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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2017 11:07:20 GMT
I'm surprised that anyone took that seriously: I'm aware that what we saw is not a monster truck.
There once was a chapter concerning Kat falling in love and kissing a bird; the author's commentary on the closing page was "Don't worry, the next chapter will have monster trucks and electric guitars" or similar. He later excised that because "monster truck" was repeated endlessly and senselessly in the comments, which has apparently been forgotten by now. The joke I made was that this chapter might not only showcase Tony's special ability to create lens flares at will, but also features monster trucks all-terrain vehicles, rendering this the most beautiful GkC chapter by default, containing highlights for everyone to love (while discarding the rest, of course); I've also pretended to write something pointless in a slightly-different way than I usually am. Most amusing!
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Post by aline on Aug 24, 2017 12:05:13 GMT
It's an isolated cabin in the middle of the rainforest, which is probably uninhabited most of the time. You don't add plumbing in a setting like that. It's expensive, horrible to maintain and generally a terrible idea. Instead you dig a nice deep hole and add wooden panels all 'round it, and a bucket with ashes in it. You do similar things for the shower, except without the hole and with water inside the bucket. Electrics are easier, with some solar panels you're usually sorted out, or a generator if you can afford the fuel and don't mind polluting the landscape. It isn't that hard to add "plumbing" similar to an RV... you can catch rainwater in a tank near roof of cabin, you already have electric power for dish (solar?) so not that hard to run a small water pump, can put water tank near roof and run pump only when sun/solar power to save on batteries. Water tank feeds shower and washing sink and toilet, waste water is separated into black water (toilet) and grey water (everything else), the grey water you can just dump, the black water you hold 14 days+ in 2 different tanks in series before dumping further away (little longer pipe). Hot water can simply be a black painted water tank on roof that only gets hot when sun shines on it, you are in rainforest so room temp showers might feel the best much of time. Low flush toilet can be 6 litres, so can get 150+ flushes into cheap 1000 plastic tote. (One can set up the whole thing for less than $1000+ equipment, +shipping, +install labor, a potentially small cost compared to all the other expenses and having a supply of rain water and better sanitation can save time and reduce risks of bad health) I've actually helped build a rainwater tank in a mountain village in Panama. What you describe is of course possible (although it would never have occurred to the inhabitants of that particular village to waste actual water in a toilet). But the dry toilet won't need to have pieces replaced or repaired, and will not be competing for electricity with other pieces of equipment that are more important. A well built dry toilet is actually less of a health hazard, and less of an environmental hazard (to be fair, it means a bit of concrete rather than just digging to avoid contamination). Water is loved by all living things, and making sure you don't have parasites in your toilet is easier when it's as dry as possible. Keeping fungus out of a water tank is also not that easy in the long term, in a place that's already a fungus paradise. There are ways, but lots of things can and will go wrong. If you have a clean source of running water nearby, you're way better off using that after some boiling. There's no good reason to go for a water toilet in the middle of an isolated forest, except for the westerner idea that only water toilets can be clean and healthy. It's a waste of resources in a place where resources are limited. And they are really not as clean as you think, especially if you have to leave them unattended for months between two expeditions. And when you're that far from the next shopping mall, going low-tech is almost always better. It's a long two weeks when your water pump is broken and you have to wait for the next supply drop to repair your toilet. |
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Post by fia on Aug 24, 2017 15:43:13 GMT
It isn't that hard to add "plumbing" similar to an RV... you can catch rainwater in a tank near roof of cabin, you already have electric power for dish (solar?) so not that hard to run a small water pump, can put water tank near roof and run pump only when sun/solar power to save on batteries. Water tank feeds shower and washing sink and toilet, waste water is separated into black water (toilet) and grey water (everything else), the grey water you can just dump, the black water you hold 14 days+ in 2 different tanks in series before dumping further away (little longer pipe). Hot water can simply be a black painted water tank on roof that only gets hot when sun shines on it, you are in rainforest so room temp showers might feel the best much of time. Low flush toilet can be 6 litres, so can get 150+ flushes into cheap 1000 plastic tote. (One can set up the whole thing for less than $1000+ equipment, +shipping, +install labor, a potentially small cost compared to all the other expenses and having a supply of rain water and better sanitation can save time and reduce risks of bad health) I've actually helped build a rainwater tank in a mountain village in Panama. What you describe is of course possible (although it would never have occurred to the inhabitants of that particular village to waste actual water in a toilet). But the dry toilet won't need to have pieces replaced or repaired, and will not be competing for electricity with other pieces of equipment that are more important. A well built dry toilet is actually less of a health hazard, and less of an environmental hazard (to be fair, it means a bit of concrete rather than just digging to avoid contamination). Water is loved by all living things, and making sure you don't have parasites in your toilet is easier when it's as dry as possible. Keeping fungus out of a water tank is also not that easy in the long term, in a place that's already a fungus paradise. There are ways, but lots of things can and will go wrong. If you have a clean source of running water nearby, you're way better off using that after some boiling. There's no good reason to go for a water toilet in the middle of an isolated forest, except for the westerner idea that only water toilets can be clean and healthy. It's a waste of resources in a place where resources are limited. And they are really not as clean as you think, especially if you have to leave them unattended for months between two expeditions. And when you're that far from the next shopping mall, going low-tech is almost always better. It's a long two weeks when your water pump is broken and you have to wait for the next supply drop to repair your toilet. This week I have learned a lot about toilets! I mean this in a really positive way, I have learned a lot from you just discussing this one issue. |
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Post by Timberwere on Aug 24, 2017 18:27:23 GMT
Tony has always (well, at least once) been depicted as an uptight when in civilization... Either one of those would be psychologically damaging enough to cause a reversion to old behaviour patterns... is a very interesting thought indeed, Sir. |
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Post by mturtle7 on Aug 24, 2017 19:07:14 GMT
I'm surprised that anyone took that seriously: I'm aware that what we saw is not a monster truck. Are you kidding? With this forum, we can only count our lucky stars your joke didn't start a detailed argument about exact specifications of monster trucks versus other types of trucks, which soon devolves into an entire thread of fiery insults and accusations against everyone involved. |
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Post by fish on Aug 24, 2017 20:19:24 GMT
I'm surprised that anyone took that seriously: I'm aware that what we saw is not a monster truck. Are you kidding? With this forum, we can only count our lucky stars your joke didn't start a detailed argument about exact specifications of monster trucks versus other types of trucks, which soon devolves into an entire thread of fiery insults and accusations against everyone involved. this happen often? Detailed technical discussions, sure. But flame wars? Most of the time our most heated discussions tend to be a lot more civil than elsewhere on the net. |
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Post by aline on Aug 24, 2017 21:01:51 GMT
Are you kidding? With this forum, we can only count our lucky stars your joke didn't start a detailed argument about exact specifications of monster trucks versus other types of trucks, which soon devolves into an entire thread of fiery insults and accusations against everyone involved. this happen often? Detailed technical discussions, sure. But flame wars? Most of the time our most heated discussions tend to be a lot more civil than elsewhere on the net. Yeah, I can't remember anybody insulting anyone on this forum. Fierce three pages long argumentation of one's point of view with more references than a starred Wikipedia article, yeah. We do that sometimes  Insults, no. |
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Post by saardvark on Aug 25, 2017 1:24:28 GMT
This week I have learned a lot about toilets! I mean this in a really positive way, I have learned a lot from you just discussing this one issue. Agreed! I am continually amazed at the collective knowledge and insight exhibited on the forum here. |
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Insults, no.