Weekly Roundup - Living On Nothing Edition [Survival Today

Did you hear about the guy that lives on nothing? No seriously, he lives on zero dollars a day. Meet Daniel Suelo, who lives in a cave outside Moab, Utah. Suelo has no mortgage, no car payment, no debt of any kind. He also has no home, no car, no television, and absolutely no “creature comforts.” But he does have a lot of creatures, as in the mice and bugs that scurry about the cave floor he’s called home for the last three years.

To us, Suelo probably sounds a little extreme. Actually, he probably sounds very extreme. After all, I suspect most of you reading this are doing so under the protection of some sort of man-made shelter, and with some amount of money on your person, and probably a few needs for money, too. And who doesn’t need money unless they have completely unplugged from the grid? Still, it’s an amusing story about a guy who rejects all forms of consumerism as we know it.

How to Brew Your Own Beer and Maybe Save Some Money. A fantastic introduction to home brewing, something I’ve never done myself, but always been interested in trying. (@Generation X Finance)

Contentment: A Great Financial Principle. If I had to name one required emotion for living a frugal lifestyle it would be contentment. Once you are content with your belongings and your lot in life you can ignore forces attempting to separate you from your money. (@Personal Finance by the Book)

Use Energy Star Appliances to Save On Utility Costs. I enjoyed this post because it included actual numbers, and actual total savings, from someone who upgraded to new, energy star appliances. (@The Digerati Life)

Over-Saving for Retirement? Is it possible to “over-save” for retirement? Yes, I think so. At some point I like the idea of putting some money aside in taxable investments outside of retirement funds, to be accessed prior to traditional retirement age. (@The Simple Dollar)

40 Things to Teach My Kids Before They Leave Home. A great list of both practical and philosophical lessons to teach your kids before they reach the age where they know everything. I think that now happens around 13 years-old. (@My Supercharged Life)

Index Fund Investing Overview. If you are looking for a place to invest with high diversification and relatively low fees (for broader index funds with low turnover), index funds are a great place to start. (@Money Smart Life)

5 Reasons To Line Dry Your Laundry. My wife and I may soon be installing a clothesline in our backyard. In many neighborhoods they are frowned upon - one of the reasons I don’t like living in a neighborhood. I digress. One of our neighbors recently put up a clothesline, and we might just follow his lead. (@Simple Mom)

* 4 Quick Tips for Getting Out of a Rut * Young and Cash Rich * Embracing Simple Style * First Trading Experience With OptionsHouse * The Exponential Power of Delayed Consumption * How Much Emergency Fund is Enough? * 50 Questions that Will Free Your Mind * Save Money On Car Insurance

Once upon a life: Michael Morpurgo - Farms for City Children

Children’s writer Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare founded farms for city children
in 1976 at Nethercott, deep in Devon river country. They now operate three working
farms: Treginnis Isaf on the Pembrokeshire coast opened twenty years ago and Wick
Court in Gloucestershire opened in 1997. They aim to expand the horizons of children
from towns and cities all over the country by offering them a week in the countryside
living together on one of their farms. Illustration by Brian Gallagher.

Four papers about Agriculture on the Edge

Agriculture on the edge: strategies to abate urban encroachment onto agricultural
lands by promoting viablehuman-scale agriculture as an integral element of urbanization
By Patrick M. Condon, Kent Mullinix, Arthur Fallick and Mike Harcourt
International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 8 (1&2) 2010
Link here.

Agriculture on the Edge - The urgent need to abate urban encroachment on agricultural
lands by promoting viable agriculture as an integral element of urbanization.
By Patrick M. Condon and Kent Mullinix
Discussion Paper - Revised Feb 25, 2009

First school in the Boston area to grow food on its walls and fences

Cambridgeport School students show their dirtied hands from planting colorful chard,
peppers, cabbages and rosemary into a 7-foot growing frame for the school’s display
on living edible walls at the CitySprouts School Garden Celebration, to be held
Saturday at the Tobin School.

Agrarianism is newly popular among urbanites, and with good reason. The trend may
bear big benefits in small towns, too

The heart of Duany’s proposal is that a dependable local food supply, raised by
human hands with a minimum of fossil energy, is not only doable - it may be necessary:
Duany calls it, “circling the wagons” against ecological disasters brewing around
the globe.
As a rural observer who has seen far too many slums - both rural and urban - I don’t
want to pooh-pooh Duany’s idea. Putting aside for now its ironic, perhaps dismissive,
overtones for rural America, the idea has tremendous merit, whether we’re sliding
toward ecological perdition or not. In fact, many cities and towns have died, and
any idea that can help stem the waste resulting from those deaths deserves a hearing,
especially in smaller rural towns, the original walkable communities.

Historical Urban Agriculture: Food Production and Access to Land in Swedish Towns
before 1900 - PhD Thesis

This doctoral thesis analyses the role of historical urban agriculture in a long-time
perspective, through a combination of overarching surveys of Swedish towns and detailed
studies of one town - Uppsala in east-central Sweden. The study shows how agricultural
land - town land - of various sizes was donated to towns repeatedly during medieval
times and in the 16th and 17th centuries.
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All stories here.
City Farmer News [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=fclqmpbab&et=1103738111804&s=1304&e=001q5R22IEfMNUR9wYi-FI9Plaa_0bE4YKitLYRr8UpMmAWNSDUsNAsx1KWr37gRrGwQnZwsqFGHwnmAO3QbQqHI4RV6dsS-nAuZfI5NtfBW7YAGiFs2hEyuw==]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael Levenston
City Farmer - Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture

SALMONELLOSIS - USA: (IOWA, NEBRASKA, OKLAHOMA) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
***********************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

Date: Sat 2 Oct 2010
Source: NewsOK [edited]
http://newsok.com/salmonella-outbreak-spreads-in-oklahoma/article/3500754

The Oklahoma salmonellosis outbreak has risen to 15 identified cases
in 3 counties. The state Health Department’s investigation also
determined the outbreak may extend into 2 other states. The department
is monitoring the outbreak of a similar strain of _Salmonella_
identified in Iowa and Nebraska, said Laurence Burnsed, the Oklahoma
Health Department’s communicable disease division director. Those
states are reporting just a couple of cases, so far.

An additional 2 cases were identified Fri 1 Oct 2010, among
elementary-age children in the Mustang School District in Canadian
County, for a total of 12 cases there. Also previously confirmed were
2 adult cases in Oklahoma County, including one person hospitalized.
Carter County also has a young adult with a confirmed case of
salmonellosis. So far, they have not been able to identify sources or
possible sources of the bacterial disease.

snip, says it may not be school related......

[Note from Joya, learned of this today and wanted to share with all of you, so here is a blurb which I have copied and pasted from a website, link at end.]
= = =
Thieves Oil

Thieves Oil comes from research about four thieves during the 15th-century plague who used cloves, rosemary, and other aromatics to protect themselves while robbing plague victims.

How to use: Diffuse for short periods of time (1/2 hour or less) in the work or home environment. Apply to the bottom of the feet or dilute with a Massage Oil Base for a stimulating massage under the arms and on the chest at the base of the neck. Common Ingredients: Clove (Syzygium aromaticum), lemon (Citrus limon), cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), Eucalyptus radiata, and rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis).

Here are two recipes for Thieves Oil. One from Karen another from Debbie.

Thieves Oil recipes:

Equal amounts of eucalyptus, rosemary, cinnamon, clove and lemon. Mix with base of olive oil. I usually put a tablespoon of each in a 2 oz. bottle and then fill the rest with olive oil. you can make a larger batch in a quart jar following the same proportion method.

Same ingredients, but measured out in different strengths. Clove Bud Oil 200 drops, Lemon Oil 175 drops, Cinnamon Oil 100 drops, Eucalyptus Oil 75 drops, Rosemary 50 drops.

Thieves Oil Courtesy of Caroline Rogers founder of Nutrition Naturally and co-owner of The Tidewater Companion - A Holistic Health Directory and Resource Guide!

SUGGESTIONS FOR COLDS: According to the People’s Desk Reference For Essential Oils, (The PDR) the following single oils are suggested: lavender, lemon, marjoram, frankincense, eucalyptus, melaleuca and rosemary.

Young Living produces quality blends; recommended formulas include: Thieves, R.C., Di-Tone or Purification. Also suggested is a raindrop therapy treatment — see massage page for information.

THIEVES: Clove * Lemon * Cinnamon * Eucalyptus * Rosemary * An Essential Oil blend formulated by Gary Young, N.D.,owner of Young Living Essential Oils, Payson, Utah.

REMEMBER: The stimulating aroma of cinnamon or cloves, but if you touched your lips with it, it could cause irritation ... or the fresh aroma of lemon and sipping a hot fresh squeezed lemon drink with honey if you had a cold or sore throat ... and Vick’s Vapor Rub ... the menthol aroma ... your mom would rub it on your chest to help you breathe easier at night in times of congestion ... the pungent rosemary herb in cooking ....

Aromas evoke memories, and memories lead to family recipes in times of healing for use in colds, flu, congestion, headaches, body aches etc. The Thieves blend is such a recipe, historically recorded in the era during the plague.

History records that the perfumers seemed to have an immunity against the plague.

Here is one story:

The Four Thieves Vinegar. Perfumers by day, robbers by night. Four men made a concoction of herbs and essential oils in a base of vinegar and would douse their body with this before they went out plundering! They had a pretty good track record of stealing riches until the king found out and captured them, forcing them to give up their secret weapon against the plague.

The herbal ingredients were wormwood, meadowsweet, juniper berries, rosemary, camphor, sage, cinnamon, and cloves in a base of white wine vinegar.

PRESENT DAY THIEVES: The essential oils contained within this formula have been noted for anti-bacterial, anti-viral, antiseptic and anti-catarrhyal properties while stimulating the immune system, circulation and the respiratory system. According to research at Weber State University, Thieves was found to have a 99% kill rate against airborne bacteria when diffused.

Due to the cinnamon and clove contained, one must be cautious — it may cause irritation if improperly used. Fair skinned, blue-eyed individuals, redheads and those who tend to sunburn easily need to heed and dilute Thieves in a carrier oil (such as almond ) before applying to the skin.

Use 1-2 drops of Thieves on the bottom of feet and also at the nape of neck.

Other places could be under the arms, and on the chest.

They do not suggest using this in a bath or in a sauna!

Diffuse for only short periods of time — 20 minutes or less at work or at home.

Used Thieves during January and February; the results were positive.

Thieves Oil is not available in stores. To order, please
visit:

http://www.thieves-oil.com

= = =

http://www.quantumbalancing.com/news/thieves_oil.htm

Okay, y’all... there is another warning that you should know about.

There is a photo sharing site named Shtyle.fm and in order to sign in to see photos or to share photos, you are required to enter the password to your email account.

NO!!!! Do not EVER give anyone the password to your email account!!!! No legitimate company would ever ask you to do this. And this company is not acting in good faith. I have already received two emails from friends who signed up with Shtyle.fm, but neither of whom ever authorized the sending of invitations to their ENTIRE address book!

I did some checking and found out that there IS a website named Shtyle.fm and it is supposed to be a photo sharing site.

But I also found this article about the spamming aspect of Shtyle.fm:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100611035112AAd1ird

Here is a transcript of what you will find on the above link:

I too have received invitations from Shtyle.fm fortunately for me it came from an email address I did not know. I deleted it. Over the next few days I received several more. This made me suspicious and I did some checking.

From what I’ve found out, when someone signs up on Shtyle they have to give them the password to their email account. This should be a red flag warning that something isn’t right. One should NEVER give out passwords. Any place that demands it cannot be 100% legitimate and should not be trusted. I know that many people like it and see no problem with handing over their information, I suspect they will live to regret it.

As you surmised, they used your password to access your online email addresses and are sending out invites. At best this is plain rude, They will probably continue to do this for as long as they can.

First: change your email password so they can’t get anymore addresses. This may invalidate your account with them but I’d call that a small loss considering their behavior.

Second; if you really want to join places like that... Create an online email at “Live.com” or “Hotmail” but DO NOT create an online address file with it.

As for what has happened already, I’m afraid all your friends may have to change their email addresses to stop it completely. In the interim they can set up a rule in their email to send anything from Shtyle.fm directly to the deleted items file and make sure that it is set to empty it upon exiting. If they are work addresses then hopefully their company has a good IT person that can stop the spam in its tracks.

Third; get yourself the best anti-virus/anti-spam/anti-spyware software you can afford. If you are not sure, ask a professional tech. Someone like a Geek Squad person.

For the future, be suspicious. NEVER give out any passwords or personal information on a social network site. Treat your web browsing as a walk through a mine field. Or the same way you would a phone call asking for a credit card number. That may sound paranoid but sadly that is what the net has become. There is no way for you, the user, to know what is going on or who is on the other end.
* 3 months ago

If you have not signed up with Shtyle.fm, I would recommend that you do NOT do it! If you have, you MUST change your password immediately.

Please do think about what it means to let someone have access to your address book. Now that two of my friends have given access to their address books to Shtyle.fm, and my email address was found in BOTH of their address books, I am now considered a prime candidate for spam mail!

Those of you who have been members for years may recall that I lost my cyn(at)exhort[dot]com email and my cyn(at)fragrantjoys[dot]com email due to being spammed. And now my primary email address is in danger again.

Sure... I can create a rule to send all emails coming from Shtyle.fm to go directly to the trash. But what about those companies to whom Shtyle.fm sells my address? And do we REALLY believe that they will not sell all those addresses? sigh...

My friends feel horrid. I can imagine how I would feel. But their sorrow and regret will not pull my email address out of the worldwide network of spammers’ databases.

I “killed” my exhort email address 10 years ago. To this day, if I turn it back on, I will IMMEDIATELY get at least 20 new spam and porn emails in my inbox, that were sitting there, just waiting to be downloaded. Spammers never delete ANYTHING.

I hope that I have spared some of you this aggravation. If you DO get an invitation to join Shtyle, PLEASE do not sign up and give them your address book!

Hugs to all,
Cyn - ListMOM

To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CraftClass/

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/09/23/emergency-remove-bra/

In Case of Emergency, Please Remove Your Bra

Published September 23, 2010

The Emergency Bra is a protective garment that transforms into two
respiratory face masks in case of an emergency.

www.Ebbra.com

The Emergency Bra is a protective garment that transforms into two
respiratory face masks in case of an emergency.

Caught in a disaster? You’d better hope you’re wearing the Emergency
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/09/23/emergency-remove-bra/ Bra.
Simply unsnap the bright red bra, separate the cups, and slip it over your
head — one cup for you, and one for your friend.

Dr. Elena Bodnar won an Ignoble Award for the invention last year, an annual
tribute to scientific research that on the surface seems goofy but is often
surprisingly practical. And now Bodnar has brought the eBra to the public;
purchase one online http://ebbra.bigcartel.com/ for just $29.95.

“The goal of any emergency respiratory device is to achieve tight fixation
and full coverage. Luckily, the wonderful design of the bra is already in
the shape of a face mask and so with the addition of a few design features,
the Emergency Bra enhances the efficiency of minimizing contaminated bypass
air flow,” explains the eBra website.

It sounds silly, but Bodnar, a Ukraine native who now lives in Chicago,
started her medical career studying the effects of the 1986 Chernobyl
nuclear plant disaster. If people had had cheap, readily available gas masks
in the first hours after the disaster, she said, they may have avoided
breathing in Iodine-131, which causes radiation sickness.

snip

* U.S. Food and Drug Administration *
* Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition *

CONSTITUENT UPDATE

Constituent Updates are also available on the web at http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ConstituentUpdates/default.htm.

FDA Publishes New Draft Guidance on Acidified Foods

October 4, 2010
In September 2010 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published “Draft Guidance for Industry: Acidified Foods”, which provides recommendations on manufacturing, storage, packaging, distribution processes, and appropriate quality control procedures for acid foods, acidified foods, and fermented foods. This guidance complements the current good manufacturing practice requirements in 21 CFR part 114 and emergency permit control requirements for acidified foods (21 CFR 108.25) that require commercial processors of acidified foods to register and file with FDA certain information about their establishments.

FDA’s regulations regarding acidified foods are necessary to control the microorganism Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum), which can cause botulism, a rare but serious paralytic illness that can be fatal and is considered a medical emergency. C. botulinum will not germinate and grow when the pH of a food is 4.6 or below. An acidified food can pose a risk of botulism if pH and other critical factors are not carefully controlled during processing to prevent the germination and growth of viable spores of C. botulinum.

Acid foods are foods that have a natural pH of 4.6 or below. Examples of acid foods include most fruits. Fermented foods are low-acid foods subjected to the action of acid-producing microorganisms to reduce the pH of the food to 4.6 or below. Examples of fermented foods include some kinds of sauerkraut, pickles and green olives. Acidified foods are low-acid foods to which acid(s) or acid food(s) are added to reduce the pH of the food to 4.6 or below. Examples of acidified foods include many salsas, pickled beets, and cold-pack pickles.

The draft guidance, when finalized, will assist commercial food processors in determining whether their food products are subject to FDA’s regulations for acidified foods, and will provide recommendations on quality control procedures to ensure that finished foods do not present a health hazard. The draft guidance clarifies that a process used to produce an acidified food should be sufficient to destroy spores of those microorganisms of non health significance capable of reproducing and increasing the pH of acidified foods above 4.6 and to destroy or prevent the presence of vegetative cells of pathogenic microorganisms (such as E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella species) that are acid-tolerant but do not produce spores.

Many establishments that evaluate whether their products are subject to the acidified foods regulations have contacted FDA with information about products that are not subject to the acidified foods regulations. The draft guidance also describes a voluntary registration program for processors of foods that may not be subject to the regulations for acidified foods. Under the draft guidance, processors of non-acidified foods who are not subject to the acidified food regulations may choose to voluntarily register their establishments and file processing procedures with FDA. FDA will make the results of its evaluation of the information available to its investigators for use during inspections of food facilities and during evaluations of foods offered for import. From past experience, FDA believes that many processors of foods that are not subject to the regulations for acidified foods would choose to submit information to the agency, because doing so would facilitate decisions by FDA investigators about the regulatory status of specific food products.

For more information:

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/Acidified
andLow-AcidCannedFoods/ucm222618.htm

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1286211160622.shtm

DHS Launches “Stop. Think. Connect” National Cybersecurity Awareness
Campaign

Release Date: October 4, 2010

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

Seattle, Wash. - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today launched
the “Stop. Think. Connect.” public cybersecurity awareness campaign-a
national initiative that promotes simple steps the public can take to
increase their safety and security online.

“We all share a responsibility to prevent cyber attacks and increase our
nation’s resilience to cyber threats,” said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.
The “Stop. Think. Connect.” campaign will help equip the public with simple
information to keep themselves and their families safe and secure on the
Internet.”

“Stop. Think. Connect.” is a national public education campaign designed to
increase public understanding of cyber threats and how individual citizens
can develop safer cyber habits that will help make networks more secure. The
campaign fulfills a key element of President Obama’s 2009 Cyberspace Policy
Review, which tasked DHS with developing a public awareness campaign to
inform Americans about ways to use technology safely.

“Stop. Think. Connect.” includes cyber forums hosted in collaboration with
the National Centers of Academic Excellence to bring together diverse groups
of community, private and government participants for dialogues on
cybersecurity issues; opportunities for members of the public to get
involved and help spread the word by leading or hosting campaign activities;
and a coalition for public and private sector organizations.

As part of the campaign, the Department has also launched a new “Stop.
Think. Connect.” Website, www.dhs.gov/stopthinkconnect, which provides a
variety of free, downloadable resources and materials to help the public
increase their safety and security online.

The “Stop. Think. Connect.” campaign was announced today in Seattle by
Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Jane Holl Lute and White House
Cybersecurity Coordinator and Special Advisor to the President Howard
Schmidt during remarks highlighting the beginning of the 7th annual National
Cybersecurity Awareness Month and the Department’s continued commitment to
making cybersecurity a shared responsibility. They were joined by National
Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) Executive Director Michael Kaiser.

“During October, we all have a shared obligation to reaffirm our own
commitment to increasing cybersecurity whenever and wherever possible.
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month provides a platform for those of us
in government, at the federal, state, local, levels, as well as our partners
in the private sector, non-profit, academia, and internationally to help
further educate all Americans and the global internet community about the
importance of cybersecurity,” said Mr. Schmidt. “It is our shared
responsibility to create a safe, secure and resilient cyber environment.”

The creation of “Stop. Think. Connect.” was the result of an intensive
collaborative effort over the past year from the Online Consumer Security
and Safety Messaging Convention, an effort organized by the National Cyber
Security Alliance (NCSA), the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), key
industry leaders, government agencies, and nonprofits.

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a coordinated effort between DHS,
the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), and NCSA
to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and help Americans
establish smart cyber habits that will lead to increased protection online.

To learn more about the “Stop. Think. Connect.” campaign and download free
online safety tips and resources, visit www.dhs.gov/stopthinkconnect. For
information about DHS’s other efforts to protect and safeguard America’s
computer systems and networks from attacks, visit www.dhs.gov/cyber.

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