Glenn's Underground Cabin Update

[whitewolf]

Any land for sale near by you?  8-)  If not, I may have to learn to swing that pic and shovel.

[Sassy]

Hi Sharon,

My mom was born & raised in Minnesota - so we visited my grandmother there at least once or twice a year, but it usually was in the summer when everything is green & beautiful (from what I can remember).  When my dad got transferred to Castle AFB in California (he was a B52 instructor pilot) my mom never wanted to live in a cold climate again!  (we'd also lived in Massachusettes & Ohio as well as other states-my dad was from Nebraska, so we visited relatives there also)  As a kid I loved the snow - sledding & ice skating, but didn't have to hassle with driving or shoveliing snow off driveways.  

We have another beautiful, sunny day up here  8-) although the valley is probably socked in with fog or at least hazy.  So what am I doing inside typing on my computer   :-? ?  If you get too tired of the cold & snow come on out for a visit!

Kathy

Hi, just saw your posting  before I got this done...  yes, there is a lot of land for sale, but can't say how reasonable they would go for!  I just bought another pick, so put your working gloves on  

[glenn-k]

I know of one place belonging to a friend- hippy shack 10 acres + or -   -well-outhouse 189k IIRC - my neighbors place next to me is for sale 10 acres - well - part septic -home site -  rather expensive I think - I've heard about 250k  -  prices are going up around here.  There may be some cheaper stuff around -I haven't been looking.

[whitewolf]

Glenn,  In previous post you said you are west of Yosemity(sp) National Park, but can you tell me the name of a town so I can do a search for land in that area? Sounds much better than even MO. But my kids may not like me that far away. They think I should stay here and that MO is too far. :-/

Kathy, That visit just may have to happen if we keep getting all this snow.  Would even LOVE to help with your projects for a week.  8-)

[glenn-k]

Mariposa is our town-4 miles- Cathey's valley is about 10 miles - lower elevation- Bootjack 5 miles S. on 49 - Midpines is a tiny town 7 miles toward  Yosemite.  Bear Valley is North on 49 - Coulterville about 30  miles of crooked road North.  39 miles South on Hwy 49 is Oakhurst but it is becoming a mountain big city.

Please feel free to drop by - we always have lots of people dropping in.  Note that cost of living and taxes are quite high here compared to other places.    ----For the Black Chopper fans --- the more Constitutionally illegal and corrupt officials you have over you in a given area, the more it cost to live. (Even if our current White House resident calls The Constitution just a GD piece of paper, I still like it.)

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7779.shtml

[Sassy]

I guess I'll add some more fuel to the fire...  I've been converted from a staunch conservative Republican to a strict "constitutionalist" thanks to the DH   ....  most people probably already know about ECHELON but I came across this article recently that has extensive information on ECHELON - quite the eye opener!  I work with a nurse who said that he used to work in a "huge warehouse full of computers that recorded every keystroke made on anyone's computer, looking for specific keywords that they had specified" - this was while he was in the Navy in the early 90's.  So much for our constitutional right to "due process"  re:  the controversy in renewing the Patriot Act which would allow confiscation of property, arrest & incarceration without benefit of legal representation just because I might say or type something that might be on the suspect list.  It would behoove us all to familiarize ourselves with the Patriot Act if you haven't already done so.  The more "security" we request from government the more rights we give up.

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING    


http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/ECHELON/echelon.html

(sorry John, I will try to refrain from anything political in the future   )

[jraabe]

Sassy:

Thanks for the very interesting article about ECHELON.

Here are some other follow up links I found:

http://www.fas.org/irp/program/process/echelon.htm - lots of follow on articles.
http://www.echelonwatch.org/ - looks like a new site that isn't quite up and firing on all cylinders yet.

PS to Glenn - This thread has gotten huge and sprouted several branches. Should we split it up? (It takes quite a while to load for someone who doesn't have it in their cache.)

[glenn-k]

That is fine with me-- I am so advanced here in the underground command center that I forget what it is like when I get to dial-up service.

Suggestions?  I see that now with the new forum on replies we only load the last 20 replies in summary with the option to load it all rather than the whole topic.  Even that can get heavy with lots of pics.  Can the number of replies loaded in summary be cut down or would that help?

Possibly some spinoff topics.

If we split it we will still load one page at a time as I see it - I'm not sure of other advantages.  Do you know of more?

[jraabe]

Actually, if I don't hit the "all" button it loads pretty fast.

Maybe we shouldn't worry about it unless others start to have issues. I wonder how many posts we could get before it blows up!?? :-?

[glenn-k]

The all button is a new feature also - I just load the last page - I guess this should serve as a warning-- Hit the "all" button on this one and you're gonna' get dumped on. :-/  With the one page loading on replies etc it doesn't seem too bad - I noticed on the old forum that it took a bit- I just verified - the entire thread -all 14 pages loaded as summary to the reply starting at the first- now we load the last 20 replies going backward or have the option to load all-- a much better system for dial-up.

I'm not sure how many postings we can get here - Let's load 'er till she blows and see.  It's kind of nice to see anything remotely related to this topic all in one place.  [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

[keyholefarmhouse(Guest)]

Great.  I'm still wondering when Big brother is coming for me.  I did subscribe to Mother Earth News back in '79.

[glenn-k]

keyholefarmhouse,

I'm afraid I was not guilty of subscribing then, but since then have been given bushels full of old copies-- most  clear up to the present I think and do subscribe currently, although it is more of an advertising rag now.

Maybe that did get our names on a list???
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/05/AR2005110501366_pf.html
http://www.newswithviews.com/your_govt/your_government60.htm
http://www.atsnn.com/story/179268.html

[teripittman]

Okay, so you've gotten me interested and I ordered the book. (Which came amazingly fast by the way) There is one thing that isn't mentioned in the book that does concern me. Can't afford the videos yet to know if it's addressed there.

The issue is snow. When I lived in Spokane, WA, we had a lot of blowing, drifting snow. I have this picture of the entry way being covered with snow and having to dig your way out. It may be that I'm picturing a smaller Uphill Patio than you actually put in. We've got a nice ledge on the new place, little money, and this might be do-able for us. Sure would be easy to heat.

[glenn-k]

There are tons of ways to do this- you could cover your uphill patio extending high enough out of the ground for some windows to let in light - exit out the side through a walkway-- the uphill patio can be a secondary exit and exit at a lower level through a Royer Foyer to the side or even a gable on the low side with an extended cover - water flows off the roof to either side always onto solid ground and away.  The width of the water exit area on the low side does not have to be much if you want a bigger gable and windows -exit etc.

Your reasons are the same ones I had for doing this -very little money required for some kind of shelter if you are a good scrounger.

[glenn-k]

Here is a method of moisture control for basements which I have already used in a couple of potential moisture problem areas in the Underground Cabin.  I didn't know that someone else was  doing it too.  Mine was able to gravity to the outside - this one uses a pump.



http://www.jlconline.com/cgi-bin/jlconline.storefront/43a49b9c0017064027177f0000010570/UserTemplate/82?s=43a49b9c0017064027177f0000010570&c=f60ef3b7baef8c643c2e9369e7a9424d&p=1

[glenn-k]

Today is a great example of what good a wind generator is.  Stormy day - not enough solar to kick in the charge regulator, but we have sustained wind running between 15 and 35 mph.  On a day when I would normally be kicking the generator on, I have excess power and soon if this continues the water pump will turn on to burn off the extra power.

I have seen the 1000 watt Bergey XL1 putting out 60 amps at almost 30 volts today or near 1800 watts, on sustained gusts.

[Retread]

Glen,

Thanks for everything.  You responded to my order so quickly I was shocked.  Noted that you were on line, so just wanted to say Happy New Year!

Retread

[glenn-k]

Time to continue on with the light duty concrete floor in the laundry area.  This time I am adding one more coat of concrete to the original coat.  I am adding 1/4 to 1/2 in giving me a total average thickness of 3/4 to 1".



After I have covered a reasonable area with concrete it is troweled snooth and rodded off to the desired thickness with a straight board.  Troweling alone leaves the surface too wavy.

Once leveled and troweled, color is added in sploches on top the concrete -different colors are added for a varigated look.  It is then troweled into the surface.  Too much troweling and it will all look the same.  Color can be purchased as a dry powder for coloring concrete but rather than mix it in the mixer where it would all be the same color, it is thrown on the top.  This technique can be used with concrete stamps also for a rock look.



Fibermesh is added to the mix to make a much stronger thin floor.  A large amount of concrete is saved and mixing can be easily done with a small mixer.  Fibermesh is available from the local concrete company for $6.50 per bag - 1lb I think - enough for 1Cu YD of concrete -we use one small handful per 4 shovels of sand.

Shown here is some of the mixer washout  held together with fibermesh -



Here is a photo of the troweled floor after color is worked in.



After all that - I was hungry so I went and bought a steak and barbecued it in the old Round Oak wood stove.  Yummy.

[glenn-k]

Glad to see you here Retread.

John would be the quick one on the order, but we try to help with the questions and support.  A great place to share ideas and information thanks to John.

[Daddymem]

Today is a great example of what good a wind generator is.  Stormy day - not enough solar to kick in the charge regulator, but we have sustained wind running between 15 and 35 mph.  On a day when I would normally be kicking the generator on, I have excess power and soon if this continues the water pump will turn on to burn off the extra power.

I have seen the 1000 watt Bergey XL1 putting out 60 amps at almost 30 volts today or near 1800 watts, on sustained gusts.

Are these the Bergeys you also install for others? http://www.bergey.com/

[glenn-k]

Same ones-- although I haven't actually put one up for anyone yet, because I'm my own worst enemy-- I won't sell one to someone who would be wasting their money expecting them to do something they won't.

I have one of the best areas around here for wind - if someone calls me from a marginal area I explain that to them, and tell them that I will be happy to sell one to them if they use it as supplemental - not primary power.

I need to get deeper into the solar stuff.  I put in a dealer app for panels etc. the other day --Around here the panels would be primary - wind supplemental.  In the valley where there is fog 4 months out of the year, that is because there is no significant wind during that period except storms once in a while.  That is from about 2000 ft elevation on down.

Even panels down there don't do much in the winter fog.

[Amanda_931]

Sometimes we don't see the sun for the first two weeks in January.

(probably true of most of the mid-section of the country--certainly happened when I lived in Southern Indiana)

[glenn-k]

A new exciting multimedia experience comes to the Underground Cabin Update.

This is just a try out-  lets see what happens.

What Does This Button Do?

[jraabe]

I feel all flushed! (with excitment, I suspect  )

And Glenn - Thanks for that helpful tutorial on doing thin slab colored concrete. You are building quite a library of helpful ideas and pictorial information. Maybe someday we can break this opus into chapters and you can lay claim to being an author.   (Just don't start wearing a cape. I hate men in capes!)

[glenn-k]

How about spandex tights?  Maybe a bicycle outfit.

I keep thinking about documenting some of this - but never quite get going on it.  Thanks for flushing for me, John