Homes for Jubilee

 

Book Review: Homes for Jubilee
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I got the book Homes for Jubilee because it was recommended by someone I trust.  You may remember the mortar sprayer I got from mortarsprayer.com that I used to build the “Dome of Doom“.  This was also known as the boulder looking dome I mashed up for the Doomsday Preppers episode I was on.  Anyway Nolan from mortarsprayer told me that David B South (the co-inventor of the Monolithic dome) teamed up with Herb Nordmeyer to write a book about building low cost domes in Disaster ravaged Hati.

Basically Mr. Nordmeyer has been traveling to Haiti for the past 4 years helping build disaster resitant communities.  This book shows how he did that using the ecoshell dome system.

The book is divided into sections, the first sections describes the problem, the third is the solution, and the last details how exactly to build a monolithic dome using the ecoshell.

It is a fascinating book, and you all know how much I like domes.  As I said in the video, I am fond of the conduit geodesic domes, as I have not yet purchased a air form yet (but the form used to build these domes costs about 3k new and can be reused)  It is something I am interested in, but it just has not gotten to the top of the list.

Gear Review: Esi Hitch Portable Wireless Vehicle Backup Camera

Esi Hitch Portable Wireless Vehicle Backup Camera Review

 

Gear Review: Esi Hitch Portable Wireless Vehicle Backup Camera
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#WirelessTrailerCamera

Esi Hitch Portable Wireless Vehicle Backup Camera Rear view camera Water Resistant IR Night Vision Camera System Trailer Hitch Rear View with 2.5″ LCD Monitor For RV Trailer Motorhome 5th Wheels

Having a lot of trailers to move around and not a lot od space to do it meant I needed a backup camera.  Now, I admit, I got into the search for wireless cameras in order to try to reduce the thievery problems on my land, but once I got this camera I found it was much more useful if I used it as it was intended.

This came out of the box ready to use (other than charging) and it is pretty simple to operate.

It came with the wireless camera with a magnetic base (as well as screws for permenant mounting, a car charger, the wireless reciever, instuctions, and a water resistant cap for the back of the camera.

I have not used the cap yet, other then trying it on the back of the camera.  The manual says the camera is watertight to rain, so I don’t fool with the extra waterproofing because I need to remove it to hook up the charger.

Being a backup camera, the picture is reversed, but a simple press of the on/off button will change the image.  It says a full charge will give you 4 hours of use, but I never use the backup camra that long so I would not know.

I think this is a pretty good product, even though I am not sure I would spend full price of $150.00 for it.  With some searching you can find it at a discount on amazon.

I did receive this product at a discount in exchange for this review.

Chainsaw Lumbermaking

Chainsaw Lumbermaking
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Once you’re familiar with Will Malloff’s method of chainsaw lumbermaking, you’ll be simply and economically turning trees into lumber on your own!

Learn how to select the tree you want, fell it safely, and saw it into a fine pile of building or cabinet lumber. With detailed instructions and over 400 photographs, Will Malloff tells you everything you need to know to turn a chainsaw into a lumbermill, including how to:

  • Modify the chainsaw and make numerous accessories for milling
  • Use the equipment in the woods
  • Grind a smooth-cutting ripping chain
  • Build your own mill from a 2 x 4 and scraps of plywood
  • Cut burls, shape ovals and mill natural knees for boatbuilding

Malloff’s method is the fruit of over 30 years’ experience of felling trees and making lumber. He’s logged everything from giant redwoods to desert mesquite and fulfilled his youthful ambition to fell timber in every major forest of North America. Drawing on this experience, he has invented several chainsaw mills, and perfected the easy, efficient method of chainsaw lumbermaking that he describes in this book.

If you’ve ever had trouble finding the lumber you need, or wanted to build something with your own trees, Chainsaw Lumbermaking is the book you’ve been waiting for.

Will Malloff has built a variety of mills and is the designer of what many consider the most effective chainsaw lumbermaking system available. Malloff has spent nearly half a century researching and developing tools and wood technology that minimize ecological impact. In an endeavor to build his own blacksmith shop on a Canadian Pacific island, he invented a state-of-the-art ripping chain, which made chainsaw lumbermaking more feasible and economical than ever before.

Can Organizer Review

Can Food Organizer Review with a 4 Year Update

 

Gear Review: Can Food Organizer
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The cardinal rule of food storage is store what you eat and eat what you store.   In my home we eat can food, and we go to the local ALDI and buy our can food by the flat.  Now we do mark the month and year on the top of each can with a sharpie, but it seems like we always end up with the newest flat of cans on top of the older cans.  It also is hard to see exactly what is it the cans.  I have been searching for a solution, and have found a few options online.

Some are DIY cardboard organizers that you cut and glue from old boxes, others are large plywood and metal track affairs, you can even buy commercial options from small versions for thirty dollars to large scale rolling shelves for a few hundred.

This Option is Both Good and Inexpensive

A simple internet search of “can food rotator” will lead you to all of them.  I found a good compromise in cost, ease, and size.  I bought 7 sets of cardboard can food organizers from www.canorganizer.com to organize my kitchen and pantry.  These sets contain 4 sheets of die cut cardboard, and each sheet folds into one rotator box.  They are strong enough to stack (I tested them by stacking full organizers 4 across and 4 high on my dryer).

The can food organizers come in two sizes, Cupboard (which is shorter and holds 9 soup cans) or Pantry (which is deeper and holds 18 soups cans)

Cupboard costs 11.96 for a four pack, Pantry costs 15.96 for a 4 pack.

They are strong enough to carry full of cans.  Additionally, I moved them around a lot while trying to decide how I wanted to use them.  For added strength you could wrap a loop of tape around them.

My only complaint is a minor one, the instruction video moves a little fast and they don’t come with any additional documentation, so the first organizer I made took me a couple minutes of backing up and replaying specific parts of the video translate it to the actually cardboard sheet.  That’s a minor complaint, because after the first one, folding the next one is really easy.  I really like the can organizers, as they are a good balance of cost and effectiveness.  They do exactly what they are advertised as doing.

Here is a Update after Four Years and a Move

 

 

Reviewing the ITrack Easy Key Finder

ITrack Easy Key Finder Review

Reviewing the ITrack Easy Key Finder
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have been loosing my keys pretty often, my son is in the stage where he likes playing with my stuff and if I don’t put them where he can’t reach them he plays with them.

When I got a chance to review this small key finder fob I thought I could use it as a GPS tracker to deal with theft on my land.

My idea was to put in on my sawmill trailer and could catch a thief red handed.

This would be a good idea as the actual ITrack Easy is smaller than the picture shown.  However, since this works by sending a blue tooth signal to your phone It only has a 300 ft range.

However, in playing with this thing I realized it does work awesome for its intended purpose.

It comes with two batteries (one in the fob and a spare) along with a tool to open the fob – not really needed but nice.  The instructions tell how to get the ap for your phone and the signon is simple.  Just set a usermname and password and press and hold the button on the itrack easy until it beeps.

The app shows a map of where the itrack is, will make it beep, and give a bas indication of direction to the device.

Your phone will also beep if the itrack gets out of range. – which put that on a work item and it won’t let you get far from it in the morning.

I kinda like the device, and am glad I was offered the chance to get it at a reduced cost for a review.