DIY: backyard chickens

Thomas Kriese, Zsu Zsu in the Grass (Barred Rock hen), Wikipedia

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My relatively new next-door neighbor has started raising chickens!  It has been fun to watch them grow, interact socially (some days there's a fair amount of bickering), and make numerous breaks for freedom. Must admit, it's a little startling to catch a 7-pound Plymouth Rock hen clearing the fence out of the corner of your eye. At first there was a rooster as well, but I'm guessing the neighbors found out that zoning laws exclude roosters.  (The primary care provider is not exactly communicative.)

With the current state of supermarket meat and rising prices, raising chickens makes a lot of sense.  Recently in the news was this:  "Roosters' fertility problem hits U.S. chicken supply, lifts prices." (The fertility problem is due to genetic 'tweaking'.) Although, don't ask me to butcher and dress one.  The eggs would be nice.

On rainy days these little guys huddle together in the driest spots they can find.  They need a coop--also an enclosure they can't breach.  Next door I see uncut panels of low-grade plywood proliferating, but no structures being formed.

A list of free chicken coop plans can be found at freebies.about.com.  This portable poultry pen (PDF format) from pvcplans looks like a good solution.

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Portable Poultry Pen, pvcplans

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For ready-made, there's quite a selection at Amazon; search for "chicken coop."  The Eglu in the background of ZsuZsu's picture above is offered by Omlet (UK).

For a wealth of good information about raising and caring for chickens there's Lisa's blog, Fresh Eggs Daily. Check out her Ultimate Chicken Care Guide.

I'm hoping the chickens will be able to survive an Alaskan winter.

-- Marge

Cartoons: We the *rich* People...

Senate Republicans have once again asserted their right to be naysayers: "Senate Republicans block Obama bid to hike minimum wage." The debate about raising the minimum wage pushes the point that an increase in the wage will cost jobs.  The North Carolina Policy Watch (NC Policy Watch) has published a comparison of changes in employment levels between states that have increased the minimum wage and those that have not. Generally "...States that raised minimum wage experiencing faster job growth."

These cartoonists have some valuable insights into Republicans, Obama, and the minimum wage controversy.

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Chan Lowe, US News

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Milt Priggee, Cagle

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Milt Priggee, Cagle

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Steve Sack, Cagle

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-- Marge

DIY: On-the-street survival

We hear a lot about how the middle class is shrinking and the rich are getting richer by the day, but what does that mean in terms of personal lives?  If the middle class is becoming poorer, then the poor are poorer yet, and some end up on the street, homeless.

The federal government and cities record the number of homeless--"Counting the homeless in America's poorest city," "Here's Why Homelessness Is Going to Get Worse in 2014," fund programs to help the homeless, and provide services.  But the numbers of people needing assistance is often greater than the services available.

So what does it feel like to be out on the street, not knowing where your next meal is coming from, and without the running water to even brush your teeth? Take a look at "7 Things No One Tells You About Being Homeless." If, on the other hand, you're interested in living off-grid and fully mobile, take a look at this word from the street, "Ultra fully mobile."

Here are some bits and pieces that offer to help with street survival; some should be taken with a grain of salt.

The Space at Tompkins offers an array of resources for the homeless in New York City.

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Street person with friend, The Space at Tompkins

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One of Tompkins' suggestions is a survival kit in an Altoids tin, which is fully described at Field & Stream's site. Note that the comments have some interesting things to say about it and survival kits in general.

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Survival kit in an Altoids tin, Field & Stream

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It follows (at least for me) that if you're homeless you may become a squatter. Lorraine Henning, who has/had a project at Indiegogo, has proposed a handbook, "A Practical Guide to Squatting." While she sometimes sounds like she's speaking tongue-in-cheek, she offers some interesting information.

Here are two sites that offer designs for emergency shelters.  While the designs seem to me impractical for a person without income or resources to implement them, they're still worth a look. There's The Tiny Life and HomeTone.

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Encore Heureux and G studio, room-room, HomeTone

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-- Marge

Cartoons on the economy, info on the Federal money-maker

This came across the wire today from Reuters:

U.S. consumer spending barely rose and inflation was tame in July, offering a cautionary note on the economy as the Federal Reserve weighs cutting back its massive bond-buying program.

According to this article buying stuff "accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity."  For more information on why the Fed is cutting back and how the Fed's cutting back on bond-buying may affect us, take a look at "The Effects of Tapering Off the FED’s Stimulus Program" at InflationData.

If all this gab about economics is a big yawn for you, you're not alone.  Keep in mind, though, that these factors do affect our quality of life.  How about some cartoons to ward off the blahs? (Warning:  they're a bit depressing, too.)  All of the artwork below was found at U.S. News' economy cartoons section.
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David Horsey, US News.com

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Chris Britt, US News.com

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David Horsey, US News.com

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Drew Sheneman, US News.com

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If you get as confused about the Federal Reserve and what it does as I do, this video from Time Magazine might help  -- might not.
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-- Marge

DIY money laundering

Many of us don't need to launder money, mostly because we don't have that much money and and don't need to cover up its source.  However, it seems to me you might be interested in how easy it is and how it's done.

To do it yourself, sign up for an account with a virtual world that has its own virtual currency, such as Second Life, then download and install the Bitcoin client.  Then start converting real life dollars to Linden dollars, then Linden dollars to Bitcoins.  If you think this is silly, take a look at this article from New World Notes.  Here's a current Bitcoin chart tracking Second Life transactions. The Economist explains how Bitcoin works.

And you thought virtual worlds are silly.

This Alex comic strip (Charles Peattie and Russell Taylor) from The Telegraph (U.K.) might explain money laundering a little more (click on the image to see it larger).

 

Word on the street says the U.S. will be applying money-laundering laws to Bitcoin and other 'virtual currencies.  The Wall Street Journal concurs.

What's a shady entrepreneur to do?  You could ignore the new rules, since you're probably doing something illegal anyway.  Or you could be too-big-to-fail, like HSBC.  This cartoon by Adam Zyglis sums it up nicely:

This whole too-big-to-fail thing is just plain wrong.

-- Marge