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Chiaroscuro of Clutteropolis
Jan. 31st, 2010 02:39 pm
It isn't 3:00 yet, but I like this snapshot. A pothos rescued from Drumlin Farm, a redwood burl sprouting with glee, a bonsai juniper from my mom's memorial, a volunteer scholar tree out the window, and the bric-a-brac of our lives in shadow all around.
In other news--free stuff!
Nov. 16th, 2009 07:28 pmI attempted some decluttering today. I unearthed a bunch of zines and zine-sized envelopes. If you want me to send you some zines paypal me two dollars for the postage. (my email address is in my profile info--don't forget to include your mailing address)
If you don't know what I'm talking about, this journal started as a paper zine back in 2003. The issues I have left include an article about mushrooms and an article about urban nature in Austin among other things. I may try to slip other goodies into the envelopes if I can get away with it.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, this journal started as a paper zine back in 2003. The issues I have left include an article about mushrooms and an article about urban nature in Austin among other things. I may try to slip other goodies into the envelopes if I can get away with it.
Patience the Trailer, in better hands
Nov. 2nd, 2009 07:57 pmIf you see a guy riding a bike pulling Patience the Trailer around Brookline and Boston, it's not me, and it's not a thief! I have passed the trailer along to my neighbor Pat, who is trying to live car-free. Since my life is admittedly quite car-full these days, it's only fitting that Pat has the trailer now.
( more of the story )
( more of the story )
Would you like to make a trade?
Sep. 16th, 2009 05:39 pmIt's been a while since I've seen the image of a product and felt a visceral desire to own it. Someone just posted a link mentioning The Sibley Guide to Trees and I felt that desire grab my chest.
The Sibley Guide to Birds upended the status quo in bird guides by simply being better than anything else out there. It meticulously depicted all the North American bird species, the plumage of both sexes and that of juveniles, as well as regional and unusual variations. It included how postures and temperature can change the silhouette of a bird, and detailed the anatomical terms of different plumage areas. There was a huge one for both coasts and field-sized east and west coast editions.
The fact that it was also a labor of love of one self-taught birder crossing the country for a decade in a van full of paint and canvases made me feel great to buy it. I met David Sibley at the Audubon Shop in Lincoln, and found that he was humble and personable, and living in Concord, practically a neighbor.
I have an ugly void in my field guides where a great tree guide belongs. I have an ancient golden guide, which has sufficed, and a guide to urban trees which helps fill out the commonly planted exotics. The fact that Sibley has now applied his "formidable skills of identification and illustration to the trees of North America" is the best news I've read in a long time.
I am loathe to add more possessions to my life, but I am willing to trade. If you have an extra copy of this book, I will gladly exchange a huge amount of used CDs--in excess of double the value of the book--for it. I know it's a long shot, and that I'll probably just buy myself a copy at the Audubon Shop when I go to Drumlin Farm September 27th to teach a mushroom class. But if you want a huge amount of used CDs, this would be a great opportunity for you.
I hope he's working on a shrubs and herbaceous perennials book!
The Sibley Guide to Birds upended the status quo in bird guides by simply being better than anything else out there. It meticulously depicted all the North American bird species, the plumage of both sexes and that of juveniles, as well as regional and unusual variations. It included how postures and temperature can change the silhouette of a bird, and detailed the anatomical terms of different plumage areas. There was a huge one for both coasts and field-sized east and west coast editions.
The fact that it was also a labor of love of one self-taught birder crossing the country for a decade in a van full of paint and canvases made me feel great to buy it. I met David Sibley at the Audubon Shop in Lincoln, and found that he was humble and personable, and living in Concord, practically a neighbor.
I have an ugly void in my field guides where a great tree guide belongs. I have an ancient golden guide, which has sufficed, and a guide to urban trees which helps fill out the commonly planted exotics. The fact that Sibley has now applied his "formidable skills of identification and illustration to the trees of North America" is the best news I've read in a long time.
I am loathe to add more possessions to my life, but I am willing to trade. If you have an extra copy of this book, I will gladly exchange a huge amount of used CDs--in excess of double the value of the book--for it. I know it's a long shot, and that I'll probably just buy myself a copy at the Audubon Shop when I go to Drumlin Farm September 27th to teach a mushroom class. But if you want a huge amount of used CDs, this would be a great opportunity for you.
I hope he's working on a shrubs and herbaceous perennials book!
Decluttering (with parentheses)
Sep. 12th, 2009 05:49 pmThe American Association of Zookeepers chapter at my work holds a fundraising event each year called "Mothball." (Because it used to be held in the Butterfly Exhibit.) Last year we went, and there was a Halloween theme and we had a good time.
I also discovered what a "silent auction" is, and it was a revelation. You bid on the items by writing your name and your bid on the sheet next to the item, and other people can outbid you, within a certain time limit. It's like ebay, but with real people, and no shipping charges. All the stuff was donated by zoo staff, and I got rid of some things. I loved donating my stuff to this event because the people who got it wanted it enough to pay for it (and sometimes compete for it) and I got to be rid of it. It's like throwing my useless crap out the window without the guilt and angry neighbors.
This year, despite the inferior "prom" theme, I'm determined to have an even better time. I am doing this by getting rid of even more stuff. I've already brought in a few items that didn't sell in the tag sale (life-size goose shaped lamp) and some things I've had kicking around for years (surplus unused machetes). A group of books is on its way, as well as some clutter removed from my dad's house (Uncle Sam Santa riding a bald eagle ornament).
But the big coup for me is the CDs. I have several boxes full of CD accumulated during my time working at a music warehouse (Newbury Comics, for you locals). There's a very narrow range of material(indie rock, post punk) , across a very narrow range of time (about 1992 to 1998). Going through the boxes I'm struck by two things: 1) allergies. I have dust allergies, so old boxes of stuff are like kryptonite to me. 2) how little I actually care about these CDs. I bought a portable hard drive to store all the data on these discs before releasing them from my grasp, but I'm surprised how often I look at a disc and say, "nah, don't need to have that."
The hard part is going to be the papers. Some day I have to deal with dozens of dusty boxes full of documents and magazines that have no intrinsic value to anyone. I'll have to sneeze my way through them sheet by sheet, deciding what reason I had for saving them and if that reason still stands, or if I need to create an archive. I'm thinking I'll get myself a fireproof box, put everything in it, and bury it in as deep a hole as I can dig on my dad's property. Future historians can decide if it's worthwhile--so long as they don't have allergies.
I also discovered what a "silent auction" is, and it was a revelation. You bid on the items by writing your name and your bid on the sheet next to the item, and other people can outbid you, within a certain time limit. It's like ebay, but with real people, and no shipping charges. All the stuff was donated by zoo staff, and I got rid of some things. I loved donating my stuff to this event because the people who got it wanted it enough to pay for it (and sometimes compete for it) and I got to be rid of it. It's like throwing my useless crap out the window without the guilt and angry neighbors.
This year, despite the inferior "prom" theme, I'm determined to have an even better time. I am doing this by getting rid of even more stuff. I've already brought in a few items that didn't sell in the tag sale (life-size goose shaped lamp) and some things I've had kicking around for years (surplus unused machetes). A group of books is on its way, as well as some clutter removed from my dad's house (Uncle Sam Santa riding a bald eagle ornament).
But the big coup for me is the CDs. I have several boxes full of CD accumulated during my time working at a music warehouse (Newbury Comics, for you locals). There's a very narrow range of material(indie rock, post punk) , across a very narrow range of time (about 1992 to 1998). Going through the boxes I'm struck by two things: 1) allergies. I have dust allergies, so old boxes of stuff are like kryptonite to me. 2) how little I actually care about these CDs. I bought a portable hard drive to store all the data on these discs before releasing them from my grasp, but I'm surprised how often I look at a disc and say, "nah, don't need to have that."
The hard part is going to be the papers. Some day I have to deal with dozens of dusty boxes full of documents and magazines that have no intrinsic value to anyone. I'll have to sneeze my way through them sheet by sheet, deciding what reason I had for saving them and if that reason still stands, or if I need to create an archive. I'm thinking I'll get myself a fireproof box, put everything in it, and bury it in as deep a hole as I can dig on my dad's property. Future historians can decide if it's worthwhile--so long as they don't have allergies.
How clutter happens.
Feb. 22nd, 2009 11:02 amHere's a gadget that I don't need but sorely want! It's for measuring the diameter of trees, useful for determining whether a tree can be rightfully called a champion or heritage tree. How often would I use it? At least once, I suppose.
Putting a toe into the clutter
Jan. 16th, 2009 07:10 pmInspired by the great 2009 Massart (and associated industries) Facebook old photo explosion, I started looking through one of a million bags (and boxes and containers and so on) of old photos. Daunted, I managed to throw out about 20 blurry pics of nothing in particular. But I also came across a handful of cassette tapes. It occurred to me that as I go through all of my belongings, at some point I am going to stumble upon a few hundred cassettes. We do have a tape deck in our stereo, but we almost never use it.
Anyone want a huge box full of cassettes? It's probably a cool retro thing to have, but I see it as allergy-inducing junk.
Anyone want a huge box full of cassettes? It's probably a cool retro thing to have, but I see it as allergy-inducing junk.
3:00 snapshot, #237.
Mar. 3rd, 2008 06:06 pm
Clutter on the kitchen table. I picked up some of it, but it's still pretty bad.
Random for you
Feb. 6th, 2008 05:07 pmOne last political note until October or so (I almost promise): If superduper Tuesday had been a four-way general election, Obama would have won. He got more total votes than Clinton, and each of them got more votes than all of the combined votes cast for Republicans (according to what I heard on npr this afternoon). To me, that shows that the Independents came out of the woodwork to vote for him, while in Democratic strongholds (California, New York, Massachusetts) the Dems stuck to the orthodoxy.
Alexis, having read a good chunk of The Omnivore's Dilemma, is making food choices based on ethical issues. This is an interesting role change, as I'm basically eating anything I like, as long as I like it. That includes two exciting forms of cherry-flavored junk food: cherry cordial goo filled hershey's kisses and cherry jello with peach pieces in it. "Red" is my favorite flavor.
It doesn't appear that my screw-ups at work are going to get me fired, at least not any time soon. I'm slated to help teach the "Pest Control" zookeeper training class in April, and I had a meeting today about what's going to happen with pest control in the spring and summer. Good signs that I won't be out on my ass next week. On the other hand I have my 6 month review on Monday, and I'm pretty sure I'll be eating a lot of shit during that.
My "take out more than you bring in" form of self clutter-control seems to be working. It means I take out the trash and recycling more often, at least. I tried freecycle and so far I don't like it. I've gone through a lot of work to get rid of one pair of boots. If anyone in the Boston area wants size 9 docs and cons let me know. Also,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
candent, send me your mailing address if you want my old paperbacks!
In urban nature news, my new coworker took some pictures of a saw-whet owl outside her window in East Boston! I'll post them once she sends me copies.
I feel weirdly guilty about not posting every day. I'm blaming it on the weather, for now. I'll add it to complaints like my lips being so chapped they bleed, the skin of my face flaking off in chunks, and the dry heated buildings cooking my moisture away until I'm so dehydrated that I wake up with a Boone's Farm hangover every morning. But really, would you want to read complaints like that from me every day?
I racked up over 6 dollars in library fines, which I feel perversely good about. I can't just hand the librarians money (they are easily confuzzled) but I feel like supporting them. I gave them two giant hardcover books and a fullscreen version of king kong that I bought by accident, and that was fairly confuzzling to them. Just as well to earn a good honest library fine. Anyway, I got my excise tax bill, and I assume that must trickle down to the library eventually.
We watched "The Bridge," a documentary about the most popular place in the country for people to commit suicide: The Golden Gate Bridge. To make the film, a team of a dozen camera operators scanned the bridge for a year, looking for likely jumpers. They would call the Bridge Patrol if anyone looked like they were going over (and helped save a few people) but they would film the whole thing: rescues and successful attempts. The footage is interspersed with surviving friends and family members talking about the people who jumped, most of whom were profoundly disturbed, and announced their suicides long before traveling to the bridge. It was very well made, but I only rated it 3 stars so that I wouldn't have tons of depressing movies recommended to me by Netflix.
Alexis, having read a good chunk of The Omnivore's Dilemma, is making food choices based on ethical issues. This is an interesting role change, as I'm basically eating anything I like, as long as I like it. That includes two exciting forms of cherry-flavored junk food: cherry cordial goo filled hershey's kisses and cherry jello with peach pieces in it. "Red" is my favorite flavor.
It doesn't appear that my screw-ups at work are going to get me fired, at least not any time soon. I'm slated to help teach the "Pest Control" zookeeper training class in April, and I had a meeting today about what's going to happen with pest control in the spring and summer. Good signs that I won't be out on my ass next week. On the other hand I have my 6 month review on Monday, and I'm pretty sure I'll be eating a lot of shit during that.
My "take out more than you bring in" form of self clutter-control seems to be working. It means I take out the trash and recycling more often, at least. I tried freecycle and so far I don't like it. I've gone through a lot of work to get rid of one pair of boots. If anyone in the Boston area wants size 9 docs and cons let me know. Also,
candent, send me your mailing address if you want my old paperbacks!In urban nature news, my new coworker took some pictures of a saw-whet owl outside her window in East Boston! I'll post them once she sends me copies.
I feel weirdly guilty about not posting every day. I'm blaming it on the weather, for now. I'll add it to complaints like my lips being so chapped they bleed, the skin of my face flaking off in chunks, and the dry heated buildings cooking my moisture away until I'm so dehydrated that I wake up with a Boone's Farm hangover every morning. But really, would you want to read complaints like that from me every day?
I racked up over 6 dollars in library fines, which I feel perversely good about. I can't just hand the librarians money (they are easily confuzzled) but I feel like supporting them. I gave them two giant hardcover books and a fullscreen version of king kong that I bought by accident, and that was fairly confuzzling to them. Just as well to earn a good honest library fine. Anyway, I got my excise tax bill, and I assume that must trickle down to the library eventually.
We watched "The Bridge," a documentary about the most popular place in the country for people to commit suicide: The Golden Gate Bridge. To make the film, a team of a dozen camera operators scanned the bridge for a year, looking for likely jumpers. They would call the Bridge Patrol if anyone looked like they were going over (and helped save a few people) but they would film the whole thing: rescues and successful attempts. The footage is interspersed with surviving friends and family members talking about the people who jumped, most of whom were profoundly disturbed, and announced their suicides long before traveling to the bridge. It was very well made, but I only rated it 3 stars so that I wouldn't have tons of depressing movies recommended to me by Netflix.
Random, etc.
Feb. 2nd, 2008 12:26 pmI haven't posted too much since I've been back from vacation. I'm kind of depressed in general; I think the vacation had the opposite of its intended effect.
Work is sort of a mixed bag: I feel like I'm making some friends and getting better at some aspects of the job, but I've also dropped the ball kind of badly a couple times, and I sometimes wonder how thin the ice really is.
You guys have peer pressured me into joining freecycle. The vegetarian docs are the first thing I'm posting (is Freecycle always done as a yahoo group?) and if that goes well I'll try some more.
Candent: re-send me your mailing address and I'll send you all the paperback books that I'm divesting myself of. Big heavy books are going to the library, along with any dvds I get sick of.
I don't know how they know that the latest Iraq suicide bombers were women with Down Syndrome, but if it's true, those people really suck. It's not enough to blow people up, it's not enough to do it in a crowded pet market so that it's women and kids and animals getting blown up, but they are recruiting the retarded? If you made that up and wrote it, you would be accused of fabricating and exaggerating to spread hate.
The San Francisco Zoo tiger attack debacle gets weirder, with "former zoo authority"-cum-animal rights activists telling the Chronicle that the zoo is outdated, and with the survivors admitting to more and more tiger-goading.
In an article that somehow avoids using the word 'pitbull,' we learn of an American bulldog saving a Staffie from a mountain lion.
I will be repeating the following on Monday and perhaps Tuesday, when it will be more relevant, if not urgent:
Obama has a better chance of beating a Republican opponent than Clinton. THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS. If you are a Democrat who can vote in a Primary next week, I strongly recommend that you vote for Obama. The turning point for me, after Edwards dropped out, was hearing a call on an npr radio show, wherein the caller said "I'm trying to decide between McCain and Obama." I don't know how a person can get to that point in their decision making, but the country is full of people like that. If it comes down to McCain vs. Clinton, McCain will win in a landslide--I am confident of that. And while we CAN'T POSSIBLY HAVE A WORSE PRESIDENT THAN THE ONE WE HAVE, I believe we DESPERATELY need the pendulum to swing hard to the left for us to have a chance to repair the damage. And while I respect McCain on some level: he appears to be against torture, for example, he has more or less promised, if elected, to continue the war in Iraq into perpetuity.
Work is sort of a mixed bag: I feel like I'm making some friends and getting better at some aspects of the job, but I've also dropped the ball kind of badly a couple times, and I sometimes wonder how thin the ice really is.
You guys have peer pressured me into joining freecycle. The vegetarian docs are the first thing I'm posting (is Freecycle always done as a yahoo group?) and if that goes well I'll try some more.
Candent: re-send me your mailing address and I'll send you all the paperback books that I'm divesting myself of. Big heavy books are going to the library, along with any dvds I get sick of.
I don't know how they know that the latest Iraq suicide bombers were women with Down Syndrome, but if it's true, those people really suck. It's not enough to blow people up, it's not enough to do it in a crowded pet market so that it's women and kids and animals getting blown up, but they are recruiting the retarded? If you made that up and wrote it, you would be accused of fabricating and exaggerating to spread hate.
The San Francisco Zoo tiger attack debacle gets weirder, with "former zoo authority"-cum-animal rights activists telling the Chronicle that the zoo is outdated, and with the survivors admitting to more and more tiger-goading.
In an article that somehow avoids using the word 'pitbull,' we learn of an American bulldog saving a Staffie from a mountain lion.
I will be repeating the following on Monday and perhaps Tuesday, when it will be more relevant, if not urgent:
Obama has a better chance of beating a Republican opponent than Clinton. THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS. If you are a Democrat who can vote in a Primary next week, I strongly recommend that you vote for Obama. The turning point for me, after Edwards dropped out, was hearing a call on an npr radio show, wherein the caller said "I'm trying to decide between McCain and Obama." I don't know how a person can get to that point in their decision making, but the country is full of people like that. If it comes down to McCain vs. Clinton, McCain will win in a landslide--I am confident of that. And while we CAN'T POSSIBLY HAVE A WORSE PRESIDENT THAN THE ONE WE HAVE, I believe we DESPERATELY need the pendulum to swing hard to the left for us to have a chance to repair the damage. And while I respect McCain on some level: he appears to be against torture, for example, he has more or less promised, if elected, to continue the war in Iraq into perpetuity.
I've resolved that every time I leave my house, I take something out with me. If I brought something into the house previously (groceries, mail) I take out more stuff than I brought in. It's kind of hard (I forgot to do it when I took the puppy out--but he pooped, so that almost counts) but it makes me feel better about reducing the clutter.
Yesterday I took out a cordless drill that didn't work. If I hadn't resolved to take stuff out, I would have held onto that thing until we moved. "Maybe I'll find a replacement charger for it..." NO, you won't. You'll just add to the damn clutter with it. I know I have new boots down at my mailbox, but that means I have to get rid of some old boots. Fortunately I have a pair of canvas ("vegetarian") Doc Martens that are slightly stained, slightly uncomfortable, and besides all that, never really worn. I hold onto them because back when I only wanted to get non-leather shoes it was kind of a pain in the ass to find them. I ordered them on eBay and they were sent from the UK. That makes them valuable, right? No, that makes them garbage. Novelty garbage, but garbage.
I know it's very bad environmentalism, but good environmentalism would have been not accumulating all this garbage to begin with.
I tried giving things away, but paying 5-20 dollars for shipping something across the country or globe is not giving it away. Big Brothers Big Sisters is great because they actually come and take the stuff from you. I have a pile of books in my car that I've tried to give away and no one will take them. Next time I go to the library I'll bring them in and try to donate them.
We should take the time to be thankful that our problems are surplus, not shortages. I just wish that those who were short on paperback books and t-shirts and broken electronics would come and take mine away!
Yesterday I took out a cordless drill that didn't work. If I hadn't resolved to take stuff out, I would have held onto that thing until we moved. "Maybe I'll find a replacement charger for it..." NO, you won't. You'll just add to the damn clutter with it. I know I have new boots down at my mailbox, but that means I have to get rid of some old boots. Fortunately I have a pair of canvas ("vegetarian") Doc Martens that are slightly stained, slightly uncomfortable, and besides all that, never really worn. I hold onto them because back when I only wanted to get non-leather shoes it was kind of a pain in the ass to find them. I ordered them on eBay and they were sent from the UK. That makes them valuable, right? No, that makes them garbage. Novelty garbage, but garbage.
I know it's very bad environmentalism, but good environmentalism would have been not accumulating all this garbage to begin with.
I tried giving things away, but paying 5-20 dollars for shipping something across the country or globe is not giving it away. Big Brothers Big Sisters is great because they actually come and take the stuff from you. I have a pile of books in my car that I've tried to give away and no one will take them. Next time I go to the library I'll bring them in and try to donate them.
We should take the time to be thankful that our problems are surplus, not shortages. I just wish that those who were short on paperback books and t-shirts and broken electronics would come and take mine away!
