I had to tighten a screw holding my punching bag to a beam in my garage. The safe way might have been to:
1. Lift the bag slightly and have my wife unhook it from the chain suspending it.
2. Use a ladder to climb up tighten the screw and climb back down.
3. Then lift the bag and have my wife re-attach the chain.

The safe way isn’t always the easiest, quickest or cheapest way.

My wife was in the living room, and being a man, sometimes I lack the ability to ask for help. So instead, the process went something like this:
1. Decide not to ask my wife for help.
2. Set up a ladder next to the bag.
3. Lift the bag so an edge of it rests slightly on a ladder step.
4. Wrap one leg around the bag to “secure” it.
5. Quickly tighten the screw before my leg cramps up, causing the 100-pound bag swings off the ladder and me to lose my balance and fall to my death.

Injuries and fatalities do happen in the home. They strike individuals and families just like you and me. More than 5 million people are injured every year from falls alone.

Would I have injured myself if I fell of that ladder? Yes. Was there a safer way to tighten that one little screw? Yes. Was I committed to doing the job safely? In this instance, sadly no.

A safe home requires a commitment from each and every one of us. From this point forward, I will be more committed to making my home a safer place.

The “New Wave” style of planting, pioneered by Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf, draws its inspiration from the horizontal brushstrokes of a painting. Oudolf and his followers base their trademark style on vast and massive undulations, composed of large groups of flowering or colorful foliage plants. Wave plantings are essentially made up of perennials, annuals, and grasses; shrubs and roses are rarely used in this style.

Groupings of plants, whether in the form of islands, more or less regular rows, or large swaths, play against each other to produce a bold overall effect. Each section is composed of a single plant variety, selected for flower shape or color or the texture or hue of its foliage.

The wave garden’s undulating look is to a great extend due to the use of perennials whose supple leaves, whether broad or finely serrated, verdant or silvery, sway in the wind. This effect also be created by using ornamental grasses, whose stalks and seed heads not only take on a tousled and fluid appearance as they rustle in the breeze but also create a transparent scrim through which the forms of other plants are glimpsed intriguingly.

To create your own “New Wave” garden, group 15 to 20 plants of the same kind together in meandering bands and narrow swaths you have previously outlined on the earth of the border. Use species of different heights, but don’t attempt to arrange them according to their height; instead, set groups next to each other in a way that makes the most of the differing texture of their foliage, their habits, and the color of their flowers.

After a few years, the most invasive species will end to overwhelm their neighbors. It will be necessary to use a spade to cut back the conquering tides and regain the clean-edged design that is a hallmark of the style of planting in waves.

1. Eat greens. Ingesting lots of leafy green vegetables like spinach, collard greens and kale help avoid macular degeneration. (The “macula” is an area at the back of the eye that enables us to see fine details. When the macula doesn’t work, there is blurriness or darkness in the center of our vision).

2. Take vitamins. There are supplements made specifically for eye health. Be sure that they include these: Vitamins A, C, E and B2 and the minerals zinc and selenium.

3. Keep your eyes hydrated. A simple saline solution can help to lubricate and soothe eyes. (Be sure to check with your doctor if you experience stinging or burning in your eyes, or a sandy or gritty feeling, or you don’t produce tears when you cry. These symptoms could indicate “dry eye,” a condition that needs medical attention).

4. Eat apricots and blueberries. Blueberries are associated with reduction of eye fatigue and apricots are rich in beta carotene and lycopene, both of which promote good vision.

5. Get plenty of Omega 3 fish oil. It helps clear eyesight and eye health. (Heart-healthy diets in general tend to be good for the eyes as well, since blood circulation is so important to eye health).

6. Pamper your eyes. Try placing two slices of soothing cucumber over closed eyes for 15 minutes. It cools and refreshes the eyes.

7. Drink tea. It’s thought that drinking tea might help to deter cataracts.

8. Try Bilberry. This herbal remedy, according to some herbalists, can help to improve night vision.

9. Wear UV filtering sunglasses. Harmful UVA and UVB rays can contribute to cataracts.

10. Give them a break. If you work at a computer, remember the 20/20/20 rule. Take a break every 20 minutes. For 20 seconds, look at something 20 feet away or farther. This allows your eyes to refocus and relax and prevents the blurry vision that can occur by staring at a computer screen for too long.

These common sense tips, in addition to regular visits to a qualified ophthalmologist, will help your eyes stay healthy for years to come.

1 cup peeled and grated young turnips (about two medium turnips)
1 cup peeled and grated tart apples (about 1 large apple)
½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Raisins and toasted pecans or hazelnuts, optional

1. Toss the turnips, apples, parsley, lemon juice, and vegetable oil in a large bowl.

2. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

4. If using raisins and nuts, toss them in and on top of the salad.

Makes about two cups.

The physical world we normally experience is a shadow of the real world. The real world, the world of spirit, exists behind a veil, and the veil is our own conditioning. In truth, we are not bound by the world of space, time, matter, and causation, but the veil prevents us from seeing this truth. It also prevents us from living in power, freedom, and grace.
In the fourth state of consciousness, we begin to sense the deeper reality that is orchestrating the physical world, and there is a tearing in the veil that separates the physical and spiritual realms. Just as we have to wake up from the dream state to experience waking consciousness, we have to wake up from what we call waking consciousness to glimpse our spirit, our inner self. This is called glimpsing the soul, and it’s the fourth state of consciousness. It’s simply to be in touch with our soul.

This leads to the fifth state of consciousness, or cosmic consciousness, when our soul fully wakes up in waking, dreaming, and sleeping. Our body can be fast asleep, but our soul, the silent witness, is watching the body in deep sleep. Our body can be walking, and the silent witness is watching the body walk. Our awareness is localized in space time, and it’s non-local, or transcendent, at the same time.

If we don’t interfere with nature’s intelligence, then we start to awaken into the sixth state of consciousness, divine consciousness. In divine consciousness, we see and feel the presence of spirit in everything. When we wake up in divine consciousness, we don’t just see a leaf, or a table, or a cloud, or a rainbow; we see the whole universe being all these things.

Next, we waken to the seventh state of consciousness, which is unity consciousness. This is when the spirit inside us, which is now fully awake, merges with the spirit inside objects, which are also now fully awake.
The universe is conscious, and because it is conscious, it is conscious of itself. So the eighth state of consciousness, infinite consciousness, is its own observer. The observer is the discontinuity, the gap, the off.

Skillet Crust
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and set aside.

2. In a very large skillet over medium-low heat, melt the butter gently–do not brown–then stir in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients from the bowl and turn off heat. Using a wooden spoon, mix the ingredients to form crumbs (they will be a bit clumpy, but be persistent). Allow the crumbs to cool for several minutes.

3. As soon as the crumbs are cool enough to handle, transfer two cups of them to a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie pan that has been buttered. Use your hands to gently press the crumbs evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Reserve the remaining crumbs to top the pie.

Filling
4 cups fresh rhubarb stalks, leaves removed, sliced in 1/4-inch thick crosswise slices
2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1. Make the crust, pressing 2 cups of the crumbs into a buttered extra-deep-dish pie pan (see directions below). Set the pie pan aside, reserving the remaining crumbs for topping.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Combine rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, flour, cardamom, and ginger in a large bowl and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

3. Pour filling evenly into pie shell, smoothing the top with a spoon, then crumble the remaining crumbs for the crust recipe evenly over the pie. Press down gently.

5. Bake on the center rack for 30 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 325, turn the pie 180 degrees, and continue to bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until crumbs are golden-brown and filling is bubbly. (You may want to ten the pie loosely with aluminum foil during the final 15 minutes, if the crumbs are getting too browned.)

6. Cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before serving.

Serves 8 to 10.

Dear Shamana,
Yes, children are taught about acids and bases using baking soda and vinegar because they are opposites. They make a fun “volcano” with a heap of baking soda (mountain) and vinegar, which is added in a drizzle down the top, resulting in “lava.” When combined, baking soda and vinegar neutralize each other in a safe bubbly, hissing kind of way.

Baking soda is alkaline, a base, with a pH of around 8.1. Vinegar is acidic, and most commercial distilled white vinegars contain 5 percent acetic acid and has a pH of about 2.4. Neutral is 7.0.

There is one instance when I recommend combining baking soda and vinegar, and that is in the drain. Sometimes the bubbling and hissing in the drain when you combine these two is enough to dislodge hair and gummy buildup. (I recommend a cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by a cup of vinegar.)

Otherwise, readers take note that when you combine baking soda with vinegar you end up with a neutral liquid that isn’t much use for cleaning.

General Motors developed the prototype EV-1 in 1990, and as a result, the California Air Resources Board issued its groundbreaking Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate. But fairly quickly, the auto manufacturers and the oil companies mobilized to attack and undermine the mandate, and lo and behold, by 2003, trucks, vans, and SUVs made up more than half of all passenger vehicles sold in the United States, and average fuel efficiency of the nations cars had declined by nearly 50 percent. Several hundred happy consumers who had bucked the trend and leased EV-1s from General Motors were shocked when the company called in the leases, demanded the return of every last vehicle, and literally crushed them, thus ending its electric vehicle development program. Meanwhile, GM filed a lawsuit against the state of California to destroy the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate.

In spite of these depressing developments, improvements in battery technology, the continuing growth of electric power generated with renewable resources, and increasing public concern about climate change and instability in the fossil fuel markets add up to real hope that electric vehicles will become commercially available in the foreseeable future.

An electric vehicle runs on an electric motor and contains a battery pack to store electrical energy The great advantages of EVs are emissions and operating cost. EVs have no point-of-use emissions, and research has shown that even taking into account the power plants that generate the electricity an EV releases 90 percent less emissions than a comparable gasoline-powered car. An EV can also be powered by solar energy, which of course would be the ideal scenario. EVs also are cheaper to operate than internal combustion vehicles. They don’t need tune-ups, fuel and oil filters, oil changes, or mufflers, and because they have fewer moving parts, they require less maintenance.

The liabilities of electric vehicles are what present the problem. The high cost of conversion ($5,000 or more for a typical passenger vehicle) and the limitations in range imposed by current battery technology (still only 50-60 miles before a recharge is needed) continue to conspire against EVs.

The current phase of EV development is called the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle, or PHEV. It’s just what it sounds like, a hybrid car that you can plug in and recharge. PHEVs offer zero-emission performance for everyday short-distance driving as well as the convenience of traveling 400 miles on one tank of fuel for trips over the battery’s capacity!

For more information on the cutting edge in electric vehicles, check out www.hybridcars.com and www.pluginpartners.com