http://www.unwovenrainbow.net/blog Blog by Chris Armstrong Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:10:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A year ago to the day I first wrote about Peak Oil. Wow, what a year it has been! In that post I touched on the fact that we cannot count on alternative or renewable sources of energy to bail us out of this predicament: ... And while some renewable energy sources ... http://www.unwovenrainbow.net/blog/2009/01/07/the-rate-of-conversion-problem/ Here are pics of Matthew from the '08 season. He still loves playing! http://www.unwovenrainbow.net/blog/2008/11/27/matthews-soccer-08/ A long time ago (1995), Jared Diamond wrote a classic article that was published in Discover Magazine: Easter Island's End. I implore you to read this. Go do it, now. I don't mind you leaving, and will be waiting patiently for you to return. [And if you really cannot bring yourself to ... http://www.unwovenrainbow.net/blog/2008/10/28/the-easter-island-school-of-resource-management/ I added pics to the gardening album. Scroll down to those pics with September or later dates. http://www.unwovenrainbow.net/blog/2008/10/27/new-pics-2/ Oh, man... I just read something scary but very real, written by Alice Friedemann way back in 2006. I have been aware of peak oil for almost a year now, and modestly doing what I can to prepare for what is coming in the next several decades. But every once in ... http://www.unwovenrainbow.net/blog/2008/10/09/living-at-the-top-of-a-house-of-cards/ According to an energy audit I did last year, our hot water heater comes in (a distant) second in electricity consumption in our house, accounting for about 7% of our total use (our heat pump for central heating comes in first at ~40%, averaged over all seasons). Since a timer to ... http://www.unwovenrainbow.net/blog/2008/09/17/a-timer-for-our-hot-water-heater/ Tropical Storm Hanna dumped a ton of water on us here in northern Virginia today. Sugarland Creek runs through the woods behind our house. The creek overflowed its banks in a big way today, going higher than at any time since we moved here in 2000. Normally it is about 30 ... http://www.unwovenrainbow.net/blog/2008/09/06/hanna-flooding/ I've read several books this summer that deserve mention: Deep Economy, by Bill McKibben This book takes a long, hard look at the way that most of us in the developed countries of the world have been living in the last half century or so, why it isn't sustainable or healthy, and ... http://www.unwovenrainbow.net/blog/2008/08/30/summertime-reading/ I added picture albums from beach trips this year and last, and added some new gardening and wild plant pics to existing albums (hit the links and scroll down). Enjoy! http://www.unwovenrainbow.net/blog/2008/08/23/new-pics/ I was reading an article the other day about how energy-dense gasoline is, and the amount of human labor that equates to a gallon of the golden stuff. I don't remember the numbers, but my immediate reaction was "Nah, that can't be right." When I did the calculation myself, I was ... http://www.unwovenrainbow.net/blog/2008/08/21/the-end-of-an-orgy/