010 at 1:22am — No Comments
Food Security in Oakland, California, US
For a couple of different reasons, this was the mission where my motivation and momentum petered out.
Picking it up now, on the last day (not an uncommon phenomenon for me) we'll see how far I get.
I found a 4 year old report on Food Security in my hometown, commissioned by the previous Mayor:
http://oaklandfoodsystem.pbworks.com/
It's a broad based survey, but the big picture conclusion appears to be that the major… Continue
Picking it up now, on the last day (not an uncommon phenomenon for me) we'll see how far I get.
I found a 4 year old report on Food Security in my hometown, commissioned by the previous Mayor:
http://oaklandfoodsystem.pbworks.com/
It's a broad based survey, but the big picture conclusion appears to be that the major… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on May 13, 2010 at 1:12am — No Comments
Trust the one you're with (?)
At the moment, based on the community so far, I trust the network.
Evoke consists of an ever growing number of dedicated, passionate, well informed and well connected individuals who are demonstrating high motivation to work together and solve global and local problems in every direction.
At the moment, based on the story so far, I don't trust Alchemy.
I'm suspicious of the difference in tactics between… Continue
Evoke consists of an ever growing number of dedicated, passionate, well informed and well connected individuals who are demonstrating high motivation to work together and solve global and local problems in every direction.
At the moment, based on the story so far, I don't trust Alchemy.
I'm suspicious of the difference in tactics between… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on March 25, 2010 at 2:15am — 1 Comment
Per Occultus, Illustro
Per occultus illustro; per obscuro verus.
The old crypto-anarchist's maxim floated into my thoughts as I pondered Alchemy's request.
"Someone's playing us against ourselves, and we need to know who."
Alchemy gave me an embarrassingly large dataset to fold, spindle, and mutilate until I found the…
Continue
Added by Wasserperson on March 25, 2010 at 2:00am — 4 Comments
Where Facebook meets Evoke...
Breaking news today about the new social network from one of Facebook's founders:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jose-antonio-vargas/jumo-chris-hughes-faceboo_b_503720.html
It's not open yet, but Chris Hughes has apparently designed his new venture, www.jumo.com , as a way to use the best practices of social networking to connect people for civic… Continue
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jose-antonio-vargas/jumo-chris-hughes-faceboo_b_503720.html
It's not open yet, but Chris Hughes has apparently designed his new venture, www.jumo.com , as a way to use the best practices of social networking to connect people for civic… Continue
Added by Wasserperson on March 18, 2010 at 7:20pm — No Comments
Latest Blog Posts
Most Popular Blog Posts
Latest Activity
Fourth of July on the Lake
This past weekend was the annual celebration at the lake house in Connecticut. It is amazing that the lake is still so clear and beautiful after all these years. The watershed association has done a wonderful job protecting these waters from the damaging effects of development.The wood grill was finally ready to cook on, so we didn't miss the propane tank fueled grill anymore. The food actually tasted fresher than in the past and was easy to keep fueled.Dad was very proud of the solar hybrid…See More
Stinging Nettle
In this blog post I will focus on a plant that is abundant in our nature, and which is immensely nutritious. It's of course the Stinging Nettle. Let's start with the chemical constituents of this plant:37 % Non-Nitrogen-Extracts19 - 29 % Ash9 - 21 % Fiber4 % Fat22 % ProteinOnce the leaves are drid, their protein content can reach an astounding 40 %, which is much higher than beef, which even under the best of circ**stances can never exceed 31 % protein. In addition the Stinging Nettle consists…See More
The meal
It is 7'oclock, I was late home from work due to an assignment that i wanted to get ahead on. By the time I get home I am feeling extremley tired and I cannot be bothered to make a proper meal. I walk to the fridge and open it to see what there is for me to eat. All of the out of date foodstuffs have been automaticaly thrown away by the fridge, they will be recycled tomorrow as animal feed or something. I see i have organic local eggs and some local cheese. Foods are vacc** sealded for easy…See More
Future
FutureToday is 2020/1/1. It is just like yesterday. The war is still continuing. It has started since 2010. In 2010, that year was a horrible year. Almost every energy ran out. Every country’s governments were crushed down at the same time. There were riots everywhere. All of the big company’s bosses were killed xdeadx in the riots. Troops fought each other everywhere. Food was bought up xawayx at once. There were no more food supplies in any shops. The economy was all crushed down. All the…See More
public servants
The exchange works directly for state and public workers and servants. It gives them credit in exchange for the amount of public work they contribute to the community. The more constructive they are based off a base rate the more credit they recieve.
© 2023 Created by Alchemy.
Powered by
