You may remember Friday (pre bar stool) how we were asking our AI for the ultimate $500 and five-minutes-a-day formula for wealth. AI said the only way to get there would be gambling, but it did tease three solid side-hustle ideas that might get legs. (Everything in life is a gamble, marriage licenses on down…)
Well, you know how Mr. Greed is, right? Show us the money!
Bromo moment: before you get visions of palm-fringed beaches and mai tais, let’s remember: I asked for a way to “turn $500 into millions” and got back “that’s a Vegas longshot, cowboy.” Which, frankly, was refreshingly honest compared to most “side hustle” gurus who will cheerfully sell you a $997 course on making $50 a month.
But there were three ideas worth kicking the tires on:
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Micro-Niche Flipping – Not eBay garage-sale flotsam, but targeted flips where you actually know the market better than the next person. Think vintage ham gear, out-of-production tools, or a specific type of collectible where you can buy under market and resell at a healthy markup. Five minutes a day to watch auctions and list stuff, but it does mean some weekend sourcing.
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Digital Product Drill-Downs – Tiny, laser-focused info products that answer one question for one kind of buyer. Not “How to Bake” but “Sourdough Hack Sheet for RV Owners” priced at $4.99. Once made, it sells while you’re sleeping. This one’s all about knowing a micro-audience and giving them a one-page solution they can’t Google in under ten seconds. (AI is killing this one, though…)
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Local Service Arbitrage – Find a simple, high-demand local service (think window washing, yard cleanup, pet waste removal), take the orders, and outsource the actual work to reliable help. Your “five minutes” is booking jobs and paying the crew. The real trick is keeping the customers and workers happy without having to pick up a shovel yourself.
The AI’s point was simple: you can compound a small stake if you’re willing to work smarter, not just faster. It’s not magic, but it’s a way to set a snowball rolling without betting the farm in a poker room.
Out here on the ranch, I’ve actually used one or two of these — mostly to prove whether five minutes is enough time to earn a dime, let alone a fortune. No, but damn, I do have fun!
Finding Your Perfect Hustle
The process of becoming a “happy side hustler” begins with understanding what you really like to do. I was very fortunate because coming up, my relatives were extremely happy and highly motivated people. Each had a side hustle that sprang from their hobbies.
- One uncle loved salmon fishing. So his side hustle was a 22-foot fiberglass deep-vee fishing boat with a big 100-horse Merc on it. He had picked up a “troller” license before the Boldt decision and made money (caught tons of salmon) and enjoyed his time off Westport.
- My dad got a curious interest in tying fishing flies. Took a course at Patrick’s Fly shop on Eastlake in Seattle back when. His study of the tying – and what fish ate – led to his development of the Jameson Shrimp fly. Which filled out Little Chief smoker on a result basis with 12″ (and up) rainbow trout hauled out of Lake Jameson.
- Other uncles liked home and DIY projects – which is how I learned about concrete work and Formica and a lot of other useful skills.
These men were happy and the side hustles made all the rest of life much more bearable. They lived longer, too. The link between happiness and healthspan is there if you go looking. (Happiness and Health – PubMed)
My (Mindless) Ham Radio Hustle
Here’s how this applies to me:
- I like writing. So I am on the internet – a lot.
- I love ham radio, too. Especially the “working on old tube radio” gear.
- Marrying the two, and sniping new listings on eBay, I have been able to score some really good (restorable) classic gear. Set shipping costs aside and I think you’ll get the idea here.
The Hallicrafters SX-32
Newly arrived this week. We will be unboxing gham gear for an article this coming weekend and so I will have a lot to do over the Labor Day weekend. Point is? I bought the radio for $89. Plus shipping. But, cleaned up, a few capacitors and a tube or two? Might fetch $300.
Even before it sells, though, I will have the enjoyment of working on it. That’s why I have a fair-to-middlin’ amateur radio tube gear manual archive if the Boat Anchor Manual Archive doesn’t have what I need.
The generation prior to the SX-32 was the SX-28 (and the (a) version) which were going this weekend on eBay for almost $1,000 in one case. They are classic warm tube sound and the deco look of them is great…depending on your eye for such things.
The Johnson Ranger
Bought this (new listing) on eBay, Took a chance. The Ranger is a normal seller in ther $350 range and I picked this one up for $85 from a fellow who’s grandfather (a ham) had passed. It will be more work to restore, but again, it’s having the “classic” AM low band transmitter (which also covers CB, by the way – back when the Johnson came out that was the ham radio 11-meter band).
Yes, a minimum is a new grounded outlet, tons of time and attention to details cleaing, tube checks, DeOxit and so forth. But if I can get a month or three of enjoyment and flip later?
Hobbies – the things we love to do are creeping illnesses that can take over life. We can cook a passable meal here, but reader LOOB is totally into cooking and brewing and such. I have a sister who used to sew all her own clothes and she even had her own labels made for them. We all have those hot buttons in our lives.
And that brings us to a good stopping point (we have more to cover in a sec.) but it’s the main thing to think about, if you haven’t already.
Ask yourself what you want to do more of – and how could you do that and make a few bucks. That’s the door to Heaven, right there.
Play and get paid for it!
Real Reader Project Time
A reader moving back stateside from (beautiful digs in) Central America asks:
“We will be updating a small 2 BR, 1 bath house with a metal roof. Would grounding the metal roof about every 15 feet with copper wire and copper ground posts help with an EMP blast? Don’t want to blow out the fridge as the Guinness would get warm.
We can put the propane generator in an EMP bag so that helps. George how much propane do you use in a year?”
(Pour a warm-up – this could get long.)
First, congrats on moving back stateside – you will find some things have changed, but the people here are all basically hard working (except the criminal class) as in most countries. Leaders are a whole other kettle of fish.
Before worrying about the EMP resistance of a home *(particularly at our ages) some thoughts that may come first in order of attack.
Ure’s Shopping List
- Before I would get too worried about an EMP events, I’d focus first on “life after” such a thing. This means:
- Having a solid Water Plan in place with lots of backup options. Out here we have 600 gallons of solar pressurized water if needed. And that’s before rain catchment systems go up in the wake of “whatever follows.” Not trying to re-do any of your hard work and planning, but having running water to do dishes and to grab a 2-3 times weekly shower is one of those vestiges of civilization we’re not keen on letting go of. Won’t be the same as the 10-minute daily hot shower singing sessions, but if the grid goes, showers could get cold quickly. And water, too. While most community water is gravity fed, that takes power to “push water up hill” first…
- Second focus would be on as much insulation as you can reasonably squeeze in. R40 ceilings and R30 sidewalls (and 13-24 in floors) sounds crazy, as well,. Until there’s no lights and power.
- Backup heating plant (wood-fired because it’s so versatile) would be in line first. Somewhere to warm up water and do some slow-cooking, if it came to it. With good insulation, you should be ready for too much heat and too much cold. (As Elaine and I have aged out here in the woods, the importance of comfort and investing in things that reduce our operating break-even point has been strategically some of our best moves…)
- Then there’s a small solar system. Let me know what you’d like to design for (we don’t know where the house is yet) and we can kick around ideas. With a super-insulated box, you have a lot of choices. And while any insulation, updated windows, and such is being done, make sure your plumbing is on the inside because frozen pipes are a nightmare in the cold states…
- Food matters greatly, too. If you’re in USDA Zone 7 and higher (bigger numbers means warmer) then maybe a small greenhouse doesn’t make sense, but again, EMP doesn’t kill you because people don’t “short out”. Well, except about Trump, maybe. No, you’ll want to have 6-months of food and so forth.
I’m not saying EMP isn’t a concern. But do remember that the bulk of impact will not be on the electronics in your home – for the most part. The RF energy spike from EMP is mainly in the 1-20 MHz and sure, exotic foil taping is fine (aliens with directed-energy weapons, anyone?).
But I don’t want you running into the same trap I do all the time: Fixing the problem you like (I’m an RF nerd) which may not be the one critical to survival. (Excuse me for interupting before the answer you need but I beat myself up all the time because ham radio projects and shop work are so much more “fun factor” than actually working on the garden when it’s hot or putting in a wood stove when solar is so much fun…
On the other hand, time spent on making your home fully functional without power is Job #1 around here – and I hate it.
NOW the RF Engineering Part
Between you and me, teaching AI to think “more like George” and “less like Intel” has turned it into a pretty good RF Engineering assistant.
For example, I put your question to AI and here’s how it responded, knowing I could have mentioned the Guiness will get warm unless you have protected power (solar or a lot of fuel and a generator) because the main threat from EMP isn’t your neighborhood – it’s all the traffic lights may be out immediately and cascading phone systems going down over the next 48-72 hours…
Ready?
“Awesome reader question. Here’s the straight dope from George’s AI stack (Electric George/EG) plus some practical add-ons you’ll want to consider.
(Thought for 29S which seems odd giving….)
The 10-second answer
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Grounding a metal roof helps (mostly for lightning and the slow E3 part of a HEMP or geomagnetic storm).
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It won’t, by itself, save the fridge from the fast E1 pulse, which couples into house wiring like an RF spike (think 1–20 MHz with very fast rise times).
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Real protection is a system: tight bonding + short, fat grounds and whole-house + point-of-use FAST surge protection and choke the leads (ferrites) and keep spares in a Faraday container.
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What to do (in priority order)
1) Bond the metal roof correctly (yes, every ~15 ft is fine)
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Continuity first: mechanically/electrically bond all roof panels, ridge cap, and flashing so the roof behaves like one sheet. Bridge painted or slip-joint seams with stainless braid or wide copper strap; star-washers bite through paint where you must screw.
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Down conductors: run at least two (opposite corners is ideal) straight, short drops to earth. Your “every 15 ft” idea is good if you can keep runs straight; it reduces slot length and RF “leaks.”
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Use wide strap, not skinny wire: 2–4-inch copper strap (or tinned braid) presents lower inductance at RF than #6 wire. Short and straight beats long and pretty.
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Single-point bonding: tie the roof drops to a perimeter ring ground (if practical) and bond that to the service ground. One bonding system only—no isolated “mystery grounds” that make loops.
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TL;DR: Treat the roof like the top of a shielded box. Fewer seams, more bonds, shortest path to earth, and everything tied to one master ground.
2) Build the earth connection that RF likes
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Perimeter ring (nice-to-have): #2–#4 bare copper around the house, cad-weld or clamp to 8-ft rods every 16–20 ft and at corners.
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Minimum viable: two 8-ft rods >6 ft apart bonded to the service ground and your roof down-straps.
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Keep soil moist (mulch/soaker hose). Dry ground is a lousy return.
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3) Stop the surge at the service (this is where the fridge lives)
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Type-1 SPD at the main service entrance (line-side if allowed).
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Type-2 SPD in the main panel (and subpanels if long feeders).
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Point-of-use SPD for the fridge receptacle (series-mode preferred if you can find one; otherwise a decent MOV unit).
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Bond all the metals: water pipe, gas pipe, well casing, HVAC, satellite/cable, mast, gutter if metal—all to the same grounding electrode system. No floaters.
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4) Kill the antennas you didn’t know you had
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Ethernet & coax: use in-line protectors and snap ferrite chokes (mix 31 or 43) near each device and where cables enter the house. Loops are antennas—avoid big cable loops and keep everything short and together.
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Appliance leads: clamp 2–5 ferrites on the fridge cord, internet gear, TV, and anything with long leads. It’s cheap dB.
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5) Shield the crown jewels (and plan for spares)
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Faraday stash: keep a small tote or metal trash can (tight lid + conductive gasket or foil tape) with spare router, modem, charge controller brain, a small inverter, LED bulbs, radio, and a cheap spare fridge control board if your model has one. Double-bag in “EMP bags” inside the can.
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Generator reality: if it’s an inverter-type with a control board, bag a spare board. Bagging the whole genset is overkill; it’s the electronics you care about.
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Answering the roof question precisely
“Would grounding the metal roof about every 15 feet with copper wire and copper ground posts help with an EMP blast?”
Yes, with nuance:
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It reduces the structure’s effective aperture (good), improves lightning safety, and helps E3 (the slow, quasi-DC portion).
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It does not by itself protect plug-in appliances from E1 (the fast, high-frequency pulse). E1 mitigation is surge protection + lead choking + tight bonding.
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Do it, but also do the SPDs and ferrites. That’s the combination that keeps the Guinness cold.
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Propane: how much you’ll burn (and how to size it)
Generator fuel math (rule-of-thumb)
Typical air-cooled standby units burn roughly this much propane (LP) per hour:
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- A “500-gallon” tank holds ~400 gal usable (80% fill).
- At 1.5 gal/hr (typical ~10–12 kW at half-load), that’s ~266 hours ? 11 days of continuous runtime.
- If you exercise the “critical loads only” discipline (fridge/freezer, lights, well pump) and average 6 hr/day, that same tank lasts ~66 days.
For “keep the beer cold” only, you’re far better with a small inverter generator sipping ~0.2–0.3 gal/hr gasoline or ~0.4–0.6 gal/hr LP or a modest solar + battery that runs the fridge 24/7 and uses the generator only for bulk charging on dark streaks.
“George, how much propane do you use in a year?”
We don’t use enough to know yet. Solar is our bet. We do have 6,5 kw of propane…
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- House loads (cooktop + water heater + dryer, no space heat): 150–300 gal/yr is typical for two people who cook.
- Add standby generator used only for outages (a few storms): +50–150 gal/yr depending on hours.
- If you heat with propane in a mild-to-moderate climate: 600–1,200 gal/yr is common; cold climates can run 1,500–2,500+ gal/yr.
- Our pattern on the ranch (no propane space heat, occasional gen exercise/outage) is a few hundred gallons a year, with a 500-gal tank staying mostly full for resilience.
Quick “Ure-approved” shopping list
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- SPDs: Type-1 at service, Type-2 in panels, point-of-use for fridge.
- Ferrites: Mix-31 clamp-ons, 10–20 pieces (you’ll use them all).
- Copper strap/braid: 2–4″ for roof bonds and down-straps, stainless hardware, star washers.
- Ground rods & clamps: at least two; more if doing a ring.
- Ethernet/coax protectors: inline units rated for your speeds.
- Faraday can + EMP bags: for small spares and a fridge board if applicable.
Common gotchas (skip these and you undo the good work)
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- Isolated “extra grounds” not bonded to the service—creates loops and higher differential voltages.
- Long, coiled down-leads—they’re inductors at RF. Keep them straight and short.
- Floating metal (gutters, satellite mast, well casing) not bonded in. Bond it or remove it.
- Forgetting data lines—many electronics die through Ethernet/coax, not the power blade.
Bottom line
Grounding the metal roof at ~15 ft intervals is a good start and worth doing—but do it as part of a bonded, single-point grounding system and pair it with proper surge protection and ferrites.
That combo is what keeps compressors, control boards, and your Guinness from warming up while the neighbors’ milk curdles.If you want, give me the house’s basics (service size, panel locations, roof style, where the generator and propane tank sit), and I’ll sketch a one-page “as-built” grounding/surge plan you can hand the electrician.
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My dull-witted AI pal didn’t reveal that I am an advocate of *(cheaper) galvanized rods for grounding. Because as they rust the connectivity to adjacent soil is better than copper. But then “they” go off into some discourse about cell tower gell…
(If you can stay awake, AI can outlast any of us…)
“Quick truths
Galvanized ground rods are code-legal (NEC treats them as “rod and pipe electrodes” if listed). They’re common on towers and barns because they’re cheap, strong, and less tempting to thieves than copper.
Rust (iron oxide) is basically an insulator. It doesn’t make a better electrical contact to soil. What can help is that corrosion products can hold moisture/salts in the bore, which sometimes looks like lower resistance—but it’s not reliable and it eats the rod.
Industry default is copper-bonded steel (copper-clad) because it corrodes slower and stays stable in ugly soils (acidic, chlorides, fertilizers). But galvanized can be totally fine in neutral soils.
When galvanized makes sense
Budget build; lots of rods; rocky soil where rods get beat up.
Rural installs where theft risk of copper is real.
You’re planning a ring or multiple rods anyway (the geometry matters more for lightning/EMP than the metal).
How to make any rod work better (galvanized included)
Put in more metal, properly spaced: two 8-ft rods ?8–10 ft apart beats one fancy rod. A perimeter ring (rods every ~16–20 ft, tied together) is better still.
Improve the soil right around the rod:
Backfill the hole with bentonite (hydrated clay) or a conductive concrete/GEM product. Stable, moisture-holding, and doesn’t eat your rod.
Skip “salt in the hole.” It drops resistance for a season and then destroys rods and nearby metal.
Keep it moist: Mulch or drip near the rod line if you’re in dry country. Soil resistivity is 90% of the battle.
Bond everything to one system: water pipe, gas, roof metal, mast, service ground—all tied together. No isolated stakes.
Use low-inductance down conductors: for lightning/EMP, wide copper strap or tinned braid from roof to rods beats #6 wire, regardless of rod metal.
Dissimilar metals (your copper strap to a galvanized rod)
You’ll get galvanic corrosion if you slap bare copper on zinc steel and keep it damp.
Fix: use listed bi-metal clamps or a stainless transition (stainless hardware + antioxidant compound). If you can, terminate copper strap to a copper-bonded rod at the service and bond that to your galvanized field with stainless bonds. Or just keep everything galvanized in the earth path and use tinned copper above grade.
Performance targets (sanity check)
Lightning/EMP: geometry + bonding + short, straight straps matter more than whether the rod is copper or galvanized.
Code/utility: shoot for
Real-world: a small ring + two extra rods usually beats a single “premium” rod at half the cost.
Bottom line
Galvanized rods are a perfectly good, budget-sane choice. Just don’t count on rust as your “enhancement.” Put the money into more rods, better spacing, soil backfill, and wide strap runs—that’s what actually moves the needle and keeps both lightning and EMP currents where they belong (in dirt, not in your fridge board or Guinness supply chain).
If you want, give me your soil type (sandy/loam/clay), average summer dryness, and how many corners you’ve got to work with, and I’ll sketch a one-pager: “All-galvanized ring vs. mixed copper-bonded + bi-metal bonds — which is cheaper and hits
Whew!
One hell of a column, huh? Kind of length that gets up into Peoplenomics territory. But there you have it.
Now, I have important antenna play to continue…we will work on Fall antenna projects and take a look at a reader’s “How to” work on tall long-range TV antenna towers…and more next Sunday.
Write when you get rich…
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