Author Archive for jaell

Puny Living in the Bufalino

jaell published on October 3, 2010 in zeitgeist. 3 Comments

Meet the Bufalino by German industrial designer Cornelius Comanns. I could go on to describe it, but these photos really speak for themselves.

I am completely infatuated with the idea of small living. It could be a product of my fear of commitment to a place or that I simply hate the complicated process of packing up and moving around over and over again. It could be that every time I move I realize how much junk I accumulate, throw away and feel guilty for. It could be my desire for more spontaneity in my life. Ultimately it is freedom that small living provides. Freedom from outrageous debt and from a love of meaningless materials.

Less is the new more. Pass it on.

jaell

Abogo Transportation Cost Calculator

jaell published on September 22, 2010 in zeitgeist. 1 Comment

People go on and on about how expensive driving is, but not many really calculate it specifically for themselves. One of the biggest indicators of how positively, or negatively, your lifestyle impacts your environment is your transportation costs. According to the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Americans tend to think that 30% of income is affordable housing, but the cost of housing goes beyond rent or a mortgage.

Where you live determines your lifestyle. This doesn’t just mean whether or not you can go to a nightclub on friday night or if you wind up at a bonfire out in rural Nebraska. Do you have groceries within walking distance? Is the weather unbearable in the middle of winter? Do you spend two hours in your car everyday simply in an effort to get to work? Your life (hopefully) happens outside of the four walls of your home and if it costs you money just to get to your life, it might be good to consider cutting those costs.

How much money would you have in your pocket if you lived in a neighborhood close to your work with ample access to public transportation? If you lived somewhere with everything you needed within walking or biking distance, you would never have to think about car payments, insurance, gas, maintenance costs, time in traffic, etc. You would be more physically active. Your life would be spent being lived rather than being transported. You could put money into your economy on a local level through restaurants, the arts, and actual experiences. You could avoid giving money to companies that have no real stake in your local economy. Studies show that money spent on experiences rather than materials lead to happier people.

I don’t mean to preach to the choir. I know you all are motivated and inspired by the phrase “less is more”, but sometimes people need concrete numbers to prove the full weight that luxuries like fancy cars and suburban homes place squarely on our shoulders.

Now you can type your address into a simple calculator and find out for yourself thanks to Abogo. Abogo is an online transportation cost calculator from the Center for Neighborhood Technology. The Chicago based “think-and-do tank” has created this tool using its Housing and Transportation Affordability Index. It takes into account the costs of commuting, errands, and the availability of standard commercial activity within your neighborhood, the cost of owning and maintaining a vehicle, and the accessibility of public transportation.

I recently moved from Saint Paul, Minnesota to Minneapolis. It wasn’t a big change in terms of distance, but my new neighborhood is slightly less walkable than my previous one.

I went from this:

To this:

So even though my rent is the same, I could have an increase in $100 USD per month in just transportation costs if I am not consciously working to decrease my consumption.

Lucky for me, my new neighborhood has great access to a train that will take me to work at my new workplace in downtown Minneapolis during the winter months. I also have quick access to a number of bike trails and plan on using that even more during the bike-able months.

It is a handy calculator to use if you plan on relocating any time soon. For me, location is everything. I get a lot of pleasure in taking long bike rides and working toward a lifestyle that harmonizes utility and aesthetic. Sometimes breaking things down to dollars and cents is what helps you find that happy medium.

Big thanks to Abogo for putting this together.

jaell

Nice Ride – Minneapolis Bike Share Program

jaell published on July 24, 2010 in transportation. 0 Comments Tags: Bicycle commuting, bike sharing, go for a bike ride why don't you?, Minnesota, SuperForester Jaell.

About a year ago, I posted about the Minneapolis bike share program that Bike Walk Twin Cities was encouraging with its $1.75 million grant.

Since that post, Minneapolis/Saint Paul has gone from simply boasting a high percentage of bicyclists to being declared this year’s most bike-friendly city by Bicycling Magazine. I’d say that is pretty incredible considering how the weather can go from 90 degrees with 70% humidity to 30 below with snow mountains and glistening ice sheets.

The fact of the matter is that the city itself is promoting bikes as a mode of transportation fast and hard. You can see by Google Maps (now featuring bike lanes/pathways) just how easy it is to get from A to B in the entire metro area.

Furthermore, the bike share program I posted about last year, lovingly dubbed “Nice Ride Minnesota,” has been launched. These attractive bikes are equipped with a basket, a fender, and adjustable seats. Don’t forget your helmet, though, because these don’t come with it. You must to protect your head!

Check out all the locations you can pick them up and drop them off as well:

Currently the bike share program is only in Minneapolis but the plan is to expand it further and further into Saint Paul and surrounding cities. I’m pretty stoked, even though chances are I won’t use it. I have my own bike and its a Panasonic. No joke.

Still, for everyone that just wants a ride once in awhile, doesn’t want to store a bike, can’t afford a bike (even though you can get used ones for cheap from Craigslist and many used bike shops), or needs transportation from bus-stop to bus-stop, Nice Ride Minnesota is for you!

Get goin’!

Best,

Jaell

Twin Cities Dragon Festival 2010

jaell published on July 19, 2010 in zeitgeist. 2 Comments

“A good instructor creates an environment where knowledge reveals itself.”

- Dan Inosanto

Back in February I decided to take a “Kickboxing for Fitness” class through Saint Paul’s Community Education system. I knew I wanted to start a different kind of workout and thought that punching and kicking must feel good from time to time. I was right.

It has been five months and I am even more under the martial arts spell than I ever thought I could be. I’ve jumped up from one to four classes per week with the Minnesota Kali Group. I am hoping to get a heavy bag for at home. I punch the air when I think no one can see me at work. It has even crept into my dreams.

The Minnesota Kali Group is Guro Rick Faye’s martial arts organization. I attend his Phase 1 classes which offer a mix of Kali, Jun Fan martial arts, and Thai boxing. My training partner and I were solicited to participate in a demonstration at the Dragon Festival last Sunday to celebrate pan-asian culture. We declined to demonstrate because I have a fear of the spotlight, but we still got some great pictures of everyone else (and ate some yummy egg rolls).

As you can see, people of all shapes and sizes, all genders, and all ages can participate in this kind of art.

We had a blast watching the demos, and I have even more fun everyday in class. Plus, the health benefits are amazing. I am so happy walking out of class everyday. It feels like I was able to lay out all of my frustrations for an hour and a half and leave them behind in the gym.

I definitely encourage you to try out martial arts, and at the very least, get your body moving!

Best,

Jaell

ReUse DIY Flower Box

jaell published on July 14, 2010 in build. 3 Comments Tags: D.I.Y., SuperForester Jaell.

Hey Kiddos!

Ah, summer is in full swing! Before it got here, I had big plans for my balcony. I finally have an apartment with some outdoor space. I have to put it to good use.

I bought a couple of adorable teal patio chairs off of craigslist, and when I showed up at the house to pick them up (for only $20; reuse win!), the owner offered the old, rotting, matching patio table for free. How nice, right?

I thought that maybe I could re-vamp the table and turn it back into a stable surface to enjoy a nice barbeque on. No such luck. The parts that held the flat surface to the legs were completely rotting and icky.

I commenced with deconstruction. I thought to myself, “Some of this wood is salvageable, I am sure I can think of something to build with it.” I decided to rip out the nails as carefully as possible to keep all the wood intact. Some of it crumbled in my hands but there were sturdy pieces still around.

I then separated the pieces into piles, and just my luck, the legs were completely solid. I set them aside for another project.

I took the salvageable wood up to my apartment and got out some of my trusty tools. I don’t have much in my toolbox but I try to have the minimum: screwdrivers, wrench, pliers, handsaw, level, etc. It’s nothing fancy, but it is imperative. Having simple tools is one of the most important parts of recycling. It is hard to turn nothing into something or to do simple repairs without them.

When I separated the table, I saw that these small pieces had an attractive rounded edge. After some brainstorming, I realized these would make lovely flower boxes for my attic apartment balcony. There isn’t much space up there, but since it is summertime, I still wanted to green the place up a bit.

I cut one larger piece of wood to fit the length of each individual curved piece.

Then I trimmed off the edge to give it a cleaner look.

Some smaller pieces of wood fit the clean ends nicely. So I secured all of these pieces simply using a hammer and some long nails. As you can see, the chipping paint was fairly unsightly, but I still kind of liked the teal color.

So I painted them to match my balcony and attached them to the rail. Now all I have to do is plant some herbs and I’ll be set. It’s a little late in the season, but it will be great to step outside and enjoy some dill sometime.

So I guess if you see something that could easily be thrown away, double check it for potential and get to work!

Best,

Jaell

Ten Second Film Festival

jaell published on July 5, 2010 in art. 2 Comments Tags: 10 Second Film Festival, free art & technology, funny videos, Minneapolis/St Paul, SuperForester Jaell, The Soap Factory.

(Image Credit: The Soap Factory)

I had a really great time this Fourth of July weekend for a number of reasons. I ate some great thai food, enjoyed some wine by the Mississippi riverbank, went for a long bike ride, practiced some martial arts, and watched the fireworks.

The highlight, though, was the Ten Second Film Festival that the Soap Factory, a Minneapolis art gallery that devotes its curatorial efforts to emerging artists at the beginning of their careers, puts on every year.

Immediately following the fireworks in downtown Minneapolis, festival goers needed only to turn around and face the screen to watch the show begin. There was a band playing, there was beer flowing, but most of all, there were 100 hilarious, interesting, and sometimes disappointing ten second clips shot by people from all over the world playing on screen.

A few of my favorites were:

Dogs Can’t Read

Sticks

River Vs Lake

The festival is technically an international film festival. I can only see it growing larger and more popular year after year. What fun!

Kevin Albertson of MPLS.tv was the MC. I hadn’t heard of MPLS.tv before but I’m going to explore it a bit more. It is like a local YouTube for the Twin Cities. It looks like the videos are produced much like SuperForest content. These people don’t get paid but are simply enthusiastic about creating content that affects the community positively. Let’s think about ways to connect!

(Image Credit: The Soap Factory)

If you get inspired and have a 10-second idea, think about entering it into the contest. Don’t forget to tell us about it if you do.

Best,

Jaell

Jazari: Wiimote Controlled Drum Circle. What CAN’T Your Wiimote Do?

jaell published on May 5, 2010 in art and technology. 1 Comment Tags: electronic musical instruments, experimental musical instruments, jazari, music, patrick flanagan, SuperForester Jaell, wiimote.

Patrick Flanagan isn’t your average video game nerd.

He isn’t even your average music nerd.

(Image Credit – Jazari Flickr Set – Patrick Flanagan)

He is the fusion of engineer, musician, and video game enthusiast. Congratulations everyone! There is proof that your hippie drum circle can move seamlessly into the 21st century!

Using the individual Wiimote buttons, Flanagan can control which drums are hit and at what intonation. By leaning the Wiimote right and left, the beats being played can change from quarter notes to thirty-second notes. By pointing the Wiimote upward or downward, the volume gets louder and softer. This is just the beginning of his method for operating his robot band, lovingly named “Jazari”. Check out a full blown performance below!

Watch him explain more specifics about how Jazari works:

Gimme a beat!

jaell

Wily Octopus Steals Camera

jaell published on April 22, 2010 in zeitgeist. 2 Comments Tags: animals, Octopus, SuperForester Jaell, you're smarter than you look.

This video is pretty amazing. Never underestimate how smart other animals are. They’re more aware than we know.

Happy Earth Day!

Have The Courage To Do Things Differently

jaell published on April 21, 2010 in technology and zeitgeist. 3 Comments Tags: communication, international telecommunications union, mission statements.

“…We must not only work hard, we must work smart: creating effective partnerships, making efficient teamwork central, and finding ways to do more with less. When doing things better proves not enough, we’ll show the courage to do things differently.”

This quote is courtesy of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) vision statement. Perusing the internet recently I came across their site and I got to thinking about how vast our communication capabilities are, how simple it is to broadcast our thoughts, how people can find us (if they’re optimizing their search engine), and who I have to thank for that. The people at the ITU are doing the legwork, and I am very grateful.

Surely there are countless potential scientific achievements scribbled in notebooks and not collaborated on. There are countless artists without the stage to showcase their talents. Heck, think of all the people who don’t have phones, the internet, the television, or even books to use as windows into the rest of the world. They are the people we forget even exist, but we still move forward so quickly. Think of all the ways humans have communicated before. We only get faster, more capable, and more innovative. What a wonderful thing to be thankful for.

(image via Only Planet – The Postman)

Yet so many of us use this connectivity to instant message our roommates from living room to living room (I have been guilty of this before). We do Google searches for celebrity dating habits or where to get the cheapest botox. Such a valuable tool and this is its most popular use? Is it not the key to international education? Can you not learn and share creativity, breakthroughs, and positive revolutions?

As a challenge for myself, I have been backing off of my own lackluster connectivity by leaving my cell phone at home when I go for walks. I am hoping to better connect with the sounds and sights around me. Sometimes I will leave it at home for days and pretend like it is permanently connected to the wall like the landline I grew up with. I can better focus on engaging with the present rather than the past, future, or whatever parallel dimension I think is about to text me. I hope that by practicing this separation I may be more engaged with my own creativity, and can return to the infrastructure to share something more valuable.

After all…

“There are serious challenges facing us. The growing role for ICTs holds great promise, but it can be abused. Breakthroughs in communications bring not only benefits but also new dangers. Global cooperative agreements have never been more necessary, yet at the same time, the sheer speed of development makes this all the more difficult. This means we must not only work hard, we must work smart: creating effective partnerships, making efficient teamwork central, and finding ways to do more with less. When doing things better proves not enough, we’ll show the courage to do things differently.“

How inspiring. For so much of my life, I felt pressure to perform better, faster, and more efficiently to surpass people on society’s predetermined scales of success. These scales are reinforced by how tapped into the lives of others I am. What if I had tried to do things differently first? Could I have achieved something even more beneficial to myself and to others? In order to benefit the group, you must bring something to the table.

Innovative ideas are grown from seeds planted in your mind by the world around you. You tease out ideas until you have tiny roots to show to everyone. Then you bring the tiny idea-pod to the rest of the team and it can become something even better once it joins that full blown ecosystem of originality!

I think it would be great to have the courage to do things differently. If the world around you inspires great ideas, then run with them. If they inspire negative ones, then change them. It is what you make of it.

Remember the vision of the ITU:

1. Create effective partnerships.

2. Make efficient teamwork central.

3. Find ways to do more with less.

4. Have the courage to do things differently.

5. Read SuperForest everyday!

Okay, I added the last one in myself. I think you all get the gist.

Good day to you, SuperForesters.

Consumer Trends Worth Trending

jaell published on April 5, 2010 in food. 2 Comments Tags: composting, consumer consequences, gardening, SuperForester Jaell.

Good Afternoon SuperForesters,

Looks like its overcast here in Saint Paul after a glorious sunny and action-packed weekend. No worries, though. I am sitting on my 3rd floor balcony having some Triscuits and a glass of wine. What a great way to relax!

Looking at the back of my Triscuit box, I noticed this:

A “plantable dill seed card!” What a great alternative to the usual cereal box surprises: growing your own home farm using the seeds given to you in your Triscuit box. It’s fun, friendly, and encouraging the revival home grown food (one of the most basic skill sets that we need). If you check out Triscuit’s website you can find tips on how to start your own home farm.

Then, browsing the internet, Google popped up an ad for SunChips compostable bags.

I feel so hopeful seeing these two shining examples of consumer demand. These are big brands finally responding to what could be good for us. Can anyone else believe its taken so long to get to this point? I mean, they can put a man on the moon, but they can’t make compostable consumer goods packaging? Never say can’t. Don’t say never either. Also, try not to say “don’t” or “not”. Just say “Yes!”

I am very excited for the day that everyone has their own compost bin. Most (if not all) packaging could be made of this kind of material, and rooftop gardens wouldn’t just be a premium – they’ll be as standard as doors, walls, and windows.

Keep up the good work, everyone. The more you demand from your products, the more those producers must respond.

Best,

jaell

Online Community Project – Superforester Jaell Needs Your Suggestions

jaell published on March 6, 2010 in build. 13 Comments Tags: community, recycling, SuperForester Jaell.

Guess what! I have an idea!

My workplace has a bad habit of being wasteful. Working at a hotel, you can see how willing people are to throw things away. If you walk into a guest room, you may find every light on. The radio may be blaring. The water may even be running… all while the guest is just out getting dinner. I know! Its crazy! Unfortunately, from experience, I can tell you it is very very common.

Working here, I personally try to save things as much as I can. Every day I receive incoming mail. I open it and reuse the envelopes that seal (the return evelopes) so I can to return cash to my cashiers. This works perfectly. I keep some envelopes out of the wastebasket and reuse them. Still… the envelopes that I had to open still must be tossed.

I decided one day to start collecting them.

I thought perhaps someday I would find a way to reuse them. Look at all of them!

Well, I DO have an idea… but I don’t want to tell you what it is yet. Why? I have a hunch that you guys can help me come up with something better. Please, give me your ideas on what to do with these discarded envelopes.

I know they’re not sexy, interesting, or expensive. But nothing in this world is of any value until we decide it is valuable.

Some facts about the potential project:

1. I don’t want to spend much money on other supplies for the project.

2. I have envelopes that fill two grocery bags.

3. They have stamps (often printed stamps) and addresses written on them.

4. Some of them have little plastic windows.

5. All of them have potential!

So what do you say, guys? Can you lend me your ideas? Perhaps I can build something great with these things. Then all of your junk-mail at home will be useful once again! No need to send it out to be recycled… skip the middle man!

Comment below with your suggestions. I’m so excited!

jaell

Get Your Art On With Gift Wrapping!

jaell published on December 21, 2009 in art and zeitgeist. 3 Comments Tags: gift wrapping, Holiday Gifts, painting, SuperForester Jaell.

Hey ya’ll!

I just finished up a gift wrapping session today. It was pretty much the only gift wrapping session I have had this holiday season. I had some lovely wrapping paper left over from last year (I like the sparkly kind).

Now, to me, just the wrapping paper doesn’t give the gift the pizazz I want. I love wrapping gifts and I want them to come out looking more spectacular than the gift wrapped within it. I didn’t have any ribbon this year because that stuff is expensive and I didn’t want to spend the dough. How do I spice it up?