Friday, April 11, 2025

My compost toilet at home and on road trips

My portable compost toilet at home is a pair of five gallon buckets stacked one on top of another, by the washing machine. One bucket is normally full of dirt from my garden; the other one, the toilet, starts as a bucket one-fourth filled with dirt.  When using my compost toilet, I get the two buckets out and put them beside the WC. I sit on the toilet bucket and get the job done; the solid waste lands on the dirt. Once my bowl is empty, I move to the regular WC and clean myself. The next step is to use a little shovel in the 'dirt bucket' to pour dirt on top of the fresh solid waste. I use copious amount of dirt to cover the whole thing so that there is no risk of any odor coming out of my toilet bucket. Once done, lids are put back on the two buckets and the buckets go back to their place by the washing machine. After a three or four time use of the compost toilet, I take the 'toilet bucket' out in the yard and empty it out in a pit. The bucket gets thoroughly washed and restocked with fresh dirt to start the process again.
 I also have a solution for my kidney waste. I collect my kidney drain in an empty milk gallon.  Once full, this container, full of high quality nitrates, is emptied out in the garden.
What do I achieve by doing this exercise? I get the confidence that I can be off grid without using a septic system. I generate high quality fertilizer for my garden. I save water. [I only need to flush the WC once every week or so because I use the WC only for cleaning myself, using water.]  I feel good being a responsible Earth citizen.
 
==
Use of compost toilet while traveling on the Pakistani motorways


Yes, there are a few OK toilets along motorways in Pakistan, but nothing beats having your personal toilet with you, that only you use.


If you have not traveled with a portable compost toilet/bucket toilet before I will encourage you to first use the bucket toilet in the comfort of your home. Some people fear they will not be able to balance themselves on a bucket, or that the rim of the bucket will feel painful. I never had an issue with the balance, nor did I ever find sitting on the bucket painful. You must try out the bucket toilet at home before taking it with you on a road trip. And you must feel comfortable that once the waste is well-covered with dirt, a 4+ inch thick layer, there is no odor from the compost toilet--cats already know this--and if you will have to show your compost toilet to a person not knowledgeable about its contents, they won't be able to guess what is hiding under the dirt.

You have a choice of two different types of compost toilets to use in your road trip.  The simplest one comprises only one bucket with its bottom cut out.  The bucket is your toilet and your waste will land directly on the ground.  Once done you can use a shovel to cover up the waste; wash your bottomless bucket and you are ready to go.

If you want things to be more contained consider taking your compost toilet with you. When packing the compost toilet for the road, you will have to use the 'toilet bucket' for both relieving yourself i.e., emptying out your bowl, emptying out your kidney, AND for cleaning yourself. This can generate a big quantity of liquid, but a thick layer of dirt can easily cover all that.

For making your portable toilet private, you can consider carrying four one-half inch rebars, four 4.5 ft. long ¾ inch PVC pipes, and a 4.5 ft. wide, 18 ft long fabric. You can park your car slightly away from the road. Hammer four rebars in a square fashion, four feet apart; put PVC pipes on top of the rebars and wrap the fabric around the PVC posts. Your very private, exceptionally clean compost toilet is ready for your use!


 

My compost toilet stored besides the washing machine
 

Two buckets taken out for compost toilet use
 

 Two buckets with their lids on
 

 Two buckets with lids removed
 

Job completed; dirt put on top of solid waste
 
 
Buckets put back in their place
Toilet bucket emptied in a pit, after 3-4 uses
 

 Toilet bucket washed over put, dirt put over the pit
 
An empty gallon to be used for kidney drain 


Kidney water in empty gallons
 
Waste gallon being emptied in front yard

 Road side stop to use compost toilet

 

Tuesday, January 07, 2025

Alamgir Welfare Trust provides Oxygen Concentrators (Oxygen machines) for free

 
Alamgir Welfare Trust provides Oxygen Concentrators (Oxygen machines) for free



If you have a loved one in Karachi suffering from a lung disease requiring continuous supply of Oxygen, you can get an Oxygen Concentrator (Oxygen machine) for free from Alamgir Welfare Trust.  The machine is free but you need to keep a security deposit of Rs.60,000 (Sixty thousand rupees) with them—you get the security deposit back when you return the Oxygen concentrator.   To get the Oxygen Concentrator from the Alamgir Welfare Trust bring the following:
1.    Doctor’s advice that the patient needs 24X7 Oxygen supply.
2.    A copy of patient’s ID card.
3.    A copy of the ID card of the person taking the Oxygen Concentrator with them.
4.    Rs.60,000 in cash, for the security deposit. [Not sure if they also accept debit/credit cards]


Thursday, December 26, 2024

Thoughts on December 25, 2024

Jinnah’s biggest political failure was not to dissolve All India Muslim League on August 14, 1947.  There was no need to transform All India Muslim League into any form of a ‘Muslim League’ in Pakistan.  Just like Jinnah realized that the new state had to be secular in nature, he should have taken practical steps to show that on achieving the primary goal of the ‘Muslim League’, the days of religiously motivated parochial politics are over.
To this day, Muslim League (under different names) keeps functioning in a country that has over 96% Muslims.

Saturday, October 12, 2024

Gaza genocide?

 Is Israel’s Gaza campaign genocidal?

Two questions to consider:

1.    Does the weaker opponent have the capacity to resist?  Is the weak combatant showing any form of resistance?
2.    Does the weaker opponent have any leverage it can use against its rival?

If the answer to any or both questions is yes, then it is not a genocide.  It is just a war between two parties with grossly uneven military capabilities.

Monday, September 16, 2024

The deadwood theory of California Wildfires

 
 

 


Having lived in California regions prone to wildfires, for a decade, I have an opinion on what causes the wildfires to grow rapidly.  It is true that most wildfires start when dry bush is ignited, but how does a fire grow so big as to devour standing trees.  The answer lies in the observation about other readily combustible material, besides dry bush, present in the environment.  And that combustible material is deadwood.  It is the fallen branches of the trees; it is the old trees that die and are uprooted by wind.  The deadwood is the main ingredient that makes a small bush fire a ferocious wildfire.  Once we understand this phenomenon, we know the solution.  Remove the dead wood.  How?  Let people collect deadwood from wilderness.  Let them use the deadwood in their wood burners.  By eliminating dry bushes butting roadways, and by removing deadwood in the general vicinity of human presence, we can cut down on a great number of California wildfires. Is the State Fire Marshal (Daniel Berlant?) at Cal Fire listening?

Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Social Media posts and the real stories behind them

Social Media posts and the real stories behind them

Post: I really appreciate the thousands of messages I have received on my birthday from friends around the world. You make me feel so special! I cannot possibly thank each one of you individually. Kindly accept my electronic hug to all of you.
The real story: Dammit! It was my birthday, and no one noticed! Let me post something clever online about the historical day to get something out of hundreds of my stupid cyber friends.

Post: I am humbled by the service to humanity award I have received from the International Society of Sages and Augurs.
The real story: I donated just $5 to the International Society of Sages and Augurs, and they gave me this award in recognition of my ‘services to humanity’! This piece of paper can most probably be used in a toilet. Oh, well, let me post this news online and see if I can get a few Likes.
 

Post: Last week, I was interviewed by the world-famous New England Journal of Science and Stellar Technologies. I never in my wildest dreams thought my life would take me where it has taken me. It is all because of my mother’s prayers and best wishes from friends like you.
The real story: New England Journal of Science and Stellar Technologies is a decent website. Why is nobody noticing my name there? Let me make an online post to wake up a few people who don’t bother to read these prestigious journals.
 

Post: My wonderful daughter, you make me proud! Look at her beautiful smile in this photo.
The real story: She is 25 and has not moved out yet; she treats me like an ATM. Let me put something online with her picture to shame her.

Post: My beautiful wife, my best friend, my companion for the last fifteen years, I love you beyond your wildest imaginations!
The real story: She is getting weird day by day. What a ruckus she made last night! Let me post something online to calm her down. If it does not work, this relationship is over.

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Package delayed due to incorrect address. Please update at this link.

Got a text message from 382-889-0796.  The image had the United States Postal Service logo.  The message read:

Package delayed due to incorrect address.  Please update at this link.

I wrote back.

Thanks for letting me know on my correct telephone number that the address on a package for me is incorrect.  Please send the package to the incorrect address and notify the incorrect telephone number associated with the incorrect address.  Love, always.  C.

Sunday, May 26, 2024

Lip Sync, Music That Moves

 

Yesterday, I watched the last fifteen minutes of “Lip Sync, Music That Moves” theater show, at the Soper Reese Community Theater in Lakeport, presented by the Lake County Theater Company.  The theatrical performance was woven around the theme song of the famous Addams Family movie/TV show and was a choreographed assortment of various popular songs lip sung by the dancing performers.

Directed by Larry, Zoe and Kiana Richardson

Produced by June Wilson-Clarkin

Choreographers: Larry Richardson, Zoe Richardson, Kiana Richardson, Olivia Saldana, Sarah Dutra, Barbara Clark, Leah Odom, Jo Fay, Cyndy Forbes, Cindy Sobel, Sandy Robertson, William Odom, Lilian Huang, John Tomlinson, Jessica Henson

 







 

Friday, April 12, 2024

Should men squat to pee?

 


A water closet is not meant to be used as a urinal.  Men should not use the WC at home as a urinal: please sit down to pee (to avoid making a mess).

Monday, March 25, 2024

Traveling is the best celebration of life

 The more dead you are, the less you move. Travel is the best celebration of life.

 


جو اپنی جگہ جس قدر ساکت ہے، اس قدر مرا ہوا ہے۔

 

Monday, January 22, 2024

San Francisco Bay Area Community Leader Hasan Jahangir Hamdani remembered

 


 

 

In a book introduction program held on January 21, 2024 at the Chandni Restaurant in Newark, California, San Francisco Bay Area South Asian community leader Syed Hasan Jahangir Hamdani was remembered and eulogized.  The promoted book was Hamdani’s ‘Dasht e Junoon’, a posthumous collection of his mainly Urdu and some Persian poetry. Hamdani’s family members as well as Bay Area connoisseurs of literature including Tashie Zaheer, Professor Abdul Jabbar, and Javed Ellahie spoke at the event.

 


 

Emcee, Ahsan Jahangir Hamdani


                                         
Poetess Mehnaz Naqvi







                                                    Mrs. Sahab Hamdani
 


 
Singer Almas Shabvani
 


                                                Attorney Javed Ellahie


                                                    Professor Abdul Jabbar


 
Journalist Abdus Sattar Ghazali

 

 
Urdu Poet and Community Leader, Tashie Zaheer



                                                Dr. Anshuman Chandra