Questions for all. <br><br>Do we ever reach a point where we say "That's it, all the emergency gear I'll ever need, I'm done". Or are y'all like me, continually looking for better smaller, more efficient, etc.? Have you ever fallen victim to Newer Shinier Cooler disease, only to find it's been an expensive mistake?<br><br>Do your friends giggle about the wierd things and/or the amount of stuff you carry, only to ask you first for assistance when something goes wrong or they're underequipped? Has your spouse ever just smiled that silly grin at you while knowingly shaking their head in disbelief as you're teating a new piece of kit? Thave they ever been forced to say something silly like "Honey, PLEASE come in out of the rain"?<br><br>Are we all a bit sick?<br><br>Let's have some fun with this<br><br><br><br>

You have hit the nail right on the head for my situation, I get teased quite a bit about some of the items I carry, and you are right they are the same ones that ask for it when it comes time for its use.<br><br>Thanks<br>Ted Fisher<br>Vermilion County Search and Rescue

I don't advertise to my friends what I hunt or gather. I do try to convince them to get prepared as to their means and living style. My wife did question me once, until we lost power for three days and I provided her with hot water, hot food, iced tea, and a cool room to sleep in. Need I say more? There was an old man living in my home town that made hand made cast nets. After I purchased my third one, he asked why I purchased so many. Because, I like them I replied. With that reply, I saw exuberance come to his eyes. That is why I make them he replied.

i understand what u mean, i live in sweden, so many of my friends think i'm nuts about all my equippement and way of thinking. My wife use too make fun of it until the day came that we needed it, now she is really happy that i have this thing about being prepared for the worst!<br>

The Walter Mitty in me finally realised "If it ain't broke don't fix it." Some of my gear is obsolescent, or outclassed by newer, superior products ( my 1st generation Shrade multitool, swedish surplus rucksack,small Finnish puukko knife.) But they get the job done and I have grown accustomed to their quirks. Almost every item in my kit is vastly superior to what my grandfather carried. The only item slated for improvement is-ME. I am on a feeding frenzy for additional training and relevent references. I still salivate like Pavlov's dog at every new knife. I just whisper the serenity prayer.

Hi,<br><br>If the power went out, how were you able to get cool drinks and cool a room? Was this in the summer or in hot weather?<br>Just wondering.<br>

I stumbled on this site less than a year ago. After a few weeks of puchasing and assembling items for my PSK, my wife just figured it was more camping gear. But when I started to gather items for the house she asked me "Are you planning on going somewhere?" She was serious. <br><br>But then came 9/11 and she doesn't question my motives anymore.

GENERATOR

Ah! I thought it might have been something more eclectic, like the design of the house. I had a physics teacher who's total heating bill for the entire winter was well under $60. He designed the house himself and gave me some pointers on energy conservation. It was quite interesting; very little reliance on heat and light.

Maybe you would like to share some of those tips. I'm always listening to new ideas.

Well, I'm just guessing, but having lived in Vermont all my life, I know a little about heating. :)<br><br>Probably a slab foundation that is run out under the driveway, which is paved, and poured deepenough to make a heat well. Lots of southern windows, triple pane, with shades for summer. Dark roof material and paint, maybe. And possibly in-floor heat- rather than heating the ceiling like most duct work, this goes under the floor and keeps your feet warm and the floor warm enough so that it doesn't conduct heat away, proably on a closed loop of water, so you aren't heating cold water. <br><br>And I'd wonder where the 60$ for heating is. In someplace like coastal North Carolina or Kansas, it's one thing. In Vermont, it's another.

I heat my 1800 sq. ft. bilevel home in SE Pennsylvania for less than $200 per year ( 15,000 BTU propane space heater ). Temperature is a constant 70 degrees. The cost could be further reduced if I was more attentive to the solar situation (But "passive solar requires active people") Key elements : R-40 ceiling, R-30 side walls, square design to minimize the perimeter, and as the builder put it, there is more "mass" in the lower level than there is in the Luray caverns.

The name of the game is the sun. The house had a lot of windows to let sunlight in. He built solar collectors, which were basically tanks of water. As the heat dissipated from the water, it would heat the house. You could let more water out of the collectors if it got too hot (ie: summer).<br><br>He took insulation very seriously, as well as the position of the windows. More windows towards the side of the house that faces the morning/afternoon sun. I believe the whole house was built into the side of a small mountain. I wish I could remember the exact reason for the mountian; I'm sure it had something to do with heat radiating from it.<br><br>The big thing that struck me was the number of windows; lots of skylights.<br>

Check out this building Claims no heating bill year round in Telluride Co. They certainly get cold weather.<br><br>http://www.formworksbuilding.com/TellurideCO.html

>>Check out this building Claims no heating bill year round in Telluride Co. They certainly get cold weather<<<br><br>I don't think they are claiming it's comfortable without heating, just that the pipes won't freeze without heating. Looks interesting, but how's the resale value of an underground house with limited natural light?

I don't knw people, but as i moved to sweden for 6 years ago, we bought and renovated a old house on a forest that we renovate. The best insulation we did on the roof, but on the lower level we didn't insulate at all, the only insulation is problably the old walls about 100 years old. The only heating is a so called in sweden, an energy kasset, what is a iron made fire place that warms up cold air threw some airspaces around the fire and releases heated air on the upper side. Very effective. I spend around $300 a year. Before i used to gatter all the wood myself, than it was really cheap! The very positive is that i can survive without electric power for a long time. Last year my family was without power for 8 days, no problems ( except for the kids that thought it was boring without TV) i even kept the old wood stove in case the normal gas stove would stop. It gets pretty cold around here in the winter, i've been recording -20 deggres celsius!