Kevin EarthSoul

By "power supply", are you referring to an inverter to change DC to AC? Ideally, I'd find electronics that can take a 12V DC input, if you plan to run off of a battery bank (charged by solar PV), instead of converting DC to AC just to have the power supply of the electronic device rectify it back to DC. Conversion losses add up.

When it comes to the networking equipment, a lot depends on how you're linking to the Internet. If you're rural, you usually have few options. Dial-up is super slow. Satellite internet quirky and slow. Some areas have microwave service.

If you're near a highway, you might get 4G or 3G mobile data service. In that case, there are devices that will create a WiFi hot-spot for you.

This device looks pretty good. You can connect a USB 4G/3G modem to it, and it will then act as a WiFi router for all your devices. Power consumption is 13W Max.

http://3gstore.com/product/4136_surf-soho-3g-4g-router.html

I know it's possible. There are these guys in the UK:

http://www.tinygreenpc.com/

I'd love to find someone doing this in the NorthAm market.

They key, of course, is also finding a low-power display to hook in.

So, I know that some people like the idea of a tiny house so that they can move out to their little plot of land in the country, living in the TH until such time as they can build their cob or strawbale home. The main drawback I see with that plan is the commute-- if you're still working the "day job".

As an alternative, my wife and I are exploring the "shared house" concept that Paul talks of in his "Permaculture Bricks" keynote speech video. Instead of cramming all your living into <250 sq. feet, we feel there's a place for sharing a 2400 sq.ft. home with 2 or 3 other couples (and maybe a few little-ones).

Check out this property we're looking at on Thursday:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3976-Iowa-St-Omaha-NE-68112/75852810_zpid/

We can actually afford the mortgage on our own, and we might start out by registering on airBNB as we look for permanent housemates, but the idea is to "stack functions" by sharing this as communal space.

Communal living also allows for savings of time and money in other ways that a tiny house on its own can't match.

Our goal is to stay near the city, so we can keep our "day jobs" for a while. The money saved in communal living will allow us to pay down our student loans and other debts, and then build the financial resources for a better piece of land further out from town. Perhaps some of our housemates will go in with us on the project, too.

Kevin

Landon Sunrich wrote:

Kevin EarthSoul wrote:Poor people are just lazy or stupid.

Kevin,

I would like you to retract this statement and apologies for it or I will be forced to comment and things will most definitely stop being nice.

Landon,

I can't retract it, because it's not what I say. Let me repeat how I introduced the paragraph---

I think a lot of people in Western Culture, especially Americans, have a bit of an allergic reaction to the words "fair share", because it smacks of communism:

Note the colon at the end of that sentence. What follows is an elaboration on the Western (American) Cultural reaction to the idea of people receiving a "fair share".

These are the anti-communist/meritocracy attitudes of that culture that I am characterizing.

Since I don't share those attitudes, there is nothing for me to retract.

Kevin

Dan, no worries... if it works for you, then do it... although I do question whether it's working for you to be on statins. The research is consistently coming back that statins are a "cure" that is worse than the disease these days. They recently linked statin drugs to Parkinson's.

While I'll never go vegetarian, I'm thinking that my Paleo dieting really should be more authentically paleolithic. Our paleo ancestors got 55-85% of their calories from gathered plant-based sources and the remainder from hunting/trapping, depending on seasons. Many also dried plant-based foods to survive through Winter.

I also don't care for raw foods, which is another craze. Evidence is that our Homo ancestors evolved from late hominid species, in part, through the development and use of fire to make foods more easily digestible. Raw foods do not sit well in my gut, causing acid indigestion, gas, bloating, and other discomforts. I'll steam my veggies at the very least.

I should do more crock-pot cooking. Soups and stews, with the bulk of the food being vegetable matter, and a bit of meat for flavor, sounds probably ideal. They say that high-water-content foods are the best, too.

Thanks for your responses.

Yes, as far as O-3 goes, I do include servings of small fish (sardines, mackerel) several times weekly, and I also eat high O-3 eggs. The doc wants to prescribe me this Rx fish oil supplement that is super-high in EPA/DHA, and is refined to remove toxins. I'm welcoming that intervention for the time-being.

As for exercise, I used to do a lot of walking, but not so much over this Winter. My wife and I live 1.6 miles from our respective work-places, and we can share our walk for about 1 mile of that. Now that the weather is improving in our area, we will be walking the 35 minutes to and from work 4 days per week. Plus, we like to get out of town and do some hiking on weekends for a more extended work-out. That's the plan, anyway!

I could never do vegan, or even vegetarian. I'll continue to eat the small fish (and occasional salmon). I do eat nuts and avocados, but I think I need to stop the bacon and large amounts of butter.

So, I'm diabetic. First diagnosed in 2002. Last June, my A1C was at 10.0.

I've done low-carb Paleo on and off for a few years, and I tried to get really serious with it recently. My A1C is now 8.5--- an improvement.

But my triglycerides are over 3000... yes, three-thousand.

My new doc is alarmed and worried about my risk of pancreatitis.

I've never had any problems with my blood pressure. Yesterday's office visit it was 106/64.

They drew blood during my visit, and the lab tech brought out my centrifuged blood and a "normal" sample to compare. My blood was like 30% white fat cells floating on top.

How do I do paleo in such a way that I manage type 2 diabetes, without getting fluffy fat flowing in my veins?

Besides using the char from a TLUD or wood gassifier, could the char be used as fuel in a RMH?

I'm no expert, but from what I have read and seen, here are two ideas:

1. Cut the sod layer and just turn it over. Yes, that opens it up a little to oxygen (tilling), but you can do it in largish sheets, which minimizes it.
2. Cardboard & newspaper sheet mulch. Cover your grass in soggy cellulose layers. You can punch through and plant shrubs in places, but just covering the grass and blocking sunlight will help.

After you've done the above, you can add other sheet-mulching layers atop the cardboard and newsprint, and sow your mowable meadow mix, if you'd like. Doing a season of nitrogen fixers and nutrient accumulators to mulch-in-place, before you go ahead with your target crops isn't a bad idea. Heal the soil first by adding diversity and pioneer plant species that will heal the soil. To paraphrase Geoff Lawton: focus on fixing the soil biology first, and the soil chemistry will take care of itself.