Author Topic: What happened to Martin..?!  (Read 3537 times)

MJLorton

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What happened to Martin..?!
« on: January 10, 2018, 10:55:05 AM »
Hello Everyone,

I thought I would pop in a quick post as to what's been going on in my life.

It's been a busy and sometimes stressful eight months since packing up and moving to Black Mountain in North Carolina.  We love it, both my wife Louise and daughter Chloe have settled in quickly.

Unfortunately I ended up with no space to work or setup a lab / studio. We are in a rental while we plan the building of our new home. The rental has two bedrooms and an open plan loft space upstairs that Louise uses as an office as she works from home. This leave no space for me to film or tinker.

I have scouted around for ages looking at renting office space, buying a small cabin / trailer to work from. Unfortunately several options did not work out as issues came up during due diligence. We did buy a small piece of land on the side of a mountain that went "cheap" as it's not the easiest place to build...but it will make a great spot for a little studio / lab. I hope to have that built later this year but at the moment I'm busy building my own shed which will act as a temporary studio until the cabin is built. More about these "adventures"  in a T4D which I hope to film in Feb. 

Cheers,
Martin.
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SeanB

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Re: What happened to Martin..?!
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2018, 07:39:04 AM »
Well done Martin, a construction shed which will double as your studio later, and with what looks like a great view as well to come.

steve30

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Re: What happened to Martin..?!
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2018, 02:39:35 PM »
Hi Martin. I wondered where you'd gone.

Glad to know you like the new place. Doesn't seem like that long since you left South Africa.

I'll look forward to the T4D video.

MJLorton

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Re: What happened to Martin..?!
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2018, 09:15:04 AM »
Hi Martin. I wondered where you'd gone.

Glad to know you like the new place. Doesn't seem like that long since you left South Africa.

I'll look forward to the T4D video.

Thanks, it is a very nice area to live in. South Africa almost seems a life time away as we have been very busy since leaving.
Play, discover, learn and enjoy! (and don't be scared to make mistakes along the way!)

MJLorton

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Re: What happened to Martin..?!
« Reply #4 on: January 13, 2018, 09:27:20 AM »
Well done Martin, a construction shed which will double as your studio later, and with what looks like a great view as well to come.

Thanks Sean. It's a very nice location with great views in winter and nice privacy in Summer. It's about 1.5 acres with a fairly long and steep (12-20%) driveway to the pad where the shed is. I'll show more in the video. The odd bear and deer wander around the woods here. Beautiful grey eagles as well.
The picture is of a bear cub my timelapse camera captured.
Play, discover, learn and enjoy! (and don't be scared to make mistakes along the way!)

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Re: What happened to Martin..?!
« Reply #5 on: November 13, 2018, 09:13:40 AM »
Hello Folks....it's been a while!

This year has been filled with two construction projects which has  kept my hands full. Our home in Black Mountain is nearing completion and we hope to move in towards the end of December.
I've (with contractor) also started the build of my new cabin / studio / work space. It's 18x32 feet and made from Superior Walls and will have a concrete slab as the floor. It should be dried in by late December or early January. At that point I might be selling more test equipment to finance the the completion of the interior.

Wildlife still abounds. I have had many bear sightings this year, both in person from my car and on the wildlife camera. There have been several incidents reported of altercations with people and pets in the area as well. One mother bear having to be killed sadly:
https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2018/09/24/mother-bear-killed-after-attacking-woman-swannanoa-cubs-relocated/1410215002/

I am still working on video content, I hope to post videos more frequently once the move into our new home is complete.

Cheers,
Martin.