Buying forest land, implementing solar

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/houston-police-respond-reports-shots-fired-major-hospital-204008115.html

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Houston police said they were responding to reports of shots being fired on Tuesday at Ben Taub Hospital, a major healthcare center in the city.

Holy crap, I was just there 4 weeks ago to pick up some McDonalds for dinner right before going to TXU's Zoo Lights at the Houston Zoo. I could've been shot! lol.

Dang, I think I chose the wrong city to avoid getting shot, lol. Maybe that explains the old couples I've been seeing in Walmart buying shotguns. I thought I was the only one interested in picking one up for home defense, lol. Guess it's city-wide, not just this neighborhood!

That fence is moving rather high up on the priority list, lol.

(The trend of armed burglaries in Northern Florida is what I was most concerned about being possibly present here. I assumed it wasn't based on Houston's unemployment rates, but I could be wrong. There's definitely been burglaries recently in this area (My neighbor got his tarp stolen, PO collection box broken into), and it's only a stone's throw to armed burglaries.)

Update at 3:28 p.m. - Young mexican scout was riding by on his motorcycle with the pack of dogs. I'm assuming he's my neighbor down the road. And, apparently the ants have another entrance, so I've sprayed the wheels/trailer-jack/electric jack with the lemon spray. Hope it prevents an invasion, lol. It's a big black one too, so maybe this is one of those "airborne division" ants? Maybe I should spray a line around my RV, lol. It seems I've been successful in keeping all the other species out, but apparently not this big black one, leading me to suspect "airborne division". And, I cut a pineapple in my van earlier this morning, and about 5 hours later, i saw an ant crawling in my waste bag, which is where the pineapple leftovers were. Oh no! So I threw the bag out and determined to get rid of all fruit waste outside, not inside the van nor RV.

There's a probability this young mexican scout is involved in my neighbor's tarp theft, especially since all the other motorbike riders through this area have been white. So, yep, suspicion is high I have a thief next door, especially since he's especially likely to have the "local knowledge" this particular neighbor is rarely there. If he's the same punk that gave me warning shots, ooooo.... man, I swear... I don't like him much, lol. [I don't think so, it's probably an older male living with him.]

 

[swbluto]

While my illegal neighbors are being the neighborhood thieves, I'm raking in business and my finances are doing peachy. I'm just hoping I don't get shot, lol (Seems to happen enough with illegals... note the San Fran pier case.). [I'm also kind of hoping I can keep my 'good health' so I can enjoy the fruits of my labor...] Anyway, got the trees in the driveway prepared for the chainsaw, and I'm going to start that tomorrow at the beginning of the day. And then scrape off the top of the soil. I'm finding I can work from 7-1 p.m., and then from 4-6 p.m. The sun is a bit intense for hard labor from 1-4 p.m., right now anyway.

Man, with the neighborhood thieves... I'm just... yeah... I don't know if I can just "go on vacation" now, lol. I think I'd have to rent a storage unit for a month or something.

Oh, that does make good sense for the recent cardiac phenomenon during the peak of performance. Faulty electrical circuits in the heart, precipitated by previous heart damage. If this is true, I should be able to spot in an EKG. Guess it might be time to pull out the EKG, I'll do that after dinner.

Update: EKG looks fine. Normal standing heart rate and everything is proportioned correctly. No discernible arrythmias. I actually was a little surprised being able to see the 'p' wave, whereas I haven't been able to in the past. Perhaps I'm healthier now? Not taking into account recent symptoms, that'd be a good suspicion.

Just packaged all my medical equipment and stowing it away. Just checked my spirometer, yep, looks like I'm running with no anxiety/cortisol at the moment. 6.2L VO2.

Anyway, researching more about the human's "natural diet", I looked towards our nearest existing ancestor. The chipmanzee.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_chimpanzee#Diet

The chimpanzee is an omnivorous frugivore. It prefers fruit above all other food items and even seeks out and eats them when they are not abundant. It also eats leaves and leaf buds. Seeds, blossoms, stems, pith, bark and resin. Insects and meat make up a small proportion of their diet, estimated as 2%.[21][29] While the common chimpanzee is mostly herbivorous, it does eat honey, soil, insects, birds and their eggs, and small to medium-sized mammals, including other primates.[21][30] The western red colobus ranks at the top of preferred mammal prey. Other mammalian prey include red-tailed monkeys, yellow baboons, blue duikers, bushbucks, and common warthogs.[31]

Despite the fact that common chimpanzees are known to hunt, and to collect insects and other invertebrates, such food actually makes up a tiny portion of their diet, from as little as 2% yearly to as much as 65 grams of animal flesh per day for each adult chimpanzee in peak hunting seasons. This also varies from troop to troop and year to year. However, in all cases, the majority of their diet consists of fruits, leaves, roots, and other plant matter.[32][33] Female chimpanzees appear to consume much less animal flesh than males, according to several studies.[34] Goodall documented many occasions within Gombe Stream National Park of chimpanzees and western red colobus monkeys ignoring each other within close proximity.[35][36]

Fruits, roots mainly and a /tiny/ bit of seeds/nuts and meat.

So, apparently there's nothing wrong with subsisting off of fruits. But, there might be an issue subsisting off of nuts. Okinawans notably didn't subsist of nuts, mainly going for root vegetables (Sweet potatos). So, I'm letting taste be my guide in regard to nut consumption, seems like the appetite for nuts quells after a half handful. It's most accurate to figure out the stopping point when you're cracking nuts; seems like it takes time for appetite to catch up, and it seems like cracking nuts gives it the delay it needs. Eating already hulled nuts seems to easily lead to excessive consumption, since it takes appetite a little time to catch up.

So this creature...

Likes to eat this creature on occasion...

Update: Now 12:53 and I still haven't seen an ant. Is today my lucky day? The first day of a long string of days with no ants? The fact it seems I've greatly reduced their numbers suggests my methods have been effective and I'm targeting the right entry points. It's good to know I'm targeting the right entry points, helps me avoid wasting time/resources on futile measures.

And, am I feeling lucky today? Think I might do the deed without some kind of cardiac reaction? It's been kind of getting me spooked from doing it, lol.

Other than some slight tingling in my left hand, no notable reactions, despite some lack of motivation.

Spoke too soon, just a big black one crawl up the "forbidden route". I'm not sure if he crossed my lemon boundary, but I liberally reapplied the lemon spray to the entire area.

Think I'm going to be stocking up on this lemon spray, it's my last hope, lol, and I'm feeling like I can see situations where I might be overly generous in applying it, lol. It's a good thing this big black one isn't nocturnal, I'd be pretty dang scared of going to sleep, lol. I haven't seen the nocturnal ones lately.

I kept listening to Selena Gomez's I Love you like Love Song yesterday and it was kind of awesome, but I feel totally unaffected by it today, at least recently. That's a little weird how that happens... it just makes me wonder "why?", lol.

Anyway, just removed the tree stumps from the intended driveway. Pulled two out, chainsawed the remaining 3.

The number of trucks that seem to go down this road befuddles me. I wonder what they're all doing? I'm feeling no compulsion to wander down random roads in this neighborhood, so it's hard to imagine others might, which makes me think they have a motive of sorts. What is it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgT_us6AsDg&t=102s

This part doesn't seem to fade away. She actually explains why she loves him, which leads me to question the how. Rescued, been set free... from what? The lack of personal validation that comes with not knowing your psychological doppelganger? Your parents? "Hypnotized by your destiny", oh ho ho. Yes, I know that one. Girls can sense the direction/ambition in a guy and want to follow along. They want to join the journey.

 

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http://www.news-medical.net/news/20170223/Eating-up-to-ten-portions-of-fruit-and-vegetables-a-day-may-reduce-disease-early-death-risk.aspx

A fruit and vegetable intake above five-a-day shows major benefit in reducing the chance of heart attack, stroke, cancer and early death. This is the finding of new research, led by scientists from Imperial College London, which analysed 95 studies on fruit and vegetable intake. The team found that although even the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day reduced disease risk, the greatest benefit came from eating 800g a day (roughly equivalent to ten portions - one portion of fruit or vegetables if defined as 80g). The study, which was a meta-analysis of all available research in populations worldwide, included up to 2 million people, and assessed up to 43,000 cases of heart

Subsisting off of fruits for carbs, that's about how much I eat! 10-15 servings a day.

They found the following fruits and vegetables may help prevent heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and early death: apples and pears, citrus fruits, salads and green leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce and chicory, and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. They also found the following may reduce cancer risk: green vegetables, such as spinach or green beans, yellow vegetables, such as peppers and carrots, and cruciferous vegetables.

Vasodilating nitrates from the greens and the powerful antibiotic affect from the acidic citrus fruits. That's why. I don't know the reason behind apples/pears, but I'd surmise possible antibiotic affects based on that one paper looked at earlier. Seemed the pomace is the antibiotic part. This is the skins and pulp of the fruit. Among those two, I don't which ones are antibiotic, but I highly suspect the skins are. The skin, in most any fruit and animals, seems to be the first line of defense against bacteria. And that's why blueberries are the most powerful antibiotic of the fruits -> due to their small size, the skin/pulp ratio is ultra high compared to larger grapes and even larger apples.

And, cancer: Already looked into -> Beta-Carotene and Nitrates. It doesn't seem like they looked into lycopene foods, oddly, but that could be because those foods are rarely consumed in the UK. It's largely found in tropical foods, whereas the nitrates and beta-carotene can be found in some non-tropical crops (like spinach and carrots. Lycopene can be found in tomatos, but I guess those aren't normally consumed in excess in the UK?)

 

[swbluto]

Ok, so I was just at Walmart/Tractor-supply looking for fencing equipment+bilge pump and man, it felt like it was BLAZING HOT today. Looked online, yep, it's 86. Normal summertime highs are supposed to be 93 in Houston. Oh, this is a preview of what summer days are going to be like, so I came back home and... guess what?

The forest is the PLACE TO BE! Holy crap, the difference is noticeable. It's the difference between "Not the blazing sun, I'm sweating my balls off!" and "This feels like a nice breezy place. I could do this everyday.", lol. So, yep, looks like I chose my location wisely. I just chose it because I liked the forest surroundings more than the alternatives, desert, and it turns out to be one of the best choices for this area. It makes living without AC in this area easily achievable.

And, I can tell most of the lands around here that don't have trees were because they were cleared out, and in my opinion, that's kind of
a silly decision if you don't plan on putting the land to better uses (Many put cattle on the land, or grow hay, but there's a lot of people who just have a giant yard.). Granted, it does remove the risk of trees falling on your house/domicile, but I think it might be a better tradeoff to tree-proof your domicile through a protective structure of sorts (What I'm planning on doing).

Anyway, the birds in this forest are pretty cool. It sounds like the bird sounds you'd hear in a jungle. I don't hear the monkeys howling, but the birds seem to be just about the same. Diverse and sounds-like-them-amazon-birds.

Anyway, I picked up a larger pan so I can consume boiled sweet potatos on a daily basis.

And, I found out the local fencing costs.

Each 8 ft. fence post was $8, and each 4' wire mesh was $50 for 100'. Now, that's not enough to deter entry by humans, but it would be effective to protect my chickens from 4 legged predators (Tractor Supply also had chicks for sale, omg, cute.). To deter entry for humans, I'd have to lay additional lines higher up. Looks like barbed was $40 for 1500 ft. (3 additional lines around the entire length, which is 450 feet.) and unbarbed wire was $60 for 1500 ft.

Using a rule of one post per 10 ft, looks like I'm looking at 45 posts.

So estimated costs...

45 posts * $8 each ($360) + $250 for 500' of 4' wire mesh + $60 for 1500ft line = $670 * 1.08(tax) = $723 + fence hole pounder + line stretcher = ? $825?

Kind of expensive. Doable. Would take money out of my tree budget.

Actually, now that I'm looking back on it... those fence posts ARE kind of expensive... I swore they were $3 or somesuch back in Spokane. Maybe I ought to shop around. Looks like home depot is $8 for 7 ft. posts.

Jeez, that's why. It looks like steel tripled in price since last year.

https://www.quandl.com/collections/markets/industrial-metals

I bet you that tow truck guy back home whose friend did metal crushing is now hopping around in glee at the high metal prices. It's now profitable to send the crushed cars over to the "jew" foundries in Seattle, unlike last year.

Just checked craigslist, looks like rusty used 6' t-posts can be had at $3 each. The same thing at home depot is $4.50 new and painted. Seems like you're paying a penalty for 7' and larger (Almost double the price for that additional foot).

Anyway, I thought about how I would set up rain water collection for "clean water"(Wouldn't necessarily want to collect ditch water for my swimming pool, lol), and I first originally thought corrugated steel panels would work, and they probably would, but I just thought of a cheaper method. Plastic sheeting and wooden stakes/poles. And, speaking of which, I have plenty of "poles" available in my downed trees. Anyway, saw this 22 foot pool at wally world and I was wanting to get it, but I had no idea how I'd fill it up with water, lol (Not paying 35 cents a gallon for Glacier water! lol). So that rainwater collection technique would probably work.

Anyway, I noticed at the grocery, that subsisting off of sweetpotatoes for carbs would be pretty darn cheap. $2 for 1600 calories, so about $14/week. Subsisting off of fruits for carbs is about $30/week? Maybe $25.

 

[swbluto]

Landlords Are Taking Over the U.S. Housing Market

As rising home prices, slow new home construction, and demographic shifts push homeownership rates to 50-year lows, the U.S. is increasingly a country of renters—and landlords.

Last year, 37 percent of homes sold were acquired by buyers who didn’t live in them, according to tax-assessment data compiled in a new report published by Attom Data Solutions and ClearCapital.com Inc.

That number may include second homes, or properties acquired by investors who seek to fix up old homes and resell them at a profit. But it’s also a strong indication that landlords are playing a larger role in the U.S. housing market.

Yep, that's partially why I bought this property. I saw what was happening on the west coast and elsewhere. My peers, whom in former generations would've been first-time home buyers, were largely renters. I knew that $1000 rent on $1400 income was only going to inhibit my longterm savings/wealth, so I sought to forsake the Lords of the Land. The same guys who kept the peasants of the Old World peasants, were increasingly doing the same in Modern America, so I sought a way out out of this one (major) symptom of increasing economic inequality.

It's part of my greater plan to cut out the Government / Landlords / Bankers from sitting there and taking my money "just because that's how things work nowadays".

But, I just received my 1099, and it looks like i have to report it on taxes. Jeez, now I have to start compiling my deductions and trying to find all the (major) receipts wherever they are. Luckily, business deductions are relatively generous in America (Far more is available for deduction to a business compared to the individual), so I effectively earn more than an equivalently paid employed person through less taxes. And, it looks like I earned a bit more than my peers back home.

Taxes themselves are the lesser concern. It's what I have to report, from the results of the taxes, to other government services that concerns me more, because that could potentially cost me far more than taxes, especially during leaner months. Overhead expenses are best minimized where possible, especially those overhead expenses that don't make me money in some form (As long as it doesn't end up reducing your overall profitability. I'm not advocating the back alley for a Taco Bell location just because it has the cheapest retail rent, lol. I'm not advocating firing your entire staff just because it'd be cheaper, lol.)

 

[swbluto]

Now I"m starting to wonder if fruit consumed with the skin tend to be more antibacterial (Thus, more anti-diabetic/anti-cardiovascular/etc.) than those that aren't. Like bananas. If the antibacterial properties are typically in the skin or just beneath it, then this seems likely. Granted, I don't know if the typical banana is void of all skin structures - seems like bananas usually have strings attached, that by themselves have a fairly bitter taste, suggesting of antibacterial activity.

I should skin 5 apples and eat them, and then compare the blood pressure response curve to eating 5 whole apples. That might give me some good insight into how important the skin is in giving the apple its antibiotic properties. I don't know if the pectin or fibrous structure has strong antibacterial properties like the skin presumably does.

Anyway, my mom was skinning fish and I told her "That's the good stuff! Don't skin it", lol, because it contained all the healthy fish fat. Little did I know that it was also probably the biggest source of antibiotics in the fish (Most omega-3 fats have already been determined to be strongly antibiotic.), which makes my don't-discard-the-skin sentiment even more compelling, lol.

 

[swbluto]

Anyway, I need a master list of antibacterial foods so that I can copy and paste it into comment sections with ease. So this post shall be...

THE MASTER LIST OF STRONGLY ANTIBACTERIAL FOODS

fruit skins(Like that of berries, grapes, apples,pears,etc.), omega 3 fatty acids, flaxseeds, flax oil, fish oil, fish skin, garlic, turmeric, coconut oil, cocoa, coffee, lemons, limes, grapefruits, pineapple, vinegar, red wine (Probably due to the essence of red grape skins), hops, that one bitter chinese herb, egg whites, penicullum mold variants (Such as penicillium roqueforti commonly found in blue cheese).

Others with unknown or weaker antibacterial properties (Bacteriostatic).

Nuts, cinnamon, salt, grass fed fermented cow products(substantially higher omega 3 fat content) [cheese, sour cream, butter].

(I don't know if the antibacterial properties of a nut are in the skin or in the nut itself. I suspect it's in the skin, because they add a delightlfully sligthly bitter taste to the nut; the nut itself is kind of tasteless, unless your body is craving fat. I noticed the shelled peanuts you find in the bottles often remove the skins.)

And, I suspect vegetables are strong "disposers" of bacteria by substantially increasing poop volume. High energy density foods, like the grains/sugars/etc, especially refined ones, definitely don't seem to confer the same bacteria disposing benefits.

END OF LIST

----------------

Okay, so I'm digging up the topsoil of the driveway now and I'm taking it at 2 feet at a time, lol. The root networks are particularly dense in the forest (As compared to the clay base under the road), so it takes a bit more effort and time to properly remove the topsoil. I think I'm going to start digging up the tornado shelter hole later today, or maybe tomorrow morning, I could probably get the hole started today. I need to get it all done within 6 hours because water will start to fill the hole and the water table is kind of high right now.)

Anyway, I noticed that the local nursery was advising "putting dead leaves" around your tree. I could understand the difficulty a city-dweller might have in sourcing this material, but me, no problem. Tons of rotting leaves everywhere in the forest. I'm getting a big pile in front of my driveway.

 

[swbluto]

Well, just figured out how bacteria causes Alzheimers. Won't explain it here but I have the research posted on a research article somewhere.

The causal diagram is this...


diet->staph aureus's protein A -> reduced endothelial flexibility in the vwf surfaces in the blood-brain barrier and increased bloodflow obstruction from the plaques -> prolonged brain hypoxia -> abeta formation -> alzheimers

I think sedentarianism probably also has a contributing role, due to vascular atrophy. (Regular exercise substantially increases the cerebral arteries, as well as most arteries.)

That is, both vessel obstruction and vascular atrophy likely contribute to Alzheimers.

Also, it seems that viruses can contribute to heart disease in addition to staph aureus, and so they could also play a role in related diseases (Like Alzheimers). There's a plausible role for fungus, if the immune system interacts with fungus. I don't really know if it does. Well, if it increases the risk of liver cancer, then there's likely some interaction but it might not be significant. But, then again, it might be.

It appears there's significant interaction between fungus and the immune system.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18565595

The immune mechanisms of defence against fungal infections are numerous, and range from protective mechanisms that were present early in evolution (innate immunity) to sophisticated adaptive mechanisms that are induced specifically during infection and disease (adaptive immunity). The first-line innate mechanism is the presence of physical barriers in the form of skin and mucous membranes, which is complemented by cell membranes, cellular receptors and humoral factors. There has been a debate about the relative contribution of humoral and cellular immunity to host defence against fungal infections. For a long time it was considered that cell-mediated immunity (CMI) was important, but humoral immunity had little or no role. However, it is accepted now that CMI is the main mechanism of defence, but that certain types of antibody response are protective. In general, Th1-type CMI is required for clearance of a fungal infection, while Th2 immunity usually results in susceptibility to infection. Aspergillosis, which is a disease caused by the fungus Aspergillus, has been the subject of many studies, including details of the immune response. Attempts to relate aspergillosis to some form of immunosuppression in animals, as is the case with humans, have not been successful to date. The defence against Aspergillus is based on recognition of the pathogen, a rapidly deployed and highly effective innate effector phase, and a delayed but robust adaptive effector phase. Candida albicans, part of the normal microbial flora associated with mucous surfaces, can be present as congenital candidiasis or as acquired defects of cell-mediated immunity. Resistance to this yeast is associated with Th1 CMI, whereas Th2 immunity is associated with susceptibility to systemic infection. Dermatophytes produce skin alterations in humans and other animals, and the essential role of the CMI response is to destroy the fungi and produce an immunoprotective status against re-infection. The resolution of the disease is associated with a delayed hypersensitive response. There are many effective veterinary vaccines against dermatophytoses. Malassezia pachydermatis is an opportunistic yeast that needs predisposing factors to cause disease, often related to an atopic status in the animal. Two species can be differentiated within the genus Cryptococcus with immunologic consequences: C. neoformans infects predominantly immunocompromised hosts, and C. gattii infects non-immunocompromised hosts. Pneumocystis is a fungus that infects only immunosupressed individuals, inducing a host defence mechanism similar to that induced by other fungal pathogens, such as Aspergillus.

So eating a lot of peanuts might be ill-advised or other foods susceptible to fungus. (I've seen a lot of moldy plants.)

Update: Walking down the road at 2:35 p.m. today (Another very nice day out in the forest), I noticed this rather lively creature walking down the road. Slender, long, furry and it looked too small for a dog but at the same time, it looked a little bit too energetic for a local cat, lol. I got a closer look and... it looked like a fox. Oh, wow, my neighbor was telling me of these guys and how they like to prey on chickens. Yep, so in this area, I've seen wild rabbits and foxes. Haven't seen a bobcat nor deer yet. I think the forests here are a bit too thick for deer. Based on my experience back in Charleston, SC, I thought I would see plenty of deer... but definitely not the case in this particular forest. I haven't seen one. This is interesting, foxes and rabbits. Seems like I've seen population graphs based on these two creatures, predator-prey cycles. These creatures didn't seem to exist back in Spokane, Washington.

And, about 6 minutes later, just heard gun fire down the road. No doubt someone was shooting the fox, wonder if it was my neighbor with the chickens? And, about 2 minutes later, another shot from someone else. Maybe they're all shooting the fox as he trots by?

Thinking a Bushmaster XM-15 might be a good tool to have here, lol. 30 rounds should be enough to get a good chance of getting those foxes.

And man, I've been dealing with wave after wave of these dang ants. That's it, the wheels are going on the wooden boards tomorrow morning and I'm stepping up my area denial tactics. With a flat non-porous surface like a wooden board, I should have many more effective techniques available to me. Going to try chemical techniques first (Including lemon spray) then more creative methods next (Like a moat, just need to figure out the how, lol. Maybe a moat of vaseline, lol. I will try it. I'll also coat the vaseline with noxious substances to try to increase the repellent power. Maybe I should get some peppermint essential oil from HEB, it's kind of nice that HEB sells essential oils and things like flax oil. It's a trip I don't have to make to whole foods market for, plus, I /kind of/ know that HEB isn't charging me whole foods market prices... I think? It's a specialty item, so I don't really know.)

Okay, so for the moat... I think I figured it out.

Use clay to create the perimeter of the moat. Then coat the wooden board with sealant or something (Should probably do that before hand). Then add soapy water and replenish when it gets low. Those ants don't stand a chance now! Mwa ha ha ha!

 

[DAND214]

No big deal, we have those damn things in downtown Chicago. Got chickens 3 doors down too. We do have deer here in the woods but we don't have a forest here. Coyote also found downtown TOO!

I still can't see the forest thru the trees. Where are the pictures of this paradise?

Dan

 

[swbluto]

Oh, cool. Yep, I'm thinking a mossberg 22 LR semiauto rifle with a red dot sight might be ideal for fox hunting. They seem to be jumpy little characters so fast target acquisition is a must. I.e., scopes are a bad idea. A shorter barrel carbine might be more useful for property defense.

And, in other news, it does seem like grain consumption does cause bacteria. I noticed my farts and droppings started to smell the day after I started consuming millet (I consumed it for 2 days). This is notable, because cereal/grain consumption was found to be highly correlated with heart disease, and I speculated that this was the case for wheat or some such, but it turns out even high fiber non-gluten grains (like millet) prepared via boiling causes bacterial colony growth. Fruits don't make my farts/poop stink, it seems. So, yes, I don't think people were designed to eat grass seeds. And, honestly, it doesn't even seem intuitive to eat grass seeds, lol. Looking around in the wild, grass seeds don't really strike me as 'food' like berries do. They just seem to be some kind of weed.

 

[fechter]

Orange oil might be good stuff to put in the ant moat. I know it kills termites but not sure about ants. It's fairly cheap at home improvement stores.

For the foxes, what about a laser? I have a 2w blue one that does a good job of chasing away crows. Fun to use on ants and other bugs too. With larger animals, you don't want to blind them but if they see the spot moving around them, it freaks them out and they take off.

 

[swbluto]

Orange oil might be good stuff to put in the ant moat. I know it kills termites but not sure about ants. It's fairly cheap at home improvement stores.

Good idea! I'll have to find it, ideally should look online first, lol. I believe that's probably true since it seems like the citrus fruits seem to have strong antibacterial properties as well, and lemons were advised by a few sources for ants. Seems like it should be more cost effective than essential oils, lol. (Orange soap spray, sounds promising. http://www.homedepot.com/p/22-oz-Orange-Soap-Spray-01031/202967432)

And, I was recently read that foxes live/hunt within a 1-2 mile range. That means, if I see a fox in the area, it's coming back in the future and it's going to be a persistent threat. So, it's best to simply eliminate the threat if possible. Of course, it looks like I need a hunting license in this state, fudgers. I don't think anyone is going to tell on me, right? Seems like I hear guns going off all the time.

Maybe a hunting license isn't hard to acquire. I'm thinking it's like one of those "You need to attend a class and get screened" kind of things, but maybe it's just a matter of paying someone for the license.

 

[marty]

And man, I've been dealing with wave after wave of these dang ants. That's it, the wheels are going on the wooden boards tomorrow morning and I'm stepping up my area denial tactics. With a flat non-porous surface like a wooden board, I should have many more effective techniques available to me. Going to try chemical techniques first (Including lemon spray) then more creative methods next (Like a moat, just need to figure out the how, lol. Maybe a moat of vaseline, lol. I will try it. I'll also coat the vaseline with noxious substances to try to increase the repellent power. Maybe I should get some peppermint essential oil from HEB, it's kind of nice that HEB sells essential oils and things like flax oil. It's a trip I don't have to make to whole foods market for, plus, I /kind of/ know that HEB isn't charging me whole foods market prices... I think? It's a specialty item, so I don't really know.)

Okay, so for the moat... I think I figured it out.

Use clay to create the perimeter of the moat. Then coat the wooden board with sealant or something (Should probably do that before hand). Then add soapy water and replenish when it gets low. Those ants don't stand a chance now! Mwa ha ha ha!

Suspect ants are breading in the RV. Not immigrants. Citizens. Trying to prevent them from traveling up from the ground is like a Muslim travel ban. Barriers at wheels and axles are preventing ants from leaving. Ants are TRAPPED in RV

Sprinkle some chili powder wherever you see ants.

I see evidence of these predators at night because I wake up to find a giant hole in my trash bags that looks like it was chomped out by an animal, lol. That would also keep them from making giant holes in my trash bags. (I still have no idea where the local dump is, I'm hoping to find out very shortly after I move onto my property and get suitable storage arranged.)

Also as I said before CLEAN everything including yourself. Also get that trash to the dump. Dumping trash in a nearby dumpster also works. Note - Don't think dumpster dumping is legal. If I was you, I be searching for a girl friend with hot running water. Wonder if ants are attracted to humans who don't bathe?
6 Gross Things That Happen When You Don't Shower

Anyway... I noticed these holes forming at the bottom of my toes and wondered what it was...

Dr Marty recommend a shower with hot water every day.

 

[mark5]

Food grade diatomaceous earth is supposed to be, for bugs, like stepping on or being rolled in broken glass. It cuts them up. Ants will avoid it. But it doesn't work when wet, has to be dry. Rather than use a bulb duster I put maybe an eighth of a plastic teaspoon of it in the palm of one hand, chop it up fine with the spoon's edge, and then blow a cloud of it onto wherever it's to be applied. Try not to breathe it in.

[youtube]lAKQO7duPHU[/youtube]
[youtube]5W_U6URuk90[/youtube]

 

[swbluto]

Yes, there is some evidence these guys were trapped on here from 2 days before. I noticed about half the adult ants were acting rather sluggish suggesting they've been without food or water for a couple days (It was a little too easy to kill them with them being that sluggish). So, I think I'm just going to let it be and kill any I see, and eventually they'll all be gone, assumably. If I see energetic ants continuing over the next week, I'm getting that moat deployed. I'm going to get a moat deployed when I get my RV on the driveway, anyhoo.

And, this morning, woke at 5 after 6 hours of sleep (That's been the norm), and my left hand was tingling. That was a little odd. Later on, when I bent down to find my goodies, and lifted back up, it belt like there was a ballooning pressure in my chest and I was feeling a little dizzy. Granted, I know that a "ballooning" feeling is a common sytem of acid reflux which isn't entirely unexpected from bending down (Almost too expected), but the dizzy/light-headedneess that went with it would be a bit unexpected. But, granted... maybe that's just a symptom of orthostatic hypotension. Two different phenomena going on, both completely unrelated to the heart, just concerned me they seemed to be simultaneous as if they had the same underlying cause. (Standing up from the sitting position has periodically induced a 2 second left hand palm-between-4-and-5th-finger ache shortly afterwards, so it seems "lifting up" can induce cardiac phenomenon.)

Anyhoo, I started digging up the hole to put my 64 gallon tornado shelter in ($70 walmart special). I think I'm going to test it out later today. Now the question is how I will seal the trashcan. Have no idea, I guess I'll put one of these 42 trashcan bags in, and then put one over it , and hopefully that should help keep the spiders/creepy-crawlers at bay (Both to be removed during an actual emergency).

And, I started consuming boiled sweet potatos today. Good stuff.

And, now my left hand hurts when I bend my wrist. Oh, maybe I have carpal tunnel or something? Could explain left hand tingling this morning.

And, I think I'm going to make a trip to microcenter later today to pick up some supplies.

And, I love how I can accidentally drop the magazine on the ground and bend down to pick it up without someone yelling at me because I had the gun pointed downrange while doing so, lol. Yes, the military is asinine to the extreme. I don't even remember the technical rule I was violating... Oh, that's right... I didn't SIGNAL a problem with the gun like the instructions instructed, and I didn't really think there was a problem with the gun because the gun was working perfectly fine, I just had to go get my magazine and I carefully kept the gun pointing down range like the instructions said, so I wasn't violating /any/ of the rules they told us. It's too bad bootcamp is nothing like nuke school - nukes have the technical competence to be precise in their instructions, so it seems, whereas these bootcamp numbskulls say something, but mean something else, and call you the moron for not following instructions.

And they tried so hard to make me feel bad about that... lol, let's say they weren't really succeeding, lol. They really just lowered my opinion of them.

https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/crazy-reason-no-one-living-214500543.html

As Byrdie reports, Kitava is also home to a people whose diet and nutritional habits remain engineered for well-being, untouched by Western influence. A lifetime of not knowing the sweet, sweet sensation of the salt from a potato chip hitting the roof of your mouth has done more than just spare Kitavans from chronic ailments like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and dementia: It’s also given them a lifetime of smooth, acne-free skin.

And what is their diet?

They eat eat a diet composed primarily of tubers (sweet potatoes, cassava, yam, taro), coconut, fruit (bananas, guava, watermelon, pineapple), vegetables, and fish.

Woah, sounds almost exactly like my diet! Isn't that a coincidence. [I'm having me an antibiotic pineapple later today, lol.] (I intuited my current diet from years of research and bacteria insights, these guys just have it because it's what locally available, lol.)

The average Kitavan diet is, by all accounts, fairly unremarkable. It’s simple, with no purported “miracle fruit” or “rare nut” to speak of, and Kitavans don’t even exercise much.

Haha... yes, it's not a matter of what you eat, it's more a matter of what you don't eat. And they're not eating grains/grass-seeds and they are not eating refined/processed foods (In addition to milk/red-meat/etc.). Although, on the "what you eat" side, coconuts are a definite plus. The fatty acids in coconut meat is strongly antibiotic - it needs to be to prevent the fructose-rich coconut water from spoiling.

http://www.healwithfood.org/diet/kitavan-diet-foods.php

The Extraordinary Health Benefits of the Humble Sweet Potato

Did you know that sweet potatoes, one of the most popular foods on Kitava, are loaded with beta-carotene and vitamin C.

They forgot lycopene and fiber! Lycopene is just as if not more important. [Just found out no lycopene. Was it papaya that had both?)

And, they say their salt intake is low by western standards, but I'm calculating an NaCl intake of 2600mg. That's a little higher than my current intake.

 

[swbluto]

And, boy, the federal government seems to want a phone number and address for everybody in the USA. I say that, because try getting a bank account or a gun without a matching address on a government issued ID (yes, I tried recently), and the only reason is why is because of federal law, it seems like they want to keep track of everybody. Ostensibly, this is because they want to "prevent" them terrorists from doing bad things in America, but I'm thinking there's another reason (Especially since it does little to prevent, it only makes it easier to apprehend.). This is a bummer for me, because I don't want an address. There's no tangible benefit to having an address other than those federal government categories (Well, you could probably apply for jobs with an address too... that's probably under government control too...). An address just makes it easy for people to find me who I don't want finding me, lol. For example, nobody delivers out here because of the roads, so I can't get deliveries.

And, woohoo, just found out that background checks aren't required at gun shows in Texas. Maybe that's why gun shows are so damn popular here, lol. Well, I now know where to buy a gun, lol.

And... just found out that my address has been redirected to a non-existent address for the last 2 months. Oh, that's why I haven't received my 1099s. Thanks parents, lol.

http://www.texasgunshows.com/Schedule.htm

It's interesting, it seems like every one of these "texas" gunshows are in the Houston area. I wonder why I'm not seeing Dallas or any other texas city?

Found another page, apparently there's plenty of non-houston gunshows, like I would expect, lol.

I don't really think I need a new gun, I probably just need to update my optics. It would be nice, however, to have a semi-automatic for those jumpy animals. (Just about every animal jumps when they got shot at, lol.)

Okay, so I dug the hole about as far down as it would go, about 3 feet, lol [It was insanely difficult to penetrate the ground beyond that]. And then planted the 4.5 foot high trash can inside. I then tested it (Tight fit, takes a particular position, kind of difficult to get out) but it fit well once you were inside in that particular position, lol. About as low as you can go. So I'm thinking I have several options... Create a wall of concrete blocks around it, create pillars with wooden beams going through the tops, or shore it up with more dirt. I think I like the short it up approach, since that should also help it serve as a cooler food pantry (For things like cheese), but I like the assurances a solid wall around it would give it. So thinking about that

 

[swbluto]

Looking at how to house the current storm shelter to minimize damage from falling trees and the such since about 1.5 feet is sticking above ground (Couldn't dig low enough; looking back on it, I could have gotten lower with a short mattock, but I didn't have one of those; I have a long pulaski axe which clearly did not fit in that hole, lol.

I was thinking a solid concrete wall, but I was looking at it and I was really positive on how to secure/align the blocks to the ground. I guess, maybe, I'd construct the wall on a flat platform of sort(Plywood) and then put it into place, but that might be a pretty heavy wall to pick up by hand, lol. I could possibly split the wall up into two pieces, but I still think it might be quite heavy. Well, I suppose I could create the bottom layer, put into place, and then install layer by layer ontop. That should only require the ability to lift 6 concrete blocks at a time, let's find out how much these weigh.

28 pounds. 6 of them would be 168 pounds, yes, WAY TOO HEAVY, lol.

Well, let's take another approach. The corners. Corners only and layer by layer. So 2 blocks at a time, which should be 56 pounds. That should be doable. Now I need to figure out how to create corners from blocks...

Looks easy enough.

Then I have to put something between the corners to provide a wall of sorts. I wonder if a wooden palisade would work? I have plenty of downed trees to make poles from. Maybe that's only good for protecting against them indians and not so much tornados?

Started looking at it more, didn't like how uneven the ground was. So, thinking about the poles and attach boards idea between the poles idea. I can source poles from my downed trees, and I already have wooden planks I can attach to them, just have to cut down to size. If I were to use the tree stump I've removed, I think I would mill the face of the tree stump with my chainsaw to create the flat surface to securely attach the planks. Debating between buying wooden posts or using my downed tree stumps. I think I would like the look of purchased posts a bit more, plus they're designed to last (As much as I'm a cheapskate, I don't like things that look too rudimentary.). And, I'd have to get a spade shovel to create the post holes. I think I'd prefer a spade shovel to a traditional post hole digger.

Update: Now 11:30 a.m.; when standing up, I noticed it seemed like I was losing my balance from a sudden decrease in coherence and I've been feeling periodically nauseous, especially on exertion. So, I grabbed my ECG and checked it out. Seemed like the R wave was periodically about half its normal size, standing heart rate was 81. I wouldn't think I had hypoglycemia due to the fact my HR is relatively high, but for some reason, the food I have just tastes exceptionally good, so maybe I'm lacking something. I'm not sure what. I know digging the hole seemed to take a lot of energy (Wet clay = heavy stuff), and my appetite just exploded afterwards. Either that, or the sweet potatos exploded my appetite. So, I start consuming my antibiotic carbs, like limes, pineapples and red wine. It all tasted really delicious, lol, so I'm thinking I'm lacking something nutritionally. I'm not sure how it relates to the decreased left ventricular pump volume (Which is what a low R wave indicates). After eating the limes, pineapples and red wine, HR ticked up to 90, suggesting even higher blood sugar levels (Not unexpected, lol). I'm still noticing perioldically relatively low R waves, but it doesn''t seem to be as severe (The r wave is a little higher where it is low). Standing up doesn't seem to be producing any decoherence issues now. Not really sure what the issue was... bacteria or blood sugar levels. It would seem to be surprising to have low blood sugar with a standing HR of 80. Seems like hypoglycemia typically comes with bradycardia (HR<60) and a noticeably weak pulse. So, verdict.... I dunno. Insufficient nutrient seems likely (Don't know which one, but probably glucose? I don't know why else red wine would taste great.), but bacteria seems plausible. I've seen similar ECG patterns from eating too much candy, suggesting bacteria in that case, but maybe a missing nutrient of some sort... I'm just not very sure which.

Coincidentally... I did eat 3 bananas this morning because I ran out of apples. Perhaps bananas are fuctionally identical to candy? I so far have found absolutely no articles on their antibiotic properties (And I've looked) and they're typically not consumed with "the skin"(i.e., the peel), lol, so I wouldn't think they'd have the antibiotic properties of the skin that other skinned fruits do (apples, pears, plums,berries,etc.). So, it's fairly plausible that bananas might encourage bacteria growth. But, the research doesn't suggest that bananas lead to various bacteria related outcomes (diabetes, heart,etc.), it seems to have a protective affect, so I don't really know. Maybe they're not supposed to be consumed in excess... perhaps they have a tendency to deregulate blood sugar when consumed in excess? The bananas were quite ripe, I'm guessing a GI of 70. Well, OK, I guess I will watch out for that now... excessive consumption of fairly ripe bananas. (Doesn't happen that often, usually only once a week, and then they're gone, lol.)

So, either...

Excessive consumption of fairly ripe bananas -> bacteria -> issues

or

Excessive consumption of fairly ripe bananas -> sugar spike -> sugar crash -> issues

Which one... which one... I have nary a clue, lol. The exceptionally good taste of the wine does suggest a sugar crash, and it is established in the research that hypoglycemia can cause cardiac issues. It just seems puzzling the HR was so consistenly high, yet there was hypoglycemia...? Maybe the sugar spiked cause a depletion of minerals... I just don't know. It does seem exceedingly likely the sugar spike was responsible, somehow.

In regard to not eating the banana peel, so doubtful antibiotic benefits...

"Banana peel is eaten in many parts of the world, though [it's] not very common in the west," Flores said. "It contains high amounts of vitamin B6 and B12, as well as magnesium and potassium. It also contains some fiber and protein."

Oh, ho, so this is a Western world thing. No doubt because it doesn't satisfy the west's sweet tooth, so yes, don't eat a banana if you're not going to eat the peel. But, I've seen monkeys peel a banana and discard the peeling, so it does seem completely natural.

Update: 2:04 p.m. - Wow, this part of the woods suddenly got very popular with the birds. I think these guys travel around in huge flocks and they just came across this area in the last 30 minutes or so. I just suddenly noticed a lot of chirping outisde, and look, birds. These guys tend to be rare most other days, and definitely not a huge flock of them.

Think I'm going to be stocking up on flax seed. I think all I have to do is boil them, let them dry and I think they're good to snack on?

 

[swbluto]

Did a midweek replenishment of my apple supply. I fantasized about subsisting off of sweet potatos, but hell, I'm super lazy when it comes to cooking, lol. If I can't prepare it all at once for a 3-4 day supply, then I tend to neglect it completely, lol. I think I'm going to try boiling sweet potatos again today.

I think Lycopene and Beta-Carotene might be two different sides of the same coin, because I was recently reading that Del Monte had genetically engineered a pineapple to slow down the conversion of lycopene to beta-carotene by its enzymes (Apparently the enzymes changes the lycopene-rich pink flesh of a pineapple into a beta-carotene rich yellow flesh as it matures). If this is true, then beta-carotene probably confers all the advantages of lycopene. (Carrots,sweet potatos,pineapples,spinach, green leafy vegetables,etc.) [But, then again, maybe not]

I think I found out that Walmart is my go-to midweek grocery store. They work with my hours, since when I'm busy, I can't leave until 10 p.m. It's also nice that they're a bit closer than the grocery store (14 vs 24 miles) and it's a bit "easier" getting to them (The roads are less hair-raising). They don't have the cheeses I like (Definitely no pasture-fed cheeses there), though, and they don't have a few things I seek.

And, I'm about 85% done with stripping the top soil from my driveway. Just have to finish it off later today, add the finishing touches and I'm ready to accept a driveway soil delivery. And then, it's a matter of getting on my property which may or may not be incredibly difficult, I will have to see, lol. Then, hopefully, I'll be ready to get my garden planting down by April (Seems like that's the time advised to plant crops here, due to the warm soil, soil temperature tends to lag air temperature, which is why it seems to be so late. A lot of seeds seem to need warm soil to germinate. I could actually get the plantings started probably year round inside a greenhouse.)

I don't know if I should level off the existing sandy subsoil, or if I should just dump the red clay in and level off the red clay. The current folds in the ground give me a good idea of how high the water level gets during heavy rains, and thus, how high the driveway should be built. I'm going to dig up some dirt and get some drainage along the side of the driveway leading to the ditch, anyhoo.

It's pretty humid today. It doesn't seem like it's usually this humid, it seems the clouds are complicit in this.

Anyway, reading about young women and recent heart disease upticks at http://www.foxnews.com/health/2017/02/27/more-young-women-are-getting-heart-attacks-heres-why.html . I looked at the graph, and it was notable that Mississipi had the highest percentage of women with "unhealthy hearts". Well, this is interesting, because what else is Mississipi known for? The poorest state in the USA. Does that indicate a causal factor? I don't know, maybe, maybe not. It might be a causal factor, but an indirect causal factor. Like perhaps...

Poverty -> Diet (Vascular obstruction & constriction & atrophy) -----------------\
............................................................................................. \
Poverty -> Lethargy (Vascular atrophy)----------------------------------------------------> CVD
............................................................................................./
Poverty -> Depression (Vasoconstriction)--------------------------------------------/

I think I'm making exercise as soon as I wake up an obligatory thing. I figure the blood, from being stationary so long during sleep, needs to get moving again to minimize/prevent morning issues and exercise is a great way to get it moving. Now, this morning, that meant walking up and down my block 4x (The length is 300 feet one way, so 4x back and forth is 2400 ft.) and that seemed to be fairly helpful. My body definitely felt more alive/awake and after breakfast, it seems to be persisting.

The birds seem like they've migrated an area about quarter mile down that way. It was kind of cool seeing them having a pool party in a nearby huge pothole pond yesterday.

And more of evidence of illegals having guns and shooting Americans, and the Houston shooting people culture all in one story.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/396d700f-fd65-384d-91fe-07e30d023acd/meet-el-salvador%26apos%3Bs.html

The smell of slow-cooked Texas barbecue wafted over the outskirts of San Salvador as Jose Reyes cracked open another beer. It was Super Bowl Sunday, and Reyes had gathered with several dozen friends in a parking lot outside a stadium where the game would be screened. Dressed in baggy NFL and college jerseys, they traded jokes in English between bites of pulled pork and hamburgers. Reyes was deported from the United States in 2001 after serving a prison sentence for wounding two people in a shooting in Houston when he was 17.

Yep, this is definitely making me feel ever more comfortable living around my gun-equipped illegal neighbors, lol. Kind of makes me think those "warning shots" actually have a non-zero probability of actualizing someday. Is this the impetus I need to call ICE on my neighbors, or would that cause the very same tragedy I would be trying to avoid?

Seems like I'm getting a touch of Oedipus in this dilemma, lol.

Maybe I just need to get the fortifications set up, the intrusion detection systems installed, and get a suitable gun and some gun training underway. Maybe that's why everybody seems to have dogs here... a built-in intrusion detection system... Most seem to neglect the fortifications... probably due to cost... I guess they figure a dog serves as a pseudo-fortification.

And, I just saw a huge energetic ant sitting on my bed. Yep, the moat is getting deployed today.

 

[swbluto]

Okay, so I pulled the RV onto the pieces of wood and I sprayed lemon stuff on it, so hopfuly that's keping th ants away. (Using my laptop, th e button doesn't work 80% of the time.)

It's only one more step to deploy the moat. Create clay perimeter, add soapy water.

And, I gtting businss done and I found that my van wnt into scurity alert at 4:16 at taco bell meaning I hav to sit here for 30 minutes and try again. Well, at least it's not a bad view. I'm looking at the lake with palm trees swaying in the breeze. I'm getting the wooden posts for the storm shelter protecting structure today, as well as a fan. I figure forcing the cool forest air through the RV is just what I need while the sun is beating down on the RV and it's humid. Got a red dot for my rifle, so that hopefully it'll be somewhat effective against fast moving targets.

Opened a local bank account, so finally, I have access to my cash and I can guarantee safety for it. (Though, in the future, I'm thinking I might just be running cash only. Seems like the only real way to guarantee access to my money, but bank accounts are necessary for online purchases, which comprise at least half my purchases. I need local access to my cash for craigslist buys and there's quite a few of them I'm interested in this area.)

Okay, tried restarting the van at 32 minutes past the initial attempt, still tripping security. Will try again at 5:34 p.m. and solving this issue is getting upgraded to urgent. Think I might try find typical resistor values for these GM keys and hook in a POT, as I don't have the original key to measure the resistor value, so I would have to experiment. But, I need to know typical ranges to get the correct POTs, so I'm hoping I'll find that information somewhere. Hey, I can do that right now while I'm waiting.

And, here we go. They mention "Buy a GM VATS key here", telling me this applies to my van.

http://www.vatskey.com/

CODE

RESISTOR VALUE IN OHMS



1

402



2

523



3

681



4

887



5

1130



6

1470



7

1870



8

2370



9

3010



10

3740



11

4750



12

6040



13

7500



14

9530



15

11800

So I need a 0-12000 ohm pot. Let's see what I can find. (Maybe I should get a 1000 ohm pot to try out the low values)

Well, maybe a 10K and 2K pot would work.

...........

http://www.jaycorptech.com/tech/passlock.htm

And, if I'm reading this page correctly, it looks like all I have to do is cut the yellow wire leading out from the ignition block? (2002 gm safari, so it looks like that'd be passlock-2 where the resistor is in the van and not the key, so only need to cut the yellow wire. Then I'd have to get my steering wheel off and the last time I put it on, getting it off looked like it was impossible so... lol)

Ok, tried again at 5:36 p.m. and no buneo. And, I just broke off the plastic cover to my ignition and strangely enough, I see a bunch of wires leaving the ignition and one looks yellow... I'm feeling so tempted to cut it... lol

I just need to figure out how.

Well, the van started up about 1.5 hours later. I saw the yellow wire but decided to try turning on the van before cutting it (Because, I'm not really sure if that's where you're supposed to cut it... in the diagrams, it shows the cut after a connection point and the yellow wire I'm seeing is coming straight off the ignition block.). I think I'll try cutting it if waiting doesn't work, next time.

Got the fan to help keep it cool in here, got the timber to build up the protective structure around the storm shelter (Normally, timber would be ill advised for building a storm shelter, but it'll work in my particular situation because the lengths are quite small, significantly enhancing the maximum force it can sustain.), and got some paint because I want it to look kind of good.

Okay, well, I'm seeing a bunch of little spiders crawling on the top shelf. Uh oh, some spider laid eggs in here. That's it, I'm upping the ante immediately, moat commences tomorrow morning. All current insects will be killed and no food will be brought aboard at all; if I don't kill them, starvation will. Anything cooked in the pots must be washed immediately (Which means I need to wash something right now, lol.). All organics must be removed immediately from the RV.

On second thought, what are these things? They're tiny and they crawl exceptionally fast. They're fitting in between the joint between two pieces of wood nailed together, that's how tiny they are. I sure as hell hope they aren't my worst nightmare like... bed bugs? Lice?

Oh, and, I also got a local bank account opened, yeah yeah. That should help enable the ability to purchase things off craigslist, fudge yeah. What did I have to tell her? Oh, yes, I'm down here on a business trip, lol. And, well it is /mostly/ true, I'm down here for business.

And, looking at the weather, it appears the humidity today was just an anomaly. 95% humidity, it looks like it's normally around 50-60% which is a bit nicer, lol (It's a bit nicer because it feels noticeably cooler in the shade, which is what the forest is.). The bank teller was telling me it's normally this humid, I was like, omg oh god, I can tell I will hate this place, lol (Not really, I just liked the sub-70 humidity levels a bit more, lol.)

Anyway... Texans... hmm...

Yes...

These people are an interesting bunch....

I was telling myself that "People are the same everywhere you go", but... I dunno. But, maybe it's just the people at that one particular bank, because the post office people don't seem to be like that.

Anyway, the guy in Home Depot was complaining that RVs were selling so fast, you can't buy one. Lol, well, that's probably true nationwide, but it's probably especially true in houston because 1) Wealth 2) Forests everywhere and 3) It's legal to live in an RV in many areas around Houston. And, in many RV parks throughtout the Houston metro. RVs are not 'legal' in most places on the west coast.

Also, found out that new T-posts are cheaper at Home depot ($6 for 7ft. T pole), while the welded wire fencing is cheaper at Tractor Supply (About half as much $50 for 100 ft. vs $50 for 50 feet at Home Depot.).

I also saw that the cheapest spade shovel at home depot was $25. When the larger "normal shovel" was $10, I was thinking 'rip off', and decided to get a simple trowel instead (I would need one anyway to extract the dirt.).

And the latest peak of performance phenomena. Left hand numb followed by a subtle 2-3 second ache in the left side of the left upper chest. Sometimes, it seems so unbelievable, but other times, when you're someone with my level of knowledge, it's kind of undeniable. Seeing the writing on the wall. The only question is when.

Someone posted a swedish study about the link between pesticide exposure and cardiac risks. Yep, that's one thing I haven't been adherent to recently, pesticide avoidance. And, that's largely because I can't store fresh veggies. But, I suppose I should look up that study, and become convinced it's true. I don't really understand the relationship between pesticide exposure and vascular outcomes, unless there's an interaction between the immune system and pesticides... which is plausible...

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150408131329.htm

According to this paper, the link is through endocrine disruption. BPA falls into that category, too.

 

[marty]

When van don't start. Try tapping on the starter with a piece of wood, hammer, or whatever ya got.

Also try wiggling gear shift lever. Try putting it in neutral. [neutral safety switch]

What color is your culvert pipe?

 

[swbluto]

When van don't start. Try tapping on the starter with a piece of wood, hammer, or whatever ya got.

Also try wiggling gear shift lever. Try putting it in neutral. [neutral safety switch]

What color is your culvert pipe?

The van wouldn't start due to the security system on board (Don't have the original key, not going to pay $150 for the original key). I'm going to take a closer look at the wires and try to figure out where the connections are, so I can make the best cut when the time comes, lol. (Don't want to inadvertantly disable the vehicle, lol, though whatever cut I make will definitely be reversible, I will make sure of that.). Usually, it'll start up after 30 minutes, but not this particular time; it took somewhere between 1-1.5 hours to start up.

Anyway, I'm getting the ant moat started immediately because I just saw an ant crawling on my screen, and I blew him off. I've figured out that lemon spray is not actually effective, and it doesn't seem like anything has been. So, time to moat it up. Just need to make sure I have enough clay. (I'm trying to take a break right now... I swear, these bugs just don't give me a break.)

And that talk about "Huge flying insects" I've seen online in the houston, it seems to be true. I didn't at first during the winter, but I started seeing them in mid-February and they shocked me at first, but they seem to be somewhat harmless, despite their fearsome appearance. (I scared one yesterday and he just flew away.)

 

[swbluto]

Hello everyone, I have just had a ventricular vancardia with a pulse , it almost took me but our Lord Jesus Christ has other plans for me so my story goes like this two years ago I know that is how long I have been suffering with this I started having heartburn really bad and acid reflux so doc put me on zantac , will after that I started having neck pain and headaches so the doctor said in bad tension headaches so he put me on a headache med it worked and so did the zantac but then I started to get lightheadness and nausea doctor said it was allergies I have been to specialist and they also agreed and then after that I started feeling a burning feeling all over my body like it was on fire so I went to a neurologist and they said it was nureves so more meds and after all this I started to have pain in my upper belly like ibs and doc gave me something for that and it helped a little some days I felt like I was going to die afraid to go to sleep I have been to spine specialist heart hospital yes a heart hospital and I told them all my signs and they did stress test and eco gram and everything was fine and this all happened in one year my doctor was going crazy not knowing what was wrong with me blood work urine xrays all fine so three weeks ago it all came down on me like I got hit by a truck I felt burning pain across my Adoman and in middle of chest shoulders hurt neck head back and I went to e.r they started my blood pressure and started a ekg and didn’t finish it and grabbed a crash cart all I could do was pray to the one true healer and after a week in the hospital it was all a valve that goes to my heart went crazy and has been for a bout two years so all my symptoms were that electric valve praise the Lord I live and I now have to take a blood pressure pill and a heart pill and I have a defibrillator and pacemaker all in one and the doc says it is a precaution so if it ever starts again it will shock it back in place . hope I help someone out.

And this guy appears to have been suffering from prinzmetal angina and the common line of treatment is slow release nitrate pills. What's funny is that is exactly what the green leafy vegetables are - slow release nitrates. And, remember that chimpanzee diet, 25-50% of their diet was leaves? They're naturally getting that slow release nitrate intake.

As to what I have... I'd guess some form of angina, which becomes manifest during times of stress (Like yesterday). As far as curing it, I don't know of a cure. As to what's causing it in my particular case... again, I don't know. I can guess, but it's all really a guess.

And, I've just moated up one of the wheels and the trailer jack, just need to moat up the remaining wheel. Seems there's tadpoles(?) in my tiny pond water. I'm not actually really sure what they are, but they look like tiny tadpoles and they swim like them too. It looks like 80% of them were lifeless, and 20% were still kicking by the time I saw them in the pond. (This is the pond that was created when I tried digging up clay from my yard for the driveway base.)

The clay_boundary+plywood_base idea seems to work for making a moat.

And, after testing it (Letting it sit), it seems the clay and plywood doesn't make a good seal. The water leaks out, lol. Oh well, I guess I'll try making a pool of vaseline in the clay border, that shouldn't readily leak out. And then I'll spray some orange crap on it.

Anyway, I had noticed in the past week or two, that I've been getting periodic warm sensations in the left side of my chest. It's notable this is coinciding with this peak of performance left arm numbness and vague left chest ache phenomenon, making me think it's coming from the same source.

I think these ants might be killing me. I wondered about those islanders... if they had ants. Since ants can't swim, it seems plausible, but I also guess that depends on how much traffic they've had from ant-populated areas of the world. I wondered if the possible lack of ants might have helped their health, lol.

And, lucky for me, it seems ants love them boiled sweet potatos. They don't like sweet potatos, but they love boiled ones, lol. So it looks like I need to religiously wash my dishes.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=will+ants+cross+chalk+lines&*

Okay, time to try drawing some chalk circles on my wooden boards. Apparently chalk is the same thing as diatomacious earth(sp?), so it has the same repellant affect.

Update: Got the chalk and applied it to the boards. Saw that a spider readily walked right across the chalk boundary but stopped at the vaseline boundary. And, I'm finding that my almost all used up roll of duct tape is a pretty fantastic ant killer. Whatever flat surface the ant is on, it just rolls right over them. Like a steamroller, baby, lol.

[p.s., it's a song they sung in navy bootcamp when marching.

That song goes...

I'm a steam roller baby,
and I'm rollin down the line (x2)

So ya better get outta my way now, before I roll all over you(x2)

]

In other news, I think I'm going to start reducing my fructose/sucrose consumption (Fruits), unless it has known strong antiobiotic properties (Berries), and start increasing my vegetable starch intake (Sweet potatos). Also, organic only. And, I want to cut out the canned foods - organic non-bpa food doesn't seem to exist. I want to incorporate some other form of fat other than peanuts, just don't know what besides coconuts. I would also be increasing my protein intake, but I don't have a way to store the proteins I like (No refrigeration), so I'm sticking with the fish every now and then. I think I will figure out how to use the land to effectively store some food at a cooler temperature, like cheese. It gets too gross above 80-90 degrees or something. And, for greens, I would be consuming spinach, but... yeah... no refrigeration. Guess I'll see how effective that underground cooling method might be. I'm feeling alright after consuming the sweet potato. It seems apple subsistence is a little riskier (The way I feel subsisting off of apples just feels that way.).

And, I think I'm going to use a bucket and plunger for washing my clothes. Some guy did that after purchasing one of those RV clothes washer, saying it was just as easy and didn't leak (Leaking seems to be a common complaint among the portable RV washers). Looked into it, and it looks fairly simple and effective. And, cheap. I don't mind cheap. I really care most about the effectiveness, but if it's cheap AND the most effective(i.e. doesn't leak), sounds like a win-win in my opinion.

http://lifehacker.com/5918992/make-a-diy-washing-machine-from-a-five-gallon-bucket

 

[marty]

When I feel the need to draw lines on the ground and don't have any upside down spray paint. I use chalk line chalk.

If I was you, I would listen to mark5 the wise man.

Food grade diatomaceous earth is supposed to be, for bugs, like stepping on or being rolled in broken glass. It cuts them up. Ants will avoid it. But it doesn't work when wet, has to be dry. Rather than use a bulb duster I put maybe an eighth of a plastic teaspoon of it in the palm of one hand, chop it up fine with the spoon's edge, and then blow a cloud of it onto wherever it's to be applied. Try not to breathe it in.

 

[swbluto]

The main issue is that it rains here, so dust is getting wet and washing away, guaranteed.

I'm thinking about aborting the RV for sleeping, because it's proving to be almost impossible to protect against ants.

Well, I guess I could try the plastic sheeting -> water moat method. Will have to back up the RV to install the plastic sheet over the wooden board, but I'll try it. Seems like it'd be particularly effective, especially since it'd collect rainfall and not "wash away" like other methods. Guess that's what I'll be doing tomorrow and I just hope to god I don't have a nocturnal invasion tonight. As far as how to cup the plastic sheet, thinking maybe some lumber, which I have. I'll probably use wood glue, and I guess I will use something heavy for compression, lol.

I guess I could install the wood onto the board before I drive the RV on it. That way, I could use other methods to attach the wood (Like nails).

These ants are just sucking away all my "spare time" energy, which is bad. It's what lets me complete important property projects (Like my driveway) and expand my business.

Boy, that sweet potato for lunch kept me feeling full for a looong time. Am I eating anything tonight? Lol.

Well, just picked up a few tacos from the local mexican grocery just in case I might get hungry and it's too late to cook anything. Also got some garlic, think I'm getting back into the old habits. Think I might be planting some crops relatively soon, not having fresh carrots/spinach is just a shame.

And... yes, I'm relishing tomorrow for I know tomorrow will be victory day. Because, unlike the clay/wood board moat, I have full confidence the plastic moat will work well. And, it's pretty clear to me that ants don't like water, lol. Fireants will form rafts if the colony gets flooded, but they don't like going for a swim. And, seeing the last few ants tonight (Appears fireants are nocturnal), makes me relish the victory tomorrow morning all that much more. Tomorrow is V-day! Victory, Yay!

And, I'm reading that fire ant bites can be deadly, especially if you go into anaphylactic shock (Which happens in ONLY 5 percent of cases, lol). Oh boy, and these guys appear to be nocturnal and they've clearly found my RV. Oh man, can I go to sleep tonight? Jeez, I didn't think these would turn out to be my worst nightmare, lol.

It appears they recommend treating the fire ant venom with meat tenderizer. Oh, so you're saying I can treat it with pineapple juice? Well, I have some of that on hand, lol.

And livestrong is telling me the higher vitamin C content is what makes lemons better than limes. Poppycock I say. The need for half the concentration for bactericidal action against staph aureus makes limes the hand down winner, IMO.

And, I think I'm going to start getting away from the "sweet" side of life. I think excessive sweet intake = bacteria, and I'm guessing apples are no exception. If drinking too much wine can cause a bacteria explosion despite its normally bactericidal nature, I'm guessing that the same is probably true of apples or anything sweet. Rule of thumb, 1 serving of anything particularly sweet within a 4-8 hour span. I don't necessarily mean fruit, not all fruits are sweet (i.e., limes), I mean really anything sweet, in my case, sweet fruit in particular. It does seem that "excessive sweet consumption", even in the form of fruits, is typically what preceded cardiac phenomenon. I noticed that the subtler cardiac phenomenon went to the wayside after eating the sweet potato and hasn't been returning, at least not yet.

And, this one texan saw the cutup pineapple in the windshield of my van at Walmart and had this "WTF?" look, lol.

The funnier thing is, I'm not even sure what he was so mystified by. I'm guessing the half eaten pineapple, but I'm not sure what's so bizarre about that. I know it's not a commonly consumed fruit among european Americans, but still don't think it'd register on the bizarro-meter. (One of the cool things about pineapples, is that you can cut in half, leave it in the heat, and the rest of the pineapple is still good to eat the next day. It doesn't readily oxidize nor decay like other fruits when the skin has been breached.

AND... I found out that my pond water with the tiny tadpole thingies were actually mosquito larvae.

[youtube]OrzF57R6kas[/youtube]

Oh, god, no. I will not have mosquitos spawning from my property. How will I rectify this situation? (Furthermore, where do the mosquito larvae gather the food resources to grow into mosquitos? They need carbon food sources to add carbon to their growing bodies, and I'm not convinced my little pond has such nutrients.)

Appears I should get some mosquito fish and drop them in. Now, does that pond have what it needs to keep the fish alive?

 

[Dauntless]

https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=10847

Wait'll you see this guy drink this water.

[youtube]hlMmQ_dRqXk[/youtube]