Today I randomly opened The Last Drive to page 225. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger is “privacy.” That is our prompt today.
This edition continues the historical background on the Top Ten feature. I hope you like it. This post ran on September 1, 2018
Top Ten Things Not to Do During the 1849 California Gold Rush
10 If you are near the gold rush, do not sell everything to go mine for gold. If you do, at best, you will break even. At worst, you’ll find that you have blown your life savings chasing a dream. (Seems you could have found a better way to blow your money, Farquharson. You could try self-publishing.)
9 If you are near the gold rush, do not move that stake at the corner of Tiny the WWF champ’s claim. If you do, at best, Tiny will let you put it back. At worst, Tiny figures you are jumping his claim. (No use even putting up a fight, Farrin. I would just lie there. Tiny is bound to lose interest sooner or later.)
8 If you are near the gold rush, do not hide your gold under the straw mattress on your cot. If you do, at best, the lump will keep you awake. At worst, sadly, that’s the first place a thief will look. (Well, now you need to start over, Farrs. With any luck, you get that gold dust back in another six months of panning.)
7 If you are near the gold rush, do not describe someone to his face as a sourdough. If you do, at best, the person is too new to know that a sourdough is someone from Canada who has come to California in search of Gold. At worst, the person might take exception to being called dough. (Might as well take it back, Farson. Looks like he is mighty angry.)
6 If you are near the gold rush, do not wear your Amiri jeans to work. If you do, at best, you will attract many stares. At worst, the Levi-Strauss salesperson might decide a gunfight is in order. (I guess you didn’t realize that Levi’s are the official jeans of the gold rush, huh, Favian. No worries, just buy a pair and all will be forgotten.)
5 If you are near the gold rush, do not announce any discoveries of gold. If you do, at best, you’ll have more friends. At worst, the mob scene that will transpire is more than you can handle. (Your claim needs to be defended, Fedyenka. But do you really want to shoot someone?)
4 If you are near the gold rush, do not complain about the cost of food. If you do, at best, you’ll be told to go elsewhere. At worst, the cook may decide that serving you requires a higher reimbursement and raise his prices again. (Funny, Felix, but you are the only one paying more for everything.)
3 If you are near the gold rush, do not think you can set up a get-rich-quick wagon and tool rental business. If you do, at best, all your tools will be rented out, and you’ll need to get more. At worst, none of the devices will be brought back, and the rentals do not cover the cost. (This was not how it was supposed to work, Fergus.)
2 If you are near the gold rush, do not drink whatever is in that bottle in the saloon. If you do, at best, you won’t go blind. At worst, you might lose track of time and wake up three weeks from now broke and homeless. (Imagine if you’d had enough money to buy two bottles, Fiacre. You might not be with us right now.)
1 If you are near the gold rush, do not pan for gold. If you do, at best, you won’t find any. At worst, you might pull a couple of specks out of the sand, which will cause an extreme attack of gold fever. (Well, that does it, Fidelis. You are hooked. See you in a couple of years when your money runs out.)
Today, we are visiting Lakeways historic Liebelt Cabin. We are catered by Crown and Anchor Pub of Austin. Our entertainment is The Foggy Mountain Boys.
Menu
Classic Hamburger & Fries – The tried-and-true original, 100% Fresh, Never Frozen Patty cooked to perfection. For those who don’t want to mess with a good thing!
Mushroom Swiss Burger & Fries – Topped with sautéed mushrooms and melted Swiss cheese.
Cheeseburger & Fries – Our Classic Hamburger with American cheese.
Double Cheeseburger & Fries – Our Classic Hamburger, double patty with American cheese.
Jalapeño Cheeseburger & Fries – Cheeseburger topped with sliced jalapeños.
Bacon Cheeseburger & Fries – Add two strips of bacon to the cheeseburger.
Veggie Burger & Fries – Award-winning! A crispy veggie patty on a wheat bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mayo, and mustard.
Hop on the bus and let’s go.
There’s the historical marker explaining that the cabin was relocated to the city hall area in 2011. It is over 150 years old.
Vintage farm equipment around the cabin.
More farm equipment.
A replica of the marker for August Liebelt, who built and lived in the cabin.
One view of the cabin.
A closer look.
The stove was used for cooking and heating.
A view toward the fireplace and dining area.
Artifacts from the era.
Looking back toward the stove and at the ladder to the second story. Note that the cabin had three doors, which provided plenty of ventilation.
A close-up of more artifacts. Great needlepoint, but spelling not so much.
The old rocker and cane. The framed photos are of members of the Historical Society at various functions in the cabin.
Now it’s time for food and music. I hope you have a great week.
A simple Saturday would include a calm cup of coffee, peace, and quiet. Of course, around here, the coffee is available, but peace and quiet? A touch of the two-coffee button sets in motion a chain of events destined to see me admitted to a special care facility or an order for a tun of wine. The coffee smells like redemption to a caffeine-starved brain. The first sip stops the nails-on-the-chalkboard low-caffeine warning alarm. The second sip is accompanied by the Westminster chime of the doorbell, joined by the baying of my own hounds of Baskerville – Twiggy and Tempeste. Their sound is like ten ton of tin falling from a church rafter just before the benediction. A quick toss of two new identical tan colored squeaky toys into the soundproof room, and the door slam brings back the Songs of Silence.
A check of the security monitor shows me an image of a person dressed in a Bugs Bunny suit. Since my curiosity is raised, with a sigh, the security shutdown process begins.
The SWAT team needs to be put on standby. A quick text to the leader confirms that status. Also, the flight of A-10 Warthogs must be diverted. Another call to the commander puts that worry to rest. The SEAL team needs to be called off, and a call to the leader makes that possible. The MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter hovering over the house is diverted. A call to the tow truck driver stops the deployment of an M1A1 Abrams Tank. The control panel simplifies the security system’s shutdown process. The boiling oil vats are put on standby, the turret mortars disengaged, the Trebuchet on safety, the concertina wire rolled, the Claymore mines reset, the tower Gatling guns on safety, the moat net dropped, the alligators fed, and the IEDs and shoulder-held rockets put away. The Proton torpedoes switched off. The gamma ray beams covered. The high-powered maser guns switched to standby, and the nanorobots were chained in the basement. The Klingons are called back, and the Targ is caged. Robbie’s Bot is sent to the basement. The Tasmanian Devil is directed to the food in his cage, and the door drops. The electronic jammer is kept active, given a situation with a robot not too long ago. The locks on the door are thrown. And the door opened.
The guy in the Bugs Bunny suit has a clipboard and a letter, which he passes to me. After signing and passing the clipboard back, the question has to be asked, “What’s with the Bugs Bunny outfit?” He explains that he took his uniform to the dry cleaners and picked it up last night. When he went to put it on today, there was an obvious mistake, so he had to wear the Bugs Bunny outfit that the cleaners mistakenly gave him.
“Why not just wear normal clothes?”
“Then I would be out of uniform, which is against company rules.”
“But you look out of uniform right now.”
“No. You see, I have the receipt that clearly says this is my uniform.”
The conversation is going nowhere, and the guy has his Bugs paw outstretched for a tip. Feeling sorry for him, he gets a tenner. Back inside, the letter is a message from Linda Hill that reads:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “tan/ten/tin/ton/tun.” Use one, use ’em all, use ’em any way you’d like. Bonus points if you manage to get four of them into your post. Have fun!
Reaching the milestone just before Earth Day, Ecosia, the nonprofit search engine, is celebrating 250 million trees planted worldwide, becoming the world’s largest planter of native trees.
Since its founding in 2009, Ecosia has built the world’s largest network of local reforestation operations, numbering more than 200,000 tree planters and 125 organizations worldwide. Users’ clicks and searches, as well as the ad revenue they generate, translate into funds the company uses to organize tree planting.
These partnerships have allowed the tech company to focus on working with local experts to plant 1,600 native tree species, including 144 endangered or vulnerable species, making it a leading contributor to threatened-tree conservation. These efforts are helping biodiversity hotspots recover and restoring ecosystems in communities for generations to come.
Founder Christian Kroll, together with Germany’s Federal Minister for the Environment, planted a tree to mark the 250 million milestone in front of the German federal parliament, the Reichstag, in Berlin, where Ecosia is headquartered.
“All of our successes have come from this powerful on-the-ground movement, ” said Christian Kroll, founder of Ecosia. “From one click in 2009 to 250 million trees today, our global community supercharged our climate action.”
GNN has previously reported on Ecosia. The search online often targets countries that are the most biodiverse, where tree loss directly corresponds with species loss. This has led them to launch projects in Nicaragua and Peru, Burkina Faso and Malawi, Indonesia, and Australia.
In 2018, for example, they created a tree nursery for 200,000 trees in Madagascar, to help create a forest corridor leading from an isolated habitat to the ocean. In 2019, they created a forest-agriculture project in Borneo to prevent locals from selling land to oil palm development.
That same year, Ecosia took measures to ensure it could never be sold and that no one, including the founder, could profit from or receive dividends from the company. This means that the business is set up purely to benefit the planet.
– credit, Ecosia Blog
Growing trees and forests is a long-term game that goes beyond just planting seedlings. Some of Ecosia’s trees get planted because they guarantee future revenue for the community (e.g., fruit and nut trees or trees that boost harvest yields); these provide a strong incentive for the beneficiaries of these products to protect the trees long term. Other reforestation work provides returns on investment for financiers. These are the most well-funded.
However, not every tree has a straightforward financial return on investment, and therefore, making a case for long-term investment is not clear-cut. In fact, much of today’s deforestation is the result of trees not being valued much in economic terms.
This is why Ecosia’s work is so critical to reforestation. It can step in where return-seeking capital won’t. This allows vital ecosystems and communities to be supported without greenwashing or offsetting motives. A purpose company with only one shareholder: the planet.
Unique to any other tech company, Ecosia has a dedicated Tree Team: a group of forestry and nature conservation experts, social business experts, economists, and social scientists, focused on finding the right partners to work with, collaborating with communities, and planting the right species to ensure our trees thrive. It is the only company in the world with a CTPO (Chief Tree Planting Officer).
“We care about our trees long term, not just for some pretty pictures of young saplings,” shared Pieter van Midwoud, Ecosia’s CTPO. “We have developed a vigorous monitoring program to analyze whether projects that we started would benefit from further support. Ecosia, as a purpose company, is best placed to do this long term, and we hope to grow millions more trees.”
The next chapter for Ecosia is to make a bigger move into landscape restoration. Rather than solely assessing projects based on factors that affect the long-term benefits of trees—such as water supply, fuel access, and financial sustainability—the company has begun to take a more active role in influencing those factors.
“We know that collaborating together with the local community is the only way to run a successful restoration project long term, so combining tree planting with complementary interventions that enable farmers and nature to have a bigger impact will be further strengthened,” said van Midwoud.
The good news in this story is that a serious effort to enable sustainable tree planting is sponsored by a tech company. Today’s JohnKu talks about tech and the environment. I hope you have a great weekend.
Today, I randomly opened Detour on the Eternal Road to page 85. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word nearest to my finger is “breath.” This is our prompt today.
As a reminder, this series of top-ten lists is a fantasy look at historical events as if we were there. This post was originally published on August 13, 2018
The Top Ten Things Not to Do During the French Revolution
10 If you were in France during the revolution, do not wear your best clothes while walking on the street. If you do, at best, you will be suspected of being a monarch supporter. At worst, you will be arrested, tried, convicted, and face the guillotine. (You have to admit it, Frank. These folks have no patience with cleanliness or fine clothes. Get ready for a really close shave.)
9 If you were in France during the revolution, do not accept a ride on a two-wheel wagon driven by Tiny the Revolutionary champ, who just got a loyalty award. If you do, at best, you’ll sneak off before you reach the plaza. At worst, you have a difficult time trying to convince Tiny that you are not part of the monarchy and are now trussed up like a turkey. (Those wagons are for transporting prisoners to the guillotine, Felix. What were you thinking?)
8 If you were in France during the revolution, do not wear your “I Love Louis XVI” pin. If you do, at best, most folks will think you are joking. At worst, a mob of villagers will ensure you are no longer a threat to the revolution. (What do all these people want, Fredrick. Why do they continue to yell, “Off with his head?” This is not Wonderland.)
7 If you were in France during the revolution, do not take the tour of the Bastille even if you paid in advance. If you do, at best, the tour will be quick, and you’ll be out before the storming. At worst, you will be mistaken for a defender of the Bastille by the storming crowds. (I would try to remember how to use that saber, Flynn. You are not going to convince that crowd that you are a tourist.)
6 If you were in France during the revolution, do not forget to wear your Liberté, égalité, fraternité T-shirt whenever you go outside. If you do forget, at best, you’ll still look like a peasant. At worst, your judgmental air will get you into court. (There doesn’t seem to be a whole bunch of innocent until proven guilty thought around this place, huh, Fabio. Next stop, the ultimate haircut.)
3 If you were in France during the revolution, do not continue to joke about wanting a Napoleon for dessert. If you do, at best, you might need a steak for that black eye. At worst, you might need a priest for that long walk to the guillotine. (When no one laughed the tenth time, you might have gotten the hint, Finian.)
2 If you were in France during the revolution, do not continue to tell everyone how beautiful you think the Palace of Versailles is in the sunlight. If you do, at best, they will be too busy to take you seriously. At worst, you and 100 of your closest Versailles residents will be marched into Paris. (Another trial, Finian. This is getting tiring. The good news is this is a tip to the executioner-free day at the guillotine.)
1 If you were in France during the revolution, do not assume the flag you are flying is that of the revolutionists. If you do, at best, you picked right. At worst, your three gold fleur-de-lis on a white background, although beautiful, will attract bullets. (Never believe a guy on the street who sold it to you, Fitz. Now you need to take cover.)
Today, we are visiting the Lakeway Activity Center for the Summer Camp Sign-up. We are catered by Zanzibar of Austin, and our entertainment is Pete Seeger.
Menu
Grilled Pineapple Salsa – avocado, pickled red onion, pineapple, cilantro
The coffee machine is the greatest life hack until it isn’t. Some days it functions perfectly, and others you would think it belonged in the junk yard. Today is one of the former. Dual streams of soothing syrup fill the cup without a hitch. The first sip quiets the caffeine-deprived nerve endings in the brain. The second sip is greeted by the Westminster and Hounds of Baskerville cacophony that threatens to blow out all the windows.
A toss of two bones into the soundproof room, followed by the slamming of the door, brings a kind of hush all over the world. A glance at the security monitor confirms the presence of a mule on the porch. After give-and-take with Francis the talking Mule, it is clear the security system needs to be shut down, and the door opened.
The SWAT team needs to be put on standby. A quick text to the leader confirms that status. Also, the flight of A-10 Warthogs must be diverted. Another call to the commander puts that worry to rest. The SEAL team needs to be called off, and a call to the leader makes that possible. The MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter hovering over the house is diverted. A call to the tow truck driver stops the deployment of an M1A1 Abrams Tank. The control panel simplifies the security system’s shutdown process. The boiling oil vats are put on standby, the turret mortars disengaged, the Trebuchet on safety, the concertina wire rolled, the Claymore mines reset, the tower Gatling guns on safety, the moat net dropped, the alligators fed, and the IEDs and shoulder-held rockets put away. The Proton torpedoes switched off. The gamma ray beams covered. The high-powered maser guns switched to standby, and the nanorobots were chained in the basement. The Klingons are called back, and the Targ is caged. Robbie’s Bot is sent to the basement. The Tasmanian Devil is directed to the food in his cage, and the door drops. The electronic jammer is kept active, given a situation with a robot not too long ago. The locks on the door are thrown. And the door opened.
The Mule has an envelope in its mouth, which it drops on the porch. Picking it up there is the obvious sign of an expected tip. The Mule raises a hoof in anticipation of a payoff. The last thing needed is two rear leg horseshoe dents in the front door, so a ten-spot is slipped into the outstretched hoof. An ear-splitting Hee Haw lets me know the Mule is happy. Once inside, the envelope contains a message from Linda Hill. It reads
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “life hack.” Use it however you’d like. Enjoy!
To see what others have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link:
