I am very interested in the cost of food. Not only from the point of view that I am a consumer of said goods but also form the point of new ways of generating the same amount of food for less. Most say that food cost comes from the shipping from far off destinations coupled with environmental concerns. Food shipping also has a huge impact on the carbon footprint.

There has been a lot of press about grow/eat local. This concept is very appealing to me. While there are tons and tons of ways to do this, urbanites have started to buy small plots of larger land tracks to grow and maintain there own food supply. This is also accruing in large city's on rooftop gardens and city parks. Would this idea be appealing to fellow Horry County citizines? I don't really think so but it may.

I have at my disposal about 8 acres of land located off 701 S right outside of Conway. What if I made a urban farming location where people could rent out smaller plots and plat there own crops? Have it where all tools, water, fertilizer are all supplied. Also have on a hand a "real farmer" who could coach folks the ways of growing crops properly. You could charge for the service and make it as easy as possible for people to become "Weekend Farmers." As long as you make the place nice, free of backbreaking work and give growing advice you could make it work. I think people are scared off from the up front cost of equipment, the thought of loosing their crops due to inexperience and actually doing back breaking work. If you supply the knowledge, the equipment and a helping hand people would be more inclined to join up. {You could possibly create it like a co-op where all crops are put into the overall pool of crops and each family gets there own share. (But I haven't thought this idea out fully so I will hold off for now. Too many negative thoughts as far as "Share Cropping" is concerned.)}

Taking it one step further you could also have live stock where each" Weekend Farmer" has his/her own cow, hog and chicken. You would then get the eggs from the chickens and each season get the beef from the cattle and the pork from the pig.

The idea is not that far of a stretch. You already have people renting out horse stables and while this is for recreation the same principals apply except now the recreation is "gardening." You are making it fun, enjoyable, family time and eco-friendly.

What do you think? Would you become a "weekend farmer?"

Posted by Andre at 02:59 PM | Permalink

IRON MAN! (Inset song track here)

Last night Heidi and I went to go see Iron Man. One of the local theaters had a showing at 11:00 o'clock and knowing this weekends schedule we thought that this would be the best time to check it out. The theater wasn't crowed at all which is just fine by me.

My Review:
It's good. Go see it. Get some popcorn. Great casting. Stick around till after the credits. Enjoy, you shouldn't be disappointed.

Posted by Andre at 09:28 AM | Permalink

Upon first inspection of Into The Wild, I was enthralled by Chris McCandless - His ideals, his gumption, his reckless abandon for exploration. I can see a lot of myself within Chris; we share some of the same opinions, the thought of adventure is overwhelming and general disregard to what other think resonates in us both. I would dare say that even a few years earlier in my life Chris and I shared even more in common. The world was more black and white back then. Individuals fit into one category or another. Right and wrong was easily defined. As I got older those black and white ideals were filled with grey. Shadows lurked in the darkness and rays of light show through the cracks. I dare to say that Chris McCandless would not have made some of the decisions that were made if he had a few more years under his belt.

Or is that what his path was really about? Holding on to the black and white world, not to be influenced by the surrounding grey matter? Living in "Alexander Supertramp's" reality.

I was taken "Into the WIld" with Chris McCandless' tale. Like most adventures the first leg of the journey was filled with admiration, excitement, longing and bewilderment of the courage Chris exhibited to go at it the way he did. As the path grew longer and longer and the scenery started to blend together, I found myself questioning my original fascination with Chris' tale. Growing worrisome of all of the mishaps along the way I found myself growing a strong dislike for the ignorance that McCandless exhibited. His ignorance turned into my distaste for his ideals and the path he chose to take.

Now as I walked out of the woods and have stepped away from the tale, I see Chris in a whole new light. McCandless arrived at where two roads diverged in a wood, and he, chose neither the one with wanted ware or the one less traveled. He made his own path. And to him, that has made all the difference.

Posted by Andre at 01:26 PM | Permalink

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to Star Music for really coming through in a pinch. They are letting us piggy back on the their WiFi signal for Saturday's CREATE conference. Come to find out they have some great equipment for podcasting needs, mics, mixers, midi to usb all types of stuff.

So make sure you give those guys some love!

Posted by Andre at 10:08 AM | Permalink

What do I do at night? Cook & Chill, that's right cook and chill. While I wish I had $240.00 worth of pudding, I think $10 dollars should suffice for the banana pudding for tomorrows activities. Not sure what the soundtrack is going to be like for this but I do have a little video to get you in the mood.

Posted by Andre at 09:32 AM | Permalink