Anson’s Blog 安生

Recycle?

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:45:43 -0700

This weekend was recycle weekend. which is not really recycling as much as it is reimbursing. I had to travel to the next town to get some items at a market there. There is no need to go to that part of town often so the bottles that were set aside had accumulated. In California when you buy bottled water or soft drinks, you pay an extra nickel for each can or bottle. This is the CRV that is on the receipt. The idea is when you recycle the bottle you get your nickel back. It does not really work that way. The majority of the cans and bottles are tossed in the blue recycle bin and many just go to a landfill. Buried in the dirt. Literally thousands of nickels are tossed out everyday. I was determined that my money was not going to be tossed away. Saving the bottles posed one problem redeeming them a second.

I solved the first problem by collecting the bottles in plastic trash bags and stashing them in a garden shed. I met some resistance at first but as I tend to be eccentric at times this was a short phase. As for redemption, at first I took the bottles to the local scrap metal recycler. He paid by the pound so the actual return value was often less than a nickel each. This would give me the opportunity to wander through the yard to see what gems people have discarded. A large granite table two feet thick, machines of industry now broken and corroding, old electronic hardware. One trip even revealed a Cray Jaguar with it’s gleaming gold plated circuit boards and miles of patch wire. If there was ever a place to discover props for a science fiction film about decaying civilizations this is it.

Disappointment came when the owner of the scrap yard told me he no longer was recycling bottles and cans. His real money came from the metal and old electronics. The bottle recycling was just a side thing and the need for used plastic was falling. Most bottles were being compacted into bales and sitting in stockpiles around the country. He was certain that some of the stockpiles were occasionally purged to make room for new shipments. Purging was a process where the bales were buried in dirt. The very thing recycling was meant to avoid.

Some time passed while I looked into other avenues of recovering my nickels. I often went past recycle centers at the local market. They were busy places with crowds of people waiting around to redeem their items. Not liking crowds and being impatient it was difficult to get motivation to go to these centers. This weekend I had to go to the market in the early morning. I thought it would be a good time to grab aa few bags of bottles and take them along. When I arrived the main center was closed but the self serve machines were working. Or rather one of the two was working. I only had a short wait while a woman and her daughter finished loading their bottles and cans. The machine works by inserting a bottle in the opening onto a conveyer belt. The bottle is then scanned and if it passes inspection the counter on the LCD screen counts it and it falls in the machine. When all your collection is scanned you push the button, there is only one, and it prints out a receipt. The machine is associated with a local market where you can then go in and redeem the receipt for cash, or apply it to your shopping.

On Saturday I redeemed enough to take seven dollars off my grocery bill. Sunday I made a trip just to clear room in the shed. This trip made more than double the last one. I still have a few bags of bottles left for the next rip to the market. I’m not green as this is not a recycle project. This is just recovering money that CRV was holding for me.

photo: reImburse.jpg by a.thurston

family time

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:55:55 -0700

Fathers day weekend is a time to hang with the family. You can take them on a walk and show your young-uns the ropes. Or, if you’re like me, you can play video games and watch anime and movies. Sometimes the best weekends are when you do nothing but relax. Then again, the challenge of obtaining the next level in a game can be pretty stressful in it’s self. Nerves frayed, muscles sore and exhausted from the late hours of gaming. I look forward to the rest and relaxation that work provides.

photo: new_family.jpg by a.thurston

spring walk

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:11:14 -0700

I went for a nice stroll today. I discovered a flower that I came close to overlooking. I started humming a song and realized i wasn’t in the same key as nature. I was lower and at first not so loud. As I approached the creek i realized it was very loud and was certain it was bees. Many bees at once. I cautiously looked for a hive and swarm when I discovered the bees were no threat. They were hard at work. What they were working on was a tree. I had passed under this tree many time this week and never noticed the branches were alive with blossoms. High over my head was a factory in production. The bees doing the nature thing, gathering nectar for making honey and in return pollinating the flowers. I stopped for a moment to take a picture then move on. I couldn’t think of a song to match their tune and I had diversilobum blossom to find.

photo: tree_bee.jpg by a.thurston

Second day of spring

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:08:26 -0700

Today is the second day of spring. It’s a pretty normal day for this time of year. The sky is gray. I like grey, it’s one of my favorite shades. It’s versatile, it can be dark and ominous or light and defused. Today was defused grey, good for capturing high sheen objects without a lot of reflection and even lighting. I had one plant in mind for this condition. Unfortunately the buds have not yet opened so all I managed was some beautiful glossy green leaves tinged with warm red edges. The plant in question is T. diversilobum. It’s name means diverse and this plant has many variations. It can be a vine, a shrub or just ground cover. It also has Ivory blossoms that contrast nicely with the glossy leaves. It only blooms for a short while so it’s worth the wait. This plant grows on the steep slope in front of our house were it is the perfect plant for that condition. It is the shrub variety and likes good drainage. The roots bind the top soil and help stop erosion. It has a beautiful color from spring to late fall when the leaves fall. It also has a certain security feature that prevents anyone from climbing the hill to visit unannounced. It excretes urushiol oil which when comes in contact with your skin gives a powerful chemical burn that creates an intense itching rash. Sometimes when you focus on the bad in something or someone, it’s easy to overlook how beautiful they really are.

photo: new_pOak.jpg by a.thurston

Spring!

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 11:05:41 -0700

Today is the first day of spring. What a perfect day for shooting wildflowers in the driveway. I thought it might be nice to get a picture of poppies as the neighbor down the roads field is covered with them. I found just one. One was tucked away in a small clear spot surrounded by lot’s of other taller plants. It was a happy looking plant warming in the spring morning sun. Alone in it’s difference yet thriving. The neighbors field may be covered in poppies but the single flower made it to the blog. I’m sure that in a week or so many others will appear as the blooming season last a few weeks for the Poppy.
Meanwhile, enjoy the first day of Spring!

photo: poppy_2.jpg by a.thurston

wild flowers 5

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:05:23 -0700

Some weeds you grow up with. They have always been there, maybe you know the name or heard the name at some time. For the most part all you do is pull them and toss the in the weed pile or green waste barrel. You know they’re a weed and that’s all there is to it. The Mallow is just one of those weeds. If fact, until this morning I was unaware they even had a flower. I never noticed it and really, they are small but pretty. Often we find someone annoying and we want to toss them quickly aside so we overlook their beautiful little traits.

photo: mallow.jpg by a.thurston

wild flowers 4

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:41:13 -0700

It’s like background music. You would never notice it until it’s gone and silence jolts you. There are hundreds of wild flowers that don’t get top billing yet are just as important as the rest when the show starts. When you look at a purple field of Lupine you don’t notice at first that there are other purple flowers in the mix. Like the ones pictured here they are small and close to the ground. But when you get close you see that every step you take tramples a variety of small flowers. It takes a lot of small players to make a beautifully orchestrated field. Be careful who you step on.

photo: sm_purple.jpg by a.thurston

wild flowers 3

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:34:45 -0700

Milk Thistle has a medicinal property. It is not healing badly prickled hands from trying to clear them. I have found that probably the best idea is just to let them go and spread. IN my yard they have picked a hill behind the house. Their presence has made a nice natural barrier as they grow thick and tall. You can’t pass through without getting badly scratched up. Regardless of the thorns the flowers are delightful to view. The intense purple strands growing from the top remind me of sea urchins which also are purple and have spikes. As for the medicinal purpose, the seed can be used to make an extract that supposedly cleans the liver. Interestingly enough this ability helps recovery of idiots that have eaten the Death Cap Mushroom. Did you wonder how long it would be before I tied mushrooms in to flowers?

photo: thistle.jpg by a.thurston

wild flowers 2

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:32:43 -0700

There is a road not more than a mile or two from my home where the most amazing blooms of lupine occur. The name of the road is appropriately enough, Lupine Lane. I took some photos last year of the hill along the roadside covered in a purple haze of flowers. This year the Lupine is growing in my yard. We always had a few splatterings but there is quite a bit more this year. I did notice that the heaviest groups are along the deer trails that crisscross our yard. The deer migrate along the open space between here and Lupine Lane so the method of propagation seems obvious to me. The exact method is not so clear. It does not matter to me if the deer are eating the seeding plants then fertilizing and sowing or if the seed hitch a ride on the fur or hoof. How they got here is not important. What matters is the flowers grow in my yard now. And they look nice.

photo: lupine_10.jpg by a.thurston

wild flowers

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:35:55 -0700

Today i noticed the wild flowers are starting to bloom in the driveway. There was a number of smaller flowers of several varieties sprinkled through out. The most common of the flowers is one that i spent a lot of time photographing but have yet to identify. I was fascinated by it’s golden yellow color. It gave a glow to the hillside much like the Mustard will in a few more weeks, except the mustard is a lighter, less golden shade. These small blossoms fill the field of view. I suppose they are some non-native species and should be considered a weed. But they are here now and they have a function, even if it is to entertain us for just a moment.

photo: wild_flower.jpg by a.thurston

flying saucer

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:31:21 -0800

Slowly it lifted up until it was completely off the ground. The first couple times it faltered and then set back down. Then with a big heave it lifted and started hovering across the driveway. It was heading straight for the house then veered right and headed out off the edge of the hill following it’s trajectory put it at least sixty to seventy feet above ground level at it’s highest point. It then quickly settled down resting on edge against a large oak tree at the bottom of the hill.

I wasn’t there when it happened. I came home early from work and was told the whole story. The evidence is irrefutable. There is too much shrub between the top of the hill and where it finally landed for it to have skidded or rolled down. It had to clear the top. It landed intact and except for a few missing springs undamaged.

Of course I came home today because the wind also broke the guide wire for the power-line to the pump shed. This was an adventure in itself. The cable was snapped in a place right at the edge of the roof. It appears as if the wind whipping it around may have let it hit the edge and eventually it snapped. I was able to get on the roof and pull the two ends together. There was enough slack that I could loop each end and put a clamp on them. This raised the cable up some from the edge of the roof. As I was tightening the clamps standing on the edge of the roof I heard the trees behind me rustle loudly. Really loudly. I braced my self and held tight to the guide cable. It calculate the gust was about fifty miles per hour. It hit pretty hard and I was glad the cable was already secured. I then started to tie the power cable back onto the guide cable, the next thing that happens was rain and lightning. Lightning usually doesn’t spook me much but standing on the roof, at the top of a hill, in the rain. I felt a little vulnerable. From the sound of the thunder almost on top of the flash told me it was close. In addition, the storm was heading towards me. I got off the roof just in time as a torrential down pour with hail started.

Fortunately it let up after a bit and I was able to back and finish pulling the slack from the cable. I tied off the power cable and then tackled the trampoline at the bottom of the hill.

The rain had let up so I decided to upright the trampoline then disassemble it. I took the tarp and left the frame in sections where it landed. Without the tarp the sail is gone so it won’t fly anymore.

The trampoline was so interesting to me that I forgot that on the way home from work I saw a truck hydroplane on the other side of the guardrail heading towards me. It hit the guardrail as if in slow motion. As soon as it connected it was like high speed as it spun around facing traffic, mud and water flying everywhere. it continued spinning out into traffic. I didn’t see what happened next as I was concentrating on the road. It looked like everyone was OK, but I imagine the air bag went off when it hit the rail. So it would be hard to control the vehicle if the driver was skilled enough at that point. But hydroplaning in a pickup is easy so I doubt they were skilled to get in that situation in the first place.

More storm tomorrow. I think I’ll ride the bus.

photo: trampoline_2.jpg by a.thurston

fungii

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:56:02 -0800

I’ve never thought about being a mycologist but i’ve often been fascinated by certain fungi. One in particular catches my eye about every other year. I don’t know it’s real name yet, but the only person who had a name for it, a naturalist i know, called it the painters workbox. This is a very appropriate name for it. The few times it’s appeared have been after a brief rain then some warm days. The latest growth is still drab. It looks like it may stop growing soon. It still has some beautiful colors for a fungus. Bright yellow on the outside while the inner fans are shades of orange.

The most impressive appearance was about four years ago. It was hidden under some dense growth. There is a secluded stretch of creek by my work that’s behind the building and heavily overgrown. This particular shroom was about ten inches tall and about the same wide. the outside was a bright banana yellow and the inside went from shades of burnt orange to orange red on the outer most “fronds” to bright green and blue on the inner most. there was a mottled almost careless look to the colors on the inside. It was as if someone was busy coloring the fungus and got called away so they tossed what was left of their paint in the middle and left.

In a week the life cycle will end and the fungus will turn into a blob of tan fungus goop. Several weeks from now all that will be left is an very uninteresting white powder. In the few rare moments it appears I will try and get a decent photo.

photo: fungus2.jpg by a.thurston

inspiration

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 22:55:43 -0800

it’s fascinating where we get our inspiration. sometimes it’s a walk on the beach, sometimes in the quiet of a forest. some are inspired by the towering edifices of the city. mine are more mundane. washing the dishes. cleaning windows and my all time favorite, taking out the trash. as i recall the first story i ever wrote and got published was written while taking out the trash. in fact it was a story about taking out the trash. it was one of the chores i had to do every sunday evening in my youth. it wasn’t difficult but i was never glad to do it. somehow over the years, many things have changed. i still take the trash out on sunday evenings but now, it’s a quarter mile stroll down and back. i look forward to doing it as it helps me clear my head while getting some exercise. tonight while pulling the noisy barrel down the rough dirt drive way i spooked a herd of deer grazing nearby. it was fun to watch as they scattered in different directions and then turned and ran back in another direction. the quail ran out from underfoot not so bothered by the noise as by my presence. off in the distance a owl was circling silently looking for an evening perch to start it’s hunt. of course, that’s boring real life stuff. the good stuff is the story i made up in my head about elves and man’s constant fight for survival against machines.

photo: pier_shot.jpg by a.thurston

losing my religion

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:03:45 -0700

About three weeks ago we had a couple days of one hundred and eight degree heat. On one of those days we had a power outage. It was one of those “snap” and the powers gone. I have battery backups for all the computers so we can save and shut down. My internet router doesn’t have a that luxury, not yet at least. It lives in a box on the neighbors house down the hill. The nice part is I have DSL. It was a stretch to get it. It seems that it was available in my area all the way up to a certain point. That point was at the neighbors. The phone company would go no further. The neighbor let me put in a line at his place and build a wireless remote station. The bad part is when it’s one hundred outside, it’s one hundred and fifty in the box. Most electronics don’t like it that hot. They act funny. When the power goes out on electronics already pushed to the limit, well, it’s no joy.

I lost the modem in the box, it would no longer connect. The router was broadcasting but it was not right either. So for a while, I had limited or no internet. I had to scrape up the funds to buy new components. fortunately I was able to use the old router as a relay. I had to modify the case to keep it cooler. I drilled a hole and added a fan. It let the old router work. This change let me use the new component inside my house where it can stay cool.

It took a couple weeks to do all the needed modifications and configure the software, but it’s working now. So for about two weeks we lived on one computer running at limited bandwidth. With three people sharing a computer and one is a teenager you don’t get much time to be on line. Which is ok, i get enough computer time in the day. But starting up my own on-line religion kinda ground to a halt. I guess it wasn’t time yet. The next plan is building a weather proof battery backup. I have the internal parts already, all I need is a housing. It may be several months before it’s that hot out, I need to be ready now. It’s almost winter and storms can be just as nasty.

photo: router_mod_sm.jpg by a.thurston