Cataloging the Detritus of my Life
Words to inspire, words to remember, words to live be. Don’t give up. Get better.
Global Village Construction Set in 2 Minutes from Open Source Ecology
As regular readers of DiMortuiSunt (now False(B)logic) -Ed) probably already know I’m a big fan of DIY. I grew up living an average suburban lifestyle: separated from the people, processes, land, and animals that make my life possible. As I’ve grown up I’ve recognized this glaring absence in my life. D and I have been trying, slowly, to become more involved. We belong to a Co-op; we garden and compost; we are learning to make our own food products; we are pickling and canning. I grew up being a consumer and I want to make sure as an adult I am a maker.
I’m not the only person who feels this way. There is an entire movement among my generation of people who are trying to get back to a more sustainable and authentic lifestyle (by authentic I mean one in which the person is making something, working with their hands, and creating tangible items). Some people are taking it farther than others. Everything they are doing, is amazing. Some of them I’m sure will change the world, like the man in the video above.
The idea of a DIY Civilization kit seems ridiculous on its face. The task of knowing how to and being able to create all the things necessary for the comforts of a modern lifestyle are just too complicated for a single person or small group of people to know. Despite that though the Open Source Ecology Project is an attempt to put all the plans, instructions, know-how, etc onto a single DVD that will allow the owner the ability to build and operate advanced technologies to jumpstart an economy and even a civilization.
I don’t know when I first thought about brewing my own beer… I’ve known for a long time that brewing it wasn’t that difficult and that humans had been doing it for thousands of years. The history of brewing is, like all histories, fascinating and worth your time even if you don’t drink. One thing that struck me about its history that struck me though was how domestic the industry was, by that I mean people brewed their own beer for their own consumption. Perhaps I don’t write about it much here but I’ve been holding an extended discussion with one of my dear friends about self-sufficiency and moving from consumption to production. I think this is a direction that our nation as a whole needs to move in order to get its economic house in order but, right now I can’t do anything to direct national policy what I can do is learn a useful skill and try to pass it on to others, and hope that it inspires them to take action in their own life to consume less and make more.
This isn’t a post about my own philosophy, it’s a post about beer brewing. I purchased the one-gallon brewing kit pictured above from the Brooklyn Brew Shop who also sell five gallon kits, several recipes packs, and other brewing accessories. Obviously, I haven’t had much business with them but its been good so far and they came highly recommended by friends. They have a several mixes and seeing as I’d never tried one I went with the one that sounded most delicious: Apple Crisp Ale.
I’m currently scheduling the actual brew next weekend. I was initially worried that I’d have to muck through this alone, but it turns out that not only is the internet full of resources (google: beer brewing), but my local community has numerous resources: a restaurant that lets you brew your own beer; a local brewery with a its own brewers group that meets monthly to discuss all things brew; and, my Fraternity also has a Zymurgy committee. With all that help at my fingertips I’m hoping my first batch isn’t a dud.
Of course, I’ll be blogging more about this as I move forward, as well as other projects I’m undertaking to shift from consumption to production.