future planning
Sun Oct 26 14:06:21 EDT 2014
I seem to be positioning myself for a low-budget retirement.
I bought my current bike used, I've been commuting on it 13 years, and it's still got some life left in it. I'm shopping now for something nicer, and it should last 15-20 years. (If I developed balance/coordination problems, I suppose I'd need to get a trike instead of a bike.) Add panniers and a trailer, and my next car will probably last 20+ years too.
With an open-source DVR I don't need cable TV. I'll still need high-speed internet, but maybe there will be more competitive sources - maybe even cheap municipal Internet. (Some places are doing it. It's hard to think of many better common goods. (Water/sewage, garbage collection)) There should be some way to stream internet video to disk, and then the DVR's commercial skipping could be directed at it. ☺
Geocaching - I've already got the GPS. $30/year for detail access on the geocaching.com website. There are local groups (and regional, national, and international events), so it can be a social outlet if desired.
Monday 02:10
I've just ordered a ladder on woot! (I didn't mind the $5 shipping, but now that woot! collects VA state sales tax ($11.10) they're not looking as attractive.) There's a ladder at Mom's house, but it works worked only as an A-frame ladder; it doesn't open and lock into a straight ladder, so it doesn't reach to the roof on the back or ends of the house. It dates back to my childhood (probably from our previous house), and it was stored outdoors, so the hinge has rusted; it no longer even works as an A-frame.
I will probably take the multi-lock ladder we already have to NC. It's barely long enough to reach the roof in our (VA) front yard, and too springy for me to feel comfortable on it fully extended. It may not be long enough for the back of Mom's house either, but the immediate need is for the front-side gutters, where it should be sufficient. I'm not assuming the new ladder will be here before my next trip to NC. If the new ladder is longer and more stable, it may make occasional trips to NC, or the springy ladder may come back to VA. We also have another couple of A-frame ladders here, one wooden (which stays indoors) and one aluminum (which lives on the deck). The wooden one is mostly holding anniemal's shoes (any flat surface becomes storage ☹), and the outdoor ladder is good for roof access from the deck, hanging hammock chairs from the Maple tree (again, over the deck), and indoors (since the indoor ladder is tied up) for reaching the cable modem and WiFi router in the stairwell. A step stool tends to suffice in Mom's house for reaching anything at ceiling height.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/704043.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
I seem to be positioning myself for a low-budget retirement.
I bought my current bike used, I've been commuting on it 13 years, and it's still got some life left in it. I'm shopping now for something nicer, and it should last 15-20 years. (If I developed balance/coordination problems, I suppose I'd need to get a trike instead of a bike.) Add panniers and a trailer, and my next car will probably last 20+ years too.
With an open-source DVR I don't need cable TV. I'll still need high-speed internet, but maybe there will be more competitive sources - maybe even cheap municipal Internet. (Some places are doing it. It's hard to think of many better common goods. (Water/sewage, garbage collection)) There should be some way to stream internet video to disk, and then the DVR's commercial skipping could be directed at it. ☺
Geocaching - I've already got the GPS. $30/year for detail access on the geocaching.com website. There are local groups (and regional, national, and international events), so it can be a social outlet if desired.
Monday 02:10
I've just ordered a ladder on woot! (I didn't mind the $5 shipping, but now that woot! collects VA state sales tax ($11.10) they're not looking as attractive.) There's a ladder at Mom's house, but it works worked only as an A-frame ladder; it doesn't open and lock into a straight ladder, so it doesn't reach to the roof on the back or ends of the house. It dates back to my childhood (probably from our previous house), and it was stored outdoors, so the hinge has rusted; it no longer even works as an A-frame.
I will probably take the multi-lock ladder we already have to NC. It's barely long enough to reach the roof in our (VA) front yard, and too springy for me to feel comfortable on it fully extended. It may not be long enough for the back of Mom's house either, but the immediate need is for the front-side gutters, where it should be sufficient. I'm not assuming the new ladder will be here before my next trip to NC. If the new ladder is longer and more stable, it may make occasional trips to NC, or the springy ladder may come back to VA. We also have another couple of A-frame ladders here, one wooden (which stays indoors) and one aluminum (which lives on the deck). The wooden one is mostly holding anniemal's shoes (any flat surface becomes storage ☹), and the outdoor ladder is good for roof access from the deck, hanging hammock chairs from the Maple tree (again, over the deck), and indoors (since the indoor ladder is tied up) for reaching the cable modem and WiFi router in the stairwell. A step stool tends to suffice in Mom's house for reaching anything at ceiling height.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/704043.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]