Homeless by Choice
A gonzo, haphazard account of my life on the road and living off the grid on an island in Bocas del Toro, Panama.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Resort Work
I've been searching for a diesel generator for the resort. A mechanic in town told me of one that was a first rate unit, in fine shape, with low hours at a good price. Others have been buying propane generators. There is a good reason for doing so. As propane in twentyfive pound tanks is highly subsidized the fuel cost is far lower than for diesel generators. Diesel generators cost much less to run than gas generators. Low end gas and propane generators are really not intended for continuous duty, they are standby units that need to be replaced every few years even if only used to top off batteries on cloudy days or to equalize batteries. This generator will probably use between a quart to half a gallon of diesel and hour. At a cost of $4.50 a gallon that's $9 to $18 a day if run for eight hours. On propane the cost would be less than $4 a day. The downside is, the unit is likely to fail at the most inopportune time. Maybe I'll put in a propane generator if the resort generates revenue. Most likely my first priority would be to put in solar.
I'll need about two thousand watts to run the pool pump. The current price of solar panels is about one dollar a watt. I'll need about two thousand watts to run the refrigerators and freezers. I should probably use a chest freezer as a refrigerator. Cold air stays in chest freezers, it pours out the door on refrigerators.
The guy with the generator called. I went off to his house to inspect then spent a couple of hours with the man. A very interesting person, but I can't go into the details as I don't have the cash to pay for it yet as I can only withdraw $500 a day and some local who reads this might have cash in hand first. Very high end diesel generator, well maintained, with low hours.
I got a call that a buddy was handed my new telephoto lens and a propane conversion kit for my home generator. I went back to town and picked it up. A very annoying person was in attendance, one whom I avoid. This is a guy who owns no business, nor boat nor is ever in the company of women but is never short of ill words to say about everybody else's business, boat or women. I got out of there as quickly as possible.
On Friday I met with a neighbor of the resort. Per my instructions he tapped into the water supply for the school at the point the pipes cross the resort. This water is being utilized in compliance with a former agreement for usage of the water in exchange for a right of way for the pipes. No water is available in the daytime due to low pressure as a result of usage by the school and the community. With the blessing of the community, the water to the community is shut off late at night and the full flow is diverted to the pool. About 1,500 gallons a day are obtained this way, so the pool should be filled by mid next week.
In my hasty departure I had left an Android tablet in a boat bag. I quickly returned to fetch it but the wait staff said it wasn't there. I later was told that "Hurrricane", a whirling cocaine maelstrom had taken it for safekeeping. I called him and he returned with it in his dinghy. The boat bag was floating in a pool of water. This wasn't meant for long term submersion. I opened the bag to find the unit dry. I opened the case, the screen was cracked. He had stepped on it. "I didn't know what was in the bag." So you fucking stepped on it? Thanks for looking out for me. You should have just left it there.
Off to the beach for a barbecue. "Who's this cutie?" "That's Port Dick's girlfriend from the states." Here we go. She said, "Why do you call him that?" Another guy replied, "because he screwed every drunken slut in town while you were waiting for him in the states. He was kicked out of Casa Verde for taking these sluts to the employee dorm room and banging them there while other employees were trying to sleep." "I've heard some bad things about him, but he's really sweet."
Starry night, clear skies.
That's Ursa Minor, the little dipper, that's Polaris, the North Star. That's Crux, the Southern Cross."
"Which way are we going?"
Cute, but not too bright.
I'll need about two thousand watts to run the pool pump. The current price of solar panels is about one dollar a watt. I'll need about two thousand watts to run the refrigerators and freezers. I should probably use a chest freezer as a refrigerator. Cold air stays in chest freezers, it pours out the door on refrigerators.
The guy with the generator called. I went off to his house to inspect then spent a couple of hours with the man. A very interesting person, but I can't go into the details as I don't have the cash to pay for it yet as I can only withdraw $500 a day and some local who reads this might have cash in hand first. Very high end diesel generator, well maintained, with low hours.
I got a call that a buddy was handed my new telephoto lens and a propane conversion kit for my home generator. I went back to town and picked it up. A very annoying person was in attendance, one whom I avoid. This is a guy who owns no business, nor boat nor is ever in the company of women but is never short of ill words to say about everybody else's business, boat or women. I got out of there as quickly as possible.
On Friday I met with a neighbor of the resort. Per my instructions he tapped into the water supply for the school at the point the pipes cross the resort. This water is being utilized in compliance with a former agreement for usage of the water in exchange for a right of way for the pipes. No water is available in the daytime due to low pressure as a result of usage by the school and the community. With the blessing of the community, the water to the community is shut off late at night and the full flow is diverted to the pool. About 1,500 gallons a day are obtained this way, so the pool should be filled by mid next week.
In my hasty departure I had left an Android tablet in a boat bag. I quickly returned to fetch it but the wait staff said it wasn't there. I later was told that "Hurrricane", a whirling cocaine maelstrom had taken it for safekeeping. I called him and he returned with it in his dinghy. The boat bag was floating in a pool of water. This wasn't meant for long term submersion. I opened the bag to find the unit dry. I opened the case, the screen was cracked. He had stepped on it. "I didn't know what was in the bag." So you fucking stepped on it? Thanks for looking out for me. You should have just left it there.
Off to the beach for a barbecue. "Who's this cutie?" "That's Port Dick's girlfriend from the states." Here we go. She said, "Why do you call him that?" Another guy replied, "because he screwed every drunken slut in town while you were waiting for him in the states. He was kicked out of Casa Verde for taking these sluts to the employee dorm room and banging them there while other employees were trying to sleep." "I've heard some bad things about him, but he's really sweet."
Starry night, clear skies.
That's Ursa Minor, the little dipper, that's Polaris, the North Star. That's Crux, the Southern Cross."
"Which way are we going?"
Cute, but not too bright.
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