Warrior Pose: How Yoga (Literally) Saved my Life by Brad Willis I discussed this one in my S3C article today, but it’s basically the autobiography of a NBC correspondent who suffered surgically irreparable spinal damage, and terminal cancer, and used traditional Yoga practices to save his own life, when the medical profession had written him off. How to Raise a Wild Child by Scott D. Sampson, PhD Dr Sampson has a shot on PBS called “Dinosaur Train” that my kids like, when they get to watch it at Grandma’s. I didn’t realize who he was when I bought the book. I was just looking for other approaches to teaching some of the stuff we teach the kids in our homeschooling. Dr Sampson did a great job with this. It doesn’t just discuss specific activities, it discusses the theory and science behind why some methods of teaching natural sciences are better than others, why getting kids outdoors, even in a suburban backyard, is better than just taking a vacation to some remote location once every couple of years, and mostly, how important a connection with the natural world is, especially for today’s kids who spend so much time cooped up indoors. The $50 and Up Underground House by Mike Oehler The perennial classic, I’ve read this a number of times. I was actually just referring back to it this week, looking to remember how he built his roof superstructure, for a forthcoming project on our farm. Mud Ball: 6 Weeks, $6000, and Plenty of Dirt by Atulya K Bingham Miss Bingham is English, with all that implies. She moved to Turkey, bought property, and built an earthbag house there. This book is her story about that, although she did not finish the house in the six weeks advertised in the title, nor for the $6000. It was still a pretty good read, by a decent writer, about a subject I have a recurring interest in: alternative construction methods. Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath by Ted Koppel The legendary Mr. Koppel leveraged his reputation as a journalist to interview a wide range of experts on EMP and cyber warfare, to try and shed some light on the risks to the national infrastructure. Although I was not familiar with it until recently, this is not a brand new book. If I recall correctly, it is from 2014. The situation is not any better—in fact it is worse—than when he wrote the book. I looked it up and read it, because I’ve had a number of people asking me specifically about the current spate of warnings from DHS and the federal .gov specific to electrical grid concerns. It was alright. Mr. Koppell’s solution is about what I would have expected from him. He lobbies for a return to the 1950s Civil Defense organization structure, and a government-focused plan of action, with all that implies…. Continue reading...
