Compost

A few weeks ago I built a compost bin with 2 bins. I made it out of some old wooden pallets, some chicken wire like substance and an old screen door. I put a bunch of stuff in it. Anything I could find that was biomass and not flesh.

I've become slightly obsessed with it. I go to Starbucks and check for used coffee grounds (high in nitrogen!) and I cut up cardboard and paperbags (carbon!) and I beg for fresh grass trimmings from my friends and relatives. I snuck into the neighbors yard (they have moved out and the place is sort of vacant) and raked up a bunch of leaves laying in the yard over there. I have trimmed every shrub and tree in our meager yard. Our grass lawn is slightly larger than a post card so there isn't much grass available from that (and my mower doesn't have a bag attachment) but I raked it the last time I mowed and got a little grass for my lovely compost pile.

The oddest part, the part that has turned everyone against me, is I save my urine and pour it on top of the pile. It's got great nitrogen and lots of little organisms that help break down the rest of the stuff. I've got a big Gatorade bottle I use. Doro is afraid somebody will visit and see this jug half full of urine and think we are freaks. I say fuckem. My compost needs urine and if they can't understand that then they aren' the kind of people I want in my house, know what I mean? At least I don't ask for other people's urine. That would probably be a bit overboard.

Anyway, my pile is pretty big now. I turn it over every few days and I fluff it up pretty much everday so it gets some O2, which is very important. Today I moved the pile from one bin to the other and the dirt at the bottom of the bin was just full of Black Soldier Fly larva (maggots to you), I mean full of them. The earth moved. I raked my pitchfork across the dirt and it was solid maggots. I am happy.

I bought a compost thermometer off of Amazon (I tried to buy one locally but nobody here sells em) and I check the temp everyday. In the middle of the pile it hovers around 140 to 150 degrees. Oh yah. My urine is well spent.

I'm thinking of hitting up the place that cuts my hair to see if they can hook me up with a big bag of hair clippings. Good nitrogen there. I've tried to convince Doro that the cat would be more comfortable if we shaved her (and put her hair in the compst, of course) but she's having none of that. Drat.

I need to go to Starbucks more often. Those coffee grounds rock and my maggots love it. And if they are happy, then I am happy. I think I will cancel our satellite dish and internet connection and we can just go out and watch the maggots cavort for our entertainment. That's probably what our ancestors did before they had that stuff. When they weren't having sex that is.

Oh yah, and we have nearly a case of Fat Tire Ale left over from Doro's birthday bash a few months ago and I have decided that I must cut back on this overstock so I've been drinking a bit tonight. Look for more posts from me later this evening.


I love you guys! Almost as much as I love my maggots.

Compost

A few weeks ago I built a compost bin with 2 bins. I made it out of some old wooden pallets, some chicken wire like substance and an old screen door. I put a bunch of stuff in it. Anything I could find that was biomass and not flesh.

I've become slightly obsessed with it. I go to Starbucks and check for used coffee grounds (high in nitrogen!) and I cut up cardboard and paperbags (carbon!) and I beg for fresh grass trimmings from my friends and relatives. I snuck into the neighbors yard (they have moved out and the place is sort of vacant) and raked up a bunch of leaves laying in the yard over there. I have trimmed every shrub and tree in our meager yard. Our grass lawn is slightly larger than a post card so there isn't much grass available from that (and my mower doesn't have a bag attachment) but I raked it the last time I mowed and got a little grass for my lovely compost pile.

The oddest part, the part that has turned everyone against me, is I save my urine and pour it on top of the pile. It's got great nitrogen and lots of little organisms that help break down the rest of the stuff. I've got a big Gatorade bottle I use. Doro is afraid somebody will visit and see this jug half full of urine and think we are freaks. I say fuckem. My compost needs urine and if they can't understand that then they aren' the kind of people I want in my house, know what I mean? At least I don't ask for other people's urine. That would probably be a bit overboard.

Anyway, my pile is pretty big now. I turn it over every few days and I fluff it up pretty much everday so it gets some O2, which is very important. Today I moved the pile from one bin to the other and the dirt at the bottom of the bin was just full of Black Soldier Fly larva (maggots to you), I mean full of them. The earth moved. I raked my pitchfork across the dirt and it was solid maggots. I am happy.

I bought a compost thermometer off of Amazon (I tried to buy one locally but nobody here sells em) and I check the temp everyday. In the middle of the pile it hovers around 140 to 150 degrees. Oh yah. My urine is well spent.

I'm thinking of hitting up the place that cuts my hair to see if they can hook me up with a big bag of hair clippings. Good nitrogen there. I've tried to convince Doro that the cat would be more comfortable if we shaved her (and put her hair in the compst, of course) but she's having none of that. Drat.

I need to go to Starbucks more often. Those coffee grounds rock and my maggots love it. And if they are happy, then I am happy. I think I will cancel our satellite dish and internet connection and we can just go out and watch the maggots cavort for our entertainment. That's probably what our ancestors did before they had that stuff. When they weren't having sex that is.

Oh yah, and we have nearly a case of Fat Tire Ale left over from Doro's birthday bash a few months ago and I have decided that I must cut back on this overstock so I've been drinking a bit tonight. Look for more posts from me later this evening.


I love you guys! Almost as much as I love my maggots.

Music

Some stuff I've been listening to lately:

Olds 97's: Doro asked me to get some of these guys and I did but she hasn't really listened to them. I have. I like them. Country rock stuff. Sometimes more country, sometimes more rock. I like the song El Paso and Jagged (which cover both sides pretty well, I think) The song Lonely Holiday is pretty poppy too. Because bands like this never show up on the radio is one of the reasons why I'm down on popular music.

Tiger Bear Wolf: I don't know how to classify these dudes. I had to listen to them several times before their sound etched new grooves into my brain. The production values are pretty low and the dude who sings is pretty raw (they remind me a bit of the Murder City Devils sometimes) but they got some guitars that kick in at times that really rock my brain. I like em and I listen to them at work to keep me awake and working but I know they won't be very big with the general populace. You can listen to a few of their songs at their website.

Drive By Truckers: Let There Be Rock. I love this fucking song. I got a live version I picked up someplace that I really, really dig. A live version of the song on Google Video. The live version I have is nearly 10 minutes long and beats that one to a pulp but, there ya go. Better than nothing. Here ya go, the version I'm talking about is here, it's pretty much the last song. There are a crap load of DBT concerts at archive.org. Score for us.

Matisyahu: Youth - His new cd. I don't like all of it, but I like parts of it. Mainly the first 7-9 songs or so. Again, I didn't get into them right away (I was used to this awesome concert and this cd is a bit different) but it grew on me.

Danielson: Ships - some sort of odd cult band that has an association with Sufjan Stevens. There newest cd is supposedly their most accessible and I dig it. About half of it again. I think my favorite at the moment is Did I Step On Your Trumpet which you can listen to here. I like this cd when they rock/shout it out but when it gets kinda quite it loses me.

Lordi: Blood Red Sandman video. How can you not like this? Mix Kiss with the Evil Dead movie and a bunch of fucked up Finns and you get this video. I dig it.

Music

Some stuff I've been listening to lately:

Olds 97's: Doro asked me to get some of these guys and I did but she hasn't really listened to them. I have. I like them. Country rock stuff. Sometimes more country, sometimes more rock. I like the song El Paso and Jagged (which cover both sides pretty well, I think) The song Lonely Holiday is pretty poppy too. Because bands like this never show up on the radio is one of the reasons why I'm down on popular music.

Tiger Bear Wolf: I don't know how to classify these dudes. I had to listen to them several times before their sound etched new grooves into my brain. The production values are pretty low and the dude who sings is pretty raw (they remind me a bit of the Murder City Devils sometimes) but they got some guitars that kick in at times that really rock my brain. I like em and I listen to them at work to keep me awake and working but I know they won't be very big with the general populace. You can listen to a few of their songs at their website.

Drive By Truckers: Let There Be Rock. I love this fucking song. I got a live version I picked up someplace that I really, really dig. A live version of the song on Google Video. The live version I have is nearly 10 minutes long and beats that one to a pulp but, there ya go. Better than nothing. Here ya go, the version I'm talking about is here, it's pretty much the last song. There are a crap load of DBT concerts at archive.org. Score for us.

Matisyahu: Youth - His new cd. I don't like all of it, but I like parts of it. Mainly the first 7-9 songs or so. Again, I didn't get into them right away (I was used to this awesome concert and this cd is a bit different) but it grew on me.

Danielson: Ships - some sort of odd cult band that has an association with Sufjan Stevens. There newest cd is supposedly their most accessible and I dig it. About half of it again. I think my favorite at the moment is Did I Step On Your Trumpet which you can listen to here. I like this cd when they rock/shout it out but when it gets kinda quite it loses me.

Lordi: Blood Red Sandman video. How can you not like this? Mix Kiss with the Evil Dead movie and a bunch of fucked up Finns and you get this video. I dig it.

something more serious

whosplittheatom made a comment on a recent post of his how sensitive young children are to the subtleties of parental issues, long before they themselves have an adult comprehension of situations that got me athinking.

I remember when I was a kid, my parent's would occasionally go out drinking (not all that often, they weren't hardcore partiers or anything) and I remember when they would come back and they were tipsy/drunk and I was kinda freaked out. Their behaviour was different enough that I noticed and I didn't like it. Those were not my parents. It was like somebody else had taken over their bodies. Maybe I was overly sensitive, I dunno.

I think once you have kids, your party days are pretty much over. Kids don't understand that stuff. They just see that their parents are all fucked up and acting strange and I really don't think it's good for them. They need a stabilized environment. That means not moving all the damn time and not getting all wasted. I was an army brat, the longest I ever lived in one place, until I was 13 or so, was about 2 years, and I think it had a negative effect upon me. I don't blame anybody for it, my dad was in the army and that's the way it goes, but I think a kid shoud have a chance to get some roots down. A solid base is needed for a house, if ya know what I mean.

My dad used to chew gum when he had been drinking (not that that was all that often, I don't want to give the impression he was a drunk or anything) and to this day if I see him chewing gum (he chewed it to cover up the booze on his breath, I realize now) it kinda freaks me out.

Was I overly sensitive to my parent's rare inebriation? It's quite possible that I was. I know other people grow up with parents that are alcoholics and I don't want to give the impression that I'm doing a woe is me bit here but it's one of those things that I remember from my kidhood that I recall sometimes.

something more serious

whosplittheatom made a comment on a recent post of his how sensitive young children are to the subtleties of parental issues, long before they themselves have an adult comprehension of situations that got me athinking.

I remember when I was a kid, my parent's would occasionally go out drinking (not all that often, they weren't hardcore partiers or anything) and I remember when they would come back and they were tipsy/drunk and I was kinda freaked out. Their behaviour was different enough that I noticed and I didn't like it. Those were not my parents. It was like somebody else had taken over their bodies. Maybe I was overly sensitive, I dunno.

I think once you have kids, your party days are pretty much over. Kids don't understand that stuff. They just see that their parents are all fucked up and acting strange and I really don't think it's good for them. They need a stabilized environment. That means not moving all the damn time and not getting all wasted. I was an army brat, the longest I ever lived in one place, until I was 13 or so, was about 2 years, and I think it had a negative effect upon me. I don't blame anybody for it, my dad was in the army and that's the way it goes, but I think a kid shoud have a chance to get some roots down. A solid base is needed for a house, if ya know what I mean.

My dad used to chew gum when he had been drinking (not that that was all that often, I don't want to give the impression he was a drunk or anything) and to this day if I see him chewing gum (he chewed it to cover up the booze on his breath, I realize now) it kinda freaks me out.

Was I overly sensitive to my parent's rare inebriation? It's quite possible that I was. I know other people grow up with parents that are alcoholics and I don't want to give the impression that I'm doing a woe is me bit here but it's one of those things that I remember from my kidhood that I recall sometimes.

Pink Floyd

I remember riding the bus to school back in Indiana (I didn't get my driver's license till I was out of school) and this other kid had a boom box on the bus and he played Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall and I thought it was the best damn thing I had ever heard.

Syd Barrett died recently. I think The Wall was after his time, but that was my intro to Pink Floyd. Other Floyd memories: Back when I drank a lot and took any drug put in front of me I remember being in a room with a stereo playing The Wall and there was an equalizer hooked up to it that had one of those graphic thingies that bopped to the music and there was a bunch of us in the room, stoned out of our minds, watching those little lights going up and down.

Showing up for a Sunday morning roleplaying session after a very screwed up Saturday night and having one of the regulars ask me how I was feeling and I said "My head feels like a Pink Floyd song". And it did. All stretchy like taffy.

Waking up on a couch in the front lawn of my buddie's apartment, the stereo speakers out on the porch, blaring The Wall. I was woken by the paper delivery guy who seemed to be kind of freaked out.

Back then I could get totally wasted and wake up at dawn and be clear headed. I wonder why you eventually lose that ability. Do toxins build up in your brain? I'll be paying for tonight's drinking for the rest of the weekend.

Pink Floyd

I remember riding the bus to school back in Indiana (I didn't get my driver's license till I was out of school) and this other kid had a boom box on the bus and he played Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall and I thought it was the best damn thing I had ever heard.

Syd Barrett died recently. I think The Wall was after his time, but that was my intro to Pink Floyd. Other Floyd memories: Back when I drank a lot and took any drug put in front of me I remember being in a room with a stereo playing The Wall and there was an equalizer hooked up to it that had one of those graphic thingies that bopped to the music and there was a bunch of us in the room, stoned out of our minds, watching those little lights going up and down.

Showing up for a Sunday morning roleplaying session after a very screwed up Saturday night and having one of the regulars ask me how I was feeling and I said "My head feels like a Pink Floyd song". And it did. All stretchy like taffy.

Waking up on a couch in the front lawn of my buddie's apartment, the stereo speakers out on the porch, blaring The Wall. I was woken by the paper delivery guy who seemed to be kind of freaked out.

Back then I could get totally wasted and wake up at dawn and be clear headed. I wonder why you eventually lose that ability. Do toxins build up in your brain? I'll be paying for tonight's drinking for the rest of the weekend.

Ben Folds

I love Ben Folds. I am infatuated by his cover version of ...Dr. Dre's Bitches Ain't Shit which you can listen to here.

I dunno why I it amuses me so much. I blame society and booze. Fuck you if you don't like it. Here's a quarter, go buy a sense of humor.

Ben Folds

I love Ben Folds. I am infatuated by his cover version of ...Dr. Dre's Bitches Ain't Shit which you can listen to here.

I dunno why I it amuses me so much. I blame society and booze. Fuck you if you don't like it. Here's a quarter, go buy a sense of humor.

Built To Spill

BtS is one of those indie bands that just doesn't get anywhere.

They put out a new album and I really dig the first song, Going Against Your Mind, which is kinda long but you can listen to it here.

What should I do when my girlfriend/fiance refuses to fetch me a beer when I tell her to? I think I will write my Dear Abby and ask her to guide me.

Until then, I'll just have to get my own. Luckily my chair has wheels. Booya.

Built To Spill

BtS is one of those indie bands that just doesn't get anywhere.

They put out a new album and I really dig the first song, Going Against Your Mind, which is kinda long but you can listen to it here.

What should I do when my girlfriend/fiance refuses to fetch me a beer when I tell her to? I think I will write my Dear Abby and ask her to guide me.

Until then, I'll just have to get my own. Luckily my chair has wheels. Booya.

Land Stewardship

On the Myspace site I linked to for Built To Spill in the previous post there is a video you can watch, and I just did. It has messed with my beer pickled mind.

I want to quit my job now. I'm so fucking bored with it. I make decent money (for this area) and I have good medical insurance (not suprising considering who I work for) but it seems like such a waste of my life.

My recent infatuation with composting (and gardening stuff in general) has got me thinking about going back to Chico State to get a degree in Land Stewardship from CSU Chico.

Is 40 years old too old to go back to college? Should I just accept my fate as a insurance claim adjustor and make the best of it I can?

Land Stewardship

On the Myspace site I linked to for Built To Spill in the previous post there is a video you can watch, and I just did. It has messed with my beer pickled mind.

I want to quit my job now. I'm so fucking bored with it. I make decent money (for this area) and I have good medical insurance (not suprising considering who I work for) but it seems like such a waste of my life.

My recent infatuation with composting (and gardening stuff in general) has got me thinking about going back to Chico State to get a degree in Land Stewardship from CSU Chico.

Is 40 years old too old to go back to college? Should I just accept my fate as a insurance claim adjustor and make the best of it I can?

The Great Pop Music Experiment

A while ago thedeepgreensea wrote a post in which he extolled the virtues of Pop Music (I didn't understand what exactly constituted Pop Music but his explanation was enlightening. It's basically music that is mostly created by a producer as opposed to the musician, who really only provides a few raw materials). Inspired by his soliloquy, I 'acquired' a file that encompassed the Hot 100 as determined by Billboard (magazine?).

I burned this onto a disk and subjected myself to it at work over the course of a week.

I admit, I am weak. I could not listen to the entire length of each song. Most songs. I did like Gold Digger by Kanye West. I was funny and had a good beat and the kids could dance to it, but pretty much the rest of it....bilge water.

I had hopes for #7, a Green Day song, but even that slid off my musical palate like a 3 day old White Castle burger.

After listening to this I have to assume that the majority of music purchased in America is purchases by 14 year old girls.

The Great Pop Music Experiment

A while ago thedeepgreensea wrote a post in which he extolled the virtues of Pop Music (I didn't understand what exactly constituted Pop Music but his explanation was enlightening. It's basically music that is mostly created by a producer as opposed to the musician, who really only provides a few raw materials). Inspired by his soliloquy, I 'acquired' a file that encompassed the Hot 100 as determined by Billboard (magazine?).

I burned this onto a disk and subjected myself to it at work over the course of a week.

I admit, I am weak. I could not listen to the entire length of each song. Most songs. I did like Gold Digger by Kanye West. I was funny and had a good beat and the kids could dance to it, but pretty much the rest of it....bilge water.

I had hopes for #7, a Green Day song, but even that slid off my musical palate like a 3 day old White Castle burger.

After listening to this I have to assume that the majority of music purchased in America is purchases by 14 year old girls.

Night Night!

I have been informed (in no uncertain terms) that it is Night Night time for me, so I must bid you all adieu. I hope we can do this again sometime.

Night Night!

I have been informed (in no uncertain terms) that it is Night Night time for me, so I must bid you all adieu. I hope we can do this again sometime.