DIY Solar Panel Installation: A Cost-Effective and Sustainable Solution

Harnessing the power of the sun for electricity is not only sustainable but also cost-effective. With the right tools and a bit of elbow grease, you can set up your own solar panel system. This blog post will guide you through the process and provide an estimate of the costs involved.

Step 1: Understanding the Process

Before diving into the project, it’s essential to understand the process. A great resource for this is a YouTube video titled “How to Build a Solar Panel – Part 1 of 3 (New)”. This video provides a comprehensive guide on how to build your own solar panels. It covers everything from the materials needed to the assembly process.

Step 2: Gathering the Materials

Once you have a good understanding of the process, the next step is to gather the necessary materials. Here are some of the top-rated solar panels and mounts available on Amazon:

Please note that the availability and prices of these products can vary. Make sure to check the product details and reviews before making a purchase.

Step 3: Assembling the Solar Panels

After gathering all the necessary materials, the next step is to assemble the solar panels. Follow the instructions provided in the YouTube video mentioned earlier. Remember to take safety precautions while working.

Step 4: Cost Estimation

The total cost of this DIY project will depend on the number of solar panels you plan to install. For a single solar panel setup, the approximate cost would be:

  • Solar Panel: $103.44
  • Mounting Brackets: $29.99
  • Mounting Z Brackets: $9.99

This brings the total to approximately $143.42 for a single solar panel setup. Keep in mind that this is a rough estimate and the actual cost may vary depending on the specific products you choose and the number of solar panels you plan to install.

Conclusion

Building your own solar panel system can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to harness solar energy. Not only will you be contributing to a more sustainable future, but you’ll also be saving on your electricity bills in the long run. So why wait? Start your DIY solar panel project today!

Barrio Dogg vs elote cart grandma

So, recently I’ve watched my coworkers grab food from a local place called Barrio Dogg. Barrio Dogg is located at 2234 Logan Avenue in the Barrio Logan area of San Diego (down the road from Downtown, around the corner from base but not really in Chula Vista). The menu is varied well for most people who like choices, options, or know how to really top their hot dogs.

What they did right: Each variation of a hot dog on the menu is mouth watering, has just the right amount of everything you could want on it for the type.

What they haven’t beaten: The 60- or 70- year old Nana working the elote/hot dog cart outside Walmart in the parking lot. I enjoyed their dog, but the elote vendor’s hotdogs was fucking awesome. Her bacon wrapped dog had more flavor per bite, better tasting toppings, and honestly the best toasted bun I’ve had in San Diego since first passing through in 2013. And at $8 for a bacon wrapped dog with all trimmings that works out great and my family really liked her elote.

What they did wrong: Honestly, nothing. I had their Aleman Dogg which has Sauer kraught all over it, a nice pickle that goes well to provide a nice hint of tart. The collective dish was great but that hot dog itself wad bland as white rice. My wife and myself we tend to season and sauce all our foods so this was a welcome opportunity to taste something but it was less than ideal results. I understand that “El Aleman” isn’t the traditional fair but extra taste goes a long way when convincing someone to purchase $10 hot dog $8 for the dog +$2 for bacon).

Overall: It is a great experience if you don’t hit up hotdog stands often or are in the mood for one that does things a little different from mainstream America. But, sometimes you just need to get your hands on that one vendor cart or Mexican hotdog stand to truly find that one taste you’ll never forget.

Young adult party supplies

Because so many of the people I apparently used to hangout with can’t handle their alcohol or drugs like they used to be able to, I figure some easy answers are the quick and simple of it.

So first of all of you prefer all natural or at least less processed means to control how screwed up you feel the morning after (or if you have work shortly after your night of partying) consider the following:

Antioxidant pregame so you are good for the post game.
Party Smart Multi-Pack (3-packs of 10)

From there we’ll say you really like your food, drink, and smoke. Well you’ll run into a few different options at this point, but it essentially comes down to what you’re okay with as a pre-game. The Party Smart packets help. All the same, a good ginger beer/ale can help coat your insides to slow the absorption of alcohol, decrease your likelihood for bubble-gut, and generally work as a temporary improvement to your gastrointestinal environment. Then you have good water as a wonderful lubricant for your organs and to help your body process the different chemicals you’re introducing to your system. After that the next best option is food, generally the more it absorbs the better, but if you don’t want the possibility of feeling bloated then you’ll want greasy foods to decrease how fast you’ll absorb the drugs of choice. If all these fail, then your next best is to down some painkillers and grab a nap (coffee helps but it’s only too a point and best without added sugars as multiple substances will use it for a direct path into your brain absorbing it which will help accelerate your feeling of being under the effects of something but it will unfortunately also greatly increase how dehydrated you’ll feel once it’s all over with.

As for stronger ways to stay awake, no doze does help but once again as with coffee, limited utility and is more likely to lead to increased dietary issues, irritability, gitters, headaches and diarrhea than to actually fix your issue or make you feel better. If course this is also based on being able to actually take a lot or at least enough to last for hours beyond when you’re initially trying to have your fun then you’ll want some post-care.

Post-care can be several different things. This could be painkillers, coffee/tea, a bottle of water, and if you need to be fully aware, then follow it with whatever legal uppers or equivalent you can get your hands on.

Instant wake-up recipes:
The one I use when I have long boring tasks to do and Adderall isn't an acceptable option: 1 pack of Emergen-C per 4-6 fl.oz. of NOS energy drink
- if actually tired or hungover/drunk, add caffeine/espresso shots.
- this gives you vitamin C, B6, B12, D, B9, E, K, A, caffeine, and sugar.  As for the caffeine, if you add the caffeine/espresso shots that will give you a break down similar to this:
Without shots: 15mg/fl.oz. and 
With shots: 19.43mg/FL.oz.

For comparison, an average cup of coffee is: 11.875mg/FL.oz.

Stay safe while partying your rear off.

Team Hyundai

So, several weeks ago I was in an accident due to trying not to crack the plastic grill on it over a critter.  Anyway, ended up in a ditch.  I was able to get out of the ditch but not without hitting a root on the way up.

This was necessarily bad at first. No initial indicators, no questions about leaking oil, or intermittent problems (dash lights coming on and off frequently).

Well, about a week after the incident, I was due to change my oil and while I’d done it myself the last time so I figured every so often have someone insured change it just in case something goes wrong or unexpected happens.  So I stopped by the local Mr. Tire.  Upon getting the vehicle on a lift they noticed that the radiator’s support beam was bent 90° to the rear.  In order to change the oil, they had to remove it and couldn’t get it back in place. So, this initiated an insurance claim against the vehicle to cover the damages incurred (I still feel like animals and events to get away from them should count as acts of god).

So at this point, I take the vehicle to the local Caliber Collision.  They do a good job with the required body work so it looks fine when I pick the vehicle up there are indicators illuminated.  Which changed within my first 71 miles.  That afternoon, I got the following:

So at this point I inform Caliber Collision what’s happening.  They look at the vehicle, see that it still has indicators going odd and that those readings are wild.  More precisely thatI have pictures and video proving that the MIL, ABS, Parking Brake Indicator, Down hill traction control, ambient temperature reading, and airbag deployability indicators are operating incorrectly. 

The representative I’m dealing with asks to check what codes it has and sees the following:

P0070 – Ambient Air Temperature Sensor

U0109 – Lost Communication with Fuel Pump Control Module

U0121 – Lost Communication with Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)

During our exchange I inform him that I’ve also seen my speedometer fluctuate between reading and not while I’m coasting, had the trip computer give inaccurate readings, had the odometer temporarily stop (the car has about 20 more miles than the odometer is showing) and generally it has been a series of recurring errors, most due to heat (i.e., on a cool day I can drive some distance without seeing errors, however, once the temperature is over about 80 degrees that is essentially not going to happen at all).

After this meeting with Caliber Collision, they directed me to bring the car to the dealership.  This never quite goes well, not because a dealership shouldn’t have more intrinsic knowledge of their own vehicles but rather because the staff are constantly busy, uninvolved, and generally somewhere between ignorance in craft and just not caring about the quality of their work.  So I get the Blind Spot Detection System recalibrated by them (this was useful, and corrected a more cosmetic/luxury issue but was not required vice other persisting issues).

When I picked up the vehicle they said they couldn’t duplicate any of the codes or issues I’d seen and informed me that it didn’t have any codes.  At this point I walked out to the vehicle, connected an OBD-II reader and immediately saw 3 codes populate.  I informed them of this and was told they would only check those codes if I agreed to pay out of pocket.

At this point I drove the vehicle back to Caliber Collision and informed them that the vehicle still had codes, that my dash had previously observed codes populating, and that the A/C wasn’t working.  This was observed by my representative at their location.  He spoke with his manager and they came to the agreement that they wanted Team Hyundai to do a more thorough look over the car, so they scheduled a new appointment.

Upon turning the car into Team Hyundai I was informed that I would be contacted as soon as they had any questions or it was ready to pick up.  No one reached out toe until the afternoon, at which time I was informed that they had turned it on, looked at the dash, seen 1 indicator, checked a code it populated while on for barely a moment, and that was all that could be found.

At this point I informed them that the vehicle had more recently been experiencing problems at its nominal operating temperature or once being at that approx. temperature for a while (20+ minutes).  So, David at Team Hyundai, allowed the vehicle to idle for 10 minutes then had one of his mechanics turn it on and observed the Parking Brake Indicator, fluctuating display of the ambient temperature display between ###°F and “—°F”.

Presently awaiting the outcome for this repair job, I will be taking the vehicle back for the weekend.

Team Hyundai, part 2 and 3

So, since the last update they’ve looked at my car twice. They’ve replaced the parking brake sensor and the ambient temperature sensor. Before even handing it back to me they informed me that the Parking Brake Indicator is still an issue and while they’re certain of what part is creating the error there, it cannot be ordered as an individual part but must be ordered as it’s next higher assembly, a Brake Master Cylinder which, according to CarFax, is a $450-500 part for this region.

I’m not too worried about the work being done, but I would like the work to be done so we can finally close the claim. It’s been open since May 31st with the cosmetic and structural work completed in early June.

If you’re wondering why this is so bothersome, technically it’s something the dealership should have covered when I first got her but they were so lazy, they didn’t bother to even try to run a full diagnostic of the vehicle. From there they keep submitting false reports about what maintenance they do, my CarFax has at least 4 instances of them replacing my oil and oil filter during this as well as performing the 90,000 mile maintenance despite them not doing any of this through out the multiple times they’ve looked at my car. Anyway, back to Caliber Collision and Geico to try to get the next move sorted out.

Rockstar Punched Watermelon

So I happened upon this wonderful little gem of a beverage.  240mg caffeine of watermelon accented (grape flavored) fruit punch, available with or without sugar.

I found this in a wonderful little place called Walmart. But honestly I think this is one of the best things that has happened to the Punched lineup, now if only they’d bring more of their varieties to my local area.

Here’s a link to order it off Amazon, it tastes good. Could be better, but let’s be honest, it’d probably be even worse for you if it was. For now, enjoy and help pass the word on good energy sources that are available and tasty.

Rockstar Punched Watermelon as listed on Amazon
Rockstar Pure Zero Watermelon Kiwi as listed on Amazon

I hope you find them as enjoyable as I have found them to be. Please leave feedback and I’ll pass it along.

Some interesting plants

During my time traveling I have come across some wonderfully great looking plants. Many of them had different environmental requirements but all added to the beauty of an area and included great benefits just by being there (in the Sequoias you have giant trees that have roots going for miles, then in Japan I saw bamboo that was really long (not to say they don’t have their own large trees but I was in the city and you tend to see less large trees there).

And while I didn’t get to see some of the other trees I’m about to post about I believe that trees are an important resource that we need to cultivate and spread through out the world. The more plants and animals we have to support our ecosystem, the more robust and interesting it will become unlike what we have today where technically less than 1% of all creatures that ever existed still exist (based on fossils and the generalized rates at which carbon-based matter decomposes into other forms). So without

For your juniors or inexperienced potential foresters/gardeners, here is a fun little product you just might like. Giant Sequoia genuine tree seed germination kit by The Jonsteen Company. This kit includes a miniature greenhouse, seeds, soil, perlite, and instructions to get you on your way. They are normally $10.99, as of publishing this they are on sale for $6.99.

Packaging as it is available on the product page on Amazon.

Alternatively if you don’t care about repercussions, assuming it can survive in your local environment, there is Sandbox Tree Seeds (Hura Crepitans). These were previously more readily available on Amazon, but apparently COVID has decreased their availability.

Picture of Sandbox Tree Fruit as present on product page

Deets: What makes this plant unique are its look, feel, effects and fruit. These grow to be up to 200 feet tall and has 2 feet long leaves. The bark of this tree is covered in dark spikes, it’s fruit once ripening is known to explosively propel seeds up to 100 feet (depending on the source these are also believed to shoot seeds up to 100 meters). The plant’s spikes, sap, and seeds are hazards to be avoided by direct touch, even indirect contact (say transfer on hands) can be harmful if touching soft tissues like eyes, nose or mouth. If you do decide to get this beautiful but quite very harmful plant, do understand that it prefers warm, wet environments, with either partial or full sunlight exposure. The one retailer I was able to find on a quick search does not include information about how to raise them, what their environment is or how to avoid potential hazards related to growing them.

TL;DR: So, if you’re still interested in them, buyer beware, they form 60 foot trees, have spikey barbs all along their bark and are known for the poisonous effects of their seeds and sap along with the explosive means by which they spread their seeds.

Some fun alternative brands

So I keep trying to find relatively cheap things on Amazon and the different wholesale clubs.  Not that regular retail isn’t useful, just they tend to offer them in the proportions that I usually end up needing sooner or later.

So first up let’s look at energy drinks/coffee/caffeine.  Personally I’m a fan of Solimo, one of Amazon’s in-house brands.  So for now I’m trying out their alternatives to see how well I enjoy them versus their non-Amazon alternatives.

First up is Solimo Sugar-Free Energy Drink, White.  It has a very muted taste, it might as well as Monster ultra zero.  So, for the sake of argument, it is a good sugar-free alternative brand.  With that in mind if erythritol doesn’t agree with you, then stay clear.

More coming soon…

Fun cheap snacks

So, every so often I post and today’s post is about cheap snacks on Amazon. We’ll start with some nostalgic ones I grew up with and move into some of today’s.

Growing up I had access to most of the major US snack brands: Drake’s, Little Debbie, Tasty Kakes to name a few. I even had access to some not so common ones like Fralinger’s Salt Water Taffy.

Let’s start with some easy ones and from there we’ll move on to more involved things:

Drake’s Variety Pack – Ding Dongs, Funny Bones, Devil Dogs, Yodels and Coffee Cakes.

Little Debbie’s Variety Pack – Zebra Cakes, Oatmeal Cookies, Swiss Rolls, Cosmic Brownies and Honey Buns.

More to come soon…

New day, new discovery

So, this morning came with an interesting response from my oldest child.  Namely every so often she shows signs that she's too stimulated, so she thrashes, tantrums, and tries to figure out something over a while.  

The best answer I've found for it so far is just giving her something to focus on.  Rather it's a cold or hot surface, water, or just about anything that can't hurt her and she can interact with while working through whatever has her acting out.  While this might sound like a simplistic way to deal with it, I've noticed that direct light in the eyes tends to set her off, waking up as an interruption to her circadian rhythm, interacting with new people or too enjoyable of a time all set her off.  This isn't to say she doesn't enjoy interacting with people or objects, just she's still learning what she likes and we're still learning what her limitations are and how to properly deal with them so that she can learn from the situations.

Beyond that, nothing too new just first thing in the morning.

However, it wouldn't be right without at least one product so for now, purchase some water from Amazon.
12-Pack of 16.9 fl.oz. Life Water bottles
12 & 24 Packs of Core Water
Propel flavored water
Happy Belly Purified Water (Amazon Brand)