USMB Coffee Shop IV

[SixFoot]

You might have to define "a whole bunch." I don't think a monitor or a TV use up a large amount of electricity. I tend to think it is the heating/AC and appliances like washer/dryer that use the lion's share of electricity in a house.

Here's an article about power usage for a computer. It does say that a TV uses quite a bit more, although I still don't think it's a lot compared to the average AC use.

Calculate your PC's energy use

A/C, electric furnaces and clothes dryers are huge energy hogs, a TV by comparison is like dipping a thimble into the energy stream.

Some people use space heaters, humidifiers, and air fresheners in the winter. The crafty ones reroute their dryer ducts!

Out in the boonies there are still people who use wood stoves and outhouses........

No outhouse here, but I do like to pee off my porch every chance I get! lol

If you live in the country, you can do that.

The country life is a trade-off. You get far more Freedom, but far less Convenience. No neighbors to be whiny little pooheads over the smoke coming out of my chimney either!

 

[Foxfyre]

And good morning all. Beautiful morning in Albuquerque but a chilly mid 40's and won't get a lot warmer today. Forecast is for possible snow tonight, the first of the season in the city though we've already had some on the mountain.

Winter is definitely coming. And with El Nino going away and La Nina replacing it, looks like a possibly much more snowy winter for Chris's area again. She will be so pleased. (cough)

Now if we could just get the weather patterns to shift back to more normal for GW's area.

 

[SixFoot]

A/C, electric furnaces and clothes dryers are huge energy hogs, a TV by comparison is like dipping a thimble into the energy stream.

Some people use space heaters, humidifiers, and air fresheners in the winter. The crafty ones reroute their dryer ducts!

Out in the boonies there are still people who use wood stoves and outhouses........

No outhouse here, but I do like to pee off my porch every chance I get! lol

If you live in the country, you can do that.

If you live in the city and have a tall enough wall..........

There's nothing we can't accomplish when we have walls!

 

[Foxfyre]

A/C, electric furnaces and clothes dryers are huge energy hogs, a TV by comparison is like dipping a thimble into the energy stream.

Some people use space heaters, humidifiers, and air fresheners in the winter. The crafty ones reroute their dryer ducts!

Out in the boonies there are still people who use wood stoves and outhouses........

No outhouse here, but I do like to pee off my porch every chance I get! lol

If you live in the country, you can do that.

The country life is a trade-off. You get far more Freedom, but far less Convenience. No neighbors to be whiny little pooheads over the smoke coming out of my chimney either!

True. There were a lot of good points when we lived up on the mountain. You really didn't have to worry about offending or annoying anybody. There were factors I miss--like sitting beside a wood fire and watching a beautiful snowfall outside. Like being able to get out and walk through the pinon forest and commune with nature. We had 100% natural landscaping that required almost no maintenance or yard work at all. And Hombre could pee off the deck.

But there are aspects I don't miss at all like shoveling three feet of snow off our large decks or out of a 60-foot double driveway or breaking up the huge ice dams that sometimes formed on the roof. Like the pump dying in the well and days and days of no water while it was pulled and replaced--really expensive process I might add. Like the 10" bear tracks in the front yard. And worrying about the large owls or golden eagles or a coyote snagging a small pet.

But most of all I missed people. I am a people person and it got lonely up there because most people who move up there do so to get away from people. They don't neighbor.

I like waving to the neighbors when I go outside, or having them close by--we all help each other out a lot and any one would be here for us in a flash in any kind of emergency. And I like snagging a gallon of milk or the ingredient I forgot for a recipe being a 10-minute round trip etc. I hate the traffic in the city, but it does have its redeeming qualities too.

 

[Ringel05]

Some people use space heaters, humidifiers, and air fresheners in the winter. The crafty ones reroute their dryer ducts!

Out in the boonies there are still people who use wood stoves and outhouses........

No outhouse here, but I do like to pee off my porch every chance I get! lol

If you live in the country, you can do that.

If you live in the city and have a tall enough wall..........

There's nothing we can't accomplish when we have walls!

Maybe this will change your mind..........

 

[Gracie]

Everyone loves karma. She even has a bindi (wart). Her weight is holding steady too. I have dropped 3 more lbs. Not sure if that is a good thing or not, but I ain't cplaining.

Sent from my Z981 using USMessageBoard.com mobile app

Gracie, three questions that might help with your internet time.
First, what brand and model cell phone do you have?
Two, which carrier do you use?
Third, do you have a laptop?

The idea is to tether your laptop using the phone as a wifi hotspot.

No laptop. My phone days Android but no clue to the brand.


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[Gracie]

Carrier in metro pcs... A sub of T-Mobile.

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[Ringel05]

Everyone loves karma. She even has a bindi (wart). Her weight is holding steady too. I have dropped 3 more lbs. Not sure if that is a good thing or not, but I ain't cplaining.

Sent from my Z981 using USMessageBoard.com mobile app

Gracie, three questions that might help with your internet time.
First, what brand and model cell phone do you have?
Two, which carrier do you use?
Third, do you have a laptop?

The idea is to tether your laptop using the phone as a wifi hotspot.

No laptop. My phone days Android but no clue to the brand.


Sent from my Z981 using USMessageBoard.com mobile app

Okay, it was a thought. You can do the same with a desktop but that requires a place to put it up and take it down.
Looks like you have a ZTE Z981 smart phone.

 

[saveliberty]

Some people use space heaters, humidifiers, and air fresheners in the winter. The crafty ones reroute their dryer ducts!

Out in the boonies there are still people who use wood stoves and outhouses........

No outhouse here, but I do like to pee off my porch every chance I get! lol

If you live in the country, you can do that.

If you live in the city and have a tall enough wall..........

There's nothing we can't accomplish when we have walls!

...or wave it the air like you just don't care.

 

[Ringel05]

Everyone loves karma. She even has a bindi (wart). Her weight is holding steady too. I have dropped 3 more lbs. Not sure if that is a good thing or not, but I ain't cplaining.

Sent from my Z981 using USMessageBoard.com mobile app

Gracie, three questions that might help with your internet time.
First, what brand and model cell phone do you have?
Two, which carrier do you use?
Third, do you have a laptop?

The idea is to tether your laptop using the phone as a wifi hotspot.

No laptop. My phone days Android but no clue to the brand.


Sent from my Z981 using USMessageBoard.com mobile app

Okay, it was a thought. You can do the same with a desktop but that requires a place to put it up and take it down.
Looks like you have a ZTE Z981 smart phone.

Looks like your phone supports tethering as long as it's in your MetroPCS contract. The only two possible drawbacks to tethering is some phone companies limit the amount of tethering usage and tethering eats up battery time quickly, leaving the phone plugged in helps but only so much.

 

[SixFoot]

Out in the boonies there are still people who use wood stoves and outhouses........

No outhouse here, but I do like to pee off my porch every chance I get! lol

If you live in the country, you can do that.

If you live in the city and have a tall enough wall..........

There's nothing we can't accomplish when we have walls!

Maybe this will change your mind..........

It doesn't look like it wipes for me. Is the green tiling part of the holodeck? That could be a deal maker there..!

 

[Ringel05]

Over the last month I've been waking up more and more exhausted, two nights ago the wife said I snored all night long even with the CPAP on. Normally she claims she can reach over and adjust the mask position and I stop snoring but not that time. Sooooo, yesterday I look up how to change the pressure, changed it from a 7 to an 8 and slept good last night, no snoring, woke up tired but not exhausted. I'll give it a week and see if I need to ramp the pressure up a little more.

 

[Big Black Dog]

Guess who bagged a nice 11 point buck after church this morning? A hint... his initials are BBD!

 

[Ringel05]

No outhouse here, but I do like to pee off my porch every chance I get! lol

If you live in the country, you can do that.

If you live in the city and have a tall enough wall..........

There's nothing we can't accomplish when we have walls!

Maybe this will change your mind..........

It doesn't look like it wipes for me. Is the green tiling part of the holodeck? That could be a deal maker there..!

 

[SixFoot]

Some people use space heaters, humidifiers, and air fresheners in the winter. The crafty ones reroute their dryer ducts!

Out in the boonies there are still people who use wood stoves and outhouses........

No outhouse here, but I do like to pee off my porch every chance I get! lol

If you live in the country, you can do that.

The country life is a trade-off. You get far more Freedom, but far less Convenience. No neighbors to be whiny little pooheads over the smoke coming out of my chimney either!

True. There were a lot of good points when we lived up on the mountain. You really didn't have to worry about offending or annoying anybody. There were factors I miss--like sitting beside a wood fire and watching a beautiful snowfall outside. Like being able to get out and walk through the pinon forest and commune with nature. We had 100% natural landscaping that required almost no maintenance or yard work at all. And Hombre could pee off the deck.

But there are aspects I don't miss at all like shoveling three feet of snow off our large decks or out of a 60-foot double driveway or breaking up the huge ice dams that sometimes formed on the roof. Like the pump dying in the well and days and days of no water while it was pulled and replaced--really expensive process I might add. Like the 10" bear tracks in the front yard. And worrying about the large owls or golden eagles or a coyote snagging a small pet.

But most of all I missed people. I am a people person and it got lonely up there because most people who move up there do so to get away from people. They don't neighbor.

I like waving to the neighbors when I go outside, or having them close by--we all help each other out a lot and any one would be here for us in a flash in any kind of emergency. And I like snagging a gallon of milk or the ingredient I forgot for a recipe being a 10-minute round trip etc. I hate the traffic in the city, but it does have its redeeming qualities too.

The trick to having your cake and eating it too, is finding a town with a population of less than 50, and moving to the outskirts of that. Just far enough out to hear nothing but the ringing in your ears, but close enough to where you can still score 25Mbps internet. This puts things in descending order.

Surrounded by rolling hills of open pastures while still being 0.9 miles from the gas station, which is also the only actual business in town (not even a post office), so it's open from 5am until at least 10pm every night and it tends to have all the odds and ends a typical family would need.

The Ma and Pa stores, feed stores, post office, banks, etc., are all in the next town about 7 miles away; a 7 minute drive at 60 mph with open roads.

The bigger amenities like box stores, big screen theaters, and great dining are about 20 minutes away. Still well within reach, but more effort involved.

All the finer dining, high-end malls, and national attractions are anywhere from 90 minutes to an hour and a half.



You make very good points about the labor and maintenance, too, and those are exactly the losses of Convenience that come with the trade-off. Most people wouldn't want the extra work involved, hence most people now live in cities.

 

[Foxfyre]

Out in the boonies there are still people who use wood stoves and outhouses........

No outhouse here, but I do like to pee off my porch every chance I get! lol

If you live in the country, you can do that.

The country life is a trade-off. You get far more Freedom, but far less Convenience. No neighbors to be whiny little pooheads over the smoke coming out of my chimney either!

True. There were a lot of good points when we lived up on the mountain. You really didn't have to worry about offending or annoying anybody. There were factors I miss--like sitting beside a wood fire and watching a beautiful snowfall outside. Like being able to get out and walk through the pinon forest and commune with nature. We had 100% natural landscaping that required almost no maintenance or yard work at all. And Hombre could pee off the deck.

But there are aspects I don't miss at all like shoveling three feet of snow off our large decks or out of a 60-foot double driveway or breaking up the huge ice dams that sometimes formed on the roof. Like the pump dying in the well and days and days of no water while it was pulled and replaced--really expensive process I might add. Like the 10" bear tracks in the front yard. And worrying about the large owls or golden eagles or a coyote snagging a small pet.

But most of all I missed people. I am a people person and it got lonely up there because most people who move up there do so to get away from people. They don't neighbor.

I like waving to the neighbors when I go outside, or having them close by--we all help each other out a lot and any one would be here for us in a flash in any kind of emergency. And I like snagging a gallon of milk or the ingredient I forgot for a recipe being a 10-minute round trip etc. I hate the traffic in the city, but it does have its redeeming qualities too.

The trick to having your cake and eating it too, is finding a town with a population of less than 50, and moving to the outskirts of that. Just far enough out to hear nothing but the ringing in your ears, but close enough to where you can still score 25Mbps internet. This puts things in descending order.

Surrounded by rolling hills of open pastures while still being 0.9 miles from the gas station, which is also the only actual business in town (not even a post office), so it's open from 5am until at least 10pm every night and it tends to have all the odds and ends a typical family would need.

The Ma and Pa stores, feed stores, post office, banks, etc., are all in the next town about 7 miles away; a 7 minute drive at 60 mph with open roads.

The bigger amenities like box stores, big screen theaters, and great dining are about 20 minutes away. Still well within reach, but more effort involved.

All the finer dining, high-end malls, and national attractions are anywhere from 90 minutes to an hour and a half.

View attachment 100090

You make very good points about the labor and maintenance, too, and those are exactly the losses of Convenience that come with the trade-off. Most people wouldn't want the extra work involved, hence most people now live in cities.

When we were on the Mountain we were about 15 miles from the first Albuquerque exit so access to big deal shopping was fairly easy--unless Tijeras Canyon that we had to traverse to get to the other side of the mountain was closed which could happen if there was bad weather. Old Route 66 - two lanes serving as a frontage road for I-40 through the canyon was rarely ever closed though, and those of us with 4WD and who were brave could sometimes get through anyway. We did have a small 'super market' (if you exaggerate) within 2 miles and a small and very expensive gas station within 2 miles and a post office within 2 miles plus a few other amenities along the highway. And I don't think its really easier in town except that we don't have to have the wood burner for heat in town. Yard maintenance is a lot tougher, even though we are xeroscaped, than just letting Mother Nature take care of all of that.

I do know what you are describing though--been there done that--and can't disagree with it. And you are probably in an area where even the rural folks neighbor.

 

[Gracie]

This is our temp home. They said we can use it (parked) until after Xmas. No hot water, no shower, no hookups, and all of their stuff still in it, so we keept our stuff in the van. We have the black water tank emptied once every two weeks since it isn't just a weekend usage...which costs 55 bucks at each emptying. No stove and no fridge because it is not leveled, so I roll out of the bed unless I use pillows to hold me in. Mrg rolls the other way and the wall holds him in. No , it can't be levred..it in a slanty hill and no other room to put it.
They offered to sell it to us, but again...no place to park it. Space rent for an RV is 60 bucks a night. Driving it to Arizona to look for a place is impossible...it gets about 7 miles to the gallon. Plus, it is very crowded and has a leaky roof. Most of the appliances no longer work, either...level or not. And drafty? Omg..I had to wear 2 pair of socks, 2 pair of pants, gloves, knee warmers my coat, two down blankets last night and I still was cold. So no...I don't want to buy it.



Isn't this fun? Not. Everywhere we turn, it's another wall.

Sent from my Z981 using USMessageBoard.com mobile app

 

[Foxfyre]

Guess who bagged a nice 11 point buck after church this morning? A hint... his initials are BBD!

Wow that WAS a nice one. Is one that big good eating? I am a great connoisseur of venison cooked by somebody who knows that they are doing (which isn't me.)

 

[Ringel05]

Guess who bagged a nice 11 point buck after church this morning? A hint... his initials are BBD!

All my bucks only have 4 points.......

 

[Ringel05]

This is our temp home. They said we can use it (parked) until after Xmas. No hot water, no shower, no hookups, and all of their stuff still in it, so we keept our stuff in the van. We have the black water tank emptied once every two weeks since it isn't just a weekend usage...which costs 55 bucks at each emptying. No stove and no fridge because it is not leveled, so I roll out of the bed unless I use pillows to hold me in. Mrg rolls the other way and the wall holds him in. No , it can't be levred..it in a slanty hill and no other room to put it.
They offered to sell it to us, but again...no place to park it. Space rent for an RV is 60 bucks a night. Driving it to Arizona to look for a place is impossible...it gets about 7 miles to the gallon. Plus, it is very crowded and has a leaky roof. Most of the appliances no longer work, either...level or not. And drafty? Omg..I had to wear 2 pair of socks, 2 pair of pants, gloves, knee warmers my coat, two down blankets last night and I still was cold. So no...I don't want to buy it.



Isn't this fun? Not. Everywhere we turn, it's another wall.

Sent from my Z981 using USMessageBoard.com mobile app

Look at it this way, it's better than a cardboard box or dirty sleeping bags under a bridge.