This weekend I have been focused on charcoal. I have always planned to use it for cleaning air and water. It adsorbs most organic molecules, removing most odor, taste and color. It is easy to make and when it is dirty, easy to recharge and re-use .
Lately I have been learning that charcoal is also an incredibly useful soil additive. It lasts many hundreds of years in the soil, hanging on to all kinds of organic molecules; so it captures and holds nutrients. Hairlike fungi in the soil tickle the nutrients out of the charcoal and feed them to the plants. In some tests it improves plant productivity by 880%.
Making charcoal creates additional heat and fuel while it uses up some of the mountains of sawmill waste we have around here. When it ends up in the soil, it acts as a carbon sink, taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and reducing global warming.
For us, making charcoal beats the heck out of a win win situation. If I counted right, this is a win win win win win win win.
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Sunday, October 28, 2007
Monday, October 08, 2007
Simplicity isn't simple
There is a basic truth that I must deal with whenever I try to design something;
Simple only works from a given point of view.
Make something simple for somebody and it almost certainly makes things more complex for someone else. Often that is the value proposition to your customer. Whether you are selling goods or a service, you are saying "I am offering to make it simpler for you to get X, because I will handle the complicated details."
Of course, we often make things unnecessarily complex. Taking unnecessary complications out of your design (or your life) is like editing a movie or a well written essay. It takes a lot of attention, reflection and work to hone it down to be simple and elegant.
Much of civilization is about simplifying. We pave our land, and make buildings with smooth walls and floors because flat is simple. We create uniform laws and currencies. Every time we simplify something, it becomes a platform upon which we can build a more complex structure.
As civilization gets complex, we all eventually want to simplify our lives. When people attempt to return to the simple life, they often find out that nature is enormously complex to deal with.
It boils down to aptitude.
Whatever you are good at seems simple to you.
So, Follow your heart and life gets simpler and better.
Simple only works from a given point of view.
Make something simple for somebody and it almost certainly makes things more complex for someone else. Often that is the value proposition to your customer. Whether you are selling goods or a service, you are saying "I am offering to make it simpler for you to get X, because I will handle the complicated details."
Of course, we often make things unnecessarily complex. Taking unnecessary complications out of your design (or your life) is like editing a movie or a well written essay. It takes a lot of attention, reflection and work to hone it down to be simple and elegant.
Much of civilization is about simplifying. We pave our land, and make buildings with smooth walls and floors because flat is simple. We create uniform laws and currencies. Every time we simplify something, it becomes a platform upon which we can build a more complex structure.
As civilization gets complex, we all eventually want to simplify our lives. When people attempt to return to the simple life, they often find out that nature is enormously complex to deal with.
It boils down to aptitude.
Whatever you are good at seems simple to you.
So, Follow your heart and life gets simpler and better.
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