Egg Producers

I got a call this morning from our local Post Office saying "Mr. Hill, you have a box here making a lot of noise".  I opened the box and all 8 chicks were alive and doing well.  Our dog Missy is wondering what in the world these little things are.  There are a total of 8 hens (4 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Easter Eggers and 2 Barred Rocks).

Solar

 Well, I thought I would have my solar panels mounted and the electronics mounted inside before the day was over.  I did manage to get the rack for the panels built and the panels installed on the roof but that was it.  Troubleshooting some voltage problems plus not having several connectors and do-dads put the brakes on getting the system up and running.  I will have to wait until Amazon delivers the needed parts on Thursday to complete the installation.  I will also be adding additional panels as money permits.  My plan is to have the 1000 watt sine wave inverter mounted in my 'study', the room which opens out onto the back patio.  This power station will power my desktop electronics including computers, SW radio, scanner, cable and TIVO boxes, printer, stereo and AA battery chargers and lights.

I will also be connecting it to one outlet in the master bedroom and one in the kitchen.  In the event of no grid power we will at least have basic power for lights, fans, electronics and a small microwave.  No air conditioning, heating or electric range on my budget.

Working Outside

It was another beautiful day here.  Spent the whole day doing yardwork and cleaning the garage.  It helped to have a free forced labor helper to do the hard work in clearing the ditch.

Wet Wood

Cleaned out the last of the flood damaged wood today.  The bottom shelf of my workbench was inch thick particle board which totally fell apart after getting wet.  I had to chop it out today with a roofing shovel then shovel it out.  Wasn't too bad a job.

It was one of the most beautiful days I have seen in a long time.  Clearing skies, highs in the upper 60's and a 10mpg dry north wind.  It should be like this for the next week.

Wet and Cold

It rained all night and most of the day today and brought in much cooler weather.  It feels like winter after the unseasonably warm weather we have been having.  It was 84 degrees here a few days ago.  This is just a snap of a flower opening in a vase in our dining room. 

Chicken Dance

Chickens are coming soon!

Fresh Veggies in a Couple of Days

Let's put some veggies and herbs out front on the south side of the house to get some good sun.  I spent all afternoon planting about 14 planters.  I am glad I don't have to do that every day.  It was more work than I expected.  I also spent part of the day dismantling a Russian Mosin Nagant rifle that had been packed in cosmoline.  There was grease in every single nook and cranny.  Soaking the parts in mineral spirits did the trick on the metal parts.  The wood stock was put outside in the sun all afternoon and 'sweated' the grease out for the most part.  Pics tomorrow.

Almost Planting Time

I picked up some tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, hot peppers, onions, and five different herbs (sage, rosemary, oregano, basil and cilantro) along with potting soil.  Only thing I am missing are some green beans.

Earth Boxes

Getting some EarthBoxes ready to plant.  I will be making a big run to Lowe's tomorrow for potting soil and many other miscellaneous items that are adding up on my list.

Hide and Seek

The trigger assembly from my Ruger 357.   It only took me about 3 hours to find that little pin and spring that shot across the room when I was disassembling it.

New GOP Entries

This popped up in my yard today!

Home Sweet Home

This is a Door

I took this picture of an old bank door in Baltimore the other day.  They don't make them like this anymore.

Last Time

I'm getting ready to board my last flight ever to Baltimore.  I work up there the next 3 days then that's it forever for Baltimore, thank God.


Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T

Not Vegetarian

We are just enjoying the beautiful weather and doing a little grilling.

Charity Lane

One of several graves in our back yard.

Pressure Cooking with Fagor

Well, I tried cooking with a new pressure cooker today (my first time using a PC) and all I can say is that I am now a pressure cooker convert.  I threw some left over strips of fajita meat in the pot, some cut up potatoes, quartered onions, some broth and spices, then cooked under pressure for 15 minutes.  PERFECT!  What was rather tough strips of meat that I could barely bite through 2 nights ago was now falling apart off of the fork.  I really can't believe how it tenderizes beef and speeds up cooking.  The pic was taken with my phone and is not that great.  The stew looked better than in the picture (meat was browner).

Bad Day

And I thought I was having a bad day.  Taken on my drive from Baltimore to NC yesterday.  Even though I moved at the first of the month I am still finishing out the month at my workplace in Baltimore.  Only three days left, next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Going Away

From my going away party a few days ago.

Just Chillin with the Greats

I am just about finished unpacking and getting everything settled in here at the house.  I thought I would just chill this evening and enjoy this DVD which Santa Claus brought me for Christmas.  I have been saving this gift for just this occasion.

Happy Birthday David Gilmour!

Another Travel Day

Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T

Yay!!!

Well, I finally got all of my stuff moved from my apartment in Baltimore to my house in NC.  The last 2 weeks has been a blur and this week has been HELL.  I say Hell because there is nothing that I hate more in life than moving.  I rented a 26 foot U-Haul on monday then loaded and drove down on Monday night.  The last 3 days has been unpacking and trying to find room for everything (fitting 2 rooms of apartment stuff into an already full house).  Things are starting to mellow for me.  I will still be driving up to Baltimore to squeeze in 3 more weekends of work then it will be nothing but me and the NC homestead.  I look forward to taking photos again as this has been the longest stretch of no photos in decades. 

Where is the Tooth Fairy?

This is me a few days ago after having a broken molar extracted.  The oral surgeon said "it was a difficult extraction" and I believe him considering the pain and swelling I have been having.  The whole experience was surreal.  I was knocked out for the extraction which is not weird.  The weird part was that I have NO memories of the couple of hours after I came to.  I was told I had a conversation with the doctor then I rode in the car for two hours to Raleigh, NC, chatting the whole time.  I have no recollection of any of this.  I was given Versed, Propofol and Fentanyl by IV and the Propofol must be what did it.  It is not called 'Milk of Amnesia' for nothing.  The nurses there might have taken advantage of me and I wouldn't remember it.

It's finally coming down to the wire here.  It's one week until I load up the moving van and move my apartment belongings down to my NC home.  I have been anticipating this for months and I am ready to get it over with.

New Car

We just got my stepson his first car today.  It is a 1999 Ford F150 4X4 and fits his rural lifestyle to a T.  It was only $4100.00 which fit me to a T.

Red Right Returning

Red, right, returning for boaters means that when returning from sea you place the red bouy to your right, green to your left, to be in the channel.  Things are winding down for me as I'm getting ready to return to my NC home.  The physical move will be on Monday, February 27th so I am in a mad rush to get some things settled at the house and things packed and ready to go in my Baltimore apartment.   The stress of all this turmoil has really been affecting my photography lately but things will soon pick up when I get the move behind me.  I have lots of projects once I get moved so I am excited about getting started (solar panel system, garden, water catchment, chickens, etc).  I intend to get a semi-self sufficient homestead going so it should be fun.

Where is Winter?

This picture was taken one year ago.  This year it has been in the 50's, 60's and even 70's every day here in Baltimore.  Weird. 

Wabash

I sure wish I had this in my back yard.  It would make a great office, den or guest house.

The Corruption of America

Read it.  It is neither pro-Democrat nor pro-Republican.  It goes beyond the simple black or white of party politics.

www.stansberryresearch.com/pub/reports/201112PSI_issue.html

When it Rains, it Pours

This was my drive on I-95 in NC yesterday.  When it rains it pours in NC.

I Love This

This is something I have been wanting to do for a couple of years as I think it is so cool.  This couple of Canadian Kids just sent a styrofoam cooler with 3 still cameras and a video camera to the edge of space using a weather balloon and cellphone as a tracking device.  The results were great.  I think I am going to try something similar once I get settled in down here.  I love seeing kids doing something like this rather than sitting in the house playing video games.  Just think, they have more of a Space Program going than NASA does now!   Here is a link to their story and a video (story and video)

My Phobia

Well, I have really let my 2 blog fans (hi Dad, hi Sis) down this week with the lack of posts.  I have been at the house in NC in a frenzy of activity trying to fix things, clean things and make room for my move back next month.  My photographic Zen state has been elusive as a result.  I just finished putting down laminate flooring in part of the house and will be refinishing old hardwood floors in the rest of the house.  To make matters much worse this week I broke a molar and was told by the dentist today that I have to have it removed.  The only thing I fear in this life is the dentist and now I have to go to an oral surgeon when I come back in 2 weeks to get an 'extraction'.  It will be a first for me so I can hardly wait.  In the meantime I have a bottle of antibiotics and a bottle of pain killers to hold me over.  Back to Baltimore in the morning.

Cold and Blustery

It's a cold and blustery day here in Baltimore.  Tomorrow I drive down to the warm tropics of NC.

First Snow in Downtown Baltimore

Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T

Night Vision

Well, this was a surprise.  I just finished comparing a Bushnell Generation 1 night vision scope ($199.00) with a toy Spy Gear night vision scope ($34.00) and, in my opinion, the Spy Gear is much better.  They use different technologies with the Bushnell using an image intensifier tube and the Spy Gear using a CMOS sensor (think cheap digital camera with the infrared filter removed). 

Given the same amount of IR illumination the 'toy' blew away the Bushnell and showed much more sensitivity to IR light.  The Spy Gear had a brighter and clearer image although pixelated due to the low resolution (probably 640 x 480).  The only pluses for the Bushnell are the rugged body and the 2.5x magnification (which you may or may not want).  Also, in very low light with no IR illumination, the Bushnell gives a better image.  With any IR illumination at all, even very low levels, the Spy Gear shines.  They both use AA batteries with the Bushnell using 2 and the Spy Gear using 4.  I did find that the Bushnell would not power up with NiMH batteries, only with Alkalines.

I am shocked in a good way.  Nice to know that I can pay $30 to get better performance than a $200 scope which is specifically made for night vision.  Spy Gear has another similar scope that is not as fancy looking but is only $11.00 on Amazon.  I am going to get one to see if it has the same electronics as their $35.00 model.  The only way to get better performance than both the Spy Gear or Bushnell Gen 1 scopes would be to go to a Generation 2 ($1000) or Generation 3 ($3000) night vision scope.  I have seen online where people have taken the toy scope and have removed the sensor and electronics which are tiny and have put them in real small enclosures.  The toy enclosure is only for show to look cool.  I am going to try this next and will even try to attach a sensor to a rifle scope to see how that works.  Easy to play with the cost being so low.

Spy Gear on the left, Bushnell on the right.

This is from the Bushnell














This is from the Spy Gear

Honesty

I drove 100 miles each way to check out this truck that my stepson found online.  He just got his drivers license and we are looking for his first vehicle and being a country boy, a truck is his only interest.  When I drove down to this little used car dealership in Virginia and asked to see the truck the salesman's first words were "you don't want that piece of shit".  He proceeded to show me the extensive rusting in the rear of the truck.  In places there were 3 inch holes all the way through the frame.  He was right.  I didn't want that piece of shit.  My whole drive back to Baltimore I just kept shaking my head and saying "An honest used car salesman?  What is this world coming to?"

Fins

This guy, or gal, was giving me the eye at the Baltimore Aquarium.

Belly

This is my personal Belly Dancer.  She dances for me every night after dinner.  When I was raised by Bedouin in the Arabian Desert we would have 10 or 20 Belly Dancers entertaining us every night.  Oh, those were the days.

Airport Fun

I'm just sitting here at the Raleigh Durham Airport waiting on my flight to Baltimore.  My photography has been real lame lately due to my life being so busy living in 2 cities, fixing a flooded house and getting ready to move.  I'm also very busy working on getting my home to be somewhat self-sufficient with all that entails.  I am one of many Americans who are getting nervous about things and who feel like the economy could eventually crash.  The huge amount of government debt that is accumulating is unsustainable.  Oh well, I just plan on being as prepared as possible.


Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T

Emergency Solar Power

The beginnings of an emergency solar backup system.  This one will consist of two solar panels, one charge controller, one 110ah 12 Volt AGM battery, a Trimetric system monitor and a 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter.  I will be expanding it to 4 panels and 4 batteries in the near future.  It will run some lights, fans and electronics for longer periods plus high draw items like a microwave or power tools for real short periods.  This will be in addition to a gas generator which will mainly be used to quickly charge the solar battery bank if needed.

On the Road Again

I will be back on the road again in the morning as I head back down to NC for the week.  As usual, I can hardly wait to get out of Baltimore but the weeks are counting down.

Those Straws are Trouble

That is Danielle on the left.  I think she has had too much to drink as she is desperately chasing that straw around in pursuit of some more.  When I am that intoxicated I just dispense with the straw and gulp it down:o)

Angry Birds

Just a little Angry Birds while I'm waiting.

Raw

Just a few oysters from Faidley's today.