Days Off

Crisis comes to wormland when wet sludge starts to accumulate in the worm bin, and its normally earthy fragrance takes a turn for the poopy. It appears that poor ventilation is the culprit.

Will our interventions put the worms back on track to composting productivity, or will our wiggly companions perish in a stinky, damp, gooey mess?

After two weeks, it's time to pop the hood on the worm bin and fiddle a bit with their world. Remember Biosphere 2? It was a sprawling structure built in the Arizona desert, designed to be an enclosed, artificial self-contained ecosystem for eight human inhabitants. Unfortunately, the complex miniature ecological zones inside it failed to establish a self-sustaining homeostasis, and oxygen levels fell below tolerable levels. Scientists monitoring the experiment were forced to inject fresh oxygen into the system periodically. That project cost millions of dollars, so we felt no shame in breaking open our worms' $25 biosphere for some godlike tinkering.

For some reason, every time we film anything about the worm bin, our dog gets ill.

What combines the responsibility of green living with the earthiness of composting, allows you to be the most inattentive and lazy pet owner since the days of Sea Monkeys, and fits under your kitchen sink?

Vermiculture, my friend. It's composting that squirms.

With nothing but some shredded newspaper, a cheap plastic storage container, and 25 bucks in worms we bought online, we're turning our kitchen scraps to organic soil in the comfort of our own home. We'll show you how in this video, from start to the point when our dog threw up.

Every spring, grim combatants engage in furious competition for a cherished prize. At stake is nothing more than one's Pride - but if one doesn't have one's pride, what on earth does one have?

I am speaking, of course, about the annual Easter Bonnet Competition held by my girlfriend's family. Last year, my Giant Easter Basket Hat took the top prize, so this year I would have to bring something special to hang on to bragging rights. Thus was born the idea for the Easter Diorama, which I would document in a handy "How To Win Your Girlfriend's Family's Easter Bonnet Competition AGAIN" podcast.

As it turned out, I did something completely different. And the sound quality sucks at first. But watch for the charming dog antics!

The world needs more people with the powerful ability to whistle through their fingers. When the disaster strikes, will you be one of those who stand proudly with your fingers in your mouth, issuing forth a shrill alarm, or will you be looking around in irritation with one hand fruitlessly shielding an ear?  It's time to choose sides. If you had trouble mastering the technique in the last video, this might just change your life.

If you always thought it would be cool to hail a cab by whistling through your fingers, you were right - and you owe it to yourself to learn this essential life-skill before another unfulfilled whistle-less day passes. Fortunately, I can teach you how to do it in four easy steps, none of which involve providing information about your banking account.