Category Archives: General

Jan 07 2 comments
General

Neglect

Happy New Year!

Once upon a time, this blog was a happening place. Then, like so many other things, the house renovation and the blog where put on hold. I could have continued blogging about other things, but made the decision to stay on topic and post nothing.

Situations have shifted, slightly, for the better.  We are back to doing some things here, although money is still tight.  I will therefore revive the blog, which is no small task. The software and database are woefully out of date.  The front page design, template and overall look leaves lots of room for improvement.  I also intend to go through past posts and make corrections or delete as appropriate.

The new, revised blog will be about home improvement.  I am going to do away with any tool recommendations, as they often become a place were anyone with a gripe will come and post about their issues with that particular tool.  When I read those comments, it often seems the tool owner is not following directions or is generally trying to do something the tool manufacture had not intended.

I look forward to inviting you all back in and posting about such things as our zero energy barn, construction of which is underway.  I will also post our plans for the final push to finish renovating this house, which includes such things as a building front porch, replacing siding, renovating the old bathroom, finishing the fireplace hearth, adding backup power generation, etc.

Thanks for reading.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Apr 06 5 comments
General, Real Estate

The town tax assessor came ’round the other day

I feel like I’ve been robbed.  You know how real estate prices have been dropping, the bubble has burst, etc.  Apparently the tax assessor missed that memo, our value went up by nearly $30K.    Frankly, I’d like to see the rational for it.

If it is the solar systems, then they are supposed to be tax exempt for ten years, according to this New York State real property law.  So, I suppose it is time to mosey on down to the town hall and see the tax assessor, find out were all that value has come from.  Honestly, the outside of our house looks the same way it has for the last 3 years.  I have done very little to make it look better or even good, for that matter.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Feb 10 2 comments
General

Pictures of snow…

Must resist temptation to publish pictures of snow… Must Resist Temptation to Publish Pictures of Snow…

Popularity: 1% [?]

Oct 29 3 comments
General

Things to ponder

I think Congressmen should wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers so we could identify their corporate sponsors.

Or have term limits.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Jun 13 4 comments
Environment, General

Degradable plastic bags

I was reading something this morning about how the City of Philadelphia is considering baning plastic bags completely. It seems that those thin plastic bags you get from the grocery store are public enemy number 1 when it comes to the battle over the protection of the environment. It is truly fascinating to see the things that people focus on, anybody up for re-arranging some deck chairs?

So why not, there is little else going on these days. I mentioned the above to my lovely and talented wife, who stated that she got a “degradable” plastic bag from the local organic grocery store. So I examined said bag and found the statement “This bag will degrade into many small pieces when exposed to sunlight.”

explaination on plastic bag about why this bag is "green"

explanation on plastic bag about why this bag is "green"

I don’t know if you can read that or not.

Many people might call these bags “biodegradable” which they are not. “Bio” would indicate that some living thing could act on the structure of the plastic, breaking apart into different compounds and base elements. I would call these bags oxi-degradable, which means that sunlight will oxidize the carbon chains into CO2 thus breaking apart the structure of the plastic. It also mean in an non-oxygen environment, such as being buried in a land fill, or under water somewhere, these bags will be every bit as resilient as their non-degradable counterparts.

The other question is time period. Anything will degrade over time, the question is how long? One day, one week, a year, a decade… To answer this question, I staked the degradable plastic bag out in full sun light.

degradeable plastic bag in full sunlight

degradable plastic bag in full sunlight

I’ll post a follow up when it dissolves into many small pieces.

Update: July 1, 2009.  No noticeable degradation.

Update 2: July 13, 2009. No noticeable degradation.

Update 3: July 31, 2009.  Bag is falling apart:

degradeable plactic back after 6 weeks in the sun

degradeable plactic back after 6 weeks in the sun

After 48 days, the bag is disintegrating rapidly.  I will also admit that we have had a wet rainy summer and the sunlight has not been as intense as it normally is.  That being said, I stand by my assertion that if these bags are buried in a land fill or in an anoxic environment, they will not degrade at all.

Still, it did do what the manufacture said it would, so I’d say they are an improvement in plastic bag technology.

Popularity: 1% [?]