This was briefly my smartassed solar shower. Lasted through one, count’em: 1 each of those 8 gallon water jugs. Getting 60 pounds of water up there in a way so’s it will stay decided me the showering I got wasn’t worth the hernia I almost got.
So next time in town I went to Walmart and bought a 2 gallon insecticide sprayer.
Posted in 2013, Adventure, Nature, Redneck Repairs, RedneckRepairs, Science, Senior Citizens, Survival, Texas
Tagged environment, Life, lifestyle, misc, outdoor, personal, redneck, society, sociology, solar shower
Good morning readers. Thanks for coming by for a read this morning.
When I brought up the screen to post I noticed it’s November 18. Old Sol’s muttering to me that he’s becoming bored with all my scurryings and goings on every time I go around him again without becoming a bit wiser in any way discernable by alert human beings.
But tomorrow I’ll have gotten by with it 70 times despite a persistent, continuing foolishness and determination to smack head-on into heavy, solid objects. One such object I’ll be telling you about here, but that’s later on in the post. But first, a few other matters.
My friend Rich and his wife Lisa came to visit a few days recently. We spent a lot of time just savoring the company, hours and days flashing by in such rapid sequence I’m reminded of those strobes a person used to have a to deal with on dance floors during the 1980s when I try to remember the details.
All I can say for certain is the time passed more as a pleasant dream than some feet-on-the-ground experience anchored in reality.
But somewhere during all that Rich fixed my computer so’s it connected online through WIFI. When I left one evening he was downloading several years of updates to Windows Vista and AVG, which turned out to be a considerable task.
Rich has an amazing music collection and he brought along an 8gb flash drive loaded with some I didn’t have. Took a T-drive back with him I’d freed up 600 gb from and he’ll be sending me the rest of what he has.
Amazing times we live in, where a thing such as that can happen.
Reality did rear up and whinny, however.
The second night I was driving home, moderate speed, and saw a dim shape in the oncoming lane ahead. Thought it might be a deer and moved my foot to the brake, but before I could press the pedal it became a frightened, full grown buck.
I stood the RV on its nose while the deer ran in front, reversed himself, ran back, then back again before the WHACK. A catastrophy for the deer, but a wild stroke of luck for me.
The incident revealed all the cabinet doors in the RV suffered from metal fatigue. Every item I’d carefully arranged in those cabinets, securely stored, came down, forward, cans of cat food hitting the back of my head, all manner of articles filling the floorboard underfoot. A crucial piece of knowledge I’d hate to have learned under different circumstances.
So the past few days have been spent scratching my head about the best ways for securing belongings in a vehicle destined to travel at highway speeds with the potential for sudden stops. Studying those cabinet doors for ways to lock them shut.
Trying out cargo nets as an option.
Installing recycled refrigerator shelves and ways to secure what’s on them, along with a platform from a grader-ditch cooler-top for the comp to sit on when I need it as a GPS, a place for incidentals the rest of the time.
Which is all to say, these are things I needed to know, bought at the price of minimal damage to the RV, the life of a buck deer, and enough expense making repairs to cut into the gas money I’d been hoarding.
Well worth the cost of setting back departure clock enough to accomodate it.
I’ve been waiting almost 70 years for this trip and the cats assure me a few more days won’t matter.
Old Jules
Posted in 2012, Adventure, America, Animals, Emergency Preparedness, New Mexico, Redneck Repairs, RedneckRepairs, Senior Citizens, Texas, Transportation, Trucks, White Trash Repairs
Tagged animals, cats, culture, Human Behavior, humor, Life, lifestyle, Nature, philosophy, senior citizens, survival
Good morning readers. Thanks for coming by for a read this morning.
I suppose any vehicle as old as this one and built as this one was built would inevitably require some fixup before becoming a cabin on wheels. I mentioned in an earlier post about the springs sagging, and the springs have arrived, waiting for the new shocks to get here.
But I’m going to remove that AC unit up there to get rid of the weight, replace it with a roof vent, which is in transit. That’s a lot of weight up there to be carrying around for something I’m unlikely to use much. And there’s evidence the roof structure doesn’t need the challenge it provides.
I covered that crack in the front window with Gorilla tape for now, but ultimately I’m thinking I’ll cut a flat piece of panel to place behind it and fill in the bubble-void with insulation foam.
Probably put a compartment in it for a GPS receiver with a better view of the sky than I’d get from the dashboard.
I’ll run Delorme Street Atlas on the laptop when I’m trying to navigate around towns, but I truly love Terrain Navigator where there’s enough variation in the terrain to justify using it. I’m rigging a stand for the laptop to swivel from one of the passenger-side neck-support posts.
This thing just posted by itself. I’m just going to finish it, editing in the rest, I reckons.
Anyway, once I get the AC off I’ll do a complete over on the roof with this stuff, and new caulking anywhere my imagination leads me. The critical path on this part is that I can’t pull off the AC until the 14×14 roof vent arrives to replace it.
I’ve been feeling the walls and ceiling inside and out, drilling through and squirting in a lot of that Great Stuff foam where I find a void, of which there are a sufficient number to allow me a sense of accomplishment.
Then there’s the matter of the cats. I’m making that overhead into a travel space for the cats to enjoy themselves in while we’re on the road. A place where they can’t contrive to get underfoot, or jump out at a gas station to find a new life for themselves.
Once we’re parked somewhere it will go back to being a bed, whatever, but on the road it will be a cage. They won’t like it, but they’ll like it better than all the alternatives they’d find in the alternative Universe they’d be choosing for themselves if they got loose.
And against the advice of people who know a lot more than I do about these matters, I’m going to find, or construct a small trailer to pull behind for large bags of cat food, tools, extra clothing, and probably some prospecting gear.
This thing’s for sale in San Antonio [Converse] on Craigslist for $100. If I weren’t so far from SA I’d snap it up, gut it and convert it to a light haul trailer with a top to pull behind the Toyota. Might be a ragged out popup is sitting behind someone’s house within a 40 mile radius they’d part with at a similarly righteous price.
But I’ve messed this post up enough for now. Maybe I’ll go into this more later on a post I haven’t already posted.
Old Jules
Posted in 2012, Adventure, Animals, New Mexico, NM, Prospecting, Redneck Repairs, RedneckRepairs, Texas, Trucks
Tagged animals, cats, delorme earthmate, delorme street atlas, home, Human Behavior, humor, Life, motor home, pets, philosophy, popup camper, redneck repairs, rv, RV pets, society, sociology, survival, terrain navigator software, Toyota RV, transportation, travelling with pets, trucks
There’s a grave crisis looming, readers. Time was when good American foots were protected by good American-made flip-flops. They never failed. Those old timey flip-flops lasted until they’d absorbed so much foot odor a hog would turn up its nose at them. Normal landfills rejected them, demanded they be treated as hazardous waste.
But that’s all changed. You see how those straps come out? See how the layers of soles separate, sneakily intended to render the entire thing useless? That’s the Asian plan for taking over the flip-flop world.
They think there’s nothing a good American can do about it, but they’re wrong. If you can remember to pick up some Gorilla Glue you can make those babies run until they stink, just like the good American ones did. In the top pic you can see those had been glued, but not sufficiently and the soles peeled open elsewhere.
I ran out of glue in the process, so I’ve had to store up my flim-flammed-flip-flops until I can remember to pick up another bottle. Which is going to need to be soon, because I’m down to two [2] intact flip-flops, both for the same foot.
Next trip to town for sure, I’m getting me some Gorilla Glue, get my foots back into some respectable footware for two different feet.
Old Jules
Posted in 2012, America, Country Life, Current Issues, Redneck Repairs, RedneckRepairs
Tagged attire, country life, culture, environment, flimflam, flipflops, Human Behavior, humor, Life, lifestyle, psychology, redneck repairs, senior citizens, society, sociology, style
I’ve been scratching under my hat over a number of issues regarding that old school bus as a potential escape route, studying pictures taken last time in town. Wondering how a person might get around various problems.
One that jumps out immediately is the fact there’s no way of locking the doors, either the front, or the emergency door. So a person who didn’t fix that problem wouldn’t want to be a sound sleeper. Or go off out-of-sight of it if he had anything inside he wanted there when he got back.
Another is that no obvious place to mount a spare tire seems to be included in the design. I suppose a person might rig a way to keep one on the roof if there’s no place underneath to hang it.
Those wheels appear to weigh 75 pounds or more, though, so getting them up there would be a growth experience.
Interestingly, there appears to be an old Volkswagen living underneath there.
Evidently it was retrofitted to power a huge refrigeration air conditioning complex above the rows of seats, both sides. My thought is that the shelves are nice, but the refrigerator is gonna have to come out. Maybe the VW engine, too, so’s to make room for a spare tire.
Meanwhile, the windows don’t lock shut and some screens would have to be rigged to keep insects out and provide a disincentive for cats jumping out open windows to explore the highway.
I’ve always wanted something with a lot of switches to try to figure out as I drive along.
Nothing about it, I reckons, that can’t be overcome, but a challenge or two if the thing decides to jump into my life.
[I was watching for a place in here to use the word 'footfeet' because it's such a novel piece of language history involving automobiles. For the unaware, people used to call the brake, clutch and throttle pedals 'footfeet'. But there's not a lot I can think of to say about the footfeet of this bus. Hmmm, except,]
The footfeet appear to be intact, adequate and functional.
Old Jules
Posted in 2012, Adventure, Country Life, Outdoors, Redneck Repairs, RedneckRepairs, Senior Citizens, Survival, Texas, Transportation, Trucks, White Trash Repairs
Tagged Bluebird body, country life, culture, humor, Life, lifestyle, motor home, Reflections, rv, school bus, senior citizens, shelter, survival, technology, transportation
The old Poulan chainsaw’s always done me a good job of work until the priming bubble burst: For Want of a Nail – Something Worth Knowing Chainsaw-wise. I eventually found a replacement at a place a few miles out Highway 27, midway to Center Point. Double M Equipment Service.
I installed the primer bulb, but no joy. It wasn’t sucking gas. I pulled things apart enough to see the fuel line had become brittle and a piece of it was broken off inside the gas tank. The whole thing appeared to be iffy, and I honestly didn’t want to spend any of my frustrations messing with it. I need those frustrations for other things.
So I decided to put that saw into a place where they did that sort of thing, let them do it. Never put a chainsaw in a shop before, but it’s the experience I’m after this lifetime. I ain’t in this for the money.
So I went back to Double M Equipment Service, midway to Center Point on Highway 27, spang walked in and whistled to myself until the lady looked up from something important she was doing. [Fans, Compromises and Drowning in Over-My-Head Math].
I could tell right away I was imposing on her, but I explained about my saw and she handed me a piece of paper for me to write it down, which I considered prudent. She handed me a tag with a number on it. “Be sure you put your phone number on there. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”
I couldn’t remember my phone number, so I wrote down what might, but probably wasn’t Gale’s number.
“How long you reckon it’s going to be? I only get into town every couple of weeks. I’ll just swing by and check.”
“No. It’s running two-and-a-half weeks, average. I’ll call you as soon as it’s ready.”
“I’m a hard man to get on the phone. I’ll just call or stop by next time I’m in town.”
“No. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”
This friendly lady was Lisa, according to the business card. Mark and Lisa, it said. Double M Equipment Service. Lisa.
Three weeks later I stopped in, asked about it and Lisa advised me it wasn’t ready yet, but she’d call when it was. “Eh?” My hand behind my ear. “I’m sort of hard of hearing. Can’t hear the phone ring.“
Two weeks later I stopped by again. This time it wasn’t ready, but it was next on the list, friendly Lisa explained. Next week it wasn’t ready again, she didn’t know why.
Heck, maybe I’m getting the time passage mixed up. It went in around April 17. At least that’s when I mentioned it on the blog post.
Anyway, after X number of trips by there and X number of weeks without a chainsaw, I stopped in and friendly Lisa said it was ready. $65 US. Called Mark from the back and he brought it up. “I replaced that gas cap for you so you don’t have to take it off with a wrench anymore.”
The cap’s slotted so’s a screwdriver can be fitted in perpendicular for taking it off. Never had a problem with it. Guess Mark never noticed that feature.
Anyway, I got the saw home, found it still doesn’t prime, but if a person pulls the recoil starter long enough mostly it will eventually start. Runs a few minutes, long enough to cut down a cedar as thick as your bicep before it runs dry of gas. At which time a person does the whole process again.
$65 US. Double M Equipment Service, Highway 27 E & Laurel Way, Kerrville, Texas. Mark and Lisa.
Tell ‘em I said hello.
But I’ve digressed.
What I wanted to tell you about in this post is that when I was picking up that chainsaw I asked Lisa whether there was a good cafe anywhere nearby. She told me about a good hamburger joint just beyond the crossroads in Center Point.
Good place, decent price. Middling better than average hamburger.
I’m obliged knowing about it.
Old Jules
Hi readers. Thanks for coming by for a read this morning.
The project outdoors seems simple enough. Clearing the intrusive cedars from under the oaks.
Establishing a gentle downhill grade across slopes.
Creating a series of rock and brush berms to intercept the runoff and direct it across the slope to slow the concentration times during heavy rainfall runoff.
I followed the grades with a carpenter-level and board, mainly, keeping it to about a quarter-bubble.
Filling the deep ruts in the road with brush to rob the water of the siltation load.
Even the tools are uncomplicated. But of course, a person has to find a wheel barrow tire that isn’t flat.
I eventually found this solid rubber one – bought the wheel barrow from a garage sale for the solid rubber tire.
I was a long while getting to it.
But a solid rubber wheel barrow tire beats a dozen Chinese flat ones.
The arms on the loppers you see in the green wheel barrow don’t provide a lot of mechanical advantage and require a lot of stoop labor. Naturally, I was elated when I found this one in a thrift store with telescoping arms. $8 US bucks. Cheap at twice the price.
When I got home I broke the first arm off in about 20 minutes. After I cut off the break and put it back together I broke the other one off 20 minutes later.
Chinese steel rears its ugly head.
This was obviously going to require some modifications. A sleeve to go over that weak point, something to fill in the space between the sleeve and the joint/handle. Nothing to it.
I was going to melt down some old shower shoes to pour into the space, but Gale suggested silicone caulk.
But my tube of caulk was dried out, so I decided on Gorilla Glue instead.
Here’s how long it took to discover the next weak point in the design.
The culprit.
Who but the Chinese could produce a bolt a man could spang break in half?
Well, Mister Commie, you might think this is over, but it ain’t. I’ve got another dance or two left in me.
Old Jules
Posted in 2012, Redneck Repairs, RedneckRepairs, Texas, White Trash Repairs
Tagged country life, economy, environment, home, homesteading, Human Behavior, humor, Life, lifestyle, misc, miscellaneous, Nature, personal, science, senior citizens, technology
Spring winds here lean toward drama, which offers a challenge for any temporary roof repairs. I had a couple of garage sale tarps, the blue one frayed badly, the brown one a person could only see daylight through in a few places.
There was nothing obvious to do that would hold those tarps, nail-wise to keep them from ballooning in the wind. The sash weights, hopefully, will do the job.
The old water hose cows chewed through several years ago finally found a use, as well. Trotline cord threaded through pieces of it will hopefully keep the friction down enough to keep it from wearing through the tarps until materials for a better repair can be found.
Old Jules
Posted in Redneck Repairs, RedneckRepairs, Senior Citizens, Solitude, Survival, White Trash Repairs
Tagged country life, home, homesteading, humor, Life, lifestyle, Nature, technology
Good morning readers. Thanks for coming by for a read this morning.
If you’ll take a close look at that ladder I climbed a dozen times, or more, you’ll see a person might wish to study on the design a few moments before he puts his weight on it. Luckily, I’m the luckiest man in the world and even noticing what I’d done after the fact didn’t leave me with a broken ladder, broken head, worse for the wear in any way.
Seems to me I’ve observed at one time or another that plenty of ways of a man ruining his day present themselves on a job of this sort. And almost no ways exist to come out of it feeling a lot better than he did going in.
The tree trunk was exerting a lot of social pressure on everything trying to hold it up. At the base it was unstable, something awful. I had my heart set on it not coming down and crushing my rooster containment center if I could help it.
I tried to insure against the possibility by lifting the base of the trunk with a bar and slipping in a couple of chunks of historical tree.
But even with all my precautions the trunk dropped a few feet when I finally made the last cut breaking it free of the building.
Tough day, everything else being equal.
Old Jules
Today on Ask Old Jules: Psychometry?
Old Jules, what do you know about psychometry? I would love to know how to get started.
Posted in 2012, Country Life, Homesteading, Redneck Repairs, RedneckRepairs, White Trash Repairs
Tagged country life, Human Behavior, humor, Life, lifestyle, Nature, senior citizens, survival
Hi readers. Thanks for the visit. I’ve got the side-panel back onto the comp and the dust is settling, so I suppose I’ve cheated computer-death once more.
I’ve neglected the redneck repairs side of blog entries for a while, so I’m offering this up for the poor, the hungry, the huddled masses without air conditioning or filtered air in their homes.
Texas is determined to find its way into my computer. I read blogs and websites offering reminders to “spring clean that comp!” and I just shake my head in wonder. Every computer I’ve owned during the past 20 years I’ve been living without air conditioning would have needed a jackhammer and backhoe to get the dirt out if I cleaned it once a year.
Probably the never, never, never school of 21st Century certainties will find the following inadvisable. I suggest you believe them if it resonates with you.
But if you’re a person who’s not confident buying cans of compressed air at $7 US per whack to blow dirt out of your computer presents an unacceptable level of risk, you might try this.
These are air pumps. They’re designed to take air out of the sky and blow it in a fine stream under pressure at a target of opportunity. Maybe an air mattress. Maybe a bicycle tire. Or perhaps, the inside of a computer.
Each of these was purchased from a thrift store at a cost of less than $3 US.
They have the disadvantage of allowing themselves to be used for years, repeatedly doing the same thing without going empty. They have a second disadvantage of not providing the user with a stack of empty cans to dispose of. And they have a third disadvantage of not costing $7 anytime during their lifetimes.
The people who sell compressed air for $7 per can will tell you the reason a person shouldn’t do this involves the risk of humidity, compressed in the pump, condensing on the computer parts when it decompresses, venturi-like. You should be able to test the premise by directing the nozzle of your pump onto the surface of a mirror and observing whether any moisture condenses there.
The other risk they’ve thought up involves static electricity being created by the friction of the pump damaging something inside the computer.
The people who believe them will verify for you that the reasons the the expensive canned-air bidness folks have dreamed up to justify the need for their product are valid.
If you prefer to believe them you’d be well advised to just buy air at the going price. And if you have some extra money lying around, invest in air futures. It’s already a lot higher than gasoline at the pump, and the air-manufacturing brothers-in-spirit of the folks selling you gas are learning from them.
I suppose I’m just old fashioned. I drink water out of a well, mostly, instead of buying bottled water.
Old Jules
A few previous Redneck Repairs posts here:
White Trash Repairs and Fixes – Owls and Rock ‘n Roll
Artful Communications – White Trash Repairs 3
Fire Ants, Dishwashing and Drought
70 years old, living in the middle of nowhere in the Texas Hill Country with three cats.
