Monday, October 31, 2011

Ready to Move

As the end of the year quickly approaches I am growing in anticipation of moving to Virginia. Now part of the excitement comes from being done with school, having a real job and all of that. However I am probably most excited about having a garden that is much easier to manage.

I think that our garden has done so poorly because the weather has just been too hot. Now that it is cooling off, some of the plants that I was about ready to rip out of the ground are starting to come back to life. We have also planted a few more things and are excited to see what takes.

This summer out garden was so nice. We could hardly keep up with how much the garden was producing. I absolutely cannot wait to finally have a place of my own and plant a large garden that as long as there are not freak snow storms will do great.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Cheaper Living in a Hole

In response to my Hobbit Hole post Ruth brought up the fact that building underground can be more expensive than building above ground. While this is true for the upfront costs I would like to show why it makes sense in the long run. First why is it expensive to build underground? In order to have a basement (or anything underground) you must first dig a hole. Then you have to make sure that it is moisture proof. All of this costs more than just building on top of the ground. Checking around a couple of places online most people said that it cost them about $10,000 to build their basements. For this argument lets say that since the entire house is going to cost $20,000 or even $30,000 more than a typical house.

Now lets look at why you want to spend that much more initially. First it would eliminate your heating and cooling bills. According to the Energy Star website that is about $1,000 dollars a year. So over the period of 20-30 years the house has already made back every penny to originally spent. And that is assuming that you live in an average place. In places where summers are really hot (Arizona) or the winters are really cold (Michigan) the energy bills could be even higher which means the house would pay for itself even faster.

Second if we were to build below ground then we could be building on smaller lots with the same size of house. Now land prices vary greatly by location so this is a variable that may or may not save a lot of money. Looking at a few places here in my area I found that even on the cheap end a lot of land is about $50,000. Now when we are building underground en masse we could easily build two houses on a quarter of an acre or even a eight of an acre. So now the cost of land has dropped in half. That savings alone basically covers the cost of building underground.

Third is the fact that if this was done en masse it would be easy to reduce the cost of building. For example if a builder decided to build his new subdivision all underground he could easily excavate the entire area, build the houses knowing that they would be buried (which would definitely take a different set of construction techniques). Then as the houses were finished each one could be covered back over with soil and the project would be done. I do not know how much this could save but it should definitely reduce the costs.

Those I guess are just a couple more thoughts about why we should be building underground. I am sure that my argument is not perfect or the numbers completely accurate. That was not the point of this post. The point was to just look a little past the initial costs so that we all can realize how worth it some of these initial investments can be.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Yurts!

This is something that I just ran across today. Modern day yurts are build in the design of yurts from Mongolia and Turkey. It is basically a round house with a peaked roof. The walls are a wooden lattice, the roof is support by wooden beams. The walls are now often a high quality plastic. They are simple and easy to construct, even the larger yurts can be put up in a weekend if there are a few helping hands working together.

One can be used as a starter home. As a family grows it is simple to add another yurt next to the original and basically double the living space. Or if you do not need to double the space you can get a smaller yurt for an addition. Yurts can be used as a guest house, a room for a hot tub, a office, or even a rather epic tree house.

I guess there are a few things that have me interested in yurts. The first is that they are simple. It is something that I could do for myself (with help of course). It would not have to be built by someone else. I could intimately know and understand every last detail. That way when something goes wrong, A) I am more aware of what needs to be done to fix it, and B) I can only curse myself. Second it is a unique and simple building that could easily go onto any empty plot of land without too much fuss.

The only thing that I think would take some time would be building the interior walls, kitchen and bathroom. However the Yurt could go up in a couple of days and then slowly build up the rest as I go. I am pretty sure that it would take a lot of thinking outside the box to make it work but that definitely sounds like an adventure.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Hobbit Holes

Why is it that hobbits are so much smarter than we are when it comes to building homes? They are the one race that has figured out that it is so much more efficient to build underground. Between the insulation that comes from having tons of earth all around you and actually having the ground keep your house at the same temperature as itself it just makes so much more sense to build underground.

Most places have a ground temperature somewhere between 50-80 degrees Fahrenheit. This is so much better than the air temperature range of 0-120 that we have. For the most part we could almost completely get rid of all our energy costs related to heating and cooling.

With the proper use of skylights and solar wells the houses could still receive as much light as we currently do with windows. Then when you left your house you would not see row after row of housing but instead it would be like walking into a park. You would still have roads and cars scattered about but in between would be trees and grass.

It would also be a lot easier to fully utilize your lot. Even a 50 x 50 foot lot would give huge houses and then you could have the entire surface to play games or grow flowers or gardens.

At least in my opinion it would turn subdivisions into gorgeous parks. It would turn cities into forests. It would bring us closer back to nature.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Learning Through Failure

As I have been working in the garden this fall I have really enjoyed it. However if you were to take a look at it right now you would think that I am an awful gardner. If it was being done for a grade I would deserve an F. Both the pumpkin and squash died and have been pulled out. The corn has never made it past being two feet tall. The serrano plant has at most two to three leaves on it at any one point in time. The tomatoes look like they are 90% dead. Only the green onions, basil and rosemary look decent.

Nonetheless I am learning like crazy. I have learned that the tomatoes probably got too much sun and burned. At first I thought I had drowned them with overwatering so I cut back to twice a week. I think that is what did in the squash and pumpkins. My garden needs a little more water than twice a week since it is elevated off the ground and drains out quickly. I am learning how delicate seedlings are since more than my fair share have died even before making it to be a full plant.

I would be wracked with stress if I was doing this poorly in school. Our schooling system is so unforgiving that kids can give themselves ulcers. The stress can be so much so often that students never learn to love learning. My garden is forgiving. When I make a mistake I get to learn from it and hopefully not repeat it. It does not go permanently on a record that I have killed probably half of the things that I have planted and that the other half is not really productive. What will be seen in a year or two is hopefully a garden where only a few plants have died and that most things are producing wonderful food.

Learning should be fun, not stressful. It should encourage you to learn more about a subject, not fear it to the point where in college we will never take a class about it in fear of not doing well. I hope that everyone who reads this can stop and think about learning and then try to learn something new about anything that suits you.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Common Sense Incarnate

The other day I saw an article in time about a book written by a sustainable farmer. That evening I found the first chapter available for download in iBooks. I started reading it and I cannot stop. The book is called Folks, This Ain't Normal. It is all about practices that have become common place that even 50 years ago would be considered completely absurd. From the way that we get food at the store to the way that we prepare food at home. From the way children are allowed to basically run free to the way that half the things that kids have done for hundreds of years are now considered unsafe.

He discusses many different topics but he does not just point fingers saying that everything is wrong. He also proposes solutions that could easily be adopted, that would also have a great impact. His overall goal is for people to adopt a more sustainable and responsible way of eating. Less corporate agriculture, more gardens at home. Less waste, more proper use of the waste that is unavoidable. The best thing that I think I like about his book is that his suggestions are not only for people that have a large amount of land that they can farm and raise their own livestock. He gives ideas for urbanites that are in a high rise. He gives ideas that could be applied in most families if we were willing to spend a little less time with the TV and a little more doing something more productive.

If you took the time to read all of this you have to check out the book. Go to http://www.amazon.com/Folks-This-Aint-Normal-Healthier/dp/0892968192 and read the first chapter that is posted for free. I am not even saying that you have to buy the book. You could pick it up at the library instead (which would also satisfy my need for people to relearn to love the library). Just check it out.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Top Bar Hive

As I continue to learn about beekeeping I am drawn to the Kenyan Top Bar Hive. It was designed as a cheap, simple and more natural alternative to the classic Langstroth Hive. Like most choices there are both pros and cons to each side. I see two main advantages to the TBH. The first is that they are really easy to construct and also cheap to make. The second advantage is that it allows the bees to draw out their own comb in the manner that bees prefer. The more natural method of comb creation allows for the bees to choose what size of comb they need.

However there are some disadvantages also to the TBH. The largest disadvantage is that in order to harvest the honey, you have to cut the comb off the top bars. This means that each time you harvest the honey the bees have to invest the energy to create new comb. So at the end of the year you end up with less honey, but you do get more wax. The second problem with TBH is that they are not as standardized as Langstroth Hives so it be more difficult to work with other beekeepers if you need to exchange equipment. However you either build all of your own hives or get all of your hives from the same source you will not have any problems within your own apiary.

It will be a while before I have to make a final decision (maybe). I will try talking Tami into letting me keep bees as soon as we get a house. I may even try sooner if I find someone who does not mind sharing a corner of their property.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Free Books!

When we were all kids one, of the coolest things was going to the library. But often at some undetermined age we forget how cool the library is to us. Think about it. It is a place that buys very expensive things and then lets you take them for a month free of charge (that is if we remember to bring it back on time).

If you have been around me in the past 2 months you have probably heard me say that I cannot wait to be done with school. I want to clarify that statement. I cannot wait to be done with people telling me what to learn. Most of the time it is irrelevant to me and my life. There are some classes that I have chosen to take where almost everything is important. There are classes that I have chosen where some of the material is important. Then there are the classes that we have to take that do not even come close to being relevant.

The library on the other hand lets you choose what you want to learn. I think that sometimes we forget that the internet has not yet gotten to the point of replacing libraries. Yes much of the same material can be found online, and for somethings that are really new or change frequently can only be found online. However much of human knowledge has been written down and organized neatly in our libraries. Yes the internet is more convenient but the library can be much more powerful. More can be learned from the correct book in a couple hours than a couple days of online searches.

Trust me go to the library and find something that you want to read and or learn about. It is so much fun and so much better than learning from school.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Learning to turn

Again I am learning something new and cool in my wood shop class. For my current project I needed a decorative handle for an ax. So I began to learn how to use a lathe.

Instead of spending a lot of time turning a piece of wood by hand and carving a little bit at a time you spin the wood at a very high speed and let the wood move into the tool to remove the wood. This is really nice because you are guaranteed to get perfectly round carvings on the piece of wood.

Unfortunately lathes are expensive. So unless you have a great need for turning lots of legs, or bowls it probably will not be worth it to buy a lathe. However if you know someone who has a lathe it can be a lot of fun to be able to turn something now and again.

The piece below is the handle of a battle ax that I am making for my joinery project in my wood shop class. You will be seeing more of this project as I continue to work on it throughout October.

Since starting this post in a couple days ago, I have bought a Shopsmith. It is an all in one workstation for the wood worker who is short on space (or also short on cash). I bought it used on craigslist for an amazingly low price considering all that is included. One of the things included is a lathe. So I will happily be able to continue learning to use a lathe after this semester ends. 

Tasty Yogurt

Last time I made cheese I just bought a quart of yogurt and used that to make the cheese. This time I decided to make yogurt so that I could further bring down the cost of making cheese. It is a rather simple process needing only some plain yogurt, and a gallon of milk.

Carefully heat the milk up to 90 degrees C. I used a double boiler, but you could use a thick bottomed pan or stir frequently to prevent you milk from burning. You then cool it down to just below 55 degrees C (the temperature that kills yogurt bacteria) by placing the pot in a large amount of cold water. Take a cup of the milk and thoroughly mix in a cup of yogurt. Pour this back into the large pot of milk and stir thoroughly again. Now take your gallon of yogurt activated milk and place it in sterilized containers. Place those into a cooler with 50 degree C water to keep it warm while the yogurt forms. After about 3-4 hours you should now have a gallon of yogurt at the cost of a gallon of milk (under $2 for me since milk was on sale). Make sure that you save a little yogurt to make more yogurt next time.

Now that you have more yogurt than you probably have ever had before you can either make some amazing simple cheese, or you could take some and mix in fresh fruit or berries to have some tasty flavored yogurt.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Adult Legos

Like many kids I grew up playing with Legos. Anyone who has ever played with Legos knows the feeling of being close to finishing this awesome project that you have spent hours on and then you realize that you are short that one piece. So its been years since I have seriously played with legos but now I have found something similar but also way cooler. It is called Hirst Arts. This guy sells Silicon molds that you pour plaster into to make your own pieces. So if you are short that one piece you just go make it.

This is what it looks like when you are casting. You have a small mold that creates somewhere between 10-20 unique pieces each time you cast it. After casting at least 10 times or so you can start building. I use this for making terrain for some games that I play. However it is also great for school projects. Almost everyone at one point or another has to make a diorama of a pyramid or a castle and this is such a cooler medium than sugar cubes or flimsy cardboard.

I must say that it is also great for any creative kid. I think it would be great for a kid to start of with Duplos when they are 2-3, graduate to legos around 4-5 and then around 8 or so be able to expand to something like this. The best part is that unlike legos, when you are done you and you like you creation you do not have to take it apart to build your next project. Instead you just spend more time making new blocks and then you are ready to build your next project.

Below are a couple projects that are in several different stages of completion that I have been working on. The first is the messy process of blocks being made.



If you are interested check out http://www.hirstarts.com/

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Just Grow Something

I love to garden. I am still learning, and trying to figure what works best, but it is something that I find fascinating. It used to be that everyone had a garden. It was just part of life. Now we are at a point where very few people have gardens. I want to change that. I do not expect everyone to convert half of the back yards into gardens. Even if your garden is a single pot with your favorite herb I would be content.

To make this possible I am going to suggest a simple plan to get you started. Next time you are out shopping near a Home Depot or Lowes buy a small cheap pot and a small bag of soil. Next decide on a plant that would work for you. For the purpose of this disscussion I am going to suggest green onions. Now I am not talking about starting from scratch. I am talking about you taking the green onions out of your vegetable drawer in your fridge cutting off the green part, leaving about 1-2 inches from the root and stick those in a pot with soil. Add water and you are done.

They are a rather forgiving plant and they will grow well enough that most people could completely stop buying green onion completely. Watering them is easy. Every 2-3 days add water when it is a little dry. They are pretty hard to overwater, and if they get a little dry they bounce back quickly.

If you are a little more adventurous go with a larger pot and add in a tomato plant, basil, or another favorite plant. Below is the small garden that we did over the summer. In a short two months it went from the small garden on top to the larger garden on bottom. It cost about $25 and we got more green onion and basil then we could use.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Water Water Everywhere

During a particularly nasty typhoon, on my mission, we lost power. Now that really is not all that big of a problem. We ate the food in the fridge (which we never kept all that much) and just had to suffer the humidity without the comfort of electric fans. However like most places in the world our water came from a water tower. No power = no water in the tower. Since the typhoon was so bad that it knocked out the power for a week we had the interesting experience of not having running water for 5 days. Fortunately we were able to buy 6 gallons before the shelves of the local store were cleared. We expected the water to be out for a day at most. So by day 3 our measly 1.5 gallons per person were running rather low. This made for some very thirsty and very dehydrated elders.

Now many of you may think that because we do not live in a developing country that we will not have problems like this. We feel safe here. However it would not take that much for us to loose access to water. An extended blackout like the NE faced a few years back could do it. A break in a water main locally could do it. An earthquake (which can happen anywhere) could take out power and water for a huge area for a couple of days or more. There are plenty of things that could happen that could impair your ability to have access to water.

The solution is simple. Store a supply of water. The goal should be 1 gallon per day per person for 2 weeks or 14 gallons per person. You can do that through getting several flats of water bottles and putting them under a bed. You could store water in clean soda bottles. You could buy the large 2.5 gallon disposable jugs that have the spouts. If you use a water crock, make sure you always have a few extra jugs filled at all times. Or if you have a large family and room in a garage or somewhere else you could buy a couple of 50 gallon barrels. Although it would probably be wise to have some of your water supply in a more portable format like flats of water bottles.

You do not have to do this all at once. Start with a simple goal of having 1 gallon per person stored and add an additional 1 gallon per person per week. In three months you will have a full supply and not have to suffer like I did when we ran out of water.