how to sneak into a potluck without bringing anything.

I had the privilege of experiencing my first 4th & Gill neighborhood Potluck in the Park yesterday. Apparently there are bi-monthly neighborhood potlucks usually held at Central United Methodist, but once a year they move it out to 4th & Gill park for a big ole summer shindig. I probably wouldn't have found out about this if the Noise Temple didn't happen to share a property line with 4th & Gill park.

The affair was complemented by all manner of edible things (some delicious, some not-so-delicious), a bubble station, and some pretty legit surf-rock from 4th & Gill local band, The Mutations.

It was pretty cool to see so many people come down and hang out with their neighbors, and there was mention of a "Porch Crawl" next month, which the Noise Temple will definitely be signing up for.

So if you're looking for a new neighborhood full of awesomeness, come buy one of our overpriced Victorians so it doesn't get carved up into studio apartments.

The Day of Many Minor Accomplishments

Saturday, June 11th shall henceforth be referred to as 'The Day of Many Minor Accomplishments'. Let us list them:

1. Interwebs at the ole homestead!

Yeah, I know I posted this picture twice in a row, but last time I was posting it from the crumby old office internet, and this time it's zooming down the pipes of a 16mbps connection, allowing for my first ever...(get excited)...weekend post! I know, right? So if you're ever roaming 4th & Gill foraging for a wireless signal, stop on by the Noise Temple (you can't get on our's though, our password it 63 characters long, 14 of which are Klingon. We do have a nice porch you can sit on though).

2. What follows after fresh internet better than a free washing machine?

Probably a handful of things, but stop interrupting. After severing 3 fingers and herniating twice as many disks, we managed to provide a new home for Clarice the Washing Machine in the couch kitchen. Not really a full accomplishment since we don't have half the hardware needed to make her useful. Step 2 of this accomplishment is to fabricate a clothesline out back, since Clarice was separated at birth from Maximilian the Dryer. Any blueprints for successful clotheslines that don't require huge expenditures would be greatly appreciated.

3. Well this one is kinda a half-accomplishment as well. The headboard bench is well on it's way to being sit-downable (probably a word). Basically I just have to attach the front legs to the back, attach the seat slats to the frame, and attach paint to all of it. Ok, so maybe I'm only like half-way done. I'm beginning to worry that the finished product is going to weigh as much as 4 Fellini Kroger patrons, but I guess that'll prevent somebody from walking away with it (since it's gonna be hella-awesome). Thank you Knox for loaning me your drill (it's a very sexy drill, see for yourself, it's like the female beach volleyball player of drills).

4. Probably the most important accomplishment of the Day of Many Minor Accomplishments was actually a little bittersweet. We broke down and fired up the AC in the Noise Temple as an "experiment" claimed Caleb, "just to see how it feels"...yeah, after about 5 mins I was pretty confident that it would be on till September. The non-blistering temperatures definitely feel good, but I still feel kinda defeated. Hopefully next month's electric bill won't stoke my regret too much. [side note: Sketchiest-looking AC ever? I think so.)

So I guess not all that much was actually accomplished, but it beat sitting around on facebook all day (which is what I'll be doing now that we have internet at home).

The Day of Many Small Accomplishments

is brought to you, in part, by the Hammer of Decisiveness

(and the Creepy Doll-Headed Whiskey Bottle)

aaaarrrrrguably the best party evar!

I suppose I should probably post something, but I just discovered the Angry Birds app for Chrome (http://chrome.angrybirds.com/) and my productivity has been sapped.

Last night witnessed a spectacular pirate party for the most totally rad 9 year-old I've ever had the privilege to live beneath, complete with gold doubloons, hand-crafted pirate flags/plastic plates, and fish sticks. Wish I had pictures, cause a live shark bit the host's left leg off. Guess you'll just have to believe me.

It's sad to think that birthdays will never be that awesome ever again. I think they really start going downhill in sheer awesomeness after about 13 (with another spike at 21). If science could figure out a way to harness the energy of a group of 9 year-olds in a present-opening frenzy we could finally break our dependence on hamster wheels. Little known fact: hamster wheel emissions are the leading cause of unsatisfactory math scores in American schools.

Here, I arranged some pixels for you:

bookends

On the occasion of more than 40% (soon to be 100%) of my immediate family being on the same continent again after 2 years, I nostalgically began rifling through old photos from high school and Senegal. I had the privilege of being the official unofficial cameraman/paparazzi for the last couple years of high school, and being an self-diagnosed hoarder, still have 6gb (3,791 files) worth of photos from junior and senior years stashed in a musty corner of my hard drive. It got me wondering what the oldest photo in those archives would be, so I did a little digging and thought I would share my findings.

Date: 9-8-2004 3:52:55PM
Shutter: 1/125 sec
Aperture: F2.8
Description: Local shop (or "boutique") owner, Tapha, hands me a small, buttered loaf commonly referred to as "pain beurre", as he covers his face with scrap paper so I can't steal his soul. Dude laughs in the background.

So for those of you unfamiliar with the daily life of an MK (missionary's kid) high schooler in Dakar, Senegal: this was a pretty common scene. We'd get out of school at 3, then just hang out for an hour or two, play soccer, sit in the air conditioned computer lab, cause mischief, etc. Tapha's boutique was the closest source of quazi-nourishment, a quarter mile down the road, and thus received the patronage of parched and hungry toubab (white folk) teenagers who had a hankering for
1. Coke (real Coke, made with cane sugar in glass bottles): 500 CFA - $1
2. Fanta Cocktail (a delicious version they don't supply here in the States, complete with unidentifiable "floaty bits"): 500 CFA - $1
3. Pain beurre (a small loaf of brioche, smeared with a hefty serving of butter): 200 CFA - $0.40
4. Something else. Tapha supplied a smattering of other goods, occasionally including ice cream products, and very occasionally including American brand soft drinks, but I didn't often find the need to purchase tomato paste or individual cigarettes at 3:52:55 PM on most days.

The covering of the face would, I assume, relate to an Animistic belief that when you are photographed, a part of your soul is stored in the image. I would also assume that it was being done in jest on Tapha's part, as the dude in the background is greatly amused, and because Tapha is a staunch Muslim, complete with daily prayer and a handful of wives.

In contrast, here's the most recent image on my hard drive, creating photographic bookends of sorts. Neat-o!

Date: 6-4-2011 2:11:52 PM
Shutter: 1/250 sec
Aperture: F6.3
Description: At Beardsley's Farm Fest, Brian gives me the 'ole thumbs ups, as he and Jarius carry a cooler for the Cruze Farm girls, in hopes that their chivalry will result in free ice cream. It did.

growing things in stuff

Pretty excited about the prospect of new raised beds in the front yard, after what would've been a crushing defeat for my meager, first-year garden. The Landlord emailed last week, with dreams of a grass-filled yard and warnings to move my shanty town of a garden to the oh-so-shady backyard. With my last vestiges of hope I impertinently suggested the construction of permanent raised beds in front of the house to disguise the sparse ground-cover. Much to my surprise The Landlord seemed reasonably interested in my option, so now I'm just waiting for the final verdict while my poor potted produce perches precariously on patio pavers, populating the perimeter of what supposedly will become grass if I'm unlucky.

At any rate, here's a picture of the set-up prior to its relocation.

From left to right:
Savoy cabbage (pretty miserable and full of holes)
Green Comet broccoli (no head yet, fingers crossed)
5 buckets of Yukon Gold potatoes (with a variety of strawing techniques/levels)
Tennessee Cornfield beans (going strong, even after 3 transplants)
Mustard greens (might not make it any further than "baby" greens)
More broccoli
2 mystery tomatoes

The potato buckets are just left-overs from grocery store bakery's, which are nice since they're 5-gallon and food-grade, but you usually have to clean out the residual icing/glaze/etc which can be pretty greasy. I know people do potato condos with tires and wood, but I'm just cutting the bottom out of a bucket and stacking them, so we'll see how that goes.

The raised bed was built in 15 mins out of 4x4s from the crawl-space and sidewalls from salvages crates, with a sheet of plastic stapled around the bottom. Unfortunately it's empty right now, since I had to vacate the "lawn".

As it stands right now, I have no huge ambitions for this season's harvest, since almost everything was started late, moved around too much, and in cramped containers. It'll be a good learning experience though, and I'll have plenty of containers stocked up for next season.

Start your own! It's easy!

All I need is a class-C driver's lisence and lots of money...

So I just stumbled across this Kickstarter campaign:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2140943094/compass-green-a-mobile-greenhouse-project


Why haven't I heard about any other "rolling greenhouses"? Seems like a pretty intuitive idea to convert an old box truck or school bus into a self-contained, mobile garden. You could take it to schools to educate kids, drive it up to a farmer's market for fresh-as-can-be produce, or just use it as a garden if you don't have land. This might have just made it into my "potential future venture incubation area".

I have no idea how you'd make it cost-effective, though. A functioning bus/truck would probably cost you about $1,000-3,000 on craigslist. Doing the conversions (skylights, sidewalls, garden beds, etc) would probably be at least double that unless you can use repurposed materials & do the labor yourself. Then tack on a biodiesel conversion and solar panels if you really want it eco-pimped out, and your return on investment is probably upwards of 150 years.

Oh well, it'd still be pretty awesome. Maybe I can find a grant...

Brevard, NC has the 3rd largest population of white squirrels in the world.

Camping! Asheville! Fog! Blue Ridge Parkway! Pisgah! Fire! White Squirrel Festival! Improbable encounters! Beer!