Jes’talkin’

One thing, the other thing, those things, that thing, and its all bullshit when you get down to the day to day.   Yeah, it can creep up on you and take you by surprise (see Australias recent endeavor into Fascism) but lets be honest, if you pay even a modicum of attention to the day to day, and have ANY understanding of history, You would NOT be surprised,,,  Yes, IT can happen here, HAS happened here, and likely will again, before we get rid of the current mess in DC.  The only real question I see; What replaces said mess, and how bloody will the change over be.   All else is fiddlin’ details.

But you can’t live the day to day in the cesspits of Daily News.  As they say, stare into the abyss, and eventually the Abyss stares into you.  You BECOME IT.   

I have a couple of disgruntled kittehs right now.  I bought a new office chair and surrendered my old one to them.   They are both on the old chair and looking at me like they had been evicted or something.   Dunno what the problem is; they have the chair, they are in it, but I guess because they don’t get to put me out, its not the same,,,,   

Maybe its that they don’t have my lap right now,,,,   Grizz takes offense at the Macbook being in HIS spot, and that was the biggest reason for the new chair: better typing position and more support for my old back.  Gonna have to make a modification to the chair though and add a swing-out support for the lappy so its not IN my lap.   I had a set up like that before the DEEvorce and it rocked.   Made any long task not so much a torture.  And I think I am gonna get an air bag thingy to add to lower section.   The lumbar pillow they provided is meant for someone with a seriously deformed back, or a Kardashian ass; not my narrow almost non-existent glutes.

New plasma cutter at work now.  Gorsh how I miss the ease of cutting metals that you get with a plasma cutter.  Spent an hour setting it up under my welding rig, and making sure of settings, air-flow, and power.   Then spent a little time cutting shit apart just for fun.   Love watching the spat fly when you get the thing going.

Todays accomplishment: I didn’t kill anyone.   Thats getting to be the highlight of my life; NOT killing those that desperately need a killin’.   Did manage to get through an entire 8 hours of doldrums, even though my in-ears died around 2pm.  I gotta have music to get through building simple gates all day.  If they were the wilder side of kennels or making strange to me things, I get more involved, but the tedious gates, my mind starts to wander because I can just about make the things with my eyes closed.   

It pays the bills,,,   

Working on the kayak didn’t happen today.  The whole world going dark at 6ish kills my work efforts, and the temps are dropping fast out there.  Shortened days are also showing on my battery meter: not enough to sweat or bust out the genny, YET, but definitely enough that I don’t want to run work lights into the night.   It’s okay though, only a few more weeks of this and then the cycle starts to reverse itself again.   Going off-grid is not for those that must have all the bells and whistles of a highly technical life. I do have my Tech, but not a lot of high powered stuff.  No big screens, no 24/7 routers, even my appliances are ‘off-grid’ being propane powered or 12V mains.   I have my computers (Mac and Microscrewed) my phone, and Ipad and for entertainment only; a car stereo mounted in the walls of the house.   (and its bluetooth capable so I use it as a sound system for the Mac.). And the more I use the Mac, the less I WANT to use the PC.    There is only one thing in my house that is always “ON”; my ceiling fan.   12vdc powered brushless motor designed for RV living.  Bought the thing 5 years ago, and its only turned off long enough to clean the cobbies and dust-bunnies off it every couple of weeks.  It is the centerpiece for my environmental controls.  Runs like a champ and if it died tomorrow, I most assuredly received its full value and then some.  

No, living off-grid isn’t as comfortable as being on grid, I don’t have a T-stat I can program to keep the house at a level temperature, I have to work at keeping the house warm in the wintertime, and that means cutting and hauling firewood, BEFORE it gets cold out.  So, in a way, I am paying a high utility biil in advance of the cold months, but what I get is NOT able to be shut off by an outside source at THEIR whim.   Same thing with my water supply, I have to keep it clean, clean out the tank every year, make sure the chlorine levels are maintained, but what I get is water year round without need of worry that someone else decides I ‘don’t need it’.   

Freedom is not free. Self Reliance isn’t either.   I may not have a set of monthly utility bills, but I do pay for them: in labor and planning.  But my peace of mind that what I have is MINE and is secure: Priceless.    It is the one thing that makes me not want to move again, because I would have to go through all of that effort again.   I have some new ideas based on my learning curves, but to go through all of that again is daunting.

Gonna shut down early tonight, and meditate to a fire while listening to kittehs purr,and dawg snores.   Its a lovely 80 degrees inside and the temps are supposed to get into the 20’s outside by daybreak.  Even if I let the fire die, it won’t get any cooler than 65 in here,,,   But i strive to not let the fire die between December and March (unless we have those freak spells of mid-summer-like weather.   Usually mid to late December,,,) 

I’ll play catch-up tomorrow and post my thoughts then.   Y’all take care, stay warm, and watch your six.