How much farther out of town (people) did you go to get to this new place?
Bob
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Hey BobMac,
You really have figure in commuting times to downtown core areas and international/regional airports. How far the stamp’les are willing to travel. Daily. Or needs-must.
We had been 3/4-11/4 hours previously.
Now 2 hours solid from Portland/Vancouver/PDX.
Much farther north and then we’d be within 2 hours JBL-M; Tacoma: Federal Way; Sea-Tac.
Another “tell” that I’ve found now . . . . how many Wi-Fi signals can you pick up.
In out Yacolt home it was our own three; and four different neighbors. All locked of course.
Here . . . . only our own two. No neighbor signals, broadcasting
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Beautiful scene Mr Steve! Most be exciting, a new start?
This week I did a lot of driving, and fuel prices keep going up. Gasoline over 2 euro (2,10/liter) and diesel 1,80/liter. Had my tank filled at home and payed 1.48/liter. Thanks to the EV, filling of that 1000 liter/250 gallon tank is reduced from every two months to once in 5 and a half month. Pfoe, that saves a lot of money!
And in that other threat, Mr Tom, cyber friends is ok. Easy to go around the world that way. I hang out on different forums but always want to meet the people in real life. Much nicer communication. Cool, what JO Kristian and Koen did! Maybe I will show up some day too, but it is a long way from home.
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I have extremely limited interests Joep. The things we talk about here and growing food. When I was still out in the world I seldom met anyone interested in those things, at least not in the same ways I was.
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Steve are you still a tree farmer? There is a lot of rural, wild country between Vancouver and Olympia.
One thing you didn’t mention when praising wood heat is the way the stove talks to you on initial light up, tic…tic…tic
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Tinkerers, home experimenters, seekers to re-create ancient methods of hunting and living, Restorers of antique tools and machinery, off-grid living, gardening, woodworking, bees, cars, etc. I find all of these fascinating. I am an information junkie and the internet is my drug of choice. When I get a chance to meet people in person, there is always someone I can say I was happy to meet and talk with. A “kindred soul” so to speak. Many of those on this forum! 
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Put the spare tire on the Mazda and finally moved it out of the back field and closer to the house. Going to try to Jack up the roof with the porta power. I’m hoping this works. The B Pillar area is mostly fine, back glass broke from a barrel hoop I think.
Tons of redneck diamonds inside this truck and it’s pretty annoying trying to slide over from passenger to driver side with my shifter in the way.
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I was happy to meet Jacob and his trip family. I wish we could have had more time to talk. I went out to get new tires last week. Waiting to get them installed there were four other people sitting in the waiting room. All at least in their sixties. All with their faces staring at their phones for the whole time. I just don’t relate. I’d be happy to meet you though Mike.
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Come to Argos 2022, first weekend in June we think… About a five hour drive to meet a select bunch of really nice Humans! I will be there for sure! Would like to meet you as well.
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Hi Guys,
just finished off using up my third wheel barrow of woodstove wood. About 150 pounds X3.
Using mostly slower heat releasing Red Alder with a higher remaining ash content than Douglas Fir.
So now my ash pan is filled and blocking my below grate air blast up for the least smoke, quickest, hot fire starting:
Weighs out to 8 pounds of ash. Look. Virtually no char. It all got used up in stove to make heat.
The black in the stove floor is not woodchar. But are the “grate” air gap slits:
Here is the stove floor hand ash swept down through the slots to re-line the ash pan with metals saving ash insulation. The slit gap between the floor-grate-refectory bricks now visible. The floor bricks outlines now visible.
Now my second year using refractory bricks as grates instead of metal:
Metals just will not give the life I need using up the in-stove made wood charcoal live, as heat.
I am not the only one using up fuel wood down to clean ash for in house heating. Others have said this too. Can put up their own pictures.
Ha! Doing this best-practices and you’ll never have to chimney clean again. Razor blade scrape soot’ed door windows glasses.
And use half the fuel wood you’ve needed doing things the old, big splits, air choked ways.
Steve Unruh
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Three re-occuring trends here on the DOW have my caution-danger bells ringing.
Woodgas as in occupied spaces for cooking. Woodgas IS CARBON MONOXIDE. We left that behind 50 years ago.
Play with this and people will die and our “hobby” will be vilified and regulated away.
Making engine fuel charcoal in-house. Wood charcoal making; and engine grade woodgas making are done by incomplete, interrupted partial combustions.
Again makes much CARBON MONXOXIDE. One user/maker mistake. One equipment burn metals through. One draft going cool, reversing flow incident and household people will die.
With again “woodgasers” activities being blamed.
Again resulting in spreading regulations banning our hobby. Face it. WE live in an all-camera’s self-publishing world now. Any incident get blown up out of proportion for “views” ratings.
Wood-for-heat in-house SAFE. Make only heats, chimney emissions, and wood ash.
Make you charcoals outside, well ventilated, any way you would wish.
Use your made woodgas and chargas OUTSIDE any way you wish.
Keep these activities separated to NOT KILL NON-INVOLVED PEOPLE.
You are personally responsible for safety, and community acceptance in your area.
A few brainac adventurers have the capability of ruining all for the rest of us.
Steve Unruh
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I will take your advice and change my plans slightly, thanks.
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I have a question for the Europeans. As you know, almost all if not all our battery operated and many corded tools are now manufactured in China. I was watching a Youtube video from someone in the Ukraine using Ukrainian or some kind of cyrillic letters. Are Europeans tools manufactured on that continent or have they been all outsourced to the far east as well?
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Well said Steve, if people die the government will use it to shut it down.
Wood Gas in homes killed 10 of thousands in the world during it use over fifty years ago.
The Seattle Gas Works shut down in the middle 50’s . I remember my Grandmother’s apartment had gas stove oven. I am sure she was using gas from the Seattle Gas Works Gasifier Plant. They used coal to make the gas.
Bob
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There are many European toolmakers, Bosch, Black&Decker, Narex, Makita etc. But I am heavily suspicious that their production is based on Chinese manufacturing. At least on some cheap common parts. And definitely, all batteries come from Asia.bz
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For me? I have the idea that everything is produced in China. Or India. Anyway, that side of the globe. And somethings are manufactured overhere. Electronics? I think it is coming back a little bit. With this crisis they will start producing again, but it takes 6 years to get started…
PV or batteries? I dont know a European factory. PV is bankrupt, batt development is going real fast in China. Bad things, but what can you do about it? Everyone is talking about circular economy and buy local, but run away to Alie for the best deal. The world is just a small village nowadays. It will end quickly if we run out of oil. No more bullshit items draged around the world.
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We dragged this old veteran out of its shed, and unhooked it from our little grid.
It’s a Kubota powered 6000 watt induction generator. Still runs and generates power, but needs decarbonization. The shed it was in never had an exhaust vent so when the doors got blown shut, it would choke on its own exhaust. 12000 hours then it broke the hour meter. I found it in FOB Abu Grain with 9990 hours on it. It was part of a light set generator.
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Regards Bruce, ha,.,. but you have a great generator, I envy you 
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When I was a lad, that was a long time ago now some 60 years ago. My family drove across the USA. I saw in Wyoming, Oklahoma, and other oil producing states the oil fields of pumps going up and down pumping crude oil out of the ground. Lots and lots of them every where. Now in the same areas they are no longer pumping and sitting at a stand still. I would bet it is like this all over the world now. The easy to reach land oil fields are gone or drying up.
Bob
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Yep, peak oil is a long time ago. Crack oil and gas? Sand in Canada? Big mess.
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