Sustainable SW Blogs

Cleared all 70 square feet of my floor space...and vacuumed today!  89,94,65,0,B  

Not sure what got into me today, but I cleared my kitchen countertop for the first time since my accident.  It is going to take quite a bit of scrubbing to get down to the original wood surface.  Going to need some steelwool to degrease the cooktop.  Don't know if it was because I just couldn't look at all the piles anymore - or the fact that I gained a pound yesterday after a McDonald's lunch and needed the exercise.  Now the question is:  Can I keep going and make a clean sweep of the whole hut?  It is long overdue.  88,92,65,0,B

Had a follow up exam at the dentist today.  Going back in a month for a "deep cleaning", a new filling, and another extraction.  That's what I get for going to the dentist every 15 years.  87,94,67,0,B

Dove back into the wifi repeater snafu again today.  Although the new Netgear repeater works well, I have been determined to get the 5 year old Linksys WRT54GL back to communicating with my wireless network because it can bump the signal out a lot farther.  Was finally able to log into it (with the username and password that UK Neil brillianly saved to a notepad file on my computer).  Going through all the settings in the firmware that Neil had installed, I only found one tiny tidbit amiss.  The network name I put in on the Linksys (5 years ago) was slightly different from what I set up on the new Big Bend Telephone router I now have.  My network name is the same but the old setup had some capital letters in it and my new setup is all lower case.  The name of the network is also called the SSID - short for service set identifier.  Turns out the SSID is case sensitive.  If you really want to know more about SSID - it is an alphanumeric character set that is a unique identifier attached to the header of packets sent over a wireless local-area network (WLAN).  The SSID, a component of IEEE802.11 WLAN architecture, acts as a password when a mobile device (or repeater in my case) tries to connect to the basic service set (BSS) - my Big Bend Telephone router.  I changed a few letters and the Linksys is back in business.
I feel a little smarter now....do you?  90,95,69,0,B

OK...I didn't see it on TV but I totally bought into an ad for these on an internet news channel I was watching last week.  I just received my order from dial vision and I have to say they actually work!  I can even "dial them in" for reading.  Figured I would try them out to have on hand in case of an emergency.  My distance vision is very poor and I am lost without my glasses.  When I rolled the ATV and broke my leg, my glasses fell off and I couldn't find them so I hopped up and road home in a blur.  The ambulance driver found them when they took me out but they were a little scratched up (luckily they didn't crush them on the way in).  My spare pair still had paint specs all over the lenses from when I was using the sprayer on my greenhouse trusses. So I went for the "special offer" that included sunglasses.  They are rather cheaply made and pretty ugly...and they are no excuse to skip a full exam from an optometrist - but they will definitely work "in a pinch".  Note:  The corrected field of vision is not as wide as a regular pair of prescription glasses.  92,98,69,0,B  

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Mikey and I noticed that we did not spend much time out on our patio even though we worked very hard to build it a huge metal structure that provides shade to a cement slab that borders our gardens. This had us realizing that the rusty old furniture, however charming, that populated the porch and that we trash-picked was hardly comfortable or enjoyable to hang out on. We thought back to all the coffee shop patios that we enjoyed and noted what made them so worthy of hanging out. Then we spiffed up our porch to fit new criteria.

A sleek, new, couch certainly made a huge difference. But a grey couch on a brown slab was not going to work, so I painted the slab mint green and made a couple of stencils to give it life. I discovered that once a stencil is made it takes a tremendous holding back to not tag everything in site! I tried to keep my cool, here are a few projects. This whole project reminded me that paint gives a lot of bang for a small investment. Oh la la!! And if you should be considering buying outdoor furniture, there's no better time for a sale than September! I chose 100% aluminium (no plastic parts) to withstand the harsh desert climate. I think it'll last decades.

Spent a few hours searching and sorting and dug up most of my old webcam gear.  Two of these actually still work although one needs a new spliced cable after getting chewed up by a calf 5 years ago.  Another camera (not pictured) was totally destroyed by a curious longhorn.  This model has really good resolution and adjustable focus with good macro capabilities.  Also found my old telephoto lens - just before I was about to order a new one.  Ciphered out how to stream with the new tablet computer although the app is still a little glitchy, but it has really good range with the wifi extender.  Perhaps I will finally get some good streaming video of "Dinner with Ben and Javier".  BTW - they normally dine around 7:45 PM.  91,96,69,0,B

Shelved the Linksys router/repeater for now and just got delivery of this wifi extender.  Took all of 5 minutes to set up and test and it worked like a charm with WPS on my Big Bend Telephone router and the wifi connection through my old netbook.  Easily boosted my signal out to the feed corner where Ben and Javier dine together.  Big tech win!  Also got the new tablet computer but still trying to figure out the Ustream app.  90,95,68,0,B

Up to a mile and a half walk each morning now.  My ankle is still pretty stiff from being imobilized for so long but the mended bones seem to be holding their own just fine.  A new part of my "strength training" includes some walking around with my 70 lb paramotor on my back.  I was surprised a couple of days ago when I tried it for the first time that it wasn't really too bad - although it sure feels heavier than it did 2 years ago.  Taxiing seems to be OK but launching and landing are out of the question for awhile.  Still planning on getting some wheels for my rig.  88,92,67,0,B

This year the Santa Fe Master Gardeners are hosting the 2016 New Mexico Master Gardener Conference September 16-18  at Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM

Open to the public. There is a charge to get in-$120

For more info and to see schedule of events and speakers and times, please go to: http://sfmga.org/2016-conference

  I've posted 4551 times to my blog. Who knew in 2006 that I'd still be blogging in 2016!

It's no wonder that we needed a break from working on our homestead and blogging about it. But alas, second wind's tend to appear given adequate time off. This month we went back to work on the cement dome we started building in 08'. When the market crashed in 2008, and after a tiring year of welding, we just walked away unable to muster the energy to complete it.

This summer we got our permits up to date, and unlike previous projects, we hired a skilled contractor to oversee its completion. Today the footer was poured, next plumbing and electric go in, then the floor will be poured (cement) followed by spray foam insulation and a stucco jon in and out.

More as it comes.

Hmmm...discovered my old netbook computer still works!  Took forever to find the charging cable for it but once I did, it charged up just fine.  Apparently computers that have been turned off for 3 years are hungry for updates once awakened.  Took over an hour to upgrade the smarts inside.  Once that was done I was able to broadcast on Ustream just fine with it.  Next up, I discovered the old battery I was using for the repeater would no longer take a charge so I ordered a new one.  Last up, I discovered the repeater (powered up with an AC adapter) works fine but won't talk to my new router.  One win - one tie - and one big loss.  Help!  Going to seek out Danny from Big Bend Telephone over the next couple of days to see if I am missing something simple.  I am convinced it has something to do with the settings in their router.  I watched 5 videos on how to set up my repeater and they only confused me more.  I really should go build something....THAT I know how to do.  87,91,70,0,B

In my search for extended web cam reach I seem to have forgotten that I had a wifi repeater that UK Neil set up for me a couple of years ago.  With an external antenna on my now defunct netbook computer, I was able to pick up a full wifi signal a quarter mile away.  Returning the bum cable was a snap and Amazon refunded my money in the form of a credit as soon as it was shipped.  Printed out the return label and threw it in a box with the goods and was notified immediately that UPS would pick it up the next day (which was last Friday).  Being that Manny had already made two deliveries to me last week, I gave him a break and met him at the highway to pass off the package, saving him 20 minutes of round trip drive time on my bumpy road.

Now back to the issue at hand.  I am charging up the battery I use to power the wifi repeater and I just ordered another tablet computer with a portion of my refund.  If all goes well (fingers crossed)...once I install the free Ustream android app, I should be able to broadcast far beyond 150 feet from home base.  83,91,69,0,B

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How do you make friends?  It is done by building on relationships.  Your personal relationship with Christ truly begins when you acknowledge that He has always had a relationship with you.  It doesn't just suddenly happen because He is always there for everyone - everywhere - forever.  Like with any friend, in order to reap the benefits of the relationship...all you have to do is acknowledge it and it will build from there.

John 15:15  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

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Well...I couldn't find my long ethernet cable so I ordered 2 twenty footers for 14 bucks including overnight shipping.  Got them this afternoon and solved my problem with the weathercam - sort of.  Setting it up through WeatherUnderground was pretty easy, but for some reason when I go to my station and click on webcam it says "Missing webcam" but when I go to WunderMap and click on "webcams" it shows up.  It can be viewed here.  Also, I discovered my weather station marker on the map is off by about 2 miles.  Since it is all sort of working now, I am not going to mess with it until I get a second wind and start all over from scratch.  Live streaming from Ustream seems to be working fine but getting up close and personal with Ben and Javier is out of the question for now.  I contacted the seller on Amazon about the long cable and although it says in the description that it will power a webcam - they said they couldn't guarantee it would power ANY webcam.  Just printed out the return authorization and off it goes tomorrow.  Speaking of returns...the little fried FlightRadar24 box got shipped back to Germany 2 weeks ago.  As soon as I emailed the postage receipt, they reimbursed my PayPal account right away.  It is nice when things work the way they are supposed to.  90,96,76,0,B  

Double IT fail today.  Five hours and little progress.  1.  My webcam doesn't work with the super long USB extension cable.  I am returning the cable - it cost 100 bucks!  However, the webcam still works still works fine with my 75' cable.  2.  Configuring through a hard line and mounting it was a snap but I can't get the new weathercam to communicate wirelessly with my router.  I am pretty sure it has to do with a setting in the router but I just can't figure it out.  That isn't too horrible of an issue because I have a long enough ethernet cable to run the line - if I can just find it.  I didn't get to the point of setting it up with WeatherUnderground - hopefully there won't be any issues there.  86,95,76,0,B
I am testing live streaming video here.