Tag Archives: itunes

US beekeepers lost almost half their honeybees last year

by TrudyNorthern Posted on May 14, 2015

green4us

How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]

iTunes Store
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]

iTunes Store
White Dwarf Issue 67: 09th May 2015 – White Dwarf

Conqueror protocols, engaged! White Dwarf 67 strides forth like an automata of death – well, of weekly hobby goodness – but beside it the Kastelan battle robots, the real mindless machines of death and destruction. What are these relics of an age ancient even by the standards of the Imperium? We’ve got the knowledge you’re […]

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Cesar Millan’s Short Guide to a Happy Dog – Cesar Millan

After more than 9 seasons as TV’s Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan has a new mission: to use his unique insights about dog psychology to create stronger, happier relationships between humans and their canine companions. Now in paperback, this inspirational and practical guide draws on thousands of training encounters around the world to present 98 essential lessons. Taken together, they will […]

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Codex: Imperial Knights (Enhanced Edition) – Games Workshop

Thundering across the battlefield, the towering walkers known as Imperial Knights scatter the foes of the Imperium with booming battle cannon shots and roaring swings of their massive chainblades. The Knights are piloted by proud and deadly warriors of ancient cultures, each one part of a noble family whose lineage can stretch back to before […]

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Linking Our Lineage: 12 Techniques from 12 Master Smiths – Victoria Lansford

Linking Our Lineage is a book of jewelry and metalsmithing techniques with chapters by Nanz Aalund, Lessley Burke, Juan Carlos Caballero-Perez, Andy Cooperman, Ronda Coryell, Robin Gordon, Mary Lee Hu, Linda Kaye-Moses, Brian Meek, Dawn M. Miller, Chris Ploof, and Jayne Redman, and edited by Victoria Lansford. The processes illustrated range from beginning to advanced […]

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Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul – Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Marty Becker

For thousands of years, dogs have been cherished as devoted companions and exuberant playmates—their unconditional love, limitless affection, and unwavering loyalty never fail to melt our hearts. The stories in Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul truly capture the special joy these four-legged creatures bring to our lives and hearts.  The family that learns […]

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The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of […]

iTunes Store
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis – Instaread

PLEASE NOTE: This is a  summary and analysis  of the book and NOT the original book.  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis   Inside this Instaread: Summary of entire book, Introduction to the important people in the book, Key Takeaways and Analysis of the Key Takeaways. […]

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White Dwarf Issue 66: 02nd May 2015 – White Dwarf

Feel the earth tremble as White Dwarf 66 stamps down and with it the Imperial Knight Warden! Making not one, not two, but five classes of Imperial Knight – the Warden, Crusader and Gallant, plus the Paladin and Errant with a host of new options – you’re going to want to pick up White Dwarf […]

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From – 

US beekeepers lost almost half their honeybees last year

Posted in eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, Monterey, ONA, Smith's, solar, solar power, Thayer, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on US beekeepers lost almost half their honeybees last year

Why are mainstream farmers giving up the plough?

by LupeQ13qfqoqt Posted on April 29, 2015

green4us

Cesar Millan’s Short Guide to a Happy Dog – Cesar Millan

After more than 9 seasons as TV’s Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan has a new mission: to use his unique insights about dog psychology to create stronger, happier relationships between humans and their canine companions. Now in paperback, this inspirational and practical guide draws on thousands of training encounters around the world to present 98 essential lessons. Taken together, they will […]

iTunes Store
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]

iTunes Store
White Dwarf Issue 65: 25th April 2015 – White Dwarf

White Dwarf 65 is the biggest issue of weekly White Dwarf yet! But what could demand such lavish, extra special treatment? Why, the brand new Assassinorum Execution Force boxed game and the deadly Imperial Assassins it contains, of course! We’ve got full details of this great new game, a playthrough so you can see how […]

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Dataslate – Officio Assassinorum – Games Workshop

Assassins are the deadly agents of the High Lords of Terra and among the most feared of the Imperium’s weapons. Each one is created for a single purpose: to kill their target, no matter the odds or obstacles in their way. Utterly dedicated to their cause, an Assassin will not quit once they have been […]

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis – Instaread

PLEASE NOTE: This is a  summary and analysis  of the book and NOT the original book.  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis   Inside this Instaread: Summary of entire book, Introduction to the important people in the book, Key Takeaways and Analysis of the Key Takeaways. […]

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The Stolen Dog – Tricia O’Malley

When Briggs, a Boston terrier, is stolen from his family’s deck and shoved into a waiting car, a chain of events unfold that shakes the city. The Stolen Dog follows Tricia and Josh, Briggs’ owners, as they fight a force unknown, enduring death threats, psychic interventions, false leads, fake set-ups, and the threat of dog […]

iTunes Store
Codex: Craftworlds (Enhanced Edition) – Games Workshop

Inscrutable and deadly, the craftworld Eldar are the remnants of a once-great galactic empire who cross the stars on ships so vast they are able to house entire civilisations and the armies which defend them. When the craftworld Eldar go to war, lithe-limbed Aspect Warriors slay the foe with breathtaking speed and skill, while sleek-hulled […]

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Gardening Basics For Dummies, Mini Edition – Steven A. Frowine & National Gardening Association

Your green-thumb guide to planning, planting, and cultivating a garden With some basic knowledge, the right tools, and a little work, anyone can transform a boring old yard into a beautiful garden. This friendly guide tells you how. From improving your soil to selecting plants and caring for them, you get just the information you […]

iTunes Store
How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]

iTunes Store
Codex: Craftworlds (eBook Edition) – Games Workshop

Inscrutable and deadly, the craftworld Eldar are the remnants of a once-great galactic empire who cross the stars on ships so vast they are able to house entire civilisations and the armies which defend them. When the craftworld Eldar go to war, lithe-limbed Aspect Warriors slay the foe with breathtaking speed and skill, while sleek-hulled […]

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Why are mainstream farmers giving up the plough?

Posted in eco-friendly, Everyone, FF, For Dummies, G & F, GE, Monterey, Omega, ONA, PUR, solar, solar power, Uncategorized, wind energy | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Why are mainstream farmers giving up the plough?

How this seedbank saved its precious seeds from Syria’s civil war (Video)

by VictoriHulett Posted on April 22, 2015

green4us

How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]

iTunes Store
The Stolen Dog – Tricia O’Malley

When Briggs, a Boston terrier, is stolen from his family’s deck and shoved into a waiting car, a chain of events unfold that shakes the city. The Stolen Dog follows Tricia and Josh, Briggs’ owners, as they fight a force unknown, enduring death threats, psychic interventions, false leads, fake set-ups, and the threat of dog […]

iTunes Store
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]

iTunes Store
Getting Rid Of It – Betsy Talbot & Warren Talbot

You have too much stuff! Your closets are filled with clothes you never wear. You have not seen your kitchen counters in months. Your junk drawer has exploded into an entire room of things you don’t use. How can we say that when we don’t even know you? Well, because most people do and we […]

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The Home Organizing Workbook – Meryl Starr

Failing the Mary Poppins’ snap-the-fingers approach to cleaning, here’s the next best thing: an utterly practical handbook that offers lasting results for anyone looking to banish clutter from every room in the house. Home organizer par excellence Meryl Starr offers up her hardworking organizing solutions in The Home Organizing Workbook, a straightforward guide to getting […]

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White Dwarf Issue 64: 18th April 2015 – White Dwarf

On eldritch winds, the Eldar ride in! New Farseer Skyrunner, new Windrider Warlocks, new Windriders, new Codex, and we’ve got the lowdown on the lot of it, with a special feature on the Eldar Warhosts, Paint Splatter, and rules for the new Windriders. On top of all that, we’ve got an iconic – and draconic […]

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis – Instaread

PLEASE NOTE: This is a  summary and analysis  of the book and NOT the original book.  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis   Inside this Instaread: Summary of entire book, Introduction to the important people in the book, Key Takeaways and Analysis of the Key Takeaways. […]

iTunes Store
The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of […]

iTunes Store
Codex: Craftworlds (Enhanced Edition) – Games Workshop

Inscrutable and deadly, the craftworld Eldar are the remnants of a once-great galactic empire who cross the stars on ships so vast they are able to house entire civilisations and the armies which defend them. When the craftworld Eldar go to war, lithe-limbed Aspect Warriors slay the foe with breathtaking speed and skill, while sleek-hulled […]

iTunes Store
The Real Simple Guide to Real Life – Editors of Real Simple Magazine

Created for smart, aspiring young women, The REAL SIMPLE Guide to Real Life offers REAL SIMPLE’s clever solutions for navigating adulthood with ease, confidence, and style. This essential handbook helps to simplify (and demystify) landing a job, finding an apartment, decorating on the cheap, cooking for one, dressing for work, organizing a small space, picking […]

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How this seedbank saved its precious seeds from Syria’s civil war (Video)

Posted in eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, LG, Monterey, ONA, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How this seedbank saved its precious seeds from Syria’s civil war (Video)

How a Massive Environmental Crisis Led to the Invention of Cheese

by HassanNoriega Posted on April 16, 2015

Mother Jones

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A version of this article was originally published on Gastropod.

This is the story you’ll often hear about how humans discovered cheese: One hot day 9,000 years ago, a nomad was on his travels and brought along some milk in an animal stomach—a sort of proto-thermos—to have something to drink at the end of the day. But when he arrived, he discovered that the rennet in the stomach lining had curdled the milk, creating the first cheese.

But there’s a major problem with that story, as University of Vermont cheese scientist and historian Paul Kindstedt explained on the latest episode of Gastropod—a podcast that explores food through the lens of science and history. The nomads living in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East in 7000 B.C. would have been lactose-intolerant. A nomad on the road wouldn’t have wanted to drink milk; it would have left him in severe gastro-intestinal distress.

Kindstedt, author of the book Cheese and Culture, explained that about a thousand years before traces of cheese-making show up in the archaeological record, humans began growing crops. Those early fields of wheat and other grains attracted local wild sheep and goats, which provide milk for their young. Human babies are also perfectly adapted for milk. Early humans quickly made the connection and began dairying—but for the first thousand years, toddlers and babies were the only ones consuming the milk. Human adults were uniformly lactose-intolerant, says Kindstedt. What’s more, he told us that “we know from some exciting archaeo-genetic and genomic modeling that the capacity to tolerate lactose into adulthood didn’t develop until about 5500 B.C.”—which is at least a thousand years after the development of cheese.

It took another recent advance to figure out the origins of cheese: Kindstedt says that only recently have scientists been able to analyze the chemical traces on pottery from thousands of years ago in order to find milk fat in the higher concentrations that indicate it was used to hold cheese or butter, rather than plain milk.

Using this new research, Kinstead explains, we now know that the real dawn of cheese came about 8,500 years ago, with two simultaneous developments in human history. First, by then, over-intensive agricultural practices had depleted the soil, leading to the first human-created environmental disaster. As a result, Neolithic humans began herding goats and sheep more intensely, as those animals could survive on marginal lands unfit for crops. And secondly, humans invented pottery: the original practical milk-collection containers.

In the warm environment of the Fertile Crescent region, Kinstedt explained, any milk not used immediately and instead left to stand in those newly invented containers “would have very quickly, in a matter of hours, coagulated due to the heat and the natural lactic acid bacteria in the milk. And at some point, probably some adventurous adult tried some of the solid material and found that they could tolerate it a lot more of it than they could milk.” That’s because about 80 percent of the lactose drains off with the whey, leaving a digestible and, likely, rather delicious fresh cheese.

With the discovery of cheese, suddenly those early humans could add dairy to their diets. Cheese made an entirely new source of nutrients and calories available for adults, and, as a result, dairying took off in a major way. What this meant, says Kindstedt, is that “children and newborns would be exposed to milk frequently, which ultimately through random mutations selected for children who could tolerate lactose later into adulthood.”

In a very short time, at least in terms of human evolution—perhaps only a few thousand years—that mutation spread throughout the population of the Fertile Crescent. As those herders migrated to Europe and beyond, they carried this genetic mutation with them. According to Kindstedt, “It’s an absolutely stunning example of a genetic selection occurring in an unbelievably short period of time in human development. It’s really a wonder of the world, and it changed Western civilization forever.”

To learn more about what those first cheeses tasted like—and how we got from there to Velveeta—listen to Gastropod’s “Say Cheese!” episode:

Gastropod is a podcast about the science and history of food. Each episode looks at the hidden history and surprising science behind a different food and/or farming-related topic—from aquaculture to ancient feasts, from cutlery to chili peppers, and from microbes to Malbec. It’s hosted by Cynthia Graber, an award-winning science reporter, and Nicola Twilley, author of the popular blog Edible Geography. You can subscribe via iTunes, email, Stitcher, or RSS for a new episode every two weeks.

Originally posted here: 

How a Massive Environmental Crisis Led to the Invention of Cheese

Posted in alo, Anchor, aquaculture, ATTRA, FF, G & F, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, Radius, Thermos, Ultima, Uncategorized, Venta, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How a Massive Environmental Crisis Led to the Invention of Cheese

EPA approves herbicide ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’ in 9 more states

by CurtH47vgljcd Posted on April 3, 2015

green4us

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis – Instaread

PLEASE NOTE: This is a  summary and analysis  of the book and NOT the original book.  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis   Inside this Instaread: Summary of entire book, Introduction to the important people in the book, Key Takeaways and Analysis of the Key Takeaways. […]

iTunes Store
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]

iTunes Store
White Dwarf Issue 62: 4th April 2015 – White Dwarf

Stalking in through a squall of static and the red fog of Mars, it’s White Dwarf 62! With it come the Sicarian Infiltrators and Ruststalkers, deadly scouts and assassins of the Adeptus Mechanicus’s Skitarii Legions. We’ve got full rules and a Paint Splatter, plus a special feature looking at the arcane weaponry of the Adeptus […]

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Codex: Khorne Daemonkin (Enhanced Edition) – Games Workshop

Screaming praise to their dark and bloody master, the Khorne Daemonkin rampage across the stars claiming skulls and destroying worlds. They are the mortal servants of the Blood God who give their flesh to the inhabitants of the Warp – gore-crazed cultists and brutal Chaos Space Marines who covet daemonic possession so they might bring […]

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White Dwarf Issue 61: 28th March 2015 – White Dwarf

White Dwarf 61 is here (that’s White Dwarf 0011011000110001 in machine code!) and with it the Skitarii, the legions of the Adeptus Mechanicus, arrive to bring the Machine God’s fury to Warhammer 40,000 battlefields everywhere! Who are these much-heralded but little-known scions of Mars? We have the answers! We’ve also got a Paint Splatter to […]

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Good Dog – Editors of Garden and Gun & David Dibenedetto

Garden & Gun magazine’s aptly named Good Dog column is one of the publication’s most popular features. Now editor in chief David DiBenedetto and the editors of Garden & Gun have gathered their favorite essays as well as original pieces for this must-read collection of dog ownership, companionship, and kinship.  By turns humorous, inspirational, and […]

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Codex: Skittari (Enhanced Edition) – Games Workshop

In mechanical lockstep legions of Skitarii march across the galaxy at the behest of their calculating masters. Elite soldiers augmented with ancient technology and gifted with esoteric weaponry, the Legiones Skitarii are the relentless armies of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Driven by their masters’ ceaseless hunger for knowledge, the Skitarii bring order to worlds through determined […]

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How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]

iTunes Store
A Letter to My Dog – Lisa Erspamer

Dogs know how to talk to us they do it all the time. A pair of raised ears or a wagging tail can speak volumes to those in the know. In this heartfelt ode to the furriest of family members, dog lovers get the chance to say something back, sharing personal letters penned to their […]

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Surviving Henry – Erin Taylor Young

You don’t always know what you’re getting into when you bring home a puppy. Enter Henry, a boxer who suffers from Supreme Dictator of the Universe Syndrome. He vandalizes his obedience school, leaps through windows, cheats death at every turn, and generally causes his long-suffering owner Erin Taylor Young to wonder what on earth she […]

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View the original here – 

EPA approves herbicide ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’ in 9 more states

Posted in eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, LAI, Monterey, ONA, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on EPA approves herbicide ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’ in 9 more states

In U.S. Cleanup Efforts, Accident at Nuclear Site Points to Cost of Lapses

by Myrna Posted on October 29, 2014

As the United States aims to correct years of mishandling radioactive materials, the price of reopening a New Mexico waste repository could top $551 million. Jump to original:   In U.S. Cleanup Efforts, Accident at Nuclear Site Points to Cost of Lapses ; ; ;

See the original post:  

In U.S. Cleanup Efforts, Accident at Nuclear Site Points to Cost of Lapses

Posted in alo, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, horticulture, LAI, Monterey, ONA, solar, solar power, Ultima, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on In U.S. Cleanup Efforts, Accident at Nuclear Site Points to Cost of Lapses

Building Sustainable Energy Access, from the Outside In

by RufusZBXJlijbt Posted on October 29, 2014

green4us

Marley & Me – John Grogan

The heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life. Now with photos and new material

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes […]

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The Back to Basics Handbook – Abigail R. Gehring

Anyone who wants to learn basic living skills—the kind employed by our forefathers—and adapt them for a better life in the twenty-first century need look no further than this eminently useful, full-color guide. With hundreds of projects, step-by-step sequences, photographs, charts, and illustrations, The Back to Basics Handbook will help you dye your own wool […]

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Marijuana Horticulture – Jorge Cervantes

Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower’s Bible is the most complete, thorough, and comprehensive cultivation book available on the market today.  This book has been dubbed the “bible” by its readers because it explains every aspect of cultivating marijuana and yielding high quality and abundant crops.  It explains the science, the simple how-to, practical and […]

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Top Dog – Maria Goodavage

The New York Times bestselling author of Soldier Dogs returns with the incredible story of K-9 Marine hero Lucca, and the handlers who fought alongside her through two bloody wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Top Dog , Maria Goodavage takes readers into the life of Lucca K458, a decorated and highly skilled military working […]

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The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of […]

iTunes Store
Inside of a Dog – Alexandra Horowitz

The bestselling book that asks what dogs know and how they think, now in paperback. The answers will surprise and delight you as Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other, and that other quirky animal, the human. Horowitz introduces the reader to dogs’ perceptual and cognitive abilities and […]

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White Dwarf Issue 39: 25 October 2014 – White Dwarf

Gaze upon them and risk madness – the Glottkin have come. We introduce the favoured of Nurgle to the world. Can there be now any hope for the Empire? Read all about the Glottkin and see them in their incredible photographic glory. The End Times are begun, and we have it all: a stonking Battle […]

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How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]

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Warhammer: Glottkin – Games Workshop

From out of the northern wastes march the Brothers Glott, Champions of Chaos bloated with Nurgle’s foul favour. At their heels comes a festering tide of horror, a sickening horde of the diseased and the deranged fit to sweep away the civilised world forever. Before them lie the war-torn lands of the Empire, the greatest […]

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Building Sustainable Energy Access, from the Outside In

Posted in alo, alternative energy, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, horticulture, LAI, Monterey, ONA, solar, solar power, sustainable energy, Ultima, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Building Sustainable Energy Access, from the Outside In

Dot Earth Blog: Two Years After Sandy’s Surge, New York City Shifts Toward a Softer Relationship with the Sea

by Myrna Posted on October 26, 2014

Two years after Sandy swamped parts of New York City, a vision emerges for a mix of hard and soft landscape changes reflecting the reality of rising seas. Excerpt from: Dot Earth Blog: Two Years After Sandy’s Surge, New York City Shifts Toward a Softer Relationship with the Sea ; ; ;

Source – 

Dot Earth Blog: Two Years After Sandy’s Surge, New York City Shifts Toward a Softer Relationship with the Sea

Posted in alo, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, Monterey, ONA, solar, solar power, Ultima, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Dot Earth Blog: Two Years After Sandy’s Surge, New York City Shifts Toward a Softer Relationship with the Sea

Amazon Must Be Stopped – Sort Of

by NereidaFregoso Posted on October 25, 2014

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Enough of this cancer nonsense. Let’s agree and disagree with Matt Yglesias today (not that I’m comparing him with cancer, mind you).

First off, the disagreement. In the current issue of the New Republic, Franklin Foer pens a righteous rant against Amazon as an evil, marauding monopoly that needs to be crushed. It warmed the cockles of my heart, since Amazon’s almost Luthor-like predatory strategies against startup competitors leave me cold. That’s one reason I choose not to do much business with them. But legally? I may not like the way Amazon went after Diapers.com, but let’s face it: they’re nothing close to a monopolist in that space. Yglesias is right that in most of their business lines they should be left alone. Walmart and Target and Google and a tsunami of aggressive startups will keep them plenty busy.

However, there’s an exception: e-books. Yglesias has no sympathy for big book publishers, and he has a point. These are pretty gigantic companies in their own right, and although I suspect he gives their business practices short shrift in some important ways, there’s not much question they often seem pretty antediluvian. But this goes too far:

It is undeniably true that Amazon has a very large share of the market for e-books. What is not true is that Amazon faces a lack of competition in the digital book market. Barnes & Noble — a company that knows something about books — sells e-books, and does so in partnership with a small outfit called Microsoft. Apple sells e-books and so does Google.

Amazon has a huge share of the e-book market, and pretty much everyone—including Yglesias, I think—believes that Barnes & Noble is only a few steps from the grave. Unsurprisingly, Nook funding is in free fall. Sony has exited the e-book market and Kobo isn’t far behind. Even Apple, as mighty as it is, has only a tiny market share after several years of trying.

In theory, this is a great opportunity for an innovative startup. Startup costs are modest since there’s no physical inventory to worry about. Publishers are eager for new entrants. Maybe a smart startup could appeal to consumers with a great new e-reader concept. Or a better recommendation engine. Who knows? There are loads of possibilities. The problem is that no startup can possibly compete with a huge incumbent that’s willing to sell e-books at a loss. There’s no VC on the planet willing to fund a trench war like that.

So Amazon really does have a monopoly position in this market that it sustains via predatory pricing and heavy-handed business practices—against publishers both big and small—that might make John D. Rockefeller blush. Tim Lee pinpoints a big part of the problem:

I mostly agree with my colleague Matt Yglesias’s argument that Amazon is doing the world a favor by crushing book publishers. But there’s at least one way US law gives Amazon excessive power, to the detriment of publishers, authors, and the reading public: ill-conceived copyright regulations lock consumers into Kindle’s book platform, making it hard for new e-book platforms to gain traction.

….In 1998 music publishers got Congress to pass the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which made it a federal crime to unscramble encrypted content without the permission of copyright holders.

….While the law was passed at the behest of content creators, it also gave a lot of power to platform owners. If you buy a movie on iTunes, you’re effectively forced to continue buying Apple devices if you want to keep watching the movie. Tools to transfer copy-protected movies you’ve purchased from iTunes onto another platform exist, but they’re illegal and, accordingly, not very user-friendly.

Amazon has taken advantage of the DMCA too. Kindle books come copy-protected so that only Amazon-approved software can read it without breaking the law. Of course, software to convert it to other formats exists, but it’s illegal and accordingly isn’t very convenient or user-friendly.

And that creates a huge barrier to entry.

Aside from my general distaste for Amazon, I happen to think the Kindle app is kind of sucky. The Nook app is better, so I buy my e-books via Barnes & Noble. But the Nook app has its own problems, and you may prefer Kindle. That’s great! Competition! But I’m keenly aware that B&N is likely on its last legs, and then what? Amazon will have even less incentive to improve its reader, especially on less popular platforms.

I like competition. And it can’t be emphasized too much that the DRM issue is driven heavily by publishers, not just by Amazon. Nor is there a simple solution. Arguments of the techno-utopian “information wants to be free” crowd aside, there are pretty self-evident reasons why authors and publishers don’t want their books to be instantly available for free within a week of being published.

Nonetheless, this is a problem that begs for a solution. Partly it’s driven by DMCA restrictions. Partly it’s driven by those antediluvian publishers. And partly it’s driven by Amazon’s genuine monopoly position in the e-book market, which stifles innovation and promises to get even worse in the future.

So sure, leave Amazon alone in most of its business lines. But in e-books? Nope. They’re a monopoly in every sense of the word, and they use predatory practices to stay that way. They may offer cheap books, but in the long run it’s vibrant competition that truly benefits consumers. Regulating Amazon would hardly solve all our e-book problems—far from it—but it would be a start.

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Amazon Must Be Stopped – Sort Of

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Rick Piltz Dies at 71; Quit Bush White House Over Climate Policy

by Myrna Posted on October 23, 2014

Mr. Piltz, a climate policy analyst, resigned from the administration of George W. Bush in 2005, accusing it of distorting scientific findings for political reasons and then releasing internal White House documents to support his contention. Visit site:   Rick Piltz Dies at 71; Quit Bush White House Over Climate Policy ; ; ;

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Rick Piltz Dies at 71; Quit Bush White House Over Climate Policy

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