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Cars, Baby, schooling, and going green. My Latests

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kennypinkerton

kennypinkerton

Yoda
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Cars, Baby, schooling, and going green. My up-dates

<span style="font-weight: bold">CARS</span>
Sold the Toyota 4Runner couple weeks ago. I got $1500 for it with the blown engine. We bought a 2000 Hyundai Accent for $2000 with 135,000 miles. Runs great (auto trans stutters a bit on really hard acceleration though) and gets nearly 40mpg. I bought some Michelin Hydroedge tires for the Acura Integra. They ride pretty good, and have a 90,000 mile waranty. A little pricey at $625 (including alignment, lifetime rotation and balancing, and roadhazard), but jeez, they're supposed to last 90,000 miles.

<span style="font-weight: bold">BABY</span>
We had our 2nd sonogram, and It's a girl! We've got most of the big ticket items bought now (carseat/stroller combo, playpen, crib, etc.) and lots of new cloths for the coming youngin'.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Schooling</span>
We've started thinking real hard about homeschooling... Starting with Amanda next year. I really don't like the teachers at the public schools, and I don't like how and what they are teaching.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Going Green</span>
I've started gathing items so that I can build my own Aeroponics system so we can grow our own veggies. The prices at the supermarket are getting ridiculous. Last summer, I paid $4 for 2 tomatoes. I'm going to have my own this summer!!! for pennies.
I also am seriously researching what I'll need to build a wind/solar power system for the house.
 
Re: Cars, Baby, schooling, and going green. My up-dates

Kenny - congrats on the soon-to-be new family member! Does she get the MG or the Alfa ... ? Interesting you mention home schooling. The most important part of what a child learns happens at home; keep going with it - you (and your kids) will likely be miles ahead.

How'd you decide on aeroponics instead of hydroponics? I thought about those two methods myself, 'til I discovered the huge amount of space and equipment I'd need just to grow what I'd use myself. Same thing for solar/wind here in Connecticut. Too little wind and sun to ever recover the initial equipment costs, unless the equipment is nearly free. Probably in Alabama you can at least get solar to pay for itself.

Tom
 
Re: Cars, Baby, schooling, and going green. My up-dates

HydroEdge are a good choice.

I expect a "IT'S A GIRL" cigar. How un-PC is THAT?!?! Congrats! :thumbsup:

Home schooling is a real commitment but CERTAINLY a better choice than what we've seen passing as "education" in most public schools I've seen lately.

What's so wrong with plain ol' DIRT?!?! :devilgrin:

Solar for hot water and home temp regulation, at least.
 
Re: Cars, Baby, schooling, and going green. My up-dates

Hey Kenny, great news about the little one.

As for home schooling? Think real hard about it because it takes a lot of commitment on the part of the parents. Not sure what the requirements are in Alabama but do your homework (pardon the pun) as it takes up a lot of time. Especially a concern with a baby in the house - time can be at a premium.

My ex-wife & I tried home schooling with our oldest child, with the ex doing most of the schooling. Well my ex didn’t do as good a job with our daughter on some of the subjects as she should’ve and she suffered for it when the mandated testing came along.

Again just make sure that at least one of you can religiously commit to X amount of time per day. Believe me it takes a lot of discipline.
 
Re: Cars, Baby, schooling, and going green. My up-dates

Well, the wind turbine I believe I can build for a minimum of cash. some nice designs on the net - still researching it.

I've been studying the aeroponics/hydroponics thing for a while. Seems like aeroponics has better growth rates than hydroponics. The system I'm going to build is a very simple (low-budget) one, that doesn't take up too much space. About a 2ft x 3ft footprint. I'm going to use a plastic tote (rubbermaid) with a small pump and about 4-6 sprayers to spray the roots system. It will be all self-contained. the sprayed nutrients will fall back into the reservior (bottom half of the tote). The roots will likely grow down into the reservior, so Mine is kind of a hybrid system. I have a few ideas in mind, so as I get into it a bit, I'm sure I will experiment with different setups, like maybe a second tote to use as the reservior so the roots sytem has more access to the air and atomized nutrients. I'm going to use a flourecent grow light to start with, but I've been looking into the red/blue LED grow lights too and I may build one of those later on. I'll post some pics when I get started. I figure with this initial setup, I should be able to grow about 12 plants at a time. I want to grow tomatoes, and herbs.
 
Re: Cars, Baby, schooling, and going green. My up-dates

As for dirt, Doc... I tend to overwater everything I've grown in the dirt. And this setup is practically automated (except topping up water and mixing in nutrients). Plus I've wanted to try it for a while. If it works any better than dirt growing, I'm gonna have all year veggies. (plus on my rented lot - I technically don't own the dirt here - lol)
 
Re: Cars, Baby, schooling, and going green. My upd

Ah! "portable" too! :smile:
 
Re: Cars, Baby, schooling, and going green. My upd

Quite the list of accomplishments, Kenny, and congrats on the baby girl! Makes me feel like quite the sloth. :smile:

I'll give a thumbs up on the Hyundai, too. Bought my 2003 Accent (auto) new in 2004, have put 76k miles on it so far, with no problems. It's the exact opposite of fun to drive, but it will get you there every time. A great daily driver, and no one will ever steal it. Heck, I double its value every time I load my music gear in it for a gig.
grin.gif
 
Re: Cars, Baby, schooling, and going green. My up-dates

Tomato plants get pretty big. I'd think one would just about fill the 2'x3' footprint you're talking about. What are the other 11 or so plants you're thinking of?
 
Re: Cars, Baby, schooling, and going green. My up-dates

Basil, Oregeno, Mint, Dill... Come to think of it, 6 plants would be a bit crowded, but more realistic than 12.
 
Re: Cars, Baby, schooling, and going green. My up-dates

kennypinkerton said:
I should be able to grow about 12 plants at a time. I want to grow tomatoes, and herbs.
Click to expand...

Hey Kenny,
Your thinking small. Add some peppers, squash, okra, corn, etc.... Where you and I live is GREAT for home gardens. I don't like tomatoes except in soups, stews and such so we can about 20 to 30 jars a year. Real easy and save us a small fortune. Taste better too.
grin.gif
 
Re: Cars, Baby, schooling, and going green. My up-dates

I just want to grow a few small plants in the house. I don't think corn will fit in the corner :p

And you're underusing your tomatoes.

Tomato sandwiches, Stuffed baked tomatoes, lightly salted raw tomato (a meal itself), canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, salsa, and yes even "real tomato ketchup eddie? - nuttin but the best". We love tomatoes here.

I do have a regular dirt garden (very small- too small for corn) too. I just want to try out the aeroponics. I'm a technology geek.
 
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