Category Archives: General Talk

Energy Upgrade Stats: Month 8

General Talk

In January I wrote that home solar might be lipstick on a pig, and it makes more sense to make a home energy efficient before even considering solar. I also promised to post monthly updates on our utility bills.

One thing I did towards the end of the month was install a new water heater. If you are interested in what I found from my research, you can read the nightmarish details after the charts.

As planned, electricity use is declining versus the 5 year baseline as the as the average temperature increases. Improved insulation and a more efficient air conditioner are using much less energy. For April our electricity use is down 56.6% versus the 5 year April baseline WITHOUT a solar system.

month 8 elec use month 8 gas use

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Energy Upgrade: Stats Thru Month 7

General Talk

In January I wrote that home solar might be lipstick on a pig, and it makes more sense to make a home energy efficient before even considering solar. I also promised to post monthly updates on our utility bills.

A couple things about last month… first we normally go camping for at least a week during  Easter break, but this year we stayed home and hosted visiting relatives, which increased electricity use. Secondly, we received a $38 “Climate Credit” on our bill, as did every homeowner who is a Southern California Edison customer. This credit is the result of California’s “Cap and Trade” program, which allows companies to continue to pollute by purchasing ’emission credits’ in a fake market created by the State, so they can claim we are a ‘green state.’ Everyone gets the same dollar amount, irrespective how much electricity they use — theoretically encouraging homeowners to invest in energy efficient upgrades; but there is no method to track if this works or even happens. Another Government Boondoggle, as I wrote about in Green Greed.

Here is month 7:

Electricity Usage month 7 Natural Gas Usage month 7

Go to Month 6 Stats

Go to Month 8 Stats

 

Today is National Walking Day

General Talk, Hiking

nation walk day

AMERICA HAS BECOME INSANE

I disdain most holidays. Christmas and Thanksgiving I like. I like Independence Day too. Most other holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are just made up by 5th Avenue so we spend our money on a bunch of junk. We used to celebrate George Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays for the right reasons, but now we have Presidents’ Day, so government workers get a 3-day weekend while the rest of us work to pay for their paid Federal Holiday.

Now we have National Walking Day.

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The Income Inequality Fallacy

General Talk

This post has nothing to do about backpacking or camping. It is a philosophical, political, and economic discussion. If these subjects are not of interest to you, then you just might want to skip it, plus it is a long commentary.

I recently got involved in a conversation regarding “Income Inequality” in one of the forums over at backpackinglight.com.  I think it is an important conversation, and as a parent I would like my children to read my thoughts on the subject.

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Dispatches from the Home Front

General Talk

It is said that when you retire you have to keep busy if you want to live long. Well, with all the work I’ve been doing, I’ll live to be 150 years old! We have a lot of deferred maintenance and much to remodel. Last month I wrote about our Home Energy Upgrade improvements.

Here are some of the other things we are making progress on. To be honest, the improvements are cutting into my camping and backpacking time, but since Joyce is still working, it’s okay. I need to get everything finished so she can retire too and we can finally play full time.

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What Should We Do With Our Federal Lands?

General Talk

mr magoo looking at mirror

Many people want to turn over all our Federal lands to the states. These people are as shortsighted as Mr. Magoo. I wrote about this danger last year in A Call to Action, that I recommend you read since it is now being discussed by some of our Presidential candidates. No need for me to retake it here.

In this article “Ted Cruz vows to sell-off or give away the state’s national parks, national forests, national monuments, and other public lands.” The article goes on to say that of the Republican hopefuls, only Donald Trump and Jeb Bush are against transferring our Federal Lands to the states. Bush is now out of the race, so at first thought, Trump would be the only acceptable Republican candidate to the millions of Americans who support setting aside and protecting our wild lands.

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Another Day in Paradise

General Talk
San Jacinto Sunset
Sitting in our backyard watching the sun set behind the San Jacinto Mountains.

This weekend I thought we were going camping, but instead I had to deal with some irrigation problems and then do our income tax return. All in all a good weekend. When you’re retired you don’t feel guilty about 4 hour “work days.” This evening we sat in our backyard and watched the sun set behind the San Jacinto Mountains. Once it got dark, I checked the temperature – a balmy 79 F. Much better than what I had been dealing with the past three winters.

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