Friday, September 23, 2011

We just make shit up as we go

For everyone that has read and commented on my blog thank you. I appreciate that you have taken the time to do so. I've just been to damn busy or exhausted to respond. It's been a while since I blogged or even had time to read any of those that I enjoy. For a couple months I was working two full time jobs and trying to get work done on the domestead as well. I'm down to one job now and I get to work from home.  Can't beat that with a stick.

One of the cats has been very busy too. While nursing some kittens, she went and had six more. My plan was to wait until a couple of them were about size 11, then hollow them out to make some slippers. But overnight 5 of them disappeared. Could be coyotes, owls or foxes. There's more life than you might expect on the bald-assed prairie.

exit form for rocket mass heater
Plans have changed on the house once again. A few months ago we realized we would never have time to finish doming in the three we needed most (or even work at all on the other two) so we decided to roof them go for more of a castle shape. I'm glad I built a complete dome from dirt on the property a couple years ago or I would have to consider changing my internet name.



Standing bags between beams
roof will be embedded in bags
After the OSB plywood, I laid down a sticky roofing membrane then screwed tin on top of that. Then the final row of bags (laid flat) will lock everything together. And finally a few more bags to give that knobby-castle-thing look.

The rocket mass heater has finally been worked on as well. The temporary mock-up I built gave awesome results. So now the burn tunnel is mortared in place and ready to put the riser back on and get to the next steps. I was lucky to find a riser with a 7 inch inside diameter and 1/2 inch wall thickness.

And finally, to those dipshit Canadian delegates that walked out on some guys speech at the UN: You should be publicly ridiculed and humiliated, then fired for deriliction of duties and stripped of your citizenship. Assholes.



6 comments:

  1. Cool! I had to check out your rocket stove. My rocket stove project has been pushed back a bit. On the plus side, that give me more time to gather free materials rather than buy stuff. I scored some nice industrial firebrick this summer.

    I'm going to use up my big chunks of firewood in my air tight stove. Those should be used up this winter. Next winter I can switch to the smaller stuff that'll burn better in a rocket stove.

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  2. Dont think you need to hollow the cats out. Just wait till they reach the size 11 and then sneak up behind them and give them a good kick up the nought and bingo! a slipper.

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  3. You might actually want to spay and neuter all the cats and kittens, it's more humane and less stress for them and you in the long run. Also more humane not to let them outdoors -- cats are fine indoors, live healthier longer lives. Only human laziness, cruelty, selfishness and, oh yeah, laziness... lets the cats live outdoors. Do the world a favor and get YOURSELF spayed/neutered. The world needs fewer humans too, especially ones that don't seem to care about the other species sharing the planet with us. Good luck with that survivalist attitude too, where everything/one is a Big Joke. Cosmic Joke's on you.

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  4. In response to "Anonymous":
    I understand that my husband’s sense of humour isn’t for everyone but I’d imagine neither is your abject ignorance. There is a great deal of difference between city and country life that I won’t suppose to explain to someone with obvious blinders on, but I can assure you that our animals live very good lives. They are the best cared for feral cats that you’d ever come by. If I could catch them (and you want to try this with a feral cat some time- good fun) I would never dream of taking them for surgery let alone cooping them up inside of a house for my own entertainment purposes or to satisfy some strange idea of how an animal “should” live. (And how much stranger can it get than the presumption that an animal should live in a house?) You so-called animal lovers are appalling in your lack of respect for animals’ natural life cycle and lives in general beyond how they serve human interests. I guess what I’m trying to say in a somewhat roundabout way- in case you missed it- is fuck off.

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  5. Love the castle shape! Owen Geiger's been on a castle kick lately, too. Look forward to seeing the finished product!
    :)

    ~Lauren

    P.S. Not the same anonymous as above, just too lazy to make an account.

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  6. Animals live and die. So do we. How many housepets will these animal lovers have after SHTF? When you and your pets are both going hungry, there's a temporary solution to that problem...

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