Building Mud Castles
I said that this was going to become something of the “main theme” of this’a’here workshop, and I wanna run with it.
Now, let me tell you, you really need to do your local homework, as I can’t and WON’T do it for you. Specifically, local building code: Every place is different. Here in KY, (or at least the county I reside in) if you are not going to tie into the grid, you are purt much free to do as you will, shy of builing a tower of Babel or somesuch. Single story or split story don’t draw much attention, and if you aren’t going Grid,,, I didn’t even need a permit for the septic (and funny enough, you DO need a permit for an outhouse,,, Go figure.)
Another example is in Texas, at least along the border with Mexico, and this may be different in specific locations; I don’t know specifics. To the best of my understanding, if you are building your own home, no outside help/contractors, no permits or inspections needed.
All of that being said, I can tell this. If you build alternative housing, getting it insured may be the worst headache you have ever encountered. I can’t get homeowners insurance on my house; only Renters insurance for my belongings within. Had I gone through a contractor with all the permits and inspections, No problem, I didn’t and the insurers politely, but strongly, tell me to get fucked. Keep that in mind.
But heres the fun part of the equation. If you are doing earthbermed, pounded earth, or Earthship type building, chances of your house buring down, or being destroyed by anything short of a Divine flood, are pretty miniscule. “Poured” homes using a mixture of portland and quicklime will last centuries, as the quicklime makes the concrete ‘self-healing’
There are so many alternatives to how and what you can build with, and none of it is new. People have been building their personal caves for millenia. Builds like the Earthship design, using old tires filled with packed earth and covered in shotcrete,,, yah, sorta new, but really just a new mixture of old ideas. Your choice is yours, if you are building from scratch. Your costs may be under the 10K mark depending on if you are using your local resources and your own labor or all the way up towards the million mark if outsourcing everything.
And this post is written with the builder in mind, not already standing residences. That will come later in a different post.
SO, you wanna build an earth shelter, and you want it as near self sustaining as possible. Underground, partial underground, above ground as thick walled as you can. Those three aspects are the key. Above ground, you want those walls at least 20″ thick. The idea is to let temperature changes crawl through the walls, NOT ISOLATE. In other words,,, when its hot and nasty outside, the inside will be nice and cool. As the day cools down (think summer in the high desert, it gets damned cold at night.) the heat the outside walls has picked up will be working its way in to the interior, slowly warming the inside (actually maintaining a constant or near so.) (the actual term is “thermal creep”) Cool inside during the day, warmer than outside at night, and you spent nothing but building costs to get that. No extra HVAC or central air environmental techno hoopla to maintain comfort. No added utility costs! That right there will save a homeowner several hundred dollars a month alone. It may cost more to make the house that way, but the long term savings will adjust it out.
As for heating the house. Thermal mass!!! Your walls are already massive, making a thermal mass heating option for when the outside temps drop and stay there is only ‘smart’. Here’s the thing though. You can build so that the walls are more protected from sunlight in the summer (so they stay cooler) yet still get massive amounts of sunlight in the winter (when the sun rides lower in the sky.) and get some solar heating that lasts all night. You can even do a solar battery setup where the light coming through a glass wall heats sand silos or water tanks, that will slowly release that heat out after the sun sets.
Think of it as designing a machine that you live in, not designing a box you live in and bringing in machines to keep it livable. And this ‘machine’ doesn’t need to be mechanically complicated. Passive is the goal here: Mass is your friend, moving parts are not.
Our current Federal Building Codes are not interested in designing homes in this fashion, no matter how much the politicos sing the praises of “Green this that or the other.” The whole mass of building code is meant to keep Economic Currents Flowing; its that simple. I’m not harping on those industries as evil or whatever, but they have enough pull to be able to get rules written in their favor and that puts people like me, possibly you, at odds with the system. Why we will have hard odds of being able to insure our homes against catastrophy. Why we must, if we choose this route, be our own engineers, plumbers, electrician, Construction managers, and lowly hobb loader, all at the same time.
The good news, This is a GROWING COMMUNITY. There are small outifits out there for hire, or contract, that can either do the work for you, or you can consult with to get primo results without need of researching a new degree from HardKnocks University. Sone key words to use for looking around the nets: “permaculture”, Earthhome, Earthship, Permies, Cobb building, etc
And here is another upside. Like the growing list of alternative teachings to Religion (The kingdom is inside you) the growth of alternative living arrangements is growing too. People are getting a might bit sick of the “in your face” Top down Control freaks, and being told “NO, you can’t do that (without paying US through the nose and giving us a lifetime of support to keep it.)” I see things around the globe; people stepping out of the ‘tried and true’ nature of modern building code that essentially makes every home owner a renting landlord. I see more and more push to eliminate property taxes for the same reason; “I bought it/I built it, I own it! keep your mitts offa my stuf!”
Ok, slight shift of content here. Went and bought a used block for BLooTwuck this weekend. Long drive of 200 miles roundtrip. I saw several broke down hicles along the way, and the shocking part,,, most of them were less than 10 years old. I think only one was a used up beater that probably just needed gas in the tank. I’m seeing more and more in my feeds of people telling the dealerhips to go get fucked, we aren’t subscribing for a car; we want to own it, and ownership means I get to deal with it on MY terms, not dealership terms. I’m watching the prices of OBS chevies going through the roof. A truck with a bluebook value of $4000 going for 15000 or more. Used vehicles selling for more than they did when they were on the dealer lots, brand new.
But they are still cheaper than a new 2026 Chevy 3500, and they don’t have all the computer gee-gaws and kill switch that are in the new. A guy with a basic tool kit can work on them. Aftermarket parts are still out there, and there are some places starting to make them since some of our sources are highly questionable these days.
The New Paradigm of “you will own nothingg and be happy” is not surviving first contact. Maybe in the younger generation, who don’t know anything but this modern world of ‘subscribe and like’. But us oldztimers? who grew up in a world where the phones were secured to walls and surveilance was “own recognizance”,,,, Yeah,, we ain’t dead yet and we still get a vote in the future.
More laters about building stuff or making current work better
LIVE
LEARN
LAUGH
LOVE
LOAD!!!
Muhnday musin’
Some of y’uns might know Jay, aka “The Boring Old Man” from comments.
What some of ya might not know, is he is also a blogger. He doesn’t post much these days, but man, when the guy has a wordspill, he HAS A WORDSPILL!
I posted a comment over there on that subject matter, and to illuminate for those of you that don’t catch such stuff, I’ll embed one here.
(Karen is her name, not a derogatory thing.)
Admit it Peeps!, We grew up in the best of times, especially when it came to music. Doesn’t matter if you were a teen in the 60’s 70’s or 80’s,, heck even into the 90’s with Grunge and Industrial explorations,,, But come the 20-aughts,,, something shifted down,,,,
Maybe its all the streaming ease? That for under a couple grand, a body can put together a hell of a studio, synth all the instruments, and splice together a complete track, master it, and publish it with no more overhead or ‘trial by fire’ than the “hit the publish button and pray”
See, all, and I do mean ALL, of the bands we grew up with; They didn’t get that ease of function. They were there, in the trenchs, playing every downtrodden bar, finding what worked, what got the girls shaking their hips, what drew the yawns, and they did it FOR LOVE. Maybe there was the calling of making it big (Selling out as the industry used to call it) but that rarely was the opening bid. The opening bid in most cases was LOVE OF MAKING MUSIC. Even Boston, who, initially, was just two guys and a multi track with some serious techy gee-whiz stuff cobbled together in a basement. They went straight to label, but THE LOVE was buried deep in that music. Try to convince me otherwise, and I will point you straight back at the opening of the track those two above listened to. No one makes music like that without loving every aspect of music FIRST.
Anywhoosabobber,,, go Give Jay some love on his site (link above)
LOVE
LIVE
LAUGH
LEARN
LOAD!!!
Haulin’ block
What I picked up.
clearing off the extra in prep.
gonna roll to Da’s and use the hoist to clear the bed. Bee-otch is HEAVY! LOL.
Up notes: Green coolant, quite clean looking. Oil is dark, but not gritty on the stick nor imitating tar. Haven’t drained it yet, so,,, I may find I bought a turd, but so far looking good. Has obviously been ran recently (fuel in rail smelled new, in addition to ‘brite’ bits on the drivebelt and pulleys.)
A peek into the intake was as expected: some carbon buildup, but not the goop I saw in Bloos case.
I shoulda listened to Y’all back in November when she started knocking. Live n Learn.
LLLLL!
(, ‘)
a little clarification
In my postdark thinks and clocks ticking, I mentioned the Brinksmanship of Trumped having severely negative effects on my psyche.
I was reminded of growing up under the Cold War state,,, Never knowing if/when, though the how was quite well-spread and Illustrated
Trumped may have been confident in his Posturing: me, seeing a different picture, the one from old boots on the ground, looking at current alliances, and general ill-will that we are experiancing as a nation across the globe: self induced ill-will, mind you. At no other time in history has a sitting President (no matter if he was duly elected or shammed in: thats a different point entirely) was kidnapped from his home in the dead of night to stand trial in a foriegn country. With many charges against him being strictly laws of the kidnapping country,,, That action is going to have long reaching consequences, and not all of them will be to our benefit. (I can garantee you, every sitting pres, or PM or whatever UPPED the security around them within hours of that report coming out…)
I’m no fan of the FUSA being “World Cop”. and the current trend has taken the old trend to a whole new level.
BUT
I am starting to get the impression that Trumped is starting to realize he was the “Mark” in the MiddleEast game of Three Card Monte.
And I lay equal blame on his staff of yes-people that don’t want to show him the reality of the situation for fear of his reactions…. Thats the problem with “zero tolerance’ administrations. People need the freedom to tell the boss “You’re Fucked in the head sir, if you go this route”. The Boss may not like it, but too damned bad: that freedom of expression is the colbalt rod in the nuclear reactor of world politics.
Now, last night I posted that Trumped has thrown his people under the bus. I’m talking all the MAGA people, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson,,,
All of the people in that ‘Truth’ social post he mentioned. I see the vitriol spreading to others out here in the Main Street USA as well, and I wanna ask, “Are you no longer in agreement with thier ideas, or are you just sucking the teat of propaganda so hard you can’t hear yourself think?”
No need to answer that,,,, I have my opinion thats buried in how I phrased that.
Heres the clarification. I have never made any statement saying I “like” Trump. I have always felt he is an arrogant obnoxious narccisist, but out of the other side of my mouth, I have stated he IS a successful businessman and that what this country needed was a CEO, not some politico career oriented stool pigeon.
The problem as I now see it, is one of INSULATION and COMPROMISE. He is far too insulated from us “Boots on the Ground” types, is potentially compromised by those that are in esscense providing that insulation. He may even be further compromised by a certian YOUNG STATE from the ME that has tons of dirt on him, as was, quite breifly, aired then deleted, with the initial release of the Epstien Files. (and oh boy, the stuff leaking out from what was captured,,,,)
That combination has, is having, serious flashback. IT could even flashback harder than what we have seen. I as I stated to one of the guys I was discussing this with IRL, “The problem with bluffing like that? Eventually someone is gonna call your bluff.”
And then there is a thing that Sarah Hoyt has pointed out on occasion, among a few others. Nuclear weapons have a half life, everything radioactive has a half life: degradation is literally built in. And what I am gonna say next applies to ALL Nuclear powers, not just us. The Cold War was technically over in 92. That was over 30 years ago: Does anyone even know if our 30+ year old weapons are still viable,,, Or Russias, or Chinas,,, I know the Ballistic missiles we designed back in the day are so antiqueated that we don’t even know how to make the propellant anymore. Whats the status of Russias’? Though we do know they didn’t stop making missiles, and have even exceeded our tech on that note: the question being, are their Nukes any good?
How much of this posturing is completely Empty threats that ALL of the Superpowers KNOW is empty threats because the toys are now ‘hot lead’, but tossed out there to keep US, the boots on the ground, the populace that keeps the machine moving with tax revenue, on the edge of our seats and scared silly?
We may never know, and honestly, I hope we never find out,,,,
———————————————————————–
SO,,, now that I have done a little clarification, let me address the way I see me moving forward here at the shop. THIS post is the last of the political sprectrum, though I may occasionally toss out an Anti-Government MEME or three.
INSTEAD, I am going to post topics about Living off-grid, how to’s, alternate things that are options for all of the above, and maybe a thing or three on how to avoid the middleman of G00bermint in permission slips. Keep in mind, your state is going to have different laws and opinions of ‘acceptable’ behaviour: I am no lawyer, nor do play as one on TV, Take my words as entertainment only and NO CONSEQUENCES ACCEPTED BY SELF if you choose to make the attempts on your behalf.
One of the biggest things I want to talk about is “Building materials” and Building codes that are not designed to make your home ‘more livable’, but to line someones or some industries pockets. There is a dead simple way to keep homes cool in the summer without HVAC units that measure in tonnage of air movement. A simple Black pipe (4-8″ dia) on the south-west corner of the house, external, but plumbed back through the wall to some ceiling vent. Floor vents that access the crawl space or basement area. The sun hits the pipe, creates a pressure difference, that pulls hot air out of the house, replacing it with cooler air from beneath the house. The whole thing can be shut off in the winter months. Total cost $100-$1000 depending on if you do the work or hire out. If built while building,,,,
Theres more,,,
Some of the subjects may be things I have done, am doing, wish to do, and I will let you know the difference as I post them.
Self sufficiency is my Center,,, DOING THINGS is my ground, and as long as I can keep the “News of the day” not get embedded in my skin, I can keep those two points just fine.
Hope all of that unfiltered mind-dump explains the past few days.
LIVE, REALLY LIve!!!
LOVE, like you never hated
LAUGH like you were 5 again.
LEARN like Socrates
LOAD, because real insurance isn’t free.
Social Suicide?
I’m not suicidal: I may not fear death, but I am still sort of addicted to breathing.
But recent events, in my personal and external worlds have led me to do some serious soul searching. One question I keep asking, “Is this MINE?” and most of what has been causing me the greatest greif is NOT such. Thats not to say I haven’t any problems,, I has plenty
But the ones causing the drinking to increase, the sleepless nights (the reason for the the drinking: so I could get to sleep without stirring about staring at walls.) Which led to other issues that only started a downward spiral in spiritual equilibrium,,, No, those weren’t mine, they were caused by stoopid hooman powergrabbing tricks. Brinksmanship moves by power players that threatened world populations: not mine. The ditching of a base that carried you into power and then backstabbing them, calling them NUTZ and other things: NOT MINE.
It made me see the world through a different set of lenses and I didn’t like the view, and I came real close to burning out. And to boot, Seeing how others are still buying into the propaganda feeds without questioning ANYTHING, despite the fact that just months ago, they were saying completely opposite things: the mental gymnastics I would have to go through to accomplish that feat would have me sedated and bound into a straight-jacket.
WHEN I HIT THAT LEVEL,,, I fall back to the most psychotic movie of the 90’s “Fight Club” Why? Because for all the Multiple personality Disorder problems Tyler Durden had, his alter ego had some solid foundations in place. Hence the videoclip from that movie in yesterdays post. “Our Great war is a Spiritual War, Our great Depression is Our Lives.”
Foundations. Maybe thats part of my problem. The last few months, BlooTwuck trials and tribulations, Da taking a downward turn for a spell, Property issues needing addressed and under a deadline sort of thing ,,, My foundations have been tossed and turned like San Francisco during a major Earthquake.
Ground and center: Thats the goal post now. Find that ground and center. Make it something CONCRETE, and not fluid like my kayaks (those aren’t going away, just won’t be the main line defense against the rest of the world.)
recently I made mention of a changing up how I keep the house warm during the winter months. That project will be part of future posts. Getting BlooTwuck solid again, also post oriented (more on that later in the post) And of course, my spiritual efforts in some way shape or form will be post material.
But the Fake and Gay bullshit of Bought and Paid For Politicians? Zion/Muslim tantrums? Posturing for status in a dying system as the world slowly but steadily DECENTRALIZES and the word EXPERT is becoming a bad joke,,, Naw, not gonna talk about that shit no mo’.
Like BCE stated,,, Keeping an eyeball on it as it does have trickle down effects (Like fuel prices through the frellin’ roof and only climbin’) but I can not let it dictate my SPIRITUAL WELL BEING, and it was trying so hard to take over.
Something something about Archons here, and if you have any Gnostic background,, Well, I was being fed upon and it was starting to show up physically. I lost 10 pounds over the span of a week,,,My focus was shot to HELL, and well, I’ve told ya; I was drinking way more than I should’ve.
I’m grabbiing the reins back.
Live
Learn
LAUGH
LOVE
LOAD!!!
OOps,,, Forgot to tell ya: Going to pick up a running block for BlooTwuck this weekend. Gonna swap out the smoke-machine sometime over the next couple weeks. Prefer to do it one ‘take’, not spread out across weeks of J.O.B. Borrowed an engine hoist from one of the many cousins in the area so thats one thing out of the way and not an added expense. (goes back to my wrenching days: Borrow once: Ok, Borrow Twice: put money aside to buy, Borrow third time; buy as soon as available. )
So, whats the solution?
Maybe I should start off by bringing up Glubb’s “fall of empires” again. We’re at that stage, and current events keep pointing right back at us. It’s getting harder each year—honestly, lately it feels like each week—to ignore the simple truth:
We aren’t what we were.
Lay it out—–
An economy built around the petro-dollar—propped up by Saudi Arabia agreeing to transact in our currency—now showing real cracks as tensions escalate in the ME
A federal government that seems incapable of restraint or correction. You look around and see fraud, corruption, and abuse out in the open… and yet where are the arrests? The indictments? The prosecutions?
And the Fourth Estate, supposedly a check on power, has become openly one-sided. Narrative-driven. Divisive. Everywhere you turn, it’s “us vs. them,” as if the country itself is fundamentally fractured. I don’t think we are—but we’re being pushed to see each other that way.
I could go on, but most of you already see the same pattern.
So how do we fix it?
First, we admit something no one in power wants to say out loud: we are not going to be the global superpower forever. That’s reality. Fighting it only makes the landing harder.
So bring it home.
Pull back from the idea that we have to be everywhere, involved in everything. Reevaluate the alliances, the bases, the constant outward projection of force. Not from weakness—but from necessity. If the focus shifts inward, the structure of everything else has to follow.
That doesn’t mean dismantling strength. It means redirecting it. If we’re serious about securing the country itself, then resources and people should reflect that priority.
The economy… that’s a harder knot to untangle. It would mean rethinking the foundations entirely—how the currency works, what actually backs it, and how dependent we’ve allowed ourselves to become on external arrangements. That’s not a small fix, and pretending it is won’t help.
And then there’s accountability.
Not selective. Not performative. Real.
If there are things being hidden—scandals, corruption, abuses of power—then they need to come into the open, regardless of who it implicates. Leadership means owning your actions, not burying them and hoping time or distraction erases them.
Because right now, what’s missing more than anything is trust.
I keep coming back to this image: we’re like a long-time drunk at the end of the night. The party’s over. The damage is done. And now comes the hard part—sobering up.
That’s not pleasant. It’s humbling. It forces you to see things clearly, maybe for the first time in a long time.
But it’s necessary.
We don’t need to abandon pride—but it has to be grounded in reality, not inflated by old myths or inherited victories. A little humility would go a long way toward rebuilding something real again.
and to roll this missive out, a word to the PTwB: Guys, the COLDWAR is OVER, stop resurrecting it!
LLLLL!
(, ‘)
Dio's Workshop 