Friday, August 3, 2012

Pdiddl'in around

Haven't gotten anything useful done around here in what seems like forever. Too damn hot during the day and even though I have the will to work on the cabin I still don't feel like it. Feeling semi fair and feeling lousy seems to be a seesaw now days.

Anyway I've been staying out in front of the cabin pretty late lately because it takes this trailer forever to cool down and its much cooler outside. Its still 96 degrees in here at 10:30. Will probably be midnight before it cools down enough to sleep and that will be in the high 80s. It got to 110 again today that I know of. May have gotten hotter. there wasn't much wind at all most of the time. Or at least it was out of the wrong direction to do me any good. As usual the damn gnats were really pesky.

Now while sitting out in front of the cabin late I've been sort of fooling around with this idea and that. Taking a few pictures and trying things that aren't hard to do. The above and below pictures were taken last night.
One of my friends code named Hollywood had dropped me off a couple of 55 gallon plastic water drums a while back (One blue and one white.) I'd also bought a many many LED light from Ron (the guy that sells the cabins) and it puts out one heck of a lot of light, but is actually too bright to look at and the bugs love it! I looked at the white drum and got to wondering what would happen if I turned that LED light upside down on it and what you see below is what happened.

It actually looks pretty dark here, but it is much brighter all around the drum for a good distance and no glare and for some reason it doesn't seem to attract bugs. I think I've discovered my new party light! It sort of lights the area up with a warm glow. I actually got in the jeep and headed down 118 and it looks pretty cool and ghostly from a good distance. May decorate it up for Halloween? ;)

Added this picture after Bigfoot asked what the light looked like. Its 110 volts AC and only pulls 14 watts. It is one BRIGHT puppy!

24 comments:

  1. Tffnguy,

    (captaincrunch again)

    Your "Marfa Light' looks good. You should set one on top of your house and and turn it on at night for brief intervals every few days. You may freak out some weary traveler on 118.

    Look up the old "Creedance Clearwater Revival' song, "it came out at midnight"

    You can make up your own roadside UFO museum and Terlingua freakshow. Like a roadside "Snake Farm" and charge admission. You can call it, "The Thing in Terlingua" (like the one in Arizona)

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  2. Seems like you might want to work at night and sleep in the morning while it's relatively cool.

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  3. Love the light :)

    Yeah - you're boiling over there, and we're freezing - which I prefer. Thankfully the cold doesn't hurt the bones. You got your swamp cooler working?

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  4. CC, That's an idea. Do you need a job? Maybe you can dress up as an alien and you'd be the star of the show. ;)

    rj, If I put that drum inside it would probably put out all the light I'd need to work inside at night. May have to try that if and when I start feeling like it.

    Dani, no the wind caught the swamp cooler one day and blew it off a stand. It hit the ground and broke apart. No chance of getting it to hold water again so now its good for a box fan only. That's what I use at night to sleep under. It does help.

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  5. Tffnguy

    (captaincrunch again)

    I will work for you only if I can dress up alien:) I also want free beer and tickets to any "Mexican Midget Wrestling" matches!

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  6. I like your lighted water drum. You could put a timer on it and blink out a message in Morse code. . . or not.

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  7. CC, MMRs are banned from here. (Too rowdy) How about homemade wine instead of beer?

    DD, Bigfoot suggested putting it on a swing frame and tying a rope to it so I could swing it when cars go by on 118. Now I figure why not mount it on a coil spring on top of the tank so the wind can swing it. Add the Morse code deal and its sure to get attention. Maybe too much. I may have to start a wrecking yard up here. Or keep a psychiatrist up here for people who think they've been abducted by a UFO. CC might benefit from that. ;)

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  8. I love this picture of the moon. The weather is the same up here. 113-114 in Norman with wildfires. One more month. That's all.

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  9. It sure gets nice and dark out there at night. I bet it's also nice quiet to live there.
    It's hot here too 116 degrees. Last night it cooled down to 109 at bedtime. I've placed these heating/ice packs in the freezer (I got them from my physical therapist). There soft on the outside and you don't have to cover them to use them. I pull them out of the freezer, one for myself and one for my husband and we place them on our bodies at night to help cool down and sleep. It truly works, makes it so much cooler. It's something you may want to check out for yourself. Try to stay cool my friend!

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  10. Rubye Jack, Actually this has been sort of a mild summer or at least I haven't seen temps over 112 yet. Hope not to!

    Sandy, I know its hot in a lot of places it isn't supposed to be so I guess maybe we don't have it to bad. At least I'm half way used to it.

    I've considered using an ice pack like that, but the freezer in my little fridge is only big enough to quick chill 3 canned sodas/beers at a time (which I do a lot) so keeping an ice pack in there wouldn't work too good. Its hard to keep ice around here in ice chests because it melts way too quick.

    You're right about it being dark here. You should see it on a moonless cloudy night. You can't see your hand in front of your face. I got lost out on the ranch roads on such a night and I couldn't see any of the mountains to get my bearings. 1/3 tank of gas later and 3:00 AM I finally found a road I knew and headed home.

    As for quiet it is that to usually. 118 can be noisy at times, but most of the time at night it isn't busy at all and all you hear is a dog or wildlife off in the distance occasionally.

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  11. Tffnguy,

    I thought I was abducted by UFO's, the VA sent me to a Voodoo witch doctor and I ain't been the same since.

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  12. Tffnguy,

    (that was me, captain crunch on last comment)

    Stay away from Voodoo which doctors.

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  13. The Voodoo witch doctor was an alien. I remember seeing him on the saucer when they abducted me.

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  14. Been reading your blog for a while, even with all the hardships you encounter, I wish I had the freedom you have.

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  15. RedEyeMule, Like JJ said "Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose," Of course there's always something left to loose though. Like your health, sanity... I guess you could do that anywhere though. Terlingua just seems to help both along.

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  16. Great photo of the moon and it looks like you'll have a lot of fun with that white barrel light.

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  17. The light barrel is pretty cool.
    Not sure what kinda box you were usin for your swamp cooler but you should tell all the locals to keep an eye out for blown out ice chests on the highway and just rebuild.
    That is way to hot for me. If you can't get a little cooled off it is hard to even sleep.

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  18. Qkid, the barrel light just something else to play with while I'm waiting for the weather to cool off where I can get some other stuff done around here.

    OGR&D, It was a commercial swamp cooler and was made out of plastic. It snapped together in modular fashion and I just can't get it to snap back together like its supposed to be so I can't use it as a swamp cooler. Only as a fan. It helps a lot at night with it blowing directly on me though. I don't plan to build another swamp cooler because of the high water usage and HOPE to be able to use the refrigerated unit by next summer.

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  19. Added a picture of the light panel I put on top of the barrel after Bigfoot asked about it.

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  20. I guess in the 21st century - sitting around the light barrel has replaced sitting around the campfire.

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  21. Matt M, This place is modernizing all too fast and I'm just trying to stay one step ahead of it. May have to add a motor and some colored flames inside the barrel that mocks a camp fire like the old false fireplace logs used to do,. ;)

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  22. I absolutely love the picture of the moon! There is nothing quite as beautiful as a Terlingua Moon...

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  23. MsB, glad you liked it. I figured you'd like the party light to. ;)

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  24. Love the light barrel. We've got that same light but with blue and red LED's for growing plants. Works pretty good!

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