Re: [Biofuel] Garden Produce
Thomas Kelly wrote:
Robert,
Always great to get a garden report from you.
Thanks, Thomas!
We've had plenty of sun, but it's been dry. You're getting our
rain. We're getting your sunshine. The garden is doing quite well.
Compost enriched soil holds water. Top-down feeding with a thick layer
of compost keeps water from evaporating.
Something's been funky with the jet stream this year . . . That,
coupled with frequent storms of increasing intensity has made for an
"interesting" year . . .
The insulating effect of compost is genuine. This summer, however,
we've had so much rain that I worry all my plants are developing shallow
root systems that won't sustain them when the hot weather finally
arrives. We're going away for two separate weeks this month and next,
so we depend on a certain drought tolerance in our garden that's been
fairly consistent over the past three years.
Although I've been composting for years, your conversation with
Keith last year (composting) inspired me to make literally tons of
compost. I never had a better, problem-free garden.
Agreed! Yesterday I pulled some new compost out of my bin. It
looked and smelled better than any compost I've ever made, but there
wasn't as much of it as I'd like. I think all the rain we've been
getting simply isn't good for the process. My sweetheart keeps
wondering what I'm going to do with all of that compost, but we've got a
fairly large property for a city lot and very little of it is in lawn.
I need a LOT of compost to build up the soil around here.
I now see myself as a grower of soil who essentially selects
appropriate varieties of plants to grow in it.
I agree with your assertion, but we're still trying to figure out
what grows that I enjoy eating. We can grow potatoes and purple beans
like mad around here. The only trouble is that I grew up eating brown
rice and red beans and though I like purple beans, I don't really care
for potatoes. I'd LOVE to have orange trees, but they'd never survive a
winter in this area . . .
Fruits and vegetables have been bred with more concern for
increasing their transportability, even at the expense of taste.
Farming practices may well compromise nutritional quality.
I sense a growing move towards locally produced food. Restaurant
menus and advertisements highlighting locally produced food. Stores
selling more local produce, milk and meats. Farm markets are sprouting
up again. More air time, at least on radio, is being devoted to the
issue. Sustainability is even seeping into the discussion.
There seems to be a confluence of things fuelling the move
. food miles, quality control issues with industrial food
production, but I think for many, it's a simply matter of taste. Local
producers grow varieties that grow well in their area. They are more
concerned with taste than how well the variety transports. The produce
can be picked when it is ripe and at its best. Compare a local
strawberry or tomato to one that was "designed" to be eaten a week or
more after it was picked, with added connective tissue so it can be
handled and transported, but at the cost of flavor.
I learned this lesson many years ago when I first met my
sweetheart. She came down to California while we were dating and
complained about our "tasteless" strawberries. Having never eaten
anything other than a California strawberry, I thought she was being a
bit of a snob. The following summer, however, I went strawberry picking
with her in Whatcom County, Washington. The difference between a fresh
berry from the field and the ones I'd always eaten in the supermarket
was astonishing!
We don't buy strawberries anymore. One of our raised beds is FILLED
with strawberry plants, and because we don't spray our produce, we're
confident that we're getting wholesome, healthy (and delicious!) fruit
from our own property. There's a satisfaction in this that is hard to
quantify.
I grow beets. I've never tried cooking the greens. Can they be
cooked like spinach or just eaten as salad greens?
Both. My sweetheart uses the leaves in her beet soup, but like
spinach, I prefer them raw. (And like you, my sweetheart is also my
wife. We're coming up on 18 years of marriage in September.) I like
salads that have a variety of greens so that the flavors mingle as I eat.
I've been thinking about your fruit trees. I had hoped that the
arrival of lady bugs (ladybird beetles) was going to solve the problem.
It probably would have if I hadn't sprayed them with soap! (I
didn't know what they were . . . Honest!)
I had a flower bed in which I insisted on growing flowers of my
choice. No matter how hard I tried the bed always was a
disappointment. My wife ("sweetheart") took over the bed and she noted
which plants did best, which did worst. She then looked at what
conditions the ones that di
[Biofuel] A Web Cadre Turns the Tables on African Scam Artists
The lack of effort by western governments makes me wonder if politicians are extending professional courtesy to these scammers. Kirk A Web Cadre Turns the Tables on African Scam Artists http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/02/technology/02spam.html?ref=business By THOMAS CRAMPTON Published: July 2, 2007 PARIS, July 1 Ever been tempted to respond to that e-mail message offering untold millions from the relatives of a deposed African dictator? Skip to next paragraph A scam-baiter known as Mike Berry has published a book of his favorite tactics with, yes, a somewhat misleading title. For some, replying to such Internet scams is a rewarding hobby. They call themselves scam-baiters, and they have started taking justice into their own hands. Scam-baiters scam the scammer. They antagonize, humiliate and frustrate scammers who think they have an unwary victim. The baiters trade tips, tales and trophies on thriving discussion boards like those at 419eater.com, scamorama.com and aa419.org. (The 419 refers to the section of the Nigerian penal code that deals with fraud.) My reason for scam-baiting is to waste the time and resources of the scammer, said a scam-baiter with the Web name of Scam Patroller, who declined to provide any identification beyond an e-mail address. Each minute a scammer spends on my bait cannot be used to scam a real victim. Their motives may seem altruistic, but not all law enforcement officials approve of their tactics, which can include entrapment and public humiliation. Many of the scam-baiters succeed in getting embarrassing photographs of their targets posted on the Internet. At first you might smile and think the trophy photographs are funny, but I have seen some with fraudsters in highly degrading positions, said Ralf Zimmermann, a crime intelligence officer in the financial and high-technology crimes division of Interpol, based in Lyon, France. They are fraudsters and they are not good people, but they have their human rights. A scam-baiter known as Jason dinAlt, who was interviewed online, regards the scam practitioners as criminals who deserve any ridicule they receive. (His online pseudonym comes from the science fiction novel Deathworld.) The humiliations delivered by scam-baiters can be as elaborate as the scams themselves, including making the scam artists take complex and expensive trips to pick up nonexistent payoffs. My most prized trophies are not physical ones they are events, Mr. dinAlt said. My lad traveled 300 kilometers four times to pick up money that didnt exist, and he was physically thrown out of the MoneyGram office and told to never come back. Prized scam-baiter trophies include photographs of the practitioners and their accomplices holding signs intended to humiliate them and saying things like I am a bad person or making statements that are unsuitable for print. The Web site 419eater.com uses photos of scam practitioners holding signs as navigation tools for the site. Other images involve embarrassing additions to the photograph, like the fraud artist holding a fish on his head. One scam-bait video that turned into a YouTube hit shows scam artists in a Lagos grocery store acting out the dead parrot sketch from the television series Monty Pythons Flying Circus. Over the course of a lengthy correspondence, the swindlers had been persuaded that the video would be entered into a contest offering a cash prize. The creator of that scam-bait, who identifies himself as Mike Berry, published a book of his favorite scam-baits, titled Greetings in Jesus Name! The Scambaiter Letters. Mr. Berry once persuaded a scam practitioner to carve a full-scale wooden replica of an old Commodore 64 computer keyboard. Like all scam-baiters interviewed for this article, Mr. Berry, the founder of 419eater.com, declined to speak on the telephone or provide a verifiable identity. Scam Patroller, in an e-mail exchange, said, I wont give out my home number to anyone for obvious reasons of anonymity and safety, adding that his companion did not fully approve of his hobby. She often worries about me baiting criminals. Cloaking themselves in digital anonymity through proxy servers and fake e-mail addresses, scam-baiters invent multiple personalities and sprinkle e-mail addresses into Web site comments as bait. I usually limit myself to 10 different personalities at a time, Mr. dinAlt said. Beyond that, it gets too confusing to keep up with each story line. Responding to the e-mail solicitations, the scam-baiters start an exchange with the aim of moving up the hierarchy of the operation. The lower-level responders often follow a standard script until a likely victim is identified. At that point, the victim is passed to a higher-level practitioner to extract money. You tailor your bait to get the scammer off the script, Mr. dinAlt said. Once you get them off the script, it is all downhill for the scammer
Re: [Biofuel] Garden Produce
Robert,
Always great to get a garden report from you.
We've had plenty of sun, but it's been dry. You're getting our rain. We're
getting your sunshine. The garden is doing quite well. Compost enriched soil
holds water. Top-down feeding with a thick layer of compost keeps water from
evaporating.
Although I've been composting for years, your conversation with Keith last
year (composting) inspired me to make literally tons of compost. I never had a
better, problem-free garden. I now see myself as a grower of soil who
essentially selects appropriate varieties of plants to grow in it.
> I can honestly say that after eating fresh spinach, beet leaves
>(mmm!!!) and lettuce from our garden, anyone who hasn't had >home grown
>produce like this isn't eating the best food!
Agreed.
Fruits and vegetables have been bred with more concern for increasing
their transportability, even at the expense of taste. Farming practices may
well compromise nutritional quality.
I sense a growing move towards locally produced food. Restaurant menus and
advertisements highlighting locally produced food. Stores selling more local
produce, milk and meats. Farm markets are sprouting up again. More air time, at
least on radio, is being devoted to the issue. Sustainability is even seeping
into the discussion.
There seems to be a confluence of things fuelling the move . food
miles, quality control issues with industrial food production, but I think for
many, it's a simply matter of taste. Local producers grow varieties that grow
well in their area. They are more concerned with taste than how well the
variety transports. The produce can be picked when it is ripe and at its best.
Compare a local strawberry or tomato to one that was "designed" to be eaten a
week or more after it was picked, with added connective tissue so it can be
handled and transported, but at the cost of flavor.
I grow beets. I've never tried cooking the greens. Can they be cooked like
spinach or just eaten as salad greens?
I've been thinking about your fruit trees. I had hoped that the arrival of
lady bugs (ladybird beetles) was going to solve the problem.
I had a flower bed in which I insisted on growing flowers of my choice. No
matter how hard I tried the bed always was a disappointment. My wife
("sweetheart") took over the bed and she noted which plants did best, which did
worst. She then looked at what conditions the ones that did best thrived under
and the same for the ones that did worst. A fairly clear picture emerged. She
then selected plants that liked or at least tolerated the conditions in that
particular location. She turned it into a beautiful flower bed.
This may not solve the fruit tree problem. Sometimes a condition exists
soil depth, drainage, even obstruction of air flow . making it
difficult to grow a particular plant in a particular spot. Good compost and
plenty of it may help won't hurt.
Best Wishes,
Tom
- Original Message -
From: robert and benita rabello
To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org
Sent: Sunday, July 01, 2007 4:45 PM
Subject: [Biofuel] Garden Produce
Although it's been a pretty lousy gardening season thus far (too cool, a LOT
of rain and not enough sunshine) our vegetable beds have been overflowing with
produce. I can honestly say that after eating fresh spinach, beet leaves
(mmm!!!) and lettuce from our garden, anyone who hasn't had home grown produce
like this isn't eating the best food!
We also have had a fair quantity of strawberries, despite the cool weather.
And the BEST news of all is that my longsuffering sweetheart is now
"officially" convinced that compost is better for plants than the mineral salts
she'd been pushing on me for the past four or five years.
Now, if only I could get my fruit trees to cooperate . . .
robert luis rabello
"The Edge of Justice"
"The Long Journey"
New Adventure for Your Mind
http://www.newadventure.ca
Ranger Supercharger Project Page
http://www.members.shaw.ca/rabello/
--
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[Biofuel] An interesting biodiesel article
Low on opinion, high on scientific method; http://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=7151 ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Another mercedes forsale...
Sorry Chip, Is your Mercedes still available? I would contact you off list but I have no email address for you... mine is [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thank you, Marc Hoflin -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Chip Mefford Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 8:06 AM To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Another mercedes forsale... Following Jared's lead, I too have a Mercedes to get rid of; Although I'm not going to bother with pics, cause it's a bit of a pain, here's the deal; she's an old 300SD, the wagon. The autoleveling system ist kaput! The pump works, but squirts that spendy mineral oil out of the transfer valve assembly over the rear axle with a vengance. The shocks themselves seem okay, they hold some pressure, meaning she isn't just sitting on the bump stops, but it does sit low. Rear exhaust is pretty much gone. Those little backup lamps that are mounted in the rear bumper both have broken lenses. They would work otherwise. As with all these things, the vacuum locking system is fouled up. Since the shutoff works, the vacuum pump is okay, but the door locks are an on-again, off again kinda thing. Umm, tach is spotty, some days it's okay, other days not so okay. The gauge cluster for that matter, falls out of the dash board (the way these do) and the gauge cover isn't glued on any more. This is a trivial fix. I thought it best not to fix until I had fiddled about behind there some. Tires are all fine, Michelin ICE-X studless winter/ice tires, with less than 5K on 'em. They'd need to be changed out for normal driving. These will not last in above freezing temps, but they get it though an inspection. Brake disks could do with a turning, and the calipers need a rebuild. It's spent too much time sitting, and the caliper engagement is uneven, this can be scary at speed. The rear window wiper doesn't work, don't know why. I've not messed with it much. Lesse what else? some rusty bits along the rocker panels, and I honestly am a bit fearful for the pan, as I found sitting water in it last time I checked. I've found no real bad spots, but I'd not be suprised if they were there. Err, that weird box that controls the coolant flow to the heater core is disconnected, so that i could get heat. I have another one of those switches, just haven't put it in. The usual suspects. Timing chain could do with a tightening/adjustment. And of course a pump timing is no doubt well over due. Fuel system is clean. she has run up to homemade B100 before, and i ran her on B5-B50 when I was driving her. Ran a few gallons of peanut oil through there from time to time. The turbocharger is late, always, so whatevertheheck you call it, that actuator that does the magic with the throttle, the vacuum and the transmission needs a LOT of adjusting. And whatever that breather tube is, probably needs cleaned out as well. And of course, the transmission (like all of them) surges between 1st and 2nd. This I am told, is not that difficult to alleviate during a xmission fluid service. A spring is all. I'm not so sure this is true. It also lags when going into reverse by a second or two. I'm just gentle with it. It's a very old (340K miles) car. Since I anticipate the surge, I feather the throttle between gears and the surge isn't really detectable. Oh yeah, there are at least 2 weak glowplugs. This is evident when the temp drops into the single digits (10f or lower), the glow plug light wont even come on. But being the good ole gal that she is, she starts anyway. Not happy about it, but still starts. I've started her on cold morning down to 3f. Since I had her, I kept her on a diet of good fuel, Amzoil lubricants and fluids and the like. I mistakenly trusted a oil change place to handle the coolant and it ended up with 'green' antifreeze, which I know is wrong. but I don't think it hurt anything. Oh, AC doesn't work. I have another compressor, but i don't care about AC that much. Figured I'd mess with it if I decided to fiddle with the timing chain. Thats about all I can think of. On the plus side, she has good tires :) This car is in the Northern Virginia USA area, between Dulles Airport and Winchester, on the mountain above Bluemont. She is available free to a good home. Good home in the case, means someone interested in a test bed for alternative 'appropriate techology' biofuels. Contact me off list if interested, with your story. :) ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.9.12/878 - Release Date: 6/28/2007 5:57 PM
Re: [Biofuel] Another mercedes forsale...
Dear Jared, I would love to see a picture of your Mercedes, I have always dreamed of owning one but that dream just never came to being. My wife and I hope to one day be non-dependent on any kind of fossil fuel. Owning a car that can use bio-diesel fuel is a start. Thank you! Thank you, Marc Hoflin -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Chip Mefford Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 8:06 AM To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Another mercedes forsale... Following Jared's lead, I too have a Mercedes to get rid of; Although I'm not going to bother with pics, cause it's a bit of a pain, here's the deal; she's an old 300SD, the wagon. The autoleveling system ist kaput! The pump works, but squirts that spendy mineral oil out of the transfer valve assembly over the rear axle with a vengance. The shocks themselves seem okay, they hold some pressure, meaning she isn't just sitting on the bump stops, but it does sit low. Rear exhaust is pretty much gone. Those little backup lamps that are mounted in the rear bumper both have broken lenses. They would work otherwise. As with all these things, the vacuum locking system is fouled up. Since the shutoff works, the vacuum pump is okay, but the door locks are an on-again, off again kinda thing. Umm, tach is spotty, some days it's okay, other days not so okay. The gauge cluster for that matter, falls out of the dash board (the way these do) and the gauge cover isn't glued on any more. This is a trivial fix. I thought it best not to fix until I had fiddled about behind there some. Tires are all fine, Michelin ICE-X studless winter/ice tires, with less than 5K on 'em. They'd need to be changed out for normal driving. These will not last in above freezing temps, but they get it though an inspection. Brake disks could do with a turning, and the calipers need a rebuild. It's spent too much time sitting, and the caliper engagement is uneven, this can be scary at speed. The rear window wiper doesn't work, don't know why. I've not messed with it much. Lesse what else? some rusty bits along the rocker panels, and I honestly am a bit fearful for the pan, as I found sitting water in it last time I checked. I've found no real bad spots, but I'd not be suprised if they were there. Err, that weird box that controls the coolant flow to the heater core is disconnected, so that i could get heat. I have another one of those switches, just haven't put it in. The usual suspects. Timing chain could do with a tightening/adjustment. And of course a pump timing is no doubt well over due. Fuel system is clean. she has run up to homemade B100 before, and i ran her on B5-B50 when I was driving her. Ran a few gallons of peanut oil through there from time to time. The turbocharger is late, always, so whatevertheheck you call it, that actuator that does the magic with the throttle, the vacuum and the transmission needs a LOT of adjusting. And whatever that breather tube is, probably needs cleaned out as well. And of course, the transmission (like all of them) surges between 1st and 2nd. This I am told, is not that difficult to alleviate during a xmission fluid service. A spring is all. I'm not so sure this is true. It also lags when going into reverse by a second or two. I'm just gentle with it. It's a very old (340K miles) car. Since I anticipate the surge, I feather the throttle between gears and the surge isn't really detectable. Oh yeah, there are at least 2 weak glowplugs. This is evident when the temp drops into the single digits (10f or lower), the glow plug light wont even come on. But being the good ole gal that she is, she starts anyway. Not happy about it, but still starts. I've started her on cold morning down to 3f. Since I had her, I kept her on a diet of good fuel, Amzoil lubricants and fluids and the like. I mistakenly trusted a oil change place to handle the coolant and it ended up with 'green' antifreeze, which I know is wrong. but I don't think it hurt anything. Oh, AC doesn't work. I have another compressor, but i don't care about AC that much. Figured I'd mess with it if I decided to fiddle with the timing chain. Thats about all I can think of. On the plus side, she has good tires :) This car is in the Northern Virginia USA area, between Dulles Airport and Winchester, on the mountain above Bluemont. She is available free to a good home. Good home in the case, means someone interested in a test bed for alternative 'appropriate techology' biofuels. Contact me off list if interested, with your story. :) ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ No virus foun
Re: [Biofuel] mercedes forsale...
Dear Jared, I would love to see a picture of your Mercedes, I have always dreamed of owning one but that dream just never came to being. My husband and I hope to one day be non-dependent on any kind of fossil fuel. Owning a car that can use bio-diesel fuel is a start. Thank you! Marc -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jared (Forced Distribution) Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 7:16 AM To: Biofuel@sustainablelists.org Subject: [Biofuel] mercedes forsale... I am selling one of my Mercedes, 1983 300D Turbo Diesel in Massachusetts. I would rather try to sell it to someone who will use it for biofuel conversions and such instead of the general public. If you are interested I can send you details and pictures. Its $1500 and in pretty decent shape. Thanks! -- Forced Distribution www.forceddistro.com Industrial / Breakcore / Noise --- ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.9.12/878 - Release Date: 6/28/2007 5:57 PM No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.9.14/882 - Release Date: 6/30/2007 3:10 PM No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.9.14/883 - Release Date: 7/1/2007 12:19 PM ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
