Showing posts with label green house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green house. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
So the pool house WILL be a tiny house
in addition to being a playhouse for the kids. Dual purpose, right? I might even get started after the wedding, but it may have to wait until after the 10/10/10 Carbon Free Outlaw Racing Day, because there are some cars to be built.
But it's basically a no-brainer. I'll need to poor a semi-foundation (it sits about halfway on the pool deck as it is) mostly just to help insulate and seal against bugs and other critters. We're going to change the slope of the shed, but I'm not exactly sure how at the moment. My current thought is to leave the northern facing half as is, and remove the southern half, and use the semi-clear corrugated plastic as roofing to let light in. The current gable is at a 30 degree slope, so the new half of the roof would go at a 10 or 15 degree slope from the centerline. That will raise the height by several feet, open it up, let light in.
A real door, and some windows. I'd like to get some idiosyncratic windows, like portholes or something, but I'll make due with whatever fits. They will need to be smaller, but If I can get a glass door along with the "clear" plastic roofing, there should be plenty of light. Then, insulation,, paneling, a wood floor, minimal furnishings (fold out bed and end table) and a small wood stove and it's pretty much done. Thinking about electricity, though; if I could scrounge a solar panel and get enough juiceto have a light on or maybe a small A/C in the summer? Paradise.
But it's basically a no-brainer. I'll need to poor a semi-foundation (it sits about halfway on the pool deck as it is) mostly just to help insulate and seal against bugs and other critters. We're going to change the slope of the shed, but I'm not exactly sure how at the moment. My current thought is to leave the northern facing half as is, and remove the southern half, and use the semi-clear corrugated plastic as roofing to let light in. The current gable is at a 30 degree slope, so the new half of the roof would go at a 10 or 15 degree slope from the centerline. That will raise the height by several feet, open it up, let light in.
A real door, and some windows. I'd like to get some idiosyncratic windows, like portholes or something, but I'll make due with whatever fits. They will need to be smaller, but If I can get a glass door along with the "clear" plastic roofing, there should be plenty of light. Then, insulation,, paneling, a wood floor, minimal furnishings (fold out bed and end table) and a small wood stove and it's pretty much done. Thinking about electricity, though; if I could scrounge a solar panel and get enough juiceto have a light on or maybe a small A/C in the summer? Paradise.
I need a couple of burritos.
Watched a George Carlin clip yesterday or so which made me miss the guy. It was a typical Carlin rant about how we are owned by the bosses, and it was 100% correct- they want docile workers who don't bitch about how we're getting screwed.
God (or rather, noGod) knows I LOVED me some George Carlin. He was right about most of the things he ranted about, and this bit was no exception. However, he was sometimes wrong, too. When he bitched about environmentalists, he was on target in regard to preachy assholes who are holier than thou and who think donating to Greenpeace can or will save the planet. But he was wrong in saying we can't do anything to affect the planet and that the planet will scratch itself one day and we'll be gone, and the planet will be just fine. Or at least, he was wrong in asserting that his stated outcome is INEVITABLE, and dead wrong in stating we can't do anything to harm or heal the planet.
Some yahoo wrote a column in the HT recently making a seemingly "reasonable" plea to not take "drastic" actions like carbon caps and to look for other "solutions" to the "possibly": man-made global warming problem. Obviously the science hasn't caught up with everyone yet, but the reality is that while some other options are available to augment emmissions reduction, the fastest, easiest, and most sensible way to reduce carbon is to reduce emmisions. We can seed the clouds, sure, but wouldn't mass transit solve many more problems as well.
Dumb fucks.
Anyway, back to George, the other problem I have is that nihilism has never really been my thing. George would say enjoy yourself, because your fucked any way you look at it. I don't have a problem with that, but why not at least try to be decent about it while you're at it? Fuckin' start a compost heap, man, you'll live longer (a recent study shows that men who stare at boobs live longer, too. I'm definitely giving that one a try).
Since we started 'postin', we have gone from two and sometimes three trash cans per week for pickup to one not-even-completely-full-can. Which means saving money. Which means more beer to drink. Which means a happier Deke. And so on.
Plus I'm going to be eating organic onions, tomatoes, 'taters, eggplants, corns, and swiss chard from my gharden next year, feelin' healthy, and so will my fams. So, fuck it! Do something good, compost, stare at some boobs, eat some good food, and THEN tell the powers that be to go FUCK THEMSELVES. With a buzz on you got from the extra beer you were able to afford from not having to buy so many goddamned trash stickers.
God (or rather, noGod) knows I LOVED me some George Carlin. He was right about most of the things he ranted about, and this bit was no exception. However, he was sometimes wrong, too. When he bitched about environmentalists, he was on target in regard to preachy assholes who are holier than thou and who think donating to Greenpeace can or will save the planet. But he was wrong in saying we can't do anything to affect the planet and that the planet will scratch itself one day and we'll be gone, and the planet will be just fine. Or at least, he was wrong in asserting that his stated outcome is INEVITABLE, and dead wrong in stating we can't do anything to harm or heal the planet.
Some yahoo wrote a column in the HT recently making a seemingly "reasonable" plea to not take "drastic" actions like carbon caps and to look for other "solutions" to the "possibly": man-made global warming problem. Obviously the science hasn't caught up with everyone yet, but the reality is that while some other options are available to augment emmissions reduction, the fastest, easiest, and most sensible way to reduce carbon is to reduce emmisions. We can seed the clouds, sure, but wouldn't mass transit solve many more problems as well.
Dumb fucks.
Anyway, back to George, the other problem I have is that nihilism has never really been my thing. George would say enjoy yourself, because your fucked any way you look at it. I don't have a problem with that, but why not at least try to be decent about it while you're at it? Fuckin' start a compost heap, man, you'll live longer (a recent study shows that men who stare at boobs live longer, too. I'm definitely giving that one a try).
Since we started 'postin', we have gone from two and sometimes three trash cans per week for pickup to one not-even-completely-full-can. Which means saving money. Which means more beer to drink. Which means a happier Deke. And so on.
Plus I'm going to be eating organic onions, tomatoes, 'taters, eggplants, corns, and swiss chard from my gharden next year, feelin' healthy, and so will my fams. So, fuck it! Do something good, compost, stare at some boobs, eat some good food, and THEN tell the powers that be to go FUCK THEMSELVES. With a buzz on you got from the extra beer you were able to afford from not having to buy so many goddamned trash stickers.
Black gold
Yep, so the 'post is 'postin' pretty effin' good. Threw in the grass clippings and now it smells (literally) like horse shit. This stuff is gonna be like uber-fertilizer on my beds next year.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Today's compostings
Along with the usual kitchen scraps which includes cofee grounds and orange peels, some veggies ends and caps, etc., there was the first round of new green stuff going into the pile. The green in this case was leafy debris from pulling out some vines from a section of fencing, some tall grass cut from a flower bed, and some weeds. Also added to the 2012(13?) pile which started as the woody pits from Heap 2011, seen in title pic et al, and which now has miscellaneous cuttings, branches, vines, and other similar junk in it.
Heap 2011 is cooking pretty good even though it's just running on leaves and food scraps. I'm letting it sit for a few days, with only some aeration. The last few times I've done this the core temp has gotten pretty hot, and when I dig into the middle of the pile there is a sort of "frosting" or condensation that I'm assuming comes from the cooking nitrogen. I have gotten a strong whiff of what I'm assuming is methane when I've aerated prior to stirring a day later on the last few occasions.
Eventually, I'd like to have a separate methane composter. Dare to dream.
Heap 2011 is cooking pretty good even though it's just running on leaves and food scraps. I'm letting it sit for a few days, with only some aeration. The last few times I've done this the core temp has gotten pretty hot, and when I dig into the middle of the pile there is a sort of "frosting" or condensation that I'm assuming comes from the cooking nitrogen. I have gotten a strong whiff of what I'm assuming is methane when I've aerated prior to stirring a day later on the last few occasions.
Eventually, I'd like to have a separate methane composter. Dare to dream.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Friday, September 18, 2009
Tiny House is working
Well one bit of good news is that in addition to being comfy and easy to clean my tiny house used about as little electricity as a house can use, at least according to Duke Energy. Not sure why I should trust Duke Energy, but my bill appears to be about 1/2 of the average household bill. Let's hear it for Tiny Houses!
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