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Transcendental Meditation | Could TM Be Making a Comeback?
Aug 22nd, 2010 by Terry Carter

Everybody’s doing it… Beatles Paul and Ringo (George and John when they were alive), Russell Simmons, Howard Stern, Mike Love of beach boys, Donovan, David Lynch, Moby, Clint Eastwood, Mary Tyler Moore, (Merv Griffin was a HUGE proponent back in the 70s).

Some others that I was unable to verify for certainty include Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor, Oprah Winfrey, Bono, Sheryl Crow.

I doubt that TM will become ‘MAINSTREAM’ any time soon,  where a large majority of the population is doing it, but  the beauty is it doesn’t have to be practiced by everyone in order to have extremely positive effects on society and the planet.

Enormous amounts of scientific studies have shown again and again the proof of the effectiveness TM has in every aspect of life.  As Maharishi explained, the nature of life is to want more and more and greater and greater happiness.

David Lynch formed his foundation with the goal to teach TM in the schools.

They’ve already incorporated this in many inner city troubled schools with remarkable success in turning things around for the good.

http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org

Transcendental Meditation main site:

http://www.tm.org

Are Pests A Problem In Your Home?
Jul 3rd, 2010 by Terry Carter

Got Bugs?

You don’t want to poison your space with a can of Raid, so what DO you use?

There’s way too many toxins in our lives and the desire to be more and more natural and safe is growing in intensity.  I’m passing along some of this info I read in a magazine recently that offers some safe ways to get rid of some pesky bugs in our homes.

All-natural repellent, Repellex Bug-A-Tak, www.planetnatural.com contains mint, clove leaf and rosemary essential oils that deter and kill beetles, mites, whiteflies and others.

Instead of using moth balls – which can ruin the thing you are protecting for decades – just ask me about my briefcase full of my original music compositions that was stored near moth balls in the 90s.*  Sachets filled with lavender, cedar chips and citronella can keep moths from chewing up your prized wool sweater.

Keep food items in airtight containers once they’re opened.

Mice. They won’t come around much if they smell dog or cat. If you don’t have one, why not rescue and adopt one or two from your local shelter?

DIY Repellents:

Ants - hate citrus. Mix 1/4 cup citrus solvent like Citra Solv with 2 cups water, spray mixture in ant-traffic areas.

Fruit Flies – hate basil. Keep a basil plant in the kitchen near your fruit.

Roaches – tea tree oil, garlic, peppermint, bay leaves, and hot peppers are all on their shit list. Pick one of these oils or herbs and mix 2 tsp oil or fresh crushed herbs (2 Tbsp if dry ground herbs) into 2 cups water and spray around the infested areas.

Fleas – Limonene and linalool in citrus peel extract kil all stages of a flea’s life cycle. Cut 4 lemons and simmer for 1 hour in a quart of water, adding water as needed, cool, strain and massage mixture into your dog’s coat. Cats’ don’t much care for this treatment.

*I was told by a friend that vodka in a spray bottle is a good remedy for ridding moth ball smells from clothes – I’ll have to try it on my sheet music and see if it works on that too.  Since I’m on the subject of ridding things of smells, a musty basement can be fixed with 1/2 an onion on a plate left overnight.

I wonder if there could be  sound frequency vibrations that might offer another pest deterrent that wouldn’t be harmful to plants, pets and people…

Blog Pee | April 14th 2010
Apr 14th, 2010 by Terry Carter

BLOG PEE

April 14, 2010

Like a blonde who doesn’t get the punchline to a joke until two weeks later… APRIL FOOL’S

being a child of the 80s

i sometimes still get stuck in that mindset

forgetting the instant gratification of social media that allows you to let everyone

know what you are doing even as you are doing it

rather than waiting for the chance to get together with a friend days or weeks later

to show him or her the photos from your outing or vacation

that, and I remember rotary dial phones and pulse or tone option

Here’s what’s in store for TpC.com:

upcoming posts –  ”stay tooned”

MORE Emm-En-Emms and Eff-En-Effs:

monday night movies and friday night films . . . can you guess which days those will show up?

*INVESTIGATIVE REPORT*

Coinstar coin counting machines – do they skim off the top or are they on the up and up?

They take 9.8%  or about 10 cents on the dollar just to count your money,

but some machines are set up to trade your change for a gift card without a fee.  .  . or so you think.

FOLLOW UP or THROW UP?

My much anticipated follow up video to my McDonald’s 4 year old cheeseburger experiment was finally shot and is currently in post production.

I’m waiting on the results from the doctor to see if it was worth risking my health to do it.

2010 St Pete Festivals Of Speed

This year I got video AND photos of some nice rides including a BATMOBILE from the Michael Keaton Batman movies.

My take on Renaissance Festivals and those silly costumes and goofy way of talking.

More Terry’s Favorite Things to share:

Favorite blender, pocket knife – don’t leave home without it (unless of course you are flying commercial post 09/2001), gotta have water generator, cool gadgets, Shaklee favorites and more,

TAX DAY

What can I say other than barf. -Gotta pay uncle sam again this year.

Who is Uncle Sam anyway?  Some long dead old fictitious geezer that was on a poster telling you to die for some stupid manufactured conflict in a foreign land?  Oh wait, that’s not who I pay. I pay that private company that’ll strong arm you into submission if you stand up to it.  Yeah, apparently the IRS is not the government – not in the way you thought.

Limitations of the Physical Body.

I just learned my Great Uncle George died a week ago @ 94… Miss you – hope you’re playing your music where ever you are… He knew Les Paul  personally and helped me get my current guitar – a heritage 535.  I wish I remembered how to make those dollar bill bow ties.

My Final Blog Post – So Long and Thanks For All The Fish!
Apr 1st, 2010 by Terry Carter

People have been emailing me asking where I’ve been and why I haven’t posted hardly anything all of March. Not including the silly blog pee post for St Patrick’s Day, that is.

Well, truth be told, I decided to officially inform everyone that today will be my last blog post.  I had a bit of good fortune back in March that more or less completely changes the game.

I’m not going to spell it out as I’d like to maintain some of my privacy – at least for as long as possible.  These things have a way of getting out no matter what precautions you take.

I’ll just say that my choices and options have opened up considerably – and sooner than I anticipated.

Needless to say I’ve been very pre-occupied these last several weeks.

I’ve been spending the last few weeks planning and re-evaluating my goals and projects I wish to accomplish.

I have some extensive traveling lined up for starters.  I’m also delving into my art and music much more.

I am dedicating more time and energy into  my inventions, investigations and projects.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’ve spent a lot of time and money learning and teaching various internet skills – marketing and tech alike. I intend to utilize this knowledge as I move forward – it’s just no longer my main focus but rather a tool to get results.

“There’s that word again… Focus…. are things blurry in the future? Is there something wrong with people’s vision?”

Thank you all for your readership and check in / stay subscribed to my RSS – I’ll keep this blog going and post updates of really cool s***. It probably won’t be as consistent or as frequent as before…. before March that is.

Decluttering Defined
Feb 23rd, 2010 by Terry Carter

Here’s a nice little tidbit for all you Clutter Bugs out there who are feeling overwhelmed with all the piles of stuff everywhere.  I’m going to keep it short and simple as pac-rats tend to be anything but.

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Help! I’m buried under a plethora of paper!

The concept of Decluttering is based on the theory that clutter drains both physical and mental energy.

Decluttering involves two components:

  1. Releasing things (clothing, papers, furniture, objects and IDEAS) that no longer serve a good purpose in one’s life.
  2. Creating a simple system of personal organization that is esay to maintain and guards against accumulating things that are neither necessary or nourishing.

This can be accomplished by one, being present in the now and not daydreaming while surmising your environment, and two, by enlisting the help of a friend or family member in cleaning out.

For serious cases, there are even professionals who you can hire to get your space cleared out.  Your sanity will thank you and your productivity and creativity will expand.

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Tell Me Again Why I Have Health Insurance?
Feb 22nd, 2010 by Terry Carter

blue floridaThis is a good illustration of one reason why health insurance is so screwed up.

Ok, I don’t need a string of comments telling me the obvious, WHAT IF? CATASTROPHE Stuck and I had some serious medical  bills.

But this goes along with one reason why I went for some 15+ years without paying for health insurance.  Youth and health on my side coupled with healthy lifestyle choices kept me out of the doctors offices and hospitals for all those years.

Like I pointed out in a previous post, it should be called Disease Management and Potential Catastophe Insurance and not Health Insurance.  The lifestyle choices I make are more aptly named insurance than any silly policy I can pay for.

Now here’s my rant.

I received my year in review report from blue cross today and i had a total of $1700 in bills for health care for 2009

BCBS only paid $500 and I had to pay $250 out of pocket. This doesn’t include the $2600 I paid in premiums.

So, if I could convince the labs and doctors to let me pay the same negotiated amounts that they get if it went thru insurance then I would have only been out $750 dollars last year.

And even if I had to pay the full amount, I would’ve paid $1700

Instead, because I have health insurance, I had to pay out of pocket, $2850. . .

or about $1150 more than if I had none even possibly $2100 in savings if I could pay only what they get from insurance/co-pay.

Tell me again WHY I have health insurance????

I am going to look into catastrophic health insurance as an alternative and switch to that if it is cost effective.

Vertical Farming
Feb 14th, 2010 by Terry Carter

I’ve seen the Future and Vertical Farming is It

Vertical Farming, or more definitive, Vertical Hydroponic Organic Urban Farming is coming to a town near you.  Or it should be, in my opinion. Yes, I know I’ve been on a farming bender lately with my blog, but hey, after air and water, food is pretty important to staying alive.

Even though I currently reside in a condo and don’t currently fancy myself possessing a green thumb unless it’s from paint, thanks to my mother and grandfather  et al, I’ve got  farmer’s blood  in me. And it is true that I’ve always been into quality food, health and nutrition.

Before I get into the cool pics and advantages of Vertical Farming, I need to bring up something else about our relationship with . . .

FOOD

Now of course, this ties in directly to the elephant in the room many people try to avoid confronting.  And that is the horrendously unhealthy typical American diet and its catastrophic effect on the out-of-control health care in this country.  Wait, we’re still calling this Health Care? More like Disease Management.

It’s the quality of food we eat – mostly processed and devoid of enzymes and basic nutrients in adequate levels. It’s the quantity too – most of us eat way too much food, much of it garbage.

It’s also when we eat.  Too many people skip breakfast or think a cup of joe is a sufficient breakfast. This is followed by eating the biggest meal of the day at dinnertime – often much too late in the evening.

Finally, lack of quality fresh food, effective, bio-available nutritional supplements, and eating while under time stress  and other stresses creates the inability to absorb and digest what we DO end up shoving in our mouths.

Artists Conceptions Gallery

There are a myriad of ‘pie in the sky’ artist conceptions and designs.

Perhaps a smaller model would be more easily created in a shorter amount of time.

Here’s a few interesting ideas:

Advantages of Vertical Farming

Year-round crop production; 1 indoor acre is equivalent to 4-6 outdoor acres or more, depending upon the crop (e.g., strawberries: 1 indoor acre = 30 outdoor acres)
No weather-related crop failures due to droughts, floods, pests
All VF food is grown organically: no herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers
VF virtually eliminates agricultural runoff by recycling black water
VF returns farmland to nature, restoring ecosystem functions and services
VF greatly reduces the incidence of many infectious diseases that are acquired at the agricultural interface
VF converts black and gray water into potable water by collecting the water of
evapotranspiration
VF adds energy back to the grid via methane generation from composting non-edible
parts of plants and animals
VF dramatically reduces fossil fuel use (no tractors, plows, shipping.)
VF converts abandoned urban properties into food production centers
VF creates sustainable environments for urban centers
VF creates new employment opportunities
We cannot go to the moon, Mars, or beyond without first learning to farm indoors on
earth
VF may prove to be useful for integrating into refugee camps
VF offers the promise of measurable economic improvement for tropical and subtropical
LDCs. If this should prove to be the case, then VF may be a catalyst in helping to reduce or even reverse the population growth of LDCs as they adopt urban agriculture as a strategy for sustainable food production.
VF could reduce the incidence of armed conflict over natural resources, such as water
and land for agriculture

As the world’s population has already surpassed 6 billion and billions more on the way, before we know it the traditional soil-based farming model developed over the last 12,000 years will no longer be a sustainable option.

Irrigation of crops uses 70 percent of the fresh water that we use. The excess agricultural runoff, contaminated with silt, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, is unfit for reuse.

VF food production will take advantage of hydroponic and aeroponic technologies. Both methods are soil-free.  Hydroponics allows us to grow plants in a water-and-nutrient solution, while aeroponics grows them in a nutrient-laden mist. These methods use far less water than conventional cultivation techniques, in some cases as much as 90 percent less.

For every indoor acre farmed, some 10 to 20 outdoor acres of farmland can return to their original ecological state (mostly hardwood forest).

A vertical farm will behave like a functional ecosystem, in which waste is recycled and the water used in hydroponics and aeroponics is recaptured by dehumidification and used over and over again. The technologies needed to create a vertical farm are currently being used in controlled-environment agriculture facilities but have not been integrated into a seamless source of food production in urban high-rise buildings.

High rises aren’t the only structures that could house vertical farms. Farms of various sizes and crop yields could be built into a variety of urban settings — from schools, restaurants and hospitals to the upper floors of apartment complexes. By supplying a continuous quantity of fresh vegetables and fruits to city dwellers, these farms will help combat health problems, like Type II diabetes and obesity.

Vertical farming can finally put an end to agricultural runoff, a major source of water pollution.

City dwellers will also be able to breathe easier – literally. Vertical farms will bring a great concentration of plants into cities. These plants will absorb carbon dioxide produced by automobile emissions and give off oxygen in return

One estimate for proof of concept: constructing a five-story farm, taking up one-eighth of a square city block, will cost $20 million to $30 million.

An actual indoor farm developed at Cornell University growing hydroponic lettuce was able to produce as many as 68 heads per square foot per year. At a retail price in New York of up to $2.50 a head for hydroponic lettuce, you can see how profitable this and other similar crops can be.

Learn more about Vertical Farming @ http://www.verticalfarm.com/

Say Goodbye to Shampoo
Feb 11th, 2010 by Terry Carter

Say Goodbye to Shampoo

my friend’s mama always said, and I paraphrase,

Soap is cheap. No excuse for not being clean

But most soaps and traditional shampoos are actually quite harsh for the skin and hair.

That’s why I love to use Wen hair conditioner products. They are amazing.

A former girlfriend of mine introduced me to this fantastic product.

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Wen Fig 32oz

There are several types – not to be used based on your nose’s preference but rather the type of hair you have.

For fine and medium hair the proper choices are Lavender, Cucumber Aloe, or Sweet Almond Mint.

If you have medium coarse or ethnic hair then Fig, Lavender or Tea Tree are your best bets.

She gave me the Fig conditioner to try and I have to say, I didn’t think I’d like the scent, but after using it I find I do.  Plus it feels great working it into your scalp.  That’s the key to using hair products I found out.   To get rid of dirt and balance the scalp’s oils, you need to work your fingers down in there.  And when it comes to conditioning the hair, the ends need it the most.

I really like that Wen is a very natural product that has no sodium laurel sulfate which is pretty much in most all shampoos and body soaps on the market today.  Sure, they get you clean but they are WAY to harsh on the skin and hair.

What the company says:

WEN is designed to eliminate shampoo and its harsh and damaging effects, without sacrificing the integrity and beauty of your hair. WEN is the only cleanser/conditioner you will need to use in your daily routine, and can be used as often as necessary.

Fig Cleansing Conditioner is a universal cleanser which, due to its rich, dense consistency, works exceptionally well to moisturize, hydrate and replenish dry, heat-damaged, color-treated, or dehydrated hair. This cleansing conditioner is free of sodium laurel sulfates and detergents, and cleanses without lathering or stripping the scalp or hair of natural moisture.

Due to the harsh detergents and sodium laurel/laureth sulfates found in most all shampoos, they would experience color fading/stripping, dull, lifeless, frizzy, dry hair, dry scalps, oily scalps, scalp disorders, hair loss, etc., damaging their scalp, hair, health and environment. That was when I started to implement my new concept in cleansing, eliminating the detergents and harsh chemicals that lather and strip your scalp and hair, and introduced the WEN product line to the world.

WEN Cleanses with astringent and antibacterial properties without lathering; it adds sheen, luster, moisture, strength and manageability to the hair. Color lasts much longer and it stimulates the scalp promoting blood circulation, stopping hair loss and promoting healthy hair growth. WEN is formulated with the perfect balance for all hair types and performs amazingly well on ethnic hair, due to its moisture content.

Learn more about the specifics

http://www.chazdean.com/t-aboutwen.aspx

Santa Fe Farmers Market | Slow Money Movement
Feb 7th, 2010 by Terry Carter

Santa Fe Farmer’s Market

“SLOW MONEY” movement

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.

SFfarmerThere’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.

Slow Money . . . From the Ground Up

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.

Slow Money Principles

  1. We must bring money back down to earth.
  2. There is such a thing as money that is too fast, companies that are too big, finance that is too complex. Therefore, we must slow our money down – not all of it, of course, but enough to matter.
  3. The 20th Century economy was an economy of Buy Low / Sell High and Wealth Now / Philanthropy Later — what one venture capitalist called “the largest legal accumulation of wealth in history.”  The 21st Century economy will usher in the era of nurture capital, built around principles of carrying capacity, care of the commons, sense of place and non-violence.
  4. We must learn to invest as if food, farms, and fertility mattered. We must steer major new sources of capital to small food enterprises.
  5. Let us celebrate the new generation of entrepreneurs, consumers and investors who are showing the way from Making A Killing to Making a Living.
  6. Paul Newman said, “I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer who puts back into the soil what he takes out.” Recognizing the wisdom of these words, let us begin rebuilding our economy from the ground up, asking:
  • What would the world be like if we invested 50% of our assets within 50 miles of where we live?
  • What if there were a new generation of companies tha gave away 50% of their profits?
  • What if there were 50% more organic matter in our soil 50 years from now?

LEARN MORE @ http://www.SlowMoneyAlliance.org

A New Way Of Farming To Save Detroit?
Feb 2nd, 2010 by Terry Carter

urban_agricultureThis 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

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