Comments Off on cold sunday

By Dave, January 16, 2005 11:27 pm

got a bit more done today.

power cable mounted to the north side of the trailer above the windows. runs the length of the trailer with a connection almost at the west end. got it in pvc for the trip to and over the qhut.

added a 2x6x16 from the trailer to the top of the greenhouse as well as some other support boards. plastic over the north side and attached the roof tarp to the top board. will go back up and attach the conduit to the board too.

wire is run through the pines and am ready to attach to the final run into the box. got conduit running out of the box and turning into the shed on the east side of the barn, then the wire is through the bushes. need to figure a quick connect on this one if I can cause of the pines needing to come down.

was looking at them again today. they are in real bad shape. gonna come down by them selves before long.

put old fiberglas along the north side of the trailer to block the wind. used plastic on the east and south sides. may go back on the north side with plastic over the fiberglas tomorrow.

temp in here is 58.9 and that is with just the wood burner going and little fan pushing heat through the vents into here. not too bad as its 23.7 with a wind chill of 14.6 outside right now. or that is the reading at the <a href="http://myweb.cableone.net/mikecalloway/">local weather station</a>.

redid a bit on the south side of the greenhouse too. got more to do but this covered the worst of the holes. I hope to get the power finished tomorrow and will be able to use the oil filled heaters in here then. Just got a 12/2wg running the entire trailer now so don't want to add a major load.

Looked at the heat and it is strip heat. 10kw at 240 v is the rating. don't think I am gonna use that much. don't think the compressor has a reversing valve to make it a heat pump. no name on the thing so far. painted over all that stuff. guess i will try cleaning it off if there isn't anything in the control panel. haven't opened that yet.

thinking about moving the other mobile homes into the cluster here. heat and cooling are the main problems. figure that out and will be able to do what ever.

need to find where i can buy the insulated 3000 gallon tankers that are out of date or whatever. dig a hole and bury it with access to business end. fill with water and hook up pumps to collector, wood heat box, and zoned radiators. would have to insulate the pipes. box chase filled with fiberglas and the pipes?

better. back was out and pinched a nerve (or 10) to my stomach and other things. much better after getting it back somewhat in place. still some irritability but not anything like what it was.

gonna call it a night. long cold day and got two more to look forward too at the very least.

Comments Off on mr bill as you have never seen him before…

By Dave, January 14, 2005 11:21 am

<a href="http://accordionguy.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2005/1/14/243433.html">http://accordionguy.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2005/1/14/243433.html</a>

Comments Off on more mostly nothing days

By Dave, January 11, 2005 8:07 pm

got some things done but not the ones i have needed to do like finish leveling the trailer. need to be doing that now but sitting here instead.

gut has been bothering me quite a bit lately. got something at the store (zantac i think) that helps some but only on my third one so not sure what the outcome will be there.

having to eat several times a day and light meals then to keep the gas and pain down. and yes i guess i need to see a doctor but the last time they just gave me something for the gas and a bland diet to try. hate bland diets.

got some more stuff moved in here. most of our time is spent in here now. got the entry somewhat water tight. with the weather coming tomorrow i am waiting till at least the weekend to start on the connection addition. figure it will take me about 4 days to get enough stuff down and back up so need to wait for good weather so I don't have to deal with the rain and cold.

just ordered a couple of books. been wanting to read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0596004761/qid=1105594504/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/102-1544533-3061743?v=glance&s=books&n=507846">Perl Template Toolkit by Darren Chamberlain</a> for a while but not at 40 bucks. found a copy that for 22+shipping so ordered it and while i was at it looked up and ordered a used copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312874995/qid=1105594340/sr=1-16/ref=sr_1_16/102-1544533-3061743?v=glance&s=books">Escape from Kathmandu by Kim Stanley Robinson</a> also. been wanting to read it for a while and the meters running so…

the day is done and so am i. will try again tomorrow

Comments (0)

By Dave, January 8, 2005 5:41 pm

http://www.russellbeattie.com/notebook/1008231.html

as much as i hate to admit it the dude’s right, apple has screwed up again in exactly the same way and microsloth has done an end run around their proprietary standard and won the game.

“proprietary standard” is what I wrote but upon rereading i am not sure that this isn’t one of those things like “military intelligence”. how can it be proprietary and be a standard. but most of them in the modern world are I guess.

However, Money < - > Mouth, sooooo, as my feelings lean toward the “creative communist” anyway, I am going to change the blog and my online works to:

Comments Off on another nonproductive day

By Dave, January 6, 2005 10:56 pm

in which i do almost nothing.

Was up just after 6 and looked at the radar to find the rain was close. then a few sprinkles and then the rain for 15 minutes or so. let up and then stopped as the narrow band of showers passed.

went and cranked the lawnmower and used its trailer to get 2 loads of wood. split a bit and stacked it in the new wood storage shed. looks like it will hold a bit over a cord. did a bit of stapling of plastic and adding of wood to try to keep the open areas in this temporary connection to the trailer from leaking all the warmth out and letting rain in. got most of the worst of the openings covered. will try to get some walls up with doubled plastic on them this weekend or the first of next week.

johnny came by again, this time bearing gifts. some i can use as is, some will be more useful melted. left with a computer i needed not. hope it doesn't come back.

ate around 11 and around 1:30 took a nap. slept till about 3:30 and got up but still not feeling well. piddled around and did mostly nothing. poked the fire a time or two. moved the speakers and amp in here. still got to go to the trailer (old) and get the cd player and cassette deck to hook it all back up. also want to get the records and reel to reel back in the mix. then to digitize it all and get rid of most of it.

Comments Off on FeriCyde's Top 10 Predictions for 2005

By Dave, January 6, 2005 9:10 pm

<a href="http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/29032">http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/29032</a>

end of the world as we know it? ;-&gt;

Comments Off on copyleft commie flag

By Dave, January 6, 2005 12:30 am

Well looks like bill gates has done his foot in mouth thing again…

http://www.boingboing.net/2005/01/05/bill_gates_free_cult.html

Love the copyleft flag that Xena worked up!

<center><IMG SRC="http://technoprimitive.org/images/copyleftcommie.gif" ALT="Copy Left Commie Flag" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=150 BORDER=0></center>

Comments Off on another day done in

By Dave, January 6, 2005 12:06 am

another not much day.

got the fan in the heat duct and a piece of foam around the blades to channel more air. Works great! keeps the entire trailer an even temp while running. turned it off last night and the temp dropped 5 to 7 degrees in the east end in about 5 hours. today it has run all day and tis nice and cosy in here now.

Course not that cold outside yet either. good cloud cover keeping it warm. had a couple of bouts of rain. just enough to dampen the steps.

old friend came by and took a fair amount of the day so didn't get things done i should have.

got the wood covered. put up a scaffold and put some pipe and aluminum plate from end to end. pieces 2 to 3 inch diameter trees 4 ft long across the pipe and plate then 2x4x8 sheets of old tin on that. 3 to 4 foot long 6 inch diameter firewood holding that down and a 8 foot long cedar pole on top of them topped off with a old blue tarp to give side and back protection. will probably take it down and move it to the back of the building and add another 2 sections to use on the building as well as a shed for the wood. but for now it is dry…

looked at a fair amount of stuff and thought about a bit but didn't get any of it done. guess i will try again tomorrow. not hurting as bad today as yesterday. had a couple of bouts with the back pain but nothing that the standard pain meds wouldn't get me through. that yesterday (or tuesday as this is now thursday) was a bit more than usual. don't like mixing them like that but did the job.

think i am going to give up the good fight and call it a night.

Comments Off on today was unproductive

By Dave, January 4, 2005 8:56 pm

in the extreme for me. didn't get any of the things that I had wanted to do done.

got up this am around 8 not feeling very well at all and the day has gone downhill from there. still feel not so much bad as just underpowered. like i am a 12 volt motor running on 6 volts is the best way i know to describe it. de scribe, Boss! de scribe! he tells the story to paper.

hope this is done with tomorrow but kinda doubt it. the way the muscles are complaining it feels like i have overdone it to the extreme and am gonna have to keep it easy for a few days till it settles down.

looks like we can use the heat ducts in the ceiling to pump the air from the greenhouse through the trailer. gonna try for one or more small fans blowing into the final vent in the west end. If it works will most likely cut through the end above the door and duct the heat from the highest point into here. should be fairly easy to channel the air and be somewhat unobtrusive with it.

got the old computer desk from the front of the qhut and brought in here for cat to sort books and cds on. was several little things i was going to try, but every time I got up to do something, i decided to just sit a while longer instead… Only thing i did get done was update iSpeak and start training the voice files again. Found the correction portion of the program and am making some headway into teaching it what i am actually saying verses what it thinks i am saying. so guess it was somewhat of a useful day after all. Just not in the way(s) i wanted it to be…

Steve sent me a link to some 8 foot speaker cables that they want over 7k for. Now i have heard a difference in wire in a stereo system before but there has never been any 16 feet of wire that i would give you a hundred for much less 7.6 grand. but i have noted in my time on the wheel that there are many fools with way too much money and way too little sense. anyway the link is: <a href="http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?cat=&sku=AAQEV8">http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?cat=&amp;sku=AAQEV8</a> for those of you out there with money to burn.

Comments Off on Hunter S. Thompson and friends

By Dave, January 3, 2005 11:31 pm

<a href="http://www.gonzo.org/hst/index.html">http://www.gonzo.org/hst/index.html</a>

Comments Off on driveway almost graded

By Dave, January 3, 2005 10:31 pm

got more done outside than in today.

kicked it off with a trip to the post office, dairy and grocery store. back here and moved the transport dollies back to the pasture. Moved the one from the drive with the tractor. hauled it down cedar springs road to the south entrance and into the field. the other came down the hill and into its slot. then moved Bertha to a spot west of cathys camper.

then started leveling the south side using the massy and box blade. worked on clearing and leveling for a bit and then ate in the new addition. Gonna take a bit of getting accustomed to.

Got the dozer cranked off and moved to the area toward the road. Cleared stuff out of the way and moved the 6×12 portable building with the dozer. then moved the toyota camper box using a chain around it and pulling with the dozer.

that left the bank clear so ran the JD a bit longer than usual and knocked the top edge off the bank. took a break to let it cool off for a few minutes and then took a bit more off the top.

changed to the massy and leveled it from the drive just inside the gate to the front of the south wall of the trailer. Got a bit more to do tomorrow and then will be done enough to start bringing stuff from edwinas.

still got to finish leveling the trailer too. hope to get that done tomorrow. trying to let the ground firm up a bit more before digging more holes with the jack.

sitting in the trailer now. first post I have made from the new abode! Cat came in here yesterday and wrote something so she is the first to post from here.

Got one more set of blinds to hang in the west end room south wall and will have all the windows covered. Most windows I have had in a dwelling that I can remember. 9 windows in all. 2 in each end room and 5 in here. Had 3 in the west end but I took one out when i put the door in.

Found an area about 14 inches deep in the front of the trailer where the return air chamber is. It's lined with sheet rock and the inner wall is 16 oc though it is just a false wall. should keep the noise of the heat pump down pretty good.

Thinking of just having the power moved to this building. Can run from here to where ever better than the barn. And the lines coming up here are going to have to come up to get the trees down anyway. Guess I can put in underground lines from qhut to barn and solve that for now. still need the lines down the drive gone so i can get the pines down. will take brocks fence down and replace it after the trees are down.

time for a cup of cocoa…

much better now. got the vent cover put back on in the east end room. thinking about retiring for the evening soon. back is rather painful tonight. and the hands and arms. just keep seeing things that need doing and carrying on…

and for something different <a href="http://www.hauntcon.com/index.html">http://www.hauntcon.com/index.html</a>

Comments Off on and closer still

By Dave, January 2, 2005 11:44 am

started with getting Bertha cranked off, warmed up and moved to the front of the qhut and the tires aired up.

Then took the power line to the camper down and got power into the 12 wide. limited to 15 amps on one side and 20 on the other but enough to do most work. Can't run the heat/ac but don't need it for now. Got the window on the west end out and am gonna cut the base out in a bit and see how the wiring is routed through there.

Cat is vacuuming in the 12 wide now. guess I need to go and move more stuff out of the way…

Tis after midnight now. Got the door cut in the end and the tarp hooked over the top. Plastic stapled into some semblance of wind and water tight. added a few blocks to get in and out by and started moving stuff in. Got the 2 chest of drawers moved into the bedroom (east most room). Got the recliner, coffee table, tv and table and floor lamp moved in so far. Cat took some of the coats and hung them in the closet.

Think i have figured out how the added rooms should be done. only going up with a 16 foot section. that way can do it now and around what i am building and working with now.

keep trying to pass out. guess its time to call it a night.

tis a night…

Comments Off on closer

By Dave, January 1, 2005 10:02 pm

got up and cooked potatoes for salad. cut pickles, olives, onion, celery, and potatoes. stirred together with salt, pepper, basil, tarragon, parsley, mayonnaise, mustard, pickle juice, and 3 boiled (cracked open and nuked in a bowl with water) eggs and you got potato salad or a reasonable impression thereof.

Cleaned up and went to the folks for lunch. did lunch and worked on moms computer for a bit then sat and talked a bit then headed this way.

got out and started adding piers. got everything done now but for the front 2 which will be the last to go in as that end needs to go down a bit more so will pivot on the set about 10 feet back. one of them settled about an inch last night so will have to relevel it too. still got to raise the west end more. now that i have enough piers that its not sliding when I jack it up now. moved another in or two today when i was getting one of the back piers in. soil is rotten out there right now. will end up releveling it several times i suspect. the other option is to pour a track the length of the frame and set the frame directly on that. which I have considered. but will level with block first and see if it will hold. Once the water isn't standing on it and its had a chance to pack a bit i think it will be fine. Or there could be a old ditch there that is filled in but still carrying water. tis unusually muddy in a couple of areas out there.

supposed to go to the landfill tomorrow and get some brick and or block. Got to get out and clean bertha out and off. should have done that today too but time got away. did get another 5 piers put in so was certainly having fun. not as sore as I though i would be. arms and hands are not too bad. wrists are swollen and shoulders are aching but still able to go so must be doing a bit better.

Maybe get finished leveling it tomorrow. Next will start with the power and then door and roof and walls into the greenhouse. or the new whatever. Hoping to have it done before the next rains hit. or if not have it done (which i know it won't be) have enough of the waterproofing done that we don't take rain. Need to get the gutters on the trailer too. got enough for one side so guess I will do the back or north side and put wood up to add a porch roof the length of the south side. Hate to take the time to do that right now but either the roof or put something up temporally and then come back and add the porch later. Got a lot of other stuff going up so will see. May be able to put the L strips up and build the porch under it later.

Still trying to figure out the rooms where the greenhouse is now. want two story but not sure how I want to build it. Suspect it will be a mashup of all of the bits and pieces I have collected for years. Keep threatening to do some such. Guess that the time is right and the place is here. Then let the powers that be figure out how to appraise it.

Need to get more cement. and a load of sand and one or two of gravel. guess I need to call around and see what the prices are on the above. also got to get more blocks. or not. think junk. not new. Big truck, dump, tomorrow.

Comments Off on the devils panties

By Dave, January 1, 2005 7:10 pm

Strange and oddly interesting comic. <a href="http://thedevilspanties.keenspace.com/">The Devils Panties</a>

Comments Off on McDonalds Terms Of Use for their website

By Dave, January 1, 2005 6:21 pm

<a href="http://www.mcdonalds.com/terms.html">http://www.mcdonalds.com/terms.html</a>

go — look — leave — laugh — loose your lunch… Pick 3 or 4 or 5

whatever. I quit eating there a long time ago and feel much better for it.

Comments Off on getting there

By Dave, December 31, 2004 11:25 pm

Slowly. Got 5 piers put in today. 2 of them are done. the others have to be added to. the two that are done are the ones closest to the tongue. or where the tongue was. got it unbolted and taken out. twas a bit of a bother but so far almost everything about this job has been a problem to a greater or lesser extent.

Most of the day was spent lying under the thing digging or jacking. arms are over tired. may not get it done tomorrow. figure i have 8 to 14 inches to go in the back. No real reference to go by. I did a quick and dirty figure it from the 2 foot level and got over 24 inches which i think is way off but haven't done it again after getting the front leveled so just don't know. 8 to 12 feels like its in the ball park but again no reference to go by. guess i will get it when the bubble is in the center…

not much else going on. keeping on keeping on with the trailer project. will be moving faster with it after the leveling is done. the power entry is on the north side toward the east end. I may just cut and shorten the power going to the camper for now and leave the heat pump cut off. that would give us lights and outlets as needed till I can run a real power line that way.

tis the new year now. Just got a new front page up at <a href="http://www.jville.net">jville.net</a>. added a happy new year and took the christmas is coming soon down. real on top of it lately. had the trailer and end of year on my mind and not getting things done as i should.

Several problems on the back burner(s) are going to get done in the next week or two. Need to get a load of books from the sa. And get the ones in the 8×8 moved so we can get to other things in there. Got to get the title stuff done on the van again with the replacement title this time. and take a vacation. soon. and get the stuff at edwinas moved. and the bushes dug up and moved. and. and. and. but gonna take some time as the problems allow and go away for a week or so.

Need to call around and see what the trees are going to cost to remove. got to do or get that done soon.

XCode is interesting. Playing with the <a href="http://camelbones.sourceforge.net/index.php">Camel Bones</a> tutorials now. Had no idea programing had come that far. Of course the Hello world folder is 3.4 meg. but the gui overhead is about the same for a large or small program so i guess it evens out. and that does include the build libraries and all the support files too.

Comments Off on gonna start with the jacking up in a few

By Dave, December 31, 2004 12:16 pm

been out getting milk and catfood. Then got back and had to start a crockpot full for supper. Got a pork roast the other day at thompsons meat processing and put it in after washing it off. then cut up half a head of cabbage, 3 large carrots, 4 leaves (?) of celery, 2 onions, salt, pepper, basal, sage, poultry seasoning, and enough water to come within a inch of the top of the crock. Will stir and settle the veggies as the day goes on. may add some potatoes later after it cooks down a bit. nuke them a few before adding and they should catch up just fine.

Went out and looked at the trailer and counted block and have enough for a basic leveling. more/better will wait till later. with the mushiness of the ground I will have to relevel in the summer anyway to get it about right. guess now is as good a time as any to get it done…

Comments Off on But is today!

By Dave, December 30, 2004 8:35 pm

Took the axles out first. Was simply a by the numbers operation. Bolts out, axles on the ground, hook strap to end of axle and other end to tractor and drag out till it hits the frame then dig and move and shift till it comes out. pant and blow a while and do it again. Eat lunch after the second one is almost out. Back out afterwards and dig a while then pull the second one out. same on the third. Jacked the trailer up a bit more and got the sideboards that came on Bertha. Got the grinder and some grease. Ground all the welds and bumps and such that could possibly impede the forward motion of the trailer. After i finished that got the grease gun and coated the top of both pieces. slid them in on top of the log and under the trailer frame. Lowered the trailer onto them so it was resting on those 2 points in the back and the tongue on a sheet of plywood in the front. Hooked the chain up to the frame and to the dozer. Started forward and the trailer moved like it had wheels. Pulled it the entire 7 feet in just a few seconds.

Alignment wasn't what I had thought so I moved the dozer to the hitch end and pushed it over a bit and then a bit more and then some more. got it close there and was over a couple of feet too much at the back now. the other way of course. so to the south side and hooked the chain to the frame close to the wheels and pulled it over a bit. looking good so moved to the front and got up on the bank with the dozer and hooked the chain to the hitch and pulled it forward a couple of inches and then it stuck. got the shovel and bill and I dug and flattened the ground uphill of where it needed to slide. got back on the dozer and after a few jarring lunge and snatch it a inch or so at a time got it moved the required 3 feet. That gives us an entry between the qhut and the trailer.

the alignment is close. not exact by a long shot but close enough for my kind of building.

Comments Off on nor is it in place today

By Dave, December 30, 2004 12:00 am

or not in place on wednesday. just noted that the time was midnight exactly and don't know what date this entry was made on.

Tried another transport dolly on the north side but wouldn't do more than bend the log. trailer is heavy! so have moved both dollies out of the way and am taking the rest of the bolts out of the axles and springs to get them out of the way.

have got blocks under the west or greenhouse end and it is up off the log at the present time. depending on settling of the clay base.

have had 2x6s break under the jack twice today as they sunk into the clay.

got a piece of a elm that was out of a tree 2 feet in diameter and about 6 inches thick. thought it was solid but apparently it was not. jacked the trailer up and bill is trying to get another board between the frame and the top board and I am jacking up when the slab splintered. didn't fall just split into several pieces and shifted down some.

got to find some oak and split a slab about 6 inches thick to use as a jack platform in this muck.

gonna try the sideboards off bertha. they are 4 inch channel steel. hard stuff from what i cut the other day for the dozer repair. planing on laying them on top of the log and lowering the trailer onto them and using them as a track to slid on. got about 6 and a half feet to go north with the west end. the east end needs to move about 2 feet south and the entire thing needs to go about 2 to 3 feet east to allow for a door along side the south end of the quonset hut between it and the trailer.

figure a mud hall for entry to both buildings and from north and south too. gonna have to rethink that. the airflow to the trailer has got to be maximized. I want to try to tap into the air return on the furnace and see if it will allow us to pull air from the greenhouse into the trailer and out the vents. Will have to look further. may have to add a duct the length of the trailer underneath as I don't think this trailer has return in the floor. walls have vent in them in the front room.

hope to get it moved tomorrow. if not, will go to plan f or is it g by now… I just love interesting projects. and this one has turned into an interesting sequence of projects. but that is just life as I know it. one project after another with spasms of total panic intermixed with urgent needed yesterday won't take a minute breaks from routine. or it could just be gas…

tis late and so am i…

Comments Off on trailer still not in place

By Dave, December 28, 2004 8:56 pm

got the wheels off. now taking the axles loose. got all but one bolt on the south side loose. will get it in the am and then move to the other side and take them lose there too. suspect I will have to take the hubs off to get them out from under there. tis a bit close to the ground now. gonna have to take the tongue off too as that end is way higher than the one by the greenhouse.