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Orale

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by Orale

  1. Here's a link to the tiny house project I did on our land this year. It was a pretty straightforward process.
  2. So when terrorists are attacking the seat of our democracy, you don't think the government should be the one stopping them? I'm seriously at a loss trying to understand what it is you're arguing. The whole situation is ugly, no argument. But the source of this ugliness is 100% on one side. Both-sides blaming the side trying to stop/prevent the ugliness is bizarre.
  3. This past year I put in a new well and new septic on raw land we have in the hill country. I'm happy to share whatever you want to know. We have power from the county, but I have a large grid-connected solar system on my primary house in the city so I know a bit about that. Our well is on a hilltop, so we had to go 800 ft deep which cost about $50k. The septic was pretty reasonable at $15k. Because our land has hard rock a foot under the soil, we had to do an aerobic (electric/mechanical) rather than a conventional passive septic system which is ideal. Permitting for both was pretty straightforward. If you can find land with an existing water source, that would save you a lot of headaches as water is key no matter where you find land imo.
  4. I like you bro, but that's some both sides bullshit. Democrats have passed more substantive positive legislation under Biden than any era since LBJ.
  5. I've cut a lot of rebar with a chop saw with a metal blade for home projects. It never occurred to me to use a torch, not that I know how to safely use one. Seems like it would be a lot slower.
  6. Orale

    Iran

    SIAP. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/03/world/middleeast/iran-explosion-qassim-suleimani-ceremony.html?unlocked_article_code=1.K00.14XJ.iddAMU737IPY&hpgrp=ar-abar&smid=url-share
  7. You might consider a Mexican sycamore. Grows super fast, provides big shade, and the large leaves are easy to collect in Fall.
  8. Cars entering a parking lot off a busy street that pause at the entrance of the lot for a few seconds to survey where they want to park causing cars behind them to abruptly stop and block traffic in said busy street.
  9. I put in a well and septic system on a hilltop property near Comfort this past year and just finished building two tiny houses the well will serve. I've been staying at the property this week getting the tiny houses ready for use. I installed water filters under the kitchen sinks for cooking and drinking purposes, but I'd like to put in some kind of water filtration system at the well pump water outlet so that all the water going to the tiny houses is clean of any potential contaminants. I've been researching options online but I admit I don't really know or understand what kind of system I'm looking for. I see carbon filtration systems, reverse osmosis, and water softener systems amongst others. They seem to vary in price from a couple hundred dollars to multiple thousands of dollars. I'm a city guy, so using well water is a new thing for me. Any advice is appreciated. I'm also going to call the company that did the well and pump today to see if they have a recommendation.
  10. I've been a couple times and will be spending a month or two there this spring. I've thought of getting a long-term place there, but their legal system and rule of law is FUBAR and I wouldn't trust any government not to mess with property rights, particularly those of foreigners.
  11. No way! He's Team Straight's draft pick. Team Gay will take Harry Styles. No takebacks!
  12. Can you just leave MIL in hotel/airbnb to watch tv when y'all are out and about enjoying nature? Or is she just miserable in general to have along? I loved my North Island trip last Fall. I hadn't planned on it, but ended up hiking the Tongariro Crossing which was amazing.
  13. I enjoyed the first episode as well. I thought it tracked the book.
  14. Thanks for all the input. After thinking about it more and realizing the challenges involved in traveling the continent, I'm changing my plans to something like three countries in the southeastern part of the continent. South Africa, perhaps Kenya, and another country TBD. I'll also be doing India and Nepal on this trip as well, so I'm going to scale back my ambition wrt Africa. I'll attach Morocco to a future Spain trip. Thanks to those who recommended a travel agent. I will for sure be using one. Not sure. I don't need luxury, but I like to stay in safe (usually touristy or expat) areas. I'm pricing out flights at the moment to get a sense of costs.
  15. That's my favorite bit he's done. But it probably depends on one's view of guns. I played it for my best friend who's ex special forces and has 30+ guns and he laughed uncomfortably through it.
  16. That's all very fair. Thanks for the detailed response. I've only given it superficial thought and was likely naive in what could be accomplished in a fairly short time. To clarify, my intent was/is to travel by flight between countries, not overland, to the extent that is practical. As far as what I'd hope to see. It's a combination of cities (when warranted), natural wonders, and culturally significant sights. In any event, a lot more research is clearly in order.
  17. I'd like to spend around 6 to 8 weeks in the spring visiting 7 to 10 or so countries in Africa. The intent is to experience a diverse set of countries to get a fairly broad sense of the continent rather than repeating similar experiences in relatively similar countries (i.e., a bunch of safaris in multiple countries). Particularly appealing is geographic, scenic, and cultural diversity. I'm also not looking to get robbed or worse, so I'm avoiding the obviously dangerous countries. Here's a list of the countries I've seen suggested on myriad blogger sites. I really wanted to visit Egypt and Lebanon (the latter Middle East I know) on this trip, but I'm putting them off until things calm down in that particular region. Anyhow, I'd appreciate any thoughts on must-visit and/or should-avoid countries. The list is not in a particular order. Tanzania/Zanzibar South Africa Morocco Zambia Namibia Botswana Malawi Rwanda Kenya Ghana Gambia Senegal Tunisia Sierra Leon Madagascar
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