Mrs Maryak's Mansion

[Tin Falcon]

bob:
build one of john toms ma deuce paint pellet markers
Then mark the offenders. For easy identification by the authorities.
http://www.john-tom.com/AirsoftPaintball/AirGun/AirGunPlans.html
Tin

 

[Kermit]

In the great state of Texas, a homeowner is allowed to shoot and kill any intruder on his property after sundown. NO questions asked. (practically)

While I have never heard of or witnessed this happening in recent history, the fact that it is ALLOWED, becomes a very potent deterrant to the little teenage punks. We have 'tags' on lots of buildings and structures in this state, but homeowners houses aren't one of them.

Call it barbaric, but from where I live, I call it peaceful and serene,
Kermit

 

[Maryak]

Guys,

Thanks for all the advice on how to deal with the graffiti artists. :bow: :bow: :bow: The gun laws in Oz are draconian and airsoft weapons are banned except for those in a recognised gaming club. Marking the offenders for arrest would also mark me for arrest and an assault charge. Legally I need a licence to own any sort of firearm and to obtain a licence I need to be a member of an approved shooters club. The word Outlaw springs to mind, or a move to Texas.

Best Regards
Bob

 

[SAM in LA]

Build yourself a good, powerful, sling shot.

When I was a kid, Wrist Rocket was a popular brand of sling shot.

SAM

 

[Tin Falcon]

BOB sorry did not mean to suggest you do anything illegal. In New jersey laws are pretty bad too need a licence for a bb gun air soft and paint ball are still ok though.
Tin

 

[Kermit]

Guys,

Thanks for all the advice on how to deal with the graffiti artists. :bow: :bow: :bow: The gun laws in Oz are draconian and airsoft weapons are banned except for those in a recognised gaming club. Marking the offenders for arrest would also mark me for arrest and an assault charge. Legally I need a licence to own any sort of firearm and to obtain a licence I need to be a member of an approved shooters club. The word Outlaw springs to mind, or a move to Texas.

Best Regards
Bob

Since not everyone could move here...
How about a practical suggestion from the great state of Texas

An eyecatching planting of a species with NASTY thorns all along those walls.
A lawn sprinkler system that activates on a motion sensor.
A playful large dog, who hates intruders.

The slingshot idea is a nice one too!
(edit I just remembered, I use red pepper powder on the garden and flower beds to keep the cats out. Some of that on the ground ...

 

[Maryak]

BOB sorry did not mean to suggest you do anything illegal. In New jersey laws are pretty bad too need a licence for a bb gun air soft and paint ball are still ok though.
Tin

Tin,

Absolutely no need for an apology. :bow: I did not take it that way. I would love the opportunity to implement most of everybody's recommendations, (especially those involving a physical deterrent).

When the estate is finished our garage wall will be next door but something nasty on the ground has a certain appeal, thanks kermit.

Best Regards
Bob

 

[johnthomp]

i used to live on one of the roughest estates in rochdale and had a problem with idiots climbing over the back wall of my garden and stealing my car off the drive so i built a plastic gun out of a sink waste trap and some drainpipe just ram a large potato down the barrel spray a little lighter gas in the chamber and ignite with a gas cooker ignition and hey presto the little sods had a 10 ounce potato pellet hurtleing at them at an average 400mph knocking the one i hit out cold they never came back and i saw the lad 3 days later in the local shop jesus what a shiner he had

 

[Foozer]

Motion detector activated lights bout the most effective way to combat the night time sneaks. Planting trip flares and claymores, most anything that can be taken as a boobytrap just brings unwanted attention. Doo happens, fortunately those that like to perform those acts in another's yard prefer the cover of darkness. Faced with the light of "Gotcha" they scurry off like the vermin they mimic.

Course having the 44mag by the bedside dont hurt either.


Robert

 

[ksouers]

Hmm... camera strobe with a very loud recording of a Colt .45 might have a humorous effect on the little darlings sphincter muscles ;D

 

[Maryak]

John, Foozer and Kevin,

Thanks for the suggestions. :bow: :bow: :bow:

Best Regards
Bob

 

[Tin Falcon]

In the US many sporting goods stores and sporting goods mail order houses sell game cameras . they are digital cameras with built in flash and motion sensors. so when it is tripped it takes a photo day or night and puts a time and date stamp on the photo so you know what time the "game" goes down the path. Just remember to deactivate before you or the misses weed the garden lest you have many snapshots of your own rear view.
a cheaper alternative is harbor freight sells driveway alarms for under $20 a motion sensor with a remote audiable alert. someone wanders along side your house you are alerted inside.
Tin

 

[Maryak]

Hi Guys,

First up, thanks for all the anti graffiti advise. :bow: I am now equipped to deal with the next a$$$hole armed with a spray can. *knuppel2*

The Pergola is painted and the back garden is finished, (until the next planting, mulching season plus any extraneous commands suggestions from SWMDBO).

All that's left is a small amount of paving under the swing seat and out front, but fortunately it's raining. ;D

Best Regards
Bob

http://www.aussieviewshere.com/aldinga.html

 

[Blogwitch]

Bob,

As you know, I hate gardening, and everything in my garden is in pots, almost like yours.
I only have two 'permanent' plants, a honeysuckle and a clematis. I just cut a small triangle off the corner of a couple of paving slabs, and stuck them into the soil underneath. They just look after themselves and are thriving. In two years from being a small stick, the honeysuckle now has a spread of about ten feet along the garden fence, and the clematis gets to half the length of the shop now by the end of the summer.

Armed with a sack truck to move the pots around, I can have a new looking garden whenever I want.

The only problem is the continual watering and feeding.

Ever since my walkway has been finished, Mal 'lives' out there, from early morning to late at night, she even does her ironing out there since I have fed power and lights out to it. You should find your pergola is the most used 'room' in the house during summer.

Very nice job indeed.

Say bugger to what Mrs Maryak wants for a while, grab yourself a cold one, sit back, and start to enjoy the fruits of your labour.


John

 

[Maryak]

Finale

Yesterday saw our last capital works project completed with the installation of a 1.5kW solar power system.

The work was completed around 1pm and by the end of usable sunlight around 5 pm the unit had satisfied all our energy demand and returned 1kW to the grid.

I'm impressed...........(not that it takes a lot of doing).

Best Regards
Bob

 

[Foozer]

Finale

Yesterday saw our last capital works project completed with the installation of a 1.5kW solar power system.

Best Regards
Bob

Good item, kudos to you for the venture. I have a 2524 Outback grid tie inverter but only 600 watts of panels, panels get spendy in a hurry. On a good day here in the north no sunshine west, it returns about 400 watts to the grid or at least 400 watts I'm not buying. Good thing it was a "Hobby Interest" item for the payback is in the never category. Couple years it'll be time to dump this place and find something with enough water head for a mico hydroelectric. 24/7 water is better than the short sun days here.

Robert

 

[bearcar1]

Bob, I am sorry, I seemed to have missed quite a few episodes on this thread. I just now went back over and got caught up on the happenings. It appears that you and 'ol' what's her name' ;D have assembled some delightful new digs. Splendid looking home and I like the back yard pergola as you call it. Too bad about the sebastian little cretins that defaced your wall. Hope they get caught and assigned their deserved lot. That solar array looks interesting, those systems are being pushed fairly strong here in the Chicagoland area but the limited weather conditions as well as the return on investment has pretty much kept it from being a viable alternative. Too bad. Wind turbines is another that is being headed up but the local zoning height and setback restrictions are putting the dampers on that one as well. Too bad you could not have moved in next to a running stream or below a water head, then you could make up some chutes, add a wheel and be set for the duration, at least until the seasonal droughts come. :big:

BC1
Jim

 

[Maryak]

Robert and Jim,

Thanks for stopping by and your kind words. :bow: :bow:

Solar.

Yes, solar is more viable in countries where there is more sunlight. The latitude also helps, i.e. smaller is better as it's easier to get more direct sunlight onto the panels without resorting to a fancy tilt system to optimise output. Our roof has a 250 slope so we do much better in the summer than we do in the winter as the sun is 110 versus 570 North of us.

Wind.

With respect to wind powered generators. There is a fairly new, (German I think), system which places a series of turbines along the ridge line of the roof. Minimal height increase and it utilises the increase in wind velocity from gutter line to ridge line which can be as much as a factor of 5. For the "Windy City" with restrictive building ordinances this could be a way to go.

Now before you all think I am some kind of Greenie. Yes I am..........I love greenbacks. Environmental benefits were very much secondary to the severe damage to my hip pocket by the average 11%pa increases we have been getting for energy over the last few years. Now, short of turning into a camel, I have to figure a way to overcome our exorbitant water prices. We built a desal plant which in view of our terrible floods in Qld and Vic is a money gobbling white elephant, which has to be paid for at full tote odds even when it's shut down.

Yesterday was our first full day generating. We made 10kW of which we sold back to the grid 2.4kW. With an average daily use of 17kW that's pretty good. There are some clouds about today so it will be interesting to see how much we lose over yesterday.

Best Regards
Bob

 

[Foozer]

You have net metering? You buy retail and sell wholesale? Windpower Ya Put up a 400 watt turbine on a 47 foot tower, yet another fun adventure raising a tower, as I sat in a sort of wind channel. Problem with wind and grid tie is for me the variance in the wind speed gave the inverter a hard time in maintain output. Have a 4 battery deep cycle bank that absorbs the wind charge and seems to extend the solar sell cycles. Most useful thing is the 1000w inverter hooked to the batteries for those times when the power goes out. Least then I can manage some lights and get a pot of coffee. Gotta have priorities.

Expensive, To do again as it should be would have to be tied in a new 30 year mortgage, something that at this age just aint gonna happen.

Robert

 

[jpaul]

Bob,

Nice work!

I live in Los Angeles, California, where tagging is quite popular. One solutions I have found effective is REPAINT. you have more paint than they have. Nothing worst than having your tag disappear faster than you can replenish your spray cans.