Monday, February 21, 2011

Cold frames on a cold day

I'm so anxious to get back outside and do some work around the domestead. There are still about 1500 bags to fill with earth to finish off the new home. Rocket stoves to build, wiring and plumbing to do all will take a considerable amount of time too. But right now it's still too bloody cold out. We have a long weekend and it's still -30 outside. It's not like we don't go outside at all in this kind of weather, but you can only do so much. We did go out for a couple hours to plan some landscaping, measuring out where trees and bushes will be planted. Also have to take the humanure out to the compost bins every couple days no matter what. So for indoor work this weekend I made a couple cold frames for starting seeds and some 'scabs' for the dome windows. All the materials I used were either scraps from previous projects or things I have scavenged and saved from the landfill.

The scabs are embedded in the walls between layers of earthbags. The purpose of them is to place a chunk of wood in the wall so you can screw or nail something to it after the wall is complete. The ones I made this weekend will give me a place to affix the header boards for the windows. The 2x4's are cut-offs from a previous project. The slats are cut from pallets that were headed to the dump. I beveled the 2x4's with a good whack on a chisel. This allows the bags to lay nicer on the wood, without leaving a gap or the sharp edges of the wood puncturing the bag. At first I was thinking of doing this bevel with my ancient table saw but then a little voice said "Fuck that, you don't want to spend the rest of the day at the hospital".


Having kept my fingers from the previous project I got started on the cold frames. Again, the wood was scraps from previous projects. Even the screws had a previous life holding together the temporary frames for the arches in the earthbag walls. For the first one, the glass and frame was from a picture that a friend had displayed at a trade show. It would have ended up in the dumpster after the show. The glass for the second one (no pictures, not complete yet) was found under the stairs in the farm house we bought a few years ago.



The rest of the weekend has been spent polishing my trophy wife.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Cherry scented decline

So this morning the wife says something like "Happy-Bullshit-Spend-Some-Money-On-Hallmark-Day". God, I love that woman. We're the same when it comes to Christmas. If we want something or want to get each other something we can do just that on any ol' day. We love each other the whole year round, and don't feel the need to prove it on days that the corporations have specified.

This weekend I needed to pick up some windshield wiper fluid. I just could not believe my eyes. They actually had 'Cherry Scented'. WTF? Next thing you know, you'll be able to buy cinnamon flavoured tires for the car. I swear, the people running the corporations must have achieved so much success already that they just spend most of their days getting drunk and smoking crack. Or maybe they have so much money that they've decided to try a little experiment called 'what would happen if we just let retards run things?'

There is no doubt in my mind that we are already in decline. As our governments go broke, they restrict our freedoms. As corporations, structured around ever increasing profits don't get them, they become even more clever and agressive with the trickery and pressure tactics. And bankers, well these assholes can pretty much get away with murder because so few people are willing to understand how they even operate.

Anyway, enough of reading my blather. If you have someone in your life you love, you'd better get out there and spend a good size sum on proving it. There's only a few hours left.