TV Set December 13 2008

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Aiding and abetting the progressive community since 1991.  

The Real Wealth of Portland: Supporting a More Caring Economy project is about making the invisible economy visible. It is about moving to an economy that fosters social justice, equity, and peace.

http://RealWealthPDX.org

Patty's got a whole new bag.

International Cartoons.

Hi Res TV Set

For those who don't know TV Set is a really good locally produced show that is informative, entertaining, & provocative. You can subscribe to the show on iTunes watch it posted in this blog or download the high resolution large screen format here: http://www.veoh.com/channels/TVset I'll be putting in a side bar on this blog later.

TV Set November 8 2008

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Aiding and abetting the progressive community since 1991.

TV Set November 22 2008

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Aiding and abetting the progressive community since 1991

Removed

TESTY

This is a test again, only a test, do not respond.

Test Film

Click to Play

This is a test this is only a test

New Online Store

We now have a store on Etsy.com the address is HELD.etsy.com and soon I will be making wallets and belts from discarded fabrics and bike inner tubes also.

The roof for the greenhouse is around $300.00 so I have to raise some money, lucky you its the holiday season (wink, wink).

The Sink

The old bathroom sink had been developing a crack and it was very ugly anyway so we went to the Rebuilding Center in North Portland to find a new one. The Rebuilding Center takes donations from building demolitions and then cleans them up andre-sells them for a huge discount. This sort of recycling has been going on here in Portland for a long time but the other stores sell stuff at much higher prices. The Rebuilding Center is a Non-Profit Org.

So we found the perfect sink nice and deep and wide and very MODERN which is an aesthetic and philosophy Melinda and I appreciate. It looks like a Devo hat upside down and white. Part of the MODERN aesthetic is the economy of space which fits nicely with the M3house vision, not to mention it is a discarded object bought locally and the funds will go back into helping the community.

The new lights are used also from the Rebuilding Center, and the new cabinet. I had to replace the hardware on the cabinet and could only find new replacements. Painted the walls and cabinet with a "green" paint. I'll write about paint later.

Drip Drip..

Last year we started the garden beds in the front yard and tomatoes in the back. We kept forgetting to water them and in turn did a crummy job. We installed a drip system this year which is WAY more efficient and runs on a timer.
(Volunteer Jeremy Kemp)
Back and front yards. It was quite simple, my goal is to have a battery of rain barrels on the south side before next summer.

What about the sun?

Hybrid, Bio-Fuel, Electric, Ride Share

Buying a new car requires its own college degree these days. We had to research for months, literally. Just when you think you've found the right thing you find out it isn't.

Because of our needs we arrived at the Ford Escape Hybrid.

The interior is made of recycled materials (no animal skins). Its made in the country we live in. It is pre-owned, pre-existing (2,000 miles- mint condition). By buying it we are supporting the move from petroleum and increased experimentation. In 2010 we can trade it in for a zero emission auto.

I wanted an all electric car since our source is wind and bio-mass but the auto industry quit making good electric cars a while back because of the hit petro took. In a more ideal world I wouldn't need a car at all and just ride my bike everywhere. In that same ideal world housing would be affordable near work and I could pedal in time for the 5am shift in the ICU.

I'm glad to know Bio-Fuels are still putting up a fight. The world food situation (which we all will experience) and the perception or close relationship to bio-fuel is just too hot for us. The industry is working hard to stay sustainable so go bio-fuel cause its still a great option. Bio-Fuel Sustainability info can be gleaned here.

I'm looking forward to being able to take our bikes with us out to the desert, now we can start looking for a sea kayak on craigslist too!

For The Record

Bush just gave a press conference on the economy. He blamed Congress for not allowing ANWR Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be drilled for oil.

What about the problems already caused by oil?

It is so obvious that he is an "Oil man" and since his arrival oil prices have skyrocketed. He should be arrested and jailed already, not only for killing American soldiers but the people in the mid-east too, and now starving people here and all over the planet.

(click image for more info)

Go to This Restaurant!

What: VEGETARIAN HOUSE
Where: 22 NW Fourth AVE PDX, OR
On 4th tween Burnside and Couch

According to Ping, one of the main characters in the Vegetarian House saga, only one item in the menu is not Vegan: a cheese thing. He said he has been having such a hard time finding an alternative. If you know of an alternative they can use please let them know.

This was meant to be a short post but.... Supreme Master Ching Hai.

She goes around the world saving animals and encouraging others to do the same. She is always telling people to try to be more compassionate and they should not be eating animals. This fits with the principles of sustainability too. Beside the idea that hurting animals and oppressing them is very rude and bully-ish the fact remains it takes immensely more resources to maintain a meat eater (standard american diet) then a vegetarian diet.

VegetarianHouse.com
I've had most of the dishes and they are super delicious. Melinda and I both love the Orange Chikn, you can't possibly go wrong with that. Click the link above and see the menu and then go eat.

The Shop

What a pain in the ass!

Roughly 70 percent of the materials that used to be the shop were non-usable. Bugs and rot had devoured most of the building. I had to fix it cause it was seriously not usable. Three inches of water would well up no matter if it was just sprinkling out.

(Bike leaning against it)


I've been able to recycle most of it but the roof had to go to the landfill. The new roof will last a minimum 50 years and is recyclable- steel. Its not the best one but it is produced locally so the embodied energy is less. When I was researching where to buy the new roof EVERYONE was like: "White?! are you sure you don't want a darker color?" Then I had to explain to every-freaking-one how darker values retain more radiation from the sun and that is a serious component to global warming.



All the streets and black roofs do nothing to help. White has been shown to be the best color (value) to use. A big problem with ice melt (glaciers) is that they are replaced with dark light/heat absorbing matter which then makes the melt even more rapid. Lovely huh?

What really chaps my hide is the lack of RIGHT materials available. I looked everywhere for Wheatboard or similar materials. Made from agricultural waste products wheatboard should be inexpensive and non-voc, water based binders. OSB is like plywood sheets but made from smaller pieces of waste wood chunks- they have damaging amounts of formaldehyde. I found two places that carry non-voc OSB (Oriented Strand Board) one supplier tried to convince me that they were all non-voc now... he did not know what the hell he was talking about.

Throw Away Clothes?

Last night my friend Jeremy
was asking about recycling old clothes. Not the ones you send to the
Salvation Army and not the ones you use as rags but the clothes that
just can't be used anymore.


Through our conversation we thought it would be a great idea to have a workshop presenting ideas to recycle old clothes in various ways including info on organizations that use the fabric.


Include a hands on sewing class to make blankets, bags, skirts, plushies, and other things.

Black Wall

We went for black this time and it turned out nicely. Good "green" paint, I'll edit in the details later.

The Sink: $30.00

The old bathroom sink had been developing a crack and it was very ugly anyway so we went to the Rebuilding Center in North Portland to find a new one. Bring gloves and a tape measure and plenty of time cause there is much for the looking. The Rebuilding Center takes donations from building demolitions and then cleans them up and re-sells them for a huge discount. This sort of recycling has been going on here in Portland for a long time but the other stores sell stuff at much higher prices. The Rebuilding Center is a Non-Profit Org.

So we found the perfect sink nice and deep and wide and very MODERN which is an aesthetic and philosophy Melinda and I appreciate. It looks like a Devo hat upside down and white. Part of the MODERN aesthetic is the economy of space which fits nicely with the M3house vision, not to mention it is a discarded object bought locally and the funds will go back into helping the community.

We opted for a new faucet because the quality of the faucet for all the use it gets has to be really high- we don't want to waste resources it has to last a very long time. Mid-range for a faucet is about 500 bucks and it was made locally and it is a very nice system with a long warranty. I think though for the kitchen I would like to take more time looking for something used, a new one is going to run about $1700 but its not the money. I think of the discarded faucet out there somewhere, lonely and sorrowful and I want to take it home. All the resources used to make and ship a new one--- the embodied energy, ugliness is what that is.

The cabinet was a total score. Found at a thrift-store in Sellwood after looking high and low for weeks. I looked online and at every possible place in Ptown, it amazed me that such an ideal element was so hard to find, I thought my legs would fall off. It is a Chinese antique that has been in Portland for at least 80 years. It was a bit pricey but something like this will only go up in value. For ergonomic sake the top of the basin had to be 34 inches from floor level and this cabinet was the perfect height, I was prepared to raise the basin with custom bamboo but this wasn't necessary.

In my haste I stopped off at Fred Meyer for plumbing parts-fuck I should have known not to buy from that junk joint. I've seen or heard some ad from them somewhere and they claim to give a hoot about what they sell; this is total bullshit. Everything- at least most of the crap they sell is just that, they do NOT source LOCAL, or SUSTAINABLE goods. They have a few items they highlight for suckers but most of it is not and that is not okay, that is lying outright. I will not support a dishonest business. I have heard of a locally owned store in Parkrose that has what we need.

EIN!

Yes that is number one in German but it also means Employer Identification Number, which is what we now have! Working on the Article of Incorporation next. The reason for all of this is to become a non-profit and gain tax-exempt status so M3house can have the time and resources to do more for the community.

We already are a non-profit but we need to legalize it so that means some footwork, fees, and paperwork. Whatever contributions or income that we make (trustees: Micah and Melinda) goes into making the project go forward. It would be very nice if one of those pixie-fairies would do this or help out.

All the paperwork involved is a full-time job by itself. Any volunteers would be very helpful. Or you could apply for a grant and include your salary. I'm sure we could have a paid Development Manager position. Word.

Washer and Dryer

Our second-hand dryer finally broke for real so we embarked on the path of enlightened laundering through many hours of research.

The first hurdle is the fact that here in Ptown no "Green Appliance Store" exists. So you have to engage the capitalist machine on its level, i.e. going into Sears or Home Depot. I dread these sort of places because they have no problem with slave-labor or unhealthy environmental practices, they are caught in the "Free Market" paradigm which says you must take from the community rather than give to it.

Before hitting the actual store we checked the Energy Star website which allows for easy comparison of prices, features, and more importantly you can see the "foot print" the appliance will leave on the planet.

An ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washer can save you $550 in operating costs over its lifetime compared to a regular clothes washer. ENERGY STAR qualified washers are also better for the environment because lowering energy and water use means less air pollution from power plants and less water going to waste.

My mother still insists that no one "needs" a dryer- clotheslines work just fine. I think she might be on to something there but the M3house has its job to do. I think everyone should go to the site and read what they have to say about why we should use these products- they pack a ton of info into short blurbs.

The dryer can't be listed but the washer can. After comparing dryers you can pretty much figure out which is best. You want a high volume but a low MEF, I think they have a key for the list. We went for the new LG, who also makes the greenest washer. Among other features it has a sensor which turns off the dryer when the clothes are as dry as you want- no more BAKED unitards! We liked the LG even more because they make claims to sustainable practice on the LG site.

We were hoping to get the washer and dryer but my credit rating only allowed for the dryer $800 or 900?. I applied for the Home Depot card and will have one year without interest, the budget as it is will have it paid before then.

Our electric energy is derived from local wind and Bio-mass, the water heater currently uses natural gas but soon we will install the Photo-Voltaic and Solar water panels. We have the water panels and are waiting for the PV people.

I am bummed that it has to come from far away though, if it were made here in Portland then it would truly be green.

Coming soon: bathroom redo...