w h o a r . c o . n z

“…The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center has an interesting occupant — a porcupine who thinks it’s a puppy!

“Stinkers” — formerly “Snickers”, but renamed to suit his pungent odor — is a 5 year-old porcupine that was someone’s pet before finding a much more suitable home at the center.

We at HuffPost Green in no way condone keeping wild animals as pets, and honestly, judging by the large gloves handlers have to use to pet Stinkers …

… we can’t understand why anyone would want a porcupine as a pet!

Stinkers is certainly like no other porcupine though.

This video shows him romping around in circles and jumping on his human caretaker in a desperate puppy-like plea for attention …

… even dropping onto his back for belly rubs…”

go to source/story>>>Porcupine Acts Like A Puppy (VIDEO)

“…The kettle had just gone on the gas stove for morning tea when Dave, the owner of the cycle hire company (also a local copper on a career break), turned up to drop our bikes off at the end of our large, fir-lined field.

While talking us through the different cycle routes in the area, his gaze kept drifting off across the field to the marshmallow-coloured caravans.

After handing over the helmets and bike locks, his brow furrowed. “What are they like inside, then?”

Obviously, he was desperate for a peek.

We showed him in.

Within our two curvaceous boxes of vintage fantasy indulgence lay glittering mirrors, flower print wallpaper, framed pictures of the Queen, pink glassware and a defunct beige teasmaid (honestly, it looked cool!).

His smirk grew more bemused.

His eyebrows rose higher when we mentioned that one caravan had been bought off a travelling community in Stoke-on-Trent.

And when we opened the door to the separate, purpose-built bathroom cabin to show him the sea-green vintage bath painted with kittens …

… he burst out laughing and shook his head.

“This is some people’s worst nightmare, isn’t it?

Mind you, my wife would probably like it – she’s an art teacher.”

Granted, the boutique caravanning concept is not for everyone.

Too many damp weekends, fishfinger dinners and enforced bed-sharing linger in the British memory; ..

… there are too many associations with poverty;…

… murderers tend to live in them in films.

And yet, for those who enjoy the toy-like novelties of miniature cupboards and fold-out beds (myself included) …

… there is now an excuse to indulge those childish desires in a way that looks like a hip lifestyle choice .. and not just a bit sad.

Caravans are poshing up and becoming cool.

My tea leaves suggest they are about to become The Next Big Thing …

… hot on the heels of cool camping, glamping, treehouse retreats … and Gypsy wagons…”

go to source/story>>>Caravans just got cooler | Travel | The Guardian

“…These gorgeous, black-and-white websites are proof that sometimes, less is more.

Although short on color, they’re chock full of imagination, interactivity, playfulness, and hidden surprises: …

… scrolling over a word makes it morph into a string of terms … clicking lets you create a one-person band … and mousing over characters makes them come alive.

See them below, then check out our picks for the most innovative website designs ever…”

go to source/story>>>The Best Website Design Ideas (PICTURES): The COOLEST Black And White Websites Ever

“… Robert Long, 54, was living “off the grid” decades before the expression was coined, and the author of A Life on Gorge River: New Zealand’s Remotest Family…

… has remained that way for 30 years.

He and his family live so far from the nearest settlement … that it takes two days to walk to the nearest road … and then only after fording several rivers.

More recently, however, the South Westland artist and carver has had to make some compromises, because of his teenagers.

He and Catherine, his wife of 20 years, are now hooked up to the internet, first and foremost to keep in touch with their son, Christan, 19, a student at Otago Polytechnic, and daughter, Robin, 17, in year 13 at Mount Aspiring College in Wanaka.

The family own several cellphones, but limited reception means they can’t use those at home in Gorge River.

Their closest town, as the crow flies, is Milford Sound to the south, but the usual way out is via Haast, in the north.

Considering himself an explorer … Long may well have clocked up more kilometres than anyone in New Zealand since colonial surveying pioneers.

He’s spent three decades traversing rivers, beaches and tracks around South Westland and Fiordland …

… of which he writes about eloquently … and many of his journeys are barefoot.

An incurable optimist, he seems never to find himself overwhelmed by even the most challenging circumstances.

“You accept this is your life and make the best of it,” he says.

Living the remote life was a conscious choice…”

go to source/story>>>Living ‘off the grid’ - books - entertainment | Stuff.co.nz

“… When Spaniard Fernando Carnerero found his Kiwi ex-girlfriend on Facebook this year he was unsure what to expect.

He certainly could not have imagined he would be told he had a son in New Zealand.

Carnerero, 33, who is from Malaga, had not spoken to Aroha Williams-Pascoe, 31, since going home after a short stint as an exchange student in Christchurch when he was 18.

After stumbling across Williams-Pascoe on Facebook he was told he had a son, Brad Carnerero-Williams, 14.

Carnerero almost immediately left Spain to be near his boy and now lives in Shirley.

Carnerero enjoyed his earlier stay in Christchurch and had not wanted to leave.

The return to Spain meant Carnerero and Williams-Pascoe did not speak for nearly 15 years.

“It was too far away.

Telephone was very expensive in Spain and we didn’t have internet so we couldn’t have a proper relationship 25,000 kilometres away.

We lost contact,” he said.

Williams-Pascoe, 31, who lives in Motueka with her son and partner, realised a month after Carnerero left that she was pregnant.

She had been looking for Carnerero since.

“I’ve been looking for him for the past 15 years.”…”

go to source/story>>>Dad moves to NZ after shock find - national | Stuff.co.nz

“…Reg Miller from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, has won Shed of the Year 2010 … after beating off competition from 1,250 shed-lovers.

The pirate-themed shed, ‘The Lady Sarah out of Worthing,’ named for Miller’s partner, was judged best shed in the competition sponsored by Cuprinol Sprayable.

It comes complete with a Koi Carp pond and parrot.

“I’ve spent years working on my shed and to win Shed of the Year 2010 is a real thrill – it’s the ultimate accolade for shed owners!” Miller said.

“It’s still a work in progress, as I’m constantly adding to my collection of pirate memorabilia and props and the shed is slowly but surely taking over the whole garden.”

He will spend his £1,000 prize money on repairing the decking in his garden.

The search for Shed of the Year 2010 began in August 2009, with the public voting for 13 category winners that were shortlisted for the final.

The runners up were Dominic Jones from Liverpool for his Garden Office … and Tim Massey from Cheshire for his Eco Shed…”

go to source/story>>>Pirate-themed idyll wins Shed of the Year 2010 - This Britain, UK - The Independent

“…Is a machine alive if it lives on compressed air?

No, but a breathing motorcycle could significantly reduce emissions in developing nations like India.

The concept is simple: A tank introduces compressed air into a turbine, where the air expands and thus turns the engine.

As LiveScience reports, the engine “could be available to consumers within a year, said Bharat Raj Singh, a researcher at the SMS Institute of Technology in Lucknow, India and one of the developers of the engine.

A prototype, modeled in a paper published in May in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy …

… is capable of running a motorcycle at speeds of up to 50 mph (80 kph) for 30 minutes.”

go to source/story>>>This Motorized Vehicle Runs on… Air?

“…When your government won’t let you watch MTV, you have to make your own music.

This video of a little girl from North Korea playing a guitar larger than she is with virtuosic skill was posted on CollegeHumor yesterday …

… although the video has been on YouTube for over a year…”

go to source/story>>>North Korean Girl Guitar Player Is Virtuoso (VIDEO)

“… There are only two artists in the history of pop upon whom the epithet “genius” has been bestowed …

… and it is a peculiar quirk of coincidence that both have been blind black soulmen who played piano.

Or maybe not such a coincidence.

There’s every chance that Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, was deliberately trying to establish a connection in the public mind between Ray Charles, the original genius of soul …

… and his new protégé, “Little” Stevie Wonder … when he titled Wonder’s 1963 breakthrough album The 12 Year Old Genius.

It wasn’t the first time he had tried to link the two talents: …

…a year earlier, Stevie’s debut album had been A Tribute to Uncle Ray, a collection of Charles covers which made little impact on the public consciousness …

… but which did enable the child prodigy to meet his hero.

Ironically, until then he had not realised that Brother Ray was, like himself, black - but then, how could he?

Perhaps the even greater irony is that both these entertainers, for whom colour was essentially just a concept, would become significant figures in the emancipation struggles of the civil rights era -

- Charles leading by example in refusing to play to segregated audiences …

… and Wonder creating some of the most articulate (and popular) musical commentaries on racial inequality.

As Wonder once said, “Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn’t mean he lacks vision.”

In such songs as “Living for the City” and “You Haven’t Done Nothin’”, he robustly confronted the ignorance and negligence of the Nixon administration’s attitude towards the black community.

Rarely, if ever, have black anger and black pride been as eloquently fused as in the string of extraordinary recordings he made between 1972 and 1980 …

… which includes at least three albums - Talking Book, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life -

- that can stand shoulder to shoulder beside the pop landmarks of Pet Sounds, Revolver and Blonde on Blonde…”

(hear..!..hear…!..well said that music critic..!..)

go to source/story>>>Stevie Wonder: The vision of a genius - Profiles, People - The Independent

“…It started the day after Jimi Hendrix died in 1970, with a mere 1,500 attendees and costing just £1 to enter - including free milk from the farm.

Forty years on and the festival is going stronger than ever …

… so we take a look back at the most memorable performances to grace Worthy Farm…”

go to source/story>>>The 10 most memorable Glastonbury performances - Features, Music - The Independent

“… It was a business that began as a young man’s hobby … but now Masterton’s Magoo’s Street Rods has muscled its way into the international market.

For more than three decades, company founder and owner Lloyd Wilson has been passionate about hot rodding.

It’s through his business, which started as a part-time backyard enterprise eight years ago, that he now makes his living indulging that passion.

“I grew up in Levin originally with motor racing and then as a teenager I saw a hot rod in a magazine and I thought these are pretty cool.

I want one of these myself … and it just grew out of control from there.”

The company, the reputation of which is fast spreading … is now the biggest builder of custom-built hot rods outside the United States…”

go to source/story>>>Magoo’s goes from Masterton to take on world | Stuff.co.nz

“…Video can capture science in action like nothing else –

- and New Scientist has scoured the web to bring you the 10 best clips posted this month…”

go to source/story>>>New Scientist TV – Best of the web - 21 June 2010 - New Scientist

“…It’s been a hard few months for us fossil-fuel-addicted societies: calamity in the Gulf of Mexico; coal mining disasters in China, West Virginia, and Russia;

… still-frustrated attempts to win climate and clean-energy policies in Salem, Ore., Olympia, Wash., and Washington, D.C.

Perhaps we’re hitting bottom?

If so, catching glimpses of a life cured of addiction can be a step toward recovery.

To that end, I’ve been devoting odd moments this year to marveling at some of the innovations going on in human-powered urban transportation: …

… walking carts, community carts, and convertible cart-trailers.

Today: a report from the edges of human-powered conveyance, where pedal pushers are hauling car- and pickup-worthy loads on cargo bikes and trikes.

The ingenuity evident across the Northwest and the world in finding practical, nonmotorized solutions to the daily challenges of urban mobility is heartening, even inspiring.

It’s also sometimes whimsical and amusing…”

go to source/story>>>Tricked-out cargo bikes give SUVs a run for their money | Grist

“…The world’s two richest men are teaming up with Spain to fight malnutrition, dengue, malaria and other health problems in Mexico and Central America.

Foundations run by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim will each donate US$50 million ($72 million) to the 2015 Meso-American Health Initiative…”

go to source/story>>>Billionaires join disease battle - World - NZ Herald News

“…I’ll confess to being something of a greenhouse nerd, but, really, how could anyone not dig the reclaimed/repurposed windshield greenhouse spotlighted in the latest issue of Green Futures?

The “design mimics rooftop tiles, overlapping the [shields] to make the structure watertight … and allow for solar convection heating,” the magazine reports…”

go to source/story>>>A Greenhouse Built from Reclaimed Windshields

“…Would you shell out $5800 for a book?

It may be worth it in the case of a new collector’s edition atlas called “Earth.”

The book weighs 63 pounds, stands 2 feet high, and includes some incredible photography from all over the world.

The maps in the atlas, put together by over 100 international cartographers …

… are accompanied by some beautiful pictures from the National Geographic archives …

… a few of which are in the slideshow below…”

go to source/story>>>14 Amazing Images From $5800 Atlas (PHOTOS, POLL)

“… A simple blood test that can detect a cancer before a tumour has taken shape has been developed by British scientists.

Due to be introduced in Britain by early next year … it is described as offering a “paradigm shift” in cancer diagnosis.

The test is the first to identify accurately the signals sent out by a person’s immune system as a cancer germinates.

Research suggests that such signals can be detected up to five years before a tumour is spotted …

… priming doctors to intervene at the earliest moment when a solid cancer appears.

Scientists described the test, devised initially for lung cancer, as a means of tackling the country’s poor record of early diagnosis and disease survival.

Detection of lung, pancreas and gullet cancers is often so late that it acts as little more than confirmation of imminent death.

Physical symptoms — the most common trigger for treatment — often will not appear until two thirds of the way through the cancer’s development.

In the case of lung disease, the tumour can already be the size of a tennis ball.

Even the earliest screening detection is only picking up the cancer after more than 20 cell divisions …

… while death normally comes after about 40.

The new test, developed after 15 years of research by clinicians in Nottingham, and in Kansas …

… is to be introduced in America later this month…”

go to source/story>>>Oncimmune develop simple blood test for early detection of cancer - Times Online

“…To lose one personal fortune might be considered bad luck; to lose two looks distinctly careless.

That’s what happened to John Robbins, the heir to one of the biggest ice-cream empires …

… who walked away from a vast inheritance at the age of 21 …

… eventually made millions of dollars as a best-selling author …

… but then had almost everything he owned stolen by Bernie Madoff.

And you know what?

It made him a better person…”

go to source/story>>>The ice-cream heir who saw two fortunes melt away - Life & Style - NZ Herald News

if not….watch this vid…

(baby sloths..?…beyond cute…!..)

go to source/story>>>Amazing Video from Costa Rica’s Sloth Sanctuary

“…Sustainable floating homes powered by solar energy.

RAFAA Architecture & Design have recently won a competition organized by Internationale Bauausstellung in Germany …

…with a futuristic floating home dubbed “The Last Resort”.

The win and adequate funding will make sure that the team begins fabrication on these sleek floating homes by the end of this year.

The Last Resort is about 5 meters wide and 15 meters long with two levels.

The sleeping units and other mechanical equipment needed to propel this home on the waves are placed on the lower level …

… while the upper level provides space for living room, a kitchen, a bathroom and two bedrooms.

The facades feature vertical blinds that not only shade the interiors from direct sunlight … but also offer adequate privacy for the occupants.

Stairs lead to the roof … which apart from serving as an extra deck …

… is equipped with solar panels that generate electricity for two electric engines that propel the home…”

go to source/story>>>The Last Resort – Solar-powered Floating Homes For Urban Nomads - Ecofriend

“…On Monday, seeing was not believing as the final for the 2010 Best Illusion of the Year Contest was held in Naples, Florida.

Here, New Scientist presents the pick of the bunch…”

go to source/story>>>Don’t believe your eyes: This year’s best illusions - New Scientist

“…This just might be the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen … well, at least since Christian the Lion.

The Aspinall Foundation is a charity that promotes wildlife conservation … and reintroduces captive gorillas back into the wild in West Africa.

Five years ago, conservationist Damian Aspinall released a gorilla, Kwibi, into the jungles of Gabon.

Aspinall returned recently to reunite with a now ten-year-old Kwibi.

How did the reunion go?

Words fail me. …”

go to source/story>>>Damian Aspinall’s Amazing Gorilla Reunion (VIDEO)

“… Will they play Bach?

Or Offenbach?

What about something by the Pet Shop Boys?

New Yorkers Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed will outdo Spencer Tunick’s naked photo shoot by staging one of the strangest events to be seen at the Sydney Opera House as part of their Vivid Live festival next month.

Music for Dogs - a high-frequency concert that aims to captivate canines while being inaudible to their owners -

- takes over the northern boardwalk on June 5.

It has been inspired by the music that Anderson, a legendary performance artist who is curating the festival with her rock legend husband …

… has been playing to her beloved rat terrier, Lollabelle, for 11 years.

“She likes things with a lot of smoothness but with beats in them,'’ Anderson said from her Manhattan loft. ‘

‘Things with voices and lots of complicated high-end stuff.

Chk-chk-chk-chk-chk … that kind of stuff.”

go to source/story>>>Sydney’s walkies on the wild side - oddstuff | Stuff.co.nz

“…Shampoos on the market can have “wack” chemicals in them, as Grist’s Umbra Fiske puts it …

… linked to cancer, reproductive and developmental issues.

Sounds like it might not be the best thing to be putting on your skin.

So why not make your own?

All you’ll need is organic apple cider vinegar, baking soda, and water…”

go to source/story>>>How To Make Your Own Shampoo (VIDEO)

“…Every month, Utne Reader presents free, downloadable music gleaned from current and upcoming releases on independent labels …”

go to source/story>>>Utne Reader Music Sampler May 2010

“…Healthful cooking doesn’t have to be expensive cooking.

In this week’s Recipes for Health series, Martha Rose Shulman provides five nutritious meals that won’t break the bank.

To create these inexpensive meals, Ms. Shulman relies on pantry staples like pasta and rice, adding beans and peas for extra nutritional value.

Vegetables like onions, cabbage and carrots are also great for those on a budget, are easy to find and can stay fresh in the refrigerator for an extended period, she explains.

Here are five cost-conscious ways to eat healthfully…”

go to source/story>>>Healthful eating on a dime (all-vegan recipes from the NY Times) - Vegsource.com

“..Forget expensive machinery, the best way to purify water could be hiding in a cactus.

It turns out that an extract from the prickly pear cactus is effective at removing sediment and bacteria from dirty water.

Many water purification methods introduced into the developing world are quickly abandoned as people don’t know how to use and maintain them, says Norma Alcantar at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

So she and her colleagues decided to investigate the prickly pear cactus, Opuntia ficus-indica ..

.. which 19th-century Mexican communities used as a water purifier.

The cactus is found across the globe.

The team extracted the cactus’s mucilage - the thick gum the plant uses to store water.

They then mixed this with water to which they had added high levels of either sediment or the bacterium Bacillus cereus.

Alcantar found that the mucilage acted as a flocculant, causing the sediment particles to join together and settle to the bottom of the water samples.

The gum also caused the bacteria to combine and settle ..

.. allowing 98 per cent of bacteria to be filtered from the water (Environmental Science and Technology, DOI: 10.1021/es9030744).

They now intend to test it on natural water..”

go to source/story>>Cactus gum could make clean water cheap for millions - tech - 27 April 2010 - New Scientist

“..Our library contains 1,300 publications—a feast of magazines, journals, alt-weeklies, newsletters, and zines—

– and every year, we honor the stars in our Utne Independent Press Awards.

We’ll announce this year’s winners on Sunday, April 25 at the MPA’s Independent Magazine Group conference in Washington, D.C. and post them online the following Monday.

We’re crazy about these publications, and we’d love it for all of our readers to get to know them better, too.

So, every weekday until the conference, we’ll be posting mini-introductions to our complete list of 2010 nominees.

The following eight magazines are our 2010 nominees in the category of science/technology coverage.

California , published at UC Berkeley, is as eclectic as its community.

The quarterly opens with sneak peeks at research in motion.. such as cyborg spy beetles and the science of humor.

The features that follow challenge conventional wisdom and tap iconoclastic characters .. to bring high-minded theories down to earth..”

go to source/story>>Eight Ways to Get Your Geek On

“..Kiwi teenage sensation Sarah Mason upset world champion Steph Gilmore to set up an all-Kiwi quarterfinal against Paige Hareb in the Dream Tour women’s surfing event in Taranaki today.

After Hareb had been clinical in disposing of her 2010 nemesis, Australian Rebecca Woods, in the third heat of the morning ..

.. Mason left it late to blitz Gilmore in tricky conditions New Plymouth’s Fitzroy Beach.

The 15-year-old was well behind after Gilmore had posted an early ride of 8.33 .. and then backed that up with a 5.33 to give her a commanding lead.

Mason, who won two leadup events at the TSB Bank Women’s Surfing Festival .. then hooked up a solid 6.93 with five minutes left.

With time almost up she produced a 7.10 to cause the biggest upset of the year.

Gilmore had looked untouchable as she won the opening two world tour tournaments in Australia.

But she met her match in the form of the Kiwi grommet..”

go to source/story>>Kiwi teen eliminates world surfing champion | Stuff.co.nz

“..In my last Green State column, I wrote about Agriculture 2.0.

The conference, held in Silicon Valley recently, brought together venture capitalists and sustainable ag startups in an effort to jump start a market for the regional distribution of fresh food.

This week I take a closer look at some of the companies that tried to catch the ear and checkbooks of the high-profile investors who packed that confab at the Four Seasons in Palo Alto.

One of the more intriguing ideas came from startups thinking outside the agribusiness box by developing urban farms in a box.

Literally.

Take AeroFarms.

The New York company builds aeroponic farms that fit inside containers — soil and sun not required.

The containers, which can be stacked on top of each other in warehouses and old buildings ..

.. have the potential to transform blocks of abandoned structures in places like Detroit or Newark .. into agri-lofts tended by urban farmers.

“This puts buildings back into play with a technology that would do something productive and employ people,” Ed Harwood, AeroFarms’ founder and chief executive, told prospective investors at the conference.

Aerofarms bin.

Here’s how it works: Leafy greens — say, arugula or lettuce — are planted in a cloth bed and irrigated with a nutrient-infused mist that is applied directly to the plants.

Light is provided by LED lamps, which are more energy efficient than conventional lighting .. and can be placed closer to the beds.

The LED lamps also provide pest control, says Harwood ..

.. because they can be set to emit certain wavelengths that disrupt insects’ breeding..”

(and..)

“..one standard container can grow the equivalent of an acre’s worth of crops..”

go to source/story>>Sustainable urban farming ideas that think inside the box | Grist

“..It’s called the Universal World House, or the Wall AG, and although it may not look like much, this eco-friendly, earthquake-proof and easy-to-assemble home could be the answer for affordable shelter in impoverished and war-torn countries.

It might also be a glimmer of hope for millions of people in need of shelter in America.

Created by Swiss designer Gerd Niemöller, the Universal World House comes with built-in plumbing, 8 single and double built-in beds, shelves, tables and an open veranda.

The inside walls are designed with honeycomb air vacuums that act as insulation and support for the entire home structure.

The coolest part: the home is made from a material called Swisscell, which is composed of recycled paper and cardboard ..

.. and altogether it weighs less than 1,800 pounds (the equivalent to a VW Golf)!

Oh, and it’s also rain resistant..”

go to source/story>>Recycled Paper Prefab Home Offers Shelter for Refugees and the Homeless | Greenopolis

“..Plus Minus Design, a team of innovative designers in the UK which look to have done some design work for the Solar Aid charity around the Solar Orb [PDF] ..

.. now have another solar design idea unleashed centered around their new Plus Minus Solar mission of being “dedicated to the design and development of innovative humanitarian products for the developing world.”

This one, being shown on one of the designer’s Flickr accounts, is called the Solar Pebble.

The Solar Pebble, as picked up on by Yanko Design, “is a solar powered lamp targeted for use in rural Africa, as a humanitarian product, and at home in the UK as the perfect gift.”

Designer Tom Weales, through his Flickr feed, seems to see the Solar Pebble idea as an eco and health friendly alternative to the fact ..

.. that “in the world’s poorest regions including sub-Saharan Africa, reliance on kerosene burning lanterns kills one person every 20 seconds.”

The LED Solar Pebble, as it is designed, looks to change that.

Features of the Solar Pebble include being powered by batteries that are charged via an integrated solar panel..

..being able to charge mobile devices like cell phones, a ratchet handle that “allows the product to be carried and angled when standing or suspended” ..

.. and the ability to strap it to a backpack for daytime charging..”

go to source/story>>Solar Pebble Offers Eco-Friendly Lighting For Rural Africa, Urban London | EarthTechling

“..When Surya, the orangutan, meets a hound dog by the river .. the two carry on like long lost friends..”

(this is a must-watch…

..and if it dosen’t put a grin on yr face the size of a house..something is very wrong..)

(recommended/must-watch..)

(hat-tip:..michael/the ‘change’-dude..)

go to source/story>>The Orangutan and the Hound - AOL Video
When Surya, the orangutan, meets a hound dog by the river, the two carry on like long lost friends

“.. After three baby squirrels lost their tree-home to a chain saw, they found a foster mum in a 4-year-old toy poodle named Pixie.

Dog owner Gail Latta said she tried unsuccessfully to feed the squirrels canned milk.

Then the North Carolina woman turned to Pixie, who had recently had her own pups.

They had been sold, but Pixie could still nurse.

Pixie treated the foster squirrels like her own babies.

After two weeks, the squirrels were old enough to be weaned, and they had to go.

Latta said she learned she might be violating state regulations by keeping wildlife in her home.

Latta said Pixie seemed a little upset when the squirrels were sent Saturday to an animal rehabilitation specialist..”

go to source/story>>Dog that nursed squirrels is doing OK - oddstuff | Stuff.co.nz

“..The golden age of Rocksteady in Jamaica was a brief two-year window from 1966-68 when jumped-up ska gave way to something more laid-back, cool and bass-heavy.

It was only a short time before reggae would take over but some timeless tracks, including Dawn Penn’s version of (You Don’t Love Me) No No No and Rivers of Babylon - which went on to be world famous thanks to Boney M’s disco hit - came out of this Rocksteady time.

This album is the soundtrack to the documentary Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae which screens at the World Cinema Showcase.

The film follows reggae greats, from vocalists such as Penn, Judy Mowatt, Ken Boothe and U-Roy, to band leader and guitarist Ernest Ranglin, as they record versions of the era’s big hits and put on a live show.

Very much like the Buena Vista Social Club.

On the album, the highlight is the brand new version of No No No by Penn which is righteous and delightful all wrapped up into one ..

.. from the heavy opening rumble and skank through to her sweet and soulful chorus.

A triumph of a song.

As is U-Roy’s take on Stop That Train .. with his commanding rap a stunning contrast to the soul-gospel backing singers.

Familiar oldies like Rivers of Babylon and Tide Is High (the latter made famous by Blondie) get a modern-day yet authentic reworking; ..

.. and on a more low-key level, Love Me Today has a singalong garage party groove similar to the style of New Zealand’s Tigi Ness..”

(mm..!!..’no,no.no’..i love that song..!..)

go to source/story>>Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae - Entertainment - NZ Herald News

“..What’s a CSA, you ask?

Something quite special.

What is it?

CSA stands for “Community Supported Agriculture.”

In short, it’s a way for consumers to buy into an agricultural enterprise, receive fresh, natural food seasonally and support our local food system.

Most CSAs are farms, and involve vegetables herbs, fruits and flowers, although other types – meat, fish – are popping up all the time, here and in other parts of the country.

We are fortunate to have a healthy crop of CSAs here in Bucks County too.

All told, about seven, including one poultry farm CSA.

And most use organic, or nearly organic, methods of farming.

How does it work?

I’ll use a CSA farm as an example, since that’s most common.

You buy a “share” per season (usually late May through mid-November), which entitles your household to a weekly portion of produce, grown on that farm.

Many CSAs offer half-shares, too, which is what Mark and I have since we are only two adults.

We pick up every other week.

Some people go in with other family members or friends and buy a share together.

Most CSAs also ask that each household volunteer a certain number of hours per season but it’s quite reasonable.

Our CSA, Anchor Run Farm in Wrightstown, asks full share members to put in 8 hours over the course of the season, half-share members only 4 hours.

Tasks vary from helping with the garlic harvest (an” all hands on deck” type event) to weeding and other necessary farming maintenance.

At Anchor Run, we pick up every other week (because we are half-share members) which involves going to the farm on a Monday or Thursday ..

.. filling our bags with the vegetables picked that week, and doing some “pick-your-own” of other vegetables or fruits.

The farmers tell us how much we can pick, trying to make sure there will be enough to go around for all members.

Some CSAs have you pick all your own vegetables.

Some, like Blooming Glen, bring a box of your weekly allotment to a distribution point..”

go to source/story>>Bucks County Taste » Blog Archive » CSAs: It’s like having your own farm

“..Act I was co-founding Facebook while at Harvard with this roommate Mark Zuckerberg.

Act II was taking a leave from the social networking behemoth and joining Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, where the fresh-faced Southerner from Hickory, N.C. became part of an A-list new media team.

There, he served as the architect of My.BarackObama.com — or MyBO, the most successful network of volunteers and grassroots army that American presidential campaigning had ever seen.

And Act III?

“I knew I wanted to do something at the nexus of what I call global development and technology,” Hughes told HuffPost Tech in a phone interview yesterday.

“By global development, I’m talking about a broad umbrella — health care, agriculture, education.

I just knew I wanted to do something in that space .. and I spent the last year traveling” (in countries such has Kenya and Senegal, which he fell in love with) “and talking to people” (like Jeff Sachs, the prominent economist at Columbia University who’s been named one of the “100 Most Influential People In The World” by Time magazine — twice).

Hughes added:” I spent the past year researching, studying, learning everything I could in the space.”

Today, he announced the “soft launch” of Jumo — which, in the African language of Yoruba, translates to “together in concert.”

Think of the site as philanthropy, volunteerism and social networking all rolled into one.

It’s a platform that will connect people and organizations around the world ..

.. and Hughes is arguably the most well-known tech entrepreneur to enter the still evolving global space.

Currently just a few pages, the site will launch fully in the fall, sometime between September and October.

In an e-mail blast early this morning, Hughes wrote:

‘.. just wanted to let you know about my new startup called Jumo.

We’re announcing today that we’re building an online platform to connect individuals and organizations working to change the world.

We believe we can leverage the participatory web to foster long-term engagement with the issues and organizations that are relevant to each individual.

Jumo has the potential to unlock a great deal of time, skills, and financial resources previously unavailable to organizations around the world.

When you get a second, take a look.

We’ll be launching the site with full capabilities this fall, but I wanted to let you know that we’re officially getting underway.

If you know anyone who may be interested in working with us, please send them our jobs page to get in contact with us.

Talk to you soon,

Chris

P.S. I’d love for you to forward this email to friends, become our fan on Facebook , and let your friends on Twitter know.

The more people that know about what we’re doing, the stronger the team we’ll be able to build..”

go to source/story>>Jose Antonio Vargas: Chris Hughes’s Act III — Jumo.com, A Social Platform For Global Volunteerism

“.. The idea is so simple: ..

.. Trees produce more food than people can eat.

Most of the fruit goes to waste.

Get the food and donate it to those in need.

Randy Stannard issues a warning to first-time harvesters: Participate in a community fruit-gleaning event, and suddenly, fruit trees will seem to surround you.

You’ll notice only the fruit trees in your neighborhood.

There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of them, just waiting for their bounty to be picked.

And you won’t feel content until every last edible piece of produce sits in your bucket..”

go to source/story>>Urban Harvesters Scavenge Backyards to Feed the Hungry | | AlterNet

“..My horoscope this week says that now is the perfect time to relocate, or at least de-clutter.

I know it’s nonsense, but I can’t help wishing there was a genuine way to predict the future.

Perhaps there is.

One self-styled “predictioneer” believes he has found the answer.

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is a professor of politics at New York University .. and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in California.

In his new book, The Predictioneer (The Predictioneer’s Game in the US), he describes a computer model based on game theory which he - and others -

- claim can predict the future with remarkable accuracy.

Over the past 30 years, Bueno de Mesquita has made thousands of predictions about hundreds of issues from geopolitics to personal problems.

Overall, he claims, his hit rate is about 90 per cent.

So how does he do it?..”

go to source/story>>The predictioneer: Using games to see the future - science-in-society - 17 March 2010 - New Scientist

“..Animal rights activists in the UK have instead recently adopted a legal tactic aimed at publicly exposing all researchers who experiment on live animals.

The approach can be just as unsettling for researchers involved as the more flamboyant methods, however.

The tactic exploits freedom of information (FOI) legislation to force universities to disclose previously confidential information about what research is being done on animals, and by whom.

According to the British Guardian newspaper, the tactic has been pioneered by Luke Steele of Stop Animal Experiments in Bradford, UK ..

.. an activist who has dispatched FOI requests to all UK universities.

Researchers quoted in The Guardian say they’re intimidated by the tactic ..

.. fearing that exposure of their experiments, however legal and ethically justified, would make them targets for extremists.

The development marks the latest switch of tactics by anti-vivisectionists..”

go to source/story>>Short Sharp Science: Animal activists’ unsettling bid for freedom