I feel that...

Take What You Need

" Why does it always feel like we’re competing for resources in this country? In a land of plenty we sometimes act like we’re battling to survive when many of us aren’t even close to the “edge.”

My theory is if everybody takes what they need there’s usually a lot left for people to share (or save/cultivate/preserve/grow). Even when it comes down to samples in grocery stores I’ve almost been run over by shopping carts for a slice of cheese on a saltine cracker. We seem to have this interesting mentality about how much we need versus how much we want. Also a feeling that somehow, if you don’t take more than your share of things, you’re not getting enough. How much is enough? How much it too much?

I see this sort of mentality can applying to lots of things.  Privilege. Affirmative Action. Welfare. Scholarships. Taxes. Health Care. 

At some point it makes you stop and think. I mean we are so worried about somebody getting our resources that we put exceeding amounts of cash, time and energy into locking in our “security.” But at whose expense?

Is paying more for jails, weapons, deportation centers, border control and national security really keeping us safe? Or are we even stronger when we recognize (and invest in) our own interdependence? I mean, we’re all connected, right?

Sometimes, it occurs to me that the advice we give to children is precisely what we ourselves need to hear. 

“Treat others as you’d like to be treated”

“Sharing is caring”

“Be considerate… Be respectful” "

- From my girl, Aisha

Urine as AWESOME organic fertilizer

We are made up of elements.  19 to be exact. 

The "shewee."

Where do those elements come from?  They come from the food that we eat.  The animals get it from plants.  The plants get it from the soil.  Where does the soil get it from?  Well, currently we add chemical fertilizers to our soil to replenish the elements we need to survive, but the natural process of things demands that we give our elements back to the soil.                                              

OK, that sounds good.  Sounds like a proper cycle but how do we give it back?  Well this part might sound stinky to you, but do yourself a favor and suspend your disbelief.  We give it back by giving our dirt - our urine and feces, and dead bodies after death - to the soil.  Currently, we don't have simple technology to deal with feces and we are alive.  This leaves our waste water - urine.

So what is urine anyways?  Well, we know it is the clearish, yellowish stuff that we excrete several times a day.  We have heard that it is sterile, and we know that it contains the water-soluble compounds and chemicals that our body doesn't need.

It also happens to be the elixer of life for plants, a sweet and delicious nectar, that they are just dying to suck up and turn into food for you.

"Urine contains large quantities of nitrogen (mostly as urea), as well as significant quantities of dissolved phosphates and potassium, the main macronutrients required by plants. Diluted at least 8:1 with water it can be applied directly to soil as a fertilizer. Undiluted, it can chemically burn the roots of some plants, but it can be safely used as a source of complementary nitrogen in carbon rich compost.^[14] The fertilization effect of urine has been found to be comparable to that of commercial fertilizers with an equivalent NPK rating. <sup>[15]"  - (Wikipedia "Urine," emphasis mine)


How freaking cool is that!?  The natural cycle of life has got it figured out.  Have you ever seen a dirty forest?  I doubt it - the pee, poo, and decomposing bodies are immediately reincorporated rather than gathered together into disgusting concentrations or left places where they cannot be used properly by plants and animals.</sup>  

You probably still have some concerns - doesn't it smell?  What about the germs, that seems dirty... 


Well, first the smell: 
        In a healthy, hydrated person, fresh urine doesn't actually have much of a smell at all.  It depends on what you eat of course (asparagus? spicy foods? saffron?), but generally fresh urine doesn't smell all that bad.  The urine stink is really the smell of ammonia while the urine breaks down.  Ammonia is a gas, so as long as you keep it covered - it can't escape into your nostrils!  Of course you will smell it from time to time, but it's a small price to pay.



Second, sanitation:
         Urine is sterile.  Once it is out in the open it can be contaminated with bacteria (like e. coli) - just like everything else.  Pouring it in the soil that feeds your plants however will not make you sick.  Most people wash their vegetables anyways, and that is plenty to get rid of any lingering dangers of contaminated urine.


AWESOME! But what are the logistics of all this?  Do I need to redo my plumbing? No siree!  Simple as can be.  This is how I have been practicing urine collection here in Nepal:


1. Pee in the "shewee." Saves you a late night stumble into the bathroom - which can be treacherous.






2. Dump "shewee" into collection bucket in the bathroom or another convenient place.  This bucket can smell a bit though, so now I keep it on the small porch connected to my room.

Think of all the flushes that are saved - 15,000 liters of water a year!

3. Dump bucket into holding tank in the garden.  Here it "cooks" for a 2-3 months to turn into totally safe, totally great fertilizer.

4. Combine urine with water and feed to plants!  Dilute as follows:
For Vegetables
For Trees
For Roses












And that's it! The plants love it.  For more information check out this awesome graphic novel.

An Urgent Message from my Subconscious (Dream)

Email to my sister - 4 am Wednesday morning:

As I fell asleep last night, I asked the universe to tell me about love.  I feel that I can be "in love" with many people, all people, and it is not socially acceptable.  So I am trying to understand more about that.  I woke up with a feeling of incredible urgency about an hour ago.  I was laying perfectly flat with my arms at my sides warm as toast on top of the covers, even though I fell asleep sitting up under the covers.  My pillows had also been adjusted.  I stayed in that half dream state to attempt to fulfill the sense of urgency to discover something.  I was successful and the feeling of overflow/divinity in my heart grew brighter. I got up to write it down and then decided to call you because there is no net.  Here is the dream:

We were staying at a hotel near the airport because you were leaving early the next morning from some foreign country that we were in.  There was a man there too who I slept with.  You had something to tell me/show me/help me discover for myself.  The Enemy (a collective mal-prescence, incarnated as The Institution - police/government agents/THE MAN) was also trying to discover this thing.  You had newly discovered it and were trying to help me find it.  Somehow we were both on the plane while you were leaving.  You were telling me things I must remember to find it.  You gave me a bunch of documents that we had been puzzling over to keep safe from the Enemy.  The documents were home-made birthday cards and things like that which we had given each other over the years.  You told me to pay attention to 1 and 3.  We watched a video clip where a fat man, like Hurley from Lost, nearly popped out/awoke.  As we watched him accept the reality of illusion, his existence on this level flickered but he didn't know it. In my waking state, I found that this is what your fainting spells are.  I found a bunch of tootsie rolls and we ate them.  They turned out to be Nepali made tootsie rolls so they just tasted like chocolate and not tootsie roll.  They stuck to our teeth (not sure what that was all about).  The Enemy kept trying to see the documents.  They were sure that they had to do with my anniversary (5 year) which was that day.  They were not anniversary cards though. 

Next, I was going to check on the documents and ponder them at the local museum where I had put them, partly because I thought it would be a safe place from the Enemy and partly because the Enemy demanded it through legal recourse.  (ie these documents contain truth that is a world heritage, they should be in the public sphere, or something) The museum was unique in that you could wander all over it, even in places that seemed off-limits - it was like the old house I used to dream about exploring with secret stairways etc.  I went up to the hall of documents and down to the end where 1 and 3 were hanging on the wall.  1's frame was empty and 3 was just gone.  I asked the curator man where they were.  He expressed concern and looked in a box.  He pulled out the envelope of 1 and we looked inside.  Instead of the birthday card I had once given you there was a photocopied slip of paper.  It said a photo of this document can be found in care of Sean ..... I stopped reading.  Outraged at this lack of security, we proceeded to 3.  In the stead of the proper document, we found an envelope with hand written index cards in it.  Upon seeing them, I immediately said, "My mom wrote these."  My heart sank, the Enemy had the clues, now how would I discover the truth?  On pulling out more cards, I came to the first one.  They were actually written by Aunt Kim.  "Of course I prefer Kim, just as a sensible person prefers queen to varican" (a dream synonym for queen - spelling suggestions include Varian, varian, vatican).  

I wandered through the museum trying to make the best of the situation and trying to read the meanings everything.  I told myself - it doesn't matter if those clues are gone, the answer is within me, the Enemy is merely trying to frighten me into focusing too much on the clues rather than the meaning.  My sister and I are one, those things she knows, I also know.  I simply must realize them.  The clues are in everything, not just 1 and 3, I must learn to read them.  To read them, I must be light and flowing, I must understand on a different level.  I decided to take a tour of the museum - a guide is always helpful in interpreting the world.  The guide pointed out things and I was having some success reading them.  In the main entry way there was a beaver pond, he said there was one beaver that was always looking around at everything checking so as to be aware when something was wrong.  I recalled the missing documents and my search.  Yes I must be vigilant I understood.  I succeeded in flowing to some extent and recalled the fat man clip.  He had discovered, I tried to be like him.  I demanded that the museum allow me to attend their Christmas buffet for free because of their failure to protect my documents.  They gave me a ticket and escorted me to a seat.  There was a TV blaring a commercial or a fake commercial above my head.  It was about a tree decorating service by Married Joseph and the Last Mile.  People laughed.  

I woke up with a great sense of urgency.  I must discover this thing and protect it from the Enemy.  I realized the meaning of one and three.  1 was a card I had created and given to you - the thing I was seeking had originated in me. 3 was (when I saw it) a letter from Aunt Kim to mom - older sister to younger sister, and I had confused it for mom's writing.  Just as they 2 sisters were one, so we two sister are one.  The things I had been telling myself in the dream wander were the meaning of 1 and 3.  The Enemy was ignorance and fear - somehow real but not real, an illusion like all else. So I discovered that the truth was inside me, but not yet what I was looking for.  

The urgency was accompanied by a feeling of divinity/overflowing in my heart/love.  I realized that the clues are all around and require only a clear mind to read.  They point to answers that are inside me. As I got up to write, the feeling of urgency and of love mostly dissipated, a mere fragment remains.  This is something I must discover immediately.  Please try to read the world, I will too.  There is something we must know.  It is about Great Love. 

I love you, my dear sister. 

Hailey 

10:30 am Wednesday I came across this:

http://www.healthesteem.com/explo_main.html 

A Day of ROCK

The morning of February 18th I woke to the sounds of heavy metal - the neighbor's band.  Although they classify themselves as "punk" (as in "Punk's not dead" - a popular teeshirt in Kathmandu), I relate punk more to Avril Lavigne and they have the gutteral screaming that I would call heavy metal going on.  On the other hand, they cover a wide range of artists in their own style including Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" and The Ramones' "Hey ho! Let's Go." Anyways, to them it is punk.  Since I happened to be going to Bryan Adam's in Nepal that evening I decided to interview the band for my blog.

Here is what I learned about 13th Street (their band name):

They are affiliated with Gorkhali HC/Punk.  Formed in 2008, they have been made up of the same group of boys for the past 3 years.  Now, one of their members is going abroad though.  Their influences include Unseen Casualties, ACDC, and others.  The guy who lives in the house where they practice is named Nares and they play at the House of Music in Thamel from time to time. Apparently they are on Myspace too but unfortunately, I couldn't manage to find them.  I guess they have some backwards letters or something in the name (I'm thinking like: sk8r boi).  I recommended they check out The Darkness - my favorite band that seems would fit their genre.  They are awesomely self-aware of their own goofiness which is something a lot of punk/metal/hardcore musicians out there (in my experience) could use a dose of.



Anyways, that evening I went to Nepal's first ever HUGE concert.  Bryan Adams.  You may know him from his hits "Summer of '69" and "Heaven."  Those and "I Wanna Be (Your Underwear)" were the only songs of his that I knew before attending his concert.  It was the most money I have spent at one time in Nepal in a while - but it was worth it.  It was a killer concert.  There were over 20,000 people there despite the expensive tickets and most were Nepali.  There was a girl standing next to me who knew EVERY song.  It was quite impressive.  Her singing voice on the other hand was.... not so nice, but definitely amusing.  Bryan looked overwhelmed with the audience's response to him - and I don't blame him, it was stunning.  20,000 cell phones (and real lighters!) that waved through many songs looked like magic.  Sima and I got right up to the fence at the front of the "silver" section and had a great view despite being short.  It was fantastic.

My day of rock started with 13th Street at 7:30 am and ended with Bryan Adams until 10 or 11.  It was an unforgettable day.

Addition!
We now have a band that practices near the office!  Currently covering Blink 182's "I miss you," the music is pretty on, but the vocals..... well, Sharmila and I are laughing.

Also check out some Nepali rock - Nepathya is a great one to start...

Evan in Khotang

My buddy Evan is in Khotang singing.  Luke and Kent went to visit him and made this video.

Iran

Iran protests 'going nowhere', 

says Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

"I find it ironic that you've got the Iranian regime pretending to celebrate what happened in Egypt, when in fact they have acted in direct contrast to what happened in Egypt by gunning down and beating people who were trying to express themselves peacefully," Obama told reporters on Tuesday.

Mr Obama said the US could not dictate what went on inside Iran, but hoped people would have the "courage to be able to express their yearning for greater freedom and a more representative government". 

Mr Ahmadinejad said the opposition wanted to undermine a pro-government rally held last Friday

I am starting to be able to imagine a life without the freedoms I have been blessed to enjoy as an American.  These things seem unthinkable - and yet they are a reality for people all over the world.  As a beacon of democracy, it is our duty to stand in solidarity with these people who are crying out for their rights.  There is no perfect system, but democracy is the best we have.  

Check out more this article from the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12475824?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

5 Awesome Social Media Tools

1. Well, to start with the obvious, Facebook - specifically Facebook pages and insights.  Pages just got a facelift too which is really cool because it let's you use all of Facebook as your page (ie you can write on people's walls, comment on pictures, like links, etc as your page).  Also, the analytics feature tracks your new likes, interactions, and user demographic - it even makes graphs for you.  Wicked cool.

2.  Twitter - more to come on this, but my friend Martha first convinced me that Twitter was cool, and now using it for work and personally for news... It's pretty awesome.  Links you to all kinds of interesting and relevant materials that you wouldn't find otherwise.  Give it a chance.  (and if you do, follow me and dzi! @flanighb and @dzifoundation hehe)

3. Hootsuite - awesome for organizations who want to do any kind of social media.  It allows you to post to multiple forums at once, schedule posts, and track analytics.  The free package is great, and I haven't convinced dZi to upgrade to pro yet, but it's only 6$/month and I think it is DEFINITELY gonna be worth it.  Plus, they have a cute owl graphic (HOOTS TO KKG, hahaha).

4. Google Analytics - I'm just getting started with this one, but it's really amazing.  If you have a public blog, add analytics to it just to check it out.  It's super interesting to see how internet traffic and website impact are measured.

5. Social Mention - Type in whatever you are interested in (example: dzi foundation) and see what comes up all over the inter-web!  It's pretty neat.  And then you can set up an RSS feed to your google reader account that sends you all that "buzz" as updates.  I still don't really know what an RSS is, but GoogleReader is really cool.  You can have all the blogs you follow in one place.  They lose their style, but you don't have to go to each one to see if they have been updated.

Oops, this is 6, or 7 including googlereader... Tweetdeck - I think this one could be better for personal use.  It let's you know when any of your "streams" gets an update - which is A LOT if you are following a current news story...

Check them out!