The Compact: can you go a year w/o buying new?

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Thursday August 24, 2006 · 2:42 PM PDT

2006/08/24 · 14:42

Tomorrow is the start of our 12-month flight from the consumer grid. To aid us all in getting started and sticking to the regime, I've compiled the guidelines we set in stone at our great dinner a few weeks back.
As agreed, The Compact has several aims (more or less prioritized below):
1) to go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of U.S. consumer culture, to resist global corporatism, and to support local businesses, farms, etc. --a step that, we hope, inherits the revolutionary impulse of the Mayflower Compact
2) to reduce clutter and waste in our homes (as in trash Compact-er)
3) to simplify our lives (as in Calm-pact)
So, here goes for the rules:
First principle --don't buy new products of any kind (from stores, web sites, etc.)
Second principle --borrow or buy used.
A few exceptions ...

See here.
Updated with direct link to exceptions.

NC-05 Dem. candidate Roger Sharpe on gas, energy

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Tuesday August 15, 2006 · 6:52 AM PDT

2006/08/15 · 06:52

Roger Sharpe recently posted this statement on his campaign website:

It is not surprising to discover that in each of the twelve counties in our district, the record cost of gasoline is the number one issue on the minds of hourly wage earners. Gas prices in North Carolina's 5th congressional district are rising higher and higher each day and consumers are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet.
As a citizen of this district and a candidate for Congress, I am deeply concerned about the impact that these record gas prices are having on working families in our communities. Earlier this month, I spoke to a married couple who told me that they actually had to sell their family home and move closer to their workplace because their monthly commuter gas bill was as high as their monthly mortgage payment. Equally as disturbing is the fact that many hourly wage earners in our district are being forced to choose between paying for a tank of gas in order to get to work and buying groceries to feed their families. This is simply unacceptable in America and we must not allow this to continue.

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Friday August 11, 2006 · 11:40 AM PDT

2006/08/11 · 11:40

From the BBC

Norway is starting construction on a "doomsday vault" in the Arctic which is designed to house all known varieties of the world's crops.

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Friday August 04, 2006 · 8:27 AM PDT

2006/08/04 · 08:27

From the NCDOT's HOV page:

Welcome to the North Carolina Department of Transporation High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) website. Here you will find information about the NCDOT HOV program and learn about HOV lanes. We are committed to providing citizens with opportunities to get involved in transportation decision making. Information is available on the various HOV projects around the state.

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Thursday August 03, 2006 · 2:55 AM PDT

2006/08/03 · 02:55

Please join Appalachian Voices and other concerned citizens across the country in Washington, DC, to advance the Clean Water Protection Act (HR 2719) and help end mountaintop removal coal mining.

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Tuesday August 01, 2006 · 3:44 AM PDT

2006/08/01 · 03:44

On the first of every month I head over to Bruce Schneier's to catch up on his blog by reading the previous month. July's is particularly juicy: Read More

Give SS # to get DL, get photographed when pulled

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Thursday July 27, 2006 · 9:10 AM PDT

2006/07/27 · 09:10

Via the Winston-Salem Journal:

The N.C. House has tentatively endorsed legislation that would allow law-enforcement officers to take photographs of drivers cited for some traffic offenses.
....

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Wednesday July 12, 2006 · 2:32 AM PDT

2006/07/12 · 02:32

AARP Bulletin, July-August 2006, p. 4:

Keep the Motor Running
A new "supercenter" will soon let customers shop for everything from movies and medicines to groceries and takeout meals without leaving their cars. At the 24-hour AutoCart in Albuquerque shoppers will pull up to a computer-equipped ordering station, place an order, and receive delivery by conveyor belt --all in a promised 18 minutes or less.

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Wednesday June 21, 2006 · 1:51 PM PDT

2006/06/21 · 13:51

I found out about this in a comment by raines on willers' diary Why sustainability is important to you, which ought to be in the next rescued batch. The Cohousing Association of the United States is holding its 5th national conference 21-23 July at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Cohousing is a type of collaborative housing in which residents actively participate in the design and operation of their own neighborhoods.
Cohousing residents are consciously committed to living as a community. The physical design encourages both social contact and individual space. Private homes contain all the features of conventional homes, but residents also have access to common facilities such as open space, courtyards, a playground and a common house.

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Tuesday June 20, 2006 · 12:52 PM PDT

2006/06/20 · 12:52

Dennis Bean-Larson, the guy behind Fixed Gear Gallery, has launched killacyclist.com:

www.killacyclist.com needs correspondents in every state in the US and Canadian Provinces, Euro nations ....
Here's what you'll do:
a) Research on-line and compile the existing laws relating to bicycles on the road in your state and any pending legislation.
b) Research for incidents of cyclists from being killed by auto/truck drivers.
c) Simply turn on your radar and update that info as needed.
Here's what you'll get:
a) Stickers to distribute and stick onto police cars, municipal court doors, etc (just kidding, please stick responsibly)
b) Your own email address at killacyclist.com
c) A killacyclist.com staff t-shirt and spokecard/presscard when your state's basic info is posted.

[As of 15:40 EDT they had KY, NY, and TX covered.] Read More

Stop that bike: Highpath engineer on hub brakes

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Thursday June 01, 2006 · 10:33 AM PDT

2006/06/01 · 10:33

From an interview with Highpath Engineering's David Wrath-Sharman at 63xc.com:

63xc.com: So, what appeals to you about hub brakes? Presumably a major consideration is the fact that the mechanism is protected from wear and exposure. That's a big plus in the UK's damp climate.
DW-S: That's right. I don't have much experience with disk brakes, but I gather that pads wear out quickly. Well, the hub brake on my personal bike has probably done 20,000 miles, and I'm just getting round to replacing the shoes.

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Monday May 29, 2006 · 2:00 AM PDT

2006/05/29 · 02:00

From the Raleigh News & Observer:

A bill filed Thursday in the state Senate would require fingerprinting and criminal background checks for all students before they enroll in any of the state's 16 public universities, starting in the fall of 2007.
The bill's future is unclear, but it was sent to a legislative finance committee for consideration.

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The Compact: can you go a year w/o buying new?

NC-05 Dem. candidate Roger Sharpe on gas, energy

the doomsday garden

Want HOV lanes? Widen the road.

Mountaintop Removal Week in DC, 9-13 September

Schneier on Security full of good stuff last month

Give SS # to get DL, get photographed when pulled

Want fries with that purchase?

Cohousing conference in Chapel Hill

Kill A Cyclist safety campaign underway

Stop that bike: Highpath engineer on hub brakes

Bill proposes fingerprinting all UNC students