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Started by pr126, April 24, 2017, 11:55:16 AM

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Munch

Quote from: Baruch on April 25, 2017, 06:16:56 PM
Disconnect from the grid ... then you are out of power ;-)  But you can sit in your dark cabin being all pure-like ;-(

I dunno, seems doable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qve0U_t7KL0

'Political correctness is fascism pretending to be manners' - George Carlin

Baruch

Then do it, while you still can.  We don't have much longer before the end.

In the movie Threads, there are two families.  One escapes to the country, only to hang themselves because of starvation.  The other is stuck in town, gets nuked, mostly dies immediately, and the sole survivor (the daughter) ends up producing her baby, who is deformed by radiation damage to her chromosomes in her ovaries.
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

SGOS

#17
In Montana, I can think of 10 families in my social circle that lived off grid, but I didn't think that long, so it's undoubtedly more.  Partly they are off grid because they live way off in the woods beyond the power lines, but some are close enough to easily hook up to power.  I've stayed overnight with some of them, and it can be surprisingly comfortable.  They were all nice houses too, enviable even, except for one, not just shacks with a metal stove pipes, but modern in all other respects, some had inside plumbing.  If they used outhouses, they were kept spic and span, architecturally pleasing, and odorless. 

On my first visit to one of these families, the first thing that I became charmed by was the silence.  We grow accustomed to the constant sounds of refrigerators, hot water heaters, electric clocks that give off noise, and other appliances that we get so used to that we don't notice, but in their total absence, the experience of silence, jumps out.  I remember sitting in a living room at night after the kids were sent off to bed, the room was bathed in the dim light of kerosene lamps, and the silence was punctuated only by the ticking of a mechanical clock.  To me it was serene, and I became aware that I felt at peace.  I supposed I'd get used to that too, but the first impression was dramatic. 

When the adults went to bed, they issued me a flashlight.  At the top of the stairs was a hallway servicing the bedrooms, and at the end of the hallway was a dresser with a single kerosene lamp so there was no difficulty finding my way.

Refrigeration was by propane, and one family kept the frig out on the porch, most had propane stoves and ovens besides the traditional and still often used cook stoves, and of course heating was done with wood.  Some had quite creative systems, most had hot water produced from the heating systems in the winter.  In summer, some had outside water heaters, others did without it, or heated water on the stove.

It is indeed a comfortable life too, living in the trees, usually with a nearby stream, with moose and bear paying occasional visits.  But don't expect to save a bundle being off grid.  It's going to cost you more than electric; The alternatives are more expensive.  The goal here is not to live in poverty and squalor.  The alternatives to the grid are more expensive, and cutting 8 cords of wood each year, takes an investment in time.  Although, I've always enjoyed heating with wood, even though I was on grid.  Basically, if you fully enjoy the work that is required, it's a great life.  I heard no complaints from wives or kids.  They all loved what they were doing.  Some even had computers.  Now, I'm guessing they all do.

Some have been invaded by others escaping the rat race, and usually bringing the power lines with them, so the availability of the lifestyle, and the nature that goes with it, are in fast decline.  I don't think I would consider living off grid if there were a power line 200 ft from my house.  That seems self defeating.  And while I often dreamed about it, I knew deep down that it was one of those things I wouldn't do in my life.  I needed a job, and that was always going to keep me close to town.

The closest I've come to living off grid was on my boat for three years after I retired.  It always felt like I was constantly engaged in living and various related tasks (this is not unpleasant), and doing with out electric dishwashers and a laundry.  But it's a quick adjustment, and things eventually just seem like a normal life.  I didn't even have a car during that time, because I was always going someplace different.  It actually seemed strange that it felt so normal.  But again it wasn't cheap.  Boats require huge amounts of maintenance, some of it is costly.  When people heard I was living on a boat, they would often comment, "That's a cheap way to live, too."  And I would just laugh.

Baruch

People think they can go live in the woods for free.  Ever watch those shows with people who do that, who have to catch their own food and build their own shelter ... not because they have a ready cabin or a yacht to shelter in, but have to live up a tree, because of the bears?

I have lived in town without a car (because I was broke).  I have also lived out of town in a village, and drive long distance to work each day.  In the village we could see the stars (no light pollution) and it was so quiet, the sound from the grain elevator air-conditioning the grain was audible, and annoying.  The grain elevator was about a mile away.
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.