I found an amazing book from 1948 called "Build It and Ride It." It has plans for a couple dozen soap box derby racers. I need to get to a copy shop and start scanning that stuff in and posting up on Bloomington Carbon Free Racing, but dizzam! this book rocks.
This could inspire a lengthy column about how "back in the old days" people had to make their own toys but I'm not in the mood, nor, I suspect, is the rest of the planet.
Suffice it to say that this is a well written book directed at young readers (and possibly their parents, though I also suspect in 1948 parents weren't too concerned with turning their kids loose with a bunch of tools and wood) that is definitely also a relic of a different time.
Showing posts with label reduce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reduce. Show all posts
Friday, November 26, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Giant leaf-sucking vacuums
Last week it seems the concept of doing away with the giant leaf sucking vacuums was being bandied about by the city. It really only makes sense. I, of course, turn all that carbon into compost, and would encourage others to do the same, if they garden. But not everybody like plants, or flowers, or food, or saving the planets, so we can expect everybody to do so.
This is a good example of a service that is nice but unnecessary. People have been raking their lawns for a long time, or paying some neighborhood kid to do it. A newer service like this is kind if cool but not necessary. I bought an electric leaf blower for $25 that can be reversed and used as a mulcher. The biggest pile of leaves can be turned into a pile less than 1/4 of the size in no time at all. Compost them, fill in holes, spread them on your lawn.
In my readings on compost, wide ad varied that they are, I have read about communities starting their own compost piles. IF these leaves were going to something like that then it might be worthwhile, however, I'm pretty sure these are ending up in the landfill.
This could be a good service for someone to get into. A monthly yard waste and non-toxic bio-waste removal (as in everything that is kitchen waste except for meats, bones and oils, the basic non-compostable stuff)with a composting facility where yard waste couple be mulched and mixed with kitchen waste. Stir, add water, and bada-bing. You got yerself a product to sell- compost.
This is a good example of a service that is nice but unnecessary. People have been raking their lawns for a long time, or paying some neighborhood kid to do it. A newer service like this is kind if cool but not necessary. I bought an electric leaf blower for $25 that can be reversed and used as a mulcher. The biggest pile of leaves can be turned into a pile less than 1/4 of the size in no time at all. Compost them, fill in holes, spread them on your lawn.
In my readings on compost, wide ad varied that they are, I have read about communities starting their own compost piles. IF these leaves were going to something like that then it might be worthwhile, however, I'm pretty sure these are ending up in the landfill.
This could be a good service for someone to get into. A monthly yard waste and non-toxic bio-waste removal (as in everything that is kitchen waste except for meats, bones and oils, the basic non-compostable stuff)with a composting facility where yard waste couple be mulched and mixed with kitchen waste. Stir, add water, and bada-bing. You got yerself a product to sell- compost.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Today's Hustler-style extreme closeup Heap Centerfold
OMG! That is soooo hot!Actually, it IS pretty hot. The white stuff you see is some serious chemical reactin' and what you can't see is the steam coming off of the pile. I suppose I'm going to have to wait until cooler weather to get a really good shot.
The Most Miserable Motherscratcher of the Morning...
was a punk driving his SUV on the B-Line between Kirkwood and 6th streets. He was apparently avoiding the construction on Kirkwood. He was grinning and thought he was pretty clever.
As they say, never a cop around when you need one.
But this is the third very stupid and very dangerous thing I've seen "young-people-who-certainly-appear-to-be-students-but-jeez-don't-want-to-label-anyone-unfairly" do in the last 12 hours (the first two being guys running stop signs... also in SUVs), the fourth possibly-accident-causing bad driving (the other being a person in the right turning lane who went straight... not so bad unless you're illegally merging into a single lane with the person who is in the correct lane.
Two days ago, while on my bike, a pedestrian and I were crossing on the crosswalk at 2nd and Walnut (with the "walk' light on for us, after we waited for the eastbound lane's green arrow to change) and some lady turning north on Walnut (and on the phone, driving one handed) forced her way past us. I'm sure that the cursing I leveled at her was loud enough for the person on the other end of the phone to hear. I certainly hope she hasd a nervous breakdown, or cried herself to sleep, or whatever.
Most of which adds up to just plain stupidity and highlights the fact that most people just shouldn't be driving. But the jerk this morning, quite obviously pleased as punch with himself for his clever rebelliousness, just needs his clock cleaned. That is the kind of dangerous arrogance that threatens bicyclists everyday.
Are bikers annoying? Yes, many are, and many exhibit their own brand of hubris and dangerous behavior. I sincerely feel sorry for any rational motorist who runs over some stupid biker who blows off a stop sign or whatever. But being two-wheeled and self-propelled most of the time these days I do see a lot of really ridiculous behavior from people in cars. Not to mention that we still haven't put our foot down as a society on people who are simply too old to be driving anymore. This IS a hard one; I know, I've had to take the keys from my own mom. But them old folks is dangerous.
As they say, never a cop around when you need one.
But this is the third very stupid and very dangerous thing I've seen "young-people-who-certainly-appear-to-be-students-but-jeez-don't-want-to-label-anyone-unfairly" do in the last 12 hours (the first two being guys running stop signs... also in SUVs), the fourth possibly-accident-causing bad driving (the other being a person in the right turning lane who went straight... not so bad unless you're illegally merging into a single lane with the person who is in the correct lane.
Two days ago, while on my bike, a pedestrian and I were crossing on the crosswalk at 2nd and Walnut (with the "walk' light on for us, after we waited for the eastbound lane's green arrow to change) and some lady turning north on Walnut (and on the phone, driving one handed) forced her way past us. I'm sure that the cursing I leveled at her was loud enough for the person on the other end of the phone to hear. I certainly hope she hasd a nervous breakdown, or cried herself to sleep, or whatever.
Most of which adds up to just plain stupidity and highlights the fact that most people just shouldn't be driving. But the jerk this morning, quite obviously pleased as punch with himself for his clever rebelliousness, just needs his clock cleaned. That is the kind of dangerous arrogance that threatens bicyclists everyday.
Are bikers annoying? Yes, many are, and many exhibit their own brand of hubris and dangerous behavior. I sincerely feel sorry for any rational motorist who runs over some stupid biker who blows off a stop sign or whatever. But being two-wheeled and self-propelled most of the time these days I do see a lot of really ridiculous behavior from people in cars. Not to mention that we still haven't put our foot down as a society on people who are simply too old to be driving anymore. This IS a hard one; I know, I've had to take the keys from my own mom. But them old folks is dangerous.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Ye Olde Heap Got to Stinkin' Yesterday
I did a little experiment I like to call "The Cellulose Experiment" over the last few days on the heap.
Using my big old 55 gallon trashcan I frequently use for staging and mixing I pulled most of the semi-intact foodstuffs and paper and cardboard out of the heap and put it in the can, mixed in a smaller amount of more refined compost, stirred like hell, and soaked the whole thing. Stirred frequently over the next couple of days.
Last night, I dumped it out. It smelled like a sewer/swamp, especially at the bottom. The smell disipated pretty quickly though (releasing methane into the atmosphere, though, so a bit too long without stirring, I'd say) and what was left was nasty, gunky proto-Black Gold. So in general it worked well, though I need to shorten the cooking time or stir more frequently to avoid the anaerobic conditions that breeds the stinks. I was worried it wouldn't disipate and I'd have angry neighbors with pitchforks coming after me. But I wasn't too worried; I, too, have a pitchfork.
Using my big old 55 gallon trashcan I frequently use for staging and mixing I pulled most of the semi-intact foodstuffs and paper and cardboard out of the heap and put it in the can, mixed in a smaller amount of more refined compost, stirred like hell, and soaked the whole thing. Stirred frequently over the next couple of days.
Last night, I dumped it out. It smelled like a sewer/swamp, especially at the bottom. The smell disipated pretty quickly though (releasing methane into the atmosphere, though, so a bit too long without stirring, I'd say) and what was left was nasty, gunky proto-Black Gold. So in general it worked well, though I need to shorten the cooking time or stir more frequently to avoid the anaerobic conditions that breeds the stinks. I was worried it wouldn't disipate and I'd have angry neighbors with pitchforks coming after me. But I wasn't too worried; I, too, have a pitchfork.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Bill McKibben, writing in TomDispatch
and reprinted in Truthout here.
When a rational guy and Methodist Sunday school teacher like McKibben says "this is fucked up" it's time to listen. We have been failed by our political representatives at all levels, from the POTUS on down. Perhaps our local reps, city councils, etc., should be spared, but in most cases, they're probably not doing enough.
Cap and trade was an opportunity. PACE is an opportunity and "cash for caulkers is an opprtunity. But the greed-fest of globalization has blinded every suit from sea to shining sea into thinking life and the planet are endless schmorgasbords.
Not so.
As McKibben writes, NOAA, which admittedly shouldn't be treated as the world's most reliable newsource at times , but which SHOULD be believed on something this basic, reveals we have just been through "the hottest decade, the hottest year, the hottest 6 months, and the hottest April, May, and June" in the history of recording weather.
It reminds me of the beginning of "The Road Warrior" where the wheels of industry grind to a halt while the world falls apart and the politicians "talk."
So, as McKibben says, it's time to get mad. This is the new civil rights movement, in terms of the effort that will be needed. Time to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
When a rational guy and Methodist Sunday school teacher like McKibben says "this is fucked up" it's time to listen. We have been failed by our political representatives at all levels, from the POTUS on down. Perhaps our local reps, city councils, etc., should be spared, but in most cases, they're probably not doing enough.
Cap and trade was an opportunity. PACE is an opportunity and "cash for caulkers is an opprtunity. But the greed-fest of globalization has blinded every suit from sea to shining sea into thinking life and the planet are endless schmorgasbords.
Not so.
As McKibben writes, NOAA, which admittedly shouldn't be treated as the world's most reliable newsource at times , but which SHOULD be believed on something this basic, reveals we have just been through "the hottest decade, the hottest year, the hottest 6 months, and the hottest April, May, and June" in the history of recording weather.
It reminds me of the beginning of "The Road Warrior" where the wheels of industry grind to a halt while the world falls apart and the politicians "talk."
So, as McKibben says, it's time to get mad. This is the new civil rights movement, in terms of the effort that will be needed. Time to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
24 years ago today
I foolishly ran a motorcycle into a parked car at somewhere between 40 and 60 miles per hour. Luckily, I got out of the deal alive.
It's a good thing stupid shit like that mostly happens to us when we're young and strong enough to survive it, maybe.
But it makes you wonder why, even though we cry over the fatalities if they're close to us, or shake our heads in abstract sadness if they're not, why we tolerate 40,000 or more deaths on the road every year?
Unfortunately, the answer is obviously money. Oil companies and auto companies stand to lose too much from sanity, or regulation of "The American Way" of limitless freedom. Buy your 16-year-old a car. Make sure they drive everywhere.
GRIST online ran a somewhat weepy but nonetheless interesting analysis of how bicyclists are treated in film. Basically, if you're on a bike and not in a car, you're a loser. Now, I drive too, and "I'm an excellent driver," unlike most of the rest of the world (and most of the rest of the world believes themselves to be "excellent drivers" also. They are not.), but I love biking and I'd love convenient (more convenient, I should say, it's not too bad in Bloomington) mass transit. One car per family SHOULD be enough. But until infrastructure catches up, we're pretty much stuck.
Infrastructure won't catch up until politicians do. Politicians won't catch up until we do. When we're ready to vote for people who aren't just whores for oil and big business, maybe fewer people will die. Maybe.
It's a good thing stupid shit like that mostly happens to us when we're young and strong enough to survive it, maybe.
But it makes you wonder why, even though we cry over the fatalities if they're close to us, or shake our heads in abstract sadness if they're not, why we tolerate 40,000 or more deaths on the road every year?
Unfortunately, the answer is obviously money. Oil companies and auto companies stand to lose too much from sanity, or regulation of "The American Way" of limitless freedom. Buy your 16-year-old a car. Make sure they drive everywhere.
GRIST online ran a somewhat weepy but nonetheless interesting analysis of how bicyclists are treated in film. Basically, if you're on a bike and not in a car, you're a loser. Now, I drive too, and "I'm an excellent driver," unlike most of the rest of the world (and most of the rest of the world believes themselves to be "excellent drivers" also. They are not.), but I love biking and I'd love convenient (more convenient, I should say, it's not too bad in Bloomington) mass transit. One car per family SHOULD be enough. But until infrastructure catches up, we're pretty much stuck.
Infrastructure won't catch up until politicians do. Politicians won't catch up until we do. When we're ready to vote for people who aren't just whores for oil and big business, maybe fewer people will die. Maybe.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Dymaxian car pages
Seem to be proliferating on the web.
For the 10/10/10 350.org Bloomington Carbon Free Racing Street Challenge I think I'm going to try to build a Dymaxian.
For the 10/10/10 350.org Bloomington Carbon Free Racing Street Challenge I think I'm going to try to build a Dymaxian.
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.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Grass farmer
Mowed a little bit last night and put the clippings in a big trash can. The shit was HOT this morning! Tossed it in with the heap.
I do love the fact that the neighborhood was pasture up until maybe 1the 1960s (well, I love the house and love that there was pasture there, the replacement of the pasture with houses?...) and the "grass" is basically hay. Smells great.
I do love the fact that the neighborhood was pasture up until maybe 1the 1960s (well, I love the house and love that there was pasture there, the replacement of the pasture with houses?...) and the "grass" is basically hay. Smells great.
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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