Tuesday, February 22, 2022

History Lesson, With A Beat

I recently discovered this song through the Just Dance 2020 game that my daughter loves to play: Rasputin by Boney M.
Not only does it have a good beat and an upbeat melody, the moves are definitely culturally appropriate. But the part I love the most is that it takes a largely forgotten historical figure of great importance of his time, around the Russian Revolution, and tells his story very succinctly. It takes a great amount of talent to do that, and it's sad that Boney M. didn't get more recognition for this marvelous work.

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Heat from Your Lawn

Pellet stoves are a convenient way to heat your home with a renewable resource.  But you may find buying dozens of bags of pellets disconcerting.  Did you know you can Make Your Own Pellets?  And they don't have to be out of wood. ABC Machinery has hammer mills, dryers, and pellet mills that will convert grass clippings into grass pellets on a homestead level.  The Vermont Grass Energy Partnership did a Technical Assessment of Grass Pellets as Boiler Fuel in Vermont.

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Homegrown Furniture

How do you make furniture out of solid wood?  Try growing it as a single piece.  Okay, maybe it isn't something that amateurs can do at home, but the results certainly are intriguing.  Gavin Munro has come up with special molds and pruning and grafting techniques to get the trees into the proper shape.  Full Grown Furniture in England sells them, but they cost thousands of dollars and you have to wait many years.