water to gold

WATER TO GOLD
Good gravy, that employee lunch for Christmas ( where the socializing is kept to a minimum as they all stuff their face and then bolt for the door to enjoy the extra day and a half off ) was good. Pot luck, so we had to buy our own chow, but I’m still bloated an hour and a half later. Which is why I’m writing late. A few of us were finishing up work as the rest tore into the food, I ate, everyone else deserted ship, I cleaned up the mess and now at two I can start writing. I brought salami and cheese and as usual my food was the least eaten. No taste whatsoever. There wasfudge, celery with cream cheese with dried cranberries in it. Stop me, I’m still thinking of food. No damn fruit cake, though. As I said, no taste.
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Since Ryan of the Three Amigo’s Survival Site (http://tslrf.blogspot.com/ ) has been so restrained as I growled and snarled and made a pest of myself, I felt I needed to alert the new minions of my basic mission statement ( yes, it is Make Money, Get Chicks For Free, but not officially ) which is I’m trying to prepare for the worst case scenario for the least amount of investment. So, just because I make fun of Yuppies and those owning semi-auto’s living in a thirty year mortgage doesn’t mean they are absolutely incorrect. Their brand of survivalism has its place for some people in some instances. One size doesn’t fit all. If you are poor and are afraid of running out of time and assume the worst will happen, then I’m right. Otherwise, The Three Amigo’s have advice that is just as good as mine. I always see both sides of the coin, but presenting the illusion of rational thinking and reason just ain’t my bag, baby. I go for shock and amusement, but every once and again such as now I try to set the record straight.
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In the not so distant future, almost all of us are going to face heating bills so outrageous that the ones from 2008 looked almost free. Assuming the economy and distribution system stay in place, a lot of us are going to need to drastically cut back on the amount of energy we use to heat the homestead. Food and energy are guaranteed to keep going up, as is inflation. At best our wages/pensions will stagnate ( they could go down, too ). Eventually your heating bill is going to face severe cuts. And we can cut way back before we are really all that inconvenienced. No one needs to keep the house at a constant 80 degrees. Or even seventy. You can stay at 55 and with a wool sweater and thick socks, perhaps a hat, and stay comfortable. You might need a throw blanket while stationary. But the one stumbling block for most people seems to be that they need to blast the furnace so that enough heat gets to the water pipes so they don’t freeze and burst. I am a macho, He-Man, descended from Kit Carson, and would love to live in a more modest heat, you proudly proclaim. Alas, sigh, I can’t. The pipes will freeze and it will cost thousands of dollars to fix. My hands are tied. Really, it has nothing to do with the wife threatening me with no sex and a butcher knife to the scrotum.
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Liar! Lying liar! You are whipped, pure and simple. You would rather spend four hundred bucks a month than give up your once a week loving. Fine. Keep wasting that cash you could be using for preps. However, when the time comes that you simply have no choice and must turn down the thermostat, I hope you can easily adapt to no water. The solution to turning your heat way down is to turn off your running water. Now, I’m no home owner, and I don’t play one on TV. But there has to be a relatively simple way to turn off the house water but leave a source to fill containers from. I know that the water pipe in the city park never freezes, regardless of the outside temperature. Perhaps that red painted “pump lever” is made for outside use. A ranch supply place would have the answer, an outdoor faucet. If you installed that outside or in the basement, could you turn off the rest of the house water? I think it is something to look into. Fill up containers and fill/flush by hand inside. That is what I do now. And when I was living in a trailer park, a neighbor couldn’t afford to heat tape her water hose so she just hauled in gallon jugs of water from the outside faucet. Primitive, but effective. Shower with the cleaned bleach jug with four holes in the cap. Flush the toilet by filling the bowl.
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My water jugs don’t start to freeze inside until the outside gets into the single digits and the sun doesn’t come out. In your more modestly heated home they won’t freeze at all. And remember, use the food grade five gallon buckets with the Gamma Seal lids for your water buckets. Much more sturdy than camping water jugs, can be stacked, and only cost a few bucks more each. Merry Christmas, best to you and the family. A guest article will be posted tomorrow.
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