Recently in Housing/Construction Category

(sketch by Justin)

The Oregonian reported this weekend that property owners at the SoWhat project are resisting the commitment to spend 30% of development dollars in the area on affordable housing, since they'd rather spend that money on parks and whatnot. Who can blame them -- parks and even streets are soooo much nicer to have around than poor people (although I'm not sure how they're defining "affordable" -- I put in a call to find out, but it may just be the tacky middle class that they're worried about). The Portland Development Commission is researching the issue. Given the PDC's recent fight to avoid paying prevailing wages on its projects, as well, I'm thinking maybe we can sell them on this idea from Justin.

The PDC vision is "to be a catalyst for positive change in the creation of a world-class 21st Century city; a city in which economic prosperity, quality housing and employment opportunities are available to all."

The Jin-rickshaw for the homeless offers all three in one at a price PDC should be comfortable with! Plus, showers!

At night, the homeless could park their rickshaws in the beautiful parks that will be made possible with the increased funds. Sleeping under the stars after a hard day's work -- it just doesn't get any better than that.

And this way, when the tram breaks down, people would still have a way to get around!

It's a win-win all around!!

We will have to investigate if rickshaws come in a family size. Or maybe we could have child-sized rickshaws? Maybe homeless childeren could pull even smaller children around! OMG -- how cute would that be??!!

Key BM: The Urban Key Holder

I'm constantly locking myself out, so having a key hidden somewhere outside is a necessity. They make a variety of key hiders, but all of them suffer from two defects: First, they are inappropriate for urban settings (when was the last time you saw a ceramic ladybug or a sprinkler on Mission street?). Second, they aren't disgusting enough to discourage people from picking them up -- especially on a city street.

To solve the latter problem, some people have suggested dog poo shaped key holders, but on a city street, some doo gooder (heh) might actually pick it up using their biodegradable dog waste bag.

(BTW: I got some of those bags at New Seasons the other day. I felt like kind of a sucker for actually buying bags when I get one every day with the paper, but I'm kind of fascinated and disturbed by the whole dog waste problem, to the extent that I was strongly tempted by the dog waste septic tank offered for sale at the Cathedral Park yard sale. Anyway, I like the bags but there's no way I'd try to pick up human shit with them.)

The last time I visited Rachel in San Francisco I was impressed with the amount of human waste (especially the three Ps: puke, pee and poop), on the streets outside her apartment, and this presented the answer to the problem: the KEY BM -- realistic human poo shaped plastic blogs with a space for a hidden key inside. Someone suggested you might add to the story by having a hypodermic needle sticking out of it. You might try a soiled napkin or something, too, because most people crapping on the street don't have TP, do they?

Thanks to Daniel for suggesting the product name.

Anyway, that's my disgusting idea for the day.

Jim taught me this handy trick: Flies are attracted to light. If you've got a fly buzzing around at night you can lead it from one room to the next by turning the lights on and off -- so, turn on the light in the kitchen, and when the fly comes in from the dining room, turn off the dining room light, then turn on the pantry light and turn off the kitchen light, and so on, until you get to the back porch light. It really works!

The only problem is sometimes (like right now, in my house) a fly will roost somewhere and refuse to fly around until you relax, and then they start buzzing around again. I really hate flies, but I also hate swatting them and getting little bits of their smooshed bodies on the wall. This is a much better method, I think. Also, it's Buddhist-friendly.

Tim writes in from an organic farm in Vermont with this idea:

"multicolored edible organic prefab housing, green for spinach, red for strawberry, blue for blueberry, yellow for cheese, or even multi-layored like a gob-stopper! environmently friendly and fire retardent of course. like edible lego's. i guess it is a little short sighted cause eventually you would eat yourself out of house and home."

That sounds like the kind of thing that would go over very well in parts of Oregon, too. Rats might be a bit of a problem, but I know Tim likes rats. We inherited our pet rat, Rattie -- or Maude, depending on who you asked -- from Tim back in the 1980s. She was adorable and very entertaining. I've been looking at all these Hamster websites lately, thanks in large part to Cute Overload, and it brings back the rodent love.

Anyway, thanks, Tim!

So Betsy and I told such fascinating stories about the hole in the backyard that Tom was compelled to come over and do some digging. Following are some pictures of what we (well, he) found so far in about an hour's worth of digging ...

(I was worried the ground was going to fall under Tom and he'd end up at the bottom of the hole.)

I don't know, but it's a LONG way down. Like, at least 10 feet. You'll have to wait for the next installment to see what we find ... or come over with a shovel.

The streets of New York City are littered with cigarette butts. The problem, I'm afraid, was only exacerbated by Mayor Bloomberg's ban on smoking within bars and restaurants. On another, more tragic note, there are a great many homeless/impoverished people across the five boroughs. A large percentage of these less fortunate individuals dedicate tremendous amounts of time to rifling through garbage bins collecting cans for redemption.

What if, like cans, there were a deposit on cigarettes? It could be redeemed by turning in the butts. It might help keep the sidewalks a little cleaner, at least.

Sandra and I have gone 'round and 'round on this one, initially wondering if it is too degrading to think someone would go around picking up cigarette butts off the ground. We then realized that it's probably not any dirtier than going through garbage cans and, in fact, a less socially ostracizing action. Sandra also pointed out that anyone can pick up butts. The point is that the cost of cleaning the butt is tied to the person buying the pack - the deposit transferred to the person who helps pick them up.

Here's a good scenario: after a dope-ass party, one doesn't just go and return all the empty cans and bottles - but the butts, too.

Mary Comments:

I think this is brilliant. We tax cigarette's for health care, why not for environmental costs, too?

Question: would filterless cigs be taxed the same and if not, would this encourage people to smoke filterless cigarettes? (I think the answer is to tax them all the same, even though filterless cigarettes biodegrade a lot more quickly).

What about tuburculosis? (I suppose similar objections were made to early bottle bills). [I should really go look up a bunch more bottle bill links, but this is why I'm such a lame blogger these days!]

BTW: I can't believe we can't get an indoor smoking ban passed in Portland. Since I've been going out a little more lately, it really strikes me how stinky a town we are.

My friend Dave is a smart, sensitive, charismatic guy who works as project manager for a construction company (maybe Melissa can chime in with his exact title). He was a carpenter before this, so he’s seen first hand the stress that remodeling projects put on relationships. I think he should get his MSW and become an official construction counselor. He’s got some competition with other people handing out free advice to couples going through remodeling, but I think that between workshops offered to contractors, consultations and services offered to select remodeling families, and maybe a book or two, he could do pretty well for himself.

Hi Mary,

As I was outside my apartment the other day, fumbling for my keys, I could
feel a great idea beginning to swell...

It happens to everyone: Just as you're walking up to the door to your
house/apartment, you are gripped by a sudden, overwhelming urge to pee.
At times, you may have been feeling this urge for some time and have
simply been waiting for the return to home (only serving to make matters
exponentially more desperate).

While this proposal is largely phallo-centric, the...ummm...relief it can
afford is undiminished. How about a urinal outside the house, right by
the front door? Picture it, if you can/will: running to the house,
clutching keys, plagued with the uncertainty of your bladder's physical
limitations, each breath an "I think I can...I think I can..." Instead of
rushing to get the key into the lock (which, it should be noted, is much
harder under strained circumstances), you need only to be fumbling with
your buttons as your target of relief is RIGHT THERE. This would also
address the long-respected psychological phenomenon of
all-of-a-sudden-needing-to-pee as soon as one closes in on his home.

But the placement of the receptical also addresses health and safety
issues. I never completed my urology course-work (slacker), but I'm
pretty certain that desperately holding It in is not good for you. This,
It, being good for one's kegel muscles isn't much of a consolation at
times like that, either. Furthermore, I'm presently exploring statistics
in Number of Injuries, Deaths and Other 'Accidents' Related to Inebriated
and Rushed Stair Climbing. An outdoor receptical would eliminate the
inherent risk of the rushed stair climb.

Of course, the product line would be wholly customizable; no one wants the
front of one's residence spoiled by some white porcelin. I thinking in
terms of a variety of colors as well as shapes (possibility of serving
other purposes as lawn sculpture?).

With regard to names: The traditional indoor facility has long held the
name 'John'. In keeping with this sentiment, as its creator, I had a
brief, self-aggrandizing thought of naming it after me. I quickly
realized that my name already serves as somewhat related slang.
Suggestions would be appreciated.

Here's my SECOND idea for the day, which is to have a new highway safety campaign called, "Just Zip It" or "Zipper Up" or something along those lines. The idea would be to get Americans to adapt the European (or German, anyway) philosophy of merging which is (I think) that no one merges until the last minute, at which point, everyone takes turns.