I just finished The Writer's Tale by Russell Davies (most excellent), and as a result I'm in Tennant Mourning. So, I went poking around youtube, and found this:

David Tennant on Graham Norton (2007). Full and uncut, so roughly an hour, and *SO* NSFW. Hilarious!

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5


"Derrick, it's the Doctor, you had your chance, you blew it!"

Clip from the Rachel Maddow show of Stephen Fry doing a nature show on the kakapo, a rare, flightless parrot. And its mating habits. Maybe watch when no one is around, I howled.

I do this to taunt applewoman. My sincere apologies:

http://www.specialtybottle.com/index.asp

Brilliant sleeping blog post on the NYT:



(click on image to go to post)
(via lincolnlite)

From Aquaponics

From Aquaponics

Rest are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/swanberg/Aquaponics# at the bottom.

I have so much to report, but I"ve been so busy doing stuff I haven't had time to post.

But I wanted to report that I just got back from a talk that Will Allen (Growing Power) gave here in town, at Little Earth here in South Minneapolis. The talk was put on by the Women's Environmental Institute, and Will gave an overview of GP and all the wonderful work they're doing.

There, I met the manager of the midtown Global Market, who wants to talk aquaponics, and WEI is also going to set up a system. Possibilities...

A few weeks ago, I also met another couple here in Minnesota doing aquaponics.

Don't have time to post more now, but things are moving on the greenhouse, and I've eaten some of my tilapia!

Oh, wow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P52TlgQ_g-Q&feature=related

An aquarium in Japan that has whale sharks!
10min long video...

Black soldier flies are flies that interact very rarely with humans, and so mostly go under the radar. However, in the aquaponics, reptile and chicken communities they're starting to get a really good name.

Their larvae, also sometimes known as phoenix worms, are great food for fish, reptiles and chickens. This chart gets tossed around a lot:


(from Mulberry Farms)

They're great nutrition, fish, chooks and reptiles love them, they're a great way to bio-remediate "putrescent" waste, and you can raise them for free. Well, for the cost of food scraps.

Problem is, most of the sources say something along the lines of "[they] can be found in many parts of the United States." or "Black soldier flies are common in tropical and subtropical regions, but their range extends to the most northern states of the continental U.S."

But does that include us here in the famously frigid Minnesota? No one seems to know. I've scoured the web, asked local entomologists, and bugged local gardening groups. No luck. The closest BSF setup I've found is at Growing Power in Milwaukee.

If you build it...
So, the best way to find out is to try it. I set up a bucket full of BSF food, and we'll see if they come. Click on the images to enbiggen.

Kitchen scraps mixed with some old, stale fishpellets (light brown).

From Aquaponics

Kitchen scraps (from my office).

From Aquaponics

Cardboard on top to give the females a place to lay eggs, and to let the larvae crawl up if they want (unlikely any will get old enough in this setup).

From Aquaponics

The setup is inside the compost bin on the right. Hopefully this will provide enough protection against the local raccoons etc.

From Aquaponics

If none come, I'll buy some "phoenix worms" on-line and add them to the bin. The larvae give off a pheromone that attracts mom. Phoenix worms is the fancy name they're sold under to hobbyests to justify the ridiculous price...

If I get them in the bin, next step will be to see if I can raise them in the greenhouse...

More BSF resources:
The black soldier fly blog
Bio-Conversion of Putrescent Waste
Black Soldier Fly project on Pondboss.com
The biopod, a commercially available gadget to raise BSF in. A bit pricey though.

My review:

Shit.
(it was very good. Just ... shit.)

I went to Martha and Sarah's this afternoon for a dog playdate. Duncan is on the left, Jones on the right.

From

A few weeks ago I pulled all of the fish out of my kitchen AP setup, because I had an infestation of slugs. I then poured boiling water over the growbed, which I think killed them all. Alas, it also killed the red worms I had put in the bed, and I'm sure it killed the bacteria, which of course are the engine of AP.

But I had left the fish tank and sump tank untouched, and covered in the usual biofilm, so the bacteria could recolonize quickly. After it had cycled a bit, I put back the pleco and the crayfish, who was having a tough time fighting off the tilapia in the front porch system.

On June 28th, I replanted the bed.

One of the most amazing things about AP (to me) is how dang quickly things sprout! It's 3 days later, and look!

Asian greens, From Aquaponics

These three pics aren't as good, but the same stuff going on:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zZfNB4jlB2YVtWFwTwpd3g?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rDw4y04iuT0mp5qvA2eejg?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MfeDliHQwBRESfaQii8TXg?feat=directlink

I have been enjoying my first harvests from my Backyard Harvest garden. Grayce has been doing a wonderful job ! Here are a few pics of how the garden looked a week ago:

( More pics and stuff )

Here:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/07/01/urban_farming/

Alas, the sound file is a .swf file. I'll see what I can do about getting it in a more compatible format from MPR.

The interivew with MPR on urban farming will be broadcast today, June 30th, during a regional segment of All Things Considered at either 4:50, 5:20 or 5:50 pm this afternoon and on the Web at minnesotapublicradio.org.

I'll put a direct link to the interview when I get it.

I just got back from being interviewed by Minnesota Public Radio (in the person of Dan Olson) about aquaponics and Backyard Harvest - Urban Farming is the topic. This will be a human interest story in their regional section of "Morning Edition," or possibly "All Things Considered."

It'll be a 4-5 minute piece, and Dan is interviewing 3-4 other people about various aspects of urban farming, so it's not like I'm soon to be a star or anything =) but I had a great time. I'm getting surprisingly good at the Aquaponics patter, especially after giving the presentation at at the Resource Fair awhile back. And I remembered to talk slowly and I even controlled my stutter a bit.

After, we went down to the corner pub and had a beer, and talked about all sorts of things. SInce I come from a Minnesota Olson line, we had a lot to talk about, and we covered everything from Peak Oil to "Angels and Demons" (which, oddly, he thinks I would like.)

The story will probably be broadcast next Wed or Thurs (July 1st or 2nd) and I'll link to the podcast when it goes online.

I had a really good time! I was kinda dreading this. Dan Olson is a true gentleman, and was very good at putting me at my ease.

I feel more than a tad guilty that I was the one being interviewed, when there are so many more worthy people who have been in this movement longer. But I pointed Dan to some of the other sources, and I think the aquaponics caught his ear (AFAIK, I'm the only active APer in Minnesota right now, although that won't be true for long).

He was careful to emphasise that I was only one voice in a multiple voice story, and that 4 minutes isn't that long, but as I told him, I listen to MPR all the dang time, I knew what I was getting in to!

And now I have the hiccups, Jones is passed out next to me, and it's time for sleep.

From Dirt Garden

From Aquaponics

They're back...



Also, brains!

This is awesome!


(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH0v8AJsM6Y)

About 6 minutes long. It's a fountain, kinda, but don't let that discourage you from clicking the link...

I do intend on posting my wiscon reports, although by the time I do, no one will still be interested. I've been having trouble, though, because I've been finding out what happened at Wiscon when I wasn't watching.

And I'm having a terrible time reconciling that an event that is so important in my life, and has done such good in my life, and has made me grown so much as a human, is actively damaging others.

The last few years something has happened at Wiscon. Some event. The first I knew about the was the cultural appropriation panel and subsequent blog-o-sphere blowup. Then there was the photo incident last year. This year, RaceFail09 predated Wiscon, but definitely tinged how people went into the con, and then more happened.

Two incidents that I've been reading about: shadesong has a write-up of what happened during the "Take Back the SciFi" program here. The moderator invalidated male rape survivors. I can't put it any better.

More at these sites:
hps_sterling's write-up: http://hps-sterling.livejournal.com/484384.html
(warning, potentially triggery)

asim's write-up here: http://asim.livejournal.com/395694.html
(also potentially triggery)

Then, the Fen of Color safespace was invaded, and the FOC made to feel like zoo animals. So not cool:
thewayoftheid's post here, and karnythia's post here are the two that I've found to be a good explaination, and then
badger2305 has a follow-up here.

There is no way to balance the good that has come from Wiscon against the damage done at Wiscon, but I do sincerely hope that we can learn from our mistakes, and continue to participate.

(ETA: The comments at the posts linked in above are very important, and worth reading.)

Just two icons:
( Read more... )

I've returned home, had a great time, and have not yet gotten any con crud of any sort, nor have I heard of con-crud. Anyone else?

Mind is still reeling, as always after Wiscon...
I have a few con reports to post, as soon as I clean them up.

If you want a LJ sticker at Wiscon, go post here.