Monday, July 26, 2010

A List of People Who Made A Difference (in random order)

A List of People Who Made A Difference (in random order) some I have already done pages of quotes by them and some I have not hade time do yet but will be doing soon and yes to all those that asked I will be doing part 4 of the solving America’s problems soon

Martin Luther King. Inspiring leader of the non-violent civil rights movement. Inspired millions of people black and white to aspire for a more equal society.

Benjamin Franklin. Great polymath and promoter of American ideals at home and in the US. A practical man of great dynamism and good character.

Mikhail Gorbachev. Had the courage, tenacity and strength of character to give up the absolute power of Soviet Communism. Moved the Soviet Union to democracy and respect for human rights. In doing so he enabled the Berlin Wall to come down and Eastern Europe gained freedom from Communist control.

William Wilberforce. Fought tirelessly for ending the slave trade, at a time when many accepted it as an 'economic necessity'. He awakened the conscience of many of his fellow countryman and made slavery appear unacceptable.

Nelson Mandela. Campaigned for justice and freedom in his South Africa. Spent 20 years in jail for his opposition to apartheid. On release he healed the wounds of apartheid by his magnanimous attitude to his former political enemies.

Albert Einstein. His theories of relativity was a very significant scientific breakthrough. As well as being a genius scientist, Einstein was also a champion of human rights and campaigned for a more peaceful world.

Marie Curie. Marie Curie is one of the few scientists to win a Nobel Prize for both Chemistry and Physics. Her discoveries with radiation helped advance medical science. Also, her achievements were even more remarkable at a time when few women gained education, let alone became respected scientist.

Charles Darwin. Darwin published his Origin of Species detailing a belief in evolution at a time when such a decision was very controversial .

Thomas Jefferson. One of America's founding fathers. Jefferson helped draft the Declaration of Independence and a belief in human rights. Jefferson passed one of the first bills on religious tolerance in his state of Virginia. Sought to improve education and was a noted polymath with a wide range of interests.

Mother Teresa - Lived a life of poverty to try an ameliorate the conditions of others. Her devotion and compassion inspired the lives of many thousands she came into contact with.

Abraham Lincoln - Abraham Lincoln overcame many setbacks to become the most influential
American President. In his famous Gettysburg speech, he inspired the nation with his noble words and helped to bring about the abolishment of slavery.

Leonardo da Vinci - One of the greatest minds in human history. There were few areas, Leonardo didn't delve into. In many areas he was a couple of centuries ahead of scientific discovery. He helped make great advances in antinomy, astronomy, physics, science and others. Amidst all this found time to paint the most iconic picture in history - The Mona Lisa.

Muhammed Ali - Champion boxer and great character. Refused to fight in Vietnam war and became a champion of civil rights and African interests.

Joan of Arc - As a young, illiterate peasant girl, Joan of Arc inspired the Dauphin of France to defeat the English. Although burned at the stake for 'heresy' her prophecy of French unity came true after her death.

Jane Goodall - Made groundbreaking study into the behavior of chimpanzee's. Became a noted campaigner and activist for environmental protection and kindness to animals.

Swami Vivekananda - Arriving in American as a peniless Hindu sannyasin, Vivekananda became the star of the 1893 World Parliament of Religions calling for religious tolerance and religious unity. Also encouraged the education of women and inspired fellow Indians to take greater pride and belief in the best of Hindu culture.

Mahatma Gandhi - Gandhi was the principle figurehead of the Indian independence movement. Taught a philosophy of non-violence and peaceful protest.

Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale helped to revolutionise the treatment of patients after her time treating wounded soldiers in the Crimean war.

Rosa Parks Rosa Parks became a well respected figurehead
of the American civil rights movement. Rosa showed what ordinary people can do when they stick fast to their beliefs in testing conditions.

Anne Frank. Anne Frank was nobody special, just an ordinary teenage girl. But, she became a symbol of how ordinary people can get caught up in man's humanity. But, despite the most testing of conditions Anne retained an optimistic spirit.

Socrates - Socrates showed the power and integrity of independent thought. Socrates taught by encouraging people to honestly question their pre-conceptions. His method of self-enquiry laid the foundations of Western Philosophic thought.

Raisa Gorbachev - Wife of Mikhail Gorbachev. Engaged in humanitarian works and supported her husband during great change of his Presidency.

Sri Chinmoy - An Indian spiritual teacher who combined the best of Eastern and Western cultures. Founded the World Harmony Run, a world wide run to promote greater friendship and understanding. Also

Tom Paine - Free thinking radical who passionately argued for greater democracy and representation for ordinary people. Influential in American and French revolutions, though narrowly escaped with his life after falling foul of Robbespierre.

George Orwell - George Orwell was a democratic socialist who fought in the Spanish civil war on the side of the republicans. He gave up his privileged education to spend time with the unemployed of the Great Depression. His greatest contribution was warning of the dangers of totalitarian regimes - whatever the ideology may be behind them.

Buddha - The Buddha was a young prince who gave up the comforts of palace life to seek the meaning of life meditating in the forests. After gaining realisation, the Buddha spent the remainder of his life travelling around India teaching a middle path of meditation and inner peace.

Martin Luther - Martin Luther was the most influential figure in the reformation of the sixteenth century. It was Luther who challenged the excesses of the Catholic church leading to the protestant movement - and forcing the Catholic Church to reinvigorate itself.

Akbar - The Great Moghul Emperor who went a long way to uniting India under his rule. Though a great warrior Akbar was also known for his love of culture, music and philosophy. He introduced enlightened laws on religious tolerance in his kingdom and encouraged representatives of different religions to come to his court.

Michelangelo - Never suffering from false modesty, Michelangelo referred to himself as 'God's own artist'. But, in the case of Michelangelo his self-belief was well justified. During his lifetime, he produced some of the greatest works of art everproduced - The Pieta, The Sistine Chapel, the Statue of David.

William Shakespeare. Shakespeare remains the King of English literature. His plays and poetry captured the richness and diversity of human existence in the most powerful and poetic way.

St Therese Lisieux - A Carmelite nun, died aged 24, unknown to the world. Yet, after her death her simple writings had a profound effect becoming one of the best selling spiritual writings. Her approach was a deceptively simple approach of doing the smallest acts with love.

Woodrow Wilson. Woodrow Wilson had a vision for a League of Nations - a forum where nations could come together to solve disputes. The League of Nations struggled to make an impact before the Second World War, but, became more effective.
Oprah Winfrey - US talk show host who became an important figurehead for women in America. Encouraged belief in self-improvement.

Edward Jenner - led pioneering work on the development of an inoculation against the deadly smallpox. Opened up the way to more immunizations, arguably save the lives of millions of people around the world.

Sir Isaac Newton - One of the greatest scientists of all time. Isaac Newton led the foundation of modern physics with his development of theories on gravity and mechanics

John M Keynes. The greatest economist of the twentieth century. Keynes laid the framework for modern macroeconomics offering solutions to the dreadful calamity of the Great Depression

Leo Tolstoy - Influential Russian author, whose great epics include War and Peace. His philosophy of non-violence and a return to rural simplicity inspired other politicians such as Gandhi.

Emile Zatopek - Greatest long distance runner. Winning three gold medals at the 1954 Olympics. Principled supporter of Czech democracy, being sent to work in mines for his opposition to the Communist government.

Will Allen - son of a sharecropper, former professional basketball player, ex-corporate sales leader and now farmer, has become recognized as among the preeminent thinkers of our time on agriculture and food policy. The founder and CEO of Growing Power Inc., a farm and community food center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Will is widely considered the leading authority in the expanding field of urban agriculture. At Growing Power and in community food projects across the nation and around the world, Will promotes the belief that all people, regardless of their economic circumstances, should have access to fresh, safe, affordable and nutritious foods at all times. Using methods he has developed over a lifetime, Will trains community members to become community farmers, assuring them a secure source of good food without regard to political or economic forces. In 2008, Will was named a John D. and Katherine T. McArthur Foundation Fellow and was awarded a prestigious foundation “genius grant” for his work – only the second farmer ever to be so honored. He is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, and in February 2010, he was invited to the White House to join First Lady Michelle Obama in launching “Let’s Move!” her signature leadership program to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity in America. In May 2010, Time magazine named Will to the Time 100 World’s Most Influential People.
 

Thursday, July 22, 2010

How to Solve Four of America’s Big Problems part 3 Unemployment

How to Solve Four of America’s Big Problems

3) Unemployment
To start with, we have already potentially created tens of thousands of new jobs, as described in “How to Solve Four of America’s Big Problems, Part 1: Hunger”. The only way all of the businesses and homes in all of the towns across America are going to switch from lawns and bushes to gardens and fruits is for the government to offer a tax break to anyone switching. Bam: Thousands of jobs are then created. Each town will need a small team to investigate those trying to collect the tax credit to make sure they did switch. Each county will need a team checking to make sure that the town’s teams are doing their job the right way. Each state will need teams checking each county’s claim and so forth, up to the guy talking to the President about each state.

Also, let us not forget the government jobs we described in “How to Solve Four of America’s Big Problems, Part 2: Homelessness”. Workers would be needed to plant all of those food crops along the highway in the first place. They would be needed to build the homes along the highways. After that, the formerly homeless people living there would be able to tend the nearby crops. Also included are the farmers that are now working, selling foods in stands along the road. Imagine a fruit and veggie stand every half-mile or so. Thousands of jobs across America would be created in these ways.

Now to add a few more jobs to this list. Consider the homestead contract the government would make with the homesteaders along the highway. Suppose it contained a clause that provided that each farm donate between 1-5% of its crop to the nearest school system. That would create a lot of new jobs while feeding our kids healthier food. Each town would need at least one person whose job it was to check the farms on a regular basis for health code violations, such as the use of pesticides and other stuff you would not want your kids eating. Also there would need to be a team of people to take the food from the farms and divide it between the schools.

As most of what I have said so far only works if all of America works together, I will give some real world advice on how to start your own business.

1. If no one wants to do it, it is a job you can potentially do.
2. If it is trash to someone, it could be money to you.
3. Start it yourself.
4. Do not wait. If you do, someone else will do it. If you do it and fail, do something new. One day you will not fail.
5. This all sounds so easy you might say it is too easy to be true, but I say truth is easy, so this must be true.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

words from my hero,s part 6 "Mother Teresa"

It is taking me a bit of time to right part three of How to solve four of Americas big problems so while you wait here is some more quotes


“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” - Mother Teresa

“Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.” - Mother Teresa

“Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.” - Mother Teresa

“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” - Mother Teresa

“Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.” - Mother Teresa

“Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own. “-Mother Teresa
 
“Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. “-Mother Teresa
 
“God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.”-Mother Teresa
 
“Good works are links that form a chain of love. “-Mother Teresa
 

“I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.”-Mother Teresa
 

“I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.”-Mother Teresa
 

“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”-Mother Teresa
 

“I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.”- Mother Teresa
 

“I try to give to the poor people for love what the rich could get for money. No, I wouldn't touch a leper for a thousand pounds; yet I willingly cure him for the love of God.”-Mother Teresa
 

“I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?”-Mother Teresa

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”-Mother Teresa

“If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.”-Mother Teresa

“If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”-Mother Teresa

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”-Mother Teresa

“In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”-Mother Teresa

“Intense love does not measure, it just gives.”-Mother Teresa

“It is a kingly act to assist the fallen.”-Mother Teresa

“It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.”-Mother Teresa

“It is impossible to walk rapidly and be unhappy.”-Mother Teresa

“It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters.”-Mother Teresa

“Jesus said love one another. He didn't say love the whole world.”-Mother Teresa

“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.”-Mother Teresa

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”-Mother Teresa

“Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.”-Mother Teresa

“Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God - the rest will be given.”-Mother Teresa

“Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.”-Mother Teresa

“Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.”-Mother Teresa

“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.”-Mother Teresa

“Loneliness is the most terrible poverty.”-Mother Teresa

“Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action.”-Mother Teresa

“Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home.”-Mother Teresa

“Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.”-Mother Teresa

“Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus.”-Mother Teresa

“One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.” - Mother Teresa

“Our life of poverty is as necessary as the work itself. Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them.” - Mother Teresa

“Peace begins with a smile.” Mother Teresa

“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” - Mother Teresa

“Sweetest Lord, make me appreciative of the dignity of my high vocation, and its many responsibilities. Never permit me to disgrace it by giving way to coldness, unkindness, or impatience.” - Mother Teresa

“The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.”-Mother Teresa

“The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between.”-Mother Teresa

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”-Mother Teresa

“The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.”-Mother Teresa

“The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved.”-Mother Teresa

“The success of love is in the loving - it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done.”-Mother Teresa

“There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy are those.”-Mother Teresa

“There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in - that we do it to God, to Christ, and that's why we try to do it as beautifully as possible.”-Mother Teresa

“There is more hunger in the world for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.”-Mother Teresa

“There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things that we could use.”-Mother Teresa

“We are all pencils in the hand of God.”-Mother Teresa

“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”-Mother Teresa

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.”-Mother Teresa

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”-Mother Teresa

“We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.”-Mother Teresa
 
 
 

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Part 5 of words from my heros "Jimi Hendrix "

“All I'm gonna do is just go on and do what I feel. - Jimi Hendrix

“All I'm writing is just what I feel, that's all. I just keep it almost naked. And probably the words are so bland. - Jimi Hendrix

“Blues is easy to play, but hard to feel. - Jimi Hendrix

“Even Castles made of sand, fall into the sea, eventually. - Jimi Hendrix

“Every city in the world always has a gang, a street gang, or the so-called outcasts. - Jimi Hendrix

“Excuse me while I kiss the sky. - Jimi Hendrix

“I don't have nothing to regret at all in the past, except that I might've unintentionally hurt somebody else or something. - Jimi Hendrix

“I have this one little saying, when things get too heavy just call me helium, the lightest known gas to man. - Jimi Hendrix

“I just hate to be in one corner. I hate to be put as only a guitar player, or either only as a songwriter, or only as a tap dancer. I like to move around. - Jimi Hendrix

“I try to use my music to move these people to act. - Jimi Hendrix

“I used to live in a room full of mirrors; all I could see was me. I take my spirit and I crash my mirrors, now the whole world is here for me to see. - Jimi Hendrix

“I was trying to do too many things at the same time, which is my nature. But I was enjoying it, and I still do enjoy it. - Jimi Hendrix

“I wish they'd had electric guitars in cotton fields back in the good old days. A whole lot of things would've been straightened out. - Jimi Hendrix

“I'm gonna put a curse on you and all your kids will be born completely naked. - Jimi Hendrix

“I'm the one that has to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life, the way I want to. - Jimi Hendrix

“I've been imitated so well I've heard people copy my mistakes. - Jimi Hendrix

“If I'm free, it's because I'm always running. - Jimi Hendrix

“If it was up to me, there wouldn't be no such thing as the establishment. - Jimi Hendrix

“Imagination is the key to my lyrics. The rest is painted with a little science fiction. - Jimi Hendrix

“In order to change the world, you have to get your head together first. - Jimi Hendrix

“It all has to come from inside, though, I guess. - Jimi Hendrix

“It's funny how most people love the dead, once you're dead your made for life. - Jimi Hendrix

“It's funny the way most people love the dead. Once you are dead, you are made for life. - Jimi Hendrix

“Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens. - Jimi Hendrix

“Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music. - Jimi Hendrix

“Music is a safe kind of high. - Jimi Hendrix

“Music is my religion. - Jimi Hendrix

“Music makes me high on stage, and that's the truth. It's like being almost addicted to music. - Jimi Hendrix

“My goal is to be one with the music. I just dedicate my whole life to this art. - Jimi Hendrix

“My nature just changes. - Jimi Hendrix

“Rock is so much fun. That's what it's all about - filling up the chest cavities and empty kneecaps and elbows. - Jimi Hendrix

“See, that's nothing but blues, that's all I'm singing about. It's today's blues. - Jimi Hendrix

“Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded. - Jimi Hendrix

“The reflection of the world is blues, that's where that part of the music is at. Then you got this other kind of music that's tryin' to come around. - Jimi Hendrix

“The story of life is quicker then the blink of an eye, the story of love is hello, goodbye. - Jimi Hendrix

“The time I burned my guitar it was like a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar. - Jimi Hendrix

“To be with the others, you have to have your hair short and wear ties. So we're trying to make a third world happen, you know what I mean? - Jimi Hendrix

“We have time, there's no big rush. - Jimi Hendrix

“When I die, I want people to play my music, go wild and freak out and do anything they want to do. - Jimi Hendrix

“When I die, just keep playing the records. - Jimi Hendrix

“When I played God Bless The Queen, I was wondering if they was gonna dig us, then quite naturally I'd go on and try to get it together. - Jimi Hendrix

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix

“When things get too heavy, just call me helium, the lightest known gas to man. - Jimi Hendrix

“When we go to play, you flip around and flash around and everything, and then they're not gonna see nothin' but what their eyes see. Forget about their ears. - Jimi Hendrix

“White collar conservative flashin down the street, pointing that plastic finger at me, they all assume my kind will drop and die, but I'm gonna wave my freak flag high. - Jimi Hendrix

“You don't have to be singing about love all the time in order to give love to the people. You don't have to keep flashing those words all the time. - Jimi Hendrix

“You have to forget about what other people say, when you're supposed to die, or when you're supposed to be loving. You have to forget about all these things. - Jimi Hendrix

“You have to give people something to dream on. - Jimi Hendrix

“You have to go on and be crazy. Craziness is like heaven. - Jimi Hendrix

Monday, July 19, 2010

How to Solve Four of America’s Big Problems part 2

How to Solve Four of America’s Big Problems

2) Homelessness

The first step to soving this one is to redefine what America calls a home.
According to the dictionary a home is a residence: “the place where a person, family, or household lives”. Notice it does not say anything about size, shape, or what is inside, only that it is a place where a person lives. Now for this document I am going to give a little more detailed description of what I think a home should be at the minimum. This not saying that all homes should be this way, but that we should consider this description of a home as well.

A home should have the following:
1) Four walls
2) A roof
3) A floor
4) Access to a restroom, including bathing
5) Access to a place to cook meals

These are the things that we as Americans have most often had and want.
Now if you have not read my earlier Blog titled “How to Solve Four of America’s Big Problems, Part One: Hunger”, then go back and read it now. With out reading it, the rest of this will not make a lot of sense to you.

Assuming that America has done every thing noted in Part One of this blog to deal with the hunger problem, then, if you were to you drive down the road, you would see food crops everywhere, but no one to tend to the crops. Well, if one placed a tiny home every half mile along the highways on each side, then we would have a ton of new homes. If we build them using recycled goods, then we are talking about over one million new homes built for the cost of maybe 200 homes or less. The homeless would have a place to live and the crops would have people to tend them. If you don’t think this is possible, take a look a the two videos below, and then come back and read more tomorrow. Now that we have presented cures for hunger and homelessness, tomorrow we will discuss reducing unemployment and present a few simple ideas on how to start one’s own business.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Std5taGTP6I&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJLSoUkh1Vs&feature=related

Friday, July 16, 2010

words from my hero’s part 4

well i said if i got time i would do this today so here you go part four




A well-spent day brings happy sleep.
Leonardo da Vinci

All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions.
Leonardo da Vinci

Although nature commences with reason and ends in experience it is necessary for us to do the opposite, that is to commence with experience and from this to proceed to investigate the reason.
Leonardo da Vinci

Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory.
Leonardo da Vinci

Art is never finished, only abandoned.
Leonardo da Vinci

As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death.
Leonardo da Vinci

As every divided kingdom falls, so every mind divided between many studies confounds and saps itself.
Leonardo da Vinci

Beyond a doubt truth bears the same relation to falsehood as light to darkness.
Leonardo da Vinci

Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!
Leonardo da Vinci

Common Sense is that which judges the things given to it by other senses.
Leonardo da Vinci

Experience does not err. Only your judgments err by expecting from her what is not in her power.
Leonardo da Vinci

For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.
Leonardo da Vinci

He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.
Leonardo da Vinci

He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast.
Leonardo da Vinci

He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year.
Leonardo da Vinci

Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous.
Leonardo da Vinci

I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.
Leonardo da Vinci

I have offended God and mankind because my work didn't reach the quality it should have.
Leonardo da Vinci

I have wasted my hours.
Leonardo da Vinci

I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.
Leonardo da Vinci

In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time.
Leonardo da Vinci

Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.
Leonardo da Vinci

It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.
Leonardo da Vinci

It's easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.
Leonardo da Vinci

Just as courage imperils life, fear protects it.
Leonardo da Vinci

Learning never exhausts the mind.
Leonardo da Vinci

Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.
Leonardo da Vinci

Life well spent is long.
Leonardo da Vinci

Marriage is like putting your hand into a bag of snakes in the hope of pulling out an eel. Leonardo da Vinci

Men of lofty genius when they are doing the least work are most active.
Leonardo da Vinci

Nature never breaks her own laws.
Leonardo da Vinci

Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.
Leonardo da Vinci

Our life is made by the death of others.
Leonardo da Vinci

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Leonardo da Vinci

The function of muscle is to pull and not to push, except in the case of the genitals and the tongue.
Leonardo da Vinci

The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.
Leonardo da Vinci

The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.
Leonardo da Vinci

The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.
Leonardo da Vinci

The poet ranks far below the painter in the representation of visible things, and far below the musician in that of invisible things.
Leonardo da Vinci

The smallest feline is a masterpiece.
Leonardo da Vinci

The truth of things is the chief nutriment of superior intellects.
Leonardo da Vinci

There are three classes of people: those who see, those who see when they are shown,
those who do not see.
Leonardo da Vinci

Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it.
Leonardo da Vinci

Water is the driving force of all nature.
Leonardo da Vinci

Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art.
Leonardo da Vinci

Where there is shouting, there is no true knowledge.
Leonardo da Vinci

While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die.
Leonardo da Vinci

Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination when awake?
Leonardo da Vinci

You can have no dominion greater or less than that over yourself.
Leonardo da Vinci

You do ill if you praise, but worse if you censure, what you do not understand.
Leonardo da Vinci

long weekend

As i have a lot to do this weekend i am taking a break till munday but look out for
How to cure homlessness in the USA on munday

ps if i get time some time today i will post part 4 of words from my heros "Leonardo da Vinci"

Thursday, July 15, 2010

How to Solve Four of Americas Big Problems

1) Hunger
2) Homelessness
3) Unemployment
4) Energy

(1) Hunger

This one is simple. Grow and raise more food. Now I know you all just chucked in your head and thought some negative thought like, "Its just not that simple". But it is. The next time you go outside your home, whether it be for a drive or a walk, take a look around town. How many bushes are there on your street that are being watered daily or at least every other day? How much grass do you see? Not just at the homes, mind you, but at the store fronts also. If all of those decorative plants and grasses were replaced with food-producing plants, your town, our town, all towns could be producing most, if not all, of their own food.

Now we all know that the longer the food travels in some air-polluting big rig, and the longer it sits in some price-gouging store, the more the nutrients that keep us healthy are lost. Think about it this way. Most fruits and vegetables lose about 10% of their nutrients each day. So if it takes seven days for them to get to the store (and the normal amount of time is longer), and then let’s say it takes three days before you buy them from the store. By then you may as well be eating your cat’s litter box, for it has more nutritional value than the fruit you just ate.

So to stay healthy and just to not be hungry, grow food locally, buy local food, and eat local food. If people start growing food at home, the new techniques of hydroponics, aquaponics, and vertical gardening will not only allow each home or urban farm to produce enough food for its members, but each will have excess to trade for products they are not producing themselves.

So far we have covered food in the towns, but to fix this large of a problem, and other problems we are facing, we must think bigger. Every time you leave your town and get on the highway, you drive past endless opportunities to grow more food along the side of the road. There is also room in the grass-covered center dividers of many highways. We the taxpayers are already paying someone to come and mow it down. Would it not be wonderful to see endless rows of food instead of useless grass? Now you may be thinking, “But who is going to work theses crops alongside of the high way?”. Well the answer to that brings me to tomorrows topic, which is homelessness.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

what is to come

Well I am writing a four part blog for the next four days called How to solve four of Americas big problems you don’t want to miss this one it will have a lot of crazy ideas that if we where to put into action would really solve the big issues that I see so let me know if you thank there is another big problem in America and maybe ill add it to my list to solve
1) hunger
2) homelessness
3) unemployment
4) energy

ps im going to leave you with a qoute that did not make it to me in time for my last post


“I do like nothing better than to get my hands into good rich soil and sow the seeds of hope.” -.Will Allen

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

words from my hero’s part 3 "will Allen"

“You can’t inspire someone by just talking.” - Will Allen

“When it comes to changing a thing there’s a lot of talking and not a lot of doing.” - Will Allen

“You've got to touch it ,feel it, and see it; that’s how you understand the energy of a thing.” - Will Allen

“Its not about money its about the passion.”- Will Allen

“Where all connected to the earth, even if we don’t want to admit it.” - Will Allen

“Its not always about the land sometimes its about the people.” - Will Allen

“Your never going to reach a point where you know farming down pat, ask a 80 year old farmer and they will tell you that there just starting to learn how farm.”- Will Allen

“Farming will keep you grounded.” - Will Allen

“Being a good farmer is harder then being a provisional athlete” - Will Allen

“Farming is a art form” - Will Allen

“Farmers should be held with the same respect as doctors for they both keep us alive and healthy” - Will Allen

“Join the good food revolution, grow your own.” - Will Allen

“This is a revolution, people are starting to understand that food is going to save us.” - Will Allen

“We cant build a sustainable community with out sustainable food source.” - Will Allen
“Worms are the life blood of any good working farm” - Will Allen

Theses are just a few of the wise words Will Allen has shared with the world he will be speeking at the Growing Power's National-International Urban & Small Farm Conference in September 10 - 12th 2010. Below is some info on the conference or take a look at their web page its packed full of good info.

http://www.growingpowerfarmconference.org/


Come to Milwaukee and help grow the good food revolution. Hosted by Growing Power—a national organization headed by the sustainable urban farmer and MacArthur Fellow Will Allen—this international conference will teach the participant how to plan, develop and grow small farms in urban and rural areas. Learn how you can grow food year-round, no matter what the climate, and how you can build markets for small farms. See how you can play a part in creating a new food system that fosters better health and more closely-knit communities.

check out what you will learn there

Understand how non-profit organizations can work cooperatively with city and state governments, as well as for-profit and non-profit agricultural enterprises.
See how to create successful farm-to-school initiatives by drawing on Growing Power experiences in Milwaukee, Madison, and Chicago.
Learn how to grow relationships with corporations that can help support locally grown food initiatives.
Discover how to create and utilize renewable energy in local agricultural systems.
Learn about the development of multi-story vertical farms.
Find how social justice and food justice can be fostered through the local and regional farm system.
Visit successful small farms in the Milwaukee metropolitan area.
Enjoy food grown by local and regional farmers and prepared by local chefs!
Over 2,000 participants expected with opportunities to network and mingle
Exhibit hall available

Monday, July 12, 2010

words from one of my heros part 2 " Richard Bach "

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit.” - Richard Bach
Allow the world to live as it chooses, and allow yourself to live as you choose.
- Richard Bach
Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they're yours.
- Richard Bach
Ask yourself the secret of your success. Listen to your answer, and practice it.
- Richard Bach
Avoid problems, and you'll never be the one who overcame them.
- Richard Bach
Bad things are not the worst things that can happen to us. Nothing is the worst thing that can happen to us!
- Richard Bach
Can miles truly separate you from friends... If you want to be with someone you love, aren't you already there?
- Richard Bach
Civilization... wrecks the planet from seafloor to stratosphere.
- Richard Bach
Don't be dismayed by good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.
- Richard Bach
Don't believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you'll see the way to fly.
- Richard Bach
Don't turn away from possible futures before you're certain you don't have anything to learn from them.
- Richard Bach
Every gift from a friend is a wish for your happiness.
- Richard Bach
Every person, all the events of your life are there because you have drawn them there. What you choose to do with them is up to you.
- Richard Bach
Every problem has a gift for you in its hands.
- Richard Bach
Get this in mind early: We never grow up.
- Richard Bach
Happiness is the reward we get for living to the highest right we know.
- Richard Bach
Here is a test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.
- Richard Bach
Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you're alive, it isn't.
- Richard Bach
I don't want to do business with those who don't make a profit, because they can't give the best service.
- Richard Bach
I gave my life to become the person I am right now. Was it worth it?
- Richard Bach
I want to be very close to someone I respect and admire and have somebody who feels the same way about me.
- Richard Bach
If it's never our fault, we can't take responsibility for it. If we can't take responsibility for it, we'll always be its victim.
- Richard Bach
If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they're yours; if they don't they never were.
- Richard Bach
If you will practice being fictional for a while, you will understand that fictional characters are sometimes more real than people with bodies and heartbeats.
- Richard Bach
If your happiness depends on what somebody else does, I guess you do have a problem.
- Richard Bach
In order to live free and happily you must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice.
- Richard Bach
In order to win, you must expect to win.
- Richard Bach
In the United States Christmas has become the rape of an idea.
- Richard Bach
It is by not always thinking of yourself, if you can manage it, that you might somehow be happy. Until you make room in your life for someone as important to you as yourself, you will always be searching and lost.
- Richard Bach
Jonathan is that brilliant little fire that burns within us all, that lives only for those moments when we reach perfection.
- Richard Bach
Learning is finding out what you already know.
- Richard Bach
Listen to what you know instead of what you fear.
- Richard Bach
Live never to be ashamed if anything you say or do is published around the world, even if what is said is not true.
- Richard Bach
Not being known doesn't stop the truth from being true.
- Richard Bach
Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life.
- Richard Bach
Rarely do members of the same family grow up under the same roof.
- Richard Bach
Some choices we live not only once but a thousand times over, remembering them for the rest of our lives.
- Richard Bach
Strong beliefs win strong men, and then make them stronger.
- Richard Bach
The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.
- Richard Bach
The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life.
Richard Bach
The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly.
- Richard Bach
The meaning I picked, the one that changed my life: Overcome fear, behold wonder.
- Richard Bach
The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.
- Richard Bach
The simplest questions are the most profound. Where were you born? Where is your home? Where are you going? What are you doing? Think about these once in a while and watch your answers change.
- Richard Bach
The simplest things are often the truest.
- Richard Bach
There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go.
- Richard Bach
To bring anything into your life, imagine that it's already there.
- Richard Bach
To fly as fast as thought, you must begin by knowing that you have already arrived.
- Richard Bach
What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly.
- Richard Bach
You are always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different past.
- Richard Bach
You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it, however.
- Richard Bach
You are never given a wish without being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.
- Richard Bach
You don't want a million answers as much as you want a few forever questions. The questions are diamonds you hold in the light. Study a lifetime and you see different colors from the same jewel.
- Richard Bach
You teach best what you most need to learn.
- Richard Bach
Your conscience is the measure of the honesty of your selfishness. Listen to it carefully.
- Richard Bach
Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years.
- Richard Bach
Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a fake messiah.
- Richard Bach
 

Sunday, July 11, 2010

words from one of my hero "Albert Einstein"

Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."

"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love."

"I want to know God's thoughts; the rest are details."

"The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax."

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."

"The only real valuable thing is intuition."

"A person starts to live when he can live outside himself."

"I am convinced that He (God) does not play dice."

"God is subtle but he is not malicious."

"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character."

"I never think of the future. It comes soon enough."

"The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility."

"Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing."

"Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind."

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

"Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds."

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen."

"Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it."

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."

"God does not care about our mathematical difficulties. He integrates empirically."

"The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking."

"Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal."

"Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."

"The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible."

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."

"Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater."

"Equations are more important to me, because politics is for the present, but an equation is something for eternity."

"If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut."

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

"As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality."

"Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

"In order to form an immaculate member of a flock of sheep one must, above all, be a sheep."
"The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there's no risk of accident for someone who's dead."

"Too many of us look upon Americans as dollar chasers. This is a cruel libel, even if it is reiterated thoughtlessly by the Americans themselves."

"Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!"

"No, this trick won't work...How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?"

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals its self in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."

"Yes, we have to divide up our time like that, between our politics and our equations. But to me our equations are far more important, for politics are only a matter of present concern. A mathematical equation stands forever."

"The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking...the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker."

"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence."

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeeded be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death."

"The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge."

"Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."

"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat."

"One had to cram all this stuff into one's mind for the examinations, whether one liked it or not. This coercion had such a deterring effect on me that, after I had passed the final examination, I found the consideration of any scientific problems distasteful to me for an entire year."

"...one of the strongest motives that lead men to art and science is escape from everyday life with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness, from the fetters of one's own ever-shifting desires. A finely tempered nature longs to escape from the personal life into the world of objective perception and thought."

"He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder."

"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." (Sign hanging in Einstein's office at Princeton)

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Composting

Composting is the age old method of turning waste materials into humus, which will lighten and enrich your soil. Sir Albert Howard, doing research in India, developed the Indore method of layered composting.It is suggested;
a bottom layer of brush for drainage
a 6" layer of green matter
a 2" layer of manure
a thin layer of topsoil (contributes micro-organisms) powdered limestone (to counter-act acidity)
Continue layers until the heap is 4 feet wide, 6 feet long, and 5 feet high. Turn every six weeks and compost will be ready to apply in two to three months.
There are two types of composting; Aerobic and Anerobic.
Aerobic is the system utilizing oxygen. This method is the most simplistic and successful, even though the minimal loss of nitrogen through free elements into the atmosphere is present. Anerobic composting requires storage tanks and other systems to keep oxygen from invading the anerobic decay process. This method also takes longer to complete and manufactures methane gas as a by-product. The odor is disagreeable, the gas itself is flammable, and should be vented off periodically. It is generally ill suited for the home composter.
Earthworms however, are an excellent addition to the composting process. Composting is basic to the breakdown of organic materials and can be practiced on either large or small scales. The waste a family generates can be turned into nutrient rich earthworm castings for your plants, flower beds, and garden plot.
Composting involving earthworms is both aerobic and advantageous. The worms process the material, creating a micro-biological decay cycle of approximately sixty days. Home composting can include everything from kitchen waste to yard waste, but attention must be paid to what is used on your yard plantings and lawn, (pesticides, weed killers), many of which are harmful to earthworms. Many substances cannot be digested by earthworms, or are harmful to the earthworm, and it may avoid the area altogether.
It is best to introduce worms from the outside of the compost heap, giving them time to identify substances or areas of the heap that could be avoided. The internal temperatures generated in a compost heap can reach 160° F, which earthworms will avoid at all costs. Earthworms survive best in temperatures ranging from 50° F to 75° F, which is the approximate temperature of a cooled compost heap. It is easy to harvest the castings in your compost heap. Take compost from the outer edges until worms appear. Wait 30 minutes. The worms will retreat as light causes pain to their skin. Repeat the first step as many times as it takes to get a compact mass of worms in the center of the bottom of the heap. If the first outer "scalp" is not fully composted, set it aside to become the first layer of the new heap. The castings can be used immediately, or set aside for use at a later time.
Earthworms are important contributors to soil health; tilling, keeping a porous quality to the soil, allowing plants to take nutrients freely. This, combined with the auxins and cytokinins (plant growth stimulators) in earthworm castings, provides an ideal medium for plant growth and health.
Red worms are different from the common field worm, or angle worm. Red worms feed primarily on decomposing organic material at the surface level. Field worms feed primarily on earth and bacteria contained with soil. Red worms also reproduce at a faster rate than field worms, providing a larger amount of castings for your garden.
The soil must be amended with organic material for any worms to thrive there. Adding nitrogen fertilizers can create an acid condition in the soil that all worms may avoid. Most pesticides are toxic to earthworms and may harm beneficial insects as well.
The nutritional value of earthworm castings is best realized when mixed with soil. Even with sufficient organic matter at hand, all species of earthworms consume some soil, creating a rich humus when castings and soil are combined. The texture becomes ideal for plant growth, as many types of bacteria are consumed then neutralized by earthworms. Castings have a pH level of 7.0 (neutral). Large numbers of earthworms in your garden will combat both acid and alkali conditions in the soil. Earthworm tunneling increases water absorption and retention along with creating passages for water and air to filter through to lower levels of the soil. Most red worms are sold in bed- run form. Bed- run contains all ages and sizes from cocoon to bait size, and adapt to a new environment easier.
EARTHWORM CASTINGS
Earthworm castings are a soil amendment of the highest quality. As organic materials pass through the earthworm, many of the nutrients are made available to growing plants. An excellent organic fertilizer and soil conditioner, earthworm casts won't harm your plants through over-application. Castings as a soil conditioner make the ground friable, retain moisture, and provide nutrients. Confirmed tests have indicated that castings, when compared to native soil contain about 5 times the available nitrogen, 7 times the phosphorous, 3 times the magnesium, 11 times the potassium, and 1½ times the calcium. There are also results stated in terms of optimal values, 2 times the nitrogen needed for optimal growth, 7 times the phosphorous and potassium. This is so because earthworms, passing soil and organic matter through their digestive tracts, liberate minerals for use by growing plants. Earthworm castings cannot be compared to commercial chemical fertilizers, nor should they be.
When we became aware of the value of earthworm castings, use of commercial fertilizers ceased. The flavor and appearance of our food grown in our garden convinced us. Oh yes, earthworm castings will benefit the growth of most all plants, including weeds.

EARTHWORMS IN YOUR GARDEN
All farmers and gardeners are concerned with the "tilth" or health of their land---the condition of the soil. To be wholesome, a soil should:
Readily accept and retain moisture: Clay and loam soils are often too compact to let water in. As they tunnel, earthworms create channels which allow water in, minimize run-off, and drain well .
Be aerated: Air spaces are essential for good root growth, the growth and function of all soil organisms, and the oxidation of minerals for plant use. Tunneling increases air spaces and allows roots to spread easier. Castings help prevent compacting of the soil for additional air penetration.
Contain humus (organic residues): Castings are high quality humus, rich in nutrients, and are constantly being generated by earthworms. An earthworm can produce its own weight in castings in a 24 hour period. So if you have 100 pounds of earthworms, they might produce 100 pounds of castings per day!! The gardener must help by encouraging earthworms. You should allow humus to accumulate, or provide additional humus for earthworms to eat. You can do this by allowing crop remnants to remain on the ground, and by adding to it such materials as manure, grass clippings, alfalfa or grass hay, straw, and leaves. If you fail to do this, the earthworm population will decline and possibly disappear, as will the other criteria for a healthy soil. Plants grown in humus-rich soils are bigger and produce more fruitful growth.'They also tend to be more resistant to insect damage.
Have plant nutrients: Earthworm castings are rich in all of the essential plant nutritional elements. Studies done comparing native soils and castings show castings to be richer in every nutrient. Worms bring up additional materials and deposit them at the root level. Nutrients are always around, but not always available to the plants. Earthworms consume these unavailable minerals, and enzyme action in their digestive tracts makes them water soluble. They can then be absorbed by the plant's roots.
Have good tilth: Tilth is one of the most important aspects of any soil. It refers to the physical condition of the soil as it relates to ease of tillage, and,also describes the structure of the soil. A soil with good tilth is sufficiently loose in structure, well aerated, and easily penetrated by roots. It retains water better; soluble mineral nutrients do not leach off as fast. Earthworms dig deep into the subsoil, loosening it. Gradually the topsoil layer becomes deeper. Castings are excellent soil particle binders. Tiny individual mineral bits will group together into larger granules that don't compact or stick together in a gooey mass; yet retain water better. Castings also contribute to soil by giving it a more neutral pH, a measure of acid or alkali conditions.
Contain an active biological population: Earthworms will live in the soil if the farmer does his or her part, as in item 3. Chemical fertilizers can increase the overall acidity of the soil to a point where the earthworm populations decline. Pesticides are toxic to earthworms and many beneficial insects and micro-organisms.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Fascinating Honeybee Facts

Fascinating Honeybee Facts
A typical beehive houses from 15,000 and 50,000 bees.
There is only one reproductive, the queen, in each hive.
The queen can lay from 1500 to 3000 eggs per day.
The life span of a worker honeybee is only 4 to 6 weeks during the summer, and as many months in the winter.
A bee can produce less than one quarter teaspoon honey in her lifespan.
Man's first alcoholic beverage, Mead is a wine made with honey.
The six sided hex shape of honeycomb is the strongest shape per material weight.
All the bees in the hive are female except the drones.
Utah in the USA, known as the beehive state, has a skep as its state emblem.
Drones, the male bee, make up only about 1/4 of 1% of the hive population
The queen bee can live up to 3 or 4 years.
the queen mates with from 12 to 20 drones only at the beginning of her life and stores the sperm for continued use.
It takes 8 to 10 pounds of nectar to make a pound of honey.
It takes 8 to 10 pounds of honey to make a pound of beeswax.
To produce a pound of honey, bees travel about 55,000 miles, and visit some 2 million flowers.
The average American consumes about 1.3 lbs. of honey per year.
Approximately 250,000 beekeepers in the USA manage about 3 million colonies.
The term "super" to a beekeeper is one of several boxes stacked to form a hive.
It takes 21 days from the laying of the egg for the adult worker bee to emerge.
The first duty of an adult worker in the hive is as a nurse bee.
A honeybee can fly about 25 mph (21.7 knots).
One ounce of honey would fuel honeybee flight nearly around world.
Honeybees were called white man's flies by Native American Indians.
They can forage as far as 4 miles from the hive.
Pollen is used as protein by the bees.
Pollen is mixed with honey
to make a bread to feed developing larva.
The eggs are the size of a quarter of a grain of rice.
A queen cell has about the size and appearance of a peanut shell.
A queen is fed royal jelly throughout it's development and life span .
A drone, comes from an unfertilized egg, and has no stinger.Drones do not feed themselves, like the queen, they are fed by worker bees.
The sole function of a drone is to mate with a Virgin queen bee.
Upon mating about 1000 feet up in the air, the drone falls to the ground dead.
Melting at 145 deg. F. beeswax is a natural wax, with the highest burning temp.
The Catholic Church uses one million lbs. of beeswax per year for making candles.
Beeswax is also used in the making of cosmetics and polishes.
Beeswax is an excellent lubricant for sliding doors and windows.
Beeswax is used as a dressing for fan belts and other car parts.
Propolis made from tree sap is used as a glue inside the hive.
Propolis is also used in the pharmaceutical industry.
Bees keep the brood rearing area at about 95 degrees F. and 50% relative humidity.During hot days the bees bring in drops of water and fan them to cool and humidify the hive.
A smoker is used to blow smoke into the hive, to calm the bees.Bee pollination is vital to maintain the variety of crops this world enjoys.