Update 6, bin 1. This update starts with a seedling mango tree trying to compete for food with the worms getting put in its place. Then, not much. No foul odors or unwanted insects. All left undisturbed so they can settle in and start building without interruption.
Added new waste to shallow end to see how long it takes to build up to the other higher level. This is my favorite bin at this point due to the nature of the experiment. Unknown worms and other insects from an unknown source plus the roly-poly stray adoption along the way. From the smallest worm find until now it keeps getting more interesting as they increase in size and population. -13
Update 8 for bins 2 & 3. Bin 2. Need to add more worms and will within days. No foul odors looking good. Insect populations flourishing. No roaches visible.
Bin 3 is in the same state as bin 2. There is more waste consumed validating my need to move more worm into bin 2. The good news is there is not much to note. -13
Finally found a boot made on a last that fit my feet. Many brand boots have too much space above the foot. My foot in other brand boots properly tied would have at least 1/2″ of vertical movement. When I lifted my foot to walk the boot would shift downward moving the footbed off my foot. Then on the down step the boot hit the surface first, then the foot onto the footbed of the boot.
To remedy this I used a combination of socks and sole inserts which put my foot at an awkward place in the boot and never worked well. No more of that with the M.E.B. I can wear a single pair of socks and skip adding thicker sole inserts. The fit is more like an athletic type shoe, much more comfortable around the foot. Snug and supportive without binding. The leather has no visible flaws, stitching is perfect. The overall finish and look of the boots are aesthetically pleasing.
Materials quality will be determined through use. Concerns with the sole are an arch that causes the boot to want to move in a rocking motion. Maybe this will flatten out after the boot breaks in. I’m wondering if the sole might stay like that and wear out the protruding part until it evens out.
There is a short length of stitching that holds the front end of the sole onto the boot as reinforcement. This line of stitching is not protected and might wear through enough to break the stitch.
The laces that came with the boots are too thin and I prefer to use Mil-spec type 3 paracord so they were changed. The sole inserts feel comfortable, but I might add some arch support. I’ve worn them at home for about 7 hours walking as much as possible and am confident they will keep me happy for years. Since an opportunity presents itself to track these from the start I’ll post periodic updates on the state of the boot.
Next post will explain why the M.E.B. was chosen and a progress update. Video review is below check it out. -13
Death of the Cobra CDR 840 video is online. The dash cam project started out of necessity. We have a high incidence of hit-and-run accidents here in the Miami-Dade and Broward county areas. FHP numbers for 2017, Broward 11,856 Miami-Dade 19,285. Those are only the hit-and-run numbers for one year. Hard to wrap around those number huh? After it happened to me several years ago. Wish I’d would have had a camera that day! Lesson learned!
Today, will not drive any form of transportation without a dash cam. A look at any video posted since this project was started will demonstrate why. More validation in my mind was how fast the insurance company paid dK2 when they found out that their driver had received citations and dK2 could produce dash camera footage. They couldn’t write the check fast enough.
The Cobra CDR 840 showed up at Costco sometime either late 2016 or early 2017. One was purchased for image quality testing. The camera was used for about a month before deciding to purchase two more. They were installed in all the vehicles we use. At first the plan was to delete the footage unless there was an accident involvement.
That changed after a long weekend of viewing several hours of footage. Watching drivers doing some of the most stupid and dangerous maneuvers a driver could do. After discovered editing software the dash cam project was born to document the crazy drivers.
That is not what this video is about. The video contains several clips featuring different malfunctions of the camera. The first scene is from another camera malfunctioning on what I thought would have been really cool. The Goodyear Blimp floating across the sky would have been awesome to me. Then it moves through the different malfunctions. Get ready to enter the Matrix!
After entering the matrix do not adjust your video settings because everything you see is the camera not your video player or computer. The video ends with an opinion offered as too why we will never use a camera powered like it again.
All cameras worked well at the beginning then all slowly progressed downhill the same way. Lack of longevity and the power cord did this camera style in for good. No more cameras with a power cord like the one on the Cobra camera. New cameras are in operation and collecting hours and hours of footage. As soon as there is enough footage to put together a video about the new cameras one will be made. Check out the video before you buy your next dash camera. -13
Here is another video from my catch up list. The video is new, the information is from 2016, 2017. The important information is in the video. It’s mostly still images of the containers and condition of them with my narration. Overall the experience was good check out the video for more detail. -13
Update 7 for bins 2 & 3. Bin 2 is looking good. No foul odors. Looks like there is a notable amount of waste left in here than in bin 3. This is indicating I need to move more worms from bin 3 over. The difference is clear to see. Moisture level seems good. I’ll need to add more cardboard soon. Better add some sand next feed time.
Bin 3 is working like a well oiled machine. It’s unimaginable how much they can change the landscape inside the bin. Somehow they move half a mango to make it look like it’s sinking into the soil. Totally amazed by that. Seems like there are more of the white dot and skinny bugs in bin 2 than in this bin. Maybe they’re subsoil when the waste gets that low. I can see them move in and out of the soil when I watch them. Mostly I see them on top. No foul odors.
Last post I mentioned roaches. Thought it was going to be a big hassle to find it. Wow was I wrong. As I was moving the cardboard out of the bin the roach ended up in my hand. At first I didn’t know it was there because it was in the gloved hand. I then noticed something kind of squishy. Thinking it was a small pile of worm bunched up I quickly looked where my fingers sensing the difference.
It was the roach, or a new one. I was in disbelieve it was that easy. Couldn’t have planned that in a million years. Once I realized my luck I threw it on the floor and killed it. The cats sitting there supervising me. Hope that was all of them. -13
Update 5, bin 1. Amazing progress. There are worms everywhere in that bin. I thought they would be concentrated in the thicker soil under all the food waste I’ve been feeding. What a surprise to find then in numbers under the decaying grass introduced last week. They all look healthy. The roly poly are also doing well I could see many smaller ones running around in there indicating reproduction. They might overrun the bin. If they do I let them loose on my yard compost pile. It is an experiment.
When I lifted part of a mango I found another unidentified insect alongside the worms. Was able to get a close up on video. It looked like something I’ve seen when pulling bark off a rotting tree. Maybe I’ll be able to figure out what it is. Guessing it was in the soil that the worms were in when I introduced them to the bin.
Can’t remember if I was going to start putting waste on the thinner soil side this soon. After seeing the number of worms under the grass I will. Start building it up. Couldn’t be more fascinated by this bin and it’s progression. The distribution and number of worms, rapidly reproducing roly polys and a new species. Added strawberries, sprayed a good rain to keep the moisture up seemed a little dry in there. The hard part at this point is knowing how much waste to put in without creating a stinking mess. Don’t want to over do it. -13
Nearly out of storage space on the computer I use to edit videos, I stopped. Importing new material and editing. That was months ago. The footage comes in faster than I can edit sometimes then it gets behind. An average of 75 videos each day, five days a week. It can be overwhelming.
As happened in recent times. A fantastic combination of an injury, pain and no time. Thousands of videos piled up like that. I could store them for later. My problem with that is what do I store them on. I’ve had bad experiences with removable hard drives in the past.
That doesn’t leave me much to choose from. I like portability, accessibility and reliability to be my priorities. Feels like I’m left with usb flash. After a few experiments over the last few months I’ve settled for storage on flash storage. They don’t get used often. Only when I’m copying new files then they sit in a storage box.
After a recent purchase of a 256GB flash was I able to clear out all of my old projects. During the clean up I found many old unfinished projects. Now that I have the time and space I was able to edit another 9 videos. It is really a good feeling to be able to get this stuff done.
Here are a few of those projects below. A couple minute video of a squirrel having a good time. Palm fronds making contact with an electric line, the sounds are scary. A knight anole hides from me after I discovered it on a palm tree. A great way to waste a few minutes and distract the mind. -13
Merge – Exit Madness is back for number 4 of south Florida crazy driving. A compilation of dangerous, stupid, selfish things drivers do merging and exiting I-95, I-75, the Florida Turnpike and other highways. Get ready for CRAZY!
Update 6 for bins 2 & 3. Bin 2 is progressing along nicely. The worms from bin 3 seem to help keep the balance so I can put an equal amount of waste in. It appears healthy and moist. I may add more worms from 3 later but am still watching the consumption rate.
Bin 3, doesn’t seem to have any noticeable difference in the consumption rate since I moved the worms. The soil is moist. There’s an abundance of the smaller insects that usually inhabit the bins. Everything seems to be fine.
I did notice a roach on the cardboard when I was editing the video and have yet to locate it. Here I go again with the roaches. I haven’t introduced anything questionable to the bin lately so there hasn’t been much to note. I’ll keep taking before/after stills and video to track the consumption rates, and when I introduce a questionable item that I haven’t filmed before. Time to hunt for roaches. -13
Fisher Island Ferry. It’s not exactly what I’d like it to be. Was hoping to get a front row seat but haven’t over the last several years. In this video we get a good view anyway. I’ve been surprised how difficult it is to get in front. It’s all about timing. There has been other footage but the water was so rough that when the playback speed was increased it made it impossible to watch.
In this video we get smooth water and a decent view. On the return trip there is I think a Netherlands flagged wood mast ship. I couldn’t figure out which ship is was and am hoping someone will be able to identify it and share it with us. Until we have better footage this will be it for the ferry. -13
Spring cleaning? Something like that. Found a file in a place it wasn’t supposed to be. Thought I had placed it someplace else. Maybe that explains why I couldn’t find it and hadn’t finished it before now.
The footage is of a few historic homes in Ocala, painted horse art, an amazing after accident scene where the tires are knocked off a semi truck trailer. Then accelerated speed footage to the I-75 / Naples exit. Was hoping to get video all the way to Broward county but night set in and that was that so I cut it off at the last Naples exit heading south.
The video starts with the accident that is family friendly. No guts, no gore. -13
Unit-13 FREMSLT 