Rain Barrel Project

All of us must do what we can to conserve resources and reduce our footprint on Earth. I made a small baby step in that direction yesterday by purchasing a rain barrel kit. More detailed instructions can be downloaded from the Cobb County, GA Water Department, which is the county where I live.

I was so excited that as soon as I got home I began work immediately. In following the instructions I wish to share two lessons learned:

• Make sure you get all the plastic shavings out from the drilling. Otherwise they may clog the faucet.
• When you put the screen mesh over the drain cover, make sure you leave plenty of extra overlap. Otherwise the screen will come out of the zip tie when you try to put the assembly in the hole.

Once installed in my backyard, I tested the rain barrel by spraying water on the roof. Viola! It worked. However, I quickly had a big surprise — as the rain barrel begin filling it started leaning forward and almost fell. I remedied the problem by adding another brick near the front.

The drain plug (the little black thing at the bottom) allows you to drain out all the gook at the bottom on occasion. This is stuff that settles below the faucet.

This is perfect for my garden, which is downhill from the rain barrel. All I need to do is hook up a hose and I can easily irrigate my vegetables.

Below are instructions:

Obtain the following materials:

• a sturdy barrel
• mesh screen
• plastic faucet
• steel washer
• o-ring
• long zip tie
• plastic elbow
• plastic drain cover
• down spout flex elbow
• #1 or #2 plug

Tools/Equipment needed:

• drill
• 7/8” paddle bit
• 5/8” paddle bit
• jig saw
• scissors
• channel lock

Step 1. Cut an opening in the top of the barrel the size of the drain cover.

Step 2. Cut a piece of mesh screen slightly larger than the drain cover. Secure the mesh screen
to the drain cover with the zip tie. Insert the drain cover into the opening on top of the
barrel.

Step 3. Drill one hole at the bottom to drain the barrel. Put the plug in the bottom hole.

Step 4. Drill a hole for the faucet, approximately 6 inches from the bottom.

Step 5. Placing a large steel washer over the faucet threads. Slide an o-ring over the faucet
threads. Place the faucet into the hole in the barrel and screw a plastic elbow onto the
assembly from the inside of the barrel.

Step 6. Cut the downspout to just above the rain barrel. Attach the downspout flex elbow to the downspout.

Step 7. Slide the rain barrel under the spout lining up the mesh screen opening with the spout. Spray water on the roof and check to make sure the rain barrel and mesh opening are in
the right location.

Step 8. Optional: paint your rainbarrel using Krylon Fusion paint.

Step 9. Use water collected with rain barrel for gardening purposes.

Rep. Chris Smith - The Egg Saving Zealot

I have one of the most difficult jobs in the environmental movement — working on the population issue. Domestically, I work on five issues:

• Comprehensive sex ed instead of abstinence only programs.
• Contraceptive insurance coverage for women.
• Universal access to emergency contraception.
• Title X - Low-income access to family planning services.
• Male Responsibility - An almost forgotten issue these days.
  

Yes, I am pro-choice, but I would much rather see abortions eliminated through better prevention (i.e. the items above). However, the conservative Christian community obviously loves abortions because they do all they can to oppose the items listed above.

Leading these righteous religious folks is Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ). Every year when we push for adequate funding of both domestic and international family planning programs, Rep. Smith vigorously fights against us. He is a man with a mission. If you are a woman, Rep. Smith not only wants to throw you in jail for having an abortion, he wants you arrested for even using birth control!

The United States, as well as most of the world, is exploding in population. We are already seeing the hundreds of detrimental side effects of adding 80+ million people to the Earth every year. Why is the price of gas going up? BECAUSE OF INCREASED DEMAND!

People like Rep. Smith want to pull the plugs and allow our population to explode even faster. He defies the laws of nature, which says that there are limits to growth. That's because he believes that God will take care of everything. Hmm, I seem to be missing that part.

The video below is made by a candidate running against him for U.S. Congress. The clips of Smith talking are quite revealing, and shows everyone what this guy is really about. He is a man with a mission. I guess he'll want to arrest couples for early withdrawal as well, or for using the rhythm system, or does God approve of those methods, compared with condoms or birth control pills? Rep. Smith has really wandered into a complex moral quandary. He's really trying to play God in his own little way, or maybe he is trying to BE GOD. I'm not sure.

Enjoy the video...

Nobody Cares

One of the biggest shockers in life is how no one really seems to care about anything. This is a strange oddity of human nature, but it's true: People just get locked in their little worlds and they just live their own little narcissistic lives.

Considering that voter turnout was in the teens in the last election, it's obvious that few people care about democracy. Many people I've met simply don't care about the environment because it's an INCONVENIENCE to them. They don't WANT to pay more for recycled paper. They don't WANT to raise the air condition thermostat, even if it means burning less coal.

My wife and others in my life have little interest in my concerns. When I go on a rant about how people simply don't CARE she tells me to get off my soapbox. No one wants to hear my concerns for this world — I just need to shut-up and accept things the way they are, like everyone else. We must SHUT-UP so the robber barons can continue to rob us blind, so that our corrupt government can continue to cater to big industry, so that the rich can continue to fine tune their labor and environmental exploitation machine, called the U.S. government.

For the last two days I've really been thinking about Sophie Scholl, who was beheaded in 1943 by the Nazis for leading a student resistance group called the White Rose. She was enjoying a decent life as a university student, and she could have just kept quiet and continued on with her life. BUT SHE DIDN'T — she risked her life and eventually lost her head for standing up to an evil regime.

The utterly profound and sad thing is that she went to her execution sincerely believing that her martyrdom would cause an uprising among German students and the community. But it didn't. The vast majority of Germans did not oppose the incredible insanity going on around them. They did NOTHING — they just let the evil happen.

Prior to their deaths, several members of the White Rose believed that their execution would stir university students and other anti-war citizens into a rallying activism against Hitler and the war. Accounts suggest, however, that university students continued their studies as usual, citizens mentioned nothing, many regarding the movement as anti-national. Their actions were mostly dismissed...

What is the moral of this story? A young girl stands up against the Nazis and is executed by the Gestapo. The young girl cared. The girl spoke out. The young girl had courage. Where is our caring today? Where is our courage? I don't really know.

Confusica

Every day I wake up and never know what to expect. Some days bring wonderful joy, other days bring pain, but most days are just mundane. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm just a collection of a trillion living cells that somehow rose to a collection, not over billions, but trillions of years -- not in this Universe, but in another. I have to remind myself that time is infinite and size is infinite -- both small and large. And here I am caught in this single dimension, on a single spot in an endless continuum, and now I am spending my whole life trying to unravel just who I am and what I'm supposed to do.

I am a carbon-based, highly evolved animal with a powerful intelligence that is able to introspect, reason, and question. Yet I am also tied to this fragile, temporary body that will soon wither and fade. According to evolution, my only purpose is to reproduce and then get my children to reproduction age. That's it, man. But then there is the evolution of the mind and soul, and suddenly I feel a responsibility to do more than simply put a couple of kids in the world. There must be some sort of Universal destiny, and maybe what I do while on Earth can somehow make it easier for the next generation to approach the ultimate objective, whatever that may be.

I feel pain — deep pain that tears at my soul. I watch my friends and relatives die, have strokes, and suffer. But I feel great joy — the joy of a once-in-a-lifetime encounter when you make a special connection with someone. But then you have to march on into the battle because perhaps life isn't suppose to be that fun and wonderful. Maybe the essential goal in life is not to pursue happiness, but to fulfill the mission.

Alternating forces tear me apart as I stand on a planet that is whirling through space. At any time as asteroid could hit and smash my world apart. But no worries because humans have turned nuclear power into weapons, so every day we are not glowing is a miracle in itself.

The point is, each of us must make the decision to either follow our heart or our soul. What seems so unexpected seems so real now, and what once was distant now seems so close.

So, one day when the myths are unraveled and the lies are all debased, we'll be sitting on the ground exhausted from our hard work. We'll stare at that proverbial sunset and we'll feel alive — more alive than we've ever felt before. And there will be hope, and there will be a future, and suddenly a trillion little cells will have a purpose.

War and Violence ... It Goes On and On

I knew it ... I knew that the U.S. invasion of Iraq would set a bad precedent for the world. Now Russia invades Georgia. Next Iran will try some military action. Yeah, the United States did it, so can we. And the United States has nukes but we are telling Iran to get rid of theirs? We are all big hypocrites, baby.

There are creative ways to gain objectives without resorting to war. So, yes, we can justify the Russian invasion by saying they were coming to the aid of their friends, the South Ossetia separatists. Of course, the U.S. could say we wanted to liberate Iraq from an evil dictator. There is always justification for war, but it takes real maturity and creativity to pursue peace. Peace is the MORE DIFFICULT option.

I'm not a pacifist and believe that war is moral in two cases: self defense and the defense of a friend. But both of these are gray areas. For instance, did one side provoke the other? Did one side stage an incident? It happens, man.

The best solution is to always, ALWAYS work for peace. Yeah, call me a whimp. I got into a good fistfight at age 10, but then started backing down from them. Why? Because I thought that fighting was senseless. Okay, I decked a guy at age 15 because he was harassing a girl I liked. I warned him repeatedly before giving him a bloody nose. That was my last act of violence, although I spanked my oldest child, and now I regret that.

Violence begets violence, and pretty soon one nation is nuking another nation, and then one day every nation will let loose their salvos and this beautiful planet, along with its billions of people and wonderful wildlife, will become a dark cinder, floating through space.

And while I'm at it, I oppose the death penalty too. It's still hard for me to say that, and there are plenty of human monsters who DESERVE to die, but the cycle of endless violence must stop somewhere. The state represents the collective conscience of the people and must be held to the highest levels. The state must not lower itself by engaging in violence.

As for the evil, rabid people out there who commit the heinous crimes, maybe that could be minimized if parents spent more time with their kids, or if people started doing more loving and caring for one another, or if someone actually took the time to talk to some alienated outcast. Crime is simply a side effect of our sick, dysfunctional society. And the gut reaction is to just stomp and kill what is bad. However, it takes a lot more work to get to the root of what makes people evil. I am not excusing anyone for their actions by any means — I'm a strong believer in personal choices and responsibility. I'm just saying we need to take a holistic look at crime and violence.

So, in conclusion, I dear say that war is our primitive side coming out to play. Will our rational, logical side ever rise above it? Is it that much fun to play with our life size warplanes and tanks? Is war necessary to purge the violent genes still gushing in our gene pool? Do we need to kill off more aggressive young men before they reach reproductive age, lest they pass on their warrior genes to another generation?

Uuugh, I'm too tired to think about it.

Todd

When Brains Collide

Why are humans so selfish, even at the expense of their young and future wellbeing? Why are humans so technically advanced, yet so primitively violent? While doing research this week I came across the quote below. According to the following theory, it appears that our poor brains have become cross-wired between our ancient ancestors and our REALLY ancient ancestors.

I have long felt that the better we understand our evolutionary roots the better we can deal with our behavior in the modern world. Now that we have the ability to destroy our species at the touch of a button,
it remains to be seen whether our intellectual side can override our
violent side.

Here's what one researcher has to say:

"..... The Phylogenetic Regression-Progression Theory, which is based on 50 years of research by Paul D. MacLean, goes a long way to explain why humans can be devils as well as angels: Our brains are the result of an evolution that incorporates both the instinctive behavior of 200 million years ago with the emotional mammalian addition approximately 100 million years ago and the cognitive capacity that first developed in the neocortex of the great apes approximately 5 million years ago. Depending on our genetic and epigenetic (environmental) makeup, we tend to regress towards our ancient brain or progress to our modern brain. In most cases the direction is under our control."

Source: "Human Paleopsychology: Application to Aggression and Pathological Processes," (Lawrence Erlbaum, 1987) by Professor Emeritus Kent G. Bailey at the Dept. of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.