Readers

Call For Help: Does Anyone Know This Woman???

This post is totally unrelated to the subject of Tiny House Ontario.

When I was in school one of the students (a distant cousin really) was hit in the head with a ball in gym class and suffered total amnesia.  I remember how scary this was for her.  I know that 400 -600 people will read here today and hopefully share the link on FB social media and so on.  I know this is irregular and not what you hope to see here… but  if you don’t read, Halifax or Toronto newspapers, you may not see it, and I hope this community can help.

News link

On Sept. 5, a woman, who calls herself Linda, walked into a downtown shelter, but could not remember anything about herself. She has since been transferred to an east-end shelter.

She is described as white, 5-foot-7, 55 to 60 year old, 150 pounds, with shoulder-length, straight blond hair and blue eyes.

When she arrived at the shelter, she wore a dark-blue jean jacket, black capri-style pants, black slip-on walking shoes, a pink bandana, white ankle socks, light-brown glasses and a pink watch.

Police have released a photograph of the woman and are asking the public to help identify her.

Anyone with information can call police at 416-808-5400.

Update October 13, 2012 – five weeks later and still nothing.

Update  November 23 – two and a half months later police wait for DNA to see if Linda is indeed Linda Hegg who is missing from Delaware.  What do you think?  Here are the photos to compare below.

Update December 18 – Linda Hegg is now at home with her family in Delaware.

Categories: Friendship, Readers, View | Tags: | 1 Comment

Fall Writers

Fall is clearly starting to settle in at THO.   I arrived there yesterday with my luggage, and left again immediately to go back to Kingston.  The weather is getting cold enough that I have kept the windows closed added an additional blanket to the bed and switched my thin linen pajamas for my flannel ones.  This said, I am not really at the tiny house heating it up with my own body temperature.  You see I am attending the Kingston Writer’s Fest.  I have seen Michael Ondaatje, Dionne Brand, Teju Cole, Andrew Westoll, Marina Nemat speak so far.

I had never heard of Teju Cole but I am happy that I now have.  He puts words together with absolute poetic and wondrous purpose.  Last night, I was so taken with the man’s presence and his writing that I purchased his book; I read about half of it before my eyes gave out after a long trip on the train, food, speakers, excitement and the chill at THO – it was a wonder I read at all.  His words are just so good.

This morning, when I woke, I drove back into town, on the way in I saw an immature turkey vulture on the power lines.  The creature allowed me to take a few photos before it lifted its wings with irritation and lifted off.

Now, I must get back to see the others who use words, speak about them.

This afternoon I will see other writers as well.

Categories: Forest, Kingston, Magical, Nature, Ontario, Readers, Tiny House Ontario, View, Writing | Leave a comment

KBOO.fm

I just got a note from the wonderful Rabia who interviewed me for her radio show on KBOO.fm in Portland.

It was a very cool experience and the opportunity to share was pretty awesome.   Rabia made this really easy on me so despite my nerves I don’t believe that I sound like a total idiot.  Thanks Rabia!  Too, I have to say that I totally agree with you when you say that this interview adds so much.   You give Tiny House Ontario a voice!  Thank you!

I decided just to copy and paste her email to me so that you can check out not just my interview but also her other links because she is an interesting person and I am sure that her shows are great.  I hope that I can catch a bit when I am on grid for more than a few minutes at a time.

A Tiny heads up: The interview is about 45 minutes in length so don’t start listening until you get comfy.

>>>>>>>

Hi Laura,

I think I sent this but I didn’t see it on your blog so here is the link to the audio interview.

http://www.kboo.com/node/48967

I’m certain your readers will love hearing your voice and the story. It adds so much.

Also here is a link for your ears to the show I do every Sunday night at Midnight called The Confessional. I’m pretty sure you will enjoy it. People listen around the world, even to the archive?? It’s the MOST fun thing I do. Happy Tuesday!

http://snd.sc/OrywQH, or try this if the link doesn’t work, both “should.”

http://soundcloud.com/contessa-1/confessional-august-13-2012

Categories: Building code, Environmentalism, Magical, Materialism, Readers, Tiny House Ontario, View | Leave a comment

Solar Lights

When I was on the Odyssey a few days ago, the interesting kayaker with the fascinating lights was telling me about a company called Nokero (short for No Kerosene) who make lights for communities that have no access to electricity.  It is a simple but important concept.  Make a solar light bulb that is bright enough to be a viable light so that people will not have to use kerosene to see.  I am guessing that they could hang right in the window because the bottom is hinged so they are pretty darn practical for use in a Tiny House or off grid setting.  Cool eh?

The business model is really interesting and I hope successful.

I wonder if any off grid/or steady camping folks have tried these?  I just bought a large solar panel so this is not something that I believe that I need, but even so, I like the look of these folks and their product. I would love to hear from anyone who has seen or used one of them.

Categories: Environmentalism, Materialism, Off Grid, Readers, Sustainable living | Leave a comment

UNWELCOMED ADVERTISING!

When I set up this blog which is about stepping off the consumption line I very specifically chose to not have any advertising on this site.

Further, anyone who reads my posts knows that I do not use ANY commercial products for cleaning myself or my home beyond baking soda, organic apple cider vinegar for myself and white vinegar for my home.  I also use only olive oil to moisturize my skin and my hair.  I would never endorse anything that I do not use or that I am not 100% happy with.  Simple as that!

Still, this stuff which I personally consider to be total crap, and which I am more than likely allergic to, is on my blog.  This is here without my permission!  I do not make any advertising revenue on this Vaseline ad, nor any other ad which is being put without my permission here.  I do not endorse this, nor any other product. While I understand that with the number of readers Tiny House Ontario has, that advertisers might want to get in here, certainly I would not allow any products that I personally would never use, be a part of what I would allow here.  I am not opposed to advertising, for example, I would be happy to allow for example Bison Pumps or certain other off grid suppliers for things that people actually NEED, on my site, but Vaseline blah, blah, blah!  Seriously?  This sort of advertising is NOT in keeping with the ideology here at all!  I promise that if I ever do allow advertising that it will be only for products that I have used, like and or aspire to have at THO.

I want to extend an apology to my readers who have been subjected to this consumer nonsense and I also want to know if any bloggers out there know what to do about this?  For example, can I find a paid and applicable sponsor which will wipe out all this, or can I just make adjustments to my WordPress blog which will allow this to stop.  For example, if I pay for the blog space will the ads stop?

Thanks!  Image by Colleen who both captured this on her screen as well as brought it to my attention.

________________

So a half hour after this post and this is what Colleen sees when she looks at this post!  Please let me know if you also see this.

Categories: Materialism, Money, Open your eyes, Readers, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tiny House Ontario | 8 Comments