Construction thoughts revisited and quirks

I've gained some ideas and some insights and will let them lie fallow until the proper elements come together for something to germinate. Not the usual way to go about these things, but you're visiting in 'Elaine's world'. I'll ask the house and the land what it wants, and even if I don't really get an answer one can hear, if one has any belief in a unified universe or earth-energy -- then it can't hurt.

(For those wishing to skip any construction thoughts, skip to the spacing --------- below.)

One of my favorite examples of 'how to build a root cellar' is intriguing. Dome structures tend to be stronger than box, and one simply (that's the word that leads me into strenuous labor) digs the perimeter down, piling the dirt in the center to form the dome. Framing is supported by this, and whatever materials one chooses to use are applied. Once it has firmed up, the dirt is dug out and loaded on the sides and top. Two points: one, don't forget to space in a door, and two, remember to put in a vent.

I will assume a bit of concrete floor could be poured and sealed from the inside. Sigh, once again, my leveling skills may be questioned - generally I have two measurements: 'obviously not' and 'good enough'.

That, too, came from previous exploration when friend Jim mentioned a roof construction using framed burlap and concrete (or spray foam insulation?). I added a papercreters group to my list, but much of it requires one to be a member - free - to prevent spam. Some of this is much like large-scale paper mache, and that I can understand!

Added bonus of rootcellar - doesn't show up in arial photos for tax purposes, and if one conceals the door behind piles of junk, they'll never know it's there - long as your neighbors aren't nosy. Blame this on my youth when the older kids played "Man from U.N.C.L.E." at Grandma's, designing underground torture chambers and rooms to create one day. I was a susceptible at age six, and thought the big kids knew what they were talking about. Right... have a ten-year-old draw your shelter plans... they'll incorporate a pool with a diving board.

I don't sit idle meantime, but continue gathering potential useful bits. This includes ferrocement found on the 'net. One photo-site is http://paisite.com/sunlife/index.htm and a major site, including ratios, is http://ferrocement.com/Page_1/english.html - available in other languages, too. Has some verrry interesting aquaculture uses given, too? Another site diagrammed a root cellar / storm shelter / fallout shelter at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/robert_conroy/rootcell.htm.

Stir this in with my previous exploration of papercrete -'net search produces a lot of information, and one example is at http://www.doityourself.com/stry/papercrete - this product is light and other sites 'waterproofed' by adding acrylic paint to the mix and other options are out there. Papercrete group site is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/papercreters/.

---------------- enough of this? Moving on....

This may confound a few people. In 'my world' the rules seem to bend a little bit. I was driving out in the middle of nowhere headed for one of our small, isolated towns when my temperature gauge began gasping, as if in death throes. It wasn't heating, it was cooling! No warning lights came on, but the gauge was wheezing feebly up, then sinking. This hasn't occurred to me before, so I knew something was up. I did have oil with, having purchased a few quarts when I'd finally made my last Wal-mart trip, previous blog (it's GOOD to listen to those inner nudges).

In case things didn't want to start again, and being on a narrow two-lane, I mildly-panicked the car into said small town, which appeared devoid of human life. I couldn't quite understand why oil may be connected to the temp. gauge, but last I checked, the radiator was full - and if it'd sprung a leak, one would have thought overheating would occur? I stopped and checked the oil, and the car was low, so I fed it a quart with apologies for being absent-minded on this.

The gauge went back to normal and has behaved since.

NOW - is this typical mechanics? I shared this with one friend, who quizzed me about checking the radiator - of course I didn't at the time, it was hot and I know better. A day or so later, I checked the radiator and it's perfectly fine. He insisted oil wouldn't affect this gauge, but then -- it is 'my world'?

I have my own weird explanations. If the oil or check engine light had come on, I may have panicked myself right into the ditch. This, to me, is like a heartbeat monitor straight-lining. Since it was a quirky, mystifying 'backwards temperature gauge' that I've never experienced before, I didn't know what was going on and if full-blown, hit-the-ditch panic was called for - so I didn't. Since the car can't actually say, "Hey, Elaine, could you pop some oil down me? I'd appreciate it" in a non-panicking way, this "Wake up, Dummy, and pay attention to me!" worked just fine.

Or... other cars routinely grow cold when the oil is low, I don't know. None of mine have previously, and - I do seem to be getting a little more eccentric. Now when the car radio is on, if it's 'abrasive or angry or belittling to anyone' music, I turn the channel to something more pleasant for my car. :)

Strange but harmless, and if the sci-fi shows where machines seek revenge ever come true, 'my mechanical friends' won't try to run me over. How are you treating your vehicles lately, anyway? Maybe the Universe is listening... (theme music)