Earth Day, plus eight (give or take)

by Charlie on April 30, 2013

Now that the boys (including my daughter) have got things pretty well in hand at Charlie’s Soap, I have the luxury of getting into mischief.

When our four kids were young, and it was time for bed, it was my job to read them a good bedtime story and clear out the goblins from the closets before turning out the lights.  I would shake the closet doors and wrestle the imaginary boogie men to assure the kids everything was alright for the night.

You can imagine that absolutely nothing scares them now, so I have to work on a higher plane to get a rise out of them or anyone else who is in earshot.

Now for a good bedtime story for all the rest of you.

I have been hearing the gloom and doom folks since before I started Charlie’s Soap.  Obviously, I didn’t think doom was around the corner when I ventured out into the business world with little more than a hunch and some moxie.  It is much the same now as it was in ’74.  The Climate Change folks declaring the debate is over before anyone can say “WTF”  is a total hoot.

The cover of Time magazine back in 1974, just two years before I developed the formula that would become Charlie’s Soap,  proclaimed the coming of the next Ice Age.   Yes, the next Ice Age.   Each generation has its harbingers of doom and almost always they are dead wrong.  Who’s to say when they just might be right?

This Earth and nature is governed by cycles.

See, things run in cycles.

Consider, at the most basic level of the Earth’s science, the carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle. You know this from sixth grade science class: the continuously occurring process whereby animals inhale oxygen and then exhale carbon dioxide, and plants use the CO2 and “exhale” oxygen.

There are more such cycles that affect the Earth. Some cycle through in a breath, some take eons. Here are just a few, handy links included — on the house!

Water cycle

Nitrogen cycle

Annual seasonal cycle (you know this one)

11-year sunspot cycle

172-year solar centric/sunspot minimum cycle

11,000-year ice age cycle

26,000-year Milankovich cycle (wobble of axis through the poles)

100,000-year eccentric orbit cycle

 

100,000,000-plus year carboniferous cycle

Even the geographical positions of the North and South Poles are shifting unusually quickly. The north/south magnetic field swap cycle may cause earthquakes, and we’ll all be sent back to the Stone Age.

All of which is to say, we really don’t have a clue what we are in for.  Some very respected scientists around the globe say the 11-year sunspot, the 172-year solar minimum cycle, and the 11,000 year ice age cycle could be all well upon us this cold, cold spring of 2013.

That’s why I’m thinking back to 1974. A simpler time, maybe, compared to today’s real and imagined horrors. Maybe that’s why I tried to formulate Charlie’s Soap to be as simple and effective as possible.

I hope I’ve rattled your closets.  Night night, kiddies.

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My Earth Day as a boxed-in flat earther

by charlieblog on April 23, 2013

Monday was Earth Day.  In preparation for the day, I cranked up my tractor and moved and mixed dirt and compost, cleared and leveled a small plot just south of my earlier attempts at farmering.

Seems I dug into a clay bed, added compost, and created a 50-by-50 foot wetland.  Don’t tell the EPA on me.  They’ll sneak in a few snail darters before I can get the grass started again.  Maybe they will be impressed by my recycling efforts.  I’m reusing some old cedar porch flooring to make the boxes.

It’s getting a bit late for some crops, so I have to hurry up if I intend to eat off the land this fall.  I’m planting a box of potatoes, a box of tomatoes, a box of squash, and transplanting a box of cabbage that survived the winter in my old wetland.

This is the time of year when the Neo-Druidry declare their intentions to rid us all of the scuorge of modernity.  I’m doing my part.  I haven’t had a haircut in months so I can weave in this nice flower wreath.

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How they built railroad tracks to a new world above

February 22, 2013

Taylor, my son, has just entered a contest that promises the two winners a trip to real space camp and a real launch to space.  My oldest kid wants to be an astronaut.  He has always wanted to be an astronaut and spent lots of time preparing.  The Taylor you all have gotten to know [...]

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A shifting tide? Or corporate backwash?

February 5, 2013

More “NEW AND IMPROVED” news from P&G!  Just when we thought It couldn’t  get any better, good old Proctor and Gamble has done it again.  It’s beginning to worry me that they are now only a few years behind us — my  tongue firmly planted in cheek. Seventh Generation, and California with its new Prop. [...]

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Still stinky free

January 7, 2013

What, with the promise of not-so-good times as defense, Social Security and debt service eat up nearly all of our national revenue, is there to brighten our days ahead? An ordinary fellow can still throw his stinky clothes and the dog’s blanket in the same washer load, chuck in a scoop of Charlie’s Soap and [...]

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We celebrate Christmas backed by our customers’ strength

January 3, 2013

What a year this has been.  While our nation wrestled with the notion of falling off a fiscal cliff, we actually grew a bit at Charlie’s Soap. All the credit goes to you guys out there. Customers like you have trusted us to make products you can rely on. We’re grateful for your support. You found [...]

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Here’s to a Wholly Happy Holidays to all

December 12, 2012

Christmas is just around the corner and the hustle and bustle is getting  more intense. Last week our in-house communications hit a snag, so this past Sunday, the whole family – Jane, Taylor, Shannon, James, Jenny and I – were all running about from Raleigh to Atlanta correcting and hand delivering some very important shipments [...]

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Born to talk Charlie’s Soap

October 26, 2012

As Jane and I are getting well into middle age, we are beginning to require some maintenance to keep up with our kids.  It was Jane’s turn the other day, and we made our trip to the women’s medical maintenance shop because it had been determined that she needed, for lack of a better description, [...]

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Greening with a purpose, on the ground and in the plant

August 28, 2012

It’s been a while since I turned my attention to this exercise. To tell you the truth, I’ve been tending and greening my own little green acre. My tomatoes are coming in at record pace.  Last year I got zilch. This year, after plowing in a substantial amount of Mayodan’s street pickup compost, I’m hitting [...]

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Thanks for your support of what we are

June 7, 2012

Things are looking up for Charlie’s Soap. Some of the big chains are calling us about our products. You guys must be telling your friends about us, and a good number of you are  asking your local grocery store managers to carry our laundry detergent and  other cleaners. That has got to be the best advertising … [...]

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