A real "back to the earth" story and house

The owner/builder
Photo: Brian Feulner, Bangor Daily News

  In Milo, Maine a young school teacher is building her new home with the help of volunteers and a contractor.
  The real down to earth home is being built with polypropylene bags filled with clay and sand soils from her own property.  The bags are all connected with barbed wire and pounded into place to compact them and make them even.
  This type of building material can help with heating and cooling; supplemental heat will be radiant floor heating and a pellet stove.  There is a concrete foundation and utilities.
  Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/slideshow/in-milo-a-home-is-built-with-the-earth/  and see the slide show too.

affixing the barbed wire between layers of bags
Photo: Brian Feulner, Bangor Daily News

Half a wall in place
Photo: Brian Feulner, Bangor Daily News

Killing spiders and skunks

House fire in Seattle
Photo: KIRO-TV via www.cbsnews.com

  A man in Seattle saw a spider in the laundry room and wanted it gone.  Now, he didn't just swat the spider or step on it, NO he came up with a plan.
  Using a lighter and a can of spray paint!  That was a genius plan, right?  Spray from the can over the lighter would make a flame thrower and burn the spider up.  Brilliant! Except the wall caught fire, the fire spread and the total damage amounted to $40,000.00!  Oh by the way the house was rented, he is probably looking for a new place.
  That reminds me of an Ohio family who found a skunk in the basement.  Instead of opening the door in the basement for the animal to wander out, they shot the skunk with a shotgun.  They thought, there goes that thinking again, a quick death would mean no smell.  They were wrong!
  Then in another genius move they poured kerosene on the body and lit it on fire!  Wrong move.  That fire quickly spread and the house burned to the ground.

Ultra Heavy Lift. With foam? Yes.

The UHLC
Photo: U S Marine Corps via www.cnn.com
 

  See that "thing" up there?  That is the new Marine Corps heavy lift vehicle for moving equipment from Navy landing ships to shore.  The treads are made of a foam, that provides floatation, and cuts down weight.
  It can carry tanks or large trucks in its cargo hold and can climb walls up to twelve feet high.
Take a look: http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/16/tech/innovation/marines-amphibious-vehicle/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

You will find a video and a lot more information.

Leaving the well deck of the USS Rushmore
Photo: U S Marine Corps via www.cnn.com

Back of my mind

Photo: Library of Congress
 

  I found this photo on MSN.Com there are about 30 of them.  I think these three dogs are Rags, Tags and Obadiah.  I'm not 100% sure it was a long time ago when I had that book.  I had several books with photos like this.
  Anyone out there with a positive ID leave me a comment.
  Just look at how far back I have to go to write this stuff (in the pouring rain).  Big storms here last night in Maine, even a possible tornado and lots of flooded roads.  It's good for the wells.

Losing sources and losing sleep

  Two more of my "sources", newspapers, have cut me off unless I pay 8 or 9 dollars a month; that brings the total to three papers.  It sure looks like the end of the line from my chair.
  During two of the last three nights I have been awakened by my neighbors fire works.  Fireworks are legal in Maine and some towns, Levant among them, have no regulations.  I'll admit that the booms, hisses, and flash bangs where before 9:00PM (a little over on Saturday), but when you need to go to sleep at 7 or 7:30 - well, there's a problem.  My lovely wife, Linda, made a visit and was told "we're not doing it in your yard".  No, they weren't there's at least twenty four feet between our yards.
Best I can hope for is he starts a fire and gets charged with arson!

We have more carriers. So?

Source: Globalsecurity.org

  Those are all of the worlds carriers.  Some were built that way, others started life with a different purpose; The Chinese carrier was going to be a Casino ship.
  Do we, the USA, have enough?  Too few?  Too many?  Are we so well armed that we "think" we are the worlds police force?

Ornamental junk in Maine

In Auburn Maine, a scale and milk cans - click
Photo: Robert F Bukaty, Bangor Daily News

In Weld, Maine. Looking for something? - click
Photo: Robert F Bukaty, Bangor Daily News

  People find uses for old and worn out things, it's called re-purposing I think.  These objects once useful tools of a trade, or just junk, turned up on lawns in Maine.


  Read/see more: http://bangordailynews.com/slideshow/get-on-my-lawn-creative-decorations-adorn-maine-yards/

In Canaan, Maine they've got gas?
Photo: Robert F Bukaty, Bangor Daily News