Archive for the ‘ESP Matters’ Category

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Want to comment on an article?

Friday, December 13th, 2013

by Catherine Haug, Dec 13, 2013

We get a LOT of spam comments on our blog articles (in the hundreds, daily), and that is getting very annoying because I have to review each one and decide if it is a valid comment or spam. We do have software that does a lot of that work for me (Akismet), but lately it has missed much of the spam.

What is spam? It is nonsense comment text, or lots of urls that have nothing to do with the article. People get paid to do this, to get our readers to check out the links. Often the links are pornographic or otherwise unacceptable within the bounds of our mission.

Until I can resolve the problem, I have disabled the comment feature of our website.

If you wish to comment on an article, please send it to me in an email and I will post it. Send to cat (at) essentialstuff (dot) org. [ address disguised for security].

Thank you for your understanding.

Posted in Community, ESP Matters | Comments Closed

Photo contest and Changes coming to The EssentiaList website

Friday, July 5th, 2013

by Catherine Haug, June 30, 2013

Website changes

We plan to upgrade our site’s format to a more user-friendly version. This version will have tabs (below our heading) that will allow you to access various parts of our website: our Blog, About ESP, Events, GMO links, Government contact, Preparedness Links, Other Links, and Files.

With our present format, these access links are in the right-hand column of our website. In preparation for this change, I have condensed the listing of links in the right-hand column.

Photo contest

The new format requires a photo across the top of the page (rather than the simple blue-green color on our existing banner). Initially, we will use a stock photo, but we would like to use a photo more pertinent to our mission. To this end, we encourage our readers to submit photos for this use.

Read on for more details about the contest. (more…)

Posted in ESP Matters | Comments Closed

Preparedness for Any Emergency

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

by Catherine Haug

Part of ESP’s mission is to build a stronger Bigfork community, and an integral part of that community is helping our neighbors and our families to be prepared for any emergency or disaster that might befall us.

I have volunteered to help get the Bigfork Emergency Response Team (BERT) website up and running, with links to important informational about preparedness for everyone to access. I am also providing these links on our ESP website for your convenience. These include things like:

  • Supplies kits and checklists including ESP Document: Emergency Supplies List;
  • Suggestions on how to be ready for whatever may come;
  • National Weather Service and their Missoula Hydrograph site that tracks river levels;
  • Guide to evacuation levels;
  • Sheltering in place;
  • FEMA and Red Cross info sites and brochures.

To see all articles concerning preparedness on this site, go to Emergency Preparedness Articles..

About impending flooding

Be aware that even though your home may be on high ground, you could still be negatively impacted by the flood. For example: (more…)

Posted in Community, Emergency Preparedness, ESP Matters | 1 Comment »

Saving the World Begins in our own Community

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, April 12, 2011

I was touched by the message in this 4 minute video about the Seva Cafe in India (click the link below to view):

Seva Cafe: Love All, Serve All

“Seva, or service, is the selfless giving of oneself for the betterment of others and the world around. At Seva Cafe, the concept of service takes the form of a “pay it forward” restaurant, where every meal is cooked and served with love.”

Our ESP Community

One of the cornerstones of ESP is our community of members who regularly attend our events, and pass on their interest in our work, to fellow community members. Without all of you, we would not be the success that we are. With you, we are indeed becoming a stronger community of connected people. And in so doing, even though we are but a drop of water in the oceans of the world, we have a positive impact on our precious earth and all her inhabitants.

We want to thank ALL our members for your support and interest in ESP.

Celebrate Earth Day 2011! Come to our April Gathering on Gardening Tips, with Julian Cunningham, April 20, 2011, 7 PM, Clementine’s.

Posted in Community, ESP Matters | Comments Closed

Quick access to event listings on ESP website

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

by Catherine Haug, February 21, 2011

In response to a suggestion from one of our members, I made some small changes to the links column of our home page. At the very top, on the right hand side, just below the ‘Search’ field, are several menus: About ESP, Events, Preparedness, and Files.

[NOTE: These menus will eventually become tabs at the top of the page, one tab for each menu, to simplify our site and improve access to information.]

Events Menu:

Listed in the Events menu are several links as shown in the screen capture, right. You can see all currently posted ESP Event notices, summaries of our past events, and planned events. Or you can go directly to notices for Olduvai, the Community Garden, or Other Events.

If you select “Planned Events”, it will bring up a page that provides links to currently posted:

  • “ESP Events & Gatherings”as well as list of planned, but not yet posted upcoming events; and
  • a link to  posted “Other Events.”

and:

How-To Instructions:

The About ESP menu (shown left) includes a “How Do I?” Link, with subcategory links on how to accomplish various tasks on our website, or become a member (receive newsletters).

Posted in ESP Matters, Notices-Events | Comments Closed

Volunteer Code Writer Wanted

Friday, August 6th, 2010

by Catherine Haug

As I mentioned in a July newsletter, ESP would like to add a new feature to our website called The Stuff Exchange, to help our community members locate other community members who regularly have food stuffs or skills for sale or trade; for example, eggs, composted manure or yard work.

This directory of free listings would be for individuals and families, not for businesses.

Our blog format does not lend itself to such a directory, so we believe we would need to add new functionality to our site. None of us has the skills for this task, so we need the help of someone with development experience.

If you are interested, or know of someone who might be interested, please contact me: cat(at)essentialstuff.org (email address disguised for security).

Thanks!

Posted in ESP Matters, Local Food System, Market Stuff | Comments Closed

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