Tiny Home Dreams

I've been dreaming of building and owning my own tiny home for a year now.  About eight months ago I decided to begin collecting inspirations and working on a floor-plan that would work with my particular accessibility needs, specifically a downstairs bed area (stairs are a no-go for me).  I've collected all of my inspirations along with my very rough working design concept in a picasa album that can be found here.

Lazy Politicitians

In 2006, a small, seemingly insignificant, pro-tribal gaming law was attached to a piece of must-pass legislation in Washington State.  What did this little bill include? It made playing online poker a felony - a felony commensurate with being a level C sex offender. Oh, you can still play poker...at a tribal casino or card room. You can still blow a week's salary on state lottery and keno tickets (encouraged by the state) or bet on horse races (even remotely).

The government decided to "protect" us from ourselves and in so doing threw a bone to the tribal casino monopoly within the state. As of January this year (2011), if I were on state assistance, I could empty my welfare debit card at a casino or strip-club ATM and spend the money on video slot machines, roulette tables and lap dances.

Makes sense, doesn't it? The sad part is, when canvased at a later time by various poker advocacy proponents, most state politicians who passed this into law admitted not even reading or researching this piece of attached legislation (which raises a whole separate concern -- how many other pieces of questionable legislation pass in this manner without ever being researched by our esteemed lawmakers?).

Present Economy Comparable to the Great Depression?

I won't go into great detail primarily because I haven't done the requisite research, but one little factoid caught my attention last night and provided some perspective regarding the state of our present economy.

During the great depression the unemployment rate in the USA was almost 30%. Read that again - 30%, 3 out of every 10 people of working age were without a job (compared to just under 10% today). That number does not take into consideration unreported unemployed individuals or workers in under-paying jobs, a prevalent reality during the depression era. It's possible that 40-50% of the population either earned no income or earned insufficient income to support themselves or their families. What a startling thought.

Has our economy been under great duress? Yes. Have people lost their homes and jobs at alarming rates? Yes. Does any accurate comparison with times past require in-depth evaluation beyond 'simple' unemployment rates? Absolutely.

Individuals and communities are suffering terribly in this present financial state. But, on a national scale, does an equivalency truly exist with the great depression? I don't believe that to be true -- not yet.

(Picture from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.)

Operation Tightwad

Liquid hand-soap is a wonderful convenience, especially if you have children. Bars of soap, even when placed on attractive soap-dishes, end up looking slimy and grimy. But while it's possible to purchase large bottles of liquid soap to refill a dispenser, the cost adds up in a hurry.

Here's another option: Purchase a foaming soap dispenser (a one-time expenditure) and refill it with the liquid soap of your choice at only a tablespoon of soap per entire refill.

To the left is a sample bottle from a quick search at Amazon, but you can find these at most grocery and drug stores. Rather than dispense a glob of liquid soap, these dispensers provide the most effective part -- an already-created lather.

Unless you're using a specialty organic, all natural soap from a health store, most liquid soap is the same -- even dish soap. The main differences are generally the viscosity (i.e. how thick the soap feels) and price.

To refill a foaming soap dispenser I simply fill the bottle 3/4 full with warm water (slowly or you will have an overflow of bubbles -- fun, but not necessarily the objective).

Then add about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of liquid soap of your choosing. I personally use a medium thick (but inexpensive) soap from the dish-soap section as it's dramatically cheaper than hand-soap refills. Keep the total fill-level (water plus soap) at just over 3/4 full. Replace the lid and slowly swirl the bottle around until adequately mixed. Pump a few times to get the foam started and test the mixture.

If you find the dispenser seems too resistant, simply decrease the amount of soap (thin it out). The mixture in the bottle is surprisingly thin and watery. It might seem improbable that such a concoction would do the job. But the first time you feel the soft, smooth, pre-lathered soap, you'll likely change your mind. This also will save you money. I use one medium bottle of dish-washing soap every 6 months for three separate dispensers, including the one at my kitchen sink --- Yep -- it's fabulous for doing your dishes as well.

*NOTE: I have not tested this with specialty soaps that are not designed to produce any lather*

No more Osama Bin Hidin'

Yes -- an irreverent title for a very momentous, serious and surreal event. An event - wow - the killing of one man represents a national event. How strange to experience relief over the death of another human, no matter how evil. I hope this action gives a sense of justice to the survivors and surviving family members of the despicable 9/11 attacks and a sense of renewed purpose and hope to our brave men and women in uniform.

The irreverent and satirical Jon Stewart has an interesting take on the removal of Osama from this planet.

To Kill a Mockingturd - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 05/02/11 - Video Clip | Comedy Central