Justin Monjo! What an article! I think the worm (no, not that worm - the metaphorical worm) has turned. Imagine opinion pieces like this being published during the last election. It just would never have happened. This one is slipping away from the media. They are losing us.

Justin mentions Aldo Leopold's Thinking Like A Mountain. I'm not sure that this is the essay but it looks like the one mentioned. It talks about balance.

Bikes can be great workhorses. I would imagine you would get your money back quickly with fuel savings if you bought a trailer for your bike and left the car at home. With savings on trips to the gym you'd be in front in no time.

Mr Potato Head shows his acting range as a Storm Trooper

and a Transformer

Geothermal Electricity. See, this is why politicians don't understand geothermic production of electricity. Geodynamics are trying to save the world with the help of Australian Ethical Investments.

ManMadePants was understandably pleased to stumble across a fellow who'd taught lizards to recline on a nice little lounge.

Sick of Cheesy motivational posters? These posters tell it like it is.

:))

Kiva.

I've loaned to a husband and wife team this time. Look at the dude in this photo. What a go getter. Grinding mortars and pestles out of rocks. Then Mrs Peang Se takes them off to market. How could I not get behind them in their endeavours? I wonder if I could buy a mortar and pestle off them. They look great. Much heavier and more effective than the toys I've found here in Australia.



I would have liked to have lent to Ke Pich too but her loan was filled before I could get to it.

Jammie Thomas fought the law and the law won. But, it's a lot of money so I've chipped in a few bucks to help her out. USD220,000 isn't a fine, it's life destroying. What about her kids? A USD220,000 fine is really going to ruin Christmas. People shouldn't have their life destroyed over a 2 albums worth of songs. Two albums! What would that be worth, say, USD50? AUD60 or so? Unbelievable! Anyway, help Jammie if you can.

Scary Mary!
Showing once again that most of our fear is of the packaging. :)

Kiva again. Because Oz 7 Lotto has jackpotted again I'm going to buy a ticket. So, that means it's time to lend some more money on Kiva. This is a strange rule but at least thsi means that gambling is doing someone some good. The Kiva account is way ahead of the gambling account. I am 98% sure of getting all of my money back with Kiva. With Lotto the chances of getting any money back at negligible.

I've lent to this lady because she is building up her business to contribute to the long term viability of her family. I would imagine that her children would be grownups by now. I hope that Nazkhanim's good borrowing habits will teach her children how to borrow well in the future.

Rhoades Car

I always like a wierd pushbike. These bikes really push the boundries.

Some poor dude who can't show his face:

MARINA CAMILA MIJANGOS GARCIA

Jeremías López Cruz

These are my previous loans:
Teina Teuila

I've made another loan via Kiva. I like this idea because it gives people with a bit of get up and go a chance to make their lives better. This is the 5th loan I've made. A small amount of the money has been repaid.



So, because this is a commercial loan, I've developed a few rules for my lending:
. the lender is allowed to take some interest as long as they are substantially below the local lenders. The local lenders are often little better than loan sharks.
. the loan has to be for sustainable practices. For example: I avoided a loan for agricultural chemicals as I believe that farmers should keep more traditional agricultural practices and permaculture principles. Introducing chemical fertilisers and pesticides will cause dependency. I want to fund independence.
. the lender has to have a nil delinquency rate. This indicates that they select borrowers carefully. I want to encourage fiscally astute people, not give a gift.

I prefer to lend to women with children because:
. if a woman with children borrows money to grow their business they will use all of that money for that purpose.
. if, on the other hand, you lend to a single man he will celebrate first and use the remainder for the business.
. women are often discriminated against fiscally. I want to level the playing field a little. I can only save my little bit of the world.
. in countries where women do not enjoy equallity, children suffer greatly if the father is gone and the mother is unable to earn a good living.

Our motorhome. We've done about 10,000 kms since Sept 06. It is fantastic! :D

Jail Paris Hilton. Yaaaaaay! She claims that she wasn't aware of her loss of licence. This doesn't explain why she was driving at 70mph, 45mph over the limit without headlights in the dark. I agree with petitions (here, here) calling for Ms Hilton to serve the sentence. Her fame is dependant on hoards of impressionable people. Enforcing this sentence might be the very best impression they could get. I look forward to abuse from Paris Addicts.

Bird lungs are amazing. I had an idea that they didn't work like human lungs but I had no idea! It's similar to the circular breathing required for didgeridoo with the air flowing constantly though one area while other areas fill and empty... obviously completely different but I saw the similarity. Remember, I only have to please myself.