Buying forest land, implementing solar

[marty]

When she stops, assuming the other traffic was still going, punch it and move in front of her.

Good idea if we were in some type of competition on a race track. Most likely that would cause her to also "punch it". Most likely that would cause a intentional crash. Bit different then a "accident".

When she was screaming, I did slowly move forward only to piss her off :wink:

Cars are similar to guns. Not good to use as a weapon because of anger.

 

[swbluto]

It's so nice to be in a well-to-do area. One thing I noticed is that used goods on craigslist are actually really affordable. I guess when there's so many doing so well, they sell things as if they don't really need the money. The recent exception seems to be pugs, but it's still trending well below the $1300 price tag back in Spokane.

I'm just eyeballing these $300 fiberglass kayaks; these things typically go for $900 new and about $600 on ebay.

I noticed that Harbor freight had an 8x4 trailer for $350. I would totally buy it, but it'd be a bit too risky without license/titling and it seems that trailers are licensed in Texas.

Well, nevermind, it appears that the less than 4000 lb. gross weight trailers don't need to be titled or inspected. So, I'm assuming that means they don't need a license. Cool beans.

Thinking about getting a trailer.

What could I do with a trailer?

-I could carry gravel onto my driveway without rental hassles/costs.
-I could carry many barrel drums all in one go (Appears it could carry 8 of them; I'm willing to bet my van, when empty, could carry more.).
-I could pick up mushroom mulch for my garden. According to my own personal inspection (feel/smell/look test), and reviews online, it appears that mushroom mulch is the bees knees of veggie gardens. I've seen anecdotal claims that mushroom farmers have said the soil is "spent" from growing mushrooms, but I don't buy it for a second. I don't buy it because ... mushrooms don't really take up all the minerals like vegetables/fruits do. They're a fungus, so they feed off decomposing cellulose, not so much minerals and the such.
-I could move all my trash to a landfill without contaminating the van.
-I could pick up whole 4x8s without needing to clean out the entire van. (I need secure storage for the contents in the van before cleaning it out; high value equipment.) [I could actually pick up a few 4x8s, I bet, just need to rearrange a few things.]

I should actually check that.

Checking... magnesium, potassium and copper in mushrooms.

It appears that mushrooms take up some minerals, but not nearly as much as green vegetables and other veggies. So, the farmers saying that the soil is nutritionally spent, don't really buy it. I'm wiling to bet the mushroom are helping to decompose wood back into soil and minerals, enriching the soil.

Anyway, just thinking about it. I'm actually hesitant to plunk down money on large $$$ goods like that because there's so many of them.

So far... the list...

kayak ($300)
trailer ($450)
gravel/crushed-conrete ($150)
dog ($600)
fence ($500)
water drum barrels ($240)
trees for the fruit garden ($500-900)
22LR carbine rifle ($250)
greenhouse ($$$)
shed ($600)

And then expenses like property taxes and income taxes.

That's one of the things I noticed about this area... it's not like the other gulf states, it doesn't really rain every other 3 days. It torrentially downpours and then it goes without raining for 1-2 weeks. This is in stark contast with Charleston, SC, which rained like every 3 days. Might explain the difference in forests.

 

[swbluto]

You know... I saw someone claim they were doing "All the right things" like low carb dieting and they got cancer.

Hmmm...

from what I know, low carb intake likely impairs the immune system. If the immune system is impaired, then it's plausible if the immune system actively protects against cancer, there's a greater overall risk of cancer.

This theory agrees somewhat with The Kuna and their ultra low cancer rate. They pretty much get everything they need for an optimal immune system (eating the right foods,exercise and physical activity, sun exposure,emotion boosting daily exposure to water,etc.) and their cancer rates are quite low. I don't really know if that's why it's quite low (Perhaps it's low because they aren't exposed to pesticides and other carcinogens), but it's a suspicion.

Hard to find research on this as I'm guessing it's hard to quantify and measure the effectiveness of ones immune system.

 

[Dauntless]

Good idea if we were in some type of competition on a race track. Most likely that would cause her to also "punch it". Most likely that would cause a intentional crash. Bit different then a "accident".

No, it's a good idea when you're at that moment both trying to escape and to avoid her attempts to create a confrontation. Hitting you deliberately is called assault with a deadly weapon. Several years ago I had a guy running either from the police or from other bad guys who freaked and hit me deliberately because of the state he was in, that being after he'd swerved into my lane and laid on the horn trying to get me to fly at the 90mph he had been driving at. When he was finally found in another state and extradited to deal with the initial matters he was running from, they also charged him with having hit me that day. But if I'd been thinking at that moment I sure had the opportunity to dart over and escape him, whicn I wasn't thinking of as necessary. In your case, the most dangerous action is stopping and providing her with the opportunity plus your efforts to further escalate the situation. Which of course was more fun for you than doing the smart thing and just going once she'd stopped to yell at you.

Cars are similar to guns. Not good to use as a weapon because of anger.

Cars work very well as weapons, it's the drivers who fail.

You know... I saw someone claim they were doing "All the right things" like low carb dieting and they got cancer.

Chaos theory, the cancer being the seemingly random data.

 

[swbluto]

Well, nice. I just ordered something from Amazon with amazon prime and it appears it shipped out from Houston, so this "Two day delivery" is really "next day" delivery for me. It'd make sense that Amazon would have a warehouse here with the permissive business culture, what I assume is a large customer base that likes to spend (An average wage of $15/hour, as compared to the USA's $10/hour, might do that) and the affordable real estate (Also a port city.).

Okay, need to prioritize this list.

kayak ($300)
trailer ($450)
gravel/crushed-conrete ($150)
dog ($600)
fence ($500)
water drum barrels ($240)
trees for the fruit garden ($500-900)
22LR carbine rifle ($250)
greenhouse ($$$)
shed ($600)

The priorities are...

Kayak
Dog
Fence
Water drum barrels
Trees for the fruit garden
Carbine

The priorities among that are...

3)Kayak
2)Water drum barrels
2)Trees for the fruit garden
1)Carbine

4)Fence is the next priority.
5)Dog after that.

For the driveway, I figure I could get 2x 4x8s and lay at the edge of the driveway and park parallel to the street.

And, I think it's getting to be a high priority to create roofing for the tornado shelter, so that I have a weather protected observation post right next to it. (I take up the observation post when I get a tornado warning. My RV makes a poor observation post because I can't really see the tops of the trees from the windows without great difficulty.)

And, applied to the geraniol lotion and sure enough, found a mosquito sucking my arm. Killed it while it was sucking. So, I think I'm going to wear my jacket in the morning for all outside stayish-in-place-ish light work, then for heavy work where wearing a jacket isn't a good idea, I'll apply my DEET. If I'm lucky, I can possibly get my flying-insect-free-zone deployed soon enough, and many portable tasks can be done without DEET or my jacket.

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/glass-bottom-pool-40-stories-051239062.html

If you have a fear of heights, avert your eyes: A glass-bottom pool in a skyscraper in Houston extends 10 feet beyond the building, 40 stories over the street below.

Oh, cool, maybe I can see this pool sometime. Something tells me it probably doesn't have public admission though, lol.

Appears it's an apartment complex. Might need to get an invite from one of the renters, lol. Or maybe tip off one of the renters to let me into the pool. I was going to suggest "Just wait by the front door, and just go in when someone leaves" like I did back in college, but there's likely multiple card scanning devices throughout the building en route to the pool (Like, the pool itself, lol.).

Anyway, it was rather wise of Amazon to let me retry out the Amazon prime program. This next day delivery is really nice, I might actually get a subscription. Maybe not now with these more immediate large expenses on the horizon, but very possibly in the future.

 

[swbluto]

Doing ballistic comparisons.

A 5.56 NATO round has around 1281 FTLB of energy at 0 feet and 661 ftlb of energy at 200 yards.

This is the round used by the military which is designed for 200 yards or so, so 661 ftlb is considered lethal enough.

A 22LR CCI velocitor has 180 ftlb of energy at 0 yards and 160 ft.lb at 20 yards.

So, an average CCI velocitor shot off in this area has roughly 1/4th the "real world" energy of a NATO round on the battlefield. That's probably lethal enough.

I did see a 5.56 NATO carbine at the Academy Store for $450. Don't know if it's any good. No doubt, it probably sounds more intimidating when fired with what seems to be 10 times as much gun powder. Don't know if intimidation is really a good strategy; seems like it might invoke escalation, especially if the other person is some aggressive overly confident armed person which seems to be the case. Intimidation would probably be effective on the more timid folk (But, wouldn't think you'd need to intimidate them anyhow since they're unlikely to be making threats). And, so far, I haven't escalated anything as far as I know.

I don't really want to start a firefight from my RV; it's somewhat of a losing proposition with kind of nowhere to run. And, if you open the front door, they know immediately where to shoot, so not exactly the best combat platform. The redeeming quality is that you can hide your exact position, sort of, so assuming you're not inviting them to shoot at the RV by shooting at them first, there's a relatively good chance you won't get shot if you effectively hide.

Anyway, I do need to improve the security situation before the summer months get here. Hotter temperatures make violent people more violent and it seems there's a good chance one of my neighbors are like that. And, I might want to bump up the priority of the fence. Maybe make it #2.

 

[Harold in CR]

Cheap and VERY effective. Single shot shotgun and #2 buckshot. 1 shot gets you around 50 lead balls headed down range. Plenty of time to reload and not waste rounds shooting at noises. Much more effective in brushy shooting areas.

 

[fechter]

Shotguns have a wide variety of ammo available, from bird shot to rifled slugs to bean bags. Just the click-click of a pump action scares most people away. If you could only have one gun, a shotgun would be the best choice.

 

[mark5]

Since bluto mentioned wanting .22 for plinking, there's even 12 gauge to .22LR adapters. Other calibers too. Don't know whether they're any good though. This one needs to be used in a break open action since it depends on orienting the adapter for the hammer to strike the cartridge rim.

[youtube]kQKz29HalBs[/youtube]

Edit: SGT Johnny USMC's video is better.
[youtube]n3IGeczVv-g[/youtube]

 

[swbluto]

Cheap and VERY effective. Single shot shotgun and #2 buckshot. 1 shot gets you around 50 lead balls headed down range. Plenty of time to reload and not waste rounds shooting at noises. Much more effective in brushy shooting areas.

This does seem to be true. Imagining what might've been happening that night (I didn't really look out the window because 1) It would've been really difficult seeing them in the dark underbrush 2) I would be possibly exposing my position), and what I'm guessing was some person jumping back and forth (Don't really know, but it almost seems like that's what was happening) across the street through the brush from my RV, a shotgun probably would've been very effective. I really don't know what was happening that night, but it was a bit sudden and dramatic and kind of bizarre.

I know that guy down the street was firing off his guns because it seems like he was having a party on both Friday/Saturday and you hear the mariachi music.

But, the sound through the brush right afterwards was a little weird. It might have been a bear or dog or somesuch, but it's really weird how loud it was and the timing of it. Maybe an animal got really scared (Like a squirrel?) and was /really/ kicking up the leaves. There does seem to be a squirrel or other critter that inhabits that area; I can hear its chatter sometimes.

The idea of both my neighbor and the guy down the street synchronizing their guns together seems a bit improbable. So, it's very questionable if there was a person out there. But, my neighbor does have solid experience with crawling through the woods with his gun, so it's not outside his habits.

His primary weapon seems to be a 22 rifle, based on how soft it sounds compared to the neighbor down the street. That guy is further away (About twice as far), but his rounds definitely sound much louder.

 

[Dauntless]

It might have been a bear. . . .

You're in BEAR country??????

[youtube]Etx-nDCZzLo[/youtube]

 

[cycleops612]

Re the guns thing, i have some sympathy for the pro guns arguments, but as a non Murkin, a couple of thoughts.

Whats really scary is they are ok in bars in some parts!!! Drunks w/ handguns - yikes.

The irony of this "freedom", is u live in what most in the west would regard as a semi police state. ie. the cops sensibly assume u r armed, and and act appropriately heavy handedly. A simple traffic stop can be very scary for both parties (yet it seems you often economise by using lone patrolmen?).

 

[torker]

What made you leave Spokane? I grew up on the west side. My folks have property near Lake Wenatchee. Always loved it over there.

 

[swbluto]

What made you leave Spokane? I grew up on the west side. My folks have property near Lake Wenatchee. Always loved it over there.

Short story: I couldn't afford a property where it was possible to grow crops (Rainfall is too limited; climate is limited; sun is limited), I didn't really like the snow, and I didn't have much legal protection against the federal government's lackeys. I also had an established vitamin D deficiency, so moving somewhere warmer, sunnier and rainier just seemed sensible and Houston seemed like it'd fit the bill. I knew there would be bugs, but I figured I would adapt, and that's an ongoing process. I'm getting pretty skilled at keeping the ants and mosquitos out of my RV and the mosquitos from biting. (I was on a roll until that mosquito bit me while wearing the geraniol spray yesterday)

[Also, a bit of back story: I previously lived in Charleston, SC and I liked the gulf coast weather, climate, flora and fauna and I figured the Houston area would be similar. It seems to be close enough.]

Anyway, I thought it'd be a good idea to get a gasser for trips to town (To pick up mail and groceries if necessary), and I saw this:

http://www.dps.texas.gov/msb/documents/VDRchart.pdf

Wow, just about everything needs a safety inspection, licensing and insurance, including puny little mopeds.

So maybe electric would be a better idea. I need something to carry cargo, though, so I'm guessing I'd be looking at some kind of bike trailer. I need to carry things like water, filled gas cans, car tires, huge boxes from amazon, etc.

And, cool, it seems like there's a number of these guys on craigslist. Given the lack of bike culture here, this doesn't seem like it'd be hard to acquire, unlike RVs.

And, while perusing, wow, this looks cool.

https://houston.craigslist.org/mcy/6034226522.html

So, I'm riding my recumbent down the road with a trailer. The pack of dogs approaches, I have my carbine at the ready on the back of the recumbent (I'll need to make some kind of frame to carry it, as well as my other implements). If I were pedaling, I'd normally dismount and walk the bike, making sure I'm in a position to quickly access to my implements if necessary. But, if it were electrified... maybe I'd blast through (It's a bumpy dirt road, so I can only go so fast with my 12 inch front wheel). A bit dangerous without the back brakes implemented, maybe I should try to get those working.

Most dobies can run 20-25 mph, so outrunning the dogs might be futile. They don't usually seem interested in "taking you down", but they're kind of aggressive.

Maybe I'd just use my backpack to carry the carbine. Don't really know how compatible those are. I use it to carry my machete and stick.

I guess I should really be more concerned with securing the carbine while in town and the bike's parked. Wouldn't want someone just taking off with it, and I'm sure some would be tempted. This is Texas, after all.

My immediate neighbor seems to like the aggressive breeds. It seems I regularly see their dobies and pitbulls randomly around the forest. I would be tempted to just cull them, but I don't think my neighbor would have difficulty in figuring out whodunnit, and they don't seem to lack aggression. They aren't normally approaching me, but when I'm unarmed, they tend to make me change direction rather quickly, lol. [I recently increased protocol to always carry an implement while on the streets for more than couple feet.]

 

[swbluto]

Re the guns thing, i have some sympathy for the pro guns arguments, but as a non Murkin, a couple of thoughts.

Whats really scary is they are ok in bars in some parts!!! Drunks w/ handguns - yikes.

The irony of this "freedom", is u live in what most in the west would regard as a semi police state. ie. the cops sensibly assume u r armed, and and act appropriately heavy handedly. A simple traffic stop can be very scary for both parties (yet it seems you often economise by using lone patrolmen?).

Oh definitely, the cops definitely act very skittish during a traffic stop. I was reaching for my papers in the glove compartment for the title, and they started backing off with their hands on the holster. I was like, "Man, I sure hope I don't become a statistic tonight just getting my title, lol.".

 

[Harold in CR]

For the dogs, getcha a decent water pistol and put some strong soapy water in it. Pepper spray would be better, but, if the pistol were to leak, you might embarrass yerself dropping trou in Houston, or, along that deserted dirt road. "Deliverance" . :lol:

 

[swbluto]

For the dogs, getcha a decent water pistol and put some strong soapy water in it. Pepper spray would be better, but, if the pistol were to leak, you might embarrass yerself dropping trou in Houston, or, along that deserted dirt road. "Deliverance" . :lol:

I read a story online of someone using lemon juice concentrate, apparently very effective.

Here's someone testing it on a human.

https://youtu.be/b3yYHwTi8qg?t=136

 

[swbluto]

Wait... I remember seeing a kayak with catamarans. That + solar + trolling motor = solar kayak?!! Sounds like an idea! If it can cip along at least 3-4 mph, it should be able outrun the mosquitos. And since it's naturally a "sunny weather" kind of vessel, solar shouldn't ever really be useless.

 

[marty]

Way long time ago. Before the internet. Before electric bicycles. I remember reading in a bicycle book about what to do if attacked by a dog when riding a bicycle. Wish I could remember everything I ever read?

Try to keep the bicycle between yourself and the dog.
Small dog? Grab dog by rear legs and bash it's head on the ground.
Large dog? Now you got a problem.
Stick your thumb in its eyes.
Boy dog? Kick it in the balls.
Stick your arm down its throat and choke it.

Mail people know lots about dog attacks.
Using Dog Repellent

I got bit by a dog once. Dog was way faster and better at fighting then me slow human. Dog chewed my arm and leg before idiot dog owner pulled German Shepherd off me. Ripped clothing and a little blood. Minor injuries.

 

[cycleops612]

Re the guns thing, i have some sympathy for the pro guns arguments, but as a non Murkin, a couple of thoughts.

Whats really scary is they are ok in bars in some parts!!! Drunks w/ handguns - yikes.

The irony of this "freedom", is u live in what most in the west would regard as a semi police state. ie. the cops sensibly assume u r armed, and and act appropriately heavy handedly. A simple traffic stop can be very scary for both parties (yet it seems you often economise by using lone patrolmen?).

Oh definitely, the cops definitely act very skittish during a traffic stop. I was reaching for my papers in the glove compartment for the title, and they started backing off with their hands on the holster. I was like, "Man, I sure hope I don't become a statistic tonight just getting my title, lol.".

My biz was just down the road, & was first there after a burglary alert from my security. am checking around in the dark, emerge from a room & its a shit scared cop w/ his pistol drawn on me - u know - i sprung out on him accidentally - not a nice feeling.

I lived in jordan israel damascus etc. as a kid (a dad in UN), so yeah - a war zone literally in jordan.

 

[swbluto]

Re the guns thing, i have some sympathy for the pro guns arguments, but as a non Murkin, a couple of thoughts.

Whats really scary is they are ok in bars in some parts!!! Drunks w/ handguns - yikes.

The irony of this "freedom", is u live in what most in the west would regard as a semi police state. ie. the cops sensibly assume u r armed, and and act appropriately heavy handedly. A simple traffic stop can be very scary for both parties (yet it seems you often economise by using lone patrolmen?).

Oh definitely, the cops definitely act very skittish during a traffic stop. I was reaching for my papers in the glove compartment for the title, and they started backing off with their hands on the holster. I was like, "Man, I sure hope I don't become a statistic tonight just getting my title, lol.".

My biz was just down the road, & was first there after a burglary alert from my security. am checking around in the dark, emerge from a room & its a shit scared cop w/ his pistol drawn on me - u know - i sprung out on him accidentally - not a nice feeling.

I lived in jordan israel damascus etc. as a kid (a dad in UN), so yeah - a war zone literally in jordan.

Must feel great to live in Australia, lol. (I really mean that, I'm just laughing that so many of my peers who wanted to in the past just simply couldn't. And by peers, I really mean me, lol.)

Anyhow, interesting study on "big and tallness" and atrial fibrillation.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/big-tall-women-more-at-risk-for-heart-rhythm-problem-a-fib/

The greater the body's surface area, the greater the risk.

That implies that height independently affects heart risks. So I looked more into it. [I did so because I'm tall]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24337942

Compared with short stature, the education-adjusted HR among tall men was 0.67 (95 % CI 0.54-0.84) for ischemic heart disease (similar for myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, and heart failure), 1.60 (95 % CI 1.11-2.33) for atrial fibrillation, 1.05 (95 % CI 0.75-1.46) for stroke, 1.04 (95 % CI 0.67-1.64) for venous thromboembolism, and 0.70 (95 % CI 0.58-0.86) for death.

Oh, so tall men tend to have less serious heart problems, but a greater risk of atrial fibrillation. Isn't that interesting? Because studies have found endurance athletes are at greater risk of atrial fibrillation, does that suggest they're at correspondingly less risk of serious heart disease? (Thus, it isn't actually hurting them in the longrun.)

It's an interesting tradeoff, considering that both arrhythmias and ischemia are considered "serious" heart problems. It'd appear that ischemia is far more significant as to death risks than arrythmias.

Anyway, this is interesting. Maybe those without ischemic problems tend to live longer and thus at a greater risk of developing fibrillation in their life? Surely these studies controlled for such a possibility (That is, they controlled for age.)

Anyway, I find it funny I'm calling my neighbors "low class scum" based on their behaviors/preferences/etc. But, maybe it's not so inappropriate. The actual owners of the land here tend to be in their 50s, and I'm like 29, so maybe I really am "higher class" than the scum here.

 

[cycleops612]

funny how these things work. just read that days ago, news tome, & i am 65 (6 foot).

"every inch over five foot takes 5 years off your life"

i chain smoke so meh

I use an "afraid of heights line" from Columbo - the tv show

"tell the truth, i dont even like being this tall"

Oz isnt so frocked up - yet - cos its a ~virgin continent, not fully raped by greed yet, but sure working on it - as u know - its what u r trying to escape from.

I hate we to all intents, are prevented by regimes from just living simply among relative plenty.

we only need the dole cos of all the needless expenses inflicted on plain folks by the regimes. Its ~ a crime/disgrace to drop out.

free or cheap wi-fi, essential limited public transport for shopping etc. e.g. We have to drive to the poorhouse - will rogers.

a caring regime could make many essentials ~free, but they take the view that any life need is a revenue/corruption opportunity - licences to mates etc.

I wish u luck with your venture/life.

 

[Dauntless]

I don't remember if you've gone on about this yet, but if not here's your chance.

https://draxe.com/benefits-of-dark-chocolate/

 

[marty]

Well, nice. I just ordered something from Amazon with amazon prime and it appears it shipped out from Houston, so this "Two day delivery" is really "next day" delivery for me. It'd make sense that Amazon would have a warehouse here with the permissive business culture, what I assume is a large customer base that likes to spend (An average wage of $15/hour, as compared to the USA's $10/hour, might do that) and the affordable real estate (Also a port city.).

Okay, need to prioritize this list.

kayak ($300)
trailer ($450)
gravel/crushed-conrete ($150)
dog ($600)
fence ($500)
water drum barrels ($240)
trees for the fruit garden ($500-900)
22LR carbine rifle ($250)
greenhouse ($$$)
shed ($600)

The priorities are...

Kayak
Dog
Fence
Water drum barrels
Trees for the fruit garden
Carbine

The priorities among that are...

3)Kayak
2)Water drum barrels
2)Trees for the fruit garden
1)Carbine

4)Fence is the next priority.
5)Dog after that.

For the driveway, I figure I could get 2x 4x8s and lay at the edge of the driveway and park parallel to the street.

And, I think it's getting to be a high priority to create roofing for the tornado shelter, so that I have a weather protected observation post right next to it. (I take up the observation post when I get a tornado warning. My RV makes a poor observation post because I can't really see the tops of the trees from the windows without great difficulty.)

And, applied to the geraniol lotion and sure enough, found a mosquito sucking my arm. Killed it while it was sucking. So, I think I'm going to wear my jacket in the morning for all outside stayish-in-place-ish light work, then for heavy work where wearing a jacket isn't a good idea, I'll apply my DEET. If I'm lucky, I can possibly get my flying-insect-free-zone deployed soon enough, and many portable tasks can be done without DEET or my jacket.

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/glass-bottom-pool-40-stories-051239062.html

If you have a fear of heights, avert your eyes: A glass-bottom pool in a skyscraper in Houston extends 10 feet beyond the building, 40 stories over the street below.

Oh, cool, maybe I can see this pool sometime. Something tells me it probably doesn't have public admission though, lol.

Appears it's an apartment complex. Might need to get an invite from one of the renters, lol. Or maybe tip off one of the renters to let me into the pool. I was going to suggest "Just wait by the front door, and just go in when someone leaves" like I did back in college, but there's likely multiple card scanning devices throughout the building en route to the pool (Like, the pool itself, lol.).

Anyway, it was rather wise of Amazon to let me retry out the Amazon prime program. This next day delivery is really nice, I might actually get a subscription. Maybe not now with these more immediate large expenses on the horizon, but very possibly in the future.

If I had not showered with hot water for a few months? My first priority would be to take a shower. Here are some tarp water collection ideas. 12V is great for water pumps. 12V comes from solar panels, batteries, or your car. Go here for some good water heating advise:
Alternative Energy - Solar, wind, hydro and other non-fossil sources of electricity.


View attachment 2


Possibly stupid idea? heat water with car engine
Here's how - Use Your Engine's Coolant System To Heat Water

If you got it? Sun is way better way to heat water. Also good propane instant water heater

I love tankless water heaters

 

[swbluto]

Well, turns out there's a couple big steps to removing a tire.

1) Break the bead
2) Use tire irons to remove the tire. Stand on tire to assist.

Breaking the bead usually involves pushing down or squeezing the deflated tire so that it'll pop off the bead. The problem with my particular tire is that the outside of the tire (The steel belt? Appears to have steal wires or staples or somesuch in it.) is physically detached from 85% of the inner part of the tire, so the tire doesn't have enough integrity to pop the bead by pushing/squeezing the tire. So it looks like my option for removing now is cutting the tire off the rim. But how the heck am I going to do that?

http://www.idmsvcs.com/2vmod/suspension/wheels/tires/beadairleak/cutting.html

Looks like I'll need an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel. And I just happen to know where those are, I think.

Man, it's like my "tire changing" situation is like the worst possible situation, but it looks doable.

Ok, got the angle grinder working. Started cutting. It appears I still need to cut off the tire near the bead but neither my angle grinder nor knife seems to be cutting it. Tried getting my Dremel as advised in the previous instructions page; got my dremel but the collet is somehow missing - unable to tighten down the cutoff wheel to use it.

OK, looking at ordering a replacement rim. Doesn't seem like I can find it on Amazon for next day service.

Think I'm going to dry melting the tire off on that part with my soldering iron. Will report back on success.

Okay, got the tire irons out to push the tire from the rim, and got enough spacing to effectively use my cutoff wheel on the rest of the tire. It finally got removed. Only 3 hours after I started! (There's a steel belt on both the outside of the tire and also on the part of the tire touching to the rim.)

Now time to get the other one mounted.

Jeez, this guy makes it look so easy.

[youtube]U1kbjmIPhxY[/youtube]

I got to the point where the tire irons simply won't mount the tire anymore and it has a little bit to go before the first side of the tire gets on the rim. What the hell?

And, I think I just figured out why the ancients added water to wine. Because wine by itself would dehydrate you, but the water might sicken you. So add the wine to dsinfect the water to make it drinkable. I ran out of water this morning and I'm thinking "Hey I could add some apple cider vinegar to this rain water...", lol. I'm going to make a trip later on today, but these dogs are getting old.

I was /really/ hoping I would get the tire running by now but it's reached the point of "WTF?".

Not having wheels is exhausting my resources and my bike isn't really ready for heavy cargo like gas canisters.