Self Reliance & projects list

I try do everything and below are links to some of my projects. For why this is important please see this link. I seek no commercial gain and I make no representations and assume no liability for any information on this website. The information is for the reader’s own use not commercial gain and if you circulate extracts please attribute the source to this website.

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update October 2, 2017

See pic above – when walking in the woods you need to watch where you walk – not only to avoid a copperhead but also to see what is going on down there – the different fungi and this small guy for whom my misstep would have been fatal. My last post was Aug 28 […]

summer nears end August 27, 2017

I had large yields of vegetables and fruit this year due primarily to plentiful rains and my slowly improving techniques. We had so many patty pan squash we gave a 5 gal bucket to the local high end restaurant. So the squash were great this year but a few days ago I noticed borer holes […]

can’t get no satisfaction August 6, 2017

(Pic above – the Atlanta house has a big fig tree and recent rains produced a good crop. The pic shows 2 days harvesting, net of consumption.) The Rolling Stones lyric (1965) – “can’t get no satisfaction” played in my mind during my run through the woods. Probably because I just watched “Norman: The Moderate […]

rainwater harvesting – connecting new storage tank August 4, 2017

Last year there was a drought, I was short of water and had to transport 35 gals a day from Atlanta to Pickens to maintain key plants. I then resolved to increase my 6,000 gal storage capacity and in May I installed a 2,100 gal tank in a separate location and filled it from my […]

Space Invaders and the world of 1’s and 0’s August 1, 2017

After leaving South Africa in the late 70’s I worked in London for one of the “big 8” accounting firms, now called the “big 4”. I remember a multi-day training event where in the evenings we drank a lot of beer, socialized and I discovered the addictive Space Invaders arcade video game which was housed […]

what’s growing July 23, 2017

After several days in the 90’s this morning was overcast and I began working at 6.30am, so it was pleasant. With all the recent rains I have 8,000 gallons stored rainwater and can be liberal with its use. As I stepped outside I heard loud buzzing. M. had lamented we had not trimmed the Rose […]

what’s growing July 14, 2017

We have had lots of rain and in the woods interesting fungi appear such as above or this unusual specimen below. The puffballs attract little attention while growing. But when it matures a hole appears at the top. In addition to the regular looking fungi there are other varieties, here is another one. But enough […]

cracked iPhone 4 screen replacement June 21, 2017

This morning’s wsj 6/21/17 first page article says “Bust Your Phone Again? These Teens Are Here To Help”. A 16 year old Nantucket resident instead of surfing, made close to $24k last summer repairing smart phones and is busy again this summer. His charge to repair a cracked iPhone 7 Plus is $189.99. M. […]

water heater expansion tank June 21, 2017

In addition to my place north of Atlanta where I spend most of my time, we have a large house in Atlanta which we will sell when M. stops working. I have begun readying the Atlanta house for sale. It has two water heaters and neither has an expansion tank. The code requires an expansion […]

what’s growing June 20, 2017

My last growing update was June 2. Since then ripe tomatoes, blackberries and blueberries have come on stream. And wild plants such as the pokeweed above, compete for attention. Yesterday’s basket provided a delicious salad – tasty tomatoes, cucumber, beans plus onions and garlic (not shown). All freshly picked. I inter-sprinkled some seeds for large […]

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