IMAD Blog

Trump, or private bone spurs, is a loose cannon. Witness his blundering in the current Middle East conflagration. Now he expects others to send in warships to protect oil ships in the Straits of Hormuz. We didn’t start the war nor were we consulted. Trump’s usual threatening bluff and bluster – we protected you bla bla bla. The truth is the US has always acted in their self-interest. Trump has bankrupted so many enterprises, including democracy. He must be held to account. He is the scourge of democracy, truth and justice. Once a felon always a felon. He is a national and international failure. He is malign and mega narcissistic. The world deserves better.

I should be able to write even on a phone, as I am now, and it's faster due to autocorrect. More lifestyle changes are on the agenda. Shock horror! I feel so stressed I might even have a rest day. Rest times are good for mental health and much needed to relieve stress.  My fruitless attempts to install Linux Mint and activate my keyboard have cost me countless hours of frustration and time I can't afford. Linux is no longer needed: I'm perfectly ok without it. My days of IT mastery and grinding problem-solving are over, so let it go. On the positive side is this blog and future positive actions. Required soon is clearing up disk space on my Surface notebook, an ideal resource for keying in my progress. 

My road to the Geriatric Olympics Or reflections on diet, exercise and lifestyle change I have always exercised considerably but the benefits of my exertions have been overshadowed by overeating and a poor diet. My Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in the latter part of 2025 was a wakeup call, and my response has been as follows. Food   Following the professional advice of a dietician, Emma Nassif, I proceeded with a low GI and high protein diet and lost 3.4 Kilos in 28 days. And I’ve lost a further 3+ kilos in the 2 months since. I feel a lot better, although I’ve had to get a new wardrobe, and especially as my vital medical numbers have vastly improved: my blood sugar numbers in particular have been trending down. The way I’m going according to my endocrinologist I may be off Insulin injections by mid-2026. Best of all I enjoy the food on offer and don’t miss I overindulged in. Portion control is also ok and I’ve reduced coffee to smaller cups. Plan is to continue losing wei...

  Communion with Carmel My birthname was Calogero, but you Carmel in your primary school wisdom decided to Anglicise it to Colin. Colin, I have been in all documents, in education, military service and to everyone who has known me. although at home I was Coli. Ausie ausie ausie oi oi oi. Food and Travel Carmel you were a Master Chef in which Carmel’s Restaurant Ruled. You instinctively knew how to tantalise the taste buds and whip up a feast at a moment’s notice. Hemingway titled his 20s Paris memoir A Moveable Feast, and so it was for you at home and your travels abroad. Many can attest to your hospitality and culinary delights. Music Carmel you could hold a note in any choir or operetta. In the annual Messiah concerts your Hallelujah was more Handel than Leonard Cohen. Must confess I loved Leonard Cohen’s version. Friends Carmel your friendships were wide and enduring, and you worked at them and were admired for your efforts. They somehow fitted into your busy schedule...

  A review of my history of fitness. I have always invested considerable time in my fitness. My health watch provides a wealth of data, as far as I can determine, for only 90 days but going back to my high school and uni days I have strived to be fit. As a teenager I was passionate about skin /  SCUBA diving and achieved an A Class Diving certificate which apart from the theory involved 10 free dives to 10 metres (an atmosphere) in 10 minutes. No problem. At the University of Western Australia, we regularly played underwater hockey which far exceeds water polo in effort. See google for details. Back in those days I was able to swim the length of an Olympic Pool, wearing fins, with deep breaths at the start. I was a pool attendant at the Beatty Park Aquatic Centre which hosted the Commonwealth Game. In those days I automatically bounded up stairs and walls of over a metre in height. I was also a daily gym junkie and played squash. I also gained a lifesaving certificate which ...

  Dusk  https://photos.app.goo.gl/ xpHH4hSurXGUcx7b8 Mouse over for video.

  Milpa system  Basics of Agroforestry.

  Back entrance and fish tank. Setting up office. The set up from the entrance. Building a fish tank for better humidity and charm.

  A cat's tour of the building.  https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZpGNzWdkrtpq2d9x7

From John Bamford:  BIODIVERSITY COP 15 Earth could face a mass EXTINCTION by 2100: Supercomputer predicts more than a quarter of species will die by the end of the century New study shows extinction will wipe out over a quarter of world biodiversity Experts blame land use, climate change and 'over-exploitation of resources Research published during the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference in Canada A MASS EXTINCTION REQUIRES OVER 50% SPECIES LOSS. Having said that, 25% is bad enough New modelling shows land use and climate change could wipe out more than a quarter of world biodiversity. Earth will lose some 10 per cent of its animals and plants by 2050, rising to 27 per cent by 2100

  COP 15 in Montreal, Canada.   Go to COP 15

  Building Update 21st December 2022 Small outside verandah from the mezzanine level. PVC ceiling finally installed in the mezzanine level. Next we concentrate on electrical installation and hydraulics.  Finishing painting touches, the red/orange of the local earth with the sugarcane green of surrounding vegatation. 

  These blogs posts are essentially extensions of the www.ecovillagers.live  They will give more insights into the Ecovillagers developments and how things are progressing. So expect: Better organisation of blogs soon   news updates and text information videos of construction work further videos on matters of interest. photo albums indigenous recipes opportunities to share, comment, and provide feedback. They will be a cross between FaceBook and Instagram pages. Meanwhile a big hello from the good folk below.

  How these tiny microbes can save our food and us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJyKPTIXmKg&t=40s

  Electric cars make a comeback

IMAD started as a challenge for people concerned with development issues in the Grande Dourados region. The "soybean forever" development model and standing cattle, with no added value, was being questioned, and there was an urgent need to revise it, building a new regional vision, in tune with its diverse human groups and diverse communities and based on participatory processes with mutual respect and environmental concern. The need to diversify the processes of agro-industrial production needed to be reviewed in the light of the conservation and management of natural resources, responsible for the initial growth of the region, now compromised and weakened by the inadequate use of inputs, agricultural pesticides and intensive agriculture. The indigenous issue, deeply present and alive in the Douradian scenario, could not be omitted in this effort towards a more participatory, fair and ecologically balanced development. Courage, exhaustive consultation processes with these co...

  The problems with Big Agriculture and how traditional agriculture and seeds are making a comeback. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2_Mmtpe6HA&t=19s 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcQ4BzHGaS8&t=630s

  Tipping points

Although almost 30 minutes this video from the Financial Times is food for thought and recommended viewing. Click link below. Net zero won't change the way we live