operation hades

OPERATION HADES

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Okay, now I’m really friggin getting worried, and, no, I would not expel my favorite turd ( I crap you not ). When this much good luck dogs me, I start looking around for the other shoe to drop. So, this might be considered The Next Official Bison Warning Of Imminent Total Collapse!!!! On Monday, as I’ve said, I get the check for a refund from Florida. The combined paycheck two days later almost doubles my savings ( even if I can’t spend it, the savings looks sweet ). I’m now at my first goal of only spending half of my paycheck on essentials ( propane, food and land payment total half my new take home pay ). That is Huge Luck #1. Then, that very same day, I’m looking through my official Amazon orders ( the orders I get commission on, I can access the particular items that were ordered [ don’t worry, I have no info on who ordered ] ) and I see someone ordered a 12v white auto bulb. Once or twice a month, I look at the orders and I find new items others ordered that I had no idea even existed. This was one of them. It uses 20% more energy, but has 15 “bulbs” instead of one ( which is the kind I’m using now ). The price is the same. I’ve ordered it and will review it, comparing the two. That was Damn Fine Luck #2. Then, Tuesday afternoon I’m buying my regular meat for dinner, pay for it, pocket the change and go home. As I’m putting the coins in my jar, I notice the nickel is a 1936 buffalo. Now, I don’t know if it is worth anything more than five cents, but I don’t care. It is enough that, for me, it is a rare and pretty cool monetary unit. Cool Luck #3. I’m looking over my shoulder and I’d suggest you do the same.

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My new digging project didn’t have a name, other than “ damn hole”. All new projects should have a name. I thought about “big dig”, but that name was already taken by the public works fiasco in Boston. I thought, perhaps “China dig”, but that isn’t very cool. Project names should be somewhat cryptic. You know, like “operation overlord”. Or, “operation democracy” when we go over and kill off the Iraqi population ( and our own troops ) with depleted uranium dust. I’d imagine that the Chinese will be even more poetic when they lob a few EMP nukes over our heads, something like “operation thousand flowers blooming”. Anyway, I’ve decided on “operation Hades”. It is hard as Hell to dig, but when done it will be a Hell of a job. It will remain warm as Hell compared to the aboveground trailer and the outside weather. When it is done, I’ll hope to Hell I’ll never dig as much again ( other than my underground workshop, the next project after this one ). Hence, operation Hades. It has been three months since I started digging, and progress is slow. I’ve dug the ten by twenty outline. Ten by ten is four foot deep and the other half is only one foot deep. A lot of time is wasted moving the dirt more than once, which is probably going to be my motivation for renting a car to go buy a wheelbarrow ( I’ll take #4 in to the casino at the same time, as part of her birthday- the ancient old crone is turning fifty!! ). When my truck started experiencing its death rattle/lurch, I was in a hurry to go buy some PVC pipe and a bike rack ( and have it installed ). At the time, in that half day, it didn’t occur to me to go get a wheelbarrow. So I’ll pay the price for my forgetfulness now. I tried using two plastic buckets and walking them up my dirt stairs out of the pit, but it still takes way too long.

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My time frame is to finish digging by next July so I have plenty of time to frame in, roof and occupy before next winter. At first, I planned on building my timber cabin using the dirt wall shoring posts. But that got me thinking that I’d have to pay more to furnish the place. If I can find a small travel trailer cheaply, and if I use that instead, I already have the bed, table, cabinets, plumbing and 12v wiring. I should spend about the same either way. Of course, I’ll have to dig more for the ramp leading down to the pit and then fill it back in. That part will suck. But, whichever way I go, I’m thinking it will cost about two grand. Three hundred for the posts, plywood, bracing lumber and plastic for the pit walls ( the walls are fine without bracing, but I’m building as if a huge earthquake will crumple them ). Another three hundred for the roof, two by fours, plywood and plastic sheeting. I’ll call it about another two hundred for lots of insulation for the roof. The remainder is the structure and additional items such as that skylight that has a mirrored tube running down at an angle, to pipe in light ( I’ll have the opening off to one side- if it leaks, it won’t be above the structure ) and that wind powered vent thing that can suck out the moist air. The pit will be ten feet deep ( I think anything longer than twelve foot long timber will cost too much, so 12 foot posts with two foot sunk, wrapped in plastic and resting on a concrete step ). The structure inside will be lower by a few feet. The gap between that and the roof will be both insulation and dead air space. I know you told me a minimum of four feet between the two, but I’m trying to minimize costs. It will be a 80/20 solution.

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Now, this is my spending goal. It might be slightly more. I’ll be getting about a grand on the tax return, so that means I’ll need to save about a grand. Any Amazon commissions I get will mostly go to this project. Of course, Christmas and birthdays will suck some of that up, as well as car rentals. But for ten months, operation Hades will get as much as I can spare. Now, if the next eight months goes by and the state of Florida doesn’t change its mind on the child support, I’ll also have another three grand saved up. In a perfect world, I’ll use that to pay off this lot of land. So, knock on wood, by next fall I’ll be underground and in absolutely positively no debt whatsoever. We all know the collapse will happen sooner than this, but on this item I’m allowing myself a slight glimmer of hope. I’m not betting on it, that would be plain pure-D craziness. But I’ll enjoy it if it happens. I should have done this from the beginning, but there was a bit of a learning curve on digging and building ( I’d never built more than a crazy leaning small porch overhang before I covered the first pit ). Wish me luck, buy my crap and through my Amazon links. You may die of exposure after the power shuts off, but you can do so thinking how you helped keep me cozy.

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