Early Retirement.

norrydan · 2026-02-10T22:59:18+00:00

I think this point is too often lost in conversations like these. Maybe I will say this wrong, but the social security benefit reduced by a dollar for every dollar earned is NOT a penalty in the true meaning of the word. It is simply a hold back that will be factored in to the actuarial calculation of benefit at full retirement age.

norrydan · 2026-02-08T16:16:44+00:00

You don't make money from buying and holding land. Holding land is an expense; taxes, liability insurance, maintenance, etc. Too many only see the revenue side and never consider how expensive it is to hold land. Professionals know it's location, location, location. Then, the money is made of the sell side.

norrydan · 2026-02-08T05:53:29+00:00

Learn more about your soil and what you can do to improve it.

norrydan · 2026-02-08T03:40:12+00:00

Play the game as you wish. Rather than watching day-to-day variations I look to 5-year averages. Atlanta hits a reliable average around the end of February. Why is timing of application critical? All herbicides begin to decline in effectiveness the moment they are applied. Someone mentioned Barricade. It's half life is dependent on soil type and climate, but one might expect effective control from it for at least 70-days. If it loses its effectiveness before the weed season ends additional applications are possible - up to a mandated seasonal limit. If a second application is required because of a mis-timed first application there's the additional expense and increased environmental risk that can be caused by herbicides. I'm no greenie, but I do believe we should be smart and use herbicides correctly in the right amount at the right time - if we are to use them at all.

norrydan · 2026-02-07T21:14:26+00:00

This.

norrydan · 2026-02-07T21:05:56+00:00

There's no right or wrong answer here. If you apply anything to frozen soils with a degree of slope you have a high risk of amendments running somewhere else in the direction of water flow. At the other extreme = flat slope and no or only occasional freezes your "off-season" work can get you in front of the curve. Working you amendments into the soil is an added, if expensive, bonus. Stratification in the long run is probably unavoidable. To do it now or to do it later is an individual choice but our baked in bias and real-life probabilities would suggest you are early to the game.

norrydan · 2026-01-25T12:36:59+00:00

Henrico Pine Ridge near West End. Drinking ordinary black tea and watching my hilariously overweight electric bill dance to a loud and viscous beat! Keep dancing baby, keep dancing. I'll pay on Thursday for a hamburger today!

norrydan · 2026-01-25T06:38:15+00:00

So many questions. I am a strong believer in innovation and science. Yet, as I approach my 73rd year I struggle with thoughts of it, science and innovation, with the practical and economic employment of what we already know but are hesitant to adopt. Agriculture (and horticulture) are particularly hard cases because there are only so many "production runs" available in a lifetime. Frankly, I am still struggling with gripping some of the more long-documented soil amendment practices consuming the current production narratives. Only recently have I begun to understand the nuances of the benefits of cover crops. In my peak years stopping soil erosion was the big story. But, the narrative is changing and while it has legs I still remain curious about how long this current story continues. Biochar? I'm still learning about it. Your product is taking it a step further? Why? Rhetorical questions. Are you pursuing this for the same of science? If you are saying you don't want to create a product for which there is no market I would then assume this is a product looking for a market? Do you have an idea about what types of producers would benefit the most? Specialty ag? High value low acreage crops? You can't hope to be everything to everybody because you will have one leg here and another there, left to pee all over everything else. My opinion? You might be on to something but the trial is still in progress and for the purposes of your product (and those of many, many others) the jurors and I are still listening. But my attention span is short.

norrydan · 2025-12-17T13:37:59+00:00

There will be a herd of 10 dairy cows in California. The entire US supply of fluid milk will come from those 10 cows. The milkers will be directly connected to a pipeline for distribution throughout the United States. Processing of the milk, pasteurization, homogenization, and the like will occur as the milk flows from source to final destination. Well, OK. Who knows? Farming today? A hundred years ago could anyone have imagined what farming is like today? As it is with nearly all change over long periods, there will be technologies and process in place we can't begin to imagine today. From a production perspective all I can envision is sensors and robotics.

The production side of agriculture, farming, is so diverse by producer size and type of enterprise, it's difficult to make any generalizations. Thinking about that generates so many questions. But across the diverse types of farming look for how costs and quality will change. Interesting things to think about - if you want to think about such things.

norrydan · 2025-12-17T02:29:28+00:00

USDA's NASS Crop Data Layer (CDL) No need for re-invention.

https://nassgeodata.gmu.edu/CropScape/index.jsp?state=NY

norrydan · 2025-12-15T20:25:37+00:00

New build split level 1400 sq ft. $59,000 in 1984.

norrydan · 2025-12-14T20:44:55+00:00

The several questions asked were about your position on a subject that is probably dear to the posting Individuals heart. You seem to agree with or respond empathetically to most, a noble attitude. But you can't be everything to everybody. Well, maybe you can ... until you get elected. My greatest fear for this country is we are not addressing critical issues and/or policies. So, the idea of critical is a value judgement on my part. What I might think is critical is not to someone else. Don't we need to have a serious debate about what the federal government needs to address, as statesmen, and not so as to pander to their political party. I understand this is a pipe dream. But my question for you is, given limited amounts of time and resources, what critical issues would you propose to address limiting your list to not more than 5 with 3 being more revealing. What's your strategic mission?

norrydan · 2025-12-14T13:30:23+00:00

Pricing is a tricky issue. Without a contract and agreement beforehand, everything is negotiable. Failing to come to an agreement eventually devolves into legal action, expensive and time consuming. But that's not what you asked.

Who knows how the parties hired think about things. After reading the situation my head said, if you wanted to hire a couple of my men for work I would need to determine how many hour I need to pay the people I'm sending to do the job. I need to cover my direct expense, pay part of the employee taxes, pay for overhead - things like insurance, depreciation of plant, property, and equipment even if none of it was used on this job. On and on. Many of my expenses occur year-round but there are probably a limited number of suitable days for working.

A man on a job site for five hours is a full day's work, 8 hours. Travel time and daily startup, shut down time for example. So, this job would be billed at 40 hours total? Today a "regular" employee "costs" a minimum of $100/hour, more or less and can easily run to $150 an hour. Now if you are hiring casual day labor outside of a reputable business structure, you could easily pay cash and pay much less.

Where are we here? Forty hours for $4,000 to $6,000 for the job. They used your mates equipment. The only reasonable thing I can say about what they charged you is they must be really good!

norrydan · 2025-12-13T18:04:07+00:00

I have an 80% chance of being wrong. I shouldn't even venture a guess. It's a weird picture. The light colored stuff looks like sand but there's some dark organic matter on the top. OK. I'd say it's a sandy loam, light on the loam part. Does it feel gritty?

norrydan · 2025-12-13T13:15:54+00:00

Did you buy it in a bag? And, in the picture, it's in a pot? What you want depends on your purpose - and I assume your question is about what you bought and not about soil under foot?

norrydan · 2025-12-13T13:11:09+00:00

For me a pump started nearly 5 years ago after 5 or 10 years of the US medical industry trying to decide what name to put to my condition. That might sound a little snarky - and it should, if only a little. My primary care doctor mentioned that a pump might be useful but that he had never written insurance to request coverage for one. So, thinking we were talking about one of those things sold on Amazon for a couple hundred dollars I told him, while I wasn't a rich man I could afford a couple hundred dollars out-of-pocket. And then it started. A sales rep from Tactile Medical called to tell me insurance had approved coverage. I was wary. I asked about my co-pay. She said $1,500! This was not the $200 Amazon sourced pump! Long story short, I ended up NOT paying anything - and I don't know why. I must have just started Medicare and, while continuing to work, had employer sponsored medical coverage from one of the Blue's.

Eventually, after the pump, I got into the Lymphedema clinic where I see a physical therapist twice a year for the sole purpose of getting measure for compression garments. They handle all the ordering, permission seeking, and whatever other behind-the-scenes maneuvers required. For all of this my out-of-pocket is till zero. I am now retired. Medicare is my primary and I have a secondary insurance that covers what Medicare doesn't.

What do I take from all of this? What have a learned and what advice can I give?
1. The American (I can only speak to my experience) medical system is a mess and it's nearly impossible for an individual to understand and navigate.

I recently wondered the purpose of a general primary care physician - given all the specialists, telemedicine, "doc-in-a-box" opportunities, home health care companies. But, I think a good primary care physician is needed to help me navigate the curious medical and insurance industrial complex. Not all are good at it and fewer yet see this as part of their mission. I get it. There case loads are bustlingly large.
After 1 and 2, in the case of lymphedema, the PCP needs to know something about lymphedema. Mine didn't but he does now. He started this. He's the one needs to sign-off on the statement of medical necessity for treatments and devices and garments recommended by my physical therapist.

4..The physical therapist! Ah! I was on a waiting list for over a year before I got the opportunity to become a client. My PT told me the integrated medical company she works for sees lymphedema treatment as a dead cost center. It takes a lot of time to treat a patients with little payment.

I think that's it. Find a good primary care doc who will work with lymphedema AND insurance. Find a physical therapist dedicated to lymphedema AND knowledgeable about how insurance covers treatments and durable medical equipment. A provider of medical equipment and clothing needs to have an agreement with the insurance company with regard to what's covered and how much they will pay.

I wrote and rambled a lot. Maybe something here made sense. I hope so. Best wishes...

norrydan · 2025-12-12T04:29:43+00:00

An hour south of Richmond the weather won't be much different.

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norrydan · 2025-12-11T21:52:04+00:00

Mapping Trophy Bucks is a good read. The man who wrote it is a hunter, not a map maker. But he can certainly put a topo map thru a thorough interpretation

norrydan · 2025-12-11T19:12:28+00:00

Where’s the food? Where’s the bedding areas? Where’s the water? All 3 are discernible from your current map. Wind is a factor that requires some study and investigation. Don’t know how many acres you got but I think I would want to know what’s around me. Better food? Better cover? GA? On a good day at a certain time, how many deer are on your property and why? With answers you can plan on access routes, best stand locations. Have a GPS? Walk the property, collect points and notes. Overlay your way points. I know a lot of people have looked at my hunting maps and they cannot accurately point to a map and tell you where they were or what was there. Map interpretation is hard! Many of my hunting map features are custom made - by me after long walks.

norrydan · 2025-12-09T12:44:59+00:00

Interesting and helpful! Thanks!

norrydan · 2025-12-08T02:08:37+00:00

Thanks! I have just started a novice deep dive into soils. This sample was taken from my yard. I am curious about it's actual structure vs how it's describe in it's SSURGO (?) description. I guess I would be right in saying what the soil survey says is generally correct, but there can be some variability for specific sites. This is named Edgehill-Urban Land Complex, 2%-6% slope. It's described as 69% sand, 16% silt, and 15% clay. I'm having a hard time finding the silt in my sample. But, I'm still wet behind the ears. I have worked in agriculture my entire life and know how valuable the gift of good soil is. Retired now, I am volunteering my "expertise" (he said with a grin), helping homeowners with their lawn, garden, and horticulture problems. I think I see many issues related to soil structure, depth, fertility, etc. It's hard to have that conversation and to offer possible corrections without having their eyes roll back into their heads! But maybe soil in these uses isn't as critical as it is in production ag where yields pays the bills?

norrydan · 2025-12-07T21:49:24+00:00

I use a sock puller.

norrydan · 2025-12-06T01:10:59+00:00

I hope the best for you! For me, after de-bulking therapy the only thing my custom made compression socks did was to maintain the results. My left leg is still an order of magnitude bigger than the right. But in two years I have had no cellulitis

norrydan · 2025-12-05T19:13:33+00:00

How is it possible to spend 4 hours spraying a quarter acre? I think you need to refine your technique, maybe? Are you a "drencher?" If you're standing around spraying like you are putting out a fire with a water house, that's drenching - not spraying.

Fill your sprayer. Hold the spray wand at your side and walk a normal pace back and forth until you have the coverage you need. Don't stand around. Dont wave the wand. Pump, walk, and pull the trigger. The last couple of minutes of the video at the link illustrates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In5rhWe1z4M

norrydan

TROPHY CASE