The only problems were that 1. it made the gates look like they were covered in trash (and thus made me look bad) and 2. the bags blew off the gates and all around in the world. So I set forth and devised a solution - how can we provide a better way for people to share dogshit bags? First I thought about mounting a holder on the gates...but it turned out that gates are a sensitive issue around here, and people don't want to add things to them. Then it came to me: the trash barrels. Nobody cares how they look because they're already ugly (though I admit I find them more and more beautiful the more I paint their blemishes and hammer their dents - ever the doting father.) So, I discussed it with some people and drew up some plans (pictured below).
Then I faxed the plans over to the good people at ARC Welding in Waltham and they said they'd make a prototype. A few weeks later I visited their shop and picked them up. The shop was amazing - full of machines and chains and motors and noise and air so thick you could see it.
Bob had it all ready for me - and it looked amazing, almost exactly like I'd drawn it. Better really. It turned out that my plan was overly complicated and expensive, he simplified it and preserved the function and dimensions. I had him weaving metal strips together and he just made it out of perforated sheets. Here it is:
Then I took it back to the shop and painted it. I made the mistake of painting it with outdoor glossy paint instead of spray-paint - and the thick oil-paint clogged the perforations up. Then I tried to un-clog them (first with an air pressure hose, then with a pressure sprayer) which didn't really work. Live and learn, spray-paint next time.
Then, on a VERY cold day, I froze my hands off installing it on the Mendum St. Barrel. Several people, including my friend Ivy, have said they like the way it looks and they find it helpful. I'm pleased with it too. If the folks upstairs feel the same way, we'll order twelve more for the other gate-barrels.
