When I say "WOW!", I mean that we are less than a week away from the year 2013 CE, unbelievable!!
My first and earliest comprehension of the new year was at New Year's Eve of 1958, the first New Year' Eve I was allowed to stay up to watch the New Year being rung in. 2013 was so far away that I could not even conceive of its arrival, yet in about five days, it will be here.
Much has changed since that night: the United States now have 50 states instead of the 48 I was born under, Man has walked on the moon, the cyber age has dawned & matured, global warming is an irrefutable fact unless you are a Neanderthal Republican who believes the cash strapped few "scientists" who sold their souls and ethics to deny it..... in fact one of the very few things that has not changed since 1958, is that Elizabeth II is still Queen of the British Empire, or what remains of it.
WOW!
December 21st, 2012 has come and gone with not even a whisper of destruction. This is something we are relieved to see, not disappointed over!
But, with "Global Climate Change" a fact and a countdown for our way of life, much must be done, many must be educated and governments, including our own, must be compelled to adapt to.
Tonight, for some reason, I was reviewing some of the things about us that made the INTERNET, from the unfortunate comments of our gay and reclusive "neighbor", to several YOUTUBE postings from visitors here, to, of course, the episode of National Geographic Doomsday Preppers".
It appears that we have come a very long way, yet for the last week, I have suffered from severe depression over the LACK of progress! Something is coming, be it a real "apocolypse" a collapse of power, economics, or governments..... or, as we fear, the collapse of a major ice sheet from Greenland or Antarctica into the ocean and the chaos it would bring..... it is coming and in MY lifetime and remember that I am already in my 60th year!
My depression is due to the fact that we are not ready yet! As with most readers, money, CASH, has been the delay. We just order our first of four, custom made "forklift batteries". These batteries have the capacity to store three times our original power capacity, EACH! But I expected to have them in place months ago. Likewise our solar capacity. We now have 32, 130 watt panels in place. However, I had wanted to have all 48 in place before Fall of 2012. So things move slowly, but at least they move!
A new computer is still months away. Bad news for those hoping to see photos and video from us of our progress and innovations..... but since our safety, not publicity, comes first, the batteries and panels come first!
Today, the first day of full sun in over a week, I ran both air conditioning units. Although we lack two wind turbines and 16 solar panels, we still had to dump power from the solar panels into the hot water tanks, despite demanding over 50 amps AC from our inverters. So I guess our (individual) infrastructure is ready to support us in any event.
My "secret" tenaja, or water hole, has recharged itself and now has about 2000 gallons of fresh water in it. Our tanks are nearly full though and this water will have to stay in its hole for now, particularly with four days of rain predicted for next week.
Also, I have spent the last four days working on completing the three indoor walls of our dog's building in stone masonry. Perhaps this is where the depression comes from. Since this is now finish work, it moves slowly and demands a lot of thought to complete. One significant modification to the original design, is the addition of "Leuder's Stone" limestone to the design. If Leuder's Stone sounds familiar to you, it has been featured at length on HGTV in several million dollar homes and is the new IT surface for counters.
I have been lucky enough to meet the owners and buy many tons of damaged slabs of the stone to use here. We will be doing everything frome flagstones to countertops, to window sills, to masonry edging with this stone.
I am finishing the rock walls of the dog's building this week and decided to use some of the Leuder's Stone as edging to separate sheetrock from stone. THIS, requires some engineering, not to mention lots of rock cutting to get the edging right!
So maybe it in not so much depression as fatigue from handling the slabs, some of which weigh about 400 pounds.
But as a result of the introspection, I have decided to at least write about what we are working on, the devices we are using to complete our sustainability goals and the many new ideas I am getting from many sources that can help anyone build their own "Eco Ranch"!
A new computer is coming......sometime.... but in the meantime, I invite you to read what we are doing to develop the Eco-Ranch concept, ask questions and even visit if you are in the area!
So beginning on January 1st, 2013 (WOW) this blog will have regular posts relating to developing individual infrastructure ans sustainability.......... if you want spray painted glitch and media mediorcity, I can refer you to the LBGT individual who stays two point five miles to our south-south east... here there is just information!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
