MSNBC and Garden Rant

So if you think you're crazy, you're probably not, right? Really crazy people think they are fine. I learned this bit of wisdom recently on some TV show or other. Last night I had a 500 channels and nothing on moment and ended up watching MSNBC while waiting for Angie Harmon to come on in Rizzoli and Isles on TNT. Fell asleep during the EDshow and woke up with Rachel Maddow. As long as I know the lefty MSNBC is no more "fair and balanced" than Fox News and the other right wing media, I'm still OK, right? Not that I didn't enjoy the bashing of Newt and Mitt, but I understood it as entertainment not news.  Rachel Maddow is no Angie Harmon, by the way, and her ripping Newt for his lobbying connections and greed would have been much more effective without the sarcasm. I think we need to watch out for the people who believe MSNBC or Fox are giving us the "truth."

What the heck is TED? It's a nonprofit started in 1984 to spread "ideas worth sharing." For example, Dr. Christian, the Big History guy who spoke at Stonehill recently did a lecture at a TED conference. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. I'd forgotten about TED until a couple of my students were talking about a TED lecture they had watched as research for Philosophy class. Tried it out last night and watched an interesting 15 minute presentation of algorithms (really!). Checking my sources this morning I came across a garden rant blog about a TED lecture on big agriculture. You can see a really good blog and the link to the TED lecture at this link if you scroll down a little. The manifesto of the four women who do the blog is a hoot. Here is there solution to the agricultural problems suggested in the TED lecture:

1. Change the scale at which agriculture takes place.  Small diverse gardens and farms can produce more food on less land than factory farms, and work in concert with nature, not against it.

2. Substitute human labor for planet-destroying artificial fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery.

3. Listen to the real thinkers, who believe agriculture can be transformed by mimicking natural ecosystems. 

4. Mulch.

  

These are all things we need to think about at Easton's new Agricultural Commission and reminds me that I promised a talk on permaculture awhile ago.

A Social Media Warning

Be warned once again I've started to dabble in the waters of social media. I tried Facebook a couple of years ago and was completely overwhelmed with the nonstop interaction. You have to understand that on most days I wouldn't want to "friend" myself so I was shocked by the number of people who wanted to do that and tell me about their every waking moment. Then my family started to send me cybergifts. I never quite understood if I had to pay to send them flowers (or send their flowers back). Too scary for me and then there was that whole thing about whether to friend or not friend someone. There are lots of former students who I'd like to catch up with, but would they think I'm cyberstalking them? Anyway it was way too much for me.

Enter Google+. This is Google's second attempt at creating a social media site, and it's been in beta testing for several months. As soon as I took the tour, I thought this might be a simple place to create  "circles" for different purposes like town business, NRT business, family, and friends. Of course, I wasn't cybercool enough to get an early invite to try the site even after I asked really nicely. So when I finally got the word that Google had decided I was about the 10 millionth most interesting person in the world and could finally join, I did what every celebrity would do-snubbed them for two weeks. I finally joined up last night. My students tell me that Facebook and Google+ are passé and I should really get on Twitter. This apparently requires more knowledge of my old style cell phone (it really won't cause brain tumors, right?) than I'm likely to possess. So it looks like Google+ is going to be the height of my socializing. This is just a warning to everyone I know that I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. You should be honored. I didn't warn the Dalai Lama, Maria Bartiromo, or Serge Brin all of whom I've added to one of my circles. Hope the Dalai Lama doesn't mind being invited to play Mafia Wars 2, the Pope doesn't appear to be on Google+.

Restarting the Economy

On CyberFriday I managed to make it to Coriander's for lunch. It was packed with folks who had apparently spent the morning shopping. I felt bad that I hadn't saved the American economy by shopping on Black Friday so I determined to spend money on Small Business Saturday. By the way, I remember the days when you saved the American economy by building a factory so I was thrilled to have an opportunity to help out in my price range.

I started my day at the Bass Pro Shop, certainly not a small business. I thought it was important to help them make rent so Bob Kraft could continue to spend money on the Patriots. Bass Pro also sells my favorite winter socks. Imagine a pair of thick comfy socks with a lifetime guarantee. They aren't guaranteed against the loss of one sock in the wash, but into their second year my first pair is still going strong. I bought three pairs. I don't think they're guaranteed for three consecutive lifetimes, but I'm going to put them in my will just in case.

I imagine in points south Bass Pro was mobbed with gun crazed hunters, but this is Massachusetts so most folks on the first floor were buying clothes. The gun crazed hunters all seemed to be concentrated on the stairs where the kids were playing shooting games. In the basement next to the giant fish tank, Cabot Cheese had set up a sampling station. I learned that while Cabot's great cheese is made in Vermont, milk is collected all over New England including West Bridgewater. Cabot, of course, is known for its great cheddar, but they are branching out into flavored cheeses. On display were the ubiquitous pepper jack, and in their second season both a Chipotle cheese and a Habanero  cheese. My favorite was a horseradish cheese.

Finally, after fighting my way through the crowds in the regular fishing department, I found myself as the only person in the fly fishing department. Why folks don't love fly fishing instead of just plunking a lure in the water, I'll never understand. Maybe it has something to do with actually catching big fish. Anyway after buying four expensive, nontraditional flies that should attract the giant bass I've heard about, but never caught. I headed for the checkout and only ended up with two impulse buys, a  DVD called Crappie Secrets Uncovered and a camoflauge throw blanket. The DVD was about the fish not about investigating fourth rate Egyptian tombs with Zahi Hawass.

Returning to the sacred ground of Easton, I had to decide between shopping at my two favorite small businesses, the Village Toy Store or Paperback Junction. Putting Christmas shopping off for another week, I headed for Paperback Junction. What I like about both these places is the person service. At the Village Toy Store, I update them on Bella and Lily, my youngest cousins and the helpful people point me in the right direction for great toys in my price range. I've been shopping at Paperback Junction for over twenty years, and despite the lure of Amazon.com and my Barnes and Noble Nook I still go in weekly because Tricia Peterson usually has something she'll know I'll like. Unfortunately, my buying exceeds my reading so right know I need three lifetime guarantees to catch up. Stop writing and read is probably the best thing for me. Buy local and keep two great businesses going is good advice for all of us.