Ron's World est. 1981

2011-11-21T19:30:00.001-08:00

A thought-provoking video about the state of Food. Have a look and leave a comment.

2011-11-18T08:26:00.001-08:00

A few weekends ago, I had the chance to visit Hong Kong. I've had a love hate relationship with the small region, mostly leaning towards hate. You can thank the backwards relationship the US has with Taiwan, and not having an embassy within the country. This forces American nationals to fly overseas to obtain a visa, often termed a "visa run," and Hong Kong is the likely place for visa runs for Americans in Taiwan. So up until now, my relationship with Hong Kong, the birthplace of my father, father's father, and so on, has not held a dear place in my heart. Instead it represented red tape beaurocratic BS, wasted time, and light pockets.This trip was different, however, it being a mini vacation. I went with my girlfriend who said her airline miles would soon expire, and we should go on a trip. She also said she'd take me to some places with photo ops. I felt it strange I was actually looking forward to the trip across the straight. Hong Kong is a large and busy city. It gave me a great opportunity to practice something I rarely do: shoot street people. This was something that didn't come quickly for me because of my initial fear of intruding on other's privacy. But with a little longer lens than I'm used to using, I was able to surreptitiously photograph others. Another benefit the distance allows is more candid expressions and actions, not posed movements or an awareness of being photographed.

Welcome Back

2011-11-18T02:48:00.001-08:00

It's been way too long since my last post. Over two years in fact. From the looks of the last post, I was still living the homestead dream in my parents house. Since then, much and little has changed. After gallivanting around Japan for two months, I moved back to Taiwan in December 2009. And I have been here ever since. I stayed in the capital, my previous residence, for a year before moving to Tainan, a southern city in Taiwan, and previous capital. The move was initiated by my then girlfriend and now wife. Since I've returned to the country ancient Portuguese called "Ilha Formosa," I've fallen for photography. If you look at my previous posts, they were mainly focused on gardening, permaculture, and self-sustainability. These things are still very important, but not the center of my attention at the moment. The posts will continue to be about issues that are dear to my sensibilities. In fact, just like my life, what you read here will swing all around the map. But I have also started a new website devoted to my journey into photography. You can find it here.

Great Randomness

2009-09-13T23:48:00.000-07:00

This is something I wrote a while ago, during my time in Taiwan.
Spit a little beat while you read it.

Yo, it's time to take hip hop where it belongs.
It's time to take it back to the streets, and give it to the people,
not the politics, high rises, crystal, platinum chains, rims and cars,
That's not what hip hop is about.
Hip Hop is about the beautiful struggle,
not the result of commercialization of culture.
Hip Hop is about finding strength when there is none,
It's about finding love in the midst of hate, Hip Hop
is about self seeking truth, shared with others to create
what Queen Latifah so poetically called U-N-I-T-Y.
For the illiterate and undereducated, Hip Hop is a medium to connect the loose ends
Hip Hop is about the lessons of the street.
A class room anywhere a voice and a beat can meet.
Hip Hop is about seeing the light when darkness threatens,
about the definition and Redefinition of the self,
about fighting the powers that restrain you, mentally
and sometimes by any means necessary,
about the mis- and re-education of a nation called humanity.
Hip Hop is about keeping your head up when you only have one more chance.
We are on the next movement, the seed of change, the train is here and we need a ticket.

Yard Notes

2009-09-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

To hopefully keep me here more often, I will post my yard/garden notes here. Since I have been working in the yard for a while, I will start in the middle and you can figure out what has already been done. Also, since I am new to detailing notes and ideas in this way, it may not be great. But for what it's worth, it will be here.

Sept. 1st, 2009

Brought back a bunch of sickly plants from work. Chard, beets, black beauty eggplant, honeydew melon, chives, basil, spearmint tarragon. They had a range of problems from aphids to powdery mildew. I will try to nurse them back to good health.

I put Seeds of Change (SOC) bouquet dill and bronze fennel seeds into soil tonight. Four fennel and 7 dill broke. I think I put the seeds into water three days ago.

9:00PM: Placed 10 Red Russian Kale, a mix (Mammoth Sunflower, Coriander (not SOC), Sweet Basil (not SOC), and Edible Shinjuku Chrysanthemum), and 10 Brussel Sprout seeds into room temp. water. I put them in the bathroom for germination. I expect germination in 3-4 days.

About three weeks ago, our lime tree started new growth and blossoms, something it hadn't done in a while. I feel it was due to the increase in watering. About a week after setting, however, the little fruit buds fell off. I think this is because of fertilizer deficiencies or strong winds. I added compost when we were building the wall (8.25.09). If they don't start setting fruit, I will add the Peace of Mind Fruit and Flower (5-8-4) fert. that I have. \

About a week ago, I got a Poha berry (cape gooseberry) cutting and put it in soil. It looked wilted and on the verge of dying for a couple of days. But steady misting and watering was enough. The roots that were already growing have begun taking in nutrients. The poha seems like an easily propagated plant, as new roots extend from the lower nodes of the plant. I hope to have a nice groud cover with great tasting berries soon.

This past weekend, I took a drive up Pi'iholo road in Makwao, and chanced upon a nursery Aloha Honua LLC farm. Set on his quiet property, the proprietor approched as I pulled in. I could see the podocarpus' pines, bottlebrushes lined up in neat rows. He said that he had 50 different kinds of dwarf citrus trees. He also had something I had been looking for for a long time, a dwarf avocado (cultivar name "Little Cado"). This was a rare find. People come to our nursery and ask for this tree all the time. There is a long waiting list. It cost me $40 plus tax and I felt it was a good deal.

Lastly, I discussed with my parents the idea of creating a tea (camellia sinensis) hedge in the front yard that would replace the repugnant thorny carissa hedge that now exists. It would provide privacy while also providing the novelty of homemade green tea. As we all know, tea makes great looking rows in plantation style farms. I contacted the Hawaii Tea Society and they promptly responded and connected me to a tea farmer here on Maui. I am excited at the prospect of contact with a local tea farmer. I've had ideas of having a tea plantation, and had talked with some friends about it.

I will keep you posted.

A Sound Step

2009-08-27T02:56:00.000-07:00

There has been a trouble spot in our backyard. Actually there are many, but I am focusing on one in particular. It is highly visible and an eyesore. I had the mind to change that recently. In chats with my parents, we decided to clear the area and create a small wall in our yard.

Previously this area was home to tall cane grass and haole koa, as well as bare ground. I had cleared it before, only to have the weeds come so adamantly and swiftly back. It is a no go zone, a place you have no reason to walk into or near, lest you get a rash or bitten by some unnamed insect.

The area of discussion is under the canopy of the two large trees in our backyard. Initially, we simply wanted to clear the weeds and install a ground cover to prevent erosion and recurrence of weeds. The idea was to create a small boundary to separate the grass from the ground cover. The idea then matured into making a small wall and backfilling it with dirt, as this area is sloped.

Final decision? We would build a small wall, backfill, and plant to cover the area.

So we set out finding the acceptable wall material and ended up at Home Despot. We got these grey arborstones that look pretty nice. Then we needed fill material. We got the base material "crusha run" from Ameron, courtesy of Mr. Wong, and for the top layer we used about two cubic yards of Maui EKO Systems' blended compost.

About 3 tons of compost in our driveway.

After several days of carrying 20lb. blocks and carting tons of dirt, we finished the wall. This being my first time building a wall of any size, it wasn't without its troubles and doubts. After we had set the bricks in place, I contacted a friend of mine who is a landscape designer. I sent him some pics of the layout and he responded with what I feared. Since the wall was on slope, I would have to level the bricks so as not to slide down the slope after rain or erosion. Fortunately, we had not filled in any dirt yet. I reset the bottom row and then replaced the bricks.

I work in style.

Then came the carting and shoveling. I think in all, my dad and I moved about 3 tons of earth into this spot, with another ton or so of compost being set aside. Mom pitched in too, using the rake to level the dirt after being dumped, and watering.

It took about two or three nonconsecutive days to finish this project, but it was well worth it. Let's hope it holds up to the test of time...

Completion, without the plants.

The Good Earth

2009-08-07T02:11:00.000-07:00

"He had no articulate thought of anything; there was only this perfect sympathy of movement, of turning this earth of theirs over and over to the sun, this earth which formed their home and fed their bodies and made their gods. The earth lay rich and dark, and fell apart lightly under the points of their hoes. Sometimes they turned up a bit of brick, a splinter of wood. It was nothing. Some time, in some age, bodies of men and women had been buried there, houses had stood there, had fallen, and gone back into the earth. So would also their house, some time, return into the earth, their bodies also. Each had his turn at this earth. They worked on, moving together-- together-- producing the fruit of this earth-- speechless in their movement together." - Pearl Buck The Good Earth

This quote shot off the page and struck me as deaths poignancy. It humbles the reader, bringing him or her to the realization of time and place. Kind of sums up life in many ways. Impermanence. Change.

We each have our turn at this earth. Read into this sentence what you will. To me, it means that however important we may think ourselves, what metrics have you: land, money, popularity, love, etc., that we are only here but a moment. Our time too, will pass. We have our chance to do what we will, then we hand over what we have done to those who follow. We do have power and can exact sweeping change according to our desire, but it is forever fleeting and ultimately imperfect.

What did I make of my turn on this earth? This may be a question asked of yourself as age tallies its numbers. It may be a question unspoken, only you knowing the answer.
I'd like to say I did my best to be a just person. In a greater sense, there is no ownership, and we borrow what we have from the past and future. I hope leave the good earth in no worse shape than it was given, if not better. This may seems an impossibility in our day and age . It is also an unanswerable statement, for who really knows the power of their footsteps?

The Future of food

2009-07-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

A very intriguing video about the potential of our food sources. You have a choice.

Credit Unions and Sustainabilty

2009-07-15T02:25:00.000-07:00

Living local is an important part of sustainability. Living local means basing your sustenance on your immediate geographic location. In living locally, ideally your food, work, entertainment, and yes, money will all be derived from and revolve around where you live, within certain limits (5, 10, 100 miles, depending on your philosophy).

This post was inspired by my recent thoughts on credit unions and talks with my father. I was thinking about all the benefits of being a member of a credit union. Credit unions are financial alternatives to regular banks. For one, they aren’t taxed on income. Second, they are usually for members of a particular community, be it people of a specific area, profession, or company. They can provide rates that are equal to, often better than, “normal” banks.

Another benefit of supporting a credit union is that the money will stay in the community. The money that the CU makes is reciprocated to its members in the form of dividends or returned in other ways. This is an example of local money. Let’s use an example.

You are located in beautiful Maui. Your bank is located in far-off New York. The money you have sitting in your account benefits the big bank in NY. The interest you pay on loans fattens the pockets no where near yours. Credit unions, on the other hand, keep the money local. If you keep your money in a credit union, the money is used to benefit others around your community. Likewise with loan interest you may pay. It circulates within your community.

This is one way we can use money in the context of living local and sustainability. I’d like to know more ways. Let’s see what we can come up with…

Kula Farm Tour

2009-07-15T00:47:00.000-07:00

The Upcountry Sustainability group is putting on a farm tour this Saturday.We will be going to three farms in the Kula area. These farms are sustainable, which means they use methods that build up rather than destroy the environment, and make a profit doing it. It is completely possible to run a sound farm economically and environmentally. After going on the tour, I will report back with pictures and thoughts.

Where's Water?

2009-06-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

On Maui, mainly upcountry Maui, we all know the importance of water. Summer is upon us, and we have regular droughts this time of year. We are compelled to lessen water usage, keeping to essential functions such as showering, sewage, and cooking.

In a perfect world, here is a multi-pronged solution to this problem.

1. Explore the viability of humanure and greywater use. This would drastically reduce the use of fresh water needed, alleviating the drought problem not to mention the infrastructure costs, treatment, chemicals, effluent, pollution, etc. associated with sewage treatment; additionally, the importing of fertilizers in an unsustainble method . If people are wary of using humanure, use it on non-edible crops.

2. Promote rainwater catchment systems. If we used our roofs, natural rain collectors, and stored the water in the rainy season, we would lessen the demand on the reservoirs during the dry months. Another option: green roofs.

3. Get rid of lawns. Those ever-needy plants that give back nothing. If you have no grass, you have no need to water it. I would say that the lawn is the #1 consumer of water, outside of showering, sewage, and cooking/drinking.

A thought on Permaculture

2009-06-26T17:01:00.000-07:00

"A person of courage today is a person of peace. The courage we need is to refuse authority and to accept only personally responsible decisions. Like war, growth at any cost is an outmoded and discredited concept. It is our lives which are being laid to waste. What is worse, it is our children's world which is being destroyed. It is therefore our only possible decision to withhold all support for destructive systems, and to cease to invest our lives in our own annihilation." - Bill Mollison (Permaculture a Designers Manual 1988, Ch. 1)

Although this was written over 20 years ago, it is relevant more than ever. Since then, it seems we have only worsened our situation. This statement is too broad to address all points in a short post. What I take away from it is that we should be responsible to smaller groups: family, friends, church, etc. rather than states or nations. For the majority of us, we can have an influence on these areas only, few can command the attention of an entire (nation) state. And what being responsible means is thinking long term about our well being. It means thinking beyond tomorrow or next week, or next year even. It means thinking in terms of decades and generations, and further.
If we adopted this mindset, it seems we would have much better planning, less activity based on short term profits, more thoughfulness, less waste, in whole, a better system of economics and mode of living.

Maui Master Gardeners 2009

2009-06-24T23:45:00.000-07:00

Today was the culmination of the Master Gardener class. I had planned to write an entry for each class, but that lasted for about three classes. It has come to an end, the last day finishing off with a final exam.
Overall, I would rate the class a "very good." I was able to spend the past 13 Wednesdays with a group of (somewhat) like-minded people, listening to great speakers, and sharing thoughts of Maui's future. I learned much that would have otherwise been spent alone in front of a computer. I encourage all to take the class, or a similar one. All states, or most states offer the Master Gardener program, put on by the state university. You can learn about gardening for a minimal fee.
I think the best part of the entire process was meeting all the other students. From them, I have established a network of friends and professionals.
As with all good things that come to an end, it was kinda sad to leave the classroom for the last time. But I know this is just the beginning. We are now obligated to give back 45hrs. of volunteer time to the program in the first year. Only then are we qualified to be called Master Gardeners. We will be reaching into the community, working with seniors, students and community members, to spread the joys and benefits of gardening. This is where we will really flex our gardening muscle, disseminating all that we learned in class and sharing it with all who are willing (and probably a few of the unwilling).

Spare Some Change? Here's Two Sense

2009-06-05T00:47:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, you sometimes feel overwhelmed when thinking of how to solve global warming. You feel like it is on your shoulders to fix the problem. However, if we really want to change the course of global warming, like Michael Jackson said, we have to start with the wo/man in the mirror. If you aren't like me, but still are concerned with global warming, there are many things you can do.

We must start with ourselves and at home. A large paradigm shift change must be made on a foundational level, and that means person by person. It may be a little uncomfortable for some to alter the way they live. Some don't want to give up air conditioning. Others will drive to the store that would have taken a 5 minute walk to get to. But if we are serious about the care of the environment, we must make these small changes first. Only then we can go on systemically attacking big business and industry to make changes. However, until we show that we as individuals can change, how can we expect anyone else to?
I can offer an endless list of what you can do to save here and there. Instead I will hit a few major points, ones that can have a great effect, with minimal sacrifice. Then after these baby steps, you will be able to create your own steps of change. They are ranked from least uncomfortable to down right scratchy wool sweater in African mid-summer uncomfortable.

Beginner
1. Walk more. It's good for you, free, and uses nothing.
2. Turn off lights appliances when you aren't using them. Although this seems like common sense, it is far from commonplace.
3. Use a fan instead of A/C. Or rather open a window and let nature cool you.
4. Wear a sweater when it gets warm rather than turning up/on the heat.
5. Be conscious of the amount of resources you use and follow the three r's: reduce (most important), reuse, and recycle. You'd be surprised at how many uses you can find for a bag or a Starbucks coffee cup.
6. Turn off the TV, computer (I should say), video game, and find a better hobby.
7. Use the sun to dry your clothes.

Intermediate
1. Ride a bike or take public transport to work/play.
2. Carpool with coworkers or others going in the same direction.
3. Grow some of your own food. Buy local, then buy organic, then buy conventional.
4. Be a conscious consumer, which means to consume less, and to make explicit decisions based on criteria important to you (ie. business ethics, product life, product necessity, packaging, recyclability, etc.)

Advanced
1. Use your voice to petition/boycott companies that have a history of environmental destruction. Pick your battles wisely as there are so many causes, you may get distracted if you aren't focused.
2. Grow alot of your own food. Share surplus with others.
3. If you are a homeowner, take steps to green-ify your house. Better insulation, solar panels, better windows, etc. If remodeling, use environmentally responsible materials and methods.
4. Volunteer for habitat/environment rebuilding and restoration. Plant trees, restore wild areas.
5. Join a community program related to sustainability and environmental issues. Saving the Amazon is a great and noble cause, but usually it is the local problems that you can actually influence for the better (or worse).
6. Make others aware of your concerns, either by action or by talking.

Master
1. Teach others to garden, live, and be sustainable. In short, make clones of yourself.

I classify myself as mid to low intermediate. I hope to someday attain mastery of change. Until then, I will work my way up and continue to blog.

The Story of Stuff or Filling Landfills

2009-05-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned before, and will undoubtedly mention again, we need to stop consuming so much. After watching the video, The Story of Stuff, I was compelled to address this topic again. As consumers, we control the companies and their business models. In basic economics, there is the theory of supply and demand. Simply, if there is a demand (consumption), someone will meet it with supply (producers and products). However, if there is dwindling demand (consumption), then it follows that the supply (producers and products) will also fall. After watching the video, you will see how much the stuff we buy affects everything. Being a conscious consumer most importantly means consuming less and making better consumer decisions such as what we buy, who we buy it from, how much we buy, and how long it will last. The cheapest price doesn't always have the greatest value; in fact it rarely has decent value. Also the life of the product should be considered.

All you need to do is think before you purchase something, "Do I support the circumstances that made this product?" "Why am I in/directly supporting this company/product?"

After you ask yourself these simple questions, you can be considered a responsible consumer.

Why ‘Increased Energy Efficiency’ Won’t Save Us

2009-05-27T01:45:00.000-07:00

This was an article taken from The Permaculture Research Institute of the USA, written by Craig Mackintosh

Why ‘Increased Energy Efficiency’ Won’t Save Us

Mother's Day Gift

2009-05-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

This mothers day, I built my mom a small herb garden. We picked out a spot in the back of our house. It wasn't large, but enough for one person to easily manage. The total area was about 14sq ft.The area had decent soil but we decided to make a raised bed to give our herbs a good start, and to make it that much harder for slugs and snails to get to. The location isn't ideal, as it is blocked by a wall from the morning sun. But it still gets noon and afternoon sun and suits our needs well enough.

We used concrete blocks for a simple and sturdy boarder, and filled in with a mixture of compost, leaf litter, soil conditioner, and soil.

The initial planting included creeping thyme, Italian flat-leafed parsley, alyssum, purslane, nasturtiums, and cilantro. Some additions that will come later are: chives, garlic,

These are pictures taken about three weeks later. It has already provided fresh organic herbs for our meals. I encourage you to start a little (or large) herb garden. Herbs are often very easy to grow and maintain, and can make meals even more tasteful. Plus, fresh and dried herbs are often very expensive in the market, so you can save some money and guarantee freshness by growing your own. Ain't nothing better.

Getting on the Right (and left) foot

2009-05-08T23:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, I took the bus about a week ago. It went pretty smoothly, as I expected. It was fuller than I thought it would be, which is promising. To show that there is demand for the service can only induce greater attention and funding towards it. Since the first occasion, I have ridden it one other time, which was also nice.

I have been busy (or feeling busy) lately and haven't had the energy or creativity to post as often. There has been alot going on in my head and don't know how to get it out. Over the next few days, I will try to get them down here.

I have begun riding my bike to work. From Pukalani to Kula Hardware, it takes me about an hour to make the roughly six mile uphill journey to work in the morning. I arrive refreshed and ready to work. However, I do notice that I tire sooner in the day, especially with the amount of moving and carrying I do. The best part of the day is the ride back down. The hour journey uphill in the morning now takes me 15minutes to get home. This is one uphill that is worth the downhill.

I will make it a daily ritual to ride to work. I was able to do it when I was in Taiwan and I will do it here too.

Challege #4: Use an alternate method of transport to get somewhere you usually go.

This could mean walking to the corner store, rather than driving. It could mean taking the train, bus, or bike to get to work. It will take you longer to get to point B, but don't think of it as wasted time, but time you can use to talk to a friend, read a book, get some exercise, catch some z's, or take it easy. Not to mention using less gas/oil/fuel. Sometimes we are so caught up with the speed of modern life, we forget we are alive.

Egonomics

2009-04-28T00:03:00.000-07:00

We all try to make our difference in the world. It seems like a more than human task to "save the world." But all it really takes is small steps.

My step: my first ride on the Maui Bus.

There is a stigma that exists with public transport. People's acceptance of public transportation is based on status, or better yet, perceived status, and that making use of it is somehow injurous to their person. They may support its existence, but never actually ride it. The notion is that you appear to be poor and don't have the resources to pay for a car (or gas, insurance, repair bills, cleaning, GPS, moon-roofs, cupholders...). It often seems that the more convenient something is, the less some people are willing to use it, the decision purely based on how they feel about it. It also seems that the more inconvenient something is, the same group is proportionately just as likely to adopt it. Really, how much of a convenience is it to have a car? Ok, on Maui, it is almost necessary. Almost. But in many places, it is straight ludicrous to own a car, for reasons such as taxes, parking, traffic, theft, and other needless headaches. The only reason to own a car would be to flaunt the affluence to those who, honestly, don't really care (and if they do, then they aren't worthy anyway). Although I am also to blame, it seems odd that pride has much to do with our preferences and lifestyle decisions. Why do people fly in terribly uneconomical, inefficient private jets? Because they can! And they want people to see them in it. Why else? Of course they wouldn't be caught actually sitting next to any of those people, else they'd take the coach, row 56, aisle seat to L.A. on Southwest. It's not economics, it's egonomics.

But I digress, back to Maui. With the introduction of the Maui Bus, there is now an option to car indebtedness, and egos can be put to the test. Granted, the Maui bus schedule is lacking in frequency as well as stop numbers, but Maui's ridership is small at the moment. As it catches on, routes and schedules will improve, and that's economics. Egonomics is people riding alone in their car, watching their neighbor in the rearview, going to the same place.

Riding the bus can provide much benefits. Apart from the obvious like less pollution, you can read, nap, listen to music, chat with a friend/other member of society, and text others on your cell-- all while not having to worry a bit about traffic, weather, other wonderfully considerate drivers, and adjusting the a/c or radio. It is much more relaxing to read a book in traffic rather than be in the driver seat stressing about stop and go traffic. Best of all, if you get into an accident, it's not your fault! Isn't that enough to get you onto the bus?

So I will take a trip on the Maui Bus and take my small step out of my ego--if only for a day.

Earth Day

2009-04-22T23:44:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while so I figure Earth Day would be an appropriate day to make a comeback.
What did you do for the earth on its day? Since today was Wednesday, I attended my Master Gardener class. We learned about growing vegetables and herbs organically. Our guest lecturer was Theodore Radovich from CTAHR at the UH Manoa Campus. Overloaded with enthusiasm about his subject, he presented the material in a casual and informative manner. We were all fed more than we could handle, but enjoyed the process.

Just watched this video, titled "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil." If you believe in the idea of peak oil, then this would be a good video to watch. It is short, but a good lead into the world of sustainability and organic gardening. It might also be a sign of things to come and what we can expect if peak oil is real.

A friend showed me Geocaching, an interesting way to travel and see the world. Basically, there are these boxes that are hidden around the world. People geotag them, trade with an item left by a previous finder, write in the box's log, and go online and say they found the box at such and such latitude/longitude. Others can find the boxes and do the same. What an idea. Almost useless in its practicality, but so cool that it deserves commendation.

Last week I attained employment at I place I frequent quite a bit, Kula Hardware and Nursery. It is an easy job, but still challenges me in the aspects that I desire. I wanted to work there to become more familiar with plants, both local and exotic, gain plant disease and pest knowledge, and also meet the growing growing community and become a part of it.

Bountiful Hoods

2009-04-14T00:41:00.000-07:00

I know I've mentioned this before, but restating it just shows how important it really is to all of us, whether you are concerned or not. I pulled this story about commercial agriculture in America from www.farmpolicyfacts.org. We all need to take at least a bit of our future in our hands (literally). We may never escape taxes, oil, foreign markets or junk mail, but we can all mitigate our dependence on imported foods and commercial agriculture, with all of its inherent weaknesses.

Imagine a small ficticious community with 10 homes. Each house has a family consisting of two parents and two children. Each home is on a quarter of an acre lot. This community was relatively close and friendly with each other. Apart from their regular professions, they also all had a penchant for home gardening. No one is an expert, but enjoys growing things. Now let's say that they get together and discuss that each family can produce one crop, enough for their along with the other 9 families. Each crop was one that was commonly used, and also commonly imported. Limes, tomatoes, peas, oranges, apples, various nuts, lettuces, potatoes, corn, and bananas for example. Each family grew their crop as a hobby, not by coersion. Imagine the benefits of such a system.
Now, don't go putting words in my mouth like "utopia" or "communist" or anything like that. This would simply be a neighborhood getting together to grow locally what they usually import. These are crops that are relatively easy to grow and wouldn't take up much of a backyard. Mind you, this wouldn't replace their total nutrition, but suppliment it. Now imagine that each family grew two crops! We could add such things like berries, broccoli, eggplant, garlic, avocado, beans, squash, herbs, papaya, and onions. Such advantages (better nutrition, stewardship of the land, education, economics, social building, lessening dependence on outside forces, less pollution, etc.), could be reaped that it seems strange that this isn't a common thing (at least not to me, nor to this era). Maybe this was more common in the "old days" or "tough times." Well I would argue that now is a tough time for many.

I realize that this imaginary neighborhood is highly idealized, but to a lesser degree, it is completely possible and even established in some places. This idea of community and sharing is one of the cornerstones of permaculture.

We may not need to have our food shipped 3400 miles or depend so much on the large farm industry.

Imagine the possibilities...

Maybe Athletes Foot Isn't So Bad...

2009-04-10T03:16:00.000-07:00

I am always inspired by TED videos and speakers. If you don't already know about them, have a look for yourself and you will become their greatest fan.

Maui Food Sustainability

2009-04-09T15:11:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking about the idea of the island of Maui being self sustainable in terms of food. Would something like this be possible? Could we really supply all that we consume in homes and restaurants on this small island in the middle of the Pacific ocean?

I would like to think it is, but I haven't done the calculations. I read that supermarkets only have a 3 day food supply. So if for some reason, we couldn't ship food here, we would only be stocked for three days. It may not be possible to make Maui completely self sustaining, but I'm sure we are far from being as good as we could. How could we create an independent food surplus?

I don't believe it would require all to take to their backyards armed with hoes and seeds, although that wouldn't be a bad thing. I don't think we would have to slow down much, though again, it might not be negative. It would require, however, a shift in values and philosophies about the land, capitalism, human interaction and heightened awareness of the natural world. This would probably prove to be the largest obstacle, as we are creatures of habit.

Some steps we could take to move towards paradise sustainability would be to:
-have fruit/productive trees in parks and public areas
I would love to walk through a park and pick some fresh mangoes or mulberries from the tree I was sitting under. Nutritious and free.

-use unused lots in the "city" for food production
I wouldn't say Maui has any real cities, but the unused urban land could be used for something productive that could either be sold in a market, or donated to families/communities who need it. People could volunteer or be community service hours for lawbreakers.

-school gardens
Schools could independently provide some of their food, reducing need for gov't funds. Students could have the satisfaction that they grew their own food.

-youth gardening programs
Getting the youth accustomed to veggies and gardens would be a large step. If more people grew up with gardening skills, they would be more apt to use them.

-rooftop gardens
What wasted space the roof is. They get great sun and rain exposure and take up a large percent of urban space. Reclaim the roof.

-city parks/gardens
Imagine a park where all could go to see how gardening is done. With beautiful as well as useful/productive plants, people would be inspired to recreate it at home. the park garden would provide useful examples of plant companions, resource management and layout to assist the home gardener. The garden could also sell plants to subsidize its existence.

-dedicated place for a farmers market
I have been to the Maui farmers market in the Maui Mall. It looks pretty sad, with a couple of tables of fruits and vegetables. And come on, the Maui Mall! Who goes there? If Maui had an area designated for a farmers market, possibly enclosed, complete with information on farms, gardens, growers, latest guidelines, tips, contact information, etc., it might be a more fruitful venture for all.

-Maui specific online resources and education
You might often read gardening tips that are irrelevant to your situation. Do I really need to read about last frosts here on Maui? No. What I want is water requirements and heat/sun preferences, soil recommendations, etc. that relate to my situation.

-label food with foodmiles (the distance it travels from farm to store)
I am willing to bet that if all things being the same, you would choose the strawberry that travelled 5 miles, opposed to 500. That would motivate local farms to supply the local demand.

Just some ideas. I will to share them with those at the Master Gardener class, including the instructor.

Challenge #3: Tell one person about this blog

2009-04-09T02:33:00.000-07:00

I came across this article that deals with farming, the global economy, oil, global warming, and all that junk and thought you all should read it. Those oil men really do control the world. From the blog of PMH Atwater. This story is about mariju..., I mean, hemp.

Read the article then think about why hemp is illegal, not how you feel about it.

An article about food safety and the future of it going down the drain. We can have an impact if you believe you as an individual can foster change.

Challenge #3: Tell one person about this blog. A friend would probably be easiest.

This may seem a bit self-indulgent on my part, but if you believe in and appreciate what I write here, then you ought to share it with others. On my side, more activity will provide motivation for bigger and better things.

Master Gardener: Week 2 Botany and Plant Propagation

2009-04-08T23:40:00.000-07:00

Let's delve right into it. Today was plant botany and propagation. Lot's of horticulture minutae was tossed around today about dicotyledons and chlorophyll and stomata and germination and xylem's and rhizomes and... that it was hard to catch it all. Although I don't have a superb memory, it is amazing what interest will do for your retention of the subject. Many of the concepts were familiar, but again, many were not. I did my best to find places to fit the information in my brain.

The plant propagation section was especially fun, as we had hands on time working with plants and practicing various methods of propagation. There are many ways to propagate a plant, the most common being from seed. Some other common ways are division, grafting, layering, budding, and cutting. Of these, I had experience with cutting.

These pictures are from the MCC demonstration garden. We are learning and practicing "air layering," a propagation technique.

I now have new tools in my attack on the yard. Next week we will cover soils. Can't start nowhere but from the ground up.

Time to Mow the Lawn

2009-04-07T02:25:00.000-07:00

Today is a day of stolen materials. First article comes from the SeattlePI.com written in 2005 by Ann Lovejoy. She extols basic lawn maintenance, should you decide you need it.

The Truth About Clover and Dandelions

By ANN LOVEJOY
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

This spring several readers have asked how to cope with dandelions in their lawns. Personally, I enjoy dandelions. I was recently in an orchard of ancient, sagging fruit trees in brave bloom despite their age. The trees stood in shaggy grass generously spangled with starry golden dandelions.

It was a lovely picture, and I think it sad that many people who might appreciate the scene as a picture would feel compelled to destroy it should the same sight occur in their own backyards.

Why do we feel such disdain for dandelions? For much the same reason that we dislike clover: we have been taught to. A few decades back, clover was a standard item in nearly every lawn mixture sold, countrywide.

A natural nitrogen fixer, clover stores atmospheric nitrogen captured from the air in little white nodules on its roots. (This trait is shared by all members of the legume family, from peas and beans to Scotch broom.) When annual clover dies, the stored nitrogen is released as natural plant food to nourish the lawn.

Annual clover was a standard addition to most turf mixtures because it grew lush and green where soil was too poor to support turf. In dying, it enriched the soil, making a more hospitable situation for slower-growing grasses.

Indeed, most lawns, private or institutional, were traditionally a healthy mixture of several types of grass blended with low-growing perennials, such as veronica and lawn daisies.

Today's mainstream lawns are far less resilient and less drought-tolerant than our ancestors' lawns because they don't represent a healthy ecosystem but an artificial and rather weak monoculture.

What happened? We got sold a bill of goods. As the chemical companies began looking for more ways to market their products, they realized that blended lawns represented a market opportunity.

If people could be taught that anything but turf grass was a problem in a lawn, chemical toxins might become an attractive alternative to weeding.

This marketing ploy succeeded to the point that North Americans spend billions of dollars each year on lawn care, much of which ends up as toxic pollutants in our natural water supplies.

So must you bite the ecological bullet and tolerate dandelions? Not necessarily. Dandelions are not really hard to get rid of once you know their simple secret. In fact, with this amazing technique, you won't even need to bend over. Like that idea?

Here's the scoop: Dandelions are quickly killed off by a robust, healthy, deep rooted lawn.

I found this fascinating fact in a trade article aimed at the farmers who grow dandelions as a trendy restaurant market crop. (Dandelions are very popular in spring salads and as early steamed or grilled greens.) Conversations with several growers revealed that, indeed, the leading pest for dandelion crops is none other than turf grass. Ironic indeed.

Before you decide to rid your own lawn or meadow of dandelions, try taking off your glasses. See how pretty they look? If you're not convinced, you'll probably want to establish an effective program of turf root building. While deeply rooted grass spells doom to dandelions, it also is what makes lawns more drought-tolerant and resistant to pests and diseases. Ideally, your lawn should have 12 to 14 inches of thriving roots. Typically, irrigated lawns have as little as one to two, so they have some root growing to do.

The essence of this root-building program is very simple: Give all your lawn areas an annual mulch of an inch of compost.

This can be done all at once in late winter or early spring, or in half-inch increments in spring and fall. Dump and rake in compost or use a manure spreader to get fairly even coverage. Don't worry about covering up growing grass; it will deeply appreciate the compost nutrients and rebound with zeal.

If you are starting a new lawn or renovating a tatty one, this technique will work for you, too. Spread the compost, then overseed with a drought-tolerant, regionally reliable turf blend, such as D. F. Marks' Low Mow.

The grass will come in stronger and more deeply rooted each time you carry out this simple practice. As the grass roots knit together and penetrate more deeply into the soil, several things happen. The turf becomes more drought-tolerant and less attractive to crane fly larvae. In addition, the dandelions begin to die.

In many cases, the dandelions are completely choked out in two to three seasons. If you can't wait, here's another secret: Dandelions are most vulnerable to root damage when in flower, especially in spring.

It takes a lot of energy to create blossoms and set seed. In spring, most of this energy comes from the storage root, since the plant's leaves are young and somewhat immature (thus not very good at storing nutrients back into the root).

Roots cut when the plant has made this big investment represent a serious loss from which the plant may never recover. Cutting is less deadly in summer and fall, when the storage roots have been replenished by mature foliage.

Still anti-dandelion? Get out there now with your hori-hori and you may reduce your repeat crop by a third.

Let the grass die. The next one is a joke I found on gardenweb.com that is similar to the above story, and rings true for us.

GOD: Frank, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there on earth? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.

ST. FRANCIS: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers "weeds" and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

GOD: Grass? But it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sodworms. It's sensitive to temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it -- sometimes twice a week.

GOD: They cut it? Do they then bail it like hay?

ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

ST. FRANCIS: No, Sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

GOD: Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow. And when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

ST. FRANCIS: Yes, Sir.

GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.

ST FRANCIS: You aren't going to believe this Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

GOD: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn leaves fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.

ST. FRANCIS: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.

GOD: No fooling? What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter and to keep the soil moist and loose?

ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

GOD: And where do they get this mulch?

ST FRANCIS: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

GOD: Enough. I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

ST. CATHERINE: "Dumb and Dumber," Lord. It's a really stupid movie about....

GOD: Never mind. I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

What is the addiction to lawns? They do nothing, yet require lots of time and maintenace to make them do nothing. If you watched the video, Suburban Foodshed, I posted earlier, you would know that we have yards to grow productive plants, not resource-intensive plants. I hope one day we can all see the ridiculousness of it all, just as God did in the joke.

Think Link

2009-04-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today I will link you up to some media that I've been consuming and digesting. I don't necessarily agree with all statements, but most of them I believe in.

I have been watching a YouTube cast called Peak Moment for some time now. They are based in San Fransisco (I think), and meet/interview people all over California about green living, peak oil, permaculture, etc. They are very forward thinking and discuss topics that some would rather ignore.

This video talks about oil, energy, and the situation we find ourselves in. We have become so used to cheap energy that we fail to think about what would happen if the fragile chain of supply were fractured or severed. Disregard the wobbly beard, and listen to the mouth within.

This next video speaks about how we as communities can meet the potential food shortages that may occur as populations grow and agriculture fails to meet the ballooning demand.

They have many videos on YouTube and I encourage you to watch some of them. Many of the topics they discuss presume that human cultures are destined to fail if we continue on the path we are on. The interviewees are those who have followed the path into the future, seeing that steps are taken now to prevent inevitable demise.

For those of you living in Hawaii, there is Green Hawaii, a site dedicated to all things green in our state. Clayton (I assume he is the creator), posts information, events, and the latest happenings on the green front in the aloha state. His website is well done, if not a bit overwhelming.

Master Gardener: Day 1

2009-04-02T01:23:00.000-07:00

Today was day one of the 2009 Master Gardener (hereinafter noted as "M.G.")program on Maui. Starting at 9:00AM and going til 3:30, it was a day packed with talking. It was a day of introductions of the program, which incidentally began in Seattle in 1972, introductions of students (of which there are roughly 45), introductions of staff, and introductions to the kinds of things we can expect.

Anne Gachuhi, Maui's M.G. coordinator, gave us a fat binder full of information about gardening in Hawaii. Jayme Grzebik, coordinator for the M.G. program on O'ahu, came to introduce the Urban Garden they have there. If memory serves me (and it often doesn't), they have 30 acres of land in Pearly City, between Home Despot and the H-1 freeway. From the looks of it, they do some really cool stuff out there. Lots of stuff for people to look at as far as "how-to" examples, all maintained by their M.G. volunteers.

The part that was most interesting though, was hearing the other students introduce themselves. Many of the students are already highly involved in gardening/growing stuff communities. From people like myself with little experience and just a backyard plot to work with, to community organizers, to transplanted long-time farmers, there is a wide variety of folk. The reasons for joining the program are just as diverse.

Having just recently returned from Taiwan, I am looking forward to joining this community on Maui. From first impressions, this group seems vigorous and hungry to eat of the land. It may prove to be the key to what lies ahead for me.

Fighting the Good Fight

2009-03-31T21:08:00.000-07:00

In my efforts to adopt permaculture principles comes the knowledge that things must be done a certain way. For example, I can't use chemicals to boost production. I must use "organic" methods to strengthen and fertilize my plants and soils. This approach is more holistic, meaning it considers more than just the crop yield or end product. The soil quality, plant health, environment, as well as produce, are considered as a system. This is what sustainable gardening is all about.

This also means that I can't use chemicals as insecticides or herbicides. It would be very easy to spray noxious chemicals to rid our outdoor haven of all that annoy us. The bugs wouldn't bug so much, nor would the weeds. These chemicals are very effective in killing all things, the "bad" along with the "good." However, it just so happens that plants and insects evolved together (go figure). A believe it or not, a common plant defense against "bad" bugs is "good" bugs. There are a whole bunch of different kinds of beneficial bugs out there. I don't have the breadth of knowledge nor the desire to cover it all, but this will allow me to talk about one of my favorites: the praying mantis.

The praying mantis, also called mantids, are very cool looking insects. They get their common name from the way they appear to be praying while still and just before striking. Their alien-esque appearance is only matched by its otherworldly appetite for bugs. If you have ever seen one in action, you know what I'm talking about. They come in a wide range of colors, and sizes, some adorned with army-like camoflauge. They are stalkers, meaning that they will sit and wait til an unknowing bug crosses it.

While living in Taiwan, I had the opportunity to experience raising a mantis. You may not know this but mantises are related to the cockroach. They developed long, powerful forelegs, built to snatch its prey with lightning quickness and agility. I gained such pleasure watching them take out unsuspecting crickets, devouring them tail-first, eating up every last moisty gut. Mantids usually live for about3-4 months, and the ones I had were already 3 months old when I got them. Although they weren't with me long, I had the full experience of seeing how they live and interact (in a controlled terrarium).

Mantids start very small and eat aphids and such in their young days. This is why they are called upon as pest control. As they grow, they continually eat larger and larger things. Some have even been known to eat small snakes, mice and hummingbirds. One caution is that they aren't picky about what they eat. They can and will eat "good" bugs, even cannabalizing other mantises. This is why you shouldn't keep two mantises in the same container (unless of course, you want to see them battle to the death).

Mantises are good pets as they are quite interesting to watch stalk and consume prey. Most of the time, however, they spend their time moving not at all. They often just hang about, waiting for an idiot bug to get close. Much like myself. You can have them walk around on you, but they can fly.

As mentioned before, they can be part of your toolkit in battling the seemingly endless hoards of insects out to do you and your plants harm. They are welcome in my yard and I am always delighted to come across one, if I ever see them. They are ninja of the garden, sometimes hiding right in front of you. Do you and your garden's health a favor and consider matises and the host of other good fighters when dealing with little pests in your attempt to tame the wild outdoors.

Back to Maui

2009-03-30T23:58:00.000-07:00

A view of the water not far out of Hilo.

I am back after spending a nice week with family in Hilo. It is always refreshing to spend some time in Hilo. I had much time to think, and used the time to read up on permaculture. I read a transcript of "A Permaculture's Design Manual," by Bill Mollison, the creator of the term "permaculture." Very interesting stuff if you ask me. There is a section in the "High Islands" chapter about how ancient Hawaiians were very intelligent land managers. This is invaluable information for those interesting in gardening. The ideas are much more than just growing veggies, and great for pondering broader scale resource development/management.

Not a food forest, but a beautiful forest, nonetheless. A fallen log consumed by other life.

I spent time creating a plant list, full of fruits, perennials, bushes, trees, etc. that could provide a variety and abundance in a small scale backyard garden. Finding all the pieces and then putting it together makes for quite a complex puzzule to be assembled. In doing research, you find may find even more useful plants that you never heard about. Some are not typical in your region, or not commonly used as foods. Others, you can't use, due to climate or legal restrictions. Others, for practicality sake, are simply not feasable (too big, yield not worth effort, no market, etc.), but all are worth considering.

A view of Hilo bay on a typical rainy day. A baby pineapple in my uncle's yard.

I also spent time to make a resource list of further readings. As I read, I learn that there is much more to read, and it becomes endless. You could spend all your time reading about a subject that should be hands on. Reading, however valuable and necessary, won't put food on the table.

That said, I was ready to come back and start working in the yard. I went to Kula Hardware to look around at what they had in stock. I was surprised to see all kinds of fruit trees there. Here's a incomprehensive list (to be sure, as I am interested in the food production, I only noticed those types of plants): apricots, mangoes, lemons, limes, tangerines, oranges, pears (4 cultivars on one plant), about 5 diffeent avocados, walnuts, soursops, starfruit, jaboticaba, abiu, and others. I had never even heard of some of them.

This nursery has been my best source for all kinds of stuff. I suggest that if you live on Maui, you check them out. They have a good variety of native and exotic plants, organic supplies, seeds, etc. You will be surprised everytime you go there. They're really knowledgeable too.

Update:

We'll start with the bad news. The tomatoes that I had initially planted about a month ago have perished. The seedlings were attacked by some bug in the night. Some onion and shallot seedlings have also gone to dust. Bell peppers never got above ground, same with chamomile. But now I know not to start seeds directly in the ground. I will have a staging period in small pots or on a table-like seeding bed, then transplant when healthy and vigorous enough to fend for itself. Ugh, that was painful. Okay, that's over. Now for the good news.

Top left to rt: just purchased blueberry bush (about a month ago); blue berry bush today; peas w/ stick trellis;
Bottom left to rt: revived kalo; compost pile;

All other things are doing well. The peas are nice and healthy, although slightly bullet riddled. The taro, which seemed to have a bleak outlook, is now doing well. It is vibrant green, with many small keiki (small offshoots). I think adding mulch, nitrogen, and more water, helped that baby along. The blueberry bush is bangin'. Lots of new growth, fresh and full of color. Same with the lime tree. Until a while ago, it seemed to be stagnant. But with pruning and extra water, it now has aromatic new leaves. And hopefully fruit soon. Got a compost pile goin, sheet mulch is still goin well. And I am excited to announce a new addition today... I now have worms. This is another weapon in my arsenal against pest and disease. Not to mention the decrease in waste that must leave our house. Paper and food scraps no longer go to the landfill, they can stay with us.

Lastly, after a rigorous application and interview process, I was deemed worthy to take part in the CTAHR Master Gardener program here on Maui. I am ecstatic and associate self-worth to being accepted. We will learn a variety of subjects related to gardening, and after "graduation" from the 13-week course, will be a master gardener. You, too, may become a master gardener, but only if you're cool
A site that I find very useful for my particular location is the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) of the Univ. of Hawaii. They have useful information for Hawaii related plants, climates, research, questions, and problems.

Pictures to come soon.

Water: The Fabric of Our Lives

2009-03-15T23:50:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of researchnews.osu.edu/archive/nanocrptpix.htm.

Well I guess it's not technically a fabric, but water is essential to our existence on this (or any other) planet. We often forget how important clean water actually is. Second only to air, water is the most critical element to our lives. Our very fabric is sewn with threads of water.
In western societies, and more increasingly around the world, water is made to seem so common and abundant that no thought is put into conservation. It's like saving air -- why would you? Most people don't know that the amount of potable water on Earth is a mere 1%. Of all the millions and billions of gallons of water moving, floating, falling, rushing, flowing and freezing, only %1 is usable by people. In almost any action related to our body, water is consumed. Taking a shower, drinking, eating, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, peeing, sleeping...

Water is made to seem so abundant, that we piss and crap in drinking water. Imagine that! Are we that arrogant? "I'm so rich, I'm gonna take a shit here in this bowl of water." I don't know where this idea came from , but it seems very backward to me. Yet it is so ingrained into our culture (myself included), that I feel awkward mentioning this fact to others. They may think I'm strange for entertaining such an outlandish concept.

With the green movement however, along with the all too common quotes and trivia spouted about CO2, comes an awareness of our other environmental mistreatments, water being one of them. Integrated designs for reusing or reclaiming used water (greywater or blackwater) for other uses. Living machines are alternatives to typical sewage treatment systems. This is a biological method of cleansing water. Instead of using chemicals and inorganic methods to clean water, you use living organisms such as bacteria, plants, and fish, to filter water to varying quality levels. This in turn, allows us to use the water again, giving us a 100% increase in our resource use. We can water the lawn, feed our plants, or redirect the water to be used in toilets, or depending on quality, drink, cook or shower with. This is called closing the resource loop, a fundamental concept of permaculture.

Water is so important, but we treat it like shit.

We should think of water more as a life-sustaining element, rather than a means of transporting our turds. Let us use less water or reuse the water we consume. A perfect opportunity for another challenge.

Challenge #2: Measure your shower. Then shorten it.

1. Measure your flow rate. Get a bucket, preferably with volume lines, and a watch. Turn on your water to the flow you usually use, simultaneously starting your watch. Time for 1 minute. Measure how much water is in your bucket. This will give you your gallons (liters)/minute. Let's say you measure a rate of 4gallons/min.

2. Time the duration of shower. Then multiply your shower (in minutes) by the gallons. This will give you your total water usage and duration of your shower. In our example, your shower ends up being 10 minutes.

Your total water usage will be (4gal x 10min) 40gal. for a 10min. shower.

3. See if you can reduce your water usage by 25% or more. That would turn the above 10min shower into a 7min 30sec. shower.

You would save 10gal. of water. A drop in the bucket you might say. But if everyone does a little, together we can do a lot.

Rain, Rain Come to Stay

2009-03-15T16:17:00.001-07:00

This weekend we received a downpour of rain and gusty winds. A windfall for all farmers and a chance to relieve us of the drought that we've been in. I've been busy indoors germinating seeds for tomatoes, lettuces, sunflowers, and other various plants. As I type, we are getting a break in the atypical weather, the sun shines, but the wind still blusters along.

I went to the Maui Farmer's Bureau Agriculture Festival yesterday at the Maui Tropical Plantation. It was a crowded event, despite the torrential rains. I arrived shortly after 9AM, hoping to gain insight to the ag community on Maui. Happily, it is vibrant, with a wide range of people doing various things on the island. I spoke with a lady that owns a bamboo forest out in Kipahulu, towards Hana. They supplied the bamboo timber that was used in a school building out in Hana that was the subject of a Discovery channel show. They specialize in growing "clumping" bamboo. As noted in the name, these varieties grow in clumps, as opposed to bamboo that sends out runners, which can quickly turn a peaceful bamboo plant into an aggressive nuisance. Clumpers are easier to control, and therefore no longer presents the problem of bamboo taking over the yard.
The Univ. of Hawaii CTAHR was present, with education in plant care, pest management, and gardening tips and techniques. They helped me identify some trees that are growing in my parents' back yard and also questions I had as to why my taro plant was not doing so well.

I had been searching for a nursery that stocked natives for a while. Fortunately Ho'olawa Farms was on hand. I bought some native plants that should do well in our conditions. I was looking for some ground cover plants to prevent erosion and that didn't need too much water or sun.

There was a host of locally made products from jellies to coffee, and flower arrangements to t-shirts. Even with the downturn in the economy, it is good to see such great support of local businesses.

On another note, I have an interview on Thursday for the Master Gardener course being put on by the UH CTAHR Maui division. I mentioned this in a previous post.

Picture Posting

2009-03-13T11:21:00.001-07:00

Lately I've been having trouble uploading pictures here. I don't know what the reason is. That is why the more recent posts have no visuals. I will fix this and repost some pics.

It Came From the Swamp

2009-03-11T00:28:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of work in the backyard, disturbing areas that haven't been touched for years. Maybe it's no coincidence that some strange creatures are popping up all of a sudden. The other night, as I was preparing to brush my teeth. I look down and what do I see? A 3 inch scorpion! I've never seen a live one on Maui before, but crawling in the sink is a scorpion. It eventually crawled down the drain and that was the end of it

A the next day, I'm walking in the yard and happen to see a jackson chameleon strolling across the lawn. The last time I saw one, it was crossing a street, so I stopped to pick it up. I've never come across one in the backyard.

Yesterday, as I was brushing my teeth and the scorpion crawls back out of the drain for pt. II. I put it in a cup to take it outside. I try to feed it but it seems more intent on trying to escape. I left it on our picnic table and went about working. I forgot about it. It must have escaped. Who knows where it will show up next.

I don't know if there is any coincidence, but it is interesting to see the wildlife here.

Making a Clean Getaway

2009-03-10T18:05:00.000-07:00

Perusing the most recent copy of The Economist, I read several articles about technologies that could make transportation cleaner. Like the global recession we are in right now, we are all aware of global warming. With much emphasis on cleaning up our act and reducing carbon emissions, companies are revamping existing models to make them "green" worthy.

In Shifting gears, it speaks of making airplane engines more efficient. To reach the goal of 50% less emissions by 2020, manufacturers are developing new ways of energy transference that may improve efficiency by that landmark, or greater.

Recharged is an article about using older lead-acid batteries with a modern infusion of technology to again make them viable in the energy storage market. They must compete with newer, lighter, and more resilient nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries that pack a longer punch.

The last is a story of how used coffee grounds are being used to create bio-diesel. The article states that coffee grounds may be better than some existing sources of bio-diesel for several reasons, one being that the source wouldn't have to be grown explicitly for energy creation. Sounds like my cup of c.

One more thing, can anyone tell me what twitter is about? Is this just another form of information overload?

Make-Up Day

2009-03-09T23:06:00.001-07:00

Haven't posted in a while so I have a bunch of things to talk about.

First, I was concerned that the peas that I planted weren't gonna come up. It had been about 5 days and no signs of life. That was 4 days ago. Since then, they have poked their green heads above ground and spread their leaves for the sun. I am happy to see them make it out alive. Germinated 10 seeds, planted 10, and 9 came up. 90%

The tomatoes have sprouted also. Those were sewn a bit shallower so came up faster. I germinated 10 seeds. Of those 10, 6 shot out roots. Of those, 5 came up, 50%. Feeling good about the prospects of the garden.

This past weekend, we had heavy rains. I don't know exactly how much but it pretty much rained for three days. Those who come to Maui probably pray for sun and clear skies. I'm like a salmon swimming upstream against the current. I like grey skies and rainy days. Where I live is infamous for hot and dry springs and summers, so I want my plants to get as much a head start as possible.

The taro plant I put in the ground about a week ago isn't doing so hot. The leaves have turned yellowish on the edge and are starting to droop. I don't know if its a water problem. I think it will go the way of the flesh soon. It's sad; the first casualty of my garden, and hopefully the first of few. But there will probably be many that follow.

Now a linkfest:

-For a Maui based publication of local events relating to environment, check out the Haleakala Times.
-An interesting book about human waste and what can be done with it. Read Humanure. It may change the way you think about turds.
-Lately I've been addicted to Facebook. To keep me distracted, I've been studying photography at DigitalPhotographySchool.com. What I like about their site is that they give you assignments to allow you to practice your art. Nice shot.

Inspired by the photgraphy website to give their followers assignments, I will offer a challenge to you. I will occasionally post these "challenges" here. They may cover a range of topics and
difficulties. Obviously I will also participate. Please post your results. Let's get started.

Challenge #1: Grow something.

Stolen from www.remarc.com/craig/?cat=13. Hope he doesn't sue me.

Easy enough, you say. I already have a potted plant.
If you already have plants, grow one that you can eat.
If you already grow something you can eat, grow something and share it with someone else.

This challenge can be undertaken almost anywhere. You can plant something from an apt window sill in Minsk, a house-boat in Seattle, or a garden in Juarez. As long as you have access to sun, soil and water, you can do this. Mainly, have fun. If this is something new to you (or even if it isn't), post your thoughts.
The point of this challenge is to get you in touch with life. Oftentimes our houses or apartments are full of stuff. Less often is this stuff alive. Having other life forms around you connects you to them, and to nature.

Hump Day

2009-03-06T01:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a busy one. I woke at the crack of 9AM to get some tomato and onion seeds that had their little umbilical cords sticking out of their body, into the ground. By this I mean I had germinated these seeds in water and their roots had breached the shell. The previous night, I had been deliberating to myself, about the location of where best to place these seeds. I realize that planning a garden is harder than it seems. There are many considerations such as: sun/light/water needs, companion plants, crop rotation, plant height, time to maturity, insects, diseases, etc. All these things must be factored into the placement of the plant, in relation to the others. Fortunately, I live in Hawaii, where the temperature issue is almost non-existent.

I also realized how much faith you must have to start a garden. I have been waiting for the peas to pop out of the ground for the past couple of days. I put them in on Feb. 28, 5 days ago, and still no signs of them. We do the best we can to provide for the needs of plants, but much of the process is really up to nature. I just hope they are shy.

I used the cool afternoon to do some harder work in the back. I haven't found a good spot for the blueberry plant yet. I had dug a small hole on the west edge of the yard, thinking that this would be a good place. I then proceeded to heavily prune the tree branches that cast a large shadow in that spot.

Later, I thought to myself that this was an okay place, but I felt that it should go elsewhere. In Gaia's Garden, Toby says this stage in the development of your "food forest" is critical. Just as before you build a building, you have the blueprint, so should you have a map of what goes where, and a reason why. I have forgone this step, because I don't fully know all the plants that will eventually be in the yard. Instead, we are doing this piecemeal style. I'm taking it slow so as ideas develop, they can be worked into the ongoing process.

Today, I went on a short hike in the gulch behind and below my house. It was a nice stroll through somewhat overgrown milkweed and grasslike plants. I walked on hoof-trodden paths, avoiding the occasional cowpie and goat pellet turds. The weather was perfect for such an activity: sunny, but not hot, and a light breeze.

System Overload

2009-03-02T17:28:00.000-08:00

Today I ventured up to Kula Hardware and added to the aresenal of plants. I bought 9 more packs of seeds, a blueberry plant and a dryland taro plant.

I'm very excited about the blueberry plant. It was a plant I thought I would have trouble finding, but to my surprise, it was very easy to find. I purchased a Southern highbush variety called "Sharpblue." According to many references, this variety has less chill hours, which is ideal for the climate I live in. I can't wait to have my own blueberries. Just hope I can keep them freeloading birds off my stash.

I am also happy to get the taro plant. I always wanted to make my own poi and now I have the opportunity. I have a dryland type so I don't need to keep it in a lo'i (like a rice paddy, but for taro). This is another plant I can't wait til maturity so I can try it.

Yesterday, I finished the sheet mulch square in the backyard. Added chicken manure and lots of water, then covered it with a tarp so the county water doesn't just evaporate.

Master Gardener

2009-03-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

Has a nice ring to it don't it? I can imagine meeting someone new:

Random person: "Hi, I'm __________. Nice to meet you."
Me: "I'm a Master Gardener. What was your name again?"

or

Friend: "Randall, I'd like you to meet Michelle."
Me (to friend): "Is she a Master Gardener?"
Friend: "Mmm, I don't think so."
Me: "Let's go."

Fun and games aside, I signed up for a Master Gardener course to be given at MCC. If accepted, I will don a badge: "Master Gardener. Plant Pimp."

This would be a great opportunity for me to learn about gardening and meet other like-minded people in my community. The 13 week course includes topics like organics, native plants, vegetables, pruning, etc. Hope I get in.

Rainy Days and Manure Always get Plants Grown

2009-02-28T23:31:00.001-08:00

Today was quite rainy on my side of Maui. It has been quite rainy lately, it being "winter" here, and quite cold too. As you can see from the map, I live in about the middle of the island. Pukalani is situated near the base of Haleakala. I cleared out the front, marked out the area for planting, added some nearby cuttings, and spread out some compost and conditioner. Before adding the compost I added some chicken manure. Wasn't too smart to do it in the wind. I watered it well and also let the rain do its work. It may be too soon, but I hope to be planting in the next several days.

Front Yard all cut up.

Wettin' My Feet

2009-02-27T02:22:00.000-08:00

1. Snap Peas, 2. Marigold, 3. Tomato, 4. Onion

I put the Marigold and snap pea seeds into water on Feb. 25. I put the Yellow pear cherry tomato and Rossa di Milano Onion seeds into water on the 26th. I am not sure where I got this tactic of putting seeds into water until the roots come out from, and I'm not sure if it's actually good, but it works so I'm sticking with it. According to some texts, I think you're actually supposed to put them in wet paper napkins. Not too much of a difference. I still must prepare the ground. By this, I mean cover it with compost and water it.
I put the seeds into small yogurt containers to germinate. Please bear with my backyard assemblage of science tools.
I'm trying to follow my bible (Gaia's Garden) and do things the "natural" way. The "work with nature" method of gardening, which is to till as little as possible and add organic materials onto the soil. Compost follows, and the seeds go into this compost. This philosophy works well for me as I also like to keep it simple and easy, but this is not the reason I do it this way.

Permaculture Garden in My Backyard (and frontyard)

2009-02-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

Front section dedicated to growing stuff. As you can see, it needs some work first.

Gonna start blogging the plans I have for my parents yard. I have done a few things such as mulch a spot in the backyard and clear the portion of the front yard that I plan to use. I purchased some seeds from a local organic store.

Seeds that I bought and hope flourish

Seeds of Change sells organic heirloom and rare seeds. I purchased 9 packs at $2.69 each, for a total of $25.20 (incl tax). Online site sells a pack for $3.29. I will experiment sowing the seeds of change.
On to a more technical issue: Am I allowed to use the term "permaculture?" Is what I am doing considered permaculture? I am taking my influence in design and theory from permaculture concepts I've read about in books and online, but I haven't been trained and therefore cannot legally use the term. I'll use the term Toby Hemenway uses in his book, Gaia's Garden: A Guide to homescale Permaculture. He calls what I plan to do "ecological gardens." Hereinafter, I will use the term e-garden to make it simpler to refer to. I may not end up being an e-gardener at all, and only reach the status of organic gardener. It may be beyond my scope to include many of the aspects an e-garden entails. All said and done, there may be no difference. Either way, I hope to have healthier and fresher foods to eat.
As I mentioned, I am not trained nor have much experience in gardening (apart from owning a few house plants) so you will witness a total beginner as he goes through the ups and downs of designing, implementing, and maintaining a garden, with the additional trials of living at home. Got tips, ideas, comments, or the will to share? Bring it on. Life is too short to learn the hard way.

Feeble backyard attempt at sheet mulch. Toby Hemenway said sheet mulch was forgiving. We'll just see how much.

Back Home

2009-02-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

It feels a bit strange to be back home after almost four years in Taiwan. True, I've been back to visit, but with the mentality that it was just a visit, and would be going back to Taiwan. Now it's living here.
Spent the last week with my brother and girlfriend from Japan. They were here, along with many of his friends, for Makoa's wedding. It was a good time inspired by good friends gathering after a long time.
All day was spent with them, leaving no time to blog and update old stuff like my bike trip around Taiwan. I admit I am a procrastinator. It's been almost a month since I took off on my epic journey, and I still haven't finished writing about. Not to worry, however, the memories are still cowpie fresh in my memory. Thanks for bearing with me as I get around to tying up loose ends.

Delayed Posting

2009-02-04T19:32:00.001-08:00

Sorry to those of you who came here expecting updates on my journey. I wasn't able to access a computer for most of my trip. I will be adding the details as I recover and get the energy to post. Please check back soon. I will retrodate the posts to coincide with the dates the events occurred.

Day 9: Hualien

2009-02-03T00:15:00.000-08:00

Interior: Kai's House. My bike showing no signs of fatigue.

Kai put me up in her apartment. She had two finicky dogs that always bark if you look at them wrong. The next day my girlfriend met up with me in to spend some time. I was still in a stupor. Limping and sore I drove around with her, enjoying every minute with her. I was originally supposed to meet her in Taichung, but logistically, it made more sense for her to come visit me in Hualien.I knew I would soon be returning home to Maui and our time together was short.
At this point, I was still planning to ride from Hualien to Yilan, then from Yilan to Taipei. But as things played out, I ended up taking the train back to Taipei, a move I knew I would later regret.
The weather and mood in Hualien was grand. We rented a moped. Finally riding on something other than my bike and my enpained buttocks.
Ahh, undeserved speed. You learn to detest and resent all those cars and mopeders zooming by you, carelessly going up hills with no thought as to the amount of effort it takes when self powered. A festering hatred slow-boiled into a fine point, manifest by glares at "them." I had begun to think everyone was lazy, but then I realized I was the only biker on the road and that I was the different one. But here I was riding a moped and loving the "free ride."
We stayed in a nice bed and breakfast owned by a parent of Kai's student. it looked like a small luxury suite that should have cost way more than it did. The next day, we drove around Hualien, initially intending to go to Taroko Gorge. But an unexpected incident set us back. The previous evening, Kai had taken one of her dogs to the vet and it ran away. She spent the night and morning looking for it. When we met up with her at about 12 or so, we continued to help her. With no luck, we set off to Taroko, but didnt get far when we decided it was too far. We headed to the Seven Star Beach area instead. I felt sad. In about two weeks I would be leaving her forever. I tried to saturate myself in the moment and enjoy her every smile and remark.
Kai mentioned that the road from Hualien to Yilan was quite dangerous. With my weakening strength and will, I was inclined to believe her and hang up my lycra. The back of my head said, "You will forever regret not finishing the remaining distance..." The front said, "Your ankles hurt, your ass hurts, spend time with your girl, Kai said it's dangerous, you're scared, let's not die yet." I said, "What time does the train leave?"

Day 8: ZhiBen to Hualien

2009-02-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

Hualien: 175Km

Let's start this post with a math equation. 180km + 13hours + mountains + darkness = The worst day of my life. This was the exact formula that made the ride from Zhiben to Hualien my darkest day yet. I awoke at 9:30 in the morning to drizzling and grey skies. I was in no mood to be riding in the rain, but wasn't totally stoked about staying in this no nothing town either. I was axious to get going, but waited for the rain to stop. I sat and turned on the TV. I happened upon the Superbowl. After not watching a single game the entire season, I flip to the Superbowl in the middle of my trip around Taiwan. I sat and watched the first half while I packed and prepared for my inevitable journey. The rain slowed and stopped so I mentally got myself together and headed on the road. It was about 11:00AM; I knew it was going to be a long trip, but for some odd reason, I thought it would be easy.

A sunflower valley

The first half was easy. Flat and gradual rolling hills made it a pleasant ride. The weather was sunny but not hot. I'd stop and rest. I wasn't totally sure where I would be staying that night, so I called Kai, a friends former girlfriend and a friend to me, to see about hotels. Again, I was offered to stay at her place, which was really cool of her. I told her I would call her again as I neared Hualien. I called my parents to tell them I was okay and was in the middle of a long day. It was comforting to talk to them. I pressed on, thinking, "How much longer is it?"

A landmark restaurant

At about 5 or 6PM the sun faded to a dull glow near the horizon. The temperature dropped, but I was continually moving and so didn't feel it much. I was riding along cliffs that dropped off 50 or more feet into water or onto sand and rocks. Sometimes there was little to prevent a devastating fall except a few concrete blocks and will. Cars would drive by slowly, almost sensing my nerves.
It got dark fast, and really dark. I had a headlamp that I fastened to the back of my bike to alert cars that I existed, and I had a front light that dimly lit the way. For what I thought were the most dangerous parts, there were no lights, pure blackness. I kept on telling myself, "Just keep going. If you stop, you won't get there."
I was fatigued, hungry, beginning to get cold, and feared the mysteries of the dark. The road never ended.
At about 9PM I stopped at a 7-11 to gather myself and eat. Dinner consisted of two hot dogs, an ovaltine, and bread. I see a sign that says Hualien is about 50km away. I rested for 30 minutes and as I was readying to go, a car stops. A guy gets out and starts to talk about riding and tells me that he also has ridden around the island. I ask him if it is much further from this point to Hualien. He laughs and says I should get a room here. "But I have a friend waiting for me in Hualien," I say. I then ask him if the road is mountainous. Again he laughs. "How do you measure this?" he says. His friend says it flattens out after about 30km.
These 30km would turn out to be the worst of the entire trip, and were gyrated into my memory forever.
Up until this point, I haven't needed to go to the smallest gear on my 27-speed bike. For many parts of this last leg, I was spinning on this smallest of gears, moving my legs fast, but barely moving at all laterally. Uphills so steep I thought I would fall backwards in blinding darkness. Fortunately the moon, in her shining glory, aided my trek. My cognition was beginning to become blurry, no longer able to think clearly, but knowing to just follow the road. I thought to myself, "This is the greatest challenge I have ever faced, and with no end in sight, I must keep on going."
At about 11:30PM I stopped at a Police station to ask where I was. they told me I wasn't too far from Hualien and the remaining road was fairly flat. I called Kai to get directions to her place, and it didn't seem to hard to find. I got back on the road and looked for the landmarks she mentioned. Ocean Park: check. Long bridge: check. Turn left at Smile gas station: check. Go until I get to a 7-11: check. Look for ZhongZheng road: ? Where is it? I spent a good hour asking for directions and finally talking to a wise man that could direct me where to go. I should have known that in Kai's directions, turn left actually meant turn right. Silly me. So after the longest day of my life and getting lost, I finally met up with Kai, at 1AM. Thats 13hrs on the road. I was in such a supernatural state that although I knew I was tired, I couldn't sleep. I called Taurus and he told me that I should take a walk to ease the transition of exercise to rest. Shortly after, I passed out.

Day 7: Hengchen to Zhiben

2009-02-01T14:12:00.000-08:00

The wind blew hard, pushing me back as I started out at 10AM from Max's house. Every crank of the pedals took great effort, to combat the gusty onslaught. "It's gonna be another long day," I thought. Nothing to do, but keep going. The ride, I knew, was going to be a hard one. I had gotten advice from Max about which route to take. I had two options: long route with hills, or short route with hills. Wasn't too hard a decision.
The journey up to Chechang was mainly flat, but with the aforementioned headwinds, made my pace much slower. Once on the 199, however, the breeze slacked off, but I was now in hilly terrain. Crossing the mountainous terrain was fun at times, exhausting at others, but overall, it was scenic and cool. I passed quite a few other fellow "trekkers" along the way. We exchanged the now common nod or wave.
The shade was a welcome break from the beating sun, the wind no longer a adverse factor. Riding through the mountains was a beautiful experience. The serenity of moving on bike, climbing and cruising, in and out of shadows, past forests and fields made this area quite magical. When the 199 turned into the 9, I took a break at what appeared to be a common meeting place. I saw other riders, and a building that people signed to say, "I was here." From there, it was downhill, some of the best I've ever ridden. Coasting, passing cars, such a thrilling ride after a grueling morning and early afternoon. It flattened out after about 30 minutes and then I was riding along the eastern shore of Taiwan. This part was a bit depressing. No buildings, just a long lonely road, a vast grey ocean adjacent. No where to go but forward, I pedaled on in hopes of getting somewhere soon. My plan was to make it to Taidong, which at this point was still 4 hours away.
Then I ran into more of what the east is famous for, mountains. Slow going, it was looking more and more like I wasn't making it to Taidong. Somewhere in a no name town, I ran into a group of college students making their way on bikes also. There was about 10 of them, one on moped in back. We played leap frog for a bit, me passing them, then they passing me as I rested. I finally stopped with them and talked to them for a while. They had started that morning at 7AM from Pingdong and were also heading around the island. They told me they were going to stop at Zhiben, for some hot spring action. I said that sounded nice. I wanted to get into a hot spring, and felt I would deserve it that night. It began getting dark, which always give me a sense of urgency and nacent fear welling up inside, causing me to pedal faster. I don't like riding up (or down) in the dark. I finally got to Zhiben at about 8 or 9PM and haggled a room for USD$15. It was a decent sized room, brightly lit, with a nice bath to soak my strangely un aching body. After bathing, I decided to walk about and see what this town had to offer. Not much I found, and ended up buying some stuff from ubiquitous 7-11, and some fried chicken from a street vendor. I headed back home, ate and watched a bit of TV. I headed to bed, in the expectation of another long early day.

Day 5 &6: Kending (HengChun)

2009-02-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

I left GaoXiung at a fairly early 11AM, this being due to the fact that I had no company and was able to move unadulterated. Once again I was blessed with sunny weather, sparsely-trafficked roads, and long stretches of flat land. The weather would hold out, but the flat part turned hilly as I got closer to HengChun. I am always stupidly deceived by maps. The map always shows the road as being flat, but I as I found many a time, was far from. Even if I had a contour map, it wouldn’t have properly displayed the magnitude of riding up the smallest mountain or hill. Then again, accompanying every up is a down, which is rewarding but never seems long or fulfilling enough as the uphill part would make you believe. "Georgia","serif";">I was headed to my friend Max’s place, the Ipanema Beach House. I had stayed at his place two years ago while hitchhiking around the island. I had met up with a friend George on that trip and we had met some of his friends and stayed at the beach house. It is in HengChun, often confused (also by myself) with KenDing. Max was a surfer who had lived in Brazil and other places before he decided to settle down in HengChun and open a bed and breakfast (they are called so in Taiwan, but there is no breakfast). He had long dread-like locks and spoke with the energy of the waves he rides, playful and full of joy. Upon returning this time, he had a military cut, and an expecting wife, along with his surf-inspired personality. He said with the recent release of the movie, Cape No. 7, a Taiwanese film shot in the vicinity, business has been good. This area had been popular with the beach going crowds and surfers looking to get away from the smog-filled cities. The movie opened the area to many other kinds of people wanting to see some of the places in the movie.
My plan was to stay in HengChun for two days, this being the most southern part and a marker as the half-way point of my trip. I also wanted time for rest and relaxation on my trip. As I mentioned before, during this trip, I always felt rushed to get somewhere, meet someone, stay out of the dark, or get started. Now would be the time to forget about the schedule for a while and just chill on the beach. It was so nice to have a break. A whole day of rest was all, but it was enough.

Day 4: To GaoXiung

2009-01-30T21:33:00.000-08:00

A river in TaiNan

I left Sandra’s house at about 2PM. Clear skies, sun ahead of me, guiding this solo biker. It amazed me how far I had come, and had not yet thought of stopping. It also amazed me how boring it can be to ride a bike for hours on end, never feeling like you’re getting anywhere, but going on the faith that if you keep on going, you will eventually get somewhere.

Road to GaoXiung

At some point, you forget your legs are moving, autonomous circles revolving around the hub again and again; there is no pain, only a dull numbness reminding you that your legs are still attached; thirst, like hunger, is relative, and food is no longer thought of as pleasure, but necessity. Like a car gets no joy when gas is added, so too, the body is no better off when food is consumed, excepting the caloric intake that keeps it going. Food is chosen not by taste, but by a careful balance of subconscious nutritional factors to keep the body and mind in a state of functionality and satiation. This seems parallel to the Buddhist thought towards food. In all simplicity, food is to fuel our bodies to barely stave off death. Once this is achieved, food serves no other purpose; no consideration of flavor, temperature, spice, appearance, presentation, balance, etc. that French chefs live by.

I don’t have a whole lot to say about GaoXiung, seeing as how I got lost in the outskirts of the city, passed the train station, which was my initial destination, and circled around back towards the city center, all under the veil of night. What I can say is that the streets are broad and roomy, sidewalks are actually made for walking (not parked cars), and the night market (I’m not sure which one) is packed at 10:00PM.

I arrived at a hotel, the front desk saying that they were full for the night, being New Years and all. Undaunted, I hit the streets and ran into a fellow biker who apparently knew the area well enough to direct me towards what would be my final resting spot. It was about 9PM by the time I actually got there and settled. It felt good to be out of the dark and into a hot bath. This was my first night alone and a bit lonely, but endurable.

My Room in GaoXiung

After the heat soak, I decided to walk about, albeit carefully, on my injured legs, and find some diversion to keep my mind off being alone. In the streets were throngs of people milling about, scuttling to and fro, buying/eating/drinking/watching/talking/standing/walking, an environment only a night market can create. I bought a cup of watermelon juice, a perfect invention for thirst on hot summer days, and waddled through the night market in search of something to eat. The night market, like most in Taiwan, was centered around shops and vendors selling clothes, jewelry, accessories, and the like. Food wasn’t much to be found. I eventually wound up in a foreign owned Mexican restaurant. And against my philosophical digression about food above, I enjoyed the hell out of it. This was some of the best Mexican food I’ve had in a while, and whether this was due to my uncommonly stressed system, recent increase in dosages of Taiwanese food, or was genuinely good, I couldn’t tell you. But I can tell you that the chicken enchilada I had with rice and beans all topped with cheese and what the chef said was a new experimental sauce, was a culinary highlight of my trip, if only for the fact that it was something I hadn’t tasted in a while. Screw esoteric food-haters. This food was pleasure. If I drank alcohol, an icy Corona would have made it so much greater—but substituted apple juice served well enough. I read Walden and reveled in the aftermath of an enchilada slaughter. I think he would have been disappointed in me for my attainment of gratuity from food. I don’t care.

Soon after, I headed back “home” and decided to call it a night. I would have another long ride to KenDing the next day.

Day 5: KenDing

2009-01-30T09:49:00.000-08:00

Ipanema Beach House

Backside of Ipanema Beach House

Max was a surfer who had lived in Brazil and other places before he decided to settle down in HengChun and open a bed and breakfast (they are called so in Taiwan, but there is no breakfast). He had long dread-like locks and spoke with the energy of the waves he rides, playful and full of joy. Upon returning this time, he had a military cut, and an expecting wife, along with his surf-inspired personality. He said with the recent release of the movie, Cape No. 7, a Taiwanese film shot in the vicinity, business has been good. This area had been popular with the beach going crowds and surfers looking to get away from the smog-filled cities. The movie opened the area to many other kinds of people wanting to see some of the places in the movie.
My plan was to stay in HengChun for two days, this being the most southern part and a marker as the half-way point of my trip. I also wanted time for rest and relaxation on my trip. As I mentioned before, during this trip, I always felt rushed to get somewhere, meet someone, stay out of the dark, or get started. Now would be the time to forget about the schedule for a while and just chill on the beach.

Day 4: Morning in TaiNan

2009-01-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

A recurring theme of my trip seemed to be: leave late, ride in the dark, arrive late. Not a very good way to see a country. I guess I am a procrastinator at heart, even with my vacation time.
I awake clear headed, the sun casting a warm glow from the balcony window. I hobble downstairs to see everyone having already eaten, going about the day in the relax mode that a vacation engenders. Fruit and coffee are had; I have a sandwich and milk tea. Throughout the morning I am in back and forth conversations with my friends who are supposed to come down from Taipei and meet me in GaoXiung. I can hear their hesitancy on the phone, as I try to convince them that the previous day's record breaking traffic jams won't continue today. I give them the guilt trip. Eventually, they give me the no trip. They say that they don't want to spend the day sitting in their car, and I agree with them, sorta.
Sandra must have mentioned my interest in her father's sculpting, so he offered to take us to the previously mentioned temple to show us his art. I accept gratefully. The temple, as with many Taiwanese temples, are a colorful explosion of reds, yellows, blues, greens and gold, intricate dragons gnarling their way through weaves of smoke, reverent statues guarded by depictions of gods, stories molded into the reliefs, shaped by the hands of masters as if they were the gods themselves. He explained to Sandra the history of the temple and she diligently translated it to me. The temple was a national treasure, due the fact that it housed to works of a world renown Taiwanese artist, his works also found at the Louvre in Paris. A tourist, I took the opportunity to snap some shots of the works that never seemed so important until now, taking in the great history that places like these emit. Her father being a master also, the curator (?) let us into a section that is usually gated off. We were allowed to see up close the statues of gods, one said to be about 800 years old. To point at one of them was considered rude and bad luck, so I quickly learned as I pointed out the 800 yr. old artifact.

Day 4: To GaoXiung

2009-01-29T08:57:00.000-08:00

A river in TaiNan city (I think)

I left Sandra’s house at about 2PM. Clear skies, sun ahead, guiding this solo biker. It amazed me how far I had come, and had not yet thought of stopping. It also amazed me how boring it can be to ride a bike for hours on end, never feeling like you’re getting anywhere, but going on the faith that if you keep on going, you will eventually get somewhere.

Road to GaoXiung

I don’t have a whole lot to say about GaoXiung, seeing as how I got lost in the outskirts of the city, passed the train station which was my initial destination, and circled around back towards the city center, all under the veil of night. What I can say is that the streets are broad and roomy, sidewalks are actually made for walking (not parked cars), and the night market (I’m not sure which one) is packed at 10:00PM.

My room in GaoXiung

Soon after, I headed back “home” and decided to call it a night. I would have another long ride to KenDing the next day.

Day 3: Sandras House in TaiNan

2009-01-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

lf to rt: son Bruce, daughter Sophia, Sandra, niece, sister

I awake to the bustle of their family. 8 people, 6 being female, can create quite a commotion. At 11AM, Ija offers to take me to her favorite place, the ChiaYi park. We ride off on her scooter and we spend a good time at the park. It is a historical park with buildings, artwork and statues scattered throughout. Many people populate the park as the day was sunny and warm. By the time we get back to eat lunch, it's already 2PM. I ice my achilles and take a rest. I pack and get ready to go. I say my goodbyes and thank you's to her entire family. I am very grateful to have been a guest of such a wholesome family. Ija offers to take me to the #1. It's 4:30PM as we head out the door.
From ChiaYi to TaiNan I knew it would be a quick sprint. The actual destination was XueJia in Tainan County, a little ways from TaiNan city. I'm not sure what I averaged, but it felt like 27-28km/hr. That road, fairly straighforward, though I had to whip out the map once or twice, passed some beautiful towns and fields. The south of Taiwan is full of crops of various weight. Rice is a major product, but I saw field after field of onion, corn, fruit trees, garlic, sunflowers, and smaller interspersed fields filled with vegetables of all kinds. I arrived at about 7PM, approximately 2hrs later. I call Sandra and she says to meet at the large temple in town, and gives me directions. She comes a few minutes later on a motorcycle, brother at the helm. I am guided just down the street to their house.
When I arrived, and similarly with Ija's house, her family had already eaten. And again I was graciously welcomed by a large family. They were now about their post meal celebrations of Mahjhong and Wii. They set me up on the 2nd floor, I showered, washed my clothes and went downstairs. Sandra helped me get settled and I ate. She accompanied my as I ate, the victuals being quite similar in type and deliciousness as the previous night. I ate methodically and slowly. After finishing, I joined the rest of the party partaking of the evenings pasttimes. I am not too familiar with Mahjhong and know people who know people who get upset with incompetent players so I was a spectator. I did have my hand at a little Wii action, and did okay in bowling.
Sandra, the eldest, has two sisters and two brothers. Also present were her husband and two children, mother, father, and niece. 12 people all together, including myself.
I spent some time talking to her lively husband, who seemed to love to talk. His energy is childlike in its capacity and lightheartedness. He is from GaoXiung, and, with the aide of a map, elaborated on places I should see.
He mentioned that Sandra's father is a master sculptor, or was, and some of his works were in temples around Taiwan. He also said the he once asked her father to teach him and he declined, saying he didn't think he would be serious about it.
I told Sandra about this and she laughed. She also mentioned that her father owned a very valuable teapot. It was worth a lot of money because it was the product of a teapot master. I later learned that it was given to him by a friend and someone had offered $200,000NT (about US $6000) for it! I was amazed that a teapot could call such a price tag.

valuable teapot

I had the opportunity to see it and from my untrained eye, looked just like the teapots you can by from the $10NT store.
I retired at about 12:30, planning on leaving early the next afternoon, and expecting to meet up with friends in GaoXiung.

lf to rt: Bruce, Sophia, niece

Day 2: Ija's House in ChiaYi

2009-01-27T23:30:00.000-08:00

lf to rt: Ann, mother, Ann's daughter, sister, Ija

I wake up at 10PM and say to myself, "There's no way I'm making it to TaiNan (about 150km) today. Too tired." I call my friend Knight who is staying in YunLin with girlfriend Kim, only about an hours ride away. I see about staying there tonight. Negative. They're heading back to Taipei today. I search for options and think of my friend, Ija, in ChiaYi, about 100km away. She says cool. I ask her to help me to kind a hotel so when I get there I won't have to search for one. I also call Sandra, my friend, who lives in TaiNan county. I make arrangements to stay at her family's house the following night (Day 3).
I say my goodbyes and thanks to Timmy, who had been a great host, and set off for Chiayi at 2:20PM.
This ride was easier than the first leg in that it was shorter and pretty well flat. On the way out of the city, I ask a father/son duo, for directions to provincial road #1. They guide me and are very nice, as has been everybody I've yet encountered. It always adds time and distance getting into and out of cities.
Back on the 1, I feel at ease again. Straight forward and smooth. I break several times to rest, eat, stretch and take some pics. The sun starts to fall, then slowly fades under the horizon. I still have several hours of riding, now in the dark. I don't mind I guess. I have no choice. During this ride, I begin to have pains in my Achilles tendon, which would stick with me for the rest of the trip.
There are several advantages to riding at night. There are less cars, it's quieter, and cool. I also feel like I'm going faster. But it can be dangerous as cars may not see me. I align myself towards the specs of light in the distance and use the ubiquitous white line as my guide. My little lamp only providing enough light to have known what I fell into, after falling into it.
I get to ChiaYi about 4 hours later, after several calls and confirmations with Ija. She invites me to her house, where her family just finished a New Years dinner. The food still sits out when I arrive, for me I presume.
In enter to a lively welcome. A cozy living room deceivingly embraces many smiling faces and lots of love. I only know Ija and her entire family is present, mother, father, three sisters, father-in-law, baby, and now me. They all welcome me to sit and have some food. The traditional Taiwanese New Year fare is spread on the table: steamed and fried fish, rice noodles, just caught shrimp, wonderful chicken soup, and much more sit and wait for me to eat it. I am a light eater, even after riding for hours, and take my time picking every now and then. I feel a little awkward at first as one always does in such situations, but it quickly melts into a wet comfort from the warmth of her family. They are very nice. I eat slowly, chatting with her family. Kung Fu Panda is on the set. I shower and feel much better, then get to know everyone better. Their house has a very relaxing affect, I feel like I had been there my whole life. Her father leaves to go play Mahjhong at a friends house. Mother retires to her room. I stay up until 3AM reading, taking picutres and talking with the four sisters. I mainly talk with Ija about hiking, camping and outdoor stuff. I allowed myself a late night because I knew the next day would be a shorter ride. But 3AM was late enough, so I pack it in.

Distance: TaiChung to ChiaYi 106km
Time: 4hrs. 40min.

Day 1: Timmys House in TaiChung

2009-01-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

Timmy with Savanna

I feel tired but in a state of euphoria at his place. I have never done physical exercise (besides breathing) for such a long time before. I am amazed that I did it and reached my destination. I settle down. Timmy says he's going to a friends place and I am invited. I decline saying that I'm pretty tired. He sets me up on his computer and I watch a great movie called Slumdog Millionaire, as I eat my dinner. Superb movie enhanced by an equally astounding soundtrack. After the 2 hour movie, I get ready for bed.

I hate mosquitoes. It's not their bite (which is rather irritating), nor their alien-esque form. What I can't stand is their insistent buzzing in my ear when I'm trying to sleep.
While at Timmy's house in Taichung, the mosquitoes had a Pearl Harbor on me. Zzzz! I flick on the light. Where are they? Five mosquitoes perched for attack on the wall above my head. I'm slapping, flailing, smacking and killing, thinking, it's gonna be a long night. After I quell the barrage, I turn off the light and get back to sleep.
Zzzz, zzzzz. Damn! Lights on. And then there were three... new ones, like ninjas packing deadly megaphones of buzz that is my kryptonite. They're after my blood, literally, and I hate them. I get my pink indoor slipper to gain swifter killing velocity, thinking I'll leave the dead on the wall as a warning. No dice. These buggars are smart and deftly flit out of the way as I approach, disappearing into the vast air of the room. After mastering round 2, I hope for no more. In vain, I turn out the lights and try to get some rest. Round 3 quickly ensues and I patiently create a mosquito graveyard around my bunker. They are cold-blooded persuers, taking no notice of their fallen brethren.
I finally devise a way to keep them at bay. I grab a shirt and wrap it around my head third-grade ninja style. I use the sleeve as a breathing hole, hoping that mosquitoes are smart enough not to try to bite my teeth. I can still hear them outside my force field and it works to keep me up for a while more, but I effectively put an end to their red bombs of itch. Now I can get to sleep... at 5AM.

Day 1 is the purple section.

View Larger Map

Ride success!

2009-01-26T05:54:00.000-08:00

My third "first" day of my trip was a success.

I set out at bright and early at 6:40AM. Well I wouldn't say it was bright. In fact it teased rain for my entire journey, even managing to sprinkle a little on the way. Initially, I was going to stop at Miaoli, only (only) 108km from my house in Banqiao. But on Sunday I decided to go for it all. At least all of the way to Taichung.
The ride started out smooth. Cool, hovering between 15-16C, and overcast. Passed through Xinzhuang, Guishan, Taoyuan, Jhongli, PingJhen, Yangmei, Hukou... and on and on and on. I thought the trip would never end. After riding for 5 hours, I pulled over to piss. Legs and knees, aching, I pulled over and took a break. Step over step, km after km, I pushed on. I often found myself saying mundane things like, "I'm halfway up this hill, just keep going," or. "If I stop moving, I won't move again." Green signs, blue signs, white lines, over and over and over.
I noticed that Taiwan has a lot of red lights for no reason. The traffic would be sitting at a red, waiting for noone and nothing.
So I continued on my way 5, 6, 7 hours. Fortunately I had company along the way. Bikers also riding around woulg ride along side me and we would chat. "Where you goin?" Where did you start?" and the like. I would ask about distances and road conditions from them that seemed more knowledgeable. All the cyclers were very friendly, waving as they passed, or shouting some words of encouragement. This biking group is like a secret society, flashing the signs of recognition.
After finally reaching Taichung city, I headed to my friends place, who I had contacted the day before. Going to his house added another hour to my trip at least.

Final stats for day 1 Taipei(BanQiao) to Taichung:
Riding Time: 8hrs 51min
Total Time: 11hrs
Distance: 187km

Tomorrow will be even harder, not because the distance is further, but because my legs and ass hurt very much. The Trip is about 172km. Roughly the same distance. I hope I can do it. It is now 10:30PM and I should rest.
Wish me luck

Foiled Again!

2009-01-25T00:13:00.000-08:00

Early this morning, while sleeplessly laying in bed, I read a message from Damon saying that he was again, backing out of our trip. Can't this guy make up his mind? Wants to go, doesn't want to go, wants to go, doesn't want to go... Jeezus. I laid in bed - this annoyment left to fester and make me angry. I called him to share with him my disgust, but (knowingly) he didn't answer his phone. I care not to write here what I wished to tell him. I am familiar with his mood and temperament, which actually should have been a clue to what he was capable of. I even told my girlfriend that I had a feeling that he didn't sound wholeheartedly into this trip, and that if he didn't want to go, he would find some way of getting out. But instead of listening to my intuition, I believed his false words and empty excuses, in the hope that he might actually surprise me. In my naivete, I was greatly let down by this so called friend. He made me change my plans several times, inconveniencing me (to say the least).
So now, I sit at my computer writing this rant while I should be riding my bike around Taiwan. I could have spent a nice long time riding (two weeks), enjoying the sights Taiwan had to offer. That was my initial plan. Then when Damon signed on, he said he only had 9 days for his Chinese New Year vacation, so I rearranged my plans for him, which was fine at the time.
Now, I've wasted more than a week on his ass... What a let down. Maybe I am more disgusted than I should be, but I can't help it. If he would have just told me he didn't want to go, that would have been fine, but the excuses! Please! I try not to speak lowly of people and I hope I later regret writing this, but this is how I feel right now.

Final (tentative) plan is:

Day 1: TaiPei to TaiChung 175km
Day 2: TaiChung to TaiNan
Day 3: TaiNan to GaoXiung
Day 4: GaoXiung
Day 5: GaoXiung to KenDing (HengChun)
Day 6: KenDing to TaiDong
Day 7: TaiDong to Hualien
Day 8: Hualien to YiLan
Day 9: YiLan to Taipei

Trip Around Taiwan Day 1

2009-01-23T22:19:00.000-08:00

Today was supposed to be day 1 of my bicycle trip around Taiwan. However, yesterday, my partner Damon messaged me saying that he might be backing out. The day before our scheduled departure. This was a let down. But then I thought of the advantages of going alone. I could take my time, take different routes and see things he might not want to.
I called him this morning and sounded like he stayed up late. He said that he was back in, but we would be starting a day later. This made me relieved because going alone also has many disadvantages. Going as a team will be much safer and enjoyable to have someone to converse with.
All in all, I don't mind going a day late. It gives me a little more time to prepare and ready myself to the long trip ahead.

Here is the map and route I plan to take.

Itinerary:

D1: Taipei(Banqiao) to Miaoli
D2: Miaoli to ChangHua
D3: ChangHua to TaiNan
D4: TaiNan to GaoXiung
D5: GaoXiung to KenDing
D6: KenDing to TaiDong
D7: TaiDong to HuaLien
D8: HuaLien to YiLan
D9: YiLan to Taipei

Last Day of Work

2009-01-20T08:32:00.000-08:00

This past Friday, I had my last day at HengYee Middle School in XinZhuang. As the day came to an end, I realized that my time in Taiwan, was also soon at an end. My time has come to move on and leave this place that I've called home for almost 4 years. It was a sad revelation, the lifting of my foot to take the next step.
I've had good jobs, and really bad jobs. I've had good food and gut wrenchingly gross food. I've been healthy and had fluids come out of both ends simultaneously. I've made friends and antagonists to my life story here. I've reenforced previous friendships, and had a great time along the way.
There are things I love about Taiwan. Beautiful girls. Hands down the best place I've ever been for that (although admittedly, I haven't been to all that many places). Relatively cheap experiences, food, taxis, crazy taxis,
My last hurrah will be my bike trip around Taiwan. I will spend nine days with a friend to bike the nearly 1000km route from Taipei to Kending and back.
As in life, I really don't know what lays in store. I have prepared, but not adequately, and hope for the best.

My Trip Around Taiwan

2009-01-06T01:34:00.000-08:00

A friend and I are planning a trip around Taiwan on our bicycles. From what I hear, many people do it, so its nothing new. But for me, it will be a very long tour. Our time frame is Chinese New Year's vacation. We will try to do as much as we can in 9 days. I hope the weather holds up for us. This will be a stretch for me, as the furthest I've ever ridden my bike is about 70km in a day. The first day alone is set for 130km, twice the amount I've done before. I will be posting here daily during our trip, providing I have access to a computer. Stay tuned. Two weeks and counting...

Why I Do What (I plan) To Do

2009-01-06T01:22:00.000-08:00

I came across an interesting website called Food Declaration. It speaks to the need for agriculture to overhaul its oil driven, large external input past, and move onto and into more efficient methods. Haven't read the entire article, but just the introduction reminded me of why I want to begin permaculture and gardening. In my humble opinion, it seems like the way to do things.

Make a Difference this Christmas

2008-11-27T19:51:00.000-08:00

Christmas time is full of joy and love. However it is also accompanied by the Christmas crunch, the inevitable desire to buy and spend loads of cash we know we don't have. But as we all know, this Christmas will be tighter for most of us than usual. Our wallets are on a diet and so are we. How can we still spread the cheer and merriment while short on moolah?

There are numerous ways to do this. Here's a short list:

1. Make a gift. Like the saying, it is the thought that counts. Any giftee that doesn't realize this, shouldn't count as worthy of a gift. One year, low on cash, I made a candle to give to my girlfriend at the time. I'm not the do-it-yourself arts and crafty type and it was a little messy. But overall, it was fun and successful.

2. Donate to a charity. There are a plethora of reputable and worthy causes that are waiting for your valuable money. Wouldn't it be nice to know the money you spend is getting better value than a monogrammed towel set?

3. Volunteer. Nothing shows your dedication than giving your time to a group in need of volunteers. You can help out at the local... anywhere. Church, hospital, shelter, zoo, school, fire dept., anything. But be sure that the place you give your time is worthy of it. Maybe they helped you or someone you know before.

4. Use your power. This is your time as a consumer to flex your spending muscle. Don't buy from companies or entities you don't know, trust or believe in. Be a responsible consumer.

5. Save a tree. Send an e-card.

6. Gift yourself (and those around you). Grow your own food and give yourself good health for the months and years to come. You can get some organic, heirloom, or rare seeds here and start your own garden.

Just some ideas to keep the Christmas season merry on a low budget. Before you blow the money you don't have on needless gifts, try one of these ideas.

Hump Day

2008-11-26T01:58:00.000-08:00

Today's WOD was a doozy.

5 Rounds for time

5 deadlifts @ 75kg
15 wall squats
5 pull-ups
20 double unders
10 pushups

time: 19:53

Again, before the WOD, I crawled around on the rock wall for about 15 min. I was dead after the workout, but felt great.

Return of the WOD

2008-11-25T01:34:00.001-08:00

Today I bought a pair of proper rock-climbing shoes. After going hiking for the last two weeks, I have become interested in the sport. The school that I work at, Hengyee (恆毅), also has a rock wall that I can use.

I haven't posted a WOD because I was sick for about a week. But here I am back at it with the half-WOD's. Today, I made my own exercise because I was already in my schools "weight room." I use quotation marks because the room isn't much. It has three Olympic bars, a safety squat rack, a lat pull-down machine, a butterfly machine, two crunch benches and a back extension apparatus. Not much, but I only use the Olympic bars and the back extension.

WOD (I was originally going for 5 sets and 15 thrusters, but after the first round, I wimped out.)

3 rounds

5 thrusters @ ~50kg (I'm not sure how heavy the Olympic bar is)
15 sit-ups
15 push-ups
15 back extensions

time: 15:96

Prior to the WOD, I had used the rock wall previously mentioned, for about 20 min. Being my first time on a wall since my first time 8 years ago, my forearms quickly got pumped and could no longer grab.

Hike at Shi Ding/Huang Di Dian (石碇/皇帝殿)

2008-11-24T05:07:00.000-08:00

Another Sunday, another hike. This time to Shi Ding/Huang Di Dian (石碇/皇帝殿). This was a hike very similar to last weeks hike to Wu Liao Jian (五寮尖). This time, there were 6 of us. I like the fact that we are growing in number. Although it hadn't rained that day, some rocks and trail sections appeared slippery.

We pulled into the town of Shi Ding (石碇) at about 11:15AM. The town had a very similar feel to Wulai (烏來). A quaint village in the midst of lush green mountains, with a river running through it. It was bustling, people about everywhere. Hikers were out, spectators were out (there seemed to be a festival of sorts going on), and so were we. We quickly found some parking and started on our way.

First part: mounds of stairs. One after another. When you thought it was over, there were more, winding further into the thick. Stairs continued for about 20-30 min.

Once we got digging into dirt and root, it was identical to Wu Liao Jian. Almost no distinction.

It was a fun hike equal in difficulty to Wu Liao Jian. Going on the first hike last weekend got me interested in rock climbing. On this excursion, I tried to clamber up rock faces, but found that my hiking boots were too bulky and cumbersome to get a hold on the somewhat smooth surfaces. I may get a pair of climbing shoes.

Sunday Hike at Wu Liao Jian (五寮尖)

2008-11-17T04:17:00.000-08:00

This Sunday a couple of friends and I went hiking. About an hour south of Banqiao, we stopped at a trail head. My friend said that this trail was difficult, with steep accents and ropes. Sounded fun. The weather was perfect for hiking: overcast and cool.

We started a bit after noon and quickly realized that it was steep and going to be for the entire trail. Not rock climbing (yet), by any means, but definitely mountain climbing. I had not done Crossfit exercises for the past three days, so a good workout was in order. We stepped high up steep grades gaining footholds on roots and rocks.

As we moved on, dirt paths turned into rocks, which made for great bouldering. We walked along razor edge cliffs and made death-defying tip-toe stunts. One slip probably would mean death. The deafening intensity juxtaposed the humbling and quiet scenery.

Out of the city, you realize how peaceful it is and how easy it is to feel nature. Where in the city it might take 20 min to return your sense of peace, now a couple of deep breaths was enough. This was an experience like I've never had before.

Out of breath at the top, with breathtaking views. Legs taut and burning, continuing through narrow tracks, up and down rocks, rope-assisted accents and descents, seemed to no end.

It was a test of balance and endurance, mixed with comeraderie and fun. We went up and down in about 5hrs.

This was a great way to hone and demonstrate skills gained in Crossfit exercise.

Swimming

2008-11-12T19:05:00.000-08:00

Today i went swimming. As far as I know, swimming isn't explicitly part of the Crossfit exercise program, but I figure its a great workout nonetheless. So I will include it here. I did 10 laps freestyle, 10 laps breaststroke, in a 50 m. pool. Forgot my watch so I wasn't able to time it. Next time I will post the time here.

Hard Day

2008-11-11T05:07:00.000-08:00

(Modified) Grace

30 cleans

time: 10:37

Quite painful. I must say that all these WOD's will be painful until I can do the full exercise as it stands. But so far, all modifications. I think it will be a while until I can do real WOD's as described by Crossfit.

Farewell Fox

2008-11-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

I'll get to the title in a bit. Today, my WOD (workout of the day) was a modified Angie. An Angie exercise consists of 100 pull ups, push ups, squats, and sit ups. I modified it, as I know I don't want to spend 2 hours doing this, to:

50 pull ups
100 push ups
100 squats
100 sit ups

Time: 26:21

This isn't a very good time, but the goal is to improve over time.

~~~~~

Back to the title. My friend Warren Fox, whom I've known since college, is off to Beijing to shoot a movie. From what he told me, the movie, Gasp, is a comedy where he will be teaching Ebonics to Chinese students.

Fox, who is also a martial arts master, will be in Beijing for a month working on this project. Later in December, he will return to Taipei for a week, then shoot off again to Beijing to compete in a international martial arts competition. He has been a practitioner of Bagua, or eight trigram palm, for about 6 years, and has attained the status of master, under his master, Wu Guo Zheng(吳國正). He has traveled all over Taiwan to take part in numerous competitions, even managing to place 1st in his most recent event. He is an inspiration to all who hope to achieve their goals. Check out some of his vids on YouTube. Here is a quick vid:

The MC in the background music is also the one and only, Fox.

Way to go brotha.

Sunday Morning Post

2008-11-09T01:35:00.000-08:00

Grab your cup of coffee, sit down and relax. Welcome to the Sunday Morning Post. In this section, you will find an array of topics to peruse as you enjoy your morning of rest. If you're wondering what to do today, why don't you try something new. Hang out at a place you wouldn't usually go, take a walk in a new part of town, talk to people you wouldn't usually talk to. On that note, here are some sites that are new to me.

Nowadays, we most all have a digital camera, but do we really know how to use it? As for myself, when it comes to taking a great picture, I go with the odds. If I take a lot of pictures, at least one will look good. This technique is made much easier and cheaper with digital cameras. No need to buy film, get them developed and then see a bunch of blurry photos you had to pay for. Check out this site for some tips.

Since today is the day of rest, you have time to do something, like baking some cookies. Here's a recipe from recipe.com for No-Bake Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cookies. Try them and tell me how they turn out.

Try a new way to search using Blackle. You can search and also apparently save energy. Multitasking. Why not?

SunPower is one of the largest solar panel producers in the U.S. Take a look at this website for ways they are helping change solar power and also to reduce your energy use.

With the rising of China's sun, we realize our interdependence more than ever. Wanna tell them how you feel about lead in toys? What're you gonna say, "You make toy, bad toy." Learn Chinese at ChinesePod. Then you can tell them how you really feel. "I'll eat your toys, but not your food."

Wanna waste a little time online making friends, then playing dumb games with them? Try facebook.com. If you haven't heard of facebook, where have you been?

Just in case you were interested in what's goin' on in Athens, here's the Athens News. See... I knew you were wondering.

That's today's edition of the Sunday Morning Post. Go forth and live great, do well, and all that.

I Jumped on the Crossfit Wagon, and Hurt my Pride.

2008-11-07T00:20:00.000-08:00

Crossfit is definitely not new and not exactly new to me either. I had heard of it from friends who opened gyms in the state of Washington. One friend owns Urban Crossfit in Seattle, and another founded Crossfit Tacoma, in Tacoma, Washington.

But what was new, was trying it. This was almost like my Sunday morning excursion in an earlier post, A Sign. Ready with the feeling that I could take on the world, I attempted the Cindy (Crossfit has this thing with naming workouts after the people who made them). Workouts of the day, or WOD's are usually a quick body-jolting set of exercises that at the end, will have you crying, wishing you could go back to your old gym.

Cindy consists of a set of 5 pullups, 10 pushups, and 15 squats, doing as many sets as possible in 20 min. I saw Craig Cooper's (the owner of Urban Crossfit and personal friend) blog and thought, "If he can do 19 sets, I could at least do that or more." How foolish I was. I started out with a bang. Pumped out the first several sets in 45 sec. each. The next few took 1:30, then 2:00. By the end of 8 min., I had done a total of six sets, and was cached. I spent the remaining 12 min. consoling myself, wondering why I couldn't do more.

I will definitely continue to do Crossfit WOD's, as soon as my body and confidence restore themselves.

Crossfit is no joke. It is a serious way to get results fast. Try it for yourself. I guarantee you will be a different person, or your money back.

If you are in the Tacoma or Seattle area, and are interested in Crossfit, I highly recommend you check out these gyms as I personally know the instructors and they are excellent. Check out this news article of Morgan Hepfer (owner/founder of Crossfit Tacoma). (I have not been paid to say this.) (Okay, maybe a little.) (Just kidding.)

Let me end with a cartoon to get your ass out of your chair and moving:

Recycle Energy

2008-11-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

I've been reading The Permaculture Way, by Graham Bell, as well as Gaia's Garden: A Home-scale guide to Permaculture, by Toby Hemenway. In both these books, the use and reuse of energy is shown as a cycle rather than a concept of consumption.

We usually think of energy in terms of kilowatts that come from a power plant, gasoline and mpg, and for some of us, propane tanks. The various forms of energy we know of are all derivatives of our benefactor, the sun. It shines and gives plants energy, producing food for herbivores, in turn creating food for carnivores and omnivores. The oil, coal and gasses the earth provides are all forms of the suns energy stored from millions and billions of years.

So in fact, we can look at all life as different manifestations of the suns energy. The plants, the animals that eat the plants, the animals that eat the animals, the decomposers who eat everything, are all created by the energy of the sun.

We can reuse the energy stored in our "waste." Leftover food for example, can be returned to the cycle instead of being sent to the landfill. Yes, it will eventually be consumed by some other life form, but why not let that energy be spent on something nearer to home, and that can actually provide you a benefit. Send it to your compost, mulch it, give it to other animals, give it to your neighbor with a garden who will greatly appreciate it. These are much more efficient ways to recycle the energy. If we can find ways to keep the energy in a system longer, then more benefit can come from it.

A Sign

2008-10-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful experience yesterday.

Lately, I have been going to a local bike shop (Hersan's Bike Shop) to get tune-ups and whatnot's for my bike. The patrons mentioned that they go on weekly rides early Sunday morning, led by Hersan himself. I decided to join them this past Sunday, not really knowing what I was getting into.

Starting at 6:30AM should have been the first sign. Usually at 6:30, I have been sleeping soundly for about 4 hours and looking forward to another 5, not rudely waking myself up for a ride. However, I told myself that I would join this tour, as it were, and try to gain some biking experience.

When I arrived at 6:30AM (I was told promptness was imperative), they were pulling away from the storefront. They, decked out in full lycra gear, riding road bikes, looked speedy and zoomy. I, on the other hand, was wearing surf shorts, straddling my mountain bike. Sign two.

They started through the roads and I was keeping up. Little did I realize that I was keeping up due to the red traffic lights. Sign 3: you don't actually see the people you are riding with. Once we hit the river trails, they were gone. Literally out of sight, I was left thinking, "It's 6:45AM and these guys left me. What am I doing?! I'll head back home and back to sleep." But for some masochistic reason, I continued on. Hersan, possibly used to newbies' slow pace, fell back and urged me on. I think there was another guy behind me, but when you're playing catch-up on a bike, you're not really thinking.

Luckily the group stopped (out of pity?) every once in a while to rest and consolidate (and to take pictures of the laggards for their album of laughs, I'm sure). We rode on past through Muzha, past the zoo, to a hive of biking activity. I'm not sure exactly where it is, but it is an intersection marked with a 7-11 and road signs that should read "steep hills, it's too early, go home." Instead, it says, Pingshi and some other far off destinations. Bikers of all sorts congregate here, as it is the starting point for the challenging and fun rides on bicycles as well as motorcycles.

By this time, we had been riding for about an hour and I was tired. Little did I know that we had just begun the ride. Uphill we went for what seemed like eternity, my legs and back and ass hurt, as did my pride. I mean some of these guys were pushing old age, and they could lap me in their sleep. Hersan must have been able to sense that I was a weak link.

I am not proud about what I am about to say, but Hersan (or Heman) actually pushed me up the hills. On his bike, he rode at about my 8 o'clock, right arm on my lower back, forcing me up the mountain of hell. Another skillful rider, who would switch with the push-the-bitch-up-the-mountain duty, sometimes worked in tandem with Hersan to push me up. I felt like a fool and at times wanted to get off and walk.

But I thought to myself, "These guys are pushing this fool, whom they don't even know, up a mountain and probably hate this fool, but aren't giving up, so how can this fool give up?" "This fool," being me, also had thoughts of wanting to die, to ride off the cliff, and other escape tactics the self-preservation voice usually keeps you from doing. I think that voice was tired.

The uphill was only 5km. But it felt like forever. After every turn, I would see more up, a turn, then more up. Occasionally I was able to peek at the beautiful scenery but would instantly feel guilty taking pleasure in the sights while these Taiwanese Sherpas pushed my ass up the inclines.

"Almost there," Hersan kept on saying. "Almost there."

I kept on pedaling, moving my feet in small circles hoping to get up and over this climb.

"Only 4 more km," he would say. "3km."

Then it was two, and then one. Then it was, even, I mean level road which at this point, still hurt to ride. Eventually, we ran into the others, gleefully sipping their water and eating crackers, almost falling asleep waiting for us. I did not feel shame. I did not feel self-conscious at all. I did not feel a thing.

Except the burning in my ass. Struggling up that hill was torture and the repeated motion had been effectively grinding my ass into my seat.

But from what I collected, we would now have the dessert: downhill. All that time going up, naturally we must go down, and down we did go. Zooming down on early morning mountain roads is a cool rush after such an ordeal as I have just described. I felt high, zooming past small shops that I now had the consciousness to notice.

People seemed nicer, nodding to me as I passed them, as if somehow I had gained champion status by coming down as they were on the way up, as if, knowing that I had made it to the top before them, I was a hero in their eyes, as if they knew the joy of coasting down after a long ride up, as if we shared, if for a moment, the bond that bikers share, as if they didn't know I had been pushed up by my faithful leader. Which of course they didn't, so I waved back as if I was the champion they thought I was. What a way to end a ride!

But it wasn't over. After kilometers of refreshing turns and cool mountain breeze drying my hard-earned sweat (and I'm sure the sweat of the hands that aided me), I was riding past Wulai and into Xindian, brought back down to reality and pedaling for motion again. Hersan told me the others would be separating on their way home. He invited me to join them next time. I thanked him genuinely as he rode off into the sun.

The heavy weight that reality gave to my legs kicked in the search for other options of getting home. Being familiar ground, I knew that Xindian had many MRT (subway) stations that I could conveniently dip into and ride on home. Again, I had no shame; no embarrassment. Nobody knew what happened up in those cold lonely mountains, two sweaty chest-heaving men, sometimes three. Pride no longer a consideration, I wanted to travel path of least resistance. I paid my 80NT, hopped on the train and was home bound.

~~~~~

Today, I feel fine, legs a little sore, and so is my pride. But I realized some things.

One, I am not as in shape as I thought or should be. Boy was I mistaken when I thought I was good at biking. I have much to learn and loads of endurance to gain. I am a shame to myself.

Two, Hersan was willing to help someone he barely knows. Not just help, but physically push them up a mountain. I can see no reason except a pure love of what he does. He has such passion for biking and therefore the people that bike, that he does so much for them. When I go to his shop, he will do repairs for nothing. I offer money, but he refuses.

Three, signs come in many shapes and forms. Whatever package, if you are paying attention, you get the message. Hersan's kindness and selflessness has shown me than I too, should try to help others.

Four, that if the world has people like him, then all is not lost. That it is worth working for. For every person doing intentional harm to others, there are those fighting the good fight, in their own way, be it stopping corruption, finding ways to lessen CO2, working in a food kitchen, providing aid to disaster sufferers, or pushing some clueless waiguoren up a mountain on a Sunday morning.

P.S. If you are ever in Banqiao, I highly recommend you visit his shop (if you read Chinese, go here) His shop is listed on Formosan Fat Tire, a foreign-made Taiwan bike website.

P.S.S. Hersan is in the forefront in the white jersey in the above picture. I am near the dog, leant over seeing if my balls are still intact.

19th Floor Garden: One month later

2008-10-26T23:03:00.000-07:00

It's been a little over a month since I began my series on gardening, by way of my 19th floor garden. Several updates: as you can see, the tomatoes and basil have flourished. The thyme, which was in the forefront in the pics of the first post, have perished. I have never had luck growing thyme. Lots of sun or shade? Lots of water or little water? I am not sure.

I have just received my copy of Gaias Garden: A Guide to Home-scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway, and as much as I feel weird admitting it, it excites me. I have read alot about Permaculture online, watched videos on YouTube, visited websites and on-location experiments. Most give a summary of Permaculture philosophy and tenets. Few actually give concrete steps (of which I am a fan) of what to do, how to do it, and how to fix it if it goes wrong. I was able to download a copy of Bill Mollisons A Permaculture Design Course from Scribd.com. This was actually very helpful. I learned applicable techniques. I recommend this if you too are interested in the topic. But eventually you will feel the need to learn more and move onto a piece of land to implement all these wonderful skills that you have aquired. As I mentioned before, I really can't do that while here in Taiwan.

Which brings me to another point. I will be moving back home to Maui to live with my parents. As loser-ish as this may seem, I don't care. I want to commandeer a portion of their yard to carry out my botanical experiments. In the process, I hope to repair the soil, bring wildlife to their yard, fill the bare ground with fruiting plants and trees, provide food for them, and build a welcoming envrionment. I am now formally against lawns and ornamental fixtures in a yard. I believe it is a waste of time and space. We are always complaining that our food isn't healthy, medical science is lacking. We have the potential in ourselves (by extension of our yard) to provide some of the healthful things we need to be stronger, live longer and happier. We as a society can do so much more with this land.

But I digress. I hope soon that tomatoes will bear fruit soon as winter is approaching, with cooler shorter days. Not good for tomatoes which like sun and warmth. Winter in Taiwan isn't so harsh, no freezing or snow, but not conditions for growing great tomatoes outdoors. We will see how this all plays out within the next couple of months.

Save the Amazon: Grow a backyard garden

2008-10-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

There are myriad data and stats thrown around all the time about the rate at which the Amazon rain forest is shrinking, due to land being consumed for crops and animals. So many feet per second, acres per year, football fields per day, and such. It's all very disheartening to hear about a large wonderful ecosystem like the Amazon being desecrated for the sake of soy and beef. I'm not much of a numbers guy so I won't add a digit to the orgy. But what I will do is offer a solution. And in this solution can also be found answers to many of our other societal shortcomings that become more apparent daily.

You will often hear proponents of organic foods say, "eat local." This means to consume food that has been grown within a predetermined range of let's say 5 to 10 to 100 miles. Some will argue the exact distance from farm to table, but the point is the closer the food was grown to where it is eaten, the better. Reasons for this are aplenty: it supports local economy/farmers; it's fresher; due to freshness, it tastes better; the foods ripen on the plant/vine; less chemicals are needed to produce nutritious foods; it has traveled less and therefore spent less fuel; it promotes healthy land development; ad infinitum. Another major reason is that is puts less strain on ecosystems/economies in far away lands, like the Amazon. You can trust that a tomato grown 7 miles from your doorstep has done less damage than one that has traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles.

But what about the beauty of a vine-ripened tomato that was grown 7 feet from your door? A sprig of rosemary clipped minutes before being added to a dish? An onion so fresh, clods of dirt still stick to its roots? Apart from the philosophical aspect of growing your own food, the practical benefits are endless.

No need to run to the store to pick up a bottle of thyme that was dried months (or years) ago in a farm where pesticides and fungicides and chemical bathes called fertilizer were used to "make" it grow. Forget tasteless lettuce, grown hydroponically in a hothouse thousands of miles away in the winter, apples that have sat "ripening" in a warehouse for months, or oranges with waxes and chemicals to make the fruit orange and plump.

You can have the best of all these plants right in your back yard. Unbeatable freshness, minus the enigma of where it actually came from. As a matter of fact, do you know where your food comes from? Honestly, I must admit that I too am not aware, which further proves the point that I don't know what has been done to it, and how it has affected its place of origin. For all I know the soy beans I pop in my mouth could have sprouted in the same place where mammoth trees once stood.

Another reason to grow your own food, is that it will lessen our dependence on fuels like oil. If you organically grow your own potato, for instance, there is little if any oil consumed in the process. On the other hand, if you purchased a potato that was mass produced in Idaho, petroleum based chemicals used as fertilizers and pesticides, gas used to plant and harvest, energy used to transport, separate, and ship, you have run up quite a high energy bill for a single potato. Growing your own foodstuff will greatly reduce our need for resources.

All it takes is a seed, in your mind or in the ground. It starts somewhere. And where you end up may be miles or steps from where you expected.

P.S I "borrowed" the above picture from www.photographersdirect.com, if you couldn't tell. I hope this frees me from liability.

You and Your Company

2008-10-15T01:17:00.000-07:00

We all hold companies to high standards of financial reporting. When it comes to the publichly held companies, they must have standard reporting practices such as quarterly statements and GAAP accouting. They are stringently judged by analysts, speculators, investors and the market in general. If they don't do well in a particular quarter, the stock often drops (which brings up another concern for another time). On the other hand, if the company has strong revenue, low expenses, good accounting practices and reporting, usually a company and its stock will do well.

What about You?

For all the time you spend analyzing charts, ticks and reports, do you put in the same time and emphsis in your own "company?" You are a small (or large) company in and of yourself. You have revenue (income), expenses (expenses), and budgets to keep track of it all. Or you should.

If a company spends more money than it makes and it doesn't change or get help, it will go bankrupt. If you spend more money than you make, you too will go bankrupt. If a company doesn't keep records of its activities, it will not know how much or little it makes or has. The same with you. If you don't keep track of what you make or spend, you will have no idea if you have money or not. Is this a good way to go about something that is so important?

A company may seem more important becasue it is bigger and makes more money, but you are your own company and are importatnt to yourself or your family. Run your finances like a company. Hold yourself to high standards when it comes to taking note of what comes in what goes out, and how it goes out.

This leaves us with some final questions. In what state are your finances? Are you an Enron or a Google (GOOG)? Would anybody purchase shares in your company?

Would you?

Compound Interest

2008-09-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

Most of us are aware of the benefits of compound interest. Albert Einstein, noting its value, said,“The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.” Depending on frequency, compound interest is basically the principle amount times a rate plus interest, added over and over again.

But what about other things, like skills? If we start something at an earlier age, compounding our skills on top of each other, then don't they add up to something great?

I have been pondering an idea lately of something I call "ultimate expression." It is almost self-explanatory, but allow me to indulge. A while back, I read an article from Fortune Magazine titled, What It Takes To Be Great. The article spoke of people such as Tiger Woods and Warren Buffet, performing at the top of their game and at the top of the world because of something called deliberate practice . The stories' thesis was: anyone can achieve a level of greatness with time and deliberate practice. The key is deliberate practice, also known as dedication/due dilligence/determination. This article may have prompted the idea of the ultimate expression.

There is something in life that everyone is passionate about. There is something inside that, when it comes out, makes you feel great. Some play an instrument, some sing, others play sports or teach. There are endless ways to express this passion. If you are fortunate enough, your work can fulfill this desire. But for most of us, our job is well, a job. We find other ways to make us feel whole.

This expression is the soul escaping into the external world. It is the reflection of what is in you, casting its presence into the material world. For Picasso, it was through his vision and by extension, his hand and the canvas. For Pavarotti, it is through his sonorous voice. For Ali, it was with his graceful movement and hand-speed in the ring, and to a great extent his ability to manipulate his opponents' mind. For those of us watching, they make it look like child-play, like it's the easiest thing they've ever done. It is amazing when we get to see someone's soul on display. We are left in awe in the presence of a great soul at its zenith.

But we know that it isn't easy. It takes years of dedication to reach these levels. Take Ali for example. Do you think he spent all his time praying to Allah to help him win fights? Of course not. He spent hours circling and pounding a bag, hours dancing in a ring, countless hours perfecting his footwork and technique and always pushing and improving himself. It does take this much to be "The Greatest."

Although some of us are lucky enough to find our ultimate expression, others spend their entire lives searching for something that fulfills this desire. You need not become (and likely will not become) as famous as Tiger Woods or Muhammad Ali, but the feelings can be the same. For those of you who have found it, then, it is your duty to make use of it, to nurture and let blossom this inherent beauty. For the rest of us, I pose these questions:

What is your ultimate expression? How does your soul speak to others, or to yourself, for that matter? It's compound interest of your interests, for passion, not money, that makes you rich.

Going "Ghetto" Green!

2008-09-22T10:16:00.000-07:00

Going green is the latest trend everywhere! From big biz to small mom and pop shops, becoming environmentally friendly is the way to go. But to every trend is an ugly, kept in the closet, don't let the deformed half-brother out of the basement, side. Even with it's so-called "clean" reputation, going green has its dark side. I intend to expose it and allow you do decide how clean this movement really is. The following are methods that you can use to make your life green, depending on how far you're willing to go. This is the list the goodie greenies don't want you to see.

Water Conservation
1. Take cold showers.
2. Take less showers.
3. Don't take showers.
4. Kill two birds with one stone, drink your pee. (Neither flush nor tap water!)
5. Don’t wash your hands (or your dishes). Strengthen your immune system.
6. Defecate outside, in a bucket or in the garden. Use it for fertilizer.

Energy
7. Turn off your lights when you're not using them, or
8. Wait until the power is cut off to pay your bill. Remember to use your home computer.
9. When it's cold, bundle up and sleep with your sister/brother.
10. When it’s hot, take off your clothes and sleep with your sister/brother.
11. Move into a smaller house (you guessed it), with your sister/brother.
12. Don’t use a refrigerator. Move somewhere cold and put perishables outside. Also see tip #9.
13. Watching TV is a waste of time anyway so don’t own one. The same for washing machines, dryers, microwaves, and toothbrushes.

Money
14. Cook Top Ramen for dinner.
15. Don't cook.
16. Don't eat meat.
17. Don't eat.
18. Don't buy appliances. Borrow or share with your neighbors.
19. Don’t buy furniture or worthless stuff. Sit on the floor.
20. Don’t invite anyone over for a cold one or a warm one or whatever. In fact, invite yourself to their place.
21. Steal. Actually this would be unethical. Borrow with the intent of “indefinite return.”

Transportation
22. Don’t own a car.
23. Carpool and freeload.
24. Use the bus or public transportation.
25. Ride a bike.
26. Better yet, ride a stolen one. Sorry, a "borrowed" one.

There it is. But this list is far from complete. There are many of you that may be pros in the art of Ghetto Green. Please leave your tips for me and we can build a compilation!

Take a Risk, Grow a 19th Floor Garden

2008-09-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

This is the first of what will be my gardening series. I live in crowded Taipei, Taiwan, where people are mashed together, and so are the buildings. If you are interested in gardening and live in an apartment, there aren't many options. Sometimes you must take your life into your own hands and grow a garden. Mine happens to be on the 19th floor of the tallest building in the area.

As you can see, I have what you might call a desperate situation. Working with what really can't be considered a balcony, more like a man-made cliff, I tend my sprouting crops. It is a location not meant to be used. There is no door. I actually have to climb out the window! As of right now, I have tomatoes, basil, a stunted coffee plant, thyme, and papaya seedlings, the basics that any life-threatening garden should have. It's a meager and almost depressing "garden."

However, I do follow the most up to date gardening practices:

Compost
In the red trash bin, I also have compost, or my attempt at compost. What it really is is a kitchen scrap bin left outside. It is too small to adequately compost. If you have the resources, check out How to Compost. However, I prefer mulching as a method to build the soil.

Permaculture
I've implemented the permaculture theory of making your garden like a forest. I try to recreate the forest floor with decaying plant matter. In my "bed" I use scraps as fertilizer (don't know what I base this on or if it works), kinda like sheet mulching, but without the sheeting and carbon. I do know that it does attract micro organisms that may or may not benefit the plants.

Companion Planting/Guilds
Another gardening technique demonstrated here is companion planting or guilds, as it is called in Permaculture. This uses plant diversity as a way to build a mutually beneficial situation. Just as some insects are good for plants, plants can also create a symbiotic system. Tomatoes and basil have been said to be a so called "guild." The onion pieces are just there because several months ago my girlfriend bought a huge bag of them (as can be seen in the first picture). I used all of one of them, and they proceeded to grow in the refrigerator so my roommate put them outside.

As far as I know, all my to-be products will be organic and natural. Until the day I can have a plot of land that I can implement permaculture on, this approximately 2sq. meters (and 60 meters up), will have to do. Even in this smallest of spots I cling to the hope of not falling to my undramatic death and of creating something I call grand. Unfortunately, there would be no honor, only stupidity, related to my death.

To all of you who risk something for a greater good, I commend you.

Alternatives during the Credit Crisis

2008-09-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

I propose all who are just barely scraping by, those, who if they lost a couple of hours at work would be forced to desperate measures, the people with little mouths to feed and bellies to fill, take up arms. But not arms in the common sense. Have a hand in the undoing of your undoing. Take control of your present and future. Create a revolutionary garden. Learn how to grow your food so you no longer pay market prices for “fresh” fruits and vegetables. Have your hand in the soil, securing you and your families’ future. The power is in you. If you have no job, no land, and no help, yes, your road is much steeper and less clearly laid. But what choice do we have nowadays? We can almost no longer afford to drive to the super-market, much less buy the stuff in it. Be your hero. Be your families’ hero too.

I do... or do I?

2008-08-02T01:28:00.000-07:00

We all have a relationship with money. For most of us, its like being in a fickle relationship. Sometimes we love it, hate it, or feel apathetic towards it. Our moods change as it comes and goes from our lives. It's like that saying, "If you love something let it go. If it comes back, it's yours." This can also be applied to money. But with money, just because it came back doens't mean it's staying.

Don't marry money because it knows no loyalty

We base our general attitude on our past experiences with it. But whether we love or hate it, when it gets down to it, we need money. So we might as well reconcile our past emotions or attitudes we have and try to get along with it.

Sometimes we feel money is cheating on us - going out when we don't know, lying to us, saying it'll be back, then we can't find it. We try to call it and it doesn't answer so we leave a message. And it never calls back. Other times we love money. It feels so good to hold it in our arms. We get a sense of security and a warm feeling inside when it's home.

With all these emotions, how should we treat this psychotic relationship? I try to remember that money is a tool not a personality. It feels indifferent and has no memory and doesn't care if its near or far. Not to talk behind its back, but money gets around. Money is something we can use to achieve goals. We must remember that we can use money to help, and we can use it to hinder. But most importantly, whatever worth we give it, we must not forget that we need to value people more.

In contrast with money, people do have memories, emotions and they do care. People get happy and sad by the way you treat them, and visa versa. Those around us will not forgive your good or bad relationship with money. Suze Orman, a well-known financial advisor, always says, "People first, then money, then things." This is a good maxim to live by. We must not let money get in the way of how we relate to people. People have the most value, and although peoples attitude towards you will change, they also provide much more than money can.

I could have a million dollars, a huge house, nice cars and expensive wine to drink, but if I have no one to share it with, does it really have value? We must work together with integrity and comeradery to reach our goals. Using each other really only sets us further back.

I once heard from a wise man that you should be wary when lending money to friends, because you may lose both. So when faced with decisions where people and money are involved, remember to take a step back and think for a second. Make sure you know where the real value lies.

Good living to all.

Bought a Giant Bicycle!

2008-06-19T18:32:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday, I purchased my first new vehicle. I bought a brand new out of the box Giant HB3 bicycle. Now you may think that its not too exciting to get a bicycle, but I have been riding an old bike, and to get a new one is great. I spent a pretty penny on it, but as things go, you get what you pay for. There were more expensive bikes, but I didn't want to spend all my money on a bike either.

I plan to go riding much more, although we have begun the rainy season in Taiwan (however late it may be). Summer is here and that means long days for long rides... and lots of pictures. Some of my friends also like to go riding, so it can be a group activity.

I encourage you to get a bike too. It's fun, good exercise, faster than walking, you don't need a license, and best of all, after buying it, it's free to use! So take the time to enjoy the outdoors on a bike.

Praying Mantis

2008-06-01T18:30:00.001-07:00

Last week, I had the notion to have a pet. It wasn't a "normal" kind of pet. Here in Taiwan, beetles are a popular student pet. What I wanted was something a little different. I wanted a bug that would eat other bugs. I wanted a strange looking creature that looks like an alien. I wanted a praying mantis (螳螂). This odd looking insect is called the praying mantis because it often looks like its praying. Here are some interesting facts about mantises:

-they can turn their head 180 degrees
-the female will sometimes eat the male after mating
-they will eat all kinds of bugs including cockroaches, crickets, and other mantises
-they have even been seeing eating mice, snakes, frogs,etc.
-they will "molt" or change their skin several times in their life
-they live for about a year
-females are larger than males

I borrowed a terrarium tank from my friend and outfitted it with plants and soil. I then put in some cockroaches to crawl around. Hopefully the mantis will catch them before they find a way to escape the tank.

Oil: The New Luxury Good

2008-05-26T04:49:00.000-07:00

With oil at $130+, people are bracing themselves for a rough time for the remainder of the year. With the summer approaching, a large travel season, people will most likely be opting for fun nearer to home. Big box retailers as well as mom and pop shops are already feeling the heat, and its not from the sun. With rising costs of raw materials and less consumer spending, producers are being pinched on both ends. How can you, the consumer, survive with this "new" luxury good on the market?

For one, you can treat it as a luxury good and consume less of it. In tough times, people often reduce or stop altogether their consumption of luxury goods, and with oil at such unconscionable levels, we could almost consider it a luxury good. Although oil or gas demand is relatively inelastic, which means its demand is stable through changes in price, you can make a choice to set your cut-off point. When will you make decisions to use less gas or find alternative ways to get energy? When gas is $4.50/gal, $5, $10? There are numerous ways from simple changes to drastic measures that you can take to lessen consumption.

Another thing we can do is to be aware that we are consumers. The large and mighty corporation, with all their power, to a large degree are swayed and make decisions based on individual consumers as a whole. The price of oil will continue to rise as world demands grows. This will lead companies to finding cheaper methods of doing business. If we realize our power and support companies that comply with our beliefs, we can alter the marketplace from the bottom up. We can support companies that choose to make the hard decisions now, as opposed to later or never. This is our privilege, or some might even say our responsibility, as consumers.

Hard decisions would imply finding viable sources of energy to support their business now. It is something that I feel is inevitable anyhow, so they may as well start ASAP, and we may as well support them. In the short run, they can free themselves from the rise in oil price. In the long run, they will be the companies that win, and in turn so shall we. By supporting these companies I mean purchasing their competitive products. When there is a choice, choose their stuff, as opposed to another brand.

For example, Patagonia is an outdoor performance wear company. They are very conscious about their business practices. They try to keep their production line, as "clean" as possible. They are very concerned with supporting the environment and take many steps to be socially responsible.

To take it even further, support could mean purchasing stock or advocating for the particular company. Innovest is a firm that does market research on companies that are environmentally as well as financially sound.

Weekend Warrior Football in Taipei

2008-05-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

As you may know, I really enjoy playing sports. One of my hobbies is playing football. I played football in high school. While in Taiwan, I play flag football with some friends on the weekends. This video is of a practice that we had about a year ago. In this video I am the quarterback in the yellow shirt. If you want, you can play football with me!

Wulai (烏來)

2008-05-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

Wulai (烏來)is a great day or weekend trip in Taipei city. Just outside of Xindian, it is a scenic ride through the valleys and hills on the edge of Taipei county. I have been there numerous times, mostly during winter to enjoy the wonderful hot springs they offer.
As you get nearer the the town, the roadside is dotted with hotels offering deals on meals and hot springs. Keep going until you get to the night market-like street. Here you will find many small hotels and vendors. The food here is very good. I especially like the grilled mountain pork skewers. The meat is fresh and delicious.
After you get a bite to eat, you can relax in the hot springs. This is a popular destination for many tourists and locals alike in the cool winter months. These special hot springs are said to have medicinal-like health benefits. If nothing else, you can steep yourself in nice hot relaxing water. You can enjoy the hot soak for as little as 100-200NT for a room with just a tub, or you could spend a little more for complete room. If you are daring, there is an area where the springs are free. It is outdoors along the river and you can find many locals sitting in the baths and drinking tea in the cold fresh air.

This is a trip I highly recommend for anybody visiting Taipei. The views are beautiful. There are many other hot springs scattered throughout the island. All you have to do is ask where they are and somebody will be able to tell you. Have fun!

Job Search Manifesto

2007-10-15T22:28:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a job and don't know what to say, please feel free to use this as a template to get you started. Cut and paste as you wish. Also make sure to give credit where credit is due.

To Whom It May Concern:

Hi, my name is (your name here). I graduated from University several years ago. Since then I have done odd jobs, here and there. This is my manifesto for landing an ideal job with you.

I am looking for a high paying job that I am highly unqualified for and highly unmotivated to do. I would like to work as little as possible while getting paid quite well to do it. I expect bonuses and paid vacation/sick days to be bountiful and with no restrictions on when I can use them.

I am very diligent in my routines of arriving a little after 9:15AM, taking my time during lunch, usually leaving a little early, and taking several smoke/snack/nap breaks throughout the day. If you should ever feel the need to raise your voice, which I don't see happening because I'm quiet and keep to myself (it'll be like I'm not even there), let me know in advance. I am very sensitive to loud noises and would like to set my earplugs in place. When you are done with the volume, tap me on my shoulder as I may have fallen asleep. In fact, there's no need to raise your voice at all. Just send me an instant message in all CAPITAL RED BOLD letters with angry faced emoticons, and I will get the picture.
If you should happen to see me performing my job, I would like you to remind me of what's really important. I am disciplined and will spent most of my time in front of my computer surfing the web, chatting with my college buddies, trying to set up dates, or looking for another job. If I do make any progress, I hope it will dutifully be noted and brought up during evaluations.
I am good on the phone and have a pleasant demeanor. I am a skilled speaker and have often made cold calls in the middle of the night to pizza shops. They are quite hostile at first, but after a little negotiation, we tend to work things out.
I am social and get along well with others after I've had a few to drink. I really like working in teams, especially if it's to achieve a common goal, like a drinking game to get a girl naked. I will never show up to work drunk. Trust me. But to ease the tension of a long day, occasionally I will have a drink at work. I rarely get too sloppy though, and can usually wait for happy hour. If I start to feel too giddy, I'll take it upon myself to leave work early. We'll go have a drink with the boys and talk about the highlights of our day.
I promise to give all of my half effort, honesty, dependability, and go get 'um attitude to this position. If you are interested in hiring me, please don't call me. I am most likely sleeping. Email me ASAP and I will get back to you when I can. I look forward to hearing from you and hope to be working for you soon! Thank you in advance for your time and most sincere consideration.

Sincerely,
(your name here)

A Pile of Bull...

2007-10-13T18:03:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a garbage truck go by and thought to yourself, "Man, that's a lot of trash." Everyday tons of trucks load up the stuff we don't want and take it to a place where we don't want to see it. Where does it go? It doesn't disappear.

We've been raised in the fast paced consume, more is better lifestyle. Little do we realize that inheirent in this lifestyle is the destruction of what sustains us, the earth. Have we ever stopped to wonder if we are better off with having more? More cars, more appliances, more channels, more stores, more stuff. We've been propelled into a society that says more is better without considering if it actually is better. With all the conveniences that are supposed to come from modern life, do you feel better, safer, stronger, more relaxed and at ease? Do you feel that life is more efficient and problem-free? Do you feel aided or inhibited by modern conveniences? I'm not saying that there aren't advantages to having things, but have you ever questioned its necessity and real value?

Have you ever entertained the notion that less could be better? It's about time to.

We all know paper is important and say, "Don't waste paper." But when did paper (money) become more valuable than people -- than morals and justice? When did we start to place more emphasis on making more paper than on regenerating the very mechanism that feeds and nurtures us? Money does grow on trees, but if we don't take care of the source, they will no longer provide this among many other things. It is on us to change.

Finding my Place

2007-10-13T00:55:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking of creating a website for folks in Taiwan. Whether as just a blog or a information hub, it will be what it is, or isn't. I ought to have more things posted here. I've been lazy in getting here, well since Feb. my last post. I

I'm Back

2007-02-25T05:21:00.000-08:00

I just recently returned from my hitchhiking tour of Taiwan. Man it was a whirlwind tour. Met a lot of interesting people and encountered many new experiences. I will write more when I get the energy. I have fallen ill since I returned to Taipei.

Sunday Post - Want $25 Million? Save the World

2007-02-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

Global Warming - Read this paper and see what you think. Read this before you read:

GreenHome - About a green home built in Raleigh, NC. An interesting site of a prototype green home decked out with the latest in green technology. Many need to know facts and ideas here.

Tax Season - For you United Staters, our favorite time of the year. Prepare and file online. "You need to do it too," my dad reminded me.

Iwillteach... - I got scammed by my bank (Chase) with overdraft fees, then late fees, then more late fees. And I paid it. I should have known about this site before.

Stingy Students - Looks like a nice shirt and sounds like a good deal, except the salmon color and the tie. But I'm sure you can choose other colors and pass on the ties.

New York Times - Obama Runs! I want to see him do well. Whether that means he becomes the frontrunner, gets many votes, wins or isn't shot, time will tell.

$25 Million to Save the World - Billionaire entreprenuer Sir Richard Branson and former vice-president/environmentalist Al Gore team up with offer of $25 million dollars for the The Virgin Earth Challenge. You could be rich biatch!

Greatness Achieved

2007-02-09T08:12:00.000-08:00

I have been pondering an idea lately of something I call "ultimate expression." It is almost self-explanitory, but allow me to indulge a little. I read an article from Fortune Magazine titled, What It Takes To Be Great. The article spoke of people such as Tiger Woods and Warren Buffet, performing at the top of their game and at the top of the world because of something called deliberate practice . The stories thesis was: anyone can achieve a level of greatness with time and deliberate practice. The key is deliberate practice, also known as dedication/due dilligence/determination. This article may have prompted the idea of the ultimate expression.

There is something in life that everyone is passionate about. There is something inside that, when it comes out, makes you feel great. Some play an instrument, some sing, others play sports or teach. There are endless ways to express this passion. If you are fortunate enough, your work can fulfill this desire. But for most of us, our job is well, a job. We find other ways to make us feel whole.

This expression is the soul escaping into the external world. It is the reflection of what is in you, casting its presence into the material world. For Picasso, it was through his vision and by extension, his hand and the canvass. For Pavarotti, it is thorough his sonorous voice. For Ali, it was with his graceful movement and handspeed in the ring, and to some extent his ability to manipulate his opponents' mind. For those of us watching, they make it look like childplay, like it's the easiest thing they've ever done. It is amazing when we get to see someone's soul on display. We are left in awe in the presence of a great soul at its zenith.

What is your ultimate expression? How does your soul speak to others, or to yourself, for that matter?

The Trickle Effect

2007-02-03T05:25:00.000-08:00

Do you often find yourself with no money at the end of the month? You think to yourself, "Where did it all go?" I'm sure we've all had times like these, or at least known someone who has. Always down on their luck, waiting to get paid. I had a friend like this back home. He had a decent job, but for some reason, never had money when the 30th was approaching. I always wondered how it felt to live like that. He wasn't poor; he had nice clothes and was quite social. But he often changed his lifestyle towards the end of the month.
I didn't know what to tell him at the time. People often take advice on money quite personally, and I think he would have done so also.
Where did it all go? Was there a hole in his pocket, disappearing money? Probably not. But if he learned how to budget or keep a budget, he would know where it went.

This is what we will discuss today. Budget basics. There are many reasons to keep a budget: awareness of how much money you have, to know where you spend the most money, to see where you can trim back, to have a sense of your finances, to have control of your finances, and to set realistic goals. All these are great reasons to create a budget. Let's make a simple budget (if you have Microsoft Excel, you can get a budget template).

Step 1: Record your monthly salary

Step 2: Creat budget categories such as: rent, bills(you can break bills down in to smaller parts such as phone, electricity, insurance, etc.), food, entertainment, transportation, savings, and misc. You can add or delete catagories as you see fit. Once you know how much of your money is going where, then you can make reasonable amendments. For example, your rent shouldn't cost you half your income or your entertainment allotment shouldn't be more than a basic such as food. Here is a breakdown in percentages, of where your money should be going.

Let's say you make US$4000/month:
Savings: at least 10%, preferrably 20-30+% (US$400-1200)
Rent: less than 30% (US$1200)
Food: about 15% (US$600)
Entertainment: about 5% (US$200)
Bills: about 10-15% (US$400)
Transportation: ~15% (US$600)
Debt: 5% (US$ 200)
Misc.: 10% (US$400)

The reason I place savings first is because you should pay yourself first.

This is a simple thing that once created, will become easier, save you time, and allow you to keep track of your finances. then you can alter it if need be. But you will always know where your cash is going. If you are really interested in creating a useful budget, you can purchase software created just for this such as Quicken or MS Money.

Don't you think they should teach this is high school? Basic economics, instead of trigonometry. I don't mean to deny trig its importance in life, but I think personal finance is more applicable to more lives than learning about angles. I took trig. in high school but didn't remember much, so I looked up the definition:

trig·o·nom·e·try - the branch of mathematics that deals with the relations between the sides and angles of plane or spherical triangles, and the calculations based on them.

WTF!?Maybe if you plan to be a mathmatician, physisist, or math teacher this is useful stuff. But for most people learning how to make a budget is much more useful. It directly applies to their life.

Think about it...

Big Green Boxes

2007-02-01T20:27:00.001-08:00

I read an article in BusinessWeek citing how corporations are taking environmental issues into consideration when planning for the future. I'm glad to see big business taking interest in things other than profit. The article demonstrates how some companies are combining profit agendas with eco-friendly agendas. Although the "green" objectives may be initiated from profit-minded goals, they are nonetheless working towards cleaner, more efficient methods of doing business. They may also realize that business can no longer interact in the vaccum of profit-making, and that they must work with external factors such as the environment to stay in business. Assisting the world to be sustainable allows them a population to serve.
There is a company cited in the article, the Innovest Group, that rates companies according to their policies and governance when it comes to green issues. The article states that there may be some contradictions within the rating system, but it is a good start to seeing who considers a cleaner future important.

We can't do it all, but we can start small.

Give a Minute

2007-01-24T05:45:00.000-08:00

Following the time theme, like money we should share time. Lately I've been feeling the need to give back. In our lives, we encounter a lot of grace from people. Whether it be from something small like a smile or someone unexpectedly returning something you lost. We often get caught up in our own troubles to recognize anything else around us. I am a victim of self-centeredness. But then I think of all the generosity that has come my way over the years and it makes me feel good. Now it's time to share that feeling with others. I have not figured out yet how I can give back. I do not write this here to be self serving or to boast, but to keep me honest. If I tell you, then I will be held liable for my word. I want to keep the cycle in motion.

It's About Time

2007-01-23T05:55:00.001-08:00

Time. The most valuable asset we have. More valuable than money, gold, and diamonds. We trade it for all these things. Knowing this, why then, are we so casual with our Time? Why do we want to "kill" Time? We spend much of our time doing worthless things. We even spend Time finding different ways to kill Time. Why do we do this? Would you burn money? Would you strangle your mother? Would you snuff your dog? No way, right? Then why would you do this to Time? Think of some of the ways time is taken away from us:

1. Commuting
2. Waiting in lines
3. Waiting for people
4. Waiting
5. Work
6 (insert your own)

Now think of the ways we intentionally "kill" Time:

1. Watching too much t.v.
2. endless chatter on phones (or online or what have you)
3. shopping (it's not a worthy hobby)
4. sex (and all things related)
5. (insert your own)

Knowing this, wouldn't you want to enliven Time, to give it life? Why would we want to take it away? . We often only see that value in something when it is dwindling or already gone. SomeTimes it's too late. Being young, we feel we have a lot of Time to figure out what to do. Now is the Time to start. If you take it for granted, then you'll take it to heart. Unfortunately time won't stop, time is not considerate in this way.
We should use Time finding the best way to utilize this asset. Time, investing, and personal finances are all very closely related. Just as you plan what you will do with your money, so choose to spend your time wisely. You wouldn't choose to spend money on nothing, would you? Spent some Time to think about it.

*To save some Time, I stole this picture from http://mayorsam.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_mayorsam_archive.html. Thanks.

Free!

2007-01-17T00:04:00.000-08:00

Dictionary.com states that, among many other things, free is something that is "provided without, or not subject to, a charge or payment."

Without a doubt, I am a fan of "free." I am a free person, "enjoying personal rights or liberty(s)," and for the most part, "not held fast" to anything or situation. Free-dom is a great thing. It allows us to go where we please, do what we feel (within or without reason), and enjoy the fruits of our autonomy. I am a very fortunate person.

However, in the material world, free is usually associated with words such as "junk," "worthless," and "not really free." All too often, free comes with strings attached, like *'s. There are hidden fees or catches that bind you into more trouble than the initial freedom is worth. So it is quite rare that things of value are offered at no price. That is why I am surprised when I see something of value offered for free.

One thing that I have found (and it is nothing new) is free phone service. Just a few years ago, we had to pay loads of money to call someone across the country. We would compare different carriers, wait for nightfall, hesitate on calling during "peak" hours, or any number of things to reduce the cost of making a long distance call. That has all changed with VOIP servers such as Skype (www.skype.com) or Vonage. You can call anywhere in the world for free. Free? Free! (I love saying that word.) However, there are a few *'s attached. First, you'll need a computer, and if you're reading this, you've already got that covered. Second, you'll need several minutes to set up an account. Third, you'll need a microphone and speakers, things your computer probably already has. After these, all you need is someone to call in Denizli, Turkey, some free time, and you're set. Calling around the world hasn't been so free since the days of phreaking!

Another nugget that I've found is in the online trading arena. With the advent of the online discount brokerages, commissions have plummeted from hundreds of dollars per trade to the cheaper rates being below US$10. I myself have been using Scottrade (www.scottrade.com) for the past several years to make the occasional hobby trade. They offer relatively low rates at US$7/trade. TradeKing (www.tradeking.com) also offers very low rates starting at US$4.95/trade. These are great rates for market trades. But one company has changed all that.
As I was surfing the land of the free (the internet), I came across an ad for free trades. Intruiged I went to their website (www.zecco.com) and found out what this nonsense of free trades was. Low and behold, they were offering free trades. Mind you that these are for your basic market orders. More advanced trades such as option and margin accounts have other fees. But before you being acting like a day trader, make sure Zecco offers what you are looking for in a (discount) broker. Because there's nothing worse than getting something for free that will end up costing you more later.

Hopefully these free things will allow me to "act without self-restraint or reserve" and "not (be)subject to rules (or) set forms" in the future. Until then, keep on the lookout for freedoms for all.

A Penny Saved

2007-01-15T03:02:00.000-08:00

As I rethink the function of this blog, I will focus it to an audience looking for interesting tidbits to help them along. The range of ideas is broad and will not always (ok, not usually) be my original thoughts. I will borrow the ideas from other sources. I don't have all the answers and don't intend to act as if I do. Actually, I will post ideas here to help me remember as well, what I have learned through my meanderings of life and the internet.

Saving's Basics: Assuming you have a little saved money sitting around collecting dust, why don't you collect dollars? In my searches to find a decent rate of return on a savings account in these times of rate fluctuation, I have found several places that offer decent returns on a standard savings account. An online bank, Emigrant Direct (www.emigrantdirect.com) for example, offers a 5.05%APY. Now as far as I know, my the national average is much lower (somewhere below 1%, but don't quote me). There are many other banks like this and if you do a little google search, you will find them (or go to www.bankrate.com to compare banks). They are basically all the same. Depending on how much you have to save, you should go for one that has no minimums, no fees, and is insured by a reputable institution (member FDIC). These work just like savings accounts, except that there is usually no bank to go to, and you'll need to connect it to another account to fund from or withdraw to. The process is simple and in no time you'll be making a measley 5% on your savings account!

I also accept advice, so if you have anything you'd like to share, please feel free.

The 2nd First Post

2007-01-12T08:29:00.000-08:00

Okay, I guess I'm really a newbie and unadapted to this as I thought I had already made two posts but apparently put them somewhere other than my front page. This will be my first "post." The week has come to an end and my eyes are tired.
I'm also new to the game of investing. I hold some stocks in companies, but followed the advice of market guru, chair throwing Jim Cramer. So far, his advice has been on point and I've made good returns on his recommendations. In the long run though, I know I should learn how to analyze investments on my own. I am in the process of doing this, but it is difficult. On this journey there have been some beacons of light amongst the snake oil peddlers of this industry. Part of this blog will be dedicated to finding these spouters of knowledge, as well as other random interests of mine (not to discredit my other interests). I will add links to sites that I find interesting pertaining to investing such as this http://bigpicture.typepad.com/. There is a wealth of knowledge out there for you to sift through and make the decision if it's worth anything to you.