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This is an attempt at embedding an audio recording from the native iOS app into my blog. I made this recording on the iOS voice recording app a few months ago and then realized I didn’t know how to share it to a platform online. Couldn’t see a way to share it on Facebook for example.

Since that time, I have gotten into making video messages as a “hack” to be able to share my audio more widely.

For example, if I’m willing to run my video recording function while I say my audio thing, I can send that in a text message to a friend, I can post it on Facebook or TikTok, and so on. The video can be anything, including unrelated scenery, such as my fabulous garage glam apartment. The video can also be just plain darkness. In other words I make it in video mode even though it’s pitch black. why do this though? Why not just make a video of myself talking? For one thing, I find it a bit of a distraction from attempting to produce the best possible audio for you.

Also, I think many of us are missing out on something that used to be a daily thing, listening to just pure audio. Back in the old radio days we did it all the time. We could listen to the radio while we did basic repetitive household tasks. It was kind of a grounding mixture. And allowed us to learn new things, listen to music, etc., while we worked at the steady flow of basic chores, or just sat back in a chair and enjoyed the luxury of just listening without having to take in any other sensory input.

I first started getting this idea when I started to get super stressed out about being on the radio, because being on the radio nowadays always involves having to look presentable on video as well. And again I feel like it detracted from my focus on the mission and message I was trying to communicate. I’ve been very fortunate to be a radio guest innumerable times back before being on the radio involved having to also be on video.

OK, it looks like WordPress has allowed me to upload the audio file. See paragraph below and click, let me know if you are able to listen to my little nano podcast about enshittification and clothespins. BTW the recording length is 1 minute 41 seconds.

As a bonus of this recording from my little screened porch, you can hear summer insects chirping lightly in the background. Very atmospheric!

I visited my blog just now from the outside, was able to click and hear the recording so I hope you can too!

Enshittification: Clothespins et al. (Experiment with uploading audio to blog)

Since it seems to have worked, I’m giving you a bonus! This is another audio recording that I forgot about; made this one this past summer when I was doing shade experiments here at the low-footprint-living laboratory known as Starshine House / Trailhead 501.

Oh, and Whoa! Holy cannoli! I’m shocked at what I just now additionally unearthed from the bottom of my audio recording app archives. This recording, made in April 2025, is a 21-minute 54-second talk which evidently was a rehearsal for the last talk I gave to a UU congregation, before I decided not to give any more live talks for various reasons. (For many reasons, I haven’t done anything live in person for a long time, other than in my own geo-immediate community, so when I say “live” here I mean live by zoom.)

By the way, in my opinion I totally bombed this talk when I actually gave it live by Zoom on the appointed day — it was nowhere near as good as what I did in this rehearsal recording.

This is good stuff; it’s about leverage points what we as everyday people can do to counter ecological devastation or at least put the brakes on it. The target audience for this talk, as for most of my other communications, is relatively well off fellow white Boomers. Not that I don’t communicate widely to many other demographics, but the group I just mentioned is probably the closest thing I have to a demographic “in-group,” therefore the only group I feel it’s “in my lane” to tell what to do.

This post was inspired by a text exchange with a dear friend who lives in a place with cold and snow. It went something like this.

“I probably could have got out yesterday, but why, where am i going ? The driveway has 13 inches of snow on it!”

I texted back: “You are so smart. I get so tired of these losers who think they need to clear off their driveway and go somewhere. I’m like, save the earth, and stay warm, stay the ***k in your own house lol”

Friends, I urge you: Save the planet, be lazy! If you want some aerobic exercise, then go ahead and shovel your driveway — but still, don’t go out.

I am of course assuming that you have already done the responsible thing and stockpiled plenty of snacks, self-medication supplies, etc. If you haven’t, my deepest sympathies, But you are more likely to remember for next time. And, in the meantime, now could be a good time to explore that “health fast” that you have (not) been intending to do. Distract yourself with Netflix or a craft project.

Or, get really wild and bake something! Did you know –- all those big bags of flour and sugar and salt that’s taking up space in your cabinet can be made into edible items. Yes, I was shocked to find this out also, but once you get used to it it’s pretty cool. Extra bonus points if you have any milk, cheese, or eggs taking up space in your fridge.

I realize this is a bit off the beaten track, but more people are waking up to the wild and wonderful world of actually using up what’s in the deepest recesses of their pantries.

Never is there a better time to slack off than the dead of winter!!! Unless of course it’s the dead of summer.

In all seasons, you have my blessing to slack off for Mother Earth, my dear friends!

Note: this is at least partially tongue-in-cheek, I do understand that some people have to go to the doctor, go to work, and so on. But those of us who are able to push back, and resist the relentless capitalist pressure, should do so for the benefit of all. Push back against those rigid bosses. Eliminate the need for a job by minimizing your overhead. Random oddball side-gigs can cover a lot.

Also on a serious note, I never knew this but supposedly the medical industry is warning anyone over 45 to not shovel snow! Because so many people drop dead from heart attacks from shoveling snow, supposedly. I have always heard occasional reports of people dropping dead shoveling snow, but the numbers seem to be escalating a lot. I wonder how much of this is because a lot of us modern people haven’t learned the proper technique. ???

I also have to wonder if the caution against shoveling one’s own snow is motivated by the snowplow operators industrial complex etc. (“Hey little lady, (or Hey big guy!) leave this to the professionals!”)

Anyway, if you don’t feel able to shovel your driveway, I strongly recommend hiring someone just to be on the safe side. Don’t put yourself at unnecessary medical risk. You’ll be protecting yourself and also supporting a local small business.

Note that I am NOT mentioning the snowblower as an option. Here is this whole season that gives us a break from leaf-blowers, what’s the point if we’re just going to buy a snowblower? Of course if the person you hired happens to use a snow-blower it can’t be helped, and at least you don’t have to keep your own snowblower and take up that space in your garage.) Refrain from buying your own snowblower. Yes I know the relentless big-box hardware store industrial complex will be up in arms at my sacrilegious opinion.

On the general topic of the power of slacking off, check out my book, _constructive laziness: how to save the planet by doing nothing whatsoever_.

(Note, the above is just boldfaced text, not an actual link. Your computer is not broken. This fabulous book is not yet actually in physical existence LOL, but it has been living in my head for years, and I’ve been sharing excerpts of it. And I swear will be launching it as a book as soon as I overcome my laziness and actually write it down! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Added later: A fellow permie commented wonderfully, “All the ways of past movement are totally doable on top of snow shoeing, sledding etc etc. I’m no expert but my bro says their snow days are like our hurricane days. No one wants/can drive anywhere so everyone’s out meeting the neighbors and walking around and just enjoying being humans. No need to ‘only’ be stuck in house 🙂“

#decolonize #dismantlesupremacyculture #LeaveTheLeaves #SlackOffOnSnow #KissOffCapitalism

This is in response to a friend and fellow activist who posted about why she and her husband got divorced. She wanted kids, and at the time they dated and got married, he told her that he too wanted kids.

But then he changed his mind (or he never wanted kids in the first place but was just saying that).

And over time she realized that over the years of the marriage, she had become basically nothing but a live-in servant and emotional support. She thought, what’s the point, if I don’t get to be a Mom (which I want to), and have no hope of being a grandmother.

I wrote the following:

It’s always bothered me, even back when I was interested in dating and marrying, that our society places so much emphasis on the couple relationship.

It’s a lot of burden to place on one relationship, and I think it makes us and our society brittle.

Note, I am very supportive and happy for my friends who are coupled by choice in a mutually happy and supportive and beneficial relationship. 

But also, a lot of us seniors are simply forming or seeking to form small pods and groups where we share housing and expenses and some degree of friendship or social support.

Over the years I have found a lot more love, strength, and durability in cultivating a net of friendship/community. For me, by choice, all of those have been platonic, but there’s no reason why dating or being a couple can’t also be part of a larger, strong community web.

Also, I have been part of strong and healthy community webs where some of the couples, individuals, etc., were non-monogamous.

All too often I see couples be this isolated nucleus, almost like the two-person version of a hermit.

Resilience and anti-fragility via web of relationships is what I’m going for.

Here’s this same post on my DEEP GREEN Facebook page in case you want to share and/or see a more visual version.

Some resources for people who want to get beyond the “nuclear couple monoculture” thing: “decolonizing love” page on Facebook; Desireé B Stephens on Facebook and Substack.

Also, simply observe examples from history to the present day, of indigenous community structures. This includes your own roots if you know them. You can also see healthy community-weighted relationship structures around the world via TikTok. And, if you are lucky enough to be in proximity to a healthy culture, observe how they don’t put the couple relationship above everything else.

And specifically for senior women seeking community-oriented living situations: check out “senior women cohousing” group on Facebook.

To my friends in the states expected to be affected by the extreme cold and winter storms – stay safe. Below I have linked a good article which offers state-by-state info on community resources and tips for staying warm and safe. And I’m sharing a few tips of my own as well.

One of the best things people can do is stay home if it all possible. Stay off the roads.

You know, a lot of the tips for cold weather are not so different from the tips for hurricanes. Power outages are an increasingly common reality, and the more we all prepare & practice, the better.

This article offers tips and resources for staying safe & warm in the forecast severe winter storm / super cold temps that are forecast to affect 30 states. (My photo of cozy candlelight last night in our garage glamp-partment.) The article includes state by state info for the affected states.

The article itself is very helpful, and also within it are good links on shelter resources etc.; I’m going to be exploring these links for more ideas to support our unhoused community. Note, we live in central coastal Florida and are not expected to be affected by the severe winter storm. However, even in the warm states, people can be affected by cold temperatures, so it’s very useful to read up on tips for how people up north learn how to keep warm.

https://www.vpm.org/news/2026-01-22/central-virginia-winter-storm-resources-rva-cville-dominion-vdh-shelters

And here’s this same blog post on my DEEP GREEN Facebook page in case you want to share it there. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16BCmmtLQt/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Ice storm, community resources

PS. You know what they say, sharing is caring! By sharing this blog post and other posts on my blog, you can help people be safer and less vulnerable by building community amid increasingly chaotic conditions. Not just literal meteorological weather conditions, but all sorts of weather conditions.

PPS. In the non-consumer advocate group on Facebook just now, someone just asked if anyone is turning up their heat in anticipation of the severe cold. (Apparently the concept is to pre-store a bit of heat. Something I never thought of.)

Multiple people pointed out it’s more effective to just close off most rooms, and stay in one room together, or as few rooms as possible. In other words, body heat. Other members of the group pointed out that cranking up the heat put extra stress on the grid right when we don’t need to be doing that.

My response to the post:

Hard freeze is rare where we live, but when it happens I just open the taps and shut off the water main, after making sure we have several days’ worth of water stored in jugs in the house.

As I’ve seen lots of other people share here & elsewhere, the easiest & least expensive & safest way to keep warm is just to be in one room, with all the blankets and pets and people etc. And close off as many of the other rooms as possible. That’s what we do.

Also: Regarding water for the toilet, in case there’s to be a super hard freeze and / or extended freeze, I find it best to have ready an emergency “hurricane toilet” (bucket w plastic toilet seat etc.) rather than rely on using precious scarce water to flush. To cut down on odors without adding too much bulk, using kitty litter as cover material can be an option. I’ve used fine oak-leaf litter or fine brown grass clippings as cover matter in such situations but it’s not always available. Also, try to reserve the bucket just for pooping. Minimize peeing in the bucket, to save space in the bucket. Use the toilet for pee only, like a urinal. It’ll get a bit smelly but keeping the lid down between uses to cut down on odors will help. Also, very important, don’t put toilet paper in the toilet. Put it in the bucket or small, covered trashcan. During emergency times, only pee and no solids should go in the toilet. Then later once the water is back on and you’re ready to flush, there’s less likelihood of the toilet clogging from a bunch of accumulated toilet paper. (Ask me how I know this LOL.)

Also – Regarding wrapping exterior pipes to help guard against freezing: There are a lot of things you can use for pipe wrap, including old wool sweaters, flexible foam packaging that some foods come in, that stash of foam pool noodles in the garage etc. You don’t need to buy specialty wrapping. When I lived in Austin, we got a lot more deep freezers than we do here in Florida. I have wrapped my exterior pipes loosely with big plastic garbage bags which I then stuffed with fallen leaves. Very light and fluffy, bulky, traps air.

Highly recommended: Listen to this talk by Sid Smith: “How To Enjoy the End of the World”

I’ve posted this talk for you guys before, but I don’t think I have ever posted that version that’s divided up conveniently into seven segments with each segment labeled by topic.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNcGo6a-yKuIubvDb6mIyd0KHQ-7UasJH&si=9HbciHRG3jaaRGJ9

btw Many of us — including many of us here in this group, doomer circles, thrift groups, etc. — have been practising energy descent for years or even decades now, and it’s anticlimactically easy. Sacrifices and tradeoffs yes. Hard & complicated, no.

That’s actually one of the really frustrating parts for me, it’s counterintuitively hard to get people interested in doing what seems too simple and easy. I think it’s not that it seems like too much trouble; I think it’s that it doesn’t offer any sexy bells and whistles. It’s like, just get to it. And people are like meh, give me a solar-powered electric toothbrush, or an entire lawnmower made out of seaweed-based rugged plastic.

Meanwhile a lot of us are over here just quietly allowing the oak leaves to pile up, and letting the wildflowers grow. Come on over here, it’s fun and relaxing! We will help you deal with code enforcement. I’ve posted lots of tips here and this blog. And shared many tips on my deep green Facebook page, from renowned viral-level experts. Prairie-Up, Milk the Weed, Kate Frey, Kate Orff to name a few.

Ditto for household energy use. A lot of us are over here just turning off the lights and going to sleep when it gets dark. And to help those whose work schedules don’t permit, many of us who have the wherewithal to push back are out here pushing back against the capitalist norms to try to shape a different reality that’s more future-friendly.

Also: I’ve mentioned this before, but “climate doomerism is really a ‘white’ phenomenon.” An anglo/euro western capitalist society phenomenon. We don’t prioritize building community; we have a hyperindividualistic culture where we have normalized that buying more stuff and expensive services is the required solution to everything. And our culture totally blows off the power and nurturance of the collective. And so naturally we get isolated and stew in our doomy preppery anxiety. I listen to a TikTok video about this from Wagatheru some years back. If I can find the link I will share it here. Knowing me, I already shared it somewhere else on this blog, so maybe I could just search through my own blog ha ha!

During the pandemic, people were going wild scrambling for toilet paper. Some people were even buying up huge amounts and hoarding it to sell at a profit.

Meanwhile, many different cultures carried on without depending on toilet paper, the way they had been doing since ancient times, using what I and many others consider to be a superior hygiene method.

We know it as the bidet. In fact, during the pandemic, many households installed bidets. The version of bidet as we know it is relatively high tech.

The simpler version of post-toilet cleansing device is known in many countries and cultures as a lota, or tabo.

The traditional little pitcher known as a lota or tabo is a much less expensive way to get clean, as well as not requiring electricity or bells and whistles to operate.

If you do a search here on this blog for toilet paper or bidet or lota, you’ll find some good articles I’ve shared on this topic.

And now I’m adding this article that I found just the other day.

“Out of toilet paper? There’s always the lota.” https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2020/3/19/21186936/toilet-paper-lota-coronavirus-patriot-act-hasan-minhaj-hari-kondabolu-indians-asians-middle-eastern (By Rummana Hussain; Chicago Sun-Times, March 19, 2020.)

“Nothing about the coronavirus pandemic is funny. But some of us have found a sliver of levity watching panicked Americans hoarding toilet paper, awkwardly balancing 30-pack, 2-ply rolls in their arms as if they’re readying for a showdown.

“‘Americans freaking out about toilet paper & Indians are knowingly smiling & nodding,’ comic Hari Kondabolu tweeted a few days ago. Without getting too detailed, many of us with Asian, Middle Eastern and/or Muslim backgrounds use toilet paper only as reinforcement.”

Visit the link to read the entire article, which in fact provides useful tips. And have fun joining the ranks of those of us who don’t panic at the thought of not being able to buy toilet paper.

We don’t have to be in a pandemic to enjoy a more thorough hygiene method! And one that doesn’t require tons and tons of trees to be cut down.

By the way, many people still use toilet paper in addition to a water cleansing method; they just don’t depend on it utterly.

On a wider note, there are a lot of examples of things in life like this. Things we “modern” Western consumer-culture inmates have come to depend on, while other cultures have been dealing quite beautifully since ancient times without the so-called modern necessity.

Have fun experimenting, and reducing reasons to panic.

Yes, really. This is a thing I did not know existed until the other day, and I would’ve been happy to go my whole life without realizing such a thing existed.

And now I’m just torn up about it. I know that might seem silly. We have so many bigger fish to fry. But somehow all these little fish are connected to the big fish.

I heard someone commenting on having to go to the store to get a something something for the remote control for their ceiling fan, and I was thinking, I’m sorry, what? Isn’t there just a pull-cord?

There are lots of other things I need to be thinking about but somehow the ceiling fan thing just seems to pop up.

Like when someone online was sharing a post about extremely pedestrian-friendly street design in NYC.

When I read that great-news-sharing post, that ceiling fan remote control popped into my mind. And I commented on the post:

People are stubborn about their cars in most parts of the USA. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I heard that there are now ceiling fans with remote-control devices. Like really? What about just walking across the room and pulling on the cord? Geez, no wonder people in most USA cities aren’t willing to walk to a bus stop, if they’re not even willing to get up to turn a fan on and off.

(But in British colonial India, the fatcat Brits and other Euro colonizers employed “punka-wallas”, house servants tasked with manually operating the ceiling fan by working a pulley system for hours on end. I bet there were shifts around the clock. So really I shouldn’t be surprised.)

I would’ve thought we would’ve learned our lesson from TV remote controls. Probably spend more time and energy walking around looking for batteries for them, and/or troubleshooting why they’re not working properly, than we were spending back in the days when we were just getting up and changing the TV channel.

There are probably lots of other examples you can think of like this.