TechnoEarthMama

The current capitalist approach to business says that growth is good. Corporations and other businesses are supposed to grow every year, sell more products, provide more services, and earn more money.
I say that’s not sustainable. How could it be? How can we possibly expect infinite growth?
But aside from growth being unsustainable in the long run, [...]

One of my winter break reads was Hungry City, by Carolyn Steel. I’ve been looking forward to reading this; I had to get it through interlibrary loan. It’s a comprehensive look at the relationship between cities and food. The author explains how food got from the country to the cities in various historical periods, and [...]

I work in a school, so I don’t work during winter break, which is RIGHT NOW.
I always save up too many things to do during school breaks. It’s very easy to do that, especially as a break approaches.
“Bake cookies? I’ll have plenty of time during the break.”
“Call the optometrist’s office? That’ll be much easier during [...]

I just got back from an event called 30 Hour Day, a thirty-hour continuous podcast raising money for three local charities: Free Geek, Oregon Food Bank, and Toys for Tots. I was very pleased to take part in the event as part of the Literate Simpletons, a group performing a few spoken-word interpretive pieces.
You can [...]

Because I’m not. I looked out at the downpour this morning in Portland, Oregon, and promptly went into whine mode.
Yes, we’ve gone from sub-freezing temperatures to a soaking rain. Temperatures are getting into the 40’s, so at least we’re not so cold. The problem is that I don’t have rain pants I had some, but [...]

I’ve written before about Why I Really Don’t Do Walmart (and many people commented). Here’s another reason: poor sick leave policy.
Walmart’s come under fire from the National Labor Committee (a nonprofit organization supporting human and worker rights) for penalizing workers, possibly to the point of termination, for staying home sick. Here’s the scoop from their [...]

It’s 33 degrees (Fahrenheit) in Portland, Oregon as I write this, and we’re actually on the warm end of a week-long, record-setting, face-freezing cold spell. It’s been a great opportunity to develop our skills in keeping warm without turning the heat up and using more than our share of energy. Our normal thermostat setting is [...]

I checked the temperature on weather.com before leaving work today, and it said 27 degrees…plus “feels like 14″. Brrrr! I suppose that’s normal in some parts of the country, but in Portland, Oregon these are probably some of the coldest days of the year. And yes, I’m still cycling, kids and all.
What do we wear?
Me: [...]