Mobile domes, bugs and other topics

["J & D Goldman" <jmgoldma at dwx dot com>]

Hi all,
  A number of assorted comments here:

Mobile domes
Pat - interesting idea using aircraft to relocate.  I don't want to be
negative, but I think it has one downside - independence and
availability.  There are a lot of places that will rent me a truck, or
people that will haul for hire.  I'm not sure how easy it will be to
find a "lift" for my dome when I want to move it.  Even though ground
is less elegant, being able to take my dome down with my own two hands
(and maybe some help), pack it up, move it and reassemble has its
appeal too.  Thanks to Conroy and Martin for telling us more about
modular domes. I'm going to look into that more.

Unschoolers
 Hmm...With a mix of kids, one could have a one dome schoolhouse.  :-)

Ants and foam
In an earlier posting I mentioned my reading on Structural Insulated
Panels. I was surprised to find that they could have insect problems,
whether polyurethane or polystyrene.  What they suggest is good
building envelope sealing and some treatments in the material. I think
they suggested Borax, but if anyone wants details, I'll go look it up.
I do know that steamed bonemeal works great around the home (ants hate
the stuff), but have no idea if its any good for fire ants. (Also,
with this mad cow disease and related stuff, I don't even know what is
really safe to use anymore.) I am also aware of some simple electric
shock methods that have been used to wipe out whole ant nests. I think
it worked fine when introduced, but never really caught on.  I don't
know if it really makes sense, but if one had a "bug zapper" of sorts
built into the structure at critical areas, it might provide some
relief.   Could beat abandoning your home to the ants.  I suspect a
simple solar electric fence charger could run the whole thing, even
for off-gridders.

Cheers  -Dan G.