Price Chopper

Urban supermarket located in Downtown Albany.

September Long Weekend Trip Options

I am considering my options for a mid to late September trip. Probably do only one. Some possibilities:

1) Moose River Plains in fall foliage season – always real nice, the Wakely Firetower is open again!

Payne Mountain is in the Way of My View

2) Tug Hill Plateau and Black River Valley – maybe meet old friend from Boy Scouts, see Confusion Flats, Whitestone Gulf, Lowville

Exploring the back roads of Lewis County

3) North Lake Reservoir – Kayak, explore now that the crowds and motor boats are mostly gone

South Lake Road

4) Early Autumn hike in the Catskills, camp at Burnt Rossman?

Valley

5) Jones Pond and the St Regis Canoe area

Four O'Clock But Sun Already Setting

Those super thin egg shells I got from Price Chopper 🥚

Those super thin egg shells I got from Price Chopper 🥚

Thursday heading up to camp I got eggs. Throughout the time camping I kept accidentally breaking the eggs accidentally as the shells were so thin. I joked it must be DDT. Maybe it was my fault for not being careful but they certainly seemed particularly thin. Maybe I need to get one of those plastic camp egg holders they sell at Wally World but I’ve never had eggs so fragile. That said, from an efficiency standpoint, thin shells are probably cost effective for the producer and the consumer as most people throw away egg shells as soon as they are opened.

When I build my homestead trash incinerator! 🔥

When I build my homestead trash incinerator! 🔥

They estimate roughly 1 in 4 rural residents burn at least a portion of their household trash. With most things packaged in lightweight plastics and paperboard, a significant portion of waste can be burned. Rural households that burn can often only run to the transfer station or the landfill once or twice a year as most can go up in smoke.

Most of it is inevitably burned in smelly trash burning barrels which are typically 55 gallon drum with holes shot or poked in it. But it can be done better. Burn barrels are fine for disposing of trash in outlying areas but they have several shortfalls that very from a nuisance to a downright public safety threat.

  • They can smell bad when certain plastics and other trash is burned – as they tend to smolder due to the trash being wet and not enough oxygen
  • Some of the chemicals released can be toxic, especially when trash solders due to moisture and lack of air
  • They pose a fire risk – as many are used without screens and are placed near grass or trees

Hot fires eliminate the volatile organic compounds, along with many of the toxins like arsenic, dioxin and furans from incomplete combustion.

I think when I build my incinerator, I would include a fairly high stack maybe 5-6 feet high to create a good draft. A good draft would mean a hot fire, with less emission and odors. Forced air into the incinerator using a blower motor of some sort would increase the incineration process. While a fan would take energy which is always precious on an off grid cabin, the benefits of more complete combustion with less odor and ash might be worth it.

Adding scrap wood and cleaner burning plastics to the fire could further help increase combustion temperatures, reducing ash, unburnt waste, smoke, toxins and odors. Rip roaring fires can make ordinary kitchen and farm trash quickly disappear.

I would sort the waste that went into it. Food waste is good for composting or feeding to pigs and goats. A lot of and metal can be recycled – although maybe it would be better to burn the cans out then waste perfectly good water which may be precious on an off grid homestead. Plus who really wants to wash your trash?

I would also take steps to make sure that the incinerator is away from grass and trees, and that the smoke stack is covered so no paper or sparks could fly out. This would allow disposal of waste even during open burn bans and dry conditions outside. Trash accumulates regardless of the weather in our consumer society. Every time you go to the mail box there is more paper trash and kitchen waste baskets are quickly filled with plastic wrappers, bottles and paperboard boxes. Homesteads also produce feed sacks, pesticide containers and twine needing disposal.

It would be nice to use some of the heat from the incinerator to heat water for washing and other chores around the farm. A lot of city people pay to get rid of their trash, it would be nice for waste to be an actual asset – heating water and providing a useful service on the homestead.

There are a lot of good plans on the internet for improved burn barrels and incinerators widely used on farms and rural homestead. A hot fire can eliminate most waste, saving money and time, turning waste into an asset rather than more fill at the massive garbage dumps.

Getting fat

Getting fat. 😮

When I went to the doctor the other day when I was weighted in I think the scale read something like 293 lbs. Honestly going to the doctors office during the pandemic was such a freaky activity I didn’t look too closely but I do think I’ve put on weight lately. I am sure I’m no longer the 265 lb I once was or the 245 lb I was during college for a while when I was walking ten miles nearly every day.

Now I don’t normally have snacks at home but I do sometimes snack on frozen fruit. In recent years I’ve been keeping the beer locked up when I’m home but I’ve been known to drink too much milk and apple juice. I should go back to water with lime or apple cider vinger. An even bigger problem is that I often make up too much pasta and despite adding lots of veggies I end up eating much too much mixed with unhealthy mayonnaise and cheese. I like dairy products much too much.

It’s been difficult lately to get enough steps in working from home. It used to be I would do a lot of walking, starting with the walk to the express bus, followed by a lunch time walk then a walk down to the library or park and then my evening walk. I still do my evening walk and many days I’ve been at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center waking but it’s not enough.

Truth be told, I need to get the battery replaced on my bathroom scale and start weighing in daily. I got to cut my calories and pasta mixes, drink more water and less apple juice and milk. Lay off the cheese, walk more. Both parents are heavy and I’ve always been a bit stout but I can do better.

PAUSE vs Save the Pine Bush and City Funding 💰

PAUSE vs Save the Pine Bush and City Funding 💰

A few years back, People of Albany United for Safe Energy (PAUSE) was created to fight oil trains in Downtown Albany. The concern was the large number of highly volatile oil tanker trains that were parked in Downtown Albany for transfer to ships and pipelines heading down to refineries in New Jersey and New Brunswick.

In more recent years they’ve gotten into the zero waste advocacy – actually as a contactor for the city of Albany to comply with their state mandated landfill permit that calls for the city to have a recycling coordinator position that promotes recycling education throughout the member communities.

While this city grant may help with their advocacy efforts it does make their group tied to the city for funding. Criticize the city’s recycling efforts and their group may be without a city grant.

Save the Pine Bush has never taken city funding. They are fully not for profit and independent, free to criticize and fight any development in the Pine Bush.

In contrast, the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission, a state operated and largely state funded corporation, is able to focus on education and managing the land while being subject to all the political concerns such a corporation faces.

State bankruptcy is a stupid idea 💰

State bankruptcy is a stupid idea 💰

Imagine that you own a business where it’s always possible to get more revenue. Your products are so essential that people will pay any price you charge them, if they fail to pay the price you have the right and police power to seize their property or incarcerate non payers. That’s the role of government.

The US Constitution prohibits the courts and legislatures from impeding government contracts made with business – so implementing payment plans or writing off loans isn’t an option with the state bankruptcy. A state bankruptcy would allow courts mandate that states raise taxes or cut services without democratic input but they can’t get rid of historical debts.

Ultimately, what government taxes and spends should be a political question, decided by elected officials. If you want to offer a service, the government should raise revenue to cover the costs of the service. It shouldn’t be set down by an unelected court. Coronavirus has mostly impacted wealthy states – they can afford to tax more (if that’s their choice) to make ends meet.

Rain at 10 pm

Been a nice day except for the drizzle that started around 10 pm at camp. Had a nice fire but it was time for bed once it started raining. But I fully expect sun by morning.