Water and Power

Introducing the People Washer

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Water and Power
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peoplewasher 1Another gem from the June 1977 issue of The Futurist, an excerpt from Stephen Rosen’s book Future Facts: The way things are going to work in the future of technology, science, medicine and life (available for a penny on Amazon!).

Egg-shaped “People Washer” is an ultrasonic bath developed by the Sanyo Electric Company of Japan. The machine showers and bathes the body, cleans the skin, massages the muscles, and dries the person off.

To take a bath, the bather selects the water temperature, climbs inside the egg, and starts the machine. The machine first gives the bather a warm shower, then begins ultrasonic washing with bubbly warm water. Then the bath fills with warm water to a set level, at which point the water intake automatically shuts off and the hot water begins to whirl, cleaning the body even more thoroughly. While the water whirls, small rubber balls float around in the water, massage the skin, and relax the muscles. After seven minutes of washing and rubber-ball massage, the bath water drains from the sphere and the body is reshowered for two minutes. The shower and the ultrasonic waves cease and the water is drained out. Finally there is a dry cycle during which low moisture air circulates through the chamber. The entire cycle takes 15 minutes.

As crazy as this sounds, it looks like a version of it actually got made for taking care of elderly folks.

Councilmen Want to Astroturf Los Angeles and Turn it Into a Big Minigolf Course

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Gardening, Water and Power
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Sandestin-mini-golf

Los Angeles’ political leaders have a tendency to say the right things and get all the details wrong. Offering homeowners rebates to replace water hungry lawns is a good idea. Letting them use those rebates to put artificial turf in the parkway (see council motion 14-1197–introduced by councilpersons Blumenfield and O’Farrell) is not ecologically responsible.

I disagree with a recent editorial in the Los Angeles Times, about giving rebates for artificial turf. It’s time for all of us in this dry Mediterranean climate to go beyond the lawn and bad topiary paradigm. Yes, we need to reduce irrigation, but we also need to create landscapes beneficial to all life: to insects, mammals, reptiles and human beings. And we need beauty. Gardens are both ecological and spiritual. If the author of the Times editorial needs a good example of what’s possible, I’d suggest visiting the new garden surrounding the Natural History Museum.

Artificial turf has a place on athletic fields and put-put golf courses. It does not belong in residential landscapes, especially in the parkway.

Thanks to Travis Longcore, science director for the Urban Wildlands Group, for tipping me off to this situation.

017 Heirloom Expo Recap

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Animals, Bees, Fruit Trees, Gardening, Podcasts, rainwater harvesting, Vegetable Gardening, Water and Power
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On the seventeenth episode of the Root Simple Podcast Kelly and Erik discuss Erik’s recent trip to the National Heirloom Exposition in Santa Rosa, California. Some of the things and people we mention during the podcast:

If you want to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to [email protected]. You can subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store and on Stitcher. The theme music is by Dr. Frankenstein. Additional music by Rho. A downloadable version of this podcast is here.

How to do fewer dishes and save water

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Domesticus, Water Conservation
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telephone and glass of water

Erik’s outdoor office and his special glass.

This is just a little thing which we’ve started doing recently, but I really like it. Erik and I now have assigned water glasses and coffee mugs to use throughout the day. By reusing these glasses and mugs, we’ve really cut down on the amount of washing we do, and also save water, which is becoming increasingly critical in our never-ending drought.

We have very little cabinet space, so over the years I’d honed our glasses and cups to identical sets which stack neatly. This is great in terms of saving space, but the downside was that we never could tell one glass or mug from another, and so tended to just grab a fresh one whenever we needed a drink.  (As if we are going to catch cooties from each other!)

As a result, by the end of the day we’d have a ridiculous number of cups and glasses littering the house, considering there’s only the two of us. To remedy this, recently we each chose a unique glass and mug at the thrift store, and now use only these throughout the day. Basically, we’ve brought classic office practice into our home office.

This is one of those ideas which seems like a no-brainer, but which can easily not happen at all. I’m glad we’re doing it now.

I’m working on the same thing with plates. I have a wooden bowl which I use for most everything, but Erik is distrustful of wooden bowls–apparently he thinks they hold bacteria, since I don’t wash them with soap. I think he also finds them disturbingly hobbit-ish. So, for now, there are still multiple plates to wash. Maybe one day I’ll seduce him into Hobbiton and whittle his cutlery down to a wooden bowl, a big spoon, and a pewter mug. But in the meanwhile, we’re doing less dishes overall, and that is, and the high priestess of domesticity likes to say, A Good Thing.

Adobe in Action Interior and Exterior Plastering Online Course Begins on Monday, Sept. 1st

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Appropriate Technology, Events
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Adobe master Kurt Gardella, the man behind our backyard oven, is teaching an online adobe plastering class. Here’s the 411:

Dear adobe friends,

The next online class I am teaching for Adobe in Action – Interior and Exterior Plastering – begins on Monday, September 1, 2014. Earthen plasters are a great way to finish just about any wall substrate in the home. They create a soft, breathable final plaster layer which regulates humidity, odors and sounds like no other wall finish can. Plastering is a great way to get a feeling for building with earthen materials because the thin plaster surfaces give us direct and immediate feedback on how well we’ve selected and mixed our clay and aggregate materials. Also, you can practice your earthen plastering skills over existing conventional walls if you wish. We’ll show you how!

Here is the direct registration link if you are interested in joining us:

http://adobeinaction.bigcartel.com/product/interior-and-exterior-plastering-8-week-online-class-from-september-1-to-october-26-2014

And here is some info about topics covered in the class:

About the Course

This course covers the fundamentals of finishing interior and exterior adobe brick walls with natural plasters and paints. Our hands-on projects for this course focus on the mixing and application of earthen plasters, lime plasters and lime/casein paints.

Topic Overview

  • historical overview of interior and exterior finishes for adobe structures in New Mexico
  • importance of respiratory and eye safety when preparing and mixing plasters
  • overview of mud plaster characteristics and why earthen plasters make sense on adobe walls
  • summary of tools and materials needed for plastering
  • window and door opening reinforcement using reed mat
  • adobe wall preparation for maximum earthen plaster adhesion
  • locating and testing clay for earthen plasters
  • locating and testing aggregates for earthen plasters and lime plasters
  • preparing lime putty 10 importance of work site and material organization for plaster work
  • fiber (straw) preparation and chopping techniques
  • sifting & preparing & mixing soil and aggregates for earthen plasters
  • wheat paste production for strengthening mud plasters
  • casein production for lime paints
  • natural exterior earthen plaster stabilization techniques (lime, cactus juice)
  • hand application techniques of earthen plasters (base coats, patching)
  • hawk & trowel application of earthen and lime plasters (leveling and finish coats)
  • basic earthen plaster ingredients and recipes
  • basic lime plaster ingredients and recipes
  • calculating surface area to be finished and materials needed
  • troubleshooting earthen and lime plasters (cracking, adhesion problems, etc.)

Let me know if you have any questions. It would be great if you joined us for this next class!

Best,
Kurt Gardella
www.kurtgardella.com

P.S. For more information about how Adobe in Action’s online classes work see:
http://www.adobeinaction.org/how-the-online-classes-work/