On the first trip out to my property, there was a thunderstorm and some rain. I recall in the early morning hours, that there was a bad smell in the area ( Van Horn). It was somewhat puzzling to have this bad smell in an area that was so remote. No industry in the region could make such a smell. The smell was a strong as the smell from the Houston Ship Channel, which has to be one of the most heavily concentrated industrial regions on the planet.
The environmentalists like to romanticize nature, but this stink was as bad as any man-made stink that I could recall.
The stink did not come from sewage sludge, as this sludge was miles away. Besides, I never smelled a smell like that in Sierra Blanca. This was in Van Horn, which is 30 miles away.
So, what was it? I am thinking that it was the creosote bush. The description of this bush is in a book that I have on my Kindle, which I have neglected to read for the last few years. I have spent several hours today reading this book, and this bush came to mind, because of that smell.
A creosote bush is almost like a petrochemical factory. Its leaves will burn rather hotly, so it is said. Bingo. Here is something that can be used for fuel. I am sure that there are some of these on my property.
It reminds me that the property can be sustaining. Yet, I have yet to do anything with it. It's a doggone shame.
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.
Monday, October 9, 2017
Next Big Future: What will it take to be the Columbus of the Space ...
Originally posted 10.16.13, updated on, 10.09.17:
If the modern leftists got their way, nobody would know who Christopher Columbus was. Or if they did know who he was, he would be an arch villain.
Are they trying to eradicate history?
the original post follows
Next Big Future: What will it take to be the Columbus of the Space ...: Today is Columbus Day (the first Monday after October 12th). Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Chr...
Comment
To answer that question, it would take the profit motive. Columbus was looking for a trade route to China.
After the inadvertent discovery of America, the colonists of that time came for land and gold. The same motivation can apply to space colonization. Not so much the land or gold, but the profit motive.
Profit means earning more money than you spend on an activity.
Space is currently quite expensive to access, but there are those who are working on that problem, and their progress will bear fruit in time. It is not an impossible problem, if past efforts are any indication. The question is will. The profit motive can put some motivation behind that willpower.
If access to space could be made affordable, that's a start. But there also has to be something out there that will bring the money in. For that, there is the possibilities of mining for precious metals. There's money to be made out there if you can figure out how to do it. Whoever is serious about making money in space will be the new Columbus of this age.
That's what my latest series is about.
Dems want total cave in for Dreamer legislation
But Trump won't cooperate. "Bad 'ol Trump".
comment:
Even if Trump gets all these concessions from the Dems, he's giving up too much.
Dems ought to take the deal, but they don't seem to want it. That would be okay by me.
comment:
Even if Trump gets all these concessions from the Dems, he's giving up too much.
Dems ought to take the deal, but they don't seem to want it. That would be okay by me.
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Simplicity, always simplicity
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This post will go into the Power and electricity sub-series of the off-the-grid main series of posts. These posts can be accessed from a table of contents and watched individually or in series from beginning to end.
Not super cheap, nor super simple to set up, but it could work. Simplicity could win out on this one.
This post will go into the Power and electricity sub-series of the off-the-grid main series of posts. These posts can be accessed from a table of contents and watched individually or in series from beginning to end.
This rates as a post because I want to emphasize an idea that came to me recently. The idea is to use an automobile to charge up an electrical system, as opposed to using a completely different piece of hardware.
Two possibilities emerge from that: 1) use an electric car, or 2) use an internal combustion engine. Of these two possibilities, the one that would offer the most direct means of accomplishing the task of charging batteries would be the ICE route.
For example, to run the Nissan Versa at idle only consumes about 2/10 of a gallon per hour. The question then becomes: How much of a charge can you get from the onboard alternator? A little research indicates that it may be better to use the car than to use the little 2 cycle generator I got. The gasoline consumption is the same, but the amperage is superior from the car But what is it exactly?
Don't know, but it may be around 40 amps. That would be far better than what I already have, and would require no new hardware.
You could put about 2.5 kilowatt hours into some batteries for the price of a gallon of fuel per day.
Not super cheap, nor super simple to set up, but it could work. Simplicity could win out on this one.
Friday, October 6, 2017
Obligatory, 10.6.17
There are so many thoughts, it's hard to keep them organized, and presented in posts that are readable. Consequently, I have spent a bit more effort on this post, than what is usually my custom. I made an outline first, and then filled it in with what I wanted to write about.
I'm not following the news as is my custom; instead, I will write about things closer to home. Therefore, it is somewhat different than the usual fare on this blog. It will largely about me. I don't know how interesting that subject may prove to be, but here it is, just the same.
I guess this post will be largely about my struggles as of late. My main struggle is with my health, as I have cancer. Today, I am supposed to call for my results of the latest MRI. It will tell in more detail how the proton therapy has gone. First indications are encouraging. The doctor went over some of the images while I was still in Irving. But, it wasn't the whole picture. Later today, I will be finding out more about those.
Another struggle is with the poverty that has ensued from this disability. I never did have much money. Now, I have none at all. Indeed, it seems that I keep sliding deeper and deeper into debt. Despite all my efforts to rein in spending, and even to go back to work, this trouble seems never- ending. I spoke with a financial counselor at Irving, and she said "don't worry about it, just get well." But once I get well, will the worry about the bills will make me sick all over again?
Getting well could be the key after all. Maybe I can earn my way out of this mess. At the moment, that seems most unlikely. It is mostly a challenge to do much work at all.
All of this is related to what I really want to do. I don't want to be all consumed with my health and finances. I'd like to focus in on my "moonshot". But the moonshot gets pushed back and back and back. It has been three years since I began the project in earnest, and I'm still not out there.
In the meantime, I am struggling with things I am likely to encounter out there. One thing that there is abundance of in this place is ants. Seems like I am always fighting against another infestation, as I have found another bunch of these nasty little critters on my Coleman cooler. So, out it goes, and I look for the ant trail to see where they got in. It is hard to find, so that is what makes this so confounding. It doesn't take much for them to find a way in. I have done a lot to keep them at bay, but it is always temporary. They are relentless.
I got lazy this morning, or otherwise, I'd be working. Now I am fighting these confounded ants again.
In the nighttime, when the battles against the ants and whatnot, I am inclined to read. Perhaps the news, but last night was a bit different. I re-read the book Four Witnesses, which is about the early Church. The ancient Romans were really not much different than we are. That is a warning for those who think about these things. Of course, I have mentioned this rather extensively on this blog. Indeed, it is why I began this blog in the first place.
Our society seems to have taken a lot of missteps in my lifetime. But is it too late to change and turn back to a better path?
That is what the "moonshot" is about. Perhaps I will get the opportunity to finish this project. But circumstances seem to be going against it.
The struggle goes on. It won't end until I do, I suppose.
I'm not following the news as is my custom; instead, I will write about things closer to home. Therefore, it is somewhat different than the usual fare on this blog. It will largely about me. I don't know how interesting that subject may prove to be, but here it is, just the same.
I guess this post will be largely about my struggles as of late. My main struggle is with my health, as I have cancer. Today, I am supposed to call for my results of the latest MRI. It will tell in more detail how the proton therapy has gone. First indications are encouraging. The doctor went over some of the images while I was still in Irving. But, it wasn't the whole picture. Later today, I will be finding out more about those.
Another struggle is with the poverty that has ensued from this disability. I never did have much money. Now, I have none at all. Indeed, it seems that I keep sliding deeper and deeper into debt. Despite all my efforts to rein in spending, and even to go back to work, this trouble seems never- ending. I spoke with a financial counselor at Irving, and she said "don't worry about it, just get well." But once I get well, will the worry about the bills will make me sick all over again?
Getting well could be the key after all. Maybe I can earn my way out of this mess. At the moment, that seems most unlikely. It is mostly a challenge to do much work at all.
All of this is related to what I really want to do. I don't want to be all consumed with my health and finances. I'd like to focus in on my "moonshot". But the moonshot gets pushed back and back and back. It has been three years since I began the project in earnest, and I'm still not out there.
In the meantime, I am struggling with things I am likely to encounter out there. One thing that there is abundance of in this place is ants. Seems like I am always fighting against another infestation, as I have found another bunch of these nasty little critters on my Coleman cooler. So, out it goes, and I look for the ant trail to see where they got in. It is hard to find, so that is what makes this so confounding. It doesn't take much for them to find a way in. I have done a lot to keep them at bay, but it is always temporary. They are relentless.
I got lazy this morning, or otherwise, I'd be working. Now I am fighting these confounded ants again.
In the nighttime, when the battles against the ants and whatnot, I am inclined to read. Perhaps the news, but last night was a bit different. I re-read the book Four Witnesses, which is about the early Church. The ancient Romans were really not much different than we are. That is a warning for those who think about these things. Of course, I have mentioned this rather extensively on this blog. Indeed, it is why I began this blog in the first place.
Our society seems to have taken a lot of missteps in my lifetime. But is it too late to change and turn back to a better path?
That is what the "moonshot" is about. Perhaps I will get the opportunity to finish this project. But circumstances seem to be going against it.
The struggle goes on. It won't end until I do, I suppose.
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Obligatory, 10.4.17
Originally posted today, updated on,
10.5.17:
What did I tell you? It was a gun free zone, and security wasn't taken seriously. Again, I say that this country has become a completely non-serious. If we wanted to end this crap, it would end. But they don't want to, because it would hurt them politically to actually solve the damned problem.
later today:
Back again. Back to the grind. Back to being alive. Yay, me.
Better than the alternative, btw. Some of you may have wished that I didn't come back. lol
the original post follows
My apologies for the lite posting. Actually, there was time to post, but I neglected to attend to this little chore of maintaining this blog. But, I was enjoying the luxury of having as much of the things that I now deny myself as a matter of necessity. The luxuries are as follows: 1) a lot of space to move around in, 2) running the a/c as cold as I like 3) using as much water as I wish in order to take a shower, and 4) watching the boob tube.
As for the last in the list, it is called the "boob tube" for a reason. The controllers of our society program us with these machines. Your thoughts are being shaped by what you see and hear on that stupid screen. But it is a luxury, and people love it so. It is an opportunity for the controllers to set us one against the other, and keep us in their hip pockets. We all love to bash our opponents on that stupid screen. The bad guys are the guys who seem to want to prevent something to be done about something the controllers want.
The latest thing is the Las Vegas massacre. Of course, it is yet another one of these things, and the more they show it, the more the imitators are going to want to emulate it. The more it happens, the more the call for gun control becomes compelling. The call to "do something" will one day become "too much" to ignore. Or so they say. It is probably the latest scene in the kabuki theater, which is what they continually display upon the boob tube. The boob tube is the boob tube because the average boob will not turn it off, and think for himself about these things that keep happening.
These things happen for a reason. The reason is to continue to amass power amongst themselves, meaning the controllers, at your expense. The controllers will not actually solve the problem, they only want the issue, so that they can continually harangue us on the need to give up more of our rights, and cede it to them, of course.
If they wanted to solve these problems, as with all the other problems, they would actually do something that will work. Gun control will not work. Even if it did, it should not be employed as a solution, because the controllers cannot be trusted with the power that they already have. With the power that they already have, we continually see these kinds of events.
Was gun control in effect in Las Vegas? I don't know, but I bet that this venue was a gun free zone. A gun free zone is an invitation for a slaughter amongst those who think about doing this kind of thing. The obvious thing is to stop having gun free zones, unless you have air tight security.
But that won't be done because it is too obvious, and it would end these things because the opportunity to slaughter a lot of people, and get on the news, would no longer exist. The opportunity to harangue us about gun control will no longer exist too, and that is why nothing will be done.
Who is the bad guy in the kabuki theater? The bad guys are the ones who try to keep our rights in effect. If you weren't such boobs, you wouldn't listen to this garbage, but so many people do.
Turn the damned thing off. End the kabuki theater by not participating. Vote the dirt bags out who keep perpetuating this garbage. Stop being a boob, and be a free man with a mind of your own.
10.5.17:
What did I tell you? It was a gun free zone, and security wasn't taken seriously. Again, I say that this country has become a completely non-serious. If we wanted to end this crap, it would end. But they don't want to, because it would hurt them politically to actually solve the damned problem.
later today:
Back again. Back to the grind. Back to being alive. Yay, me.
Better than the alternative, btw. Some of you may have wished that I didn't come back. lol
the original post follows
My apologies for the lite posting. Actually, there was time to post, but I neglected to attend to this little chore of maintaining this blog. But, I was enjoying the luxury of having as much of the things that I now deny myself as a matter of necessity. The luxuries are as follows: 1) a lot of space to move around in, 2) running the a/c as cold as I like 3) using as much water as I wish in order to take a shower, and 4) watching the boob tube.
As for the last in the list, it is called the "boob tube" for a reason. The controllers of our society program us with these machines. Your thoughts are being shaped by what you see and hear on that stupid screen. But it is a luxury, and people love it so. It is an opportunity for the controllers to set us one against the other, and keep us in their hip pockets. We all love to bash our opponents on that stupid screen. The bad guys are the guys who seem to want to prevent something to be done about something the controllers want.
The latest thing is the Las Vegas massacre. Of course, it is yet another one of these things, and the more they show it, the more the imitators are going to want to emulate it. The more it happens, the more the call for gun control becomes compelling. The call to "do something" will one day become "too much" to ignore. Or so they say. It is probably the latest scene in the kabuki theater, which is what they continually display upon the boob tube. The boob tube is the boob tube because the average boob will not turn it off, and think for himself about these things that keep happening.
These things happen for a reason. The reason is to continue to amass power amongst themselves, meaning the controllers, at your expense. The controllers will not actually solve the problem, they only want the issue, so that they can continually harangue us on the need to give up more of our rights, and cede it to them, of course.
If they wanted to solve these problems, as with all the other problems, they would actually do something that will work. Gun control will not work. Even if it did, it should not be employed as a solution, because the controllers cannot be trusted with the power that they already have. With the power that they already have, we continually see these kinds of events.
Was gun control in effect in Las Vegas? I don't know, but I bet that this venue was a gun free zone. A gun free zone is an invitation for a slaughter amongst those who think about doing this kind of thing. The obvious thing is to stop having gun free zones, unless you have air tight security.
But that won't be done because it is too obvious, and it would end these things because the opportunity to slaughter a lot of people, and get on the news, would no longer exist. The opportunity to harangue us about gun control will no longer exist too, and that is why nothing will be done.
Who is the bad guy in the kabuki theater? The bad guys are the ones who try to keep our rights in effect. If you weren't such boobs, you wouldn't listen to this garbage, but so many people do.
Turn the damned thing off. End the kabuki theater by not participating. Vote the dirt bags out who keep perpetuating this garbage. Stop being a boob, and be a free man with a mind of your own.
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