17 Awesome Treehouse Ideas For You And The Kids

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Transitional Food Preps: Staying Fed Between Storage and Cultivation

You’ve spent the last few years stacking emergency transitional food in the pantry, in the closet of the guest bedroom, and in the garage. You bought a grain mill and have stuffed pound after pound of rice, beans, pasta, and wheat berries into mylar. You’ve couponed until you’re blue in the face, joined a wholesale club, taken advantage of every sale on oatmeal and canned tuna. Even with all you’ve managed to put away, you realize in the back of your mind that, for the long-term, it will become necessary to shift from food storage to food production, so you’ve planted fruit trees in your landscape beds and stashed an impressive mix of vegetable seeds in the freezer.

But what if the transition isn’t as cut and dry? Environmental conditions, social unrest, illness within your family, or a steeper-than-anticipated learning curve could delay the ability to move into full-scale agricultural production. All of a sudden, then, your one-year food supply will have to stretch to 14 months or longer. Perhaps you discover too late that your stockpiled provisions, while loading you up with the necessary calories, lack one easy-to-overlook micronutrient.

Studio photo of a a pile of unlabeled soup cans, an option for transitional food, stacked on a wooden floor.

Above: Food storage will get you through the initial stages of an emergency, but in the long run, it is not enough.

Food security during a major event should not only focus on stored food and Little House on the Prairie-esque self-sufficiency, but also on “transitional food production” — systems that can generate some nutrition even during a bugout or shelter-in-place scenario. Wise preppers should consider how they can implement smaller-scale food production that will help stretch their flour and freeze-dried meals, while giving them a wide range of nutrients. In the event of a delayed growing season, a crop failure, or a need to lay low a little longer, mushrooms, eggs, and sprouts are examples of sustainable foods that can help fill the gaps between what’s in the cupboards and what will eventually spring up in the garden. Furthermore, many families are accustomed to a good bit of variety in their diets, and these items can make the 99th serving of rice and beans a little more tolerable.

Transitional Food Systems Should Meet Three Criteria

1) They should be portable enough to be transported to a bugout location and back or moved into a sheltered space with relative ease.

2) They should provide significant nutrition for their bulk and weight.

3) The knowledge, skills, and equipment required to produce these foods should be easily attainable for the majority of folks.

Mushrooms To-Go

Mushrooms are the only non-animal food source of Vitamin D. They have more protein than most vegetables, they provide significant levels of riboflavin and niacin, and they’re relatively easy to grow — or at least some species are. While growing morels isn’t impossible, it’s not as reliable an undertaking as producing shiitakes or oysters.

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EPIC, Coalition Urge FCC to Prevent Misuse of Family Tracker Apps in Safe Connections Act Reply Comments

On May 12, EPIC, the Clinic to End Tech Abuse (CETA), the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), Public Knowledge, and supporters including 10 other survivor advocacy and direct service organizations filed reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission regarding its implementation of the requirements of the Safe Connections Act of 2022. The rulemaking seeks to help survivors of domestic violence separate their phone line from a shared account with an abuser, to protect the privacy of calls with hotlines and shelters, and to support survivors experiencing financial hardship through affordability programs.

The coalition emphasized the support in the record for survivor self-certification and a presumption of financial hardship, identified logistical challenges with some commenter proposals, and built a more robust record regarding the privacy concerns facing survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

The coalition also called upon the FCC to investigate “dual-use” apps like family trackers, to articulate its legal authority to prevent survivor CPNI from purely stalkerware apps, to require carriers to protect survivor data from unauthorized access by law enforcement or the carrier’s own employees, and to decline to disclose in 911 calls that the call comes from a line separated under the Safe Connections Act.

EPIC, CETA, NNEDV, Public Knowledge, and its sign-on partners also urged the FCC to give phone carriers guidance in how to support survivors with phone device-related privacy and safety concerns, such as stalkerware, a concern the FCC included in this rulemaking as a result of the advocacy of EPIC and its partners at the Notice of Inquiry stage.

EPIC advocates for laws, regulations, and policies that safeguard user privacy and protect users from technology-facilitated abuse and harassment, including actions against stalkerware developers. EPIC also filed an amicus brief urging that dating platform companies be held liable when they ignore harassment and abuse.

Pallet Projects To Use Around The Homestead

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A Few Expert Tips On Harvesting More Produce And Longer Storage

There is a unique satisfaction in cultivating and preserving our own crops, serving as a reminder that the convenience of supermarkets falls short of its promises. After dedicating our time and effort throughout spring and summer to grow our own food, it would be a shame not to fully utilize the harvest.

However, handling the abundance of summer crops can be quite challenging as they all seem to ripen simultaneously.

During the peak of summer, it is advisable to inspect garden plants every other day to identify what needs to be harvested. Remember that the smaller versions of fully ripe fruits and vegetables often offer the best taste and nutrition.

Once you gather the bounty, choose a storage and preservation method that suits your time constraints. If you find yourself with a free Saturday morning after harvesting, you might consider trying your hand at smoking chipotles or making pickles and chutney. On a busy weeknight, though, it may be more practical to preserve the produce by freezing it. And, of course, relish in the pleasure of consuming as many succulent, ripe, garden-fresh gems packed with optimal nutrition as possible—while they are still available!

Tomatoes

HARVESTING: Different tomato varieties ripen at different rates. Some types ripen all at once, while others, like cherry tomatoes, continue to bear fruit throughout the season. Check your plants every few days or daily during the peak of harvest, picking the ripe ones as you spot them. Leaving a short stem attached to the tomatoes will help extend their freshness.

STORE: Fresh tomatoes are best stored at room temperature and should never be refrigerated. Keep them away from other fruits, such as bananas, as they can hasten ripening. Tomatoes can last for a few days under proper storage conditions. If you come across any tomatoes with damaged skin, it’s best to consume them promptly.

PRESERVE: Small tomatoes can be frozen whole by placing them on a parchment paper-lined tray. Once frozen solid, transfer them to freezer containers, removing excess air, and freeze for up to a year. These tomatoes can be cooked directly from frozen.

Another delightful preservation method is oven-roasting tomatoes with herbs, olive oil, salt, and pepper until they become completely soft. Allow them to cool, then scoop the mixture into jars and store in the freezer for up to a year. This roasted tomato base is perfect for sauces, soups, chicken cacciatore, chili, and various other dishes.

To dry tomatoes, cut them in half and place them skin-side down on fine-meshed wire racks set on trays. Sprinkle a bit of salt over the tomatoes. Put them in an oven heated to the lowest temperature with the door slightly ajar. Dry for 6 to 12 hours, depending on their size, until the tomatoes turn leathery. Let them cool in the oven before transferring them to jars. After a week, check for any condensation. If present, dry the tomatoes in the oven a bit longer. In warm…

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EPIC Comments on EU Metaverse Vision

EPIC has contributed to the EU Commission’s call for input to inform its vision for regulations and guidance related to the metaverse. EPIC’s comments focus on the privacy risks and harms present in the metaverse, how the metaverse interacts with existing regulations, and proposals that may mitigate privacy risks.

While many privacy risks of the metaverse are also present in other technologies and systems, the metaverse is set apart by risks to bystanders, the volume of personal data (including sensitive personal data) collected, and the inferences that can be made from that data. Several of these risks come into direct tension with the GDPR—particularly with respect to notification, choice, and processing of sensitive personal data—and may also conflict with the AI Act.

In order to mitigate these risks, EPIC’s comments propose a ban on certain processing (including, for example, “social scoring,” trait inferences, and emotion detection), technical and legal protection for bystanders, and regulation specific to extended reality technologies.

10 Minutes To A Clean House

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New EPIC Report Sheds Light on Generative A.I. Harms 

EPIC has just released a new report detailing the wide variety of harms that new generative A.I. tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and DALL-E pose. While many of these tools have been lauded for their capability to produce new and believable text, images, audio, and videos, the rapid integration of generative AI technology into consumer-facing products has undermined years-long efforts to make AI development transparent and accountable. With free or low-cost generative AI tools on the market, consumers face many new and heightened risks of harm. Everything from information manipulation and impersonation to data breaches, intellectual property theft, labor manipulation, and discrimination can all result from the misuse of generative AI technologies.

EPIC’s report, Generating Harms: Generative AI’s Impact & Paths Forward, builds on the organization’s years of experience protecting consumers from abusive data collection and use. While generative A.I. may be new, many of its harms reflect longstanding challenges to privacy, transparency, racial justice, and economic justice imposed by technology companies. To illustrate these challenges and potential paths forward, the report includes numerous case studies, examples, and research-backed recommendations. The report also includes an Appendix of Harms, designed to provide readers with a common lexicon for understanding the various harms that new technologies like generative A.I. can produce. 

Generating Harms: Generative AI’s Impact & Paths Forward is part of EPIC’s A.I. & Human Rights Project, which advocates for transparent, equitable, and accountable A.I. regulations. Download EPIC’s report at epic.org/GAI

Three herbs recommended for kidney health

As a forager, I’ve always been fascinated to discover that certain herbs can not only prevent various health problems but also aid in their treatment. When it comes to kidney health issues, Bearberry, Nasturtium, and Stinging Nettle are among the most commonly used herbs due to their healing properties. These herbs have been utilized for centuries, and their use can be traced back to ancient times.

For example, Bearberry, also known as uva ursi, was employed by the Native Americans to treat urinary tract infections and other kidney-related problems.

Nettle has been used for medicinal purposes since the Bronze Age. In ancient Greece, it was utilized to treat kidney and urinary tract issues. Similarly, nasturtium has been used to treat urinary tract infections, and its recorded use goes back to the Incas, who used it to treat kidney problems.

These herbs have passed the test of time and are commonly used today for their remarkable healing properties. They are readily available and can be administered in various forms, such as teas, capsules, or extracts. Incorporating these herbs into your diet can help maintain healthy kidney function and prevent complications.

The kidneys are the cleansing organs of your body

The human body houses two kidneys situated on each side of the spine in the lower back region. These small yet powerful organs play a crucial role in maintaining your overall health and well-being by filtering out waste products and all the excess fluids from the bloodstream, which are then expelled in the form of urine.

With an oval shape similar to a bean, the kidneys are characterized by a smooth surface and a dark reddish-brown hue. The renal artery, which supplies the kidneys with blood, goes into the central part of the organ, while the ureter, a muscular tube, carries urine out of the kidneys and into the bladder for eventual expulsion from the body.

Apart from regulating our fluid and electrolyte balance, the kidneys perform a host of other vital functions, including producing hormones that help regulate blood pressure, stimulate the production of red blood cells, and even help us maintain strong bones. Given the critical role the kidneys play in our health, it’s essential to take care of them.

How the kidneys are structured

Located within the protective confines of the fibrous tissue pouch, the kidney is a complex organ comprising various structures that work in tandem to filter waste substances from the bloodstream. At the center of the kidney lies the renal pelvis, which is connected to several calyxes that collect and channel the waste products expelled by the organ.

The kidney is composed of a darker core matter and a lighter surface and is situated adjacent to the suprarenal gland. The organ is further shielded from damage by connective tissue that is thickened by fat.

The renal arteries, so named due to their proximity to the kidneys (ren in Latin), are responsible for supplying blood…

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Container Gardening: Pros and Cons Grow Vegetables On Your Deck

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