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Yes, We Are on Mars!

Yes, We Are on Mars!

Monthly Archives: January 2009

Colds Impair Driving?

31 Saturday Jan 2009

Posted by earthling in Are you on Mars, living, Odd Thoughts

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Education, Health, its a crazy world

The rhinovirus

The rhinovirus

Lloyds TSB Insurance has done research which says the common cold inhibits driving up to 11%. This is equal to drinking a double whiskey. Does this mean that in the future there will be mothers against cold driving or that instead of a DUI you can get a DUC (driving under a cold)? After all here on Mars, insurance companies will do just about anything not to pay out and governments will do just about anything to fine someone something.

For more info:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7858623.stm

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Ancient Building for Modern Homes

22 Thursday Jan 2009

Posted by earthling in Building, Homes, living

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Building, Culture, Education, Family, History, Homes, life, thoughts

Modern cob home in England

Modern cob home in England

Since I was a kid I’ve wanted my own house. Through the years I have lived in large homes, small homes and student rooms and now I still don’t own my own home. But I have learned a lot about what I want in a home. I do not want a large house. I don’t want to heat it, cool it or clean it.  I just want a home to be cozy, inexpensive, easy to clean and safe.

I enjoy history and since living in Europe I have looked at a number of housing strategies that people have come up with through the centuries. Many people today seem to want a certain kind of traditional architecture using certain materials but for thousands of years humans have lived healthy and happily in a myriad of different styles of homes. People have also found that some old materials are simply the best. Often in the U.S. people with little money buy trailers or mobile homes. I’ve never understood this because they are poorly built, not energy efficient, have no style and fall apart after 30 years or so, yet with the same amount of money  or less people can build very cool, energy efficient, solid homes if they are willing to learn from the past. After all – why invent the wheel yet again?

There are three kinds of homes I have found that are very interesting. The first is a style of architecture, ‘courtyard building’. When I first came to Europe I noticed these and wondered why Americans don’t build them. They originate from an ancient form of building. This form is now used to build appartment buildings however the original form was on a much smaller scale where extended families built their own homes butt up against their families homes and the courtyard was created. Often the interior was used for animals. Most in Europe have been broken-up and sold as seperate apartments but in China there is still a region where extended families live in the same building.

Outside of courtyard house in the Netherlands

Outside of courtyard house in the Netherlands

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside a Courtyard house.

Inside a Courtyard house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second kind of home is not so much the architecture but the materials used and that is cob. Cob is a combination of mud, straw and dung (very inexpensive). Cob homes are often thought of as being those small mud huts in Africa however cob has been used all over the world for thousands of years in all kinds of climates. The two photos below are in England. One is a 400 year old home that is still very much a nice modern home and the second was recently built.

17th century cob home England

17th century cob home England

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The third home is again not so much the style (although I do think its cool) but the materials. It was built within 4 months by a family in Wales using ancient materials and cost only a few thousand dollars. Heating costs are minimal and can be very modern. I personally would want to finish off the interior with cleaner lines and also in order make it easier to clean but the idea is very appealing. The basic building materials are wood, straw and cob with a lime wash to keep it clean. What really appeals to me is that it was made with practically no money simply elbow grease. I would at least love to try it. To learn more check out their site.. www.simondale.net/house/

House in Wales

House in Wales

Doing Family Research in Groningen

17 Saturday Jan 2009

Posted by earthling in geneology, My Marcian Family

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Culture, Dutch culture, Family, Family History, geneology, Groningen, wierdness

geuken1

Grandmother Geuken of Groningen

My husband’s family are strange when it comes to their family history and identity. Through the years they’ve made-up stories that do not exist and make it a part of their personal identity. I did some research a few years ago for that family in Groningen going back to 1800, but no one seemed interested so I stopped.

Last week my husband decided to do some geneology in Groningen. I had to help him focus but he got back to 1700 on most lines and on some he got back to 1300. In the process he proved that all of the stories were wrong and that reality was much more interesting.

We found that in the northern Netherlands and Germany, before 1811, there was a tradition of  ‘patronymic’ naming. This is naming the children’s last name after the father’s first name. Not only did they do that but they sometimes created last names with the mother’s father’s first or last name. On one occasion they used the mother’s last name for the children. This makes geneology work difficult especially since most databanks are sir name based but it also makes it fun and interesting. You see that in the past people were much more free and open and creative with names. 

We explained to the children how it worked and that they probably should have a different last name.  The name they should have had before the Napoleonic law of 1811 was ‘Hendrik’. They both liked Hendrik better then Hidden and were talking of changing it. I doubt they ever will but why not? After all it seems Mars has moved away from creativity and freedom with names so lets bring it back.

Bicycle Torture

11 Sunday Jan 2009

Posted by earthling in Me and Mars, Odd Thoughts

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Culture, culture clash, dutch, Dutch culture, Living in a Foreign Country

Bicycle parking garage near the station.Living here in a small overcrowded country, I have found that cycling everywhere can be faster and more convenient then a car. Parking is easier and much cheaper and you can go down one-way streets the other way. When the weather is nice I quite enjoy doing the shopping and going to work and school on a bike. The problem is that the weather here is not very good and recently it is well under freezing.

People who know me know that I hate the cold. Not only do I hate it but I have no tolerance for it. I get cold very easily and stay cold, so yesterday when I biked to the train station it was simply torture. The small 5 minute ride froze my feet and hands to the point where they were painful and to exasperate things when I got to the station my train was 10 minutes late which made me even colder.

Recently in order to make the train stations look nicer and cleaner the local governments have been confiscating bicycles that are not parked the way they want. They also want us to pay to park a bike. Now I know we should not use cars so much for the environment and to keep traffic jams down but when its cold, the idiots running Mars need to do something to make public transport more convenient and reward people who brave the torturous cold and not punish them. The Dutch don’t even have a word in their vocabulary for ‘convenient’. They seem to think that bike riding is healthy and enjoyable. Well its NOT!

Something Totally Gross

06 Tuesday Jan 2009

Posted by earthling in Odd Thoughts, Weirdness

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

art, comedy, Culture, humor, redneck, strange, weird, wierdness

doorbell1I came by this while surfing the net and it was so strange in so many ways I had to post it. There is a guy who makes all sorts of strange and disturbing things with animal parts and sells them on ebay. This doorbell is the coolest and wierdest. Check out where you press the button. It kind of reminds me of home and of my brother-in-law and brother in a strange way. After all, my brother-in-law spent much of his life at the wrong end of a cow…hee hee

If you are strange enough to want more check out…http://www.dba-oracle.com/t_make_deer_butt_alien.htm

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