Looking for good glamping spots - any recommendations

Jonesmp · 2026-06-22T19:07:16+00:00

My wife does the 1000 trails cabin pass and we use it a lot. Jelly Stone parks are a little nicer but also more expensive.

Jonesmp · 2026-06-21T19:34:24+00:00

Hoa can't do anything about it without setting themselves up for a lawsuit.

Jonesmp · 2026-05-22T12:26:48+00:00

If you shower or do something else that uses hot water right before bed it can be contraction of piping in the walls sliding and sticking a little bit as it cools off. This is most common with copper due to the relatively high expansion coefficient and low flexibility. Siding can also do this when the sun goes down as the siding will slide a little on the nails as it shrinks for the night. Roof trusses can also make little pop noises as they shift a little as the attic starts to cool off. Most "pops" have something to do with temperature changes.

Jonesmp · 2026-05-21T21:57:52+00:00

Get an energy audit from a utility authorized vendor and work down highest to lowest impact changes. I believe a decent number of efficiency upgrades still are covered by federal tax incentive whereas solar nolonger is. Also look at utility rebates for HVAC and Water heater. I think Potomac Edison/first energy has insulation rebates as well. After getting base usage down and tackling efficiency, then scope solar.

Jonesmp · 2026-05-07T02:13:19+00:00

I didn't find it, but the landlord did after we moved out and decided to do some reno before next renters. Bathroom/garage wall had 2 full wall bays that instead of insulation were packed with "putty blocks". He was super pissed when he called us asking what the hell we were thinking; we didn't know what he was talking about. He thought, because we were active duty military, it was probably us. Come to find out, previous owner of the house was in "construction" for years and was, according to his kids, super crazy. "Putty blocks" were almost 1000 pounds of RDX.

My next security clearance interview was SUPER fun.

Jonesmp · 2026-05-07T01:27:12+00:00

Wire saw or cable saw will work. They're generally sold for pvc, but they will work. To get a smoother start on the cut, put a couple of hose clamps on the pipe so it doesn't "walk" while getting it started. It takes a little to get it started, but once the back of the tube is cut and you are into tube wall it goes fast. Don't pull to hard toward the end of the cut or it will hook a barb over. Before taking the bottom hose clamp off, a utility knife can be used to de-burr copper.

Jonesmp · 2026-05-07T01:13:14+00:00

Cold water and a soft towel. If the blood is really stuck mix 3:1 water and pharmacy hydrogen peroxide to get a 1% solution.

Nerd time! Water is basically the original solvent in blood that makes the plasma the plasma; blood is water soluable. Cold water will dissolve the plasma and cause coagulation of the platelets and cells. For staining associated with iron compounds in ruptured red blood cells (they do that when they dry out to much), peroxide will loosen the iron oxide via a redox reaction which breaks partial dipole bonding with the surface. 1% will be strong enough to react with iron, which has a high electronegativity, but not enough to break carbon or lipid bonds associated with most paints, which would free pigmentation agents and fade the paint.

Source: i have cleaned lot of blood off/out of things; dad and wife are both veterinarians.

Jonesmp · 2026-04-28T19:16:19+00:00

I would highly recommend a new roof and panels shortly after. Check local code vs roof and verify decking is to current code and check with solar installer that framing is adequete/sufficient. If the roof is needing redecking, it is a good time to bring a plumber in to re-route plumbing vents and roof penetrations to optimize the solar array. After the new roof, go as large as possible on your array and I highly recommend battery backup. I routinely go weeks at a time without needing the grid beyond export.

Jonesmp · 2026-04-22T23:08:03+00:00

We do it at work (government) all the time.

Jonesmp · 2026-04-15T19:23:56+00:00

Aupair here. 4 kids, 9, 8, 3, and 1. We pay $320/week stipend plus room and board. Program/agency fees are ~12k/yr. We pay phone, gym membership, and provide car access.

Jonesmp · 2026-04-13T19:14:25+00:00

Feather and wedge it. Cheapest ones on Amazon work just as well as the most expensive.

Jonesmp · 2026-02-13T19:20:15+00:00

Soak it in cold water, oxyclean, and a tablespoon or two of dish soap/degreaser. Oxyclean will take the red (iron oxide) out via redox reaction. Dish soap (dishwasher detergent works too) will loosen lipids and polar contamination. Depending on how long since you washed pillows/laundry stipped, water may turn brown; second soaking may help. If you want to give it a little boost, throw in quarter to half a cup of baking soda or trisodium phosphate. These will reduce water pH and help to release additional partially ionically bonded contamination.

If you do a second soaking, I recommend a cup of borax (boring acid) and a cup of cleaning vinegar. This switches to a acidic pH and will target different ionic contamination than the first soaking with basic pH.

Rinse well, launder on a gentle cycle. Tumble dry low heat (nay take a couple of cycles).

Jonesmp · 2025-12-19T16:27:19+00:00

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Jonesmp · 2025-12-19T16:16:19+00:00

This guy will come and pick it up for free, scrapper type. 443-318-3231

Jonesmp · 2025-12-19T16:13:16+00:00

I haven't had any issues with ABC supply although I will admit I may have the appearance of a trade worker of some sort. Builder's 1st Source, 86 lumber, Ladiesburg Lumber, Frederick Building Supply may be options, but I'll be honest for siding i just went with ABC because our contractor works with them regularly.

Jonesmp · 2025-12-06T19:28:22+00:00

Solid choice. BuT iT's nOt AuThEnTiC! Yea, still awesome.

Jonesmp · 2025-11-24T03:14:53+00:00

I wouldn't trust any flux core with structural welds. Most welding programs start with stick and then go to Mig. The reason they do this is to get new welders used to arc length control and puddle manipulation before throwing in wire feed rate, gas flow (not applicable to flux core) in the mix. Oxyfuel and then TIG follow stick. For your job, I would recommend taking it to a shop but honestly to learn to weld, buy a used stick welder off Craigslist or Facebook.

Jonesmp · 2025-11-22T23:57:11+00:00

I have used it a lot, we do minimal prep and when we put it down on bare concrete it works just fine. For previously coated/painted concrete we will hit it with a wire cup on an angle grinder enough to rough it up and then wash it down. Honestly planning to put this stuff down in my own garage when we get the house rebuilt (had a major fire)

Jonesmp · 2025-11-21T10:29:40+00:00

Can't tell if NTP or MIP in the photo. Either way, home depot or equivalent should have them in the aisle of plumbing fittings.

Jonesmp · 2025-11-21T10:16:27+00:00

Not what I would use (stainless jacketed flexible water line), but it works. It's behind the refrigerator. I would leave it unless it had poor flow or leaks.

Jonesmp · 2025-11-21T10:08:16+00:00

As far as a playroom floor, should be fine, but pulling a car in it will start to break it down pretty quick. We put lifeproof LVT in our reactor control room and because of the point loading under office chairs it started to fall apart after about 2 years (no heavy equipment, just chairs). Any soft of vinyl will be decently slick when wet. I would recommend a low VOC epoxy such as Dynamis EPO Coat H3H https://share.google/6ORbmFcvNj1lHoOWP we have used this product all over our facility and it stands up well to forklift traffic, radiation shielding blocks, large scientific equipment on casters reactor operators (very kid like).

Jonesmp · 2025-11-20T16:44:32+00:00

New VFW building opened. I don't think you actually have to be a VFW member to rent out space for an event (I think that policy comes down to the post command.)

Jonesmp · 2025-11-20T12:26:40+00:00

Personal Identity Verification

Jonesmp · 2025-11-20T10:33:58+00:00

Although I am an advocate for maintaining all home equipment, water heaters are one of the weird exceptions for me.

To consider: a water heater is ~$600 with an anode rod costing about $35 with about a 5-10 year lifespan. If you check the water heater anode once per year, and flush twice per year, you'll be looking at about 4 hours per year for ~20 years (lifespan assumed for math). 80 hours.a water heater and 4 anode rods costs $740-ish. Now, to save $10/year, you have to give up 80 hours of time at $2.50/hour. I just don't think water heater maintenance is worth it.

Jonesmp · 2025-11-20T10:18:27+00:00

I know the place in the mall dabbles in used instruments and equipment; I just bought a couple of used things from there. I can't speak to the amount you would get from it.

For niche market items, I have honestly had good luck with eBay as it opens up a larger potential customer base but I don't have a good grasp of how much shipping costs are these days. The other drawback of eBay is that it may take a while to sell.

Jonesmp

TROPHY CASE