There’s something stirring inside me – and no, not eggnog or sourdough pancakes.
It’s another book…and a follow-on to The Millennia’s Missing Manual: What School Didn’t Teach and What Old People Didn’t Explain. Although this book is extremely useful, even when coupled with another great book on “matrix thinking” skills, And Suddenly the Inventor Appeared: TRIZ, the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, there is still another critical matrix to conquer.
So, we set our sights on that mountain after we revel a bit in the Santa Rally afterglow and look in on a few headlines.
Build your own house makes a lot of sense. My farm family friends have adult son who married last summer (sprout in the oven already). They researched all sorts of housing options and costs and settled on building their own tiny house. Farm already has main house upgraded eight years ago (grandparents dwelling), older secondary house upgraded twelve years ago (my friends home). They are very knowledgeable and handy and easily do their own plumbing and wiring. This time, they will be doing it all (hired Mennonite framers for last project). With advice from me on basics based on my decades of construction knowledge, they will have a very good quality end product in which the young family can dwell for a while. It’s also pay as you go affordable so no mortgage.
Brilliantly done – plus, I get the finished cost per square foot will be half, or about $50 to $75 for square footage that you could never get at comparable quality…
Two words on the house building. Codes and licenses. The bulk of humanity isn’t “allowed” to do most work on house construction nowadays. Might as well throw in the required “Inspections” of all sorts as well to make it three.
Not that I disagree. I think to literally build your own house is awesome. It’s on my bucket list of life’s things to be done.
My son and I built the apartment/workshop he is living in over the last few years. Almost finished, except the oilfield paycheck went away, so it’s more time than money to throw at it.
Was great teaching my youngest son to frame, mix and pour concrete, plumb and all the rest. This is simply impossible to do anywhere except outside of large counties and cities above 35,000 or so – because they require permits and inspections for everything, even going into requiring only city or county licensed contractors are allowed to perform the work.
Sorry, but if I can run wiring on a $25M offshore drilling rig, I can certainly wire a house.
If I can calculate cement volumes, displacement and setting time for cement pumped underground 3 miles deep, then I can damned sure mix and pour my own concrete.
If I can troubleshoot and maintain the ballast system, water system and poop system for an offshore drilling rig with zero discharge allowed, then I can certainly design and make my own sewage system.
Government is here to “help” us and “protect” us? Help with what? Because I only see them coming by with their hand out for more taxes. Protect us from what? From doing anything where they do not get a cut of the action?
It would be worth doing it even if we had to sell the farm, because I got to spend time with one of my sons, passing on some of what was passed on to me by my Dad and Grandfather.
I tried reading some alternative websites today after I got in from a business trip. Cryptocoinage is everywhere – every Tom, Dick and Harry is touting it is the greatest thing since sliced, er….well.. since bread.
I read somewhere yesterday that the electricity used for mining coins is in the range of 30 terawatt hours yearly, and this is the OFFISHUL number, and thus does not include guys using malware for distributed mining on clueless people or those hacking into networks after hours and freeloading. This is supposed to supplant paper money and the current system?
Hmmm…so we switch to bitcoin and electric cars and self-driving cars that require even more internet and more juice? And the electrical grid we have today is going to work with that load without any upgrading? Oh – I forgot – they are rolling out the 5G network next, which uses how much more juice than the 3G/4G we have going today? Ooops – forgot about those pesky robots coming to take our jobs – those are all solar powered, right?
Heck man, no problem, right? Let’s just keep piling the energy use on in our search for the ultimate teknotopia!! Sex robots, burger robots, crypto-mining, electric cars, smart houses and dishwashers – heck man, let’s load the boat up!
EVERYTHING is just soo AWESOME!!
And I still cannot get cell service at my farm…
ROFLMAO!
In my rural county if your land is zoned agricultural, which mine is, and the structure is not used for human habitation then you can get an agricultural exemption. The permit is free and there are no inspections etc. They won’t tell you about it but have to give it to you if requested. Built, plumbed and wired the tractor shed, second barn and shop myself. Your local may have something similar but remember they will not tell you about it.
James Johnson, ex-nuke