I found a Blogger/Blogspot template that has the look and feel of my old blog. The colouring is different and it allows me to post my Bloglines, Blogroll and Flickr in full mode instead of links. Nice

As I go along, I’ll repost my archives as well as my current news

OK…the spelling is the closest I can get on blogspot to what I had before:
http://urbanwildnes.blogspot.com/

The best way to keep track of where I am is to subscribe to my Feedburner feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/UrbanWilderness because I know I will move again.

Cheers,

Al

From Holland we have:

Gut Flora: independent, reliable information on probiotics

Their goals: “The foundation ‘Gut flora in health and disease’ strives to be the European knowledge centre in the area of gut flora and probiotics.

Has a some links to articles on the ‘net

I'm tracking stories about probiotics. Friendly microorganisms can be a benefit to both people and the planet.

A health dividend without side-effects
By Jane Clarke, The Times nutritionist

THE development of a flatulence-free bean should be a comfort to the tens of thousands of Britons who suffer from digestive problems, but could also bring health benefits to a wider public.

The Venezuelan research is part of continuing studies into the use of what are known as probiotic bacteria to aid digestion. The scientists fermented one such bacterium, Lactobacillus casei, with the beans to decrease the proportion of soluble fibre, a cause of flatulence.

Lactobacillus casei’s benefits have been known for some time and it is a key ingredient in probiotic yoghurt drinks, but the new technique should deliver the bacterium in exactly the right quantities. Its presence should counteract all the negative social effects of the beans while retaining their health benefits.

Bean enthusiasts will probably not be helped much by this development as their systems have become used to eating beans. But those who avoid beans because of worries about flatulence should benefit greatly.

Beans are a cheap source of protein and contain no saturated fat. The modified beans will also have higher levels of insoluble fibre, which has been linked to reduced cholesterol and hence could improve the health of your heart.

If this work is successful then there is no reason why similar methods cannot be applied to other notoriously windy foods, such as cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

Urban Wilderness

In a local branch of a major coffee haus:

Guy talking on a cell phone, being cuddled from behind by his girlfriend.
Seeking attention?
As I move by the couple I notice that she is talking on cell phone too.
To each other?

The manual process of adding links always takes longer than I think it should. Of course, once I get started, I just can’t do one.

Need to learn to multitask better.

Photo courtesy of Tzatziki

Went to see it on my way to work today a few hours after the official ceremony and it is impressive.

Even though I’m not the biggest fan of the Olympics coming to Vancouver, I keep getting the sense that this is not Canada’s Winter Olympics but the Vancouver / Whistler’s Olympics.

It is probably my ambivalence towards Canada east of the Rocky Mountains – I grew up in Toronto and have lived in BC since 1981 – that makes me feel this way.

For the moment, I’m going to enjoy it.

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Technorati Tags: vancouver, whistler, olympics, 2010, flag, urbanwild

Shortly after I was back in the swing of things, recovering from my own hard drive failure, my blog host went down. No data recovery possible. There is an explanation here: Unrecoverable Drive Failure

I was lucky. I was able to get my data back [ka-ching! but worth every penny] and because I downloaded archives of the blog on a regular basis, I only lost three of my most recent entries.

Others were not so fortunate. Here’s a list of people who have moved elsewhere from Diary-x and reading their entries from the past few days gives a good indication of the what they lost and how they are choosing to deal with it: Stay in Touch

They are a dedicated bunch those dx-ers!! While the original owner has decided to throw in the towel, people are rallying around to revive the site.

First, they started communicating with each other while dx was down at LiveJournal and have decided to revive the site under a different name: Codexed. I’ll see how it goes. I like the WordPress interface so far, especially being able to add categories to my postings.

Of course, it will take time to get all the postings back online, rebuild my link lists and get it looking the way I like it.

That will be fun.

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Technorati Tags: diary-x, internet, livejournal, codexed, community, urbanwild

And in Vancouver, a gardener called “Urban Wild” has been quietly adding greenery where there was once only cement and dirt and chronicling his adventures on his blog”

A link to my blog is included in the “Resources” sidebar as well as:

Primal Seeds

Toronto Public Space Committee, Guerilla Gardening

Globe & Mail
(Toronto, Canada)
June 25, 2005

Resistance is fertile: Guerrilla gardeners bring flower power to neglected urban spaces. It’s a dirty job, KAREN LaROCCA writes, but someone has to do it

Byline: KAREN LaROCCA; Special to The Globe and Mail

Ten of us take to the streets armed with tools for digging, seed packets, water and a bag of decent dirt. Not to mention the still-warm coffee grounds we’ll use for compost that we wrangled from a java joint.

We also carry a vision.

Part of a campaign of secret, simultaneous plantings planned by the Toronto Public Space Committee, our group is committed to the mission: vandalizing neglected urban spaces with nature. Call it organic culture-jamming, sneak
attacks against encroaching concrete.

Technically, we’re criminals.

Of course, both the Toronto Police and City of Toronto officials I spoke to admitted they were unlikely to expend resources on chasing gardeners unless it posed a safety hazard. (Constable Isabelle Cotton even went so far as
to say, “I would certainly hate to charge someone with mischief or anything for doing a good thing like this.”) Guerrilla gardening is quick and dirty: In larger spaces, we plant camomile, which will spread and act as groundcover. Sweet William and cosmos are bold colour statements for open, sunny spots. We stick to hardy perennials for shady areas.

When we come across a used condom at one planting site, our co-ordinator notes, “This is really not a glamorous job.” At the edge of the lot of an abandoned home, another member says, “We’re gonna increase the property value here tenfold.” On one major street, we decide against planting sunflowers in tiny patches of dirt we find, because, as one GGer puts it, “people will probably just lock their bikes to them anyway.”

While gardening is often solitary, such actions foster community, not only among the participants — who are from all walks of life, though they are mostly young people, activist types — but also for the folks who live in the bleaker areas of the downtown core.

Locals ask questions; some volunteer to pitch in. At our second planting this spring, for example, a woman who lives nearby volunteers some of her own seedlings and settles in to work the hard dirt with us. We also install small signs: “Please water me! This garden brought to you by the guerrilla gardeners.”

After all, this kind of garden is something we can all share, part of a growing urban beautification movement that includes green rooftops and community gardens.

In fact, guerrilla gardening’s roots go deep. In New York, the Green Guerrillas have been around since 1973, tossing seed mixes, encased in water balloons, into vacant lots. More recently, the Guerrilla Garden Posse has sprouted in London, Ont., where “Corporal Hollyhock” describes their Friday evening “random acts of gardening” as part fun, part community inspiration. And in Vancouver, a gardener called “Urban Wild” has quietly been adding greenery where there was once only cement and dirt and chronicling his adventures on his blog.

At the end of the first afternoon, the Toronto gardeners go our separate ways, pleased with the first round of vandalism. Sure, none of it is much to look at right now. But I am already grinning at our dirty work, imagining the cheerful surprises awaiting our fellow citizens.

And all it takes is bending a law or two.

***

Seeds of liberation

Want to prettify your own city and reclaim public space? Here’s the green revolution tip sheet:

1. Officials are unlikely to charge guerrilla gardeners unless they are causing mischief or endangering others. Cover your butt and use only sites that are unused or unwanted — never plant in public gardens or parks — and leave the land in better condition than you found it in.

2. Apply a little vision to the land around you. Back laneways, railway embankments, edges of parking lots and concrete planters left unattended by city gardeners are great spots to garden.

3. Keep a packet of seeds in your pocket or knapsack, along with a spoon, so you can “attack” with nature whenever you come across a neglected or unattractive spot.

4. Look for plant varieties that are native to the area and that like dry conditions. Perennials are good, especially “vigorous” and “self-sowing” varieties. Also try sunflowers, cosmos, purple sage, forget-me-nots, asters, morning glories (a vine suitable for growing along chain link fences), poppies and marigolds.

5. If you want to try growing edible plants in wasted spaces, avoid planting near pollution sources.

6. Consider the soil conditions of your sites, and plant only in those unloved spots around the city where they aren’t likely to be moved, driven over or weeded.

7. Don’t forget to go back and water, especially during the first week after planting. Planting right after a rain will buy you a few extra days.

8. Spread the word as you go. Let passersby know what you’re doing and encourage them to help.

Resources:

Primal Seeds

Toronto Public Space Committee, Guerilla Gardening

Urban Wilderness: http://urbanwild.diary-x.com.