Typical water usage?

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by jayman

How about first timers who develop a serious case of the trots? They might as well jump overboard

We throw them overboard if they refuse to go on their own. If they are family or really good friends, we might compromise by towing them astern in the dingy.

Tom

[jayman]

Originally Posted by Shawn Clark

So they tend to recommend watering fairly heavily in the morning and not watering at night/evening because of fears of mushrooms and fungus etc.

Weird, isn't it? That implies that grass growing in "real world" conditions must be infested with mushrooms and fungus. I've developed a theory - after heavy drinking of course - that domestic lawns are purposely mixed with mushrooms, dandelions, and fungus, to ensure the giant lawn care industry (Lawn production, fertilizer production, lawn mower production, etc) remains economically healthy

Very ironic how wild grasses have no problem thriving and being frisky, but you just look at your lawn wrong, or pee on it too much, and it turns sickly and brown

Originally Posted by qbee42

I can't understand how we collectively allowed ourselves to be convinced that green lawns are a necessity.

The same Mad Men who convinced folks around 60 years ago that stuffing this little paper tube into your mouth, setting it on fire, and deeply inhaling, was GOOD for you, have now convinced us that we have to have this fragile green thing around our house

At least despite the heavy exposure to 2,4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 3,6 dichloro 2 methoxybenzoic acid (Dicamba), and methylchlorophenoxypropionic acid (Mecoprop), I don't seem to be growing any usual tumors.

Wait a minute, whats this bump ....

[jayman]

Originally Posted by qbee42

We throw them overboard if they refuse to go on their own. If they are family or really good friends, we might compromise by towing them astern in the dingy.

Tom

Good plan

[Celtic Blue]

Originally Posted by jayman

I've developed a theory - after heavy drinking of course - that domestic lawns are purposely mixed with mushrooms, dandelions, and fungus, to ensure the giant lawn care industry (Lawn production, fertilizer production, lawn mower production, etc) remains economically healthy

If you believe the labels on grass seed, it is true! They list "weeds" as a percentage right there on the label...that and "other crops." Heavy drinking is optional.

I've seen some pictures from Adak Island where I once lived/worked and apparently some dipstick brought some grass seed from the lower 48 up there after the base closed. There were dandelions in the grass seed. Not a smooth move.

[jayman]

Originally Posted by Shawn Clark

Heavy drinking is optional.

Nope, for me its standard

Originally Posted by Shawn Clark

I've seen some pictures from Adak Island

Only there briefly - about a week - with a team doing environmental assessments. Were you stationed at the old base?

I think one could grow to like the solitude and scenery. I also liked the Barter and Barrow DEW stations

[qbee42]

The nice thing about Adak is that there is a beautiful woman behind every tree, excluding the small number of stunted trees transplanted at the base commanders house (the Adak National Forest).

Tom

[DaveinOlyWA]

will have to check, but 2 adults and a child. laundry, average probably a load a day. she takes baths every day and wastes water like its nobody's business.

we live in housing development and the association around here does all lawn maintenance so no watering to deal with.

the weather has been exceedingly dry around here. yesterday was first rain fall in 2 weeks (didnt get much...less than a quarter inch) on the rain two weeks before was only a little as well and before that it was another 4-5 weeks so we are well on our way to one of the driest summers ever if it dont pick up here and there.

[Celtic Blue]

Originally Posted by jayman

Only there briefly - about a week - with a team doing environmental assessments. Were you stationed at the old base?

Dad was stationed there working in the ASWOC, so I hopped MAC flights from the lower 48 up to the base to work construction there two summers. I still remember spending the 4th of July finishing the roof in the westernmost (at the time) U.S. franchised McDonald's big freezer while the Marines from the Tarawa (IIRC) were storming the beaches. Wanted to go down and watch with everyone else, but it was our one day of summer (hit 60F) so I kept working. I would go a month at a time without a day off, but it paid for college.

I was playing international correspondence chess tournaments at the time...against Russians, East Germans, etc. so I got some strange looks when I went to the ASWOC to pick up registered mail with cyrillic characters. One of the East Germans had to forfeit because he was in the military and his command didn't approve him sending mail to an NAS.

I think one could grow to like the solitude and scenery.

It is absolutely beautiful and I would like to revisit it someday to properly explore it. I worked so much I only got a day or two to hike during a whole summer. The winds/rain and lack of trees make it an acquired taste though. The 40 F weather with 40 mph winds and rain could induce hypothermia quickly. It was easy to break or sprain an ankle in the myriad holes/underground streams in the tundra so hiking without a partner was forbidden.

I did enjoy staring across the bay at the semi-active volcano though. It was busy venting steam regularly while I was there. Had a few "nice" 6+ quakes while I was there, missed the 7.7.

[DaveinOlyWA]

too bad the whole point of this thread is essentially useless. i saw a tv thing on the History Channel chronicling the pathetic state of the US infrastructure. every 3 years, civil engineers grade a few dozen areas and our average grade is a D.

bridges are graded from 1 to 100, the bridge that collapsed in Minnesota was graded 35. well there are over 3,000 bridges standing right now that are graded in single digits.

the water conservation thing?? in this country, 8 billion gallons of fresh water are leaked from pipes every single day. a reference point??...the entire state of California needs 7.8 billion gallons a day.

Montgomery County, MD. remember them? yes that is the former home of the DC sniper, but its also where last winter a 66 inch water main broke which caused an instant flood washing out several miles of roads and causing a quarter billion in damage... all in one day.

now Montgomery County is a fairly affluent area of the country. so why not fix the water pipes?? in the year 2007 alone, 4000 water mains broke. including 423 in one week alone. guess what happens when that many leaks happen?? they let it run

sometimes leaks cause contamination. in 2003?? or so, Atlanta had a water main broke contaminating the water supply. before they could warn anyone, 400,000 people got sick, over 100 died.

latest recommendation?? 2.2 TRILLION dollars invested in the next 5 years would bring the infrastructure grade average to a C.... (that is ignoring non structural things like the school systems, etc)

too much money you say?? ask the relatives of the 100 people who died what an acceptable cost would be

[qbee42]