Clay

Discovery time

I find clay in my soil sample taken from the property back in July.  It didn't separate out as expected, which was the case for the sample taken in June from another spot.  That sample in June was not clay, but sand.  I knew it was sand when I gathered the sample.  Clay would have behaved differently than what that sample did when I shoveled it from the soil on into the plastic jug.  So, I am pretty sure I got sand with that first sample.  Besides, on the water filtration experiment, I used samples from the first trip.  On that sample, the water DID drain.  On the second sample, the water DID NOT drain.  Thus, the conclusion is that the second sample is indeed mostly clay.

Update:

It wasn't just the clay that was preventing a draining of the water.  The paper filter seems to clog easily.  Nevertheless, my conclusion that it was clay still holds for the way that the soil felt when I had it in my hands.  It felt like clay, not sand.

I'll change the last piece back to cotton so that it can drain properly tomorrow when I resume experiments.

Daily Plan revisited

Anybody who's been with me for a long time may remember this one from about 3 years ago.  I may want to use this blog as an organizing and planner for my day.  Not exactly what I was doing back then, but something like it.

I want to use my smart phone to video some of the work I did last night, plus some of the work I did this morning just before I wrote this.  As of now, I am taking it a bit easy, as I should not push myself too hard.  Yes, I am in not so good physical condition.  Doctor Who? was on my six about this before I changed doctors according to the Obamster decree.  So, I'll relax in ac comfort with the fan on my face while I write this.  Yowsa boss that sho is a good idee!

Update:

Another way to take a rest is to read a book in my easy chair---as opposed to blogging.  The book is high priority right now, so I don't want to forget it.  I mentioned the book in an earlier post.  If you don't know what book I'm referring to, read the blog in order to answer that question.

Update:

Couple more videos I made while out and about:

1. Another storage shed video
2. Dehumidifiers as a way to harvest water?

Making progress on my water filtration experiments too.  Very pleased with what I accomplished today.  Things are looking good, I must say.

Wishbone

My brother has blogged here a few times.  You can find his stuff by clicking on the label in the topic-subtopic cloud on the left hand sidebar.

I was just thinking of how I'm being pulled from different directions---kinda like pulling on a wishbone.  I don't know why my brother chose that handle---maybe this is it.  I'll ask sometime today.

One thing is that I don't like being a wishbone.  So, the thing to do is to simplify, simplify, simplify.  Prioritize things so that it can all be handled in its due time.  It is pretty easy to let this stuff get you harassed and confused, so keep things prioritized and simplified.

I was pretty busy yesterday, but I'm back in the saddle now. This wasn't a trip out west, though, in case anybody was a-wondering.

The first thing I did when I got back from work yesterday was to try another water filtration experiment.  I screwed it up.  Typical for me to get into too much of a hurry and waste time.  I'll have to take the apparatus apart again and clean it all up again.  Just wasting more time with that.  Things can get neglected if you lose too much time dealing with mistakes.

There's a lot of skills to be learned and sometimes I wonder if I'll have the time to learn them.  That's why I can't allow myself to become a wishbone and let the world get me in too much of a confused state that I can't function effectively.

Update:

Wishbone said he got it from the Wishbone formation that the University of Texas football team used under coach Darrell Royal.  I shoulda known.  "Wishbone" is a sports fanatic.  We had a long and interesting conversation.  He is a real gabby type.  You don't just have 5 minute conversations with Wishbone.  He'll talk your ears off.

Ode on a Grecian Urn

They're asking about what truth is over at Instapundit---Whittle and Klavan , that is.

I've said that truth is a slippery thing.  Postmodernists have a curious notion that you can have your own truth.  Jesus said he was the truth and the way.  Pontius Pilate said "What is truth?"

John Keat's poem said:

'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'

Can you know truth when you hear it or see it?  Can you trust yourself to perceive it when the time comes?

Maybe the truth is this: don't contemplate your navel for too long.

More water filtration experiments

This is surprising.  Plain old toilet tissue seems to work the best in removing dirt from really filthy water.  Cotton doesn't work nearly as well.  I ran a test on charcoal.  All it does is make the water black.  Nevertheless, when I ran the complete system test a few days ago, the water was clear, but tinted yellow.  By the way, I kept the water for a few days and it clouded up.  Clearly, it wasn't useful for anything.

It may be useful to consider plain old sand.  The sand I'm using is mixed in with silt, which is remaining in the water.  This is hard to remove.  The toilet tissue will remove most of the dirt, but not the silt.  Nothing I've tried so far seems to be able to remove the silt, although sand might.

On a happy note, I managed to clear up the problem with the landlord.  At least for the now.

Update( a day later ):

You dummy.  I mean "me" dummy.  Look up at the above paragraph, I forgot to get plain old sand.  I ran another experiment and it really sucked.  One thing I need to drill into my head---this dirt from west Texas ain't worth a flip for filtration.

Cops: Shoecam Used To Film Store "Upskirts"

Florida man with hole, iPod in shoe filmed woman at Walmart

Question:  What did he do in order to get pictures?  Did he slide his shoe around a woman, and what would be a reaction to this if it were to have happened?

customer Lillie Kent told them that she was shopping in the toilet paper aisle when she noticed a man “standing relatively close behind her.” Kent added that the man “appeared to be attempting to sneak up behind her.”--- the smoking gun

Oh, the sneaking up from behind trick.  I see.

After this, you'd better watch your step, or you may get kicked in the shins--- or somewhere else.

Cleanup

Collecting dirt and materials for 2nd experiment

Old dog learning some new tricks.  Actually, the sand and silt are useful for cleaning up soap scum in sinks and tubs.  Don't know if this works in DC.  Bwah hah hah!

Bugs, bugs, and more bugs

One of those off-the-grid bloggers living out near Terlingua Texas has a bug problem.  Terlingua is in the Big Bend region, which is not that close to me.  Remember, Texas is a mighty big state.  Terlingua is probably over a 100 miles away.  But close enough for me to be concerned.

Oh, goody!

Well, one thing that worked on roaches was Boric acid.  I used to have a lot of trouble with roaches, but not anymore.  What happens with Boric acid is that the roaches will walk over it and it gets all over them.  It doesn't kill them immediately.  What it does is that it gets into their system and then it kills them.  How?  When they clean themselves, they ingest it.  Ka-ching!  That's what kills them.  Simple system, but will take a few days, and they're gone for good.

This particular bug problem ain't a roach, it's a type of small fly.  Maybe a midge or something like that.  Some of these midge species will bite.  Uh-oh.  May need to wear some type of protection.  They are troublesome right after a rain, which is causing this fella a big problem with his rainwater collection efforts.  Another big Uh-oh.

Man of Constant Sorrow (cover )

This is quite clever and a good performance.




The reason I put this song up is that I can relate to this song.  Right now, I've got some trouble with the landlord.  Brings back some bad memories in which I had trouble with a landlord.

I had trouble with that landlord because I am like the man of constant sorrow, no friends to help me out.  They told me that I had to leave (back then) , and so I ended up here where I am now.  Now I've got trouble with these people.

I took the previous two days off for a strained muscle in my back.  Although my life isn't constant troubles, I've had enough of them to know that when you get them, they seem to come in bunches.  Hope that is not what's happening now.

Events in Missouri

Haven't been following that story very closely at all.  Perhaps if I actually watched the news anymore, I'd a been fully "informed" about what is going on over there.

There have been some comparisons to Trayvon Martin.  If so, this could mean some trouble is ahead.

Perhaps it can be useful to discuss my own experiences with police.  Let's put this frankly.  I think I might be considered "white trash".  I come from a lower class background.  Haven't risen very far from it.  So, I've got this blue collar job, in which I may be the only white guy working wherever I'm working at the time.  That's still true today.

It may be the case that I get better treatment from the police because I'm white.  Don't know.  But what I do know is that they will stop you if you are white or black.  They will stop you even if you aren't doing anything wrong.

Such was the case on a couple occasions in the late nineties when I worked late into the early morning hours.  I'd go into neighborhoods to pick up stuff from vans that carried parts and supplies for repair work.  Now, with all the crime out there, if anybody is driving through a neighborhood in the wee hours of the morning, this may look suspicious.  I'd get stopped and questions were asked.  Then, they'd let me go.

What if I had been more belligerent, even though I had not done anything wrong, an incident could have occurred.

So, it appears to me that a little cooperation with the police could go a long way.  On the other hand, black folks could get stopped more often than white.  But shall I be brutally candid?  Who breaks the law more often?   A reasonable person may be forced to view blacks as more suspicious by virtue of the fact of being black.  There is nothing unfair about this.  It is the reality of the situation.  Blacks commit more crime.

Still, I don't know what happened there, but it is not justifiable to commit more crime in order to protest whatever the police may have done wrong, if such is the case.

If I am wrong on significant issue here, please show me where.

I wrote this because I saw that Drudge is reporting that the Russians are now lecturing us on race relations.

Bloggers living off the grid

I grabbed this list off here

• The Field Lab
• Terlingua or Bust

Those two are fairly recent.  There were others, but one has shut down and the other is private.

Is Doing Something Better Than Doing Nothing?

Spudis Lunar Resources

The space program is trapped in an irretrievable death spiral, where foolish ideas are pitched and adopted, then discarded as their public relations value declines once the concept is critically scrutinized. With each of these episodes, our nation and national space program lag further behind and lose more credibility. Instead of designing a technically credible space program that extends our reach into space, we are regaled with an endless parade of proposals for silly stunts. In regard to human spaceflight, we sometimes hear that “doing something” is better than “doing nothing.” Doing nothing might be a better option when the “something” being proposed is patently absurd. A static program might alert the public to what has been happening to our national space program.

It isn't just the space program that is in a death spiral.  The space program is a proxy for the rest of the society which is in a death spiral.  If the public isn't already alert, that should be a clue to what the problem actually is.  You have to know that there's a problem before you can even begin addressing it.

Romney says Obama even worse than he expected

Romney has a credibility gap.  He could have beaten Obama, and should have.  Yet, here he is looking like he may run again.  He needs to be stopped this time.

The big money people are running this country and that's who Romney is.

Obama and Romney belong to the same club.  The opposition is mostly symbolic and empty.  The difference between Dems and Republicans is a matter of which rich guy wins.  Even if Obama isn't nearly as rich as Romney, he is still kowtowing the rich.  There is no party that is the working man's party.  Communists aren't for the working man.  Communists are for communists.

How to Make a Gravity Bio-Water Filter - Cheap and Easy

Here's another method of filtering water.  As far as the screen is concerned, that can be applied to the idea that I tried yesterday.  Also, since the charcoal got mushy, it seems like it can be mashed down so that it can be a uniform and compact layer.  Hopefully, it won't clog it up.  Eventually, I will get to the best that I can do with the plastic bottle and learn something so that I can graduate to this system, which looks like it can handle more water.

Religious differences

An important part of American culture is religious freedom.  How did that come about?  My history on that subject may be a bit hazy, but I think it had a lot to do with the religious wars in Europe.  People came here to worship as they pleased.

Things seem to change over time.  Now, instead of a country full of Christians who were here because they wanted to have religious freedom, we now have a whole bunch of other religions, such as Islam, that compete for "mind-share".  Or no religion at all, as atheists.  And so on and so on.

Frankly, going over the history of the schism of the Church in Europe way back when, I think the differences appear petty and insignificant.  Yet, people were willing to kill and to be killed over these.  The differences wth Islam and Communism are far greater.  I don't understand the former as well as I think I understand the later.

My interest is in the country as it is, and I'd prefer that it not get swept up into a religious conflict that plagued Europe all those years.  The one except that I would make is for Islam.  I think it should be banned as a religion.  It has no place here, or should not have a place here---nor in Europe.  However, Europe may be jodido already on that account.

Roman Catholicism didn't save Europe this time, nor in Roman antiquity.  Protestantism won't save it either, nor us.  This may be shocking to say, but Jesus may not return to save us either.  Jesus didn't return to save the Romans.  You are going to have to suck it up and do it yourself.

I don't believe that a ton of prayers and prayers alone is going to make a damned bit of difference in any outcome.  On the other hand, it might.  You might say it all depends upon something, and that something may have nothing to do with church doctrines.

Sleepless night

My hours are really weird, I realize.  Usually, I go to sleep rather early, about 7 pm local time.  That's because I get up rather early too, which is usually about 2 am.  It's been a long term habit of mine, and, to put it frankly, the clock means nothing to me.  I can sleep anytime and wake anytime.  I've had jobs where I would awake at midnite and go somewhere to deliver something that had to be picked up and delivered at that time.  I am accustomed to odd hours.

But I can't sleep on my usual schedule.  Things are on my mind.  Lots of things.   Let's take the main thing, which is the thing I cover the most here on this blog---the national scene.

Barnhardt has convinced me that we are on a path that may well lead to genocide.  But I didn't need that much convincing.  Number one, I know that Bill Ayers was a member of the Weathermen, who discussed that very prospect of mass murder in order to enact their agenda.  Bill Ayers and Barack Hussein Obama are good friends.  Number two, I've read history, and the fact is that radical political organizations will use murder as a tool in their bag of tricks.  Hitler did it.  Stalin did it.  Mao did it.  This is what they do.  If anybody like that gets into power here, they will certainly do it.  Third, I think I've got common sense, and this is just common sense.  Anybody who looks at the facts knows that something is wrong.  The disagreement is probably over what it is.

I think the Federal government is out of control.  Where I differ with Barnhardt is over the matter of what can be done about it.  She tried her tax strike.  I believe that was a mistake.  I think all that that does is to marginalize herself and force her into situations that she did not have to endure.  For I believe that this situation can be handled legally, and in full compliance of the law.  A tax strike is unnecessary and counter-productive.

She is rather stubborn about it too.  She cannot justify her stubbornness upon the facts nor upon her religion.  If her stubbornness is based upon pride, then she is committing one of the seven deadly sins, for pride is one of them.

The facts are that the local governments can act legally to call the militia into service.  They do not have to rely upon the Federal government, nor do they have to take orders from the Federal government.  This is a remedy for an out of control Federal government.  It is according to the principle of subsidiarity, which she discussed on her Vendee genocide series on Youtube.  This is provided for in the US Constitution, which is sovereign, not the people who run it.  Everybody who is in office must swear an oath to defend the US Constitution.  They are subordinates of it, not the masters of it.

It is also in the Federal codes, which I discussed earlier.

If the Federal Government is acting outside of their authority, the local government can and must assert themselves and reestablish law and order.  For example, if the Federals won't enforce their own immigration law, then the locals can.  They don't need permission from the Federal government.  What they do need is support from all over the country, because a single locality can easily be dominated by the Feds.  However, local governments in coordination with each other can bring the Federal government to its very knees in about 72 hours in my opinion.

How?  By strict enforcement of this law, they will bring commerce to a screeching halt.  It may take something like that to get the attention of these jokers in DC.  I think it could work.  It would be legal.  And a tax strike wouldn't be necessary.

This is one of things I was thinking about on this sleepless night.  Now that I've written a little ditty about it, maybe I can fall asleep.

IRS tech claims Lerner’s hard drive wasn’t damaged.

IRS tech claims Lerner’s hard drive wasn’t damaged.



Looks like a 4 day old story and I missed it.  No damage to hard drive?  Isn't that what was claimed to be the problem?



This looks increasingly like a smoking gun of a coverup.  People need to be going to jail for this one.

"Porn": Everything is porn.

Because everything in our society is tied into pleasure.  Porn stimulates the brain's pleasure center and then you're hooked:

Obviously, those findings aren't actually shocking. What is supposed to get our tongues wagging, however, is that the lead author of the study says porn is "the new cocaine" -- and women are just as likely as men to get hooked.--- cafemom

Man, all this reminds me of the movie about Sodom and Gomorrah.  We are way, way down that road and we may well see a similar outcome.

Are Republicans Smart Enough To Become The Party Of The Millennials?

Instapundit

Minorities and millennials were the core of President Obama’s 2008 and 2012 election victories, and, according to conventional political wisdom, will continue to be the twin anchors of the Democratic Party for the foreseeable future...Regardless why millennials want to be independent, that desire could make them unusually receptive to a political message that emphasizes the importance of encouraging entrepreneurial freedom.---Mark Tapscott

Reading through the article, I note that I share a few things in common with the millennials even though I'm not one.  Too many people are using categories and labels of groups of people when there's just people.  Sure Black folks vote for Democrats, but if you are smart enough, you may able to convince more of them that their future should lie in with a different approach.  Becoming wards of the state should never be the goal of anyone no matter what their color.

I suggest getting your own farm.  If the GOP can bring back Homesteading, they may make inroads into these two groups, regardless of the label being attached to them.

Laboratory: Graywater filtration system experiment

Didn't go too well.  It drains too slowly after the first time through.  Not only that, it doesn't remove all of the soap suds.  The water isn't clear, either.  Have to experience problems the first time through, it was said, so this isn't a big disappointment.

Note:  I'm not trying to obtain potable water here.  Just trying to get a significant filtration accomplished with ordinary materials that can be easily obtained.





The actual experiment in progress.

Update:

  Analysis of filter

The charcoal got soggy---that's worth remembering.  Probably used too much because I wanted to capture the soapy residues.  Not enough rocks and sand, most likely.

Made an extra hole in the cap, but that didn't improve water flow.  Was there too much cotton?  The water didn't drain fast enough.

The results were a darkish clear yellow water that had much reduced sudsy quality, but not completely eliminated.  Somewhat disappointing.

Afterwards, I took the wet dirt and made a little planter for the mesquite bean seeds that I have.  Maybe they will sprout and grow.

How to pour a concrete slab

This video looks familiar and it may already be posted somewhere, but I couldn't find it, so here goes again.

It takes a buttload of concrete mix to pour a slab.  This is why I tend to want to avoid pouring one.  Not to mention that it is a lot of freaking work, which I am not so sure that I'm up to doing.

This can be an option as opposed to using a trailer in a type of RV system.

I'll add this to going-off-the-grid series.

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Here's some info on how to build your own shed.  He has a bunch of videos and you'll learn about his son while you're checking his channel out.  His son has leukemia and he could use some help.  Thought I'd throw that in there, in case anybody's interested.

Possible way to legally discipline a wayward President

Through the militia.  However, while Congress does have powers associated with that, what is conspicuously absent is the role of the President.

From the US Constitution, Article I, Section 8:

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

Alas, the President is mentioned later, Art II, Section 2:

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; 

Question:  What if the Congress is controlled by Republicans, both House and Senate, and decide to call forth the militia?  Let's say that instead of a law, which must be signed, they issue a joint resolution to that effect.  The States appoint the Officers, not the President.

Ok, then the President decides that he doesn't like what's going on and he issues an order for the militia to desist from whatever they are doing, and the militias refuse.  Then what?

Let's say the militias were "repelling an invasion" of illegals from the border and the President says he doesn't like that, and wants it stopped.

What can the President do if the militias, Congress, and several states decide not to obey him?

I got the idea from reading a post and watching a video on Barnhardt.  No, she doesn't advocate something like this exactly.  She merely points out how a genocide was stopped by a militia.

If a President is trying to flood the country with illegals, the Congress and the people are not helpless in the face of it.  Of course, the GOP must actually try to do something like this in order to stop it, which is altogether a different question.

Update:

It looks like there's a legal way to do this through the State Defense Force, which is authorized by Federal Law.  The respective State Defense Forces are mostly inactive.  By law, the Governor of each state is the commanding officer and the forces are mostly independent from the Fed.  The President is still commander in chief, so a political conflict that became quite serious could eventually become something of a crisis.   Nevertheless, this does water down the authority of the President, in which there is no easy remedy for him.

The question is whether or not there is a political will to oppose this president.  That has always been the case.  There's no excuse along the lines of "our hands are tied".  No they are not.

In a thoughtful mood

One of the more visited posts that I made last week was about Barnhardt.  She has something again that I'd like to respond to.

One it comes to myself, or moi, if you will, I am pretty much aware of what's going on in the country.  Maybe I don't know every cotton picking thing, but generally speaking, I try to keep up.  As for the French Revolution, I didn't study that too much in my history books.  So, there's a bit of an ignorance there.  But that ignorance is irrelevant.

My impression of the French today is that they are doing a few things right.  The rest?  I don't know, maybe not so much.  I have written what I think of socialism.  That the French are doing it does not speak well for them.  That many of the young today in THIS country are starting to admire socialism over capitalism, is not a good sign.

The French are using nuclear power.  They get 80% of the power from nukes.  That's good.  That we should do that.  The French aren't going to be at the mercy of the Russians thanks to that.

Now, the question is always this...  What do you do about a problem?  That the French have embraced socialism and that we are starting to, is not a good thing---agreed.  But what do you do about it?  Fight?  Please.  Whenever you fight, you must be aware that the fortunes of war can turn in any direction.  For example, the Spanish Armada was the mightiest force in Europe before the ocean's storms swallowed them up.  The English Navy did the rest and they became the new superpower of the day.  The fortunes of war didn't smile upon the Spanish Armada in that storm.

I AM NOT CLAIMING PASSIVITY AS AN ANSWER.  This is in all caps because somebody just doesn't seem to get what I'm saying.  Haven't I been saying all along that you don't give up your guns---EVER?  Haven't I been saying all along that the regime wants guns for the very purpose of rendering us all helpless against their power?  That they are seeking this doesn't speak well for them or us.  For them to think that they have any chance at all of succeeding at this at all is testimony to the fact that not enough has been impressed upon them that any attempt at disarming us is bound to end in futility.  If they were made absolutely aware and convinced of this, they wouldn't be trying it.  For they would know that it would be a complete waste of time.   No, they are trying it because they think they can succeed at this.  I'm telling anyone who wants to hear this that an aggressor will back off the moment they know that their aggression will not succeed.  You have to convince the aggressor of this.  We aren't doing that good enough.

Here's some aggression for you:  "From my dead cold hands you will pry my gun from my hands".  If everybody said this and meant it, we will be safe from the type of people who are capable of genocide.  The left doesn't offer anything.  They are there to take whatever they can take.  It is your job to show them that this will fail and fail miserably.

The big question is how best to do this?  But isn't this what I've been doing all along?  But nobody is interested.  Why?  Because they want to be entertained.  Babies need to be entertained constantly.  If you need constant entertainment, you are emotionally and intellectually a baby.  You have to grow the fuck up.  That's a big challenge when nobody wants to be serious about anything.

Recap of last weeks posts 8/10 to 8/17/14

Nothing made the "Best of" list this week ( for those page hits that occurred this week ONLY ).  The most visited post was:  A response to Ann Barnhardt

The next most was:  A New Party ( repost from a year ago )

Going back in time a bit further, the following post will be added to the "Best of" list:  Psychologists: Elliot Rodger Would Still Have


As for a recap of the posts of this week---it was an alternation between reporting on the world and my emerging retreat from it.  You could say that it was about alienation.

Laboratory: Storage sheds

There's theory, then there's practice.

One thing about this little excursion is that it made me realize that things won't go exactly the way it does on paper.  Nothing ever does.  So that should not have been a revelation.

The doors wouldn't close and didn't appear to be of the highest quality.  That's a problem.  Better do some more thinking on this one, ya'll.

Update:

Here's an alternative that has its pluses and minuses.  The pluses are cost and ease of construction.  The minuses are mainly that it is too small.  May need two of them.  In fact, it will definitely need to be doubled up.

Update:

An idea here.  Don't sleep in the storage shed.  Sleep in the vehicle.  Yeah, that's a bit rough, but it is supposed to be temporary.  Use the storage shed for a shower and a composting toilet set up.  This part may become permanent if a way can be found to keep it secure in place.

Update 8/20/14:

Here's a visit to a shed that was shown in a video.  On sale at Home Depot.


This one will go on the off-the-grid series

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TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA (1970)

The thing I remember about this flick is that the character "Sara" pretends to be a nun, but she isn't a nun.  Not hardly.

I think I may have seen something, only I don't know whether or not to believe what I think I'm thinking.

Rather opaque, huh?  Well, somebody might get it.

Sawyer Mini Water Filter

Sawyer Mini Water Filter



A reader mentioned this filtration system.  Quite interesting.  Of course, there are better things on the market than that in which you could probably make in a pinch, but the idea of going off-the-grid is to be able to make something that works in an emergency ( just in case you don't have a Sawyer Mini ).

Hammocks

Hammock Hangin' How-To PART 1... Essentials For Noobs Part 1

Part 2 here, but I haven't watched it as of this writing.

I knew a dude from El Salvador who would sleep in a hammock during his layover time.  This was back in the nineties, when things were said to be hunky dory under the Clinton Regime.

The dude in this video is trying real hard to be entertaining.  He is mildly amusing.

How to Make a Survival Water Filter

She drinks the water after she makes the filter and uses the filter to clean up the river water behind her.  She didn't get sick, she adds at the end of the video.

Tentative plans for solarium

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This is the next post in the off-the-grid series.  The series began as a brainstorm that involved using a modified conex as a living quarters.  This has morphed into a modified storage shed that will be mounted on a trailer, and therefore will be a type of RV.  This is not intended to be permanent, but could house me for a long enough period to build permanent quarters.

One problem with the storage shed is that it won't keep out cold or hot air.  It is probably leakier than a sieve.  Thus, a way will have to be found to patch up these holes and make it good and comfy.

The front door could be modified, or maybe it could be attached to a solarium, which would come in handy in the winter.  The sun shines a lot out there, so a cold day can be manageable by using for that purpose a PVC Greenhouse setup that I wrote about in one of the first posts.

The Greenhouse will serve more than one purpose.  It will warm the shed in the winter and cool it in the summer.  It will accept the grey water and evaporate it, thus recycling it into potable water.  It will help grow some grass that will serve as the driveway on which the "RV" is located.

If water doesn't become too big of an issue, I may make PVC greenhouses all the way back to the entrance where the driveway meets the street.  In those greenhouses, I can grow my own food.  The greenhouses can be dismantled, if necessary.  I may need to for one reason or another.

For that matter, since the "RV" is on wheels, it can be removed from the property as well.  This gives some flexibility if the situation warrants.

Update:

A lot has happened since this post, which is almost a month ago.  I found a place that sells trailers that are designed specifically to have tiny houses built on them.  Also, the PVC greenhouses don't have to be exactly like the one in the video that I linked to here.  On that video, he recommends two people constructing it.  Since I may not have the luxury of a second person with me, I may have to design one that requires just little 'ol me doing all the work.

Update:

Adding more information as time goes on--this is 9/17/2014 as of this update.  This swamp cooler got some positive reviews, so I am adding the link to this post.  Some of the reviewers mentioned that you may want to keep the doors to the outside open.  This may impact my plans to recycle the water.  The commenter may not be correct anyway.  There's a big swamp cooler in a warehouse that I visit from time to time during work.  That thing works great with the doors closed.

Storage shed

Link to storage shed on sale in Houston at a Home Depot.

This may be modifiable to be turned in living quarters.  This is actually quite interesting proposition.  Watch the video supplied at the site.

It is 8 by 12, which is nearly 100 sq ft.  Some of these micro houses are about the same size.  The price is affordable.  Yep, I just may be able to use this thing.  It's designed to be a do-it-yourself assembly project.

The downside is that I may need help in putting it together.

This will be incorporated into the going off-the-grid series, along with a companion post here.

Update on 8/17/14:

Other companion posts

1. Power requirements could be made with a Solar City Installation or Build your own system
2. You may want to dig some post holes in order to anchor the "RV"/Storage Shed.
3. Sewage systems would be a composting toilet and recycling of grey water.  Idea: water the grass driveway with the grey water system.

In summary, build the RV on top of a trailer.  Modify it so that it can become habitable.  Secure it to the ground.  Power it and provide water to it.  Obtain water from rain harvesting and recycling.  Looks like the plans are nearly complete.


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