The Bike Box

Gibsonton, Florida: Gib Town, Freak Town, Show Town

2011-07-18T16:12:00.001-07:00

Last night's episode of The Glades (cool show, check it out) featured "Gib Town" Florida, also known as Freaktown, Showtown, or more correctly, Gibsonton, FL. The town on the show wasn't so much the town I remember.

In the fall of 1981, shortly after high school, I traveled with my brother working some state fairs. We worked a trailer that sold cheap junk souvenir jewelry. You'd be surprised how many people buy that stuff and how many of them are willing to settle for "engraving" done free hand with an old vibrating engraving pen.

During my short stint in the carnival business I saw a guy beaten nearly to death by a swarm of carnies because a girl identified him as the guy who supposedly attacked her in some way.

I saw an attraction tent catch fire and cause quite a panic.

I watched police cars careen wildly through crowds as they raced to The Swinger where some lunatic was taking potshots at the ride with a handgun. That was the last night of the Texas State Fair.

I also saw and talked to a few of the so-called "freaks." There was an old guy, a small person who had no legs, who was billed as being half of a man. Before the fair opened in the morning he would tool around on a little dolly cart, pushing himself with padded blocks that he gripped in his fists.

There was a girl who liked to hang at our trailer and talk. She worked with the side show and had a horrifically bad dye job that was a mess of orange and black. And she was working on covering herself in tattoos so that she could one day be The Tattooed Lady. The sad part was that the majority of her tats were of the "prison tattoo" variety--cheap, black, and not very well done. To see the number of people who just casually run around town today with most of their bodies covered in colorful and--I suppose--artistic skin art, I can't help but think she didn't quite see her dream materialize.

Overall, the "freaks" I met were decent and nice people trying to make the best of limited opportunities. They rarely seemed sad, but too often they made me so.

The guy who owned the trailers and the novelty business we worked for was based, as many in the carnival business are--or were--in Gibsonton. Once our run at the Texas State Fair was finished we headed back to Florida--that was to be the end of my stint with the "independents" (Don't ever call us carnies!).

The town I remember, at least what I saw of it, was run down and old. A scattering of junk in nearly every yard hinted at the rural south I was familiar with in Kentucky, but it was all flatland and all the junk was in the form of carnival rides and signs and sideshow attraction sets.

I didn't see a lot of action in town. In fact, the only person I remember seeing was a little person walking an elephant down the road like you'd walk your dog, like there was nothing out of the ordinary about it. I suppose in that town, there wasn't.

Anyway, there's no real point to this post. I just started thinking about it after seeing The Glades. I think however fictionalized the town might be in that episode they handled the topic well. There must be a lot of mixed feelings about their heritage. I doubt there are any working side shows anymore. I'd be surprised if there were. But the history is there and the town must still bear evidence of it. Still, a lot can change in thirty years.

The Boules Had A Baby And They Named It Crusty Roll

2011-05-30T22:19:00.001-07:00

The Birth of the Aquarium Pump Levain

Let it be known that I am a man of leisure. This means that if I think something can be done more easily, in a way that will save me effort, I will inevitably work twice as long and twice as hard to find out.

Do I want to stir my infant levain every few hours and risk inadequate oxygenation? Of course not. Do I want my Frankenstein Starter, resurrected from dehydrated and frozen sourdough to return to the land of the living through such mundane means? Of course not. Something mechanical and unnecessary is certainly required. Thus the birth of the Aquarium Pump Levain.

The set up could not be simpler. A small aquarium pump, quarter inch hose, and my tub of levain. Unfortunately, I already had the aquarium pump and some unused hose so I wasn't able to turn this into a several hour project with mulitiple trips to the pet store, and if lucky, the hardware store to boot.

I started with 300 grams each of flour and room temperature filtered water that had sat around for a day or so to get rid of the chlorine. Because Frankenstein must have an extra boost (and lightning being both spare and dangerous in the kitchen) I dipped my stirring fork into a jar of barley malt syrup before whipping flour and water into a honeymoon suite for the (hopefully soon to be) frisky yeast I had disinterred from the freezer. I was hoping for a procreating frenzy.

The whole thing was a crap shoot, to be honest. I had cultivated the original starter strictly from wild yeast found wandering aimlessly and stealthily in the air of my Tucson kitchen. I had no idea if the wild yeast of Tucson would be tasty yeast or recalcitrant beasts that would leave a nasty taste in your mouth. But I was lucky. I ended up, after a lot of coaxing and care, with a very nice, pleasantly sour starter that I kept going for a couple of years. Then I hit the wall and didn't want to bother with it anymore. I knew this phase would pass and I'd regret losing my starter so I gambled and spread a batch on some waxed paper and let it dry thoroughly. I crumbled it into an airtight zippered plastic bag and stuck it in the freezer. There's no guarantee anything viable will remain when you do that, but what the hey. Give it a whirl.

Apparently I got lucky. It didn't take long for my levain to start bubbling and begging for food. It was while stirring in another feeding that I hit on the idea of the aquarium pump and I immediately gathered the pieces (all two of them) and plugged one end into the wall and the other into the belly of the beast. Bubbles. Big bubbles. Oxygen bubbling up from the bottom of the tub to the surface. This certainly seemed like it would work. If I wandered through the kitchen I would sometimes move the hose around a bit to make sure air was hitting different spots, but other than regular feeding, I didn't spend any time whisking and stirring.

Several generous feedings and a few days later, I followed William Alexander's recipe for French peasant bread and sequestered the monster to the fridge. The bread turned out well. Delicious, though I suspect the crust too brown, possibly close to flirting with the edge of burning. But delicious. I'm thinking through that result and coming up with ideas. By the way, a questionably sharp Exacto knife is no substitute for a razor blade for slicing the top of your dough prior to cooking. Get a real razor blade. I know I will before the next loaf is baked.

As for the pump, it worked great, but I'm sure no better than frequently stirring the levain with a fork or whisk or bread hook. If you're into that kind of thing. But I can't help thinking that they probably make some kind of octopus fitting the would allow me to sink the hose into the starter with three or four of more pieces of hose radiating throughout the levain and feeding the oxygen to all corners at the same time. I might have to do that. You know, for those weekly feeding sessions. Time for a trip to the store.

Signs I Would Like To Carry At The Rally To Restore Sanity

2010-10-15T16:49:00.001-07:00

I won't be able to attend the Rally to Restore Sanity in Washington, D.C. on October 30, 2010. But I'd like to. These are some signs I would like to carry at the Rally To Restore Sanity were I attending, which I am not, because I can't. I'll have to settle with watching it live on Comedy Central. Maybe I'll carry my signs while I sit on the couch eating white cheddar popcorn and drinking a delicious club soda while I watch the Rally To Restore Sanity live on Comedy Central on October 30, 2010.

SunChips Just For Grins

2010-10-09T13:34:00.001-07:00

Now that the compostable bags have been eliminated from the bulk of the SunChips lineup, I figured I'd put up recent photos of my bags in progress. The oldest one has been in for a little over thirty weeks. Again, this has not been under ideal conditions. Now that the bin is very full things might progress more quickly, but it is what it is. So here you go, two bags from in the compost barrel tumbler and one that has been simply staked out in the yard to see what happens--a backyard recreation of a bag tossed from a car window and left to the elements in a roadside ditch. You'll also see a Quizno's cup that was labeled compostable. It has held up remarkably well, too. Anyway, for what it's worth, here are the latest pictures.

Frito-Lay and SunChips Back Away From Environmentally Sound Packaging

2010-10-07T15:53:00.001-07:00

Thirty-two Weeks. That's about how long the compostable SunChips bag managed to last before Frito-Lay decided it would rather back away from tiny steps to protect the environment than listen to a few people complain that the bag is "too loud." Yes, because the compostable bag is loud (it is), people complained and Frito-Lay said, "Screw the environment. Late night secret snackers must be protected from this insidiously loud menace!"

Frito-Lay will continue to offer the Original Flavor SunChips in the new bag, but it is discontinuing the use of the bag in all other flavors. Apparently those whiny secret snackers only eat the more exciting flavors like Harvest Cheddar and Garden Vegetable.

I'm not pretending the new bag was going to save the environment. It wasn't. How many of those bags were actually getting composted anyway? (I can only vouch for three.) But it was a step in the right direction for a company that generally does more harm than good in the world of nutritionally sound snacking (I'm not picking on Frito-Lay, almost all such companies are equally guilty--but Frito-Lay is easily one of the largest and has a huge environmental footprint). Unless companies can take a stand and stick with such products we're not going to make much progress in the world of responsible packaging.

Certainly Frito-Lay realized the bags were loud. They most certainly spent tens of thousands of dollars on the marketing aspect alone, which had to have included consumer reactions prior to a full release. "It's really loud" could not have been a surprise reaction. If it was, then they didn't do their homework.

The company plans to do further research to find a quieter alternative. I suspect doing so will involve chemical additives that might not belong in a food container. But that's never stopped food and beverage companies in the past and it certainly won't again unless we force Government regulations upon them. In our current political climate that is unlikely.

In an ideal world we will see a quiet bag that is more readily compostable. Company estimates of 12-16 weeks for composting require ideal composting conditions. Most back yard composters don't quite live up to those standards of green and brown balance, temperature control, etc. We compost the materials we have and make the best of it. Where did I get my thirty-two week figure from at the beginning of this post? That's how long my bag has been in my composter and I bought a bag as soon as they hit my local store. Are my bags fully composted? No. They are still easily identifiable as SunChips bags and still have a degree of integrity to them. Like I said, ideal conditions.

I hope Frito-Lay reconsiders this decision and continues to move in the direction of environmentally sound packaging. It's unfortunate that this initial step ended in what I am sure will be dubbed a marketing failure. Maybe they should come up with some adds that feature the loud bag--perhaps with some new "loud" flavors. I'm not going to hold my breath, though. Frito-Lay and almost any food and beverage company of such magnitude have one thing in mind--profits. The environment and your health are probably not even second on the list of priorities. Heaven forbid a few crazies say they're going to boycott SunChips because the bag is too loud. That might mean a decrease in profits by .001 percent!

How about this one? I hereby refuse to buy SunChips because the "original" bag they are returning to ISN'T LOUD ENOUGH!

Tortoise Housing

2010-09-27T09:31:00.001-07:00

We received two hatchling desert tortoises from a friend of a friend. They're cute! Since the hatchlings are vulnerable to both predation and, as we soon learned, Munch, I needed to set them up in a protected environment. So I built a tortoise box (box for a box turtle, you could say). I was able to keep cost down a little bit by going with redwood slats as opposed to larger boards. I cut those to length and screwed them to 2" x 2" corner supports to make the sides. Once I put the box together I put chicken wire on the bottom (to prevent them from tunneling out), put the box where I wanted it, and filled it with organic soil. I made a framed lid with chicken wire to prevent predators, added some shadecloth to the back, and we're good to go. I'm not the handiest guy on the block, but I think it turned out okay. I figure in a couple of years the tortoises will be big enough to be introduced into the yard with Munch and then the tortoise box will become a lettuce box. That'll be nice, too!

I added some rocks and rock "piles" that I hope are inviting places to burrow and hide. I have also planted various things along the front edge of the box--blue flax (probably get too tall if they don't eat if first), chia, nasturtiums, swiss chard, and chickweed, for a start. That will give them plants to forage on, crawl around in, and hide in. I think they'll like it. I even ran a dripper to the water dish so they will get water whenever the drip is on (the larger one in the picture, not the little one as shown).

I never thought of Munch as a big tortoise but compared to the hatchlings she's enormous! She was very aggressive, too, initially. She tried to bite them. I've put them in the same vicinity for small periods and she's still very interested in them but the head bobbing and biting seem to have stopped (I hope). With luck the hatchlings are both female. If one is a male that won't be a big problem, but if they are both males it could eventually cause problems.

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 21/13

2010-08-07T12:23:00.001-07:00

Slowly but surely is the motto, I guess. There's not a lot change week to week but I did add a small detail section that (hopefully) shows translucent and broken spots in the bag where it is finally starting to break down in a noticeable fashion.

SunChips Go Compostable: Staked, Sunlight Fades...

2010-08-07T12:18:00.001-07:00

Here's a side by side shot of the staked bag, the one that's mimicking roadside litter. The bag has been out in the open for several weeks now and the main change to the bag is the noticeable bleaching effect the sun has on nearly everything here in Arizona. Quite a difference, don't you think?

Madame Brewer

2010-07-29T00:20:00.001-07:00

I'm sure the comparison has been made. I mean, it has to have been made. Just sayin'.

Arizona Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix, AZ

2010-07-28T10:21:00.001-07:00

We took a weekend to go up to Phoenix to stay at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel with our friends Ken and Marie. We had a great time and I managed to take a whopping three photos the whole time we were there. I guess that means we were having too much fun. We ate way too much (the "all inclusive" package turns out to be a smoking deal, by the way) and probably could have drunk way more, but certainly had our share. We only left the resort one time on a shopping venture. We checked out The Container Store, which was actually kind of cool. If you need a container for something, they probably have it. They are apparently the IKEA of storage. We actually bought a bungie office chair there. It's neon green. Then Joan and Marie went to a store called Last Chance, which is like a big Nordstrom bargain bin. Or so I'm told. Ken and I went into Lonestar and had a beer.

Sunday morning Joan and Marie signed up for a pedicure before we left so we met up at the little "cafe" and had a quick bite to hold us over till lunch. Then Ken and I broke out my petanque game for the first time. Petanque is a boules game similar to bocce. I guess you could say it's the French take on bocce. I like it--it moves quickly. Of course, Ken soundly whomped me two games in a row.

Once the girls were done with their beautification procedures we used the last of our food vouchers and had another fantastic meal before hitting the road. I have no complaints about The Biltmore. It's a great resort. But above all else, they have fantastic food. I enjoyed everything we had there. It was a lot of fun.

On the way back we stopped off to spend a small fortune at IKEA. A few weeks ago Joan and I went up there and purchased a desk for the office room we recently refinished. This time we picked up a matching tall bookcase and a low shelf for under the window. It should look pretty good but I'm not looking forward to putting it all together. Those Danish drawings can be confusing...

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 20/12 (Progress???)

2010-07-28T09:56:00.001-07:00

It appears that the bags are finally showing some signs of breaking down. The adhesive or heat sealing or welding or whatever method they use to create the seams and closures of the bags has given up the ghost and the bags are no longer bag-like structures! The original bag is also showing further signs of breaking down, showing small holes and other translucent areas. Next week I'll take more detailed photos of that bag's progress.

You will also notice that the "staked" bag--the one meant to mimic the breakdown process of roadside litter--has bleached out significantly in the summer sun of Tucson, Arizona. Compared to the other "older" bags that spend their days in a very dark environment, the difference is striking. Even though we have hit the monsoon season we have actually received very little rain here at the house. I'd like to see the effects of some heavy rains on the bag. Cross your fingers and break out the drums, we need a rain dance!

I thought that Quizno's cup would have all but dissolved by now, but it's holding together pretty well. I doubt it would hold water for long and you certainly wouldn't want to drink from it, but it still looks like a cup. A crushed and disgustingly discolored cup, but a cup nonetheless. You wouldn't mistake it for some other bit of trash.

In a Word, Tedious [A Review of E. O. Wilson's Anthill]

2010-07-26T22:29:00.001-07:00

Anthill by Edward O. Wilson, a review

I wanted to like this book. I really did. E. O. Wilson is a fine science writer and certainly knows his stuff, and maybe that's the problem with this book. Have you ever had a conversation with someone who feels the need to include every single detail and every possible bit of knowledge surrounding a subject even if none of it has much to do with the story? That's Wilson's Anthill. The overly detailed narrative and lack of action is like trudging through mud in heavy boots. Even when he gets around to writing about sex I found myself saying, "OK, yeah, I get it. Move on already!"

The first forty percent of the story reads like a transcript to an uninteresting PBS documentary on post-antebellum society where the most exciting aspect of the documentary is the word post-antebellum. The narrative picks up slightly when Wilson pens the Anthill Chronicles section, but not much. This section reads like the voice over for a Discovery Channel series following an ant colony. This is the section I kept reading for and I was, unfortunately, disappointed. The narrative falls victim to the same over-attention to tedious detail and also suffers from a fair amount of anthropomorphism--see, Wilson wants to make sure we get the part where ants and humans share many parallels so he frequently makes "just like humans" references. And guess what? Turns out people are like ant gods! That's right. The ants view our big shadowy tree-like selves as gods who like to leave manna from heaven behind for the ants to find.

The are plenty of problems with the basic storyline--believability, character consistency, etc. But any of those problems are overshadowed by the drudgery of the prose. I had to take a few breaks and read some other things in order to prevent my brain from solidifying. I can't think of anyone I would recommend this book to. Like I said, I really wanted to like this book but just ended up wondering why I stuck with it to the end.

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 09 (or is it 17?)

2010-07-06T20:26:00.001-07:00

It has been a few weeks since I did an update on this project. I've been having some fun and so the photo tracking of the bag compost project has taken a back seat to play time.

I have to say, there's still not a lot of change going on here. The two bags in the tumbler don't look too much different from each other. I would have expected some greater progress by now. Like I have said before, this is a small composter. It's not going to generate the kind of heat a large or commercial compost pile will create. I get that. But I still think it's taking an awful long time.

The "roadside ditch bag" is still intact, but it is definitely starting to bleach out and lose its color. That is a pretty good indication that the bag is starting to break down as well. Once the rain starts (oh, monsoons, where art though?), it should really get going. I wouldn't be surprised if this bag breaks down before the ones in the composter!

How about that Quiznos cup? It's progressing. Slowly. But it's ugly and I don't think it would be functional at this point.

And guess what? I threw some biodegradable spoons into my other bin several days ago. I'm not going to bother tracking them because I'm sure it will take a long time. But they are out there.

My Review of Prism Designs EO Atom Box Kite

2010-06-28T16:08:00.001-07:00

Originally submitted at REI

Smallest member of the EO kite series, the Prism EO Atom box kite folds flat and is light and compact for easy transport and storage.

Impossible to Launch

By ckmotorka from Tucson, AZ on 6/28/2010

Gift: No

Pros: Colorful

Cons: Poor Design, Hard to Fly, Poor Stability

Best Uses: Fanning yourself

Describe Yourself: Intermediate

This is a horrible kite. It's nearly impossible to launch. I have tried it in various wind conditions and it continually nose-dives to the ground. Launch from the ground? Only if launching means repeatedly lifting a few feet and then slamming itself into the earth. I am currently attempting to undo a horrid snarl in the line besides. Do not buy this kite.

(legalese)

Munch Munches Lunch

2010-06-16T02:07:00.001-07:00

Weird. I'm posting the exact same blog entry to both of my blogs. That's a new one!

Today Julian and I had a nice time watching Munch eat her(?) dinner on the patio. Munch, a desert tortoise, has been living in our yard for a couple of years now (two winters have come and gone so quickly it took me a while to actually believe it was possible!). She has been pretty active lately and we see her most mornings and late afternoons as she wanders around and nibbles the weeds and the various plants that she likes. I feed her whenever I see her. I have a jar of grassland tortoise pellets that she seems to enjoy as long as I soak them in water. In the video you will see some strawberries, but she didn't eat them. I often offer her all sorts of goodies from the kitchen but she invariably turns her nose up at just about anything I give her other than the wet food pellets. She has a particular palate and I have yet been able to crack the code.

Julian and Layla like to watch her crawl around. Julian also likes to squat down and look into her little house and try to call her out. Of course, she doesn't listen to him. Layla is sometimes afraid of her, even while being fascinated by her. She likes best to view Munch from the comfort of her grandpa's lap where she can point and say "Tortoise" over and over. Today's video was shot while Layla was still napping. She woke up soon after and joined us on the porch to watch Munch finish her lunch. Sitting on my lap, of course.

I think it's neat to know that barring unforeseen circumstances Julian and Layla will be able to watch Munch grow over the years just as we will watch Julian and Layla grow.

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 13/5

2010-06-08T20:52:00.001-07:00

Here we are at week thirteen with the original bag. I am willing to recalibrate the count down to week five, as that is how long the bag has been in my tumbling composter. I am also going to say that from the looks of things Frito-Lay's claim of a fourteen week breakdown period for the new SunChips bag is optimistic at best for the average home composter. I am sure a commercial composting operation would have much better results, hitting the fourteen week target relatively easily. But most of us don't have rigorously controlled conditions that are balanced by various means. Most of us have to deal with what we "produce" in our own kitchens and yards.

So let's say we are at week five. Bag number one is given a reprieve and gets a clock reset back from week thirteen to week five. So how do things look five weeks in? Pretty much the same. The bags are dirty and have lost integrity, but as you can see, there's still enough integrity that they can stand on their own and support a bent corner, etc. I have hope, though. It's getting very hot here in Arizona and there's plenty of steam coming off the compost when I open it up after a spin or two.

What about the bag I staked on the ground to mimic roadside litter? Lots of heat and Arizona sun has had very little effect on the bag. I don't even think it has faded at all. We'll see how it stands up to the monsoons when they arrive at the end of the month!

And that interloper, the compostable Quiznos cup? It's definitely showing some wear and discoloration. I think that whatever they spray on the cups to allow them to hold liquid has already broken down or is well on the way because the cup is discolored and appears to be taking on a brown tint. It almost looks like it was held to a flame. Considering how hot it must get inside that composter it might actually be literally scorched. It's not unusual for compost piles to reach internal temperatures that result in flames. This generally won't happen if the pile is kept turned, etc., and it's very unlikely in a tumbling composter that gets tumbled. But it's still going to get hot.

Forward we go! Someday we'll hit dirt!

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 11

2010-05-25T10:03:00.001-07:00

I was out of town last week. I took a trip to California to watch the first few stages of the Tour of California and then spend a few days in Napa Valley. So no update for Week 10, but as you can see, there's not much change.

The staked bag has changed very little, if at all. It has been lying on the ground in fairly hot, dry Arizona conditions. It has been in the 90s, no rain, etc. As you can see, even a compostable bag might last a very, very long time as "litter." The bag has been staked out for three weeks now.

A new edition to my compost experiments is a cup my daughter brought to me from Quiznos. Quiznos is trying to hop on the "Green" band wagon. I have to give them some credit for that, though I doubt very, very few will ever end up in a composting system. I know of at least one, however. We'll see how long it lasts. I do wonder what type of coating has been used to make the cup hold liquid better than plain paper would. It's probably not wax, since that would make composting problematic. I haven't done any research into this but it is probably sprayed with a plant-based coating of some sort.

We have two bags going in the bin. The original bag has been cooking for eleven weeks now. Like I said, the first several weeks were not under optimal conditions. The last few weeks have been under better composting conditions, but probably not commercial quality, very controlled conditions. I knew from the beginning that the estimated fourteen weeks would be unrealistic in my back yard. I think the second bag will break down more quickly because it was started in the tumbling composter as opposed to my "holding bin" composter. But we'll see.

I've attached a short video that compares the two bags by sound as well as feel. Not a lot of difference, but it is there.

For what it's worth, this is where we're at with what has become a new hobby of sorts--composting things that claim to be compostable. We'll see what happens when I come across some compostable plastic table ware. I'm not going to go out and buy some just to see what happens, but if I see some being used, I'll try to grab some.

Until next week, get that dirt cooking!

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 10 / Week 01

2010-05-14T11:25:00.001-07:00

A lot going on, and very little, all at the same time! Like I said, I made the switch to the tumbler along with a fresh bag. I also staked out a new bag to just see what happens to it when it's simply exposed to the elements, such as being tossed out a car window and landing in the ditch.

Things in the ditch in Arizona don't necessarily break down the way they might in Michigan, for instance. Or Alabama. Conditions are dry and hot so unless something will readily degrade from heat or sunlight, it might sit around for years and years. Even banana peels have a way of lasting far longer than you might think. I don't know how many times I've been out riding my bike and noticed strips of what I call "banana leather" along the road from other cyclists who toss them to the side thinking they will quickly biodegrade. There aren't too many critters out there that will eat the bitter peel of a banana.

If you look at the picture above you will see the original bag on the left and the new bag on the right. Other than the one on the left looking dirtier, there doesn't appear to be much difference. The differences are subtle and you can't much see them in the picture, but if there was audio (I might do this sometime!) you'd hear a difference in the crinkle factor.

There probably won't be an update next week because of the Tour of California, but hopefully there will be a few ToC updates in its place!

My First Batch of "Tumbled" Compost

2010-05-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

It has been eleven weeks since I completed my home made compost tumbler. The other day I decided that since I was wearing a pair of rubber gloves I would reach into the tumbler and test the consistency of the compost. I had noticed that (almost overnight) the tumbler was spinning easily and felt much lighter than it had when I started. I have always read that compost should be the consistency of a wet sponge that has been lightly wrung, but I'd never actually groped my gross gruel to check--I just figured as long as it was steaming away, it was probably "cooking" pretty well.

What I found was that I had a tumbler full of nicely finished humus-like compost! Rich, black, and chock full of nutrients, I put a handful on my screen and rubbed it through. It was finally done!

I hadn't planned on it, but I ended up emptying the contents of the tumbler, screening the compost, and filling a storage tub with the black gold-standard of garden goodness. As with any home made compost, there were a few things in there that wouldn't screen through. I found a few small rocks (?!?!), which I tossed to the side. There were some mango pits, which I put back into the bin, figuring they would eventually break down in subsequent rounds. The same for some avocado pits and not-quite-broken-down squash stems and things like that. There were some avocado skins that still looked like avocado skins, but they crumbled pretty easily and most went through my screen accordingly. Anything that didn't screen that I determined to be "eventually compostable" went back into the bin for the next cycle.

I found some interesting things besides the rocks though! The picture above isn't everything, but it's a representative sample. What are those things? I asked myself the same question while I was sifting the compost, but I finally figured it out. Those plastic sleeves? Well, I am 99.99% positive they are the linings of oatmeal and tea bag packets! Those instant oatmeal packets and the paper wrappers around tea bags are apparently lined with some pretty durable stuff. Hopefully it doesn't leach into our food too much! I also found several small strips of clear plastic (you can see one in the picture). I knew almost immediately what those were--the remains of a shredded debit card! I knew a few pieces of it went into the bin at some point when I was adding shredded paper. The interesting thing is that all I found were the little strips of clear plastic, which means the rest of the card--the colored plastic, etc., is apparently made of some kind of biodegradable plastic. Cool! What's that other chunk, though? It is one of two synthetic corks that I found in the mix, somewhat broken down, but generally recognizable.

In the end the compost is nice. It should drain pretty well because there some pistachio shells mixed throughout that didn't break down much at all. I suspect there are still some more or less viable squash seeds in there that might sprout, but those are easy to spot and eliminate should it come to that.

I am quite pleased with the results and am looking forward to having a second tumbler in the future. My friend Ryan, who supplied the first barrel, is keeping an eye out for a second barrel for me.That way my compost will work on a nice schedule of filling and tumbling one barrel till it's "full," then letting it just tumble and cure and finish while the second barrel moves into filling and tumbling mode (after yielding excellent compost, of course).

I am still amazed that the kitchen sCRAPs and miscellaneous things like toilet paper tubes and shredded paper bags from sandwich shops and weeds from the yard can turn into something like this. I know there are some cities out there that have implemented curbside composting (some of them mandatory!) and can only imagine how great it would be if every community did this. So much usable waste goes into the landfill where, at best, it will, hopefully, yield some usable methane that could more immediately be used to propagate growth and nourish food crops and maybe, just maybe, eliminate some of the unnecessary and harmful use of artificial nitrogen-based fertilizers.

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 08 and 09

2010-05-06T12:34:00.001-07:00

Well, there was no significant progress during week eight so I didn't bother posting. Week nine, to be honest, is much different. There are some developments to report, however.

First of all, I received a bag of free SunChips in the mail! SunChips followed through with their promise to send me some free chips for my posts. I expected a coupon for a free bag, but instead I received a large box with a bag of chips inside it. Now, seriously, if the goal is to be environmentally friendly, why would you send a box in the mail when a small envelope with a coupon in it would work just as well? I shouldn't dog them too much because, hey, they sent me free chips. I just don't think it was the best way to do it. They did use some shredded paper as packing material, but it looked like the brightly colored shredded stuff that is bought specifically for that purpose, not shredded newspapers or scrap. At least it wasn't polystyrene packing peanuts.

I have finally moved the bag to the tumbler. I have also put in two "fresh" empty bags in at the same time. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for bags in an a more ideal composting environment to break down. We'll see how we do compared to the official fourteen week estimate. As I write this I had another idea, too. I think I'm going to take one of those two new bags and pin it down to the ground next to the composter and just leave it out in the open. This will give us an idea of how long the new compostable bag takes to breakdown when some idiot decides to toss it out the car window and it ends up on the side of the road somewhere. I'll track that, too, I think!

I guess if I have moved the bag to the tumbler that means my first batch of compost must be finished, right? Right! I'll talk more about that in a separate post. It did a great job, though, I'll tell you that!

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 07

2010-04-20T11:35:00.001-07:00

Well, we're at the estimated half way point and it doesn't seem like a whole lot of progress has been made. Now, again, I remind you--this first bag is not being composted under ideal conditions and will very likely take twice as long as predicted. We'll see. As soon as the batch of compost in the tumbler is ready then I will start a fresh bag in the tumbler (along with this one, if it's still being broken down) and get a more favorable reading on the estimate given by Frito-Lay.

In the meantime, if you're not composting START NOW!

Growing Hops

2010-04-16T12:12:00.001-07:00

Everyone the world round knows that the one thing you need to brew a good batch of beer is a good batch of hops. Especially of you like the good hoppy beers, like an Indian Pale Ale. My son-in-law has been brewing beer for a little while now and has been brewing some top notch American Ale and a few other varieties (including a stout I liked). He has quickly moved from bottling his beer to kegging it and trying a variety of brewing methods. The next logical step is to grow his own hops! (We're probably out of luck when he decides he'd like to start farming barley here in Tucson, but you never know.)

Hops is a rhizomatic plant, not unlike mint or strawberry in that sense--if you have ever grown either of those plants you'll know they can spread like crazy if you don't set some boundaries. For that reason it's pretty easy to propagate--you just cut off pieces of the rhizome and root it. Pretty soon you'll have a hop plant. I'm not saying hops doesn't require certain conditions--it does. It likes heat. It likes water. It likes sun. It likes well-drained soil. Water and well-drained soil aren't typical qualities of Tucson dirt. But you can mimic almost anything in a pot.

Freddie ordered up six rhizomes, two each of three varieties (I think--I could be wrong on the quantities & varieties!). Cascade, probably one of the most popular hops varieties used in brewing, was of course in the mix. He also ordered Willamette and Magnum varieties. There may have been another variety, but I'm not sure. Rather than try to grow them all himself, he divied them up--two at my house, two at his aunt's house, two at his house, etc. I received two rhizomes, Cascade and Willamette. I potted them in twelve inch pots with a well-draining soil mix on top of a base of volcanic rock for ensured drainage. Normally a hop plant can root up to fifteen feet, so I hope it doesn't get root bound in the pot. If it looks like that might happen, we can always get a larger pot, but it will simply be wider, not necessarily deeper. We could try to plant it in the ground, but it's much easier to control moisture within the confines of a pot.

It has been three weeks and I now have plants. The Willamette came up first and it is about three or four inches tall. The Cascade was a week or so behind the Willamette and it is only about an inch above the surface. Hops is a natural climber so we have decided to drop twine from the roofline and let the plants climb up that (after some initial training, of course). We haven't dropped the twine yet, but I'm thinking we'd better do it before it gets too hot out--I'm in no hurry to go shimmying around a tile roof when it's a hundred degrees out.

I'll be giving hops updates as it seems appropriate. We probably won't be harvesting any this year, though. If I understand it correctly, generally the first year is more about establishing the plant than it is about harvesting. We might get a few buds to work with. It would be cool if Freddie was able to harvest enough this year for at least one batch of beer. Maybe he'll be able to use his own home grown hops in his Belgium style wheat beer infused with his own home grown lavendar!

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 06

2010-04-16T11:33:00.001-07:00

It's week six and the bag is still whole and even a little crinkly. I added a bunch of weeds from the yard this week so there's a lot more moisture and with the temperatures rising I suspect things are going to happen a little more quickly in the coming weeks. My tumbler is still not "finished," so I am thinking that I might add a new bag to the tumbler when it comes time to add a new batch to it. This bag might still be in the works when that happens, but it'll be interesting to see if the progress is any faster when it's in a proper composting environment from day one rather than starting it's compost life in a staging bin that isn't necessarily ideal composting conditions.

One thing is for sure, the tumbler is doing a nice job or converting the stuff that's in there. I think it'll be my first batch of real "quality" compost. That is, the best break down of larger pieces, even "burning," and general break down into soil-like compost.

Organic Bug Earth Day 40th Anniversary Celebration Giveaway

2010-04-13T08:10:00.001-07:00

The folks at Organic Bug are celebrating Earth Day in style this year by sponsoring a nine day giveaway extravaganza--by doing a few simple things you can be entered to win forty fabulous earth-friendly prizes. The contest starts today so get on over to their website and enter the contest. Enter daily to win. There are also a few one time things you can do for added entries (such as blogging about the contest!).

Organic Bug is a good company specializing in organic (duh) and earth-friendly products. They have everything from delicious specialty food items to bedding, cosmetics, toys, even gardening products.

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 05

2010-04-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

Here we are about a third of the way into the estimated composting cycle of the SunChips compostable bag. As I've said in previous posts, the change has not been dramatic but I suppose it is greater than what you're seeing in the photographs. From the photos you'd probably think the only change is dirt. The bag has definitely lost some integrity in a way that's more tactile than visual. Still, it's a pretty good bag that could probably hold some stuff if you felt a need to transport goods in a dirty chip bag that's been in a fly infested compost bin for five weeks. Personally, I'd look for a better conveyance. And I definitely wouldn't carry anything edible...

You might notice that last week I received a comment from SunChips. I thought that was pretty cool. They didn't offer to send me any free chips so that I'd have more compostable bags for my bin, but, hey, what are ya gonna do? I'm sure they have a few interns who spend the day searching the internet for comments made on blogs and chat rooms--probably trying to head off any bad press if any might be found. Still, a couple of free bags would have been nice.

Spinners!

2010-03-31T13:51:00.001-07:00

I've had a problem with doves bouncing off the back door for a long time now. Even though there is a covered patio, the sliding glass door acts like a mirror so the birds see another hopseed full of feeders. Of course, when they fly into it they find a surprise. I have had doves banging into that door at least four or five times a day forever. Only once has the result been tragic. That was a few weeks ago. A dove hit the door with impressive audible force and when I went to look, it was just sitting there on the patio looking dazed. I stepped out and picked it up and could hear the rattle in its chest. About that time it started coughing up blood all over my hand. I decided the trade a lengthy bit of suffering for a quick twist. I didn't really consult the dove on that decision, but I hope it was the right one. Since that day I've thought about how to solve the problem.

Non-glare films? Silhouettes of predator birds? No. These are all unsightly solutions. It just so happens that the perfect solution came along accidently and it only cost $2 plus tax!

Joan and I stepped into The Dollar Store to see if there were any appropriate Easter junk for the kids. There were these little cloth spinners with cute animals on them--they might not be Easter decorations but I was pretty sure the kids would like them. And, hey, they were only a buck. I bought a tortoise and a frog and hung them up from nails that were in the patio from previous unremembered hangings.

Well, wouldn't you know it? They hang in front of the door between the real hopseed and the reflective glass. Since I hung them up there hasn't been a single dove hitting the door--at least not that I have heard or seen.

It's a great solution and I suspect it works better than those cheesy silhouette things anyway. If you have a similar problem you might want to consider a similar solution.

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 04

2010-03-31T11:41:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was very warm: 86°. Today it is currently 74°, but it's supposed to be about 84°. However, it's very windy today. We are supposed to have wind gusts of up to forty miles per hour. It''s important to make sure your plants are getting a little extra water when it's windy because the wind can really dehydrate a plant.

As for my SunChips bag, apparently week four is the week you begin to wonder if anything is going to happen at all. There's no discernible difference in the bag from week to week other than the bag gets dirtier. Ah well. Hopefully in a few weeks there will be some real change going on.

One interesting note is that some of the worms from the barrel next to this one have traveled into this bin by one route or another. That's good because worms really help break things down more quickly.

The bad thing? I was bitten by a horsefly while I was out there! Seriously! I hate those things.

Some Photos from Sedona, AZ

2010-03-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend in Sedona. We did a lot of hiking and vegging and it was a great way to recharge. The weather was fantastic for hiking--cool, not cold, and not too hot, ever. It got pretty chilly at night though. One night we went to dinner and when we came out of the restaurant afterward it was probably down to almost thirty-nine degrees. We shivered our way back to the hotel!

Click on the picture below and you'll be redirected to a full album of photos from the trip!

Sedona, AZ March 2010

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 03

2010-03-28T21:50:00.001-07:00

This is a little late going up, but it has been three weeks since I started tracking the SunChips bag in my compost bin. Though it is perhaps a little less crinkly and no longer as loud, the bag is still in pretty good shape after three weeks. It is, however, decidedly dirtier.

One thing I can tell you--have no fear of this bag disintegrating on top of your refrigerator and leaving your SunChips homeless and alone. The bag is clearly of hardier stuff than that. It has a lot of integrity.

With luck my tumbler will have completed processing the current round of compost in the next few weeks and I can move everything from the holding bin into the tumbler. I think progress will be more obvious in a more true composting environment.

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 02

2010-03-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

So the new SunChips bag has been in the compost staging bin for a week. It has been covered by some compostables, but there's not a lot in that bin yet. I pulled the bag to the top of the heap for its weekly photo shoot and it doesn't look much the worse for wear having been in the can for a week. It's still pretty crinkly, that's for sure. One encouraging note, though--I think I'm getting a good "green/brown" mix in the staging bin because when I mixed it up there was definite steaminess going on in there. That's a sure sign that the forces are at work!

In case you're wondering, the green/brown mix is the ration of wet and dry ingredients in your compost. Green would be things like fruit and vegetables, grass clippings, coffee grounds, etc. Brown is the tougher, drier stuff--paper, cardboard, egg shells, dry leaves, twigs, that sort of thing. The ratio should be about 50/50 (by weight, not volume). My biggest challenge has been adding enough brown products to the mix. The green ingredients from my kitchen seem to pile up very quickly! My biggest "brown" contribution has actually turned out to be toilet paper tubes and egg cartons--I save the TP tubes up, slice them up the side and then run the flattened sheet through the paper shredder. The egg cartons (the fiberboard kind) I just tear into small pieces and add to the daily collection.

Now that the warm weather has arrived, I think, for good, the weeds are going to go crazy and I'm going to have no shortage of green mix. I better start stocking up on those toilet paper tubes.

SunChips Go Compostable, Week 01

2010-03-10T12:31:00.001-08:00

The new SunChips bag is out. Early. It was supposed to make its debut on Earth Day, but it's in stores now and it's making itself heard--this bag is loud! I'm guessing the bag is predominantly cellulose, much like the window on an envelope. It's very crinkly sounding.

According to the bag and the online presentation at the SunChips site, it should take fourteen weeks to compost the bag in your backyard. That's a pretty long time, but it's much, much less than it would take for a regular chip bag to decompose in an anaerobic landfill! I thought I would take up the challenge and document my own bag as it goes through the composter.

My tumbling composter is currently full, i.e., I'm not adding any more until it's done "cooking." So, for now, the bag has gone into what is now my staging bin. I have, basically, a twenty gallon garbage can that has been modified for (wholly inefficient) composting. Until the tumbler is finished, or until I build a second tumbler, the old can is gathering my compost materials. That's where the bag has gone. Because of this, my guess is it will take more than fourteen weeks in my yard because the first several weeks are not going to be the most efficient. There's not much I can do about that at the moment.

So, here are a couple of quick pics of the bag and the bag as it sits in the staging barrel. Check back for weekly updates on the progress of my backyard composting of the world's first fully backyard compostable chip bag.

ADA Tour de Cure

2010-03-09T23:01:00.001-08:00

Sunday was the Tucson Tour de Cure in support of the American Diabetes Association. The Tour de Cure was 100K bike ride, also called a "metric century." A hundred kilometers sounds better than sixty-two miles. I signed up for it about a week ago and was totally unprepared, but I would have felt very guilty had I not signed up. You see, one of my old students, John Armbruster, posted on Facebook that he was going to sign up for the shorter one. I told him he should do the full ride because it really wasn't any harder than the 50K. I told him I might ride with him. That was my mistake. As soon as I sent that part of the message I knew I was committed. Or should have been.

To be honest I had not been on the bike for more than a few little jaunts around the neighborhood with the kids since El Tour. Still, I tend to think I can ride sixty-five miles without too much thought. I'm not a "racer" or anything. I take it easy. I wasn't fast when I was a kid, there's no point in pretending now. Since John had never ridden that far before in his life I figured I didn't have too much to worry about.

And then came the weather.

A few days before the ride they began predicting a freak winter storm that would rush in and out but pretty much dump buckets of rain and cold all over the course during the exact hours of the ride. I was not looking forward to riding in the cold and the rain. Sure, I've done it before, sometimes on purpose, but it can be pretty uncomfortable when you're not in the best shape to start with. Joan told me to just blow it off and not go but I couldn't see how that was an option.

The morning of the ride I got up at 4:00 a.m. after about four hours of very restless and fitful sleep. I was a wreck, but I was on my way. I thought I was being blessed--the skies were clear and it didn't seem all that cold. I left the house at 5:25 and I made good time and arrived in Sahuarita at 6:15 in the inbetween light of early dawn. The organizers were still setting up so I sat in the car and tried not to think about feeling nauseous and too tired. When that didn't work I got out and took my bike from the rack and made sure everything was ready to go. I wandered off to the event tents and grabbed a cup of coffee in hopes the caffeine would set me right. Not being a coffee drinker, I should have known better. I visited the portable bathrooms three times while waiting for John to show up.

John arrived about fifteen minutes before the start and I found him at the start line along with a lot fewer people than I had expected. This was by far the lowest attendance of any charity ride or walk or run I've ever participated in. I don't know if this event is generally this small or if people had been scared off by the weather forecast. I for one was ready to believe we had lucked out and were in for a day of decent weather. At least most of the way anyway.

It didn't take long to find out that this ride was going to be anything but easy with or without rain. An out and back ride, the ride out was almost entirely uphill with a serious climb waiting at the end.Top that with a steady, heavy wind with gusts in the thirty-five mph range and it was tough. Not having any sleep didn't help either. Ten miles in and I was feeling about what I would have expected to feel near the end of the ride, not right at the beginning. I tried a bite to eat at the first stop, a quarter of a PBJ and regretted it nearly immediately. It wanted to come up. Later in the morning the same would happen with half of a banana. Clearly my gut didn't want to be there.

There were parts of the ride where we were struggling to go five miles an hour. It was crazy. At one point John got ahead of me only to end up walking his bike up a hill. I made it to the top but was more than willing to stop and wait for him. I was spent. The next time this happened I figured I'd walk with him. He was three quarters of the way up the hill and I stopped beside him and dismounted. Whoa! Wobbly legs! I had rubber band legs and was really surprised. I knew I was tired, but I didn't realize I was that tired. It made me light headed, too. This wasn't good--we weren't even twenty miles into the ride and the halfway point was more than ten miles ahead.

Just before mile twenty-two we both agreed we didn't have the juice nor the mental reserves to fight the wind any longer. We turned back. I think it was the right decision. I've never done that before, give up and turn back before a ride is finished. Oh well. I honestly can't say I would have made it back if I had fought my way to the turnaround. Even though the wind was mostly with us on the way back to the start we still had to struggle on the few hills that we came to. Then, just when we though we were home free, we made the last turn and hit a wall of wind as strong as any we'd encountered on the way out. Top that with the heavy bank of clouds filling the horizon and we wondered if we could make it back before the rain hit after all.

In the end we made it back with forty miles under our belts and just a few misty patches of rain arriving behind us. As with any really tough ride, now that it was over we were both very glad we had done it and were already planning to sign up for the Tour of the Tucson Mountains at the end of April. Hopefully we'll be smart enough and dedicated enough to at least train for it--it's a seventy plus mile ride (and usually has its own share of wind, too!).

Javalina Tracks

2010-03-04T12:51:00.001-08:00

Julian and I went down to the playground this morning and the sand around the equipment was just full of javalina tracks! I tried to explain a javalina to Julian--"They're like pigs!"--but I'm not sure if he was making the connection between the "paw print" (Thanks, Blue's Clues!) and the animal. I guess javalina like playgrounds, too. I can just imagine them running around there when no one is around, going down the slide, swinging on the swings, all that good stuff.

Mike Doughty Show, Club Congress, Tucson, AZ 2/26/2010

2010-02-27T09:25:00.001-08:00

If you recall, back in December I had the opportunity to interview Mike Doughty over the phone for WickedInfo. I felt like, and I know for a fact, having reviewed the taped evidence, I sounded like a dork. So it was with some hesitation that I went to the show--I wondered if I should mention that I was the guy who did that interview.

When we arrived I picked up a copy of his poetry collection, Slanky, from the merchandise table with the intent of having Mike sign it after the show. A few minutes later he was behind the merch table and I approached him with the book, miming for a signing. He was in pre-show rush mode so he asked if I could wait till the end when he'd come out and sign stuff, all the while making his way for the back stage area. I said sure and asked if he remembered doing a phone interview for WickedInfo and he did. Once again in dork mode, I said, "I'm the doofus who did the interview." He was very nice and said, "Oh, hey, great to meet you," and shook my hand and was once again on his way. He didn't call me an asshole, which is good. He didn't punch me, which is better. But there was no embrace and no exclamation that I had changed his life and boosted his career forever, either.

The show was great. He's on another Question Jar Tour which is just Mike and Andrew "Scrap" Livingston on cello and sometimes electric guitar. These two guys put out a pretty remarkable amount of sound. Scrap plays a lot of pizzicato finger-style lines and he's very melodic. I think Mike often employs a drop-D tuning which gives him a lot of bottom end. I was really pleased with the set list. He opened with "Ossining," which was unexpected. He sprinkled, as you would expect, quite a few cuts from the new album, Sad Man Happy Man, throughout the set. There were only two songs that I would have really liked to hear that he didn't play, but I hadn't really expected to hear them, either. These were "The Only Answer," one of my favorite Doughty tunes, and "Looks," a cover from some long-forgotton New York band from the 70s called The Student Teachers.

I suppose I should give some explanation of a question jar show. Prior to the show Andrew sets a gallon pickle jar on a table in front of the stage along with a stack of scrap paper and several pens. The idea is for the audience to fill the jar with questions that Andrew will read and Mike will answer throughout the show. This is usually done as a place holder while Mike tunes or re-tunes his guitar, etc. Sometimes it just seems like a good time for a question. Mike likes the weird off the wall questions more than the straightforward ones about his songs and the like. His answers sometimes indicate that--Yes, next question. No, next question. Seven, next question. He seemed to like one of my questions (If the universe is ever-expanding, what's it expanding into???) but his answer was ruined by self-proclaimed Math Girl when she started going on about how the universe isn't ever-expanding, blah, blah, blah. Damn you, Math Girl!

After the show I stood in line for what seemed a ridiculous length of time to purchase a few of the buttons they had put together for Haitian relief (a buck apiece with 100% of the money going to Haiti). Then I got in line for the signing. I opted for the usual "great set" line, got my book signed, we exchanged thank yous, and I wandered out to the lobby to find Joan (she had long abandoned me to escape the throng).

I've never felt comfortable approaching "celebrities" and talking to them. I mean, beyond "great show" what are you going to say? They're busy and have to have the same conversation a hundred times or more a night. And even though I've gotten a few of them over the years, I'm never really sure of the purpose of an autograph. I mean, I suppose it's a personal confirmation that, yea, I went to that show. For some I'm sure it's a hobby or even a business, but I don't get that, either. In the end it's just one more reason not to get rid of something somewhere down the line. "Well, I can't get rid of that copy, it's autographed." Not that we packrats need justification.

All in all the Doughty show was a great show. I highly recommend checking him out.

How To Brew Compost Tea (A Super Nutrient-Rich Liquid Plant Food)

2010-02-24T11:33:00.001-08:00

First of all, compost tea is not for drinking! I can only imagine how foul it might taste. Of course, it might taste

pretty good. But however it tastes I suspect it would be full of pro- and not-so-pro-biotics!

Compost tea is a nutrient dense liquid plant food that is literally alive with beneficial bacteria and micro-nutrients that are harvested and propagated from your compost. I have read that the nutritional value to your soil is up to ten times greater than simply applying the compost directly (though, of course, there are plenty of reasons to do that as well). This liquid "fertilizer"--though I hesitate to use that term and all of its negative connotations--can be used indoors or out, should be generally odorless, can be sprayed or poured on the leaves, the soil, whatever, and really packs a punch for your plants. And it's easy and inexpensive to make!

There are some things you will need:

1 five gallon bucket (at least one)

1 sack of some sort for each bucket of tea you plan to brew. Almost anything will do as long as it's not waterproof and is fine enough to keep most of your compost out of the liquid. Some people skip this step, but then they have to filter the tea once it's brewed. I find that using a giant "tea bag" is much easier. I have used an old pillow case but a burlap sack or something of that nature will work fine. It should be big enough to hold a half to a whole gallon of compost.

1 simple aquarium pump. Usually the smallest ones are good for a ten gallon tank, but check the ratings to be sure. The one I bought was about six bucks.

1 aquarium airstone. Now, as you can see in the photos, I bought one long one--about twelve inches long. It seems ideal because it gets air throughout the bucket. Some people buy a gang valve and split it into three with a small airstone at the end of each tube resting on the bottom of the bucket. I'm sure that works great, but will cost slightly more than my one long stone.

You'll also need enough aquarium tubing to attach from the pump to the airstone allowing for full submersion of the airstone. I bought an eight foot section and it was plenty.

2 oz. unsulphured molasses

All told I put less than ten bucks into the "kit" and I am sure it wouldn't take long to spend a lot more than that on liquid plant food purchased at the store!

The first step is to put some of your excellent homemade compost into the bag. If you don't have any homemade compost, store bought organic compost is fine. (Make sure it's organic!)

Tie the bag off like a big tea bag and rest it on the bottom of the bucket.

Fill your bucket up with water from your rain barrel. If you don't have a rain barrel you can use water from the hose but you should let it sit in a separate bucket for at least several hours for the chlorine and whatnot to evaporate out. You'll want the bucket almost full, but not quite. Make sure your airstone is fully submerged.

Add your molasses to the water--this is booster food for your colony.

Dry your hands (don't want any shocking surprises!) and plug in your little pump. Your bucket of water should start bubbling away. The airstone is necessary because it is providing life-giving oxygen to your colony of beneficial bacteria.

Depending on the temperature, in twelve to twenty-four hours you will have a bucket of super-nutritious liquid plant food in the form of compost tea. As soon as you unplug the pump the bacteria start to die off. You'll want to apply your tea to your plants within four hours of that time. Also, the tea is light sensitive--it will break down quickly in the sun, so it is best to feed your plants with your compost tea either early in the morning or in the evening.

I think that pretty much covers the process. Get to it. Brew yourself a nice cup of Pu Erh and enjoy sharing your own cup of tea during your back yard garden tea party!

Ity's Rodeo Time!

2010-02-22T14:23:00.001-08:00

It's rodeo week in Tucson so all the kids get a long weekend. Well, everyone wants to get in on the act so around here we're having Rodeo de los Vacqueros de las Tortugas. Ride 'em, cowboy!!!

My New Compost Bin Project

2010-02-21T17:06:00.001-08:00

My friend Ryan gave me two barrels, a fifty gallon and a thirty gallon. I turned the fifty gallon barrel into a rain barrel and decided the best use for the thirty gallon was a new compost bin.

I have been composting for a while now but my system has been crude and very, very slow. Since my compost mostly just sat in two twenty gallon plastic garbage cans the process was more anearobic than aerobic because it quickly became difficult to impossible to mix things up with any efficiency. The plan for the new bin was to make it so the compost could be easily turned by simply rotating or tumbling the barrel, and thus its contents. I suspect the results will be compost is less than a third of the time with better consistency and texture.

I wanted to make the project as inexpensively as possible and tried to rely on materials I had around the house. One thing I want to make clear is that this was not an art project or something for display at a finish carpentry show or anything like that. It's meant to be strictly functional and so a lot of my cuts and techniques would probably be scoffed at by people who are actually handy or who consider themselves craftspersons!

My first step was to check out Instructables.com for some ideas. I looked at a bunch of plans and discussed options with Ryan and thought about it for a while. Then I took stock of what I had on hand and got to work. I took some scrap 2X4s and a piece of particle board that I had and used that for my rack frame. That project kind of evolved as it went because I realized it was not going to be sturdy enough to hold a thirty gallon barrel full of wet plant waste. In order to add support I took a length of half inch copper pipe that was in the garage and cut two pieces from that, flattened the ends, drilled holes into the ends, and screwed one to each side.

With the rack finished I went to work on the barrel. One thing I did that no one mentioned on the other projects was to mark out my door and then mark all of the holes for the hardware and drilling those before cutting out the door. That made the drilling much simpler because the surface was more sturdy and I didn't have to worry about trying to line up the latch slots while trying to holding a loose plastic door in place.

It would be easy enough to cut the door out with a jigsaw, but I just used a Dremel-type tool with a cutting wheel on it. It worked like a charm and cut through the plastic easily--though I ended up using two cutting wheels to do it. Once the door was cut I put all of the hardware on--hinges (thanks again, Ryan!), latches, etc. For a handle I drilled a hole in the door and fed a length of old inner tube through it and knotted it on the back side.

For drainage and aeration I used a quarter inch bit and drilled holes all around the barrel at about four inch intervals. Again, I didn't measure this out or anything like that. I just sort of eyeballed them and went for it. They are clearly not spaced perfectly, but they will more than do the job.

With the sides of the main barrel complete, it was time to do the ends. I cut two holes in the ends with a hole saw attached to the drill. The idea is to run a length of pipe (also from Ryan's yard) through the hole so that the barrel can rotate around the pipe. I wanted to add some extra support for the pipe so, like others have shown on the net, I cut two pieces from some wood I had and drilled holes through them as well. As you can see from the photos, these are far from perfect circles! In order to more evenly distribute the load across the ends of the barrel, I put five bolts through each end.

Once everything was put together I figured I should pretty it up some so I broke out the paint. I bought black spray paint for the barrel that is meant for use on plastic, Krylon Fusion. It works great but probably poisoned everything in a one mile radius. I wanted the barrel black so that it will help generate heat within the barrel. I had some green paint in the garage that I used for the rack.

I set it up and transfered all the stuff from my "current" compost barrel and gave it a few turns. Everything seems to work great!

My New Compost Bin Project Photos

2010-02-21T16:58:00.001-08:00

A Motley Crew Heads to Pine for a Great Weekend

2010-02-15T18:20:00.001-08:00

The Usual Suspects took a trip Way Up North for the weekend. Our main objective: Celebrating Ken's first 50th birthday! We included a side trip to the Camp Verde Pecan and Wine Festival where we had a very nice time and tasted some very good wines. One table had a little prize called Wine-a-Rita, which was a sweet wine that tasted like margarita. Sort of. More like lime Kool-Aid, I think. I liked it, but I was alone in that group. Wine was tasted, wine was purchased. It was an all around successful outing.

From the wine festival we headed over to Pine, Arizona, to find our cabin, Kamp Kiwi. It was a very nice place (thank you Ken and Marie!). We drove past it in the dark of night and ended up at the end of the road along with twenty or more elk. We tried to get a photo but it was way too dark. We turned around and found the cabin easily.

The next morning, after a massive gut bomb breakfast of biscuits and gravy with all the extras, we visited the Tonto Natural Bridge National Monument and had a very nice hike on the only open trail. What the trail lacked in length it tried to make up for in height. It was a a pretty good climb out from the bottom. Our timing was good. The weather was perfect for a hike. There were quite a few people there, but I wouldn't call it crowded. Because of recent storms the other trails were closed due to trail damage and erosion. The trail we were on goes under the bridge but that section was closed as well. It was still very nice. I would like to go there again when the other trails are open--that is if the park doesn't get shut down for lack of funding.

Saturday night (Ken's birthday) was supposed to be steaks on the grill followed by cake and drink, but we skipped the grill and went right to cake and drinks. Ken received two very nice bottles of bourbon, one of which he opened. I'm not a bourbon drinker, but it was pretty good, even to me. Of course, the night devolved into silliness. We pulled out a couple of word games but no one had the patience or faculties to play them properly. As you'll see from the photos in the next post, we took these games very, very seriously.

Photos From Pine

2010-02-15T18:11:00.001-08:00

Photos From Pine

2010-02-15T16:59:00.001-08:00

Photos From Pine

2010-02-15T15:53:00.001-08:00

Photos From Pine

2010-02-15T15:47:00.001-08:00

Photos From Pine

2010-02-15T15:38:00.001-08:00

SPIBELT Review

2009-12-31T11:33:00.001-08:00

Sometimes a product just works. The SPIBELT is one of those products. Designed for runners, the SPIBELT could just as easily be used as a travel wallet in areas you suspect might be conducive to high pickpocket activity. Thin, inconspicuous, and roomier than it appears, this pocket belt has room for your phone, keys, wallet, whatever. It expands a surprising amount.

Most belts marketed at runners for carrying essentials are poorly designed or constructed or both. They bounce and jiggle more than my belly and they leave you annoyed at best, chafed at worst. The SPIBELT doesn't move. It can be worn front or back with equal results. I have worn it both ways. I wore it to the front in conjunction with a small hydration pack that rides on the small of your back (the Camelbak Catalyst). I have a bulkier phone than is currently fashionable and the SPIBELT took it easily and held it securely with no bounce but not so tightly that it pressed the buttons or anything like that. On short runs where I only carry a small bottle, I will wear it to the back, which seems more natural to me, but a lot of runners like to have their things to the front--it doesn't matter. The SPIBELT is equal to the task either way.

I first came to the SPIBELT when I bought one for Joan as a birthday gift. I tried it out in the store with my wallet and phone and was amazed at how well it worked there--I jumped around a bit and jogged in the store and it was very stable, even if I didn't appear to be. I gave it to her and told her she could get me one for Christmas (alas, I had to get my own!). Between her birthday and Christmas I borrowed hers on occasion and continued to be impressed.

I bought mine locally at Summit Hut, but the belt is easily found online at many retailers. If you run or hike or bike or even just travel a lot where you might need a stash wallet, I highly recommend the SPIBELT.

Mike Doughty Interview

2009-12-18T13:11:00.001-08:00

The Mike Doughty interview is up and available for reading at the WickedInfo site. It was a challenge. As I said, it was my first time doing anything like this. I was nervous about it. Then my recording turned out like crap. I had to dump it onto the computer and then listen to parts of it over and over using I don't know how many different sound tools to tweak things to where I could hear exactly what was being said: noise reduction, normalization, compression, speed adjustments, high pass filters, low pass filters, even distortion in a few places. In the end I have a good representation of the interview and I am confident there are no misquotes. Granted, I edited out a whole lot of verbal hedges and pauses, etc., but the phrasing and content are accurate.

If you're not familiar with Mike Doughty check him out. He was the front man for the band Soul Coughing but his solo stuff is quite a bit different than Soul Coughing considering it's the same singer and guitar player! Anyway, check out the interview:

Mike Doughty Interview on WickedInfo.com

Day 01, 12/13/2009 (Asthma SUCKS!)

2009-12-13T16:32:00.001-08:00

I have asthma. Fortunately, for me it's not debilitating. I don't end up in bed with a breathing machine attached to my face and steroids dripping into my system. No, I just have a hard time breathing and get very tired very easily. My asthma is triggered, generally, by three things: Cats, always; Cold air, often; Exercise, sometimes. When I am bothered with asthma during exercise I am sometimes able to work through it by slowing down and walking slowly or riding my bike at a very light pace. If I can get through it, coming out of the other side can be really good--I often feel like I could go forever after a recovery like that. But, on days like today, I can't get passed it. Those days the exercise is much harder because I'm not getting the oxygen I need for exercise and it really slows me down (and I'm slow to start with!).

Today was one of those days when the elephant sat down on my chest pretty much right from the start and just wouldn't budge. I tried the walk/run/walk thing and it worked a bit. Mostly I walked. But I did manage to get in seven miles averaging just over four miles per hour. Not stellar by any means, but it definitely counts as exercise even if I did walk most of it! I mean, maybe the lungs weren't filling up and increasing their capacity the way truly vigorous cardio-vascular exercise does, but when I have one of these sessions my asthma puts my heart rate through the roof. If nothing else the old heart muscle must be getting a good workout.

So this week I ended up with a whopping eleven miles. Now, I know I can walk a half marathon within the time limit. I've done it. But I would really like to have a good day that day and come in at or under the three hour mark. That's going to require some more miles during the week between now and then, no two ways about it.

Day 07, 12/13/2009 (Taken after my run and after eating and drinking, etc. That's my excuse anyway.):

Weight: 209.8

BMI: 29.7

RM: 1919

SM: 32.4

BF: 29.6

VF: 13

Training, Days 05 and 06

2009-12-13T16:14:00.001-08:00

I didn't really do anything these two days, so I guess I'll post the numbers just so I can say I did that at least!

Day 05, 12/11/2009

Weight: 206.4

BMI: 29.2

RM: 1888

SM: 31.3

BF: 31.4

VF: 13

Day 06, 12/12/2009:

Weight: 210.8

BMI: 29.8

RM: 1920

SM: 31.8

BF: 30.7

VF: 14

Mike Doughty Interview

2009-12-10T21:27:00.001-08:00

I am nervous, nervous, nervous. Not only am I doing my first ever celebrity interview, but it's an interview with Mike Doughty, a guy I suspect is a whole lot smarter, a whole lot quicker, and a whole lot more ready for this interview than I am.

Wait. You're interviewing Mike Doughty? To quote my friend Dan, "WTF?! How'd you land that gig?"

My friend slash ex-student Steve Angell runs a really fun and eclectic website called WickedInfo. They interview a lot of comedians, musicians, actors, etc. One day Steve asked me if I'd like to do an interview for them. My initial reaction was a terrified hell no. I told Steve I'm pretty phonophobic and nervous about that sort of thing so unless it was an email interview, I'd probably pass. He wanted to know if there is anyone I would be interested in interviewing and the only person I could think of interesting enough to risk night sweats and panic attacks would be Mike Doughty.

So what does Steve do? He contacts Mike's publicist and scores a chance to interview Mike. Unfortunately, Mike doesn't want to do an email interview but will do a telephone interview. So tomorrow I have to pick up my phone and my archaic microcasette recorder and give Mike Doughty a call. We'll be going old school on this one--analog tape equipment and speaker phone. Fortunately, Doughty has embraced a lot of lo-fi equipment so I'm hoping he won't be too put out by my methods.

I hope I don't screw this up. I hope it goes well. Whatever happens I will let you know when my interview is posted at the site. With any luck it will go well enough that I won't be too embarrassed to attend his show in Cave Creek at the end of February!

Training, Day 04

2009-12-10T15:17:00.001-08:00

I just got back from doing four miles with Julian in the stroller. I have not run in weeks. Literally. I think Joan and I have gone on a couple of walks, but no runs. Certainly none that would qualify as "training." I think I did okay. I did four miles in fifty-three minutes. I walked almost a half, ran a little over 2.5, ran/walked a little over a half, and walked the rest of the way home. I think that works out to about 13.25 minutes per mile. Not stellar, but if I can get myself to actually train to where I maintain that same pace over the half marathon I can squeak in at three hours and beat last year's time. Considering I walked all but a mile last year, I should be able to do it, right?

Today's numbers (11:34 a.m.):

Weight: 209.4

BMI: 29.6

RM: 192

SM: 32

BF: 30.3

VF: 13

An Open Letter to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid

2009-12-10T12:20:00.001-08:00

I have finally lost what little faith I had left in the Democrats in office. By continuing to bow down to and roll over like whipped dogs in the face of Republican criticism all of you have become nothing more than tools of the status quo. There can be no hope for our nation if our representatives fail to serve the needs of the people and continue to simply cater to the wealthy and powerful.

I realize our government was designed to serve the powerful interests of the few. Not everyone realizes this. However, because the majority of the people of this great nation believe "by the people, for the people" to mean the Government is there to serve us, why can't our representatives do something to make it so?

My disappointment in this Congress (and increasingly in our President) knows no bounds.

I'm so sorry the lot of you have decided to turn your backs on America. What happens in next year's elections should come as no surprise to any of you. No, it won't be a vast Republican uprising--though they will play it that way. What will happen is most of the Democrats will stay home and fail to vote. The tea baggers will hit the polls and their minuscule voice of dissent and anti-Americanism will be hailed as the new majority. Thanks a lot.

Training, Day 03

2009-12-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

Today's numbers:

Weight: 208.2

BMI: 29.4

RM: 1903

SM: 31.9

BF: 30.3

VF: 13

(Lack of) Training, Day 02

2009-12-08T06:43:00.001-08:00

What will one day of not training and binging on ice cream get you?

Weight: 213.2

BMI: 30.1

RM: 1934

SM: 31.5

BF: 31.2

VF: 14

Training, Day 01

2009-12-07T15:33:00.000-08:00

Can't say things started off on a high note! I shut the alarm off and said no way to running before the kids got here. It has been dark and cloudy all day, but no rain. I gathered up some stuff for a short trip to the post office so we did manage to get in about a mile of blustery walking. Of course, on our way back it finally decided to start raining! It was a light rain and I fortunately had the rain cover for the stroller. I pulled it out and slipped it on--sort of. One of these days I'm actually going to have to figure out how it attaches to the frame! It did provide some wind cover for the kids and it kept them dry, so that's good. I am going to figure it out and put it on for the winter. If nothing else, wind protection goes a long way when it's cold.

Tomorrow, I promise!

Numbers: Well, I did say I would post numbers, so here it goes. These are the numbers our scale gives us. Some are obvious, some less so. But I have them, so I'll post them. None of them are good...I'm obese!

Weight: 212.2

BMI: 30

Resting Metabolism: 1935

Skeletal Muscle: 33.3

Body Fat: 28.1

Visceral Fat: 13

You can compare it to February 19, which is the last time I actually wrote any of these numbers down. At least the numbers are better now than they were then!

Weight: 221.6

BMI: 31.3

Resting Metabolism: 1986

Skeletal Muscle: 31

Body Fat: 32.4

Visceral Fat: 15

What is visceral fat?
Visceral fat is located around the organs. Too much visceral fat is thought to be closely linked to increased level of fat in the bloodstream, which can lead to common conditions such as high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Sedentary life style causes excess visceral fat, and exercise can reduce it quicker than subcutaneous fat (fat located under skin).
What is resting metabolism?
Resting metabolism is the energy to maintain vital functions and it counts 60 to 70% of total energy consumption. Knowing your resting metabolism can help your diet plan. If you can increase daily activity while keeping food intake at resting metabolism level, you can lose weight.
What is skeletal muscle?
Skeletal muscle is muscle attached to the bones that is used to move the body. If you do weight loss without exercise, you may lose skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle is important to maintain your resting metabolism as well as your functionality. Monitoring skeletal muscle during weight loss is key to avoid weight rebound in the future.

Training

2009-12-06T13:49:00.001-08:00

OKAY. The P.F. Chang's Rock n' Roll (half) Marathon is exactly six weeks from today. Enough with the tomfoolery! I am now declaring myself to be officially "In Training." The only hope I have to sticking to anything close to a training "regimen" is to publicly, no matter how embarrassing it may be, publish all the tawdry details. That is my weight, my distances, BMI, all that junk. If you read these posts you will see the horrible details of a fat man running. It all starts in the morning. Gulp.

Hero of the Day

2009-11-14T14:32:00.001-08:00

Hmm, never thought about it really. Doesn't matter because I won't remember to follow through on it anyway. But, I have a nomination for my Hero of the Day and, well, he wins because he was the only one nominated and I'm the only judge.

Anyway, we were coming home from the JDRF Walk this morning and there was a guy on Campbell moving a coffee table. No big deal, right? Except he was towing it on a little trailer behind his bicycle. Huge kudos to people who use bikes for practical tasks and errands! We should all do more of that (myself included).

No, the photo above isn't actually our guy; sorry. He wasn't that impressive.

But check this out: http://www.bikesatwork.com/bicycle-delivery-service/furniture-moving.html

Or consider this: http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/sep/28/pedal-powered-moving-day/

The Pikeville Cut-Through Project

2009-11-11T20:36:00.001-08:00

Well, here's something that started when I was ten years old and finished when I was a father of two. Pikeville calls itself the "City that Moves Mountains." This comes from this cut-through project--which is second in scope only to the Panama Canal project--but might as well refer to their horrendous love affair with mountain top removal strip mining.

Anyway, when I was real little the river flowed through town, which makes sense as many towns grew up along rivers. However, the Big Sandy often flooded and caused a lot of trouble for the residents. The solution? Cut through a mountain and send the river, a highway, and a railroad line through the cut. Of course! Why not?

It took fourteen years and seems to have worked like a charm. Nothing looks the same as it did when I was a kid. Here are some pictures from an overlook designed to give you a view of the result. And here are a couple of links with a little info.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikeville_Cut-Through

http://www.cityofpikeville.com/visitors.cfm

Mountaintop Removal

2009-11-09T20:18:00.001-08:00

So I've just spent several days in coal mining country. It's also a hotbed of cancer, bronchitis, black lung, and a host of other ailments, but that's for another post. Even though I pretty much just stuck with my brother and spent a lot of time holed up at my mom's house, I couldn't help but notice the strong push by the coal industry. I saw one guy walking downtown with a t-shirt that boldly claimed "COAL IS OUR FUTURE". I don't think he realizes how short that future is.

The night I arrived I stopped at Applebee's for a bite to eat--we'll deal with that decision another time--and there were some kids at the next table and a couple of them were wearing t-shirts, presumably for one of their school's sports teams, that listed sponsors on the back, including Friends of Coal. The indoctrination is probably fairly complete by high school anyway.

I was in Eastern Kentucky for four days and in that time there were two different pro-coal events in town. There was a coal industry meeting designed to assure the community that coal will be around for more than a hundred and fifty years. They were there to make sure the local newscasters used the words "clean coal" at least three times in three minutes. They were successful because, of course, the local news team did nothing to inform their viewers that "clean coal" is a mythical vapor-ware technology designed to buy the coal industry time. The other event was an "energy summit" featuring a climate "scientist" who is "not sponsored by the coal industry." Note: The petroleum industry is not the coal industry. Hmmm.

According to my brother, Pikeville just recently voted to disallow mountaintop removal. If this is true, they have my admiration. However, if this ruling does exist it doesn't extend to the county--Jon showed me a horrible example of mountaintop removal that is ongoing and blatantly obvious. From the new road (which covers the house my mother grew up in, by the way) you can see the remains of a mountain that once stood twice as high as it does now--and they're still stripping it down layer by layer. We could see a bulldozer driving down the center of the project. If you look at the pictures you will see the flattened section in the middle. The last time I was in Kentucky that flat spot was more than twice as high as the ridge immediately to the right. These projects are all over the coal mining regions of the Appalachian Mountains. The very real health and environmental dangers of this mining method cannot be stressed enough. There are no enforceable restrictions on what the mining companies do with the tailings and waste products from these methods. Much of it ends up in the surrounding valleys and rivers, creeks, etc., poisoning the ground water and damaging ecosystems and critical habitat for many species. And even if these dangers don't concern you, just look at it! Our Appalachian Mountains are disappearing for nothing more than huge profits for corporations who could not care less about the people whose lives they are destroying in the process.

"Excess" Baggage

2009-11-08T00:32:00.001-08:00

Here's another thing to bug the crap out of me!!!

I just noticed on the receipt for the $20 they charged for my suitcase (each way!!!) that it is a claim check for "excess baggage"!!! Since when is a suitcase while traveling "excess" baggage? I can see if you check a second or third bag. Sure. If you can't do with one, you're going about it incorrectly. But to imply that anything above a "carry on and small personal item" is "excess" baggage is ludicrous.

That said, judging from my flights this week I'm not sure how the airlines can be making any money. Two of my connecting flights have been on the empty side. The flight from DFW to LEX only had twenty-one passengers! The flight from LEX to ATL was empty enough that they actually announced that everyone was on the plane and if you wanted to find a better seat, go for it. The flight from ATL to PHX, a big 757, had some, but not many, empty seats.

In Flight Wi-Fi

2009-11-07T16:49:00.001-08:00

Well, I'm on a Delta flight that offers Wi-Fi. It was only a matter of time before they offered it. Joan and I were just talking about this the other day, actually. We are currently at just over 35,000' and just went through a small patch of turbulance.

This is kind of cool and all, but I'm not so sure about the whole privacy thing.

By the way, I'll be posting a few photos from my trip after I get home. Well, tomorrow. It will be pretty late when I get home tonight.

Sooner!

Email

2009-11-07T12:30:00.001-08:00

I just logged in to my account after four days. I have 183 messages and 60 SPAM messages. Why do I get the feeling it'll take longer to get caught up than I was gone???

My Kentucky Trip

2009-11-07T12:28:00.001-08:00

My Old Kentucky Home
Okay. Fine. Kentucky was never my home. I've never lived there. But the old Stephen Foster standard seems appropriate enough to describe my trip to Kentucky to see my mom and two brothers. I haven't seen my mom in six or seven years and one of my brothers in close to eighteen or so.

Some Sleep Would Be Nice

No one is ever going to accuse me of being organized prepared. To catch my flight I needed to leave the house by 5:00 a.m. because I had to drive to Phoenix and I'm just not a fast driver. Sleep would be a good idea for a day like today, especially when you consider my driving history. However, since I spent the day watching the kids about the only thing I managed to get done was my laundry. Well, washing it and drying it, anyway. I've never been to good about the putting away part.

When Layla and Tina left at about quarter to seven, I still had to pack, clean the kitchen, do the dishes, fold and put away any laundry I wasn't taking with me, bottle and brew my Kmobucha (so that it doesn't turn to vinegar before I get home), give myself a haircut, and whatever else I'm forgetting at the moment. Oh, yeah, I had to take Pepper and Bunny to Mike & Liz.

I got things going, a little of each thing, more or less. I made the bed. I started folding laundry. I ate dinner. Mike called a little after 8:00 so I packed up the pups and headed over to their house. I dropped off the dogs and got home just in time to catch Castle, a show I watch regularly. During commercial breaks I brewed my tea and folded some laundry, gathered toiletries, that sort of thing. And immediately after Castle...I fell asleep on the couch.

I woke up in the vicinity of 12:30 with nothing completed, including printing pictures to take to Mom and burning CDs for Jon. The kitchen was a mess. This was not the best possible scenario. But it forced me to focus. I cleaned the kitchen and ran the dishwasher. I bottled and brewed the next batch of Kmobucha. I picked what clothes to pack, swapped the small duffle I originally planned to use for a suitcase (jacket, suitcase, running shoes--no small duffle this time). I started picking and printing twelve photos and selecting and burning CDs. I put my laundry away. I even gave myself a serviceable haircut. When all was said and done, I was finishing up at the computer and it was quarter after three. I had to be up in an hour in order to leave the house by five.

I brushed my teeth and jumped into be with my CPAP machine flowing and lulling me to sleep. I think I even had a few dreams before the alarm went off and I realized I would have to get ready and drive to Phoenix all while in a coma. Should be interesting.

I wasn't drifting off on the drive (again, with my history this is a concern) but man was I tired. If I wanted I could have pulled to the side of the road and happily slept for hours. I managed to leave the house by five after five and was parked and out of my car and heading to the shuttle by 7:45. Not to bad for someone who generally drives slowly and conservatively. I did doze off on the shuttle bus between the parking lot and the terminal, though. It's a good thing the announcements are pretty loud.

I had time to get an egg and cheese croissant in the terminal (it took longer to stand in line to pay for it than it did for them to make the sandwich and for me to eat it). I got to my gate and had enough time to send Joan and short email of my progress and then it was time to board. A short nap and a bloody mary mix later and I'm jotting this note to post later.

I wonder if I'll be able to find any free wi-fi in Raccoon or Pikeville, Kentucky? Do they have a coffee shop or library or something that might have it? Who knows. I could always stake out a hotel parking lot and take my chances! We'll see what happens.

Airport Wireless

I know I've said this before, but airports should all supply free Wi-Fi. There's no reason not to considering how much it costs to fly and how much concessions cost at airports. Phoenix has free Wi-Fi. I'm not sure which other ones do. I can tell you one thing--Dallas-Ft. Worth does not. One of the largest airports in the country and they have a T-Mobile hot spot that you have to pay to use. It's criminal if you ask me considering I had to fork over an extra $20 just to bring my suitcase along on the trip.

Wednesday, November 4

I started the day with a nice run along an old rail bed. There's an abandoned rail line right across the street from my brother's house and it made for a good place to run. I'll probably do it again tomorrow. It's all uphill so the return is pretty nice. This is not an officially converted Rails To Trails project or anything like that, it's just a track that follows the rails. At some point you lose site of the actual rails, but you know they're just on the other side of the jungle of vegetation that is growing everywhere.

From the over grown rail bed, filled with weeds and stones and cinders you segue to a grassy siding to a paved "road" and eventually to a dirt or gravel path. Once you lose the road you are surrounded by sheer walls where the line had been blasted through the rock. Moist and chilled air heightens the sound of water dripping from the seeps all along the rock walls. Woolly Bear caterpillars seem out of place in the cold mountain morning, but I see several and they are on the move to fulfill their part in the transformation process before winter comes.

I was about three and a half miles into the run, on my way back to my brother's house when a small red pickup came driving up the little paved section of the path. I moved to the side and was preparing to wave as the local drove by, no doubt wondering what the hell someone in shorts is doing running along the old rail bed. The window started to come down and I was prepared to say "No, I'm fine. Thank you for checking" when I realized it was my brother. He had been worried because he thought I had been gone a long time. I assured him I was fine and continued my run back to the house.

Showered and dressed and into the car, we proceeded up the mountain to Mom's house. I had forgotten how crazy the roads are--and this is since they "improved" them: narrow winding paths barely a car and a half wide sneak up the mountains around blind curves; wash outs line the edges of the road and draw attention to the sometimes sheer drops of three hundred feet or more that await the fool who miscalculates a turn or doesn't pay attention to a curve; and all the while cars barrel up and down them at excessive speeds. This is not for the leery. And I am leery. Very leery.

We got to Mom's house to find a couple of fresh fruit pies and baked apple cake. I've always been a fan of strawberry rhubarb and peach pies and wouldn't you know it, we had one of each. Jon and I both did our best to inflict some serious damage on the pie and then couldn't quite resist the apple cake--it was still warm and moist and delicious.

After our pie binge and fending off Mom's desire to cook everything in the county for us, we went for walk up the road with the intent of checking out Fishtrap Lake. We weren't far from the house when it started to rain. We went back for the car and as soon as he drove out of the driveway the rain stopped. We went down the road as far as we could and then hoofed it the rest of the way. We had a geocache on the GPSr and thought we might be able to get on the old road and head over the hill to Lower Pompey and find the cache at the marina at the park over there. The lake is the result of a dam project and there is still the remainder of the old road going over the ridge. We worked our away around the edge of the lake and through some brush and muck and got on the road. We followed it a ways but soon realized it would be dark before we got there. We turned back, got the car, and made the drive around to the other side to check out the dam and the park they have built around it. We never found the cache, but I was able to check out the dam.

It was getting dark and we figured Mom would be getting worried about us so he headed back to her house. We were late for dinner and I think we had upset Mom a bit, but we dutifully ate our dinner. Mom still doesn't know what to make of me being a (mostly) vegetarian--she thought that meant I would eat turkey or chicken--but I ate all of the sides and the potatoes and mostly made up for not eating the pork chops she had fried up for us.

It was just about eight o'clock and I was getting sleepy (and I'd had about enough of high volume television). Burbon had gone to be already so Jon and I made our leave. I was in bed by 8:30 and typing away. I had to put the computer away because I was dozing off. Like I said, I only had about an hour of real sleep the night before so I was pretty wiped out. I am actually finishing this up on Thursday evening! Wednesday was a pretty full day and a pretty good one.

Thursday, November 5

We started the day after nearly eleven hours of sleep. I was in bed by 8:30 last night and got up about 8:00 this morning. I skipped a run today and Jon and I headed into town for some touristy activities and a couple of errands. Our first stop was Lowe's for a dryer power cord and then the Food City for a bottle of contact lens solution. The we hit the Huddle House for some breakfast. I had an excellent garden omelet with whole wheat toast and some grits.

After breakfast it was time for a little sightseeing tour. Our first stop was the overlook which provides a parklike setting where you can see the entire town and a view of the Pike River cut through project. The redirecting of the Pike river is a project second only to the Panama Canal in scope. That's kind of impressive to me.

There are a lot of historic buildings in Pikeville that I never realized were there. There was a photo slide show on a display at the courthouse (I needed a bathroom!) that showed me just how important Pikeville is to the region. Being the county seat, it was the center of activity--court day, hangings, you name it. There are some really cool old buildings including a Masonic lodge with a very ornate stained glass window. I learned from the several plaques around town that Pikeville and the Pike River are both named for the same general who gave his name to Pike's Peak and headed the expedition to find the sources of the Mississippi and Red rivers. I also learned that Riddel of Embry Riddel fame was from the area and once flew under the bridge here. That's impressive flying.

Pikeville was also the site of a lot of the famous Hatfield McCoy feud and the violence surrounding this family rivalry. One of the most famous hangings resulting from this feud took place at the site of the old courthouse. Just up the hill from town is the Dils Cemetery where many of the McCoy family are buried. The first of the McCoys involved in the feud is buried here and the town has erected a large stone marking the graves of he and his wife. Most of the older stones in the cemetery are illegible. The cemetery is also one of the first non-segregated cemeteries with about a fifth of the graves being those of African Americans.

We left town for Ma's and made a stop at Jon's to let the dogs out and drop off some stuff. While we were there my brother Bob and his wife Cheryl pulled up. They were also headed up to Mom's and saw that we were Jon's so they stopped. We caravaned up from there and it wasn't long before we were eating a good country dinner. I skipped the turkey but ate all of the sides. Sitting here now, I'm feeling a bit hungry and wish I could have some of that pie from yesterday right about now.

Friday, November 6

Today we got up and went to Kmart so I could buy Jon some underwear! I saw his underwear and while he doesn't care, I knew he was going for an MRI on Sunday and I knew we'd all feel better about it if he had less air-conditioned drawers. From there we went to lunch at El Poncho's--it's supposed to be the best Mexican food in the area but I have to say it was not all that great--they definitely rely on cheap ingredients.

After lunch we went up to see my Uncle Buck. I haven't been in his house in almost thirty years! He was just the same, a little thinner, a little grayer, but just as full of it! My Aunt Ann is doing good, too.

A few stops to see where my mother lived as a kid (the old house is gone and there is a highway in its place!) and back downtown to walk a couple of swinging bridges and it was time to eat. We went to Chirico's, a local Italian restaurant for pizza. It was very good pizza!
We went up to Mom's after our dinner and I'm pretty sure we offended her by having already eaten. Oops.

After sitting around watching Mom watch some very bad telethon for a local holy roller gospel station for an hour or so I was getting ready to leave. Just as I was about to tell Jon we'd better pack it up, Mom got up, went to the other room, and came back with a couple of photo albums. There were a couple of cool photos from when we were kids but most of the photos I enjoyed were of my kids when they were little--cute! After photos, though, Jon and I headed down the mountain to his house. I still had to pack up and be ready for our early morning wake up call. We were heading up to Mom's for breakfast before I headed out on the highway.

D-Day (Departure Day, Saturday, November 7

I woke up before the alarm and after a brief debate with myself whether to get up or try to sleep, I got up and started putting everything away, including deflating the air mattress I had been sleeping on.

I wasn't sure if I would bother with a shower today, but I did. When you're going to be traveling for about twelve hours all told you might as well start out as freshly as possible.

We went to Mom's and I had two eggs and two biscuits along with the V8 I had brought with me. Then I had a cup of coffee, figuring I'd need the caffeine today.

We sat a bit and took a couple of photos and then it was time to go. Mom had to go into town anyway, so we all left together. Mom left before us because I drive like a turtle on those crazy twisty roads. However, when we got to the bottom of the hill, she was parked at the stop sign waiting for us. We pulled up behind her and she got out and walked back to the car. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" I asked. She wanted to make sure I didn't need anything! What could I possibly need, I wondered. Money or anything I needed from her, was her reply.

Mom. Get in your car.

I dropped Jon off at his house and said goodbye and then I hit the road. It's a very boring two and a half hour drive to Lexington from Jon's house and it's almost all radio no man's land. I did get caught up on my .38 Special listening needs.

I made it to the airport without incident, including exiting and filling my gas tank before returning the rental. That will probably surprise a lot of people. I made good time to the airport so I stepped into the airport restaurant for a bite to eat. I should have grabbed something when I got gas--$13.99 for a poor quality serving of overcooked fish and chips just doesn't sit well! Anyway, here I am waiting for my plane to depart. I'm on my way home. In another eight hours I'll be in Phoenix and then I have to drive home. I can't wait to get there!

Kentucky

2009-11-03T02:14:00.001-08:00

Just a brief note today. So, I'm going to visit my mother in Raccoon, Kentucky. Yes, yes, I could go into that at some length. But I won't because it's 3:13 a.m. and I have to get up in an hour and leave the house by 5:00 to catch a flight in Phoenix to Lexington. From there I will drive three hours to Raccoon. I'll stay at my brother's house.

I'm not sure how this is going to go. I'm sure no matter what someone will be butt hurt by something I say or something I do. More likely something I don't do--like stay at one place over another or spend enough time with this person or that or not see this one or that one. Oh well. Make the most of it.

I hope they have a bar in Pikeville and I hope my brother wants to go to it.

Sooner. I have to sleep for an hour...

I Found Them!

2009-10-31T22:28:00.001-07:00

I mentioned the pumpkin seeds we used to get when we were kids--we often got them in our multiple full pillowcases of Halloween candy, too. I just remembered the red package and the Indian head with full headdress. Out of curiosity I thought I'd do a Google search. You can find just about anything these days. They apparently still make these things. They come from a company called Zenobia and are called Indian Pumpkin Seeds (I wonder how they came up with that name?).

If you feel compelled to try the most addictive pumpkin seeds ever made, try this link for Indian Brand Pumpkin Seeds.

Pumpkin Seeds!

2009-10-31T21:25:00.001-07:00

After carving up our Halloween pumpkin I gathered up and rinsed the seeds and prepared them for roasting. Since we were having spaghetti squash for dinner, I gathered those up, too. Rinsed and seasoned with King of the Q Bonedust Barbecue seasoning powder, I spread them on a baking sheet and popped them into a 250 degree oven. Bake for a while, flip 'em around a bit with a spatula, bake, flip 'em around, bake, etc. Delicious!

As a kid pumpkin seeds were one of my favorite treats. I remember buying small red boxes with an indian head logo of very salty, very white pumpkin seeds. Each Halloween my dad would scoop out the seeds from our pumpkin and put them into a bowl of salty water, working the seeds between his fingers to wash away the pith of pumpkin. Back then the seeds were simply salted, but they were delicious enough to stick in my memory.

If you've never done this, you should give it a whirl. It's simple to do and the payoff is a very tasty (and healthful) snack.

New SPAM

2009-10-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

I received a new kind of SPAM yesterday. Well, new for me. I received a text alert on my cell phone telling me that my credit card beginning 476390 has been deactivated and I had to call 888.222.8983 to reactivate my card. Of course, I don't have a card beginning with those numbers so I called Joan to make sure none of her cards started with those numbers or to see if she had a secret credit card starting with those numbers, just in case. But no. I certainly didn't call the number.

Last night I popped the phone number into Google and did a search. The number came up in a fraud reporting site. Someone received the same text on the same day from the same number; only the credit card numbers were different. I assume that when you call the number they "verify" enough of your information to end up issuing you a brand new high interest rate credit card that is chock full of fees and other money-draining "options" to "keep you safe from fraud."

The sad part is that there are probably people out there who will call the number and some of those people will foolishly give out their information and end up falling for the scam.

Can you imagine if the people who come with these scams actually used their time and skills for good?

Pepper

2009-10-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

We have two dogs, Pepper and Bunny. They are almost 14 and 13 years old, respectively. All in all, they have been very healthy and happy pups their whole lives. Along the way, Pepper has had a few bizarre medical issues, however. There was the time, as a puppy, when she (we assume) was stung by a scorpion and her foot swelled up and caused her a lot pain. Ever since then she has had oddly positioned toe on that foot (I can't explain it either). Then there was the time she obsessively and savagely tried to get a lizard that had run into an agave plant to hide. Pepper all but shredded that plant and in the process covered her face with the caustic sap. Her faced swelled as though she had tangled with a rattlesnake, the fur came out in tufts and patches, and she had a raw and scabby face for a few weeks. Then, several months ago she suddenly dropped six or seven pounds (that's a lot for a forty-five pound animal!), started losing her hair, and had red and raw spots on her skin. No one was ever able to assign a cause to that one. She took some antibiotics, ate some special canned food for a while, and had a few baths using expensive medicated shampoo and it all suddenly cleared up and she was the same old Pepper, maybe even healthier than she had been in a while. But the other night she really scared me.

I had dozed on the couch (nothing new) and awoke to the mad scrambling sound of a dog's toenails crazily scattering along the laminate floor of Joan's office. Pepper looked just like Bambi when he first stepped onto that frozen pond. I went down the hall to see what was going on and it was immediately obvious that something was very wrong. Pepper was twitching and her head was swinging back and forth, clearly disoriented. But then I got really scared because I saw her eyes--they were rolling around in her head like marbles in a roulette wheel and just about as fast. I got her onto a small piece of carpet and she simply stood unsteadily staring at the small dresser that was about six inches from her face with her head slowly swinging side to side. She was so scared that her entire body was tense and shaking, her belly like a drum.

I tried to guide her into the bedroom so I could wake Joan up to help me figure it out. She was bouncing off the wall like a drunk, tracking to the right and stumbling, her eyes swiveling the whole time with nystagmus.

While Joan tried to calm Pepper down, I got on the internet and searched for her symptoms. I know, you should never self-diagnose. I'm sure the internet is the bane of doctors and vets the world over. But I found several websites that clearly described her symptoms to the letter: vestibular syndrome. Every site said there's really nothing to be done for it and that almost all dogs simply recover with few after effects. Some are worse than others. Pepper seemed to be getting better even as she rested in her bed once Joan got her to lie down there. I decided it was okay to wait till morning to call the vet. That may or may not be the right call, but it's the call we made this time.

When I took Pepper to the vet in the morning they agreed that it was indeed idiopathic peripheral vestibular syndrome. A big, fancy, complicated name for "we have no idea." By yesterday afternoon it looked like Pepper was about 80%. She seemed fine, energetic, and only very slightly tracking to the right with the occasional sign of unsteadiness. The vet had told me that if her symptoms persisted I could give her some Dramamine to help with the vertigo but other than that there was really nothing to be done. Fortunately, she seemed like she was going to be fine.

But then this morning she had a relapse. There was no nystagmis, but she was very unsteady, nauseous, etc. She obviously didn't feel well. I went to the store and bought the Dramamine and gave her one pill along with a Rimadyl to help with any inflammation (a potential cause is inflammation of the nerves in the inner ear). So far, four hours later, she still feels poorly. All I can do is keep an eye on her and hope for the best. It can take a few weeks for a dog to recover from this health issue and it's frustrating because there's not really anything you can do in the meantime. So we'll cross our fingers and baby her for the time being.

Yep. That's Cold

2009-10-29T09:31:00.001-07:00

Thirty-five degrees is cold. It's colder on a bike. This morning's ride wasn't too bad at all, really. Except, you know, for my frozen eyeballs and the loss of my fingertips. And my big toes. But other than that I was pretty comfortable. There was a moment when I was going about twenty-five miles an hour and crossed over a large wash and it suddenly got really, really cold; it took a while to warm back up after that.

It's a good thing to dress appropriately. That whole thing about layers is fine and dandy if you're going on a really long ride, but if you're only going out for an hour or so who's going to stop to remove clothing? Settle on a compromise. I usually err on the side of warmth because it is long-established fact that I am a wuss when it comes to the cold. For instance, this morning, three degrees from freezing, I wore long socks, shorts, winter tights, a long sleeved under shirt, a long sleeved jersey (with hood!), a jacket, full-fingered gloves with a windstopper liner over them, and a balaclava. Sounds like overkill, but I didn't get too warm and I still had painful cold in my fingertips and toes (an issue I have, by the way).

I also have exercise induced asthma that sometimes bothers not at all and other times all but puts the kaibash on an activity. It is definitely worse when it is cold out--cold air and my lungs just don't get along. Thus the balaclava. Having that polypropylene layer over my mouth warmed my breath enough that I didn't have this issue.

I got my arse out of bet at 5:30 this morning and hit the road about 6:00. It was 35 degrees outside and I road my bike and I'm none the worse for wear. Proper clothing and a little masochism make all the difference. So get out and ride!

Cold as Hell (or What the Hell Am I Thinking?)

2009-10-29T00:09:00.001-07:00

It's already in the 30s at midnight and I'm heading off to bed with plans of waking up at 5:30 to be on the road at 6:00 for a morning ride. I might be nuts. It's going to be very cold on a bicycle and when I go over the washes it'll be freezing.

It's a funny thing about washes. Even though they look dry they are, in reality, water ways. Sometimes water is flowing not too far below the surface. What does that have to do with anything? When you're on a bike you feel the cold. Due to the moisture found in the washes, the temperature around the wash can drop a good ten degrees or more. You feel it.

I laid out some winter riding clothes and I'll go dig out my full-finger gloves before bed. I'm already wondering what the heck I'm thinking but I suppose this actually holds true to form--I'm a glutton for punishment.

El Tour de Tucson

2009-10-28T13:14:00.001-07:00

El Tour de Tucson is coming soon--it's less than a month away. I rode my first El Tour in 2002. That was the year after I had major neck surgery. I was cycling a lot at the time and even though my time was nothing to brag about (just shy of seven hours), it was good for me: I'm notoriously slow in just about any activity I do, always have been. I set a goal at that time that I would ride at least twenty El Tours de Tucson. I have ridden every year since then except for last year. I was underprepared and dilly dallied until it was too late to register without going bankrupt. There were also two years that I only rode the thirty-five mile event. The first year I did that it was because my two daughters rode with me. They did a great job. I was very proud of them both but maybe especially proud of Stephanie who bonked herself silly to the point where her legs were twitching like mad but still finished the ride along with her sister and me. She even made a mad dash at the end that forced Tina and I to catch up with her! I decided that year that only the full tour route would count toward my goal of twenty El Tours. The other time I rode the short route was when Joan agreed to ride with me as part of a company team--her company was one of the sponsors and several of her co-workers rode the tour as well.

Since my "retirement" I have not ridden as much as in the past. A lot of my miles came from my commute which was a minimum of thirty miles round trip. I say minimum because I had various routes that I would take and could make my daily commute as long as seventy-six miles round trip! Now I make due with weekend rides and the occasional early morning ride. I lack discipline, though, and those early morning rides are rare--I have a hard time getting out of bed at five in the morning (and it's only going to get harder as the weather gets colder).

But I'm signed up for the Tour this year and am looking forward to it. I am sure it will take me a very long time given my lack of preparation. And, unfortunately, Joan will be out of town for her mother's eightieth birthday so I won't get my mid-ride meet and greet with her. I'll also be riding my touring bike, so that's not going to make me any faster, either. But I did eighty miles a couple of Sundays ago and hope to do a hundred this Sunday. Cross your fingers,

Choke!

2009-10-28T12:46:00.001-07:00

I just finished choking after inhaling a few drops of tea. That's what happens sometimes when a straw decides to slip from your lips before you really get the liquid flowing. I hate that feeling because it sticks around so long. I'll have this tickle in my throat for hours, I suppose. It probably doesn't help that I brewed the tea in an old sock.

An old sock?!?! Yes. An old sock.

Last night I brewed the tea for my current batch of Kmobucha. I have two jugs going so I need to brew two large batches of strong, concentrated tea. I use a half cup of loose leaf tea in about two liters of water for each batch. I have one tea "bag" that will hold that much tea. I usually put the tea in and use a rubber band to keep the cloth bag closed. I've made due with other methods in the past for the other jug but decided last night that I should have bag for it. So I grabbed an old pair of socks from the draw, cut off the foot of the sock below the heel and had a perfectly sized bag. I put the tea in, rubber banded the bag closed, and off we went. It worked like a charm. Yet another use for an old cotton sock.

For this round of Kmobucha I brewed a special blend of rooibos and pu erh teas. I like the flavor of both even though they are so different. The rooibos is light and almost fruity. The pu erh is dark and smoky and strong. Rooibos is free of caffeine and pu erh is chock full of caffeinated goodness. Sounds like a good pairing, right? Well, fortunately, it turned out to be a tasty brew and I believe it will make a delicious Kmobucha.

Today I threw both tea bags into a glass pitcher and filled it with water and brewed up a pitcher of this tea blend. For Kmobucha each pot of tea gets one cup of sugar. The little critters that make Kmobucha eat the sugar and thus the conversion process from extremely sweet tea to a more sour almost vinegary Kmobucha goodness. Well, the tea bags had some residual sugar permeated through them so this pitcher of tea is just slightly sweet. I don't normally sweeten my tea (why would you?), but this is quite tasty.

If you're a kombucha brewer I recommend this combination!

Cold!

2009-10-28T12:34:00.001-07:00

Yesterday it was very windy. Today the wind continues but not quite with the gusto with which it blew last night. It's 12:30pm right now and it's still in the 50s. There is actually a freeze warning for tonight. I don't like the cold. Never have. That's one of the main reasons I moved to Arizona from the bone-deep cold of northern Michigan.

I will have to cover some plants tonight, especially the small moro blood orange tree I recently planted. It is small, a few years from fruit, I suspect, but a promise there in my yard that I don't want to give up just yet. Last winter saw the demise of my photinia, which I'm still surprised by--it was a few years old, established, large, and had been doing well. At one point a tortoise had burrowed down into the roots and perhaps that exposure is what did it in. I don't know. Either way, it's gone. I have some honeysuckles that are still pretty small. I hope they make it through the winter. They should. Other than that, most things are in pots on the patio and will probably be okay. Everything else is on its own.

El Tour de Tucson is only a few weeks away and I have been hoping for decent weather. I hope this is not a sign of what's to come and rather simply a freak dip in temperatures caused by a storm in another part of the world. I hope.

Pickled Purslane

2009-10-27T16:17:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting on the couch eating some pickled purslane. Purslane to most of us, especially my wife, is a noxious weed that persistently grows just about everywhere. Back lots, empty lots, East Coast, Midwest, right here in Arizona, and very likely your own back yard.

Purslane is quite possibly the most nutritious of the "greens" you can eat. They have the most Omega-3 fatty acids and have high levels of calcium, potassium, protein, and loads of vitamin A. It's good cooked like spinach or raw in salads. It's quite tasty.

The last couple of years have been apparently exceptional growing seasons for this plant, at least if my yard is any indicator. My back yard has been just carpeted with this plant. I ate quite a bit of it this summer even though my wife won't. I'd have to cook it separately or add it to my salads "on the side." Of course, I snuck it in a few places here and there. I put a bag of it in my freezer and I also decided to do a very simple pickling. Since I didn't know how it would turn out, I only did one jar, but I suspect I'll have a few more jars in next year's refrigerator stores.

Some people make purslane "pickles" by pickling the stems. I figured I'd just do the whole thing, leaves and all. I simply cleaned it and chopped it into reasonable sized pieces and filled the jar with it and then filled the jar with Bragg organic, raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar (enough to cover the purslane completely) and then sealed it up and stuck it in the fridge. All you need to do is leave it a couple of weeks and it's ready to much on.

I think in my next batch I will add either a little bit of sugar or some agave nectar to give it just a little more sweetness but doing so is by no means a requirement.

Next summer you should look for some purslane in the yard and give it a try. I shouldn't have to say this, but if you spray poisons everywhere for no comprehensible reason then you might want to rethink your grazing strategies, but if not, give it a try. You'll discover a delicious, nutritious surprise.

Kmobucha

2009-10-27T10:51:00.001-07:00

I should be making the tea for my next round of Kmobucha but I didn't buy any distilled water. I'll have to go to the store today because I can't let it sit too much longer or it will get more sour than I would like. I try to always use distilled water for the initial tea brewing so that I don't have to worry about chlorine or anything else in the water affecting the SCOBY.

I have really liked the rooibos Kmobucha. The only downside to the rooibos is no caffeine!!! So I'll probably do what I did last brewing cycle, one rooibos and one pu erh. Or, thinking about it now, maybe I'll do a mix of half rooibos and half pu erh. I bet that would be good! That's what I'll do.

I would like to brew the tea this morning because it takes so long for it to cool down to room temperature and my fridge is too crowded to fit large containers of hot tea inside--besides, that would probably kick the fridge into hyperdrive and I'm not sure the old gal could handle the extra load.

There are a couple of reasons I call it Kmobucha. One, well, it's kind of cute, don't you think? Kombucha/Kmobucha, the play on my name and all. But, more practically, I simply type it that way automatically because whenever my fingers need to type the letters K, M, and O they just automatically type in that order. Again, it's that whole name thingy.

Breakfast!

2009-10-27T10:12:00.001-07:00

Today Stephy brought a couple of nice eggs and some cheese, broccoli, and chicken diced up for a nice scramble. I had some corn tortillas so I thought I'd make the kids some small breakfast burritos--they usually like to eat those on their own.

So what's the first thing Julian does when Steph walks out the door? He, of course, reaches up to the counter and grabs the cooler bag with the eggs and stuff in it and proceeds to drop the eggs on the floor. And, of course, they both broke.

Fortunately, I just bought some eggs and was still able to make them their special breakfast--which they ate half-heartedly. But at least they ate some of it, even if I had to clap for them every time they took a bite. I also had to wash Layla's little fork several times because she kept throwing it on the floor.

I often wonder how these kids keep growing bigger and stronger when they seemingly exist on about ten calories a day. They must be getting more calories from the dirt and other things they put in their mouths they're not supposed to eat.

No, seriously. I want to win a cargo bike.

2009-09-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

Click This Link!!!! Please!!!

2009-09-02T16:09:00.001-07:00

Life At 30,000 Feet

2009-08-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

I wrote this on the plane home today on the Traverse City to Minneapolis-St. Paul. It's probably more draft than anything at the moment.

Life At 30,000 Feet

This vision of America
Geometric and crisscrossed
Broken by mountains
Rivers
Vast empty stretches
Not so empty when we look
Closer

Not from 30,000 feet

Up here we are stilled by sameness
Colors muted by high pressure
Sealed Plexiglas windows
Metal tubes of bunched
And crowded seats.

This is life at 30,000 feet.

Farmers' fields both square
and Round--
Roads parallel, straight, diagonal
A child's primer of shape
and design.

As distant from the ground
The seat beside us
What lives lived below
Unknown
As the lives
Lived
By those around us

We are all strangers
In the air, on the ground
Every moment lived
In the Hurried Rush

We hurtle through the world
Every life lived alone
Every life lived
At 30,000 feet.

Chris Kmotorka
8/15/2009
Traverse City to Minneapolis-St. Paul

Universal Health Care?

2009-06-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

Everyone deserves access to affordable health care. I'm good with that. And that means that some people will get that health care for free. I'm down with that, too. Yes, I know that means the rest of us will have to pay for that. Yep. That will mean higher taxes. Yep. I'd rather pay taxes for the health care of everyone than taxes for nonsensical wars of choice. I'm willing to go a step further. I would say that in addition to higher taxes we can compromise on that tax rate and lower it by making people pay for health care when they can afford it. I propose we have one standard health care plan, not different tiers for people who can afford "real" health care and minimal coverage for those who can't. No. I propose there is one single level of health care--you get the care that you need, no matter what that care entails, no matter who you are. If you have cancer, you get chemo. If you have a congenital heart defect, you get a transplant. So on and so forth. For that we pay higher taxes and some of us pay a flat rate for health care based on our income. There, I said it. The rich will pay more for health care just as they should pay higher taxes. And, yes, doctors will no longer be able to turn themselves into millionaires by charging unfair rates. And drug companies will be held to realistic profits. So on and so forth and anyone who disagrees can go to hell. In exchange, I propose there also be huge tuition benefits for people who enter the medical profession and perform up to certain standards (right up to free education for those who meet certain criteria of performance). No one should ever have to die or suffer because they can't afford medical treatment.

Someone Asked Me About Cap and Trade...

2009-06-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess the short answer is yes. But it depends on how it is done. I think cap and trade is good as long as the cap is real and firm and not a "floating" cap that allows certain companies to basically opt out of it. That does no one any good. Cap and trade has been proven already in the limits placed on sulfur dioxides (the main culprit behind acid rain). We still have acid rain but nowhere near the levels we had before. The reason that system worked is because they finally realized the way to do it is to leave it up to the companies to figure out how they do it. Rather than saying, OK, you all have to install this specific scrubber system, etc., etc., they said, here's the deal, your levels have to be below X. How you do it is your problem. It caused a lot of innovation and 3rd party development, research, etc. And in the end the cost was much, much lower than ever anticipated. They need to do the same sort of thing with carbon.

Saying that reducing carbon emissions will accomplish nil is silly and can only come from sources directly related to the fossil fuel industries. First, let's say that it's too late. It is. The cycle is in place and climate change (global warming is an unfortunate moniker and should never have been used, but what are you going to do?) is inevitable and already occurring. But that doesn't mean you don't try and make the effects less devastating. A substantial reduction in carbon won't prevent most of the outcomes that are predicted, but it can put them off for a time. That's worth something. The challenges include the inability to definitively predict what those outcomes are and what degree they will manifest themselves. Current predictions are not pretty. And many of these things will occur in our lifetime and will certainly change our children's future dramatically. The world of our own childhood is already gone. Our kids live in a very different world, even if we think it's subtle, it really isn't.

A huge obstacle is the "why should I if they don't?" syndrome. The U.S. has been adamant about not following worldwide greenhouse gas emissions limits because they don't want to limit themselves if other countries (who are trying to play "catch up" in an industrial sense) aren't required to make the same limitations--even though at their most consumptive levels they use a mere fraction of energy per person that we do. Somewhere along the line (our generation, basically) the U.S. decided to stop being a leader and to be a spoiled brat instead. Look where it has gotten us. "We shouldn't have to make economical cars! Whaaa! We shouldn't have to make quality vehicles! We should impose import tariffs on foreign cars instead!" That has been our mindset. We have known for some 50 years that petroleum was reaching its peak and would become less abundant and more expensive. But we don't think we should have to do anything about it because that would be like sacrificing something and we deserve anything and everything we can have no matter what the rest of the world is like. Thirty plus years ago the warnings about climate change and greenhouse gas emissions were being sounded. Scientists have gone before Congress many times over that period and always we refuse to do anything substantive about it because we are entitled.

Even under this administration, which many of us had hopes for but see them diminishing daily, any legislation will get watered down to cater to the fossil fuel lobbies until they do very little good. They'll continue to cave in to the pressures of the coal lobby (there are no redeaming values to coal usage other than the fact that it is relatively abundant and--thanks to HUGE government subsidies--cheap, cheap, cheap. Take away the billions upon billions of dollars in subsidies to fossil fuel companies and direct even a fraction of that money to alternative sources and it would take no time at all for those alternatives to be more than competitive costwise.

And don't get me started on Big Agriculture and corn subsidies and the way Monsanto is striving to destroy our entire food chain. Biodiesel and ethanol are fine and dandy, but not if they are produced with an utterly inefficient crop like corn. It takes as much energy to make it as you get out of it--and that's with the subsidies! There are far better sources for that which won't require turning our entire nation into a toxic waste corn and soybean field.

Water. Where do we even begin with water?

No nation on earth wastes water like we do. We take it for granted on a scale otherwise unimagineable. Something like 2% of the world's population has running water. Seems crazy, right?

In the future, our wars will only be tangentally based on religion (er, I mean, politics, yeah, politics, that's it). As climate change continues the most sought after commodity on the world market will be clean, fresh drinking water. A large majority of the world already has to struggle to obtain it. What happens when ocean levels rise, millions and millions of people are displaced from now-coastal regions into already impoverished inland regions (already experiencing unprecidented desertification)? No food. No water. A shitload of anger--a lot of which will be directed at those who use these resources frivolously and consider it their devine right to be able to waste, waste, waste.

In the not-too-distant future, it is estimated that the Colorado River (and, coincidentally, Lake Michigan) will see an approximate 30% decrease in water levels. As damaging as dams are (no matter how much care is put into their design and construction there are always negative environmental impacts), there will be no choice but to build more dams in order to create more resevoirs in order to supply water to areas that simply don't have any. We are seeing this in Arizona, Nevada, California, etc., right now. There are too many people living here and we all expect to have all the water we want whenever we want it. And, by god, we want a big lush lawn while we're at it! And fountains! Big fountains. I just saw a satellite image presentation looking at Las Vegas--it showed images over the space of 25 years and clearly showed an amazing growth in land usage and an equally amazing decrease in available water sources. If it wasn't for water from the Colorado River and the Central Arizona Project canals, Phoenix and Tucson would not be able to exist as they currently do. [Yes, I am fully away that I am very much a part of all of these problems.]

I hadn't heard about the farmers in California, but it would not surprise me if water rationing from the Colorado River will become a huge point of contention in the future. Before the Hoover Dam was built (well, and at times after) there were big battles over who gets the water. There was actually an "almost" war between Arizona and Nevada once upon a time. The Hoover Dam was built to control flooding and subsequent water distribution to farmers, not to generate power.

In the end, everything will cost money. No way around it. But we have to get our heads around the fact that what we spend now--if we spend it wisely and actually do something substantive--will be far less than what the cost will be if we wait and don't do anything at all. Most of our economic problems, if you ask me, can be directly attributed to the viewpoint that profit now is what matters, the future consequences be damned. We are not a farsighted nation. Maybe it's because we are a very young nation, who knows. But we have a nasty habit of putting our immediate gains ahead of our future well-being. We need to get over that and we need to get over it soon. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's happening.

Happy Anniversary!

2009-06-24T10:31:00.001-07:00

Today is our 26th Wedding Anniversary! It all goes by so fast. Here we are married more than half our lives and grandparents at the ripe young age of forty-six--it's amazing.

I love you, Joan!

I hope I'm around for another twenty-six. I'd say forty-four (we'll be 100!), but I don't want to push it.

Cranberry Pinenut Hummus

2009-06-23T20:08:00.001-07:00

I experimented today and made some excellent hummus:

Cranberry Pinenut Hummus

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained (Reserve some liquid in case you need it.)
3/8 (+-) Fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 Cup (+-) Tahini
5 or 6 cloves of garlic (preferably roasted, but whatever)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbls sesame oil
1 Tbls coconut oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup dried cranberriers (Craisens? I used cherry flavored.)

Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. If you need to add liquid to achieve the correct consistency, use some of the liquid saved from the cans of garbanzo beans.

Cover and put in the fridge to let the flavors blend a bit.

This was delicious!

National Sushi Day

2009-06-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm told it's National Sushi Day. I admit I love sushi. But sushi is one of those issues where it's hard to know what's good to eat. And I don't mean flavor--I pretty much love it all. And I don't mean food safety--though that's an issue, I suppose. No, I mean issues of sustainability and eco-friendliness. It's a tough issue for me because I like weird things and it's usually the weird things that are the least sustainable.

There's an amazing sushi place in town called Sushi-matsu (the back room of Yoshi-matsu). When I go there I am quite happy to order the vegetarian sushi lunch special. They make incredible sushi and, surprisingly enough, you don't miss the raw fish or other sea critters. It's just delicious.

If I go today it probably won't be to Sushi-matsu because it's on the other side of town. I'm more likely to end up at Kyo Sushi or possibly Sushi Garden at the mall. Kyo is a nice little place with really good food.

There's a really good site for information on sustainable sushi. This site has a lot of information regarding sustainable practices, which fish you shouldn't eat, all of that. One fish that should be avoided is bluefin tuna. The bluefin (known in sushi restaurants under the following names: Kuromaguro, Horse Mackerel, Atun de aleta azul, Hon Maguro, Toro) is highly endangered and is a slow growing fish (the same reason you should never order sea bass). Another fish that is becoming endangered, unfortunately, happens to be one of my favorites--unagi (freshwater eel).

The Monterey Bay Aquarium also hosts Seafood Watch which publishes A Consumer's Guide to Sustainable Sushi. This list breaks down sushi fishes into the categories of "best choice/alternative/avoid."

We can all enjoy sushi, we just have to make good choices and avoid the bad.

Here's another good link: How To Order Safe Sustainable Sushi.

Twitter

2009-06-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

This ain't Twitter, but I can see sometimes a short blog post is all I need...

Bike Lanes, Cross Walks, Courtesy

2009-06-16T10:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was running some errands by bicycle and stuck with the local bike path for most of the trip. While I was out I decided to go pick up a geocache that was recently added in the neighborhood and had to cross Tangerine, a four to six lane road by the house. I entered the roadway to cross north and then got back on the bike path. I signed off on the cache and then headed back on the path. Since I had to go to the post office, I decided to stay with the path and cross at the crosswalk where I would then have a very short ride to the post office via the sidewalk. Just before the light changed a large pickup came into the turn lane and fully blocked the crosswalk. I know I've been guilty of that myself, but I was clearly visible at the corner waiting to cross in that crosswalk.

I didn't rant and rave or anything, but as I crossed (having to veer out of the crosswalk into the intersection to clear the truck) I used my arm to indicate the path of the crosswalk and then made a "What's up?" kind of gesture. As I went by I heard someone yell something--it involved the word sorry, but I couldn't make out anything else. I didn't acknowledge the call out, just went on my way.

In this town it wouldn't surprise me if the person yelled something about being sorry they entered the crosswalk before I was in the way! People in this town, for all of its "bike friendly" status, are often rude and resentful of cyclists, even those of us who try to follow the rules of the road pretty consistently (it actually ticks me off to see cyclists blatantly breaking the law and or doing things that give the rest of us a bad reputation--motorists make most of their judgements regarding cyclists based on the bad examples they see).

As I finished up in the post office I passed a woman and she said to me, "I'm sorry about blocking that bike path."

I looked up and kind of smiled and said, "Oh, was that you?"

As I was packing up my stuff and putting away my lock and whatnot, I thought about how surprising that was--she actually seemed to mean it and went out of her way to make sure to let me know it. She could have just as easily not said a thing, hoping I would recognize her. What a strange change of pace that is for a cyclist on the road these days! I kind of puttered and took my time in hopes of her quick exit from the post office. She came out soon after and so I said, "You know, most people would have actually yelled at me for wanting to use the crosswalk rather than apologize. Thank you very much for that."

She expressed again that she was sorry about it, saying it was "an accident." After all that, I was really glad I hadn't turned my head back while I was crossing that intersection to yell some nasty bit of driving advice. I'm going to try and make sure I take the high road when it comes to these encounters in the future. I know there's going to be some arse who will make me break that promise, but I hope to take more care in my own reactions and try to remember that sometimes when I'm in the car I find myself creeping a bit too far into the crosswalk when I want to turn or any number of things that would annoy a cyclist in my path. But let me be clear: I try very hard to be aware of cyclists on the road and take extra precautions not to interfere with them with my own bad driving habits. I wish all drivers would do that but unfortunately, most don't.

Either way, I think we all should shut our mouths and just take a second before we fly off the handle when a stranger does something to annoy us, even if they are in the wrong. And we should all try just a bit harder not to do those same annoying things to others! Consideration for others outside of our own "sphere of existence" is a trait we could all benefit from developing. I'm going to try it.

Public Option for Health Care Reform

2009-06-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

I fully support a public option for health care reform. I would wholly endorse a single-payer system if it came to a public vote. We need to insure all Americans at a fair cost. This morning I stumbled across a medical group (of anesthesiologists) that was encouraging its members to write their Senators to oppose the public option (it might hurt their wallets, patients' needs and care be damned). They even provided a nifty little tool to send their Senators a form letter. Well, I used their nifty little tool but replaced their text with my own! Here's what I sent:

I am writing to express my grave concerns that you will oppose a public option in health care reform. Such an option is necessary to provide insurance for the millions of people who cannot afford health insurance.

With Congress moving forward with comprehensive health system reform, I would like to provide my perspective as your constituent. An overhaul of the health care system involves tremendous opportunities to better serve America’s patients. It is essential that reform options be created to ensure that all Americans are insured.

Contrary to what many "health care providers" are trying to imply, a public option would actually create the kind of competition that is needed to drive costs down and to provide better services at reasonable cost--if private companies want to compete, they'll actually have to serve their customers rather than their own pockets (and the pockets of Government Representatives!).

Please don't let your special interest ties and campaign contributions from the insurance lobbies color your responsibility to your constituents and Americans in general. Please support America and ensure the inclusion of a public option in any health care reform legislation.

White House Defends DOMA

2009-06-15T09:18:00.001-07:00

The White House recently upheld its support of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) using, of all things, the economy(!) to do so. They said they wouldn't consider forcing same sex marriages to be recognized in states that don't support same sex marriage because it would then have to extend federal benefits to same sex marriages (instead of only state benefits being awarded in those states that have gay marriage). They can't strike against bigotry and discrimination and uphold equal rights for all people because they want to save money/!?!?! Is Bush still in the Whitehouse?

Al I have to say is I'm a straight, white, middle-aged, middle-class American male and I completely recognize the unfairness and discriminatory nature of not only DOMA but any barrier to same sex "gay" marriage (shouldn't all marriages be "gay"?). This sentiment extends to "don't ask don't tell" as well. It is unfortunate that the hope we all had for this administration is being whittled away piece by piece by the discriminatory practices of the past.

Disney Pixar Cars

2009-06-10T10:51:00.001-07:00

Joan and I drove up to Vegas with our friends Ken and Marie (they actually drove) and we stopped in Kingman, Arizona, there and back. On the way back we went to the Route 66 Historical Museum in Kingman. It's a nice little museum. I was able to watch part of the film they show and they feature Seligman, AZ, as pretty much the source of Arizona's decision to list Route 66 in Arizona as a historical route. So I was just surfing around the net for info because I've never been to Seligman (that I know of). Turns out that, according to one site, Disney Pixar's movie Cars was inspired by Seligman's struggles and gives credit to the town in the closing credits.

I have a long history of not being a Disney fan (even though I grew up on a steady diet of Disney movies and have taken my kids to Disney World). I think Disney is the Devil. So imagine how conflicted I am now that I think I will have to find Cars and watch it. Well, the grandkids should like it, right?

Let 'em hang! Hang 'em high! Hang 'em Out to Dry!

2009-06-09T17:25:00.001-07:00

You get the idea. Hopefully you get the point. Hanging your clothes on a line (or other drying device, like a rack or even a shower rod) saves money, energy, resources, and, even better, your clothes.

I live in a "neighborhood" in Tucson, Arizona. The neighborhood has a Home Owners' Association (HOA), which I signed onto when we built the house (yes, I know, but that's another issue altogether). One of the edicts of the HOA is the banning of clotheslines.

There are lots of "reasons" for banning clotheslines, though none of them are really based on anything resembling reason. Clotheslines began to go out of vogue with the urban growth of the post-war years when appliances became a status symbol. If you could afford a washer and dryer, why would you hang your clothes outside? You're obviously poor and dragging down our neighborhood and our property values! So there's now a social stigma attached to the clothesline along with a very real belief by a good number of people that a clothesline reduces property values.

See an excellent Doonesbury cartoon series here! As a kid growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, my mother always hung our clothes. We had a dryer (at least at some points--I do remember a wringer dryer when I was really young), but most things were on the line, even in winter. Plenty of action figures used the clothesline as a zip line, too. Hanging clothes and rushing out to bring the laundry in before the rain hits seemed perfectly normal.

So here I am living in Tucson and I'm trying to be a good little greenie and I figure one of the easiest things to do is hang my clothes to dry. Joan thinks I'm going to get busted by the HOA, but hey, if I get busted I guess it'll be time to attend those HOA meetings.

I don't think it'll happen, though. I'm pretty discreet about it, I think. I have mounted some hooks under the patio and hang some dowels from them when it is time to dry my clothes. I don't have big poles with crossbars and three or four cables running the length of my yard or anything like that. But I sometimes, with my three four foot dowels, have barely enough room to hang my laundry. I might have to add another one to the line up (pun intended).

Here in Tucson it is often hot enough, dry enough, and just breezy enough for my laundry to dry very, very quickly. There are times when it clearly dries faster than it would in the dryer and it comes in the house every bit as warm as the clothes from the dryer. I encourage you to figure out your own system and try to dry at least some of your clothing outside. I admittedly don't dry all of mine. For one, Joan doesn't dry her clothes outside, citing allergens and dust. She won't allow me to dry the towels or the sheets, either. But that's fine. Almost all of my own clothing, however, dries on the line and I like it just fine. I haven't noticed any issues with allergens, either. Maybe it's just luck. Who knows? Either way, I say dry away, dry away, dry away.

Vegas Trip, Day 01

2009-06-08T18:09:00.001-07:00

Thursday, June 4, 2009

What a seemingly productive day; perhaps not in an industrious way, but we certainly got a lot done, it seems. Joan was up at her usual "before God wakes" time, and I crawled out of bed at the early hour of six a.m. I went about the usual tasks of watering the garden and filling the bird feeder and that sort of thing. I made a smoothie and then an omelet with tomato and spinach and a heavy dose of cheese. Then I set about filling the cooler with beer for when we arrived in our room at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. Of course, being me, I managed to knock a beer from the fridge to the floor and it shattered and spilled all over the kitchen. Out with the mop!

Showered and dressed, we finished the dishes and last minute prep and were mostly ready when Ken and Marie arrived. We loaded up the Expedition and hit the road for our trip to Vegas. The trip was uneventful and seemed to go by quickly between conversations and reading and route discussions. Our first stop was in Kingman, Arizona, where he had lunch at DJz--a Route 66 diner that sits across from the Route 66 Museum, which, unfortunately, we didn't have time to explore because we wanted to get to the Hoover Dam for a dam tour, dammit. We passed a few gas stations looking for cheap gas, picked the Flying J, and got back on the road just in time to pass several stations selling gas for at least a whopping $.04 cheaper! If it had been a dime less Ken would have been thrown in a funk, but four cents he could handle.

Coming up on the Boulder Dam, you can't help but be impressed. It's massive and the traffic is heavy. We planned on doing the Dam tour (and you can bet that the Hoover Dam staff makes full use of the double entendre) so we opted for crossing the dam to the Nevada side where a large parking structure was built along with the gift shop, cafe, etc. It's quite a facility.

One of the first things I noticed is the water level in the river. It's at a sixty-three year low and there is a wide band of whitened rock that makes the high water level mark obvious. There's a lot of water not flowing in the Colorado these days. Given current climate change indicators, this will only worsen. A long time "dam hater," I must try to accept that if current populations supplied water by the Colorado are to be maintained, there are likely to be more dams in the future. It's estimated that the flow of the Colorado could be diminished by up to thirty percent in the not-too-distant future and dams and reservoirs will likely be the solution.

I found it interesting that the Hoover Dam was not intended to supply power. That was more of an afterthought. The original intent was merely flood control and harnessing the Colorado and to provide drinking water and irrigation to the affected states. California came up with the idea of the generators and worked up some kind of deal (the details of which you'll have to look up--I can't recall them accurately at the moment). There are now seventeen generators producing energy that is sold as cost--as a federal facility they can't sell at a profit. Most of the electricity finds its way to California, Arizona, and a bit to Nevada. Supposedly zero percent of the electricity is used to operate casinos--it's part of the regulation, apparently.

It's a good tour. I recommend it if you're out that way. There's a whole lot of glossy public relations going on while you're there. You will hear absolutely nothing about any of the negative aspects of the dam, only the good. And it's touted as being "environmentally conscious" and whatnot. There's a lot of foolishness behind that claim, but what are you going to do? I can't say I was surprised that there was absolutely no mention of the unintentional environmental fallout generated by the building of the dam.

One interesting note: The dam is entirely self-funded and powered. In addition to the seventeen power generators there are two small generators (one on each side) that were part of the original design that are used to supply one hundred percent of the power used by the dam and it's associated facilities.

From the dam it is a fairly short drive into Vegas. We stayed at the Golden Nugget on Fremont Street, downtown, old town, whatever you want to call it--not The Strip. We were there because my friend Ken was participating in a bowling tournament at the Cashman Center. We got a smoking deal on rooms because of it--$39 the first night, $59 for the following two. Considering the price of the rooms, I was very impressed. The room was spacious, clean, and set up nicely. My one complaint was our ninth floor shower--not much pressure, a faulty shower head, and a slow draining tub. If not for that, I would have been ecstatic over the quality/value ratio.

Checking in was a hoot. There was a back-up of cars trying to check in to the hotel. We unloaded all of our bags to a bell cart and got a claim ticket and headed for the front desk while Marie self-parked the car. Joan and I got checked in and headed to our room--good thing because almost as soon as we closed the door the bellman was there with the bags. The only problem was all the bags were on the cart and our rooms were on different floors (we were on nine, Ken and Marie on four). We offloaded ours while trying to connect with Ken--his cell phone kept cutting out, probably because he was in the parking garage. I tried to tell him to head down to his room to meet the bellman, but they showed up at ours a moment later. Fortunately we had detained the bellman (who was friendly, funny, and accomodating). We ended up taking Ken and Marie's coolers from the cart and stashing them in our room and sent the ballman on his way--Ken and Marie stayed with us so we could get started on our "cocktails."

We wanted to save some money and the easiest way to do that is on alcohol. We brought some vodka, soda, beer, fruity beer, etc., and, of course, our giant plastic tumblers. The tumblers were a hit. We filled them with drinks and then wandered around, making occasional forays up to the room for refills. It worked out pretty well. There was a lot of foolishness involved and I'm not sure Ken was quite up to it that first night.

After we were well on our way, we decided we should eat dinner. Turns out it was almost eleven p.m. when we hit on that insight. We ate at The Grotto, an Italian restaurant that's in the Golden Nugget. It was excellent--and not just because we were a few drinks past our prime. The food and service were top notch and, if I remember correctly, not too outrageously priced.
After dinner we checked out the pool area (where we had actually spent a little time in our earlier forays). It's a nice pool with a huge aquarium at its center housing sharks and fish such as jacks, grouper, red fish, etc. Right through the middle of the aquarium runs a water slide. I can tell you from a later experience that you simply can't see a thing when you're going through that slide. It's yellow, yellow, blue, yel--sploosh.

The actual pool closes at some ridiculous hour like eight o'clock. You can still be in there and use the hot tub and drink and play blackjack, you just can't go in the pool. Above the aquarium there are two levels of cabanas--those close when the pool closes. We wanted to check them out and so we sucked up to a security guard and he told us we could go take a look. They're nice--flat screen t.v., comfy furniture, the whole nine yards--for $175 a day. Yes. That's right. For $175 a day you can use a cabana from ten in the morning until eight at night. What is that? $17.50 an hour? For that it should come with free food and drinks! That's more than our entire stay cost!

The weather in Vegas was weird. It was cool. We expected blistering temps but it was windy and often a little on the cloudy side. In other words, it got a bit chilly at night and that was the case that first evening. As such, we didn't stay at the pool long and called it a night. It was a good first day. The drive was uneventful, seemed to pass quickly, and we all had a good time. And not a dime was spent gambling!

Thoughts on Grilled Cheese

2009-06-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

Thoughts On Grilled Cheese

What makes a good grilled cheese? Not even a great grilled cheese, just a good grilled cheese. One thing I can say for certain is that it would involve real cheese and not Kraft American Singles or some similar "cheese food product." I've had my share of such sandwiches growing up. My parents had one of two cheese varieties in the house on a regular basis: American cheese food slices, of whatever brand or variety, and Government nondescript yellow cheese. I admit the government cheese didn't make a bad grilled cheese. It may not have been a great grilled cheese, but it was passable. The cheese slices? Not so much.

Over the years I developed some personal preferences when it comes to a grilled cheese sandwich. I like mine with either sharp cheddar or a good swiss--maybe even both. Now, Velveeta and your "cheese food" slices might melt in an exceptional manner; that's what they are made to do. But they don't taste good (though Velveeta makes a good cheese dip when melted with your favorite salsa). I like real bread, real cheese, a slice or two of tomato, and an even heat source. I usually bake mine in the oven on a stone if I have the time. Beyond that you're getting into experimental territory.

On our way to Las Vegas we stopped in Kingman, Arizona. We had lunch at a Route 66 Diner called Mr. D'z. All in all, it was a good diner. The fries weren't too flaccid, the onion rings tasted beer battered, so on and so forth. There wasn't much on the menu in the way of vegetarian options so I opted for a grilled cheese. I asked for tomato on it and it sounded like that would be no big deal. And it wasn't. Not really.

The sandwich was made with generic "American" cheese food product slices and standard bread. There were tomato slices on the sandwich and it had been toasted to some degree. But the cheese wasn't really melted and the tomato was still cold. But what are you going to do? Of course I ate it and I didn't say anything about it. I will go on record now, however, with the determination that this was a crappy sandwich. Here's what I think an ideal restaurant grilled cheese sandwich would be like: Artisan bread, not too crusty but one with substance. Real cheese of your choice (provolone, cheddar, jack, swiss, you know, actual cheese varieties). Meaty tomato slices and maybe some spinach leaves. I like baking a sandwich, as I said, but if it's done on a grill, that's fine too--either way, the cheese has to be thoroughly melted, the tomato warmed through, and the bread toasted brown but not burned. It's not rocket science. It's an American classic and one of those basic things you learn to make as a child. It simply amazes me when a restaurant bothers to put it on the menu but can't actually make one, especially a "classic" diner.

Holy Bird Watching, Batman! It's a Robin!

2009-04-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

John Burroughs (April 3, 1837-March 29, 1921) once said, "Where the robin is at home, there at home am I." I saw that quote while reading The Bill McKibben Reader and immediately knew what he had meant.

I grew up in Michigan where the robin (Turdus migratorius) holds the honor of State Bird. Pretty lofty for thrush, albeit a large thrush. The robin has always been the emblem of spring for me. I knew that once the robins showed up, spring was here and those long winters didn't have a chance of lasting. When I was little I loved watching robins in the front yard during a light rain or after a heavier shower tugging worms up out of the ground. I would sit at the front window or sometimes under the cover of the front porch and watch them as long as they stayed. The robin is a handsome and robust bird and a wonder to watch.

The American robin is a very common bird, especially in Michigan and places like it. I lived in Michigan for thirty years and couldn't begin to tell you how many robins I have seen there (though I am sure someone could figure something like that out somehow). Yet I always noted one when I saw it, never overlooking it as one does sparrows.

I now live in Tucson, Arizona, and my robins are fewer and farther between. Sometimes I will see one in the northern parts of the state or at higher elevations "down here," but I certainly don't see them often and, since they are a seasonal visitor here in the winter months, they aren't a harbinger of spring here. But I still love robins. I don't know why, I just do. I loved the Burroughs' quote for no other reason than that and thought I would share it with whoever happens to stumble across this post.

Caffeine and No Sleep

2009-03-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

Joan went on vacation with her mom today. I was up later than usual last night, having drunk copious amounts of iced tea, and was up at 4:00 a.m. to take her to the airport. After leaving the airport with her unfinished coffee and not enough goodbye time, I had that jittery, fragile feeling I used to get when I did acid. Er, I mean, like I hear some people experience when they do certain drugs. This is what came out. I thought it was the beginning of a poem but the more I look at it the more I think it is complete.

Caffeine and No Sleep

Caffeine and no sleep,
That mescaline-like fragility,
The erotic sense of blood flow,
And a heart that never fails;
Ceaseless and ready,
I could love you forever--
If only you were here.

Chris Kmotorka, 28 Mar. 2009

Restoration

2009-03-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

First, no, this is not "autobiographical." It came from a moment of wondering what a full recovery really means--often it is based solely on the physical and not necessarily on the emotional. Who knows how these thoughts flesh themselves out. I don't.

Restoration

I had the love knocked out of me.

A flash of light and ringing ears,

And memories drained and flushed

As though they never were.

This accident has left me hollow,

Drained, it seems, not filled

By the inability to love.

My limbs, though whole, they seem encased

In braces of indifference.

I touch without feeling.

I see without emotion.

And nothingness is all that touches me.

Your fingertips caress my cheek.

Your lips press lightly into mine.

But my heart no longer tumbles,

If once it ever did.

Like phantom limbs that never were,

Gone numb,

I feel I must be missing

What surely once was there. But

A full recovery, they say these words,

And so it seems that it must be,

I have always been this way.

Chris Kmotorka, 23 Mar. 2009

Bedouin

2009-03-28T10:18:00.001-07:00

Bedouin

Bedouin, like shadow, drift
On sands shifting, timeless
Scimitars of existence,
History a crescent, curvilinear
Turns back upon itself
Nomads passing in and out
Of time itself.
Trader, merchant, herder,
Recognizing no border beyond
The soul of a man who
Lives without, but thrives.

The World shifts its axis
Around an island of sand.
Crisscrossing deserts
By way of oases
That mark the travels
Of generations, of species,
Of the origins of life.
This is the source of survival:
Welcome the stranger as brother--
One day you will travel,
And the need will be yours.

Chris Kmotorka, 28 Mar. 2009

The Future

2009-03-22T16:42:00.000-07:00

There's no reason to believe my grandchildren won't see the end of this century. And if I and science hold out, I just might see the middle of it. I think of the changes I have seen and the social changes that happened around me, whether I was all that aware of them at the time or not. For instance, I was a young kid in Detroit during the days of the equal rights movement and I have vague memories of the race riots happening only a few miles from my home. I remember the National Guard driving down my street, though I had no idea why--I just thought it was cool that "the army guys" were driving in front of my house. I didn't know why my mom wouldn't let us out on the street to watch, though.

In 1973, the year we moved from Detroit to Traverse City, the American Indian Movement was under siege at Wounded Knee. I was ten years old and had absolutely no concept of what was going on. I thought it was cowboys and Indians. I suppose it was that same old story, but back then I was ignorant enough not to realize whose side I should have been on.

In April of 1970, just a few days past my seventh birthday, we celebrated the very first Earth Day. It was an age of environmental awareness and, despite all of the bad things that would follow Richard Milhous Nixon to his grave, despite that he really was, in some ways, a crook, he was also a pretty damned good environmental President. A lot of our clean air and water can be directly attributed to the acts of Dick Nixon.

And it's the environment that spurred this post. I started it on my other blog and somehow it got off on television and playing outside and all of that, but the original intent was to ruminate a bit on the future of the world from an environmental position. You see, science clearly tells us that fifty years from now we will be living in a world very much different than the one we occupy today. Oh, sure, it will be the same size and shape, as long as a huge meteor doesn't strike us somewhere along the way. The continents will generally be where they are now, though they will be just a bit smaller as sea levels rise and much of our current coastline sinks below the waves. Global climate change is occurring and there's little hope of stopping it, or abating it in any significant way.

And that's what worries me. What will the world be like for my grandchildren? Millions of people will be displaced around the globe, mostly in regions that are already stricken by poverty and a lack of food. Fresh water will be a concern not just in those places, but right here as well. Many people--people we should be listening to, by the way--tell us that fifty years from now our concerns will not be for petroleum, they will be for clean, fresh drinking water. You can, however inconvenient it may seem, live just fine without petroleum. Try living without fresh water. It doesn't work. Water will be the most valuable commodity, followed closely by food. It is for these two things that the wars of the future will be fought.

We live in a world of nearly 6.8 billion people. The United States has a mere 300 million of those people and we use 25% of the world's resources. By 2050--a year I could conceivably see as a babbling, senile, all but useless 87 year old man--the world population is expected to be over 9 billion people. Some say as high as 10 billion. We are already living, well, most of the world beyond our borders, anyway, in a world where resources are stretched thinly and are nearing the breaking point. If you start eliminating coastal regions due to flooding and storm damage brought about by climate change, you're looking at a lot of hungry, thirsty, displaced people who are going to be looking for better digs. We is the better digs, folks.

Scientists have been telling us these things for several decades now--it's not just some crazy idea that Al Gore thought up. Al Gore just happens to be one of those rare people who was in a position to get accurate, factual information about what's coming down the pike and he got scared enough to use his influence to try and do something about it. But a lot of people who like their current lifestyle and don't feel like changing anything so some kids in the future can maybe be happy once in a while have done everything in their power to vilify him and try to make the rest of us think he is nuts and all the global warming science is a myth. Well, it's not.

We are in the midst of the next great extinction. We have been for at least a century. They come around every couple hundred million years or so. Anywhere from 75%-90% of species generally die off during these events. That's what happened to the dinosaurs. There are estimates that as many as three species go extinct every hour. Every. hour. Plants, animals, etc. It's an estimate, yes. And probably not easily confirmed since a lot of the species are rainforest species that might not have even been cataloged yet! There were over a thousand species of mammal on the IUCN Redlist in 2008. Their report "has confirmed an extinction crisis, with almost one in four [mammals] at risk of disappearing forever." It is much more than likely that I have seen animals that my grandchildren will never see. By 2050 we'll be living in a much different world; even if we change every single bad habit we have as a species, some of these events are already in place and inevitable. It's quite possible that American wildlife will be little more than white-tailed deer, coyotes, possums, rats, sparrows and black birds, vermin, and not a whole lot more. Diversity is dwindling and not just in the suburbs.

Somewhere in the middle of this I have to have hope. I have to hope that something will happen and we'll get ourselves on track before it's too late and maybe, just maybe, we'll preserve some semblance of a decent world to live in. I want happiness for my grandkids. I want them to be able to go out for a hike and see animals. Different animals. And not just in zoos. I want them to be able to see more plants and insects than they can readily identify. I want there to be some mystery to their world. Something exotic in a pleasing way. I want them to live a life where they can have a varied and healthful diet and clean water to drink and I want them to be able to have these things not at the expense of people around the world. There's a way for all of us to live sustainably. We just need to find it. To, first, look for it and strive for it. The future is now, as they say, and it's high time we all start looking for ways to break out of our paradigm and start shifting things around because our sense of importance is completely upside down.

Square Foot Gardening

2009-03-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

Last year I built a small (4' x 4') Square Foot Garden. It worked well, with the exception of being trashed a number of times by one of my dogs who has an uncontrollable addiction to chasing lizards. Unfortunately, the lizards like going in and behind the garden and so Pepper went crazy and chased them into and around the garden, destroying a lot of plants in the process. My beans never made it. I replanted tomatoes three times. Several chiles didn't survive.

By mid-summer I had a mish-mash fence and cover system that finally managed to keep Pepper out of the garden. Unfortunately, it was also really ugly. It was more eyesore than garden. So this year I decided to build a much nicer fence system around the garden.

The new enclosure is three feet tall, framed from 2' x 2's, and sheathed in kennel fencing. I have screwed the three surrounding "walls" to the garden frame so it should be fairly sturdy once I have attached the front gate, which will be hinged and have a latch on one side. Unfortunately, as I was putting it all together tonight--in the dark while wearing a headlamp with weak batteries--I learned something about hinges: Apparently, all packages of small hinges come in packs of two with the exception of the size I happened to buy. Sigh. I had a smaller size in my hand when I second-guessed and grabbed the next size larger. Looks like that's the size where they start packaging them as singles. Now I have to run back to ACE or Home Depot to get a second hinge before I can finish the garden enclosure.

I will post a photo when it's done.

The Utility of a Bicycle

2009-03-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

I love riding bicycles. While never a fast cyclist (racing was never, ever an option), I enjoy the sport of it, the idea that it could make me very fit if I had any discipline. But I also love the utility of the bicycle. The fact that you can hop on a bike fitted with a few bags and go camping, or shopping, run errands, any number of things, appeals to me greatly.

I very much want to go on multi-day tours. So far I've been a bit foiled on that field. I've done some over-nighters, bike camping, but the one chance I had at a multi-day was a bit of a disaster--the first day was extremely windy and I had a mechanical problem that meant I did almost sixty miles with a closed brake against the wind and uphill the whole way. Sounds like a story you'd tell your kids: When I was a kid we had to ride our bikes with the brakes on against the wind and uphill the whole way!

Today I rode my bike to go grocery shopping, which is not an unusual occurance, but I don't do the majority of my grocery shopping by bicycle. I took a quieter, lower-trafficked route than the straight shot direct route down Tangerine. It almost doubled the length of the trip, but it was worth it. It was a beautiful day. There was a breeze, but just enough to know it's there, not enough to have an effect on your riding one way or the other. It was sunny. It wasn't hot, nor was it cold. It was just an excellent day to be out.

There's something about riding down a back road (even if it is only one road away from one of the busiest streets in the area). To be rolling free down a quiet road on a beautiful day with no traffic is a rare treat. Riding home with nothing in front of me but the mountains at the end of the road, it was easy to imagine just riding on for a few more hours, today's schedule be damned. Going to the grocery store put me about twenty-percent of the way toward a good day's worth of touring distance and days like this are ideal for touring.

One thing is for sure, though. While panniers may be great for camping and touring, they aren't so great for grocery shopping. I had two fairly full bags of groceries loaded on either side of the bike. The load wasn't bad, just the act of loading. Panniers are more or less designed for the storage and removal of single items--a tent, a sleeping bag, food, clothing, whatever. Loading them in this matter is no big deal. However, take all of the stuff you want in the pannier and try to stuff it in as one big loose and lumpy bundle and it's no longer so easy. A trailer would be ideal, however.

I've wanted a utility trailer for some time. It would really open up a new level of opportunity for "errand by bicycle" travel. Almost any utility trailer you see for bicycles is designed to carry up to 100 pounds and to track easily behind the bicycle. I have one picked out. It's the Burley Nomad. I picked it for a variety of reasons. I could use it for touring or for errands with equal facility. Mainly, I picked it because Burley is a good and trusted name with a reputation for making quality "lifetime" products. They make highly recommended bicycle trailers for children, too. After a lifetime of purchasing low-end gear because that's what I could afford (only to have it work poorly and disintegrate from use), I just want a good piece of equipment I can count on. I have that in my bicycle, I'd like to have it in my trailer, too.

Now, who wants to plan a bike tour?

Tucson Festival of Books

2009-03-15T01:30:00.001-07:00

We had a good time today at the Tucson Festival of Books. Julian had an interesting, if not exactly fun, time meeting several characters from children's books. On hand were two of the Berenstain Bears, Pat the Bunny, Maisy, Skippyjon Jones, and another couple of unknowns.

We also sat in on a Q&A session with Elmore Leonard. It was interesting. He is a very entertaining guy. But he's 83 years old and he's obviously aging--he had to have several questions repeated for him and he had a few moments of forgetfulness. Admittedly, when you've written as much as he has for as long, well, keeping all the stories and titles straight is bound to be a difficult task.

He pulled no punches when it came to the movies made from his films. He had praise for Paul Newman in Hombre and Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown--his take on Leonard's Rum Punch. He said that Tarantino's film was the most true to the novel of any film treatment of his books. He actually likened several films made of his books as the worst movies ever, including both versions of The Big Bounce (with the edge going to the remake).

Another event that has been going on for the past month is the creation of a mandala sand painting created by a Tibetan monk named Losang Samten. It's a beautiful thing. He completed it yesterday after a month of working on it for as much as nine or more hours a day. When you look at it you can't even imagine how much work it must take, how much patience and concentration. The amazing thing is that tomorrow it will all be wiped away.

The dissolution ceremony is difficult for our Western minds to comprehend. It is a foreign concept to us--to put that much effort into creating something so beautiful only to destroy it seems insane. But that, I suppose, is part of the ritual--learning to let go of physical things and to recognize how temporary such things are. To accept that the value is in the work and the creativity, in the act of creation rather than the object created. It's a difficult thing to grasp. You can read more about the monk and the event here: Ritual Sand Painting.

Music, Taste, And How It All Works

2009-03-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

I don't know. Don't have a clue. All I know is that I was recently blown away by a Canadian musician named Serena Ryder. Her song "A Little Bit of Red" first caught my ear and then I checked out the whole CD. I think it's wonderful. It's folky, it's raw, and it's lyrically fantastic. The hooks are solid, the arrangements varied enough to avoid that monotony you sometimes get with this type of artist. There's a lot of fine musicianship, to boot. I have been recommending it to everyone.

Today I slipped a copy to my daughter and her reaction was one of...well, she was thoroughly unimpressed. As she put it, it's nothing she hasn't heard before. She said she couldn't listen to the song I had been impressed by. She did note the occasional resemblance to Melissa Etheridge but claimed those moments too few and far between. Of course, I'd say if I wanted to listen to Melissa Etheridge I'd listen to Melissa Etheridge, but whatever.

I don't know what makes two people react differently to things. I don't know why I might like some music so much and someone else so close to me not really like it at all. I know that there are times when I listen to a piece of music and it just doesn't do anything for me. It might later, though. It all depends on where your head is at. Of course, who knows if you'll give something you didn't care for a chance when that time comes around. I don't know. I suspect if my daughter were to give the CD a few listens it would start to grow on her. Who knows?

I say, if you haven't heard Serena Ryder, give her a listen. You can stream several tunes at her MySpace page. I think you'll like her.

http://www.myspace.com/serenaryder