Mnemonic: SING - How to remember what you read

Greetings

Remembering read information takes an effort, especially when reading information/data in text books that will probably only be read once

• Note taking (in any form) is a good way of recording the information for learning, but how do I remember both the background information and the data to make it useful information in the future
• I came across the mnemonic below on a Youtube clip How to remember what you read, which fits in with the way I remember what I read 

Stop - at end of text/passage for a second to focus on the read text

Identify - the main point/s of the text. Stories are hierarchical. Focus on retaining the points

Never - mind the details. Focus on the point/s

Gist; get the - of the story. Overall - all point/s together 

Other techniques I use to remember read information include: 

• Reading the contents pages of a book prior to reading the book, a primer to understanding the gist of a book (see I and G above)
• If I'm bored I will also skim the index pages in the same manner
• Reading the first few paragraphs/pages of a chapter and then skipping to the last paragraphs/page
• Text book chapters will begin with an introduction to the contents of the chapter (the first few paragraphs/pages) and end with a conclusion (the last few paragraphs/pages)
• The information in between/the bulk of the chapter is simply discussion and only of further interest if required to understand the conclusion (see N above)

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Design Notes: Community gardens public work day site managment

Below are a few notes triggered by a working bee to stimulate some design thinking. The notes apply for general working bee/site/hui/project management/implementation tasks, not specifically to the working bee itself

• Delegate a site/bee/project manger/coordinator
• Front of house/greet/introduce
• Identifiable (safety vest)
• Link between groups/people on site (OST butterfly)
• Knows where people/facilities are: water/first aid kit/toilet/tools/membership forms etc... and what is going on during the bee
• Ensures everybody finishes on schedule and site is tidy for shared food/time
• Be aware of constraints time/hands/manpower etc...
• Send arrivals to site/bee manger/coordinator for briefing/direction/safety drill/muster point etc
• Visitors/contact record sheet
• Name badges      

• Prepare a noticeboard of tasks prior to people arriving
• Provides visibility of the big picture of the bee to both the workers and the manger
• Break large tasks down into small achievable tasks; Break large areas into small areas
• Allow people to chose what type of task they participate in on the basis of the task list (rather than seeking and being told)
• Get people to mark off their completed tasks, add the task to the board if it was not on the original list
• Facilitates/feeds back a visual sense of collective achievement
• Provides a record of the work
• Shows uncompleted tasks that form the basis for the next bee
• Helps show tasks that require further planning to fulfil
• Show start and end times for the bee. Allow people to schedule

• Ensure you can complete the task you are starting
• Work within the constraints time/hands/manpower etc...
• Assist someone to finish their task before requesting they stop and assist you
• Finish your current task before leaving to start another
• What is important is the number of tasks completed not how many are started

• Work to time
• Aim to have 3/4 of your task completed by half way through the period and completed well before the finish time
• lots of small completed tasks are preferable to large tasks which go over time
• Leave plenty of time for tidying up
• Have everything tidy and the site clean before serving food/beverage
• Everybody gets to celebrate the work done/completed together, cementing a sense of group/community achievement

• Designate a location for hand tools\site tools
• Borrow, use and return. Part of the task/job completion process

• Signs that answer common infrastructure questions: water/first aid kit/toilet etc...
• Site map indicating areas/sheds/names etc...

• Dont allow people to dump materials at the site
• The site should develop/evolve by design and strategy - Unless required as part of the design implementation or for repair, materials should not be accepted/stored
• Advertise what materials are required and which are not. Advise where alternative materials can be disposed of/donated

• An abundance of ad hoc materials leads to an abundance of equally ad hoc projects, with all the associated post project fallout and diversion of effort

• Devolop good housekeeping (5S) 
  

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Design: Dynamic Processes

Greetings

• Designing for dynamic processes is defined here as the assessment/evaluation/development and implementation of sustainable strategies/processes/procedures/structures and activities designed to reduce and/or eliminate losses and danger resulting from the surge and pulse of the natural and/or manmade environment

• Dynamic processes/systems are understandable at a systems level but not controllable or fully predictable due to their natural/chaotic nature

• When working with dynamic processes consider Reinhold Niebuhr Serenity Prayer: 

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference

Or if you prefer Mother Goose :o) 

For every ailment under the sun; There is a remedy, or there is none; If there be one, try to find it; If there be none, never mind it

• The mind map below shows my designing for dynamic processes notes

Click on the mindmap for a larger view

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Households (Zone: 0) as part of the hydrological cycle ideal and reality

Greetings

Below is some observational/analysis/design work I did in 2009-11

I've been fixing a standard flush toilet today, continuing my mental observation/study of water in my household and pondering how a consciously designed household might function

Fig 1. Shows my designed household water cycle. The household/community collect/consume/use fresh water within the hydrological cycle of their environment, cycling water through human functions/processes and returning it to the local area for treatment. Treatment being black water composting, grey water recycling, reed beds etc... local, decentralised, reticulated and free

Fig. 2 shows the reality of the household water cycle. The outputs of the hydrological cycle have been sequestered/intercepted/stolen by corporations masquerading as municipal entities who collect or mine fresh water to produce a product called drinking water

The community consume this product [drinking water] and relies on the same municipal entity to deal with the waste by convenient removal. Household waste is processed along with industrial and agricultural effluent and pumped into the environment/bioregion at above loading capacity rates - and we pay for it all!

Me -$, them +$ and a polluted environment! My input/participation and therefore support into/of this system needs to be reduced and if possible move to the ideal state (Fig1.)

A permaculture design will remove all reliance on the municipal entity and tend towards the idealised household water cycle style participation in the hydrological system

Key:
Blue lines = fresh water
Brown lines = grey/black water
Yellow lines = drinking water
Black lines = contaminated (heavy biological or toxic loading)

Fig 1. Designed household water cycle

Fig 2. Reality of the household water cycle

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