It just never ceases to amaze me

I didn't start this blog to have a soap box. Or to be political. But when I read stories like this one at cnn.com, I just have to write something down. I want to be sure I am not the only one that is flabbergasted by so many things, least of all the fool we have in charge. The newspapers are plastered with predictions of $4/gallon for gas by as early as this summer. FOUR BUCKS! I drive a Honda Civic that gets about 32 miles per gallon. Even with this I am paying about $120 a month just to drive to and from work. Sure, I live too far away from my office, but the real estate market doesn't exactly favor relocation. Do I feel bad for people that drive gas guzzlers? Hell no. However, it's getting to the point where everyone should feel bad for everyone that has to drive anywhere. This gas thing is really starting to affect everyone, even people that drive hybrid cars. Anyway, I don't even have a point, just wanted to link to that story and point out the idiot that is again rearing his head.

Feral Cats

There was an article in the local newspaper recently about a guy who takes in stray cats, provides medical care for them (many are in need of it) and gives them food and a place to stay. He doesn't try to make them all his pets, but does care for them. There are about 30 or so that come and go from his property. He also discovered that local shelters and other programs often offer financial assistance, something i have firsthand experience with, to people who capture feral cats and pay to have them spayed or neutered. Often people will Catch-Neuter-Release (CNR, in case you ever hear this term). This kind soul is doing this but also providing other medical care for the animals. And food. He lets them go but if they come back he feeds them.

What amazes me is the number of letters to the editor in subsequent days complaining about there being no regulations for this type of situation, and that he has basically opened an illegal shelter. I think neighbors complained as well.

I don't know what to say about this. Just give the friggin guy a break. He is a single, aging man, who is spending his limited money to help animals. People seriously do not have enough going on in their lives if they have time to write a letter to the editor just to complain about someone doing something so kind.

On a related note, a relatively inexpensive and quick way to spay/neuter a cat is T.E.A.M.. This is a traveling clinic and all they do is spay/neuter. You have to find out when they will be in your area, and I know they often set up shop in the PetCo. parking lot in Waterford, CT. You drop the animal off in the morning and pick him/her up in the afternoon. I forget if you need an appointment, but they love animals and have done an outstanding job on one of my cats and three feral cats I have caught and either released or found homes for.

Bamboo

There has been so much talk about bamboo lately, and for good reason. I don't even know a fraction of its uses other than for flooring, fabrics, and to use as a blow-gun of you are a ninja. It's one of those really strange things in this world that is almost impossible to kill, grows hearty and rapidly, and is strong. I happen to have some growing in my yard and part of my reason for this post is to warn people about it.

Bamboo spreads. Like poison ivy (the plant and the rash). After seeing the little patch of bamboo in my yard, several people have told me they wanted some. And I could easily give it to them. This patch came from my parent's house in the form of 5-10 roots about 10 years ago.

What people don't often notice is the 40-mil plastic barrier sticking out of the ground about 3 inches (it is hidden by edgers). Those 3 inches above ground are supported by 33 inches below ground. That's right, I dug a 3-foot deep trench around the bamboo patch and it took countless hours to pull up all the roots and rhizomes that had spread into the surrounding grass area.

Bamboo must be contained. Period. It is a HIGHLY invasive species. When planned for, however, it can make a beautiful natural fence or privacy screen. Too often, though, I see peoples' yards where the bamboo is simply spreading out of control, and there is not a lot you can do about that once it starts. Ask my parents. They started with 3-5 clumps of roots and shoots. Ten years later, they had a forest of bamboo behind their house and after several days (at a time and multiple attempts at this) of serious manual labor trying to dig that stuff out, it keeps coming back. The people they got it from were digging it out with a backhoe.

My basic point is that if you want any of my bamboo, you need to approach me with a 10-step plan of how you plan to contain it.

20% by 2010

Is your town participating? Shamefully, my town of Waterford is not, but I can say I have tried to do my part. After several emails to the First Selectman (Dan Steward), and after contacting Connecticut Innovations, I finally after months received the following email back from Steward:

Ryan,

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you on this idea. I have done some significant research into this program. I met with a representative of Ct Clean Energy and have their proposal for this project. The concept is excellent if we could utilize Green Energy in Waterford. The options provided in this program are for Photovoltaic, Methane Gas, Wind Power and Fuel Cell. The first three provide minimal return in our area based on location. The Fuel Cell option could provide us with approximately 5% of our usage based on where we can locate the unit initially with a major capital investment. The program provides an opportunity to buy energy certificates if we do not meet the 13% by 2010 which we would have to do. Those purchases based on today's rates would cost the town approximately $13,000 per year for no return other than to say we are trying to be green. At this time the Photovoltaic option has a very low potential of payback over the 20 year life based on the amount of electricity they produce. I also compared some of the other towns that have been doing this program for a while that are similar in size to Waterford and they are yet to hit 100 units.

I believe we are a little early in the process and we will continue to look to LEED options with our schools and possibly fuel cells for power and heat. Although they may be expensive today, the ROI is extremely important to our taxpayers as well as helping to maintain our environment.

Thanks again for your interest and we welcome your suggestions.

Dan Steward
860-444-5834

His comment about "The first three provide minimal return in our area based on location" absolutely baffle me. Our solar array that will be installed soon will provide 100% of the electricity our house needs. The sun is the friggin sun and as far as I know it's always up in the sky. Call me crazy. And our system will pay for itself within 7-8 years and will be producing electricity for at least 30 years (manufacturer's warranty). Hmmm something doesn't add up here.

See if your town is participating in this program. It doesn't hurt to ask and maybe you have someone more amenable to progress in control of your town.

World's Best Cat Litter, literally

We have cats. Four of them actually. Some go outside, some don't. It's a zoo. Anyway, with that many cats, one goes through a fair share of litter. We used to get Fresh Step litter ($11.99 for 30 pounds I think at BJs). The stuff is so dusty though and it stinks up the basement, leaving a film of dust on everything.

One of my new favorite products in the world is called World's Best Cat Litter. It's amazing. It is litter made from corn. It clumps just like regular cat litter but smells SO much better and has NO dust! The first time Sage went in to take a tinkle, she even thought about eating the litter. And the best part (aside from the dust elimination) is that it is completely biodegradeable.

This litter costs a little more than the Fresh Step, but for the dustlessness alone it is totally worth the extra few dollars. And this is coming from someone on a limited budget and a lot of felines.

Recycling plastics in CT

This is a topic I am pretty frustrated about. Our town, and every town in CT, recycles #1 and #2 plastics. What about the rest? We have a pile of #3-7 plastics in our basement that we have been collecting (or not throwing in the garbage, I should say) for four years now. We used to put everything in the bin that goes out by the road on trash/recycling pick-up day until we found out from the regional manager of recycling in our area that he sorts through the materials collected, and #3-7 wind up in the landfill.

It's pathetic. We used to live in Boston, and in Boston (and as far as I know throughout Massachusetts), they recycle all plastics. My uncle lives in Mansfield and his town takes everything as well. We have made so many phone calls on this topic I can't even tell you how many people we have talked to about this issue. We tried to find places using a website called Earth911 but when we got to the place it said we could bring plastics to, it turned out to be a metal scrap yard. That was a waste of a drive to Rhode Island.

I'm, phishing here. If anyone that reads this knows any possible way to recycle these plastics in CT or surrounding states, please let me know. I have dropped off huge nags of them at my uncle's house, but I'd like to find a place I can regularly drop this stuff off and in the process get rid of the mountain of plastics in my basement.

Reusable shopping bags

I don't have a whole lot to say about this one. I mean, they cost like a buck and are ridiculously useful. The ones we got from Whole Foods are huge and sturdy. The Stop and Shop ones are pretty small, and we have gotten a few at other places and they all seem to be made by the same company or the same template or something. I'm talking about the ones with a plastic insert that goes at the bottom of the bag and is kind of a pain. I much prefer the Whole Foods ones. I'm not going into grocery stores here, just saying that using these bags is a great thing, costs little... Some stores even give a small discount if you bring your own bags, which after 10 trips or so has paid for the bag. You just have to remember to carry them into the store with you. I have left mine on the back seat of my car way too many times, only to have to abandon my shopping cart, run out and get them and then proceed with the transaction.