Half a Life in a Garage

I was in the 2nd cabin waiting for the new broadband line to settle and noticed the washing up bowl was full, which must have been left as such overnight by the new occupant. Despite the time the bowl had been left. there were still some soap bubbles clinging tenuously to the outer rim, a few still popping occasionally and rippling the dirty dishwater.

This got me thinking about the half life of soap bubbles and whether the decay is exponential, which apparently it is. Here's a short pdf paper I found on the exponential decay of beer foam. You live and learn...

I'm in desperate need of a garage/workshop, but I don't want to spend an absolute fortune on building one. The single most expensive part is constructing a decent base, which could cost as much as £4,000 or more. Once you add the garage itself, I could end up being well over £6,000 out of pocket, even something quite basic. This got me to thinking about using an old, 40 foot shipping container, which comes with an integral, sturdy base that can easily support a car and simply requires an access ramp.

The main problem is souring an over-width one, as a standard container will just about accommodate a car, but once you've driven in you probably wouldn't be able to get out of the car - especially with my old Merc, which has rather long doors. Once I'd added a door and some windows, carefully positioned so as to not to harm the container's structural integrity, I could add oak cladding to make it blend into the surroundings.

This needs some careful thought, but it's an attractive proposition given a container is, by definition. a temporary structure and thus wouldn't require planning permission.