Granny Square

Something special can be said in regards to the sentimental value and quality of a hand-stitched blanket. Each stitch, carefully crafted from one continuous strand of yarn, builds layer upon layer, row after row into something so complex in design, yet simple and elegant in  it’s beauty. The rich colors of the yarn combine, blending seamlessly from one to the next, creating a mosaic, a story of the crafter’s journey from the first set of chain stitches to the final slip stitch; The culmination of the hard work and time spent. The unrivaled attention to detail.

Each row must be inspected after completion for imperfections. Subtle differences in the size of the stitch or varying tensions in the yarn must be corrected. The careless mistakes of an amateur never go unnoticed by the eyes of a seasoned seamstress for it is she who knows that the integrity of the whole depends on the weakest stitch. Imperfections like these are best discovered early, or better yet, avoided altogether.

The warmth and comfort of the blanket go far beyond the physical trapping and preserving of heat. The underside of an afghan is a cloak to the memories of children, adults, new couples, old couples, all tucking away these precious memories until the next cold winter day when they can crawl beneath the safety and warmth of the blanket’s soft and heavy armor. A young child may remember watching Grandma’s hands work quickly, yet carefully, flowing gracefully with caring, gentle fingers. Two young lover’s may remember a first kiss, soft spoken promises, or the glowing warmth of one another’s cheek. While memories, old and new, dance about in the shaded warmth, the crafter never forgets the warmth and comfort of giving to the one he or she loves.

A steady hand with a soft grip weaves and loops, hooks and pulls the twisted thread with the curved head of a warm aluminium crochet hook. Each pull, a smooth and continuous draw of yarn from skein to stitch, aids in the unique bond between the crafter and his or her craft. Every stitch, every row, every square, every completed masterpiece is the noteworthy artwork of time, patience and skill acquired only by the wisdom of experience. The calm, collected demeanor of someone learned in the art of crochet is merely a facade which, as with the facade of the singer, dancer and acrobat, stands guard to extreme focus and determination through to the end of one project and to the beginning of another; A circle of creation and giving.

A box, wrapped cleanly with crisp, gleaming paper rests in careful, gentle hands. Around the box, a bow, neatly cut and tied, holds tightly to it’s sides. The box holds a blanket crocheted from nothing more than colored yarn, neatly folded with corners matching, each straight edge lining the inside of the box perfectly. As the lid lifts away from the box, the warm and comforting colors personify the newborn blanket into something with character and personality. The hands of the crafter carefully pass the box onto the next set of hands. The crafter, smiling, reluctantly whispers “fair well” as the new hands welcome the beautiful creation into a new home.

On cold and windy evenings, high spirits stay shielded from the harsh weather. The intricate design of chain loops and alternating patterns shimmers tremulously by the light of the crackling fire. Something special can, indeed, be said in regards to the sentimental value and quality of a hand-stitched blanket. From creator to consumer, this icon of tradition and practicality warms and comforts the mind, the body, and the soul.

Please help me with my/our life's work!

Hello friends. I am writing now because I wanted to share some of the work I'd like to do now and in the future.

As some of you know I've decided to go into the field of engineering in hope of finding some way to help save our dying planet. The thing is... you really don't need to go to college to help make things better for us here on planet Earth. The things we can do to help each other and ourselves during this time are quite simple. Obvious, even. Less time in the shower, more time reading by sunlight, turning off your computer when you aren't using it. The possibilities are endless!

There are many investments that you can make to turn your home into a more environmentally friendly place. However, these investments are still investments and can be very costly in the beginning. Most of us can't afford to fit our homes with solar panels or install new eco-friendly washers and dryers. What we can do is change our bad habits even a little bit to make a HUGE difference!

Here are some of the little things we can do:

• Conserve water - We can turn on the faucet and watch the water run all day long without it ever running out. Does this mean we should take 20 minute showers every day and let the sink run while we brush our teeth? No way! According to the USGS we can use up to 20 gallons of water for every ten minutes we spend in the shower! That's a lot of water. Think of how much of that could be used for drinking water if it wasn't being carelessly washed down the drain. Here is an unusual way to treat water consumption; treat the amount of water coming out of the faucet as though it's pure petroleum. Suddenly we aren't as willing to let the water run. If you like to garden, a great way to utilize rain water is to collect it in large barrels and use it to water your plants later! There are many other things we can do to conserve water. Just keep your eyes open and you will figure them out.

• Cut down on waste - Consumer waste is a huge problem. Until food companies can package all of their products in 100% compostable packaging, it'll be very hard to avoid buying things with packaging that will need to be thrown away. There are, however, guidelines that we can follow to reduce the amount of waste we produce from packaging. Disposable water bottle are, in my opinion, one of the biggest wastes of material I can think of. There are ways to get clean, tasty drinking water without having to throw away or recycle 4, 5, 6... etc. empty water bottles each day. One solution is drinking tap water. I completely sympathize with those who don't enjoy the taste of chlorinated State College water. If you can't stomach the taste of tap water, there is still hope! You can buy a refillable jug of drinking water from the grocery store. When you run out, simply take the jug back to the market and refill it! Some people argue that disposable water bottles are convenient. If you're looking for convenience at the expense of the environment, I suggest investing in a cheap refillable water bottle from the sport section of Walmart.

• Watch your electricity consumption - I know sometimes it's easy to leave the room and forget to turn the lights out. It's a bad habit that many of us have. Every once in a while when you're at home, make a sweep around the house and see if there are any lights on that really don't need to be on. Don't be stubborn about fixing someone else's mistake. If it doesn't need to be on, just turn it off! It's such a simple thing to do. "Retrofitting" your house with CFL light bulbs is a cost-effective way to lower your energy consumption. If you go to the energy conservation section of the Allegheny Power website and complete the household survey, they will send you a free box of CFL light bulbs! The survey is a bit lengthy but totally worth it. In addition to the free light bulbs they give you information on how to lower the energy consumption in your household. It's a really useful thing that's been made available to us. I strongly recommend taking advantage of this. One last thing in regards to power consumption; Turn off your computers when you are not using them! While the time it takes to boot up a computer may be frustrating at times, the amount of energy being wasted by leaving the computer run day in and day out is outrageous. An alternative to completely shutting down the computer would be putting into a low-energy state or sleep mode. By turning off one desktop computer during the night when it's not in use, you can save an average of $100 a year on your electric bill! This is an example of a very easy way to save money and the environment with little to no sacrifice to you.

• Start a small veggie garden - This is such a great thing to do if you don't mind getting your hands dirty! The satisfaction of biting into a home-grown vegetable is an incredible thing and it doesn't take much to do! A few plants can make a huge difference, not to mention the immune boost you get from playing in the dirt! Even if you don't have land to grown on, it is possible, but slightly more difficult, to grow your own crops indoors (as I demonstrated in a previous post.) Heck. If you feel daring enough you can make your own compost from lawn clippings and table scraps! Don't be afraid to run full circle with this one! This is a great example of sustainability at it's best. If you need help getting started, don't be afraid to ask someone who has had experience with this! The best tips come from people who have had hands on experience.

One of my goals is to inspire people. I want other people to feel what I feel in regards to our planet and the environment that we create and live in. If anyone has questions or suggestions of their own, please share!

Best wishes to you all,

Chris

Quiet Sundays

Inspired by August Landscape, 1973-74 - Sidney Goodman

Staring up at the blazing sky, Jim picks up the Sunday paper. He opens it, not even reading. Just opening and looking. He does what he always does on a Sunday morning; Wakes up around 10:30, slips into a pair of old slippers and steps outside to retrieve the paper featuring yesterdays news. His attention turns quickly to the next door neighbor whose name he does not know. They trade no words. Only a nod of the head before they return to their papers. A quick rush of wind blows through and Jim's focus turns to the cliff face to the right. The cliff, like a large hole in the side of a mountain, stands tall and stern, guarding the precious cargo above. On top of the cliff sits a collage of houses and office buildings, apartments and roadways. The large buildings masked by the light haze of automobile exhaust from the mornings church rush gaze upon the old, empty street below. Two cars take advantage of free weekend parking along the sides of the wide, faded mainstreet. Heat radiates from the exposed rooftops of the cars while a cool breeze blows through the open windows.

The buildings and houses lay stacked, row upon row from top to bottom. Each row distincly separated by a roadway, elevated slightly from the one before it. Atop the neighborhood sits two tall office buildings perched like two corperate giants, each watching over his or her associates with a sharp eye. Jim peers up and waves as though someone was actually watching. He chuckles to himself and turns to go back into his house. He pauses for a moment, takes a deep breath of stale, damp air, and continues onward.

(Another English project. This is a scene based around about 20 minutes of recorded observation of the painting. This painting can be found at the Palmer Museum of Art.)

Wood Cabinet

This was a neat exercise I did in my English 15 class today. Take something very ordinary and even cheery and give it a disturbing connotation. Some aspects of it are easier than you would think, others more difficult. Give it a try! I would love to see some responses to this one.

On the far wall of the candle-lit kitchen hangs a dull wood cabinet whose doors have encountered the dirty hands of many before me. As I open the cabinet I am nearly blinded by the sharp refracted light of twenty clear glasses. The perfect symmetry and placement of the glasses feels reminiscent of the compulsive itch of ritualistic order. The spotless shine, the clean smell like that of a hospital room reminds me of the pure, white glow of ghosts in a haunted old house with creaking floorboards and torn window drapes. Perhaps I am not as thirsty as I thought.

Hydroponic Gardening

Hello all. I'm back again with another post. This time I will be talking about my experience with hydroponic gardening in my dorm room.

I know that some of you are probably wondering why I would want to take the time to do something like this when it's pretty easy to grow crops outdoors when the weather permits or, better yet, pick up my produce from the grocery store.

Lets take a moment to think about how many months of the year are actually warm enough to grow crops outdoors in central Pennsylvania. Maybe 6 months? The numbers do not look good for plant survival unless, of course, you have a well insulated year-round greenhouse. So... for the average poor college student, home-built hydro systems might look like a fairly reasonable idea. While these systems can be difficult to maintain, it is possible to grow crops year round.

Why not buy decent quality produce from the grocery store and save the hassle? There are several reasons for this; One, the cost of buying vegetables compared to the cost of growing them is very clear. What you will pay for a large yield of a particular vegetable grown in your own garden is time, attention, a little fertilizer here and there, and about $1.99 to offset the cost of seeds. Aside from the cost of buying vegetables from the store, we also have to think about the environmental effects of shipping produce across the world. Now... I know some of you might argue with me about the environmental effects of the automobile. If you don't believe me, ask the communities in Alaska having to move their settlements because their land is falling into the ocean.

Lets not forget about the fact that I can be one of few college students to say "I have a hydroponic garden in my dorm room."

I'm going to move on to the technical side of this experiment of mine. I think it might be appropriate to explain some of the terminology I will be using in this post. The word hydroponics refers to the growing of plants without traditional growing medium (soil) and the supplying of nutrients through a water-based fertilizer solution. Aeroponics refers to having the roots of the plants suspended in the air. Nutrients are supplied to the plant by spraying a fine mist of fertilizer water directly onto the roots periodically. Growing mediums refer to the substance that the plant is rooted in.

I was inspired by the large varieties of systems that Disney's Epcot has on display inside one of their rides. Most of the technology used to supply nutrients to the plants was water based, whether it be a hydroponic flow system or suspended aeroponics. I spent some time after that researching different concepts behind hydroponic gardening and found that it would be fairly simple to create my own system. I found an abundance of forums on homemade hydroponic systems. I found several similar systems (the triple S... it was fate) with a short lists of household objects used to create a fish tank bubbler system. I read through these lists and quickly realized that I would end spending very little money on this system due to the fact that most of the parts were collecting dust in my basement. I went to my house and collected the following items:

1. 10 gallon (give or take a few) fish tank
2. air pump (most likely came with the fish tank)
3. air stone (most likely came with the air pump)
4. 1/4 inch thick foam poster board
5. aluminum foil (enough to cover the sides of the tank)
6. net pots (small mesh gardening pot)
7. growing medium (rock wool, small gravel, coarse sand, etc.)
8. hydroponic fertilizer (EcoGrow is a good brand)
9. 5 gallons of water
10. vegetable plants (get the hang of using pre-planted vegetables before playing around with seeds)
11. fluorescent light (full spectrum grow lights are best)

Make sure all of the parts are clean! While this may seem like common sense, it is very important for me to cover this. By clean, I mean free of any soap residue, dust, blood, etc. Anything other than clean neutral pH water can have bad effects on the plants.

Measure the opening of the fish tank and cut out a sheet of poster board the size of the fish tank. We're using foam poster board because it will float on the top of the water easily. One thing I've found useful in my testing is to peel the paper off of the poster board and use at least two sheets of the foam. When the paper coating takes on water, it can weigh down the foam. When you have your foam sheet(s) cut out, cut holes in the top large enough to fit the net pots through but small enough to keep them from falling into the water. You want the bottoms of the pots to be submerged. Once the holes are cut, set that aside and get ready to transplant some vegetables.

This part of the process can be stressful. Transplanting small plants can be deadly for the plants if proper care is not taken. The goal here is to get the plant out of one medium and into another with as little root damage as possible. The roots are responsible for the intake of nutrients. If the roots are damaged, the plants cannot absorb nutrients thus killing the plants. If you are trying to transplant from dirt, run cold water over the roots to loosen the dirt. You may have to remove some of the dirt manually. Once the roots are clean, you can put them into your new hydroponic medium. The main purpose of the medium in this system is to give the plant support while it grows. What you want here is to have the water covering as much of the roots as possible without submerging the stem of the plant. Make sure the roots are far enough into the net pot to achieve this. Add just enough of your medium to keep the plant standing while it grows. Once your plants are in the pots, make sure to keep the roots moist while you work on assembling the system.

Next, you will want to carefully pour your fertilizer water into the tank. Make sure that the air stone is close to the middle of the tank to encourage even air distribution in the water. After all, this is what the roots will be breathing while they're submerged, sort of like fish! If you don't have a check valve for the air pump, make sure the pump is above the water level. If the power fails, you don't want water tracking back through the air hose into the pump. That's bad news for the pump.

You'll want to cover the outside of the tank with some lightproof material to prevent the growth of algae in the tank. This can mess up the air stone and the growth of the plants. Most sources I've read suggested using black paper or some sort of fabric, but I've found that using aluminum foil is best because it's reflective and it doesn't get hot in the sun. If you have any better ideas, please try them!

Now you can get your vegetable boat ready to sail (I'm sorry for the unfortunate metaphor.) Take the net pots and put them into the holes in the foam board. Take one last look at your plants and make sure they are in a good position before you put them into the system. Once you're ready, carefully lower the foam raft into the water and make sure it floats. Once everything looks secure, turn on your fluorescent light and position it directly above the tank. Obviously, you can't recreate sunlight. If you have the option, put the tank near a window with plenty of sunlight.

Once the plants are fairly mature, if weather permits, you can put your plants into the ground. What you do with them is completely up to you! You will want to keep an eye on your plants and take note of any changes you notice. You'll want to do some additional research if you notice any color changes or wilting. Any unusual change can be a sign of nutrient deficiency or surplus. Also, you may want to try different things and see how they affect the growth of the plants. Try planting two of the same plant; one in the hydro system and one in potting soil. Be creative with your experiments. Who knows; you might discover something cool!

I am free to take any additional questions you might have. Bear in mind, I am still working on this myself. I have much to learn about this concept. By asking good questions, you challenge me to learn more!

Decisions, decisions...

I've been thinking a lot recently about decisions that we ultimately have to make on our own. There are those who think that what we choose for ourselves is what is ultimately best and there are others who believe that they know what's best for us. I can't say for sure that either opinion is REALLY the best. I'm having trouble seeing how you can trust that the decisions you make are the best without at least exploring other options. Whether you are genuinely uninterested in what you're doing or you feel like there's something else out there for you, you can't rely on the fact that you're good at what you're doing. The fear of wasting talent or turning your back on what you enjoy doesn't have to be the be all end all of decision making. For those of you with the freedom of choice and the slightest glimpes of interests outside of your immediate comfort zone, why not experience a little change of scenery? It never hurts to get the cobwebs out of the old noggin. Besides, you can always do more than one thing, right? I can't say that you might not be happy doing one and only one thing. Plently of people end up happy with what they've always known was right for them. On the other hand, there are plenty of people on the opposite end of the playing field who are miserable because they never ended up doing what they were meant to do. A case of bad luck? Doubt it. Misfortune? Perhaps, but chances are, that person never really found what they were looking for because they were blinded by the stubborn mask of a plan that they thought was the right one. So please, I beg you not to let yourself or anyone else lock you up behind this door. Stay flexible.

Peace and love.

Coding, coding, coding, etc... music.

So... I'm trying to pick up on programming. I really don't know where to start. To anyone else who has picked up on coding, what should I do? I think it's interesting, but I feel like everytime I read any sort of reference on C++ or Javascript, the instruction is more confusing than the code itself. Please lend your insight. I want to learn!

On a more relaxed note, perhaps, I thought this weekend of concerts went pretty well here at Penn State. There was plenty to listen to. So, for all of the local music lovers, I hope you made it to AT LEAST one. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to sit back and enjoy any of them. Pennharmonics, I promise I will make it to a concert...