If You'd Like to Help in the Garden Next Door...

I contacted Gateway Greening and they put me in touch with the Garden Leader for the shared garden with DCC and Imagine Prep. Her name is Alicia and she and her father generally are there once a week to work on the garden on Wednesdays between 9:00-11:00 AM. She says you are more than welcome to come down and talk with her, and they could always use volunteers.

I know a few people were interested in perhaps planting in that area on their own, so I replied and asked her if that might be possible in the future. She said that she would like to meet and discuss this possibility, so let me know if you are interested in this.

If you'd like to contact her, either go see her on Wednesday or I can forward you her contact information if you'd like to email her any questions.

Big Response to the Recycling Program

Wow! Good job Motor residents. It has only been about a week, and the recycling bins are overflowing. We'll empty them this weekend, so keep on recycling.

I'd like to clarify a bit on what can be recycled. Most plastics with a number surrounded by a triangle can be recycled, however, things like plastic wrappers (for example the plastic that comes around your case of bottled water or cookie wrappers) cannot be recycled. Some parts attached to the plastic bottle cannot be recycled either. One example of this would be the pump-spray mechanism on something like a detergent bottle. If it doesn't have a recycle number on it, discard it. Also, #6 plastic cannot be recycled. I think this is styrofoam, but I just thought I'd mention it.

Grocery bags can be recycled, however, we are not taking those at this time. If you want to recycle those on your own, a lot of stores have collection bins for them, so you can save them up by putting them inside one bag, and taking them to the store when you go.

We did get some grocery bags in the last batch, and we're going to leave them next to the blue bin in case you want to use them to separate some of your recyling when you get down there.

Please, no milk cartons, they are made of paper.

We can still use volunteers to help take back the recycling if anyone is interested.

Idea for a Community Space

So here's my idea. Feel free to tell me what you think.

What if we converted the little area in between the fence and the old Jarod Mfg. Co. Plastics building into a social area? Here's a mock up of one possibility with some chairs, a table, a little wading pool to stick our feet in, and a BBQ grill. Maybe we could even get some sand to give it a beach type of feel.

I figure we could get some stuff cheap off of the Internet on a site like Craigslist - I know Brian had a few ideas -and temporarily put it in that area so people have a place to hang out. We could put a trashcan for recycling, and a cigarette holder for the smokers.

Fire Alarms and Sprinkler System

After the incident last week, I was curious about our fire alarms and sprinkler systems. What sets them off? How can we turn them off? I guess it's better to ask these questions now instead of when something happens.

Between research on the Internet, personal experience, and asking Jenni, I think I have a good idea of how this system works.

It seems the smoke alarms and sprinkler systems are on two different systems. The smoke alarms sense smoke and alert you, but do not set off the sprinklers. The sprinklers are activated by heat. The little red glass tubes, that you see in the picture, will break when heated by flame. This releases water onto the fire. Only the areas affected by heat and flames will release water. (I can't say I'm 100% sure of this, but I'm guessing I'm right)

This sets off the building's alarms and alerts the fire department. They are the only ones who can turn off the sprinklers.

Let's face it, almost everything in this building is made of stone, metal, glass or drywall. There's not too much to worry about with fire in this building, but after last week, I guess we do have to think about water damage. It would probably take a good 10-15 minutes before the water is turned off, and in the mean time, all your stuff is soaked.

As Jenni suggested, you might want to carry renter's insurance or condo insurance just to be on the safe side.

Dusting Off the Scooter

It seems there are only a handful of scooters sitting in the garage, but I thought I'd write on the subject of getting the scooter running after a long winter.

Remember, it's not good to leave gasoline sitting for a long time. The air changes the chemical composition, and it starts to become turpentine, which is not good for your engine at all.

Knowing this, I still got busy last year, and left about a quarter tank in my scooter before winter hit.

I took a ride down to our local auto parts store on Delmar (about four blocks away)

Carquest Auto Parts
1701 Delmar Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63103
(314) 421-3493

They're very helpful, and I explained that I left some gas in the tank over the winter. The guy there suggested this product called Sea Foam, which is a 100% pure petroleum product that cleans out everything in the fuel. It's a little pricey ($8 a bottle) but he says it will do the trick. It only takes a few ounces to clean up your engine, so if anyone needs any, I still have a bottle just sitting there.

If you've left gasoline in your scooter for more than a year or two, you might want to think about syphoning the gas out, taking it to a local garage to recycle, and starting anew. Ask an expert before you do.

The next step I needed to do was charge my battery. Under your seat you should have received a battery charger. This is a black box that has a cord on one end and a round plug-in jack on the other end. As you can see in the picture, what you need to do to charge your battery is to plug one end of your charger into the wall and the other into the little receptacle under your seat. Let it charge for a few hours.

Another option is your kick start. I don't know if this is a traditional kick start or if it just charges your battery. This is located on the left side of your scooter by your kickstand. Neil and I tried on his bike, and were a little confused by it. If you want to try it, stand on your bike with the kickstand off, and press down really hard with your foot. It's difficult to do, and the kickstand seems to get in the way. Tell me if this works for you.

After all of this, the scooter still didn't turn over on the first few tries. It took a lot of encouraging (at least 6-10 tries with the starter) but each time got better and finally it started. Once your battery is charged, taking it for a ride every now and then will keep the battery happy.

I filled it up with some fresh gas - I prefer 92 octane because it give it a little more pep - and I was on my way. Don't forget to keep up with the maintenance of your scooter. If you need some tips, you can look at the old blog post from last year *link*

One last thing you might check is the float in your gas tank. This controls the needle on your gas gauge. Sometimes it sticks, and you think you have more gas in your tank than you actually do. I forgot to look, and ran out of gas a few miles from home. Walking a scooter home (there were no gas stations along the way) was not a fun experience. There is a way to fix it, but it requires taking the tank off, so the easy way is to unscrew the cap and see how much gas you have left.

Wear your helmet, watch out for cars, potholes, gravel, etc. Take it easy on your ride and have fun on your bike this summer!

One Year Anniversary of the Blog

I almost forgot...it's been one year since the first blog post.

Community Garden 2009

Well it looks like Gateway Greening did another good job with the garden this year. From what I've observed, it looks like they've partnered up with Ethel Hedgeman Lyle Academy and the Downtown Children's Center, to put in beds, cut the grass, and plant flowers and vegetables.

I believe Gateway Greening's philosophy is to create beautiful green spaces in unused city spaces and to educate people about the possibilities of growing food that doesn't have to be trucked into the city.

Their one request - as we can see from the sign the DCC made - is that you clean up after your dogs.

Early this spring, I tried to do my part planting some Black-eyed Susans in the cement box by our front door. The flowers are now just starting to show signs of blooms, so I guess in the future we should mix some early blooming plants with some later blooming ones. Soon, however, we should have some nice yellow flowers out front.

As I stated before, we are starting a Green Space Committee in the building to hopefully create green spaces around the property, talk about improving unused areas, and to maybe get involved with Gateway Greening's garden too. If you'd like to get involved, email me and let me know.

Below are some pictures from the garden next door.

Recycling Update

The Recycling Committee (Wendy, Krista, and Chris) have decided that we will now accept

• Aluminum
• Steel
• Glass
• Plastic

If you can, please separate the steel, plastic, and glass into separate bags (like plastic shopping bags) that way it will be easier to sort at the recycling facility.

Please, however, no bags of plastic bags.

As always, everything should be rinsed, and the cans preferably crushed. Jenni is going to try and work on getting a can crusher installed next to the blue recycling cans.

We have now divided the blue cans into two distinct entities. One will be used for aluminum only, and the other will now be used for the steel, plastic, and glass.

If you have any other recycling ideas, leave a comment below, on the Motor Lofts Facebook page, or contact someone on the recycling committee.

Our Recycling Program is Underway!

Thanks to Krista, we now have two big bins in the basement for recycling cans. All she asks is that you rinse and smash your cans.

The blue cans are located on the first floor by the trash room near the door where you walk out to the surface parking.

Eventually, I think we should try to recycle more, like: glass, steel, and plastic but for now we're going to see how this works.

The money we collect for the aluminum will go towards some future Motor event - perhaps a BBQ or party - so start recycling today for the environment and a future party.

The Recycling Comittee consists of Krista, Wendy, and Chris. Basically this means we are volunteering to take the recycling back every now and then. If you would like to help out, contact one of us.