06/12/10

I got my pipes for my bike because they were the cheapest ones that came with black heat shields. Chrome pipes are almost $200 cheaper. But since I ride in all weather my bike gets really dirty. So I like it being all black so that you can't tell as much when it gets dirty. I love my pipes but I definitely wouldn't recommend them to anyone. The end that meets up to the exhaust was too thick so we had to grind metal away to make it fit. Then the brackets that hold the heat shield on broke so we had to re-weld them. I was pretty peeved considering they were almost $200 more than most pipes. I sent them a complaint email so I'm waiting to see what they have to say about it.

Finally got the rock wall started to hold the hill up. I'm gonna be making three different levels. Well , technically four, but the top level was already there. The bottom level is gonna be for hanging out and I made it wide and long enough so that I can start doing Tai-Chi again. The second and third level are gonna be where the garden is gonna be. I'm thinking of doing another compost bin up on the fourth level. Not sure what I'm gonna do for stairs because I'm probably going to have to buy some bigger bricks for that. But first I need to finish making the levels.

I think the girls like having a playing environment (i.e. the hillside) that's constantly changing. I already got quite a bit of the second level dug out but it's slow going since I only have time to do a little bit at a time. The girls like to help but there's not much they can do when it comes to digging. I'm gonna try to get some help from friends and/or family so that I can get the damn thing done before summer's over. I am glad for the exercise though. Greta (my gf) commented that I'm more muscular now than when we started dating (6.5 months ago). Definitely got a little ego boost from that :)

The Secret Ingredient Revealed!!

This is the secret ingredient to a thermophilic compost system. POOP!! Most thermophilic compost systems use poop from cows or horses. But not mine. Mine uses people poop!! More commonly known as Humanure. I first learned about this system from researching sustainable off the grid waste treatment. After researching it I found that its really the only reasonable way of dealing with human "waste". Our current system wastes tons of water and energy and even after all that waste still leaves tons of pollution. Its rather absurd.

Also there's the composting aspect of it. Plants require nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous. Currently we use petroleum based fertilizers to provide these nutrients for the plants. Leeching of petroleum based fertilizers is a huge planet killer. Currently there are enormous dead zones in the gulf of Mexico where no life can live caused by said leeching. Humanure provides all of said nutrients while getting rid of our waste without wasting any other resources.

I dont want to make this a lengthy rant on the evils of modern waste management so feel free to check out the Humanure Handbook for more info: http://humanurehandbook.com/downloads/Humanure_Handbook_all.pdf

So theres the compost toilet in all her glory. The way it works is you put down whats called a cover material then you pee and poop in the bucket then you put cover material over it every time you go. For cover material Im using peat moss but sawdust (it has to be tree sawdust not lumber sawdust, because the lumber has usually been treated with chemicals) is also very common for these systems. The cover material soaks up all the odor. You can put your face right up to the bucket and it looks and smells like a bucket full of dirt. Im hoping to build a more elaborate system for adding the cover material but so far its been working well.