Something From Nothing Log

Fixing and making things, what tools to get and what skills to learn, ...
jacob
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by jacob »

True.

Salathor
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Salathor »

Man what a deal. My wife was looking at those for if we switch to full-time RVing. But we live in CA and can't buy them for whatever reason. Something something fluoride. (That part's a joke.)

theanimal
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by theanimal »

You can make your own for less than $30 with two 5 gallon buckets, a filter (they sell the same one they use. This will be most of your costs) and some miscellaneous parts (spigot, tubing, etc). Some friends of mine did this and had this in their home as their main source of water for a couple years.

enigmaT120
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by enigmaT120 »

You can't make kambucha into beer. I have no idea what that was about.

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figmenter
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by figmenter »

The way I understand kombucha is: the yeasts in the SCOBY turn sugars into alcohol + CO₂, then the bacteria in the SCOBY turn the alcohol + O₂ into acids. Take away the oxygen, as you do in any alcohol fermentation, the conversion into acids will not happen and you are left with carbonated alcohol. Making beer is using the sugars in grains for fermentation and later adding hops for flavor. While unconventional, I believe it could work.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Yeah, she said something about her SCOBY... as if it was some sort of friend or body part... and fermentation.

Truth be told, she was enthusiastic, cute and handing me cash so I was glad to play along.

I found a gift box of Swiss Miss Christmas hot chocolate still wrapped in cellophane in the trash. Mrs. Ego is re-gifting it to a friend.

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Salathor
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Salathor »

That's how kombucha people are. We brewed it for about six months before getting pretty sure we were being poisoned by it. Everyone says it's safe, but we were increasingly uncomfortable drinking it. We tossed our SCOBY.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

I mail a lot of packages throughout the year. This is the time of year I stock up on shipping and packaging materials from the trash

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davtheram12
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by davtheram12 »

@Ego I have to say your treasure hunting skills are pretty impeccable!

I find lightly used, if not new, items being thrown out regularly around my neighborhood. Just the other day I came across a Danby 35 bottle wine cooler while running in a random neighborhood. It had been raining so the unit was wet but otherwise looked like it was in working order. Knocked on the homeowners front door and asked if it still worked. "Oh yes, yes. You can have it!" Took it home, plugged it in and it worked! My fiance was very pleased. Can't always say the same for other items :P

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Thanks @davtheram12. Looks like you are doing well yourself.

I started the week with five tents, a hammock and two backpacks listed on Craigslist. Normally camping equipment doesn't sell well at this time of year but today I sold a tent that needed some work for $40 (paid $10) to a young woman who will be working on a permaculture project in Hawaii for the next few months and sold a backpack for $125 (paid $20) to a scout leader and his son who will be taking the troop on a winter camping trip in the Sierras.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Ethical quandary. Let's say for the sake of discussion that a previous tenant placed an order with a massive online retailer for a bulky, heavy $200 item and accidentally had the items shipped here rather than their new place in another state more than 1000 miles away. And let's say that the manager called this previous tenant and told them what happened and the previous tenant promised to have massive online retailer pick up the package and send it to them. And let's say that the massive online retailer has still not picked up the item three months after delivery and the previous tenant no longer responds to messages.

Sell? Wait? What?

ertyu
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by ertyu »

Shoot a message to previous tennant saying, "Hey man, haven't heard from you in 3 months, if I don't hear from you within 1 month I am selling this."

If you do hear from tennant after the sale, deal with that - the kind of person I am, I would give them what I sold it for. Maybe there are extenuating circumstances and they have a legitimate reason not to have contacted you, like something happened or someone got hurt. In that case, I'd go, "sorry man, didn't hear from you so sold it, too bad about your great-aunt's dog, that would be rough on anyone, sorry to say I don't have the thing anymore but here's the screenshot confirming I sold it for 150 so have 150."

Most normal reasonable people would understand I think

theanimal
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by theanimal »

I think you send them one more message and then send it. I don't think you have to wait another month as erytu suggested but maybe offer another week of waiting. 3 months is more than enough time to allow for any possible extenuating circumstances. If they haven't responded by now, they don't care.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Okay, I followed the advice and sent another email early yesterday. Still no response. I also listed it on craigslist. Only one scammer showed interest so far. If there is no response from the tenant in the next few days it will be sold.
Ego wrote:
Mon Nov 04, 2019 4:12 pm
Mrs. Ego spent the entire morning listing the stuff our favorite tenant gave us. ....
Much of it was girly stuff from Home Shopping Network. Jewelry organizers. A really nice toolbox that I expected would have the Snap-On logo on the outside. Turns out it is for makeup.
Mrs. Ego sold two of the makeup/jewelry organizers today for $20 to a woman who negotiated to the bitter end.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/20/styl ... shion.html
Mr. Silverstein, whose clothes range from $25 for a patch to $595 for an anorak made from what was a New York City Sanitation Department tent, and who works only with fabric that would otherwise be thrown away, is one of several new designers trying to change that.

Welcome to the growing world of trashion.
.

horsewoman
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by horsewoman »

My sewing business was centered around mobile phone covers, book sleeves and similar things made of old or no longer wearable clothes :)

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

I found a vintage J Peterman leather and canvas long-brimmed Hemingway fishing cap at the swap meet the other day for $1. Union made in Lexington, Kentucky. I think I'll keep it while we are here and maybe sell it the next time we leave.

Merry Christmas or whatever floats your boat.

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Olf
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Olf »

I've just finishes reading your log over a couple of weeks. Inspiring to say the least! Looking forward to follow your adventures.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Hey, Thanks Olf!

I've made a new friend at the swap meet. Every week she goes to an auction and buys pallets of Costco items that have been opened, spilled, dented, and damaged. She cleans up the containers and places them in large plastic bags then sells them. The last few weeks she has shown up with industrial-sized packages of high end soaps, cosmetics, antiperspirants and cleaning/laundry supplies. She sells them for about 15 cents on the dollar. Generally she has a dozen cellophane wrapped packages of one particular item that got messed when something else leaked on it. Easy enough for me to remove them from stained packaging and resell. I am back in the soap business. And cosmetics. And all kinds of strange things.

There is one swap meet here where about 70% of the sellers flip Costco overstocks they bought at auction. I read an analysis of Costco's business model recently and learned that their profits are almost exactly the amount they take in membership fees. In other words, they set prices to break even. Interesting model.

jacob
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by jacob »

The toll road model. Turning consumers into recurrent cashflows. Amazon Prime is heading in the same direction after the buy-in has been secured.

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