July 2008

Community

Use less, pay more

Energy prices on the grid are rocketing to record levels – the big utility companies are justifying the outrageous hikes by saying they are also helping poorer families be more energy efficient

🔌【Multiple Charging Ports】: 2* Pure Sine Wave AC outlets (110V 350W ), 2* USB-A ports (5V, 3.1A total),1* USB-C port , 2* DC Outputs(12V 8A; 24V 3A) and 1* 12V DC car port to charge your devices, and 1 * 10W wireless charging pad are also equipped. 🔋...

powkey Portable Power Station 350W, 260Wh/70,000mAh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V Pure Sine Wave Power Bank with 2 AC Outlets, Portable Generator for Outdoors Camping Travel Hunting Emergency

Now retrieving the rating.

$192.98 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

🔌【Multiple Charging Ports】: 2* Pure Sine Wave AC outlets (110V 350W ), 2* USB-A ports (5V, 3.1A total),1* USB-C port , 2* DC Outputs(12V 8A; 24V 3A) and 1* 12V DC car port to charge your devices, and 1 * 10W wireless charging pad are also equipped. 🔋... read more

120WH CAPACITY: The power station has a power capacity of 120Wh/33,000mAh which the camping power supply can power most electronic devices efficiently. It can fully charge mobile phone 10+ times, the laptop 2 times, the CPAP machine 3 hours (the time...

200W Portable Power Station, Powkey 120Wh/33,000mAh Power Bank with AC Outlet, 110V 6 Outputs Solar Generator External Battery Pack with LED Light for Home Use and Outdoor Camping

Now retrieving the rating.

31% Off ~~$149.99~~ $102.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

120WH CAPACITY: The power station has a power capacity of 120Wh/33,000mAh which the camping power supply can power most electronic devices efficiently. It can fully charge mobile phone 10+ times, the laptop 2 times, the CPAP machine 3 hours (the time... read more

HIGH CONVERSION EFFICIENCY: With a 22% high conversion efficiency of this 60W mono crystalline solar panel, it’s able to produce electricity in low light outdoor environment (Recommend > 40000Lux) to charge your devices in shorter time. 4 OUTPUT PORT...

Foldable Solar Panel Charger 60W with 18V DC Output (11 Connectors) for 100W~350W Portable Power Stations Jackery/Rockpals/Flashfish/Enginstar, Portable Solar Generator for Outdoor Camping Van RV Trip

Now retrieving the rating.

$98.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

HIGH CONVERSION EFFICIENCY: With a 22% high conversion efficiency of this 60W mono crystalline solar panel, it’s able to produce electricity in low light outdoor environment (Recommend > 40000Lux) to charge your devices in shorter time. 4 OUTPUT PORT... read more

【10W USB LED Light】: With 6 Feet long cable, this is a super bright camping lantern to your outdoor event with a 10W decorative dimmable hanging LED Light! Let it be your yard/garden/patio/porch/ barbecue or birthday party USB powered Led light. 【3 C...

10W USB LED Light for Camping Garage Warehouse Car Truck Fishing Boat Outdoor Portable Bulb, Emergency Light, Children Bed Lamp

Now retrieving the rating.

$9.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 -

…

July 31, 2008 No Comments

Spirit

End of Consumerism

WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell has announced the end of the consumer society in a remarkable series of unreported speeches to the business community

powkey Portable Power Station 350W, 260Wh/70,000mAh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V Pure Sine Wave Power Bank with 2 AC Outlets, Portable Generator for Outdoors Camping Travel Hunting Emergency

Now retrieving the rating.

$192.98 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

200W Portable Power Station, Powkey 120Wh/33,000mAh Power Bank with AC Outlet, 110V 6 Outputs Solar Generator External Battery Pack with LED Light for Home Use and Outdoor Camping

Now retrieving the rating.

31% Off ~~$149.99~~ $102.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

Foldable Solar Panel Charger 60W with 18V DC Output (11 Connectors) for 100W~350W Portable Power Stations Jackery/Rockpals/Flashfish/Enginstar, Portable Solar Generator for Outdoor Camping Van RV Trip

Now retrieving the rating.

$98.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

10W USB LED Light for Camping Garage Warehouse Car Truck Fishing Boat Outdoor Portable Bulb, Emergency Light, Children Bed Lamp

Now retrieving the rating.

$9.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 -

…

July 30, 2008 5 Comments

Energy

Easy backyard turbines

The key things to consider before installing a small wind turbine at home or office. Cost – up to $10,000 US

powkey Portable Power Station 350W, 260Wh/70,000mAh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V Pure Sine Wave Power Bank with 2 AC Outlets, Portable Generator for Outdoors Camping Travel Hunting Emergency

Now retrieving the rating.

$192.98 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

200W Portable Power Station, Powkey 120Wh/33,000mAh Power Bank with AC Outlet, 110V 6 Outputs Solar Generator External Battery Pack with LED Light for Home Use and Outdoor Camping

Now retrieving the rating.

31% Off ~~$149.99~~ $102.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

Foldable Solar Panel Charger 60W with 18V DC Output (11 Connectors) for 100W~350W Portable Power Stations Jackery/Rockpals/Flashfish/Enginstar, Portable Solar Generator for Outdoor Camping Van RV Trip

Now retrieving the rating.

$98.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

10W USB LED Light for Camping Garage Warehouse Car Truck Fishing Boat Outdoor Portable Bulb, Emergency Light, Children Bed Lamp

Now retrieving the rating.

$9.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 -

…

July 30, 2008 1 Comment

Land

Model home

How to build a LEED-certified new home – all the things you need to consider

powkey Portable Power Station 350W, 260Wh/70,000mAh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V Pure Sine Wave Power Bank with 2 AC Outlets, Portable Generator for Outdoors Camping Travel Hunting Emergency

Now retrieving the rating.

$192.98 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

200W Portable Power Station, Powkey 120Wh/33,000mAh Power Bank with AC Outlet, 110V 6 Outputs Solar Generator External Battery Pack with LED Light for Home Use and Outdoor Camping

Now retrieving the rating.

31% Off ~~$149.99~~ $102.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

Foldable Solar Panel Charger 60W with 18V DC Output (11 Connectors) for 100W~350W Portable Power Stations Jackery/Rockpals/Flashfish/Enginstar, Portable Solar Generator for Outdoor Camping Van RV Trip

Now retrieving the rating.

$98.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

10W USB LED Light for Camping Garage Warehouse Car Truck Fishing Boat Outdoor Portable Bulb, Emergency Light, Children Bed Lamp

Now retrieving the rating.

$9.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 -

…

July 28, 2008 1 Comment

Party!

Today was such a fun day, I was at the country store (as is usual for a Saturday), we closed early today because of the P A R T Y! The store owner planned a big party for the community, it was held behind the store at the RV park. We had 10 smoked briskets, hot dogs, snow cones, drinks, beer and wine. The entire community was invited, (there are less than 200 full time residents), I estimate about 100 people showed up.

…I feel such a part of this community…
I felt so comfortable, I actually mingled…

Now please understand, back in my “old life”, I didn’t go to parties as a general rule, and when I did, I was the one hiding in the background, talking to only a few people and generally feeling uncomfortable and out of place. Out here, that was a different story, I feel such a part of this community, and being at the store (the heart of this community), I felt so comfortable, I actually mingled, I went from group to group talking, visiting, hanging around and having such a good time! We had live music, all very good, the food was good and the company was great! Nearly everyone I know out here attended.

I don’t drink, I have nothing against it, I just don’t like the taste of wine, beer or spirits, and I’m not really interested in drinking something I don’t like just to get drunk, I wish I could just bypass the drinking part and go straight to drunk, well, not really, but anyhoo, drinking and getting drunk is not my personal thing. That being said, I took advantage of the wine collection that was being served and the wine expert manning the table to try a glass of wine, I went up to her and told her I know nothing about wine, don’t drink it, but wanted to try it and asked her what she recommended,

…I had a brisket sandwich
with BBQ sauce,, onions and tomato……

she asked me what I was eating, I had a brisket sandwich with BBQ sauce, onions and tomato, she pulled out a white zinfandel wine and gave me a taste, it was ok, most likely the only one of the bunch I would have been willing to drink, (I have tried that before) and it did go pretty well with the sandwich. It may have been a very good wine, however I didn’t go back for more, I drank that one and went back to water and soft drinks.

Bob showed up about half an hour into the festivities, we were dressed alike, it was so cute, we both wore digital camo pants, though the rest was different, he wore a black t-shirt and combat boots, I had a girly shirt and sneakers, but it was …

July 27, 2008 8 Comments

Energy

A Natural Home

Super Good Cents log home, Idaho . Pioneers living in log cabins were part of American frontier times. Now its part of the new frontier — living a healthy and self-sustaining lifestyle.
The choices available to those wishing to build a log home range from factory pre-cut to handmade on-site. Pre-cut kits are nothing new and have been available since 1923. Most manufactures will allow homeowners to customize their design to make it almost as one-of-a-kind as those handmade on-site.
A plus of log homes is that since most log homes are produced from local renewable wood sources they use much less energy

powkey Portable Power Station 350W, 260Wh/70,000mAh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V Pure Sine Wave Power Bank with 2 AC Outlets, Portable Generator for Outdoors Camping Travel Hunting Emergency

Now retrieving the rating.

$192.98 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

200W Portable Power Station, Powkey 120Wh/33,000mAh Power Bank with AC Outlet, 110V 6 Outputs Solar Generator External Battery Pack with LED Light for Home Use and Outdoor Camping

Now retrieving the rating.

31% Off ~~$149.99~~ $102.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

Foldable Solar Panel Charger 60W with 18V DC Output (11 Connectors) for 100W~350W Portable Power Stations Jackery/Rockpals/Flashfish/Enginstar, Portable Solar Generator for Outdoor Camping Van RV Trip

Now retrieving the rating.

$98.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

HIGH CONVERSION EFFICIENCY: With a 22% high conversion efficiency of this 60W mono crystalline

…

July 25, 2008 1 Comment

Canned Meats-Stocking Up-Better Prices

Now that I have had a chance to try some more of the canned meats, I am soooo happy with it, it’s top quality, tasty, spiced just right, not too much, not too little, all I can say is WOW! As you should know, I ordered my cans from the Internet-Grocer, and I am very happy with them, I would highly recommend them, I had planned on ordering case quantities of the canned meats, I checked out the label and found out who cans the meats, found their website (they could use an update-hey I can do it, my services are good and I don’t charge an arm and a leg, maybe a few cases each of your canned meats… hint hint hint!) Anyhoo, I contacted the company to ask about case pricing, and it’s not bad at all. Here is what they sent to me, basically their price for ANY of their varieties are the same:

	12 cans per case
	27 oz	14 oz
Beef Chunks	$63.00	$38.00
Pork Chunks	$63.00	$38.00
Boneless Turkey	$63.00	$38.00
Boneless Chicken	$63.00	$38.00
Ground Beef	N/A	$38.00

That doesn’t include shipping, but if you give them your zip code, they will be more than happy to give you a quote, they got back to me within 24 hours.

These prices are current as of this date, there are no guarantees that the prices (for the product and/or the shipping) will remain the same.

Here is the contact info:

https://www.grabillmeats.com

Grabill Country Meats
13211 West Street
P.O. Box 190
Grabill, In 46741
260-627-3691
info@grabillmeats.com

They accept credit card. debit card, check or money orders. For shipping to my zip code it is $15.70 for the large cans and $11.13 for the small cans, that is per case, they ship UPS. If you are going to be buying case quantities anyhow, it’s cheaper to go directly through them, but the only thing they do is the meats, if you want any of the other things Internet-Grocer carries, you would need to go through https://www.internet-grocer.net.

Wretha

8 Comments

the texan said…

Thanks for this information. Are you getting any rain from Dolly? Hope so.

July 25, 2008 5:20 PM

Jackie said…

Thanks for the info on the canned meat. I live in Indiana and will be making a trip to pick up some cases of meat.

July 25, 2008 7:10 PM

Wretha said…

The Texan Yup, we are getting some of it, got one more band of rain coming tonight then it is supposed to taper off, may get 1 to 4 inches, we will wait and see.

Jackie Glad you can use the info, I thought it was a good deal, especially if you are going to be buying case quantities anyhow.

Wretha

July 25, 2008 8:15 PM

Anonymous said…

Hey Wretha, this is totally off topic, but here’s the link I

…

July 25, 2008 13 Comments

Food

More About The Gov Stockpiling Foods

OK, here we go again, it seems that the story about the government buying up large stocks of foods is growing, here is a story from WorldNetDaily:

Are feds stockpiling survival food?

‘These circumstances certainly raise red flags’

12:00 am Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

A Wall Street Journal columnist has advised people to “start stockpiling food” and an ABC News Report says “there are worrying signs appearing in the United States where some … locals are beginning to hoard supplies.” Now there’s concern that the U.S. government may be competing with consumers for stocks of storable food.

“We’re told that the feds bought the entire container of canned butter when it hit the California docks. (Something’s up!),” said officials at Best Prices Storable Foods in an advisory to customers.

Spokesman Bruce Hopkins told WND he also has had trouble obtaining No. 10 cans of various products from one of the world’s larger suppliers of food stores, Oregon Freeze Dry.

He said a company official told him on the telephone when he discussed the status of his order that it was because the government had purchased massive quantities of products, leaving none for other customers.

That, however, was denied by Oregon Freeze Dry. In a website statement, the company confirmed it cannot assure supplying some items to customers.

“We regret to inform you Oregon Freeze Dry cannot satisfy all Mountain House #10 can orders and we have removed #10 cans from our website temporarily,” the company tells frustrated customers. “The reason for this is sales of #10 cans have continued to increase. OFD is allocating as much production capacity as possible to this market segment, but we must maintain capacity for our other market segments as well.”

The company statement continues, “We want to clarify inaccurate information we’ve seen on the Internet. This situation is not due to sales to the government domestically or in Iraq. We do sell products to this market, but we also sell other market segments … The reason for this decision is solely due to an unprecedented sales spike in #10 cans sales.

“We expect this situation to be necessary for several months although this isn’t a guarantee. We will update this information as soon as we know more. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience. We sincerely hope you will continue to be Mountain House customers in the future,” the company statement said.

But Hopkins wasn’t backing away from his concerns.

“The government just came in and said they’re buying it. They did pay for it,” he told WND about the summertime shipment of long-term storage butter. “They took it and no one else could have it.

“We don’t know why. The feds then went to freeze dried companies, and bought most of their canned stock,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Oregon Freeze Dry, sales manager Melanie Cornutt, told WND

…

July 25, 2008 9 Comments

Community

Finally, Finished With The Major Overhaul…

OK, the poll ended about which look for the blog, you collectively liked best, only 9 people answered, and it ran pretty close, at least until the very end, it ended up being 6 like the original look, 3 like the new look. I liked both looks, so I decided to combine the two, it still has the same layout and I kept most of the desert colors. The header, that is from the new look featuring a changing sky depending on the time of day you read this blog. If you want to check out all the different sky colors, then you will need to change your computer clock, here are the times when it changes:

6 am
9 am
12 pm
3 pm
6 pm
8 pm
10 pm
12 am

I noticed it does load up a bit slower so I removed a few things on the sidebar, I also shortened the page by only having fewer messages show up on the front page (I had it set up to show the last 500 messages), that has helped, I will continue to work speeding things up.

For now, I hope you enjoy this look, now I can focus more on posting messages and less on overhauling the blog. ;)

For what it’s worth, this blog does look better in Firefox than Internet Explorer, don’t know why but IE doesn’t show rounded corners (when they are made using code (CSS) instead of images), if you are an avid IE user and do not want to use Firefox, that’s OK too, the blog is still 100% readable in IE, it’s purely an aesthetic thing.

Let me know what you think.

Wretha

4 Comments

Anonymous said…

Wretha,
Much better! I was getting kicked off before. I don’t know if it was the dial-up or what? I’m not super computer savy, but I should work on mine too. I’ve noticed other folks are jazzing up their blogs as well. I’m enjoying watching ya’ll’s progress on the homestead. Keep up the good job!

Kim
rubysbigadventure.blogspot.com

July 24, 2008 9:07 AM

Wretha said…

Hi Kim, thanks for your response! So can I assume that it is working for you now and wasn’t before?

Wretha

July 24, 2008 10:16 AM

Mayberry said…

Cool! I like it. Any property for sale nearby? Heh heh …..

July 24, 2008 8:38 PM

Wretha said…

Mayberry
Hmmm, land, uhhhh, ahhhh, what was the question again??? LOL Email me privately if you are serious.

Wretha

July 24, 2008 9:02 PM

powkey Portable Power Station 350W, 260Wh/70,000mAh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V Pure Sine Wave Power Bank with 2 AC Outlets, Portable Generator for Outdoors Camping Travel Hunting Emergency

Now retrieving the rating.

$192.98 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 -

…

July 24, 2008 4 Comments

Water

Updates on the Rabbit Water Filter

I found more information on the Rabbit Water Filter, here are the links, I might go back in and copy some of the information from their site to here, but for now, here are the links:

https://www.pottersforpeace.org

Filters

Filter Program Reports

Filter project evaluation

Wretha

2 Comments

Close this window Jump to comment form

Stephanie in AR said…

Thanks for the additional links. Earlier I had read through the site and thought that to use the clay pot as a filter the pot needed to be one made by their people so one from the garden center would not work. Did I understand the different pages? Also, if one needs to use their pots, did you find an address or other contact info?

July 26, 2008 10:22 PM

Wretha said…

Stephani, it would seem that the common garden center pots might not work, I went through their website to try to find out how to get a pot like they make, I don’t think it would be a good idea to ship them very long distances because of the possibility of breakage, even hairline cracks would be a problem. I am thinking about trying to find a “local” potter that could make a pot with the proper material and size. Don’t know how successful I’ll be, but if I find something, I’ll be sure to post about it here.

Wretha

July 26, 2008 11:05 PM

powkey Portable Power Station 350W, 260Wh/70,000mAh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V Pure Sine Wave Power Bank with 2 AC Outlets, Portable Generator for Outdoors Camping Travel Hunting Emergency

Now retrieving the rating.

$192.98 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

200W Portable Power Station, Powkey 120Wh/33,000mAh Power Bank with AC Outlet, 110V 6 Outputs Solar Generator External Battery Pack with LED Light for Home Use and Outdoor Camping

Now retrieving the rating.

31% Off ~~$149.99~~ $102.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

120WH CAPACITY: The power station

…

July 24, 2008 4 Comments

More Deals For Solar Panels

In keeping my promise to post more often, here goes… While surfing the internet today, I ran across what seems to be a pretty good deal on solar panels, it’s on eBay:

https://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-50W-polycrystalline-
solar-panel-charger-power-jack_W0QQitemZ120
285442073QQihZ002QQcategoryZ41981QQcmdZViewItem

It’s a 50 watt, polycrystalline solar panel, $249 plus $50 shipping,

~~it’s a buy it now thing, no waiting for the auction to end,~~

Oops, never mind about the buy it now thing, upon further inspection, it is an auction, not a buy it now, but right now, as of this edit, there are no bids, and the price is great, they have other solar panels that are great deals too, some like the Harbor Freight panels for a better price.

Be back for more later…

Wretha

powkey Portable Power Station 350W, 260Wh/70,000mAh Backup Lithium Battery, 110V Pure Sine Wave Power Bank with 2 AC Outlets, Portable Generator for Outdoors Camping Travel Hunting Emergency

Now retrieving the rating.

$192.98 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

200W Portable Power Station, Powkey 120Wh/33,000mAh Power Bank with AC Outlet, 110V 6 Outputs Solar Generator External Battery Pack with LED Light for Home Use and Outdoor Camping

Now retrieving the rating.

31% Off ~~$149.99~~ $102.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 - )

Foldable Solar Panel Charger 60W with 18V DC Output (11 Connectors) for 100W~350W Portable Power Stations Jackery/Rockpals/Flashfish/Enginstar, Portable Solar Generator for Outdoor Camping Van RV Trip

Now retrieving the rating.

$98.99 (as of April 26, 2024 14:01 GMT +01:00 -

…

July 23, 2008 No Comments

Energy

Calculating Possible Energy From A Stream

A Typical MH set-up on a river. If you have a stream, you have a renewable, natural source of energy that, if done right, can have little to no impact on the environment around you. Using water as a power source goes back to ancient times. Roman was known to power their empire on it. There is abundant supply of streams and rivers that criss cross the US making micro-hydro power feasible. That is especially true in remote wooded areas where other natural energy, such as solar or wind, would be harder to integrate into the existing environment.

A micro-hydro power system needs a sufficient amount of falling water to be available in order to be feasible. Mountainous and hilly sites are best suited for this type of renewable energy. To figure out the amount of power that is possible from your water source you need to know the head and flow of your stream. The head is the vertical distance of the falling water. While the flow is the speed the water flows at.

A micro-hydro power site usually falls into either a low or high head category. A higher head is better due to needing less water to produce energy as well as the equipment being cheaper than those with a low head. A change in elevation that is less then 10ft (3 meters) is categorized as low head. Anything with a vertical drop less than 2ft (.6 meters) will make a micro-hydro power system not possible. Though if you have as little as 13” of water depth you are able to utilize a submersible turbine, which was originally designed to power scientific instruments being towed behind exploration ships.

There is both a gross and net head that needs to be calculated. The gross head is the vertical distance between where the water enters the penstock, pipes that convey the water under pressure, to where the water exits the turbine. You calculate your net head by subtracting the friction that is caused by the piping and the turbine itself.

While the best way to get an accurate gross head is to have a professional survey of your desired site, you can do a rough estimate yourself. You can use the hose-tube method by taking stream-depth measurements across the width of the water supply you intend to use. Once you know where you intend to place the beginning of the penstock and the turbine you can follow the direction below.

The Hose-Tube Method is done by:

Make sure you have all supplies needed: Someone to help, 20ft to 30ft (6 to 9 meters) small diameter garden hose, Funnel, Measuring tape or yardstick

Stretch the hose down the water channel from desired entrance to the penstock (usually the highest elevation)

One person place the funnel into the hose upstream as close to the surface as possible

At the downstream position

…

July 22, 2008 1 Comment