Re: Hey Farml, Rob, David and All..

<Charlie> wrote in message 
news:pa8ov39n23u29jenrhrrsnjp4g7ga1jd58@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> On Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:14:32 GMT, "0tterbot" <spl@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

> Just you wait.  The day will come when you will inherit and be called
> upon to put on "The Mantle of Creakiness, Grumpiness and Curmedgeonly
> Behavior",  having been passed down from generation to generation, from
> time immemorial.

considering how cranky i already am, i'm a bit worried ;-)

>>having said that, i think capitalism's weaknesses & problems are really
>>starting to show now, though. there's nothing wrong with trade, buying &
>>selling (it's part of the human condition) but the way things are now is
>>just ludicrous. the peasants won't even rise up because the peasants are

>>the
>>worst of all!!
>
> I'm not clear about your point that the peasants are the worst of all.

in australia we have a small but somewhat problematic socio-economic group

called (by me) Greedy Dumb Bogans. whilst they may not be able to put
enough 
filthy fast "food" from their local transnational cor****ation outlet on
the 
table, by jingo they've got playstation and a massive flat-screen telly! 
Greedy Dumb Bogans who actually manage to make a dollar (of their own)
spend 
it on mcmansions, jet-skis & hotted-up cars.

> True, but what if said incompetents are our relatives, friends,
> neighbors......that is a concern of mine, our responsibility to others
> and to what degree.  We are dealing with 300 million as compared to
> your twenty millions.  It could get really fugly and really serious
> really fast.  I'm thinkin' Mad Max on a grand scale.

well, two things - people make their own decisions and we just have to 
accept that; and secondly, despite being enduringly sad, the common folk
do 
suffer for what their govts do (or don't do), it's just the way it is &
i'm 
afraid i don't know how to change that. all of us can only do what one 
person/family can. what else is there to be done?

> I'm rethinking my poo thoughts.  I for sure opt for the "lazy" route.
> What about pathogens?  Parasites and different virii that can be
> harbored by poo emitters and passed on in their emissions.  Should one
> have concerns about this?

well, i don't really know. i personally don't worry much as i just apply 
common sense (i hope!): a sheet mulch of sheep poo on your garden bed 
doesn't present a problem to anyone (you're not eating it after all! [are 
you?!] ) whereas personally doing a poo in your strawberry patch during 
fruiting season certainly presents a problem (sorry about that - but
that's 
the sort of thing that would present a disease scenario).

the general methods for disease transmission apply in the garden too - 
generally, dry things aren't germy. generally, the soil is chock-full of 
pathogens because it's meant to be, so hygiene rules apply & being
sensible 
is mandatory. your average handful of dirt is teeming with stuff you 
probably don't want to know about, but it's meant to be there. you really 
would have your work cut out catching anything from a handful of nice
animal 
poo or soil (whereas a soft-serve icecream could potentially kill you with

listeria). let's face it, babies & small kids actually EAT dirt & it's 
apparently good for their little immune systems! in theory, you can get 
legionnaire's disease from potting mix, but in reality nobody ever does - 
they get it from hospital air-conditioning systems!

soil (and all it's additions - microbes, poo, organic matter) operates as
a 
living, self-cleaning system, so generally speaking if you more or less 
follow the way nature does it, you should be right. you end up with a 
problem if you go against nature too much (e.g. putting poison in the 
ground) or you go against common sense & poo on your strawberries, or 
sometimes if you are unlucky (e.g. getting tetanus from a cut). overall, 
though, it tends not to happen. mostly, we get diseases from other people
or 
they are innate, we tend not to get them from the garden, because it's
just 
common sense. having said that, a passing bird might poo right on your 
beans, yet i don't think anyone's ever died from a household bean, have 
they?

anyway, that's my take. i am wondering what your poo thoughts had been 
previously? what are they now? many people in australia are trying to work

out sensible rules for dealing with potential pathogens in grey water, 
rather than concerning themselves with the non-problem of manure, as 
pathogens in grey water might be a genuine problem if the water is used
the 
wrong way. but again, there are a few different schools of thought on
this. 
i use grey water apparently quite safely, but i suspect my method is 
non-approved (but i'm not sure, as there aren't overweening guidelines 
except concerning specialist products (manufactured collection systems), 
which i don't have).
kylie