Back in August of 2009 I was visiting Santa Fe, New Mexico with a friend and we stopped by the new Farmer’s Market at the old Railyard. They have a special train that comes up from Albequerque every Saturday.
The Santa Fe farmer’s market is one of the top 10 farmer’s markets in the US. It was quite impressive to visit. Plenty of variety of foods, fruits, veggies, herbs, crafts, bakery goods.
There’s also an adjoining Artist’s Market next to the park – hey, this is Santa Fe – home of more artists per capita than any place I’ve been – and I should add, not just run of the mill art or south western art but stuff that comes from California to New York, Europe, Asia and beyond.
Inside one of the buildings I noticed these posters on the wall talking about this Slow Money concept. You can click on the gallery pictures to read the gist of it. I also wrote out the main parts below.
Santa Fe Farmers Market in the Railyard – sept 9-11, 2009
Since late 2008, thousands of Americans in dozens of cities and towns have participated in the launch of the slow money movement. Is it the beginning of the nurture capital industry? A new vision of seed capital?
Join thought leaders, entrepreneurs, investors,donors, farmers and activists for Slow Money’s inaugural national gathering, bringing together people from across the country, and also featuring a focus on New Mexico’s regional food system.
Let’s fix America’s economy ‘from the ground up’ . . . starting with local food.
LEARN MORE @ http://www.SlowMoneyAlliance.org
This is possibly not as crazy as it sounds. Granted, the notion of devoting valuable city land to agriculture would be unfathomable in New York, London, or Tokyo. But Detroit is a special case. The city that was once the fourth largest in the country and served as a symbol of America’s industrial might has lately assumed a new role: North American poster child for the global phenomenon of shrinking postindustrial cities.
Nearly 2 million people used to live in Detroit. Fewer than 900,000 remain. Even if, unlikely as it seems, the auto industry were to rebound dramatically and the U.S. economy were to come roaring back tomorrow, no one — not even the proudest civic boosters — imagines that the worst is over. “Detroit will probably be a city of 700,000 people when it’s all said and done,” says Doug Rothwell, CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan. “The big challenge is, What do you do with a population of 700,000 in a geography that can accommodate three times that much?”
Whatever the answer is, whenever it comes, it won’t be predicated on a return to past glory. “We have to be realistic,” says George Jackson, CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. (DEGC). “This is not about trying to re-create something. We’re not a world-class city.”
If not world class, then what? A regional financial center? That’s already Chicago, and to a lesser extent Minneapolis. A biotech hub? Boston and San Diego are way out in front. Some think Detroit has a future in TV and movies, but Hollywood is skeptical. (“Best incentives in the country,” one producer says. “Worst crew.”) How about high tech and green manufacturing? Possibly, given the engineering and manufacturing talent that remains.
But still there’s the problem of what to do with the city’s enormous amount of abandoned land, conservatively estimated at 40 square miles in a sprawling metropolis whose 139-square-mile footprint is easily bigger than San Francisco, Boston, and Manhattan combined. If you let it revert to nature, you abandon all hope of productive use. If you turn it over to parks and recreation, you add costs to an overburdened city government that can’t afford to teach its children, police its streets, or maintain the infrastructure it already has.
Faced with those facts, a growing number of policymakers and urban planners have begun to endorse farming as a solution. Former HUD secretary Henry Cisneros, now chairman of CityView, a private equity firm that invests in urban development, is familiar with Detroit’s land problem. He says he’s in favor of “other uses that engage human beings in their maintenance, such as urban agriculture.” After studying the city’s options at the request of civic leaders, the American Institute of Architects came to this conclusion in a recent report: “Detroit is particularly well suited to become a pioneer in urban agriculture at a commercial scale.”
And I would add, this is a great opportunity to explore the potential of vertical hydroponic farming models – even though they point out that there is plenty of land – horizontally speaking. But that shouldn’t be a reason to ignore future tech.
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
Today’s Pick: Shaklee’s Performance Sports Drink
My Favorite - The Big Can - 70+ servings
When it comes to staying hydrated and rehydrating, nothing else comes close. As a personal observation, an added benefit seems to be quick available energy that keeps you going long after you think you’d be spent.*
I like to buy it in the Performance Team Pack size to save a few bucks, plus it lasts for quite a while. Lately I’ve been sticking with the Lemon-Lime flavor, but I like to mix it up and switch to the Orange now and then. I tried mixing the two together half and half but found it didn’t really taste as good as each on their own.
A few years ago, I just bought a Trikke 8 and finally figured out how to make it go. So being the over achiever I am, I decided I would conquer the entire Pinellas Trail - 34+ miles from end to end running the length of Pinellas County with the addition of a few extensions which of course I had to do. [Note to self: share embarrassing story of Trikke 8 experiences]
I mixed up a double dose in a 20 oz water bottle, grabbed a few granola bars and set out on the Pinellas Trail for the first leg of what would be several different sessions to finish it.
Mind you, I had not been doing much cardio at all prior to taking this on. Sipping on the Performance, I managed to go almost 5 hours and wasn’t even tired or sore. Not even the next day. I couldn’t believe I went that long and far without paying for it later.
I really like the fact that Shaklee doesn’t put crap [chemicals, artificial colors/sweeteners/additives] in any of their products, so you know you are getting the best there is. Chalk up another glowing testimonial to the power of Shaklee, lol! I tell you, this stuff works!
The smaller can of Performance makes 19 servings @ 100 calories per.
*Independent peer reviewed and accepted published research has proves this to be true.
With the United States Congress pushing to pass questionable ‘health care’ bill thru the House and Senate, it is crystal clear that the government is clueless and unwilling to go after real POSITIVE CHANGE…
Sure, the president built his whole campaign on the concept of CHANGE… but I never heard it phrased as Change for the BETTER.
For far too long we have had a system of disease management. Waiting for people to get sick and THEN try to make them well again… Health Care as it is today is mislabeled… IT should be called, Disease Management. Most of the money spent on health care is spent AFTER people are sick.
What we need is to switch to PREVENTION and Proactive healthy lifestyle living. If we don’t, the aging Baby Boomer population will bankrupt our nation. We need to shift from “wait till you get sick and then try to make you healthy” to “keeping you healthy so you don’t get sick.” This is where Billions of new dollars are going to be spent.
Shaklee’s clinically proven, patented natural products are how you and I can live this new paradigm.
It’s also a phenomenal way to earn a great living and help the world be a better place at the same time.
YOU don’t have to feel excluded from the American Dream… watch this video from Shaklee’s CEO, Roger Barnett and then click on the link to see how You can Take part.
Roger Barnett Shaklee 2010 Highlight
Learn more about how you can be a part of the Shaklee Family.
F-N-F: Friday Night Film for October 30, 2009
If you are at all concerned (and I don’t know why you wouldn’t, other than ignorance of the fact) about what has been going on in the world’s food supply, this will be an uncomfortable eye-opener for you. Thank our Maple Loving friends to the north for this one.
After researching this on my own, I have come to the conclusion that the real culprit or cause behind this whole thing is an unconstitutional ruling by the US supreme court that allowed anyone the right to patent life : i.e., genes, modified seeds, and thus, the underlying natural product.
In other words, the entire food supply will be owned by a select few corporations owned by the elite ruling families of the world as part of their plan for total domination and control.
Yes, that’s pretty sick, but so long as people are aware of what’s going on and decide to DO SOMETHING about it, then their plans will fail.
UPDATE 2-12-2010 – youtube version has been removed due to copyright claim.
Here’s the video on Veoh – you might have to download a free media player to watch, not sure. Watch The World According to Monsanto in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
This is part one of 10. Parts 2 thru 10 are listed below as hyperlinks that will open in a new window.
World According To Monsanto Part 2
World According To Monsanto Part 3
World According To Monsanto Part 4
World According To Monsanto Part 5
World According To Monsanto Part 6
World According To Monsanto Part 7
World According To Monsanto Part 8
World According To Monsanto Part 9
World According To Monsanto Part 10
With the Winter season approaching and snow skiing vacations on many people’s list, this is a great time to tell everyone about a most wonderful discovery of a natural treatment for avoiding high altitude sickness. Heck, this is painless adjustment to high altitude in a bottle.
North view of Rio Grande outside Taos, NM
On a recent trip this summer out to Santa Fe and Taos, my friend and I experienced the effects of high altitude on our bodies as we were coming from sea level in Florida which we are accustomed to.
At 6000 to 7000 feet above sea level, I’m told the oxygen levels are about 20% less than at sea level. Doesn’t sound like much, but it can get to you in the form of shortness of breath, headaches and nausea and worse.
The change in altitude affects the pressure on the kidneys and fluid buildup in the lungs and brain. To make up for the decrease in oxygen, the body needs a few days to acclimate by increasing red blood cells which are your body’s oxygen transporters.
The first day we are hitting the ground running around Santa Fe feeling good. Gorgeous weather and tons of stuff to see are distracting us from thinking about the change in altitude. But later in the day I notice I feel a little winded and my friend is faring much worse. She feels weak and nauseous and has trouble catching a breath. Concerned, we call a pharmacy to find out we are suffering from altitude sickness and my friend probably needs diuretics. Not ones for popping pills, we search to see if there are any oxygen bars in town. We find one but it’s closed.
We consider homeopathic remedies and stop in a Whole Foods market. After explaining the situation, an employee leads my friend straight to a bottle of green stuff. I am a little skeptical of this being some sort of miracle elixir, but I figure it can’t hurt.
The product is ChlorOxygen – a chlorophyll concentrate made from stinging nettle put out by Herbs Etc, a local Santa Fe supplement company. On the packaging, it reads:
I doubt it’s a placebo effect, but my friend and I can both personally attest that everything the label says is true.
You use it by putting 18-36 drops in a bottle of water and have it once or twice a day. Being concentrated, it can stain easily and green teeth and tongues can be a bit disconcerting. ”Me HULK… Me Angry!”
My friend wastes no time and grabs a bottle of water in the store and mixes up the concoction right there and starts drinking it. It turns the water a dark green color. As for the taste, they say it has a mild grassy flavor. It also comes in a mint flavored version.
Personally, I like the taste and find it VERY mild… If you’ve ever had a shot of wheat grass, I can tell you this is NOTHING like that. I find wheat grass hard to drink as it’s soooo strong. This stuff isn’t.
I am amazed at how quickly it works. My friend starts feeling a bit better within minutes and before the day is through, she is good to go. We both end up drinking the stuff the rest of the time we are in New Mexico. I swear it gives us a nice energy boost too - and not a harsh ‘wired’ one like mass marketed energy drinks can do. Along with regular water, it makes it very easy to stay properly hydrated the whole time we are there.
We both like the benefits so much that we even use it daily back in Florida. We share the tip with everyone we meet too.
I have to warn you, we did experience one of the ‘side effects’ too – green poo which smelled like grass fed cow variety. This seems to go away after you’ve been taking it for a while and your body adjusts to it.
I really like that ChlorOxygen doesn’t require refrigeration and has no icky preservatives. At about $10 for a 1oz bottle [60 18 drop servings], it’s a very cheap solution to solving the problem of altitude sickness.
I like the Mint Flavored version myself – available here: Herbs Etc – ChlorOxygen Mint Flavored – 1 fl oz
ChlorOxygen, don’t leave for your mountain vacation without it!
After watching a video on YouTube about a 4 year old well preserved McDonald’s cheeseburger (plain) and fries that was stored in a lunch box, I am inspired to do my own pseudo-scientific experiment to see if I can duplicate the results.
I am adding a twist to my experiment andam putting the Big 3 burger joints to the challenge:
McDonald’s
Wendy’s
Burger King
To be fair, I order the same thing from each one: a plain cheeseburger – no special sauces or pickles, just the orange cheese-like substance – along with a small fry.
I then place each set in their own plastic container to avoid any possible cross contamination, just in case one of the three turns out to actually be food-like.
I would have liked to throw in an In & Out Burger and fries into the mix seeing as how their fries are made fresh each day from real potatoes. Not sure about the burgers. I would still consider eating one… maybe… Only problem is logistical. Nearest In & Out burger is over 2000 miles away in Arizona.
I’ll do brief updates down the line to see what happens.
1 week. 1 month. . . etc… until I get bored or if it starts smelling. Want to see the original video that inspired me to do this?
See it here : 4 year old McDonald’s cheeseburger video
If anyone has ideas on what to do about my video quality, I’d love to hear it. It doesn’t make sense to me.
I’m shooting with a Canon z930 miniDV and importing into iMovie HD 6.0.4 and then i even upload to YouTube as a CD rom quality instead of web, thinking it might help.
I won’t upload at full quality because it’s like 1.5 GB and it’d take forever, not to mention annoy the viewers.
10-12-09 UPDATE* My friend sent me this link that’s sort of related to this topic – Lot’s of good info:
Still Tasty? Eat It Or Toss It?
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