On Finding Deep Satisfaction from "Good Enough"

Many of the objects that fill my life could generously be described as "good enough". This is true today, and has been for decades. 

It would be reasonable to assume I'm in a state of constant discontent and envy as I observe others driving cars built in this decade, sporting phones with advanced features, working and surfing on sleek new laptops.  

But on the contrary, I find my choices deeply satisfying. 

Timberwalkers Visits Discovery

I grew up near the dawn of the era of human space flight. As a child I read about Yuri Gagarin and Alan Shepard and John Glenn. I joined the model rocket club and we launched our creations from the field behind the school. I watched Star Trek reruns with my friend Harold and saw Star Wars and Star Trek in the theater with my dad when they were first released. I still have a set of prints with photos from the Apollo 15 mission that Dad ordered for me directly from NASA. 

Can I Build a Free Cooler from Scrap Styrofoam?

No, definitely not.

Not free anyway. I did build a cooler (my second, here's a post about the first one) using scrap Styrofoam as the insulating material but spent about $85 on additional materials. 

Below I'll describe the build process, list the materials and costs, and offer thoughts about building one more economically. You can also watch the video. Note that this post may read like a "how to", but to quote the esteemed Mr. Savage, it is more of a "here's what happened" and you would be exceptionally foolish to attempt such an endeavor. 

Why I Didn't Do Rooftop Solar, and What I Did Instead

I've long dreamed of getting solar panels to power our home. I think home based solar is an important part of solving our climate and energy problems, and I also like the idea of having quiet, instant backup power when there is an outage. 

Recently I dug deeper and got a detailed proposal from a solar power system installer.

As in all things, there are pros and cons.

A Foolish Attempt to Manage the Unmanageable

This is one of the beavers that lives rent-free on our property. 

A Modest Accomplishment

I recently received the following text message from our bank: "Checking withdrawal posted for $876.10". This was the final payment on our home and land loan, and we are for all intents and purposes debt-free. Now in our mid-fifties and after thirty years of marriage, we are the proud owners free and clear of our home and land, three old cars, an old travel trailer and three kayaks. We've also managed to build an emergency savings account and invest a bit for retirement. Here I'll reflect on how we accomplished that.

How to Build a Cooler out of Foam Board

[You can also watch the video tutorial posted on my YouTube channel and/or view this photo album]

I would love to have one of the modern high-performance coolers, such as the rotomolded style, but we don’t actually need one badly enough to justify spending the money. But I wondered if I could build something comparable out of foam board for a fraction of the cost. 

So I built a small prototype, process described below, and here’s what I learned. I could NOT build a comparable cooler at a fraction of the cost. Nonetheless, I had a ton of fun and while the example I built would not stand up to the “Yeti” style coolers, it is quite functional and looks pretty great, IMHO.