What are we up to?? Interview with lil ol’ me. (Thank you Vincent Purcell for the patience and dedication.)
Caine's Five Lessons Learned
5 Lessons for Entrepreneurs Caine has Learned:
1. Be nice to customers.
2. Do a business that is fun.
3. Do not give up.
4. Start with what you have.
5. Use recycled stuff.
"When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don’t blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and argument. That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change."
Concrete abatement is the gorilla in the room. Only it weighs a lot more than 800 lbs. Environmental organizations encourage concrete abatement with urban greening initatives; it will help with runoff, which helps with water quality in watersheds. Serious amounts of overgrown, cracked and hazardous concrete surface the Bethel Street lot, each small in scale but cumulatively problematic. Parking pads, curbs, garden pathways, sidewalks, fenceposts, all held together in a wretched maze of crumbling masonry. Demo work began Saturday with the awesome (and I don’t use that lightly) muscle and enthusiasm particular to Marines, Army Rangers and their friends. Operation Oliver showed up with pickaxes, sledges, demo hammers and more and made an impressive impact on the issue. We’ve got a lot more to clear, but its a start.
In order to further the goals of creating a playscape for local kids, “greening” the adopted lot and engaging in sustainable and responsible space development, we opted to use the rubble as the filler for a large, crescent shaped landform, (inspired by Space2Place’s Terrain For Play guide).
Social Enterprise World Forum, Rio de Janeiro Brazil.
Modular furniture. Brilliant.
I visited the National Building Museum today and had a peek and the indoor mini golf project. I was disappointed that it wasn’t in the atrium, inviting spectators for the ‘sport’ and displays. Instead it was holed away in a exhibition hall, and from what I could see it wasn’t very impressive. Grand idea but disappointed in the execution. Note: there’s no ‘back’ of an installation. Some of the pieces were shockingly badly fabricated, and in full view.
I had a much happier time in the gift shop, where I spied the wonderful felt tool set and awesome cardboard construction kit by Habitadule.
How to dissect a 50 gallon barrel.
Eager Street.
East Baltimore.
