For crying out loud, people, get a sense of humour.

PalQ's a loon. And suffers from a dysfunctional relationship with Dulux Matchpots that's probably best kept quiet about.

But - apparently unlike some around here - he's got an approximate understanding of Anglo-Australian banter. If he calls Europe in general - and France in particular - &quot;third world&quot; that's partly because that's just what many of its toilets are, and partly because <b> he's taking the bleeding piss </b>.

The correct response to Michiganians piss-taking is to take it back. Not to get on your <i>haut cheval </i> about your slighted honour. Pretending you're being dissed is unEuropean: leave all that attitudinising claptrap to the poor impoverished Americans - who do &quot;I'm a victim&quot; far better than we'll ever, ever, manage.

Toronto for years shipped its garbage a few hundred miles by convoy of garbage trucks down the 401 to suburban Detroit - not that that has anything to do with anything - i guess they don't have garbage disposals either

When my garbage disposal went bust, I became the very best composter in my neighborhood. Now I would not go back to using a disposal for anything.
Good compost - a sure sign of a most civilized society!

Well, between compost and my solar dryer, actually.

&lt;&lt;&lt; First of all, calling a country &quot;third world&quot; because they don't have a kitchen appliance you think is nessesary . is horrible and American centered. &gt;&gt;&gt;

Don't blame PQ - he's going &quot;cold turkey&quot; from gloss paint

I'm planning on buying a worm box and some red 'gar-baj' worms to eat table scraps

you can put the box in your basement but be sure the top is secure or the vermin could worm their way out

worm castings of course are a fine fine soil additive for your garden or plants

I may have my corpse sent to the worm box too i'm thinking

Judging from the &quot;House Hunters&quot; series, garbage-disposals aren't common in Hawaii, either.

&quot;I was amused at the idea that living wihtout a garbage disposal was akin to living in a third world country&quot;.

In a way, it is true :-)
Have you noticed how little garbage there is in very poor countries? Nothing is wasted, everything is put to some use.

flanneruk wrote: &quot;PalQ's ... taking the bleeding piss.&quot;

That's an unamerican activity. Surely there is a committee somewhere to which he can be reported.

&quot;judging from the &quot;House Hunters&quot; series, garbage-disposals aren't common in Hawaii, either.&quot;

What?! I'm not sure what houses they showed(or which island), but here on Maui, we've had GD for decades. I would imagine some home built in the 50's might not have some, but they are not uncommon in the least.

kerouac - the same is true of the now immensely popular tilapia.

I've never seen one in NYC either.

Padraig - Is Eire in the 'Anglo-Australian' banter thing?

What do you all do with all that compost once you have it?

PalenQ wrote: &quot;Padraig - Is Eire in the 'Anglo-Australian' banter thing?&quot;

First, see Bunreacht na h&Eacute;ireann, Airteagal 4: &Eacute;ire is ainm don St&aacute;t n&oacute;, sa Sacs-Bh&eacute;arla, Ireland.

No, we Irish are not part of any Anglo-Australian banter thing; we have our own tradition, which we call &quot;slagging&quot;. The word has a particular meaning in Ireland, which differs from American or English meanings. We are very fair-minded, in that we have a go at everybody, including ourselves.

What to do with compost?
Mix it in with potting soil for house plants, spread it on any growing plants outside, around vegetables or flowers or shrubs, or put in a bucket with water and then pour over plants like soluble fertilizer.

It's our anti-global warming strategy. Make enough compost, spread it out, and raise our level above sea water!

Nona, that's funny (and I'm in if it'll help with global warming :) ). Don't care much for gardening, though, so that's out LOL! (Back to using the disposal).

how about a box of garbage eating worms in your basement?

Re: the comment about no GDs in NYC suburbs, I grew up in Westchester COunty, in a house built in 1952, which had one.

When we bought our current house in a suburb of Milwaukee in 1983, code required a working GD. I don't know if that has changed. And, of course, just because you have one, doesn't mean you have to use it.