Open source appropriate technology with Marcin Jakubowski

an open source compressed earth block press

We are building the world's first replicable open source self-sufficient high-appropriate-tech permaculture ecovillage—to transcend survival and evolve to freedom.

Factor e Farm is the land-based facility where we put the theory of Open Source Ecology into practice. Agricola sum. We are farmer scientist, working to develop a world-class research center for decentralization technologies.
Now there's a tool for doing this: open source permaculture and technology deployed via flexible and digital fabrication. Open engineering is applicable to our technology base, and from that, to providing basic needs. That is a stepping stone to evolution.

Factor e Farm is not a factory farm. Why “e”? It is a transcendental number. We aim to transcend. We push towards open source, with a factor 10 reduction in price. Or at least e. Ten times cheaper means ten times the freedom. It is Factor e improvement in quality of life. It is technology for ecology: evolve to freedom.

We started with raw land. We paid our last electricity bill three years ago. We are getting our power from waste vegetable oil and the sun. We drink pure free rain water. We grow most of our food. We are free. Welcome to our life. We want to help others do the same: decentralization. Regain control of your life. Be your own boss. Evolve to freedom.

The Global Village Construction Set is the first experiment of Open Source Ecology. Our challenge is to see how far we can reach into human prosperity on a small scale. Can we create an advanced, largely self-sufficient “civilization” on the scale of villages or farmsteads? Have we overlooked something? If so, what else is needed? Could this have the potential to transform the world?

Open Farm Tech with Marcin Jakubowski

Listen or download this interview from AgroInnovations podcast

Marcin Jakubowski is one of the premier pioneers of open source appropriate technology and agricultural innovation. Guided by Gandhi’s principles of swadeshi, Marcin has made great strides in moving towards community-based development and local autonomy. One of his first great innovations is an open source compressed earth block press, which he discusses at length in this podcast.
Visit Open Source Ecology

Thanks to Frank at the excellent Agroinnovations podcast for another great interview.

Pesticides responsable for high-profile die-offs among amphibians, bees, and bats.

Yale's Environment 360 has a new must-read report

by Sonia Shah linking pesticides to the high-profile die-offs among amphibians, bees, and bats. What makes this news timely isn't necessarily the toxicity of the pesticides per se, it's the indirect effects on these animals of chronic, low-dose exposure to chemicals:

In the past dozen years, no fewer than three never-before-seen diseases have decimated populations of amphibians, bees, and - most recently - bats. A growing body of evidence indicates that pesticide exposure may be playing an important role in the decline of the first two species, and scientists are investigating whether such exposures may be involved in the deaths of more than 1 million bats in the northeastern United States over the past several years.



... The recent spate of widespread die-offs began in amphibians. Scientists discovered the culprit - an aquatic fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, of a class of fungi called "chytrids" - in 1998. Its devastation, says amphibian expert Kevin Zippel, is "unlike anything we've seen since the extinction of the dinosaurs." Over 1,800 species of amphibians currently face extinction.



It may be, as many experts believe, that the chytrid fungus is a novel pathogen, decimating species that have no armor against it, much as Europe's smallpox and measles decimated Native Americans in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. But "there is a really good plausible story of chemicals affecting the immune system and making animals more susceptible," as well, says San Francisco State University conservation biologist Carlos Davidson.

White-nose Syndrome, named for the tell-tale white fuzz it leaves on bats’ ears and noses, has killed more than a million bats in the northeastern United States.

Shah goes on to explain a mechanism whereby pesticides applied to fields in California's Central Valley drift into the Sierra Nevada mountains "where they settle in the air, snow, and surface waters, and inside the tissues of amphibians." A scientist who studied the matter "found a strong correlation between upwind pesticide use ... and declining amphibian populations."

Some scientists believe a new class of chemicals based on nicotine may be to blame for “colony collapse disorder” that destroyed nearly 35 percent of the U.S. honeybee population between 2006 and 2009.

Meanwhile, bees and bats have suffered a similar fate - killed off by powerful pathogens that in theory could be novel but in practice seem to have taken advantage of animal populations immuno-compromised by pesticides.

One of the most interesting aspects of the piece was the description of an Italian scientist's unpublished research that suggests the "missing link" between neonicotinoids, a powerful pesticide already banned in Europe but still in use in the U.S., and bee colony collapse. It relates to the practices of using neonicotinoids-coated seeds planted by machines that kick up clouds of pesticide as they work:

... In as-yet-unpublished research, [University of Padua entomologist Vincenzo] Girolami has found concentrations of insecticide in clouds above seeding machines 1,000 times the dose lethal to bees. In the spring, when the seed machines are working, says Girolami, "I think that 90 percent or more of deaths of bees is due to direct pesticide poisoning."

Girolami has also found lethal levels of neonicotinoids in other, unexpected - and usually untested - places, such as the drops of liquid that treated crops secrete along their leaf margins, which bees and other insects drink.

But Shah concludes by observing that this accumulating evidence comes with challenges and caveats that, I would point out, industry ruthlessly exploits:

Proving, with statistical certainty, that low-level pesticide exposure makes living things more vulnerable to disease is notoriously difficult. There are too many different pesticides, lurking in too many complex, poorly understood habitats to build definitively damning indictments. The evidence is subtle, suggestive.

Subtle and suggestive though it may be, it's extremely unlikely that these chemicals aren't also acting on us. This news plus the data surrounding the consequences to human health of low-dose exposure to chemicals like atrazine, BPA and phthalates should have us in a panic and our government in a regulatory frenzy. Instead we get paralysis and promises of "further study." As we wait for a chemical "smoking gun," I wonder what animal population will die off next. Anyone care to wager?

Thanks to SOTT for the post

Messages from water - Masaru Emoto

Fujiwara Dam, after offering a prayer

Fujiwara Dam, before offering a prayer

How water structure reflects our consciousness
Water has a very important message for us. Water is telling us to take a much deeper look at our selves. When we do look at our selves through the mirror of water, the message becomes amazingly, crystal, clear. We know that human life is directly connected to the quality of our water, both within and all around us.

You Make Me Sick, I Will Kill You

The photographs and information in this article reflect the work of Masaru Emoto, a creative and visionary Japanese researcher Mr. Emoto has published an important book, "The Message from Water" from the findings of his worldwide research If you have any doubt that your thoughts affect everything in, and around you, the information and photographs that are presented here, taken from the book of his published results, will change your mind and alter your beliefs, profoundly.

Sanbu-ichi Yusui Spring water

How the molecular structure of water is affected...

From Mr. Emoto's work we are provided with factual evidence, that human vibrational energy, thoughts, words, ideas and music, affect the molecular structure of water, the very same water that comprises over seventy percent of a mature human body and covers the same amount of our planet. Water is the very source of all life on this planet, the quality and integrity are vitally important to all forms of life. The body is very much like a sponge and is composed of trillions of chambers called cells that hold liquid. The quality of our life is directly connected to the quality of our water.

Thank You

Water is a very malleable substance. Its physical shape easily adapts to whatever environment is present. But its physical appearance is not the only thing that changes, the molecular shape also changes. The energy or vibrations of the environment will change the molecular shape of water. In this sense water not only has the ability to visually reflect the environment but it also molecularly reflects the environment.

Love and Appreciation

Mr. Emoto has been visually documenting these molecular changes in water by means of his photographic techniques. He freezes droplets of water and then examines them under a dark field microscope that has photographic capabilities. His work clearly demonstrates the diversity of the molecular structure of water and the effect of the environment upon the structure of the water.

Adolph Hitler

Discover how each source has an effect on the visual photographed structure...

Kawachi Folk Dance

Snow has been falling on the earth for more than a few million years. Each snowflake, as we have been told, has a very unique shape and structure. By freezing water and taking a photograph of the structure, as Mr. Emoto has done, you get incredible information about the water.

Japan Shimanto River, referred to as the last clean stream in Japan

Mr. Emoto has discovered many fascinating differences in the crystalline structures of water from many different sources and different conditions around the planet. Water from pristine mountain streams and springs show the beautifully formed geometric designs in their crystalline patterns. Polluted and toxic water from industrial and populated areas and stagnated water from water pipes and storage dams show definitively distorted and randomly formed crystalline structures.



If you would like to read further on Dr Emoto check out this page from Life Enthusiast
or his own site Masaru Emoto
Further reading:
More crystal Photos
An introduction to Sacred Geometry
RA Music
Music, symbols and colour

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The Healing Forces of frequency

Science has recognized that everything that moves and vibrates from the sub-atom, atom to the smallest molecule present in the universe produce some kind of sound.
The Universe is a vast musical instrument that is in constant state of vibration.

Harmonic Sounds and vibrations are tools for a transformation that creates and arrange realities. The Masaru Emoto Institute were able to take pictures of some beautiful crystal patterns after subjecting distilled water to the sounds of "The Power of Harmonic Sound and Vibrations", ( an 8 track CD see link at bottom)

At the Masaru Emoto laboratory they have been freezing various kinds of water and observing their crystals.

First Chakra: MULADHARA

Musical Tone of C

1. Root Chakra.
Musical Tone "C" (DO) 396Mh = 9
Color: Red
Element: Earth.
Base of the Spine - Energizes the whole physical body and affects general physical vitality and needs.

Second Chakra : Svadhistana

Musical Tone of D

2. Reproductive or Sex Chakra.
Musical Tone "D" (Re) 417Mh = 3
Color: Orange,
Element: Water.
Sexual Organs; Bladder and legs. Lower or Physical Creative Centre, Sexuality and Emotions.

Third Chakra: MANIPURA

Musical Tone of E

3. Solar Plexus Chakra.
Musical Tone "E" (Mi) 528Mh = 6
Color: Yellow,
Element: Fire.
Diaphragm: pancreas, liver, stomach, large and small intestines and other internal organs.
Acts as an Energy Clearing House Centre, Power and Vitality.

Fourth Chakra: ANAHATA

Musical Tone of F

4. Heart Chakra.
Musical Tone "F" (Fa) 639Mh = 9
Color: Emerald Green,
Element: Air.
Center of the Chest, Heart, Thymus Gland, Circulatory System and Lungs. The Energy Centre of Love.

Fifth Chakra: Throat Chakra

Musical Tone of G.

5. Throat Chakra.
Musical Tone "G" (Sol) 741Mh = 3
Color: Blue,
Element:Sound & Air.
Center of the Throat, Thyroid and Parathyroid Glands, and the Lymphatic System.
The Center of Communication, Expression and Creativity.

Sixth Chakra: Ajna, or Third Eye

Musical Tone of A.

6. Third Eye and Ajna Chakra.
Musical Tone "A" (La) 852Mh = 6
Color: Indigo,
Element: Light.
Between the Eyebrows and Center of the Head, Pituitary Gland and Endocrine Glands.
Control the other major chakras.
Center of Intuition.

Seventh Chakra: Crown Chakra, SAHASRARA

Musical Tone of B.

7. Crown Chakra.
Musical Tone "B" (Si) =9
Color: Violet,
Element: Ether & Thoughts. Crown or Top of the Head, Control the Brain and Pineal Gland,
The Center of Understanding, Ethereal Evolution and Enlightment.

All sounds together

The sound “Aum” represents the light and sound of all matter. Intoning the sacred sound of “Aum” help the charkas to expand and harmonize consciousness into Divine Oneness. It is an universal and powerful healing mantra that creates, gives life and movement to all that exists…

Aum

Further reading:
Ambient Techno Trance in the Solfeggio Frequency
The ancient Solfeggio
RA Music
Solfeggio MegaThread
Masaru Emoto - Messages from water
Masaru Emoto appears in what the bleep movie
An introduction of sacred Geometry
thanks to:
The Healing forces
I.H.M Research Institute

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• Harmonics and Healing Sounds (earthharmonyhome.com)

Sacred Geometry 101

In nature, we find patterns, designs and structures from the most minuscule particles, to expressions of life discernible by human eyes, to the greater cosmos. These inevitably follow geometrical archetypes, which reveal to us the nature of each form and its vibrational resonances. They are also symbolic of the underlying metaphysical principle of the inseparable relationship of the part to the whole. It is this principle of oneness underlying all geometry that permeates the architecture of all form in its myriad diversity. This principle of interconnectedness, inseparability and union provides us with a continuous reminder of our relationship to the whole, a blueprint for the mind to the sacred foundation of all things created.

The Sphere

(charcoal sketch of a sphere by Nancy Bolton-Rawles)

The Circle

The circle is a two-dimensional shadow of the sphere which is regarded throughout cultural history as an icon of the ineffable oneness; the indivisible fulfillment of the Universe. All other symbols and geometries reflect various aspects of the profound and consummate perfection of the circle, sphere and other higher dimensional forms of these we might imagine.

The ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, Pi, is the original transcendental and irrational number. (Pi equals about 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937511...) It cannot be expressed in terms of the ratio of two whole numbers, or in the language of sacred symbolism, the essence of the circle exists in a dimension that transcends the linear rationality that it contains. Our holistic perspectives, feelings and intuitions encompass the finite elements of the ideas that are within them, yet have a greater wisdom than can be expressed by those ideas alone.

The Point

At the center of a circle or a sphere is always an infinitesimal point. The point needs no dimension, yet embraces all dimension. Transcendence of the illusions of time and space result in the point of here and now, our most primal light of consciousness. The proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel" is being validated by the ever-increasing literature on so-called "near-death experiences". If our essence is truly spiritual omnipresence, then perhaps the "point" of our being "here" is to recognize the oneness we share, validating all "individuals" as equally precious and sacred aspects of that one.

Life itself as we know it is inextricably interwoven with geometric forms, from the angles of atomic bonds in the molecules of the amino acids, to the helical spirals of DNA, to the spherical prototype of the cell, to the first few cells of an organism which assume vesical, tetrahedral, and star (double) tetrahedral forms prior to the diversification of tissues for different physiological functions. Our human bodies on this planet all developed with a common geometric progression from one to two to four to eight primal cells and beyond.

Almost everywhere we look, the mineral intelligence embodied within crystalline structures follows a geometry unfaltering in its exactitude. The lattice patterns of crystals all express the principles of mathematical perfection and repetition of a fundamental essence, each with a characteristic spectrum of resonances defined by the angles, lengths and relational orientations of its atomic components.

The Square Root of Two

The square root of 2 embodies a profound principle of the whole being more than the sum of its parts. (The square root of two equals about 1.414213562...) The orthogonal dimensions (axes at right angles) form the conjugal union of the horizontal and vertical which give birth to the greater offspring of the hypotenuse. The new generation possesses the capacity for synthesis, growth, integration and reconciliation of polarities by spanning both perspectives equally. The root of two originating from the square leads to a greater unity, a higher expression of its essential truth, faithful to its lineage.

The fact that the root is irrational expresses the concept that our higher dimensional faculties can't always necessarily be expressed in lower order dimensional terms - e.g. "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (from the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 1, verse 5). By the same token, we have the capacity to surpass the genetically programmed limitations of our ancestors, if we can shift into a new frame of reference (i.e. neutral with respect to prior axes, yet formed from that matrix-seed conjugation. Our dictionary refers to the word matrix both as a womb and an array (or grid lattice). Our language has some wonderful built-in metaphors if we look for them!

The Golden Ratio

The golden ratio (a.k.a. phi ratio a.k.a. sacred cut a.k.a. golden mean a.k.a. divine proportion) is another fundamental measure that seems to crop up almost everywhere, including crops. (The golden ratio is about 1.618033988749894848204586834365638117720309180...) The golden ratio is the unique ratio such that the ratio of the whole to the larger portion is the same as the ratio of the larger portion to the smaller portion. As such, it symbolically links each new generation to its ancestors, preserving the continuity of relationship as the means for retracing its lineage.


The golden ratio (phi) has some unique properties and makes some interesting appearances:

• phi = phi^2 - 1; therefore 1 + phi = phi^2; phi + phi^2 = phi^3; phi^2 + phi^3= phi^4; ad infinitum.
• phi = (1 + square root(5)) / 2 from quadratic formula, 1 + phi = phi^2.
• phi = 1 + 1/(1 + 1/(1 + 1/(1 + 1/(1 + 1/(1 + 1/...)))))
• phi = 1 + square root(1 + square root(1 + square root(1 + square root(1 + square root(1 + ...)))))
• phi = (sec 72)/2 =(csc 18)/2 = 1/(2 cos 72) = 1/(2 sin 18) = 2 sin 54 = 2 cos 36 = 2/(csc 54) = 2/ (sec 36) for all you trigonometry enthusiasts.
• phi = the ratio of segments in a 5-pointed star (pentagram) considered sacred to Plato and Pythagoras in their mystery schools. Note that each larger (or smaller) section is related by the phi ratio, so that a power series of the golden ratio raised to successively higher (or lower) powers is automatically generated: phi, phi^2, phi^3, phi^4, phi^5, etc.

• phi = apothem to bisected base ratio in the Great Pyramid of Giza
• phi = ratio of adjacent terms of the famous Fibonacci Series evaluated at infinity; the Fibonacci Series is a rather ubiquitous set of numbers that begins with one and one and each term thereafter is the sum of the prior two terms, thus: 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144... (interesting that the 12th term is 12 "raised to a higher power", which appears prominently in a vast collection of metaphysical literature)

The mathematician credited with the discovery of this series is Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci and there is a publication devoted to disseminating information about its unique mathematical properties, The Fibonacci Quarterly

Fibonacci ratios appear in the ratio of the number of spiral arms in daisies, in the chronology of rabbit populations, in the sequence of leaf patterns as they twist around a branch, and a myriad of places in nature where self-generating patterns are in effect. The sequence is the rational progression towards the irrational number embodied in the quintessential golden ratio.

This most aesthetically pleasing proportion, phi, has been utilized by numerous artists since (and probably before!) the construction of the Great Pyramid. As scholars and artists of eras gone by discovered (such as Leonardo da Vinci, Plato, and Pythagoras), the intentional use of these natural proportions in art of various forms expands our sense of beauty, balance and harmony to optimal effect. Leonardo da Vinci used the Golden Ratio in his painting of The Last Supper in both the overall composition (three vertical Golden Rectangles, and a decagon (which contains the golden ratio) for alignment of the central figure of Jesus.

The outline of the Parthenon at the Acropolis near Athens, Greece is enclosed by a Golden Rectangle by design.

The Square Root of 3 and the Vesica Piscis

The Vesica Piscis is formed by the intersection of two circles or spheres whose centers exactly touch. This symbolic intersection represents the "common ground", "shared vision" or "mutual understanding" between equal individuals. The shape of the human eye itself is a Vesica Piscis. The spiritual significance of "seeing eye to eye" to the "mirror of the soul" was highly regarded by numerous Renaissance artists who used this form extensively in art and architecture. The ratio of the axes of the form is the square root of 3, which alludes to the deepest nature of the triune which cannot be adequately expressed by rational language alone.

Spirals

This spiral generated by a recursive nest of Golden Triangles (triangles with relative side lengths of 1, phi and phi) is the classic shape of the Chambered Nautilus shell. The creature building this shell uses the same proportions for each expanded chamber that is added; growth follows a law which is everywhere the same. The outer triangle is the same as one of the five "arms" of the pentagonal graphic above.

Toroids

Rotating a circle about a line tangent to it creates a torus, which is similar to a donut shape where the center exactly touches all the "rotated circles." The surface of the torus can be covered with 7 distinct areas, all of which touch each other; an example of the classic "map problem" where one tries to find a map where the least number of unique colors are needed. In this 3-dimensional case, 7 colors are needed, meaning that the torus has a high degree of "communication" across its surface. The image shown is a "birds-eye" view.

Dimensionality

The progression from point (0-dimensional) to line (1-dimensional) to plane (2-dimensional) to space (3-dimensional) and beyond leads us to the question - if mapping from higher order dimensions to lower ones loses vital information (as we can readily observe with optical illusions resulting from third to second dimensional mapping), does our "fixation" with a 3-dimensional space introduce crucial distortions in our view of reality that a higher-dimensional perspective would not lead us to?

Fractals and Recursive Geometries

There is a wealth of good literature on this subject; it's always fascinating how nature propagates the same essence regardless of the magnitude of its expression...our spirit is spaceless yet can manifest aspects of its individuality at any scale.

Perfect Right Triangles

The 3/4/5, 5/12/13 and 7/24/25 triangles are examples of right triangles whose sides are whole numbers. The graphic above contains several of each of these triangles. The 3/4/5 triangle is contained within the so-called "King's Chamber" of the Great Pyramid, along with the 2/3/root5 and 5/root5/2root5 triangles, utilizing the various diagonals and sides.

The Platonic Solids

The 5 Platonic solids (Tetrahedron, Cube or (Hexahedron), Octahedron, Dodecahedron and Icosahedron) are ideal, primal models of crystal patterns that occur throughout the world of minerals in countless variations. These are the only five regular polyhedra, that is, the only five solids made from the same equilateral, equiangular polygons. To the Greeks, these solids symbolized fire, earth, air, spirit (or ether) and water respectively. The cube and octahedron are duals, meaning that one can be created by connecting the midpoints of the faces of the other. The icosahedron and dodecahedron are also duals of each other, and three mutually perpendicular, mutually bisecting golden rectangles can be drawn connecting their vertices and midpoints, respectively. The tetrahedron is a dual to itself.

Here are some animations of counter-rotating polyhedra and images of the Platonic solids showing their relationships as duals.

Here are fold-up patterns for the Platonic Solids.

The Archimedean Solids

There are 13 Archimedean solids, each of which are composed of two or more different regular polygons. Interestingly, 5 (Platonic) and 13 (Archimedean) are both Fibonacci numbers, and 5, 12 and 13 form a perfect right triangle.

Here are fold-up patterns for the Archimedean Solids.

Stellations of The Platonic Solids and The Archimedean Solids

This is a stellation of a dodecahedron where each pentagonal face is capped with a pentagonal pyramid composed of 5 golden triangles, a sort of 3-dimensional 5-pointed star.

Click here for more images of polyhedra (Platonic and Archimedean Solids.)

Metatron's Cube

Metatron's Cube contains 2-dimensional images of the Platonic Solids (as shown above) and many other primal forms.

The Flower of Life

Indelibly etched on the walls of temple of the Osirion at Abydos, Egypt, the Flower of Life contains a vast Akashic system of information, including templates for the five Platonic Solids.

Metatron's Cube
A discourse on the aspect of Sacred Geometry known as Metatron's Cube by Charles Gilchrist.

A movie to watch if you have an interest in sacred geometry.



You can watch the whole movie here

Studio: Artisan Entertainment
Cast: Sean Guillette, Mark Margolis

"Pi," which appeared at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival is a film about a reclusive mathematical genius obsessed with explaining the essence of chaos theory.

Darren Aronofsky scripted and made his directorial debut with this experimental feature with mathematical plot threads hinting at science-fictional elements. In NYC's Chinatown, recluse math genius Max (Sean Gullette) believes everything can be understood in terms of numbers, and he looks for a pattern in the system as he suffers headaches, plays Go with former teacher Sol Robeson (Mark Margolis), and fools around with an advanced computer system he's built in his apartment. Both a Wall Street company and a Hasidic sect take an interest in his work, but he's distracted by blackout attacks, hallucinations, and paranoid delusions. Filmed in 16mm black-and-white, the Kafkaesque film features music by Clint Mansell (of the UK's Pop Will Eat Itself band). Shown at the 1998 {~Sundance Film Festival} where Aronofsky won the drama directing award. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide


For further information, visit Bruce Rawles' Resources page.
Thanks to Geometry Code
Further Reading:
Healing Forces of Harmonic sounds
Sacred Geometry in crop circles
Masaro Emoto
The Ancient Solfeggio
The Healing Partnership
Ascension Series

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