The month of September is peak hurricane season. The Atlantic Hurricane season is June 1st through November 30th. So as Florence makes her way slowly down the Atlantic coast, it seemed a good time to compile some fast facts on hurricanes. A hurricane is a cyclonic tropical system that draws energy from the warm moist ocean air and expels … [Read more...]
Primitive Technology — Where Tiny House Meets Survivor Man
As I am neither a millennial nor a survivalist, it might seem kind of strange that I am a fan of both the “tiny house” movement and the survival/wilderness teachings of Les Stroud and Bear Grylls. I could blame it on a childhood with too many fond memories of playing with my cousins in the tiny ice fishing house my grandfather built and the decades … [Read more...]
Book: FALLEN LAND by Taylor Brown
"big-in-heart debut novel... poetic and evocative" If you appreciate a sense of place and lush descriptions of the natural world (and, in this case, its devastating destruction by men in battle), FALLEN LAND by Taylor Brown is for you. I guarantee you won’t soon forget this slim-in-pages but big-in-heart debut novel. I was on the trail with main … [Read more...]
Book: ALL THAT IS SOLID MELTS INTO AIR by Darragh McKeon
Wow. ALL THAT IS SOLID MELTS INTO AIR by Darragh McKeon was an incredible read: lush, lyrical prose on a sentence-by-sentence level, with breathtaking imagery and description. The stories of the four main characters were introduced separately but woven together like a fine tapestry. I can’t say enough about this début novel. In fact, I don’t know … [Read more...]
Book: WILDERNESS by Lance Weller
I’ll start with this: WILDERNESS by Lance Weller is THE book I’ve been waiting for. In fact, if I could give it more than five stars, I would. Without a doubt, it is among my all-time favorite reads, so rich is it in sensory detail and drinkable prose. The title of the book, alone, spoke to my natural sensitivities: Wilderness. You learn early … [Read more...]
Behind the Scenes
At night I’ve been known to stare into the quiet darkness beyond our windows, so different from the fierce sunlight of the day and its illumination. And I wonder: what really happens out there, after the sun slithers behind the mountains? What happens behind the scenes? A lot, it appears. When our blinds are drawn to the skies canvassed in the … [Read more...]
Book: THE SECRET WISDOM OF THE EARTH by Christopher Scotton
THE SECRET WISDOM OF THE EARTH by Christopher Scotton has received a great deal of pre-release accolades – all well deserved. I suspect, however, the spell it cast over me is a bit different than the one cast for others, mainly due to my own geography and relationship to mining. (Not in Kentucky and not coal mining, but in southern Arizona where … [Read more...]
Success In An Elusive F2 at The Knoxville Zoo
Once upon a time, an interesting species of turtle became extinct. Last seen in 1908, the Arakan Forest Turtle, Heosemys depressa, disappeared and was never seen again. (This seems like a sad story, but stick with me.) About 100 years later, in 1994, a scientist visiting a food market in Asia was astounded to find a few of these animals for sale! … [Read more...]
Words: “… If You Only Talk About The Problem”
"... If You Only Talk About The Problem" “Speaking to thousands and thousands of people has convinced me that, if you only talk about the problem, and not the path forward, it’s almost as if people literally, physiologically–can’t hear you.” ~~ Peter Sinclair, New Video: Birthing the Solar Age ~~~ Peter Sinclair Graphic artist, … [Read more...]
Visitors @ My Window
I have cats. So, when I heard a “thud” at the window, I assumed it was one of my furry kids batting at a bug or fly that had somehow gotten into the house. When both cats appeared from opposite sides of the room, running toward the window, I was a bit puzzled. I knew something had collided with the glass doors, but it didn’t sound like the typical … [Read more...]
Kelvin Doe, A Solar Promise in a Teen Entrepreneur
While investments in solar maybe the promise of our future, giving a sixteen year old a $100,000 contract to research, design, test and develop his own solar panel technology could seem reckless and even wasteful -- until you meet the teen in question. Kelvin Doe, a.k.a. D.J. Focus, is a self-taught electrical engineer, inventor, entrepreneur and … [Read more...]
Pondering the Possibilities: Sweat Worthy Entertainment
In a world of ever-increasing energy expenses, it is not hard to envision a time in the not so distant future when the average family will be forced to reevaluate its energy priorities and restrict its energy consumption. So what will todays techno kids and adults do for entertainment? To Sweat or Not Raised on a diet of techno gadgetry, … [Read more...]
More Oil, The Gulf Stream, Liability Caps and Environmental Exceptions
Have we created The Perfect Oil Storm? Don’t get me wrong, I’m an optimist by nature and a firm believer that ingenuity and determination can overcome almost any thing. While my environmental heart is broken, as someone geeky enough to enjoy watching the Robot Wars (though I’m not nearly geeky enough to build one) it is hard not to get caught up … [Read more...]