New Directions

So.  A week to two weeks ago I stopped thinking about wood gas as a home electricity/gas solution.

I can only speak about my situation and where I'm coming from.  I live in a gigantic city.  I'm not a tinkerer.  I've never considered myself good with my hands.  I can work very hard for a short period of time, then I get sick for a  long time.  

I can see myself loading a generator on a daily basis, and doing quite well at it.  But all the day in day out care that's required to maintain the machinery and supplies  could lead to either the machine's breakdown or mine, very quickly.

There's some direct funding possible for  a new, high efficiency,  ecologically sound house for my parents and I to live in.  There's some more indirect funding for some kind of generators that can create a surplus of power that can be used for some non-profit purpose.

I'm not interested in building a fortress. I actually want to be tied into the electricity grid if it can benefit my neighbors.

Since I've stopped thinking about or dreaming about wood gas, I'm now turning towards more conventional sources of power. 

Natural gas, 24/7, generators are within my technical and maintenance range.  These wouldn't be the backup/emergency generators that you see at Home Depot.

Small town generators could power our house and make something available for the neighborhood.

Memories of the Hurricane in Houston

First, I want to thank all the people who supported and gave to Houston after the hurricane that blew out all the electricity.

I remember some guys drove a barbecue truck all the way from California to the Randalls grocery store parking lot. I'm sorry I can't remember the name but they gave us excellent barbecue. 

I had no work, no electricity for my family and all the food in the refrigerator went bad. The grocery stores were bereft of milk, meat and frozen foods, but most of the time they were closed due to lack of electricity.   My wife and I went without electricity for eleven days. Other areas went for longer.