No edit summary
(revert to slightly broken version; remove a colon within a header)
Line 1: Line 1:
== George source reduction ==
[[User:Georgedappilly|Shooter]] <small>[[Talk:GEM_mosquito_control_FAQ|talkFAQ]]</small> 02:31, 16 October 2007 (PDT)  <small>[[User talk:Georgedappilly|talkUser]]</small>'''Bold text'''
== ECOSAN as IE ==
== ECOSAN as IE ==
Hi Chris -- I think you are right ECOSAN is kind of like a small scale - home scale version of industrial ecology. Maybe we should have a new category for it and group it with the ZERI like thinking. On the other hand Ecosan could be practiced by small scale industry so it can fit.
Hi Chris -- I think you are right ECOSAN is kind of like a small scale - home scale version of industrial ecology. Maybe we should have a new category for it and group it with the ZERI like thinking. On the other hand Ecosan could be practiced by small scale industry so it can fit.
Line 220: Line 223:
== Water ways as a natural highway ==
== Water ways as a natural highway ==
I thought you might like this.
I thought you might like this.


http://bigrivershow.com/
http://bigrivershow.com/

Revision as of 10:16, 25 October 2008

George source reduction

Shooter talkFAQ 02:31, 16 October 2007 (PDT) talkUserBold text

ECOSAN as IE

Hi Chris -- I think you are right ECOSAN is kind of like a small scale - home scale version of industrial ecology. Maybe we should have a new category for it and group it with the ZERI like thinking. On the other hand Ecosan could be practiced by small scale industry so it can fit. --Joshua 07:18, 18 October 2007 (PDT)

PH261

Thanks Chris --

Students are asked to put articles in categories -- but any non-participants are more than welcome to help categorize or improve pages. The history pages are extremely useful to me for still being able to grade student work.In most cases however, shortly after the pages are created they are graded. The final projects will be much more in depth -- what is up now is basically warm up -- to help the students get comfortable with wiki editing - while at the same time reviewing class material. --Joshua 07:37, 18 October 2007 (PDT)

Great catch and a spectacular learning opportunity for my students. It is really interesting that the main African American Enviro group tends to be against the majority of mainstream groups. All kinds of good material. E.g. That nuclear energy is "emission free" -- I have a paper coming out on the topic and embodied energy in 2008.

Template Encyclopedic

Awesome rewrite of {{Encyclopedic}}. So much more welcoming. --Lonny 18:10, 28 October 2007 (PDT)

Solar cooking

Chris -- Have we contacted SCI yet about getting their awesome archives tied in with appropedia? --Joshua 07:02, 31 October 2007 (PDT)

Heros

Sustainability needs Heros who are in the news and often and for good things.

Jon Tester is the first Organic farmer elected to Congress.

He is our poster boy.

That is why he has an article.

PS the other article is dead weight.

Baron 19:41, 6 November 2007 (PST)

that new page you suggested

Hi Chris,

I have made an attempt to open a new page in the main space as suggested by you for exchange of views & ideas on efficacy of source reduction as far as mosquito control is concerned.

Hope it is in order and that I have not crossed my limits. If anything is wrong on my part please point out so that I can correct it.

Hope that you are in receipt of my reply to your mail to my ID.

With warm regards, George Shooter 05:21, 13 November 2007 (PST)

the efficacy issue

Hi Chris,

I have registered in the appropedia forums and have posted the efficacy of souece reduction in mosquito control issue for discussion. Hope it will be fruitful and produce good results and take us to meaningful conclusions.

Cheers Shooter 01:13, 17 November 2007 (PST)

Natural Sequence Farming

Hi Chris

Actually I had already caught the student purging the page and warned him -- if it is not corrected by 5pm Friday I will go back and fix everything. Sorry for the trouble -

--Joshua 05:50, 6 December 2007 (PST)

note to self

Dr Iswanto - Ramina?, 5k outside Yogya, identified tips as source of Dengue mosquitoes; community program to clean up. trip to oz to get help with composting - used old water tanks.

info from rgreen at earth makers com --Chriswaterguy · talk 18:23, 18 December 2007 (PST)

I have no idea where this should go.

And you're the water guy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080409/ap_on_re_us/deteriorating_water_pipes

--Simpsons 20:32, 8 April 2008 (PDT)


I've created Category:Water distribution - perhaps add a paragraph and link on that page, or start a new page and add that category. Thanks. --Chriswaterguy (talk) 20:56, 8 April 2008 (PDT)

Note to self ;

Twitter: greenskeptic GPF (Global Philanthropy Forum): Fazle Abed (founder of BRAC): "All our solutions have been small scale; we hv not been ambitious enough to end poverty." about 14 hours ago from web


AIDG aidg Tech Tuesday: Urine-Diverting (Dry) Toilet [Shada, Haiti] Pt 1 http://tinyurl.com/4xsofp about 20 hours ago AIDG aidg Urine-Diverting (Dry) Toilet [Shada, Haiti] Pt 2 http://tinyurl.com/3qqaeh about 20 hours ago

http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB3/Contents.htm -- Chriswaterguy

debugging:

mcc

shutdown from CLI:

halt / shutdown -h

http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/howto-linux-add-user-use-adduser-command/

Q. How do I add a new user using command line tools? What are command line option recommended.

A. You need to use useradd command, which is responsible for creating a new user or update default new user information

The useradd command creates a new user account using the values specified on the command line and the default values from the system. The new user account will be entered into the system files (/etc/passwd) as needed, the home directory (/home/username) will be created, and initial files copied, depending on the command line options. Task: Add a user to the system

Syntax is as follows for useradd command: useradd <username>

By default user account is locaked, you need to setup a new password: passwd <username>

For example add a new user called tom and set password to jerry:

  1. adduser tom
  2. passwd tom

If you want to add a user to group read how to add a user user to group

List of common options:

   * -c comment: Add a comment for the user
   * -d home-directory: Create a new home-directory
   * -e yyyy-mm-dd: Date for the account to be disabled
   * -f days: Number of days after the password expires until the account is disabled. (If 0 is specified, the account is disabled immediately after the password expires. If -1 is specified, the account is not be disabled after the password expires.)
   * -g group-name: Primary Group name or group number for the user's default group (group name must exist)
   * -G group-list: List of secondary additional (other than default) group names or group numbers, separated by commas, of which the user is a member (group name must exist)
   * -m: Create the home directory
   * -M: Do not create the home directory
   * -s: User's login shell (default /bin/bash)

To read all command line option type following command: $ man adduser

Found the bug, I think

http://forum.mandriva.com/viewtopic.php?t=86418

You can login from terminal (Ctrl+Alt+F1 when the dm starts) and then type drak3d in order to disable 3d and unsderstand what's happened. If drak3d is not found there then you have to reinstall it ('urpmi drak3d' and it should install its dependencies)
I'd uninstall compiz (# urpme compiz) and then installed it again (# urpmi compiz).

More ideas: http://forum.mandriva.com/viewtopic.php?t=83433

Boot from USB

USB Flash Memory HOWTO

Blog

strongly recommend a readme.rtf or equivalent:

  • Standard one for Linux.
  • distro specific
  • known critical bugs and warnings at the top; link to live page
  • Easily accessible later (menu or via CLI)
  • Context specific ones, e.g. when first installing a 3D desktop.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/opinion/10friedman1.html?em : FRIEDMAN surprised by dual flush?

examine the details on Ap: "responded to that crisis in such a sustained, focused and systematic way that today it is energy independent."

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/what-is-the-future-of-suburbia-a-freakonomics-quorum/?em


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/opinion/09bissinger.html?ref=opinion :

I have already gone on record with a Times Op-Ed article in April saying the games should be banned entirely because of their incontrovertible history of corruption and politicizing...

“Why is winning the only thing that matters?” asks Sey. “There must be some national crisis of self-esteem for us to push so hard for these medals. Otherwise why would you need it?”

Because that’s SportsWorld. Which is also why upon further review, I’ll stick with the Beijing pollution index and the blue sky index and not watch women’s gymnastics. I will no doubt miss out on some of the best performances of the entire games. But that’s the trade-off when you’re just not a fan of child abuse.

Articles

Knol mags

Meeting Vasco-Pyjama.

Hi folks - can't connect much today. Meeting Vasco-Pyjama from LJ this arvo. In Sydney probably tonight.

Note to self: nav links top of http://www.demotech.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Design.TechnologyWthinPoverty

attention grabbing stuff: Die green...

The deceased will be buried in biodegradable coffins between gum trees in a protected koala sanctuary.
Reflecting a worldwide trend towards environmentally friendly burials, the site, on bushland attached to Lismore Memorial Park Cemetery in the Northern Rivers region, is due to open on July 1.
Families visiting graves would be lent a satellite navigation device, Mr Whitney said.
allow headstones made from natural rock.
conventional funerals and cremations are ecologically damaging because cremations produce greenhouse gases; embalming uses harmful chemicals that can enter soil and waterways; gravestones are made of granite shipped from China; coffins are made from particle board or rainforest timber, held together with poisonous glues, lined with plastic and varnished, which pollutes the land.
-Green reaper's grave new world

--Chriswaterguy 16:02, 19 April 2008 (PDT)

Thanks Chris.--Fatima 18:54, 2 May 2008 (PDT)

Personal message

Sorry, Chris! Could not figure out where to put a personal message to you, so I try here.

I react to your input on my talk page at Demotech. I appreciate to talk to you about the contribution Demotech may have to Appropedia as I am aware that you are one of the drivers of Appropedia. My Skype name is reindervt You can reach me best at midnight my time. Evenually you can make sure by sending a mail to info@demotech.org .

I look forward to speak to you!

Greetings, Reinder

Cool - talk to you soon! --Chriswaterguy 05:28, 8 May 2008 (PDT)

Ekopedia and others...

I arrive and actually I do like most of the people create a new subject without being sure that there are none already talking about this... I am part of Ekopedia. It is a participative encyclopedie about alternative technique... It start in French but now it develops in many others languages...

Check Ekopedia

We earlier tryed to have a collaboration with Tiptheplanet... It did not work out... Pity so much dubble information...

Check TipThePlanet

On their Website I now discover Appropedia seems to be the same also...

Check Appropedia

I have to had this student initiative...

Check Demotech

So I feel a little bit sad to see so much person motivated but not working together... If you feel like talking about and trying to create synergie... mail me at olivier(a)kaospilots(dot)nl

Thank you

Very exciting! Answered by email. --Chriswaterguy 22:30, 25 May 2008 (PDT)


Hi Chris, I am trying to contact you, but I can't find your email on the site, so I'll try like this... I would like to discuss with you the idea of putting a book I have written online so it can be collaboratively revised.... hope you can help, I think it will be a rather exciting project (for me anyway!). I am new to the ins and outs, the perils and pitfalls of such a thing, and also the support you are able to offer... my email is robjhopkins (at) gmail.com. Many thanks, Rob.

Answered by email. --Chriswaterguy 18:02, 4 July 2008 (PDT)

Water ways as a natural highway

I thought you might like this.


http://bigrivershow.com/

Thanks! Will have a closer look when I have a faster connection. --Chriswaterguy -13:34, 15 July 2008 (PDT)

Hi from Egypt

Quick hi to Appropedia folks. In Alex now for Wikimania. Linux on my laptop is playing up for me again so I'll connect in the morn (about 9 hours). --Chriswaterguy -13:34, 15 July 2008 (PDT)

Math and formulas on Appropedia

Hi Chris, I'm Alvaro. We met last night at IDDS. Im involved in the design of the ropeway, and wanted to share some of the calculations involved in the security of the cables. It seems however that the math mode is not enabled in appropedia (this is the message: Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \frac{x}{csh(x/a)}). Who should I talk to to repair that? (if you think it's a good idea). Thanks. (4 Aug. 2008) [contact, ab1805 [-@-] mit [#dot#] edu]

Hi Alvaro,
Thanks for pointing this out. It now works. E.g.
Keep up the awesome contributions, --Lonny 02:35, 4 August 2008 (PDT)

Appropriate tech

moved from my Wikipedia talk page.

Hi Chris,

Was just reading your appropriate technology page under your wikipedia user page, and noticed that you say you're going to suggest to EWB Australia that they use Wikipedia. My sense is that you've shift your view, and now would (and have done?) recommend Appropedia. Would it be worth it to change your AT page?

By the way, I got here by reading the Appropriate Tech wikipedia article wondering who all the contributors were, then thinking I should try to connect with them, then thinking that you had probably already done it. But a search for your user name didn't work out quite like I expected. So, let me know if you think it's good/bad (maybe bad form?) to contact other AT contributors to promote Appropedia to them?

(By the way, I love the symbol/character/wikimarkup insertion tool below the wikipedia edit window!)

--Curtbeckmann 18:53, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Lucy Skywalker from Transition Towns

Have only JUST read your thread on Transition Net forum and yes, I shall read Appropedia VERY CAREFULLY because my instinct is the same as yours - collaboration to mutual benefit. Yes. And I want to see a wiki like this for the WHOLE RANGE of human and spiritual issues that Transition throws up, not "neutral" like Wikipedia but passionate about Transition and leaving room for appropriate research. The Encyclopedia of Earth is a nice idea but it's still REMOTE from Jo Bloggs needs snappy facts quick. I've been hunting for the right website, and not finding any adequate to the task, have set about transforming our own, [http://www.greenworldtrust.org.uk, to target the need and gradually expand systems-wise, from the whole to the parts, yet always stay friendly and accessible and "Back To Basics". I now believe I have the BEST online introduction to Transition Towns. I've just started to interact with the TNet forum and asked them to raise their forum's profile. But if we can collaborate and just DO IT - why not? there is such a need...

If you want to answer me quick so I see your reply, email me action [at] greenworldtrust.org.uk. Meanwhile I shall be soaking up the wiki here to see what comes through as best way to collaborate. I don't usually CAPITALIZE this much - this reflects excitement! Lucy Skywalker 05:44, 18 December 2007 (PST)

Great! Replied on your talk page and notifying by email. --Chriswaterguy · talk 07:05, 18 December 2007 (PST)
Cheers too! Have been scanning the wiki and your very interesting pages and I need to let it lie fallow now to let in the higher wisdom. But my first, very very clear thought is this: Appropedia (through any one individual or all of you) needs to take on the huge, huge urgency and pressure of the Peak Oil situation - and the new Global Warming info on hazards directly ahead. Perhaps my website can help with this - I do hope so!!!!! - this info is right at the top on my Transition Towns and Key Information pages.
You're absolutely right - I've wanted to do something about this, particularly climate change, for ages, but we've had been dozens of other pressing tasks, and I've been hoping people with a passion for these issues would join the project. Perhaps that time has come.
I've gone through times in my life when my direction has been catapulted through a huge paradigm shift, and these last three months is another of those. It's Peak Oil, finally the writing is so clearly on the wall - and very, very close, much closer than even seasoned greenies may realize - and this kind of gives me permission to speak openly about what I've known for so long - see my Apocalyptic Vision from 1981 [[1]. I've put the most critical info clearly on our TTown page under Peak Oil and The Big Melt, and I've started a wider info backup on the Key Information page. As Rob Hopkins says and we all in TT live with, THESE ARE THE DRIVERS of all we do in creative response. THESE ARE FACTS EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW - to let them work as drivers. So for instance the need for everyone to know how many man-hours is represented by a gallon of petrol, and what its "real" value is in those terms. Human Ecology - what Richard Heinberg majors in. It's not just about personal solutions which assume that the world continues well enough to put those solutions into practice, it's about integrated solutions that hold up for the best for everyone. Hence the emphasis on RELOCALIZE with TT. But the stark info which is the driver, needs to be GLOBAL and so does the derivative info, like how to run oil vulnerability audits, info collecting to assess the TWIG rating, etc.
Really valuable content - we'd love to have this kind of info. However, we can't just go in and take it without clear permission. It would be great if Appropedia and all the TT sites were using compatible open content licenses, so we could use each other's content freely. That's not hard to achieve, but I'd like to have a conversation with you about the steps needed.
Another issue is content type - we generally refer activist type content and policy debates/lobbying to our forums and/or SCA. But in terms of analysis and solutions, this is the place for it - and being a broad, international site, there's potentially a high profile and plenty of opportunity for engagement with likeminded people. There might be some cases where we have to work out what's appropriate for the site, but I don't foresee any big problems.
Yes yes yes! basically everything right on! I need time to digest but I've skimmed your latest replies. I looked up the stars and it's one of the most potent combinations possible, right on this conversation!... tell you later some time. When I woke up I thought Appropedia being a wiki has "troops", lots of resources of responses, but what our website has, not being a wiki, is more capacity to focus and marshal. Hence all the "driver" info upfront - info re Peak Oil and CC - also the first line of creative response is upfront. My thought therefore is to use OUR forum to replicate and continue this conversation there. But give me time to copy/restate it there first if that's ok. Juggling in between Christmas calling!! but then, I think Transition Towns IS the Christmas message!
I can't forget, the huge droughts in both the US and Australia this year... Lucy Skywalker 01:34, 19 December 2007 (PST)


enough for now, catch up after Christmas probably.
Merry christmas!
If you're on Skype, my id is chriswaterguy. Look forward to continuing the conversation sometime. (I'll be away approx 28 Dec - 4 Jan - hopefully catch you before then, but if not, Happy New Year as well! --Chriswaterguy · talk 21:55, 18 December 2007 (PST) [not on Skype - Lucy Skywalker 01:34, 19 December 2007 (PST)]
No problem - phone calls between Australia and UK are cheap these days. My mobile/SMS number is +61 400 220 700. It would be good to talk - just contact me, one way or another, and we can set up a phone call.
I'm singkong on Gmail chat, if that helps. --Chriswaterguy · talk 05:20, 19 December 2007 (PST)
will phone or write here if I can, tight time. I've done quite a bit more work on our website esp. the start of the Key Info "portal" page. This strategizing is what I think Appropedia (and TT) need and I'm trying to start to bring thru. I think Appropedia need a "Transition" section and they need the page one comes to, the Home Page, to be a portal page to all key Transition issues. IMHO!! Be in touch soon. Cheers Lucy Skywalker 02:10, 22 December 2007 (PST)

Lucy Skywalker at New Year

Hi, tried phoning 9.30 am and pm your time but no reply. So here are my thoughts:

1) Transition Network: Just visited the Transition forum and saw that nobody has entered anything later than my 3 posts a fortnight ago, this includes no response to my requests that the webmaster move the Forum hyperlink into a more prominent position on the TT wiki. Could be Christmas but it confirms the feeling that this forum is stuck - but then, so is ours still! Shall continue to work on this.

Forums with a small area of focus (like one specific town) will always struggle, I think, and that might the problem in this case. categories or sub-forums on a larger site makes more sense to me, to encourage interaction. --Chriswaterguy · talk 22:27, 6 January 2008 (PST)

2) Appropedia: I still feel this needs, right up front, top of home page, a nice user-friendly attractive-looking portal to all the departments. And why not have a whole "Transition" section? IMHO!... MEANWHILE... I've put a "thumbnail" about TT on the WikiNode page. Most of these wikis seem quite dormant and the Wikiversity / EcoVillage links are almost all structure with no substance, no pics... so again our intro to Transition Towns at GWT, and the rest I've done, still seems strategically important. Sustainable Community Action is much the best wiki I found, and, appropriately, already has Transition material.

A whole "Transition" section would be just what I've been hoping for!
Re a portal - that would be great! We have portals already, but when I read a portal to all the departments, I'm thinking of one or more portals that lay out the site's content in different ways... e.g. all the topics, and another (very relevant to TT) laying out different strategies for solving our current dilemmas. Maybe we should move much of the content from the front page onto the relevant portals, and just link to those.
A lot of Appropedia looks like it was put together by engineers (with an emphasis on info rather than form)... which is probably because it has indeed been put together by engineers, to a large degree :-).
Agreed re the various wikis, and GWT. SCA and Appropedia are both good places to put TT material, I believe, each with their own focus (activism vs practical measures). --Chriswaterguy · talk 21:51, 6 January 2008 (PST)

3) copying material not under GNU. I've actually copied (and edited) quite a lot of non-GNU material for GWT re TT because it seemed "the best" and seemed important strategically. However, in all cases I've contacted the author, explained my position, asked them to look and see if they like my work, and said I would remove it immediately if they did not. I explained that I worked proactively so that they could see if they were happy with the context in which I'd put their work on our website. I also put disclaimers where it seemed helpful. Above all I sought to work transparently in the spirit of courtesy. Well... all the material is still there...

Fair enough, but for Appropedia we prefer to play it safer - after all, it's a wiki, and we encourage people to re-use the material, including commercially. --Chriswaterguy · talk 21:51, 6 January 2008 (PST)

4) Always I've gone for the jugular, the key issues - with courtesy - as has the whole TT movement, as they say, "below the radar". Peak Oil and CC are pressing on me constantly; the Transition initiative is so important, it's turned me inside out, as it has others - but it needs to build up more info and research structuring, underpinning it, to develop strategic answers to all the key objections - FAQ-style, like ECOROPA leaflets used to do. I now realize that our classic website format is still well-enough geared for ratcheting up strategically: I can get across key information, and friendly, practical, sensitive help on key issues, without a wiki structure. What's still missing is the x-factor - something quite unique that speaks to people, gets spotted, and catches on. Yet I am sure we're moving in that direction! I am sure it's already the best introduction anywhere to Transition! And though you need to go to Rob's and Ben's sites to take the initiative further, you can always return to our website to refresh yourself.

I know what you mean about the x-factor - some new sites (usually about much more trivial things) attract tens of thousands of registered users in a matter of months... but no point complaining. I'm wondering what will make Appropedia appealing and extremely useful to sustainability folk around the world. One key is having masses of excellent content, and I'm working on ways of accelerating this growth of content. But there's no doubt other issues as well.
When we talk by phone I'll say a little more about what I see as the value of a wiki structure, but I do appreciate your site, and the value of an excellent introduction. --Chriswaterguy · talk 21:51, 6 January 2008 (PST)

5) It might seem I'm missing the virtues of Appropedia, but no - I just see a huge need at present to strategize, to marshall our resources, to align with Transition in particular because they sing the song closest to the planet's heart, the song of the urgency that is calling us all to transition ourselves and all our works, so we can do our best in the planetary "war effort", the "war" for Life on Planet Earth. Appropedia surely has an important potential part to play - but why don't you recast Appropedia to LOOK green? Green PLUS Appropriate Tech = Permaculture Feel. And think strategy.

I'll look forward to talking to you about strategy and the site's look. I like the skin we've had for a few months, with the mudbrick pattern - but we certainly want to keep improving it. The focus on Ap tech is just a matter of who has contributed so far - I expect things to become much more well-rounded over time.
Re the value of Transition, and particularly in relation to the "war effort," I'm coming to appreciate their value much more than I did previously (especially when CC gets an equal emphasis to Peak Oil). I'll make prominent mention of them in a page I'm planning, sustainability as a war effort. (That probably needs a better title, but it's a wiki - you can change it if you have a better title!) --Chriswaterguy · talk 22:27, 6 January 2008 (PST)

Look forward to your comments. What time GMT can I phone you?Lucy Skywalker 14:35, 1 January 2008 (PST)

Sorry I was away when you called. You'd have a good chance of catching me most days, around 10pm to 11am GMT. It's the antipodes after all :-).

Love your enthusiams - good to connect with someone who appreciates the critical importance of these things. Look forward to talking! --Chriswaterguy · talk 22:08, 6 January 2008 (PST)

notes for self

Idea for page and blog/forum post:

Forums:

Sustainable Humane Habitat in Developing Contexts - They seem very relevant to us and also connected historically with Engineers Without Borders UK - raise with Andrew Lamb.

  • Bring into any discussion on open design, and OSN.
  • Note they are funded by the European Commission's Asia Link Programme. This programme has been established in order to fund projects promoting Euro-Asian partnerships between research institutions addressing environmental and social challenges. Not exactly something we are likely to get as a US based org, but might give some ideas.

To do:

  • effect of keywords in PD search, e.g. reports
  • TT-related content then contact Lucy
    • search terms for Appropedia's Public Domain Search - TT doesn't work.
    • UP, housing options
    • transport - port this & anything good on this site.[2][3]
    • other TT themes/areas of focus?
      • need to be self-sufficient... with good local food networks, less energy consumption per head and strong practical skills,
      • climate change deals with the invisible and has very little positivity about it, whereas this is all about positivity. Everybody can get stuck in and design the change - it is very much a bottom-up initiative. - empowerment, participation, cf subsidies.
      • war footing, and TT as a leading example
      • TT & climate change - not necessarily constructive (if the change is to other fossil fuels) but most likely the general awareness and people's tendency to conflate issues mean that support for TT will mean a support for sustainable action, not ways to replace oil with coal.
  • http://forums.permaculture.org.au/ftopic4543.php - reply (bump) after adding more permaculture content.
  • original docs in mainspace; check what links to {{Includes content from}}, and also update that template.
  • Alan Alda as a supporter of green tech?
  • how does http://www.approvideo.org/blogs/ instruct/relate to Appropedia functionality?
  • contact a sympathetic WP admin re hexayurt article, getting a copy.
  • Wikipedia:appropriate technology examples -> each relevant topic page. Can be expanded and analyzed in a way not suitable for Wikipedia. Also consider adapting definition section (Jottings on appropriate technology?)

(Vinay, Mich, Mel...): Kiwanja, NGO-mobile. Innovative ideas for mobiles.

Porting

Well, I've been doing it manually. I could try out wikEd too, you can go ahead and download it on my page.--Fatima 19:43, 23 January 2008 (PST)


Hi Chris,

I was wondering if you could have a look at 'Handpumps'. It's almost done, I just can't seem to get the picutres to align right and it leaves all these gaps! (See fig 8 and 9). I did this page manually, from now on I'm going to be using wikied.

--How do I add the tables? I've been uploading them like the images, but it doesn't seem right. Is there another way to do the tables? Fatima

Hi Fatima, Check out Help:Tables (and Help:Contents in general). There is also a cut and paste tool at http://area23.brightbyte.de/csv2wp.php, I think you need to save your table from excel as a .csv (comma separated values) file first. Chris may have a good suggestion from WikiEd as well. Keep up the great work. --Lonny 15:00, 28 January 2008 (PST)
All I can think to suggest is that you try again (maybe on another page) using WikEd, and see if it does a better job of the table. You don't have to save that page - just use the [w] button, then preview, and copy the parts that work better than the current page.
That would be my first approach, anyway. If that doesn't work, the links Lonny gave should help. I guess see if you can copy from the PDF to a spreadsheet, and save as a .csv file. Hope that helps, let us know if it doesn't!
If you learn new good ways of doing things, please note them on the relevant porting page, e.g. Appropedia:Porting PDF files to MediaWiki. --Chriswaterguy · talk 17:55, 28 January 2008 (PST)
Very sorry, I've made a mistake - the PDF porting with wikEd isn't working yet. It's been a few months since I tried it with PDFs, and I'd forgotten about this. I'm now working on it and hope to have better answers within a week. In the meantime, I suggest you:


Thanks Chris. I'll just finish up the ones I've already started (taking Lonny's suggestion for the tables) and then work on html or word docs.--Fatima 12:45, 29 January 2008 (PST)


I tried doing the tables but somehow I can't seem to do it and the entire text ends up in the table! see this http://www.appropedia.org/Run-off_rainwater_harvesting#Rainwater_for_Agriculture How do I fix this, I've been trying alot of things but nothing works......!--Fatima 13:15, 29 January 2008 (PST)

Hi Fatima,
I think I fixed the table. Check it out and let me know if it is not what you were looking for. Thank you, --Lonny 16:27, 29 January 2008 (PST)

porting

Am I supposed to reply here? or on my talk page? does it matter?

Anyway, I did see that page. Wikipedia also has several very good examples. I am working through my list of authors, trying to contact them, but they all published in the 60's and 70's and they are very difficult to find.

Thanks for the help. --David.reber 11:32, 29 January 2008 (PST)

Thanks Chris. I actually got the non-free adobe acrobat from a very kind and generous friend! I'll try it out today and see how it works and will let you know!--Fatima 13:29, 3 February 2008 (PST)

I am about to port Ecological Sanitation from Practical Action to Appropedia but I noticed that there already exists a stub for Ecological Sanitation- should I create a new page or add Practical Action's article on Ecological Sanitation to the stub? --Fatima 13:39, 3 February 2008 (PST)

Responded on your talk page. --Chriswaterguy · talk 14:44, 3 February 2008 (PST)

I've started using the non-free adobe acrobat- and it has tremendously reduced the time to port material! Usually there is an error in saving the first page of the pdf in the rtf format, so I just do that page manually, otherwise it's working pretty well....... To see what is already done, I just put the topic title of the pdf brief in appropedia's search- if it's been done before, the page shows up, otherwise I just create a new page. But I'll look at the links you've suggested.--Fatima 16:57, 3 February 2008 (PST)

Chris,

I've more or less ported the water related practical action briefs- I am having trouble downloading Ecological Sanitation; otherwise I've done the others. Do you want me to port the other non-water related practical action briefs? ( I can do pdfs easily!) If not what other water related content do I focus on?--Fatima 15:07, 4 February 2008 (PST)

Fantastic! Either:
  • Use Appropedia's Public Domain Search to find high quality information (on water or anything else). I plan to do some serious work on the search engine in the next few days, but it should already give good results now - you just have to do some hunting (refining the search terms, and browsing results). If you're unsure if something is public domain (the search results are not 100% PD unfortunately) just ask me.
  • Port something from Requests for porting help on the porting page; or
  • Port other Practical Action content.
I also had trouble with the ES article - the PDF is just a blank page. I'll notify them.
Btw, have you found an easy way to extract the pictures from the PDF? --Chriswaterguy · talk 15:56, 4 February 2008 (PST)

Since it is easier for me to port pdf files, I think I'll port more of them. When I save the pdf file in the XML format, it automatically creates a folder with all the images in it, so I don't have to use the snap shot tool or paint, which is great! But...the XML document itself is a little puzzling to me..when I opened the XML document,it looked unusual..when I pasted in on to the web page in Appropedia , it wasn't coming out right. So now what I do is save the pdf file in Word Document format- I use this document to transfer the text to the web page and then I save the pdf again in the XML format to get the images folder- it really does'nt take that much time saving the pdf file in both types of formats so I do it. Is there any way I could show you the XML document (is it possible to email that doc ? I don't know too much about it) so that you know what I'm talking about?....--Fatima 19:49, 5 February 2008 (PST)

Hi Chris,

I've ported Conservation of indigenous breeds (Practical Action Brief)...but i'm having trouble doing the table (see the link)..I've been trying but I can't seem to do it right at all...your help would be appreciated..

http://www.appropedia.org/Image:Compostbin-table.jpg

--Fatima 19:49, 6 February 2008 (PST)

Scientific method on Appropedia?

Hi Chriswaterguy. I'm new here.
A question: I've been editing Wikipedia for a while, and there's a continuing discussion (aka war) there on the extent to which content needs to be governed by the scientific method and mainstream science, vs accepting "alternative science", "traditional wisdom", etc.
I'm especially concerned about this because of the likelihood of people furnishing harmful misinformation - it's bad enough when people say that you can build a 5 mw cold fusion generator out of paper clips and twine, but when people start posting that chicken soup cures AIDS or the like, I worry about the possibility of serious harm.
I'd like to know what the policy/guideline/"stance" of Appropedia is on this issue.
(I see that you wrote at Appropedia:Neutral point of view: "Appropedia also places a strong emphasis on scientific fact and Rigor.")
- I've also posted this question to Lonny's Talk page.
Thanks -- Writtenonsand 06:35, 15 February 2008 (PST)

Hi - thanks for your reply on my Talk page. On Wikipedia many of my edits are of the "WikiGnome" variety - "WikiGnomes work behind the scenes of a wiki, tying up little loose ends and making things run more smoothly."
I see a lot of redlinks and unlinked vocabulary pages here on Appropedia, and my instinct is to make stub pages for them or link them to W as appropriate. I assume that that would be okay? -- Writtenonsand 16:03, 17 February 2008 (PST)


Glad to have a WikiGnome on board! I've thought at times about our need for this. Some of us have been trying to juggle gnome work with other things, with difficulty, so your contributions will be very welcome.
Stubs would be great; linking to Wikipedia is also good (it's a judgment call - don't spend too long thinking about each one as they can be changed). I've stopped using {{WP}} now and use {{wp sup}} instead, as it allows an Appropedia redlink together with a WP link. (Perhaps we should even replace WP with the wp sup code, to make it simpler.)
In making stubs, I think you'll find APDS useful. Don't hesitate to contact me (or anyone else here) - email or IM (Skype, same username) also possible if you prefer. Thanks again! --Chriswaterguy · talk 19:35, 17 February 2008 (PST)


Thanks -- Writtenonsand 15:19, 18 February 2008 (PST)

List of redlinks?

Is there a listing somewhere of all redlinks? (I.e. articles/pages/stubs that need to be created) -- Writtenonsand 17:31, 18 February 2008 (PST)

Special:Wantedpages, right, thanks! -- Writtenonsand 17:37, 18 February 2008 (PST)

Drought Myth: copyleft?

Hi - I just went through and wikified Drought Myth, but now looking at it I'm not 100% sure that we were formally given copyleft to it.

It says "Source: Reprinted and shared freely by the copyright holder at http://selfmadefarmer.wordpress.com/", and was apparently originally posted to Appropedia by User:Krystle, who is "apparently" the owner of selfmadefarmer.wordpress.com . We're sure that this was intended to be placed under the GFDL by the owner? selfmadefarmer.wordpress.com doesn't seem to have any copyright/licensing info.

I'm probably being a little paranoid about this, but my experience with copyright, attribution, and editing articles on wikis suggests that that's often a good idea.

-- Writtenonsand 07:29, 19 February 2008 (PST)

Here's another: Methane: "Portions (cc) S.E.E.D.S. under Creative Commons".
What's "cc"? I can't find any relevant definition. "Creative Commons"? If "copyright" or some non-GFDL license, then this content can't appear on Appropedia, right? Is Creative Commons 100% compatible with GFDL? (Again, only asking because of the blood I've seen these issues shed in the past.) -- Writtenonsand 07:50, 19 February 2008 (PST)
Thanks for your diligence - I agree it's better to be a little paranoid, and make sure we get it right.
User:Krystle is indeed the Selfmadefarmer - she has a newsletter and we've exchanged emails. A user has the right to add anything they own the copyright to, and in doing so releases it under Appropedia's license. If there's still any ambiguity at all, please ask Krystle on her talk page, or let me know and I'll email her.
(cc) is indeed Creative Commons, and is a play on (c) or ©. Unfortunately CC-by-sa (the closest equivalent to GFDL, I believe) is not fully compatible, but that's expected to change soon - the people in charge of the licenses have agreed to make them interoperable. However, if a site uses CC-by or CC-by-sa, I expect they'd be happy to approve by email for it to be also released under GFDL.
I can't see a license statement or CC mark on S.E.E.D.S., so I'll email Ericblazek, who added this and the content now at Category:Biofuel. Then, if needed, one of us can contact the S.E.E.D.S. folks. Thanks again! --Chriswaterguy · talk 15:00, 19 February 2008 (PST)
Thanks again for all your help. -- Writtenonsand 18:33, 19 February 2008 (PST)


Another:
Cider Cool Off the Press
(From BITTERSWEET, Volume I, No. 4, Summer 1974)
Story and photographs by Rick Bishop
- I see that this is Category:Bittersweet, and that there are 29 articles in this category. We just have blanket permission for all articles in Category:Bittersweet? -- Writtenonsand 17:43, 20 February 2008 (PST)

"Skills" :-)

You wrote: "so that a WikiGnome such as yourself can work more efficiently and make better use of your skills."
Heh, "skills". I wouldn't actually claim any, but I can lift heavy things. Or actually, light and medium things.
Thanks again for the tips. (I'm certainly interested in developing my skills.)
Also, I see that User:Smallaxe's page says: "ENGR 305 Project: Directed Internship to overhaul the current Appropedia design, to add a more appealing and user friendly environment to this implementation of "MediaWiki"," along with some details. Sounds interesting. -- Writtenonsand 16:26, 21 February 2008 (PST)

I've certainly seen you show patience, persistence, good judgment and knowledge, for a start... whether we call them skills is incidental :).
I hadn't noticed that on Smallaxe's page - it seems this is one of Lonny's students, taking on a very valuable project. --Chriswaterguy · talk 16:43, 21 February 2008 (PST)

SfGS

Hi Chris,

I was thinking that we should rename all SfGS pages as SfGS then the page name, with no colon (so as not to look like a namespace). So SfGS: Zero-Waste Party would become SfGS Zero-Waste Party, and that they would all be categorized under Template:Tlc (which we could do with {{SfGS}}). Please let me know what you think and if you would like me to make the changes.

Thank you, Lonny

Agreed - but either we leave the pages with colons as redirects, or we need to change the template on the old wiki and enter the target page manually. Is that worth doing, do you think? Happy for someone else to decide and do :). Thanks! --Chriswaterguy · talk 05:22, 26 February 2008 (PST)

Ecovillages

Not sure what the policies are on adding or editing stuff, so I thought I'd ask here before I sign up. I'm part of a new eco-village that's growing just outside of Ithaca, NY (near but not the same as EcoVillage at Ithaca). We have a very strong focus on sustainability and emergency preparedness, and I've been promoting appropedia to our members as a great resource. Is it appropriate to ask for, or to add myself, a link on the Ecovillages page that you edit?

Also, just to point out, Ithaca is misspelled in one or two places on the existing page.

Thanks!

Please add a link, and (even better) add a page describing your project. We'd love to hear more about what you're doing - and please let us know if you need any help!
I trust our gnomes will fix the spellings in time, but aways feel free to make corrections. --Chriswaterguy · talk 18:13, 8 March 2008 (PST)

Appropedia language

- how to share project information from non-English speaking authors

Subject says it all. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 16:53, 24 July 2007, Mberigan

Hi Mberigan and Chris, I made an initial reply to this great question at Mberigan´s talk page. --Lonny 22:24, 24 July 2007 (PDT)

Mission Semi-Accomplished

Hola Chriswaterguy, I've been asking around town to see how people do their laundry- everyone told me they use a machine for the washing and hang it dry (I'm pretty sure the machines have a spin cycle.) I thought maybe I was stuck in the upper strata of Parras, talking only to the people with a little more money than the rest. THEN we went out to an ejido to do some community service (painting tires with oil based paint on a playground... yummy.) I thought, okay, for sure these folks are handwashing their clothes. One of the houses nearby had a loud electric sound coming from it. (Enter spy music...) An intense investigation ensued. Upon closer inspection we found the source of the noise to be a brand-new looking Maytagish washing machine doin' the deed in the front yard. Nuff said? I'll keep asking for the remainder of my 12 days here.

On the job, Carolina --waterfaery72

Checking in

Hi Chris,

Thanks for tipping me to this site, impressive! :-) To be redundant, check out Kivapedia for a related wiki. Also, have you seen The Elders site yet? I'm sure you could make quite an impact there as well! :-) Regards, RichardF 07:49, 31 July 2007 (PDT)

Greetings from Mel

Hey Chris! Typing from Herbert's office in Taipei on my last day in the city. It was great to meet you at Wikimania, and I'm looking forward to meeting the other Appropedians on IRC this Saturday. (You need to visit Boston sometime.)

If you ever stop by the Philippines, you'll have to check these folks out: http://gawadkalinga.org/ - potential great org to work with / work for / volunteer with especially for more architecture/urban-planning/community development oriented folks. In a nutshell, they work with slum communities to build their own towns (literally; the villagers rip down the tin shanties and make brick dwellings with plumbing and electricity, and a school and clinic) and help them design & implement a governance structure for their new village. It's incredible.

Mchua 23:15, 5 August 2007 (PDT)

Your input needed at Wikipedia

Hello! I saw a note you left at the Wikipedia talk page for Public Health, and I think your input regarding the possible deletion of the Category:Health risks[4] could be very helpful. If you can spare a few minutes, the discussion is taking place at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories_for_discussion/Log/2007_August_1#Category:Health_risks This discussion opened on August 1, and will probably close in the next day, so if you would like to comment time is of the essence. Regards, C. Gingold [5] 76.9.73.248 18:21, 7 August 2007 (PDT)

Salam dari Indonesia

Chris, have you arrived in Indonesia yet? Shoot me an email at serenity (at) gmail.com. Serenity 23:09, 13 August 2007 (PDT)

Another wiki - on climate change

Chris, this may be of interest re Wikinode:

www.climateandconservation.org wiki The objective of this site is to provide a gateway or portal to the scientific information that exists elsewhere on conservation of biodiversity with regard to Global Climate Change (Global Warming). --Peter Campbell 15:59, 6 May 2007 (PDT)

This sounds like horshit to me.

http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2007/05/09/murdoch/

What do you think? Baron 22:00, 9 May 2007 (PDT)

Joshua

Thanks Chris -- I added a bit to the industrial symbiosis definition - and you definitely hit on the right main source - problem is it is published already -- we need to get the publishing part of appropedia up and running. --Joshua 07:22, 25 April 2007 (PDT)

From Baron

Thanks for the Tip.

I'm not sure which route to take I'm just writing what I think should be written. Baron 20:44, 2 April 2007 (PDT)

Appopedia

Hi Chris, thanks for your comments, I look forward to helping contribute to appropedia. --82.9.21.14 00:57, 18 April 2007 (PDT)

I'm not sure who you are, but you're welcome, and looking forward to working together! --Chriswaterguy · talk 06:44, 20 April 2007 (PDT)
Ah, Vortexrealm (I only just thought to check the IP address's contributions).
Very much look forward to your contributions - you've proven yourself a very knowledgeable and constructive contributor on Wikipedia. --Chriswaterguy · talk 05:08, 3 January 2008 (PST)

Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies.