Sunday, April 26, 2009

mystery project



What could it possible be used for? Assemble materials...four 3' long angle iron, two 4' long angle iron, 2 bags of quickcrete, 4 cinderblocks, twelve 1" galvanized carriage bolts with matching nuts and lock washers, hack saw, tape measure. Total cost - $90. Cut two of the 3' angle iron pieces to render two 12" pieces and two 24" pieces. Set these pieces into the cinder blocks as shown and fill with concrete - about 1 3/4 80lb. bags of concrete mix will fill the blocks. Soak the blocks down good with water before adding the concrete. I use an old 2 liter Gatorade bottle with small holes drilled in the cap to sprinkle the water. Add a coin to each pour....it will keep them guessing some day in the future when someone finds them. Set aside to set up good overnight. To be continued tomorrow.........

Had a great dinner at Bill and Karen's place just a couple of miles NE of me. Bill has been going great guns on the construction but is starting to slack off. I told him I was going to start giving him a hard time on the blog until he gets up to speed so he can rejoin the Ben and David club of quick builders. Had a nice view back toward the Field Lab from the deck while their mutant dog Jack kept an eye out for danger.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Solar panel mounting frame ??

Shadowmoss said...

while points are taken off for commenting as Anonymous, I think perhaps he (she?) was attempting some dry humor. Key word here apparently is 'attempting'.

Blogging tends to bring out the representatives of 'spectatordom', which Thoreau describes as being there to 'help make this seemingly insignificant event one with the removal of the gods of Troy.' At least Mr. Anonymous isn't stealing your nails when your back is turned the way Henry's did.

Or, he could just be an annoying person with too much time on his hands.

TexasMusicToday.com said...

John, I think you blogs are great and really appreciate your hard work. Some people just want to be negative about anything and everything... thats why they live such an unhappy life and never take a chance of living out there dreams. Therefore there attitude will prevent them from ever achieving happiness. Keep focusing John on what makes you happy and disreguard people who want to bring you down to there level. Misery loves company and this previous blogger w/the negative comments is looking for some company.
Keep up the great work and I look foward to hearing your blog again! I live vicariously through
your ambitions.

TexasMusicToday.com said...

John, I think you blogs are great and really appreciate your hard work. Some people just want to be negative about anything and everything... thats why they live such an unhappy life and never take a chance of living out there dreams. Therefore there attitude will prevent them from ever achieving happiness. Keep focusing John on what makes you happy and disreguard people who want to bring you down to there level. Misery loves company and this previous blogger w/the negative comments is looking for some company.
Keep up the great work and I look foward to hearing your blog again! I live vicariously through
your ambitions.

Mr_Brown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Allen Hare said...

I love a good mystery! Now, the cinder blocks filled with concrete must be to hold something down in the wind, the angle iron with holes has got to bo to attatch something. You could go anywhere from that, so I'll stop guessing. Will we find out the solution tomorrow, or, will it be just another piece of the puzzle? Can hardly wait for the finished project!

Thunder Britches said...

Nothing wrong with calling someone an a-hole!! Nothing wrong with that at all!! However, John, you are crossing the line when you call your neighbors dog "ugly". You can cuss a mans wife or disparage his house, but dont ever badmouth his dog!!
PS..What in the Heck is he building now? I give up...a solar powered toilet?

Ben in Texas said...

Ok,my guess on the project is going to be a mount for the new solar panel you got not long ago.. Just my guess anyway.
Wish I could send you down all the rain we are getting up here in Fort Worth area. woke me up this early and now at 7:30 already showing 3/4" in the weather station.

Bob from Athens said...

#1 I didn't realize we were getting or losing points for our comments.

#2 What is negative about guessing "Solar panel mounting frame ??"? That was my guess also, either that or something to hold the solar oven steady in the wind.

Is there another anonymous that I can't see?

Mr_Brown said...

Bob,

The Anonymous comment in question has been removed. So you are not getting the whole story. Nothing wrong with guessing a solar panel.

Carl in Houston said...

an automatic longhorn feeder/head-scratcher? love the last pic...even if it is a mutant dog. :O)

Anonymous said...

The quick builders come to Terlingua and go home. Only the slow builders come to stay. Those who love the slow life, come to stay. Even you John are slowing down alot. See you at the gossep hole more often. Have a big smile to all.

Flag Discounter said...

John,

I read the comment before it was removed and I think they were just attempting to be funny.

Even if they were not, just remember that the vast majority of us really appreciate what you are doing and the time you take to update the blog every day.

Bob O said...

Hmmm...all the things that occurred to me immediately have been taken. I thought of them in this order: PV panel frame, stove frame, solar toilet. Maybe a sling back chair of some sort, like a mini-hammock? I do like the "footprints in the sands of time" aspect of dropping a penny in the pour to tickle the imagination of future archeologists (great book on this, "Deep Time" by Gregory Benford).

Ah, perhaps the beginning of a wind-proof frame for a big solar still, to purify contaminated water and supplement the cistern supply?

Anonymous said...

Maybe it's an actual solar still...John's gotta be getting a little bored with Keystone Lights!

Anonymous said...

you got that dog pic from the wrong angle...his face is slightly better than the backside.