Another perspective on the problem

You can buy a system, or build one from scratch.  What I've done so far is to outline what it would cost, and what it would take to build from scratch.  What if you could just buy an RV?  Well, I've looked into that, and I looked again today.

There may be a possible deal for an RV.  It may take some fancy footwork still to make this happen, but it is now within the realm of possibility.  Before the little expedition, I drew another diagram for the quonsets.

Even if I get the RV, I will still need to build the quonsets.  Fortunately, that is relatively easy.

Now that an RV is contemplated, I made a few changes:

Update:

Revised the drawing directly above with this one.  What I'm trying to accomplish is to cover the RV with tarps so as to assist in climate control.  Want to be able to shield from sun and wind, while collecting rainwater.

Water storage?  Will use these bad boys.

Fine tuning the plans, part 2

This is a revised version of the last post( see prev link at bottom of page ) .  Or was it this one?  It has been abbreviated and simplified as much as possible.


Review:  The idea is to get something up quickly.  Must simplify.   Start small, as opposed to trying to get everything in place all at once.

Revisions:  The fence should go in Later.   Strongly considering a move to the Berkey system, as opposed to reverse osmosis.  Bare bones electrical system gets pared down a bit further.  I envision a modular system that can expand as circumstances warrant.  Toilet system will be "go anywhere toilet system."

Greenhouse location: must have sun during growing season.  Solarium is for the winter months, which is to provide passive solar warmth in the winter.  Solarium will have to double as a work area.  Begin as a quonset work area, then change it to a solarium for the winter.  Idea:  Staggering the location can get wind blockage that I"m seeking, while not having to change locations.  Or breaking up the things into smaller pieces.

Greenhouse flooring:  Will use plywood.  The plastic tarp will go over the ground and the plywood would fit on top of it.  The dirt must be leveled first.

Finish the canopy:  Drilling the holes could be attempted, and then stick some rebar down in it.  The hole with the rebar in it can be filled with concrete.  The PVC piping I have will fit over the rebar.  It may still need some strengthening, so I will consider added 5 gallon buckets of dirt that goes around the rebar with the PVC going over the rebar, and the dirt going over them both.

Canopy location may have to be changed, or altered.  It is not in the best position to collect rainwater.

Electrical system.  Perhaps a couple of 42 amp hour batteries.  The system can be expanded later.  The little generator can charge them both with a gallon of gasoline.  Solar panels can eventually be installed.  Perhaps the sooner, the better.

Battery education must improve.  I saw some deep cycle batteries at a delivery location today.  It amazed me how powerful the battery appeared to be for its size.  I need to learn more about batteries.

Might consider buying one of these jump starter gizmos.

Design of complete system ( 400 watt/hr )  that could be ordered today, if I wish:
solar panel ($243) , batteries ( 2 @ $134) , charge controller ($207) , inverter ($500)  total $ 1220

Not all hardware is included.  Price may run up a bit more.

May be time to consider Honda 1800 watt generator conversion to propane.  Work this with a small 175 watt dehumidifier and swamp cooler combo or working singly.  Perhaps another $1500

Here's a tentative materials list and tools list:

materials:

6  four foot tall rebar for finishing canopy
10 ten pound bags of concrete ( the same concrete I used the last time)

8 heavy duty stakes for plywood to hold down quonsets
8 cattle panels
8 four by eight plywood
20 two by four wood studs
2 rolls of greenhouse film and associated materials
2 pkgs of nails and assorted hardware and fasteners

2 forty two amp hours batteries
1 rope

lower priority items:

16 five gallon buckets for growing plants, sufficient soils and fertilizers
1 rain barrel to get started, more to add later

tools:

corded drill :  No cordless drill if batteries are already present
bits
pick, ax, heavy mallet, plus all the tools I already possess
something that can be used as a workstand

finally,  food and water to last a week or longer


This one goes into the construction subseries of the off-the-grid posts.

Update:  This post will stay at the top of the heap because I want to keep it fresh in mind.  It will be updated from time to time.  No other posts will take place.  I have to get serious about this, or forget it.  Plans should be getting finalized and I am already getting late in that.


Things to remember:

• I'm going out West to live, not to die.
• The lifestyle I am living now is killing me before my time.  If I survive this, I will live longer for it.  It is healthier because of more exercise, better food, and I will probably lose a lot of weight.
• There is a risk that I won't make it, and the risk is significant.  I have a high risk of heart disease and stroke.  But that can actually be prevented by lifestyle choices.  That's what I'm trying to do, for heavens sake.  Why can't people appreciate that???????????????????????????????  Evidently, it is the social circle I'm in with that doesn't understand these things, and it is better to separate from them.

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Water Filter Review & Comparison

LDSPrepper

Strongly recommends the Berkey filter.  May be best to use this with rainwater in order to get potable drinking water.




This goes into the water subseries of the off-the-grid series.

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No work today

Yeah, pretty unproductive day.  Not many posts, no work, no nothing.

Just 3 more weeks, and I am to go on my adventure.  Am I ready for this?  Not a chance.  But off I go anyway.  Tomorrow will be a new day.  Today bummed me out.

As for ObamaCare, the reason I've turned four square against it is this:  there's no proper incentives.  What reason does Blue Cross have in treating me right?  To the contrary:  They have every incentive to abuse their "customers".  After all, where are you going to go?  How are you going to get along without them?  That's how they are thinking, I'm sure.  There's no way this was an honest dealing here.  They are refusing to service the  problems they caused for me because they believe they can, and can get away with it; not because they are unable to do so, while keeping me happy as a "customer".

I never liked ObamaCare anyway.  But I can see how they hook you in.  Now they've set the hook and are reeling people in.  Purely manipulative strategy.  It was very cheap---in the beginning.  The service for the first year was pretty good.  It is how it always starts with something that's wrong.  Always good at first, but there's a catch.  The catch here is that the prices won't stay this low and the service won't be as good.  Yes, it has become rather bad this year.  This can not be any accident.  All in the plan.

I'm going back to my old doctor.  I suppose I'll still make payments to Blue Cross.  Not sure if I will, though.  I'm wondering if they even care if you make payments.  I was late this month, but the feds paid them for April already, and then some.  Does anybody in DC care if the policy holders make their payments?  Blue Cross should be quite happy to receive payments for no service rendered.  Not a word about being late.  They're not about to drop me from their accounts.  snicker snicker

I've been thinking and fuming about this all day.  Not good to be out there working with this train of thought.

ObamaCare should be repealed

It's a scam.  Yessir, it is a scam.

I went to the doctor and they still list my PCP's incorrectly.  I was told that this would be fixed, and it wasn't.

Why can't Blue Cross fix this?  I suspect that they don't want to fix this.  They just want to cash in on the government subsidy.  The way things are fixed on this account now, I cannot see a doctor and get treatment.  This despite paying hundreds of dollars per month in premiums, almost all of which is being subsidized by the government.  I suspect that they are doing this deliberately.  Look, I changed PCP's before on their website, why would it not work now?

I cannot get medical service ( without paying in advance ) because Blue Cross won't change over the doctors.  As I mentioned, they did this before with no problems.  Now, when I go in the doctor that they list, that doctor won't treat ( without advance payment ) because it has me listed under the PCP that I wanted.  I go to the doctor that I want, and they won't treat me because I am listed under the other doctor.  I went over all this with somebody at Blue Cross a couple weeks ago, and was told that it would be fixed, and that I would get a new card.  I never got any new card, and I suspect that I won't get a new card.

I didn't even get a card under their doctor before I changed to doctor I wanted.  I've also requested cards by the internet.  They are unresponsive.  Trying to talk to them is like talking to a wall.

Tell ya what.  I'm not using the system anymore.  If they want to steal money, then let em steal it.

Just went in and looked around on the billing and so forth.  They are getting paid, so the account is not in arrears.  As a matter of fact, they were sent extra money for some strange reason.

This has nothing to do with me doing something wrong.  If this was a legitimate operation,  I should be able to get my money back and seek business elsewhere.  I am wondering if I can do that here.  Probably not.

Where's the GOP on this?  What GOP?  They aren't going to do anything about anything.

Why vote for Democrat if you are a conservative?

It seems unthinkable to do this.  For that reason, you should do it.  It's like war.  You don't behave the way your enemy thinks you are going to behave.  You do what he thinks you won't do.  The so-called conservatives are way, way too predictable.  Secondly, they don't recognize themselves in a conflict situation, much like a war.  In a war, you have to follow the rules of warfare, which means NO RULES.

Because of what the "moderates" just did, the so-called conservatives should recognize that all bets are off.  The sooner you recognize this, the better off you will be when the dust settles.  Better to fight the seen enemy than the unseen one.  At the moment, the "moderates" act more like an enemy than a friend.  Time for an attitude adjustment.

There's precedent for this in politics.  Why did LBJ win in such a big landslide?  Because a lot of the GOP rejected Goldwater and bolted to the Democrats that year.  Four years later, Nixon won the Presidency.  No, it wasn't because of Reagan or Goldwater as Limbaugh says.  It was because the "moderates" chastised the "conservatives" with a devastating loss.  It's payback time, I say.

The so called conservatives are always reminded about Goldwater.  The "moderates" need to have something to remember, just in case they forget.

General gripe session about government

There's a lot going wrong in our government now.  It appeared that things might improve somewhat when the Democrats lost last November, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards.

Actually, I didn't believe that it would improve.  No, it was a number of other people who call themselves conservatives who actually believed things were going to be better.  Well, how do you like it so far?

I'm not just griping, I'm offering solutions.  With respect to the elections, I suggested NOT VOTING for the guy who wins the primary, but for the opponent, PROVIDED THAT YOU ARE UNHAPPY WITH THAT CONGRESSCRITTER.  If you are unhappy today, then what exactly happened that made you unhappy, and why does it make you unhappy?  In my own case, Texas Senator John Cornyn needed to go.  I said as much, and I acted as such.  I VOTED AGAINST CORNYN.  This is the kind of thing you must do if you are unhappy with your representative.  It doesn't work if you do otherwise.

You might say, but I can't vote for THOSE guys.  They are the enemy.  What's the difference if they act like an enemy anyway?  You can punish the office holder by removing him from office.  No matter how corrupt he may well be, he'd rather be a member of Congress than not be one, or, otherwise, he would not run for the office.  PUNISH HIS ASS.  Vote him out.

What I don't get is why are so-called conservatives unhappy with what has just happened?  If they are telling the truth, and they are really, really unhappy, they'd do what I suggest.  I'd be willing to bet that not one in a million would do as I suggest.  You sure as hell don't vote for the guy who has just screwed you over for the upteenth time, but you get conned and you do it anyway.  Refusing to vote ain't the answer either.  You have to do something positive, which is to vote against what annoys, frustrates, or angers you.

Allowing yourself to be conned into voting against yourself is really a masterpiece of deception.  That's how the politicians make their bones.  Why do you ever believe them in the first place?