First off, this entire rant is for educational purposes only, and if you are silly enough
to actually do any of this and get injured or killed you can't sue me. There, now that the
lawyers are happy, let's continue.

	In today's modern world, it is often not possible to live off the land as did the 
people of olden days. Even in Alaskan cities the resources of nature are often ignored or 
inaccessible, and our skills of foraging and improvisation atrophy from us as we sink into 
the habits of purchasing ready-made products and services. 
	In spite of this, the urban environment offers other opportunities for living off the 
land. Materialistic societies such as ours often develop the attitude of "more/newer is 
better" with the inevitable result that anything old or slightly damaged is considered 
worthless and is discarded by those who can afford to buy new merchandise to replace it. 
These discards form the basis of urban scavenging.
	Urban scavenging, also known as dumpster diving, consists basically 
of salvaging things that others have thrown away. Those who cannot afford to purchase 
manufactured products have long relied on the abandoned rejects of the more wealthy for 
items they need. Today the dumpster divers you most often see are members of the 
homeless population who rummage through our trash for clothing or cardboard boxes to 
live in. But dumpster diving isn't just for the homeless! Many a broke college student has 
managed to outfit their empty apartment with furniture and art found at the side of the 
road. Some even make money by repairing and reselling items they find, or by sorting the 
refuse into categories of material for recycling. 
	So you're still asking, why the hell would I want to dig through someone's nasty 
trash? The most obvious reason is that its free, that's right free, one of the words that 
affects the human mind like little bells do for Pavlov's dog. Why pay for a couch for your 
dorm room when you can get a free one? Sure it may be ugly, but if you don't have to 
pay for it, that money can go towards better things. And when your furniture comes from 
the dump, you don't feel bad about pitching it at the end of the semester and getting more
next year. Another reason is the challenge that scavenging presents, the on-the-spot 
appraisals of an objects value, portability, and usefulness, the puzzle of reassembling 
some broken item, not to mention the adrenalin high of finding a potentially corpse-filled
duffel bag outside the local mob headquarters. Dumpster diving can also help you get in shape,
for excersises we have the static recliner-lift, the 100 yard security-escaping sprint, and 
an entire retinue of stretches necessary to reach those treasures at the bottom of a large
dumpster. 
	The legality of dumpster diving is often brought into question. Occasionally the 
police will stop people from salvaging items from the trash, out of a fear that they will 
hurt themselves and then sue everyone in sight for not providing safe dumpsters and trash 
without sharp bits. Many companies jealoulsy guard the right to their trash, destroying 
appliances and electronics that are out of date or slightly damaged so that no one else will 
be able to use them. Some time ago, local businesses in Fairbanks got upset that people 
were able to reuse old military equipment at a lower cost than they could buy that 
equipment from the businesses. Oh no! How horrible, we can't be having this, much 
better to send the military surplus to a landfill and use up natural resources producing 
identical items that we can sell at four times the price! The anti-recycling attitudes of 
some of these organizations has made dumpster diving at certain locations more of a 
commando exercise than simply a dig through the trash.
	This brings us to the next topic: how to dumpster dive (for fun and profit?). First, 
find a dumpster. Ones outside stores are good for returned merchandise, packaged foods 
slightly past the expiration date (don't mess with it unless its actually still in a sealed 
container) and such wonderful containers as milk crates, buckets, and every type of 
cardboard box known to man. Box acquisition is a good excuse to have ready if 
questioned by company security or police, just say you're moving and need packing boxes. 
Dumpsters in residential areas can contain pretty much anything, from old TV sets, furniture,
bikes, books and videos, stereos, etc. Remember, even if it's broken there's 
almost always something salvageable on it, if you get enough dumpster bikes you can 
probably build a working one from the parts. 
The best dumpster diving can often be found at the central dump or transfer 
facility, where the trash from all over town comes to be buried or squished into little bits 
and shipped to other states. If you can talk your way in, you not only find personal and 
corporate trash, but also nifty municipal discards like old street signs, construction 
equipment, wrecked and impounded vehicles, etc. Wrecked cars are often a good source 
of stereo equipment. When visiting the dump, have a legitimate or at least legitimate 
sounding reason, such as "I'm looking for a hubcap for such-and-such type car".
Another good way to go is to drive around on your community's designated 
"trash day" when large items and other stuff that usually would require a dump fee to 
dispose of are put out on the street to be picked up. This is when you find all the best 
furniture, large computer parts, vehicles (for the serious scavenger/mechanic only) and 
other neat stuff. Entire apartments and small houses can be furnished from things found 
on trash day. 
	Next you'll want to consider your attire for dumpster diving. You want to dress in 
old clothes, but nothing so ragged that the police will mistake you for the local paranoid 
schizophrenic. Gloves are good for moving objects of unknown origin and cleanliness, 
and boots or heavy shoes can help when walking on piles of trash bags. A stick or some 
other poking implement can assist you in determining weather or not something is a 
treasure, worthless garbage, or a rapidly evolving mass of organic matter (these should 
be avoided).
	Finally, transportation and cargo capacity should be discussed. Walking is fine for 
some, but to really cover all the dumpsters possible you need a bike or even a car. With a 
car, especially a truck, there's no problem of cargo space, since you can pack stuff in the 
back or on top. Walkers can carry big duffel bags and backpacks, but don't have nearly 
the freight load of a car. While fast and efficient, bikes make it hard to carry much, unless 
you can construct a trailer of some kind. Its also possible that if you leave your bike near 
a dumpster while scavenging, it may be acquired by some other dumpster 
diver who thinks it's been thrown out. Transportation is up to the individual, but should 
be considered carefully before engaging in dumpster diving activities.
	And there you have it, all you need to know to gou out and start a successful 
hobby of dumpster diving, or even a career if you can consistently find items of enough 
value.