Our compost bin has for years been just 4 pallets which I originally tied together with binder twine. More recently DH has nailed it together. All we did until last year was dump all kitchen scraps with no layering or doing anything except removing the top layer to give it more time and digging out the black compost at the bottom. We only did that once a year in this cold climate. No muss, no fuss, no smells, and no expense. We live on a large acreage with deer, chipmunk, squirrels, mice, fox, coyote, cougars, and bears and only twice in 12 years has a bear been in the pile. He threw the pallets helter-skelter but otherwise no problem. I don't think bears are really attracted to the pile as they are around all the time and would be in it more often if they were. The other animals have never seemed to notice it except for the squirrels and a few birds but they don't eat much. ;-) When we lived in the city on a 60 x 100 foot lot we buried the kitchen scraps between the rows of the garden. Made lovely black soil out of the crummy heavy clay we started with. Again no muss, no fuss, no expense, and even less work than the bin system. I call that system "feeding the worms" and they do all the work. Since discovering this forum I'm trying for faster and more compost so am doing other things as well but all winter all we do is chuck the stuff in the bin. Once all the snow thaws I'll turn it, add more used coffee grounds and some wood shavings and use if for top dressing - kind of compost/mulch. IMO better to compost lazily than not at all.

candler, Back in the Win 95 era I bought a flat bed UMAX scanner. Really a good unit and came with Adobe Photo. The UMAX wouldn't work on the 98 system and I went through a couple scanners and ended up with an Epson 2480. In the meantime, I had I purchased Abobe Photo Delux Home Edition 4. It is the best of 4 or 5 software imaging packages I've tried. I finished scanning black and white family photos for the years 1916 to 1966 just before Christmas. Not really difficult, just time consuming. If you spend a little time learning your software you'll be surprized what it can do. For example, half of a B&W photo is in shade. So, with your image software you trace the shaded portion to define the working area and then begin to lighten and increase the contrast until it matches or comes close to the unshaded area. Creases in the photo can be overpainted with the clone function. Select the color or pattern at the crease and use that to paint over the crease. And the list goes on. It is astounding what can be done. Some will tell you that if the detail is not in the photo then there's nothing that can be done to enhance it. Don't believe it. I have copied eyes from one photo and pasted into another; change portions of the background that contain farm equipment or the neighbors dog. Get a decent scanner with a decent speed. Nothing is so frustrating as waiting for the thing to do what its supposed to do. Use the image software that comes with it and if it won't do what I've described, go to plan B. Hang in there. Its a wonderful project you're starting. Bob Central Arizona.

can you run this, see link Then this http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/junkware-removal-tool/ Anyway you can run Malwarebytes http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/malwarebytes-anti-malware/ Here is a link that might be useful: adwcleaner

Methylene chloride evaporates very quickly. I have some MC upholstery cleaner that boils at 89F. Mostly the after-washes remove the wax put in strippers to keep the MC from evaporating too quickly. I am not familiar with what you bought. I just use acetone. The advantage to it is that it will clean up the little bits of finish that the stripper might not completely remove. I usually strip in sections when I'm hand stripping, unless I'm using my "flow-over" system. NMP strippers don't evaporate very quickly, but doing in sections just allows me to work at a comfortable pace. If you find the stripper too dry when it's time to remove, just add a bit more and start with your putty knife. Your dust masks are not going to do much but keep splashes out of your mouth. What you has is for "nuisance dust." I'd rather see you have some good eye protection. I can't tell what grit sandpaper you have, but 180-220 would be about the right range for refinishing, unless there is some severe damage. Remember this has been sanded and finished at one time. Your coffee can will work fine. I have a source for Folger's and Maxwell house plastic ones, so that's what I use. After stripping, set it in a breezy area or garage and let it harden the sludge. At that point, it will be no worse than disposing of a piece of furniture with finish on it, so it can go to the landfill. Wishing you the best of luck. If it's any support, I did my first stripping job at age 14. I inherited that piece upon my father's death and 45 years later, it's still in good shape. I introduced my daughter to stripping when she was about the same age. (and I hope that statement does not get taken out of context.) Come back if you need more help.