So, why a yurt?
I'd like to answer, "because it came to me in a dream" but that's not true at all. In fact, the answer is really not all that interesting...
I think I first learned of a yurt watching a documentary on Mongolia. I liked the collapsible hence nomadic nature of the design. Then my friend Jason brought them up as a project idea. After looking into it, I felt it was within my ability to build one. I like projects. I was looking for a project. And so, here I am building a yurt.

I must admit I never would have gotten past the initial appetite for yurt construction had I not thought they were cool. I should probably explain why I think they're cool:

1. (I'm into lists lately)... Easy to construct
Relatively speaking I mean. It will take me some time to build one, but the whole structure consists of only about 5 major parts.

2. Simple yet strong
Yurts are super strong taking into consideration they are a free-standing structure with no weight-bearing center column. The forces from the walls, center, and roof joists all work together to create a light weight yet very sturdy design.

3. Natural materials
I could write a book about how to actually build a yurt... but other people have already done that for us. I read "The Complete Yurt Handbook." Written by a guy who builds yurts for sale in England. I hate to advertise, but if you would like to know more, Paul King provides much more info in the book. Check it out here:

http://www.woodlandyurts.co.uk/

Anyway, yeah... wood & cotton canvas for the covering.

4. People actually live in these things
The style found in 'todays' yurts has been around since at least 900 years ago, though the technology to build a yurt has been around since 2500 B.C. The design has not changed much from when Ghenghis Khan tromped around Asia (1162-1227). Evidently around 70-75% of Mongolia's population still live in yurts as their home today. Even in urban areas where the yurts are more permanent, these rotund huts are the primary shelter for many people. The romanticism of today's living tradition of Mongolian yurts is truly inspiring and probably had the greatest effect on my interest in pursuing this endeavor. (Think limbo... "How simple can you get! How simple can you get!)

"That's enough history lesson. Now why don't you tell me why you're really building a yurt." (If you know what movie I'm loosely quoting, you get a free donut paid for with the money in your wallet, on me!)

-is

Alright. I started the yurt. So far,

1) I got a ton of saw dust in the face.
2) I spent about $100 dollars on wood, only the beginning of the tapping the bank I'm sure.
3) I got a piece of wood in my eye that took me out of commission for the rest of the night (I'm still not sure where that obstruction went. I think it's lodged itself in the back of my eye-socket. Maybe that's why my eye keeps blurring..?)
4) I'm having a great time...

I have all the side lathes of oak and maple cut to size with holes drilled. Next I will round the edges of the lathes and start tying them together to create a sort of collapsible lattice. Two of these walls will be lashed together on one end and the other two will border the door frame, creating a circle from a birds-eye perspective. I will place pictures here so it all makes sense soon.

On a side note, my 8x8 glass baking pan blew up on a hot burner in Janelle's face. I can't believe she didn't get shards in her eyes... Glass everywhere. So, when people say, don't use glassware on the stove top, believe them. This was a case of mistaken burner knob. Not a fun note to end on, so here's one: I've used three q-tips tonight. It feels sooooo goooood.

I've decided to build myself a yurt. Not much good having a blog labeled "yurtman" with no yurt building going on. I bought a table saw today. I finally convinced myself that saying "I don't have a saw" is not a good enough reason to stop such endeavors. I also bought an electric hand planer. I'm thinking this will now be a place to document my building of a yurt. Sounds good to me! Appropriate enough... Or, should I start a blog named, "Rice Cooker" and document the build there? Look out Bob Vila! Here comes Yurtman!

For the most part, computers can really help with cutting down on environmental impact. The amount of paper saved by using electronic media in it's place is a huge improvement. However, I found out today that compturs supposedly charge dust particles with some crazy stuff that's bad for your health. I know that doesn't provide very much detail hence near zero credibility, but the fact is at least some people are scared of this... Something else that does not impact our earth very well is cd's that are thrown away due to poor burnings. I was thinking of ideas to use "mistake" cds. I already use them as coasters, but I was thinking if you have a bunch of cds, you could drill holes through a small stack and slide bolts through the holes. Tighten the bolts and then insert an axle of sorts through the large hole in the center. I wonder how much weight you could support with a few cd wheels? Maybe I'll get around to actually doing it. If so, I'll amend this post and insert a picture of the experiment.

-is