Cabin?

Not far back I mentioned transcription as being a possible side gig I was looking into. There turned out to be a catch. The hourly rates are based on how long the audio files are, not how long it would take to transcribe them. It could end up paying something like five dollars an hour, depending on the job. It could be higher or lower than that. I'm keeping it in mind, but it's on the back burner.

 

I've been needing to move for a long time. My ideal house would be some kind of Victorian with awesome finishes. Not being rich, I've been looking into another possibility. What if I could build something like a cabin? I call it a cabin. It would be a small house kind of like a tiny house but bigger. I decided to see how much it would cost for the bare minimum.

This week I created a spreadsheet and started putting materials costs into it. I can type in the dimensions of the cabin, and it calculates the cost of the roof, foundation, walls, etc., and adds them up. Some of it is surprisingly cheap. I have two columns. One calculates for a one-story and the other for two. It's looking like I can build something in the 500 square foot(46.45sq m) range for somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,500. The spreadsheet is only an estimate and still needs tweaking.

Keep in mind that's a bare minimum cost for something the size of a small apartment. That's for a foundation, sub flooring, exterior walls and a roof. It wouldn't include water, electricity, insulation, drywall, plumbing, wiring and all the things like lights, light switches, flooring, sinks, appliances, etc. It also wouldn't include the cost of a building permit. I need to visit the office in my county that processes those and see how much it would cost to get one. The internet tells me it's between $100 and $1,500 and is usually based on the cost of the project. I'm pretty sure I'm at the bottom end of the spectrum. :)

I'd mostly be working on it myself in the evening. There's a problem. I have disc problem in my back. I can't be lifting heavy things like boards and beams. I would have to rig up a system of ropes and pulleys and a counterweight to lift things for me. The build sites I have available have trees, so that shouldn't be too hard.

If this gets past the planning stage, I'd put it on YouTube. It would start within the next few weeks. The plan would be to build the minimum and add the finishes over time. Where I live, if you generate your own electricity, the electric company has to pay your for the extra. A solar farm is a must. No electric bill, plus they'd be paying me to finish the cabin.

Have a great weekend.

Why All the Demand?

Since early last year, I've been tracking the prices of used Nissan Leafs in case things turned around and I was able to get one. I thought that with the 2018 model coming out, the cost of the old ones would plummet due to all the trade-ins. Instead, prices went up and kept going up. The years I was looking at were 2015 and newer for the SL model. They went from around $9,000 to $13,000, although I've seen a couple in the 12Ks lately.

The SL is top of the line. If I was getting a used car, it may as well be the fancy one, right? Right. It was a good thought. But the price rise had me confused. I couldn't figure it out. Why would an "obsolete" version of the Leaf keep getting more expensive? Especially with the Model 3 coming out and all the other electric cars. It didn't make sense. Where was all this demand coming from? It seemed crazy.

I may have figured it out. At the least I have a theory that makes sense. I've also been tracking Tesla to see when they go bankrupt. I mean if not when. They could still turn things around, right? Yeah, sure. :) I saw a story the other day about mass Model 3 reservation cancellations. Tesla won't release the numbers, but apparently, many, many people who reserved a Model 3 have cancelled and gotten their deposits back. Aha, that would explain the demand on the Leaf SL. I don't know if that's the reason for the price rise, but it would make sense to me that some of those people would be buying Leafs, perhaps while waiting for another brand of electric car to hit the market. It would also kind of make sense that some of the reservation holders would be buying something cheap to tide them over until their Model 3s ship, which could be a very long time, if ever.

Of course, some of the demand might be due to the new popularity of electric cars. A cheap Leaf would be a decent entry vehicle or a decent second car to test out the whole electric car thing. Something else I wonder about is the poor range of the 2018 Leaf. It's around 150 miles per charge instead of the 200+ it needed to be. Maybe not that many people are trading in the old Leafs, when it feels like a step backward compared to the Bolt or Model 3. For commuting to work, 150 is fine, but to be a main car, I'd want well over 200 miles. And that's not really enough compared to a gas car that gets 350 miles per tank, but it would work. The 2019 Leafs are supposed to have 200+ miles of range. Maybe the trade-ins will occur then. It's stuff to think about.

So, why 2015 and newer when the older Leafs are around $6,000? In 2015 Nissan switched to a more energy efficient heating/cooling system. The ones in the old Leafs use way too much electricity. A lot of people weren't using the heater in the winter, because of it. That doesn't work for me.

Have a great weekend.

Whose Side Are They On?

The Branch Davidian standoff in Waco. I remember that. It was a wake-up call for the American people. Before that, in a hostage situation standard procedure was to wait it out. Not that time. The government made the decision to massacre its own citizens, even hostages. It was shocking. I knew immediately that the "leaders" in Washington no longer cared about the American people. That was the moment I knew beyond any doubt the government is not on our side. Democrat Bill Clinton was the president. Not surprising that a democrat with a long trail of mysterious deaths(The video at the top is unrelated.) in his footsteps would authorize an attack against our own. Republicans are pro-life after all. Not that they're much better, but when they massacre people, it seems to be bad guys who need killing.

Later in 2009, when swine flu appeared, Vice President Biden suggested staying out of crowded places like buses and airplanes, which is standard procedure for any flu much less something like swine flu. He was immediately attacked by fellow Democrats for fear mongering. I saw CNN's official doctor going ballistic over what Biden had recommended, which to this day is standard procedure. CNN was fake news even back then. They made Biden change his advice. The decision was also made not to close the borders, another sign the government didn't care about the lives of the American people. They were willing to let a pandemic burn through the populace. They were willing to sacrifice us all. Democrats in general don't seem to care about human life.

Some people talk about a revolution to clean out Washington. I tend to think the time for that was in 2008, when all the "too big to fail" stuff was going on. If nobody was willing to do anything about that, when will they be ready? When it's too late. That's when. By the time the revolution comes, it will be too late. 2008 was the right moment. The government is ready for it now.

Kind of hard hitting this week. There may be too much truth in this one

The thermometer has been all over the place lately.

Monday 50F(10C)

Wednesday 84F(28.9C)

Friday 66F(18.9C)

Nevertheless, I was able to make good underwear choices.

And I didn't see any more vampires at Walmart. :)

Have a great weekend.

The Recurring Struggle

Have you ever danced with a doctor in the pale moonlight? #DoctorsAreDevils

I was at Walmart again this week and saw the bloodmobile I mentioned previously. In that post I jokingly said they were vampires, because they were appearing on overcast days and such. Then I explained about the blood shortage in the summer and that they were collecting for that. This time I thought to take a picture. The bloodmobile looks like this.

I deliberately included the sky in the picture. Notice that it was another overcast day. Maybe they really are vampires, and they're using the summer blood shortage as a cover for their activities. That would be very clever of them, wouldn't it?

So, this hasn't been a good year. I've mentioned the hospital visits before. Things still haven't turned around. Lately, I've been struggling with something else, something a lot of people struggle with. I hesitate to bring up another problem, when so many other people are going through worse things. But I feel like I need to get it off my chest. Sometimes, expressing things that bother us helps to ease the burdens with which we struggle.

It's springtime. It's the time when I struggle to know whether to wear warm or cool underwear. In the summer and winter it's easy. Cool for summer, warm for winter. This spring has been unusually difficult due to the wild temperature fluctuations. One day it can be in the 50s(10C+). Another it can be in the 60s(15.56C+) or 70s(21.1C+). The forecast is often inaccurate. I don't like to sweat. Even a few degrees can make a difference in comfort levels as can rainy or windy conditions. Compounding my struggle are nighttime temperatures. If the temperature is borderline during the day but cold at night, the choice is obvious. Go with warm. But what if it's a windy day around 63F(17.2C) but not quite so cool at night? I could go with warm or cool. Unless the forecast is off. Or the wind stops. What if that 63F day is sunny? Sun makes a huge difference. It can change everything, making a chilly, shivery day warm and sweaty. For the most part, I've been able to weather the storm and make good choices, but some days the forecast hasn't been the best. The silver lining is knowing that summer is near. The struggle will end soon. Until autumn.

Have a great weekend.

Fun Hockey Story

I ran across a feel good, hockey story this week about an emergency backup goalie who got to play in the NHL. I don't watch hockey, so I didn't know how this worked. It works thusly. The emergency backup goalie is a guy who isn't on a team and doesn't play in the NHL. He lives in the area and is available if either team loses all its goalies, which almost never happens. The story is about Scott Foster, who plays amateur hockey. His regular job is as an accountant. He played hockey in college and never stopped playing even though he didn't go pro.

Scott Foster got to play for the Chicago Blackhawks for the last 14:01 minutes of a game and blocked seven shots. The other team never scored on him. It's a great story. Not only did he get a chance to play professional sports, he did well at it. He got to live the dream and be awesome doing it. Hero. His post-game interview was funny, too.

In other news I've pretty much written off the panels I was going to use for a YouTube backdrop. They still smell. Someone on Facebook recommended using a sheet. That reminds me. Last week I mentioned my fake friends on Facebook. I didn't mean everyone. I meant the fake ones only. If you're a reader from Facebook, I didn't mean you. I was talking about the people who have never read a single blog post. So, the sheet idea is interesting, especially if it's a blanket instead. A blanket would help dampen echoes and save money on soundproof panels. Another thing I might do it buy a panel of sheetrock and paint it. I could put wallpaper on it later if that was interesting to me.

I still have not come up with a solution to the cover for AoE. I need to do something and soon.

I've stepped up my game on the French front. I've been putting more work into it to reach some kind of level of fluency. One of the YouTube channels I've created would be a French channel where I would teach English as a way to practice my French. But I need to expand my vocabulary first and go more in depth with verb tenses and trivial rules.

I also learned that the B2 test I mentioned the other day would qualify me to teach French. It's possible I could be a substitute French teacher at a local high school. It's an idea.

Have a great weekend.

Looking to Next Week

Last week I burned my hand with microwaved V-8 juice. It wasn't boiling or steaming but was still vicious. The skin is still not healed and looks kind of reptilian. I've been using aloe for it. I'd post a picture, but my fake friends on Facebook who never read the blog would see it, when I linked the post. No sense disturbing them. I don't need their fake sympathy. Maybe I'll post it next week.

Last week was also bad in other ways. The week before that I bought wood panels at the hardware store for a background for my YouTube channels. Everything lined up perfectly for me to pick them up and even get a discount. They're for indoor use. My plan was to put one of them against the wall instead of a green screen. But they had a chemical odor to them. It wasn't very strong, so I closed the door to that room most of the time. When the weather warmed up, I opened the windows and let it air out. The weather turned cold. Last week the chemical had built up in the house, even with the door closed, and was making me sick. I had to put them outside, which they're too fragile to withstand if they get wet. They still smell. I might not be able to bring them back in at all.

Last Thursday I ordered Revolution. Since it was online, the vet had to authorize the prescription. Instead of doing that, they called me and tried to price match. Online it's around $15 a dose. At the vet they usu ally charge $25. The price match would have been nice, but I couldn't get there that day(Friday) or Monday. I let them authorize it. It was supposed to be here Tuesday, but the post office was fast. It came in Monday. However, Monday is the day the substitute mail carrier works. The normal carrier has that day off. It was delivered to someone else.

I made it to the post office before they closed. It turns out that when they scan a delivery, the GPS location is recorded. Since the delivery was fewer than five minutes from the post office, one of the people who works there ran out to the mailbox and picked it up and brought it to me. Yay! However, when I got out to the parking lot, the battery in the car of the person I was riding with was dead. Nobody had jumper cables. We had to wait until someone picking up mail had them. It's amazing how many people don't carry them. When I had a car, I always carried them. It's basic kit.

Next week will be better. I know it will.

Have a great weekend.

Internet "Prophets"

Sometimes YouTube recommends some weird videos. I've listened to Bible study type videos before. YouTube thinks I need to hear from YouTube "prophets". I've watched a few of these people to see what it was about and see if they had anything to say. Some of them are interesting. They have all kinds of videos. They make blog posts. I see them posted on Facebook a lot, which is extremely annoying. If it's shared the right way, I can block all future posts. If not, I have to manually hide the posts to get rid of the spam. In the Bible there's a ministry gift of prophecy that's a gift of the Spirit. Are these YouTube "prophets" real and operating under that gift?

Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at many times and in various manners spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, Has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.

Personally, I want to know more about the other worlds. I'm ready to get off the one I'm on. :) These verses form the foundation for a doctrine that says God used to speak through prophets. Today he no longer does that. He speaks through his son. Simply put, Jesus was the last prophet. Before him God spoke words through men. Now men can speak to the Word. There's no need to go to someone to hear from God. Ask him yourself. Jesus was the last prophet.

This doctrine whether correct or not says every prophet after Jesus is false. It's used to refute people like Mohamed, Joseph Smith, Ellen G. White, etc. We know today that those three were not Christians much less prophets, because we can study their lives and writings. The online fakes are harder, since there's no practical way to really know them. You can't move to where they live and follow them around. You just have videos and blog posts some of which line up very nicely with the Bible.

How do we tell what's real and what isn't? For anyone claiming to be a prophet, I go to those verses. Jesus was the last prophet. They're done. Claiming to be a prophet is basically claiming Jesus didn't finish the job. God needs something extra. Bzzt. Wrong answer.

However, there is a gift of prophecy. For people claiming that gift, I listen to what they say and compare it to prophecies in the Bible. Internet prophets speak in terms of maybe, might, think, feel, etc. "I think what God's saying..." "What God might be saying..." "I feel..." "I feel in my spirit..." "God may be saying..." Stick a fork in them. They're done. Prophecies in the Bible are specific and literal. There's no fuzzy vagueness. Every prophecy that has been fulfilled has been fulfilled literally not spiritually or figuratively. They're not all easy to understand, but they're all specific and concrete.

Prophets in the Bible could call down fire on people. Repeat as needed. Internet prophets can't. Prophets in the Bible performed miracles. Internet prophets can't. Biblical prophets had a lot of bad news to give. Internet prophets tend to always tell you what you want to hear. "Blessings" "Victory" "Abundance" "You're on the verge of a breakthrough!" "Your miracle is coming this week!" "Send me $1,000 to unlock the blessings." The words of real prophets were written down and recorded in the Bible. Can you imagine an internet prophet's words being added to the Bible? "What I think God meant by this was..." Me either. Even the fake gospels like Judas are better than that.

Nevertheless, the Bible says there's a gift of prophecy, so we should be open to the possibility. I've never seen it in action, but it's supposed to be out there somewhere.

Over time I've listened to quite a few videos and been recommended to one too many blog posts. I had to get this off my chest.

One more thing. Here's a prophetic word. You're moving from the pit the palace. From the dump to the Trump. From the mold to the gold. Put the pedal to the medal to accelerate your blessings and favor from God.

Sounds great, right? I didn't say it was a prophetic word from God. I just said it was a prophetic word. Very tricky. Very easy not to see that. If they give a prophetic word and don't say it's from God, then it's not.

Have a great weekend.