A Quickie

As the Canadian federal election nears it's neck & neck between the Lying Thieves and the Thieving Liars. The Pot-Smoking Skinny-Dippers are running a distant third. Same old, same old for Canadian politics. (Judging by lawn signs, Denman Island seems to be heavily leaning toward the Pot-smoking Skinny-dippers... there's no shortage of support for both activities here.) Meanwhile south of the border there's more action than one can resist. I'll predict that the US pres debates get better ratings in Canada than the Canadian leadership debates. I can only say from this little island.... what the...?
It's hard to believe the magnitude of the financial situation there and the ripple effect it will have world wide. Is this what happens to all self-policing industries? The prediction of American debt was underestimated in my December 2007 Blog... can I add another trillion?

Strawbale Update: Masonry Heater core has been assembled. The brickwork can be done after the slab is poured. There's lots riding on that slab pour!

gotta go and watch the debate.....

Electoral Dysfunction

"Elections are no time to discuss serious issues", Kim Campbell.
I think everything has been promised except "bigger elephants in all our zoos!" Whether we want it or not we're going to get decreases in income tax jammed down our throats. It's a fact. As more "boomers" retire and have less income, there will be less income tax revenue collected. What (they) are not saying is that the lost revenue, can and will be made up elsewhere. Can you say user fees? Be it on beer, bridges, or bowling (or ferries)... you're going to pay on a different source to the same bank account. So please bend over as your income taxes are reduced. If I'm sober on election day and have had my fill of cold-cuts and puffin dodging, I'll be voting for.... maybe I'll wait until after one of those enthralling TV debates. Hey, here's an idea... We should let the American citizens elect our new government and we'll elect theirs. That way we'll have some one else to blame for voting in the same old bafoons. (neither of us could do any worse)
Strawbale house update: Work continues on the sub-slab preparation. The water lines are aligned to fit inside a (2X4) partition wall inside a closet, where they will be attached to the (hot or cold) manifolds. Electrical conduit from the house to the garage and pump house also has to be buried and cable pulled through. I'll run an extra conduit just in case we decide to experiment with solar or wind power in the future. I'm happy to report that it's raining heavily and the skylight does not leak, (nor the roof(s) for that matter).
The garage exterior is almost finished except for some detail and door setting. There's also the interior framing and stairs to build, but that can wait until winter.

On the weekend we went to a strawbale party on the island. The other bale house on the island was ready for bale stacking and plastering. About 15 people showed up and work went quicker than expected. It was a pretty good learning experience for us, especially the plastering technique.

.... some homework needs to be done on in-slab heating. Kari isn't crazy about "forced air" heat as illustrated in the following video. (she should know better than to go to sleep before me.)

Don't put all your eggs in one....election

The federal election was announced today and we'll go to the polls on October the 14th. We bought a dozen eggs today... the best before date is Oct 14th. It could be an omen. Maybe all elections should be held within the shelf-life of a dozen eggs. Now for all that Canadian election excitement.... (yawn)

Straw Bale House Update: The roof(s) are now all buttoned up, including the skylight. These two pics show the drainage track that will transfer any water leaks to the gutters. Not that I think the skylight will ever leak... but it's a good safeguard. The final flashing details were worked out on the roof and the ridge caps are installed.

By special request, I'll post a picture of our cats. (Boo insists on sleeping on his back.)