Al Fin: "Cowboy Commentary", aka "Eat your veggies" The Flag banner is posted in order to defy those who would make patriotic symbols illegal or disreputable.
Showing posts with label Sundry Topics --- How to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sundry Topics --- How to. Show all posts
My goodness! This was on Christmas Eve, 2016. At that time, I was in a lot of pain. Wishbone drove me over to relatives for a Christmas visit with relations. I had to lie down the whole way. I wasn't feeling particular great at the time. Much better now!
But doing things out at the property is a horse of a different color, you might say. I feel much better, but not that much better. We'll see if something can be done about feeling better. I am losing weight from a diet, and on an exercise program to boot. Don't count me out yet.
Things could take an upswing again, and a return to this idea is not out of the question entirely. It will go away when I do. Or if I sell the property.
6/19/26:
Returning to the original post:
Another post in the water sub series in the main off the grid series of posts.
An experiment with straws and coffee filters may have yielded a good way to filter water. Good for my purposes, that is.
I took some rather dirty water and managed to get it much cleaner. Still not clean enough for the distiller, though.
The water I used was even dirtier prior to this treatment. I used a bottle of dishwater that had been sitting around for awhile. Heavier particles had sunk to the bottom, lighter materials settled on the top. I rigged up a straw with suction squeeze ball thingy to take the cleaner water in the middle.
The straws were then stuffed with the coffee filter paper. It is rather slow to filter, though. I suppose I can make a lot of straws to speed up the filtering.
Perhaps a combination of paper and activated charcoal in the straw could yield even better water.
This post has been discombobulated! Therefore, what to do? Run the question through AI!
To make the most delicious pork chops, **start with thick-cut chops (at least 1 inch thick)**, season them well, and cook them in a hot skillet for a good sear before finishing in the oven. Let them rest after cooking to keep them juicy and flavorful.
Key Ingredients for Delicious Pork Chops
To create the most flavorful pork chops, focus on the following essential ingredients:
Ingredient
Description
Pork Chops
Choose thick-cut chops (at least 1 inch thick) for juiciness. Bone-in chops can add more flavor.
Seasoning
Use kosher salt, black pepper, and your favorite spice rub (e.g., garlic powder, paprika).
Oil
A neutral oil with a high smoke point, like avocado or vegetable oil, is ideal for searing.
Optional Sauce
Consider making a simple pan sauce with butter, garlic, and herbs for added flavor.
Cooking Method
Preparation Steps
1. Bring to Room Temperature: Remove pork chops from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to ensure even cooking.
2. Season: Generously season both sides of the chops with salt and pepper. You can also rub in your spice mix.
3. Sear: Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the pork chops for about 3-4 minutes on each side until they develop a nice brown crust.
Finishing in the Oven
1. Transfer to Oven: After searing, move the skillet to a preheated oven (around 400°F or 200°C) to finish cooking. This helps retain moisture.
2. Cooking Time: Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness, until the internal temperature reaches 145°F.
3. Rest: Let the pork chops rest for at least 3 minutes before serving. This step is crucial for keeping them juicy.
Tips for Perfect Pork Chops
• Use a Meat Thermometer: To ensure perfect doneness, use a probe thermometer to check the internal temperature.
• Avoid Brining: Brining can alter the texture of pork chops; proper seasoning and cooking methods are sufficient for moisture.
• Experiment with Sauces: Enhance your dish with a simple pan sauce made from the drippings, adding flavor and richness.
By following these steps and tips, you can create pork chops that are tender, juicy, and bursting with flavor.
Truth be told, I never tried the recipe that got discombobulated. I don't use recipes.
Here's a post which demonstrates how to use Boric Acid to kill insects, in particular, wasps.
Boric acid will kill all insects, he says. That was my understanding as well. One thing I know for sure, is that boric acid will definitely kill off roaches.
Put some of this down in the cracks of all shelving, and other places where the roaches hide.
Just remember one thing about boric acid. It won't kill immediately. But it will definitely wipe roaches out, and keep them out. I used this in an apartment once that was badly infested with roaches. After treating with boric acid, I didn't see roaches there for the rest of the time I lived there. That was many years. Boric acid works.
The date is significant. It is about the time I spent about two weeks out West at my property. The most recent video is only a couple months old, so it's still around.
Interesting little contraption. I was thinking of something like this in order to get around out there in the boonies at da Ranch.
Of course, it costs money and time, like everything. Don't know if I have either to spare at the moment. Put it on my wish list for the future. Maybe some day...
Description: "A video demonstrating the non-electric Off Grid Steam Distiller by Water Wise."
10/15/15:
PrevNext [ water subseries of the off-the-grid series of posts ]
Looks like a system that can be purchased and put to work. Up to 16 gallons of distilled water per day using biomass. A link provided with the video shows where you can buy.
Update:
The stove makes it a two-part system. Here's where you can buy the stove (link no longer works).
Try this, but says it is no longer available. But I've made my own. Maybe it isn't as good as this was, though. Mine had copper tubing.
If you can follow this, then I'd say you were a certifiable geek.
Not saying that I'm up to speed on this geek speak, but I did learn something new. I may try it soon.
The realities may be such that I cannot try the Silverblue thing. If I do, I will discuss it here.
end original post from 5/10/25:
P.S.
5/11/25:
When I wrote that I would discuss it here, I meant this blog, but not this post. The subject appears to be too complex of a discussion for one blog post.---5/12/25: Raspberry Pi won't do. Need Mint or Zorin. I've done those, so the groundwork is set ( or some of it ).
As for yours truly, I'm almost free of Windows. Google is an almost situation too. I do have a pixel phone which has been de-Googled. However, someone did it for me ( Brax Me website).
Instead of wimping out, I could try doing it myself. However, there is a risk of "bricking" your phone. That's not a good situation to be in. The safe option would be to buy a de-Googled from Braxman.
I'm feeling a bit more daring at the moment, but it is only in the "thinking about it" phase.
🚨I just made a HOW TO video with @datarepublican she shows us how to use the tools she made and research effectively! PLEASE SHARE this we need as many people DIGGING as possible. Also give a follow and subscribe to help keep the progress coming. pic.twitter.com/OV0VprEFIy
It seems appropriate to include this "blast from the past". What do you do when the your source of wealth runs dry? Life becomes a matter of survival. You have to be able to live off the land. With respect to growing algae, chickens, ducks, and goats, I'd say you could probably do that in the driest desert on Earth---that would be the Atacama Desert in Chile. If Algenol produced the water from its ethanol producing algae, you can take it from there and grow everything else. Algenol claims to be able to take seawater and make fresh water out of it. It so happens that the Atacama desert is next to the Pacific Ocean. So, if the Mississippi runs dry, you can still survive. There is a way. But not if you trust in money. The country is said to be divided between the cities and the countryside. Who do you think will make it when things fall apart?
So, here's the post---
What is the single greatest reason America is so wealthy? According to the analysts at Stratfor, it is because of a river.
What is wealth? It is a term that is not precisely defined. Some may say it is the amount of money that you have stashed away in your bank account. But if a catastrophe occurred, that money wouldn't mean much to you. You can't eat it. You can't build a house out of it. It can't keep you warm in winter and cool in summer. It is merely a medium of exchange.
Another way to define wealth is to say that it is a store of knowledge. Without knowledge, where would you be? Wealth has to begin with knowledge, I would think.
In my post about machines, I wondered if we have become too dependent upon them. An individual's knowledge should include a basic ability to stay alive. If one is too dependent upon machines, one's own life is hostage to the machine. That could be said to be another form of poverty.
I'm all for raising the level of civilization. But fundamental things should not be forgotten.
Just before my father died, he liked to talk about living off the land. He knew how. He was born and raised in the country. But being a city boy all my life, I only know about living off the land- not actually doing it. I wonder if all my knowledge gained from books in school is worth nearly as much as being able to survive off the land, as the old man said.
Colonizing space is just another way to survive. But living off the land is where is all began. Wealth cannot even have a meaning if you can't use it for survival. You have to eat and have shelter and so forth. You shouldn't die just because there's a drought. Or any other force of nature, like an asteroid strike. You need to be able to survive, or your wealth means nothing.
A commenter on Free Republic included a link to the following video. I think it is appropriate to the post, so I'll include it here. It's Hank Williams' A Country Boy Can Survive.
Update:
I guess the bottom line is this: if it can't keep you alive, it isn't worth much. If you were to choose between alternatives, then the longer something can keep you alive, the more it is worth.
Wealth then is about value and how to properly evaluate it.
To forget useful skills do not make you richer, but poorer. To know how to make a fire could be a life saver. The electricity could be out. No matches could be available. No cigarette lighters to be found. You need a fire, what do you do if you don't know how? You may die.
Also, those in high places who think they are superior may be forgetting what the true value of religion is. There was a reason for it to exist for all that time, mainly because it helped keep people alive.
I recently purchased a phone with CaylxOS on it. It was more than I wanted to spend, and it is turning out to be a major league job
to make the transition. But I WILL make it.
I didn't follow the directions below. If I had, I'd have been in deeper doo-doo than what I am in right now. This is actually the
easier way. Or so I thought. I'm sure it is. Anyway, I've got plenty of time since I am retired.
6/15/24:
David Bombal has a video out that shows you how to install CaylxOS on a Pixel phone. He has a link to a pdf file with
detailed instructions. Plus you can watch the video below to see him do it.
I did a bit more checking after watching the video. You can get a Pixel phone ( refurb ) for a bit over 160 bucks.
If you get the voip pkg from Braxman, you can provision the phone to run on a network ( like at home, but not on the road)
for $5.00 a month. After a year on this service, you pay $60 for the voip phone, plus $160 for the phone itself. Not a
bad deal.
You'll have more privacy. Following Braxman's advice, you can get different phones for different tasks. For example, for
the road, you can get another phone. Maybe even a google phone, but keep it in a bag. (it's what I do) Sure, it's not
as convenient, but at least you don't have big tech looking over your shoulder at every move. For the record, I don't
have this set up, but I'm considering it.
Perhaps I can can guide you through this super-high techie discussion of what happened recently. I actually wanted to do something like this back in the day. That would be about 47 years ago. I went through all the trouble of getting a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, only to fail to get myself hired anywhere. There was this short stint at IBM NASA, where I got to do some interesting stuff, but most of the time, it was super boring over there. But that is a different story.
Anyway, as I watch this, I notice this guy speaks very fast. Yours truly does not speak fast. I'm listening to this, and I note that the computer field has moved way beyond anything I was familiar with. However, I can interpret this enough to get it after a few listens to what this guy is talking about.
So I imagine the average guy on the street cannot make heads or tails of this. Maybe the younger generation can, due to the fact that they were weaned on computers. Maybe this doesn't seem too esoteric to someone raised on techie jargon. But for anybody not falling into the techie categories, this may seem like Egyptian hierglyphics. Even to me, I can't keep up. I've got to go back and listen again. Say again, and more slowly please.
Anyway, I thought I'd put this one up for your amusement and/or consternation. Due to the wisdom of our "betters", we are getting more and more dependent on things we don't understand. Furthermore, those who produce this stuff will have all of us at their mercy before too long.
Like a good many things these days, the public had better wake the hell up. This shit is getting at a critical point. Either we get a handle on it, or it will get a handle on US.
I'm migrating to Linux. Screw Microsoft. Screw Google. Screw Big Tech in general.
Why Linux? Linux is "open source". At least in theory. It is what Microsoft used to be, and what Apple never was. That means that if you have the inclination and the ability, you can see inside the "black box". If you can't or won't, you will be at their mercy.
That's why freedom advocates like me are really starting to get worried about these bastards. They are out of control.
I was going to do an altogether new post here, but since I had written this one a short time ago, why not do an update? Anyway, I think this video will show that there isn't a sign from GOD here. These have been predicted from eons ago, and can be predicted well into the future. A sign from GOD ought to be at least somewhat unpredictable, yes? Or no?
end totally useless update:
That week there was a total eclipse. This was what I was doing back then.
I put a window unit in after this experiment. I put a watt meter on it and the ac pulled about 400 watts. Interesting.
the most recent post follows below:
Originally posted on 8.13.17, updated on, 8.23.17
Today, I worked on my "climate control device". That is to say, my "coffin", or to put it yet another way, my hidey hole.
No, I didn't make it small. Yes, I am thinking of doing that. Really small. Like 72 cubic feet. Do you realize the opportunity here? Well, look at this from the BTU calculator.
So, worst case scenario is only 516 watts per hour. Best case scenario is only 147 watts. Alright. That the ticket.
Now, to get my lazy butt actually working on it.
Meanwhile, I cleaned up the Coleman cooler, and cut away some unnecessary hosing. All in a day's work.
By the way, I may be able to upgrade the system with the batteries I have. Some ideas include using the existing battery outside, and putting in a cut out switch. A cut out switch will allow the solar panel to charge it during the daytime, and the grid to recharge it at night. Also, I have a battery that can run a 12 volt fan. I would have to purchase that.
Now I can waste time and money on something else... Just kidding.
the original post follows:
My van has an issue that I tried to address today. Actually, there are several issues, but this one needed attention.
The problem was with a terminal connector on the battery. It didn't tighten up like it should, and the reason why was that the thing was using a connector intended for the positive terminal, but was on the negative terminal. The negative terminal is smaller, and I didn't know that. How many people know that? Evidently, whoever put this terminal connector on didn't know that. It was somewhat loose because it was as tight as it could get. The thing could tighten no further. It wasn't designed for negative terminals.
It had to be replaced. So, I bought a universal connector. It tightens alright, but the thing is too dang complex to put together. I did get it together after a lot of cussing. I think the van is okay, but it isn't an ideal fix. We'll see.
Besides that, I am still fooling around with my solar panel. I am considering another battery for it, because it is putting out enough juice to charge more than one battery. Since money is tight these days, I have to consider things carefully when I am considering a purchase.
My little hidey hole, which is my bedroom, needs better insulation. That's another little piddling project I have been working on. My hidey hole is quite comfortable on a hot day. Everybody around here may wonder if I am ever coming out of my hidey hole. It is very nice in here. It is too hot out there.
So, the hidey hole gets a lot of attention. It isn't perfect, but it is getting better. It can be improved even more so that I can make a true "coffin" arrangement, that will minimize energy use. If I were to make a "coffin", it would be about two feet tall, by six feet long, and three feet wide. That is 36 cubic feet. About one tenth of the current cubic feet of the hidey hole.
The Butt head calculator says I need about 562 watts for my hidey hole, which I think is a low ball number. It is low ball if my insulation is "normal". Nearly 1200 if it is poor. It may be poor, but I think that it cannot be made much better, although I will try. At peak hour yesterday, I think this a/c was pulling about that much.
The coffin arrangement can improve that to only 332 watts. Personally, I do not think that it would take that much. My frozen ice thingy works better than that, I would guesstimate.
I'm sure everyone thinks I am going Howard Hughes with all this reclusiveness and everything. But I like to piddle around with this stuff and my hidey hole is doing aok.
In case you were wondering, the hidey hole does not work for nuclear fallout. If that happens, I am sol.
Update:
Because of CRS, I thought I would make a note of something today. Seems like it is about 7 pm when the solar panel cannot run devices and keep charging the battery at the same time. That is almost eight hours that it can do this. It is not an exact number, so don't quote me on it. If I didn't make a note of it, it would turn into something else.
Also, a crazy notion is going through my head. I may want to make a "coffin" after all. But all this costs money, and I don't have it. That's why it is crazy.
This provides extra privacy, but the real benefit is when your contact is using the system too. Otherwise, you could still use it for regular calls. There'd have to be a different motivation for using it, because additional privacy isn't one of them. ( I could think of one, it's cheap)
Be sure to watch the whole video, and if need be, watch it a second time if there's something you don't understand. ( which is possible, so don't feel bad, cuz I watched it twice)
Very interesting video. I've been going through this rigamarole with Big Tech a lot since my most recent move. Big Tech really, really doesn't like it when you move, and makes it painful as possible for you to move. Seems fishy to me.
