Part of my new year resolution is to become more self sufficient and to create a more sustainable home and yard.  In the midst of doing some research I came across Window Farms.  I won’t go into details of how it works.  I’ll let the video above explain it.

As fresh foods become more expensive and harder to get we must start learning how to grow our own. We must become less dependent on others. The Window Farm system allows even people living deep in the city to grow their own vegetables and it’s only the beginning.  I look forward to more research being done on this concept and other indoor growing systems.  This would be a great option for people living in food deserts.  The community surrounding this project is amazing.  They have highly detailed step by step instructions on how to create your own system for around $35.  They also recently started selling a specially designed kit thanks to receiving more than enough funding from KickStarter ( you gotta love KickStater =) ).

So get started.  Watch the videos, read the community blog and get growing your own Window Farm.  It doesn’t take much to start becoming more self sufficient.

A couple nights ago I was listening to an old Deep Dish Essential Mix from back in ’98.  One of my favorite parts of the mix is when they break it down to nothing but Cevin Fisher talking about the better days.  I find the lyrics to be oh so bitter sweet. Here’s the original by Danny Tenaglia for your listening pleasure.

The Better Days

When I look back into the days,
the better days.
Things would be so smooth.

People were dancin’
People were smilin’
The music was pumpin’
There was a feeling.

Life was a party.
The party was life.
But somehow… things change.
It just don’t feel the same.

Have you ever thought about the days,
you know… the better days.
Do you ever try to come up with the ways,
you know… the better ways.
To make it feel like it did,
in the better days.

I think this will be the next addition to our home.  I mean how can you not love this thermostat.  It was created by the iPod Godfather Tony Fadell.  It’s connected through wifi which allows it to check the weather and adjust accordingly.  You can control it using your phone.  It saves you money when you aren’t home.  Love it!  The site is just as beautiful and goes into great detail. Will you be getting one for your home?

The video above gives you an in depth view of what goes on everyday at Zuccatti Park. It also helps that it’s well made. Now I know a lot of people have been asking, “What’s next?” or “Where Do We Go From Here?”. Well below is another video I found which hits that question right on the head.

I’ve been following the movement since it began about a month ago. I was lucky enough to visit the home grounds at Zuccatti Park in New York. It was amazing to be there in the middle of it all. I felt alive but clam. It felt right. Like this is what we should be doing. Democracy at its purest form… It was beautiful.

Here are some photos I took while I was there.

Apple’s AirPlay has been a nice addition to iTunes.  Over the last year or so I’ve used it often to stream music through out the house.  But AirPlay has it’s limitations.  That’s where  Rogue Amoeba decided to step in.  They knew we would want to stream more then just iTunes.  And so they built Airfoil.  Airfoil is everything AirPlay should be.  With Airfoil in charge of your streaming you can send audio from nearly any application to your AirPort Expresses, Apple TVs, Macs, PCs, and iOS devices.  It’s been so nice to be able to stream music from SoundCloud and Spotify.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

Last night as I was browsing through the main navigation of our Apple TV I remembered there was recently an update (August 1st, software update 4.3).  The update mentioned a couple things like vimeo support but left out (or I missed) one major addition… all TV networks are now available to stream including anything you’ve ever purchased through iTunes.  This was the whole reason we got Apple TV in the first place and chose not to have cable.  For almost a year we relied on whatever Netflix had to offer through their streaming service because Apple TV only had a handful of crappy networks.  With just about every TV network available there are now enough shows to keep most people happy. Even the ones with out cable.

Summertime – Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (JoshuaCarl mix) on Vimeo.

Yes it’s hot. But isn’t that what summer is? Make the most out of it. Dress light. Pull out those dusty sandals. Every chance you get jump into a pool, lake, river, or slip’n slide. Fire up the grill. Sip on a mojito. Lay back and enjoy it cause it’s summertime.

On May 22nd of 2011 Joplin Missouri was devastated by a EF5 multi vortex tornado.  This tornado is said to be the deadliest single twister since the weather service began keeping official records in 1950.  Today as storms hit again in Missouri I came across this photo.  I can only imagine what this must look like in person.

If you’re interested in helping please contact the Red Cross.

While browsing the web recently I stumbled across some photos of England’s other Underground, drains and sewers.  When I was a kid I remember exploring a few storm sewers myself.  These guys did the same when they were young but as adults they took it to a whole new level.  I found the photos to be mysterious and beautiful.  Their website sub-urban.com also has a few stories I found very interesting.  I bet we have some pretty interesting drains/sewers here in St. Louis.  Got a pair of rubber boots and a flashlight?

Jurassic Park Theme (1000% Slower) by birdfeeder

And I thought you might want to refresh your memory so here is the original full length Jurassic Park theme.

Now here’s a little something for the electronic music lovers. As I was listening to the time stretched Jurassic Park theme song I thought to myself, “is how The Orb makes a lot of their music?” Check out their Resident Advisor podcast from January of 2009. You can download it here. 7 mins in listen… 44 mins in listen. Sounds like a song time stretched 1000%. What do you think?

Cheers.