Humanize the Earth!

update on new blog

The new home of Humanize the Earth! isn’t getting ready as fast as I’d hoped. I’m having trouble importing the archives from here. And getting it to look right just doesn’t seem as important as having the info there. So we’re in a bit of a limbo. But I’m going to start posting over there anyway, and stop posting here, except updates on the move. Check it out! :-)

maybe moving this blog?

The whole template thing has really gotten me down. At the same time, Michael Herman has been having trouble with blogger as well and has moved his operation to a wordpress on his own server. So I just installed the thing using their 5 minute install. It was a bit quicker. See http://www.tedernst.com/wp for the results. I’ll announce here if/when I’ve actually switched, but feel free to watch my progress over there.

build a bike class

Sarah and Sam from the Hub Housing Cooperative teach a Build Your Own Bike class. Tonight was the 1st meeting of their 3rd time though the 8 week class and I’m a student this time. Tonight we each brought a bike with us, or had one at the shop (West Town Bikes) in advance. I rode my Schwinn Suburban in. The we stripped everything off. Wheels first. Brake and shifter cables. Brakes themselves. Pedals. Cranks and bottom bracket (there are bearings in there - totally cool!). Handlebars with stem (left the headset in place). What am I forgetting? Chain guard had to come off to get at the cranks.

Most people were starting with either a functional bike that they wanted to upgrade or turn into something really cool and fast with lighter, newer parts or just change stuff, like handlebars and seats or whatever. All women except for me, by the way. None of us knowing very much about our bikes. Mostly about on my level it seems, though maybe I knew a bit less than average. Anyway, turns out my bike, though around the same age as me, is in really good condition. I’m replacing the cables and cable housing, but nothing substantive. Even the original brake pads are salvagable. The wheels are in good shape. The thing is really heavy. Heavy and solid. I figure I’d rather have a really cool bike with it’s original parts that works really well (once I know how to fix and adjust stuff) than some frankenstein bike with mix and match parts.

When I want a fast road bike, I’ll get a nice frame and build that one at that time. Once I know all this good stuff from this class.

So my bike was simpler to take apart than the others, I think, which meant faster. So I learned how to clean and adjust my bottom bracket when re-installing it. That’s what they’re doing next week when I’m not going to be there because I have to work.

Why Do You Do What You Do?

in love with the universe

This week I’ve been feeling in love with the universe.

For more of the context on these emotions, please see my wrap-up post about the 1st omidyar.net members conference.

template stuck-o

I can make a few more tweaks, but my biggest problem is how to make the sidebar exactly the width I’d like (180px) while allowing the main column to be as wide as a particular user’s screen allows. Right now it’s set up for the main column to be a percentage and the sidebar takes the rest. It’s too darn wide on my screen. Maybe yours too? I’ll have to wait until another day. I’m off to bed

template moving along

I’m sure this would be a lot easier if I planned it out with pencil and paper rather than just messing around with it. But it is where it is. It still needs work, but seems better than the broken version I had before I started today.

new tempate in process

Still working on things. It’s so hot. I’m so sleeping. Napping now. Will work more on this later. Sorry for any inconvienence.

new template

Since I couldn’t figure out how to fix my old template, I’ve started with a new one. If you’re reading this soon after it’s posted, you’ll find the sidebar doesn’t make a lot of sense. I’ll be customizing it this afternoon and hope to have something passable finished by this evening.

Urban Compost in Chicago

When I bought my compost bin a couple of years back (was it 2 or 3 years? 2, I think), I searched and searched for good information about how to actually make compost. Some municipalities had really good websites and even programs where you could get cheap compost bins. Chicago was not among them.

Until now.

The Chicago Home Composting Program kicked off with a bang today at the Garfield Park Conservatory and the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (who know there was such a school?), where Chicago residents could get a home compost bin for only $25. Sarah and I picked up two for the Hub Housing Cooperative (rules allowed 1 per residence and we got one each) at the Conservatory.

I always knew the Conservatory was a really cool place, with lots of knowledge about growing all sorts of things. In fact, I had planned to see them about native species. But who know all the other cool programs and growing they’re doing?

They have a demonstration garden that’s a standard city lot-size 25 feet by 125 ft, I think, where they’re growing lots and lots of wonderful things to eat and some ornamental stuff as well. They have gardeners available to answer questions 12 hours per week (Tu, Th and Sat) and have tons of great programs, such as: Summer Mainteance and Planting Fall Crops, Herbal Gifts from the Garden, Troubleshooting the Organic Garden, Fall Season Extension, Seed Saving in the Garden, Cover Crops and much, much more.

And to get back to composting, the Chicago Home Composting site from the University of Illinois Extension has tons of resources on how to compost, how to build a bin, worm composting, classes and much more.

Totally awesome! Check it out.

Categories: Chicago, compost, urban, gardening, organic, native, species, housing, cooperative