Al's Bokashi Blog

Financial Permaculture [del.icio.us]

alpasternak — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:16:45 -0600

Finanacial Permaculture removes our time, attention and money from investments in global corporations that destroy local culture and ecology for profit, and re-invests capital in local enterprises that put people and planet on their bottom line ledger.

A Visual Guide to the Financial Crisis [del.icio.us]

alpasternak — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:42:11 -0600

Almost overnight, the talking heads went from perpetuating the euphoria of investors to rushing to pronounce the economy dead. Last year, when lenders started dropping like flies as foreclosures rose and margins were called, the problems of Wall Street became more and more apparent, and lending guidelines were tightened to the point that many individuals were stuck in their time-bomb loans, and thus began a vicious cycle. But what led to this? Here is a visual guide to help you understand the events leading up to the bailout.

More than 1400 Crockpot Recipes for the Crock Pot or Slow Cooker - About: Southern Food [del.icio.us]

alpasternak — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:34:18 -0600

Beautiful Examples of Moleskine Art | Inspiration | Smashing Magazine [del.icio.us]

alpasternak — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:24:38 -0500

AnarchistRabbi [Flickr]

urbanwild — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:07:15 -0500

urbanwild posted a photo:

Leaves - YellowRed [Flickr]

urbanwild — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:06:06 -0500

urbanwild posted a photo:

Leaves - RedYellow [Flickr]

urbanwild — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:04:48 -0500

urbanwild posted a photo:

The Crash Course | Chris Martenson [del.icio.us]

alpasternak — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:31:34 -0500

Big Wind Lessons from a Little Missouri Town : Apollo Alliance [del.icio.us]

alpasternak — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:13:33 -0500

The town and project planners expect Loess Hills’ four 1.25 megawatt (MW) Suzlon turbines to produce about 16 million kilowatt hours each year, three million more than Rockport uses each year, or 123 percent of the town’s needs. Rock Port’s electricity meter actually runs backwards.

Home on the Range Farms - Raw Milk Dairy [del.icio.us]

alpasternak — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:01:01 -0500

Landmark Niger slave ruling on Yahoo! Video [del.icio.us]

alpasternak — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:16:03 -0500

The government of Niger has been found guilty of failing to protect a woman who was sold into slavery.

Heed the advice of The Smartest Man - reportonbusiness.com [del.icio.us]

alpasternak — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 06:18:18 -0500

The Smartest Man, when delivering his prophesies, did not sugar-coat them. "This could potentially make Long-Term Capital [the financial crisis of 1998] look like some kind of walk in the park," he predicted. "The reckoning has started." No soft landing this time: It could even be "like the Great Depression of this century." He said these things not last week, not last month, but on July 26, 2007. That day, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 13,473.

Twittermania: 140+ More Twitter Tools! [del.icio.us]

alpasternak — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 05:16:39 -0500

Stop Child Executions In Iran [del.icio.us]

alpasternak — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 23:28:34 -0500

Iran "bastardizes" the law, she says, executing juvenile offenders after they've turned 18. Or, it justifies the executions saying that the penal code is based on Islamic or sharia law, which says a girl is an adult at age nine and a boy at age 15 and, therefore, they are criminally responsible.

Beauty and the barbarians [del.icio.us]

alpasternak — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 23:19:11 -0500

Nazanin Afshin-Jam has become the public face, defender and advocate for the 139 juvenile offenders scheduled for public execution in Iran, the country of her birth

The I Ching on the Net [del.icio.us]

alpasternak — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:30:02 -0500

The I Ching or "Book of Changes" is an ancient Chinese divination manual and book of wisdom. Especially since the 1960's, its poetic text and extraordinary symbolism — to say nothing of its strange effectiveness in divination — have gained it a following in the West.

Miriam Libiki and Colin Upton [Flickr]

urbanwild — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:52:08 -0500

urbanwild posted a photo:

www.alpasternak.com/2008/10/jobnik-book-launch/

Miriam Libiki and Mike Yoshioka [Flickr]

urbanwild — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:51:14 -0500

urbanwild posted a photo:

www.alpasternak.com/2008/10/jobnik-book-launch/

Dicksons/Kraft Coffee Plant [Flickr]

urbanwild — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:59:06 -0500

urbanwild posted a photo:

I could smell the coffee roasting from many blocks away. It was comforting as it always gave me an instant awareness of my location.

Carrots in Planter [Flickr]

urbanwild — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:58:02 -0500

urbanwild posted a photo:

Fried Fry

urbanwild — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:57:06 -0500

urbanwild posted a photo:

Someone put a match to this sign

Klippers' shoppers waiting for 10am

urbanwild — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:56:08 -0500

urbanwild posted a photo:

Vendors at the Farmers Market can't sell their products until 10am, but that doesn't stop people from shopping and waiting for the opening bell to ring

Honey Mustard [Flickr]

urbanwild — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:55:00 -0500

urbanwild posted a photo:

This was the best shot of a honeybee that I could get

Hello

Al — Fri, 30 May 2008 23:03:47 +0000

New content below this post.

Thanks for visiting. If this is your first time here, you can find information about bokashi in the top sections or on my website. If you have a question about bokashi or composting in general, send me an email and I’ll blog my response.

Feedback is always appreciated.

Thanks to Carol Browne for the photo[s].

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Probiotics and cold symptoms

Al — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:38:27 +0000

Although my focus is on composting, the microbial liquid I use to make bokashi is also a probiotic beverage imported into Canada as a food item. There are many good things to say about the use of probiotics and a member of my delicious network has over 87 links to scientific studies about their benefit to human health.

Earlier this week I felt a cold coming on. I was sneezing and achy and had this I-know-I’m-getting-cold feeling. And a cold was the last thing I needed. So, I drank ~~250ml~~ 125ml of Vita Biosa, bundled up and went to bed. In the morning, my symptoms had not worsened and I made it through the day feeling pretty good. That night, I drank another ~~250mls~~ 125mls of Vita Biosa and in the morning my cold symptoms were gone.

I know that anecdotal evidence can’t be relied on to prove effectiveness but then I found this:

A study by the Australian Institute of Sport found endurance runners given a probiotic supplement suffered less severe flu and cold symptoms than other athletes.

Their illness also generally lasted only half the time of those not taking the supplement, lead researcher Dr David Pyne said.

…

The volunteers were given the probiotic for four weeks and then later given a placebo capsule containing harmless starch for a further four weeks.

The supplement did not affect the athletes’ performance but it significantly shortened and softened the symptoms of the illness.

While taking placebo capsules, seven runners reported respiratory illness such as sore throat, coughs, runny nose, chest congestion and sneezing, lasting a total of 72 days.

But while on probiotics, only three runners reported illness lasting a total of 30 days. Source

I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing this. It looks like I came out ahead. I’ll start taking the liquid in smaller doses on a regular basis.

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Technorati Tags: probiotics,cold symptoms,human health,immune system,biosa

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Living Oceans Society 10th Anniversary

Al — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:28:02 +0000

I donated a bokashi bucket to the Living Oceans Society’s silent auction

Living Oceans Society is Canada’s largest organization focusing exclusively on marine conservation issues. We are based in Sointula, a small fishing village on the Central Coast of British Columbia.

Living in a coastal community, we are reminded each day that it’s not just about the fish—it’s about the fish and the people. Living Oceans Society believes that people are part of the environment and that by protecting the B.C. coastal ecosystem, we can build sustainable communities today and for our children.

Since Jennifer Lash started Living Oceans Society in 1998, we have advocated for oceans that are managed for the common good, according to science-based policies that consider entire ecosystems.

I’m in good company with many other businesses contributing to a great cause:

Living Oceans Society - Join us in Celebrating Our 10th Anniversary!

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Bokashi in Spain - YouTube

Al — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:48:46 +0000

I appreciate how the developers here have simplified the complexity and made it as easy as possible for many people to use bokashi. It is a great adaptation which I will see if I can implement.

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Technorati Tags: bokashi,composting,indoor composting,fermentation,spain,youtube

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Twitter for 2008-10-07

Al — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 06:59:59 +0000

@trishussey Take a look @ all the lip synching videos on YT for Avenue Q’s songs. Even funnier…. #
@RobCottingham A propector walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Sorry, no miners served.” #

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Twitter for 2008-10-06

Al — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:59:59 +0000

Tried to vote in adavnce poll at 10:30AM but no one was there….. #
Nature note: When you hear flocks of crows making much noise, look to find a raven or an eagle nearby. Crows harass them until they leave. #

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Twitter for 2008-10-05

Al — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:59:59 +0000

Weather notes: This is the storm that makes big puddles everywhere, usually at corners from the leaves that have fallen clogging the drains #
@moritherapy its not the web that is for under-30s, - anyone can learn to surf ; most ‘elders’ don’t get texting, IM, twtr & social networks #
Off to The Grind on Main St to meet acquaintence & BCIT marketing student for some brainstorming #

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Using bokashi to help control fruit flies

Al — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:36:28 +0000

Bruce from HT Naturals writes:

We started using bokashi to help control the fruit flies in our small compost collection in our office/warehouse. The bokashi has worked perfectly and exactly as we had hoped for that purpose. We definitely saw an immediate and significant reduction in the fruit flies due to the bokashi and they are virtually non existent now (when we stay on top of adding the bokashi). As an added bonus the compost is also way less smelly now. We will continue to use bokashi and strongly recommend it to anyone who is composting in a work and home situation.

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Technorati Tags: bokashi,composting,indoor composting,fruit flies,odour reduction,odor reduction,office,food waste,odors,odours,fermentation,pickling,compost

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Twitter for 2008-10-03

Al — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:59:59 +0000

Home from work an hour ago and have to be back there at 9am tomorrow.Not ideal for a good rest but I have been standing on one foot today #
Another economic shoe waiting to drop: http://tinyurl.com/2mwqg2 Freddie’s on the Oct6th, Lehman Bros 10th, WaMu 23rd #
Morning treat: $b mocha! #

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Twitter for 2008-10-02

Al — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:59:59 +0000

@moritherapy re bokashi - Thanks for the re-order. Check your email. #
Dark skies over Vancouver pregnant with rain about to break water any minute now. #
@moneycoach re: insomnia Want to sleep better at night? Try standing on one leg. http://tinyurl.com/4gzukh [Retweet] #

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