What's the Big Idea Video Contest

Sundance channel has a video contest to highlight their new 13-part documentary series Big Ideas for a Small Planet. What's your big idea to help the environment and maybe even win 10k.
Also, you can download the first episode of the series for free on iTunes.

Book Mooch

I was telling DG about my post on Book Crossing and she was like, "is that like Book Mooch?" So I went to the site -- Book Mooch is like Book Crossing but instead of leaving books for others to find and pass along, you sign up and send requests. I'm going to give both a try and blog about these later with updates.
Damn. Spring break was too short.

Dome Home Update

Well, yesterday I went to that dome home I was talking about in the earlier post, parked the car in the driveway (I had to turn around so that I wouldn't get hit pulling out on the busy street that runs next to it). Even before I had gotten out of the car the owner was down the steps and meeting me halfway between my car and his house. I introduced myself and explained that I wanted to come by and shoot a short video for the blog but he totally nixed it. "Yeah," he said. "We're private people, so we're not going to do that." I was polite and thanked him and moved on.

All I've got to say is, how do you spell "private?" How about M-E-T-H-L-A-B ? Or how about G-R-O-W-R-O-O-M ? Damn hippies and their dome homes.

Now I've got to scope out the other dome home in town (at last count, yes, there are two) and see if that one is even inhabited. I got an email back from the guy about the ebay listing photos, but for some reason I'm feeling a little hinky about dealing with him. The listing does provide a good, basic, run-down of what a dome home is, so I encourage readers to take a gander.

Gotta go to class, but here is a Wikipedia entry about the Xanadu house.

Bookcrossing

I'm jealous because fiberlibrarian blogged about this before I did, but I won't be bitter. Bookcrossing is an amazing idea, and it would be great if the large, southern, public university I work and go to school in would allow a depot at our main library to be set up. 'nuf said. The concept is kind of like the "take-a-penny" dish at your convenience store: Need a book? Take a Book. Have a book? Leave a book. Go to the Bookcrossing website and log in the books you want to "release" and then write the number for each book on the inside cover, and write "free, not lost" on the inside of the cover (I got this tip from fiberlibrarian and haven't actually seen this on the Bookcrossing site itself; seems like a good idea, though). You could also write "bookcrossing.com." Then leave it somewhere or give away. What a concept.

Voluntary Blackouts?

I go to school and work in a large state university. Recently, a bunch of idealistic student banded together to form a sustainability group for our campus. Very much wanting to support them, I (literally) bought the t-shirt (organic American Apparel cotton, by the way--very soft!) and joined the facebook group asking me to vote "yes" for renewable energy during the student elections in 2 weeks. Yes, I have a facebook profile with 2 friends, okay? Anyway, For 50-cents per credit hour the campus can raise 645k per year to buy energy from "green" sources or buy the technology to create its own power.

Now, I'm not saying this is not a good idea. I just think that if we are really, truly going to get serious about conservation and making sacrifices for the sake of the planet, I think we need to start thinking a little more off the grid, as it were. We need to start thinking hard about the possibility of voluntary or prescribed blackouts.

Here's a link to an email call to action asking people to voluntarily turn off their electricity the first day of summer. In 2001. So, almost 6 years later, I'm thinking "I wonder if I can get everyone on my street to do a voluntary blackout for one night?" My street is pretty diverse and the range of answers would go from "you bet" to "you crazy?"

In 2006 the City of Waterloo posted a news release that hailed their own voluntary blackout in August a success.

What would a prescribed blackout look like? When would it take place and who would be exempted? We really need to think these issues through. People might freak and claim fascism is alive and afoot in the states but it's going to happen so we should get used to the idea. And if it doesn't happen on a voluntary basis it's going to be forced on us.

Dome home!

I live in a wacky place in North Central Florida which has a diverse community and a long and rich history of freaky-deaks. If the 1970's contributed nothing to our overall enjoyment of life in the new millenium (other than a seemingly endless retro parade of its fashions [please end already, it's been 15 years]), it has given us the dome home. I drive by one on the days I'm driving DJ to or from his preschool. I find it fascinating and hope to do a short video or photo entry about it very soon.

In the meantime, this was an ebay listing called "Unique Triple Dome Home" that ended in July 2006, just about the time I was starting AE.

I contacted the seller and asked for the photos. We'll see if he or she returns my email or thinks I'm just a wacko, which is probably a wise assumption.

I've been fascinated with dome homes for a long time. There is the Monolthic Dome Institute in Italy, Texas (the last bastion of hippiedome if you ask me) where they can make your dome home aspirations a reality. Their forums have things other than dome homes that Texans and Floridians would find interesting, such as The 'things crashing into stick houses' thread which I encourage you to view at your leisure.

Here is the original AE posting on alternative housing. I will be getting back to this subject very soon!

Update:
I just emailed Monolithic Dome Institute to let them know I blogged about them -- I think that's the first time I've ever done that. Oh, yeah, I also hit them up for one of their Monolithic Dome 2007 calendars. I don't think that's payola, is it? Nah!