News Notes - August 4, 2010

Stalking 2.0: How social networking streamlines the process.
http://bit.ly/dugzWX [WSJ Video]
To my potential stalkers: Twitter usually know where I am, thanks to my chatty client.

City of Austin confused that you aren't comfortable at the temperature at which it tells you to be comfortable.
http://bit.ly/cUuA8w [AAS]

How highly perishable skillsets exacerbate long-term unemployment.
http://bit.ly/9VMg3d [Businessweek]

CSI: Reality - new rapid DNA test
http://bit.ly/dpbRVA [BBC]

Forget sensitivity training - how about anti-corruption training?
http://bit.ly/aU4vhj [Moscow Times]

"Black Tar", not "tar balls"
http://bit.ly/ciTSSY [Houston Chronicle]

Wave, goodbye.
http://bit.ly/bebFE7 [BBC]

Sticky highway situation
http://bit.ly/bBMXu5 [Moscow Times]
Unfortunately, the other truck was carrying borscht.

Russian wildfires spread
http://bit.ly/bg7Vx8 [BBC]

Pakistani floods spread
http://bit.ly/d1IKk4 [BBC]

Kenyan rights spread
http://bit.ly/9BXd2T [BBC]

On the Brink of Gardening

In order to expedite actually getting plants into the ground, we've decided to concentrate on getting our first row of four foot by four foot blocks irrigated. Patrick has the first two drainage ditches dug, so now we just have to:

• connect them to the pond
• put in the pond liner
• grade the ditches
• get the drain pipe
• find some free gravel on craigslist

First though, at Patrick's request, I'm going to get some stakes and string to mark off the blocks so we can start double digging them.

Getting the Garden Rolling...

Today there were actually three of us working toward the reality of what I have dubbed the Meadowview Liberty Garden.  The process was jumpstarted yesterday when Patrick came by and asked what he could do to help get the garden going.  In the last two days he's put quite a dent in the retention pond, Phillip cleared the remaining debris and fencing from the old garden, and I marked off the new garden.  Now we need to rent a tiller.  Our designated space is ambitious in size, but there isn't any reason to plant the entire thing in one season or even one year.

We'll be using the square foot gardening approach, with 25 potential 4'x4' blocks, separated by 3' paths.  Once we till the yard, we'll install slotted drain pipe between the blocks, tying into the drain coming from the roof gutter.  After that we'll lay out the permanent paths in a grid with a thick layer of mulch.

Now to pick up my copy of Month to Month Texas Gardening and figure out what to plant.  Also, I can't decide whether I want to install irrigation or build a robot to water.  I'm leaning heavily toward the robot.