Well, I've entered the realm of the rain harvester for real, this time. At the old house, I merely had a trash can placed under a diverter on the roof, but I've elevated my enterprise to include an honest-to-goodness gutter and mosquito-proofed my trash can. The gutter wasn't a perfect installation, since it held about 1/4" after the fact, but I simply drilled a hole, mid-way, to eliminate the excess, in a spot that will later accommodate another downspout. The one on the end, meanwhile, is filling up within minutes in heavy rain. I tried a meager garden hose for overflow, only to discover in the "test rain" (a.k.a. Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hannah) that a 3" wide downspout will do very well at backing up a 1/2" wide garden hose outlet. So, one bout of rain in the garage later I am left with the assembly you see represented here. While I may go with a more aesthetically pleasing barrel in the future, it is hard to argue against the total expense, so far, that has left me far shy of the cost of some of the commercially-available barrels ($60-200), alone (and that's including my garden hose misjudgment...what a band name, huh?).
The day leading up to this screened-top and large hose attachment was largely filled with nearly 4 hours spent registering at Babies 'R Us. We were not prepared. I should have known as much when I saw the brochure the helpful staff member pushed our way that creepily issued "Thanks for becoming one of Us," while informing us that we would need to scan 150 items. I'm not sure if 150 is a requirement, but we had a tough time getting there. I'm sure the intention is to make money, regardless of the more than friendly service we received, but we were double scanning things we felt most important, just so we didn't put anything extraneous on the list (though our printout was certain to remind us that we had forgotten some "essentials"). Besides, through the generosity of friends and family, we've already got some necessities (cribs, some clothes, and a few other items). It was not a terrible experience, but by the time it was 1:30pm, we realized we had arrived at 9:30am, and the dregs of society literally started filling the store, we were getting impatient. Yet another comment was made (this time by staff members of a baby supply store; read more sensitive) on how "small" the wife looks. Luckily, her doctor has advised her to pay no mind and that the babies are just right. Just imagine that you are a pregnant woman that has a family history of premature or abnormally small babies that puts her or the baby/ies at risk, and you are the one that sends her home in a shower of tears. Not pleasant.
As we speak, the financial crisis that is being framed as trivial by our overlords is making its way into the understanding of the many...yours truly, included. After listening to Dean Baker, Robert Scheer, and Bernie Sanders on Democracy Now!, I'm fuming about it, but at least I now know that advisors to the current "candidates" (read American Idols) had their hands in deregulating financial markets back in 1999 and are, therefore, largely responsible for getting us into this mess. Perhaps the most upsetting thing is that all those times we, the people, have clamored for decent wages, health care, good jobs, equitable education, social security, and others have been met with the same old song of "Well, it sounds good, but there just ain't enough money to do it."
So, basically, the argument goes something like this: We need tax breaks and deregulation for the wealthy so that they can invest money to "grow" our economy (what a euphemism for the root of all evil, no?). The jobs they create will lack benefits, barely pay beyond the minimum wage, and consist of menial tasks that are planned with obsolescence in mind (eventually to be taken care of by computer systems or shipped to other countries). Meanwhile, our tax burden remains the same or goes down slightly, our social security is invested in the same markets that are collapsing before our eyes, our children are only educated if we are lucky enough to have the money to send them to private schools, and public services continue to dwindle to the point that fire, police, and road maintenance are the only things left. I want to believe that capitalism can succeed, and I, by no means, have a full understanding of how this all works, but I can't help feeling like some of this is so obvious. When we don't assist in educating, insuring, housing, and employing each other, we should not be surprised when many of our citizens turn to crime, especially when the role model that is being cast from more elevated tiers reflects that it pays to do so. This realm is a little beyond my level, and I don't wish to get too frustrated about it, so I'll move on to brighter things.
I got in two laps at Marington Plantation the other day. The toughest part was convincing myself that it was alright to get in the car and drive somewhere by myself. It had been nearly two months since I had done this. I've increasingly grown to detest the practice, and constantly hearing about all the traveling of others in my peer group, I am left wondering if my generation really grasps the seriousness of our energy situation. There are all kinds of beneficial things being done to soften our impact, but traveling seems to always fall towards the bottom of lists. I know people need to travel, I just think the definition of need is blurry. As for me, I could certainly try riding out to Marington for a lap every now and then, instead of driving, but just the road distance winds up being at least 30 miles (not the most pleasant knobby-tired, MTB ride), with the trail adding another 12, at least. Maybe I'll try catching the bus as far as it will go. The trail, by the way, is as fast as ever, excepting the Foster Creek loop. However, that loop provides a nice, kind-of-tricky creek crossing with lots of large stones, so I did it twice just to make it a little more challenging. Success, though, also, a sore ass, was mine. I cannot say enough good things about this trail and Don Watts, the stalwart manager of the property. What an oasis we have in this system.
I got in a great 30+ mile ride last night. Though I started with the crew from the shop, I quickly realized that I wasn't up for another twitchy ride consisting of short sprints, then easy riding, short sprints, then easy riding, ad nausea. I want more distance and more consistency. I don't ride a bicycle so that I can do better in my next race. I want to see things other than the ass in front of me while I'm riding, you know?
I'm hoping Dave and I will get in a ride at Manchester this weekend, too (one of the best trails in the state, as far as I'm concerned, regardless of the fairly unfriendly monitors of the property...see one of my first posts for details).
This thing is getting way too long, so I'll hang it up, for now. Look for something further next weekend and have a great ride, walk, conversation, meal, etc., etc.
