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It was okay when Smitty was the only one getting trashed, because, quite frankly, Smitty can handle it.
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No, actually I don't think it's OK to trash anybody. If any of my non-technical posts have been take for anything other that fun, then you need to know that meant no harm, but I felt we were sharing a laugh among friends. I think we have a unique gathering of backgrounds and experiences, and I value each contribution. Seeing someone approach a problem from a different angle than I would richens my understanding of the factors of that problem, and a word to the wise from someone who has learned a lesson the hard way is of great value to any newbie who will listen. And we have some true masters of various skills here, you gradually learn who they are by the quality of their posts, or photos of their work.
In discussions, we don't all have the same set of facts in front of us that serve to form our opinions. And presenting missing facts to another person does not necessarily they will suddenly see things our way. Each fact within a given set is weighted for its value in our own needs and experience. Different conclusions for the same fact sets will be reached by different people, based on the weighting of the facts. That's what makes a tapestry rich, and a discussion lively.
Let me give an example. Suppose a surgeon tells two young men in their early forties that they honestly have a condition which will cause them to die in less than three weeks. The same fact applies to both. Now suppose the first man is a Franciscan Monk, with no family responsibilities, and who has made his peace with God. The second is a small business proprietor, who has spent all his time and energy running every aspect of his business in order to attain value sometime in the future. He oversees everything himself, and has made no plan for business succession without him, and no provision for his wife and kids. The same fact causes panic in the second man, but only peace and expectancy in the first.
The same with skoolies. For some of us budget is everything, and we want the cheapest skoolie we can build, preferably with scrounged parts. Some want the finest conversion possible, and no expense is too great. Some of us have a construction deadline, and others convert part-time when we can. We have many different goals. Some want a home for full-time living, some a camper for tours or get-aways, some want a support vehicle for racing cars, bicycles or sculptures, and others want a place to relax at a paintball or football game or a NASCAR race. A conversion fact shared about a certain mode of refrigeration might be crucial to one of us and meaningless to another. The fact is the same, but the value accounted to that fact is different.
As far as governments and policies, things change. Except for some Amish, the horse-drawn days of our great-grandpas is gone, and not coming back (unless we are forced "back to the stone age" by an EMP event that ends the use of electronics). The post-war days of our fathers or grandfathers are gone, and are not coming back. Any student of history can see changes that have occurred. We can each try to "make the world a better place," but there is no universal agreement on what that means. Some think it is going back to old ways and values, others think it is going forward with newer technologies and revised societies. All the aspects that would make up a "better world" have differing weighted values placed on them by the variety of peoples involved.
So, on topic, will gas/diesel/bio/veggie/solar/wind/H2/CO2 be taxed, regulated, controlled, forbidden, or otherwise obliterated? Possibly. Will there be a way do get things done in spite of that? I'm sure there will be. With the exchange of ideas here, we will find a way. Where else do you find wood gassification references? Where else do you find advice from those who have been there, on how to face the insurance agent, motor vehicle clerk, state equipment inspector, etc?
Do I have concerns? None to lose sleep over. The "Man Upstairs" has watched out for me so far, even when I didn't recognize it, and I have no reason to believe that will change, even if the rules change so that I can no longer
(fill in the blank).