Getting Off the Electrical Grid – #SolutionsWatch

by | Nov 23, 2021 | Solutions Watch | 79 comments

Bob Anderson joins us today to talk about how he went off grid and how he has built up his energy independence.

Watch on Archive / BitChute / Minds / Odysee or Download the mp4

SHOW NOTES:
Texas Deploys National Guard As ‘Grid Chaos’ Leaves Millions Freezing In Darkness

Bob Anderson on Declare Your Independence – Off Grid Living

Home Power Magazine

Home Power Magazine – free archive

DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse

79 Comments

  1. Thanks for the very practical information James.
    I am a bit envious. I have set myself up where I could survive without outside power. But it wouldn’t always be easy or comfortable. And living in the suburbs does indeed make self sufficiency more difficult. But not impossible.
    It would be great to have some acreage, but its a little late in the game to start over now.
    Ah well, we do the best with what we have.

  2. I’ve been off grid for more than 30 years. Back then my only option was to have a 12 volt system. If I were to start again I would choose 48 volt. In the Summertime I have plenty of power to pump water, laundry, furnace …

    Use propane for fridge, stove, dryer, furnace and water heater. Use generators on cloudy periods in the winter. Two generators are needed as it can be onerous when your only generator fails.

    Storms here knock out power almost every year. I’m insulated from these outages.

    I’m using lead acid batteries, as I think that they are the best choice at present. They last at least 10 years, so this is my third set of batteries.

    Solar panels are up on a hill behind the house. Better than on the roof as they would have to be removed when a new roof is needed. Old system was in parallel to increase amperage. New system is in series to increase voltage, thus smaller wire is needed between the panels and the batteries.

    When living this lifestyle one becomes more attentive to ones energy use.

    • Wow! This is insightful. Thanks spider.

      The propane energy source seems like a great diversified method, and somewhat simple.
      In fact, many of Europe’s current energy woes and the Texas power-outage last winter are a result of overly basing energy reliance upon renewable energy without adequate diversification.
      I remember calling the propane truck back in the early 70’s to refill the tank at my mobile home. It’s simple. My son has a big propane tank on his 25 acres, but also has solar panels, a diesel generator and is tied into the grid.

      In fact, many public utility companies derive their power from natural gas.

      Circa 2007, I called a west Texas wind power company (the kind of huge wind turbines which you can walk into.) He told me that the power line cost from the turbines to parts of the grid was about a million dollars a mile.
      Distribution of power can be costly.

      My son wanted to install a small wind turbine on his property. I poo-poo’d the idea. I’ve been to rural places which had these generators. The constant noise takes away from nature’s quiet setting.

      • Propane company couldn’t continue with my price so I had their tank removed. I built a DOT propane tank and trailer so I can drive it in to town and get it filled cheaper.

        Diesel generator is a good idea as gasoline has a time limit on its usage.

        Ditto on wind power.

        • I’m gonna tell my son about the DOT propane tank and trailer.
          That is a keen idea.

      • I have a 400 watt wind generator on a pole in the backyard. It does make noise when it spins. But it really only spins fast enough to make noise when the wind pipes up enough to make enough noise of its own in the trees to make the noise from the generator negligible.
        Frankly, most of the time it just sits there or spins slowly and silently. (And uselessly)

        • Is it a horizontal or vertical axis wind generator? Not sure why is industry/market/whoever against vertical axis generators, but it always seemed to me that they have an advantage over their brethren, especially for small installations.

          • Its a horizontal one like you would see on a sailboat. Thats where I got it actually. The folks were upgrading their solar system and they didn’t like the noise from the generator so they got rid of it and gave it to me.
            You get a lot more wind on the water than I get at the house and on a boat the generator is only a few feet away from the cockpit so I get why it bothered them.
            Mine is on the very top of a 26 foot pole.
            Here’s a quick little video of it on a particularly windy day.

            https://www.bitchute.com/video/CiULl-_GVYE/

            • Oh, look at those minuscule fins, trying and trying. Poor thing.

    • LastHumanist,
      Fact Checker is not trolling. He is making an easily observable, valid point that you went wildly off-topic.

      I will add that as Corbett Members we should also often try to cite sources when making ‘expert’ claims of fact.

    • HRS,

      You make a good point about citing sources. That way we can research topics on our own. It allows us to form our own conclusions. I will try to do the same in the future.

    • LastHumanist,

      I think FC often describes the worst case scenario, the gravity of the situation and a possible outcome. I don’t think that this outcome is set in stone because no one can predict the future. In fact, I become more determined the more people say things are impossible. It’s a challenge to overcome.

      I find this episode of alternative power a good solutions watch, one that is very important. It’s always good to be able to get off the grid.

      I watched some videos on “earth ships” years ago on youtube. Many people are already off the grid.

    • LH,

      Thanks for the link to the signs and symbols podcast. I will have to listen to that one. I think it’s one of the few I have not seen.

      I don’t know how FC posted anything contradictory to natural law. Was it the disparaging posts?

      I don’t agree with the doom and gloom and inevitable failure of resistance. In fact, I think that it should inspire us to overcome. I recall someone telling me that I will fail and I proved them wrong. It was motivating for me.

      Sometimes I wonder if FC is working for the state, but I think he is more intelligent that what I would expect from them. So his posts are motivating for me.

    • Shit.
      Fact Checker, you were right. This Sub-Thread went wildly off-topic of Solutions for “Getting Off The Electrical Grid”.

    • zyxzevn,
      Thank you for sharing those links. Both awesome! I wonder if the desert freezer (yakhachal) could be modified into something a bit smaller? I’m curious to explore this further.
      I am currently taking a permaculture design course where we just learned about structural designs and materials, energy systems, greenhouses, and water systems. This would be a beautiful element to incorporate into a permaculture homestead or community. I will be sharing this with some designers to get some feedback!

      • It would be great to be partially independent of electricity,
        and that is possible with such old technology.
        I am looking forward for feedback.

    • “..If those seeking to dominate others had supernatural powers, why would they need to use abusive rituals?..”

      Since those who do such evil things STAY IN POWER over men maybe the reason they do such things is because it works?

      The cunning of reason…

    • “..Our ability to determine who the innermost rings of this conspiracy are will decide our future…”

      Why?
      Do you not understand that its a SYSTEM… if you do not believe in an actual devil you must at least see that the System of ideas that grew up in Germany became technocracy
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illiberal_Reformers

      You could read the Unabombers manefesto for the same thing… its not just one or two people, its a set of evil ideas. Its the progression of a culture. Now, I also believe that this is guided by an actual intelligence but it does not NEED to have been

    • “..If those seeking to dominate others had supernatural powers, why would they need to use abusive rituals?..”

      Since they have power over the minds of men maybe they do the rituals and symbolism in order TO HAVE that power?

      MAgical origins of modern media, Hermetix podcast (they have a site but here the YT link
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIjgDk0DPTE

      “..Human sacrifice is therefore a symbol of powerlessness…”

      Maybe… but personally being the one getting killed strikes me as being MUCH more powerless then the person doing the killing

    • That’s not “off-topic” whatsoever. It’s the wizardry of the “priests” behind the smoke and mirrors, explained. Quite well.

      Curious to me that just an hour ago, early morn, I was reflecting that Gardasil is a clear continuation of the proud religious tradition the “sacrificing of virgins”…to appease the God/Boss,win the war (Electra’s sister), or appease the King in his right of “first night”.
      Now, the rabid injection program clearly seeks to sacrifice human physical fertility itself, as its “schoolings” have sought to sacrifice fertility of mind. Mind and intellect are different. Intellect is ruled by Mercury, in its exalted form in virgo it is infertile. Mind combines the Mercurial intellect and the Lunar emotional orientation. As the vagus nerve connects the brain and the heart.
      Another thing Last Humanist says here was on my mind this morning. That is the fact that abusers hate losing a victim, and will always up the ante if a victim attempts to leave. This sentiment is very much a part of popular music historically. Couched as “passion”, and “crimes of passion”. A passion for violence only.

  3. It makes me smile to see that off grid living videos have such high view counts on gootube. Like c.u.hj said in an above reply, I also became fascinated with watching Earthship videos years ago. I remember seeing my first one in 2012 and immediately knew that it represented a MAJOR part of the answer to creating a new and better world. Jordan Peterson then confirmed it’s importance for me with his ideas of strong individuals create strong communities. I knew if people chose to live as self sufficient and self sustaining as they possibly could rather than settling for our current fragile layer of civilization, we could become resilient to nearly anything and everything thrown at us. I’m absolutely happy to see that the longing for that type of self sufficient off grid lifestyle seems to be booming in popularity. It’s crazy to just sit and imagine how genuinely awesome life could be for those who chose it, if we weren’t being degraded and controlled by these occult brotherhoods of the left hand path.

    I heat my home with firewood I cut and process by my own hand and I’m just about to invest in a 2kw solar generator. We have a greenhouse and we’re installing a bunch of raised beds for gardening next spring. I’m not as far along as I hoped I’d be by now, but I’m grateful that I’m not just working out what step 1 should be right now.

    • Its not how far along you are. Its the path you’ve chosen to walk that counts.

  4. Just to throw a bit of a twist into this – there are an increasing number of people out there with EHS (electrohypersensitivity), and the standard ways of living off-grid are really really harmful to them, and probably more harmful even to most people without EHS than they know. LED lights are the last thing you want to do if you’re concerned about dirty electricity (they give off huge amounts). Solar power is notoriously dirty because of the conversion from DC to AC. You need to apply a filter, or only run DC driven appliances, etc to avoid that. Just something to think about, because the toxic effects of our radiated and electric world are taking their toll on many. There are many EHS people who write and advise about this, because they too want to get out of their radioactive neighbourhoods, away from the surveillance grid, and live self sufficiently.

    • I think one should be safe with LED light sources as long as they are DC operated. LED bulbs usually have horrible rectifiers, that would not be an issue with DC.

      • LED lights give me a horrible headache unless I get the grow light type ones or red led strip’s for low level light.

    • I have medium/low sensitivity,and shielding + grounding helps a lot.
      My sensitivity is more towards the magnetic strength.
      So you need both positive and negative wires close to each other,
      and (preferably) shielded.
      I don’t know what other people react to.
      It also depends on the frequencies.

      I would not recommend to put solar panels on the roof where you live
      or sleep under. Not unless you tested them well.

      Linus tech support had a video on how to setup the radio-dishes
      near your house.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYJFwXw1ZIc
      For wireless antennas I would prefer a pole far outside the house
      and use glass fiber to connect with it.
      But indeed, check with the hypersensitive people if that works.

      But why use fast internet when you can connect with people
      personally via telepathy? 😉

  5. Thanks James and Bob Anderson. A very informative video. Although I’m not off-the-grid, I’ve had a solar system for almost 3 years now. Zero electric bills. And at it’s current production rate, should pay for itself in another 3 years.
    Also, in addition to the excellent resources Mr. Anderson mentioned, I would recommend folks in the US look to and join “Solar United Neighbors” (solarunitedneighbors.org). It is a nonprofit organization with the sole mission of facilitating solar system installations throughout the US. They help set up local community co-ops made up of groups of interested households which in turn use their scale in numbers to solicit competitive installation prices from prequalified installers. They also offer ample technical and practical information.

  6. If you work a bit on it, you can survive without electricity
    or a good source of energy.
    It is like living in the middle ages.

    Long story..
    I was disconnected from the grid due to financial problems.
    It was very cold that winter too (snow and -15 celcius outside).
    Be careful not to let cold hurt you, because it heals slower
    if you do not have some warm place.
    (I had thick fingers for a week after having them in freezing water)

    Yet, it was easy to stay warm and create a reasonable level of comfort.
    Used very cheap candles for both light and heating.
    Washed clothes with cold water. Stored hot water in isolated cans.

    The only problem was that the house was not built for this way
    of living. There were water-leaks and fungus growth.

  7. There are billions of people in the world who lack basic services such as sewer, water, electricity, roads, transport and communication.

    And they are clamoring to get on the grid.

    It is only first world inhabitants that push the ‘off the grid’ idea and it is unsustainable and a farce.

    You need at minimum food,water and shelter to live ‘off the grid’.

    In America, take California, there are 51 million people stuffed on the grid. Most live in large cities.

    How do they get off the grid?

    “off the grid” is a cute phrase that has no currency unless one is rich and has plenty of land and time.

    The whole idea is again, the search for individual solutions to massive social and economic problems.

    “Buy land”, “live off the grid”, “enjoy freedom from modern life” — all fallacies and carnival barking by the next person who wants to sell you something.

    Sorry, the Leviathan is here and you will be lucky if you even have water in a few decades that is potable.

    No, the fight is here and although flight beats fight in most minds, the Malthusian minds also want you off the grid so they can stay on the graft.

    “In Thomas Malthus’ “Essay on the Principle of Population” (1799), he wrote:

    “We should facilitate, instead of foolishly and vainly endeavoring to impede, the operations of nature in producing this mortality; and if we dread the too frequent visitation of the horrid form of famine, we should sedulously encourage the other forms of destruction, which we compel nature to use.

    In our towns we should make the streets narrower, crowd more people into the houses, and court the return of the plague.”

    There will be many people taken off the grid in the future, but not by their own hand.

    As an asidee, did you know that the roots of the Great Reset agenda can very clearly be traced back to 80 years ago, when an American, former Trotskyist who later joined the OSS, followed by the CIA, and went on to become the founding father of neo-conservatism, James Burnham, wrote a book on his vision for “The Managerial Revolution.”?

    In fact, it was the ideologies of Burnham’s “The Managerial Revolution” that triggered Orwell to write his “1984”.

    He goes on to make the case that as seen with the transition from a feudal to a capitalist state being inevitable, so too will the transition from a capitalist to managerial state occur. And that ownership rights of production capabilities will no longer be owned by individuals but rather the state or institutions, he writes:

    “Effective class domination and privilege does, it is true, require control over the instruments of production; but this need not be exercised through individual private property rights. It can be done through what might be called corporate rights, possessed not by individuals as such but by institutions: as was the case conspicuously with many societies in which a priestly class was dominant…”

    Burnham proceeds to write:

    “If, in a managerial society, no individuals are to hold comparable property rights, how can any group of individuals constitute a ruling class?

    The answer is comparatively simple and, as already noted, not without historical analogues. The managers will exercise their control over the instruments of production and gain preference in the distribution of the products, not directly, through property rights vested in them as individuals, but indirectly, through their control of the state which in turn will own and control the instruments of production. The state – that is, the institutions which comprise the state – will, if we wish to put it that way, be the ‘property’ of the managers. And that will be quite enough to place them in the position of the ruling class.”

    https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2021/09/17/the-great-reset-how-managerial-revolution-was-plotted-80-years-ago-by-cia-neocon/

    • off topic but,,

      check this recent march at Sydney, military on side, specifically the CR plug at 30 second mark,,

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

      and best quote I read today (lewis Carol):

      “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive,” Lewis once observed. “It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

      • Sydney’s Freedom Rally 30 second mark image CorbettReport.com.

    • Weilunion

      “…“off the grid” is a cute phrase that has no currency unless one is rich and has plenty of land and time…”

      Exactly, Free people MUST have property so they can sustain themselves…people without property become property

      “…The whole idea is again, the search for individual solutions to massive social and economic problems…”

      There is no collective solution to anything. All solutions start and grow from the individual to the family to the group and on outwards

      “…“Buy land”, “live off the grid”, “enjoy freedom from modern life” — all fallacies and carnival barking by the next person who wants to sell you something….”

      ONLY for themselves… you and me and everyone who is not THEM they want in smart cities on universal basic income

      • Duck,

        I agree with the sentiment of your post. Many people in cities want to stay in them and have someone else pay the rent. I know, I live in a city, and work with the general public. Many city dwellers want convenience. They want gadgets and access to weed and booze and a free check to pay for it is also nice too. Cities have become festering boils of crime and depravity (the pooping on the street, IV needles thrown in parks, dog poop in bags everywhere, broken car windows). I want to get out of this shit hole. Beautiful architecture but total shit hole, literally and figuratively.

        Frankly, I don’t want these other city dwellers following me to my rural spot with less than 20 other people in the local area. I have worked hard and bought land and a house. I will now work on getting this property ready incase the electrical grid goes down. The city folk can stay where they are if they chose. And for many Americans it is a choice.

        • I know this is a little harsh, but you can’t force people to change. People have to want to and try to improve their situation.

        • cu.h.j
          “.. Cities have become festering boils of crime and depravity (the pooping on the street, IV needles thrown in parks, dog poop in bags everywhere, broken car windows). …”

          I would bet that (assuming the world does NOT actually end) that a huge side hustle of the Elites is ruining cities, buying up the dump at cents on the dollar and then gentrifying it all 20 years down the line.
          I THINK thats what they did to New York.

          Glad your out of the kill zone somewhat.

          I’m gonna sound like a salesman but I love my kelly kettle- and in a pinch a handful of twigs will boil you some water
          https://www.kellykettleusa.com/

          • Thank you for the Kelly Kettle link!

          • Thanks Duck, will check this out! Happy early Thanks Giving, hope you have a good one!

        • And the folk who’ve lived there all their lives will have to move, as they cannot match your city earned money.

          But that’s been going on for five hundred years anyway.

          • High taxes in cities usually negate some of the higher earnings. I happen to work in a well paying field which is also very hard work. Working in the emergency room is stressful and taxing on the body. In fact, having worked in other departments, it’s probably the toughest.

            My next strategy is to pick up some travel contracts in other states that are even more lucrative. But, this is temporary because of the impending crash. So my plan is to build something mostly self sufficient. Once people have a home on some land, they can often find ways of living more affordably.

      • love this fun catchy phrase: “people without property become property”
        Gonna mull that one over…

        at any rate, the following sure rings true:

        There is no collective solution to anything. All solutions start and grow from the individual

        Gotta love this site!

    • Do you have any better ideas instead of giving up?? We should just sit around, bide our time and then get in the truck when they come and round us up and say please make it quick?

      My gosh, haven’t you ever done something just for fun to see if it works? You could get the hell out of LA and try to rig up one of these off the grid homes. You could probably afford it.

      • A way to defend what you have. Yes, that is something to consider and build.

      • In the end we are at the mercy of those who hold the power. At the end of this nightmare, we’re all probably gonna die. Damn the luck!
        A little solar system isn’t going to save anyone when hammer falls. A diesel generator isn’t going to guarantee a long comfortable life.
        But those things will keep the food in your freezer from rotting when you get a week long outage after a minor tropical storm.
        Even the tiniest system will give you the relief of a fan and the comfort of a light to read by.

        There are two choices. Either fight for every inch and hold onto everything that gives life it’s meaning.
        Or else give up hope and help the nightmare become reality.
        The latter seems cowardly.

        • Yes, this is true. People don’t respect cowards, even those in power. It’s a disgusting trait. The fact that the US is broken up into states is good, I think. Different states have different loyalties. People hate Biden, I know that. There are competing interests. If the US falls apart, they might not want that, but who knows. All I know that it is better to try and do ones best and fight rather than the alternative.

          • Someone “up there” must have some honor to speak of, some sense of loyalty to humanity and to what is right. I know that not all of the people who are helping this agenda are psychopathic maniacs. Some of them must have some sense of what is right for us as a species and the world and their own children.

            I think that there will be resistance to this. If I can care and do the right thing when I could have gotten away with something that might have helped me in the short term, then others can as well.

          • “ All I know that it is better to try and do ones best and fight rather than the alternative.”

            Thats how I feel too. I don’t pretend that my fruit trees, my honey bees or my little mini fridge is going to win the war against tyranny. But they aren’t simply hobbies either.
            They will make life a little more bearable as I fight that war right to the bitter end.
            Never underestimate the benefit of small comforts in war time.

      • The problem as I see it is that people are supporting a system that is enslaving them via buying all the crap that they are selling. If people stop supporting it, it will shrink back down. Set an example of self sufficiency and courage and people will follow the lead. Non compliance is necessary.

        • Exactly. Every little thing that you can do or provide for yourself that you used to have to rely on the system to supply is one less little thing that can be used as leverage against you.

  8. LastHumanist

    Unless they need electricity to run a medical device I think most will just find it kinda boring and end up catching up on their sleep.

    EVERYONE should get one of these
    These things are said to come foromthe Orkney islands fishermens kettles… I have had the big one at a rolling boil on dried leaves, pine needles (Icky mess afterwards) and/or and twigs pretty fast… I guess if EVERYONE in a big city is gathering such things your SOL but otherwise yu should be able to at leas boil water for noodles and tea…its kinda “meh” on using a pan to cook with though

    https://www.kellykettleusa.com/

  9. Hi James,
    Very interesting. I’m familiar with the area your guest lives in. Phoenix is expanding at an unheard of rate. The diaspora from California to Arizona has doubled the price of a small home on the edges of Miracopa county to upwards over half a million dollars. I digress.
    I grew up post war in central Illinois. Small village. Under 500 residents. Went to a one room school house. The majority of homes in the village didn’t have running water or sewer. No grocery store. Everyone gardened and canned. We did have a meat locker to keep meat and perishables cold. I remember the day my father we got rid of the “icebox” and plugged in a real Frigidaire.
    We were considered fairly affluent. My father owned several businesses and was a generous man, often extending credit and cash to those less fortunate. Learning to share and support others is important. No man is an island.
    I learned to sew on a singer treadle sewing machine. I’ve cooked on wood fired stoves. Europe still love’s and uses their Augas. Most homes had wood burning stoves or oil burners in the parlor. I never drank pasteurized milk, I’ve taken many a bath in the summer kitchen watching my aunt heat the water on a gas burner (summer and winter).
    Modernity hit our community in the early 60’s and we moved to a beautiful new home with all the modern conveniences. Of course we still depended on well water and a septic tank, but it was wonderful to have hot water on demand and meat in the freezer compartment of the fridge. I never felt deprived or inconvenienced.
    As my dad’s businesses grew we moved to the suburbs of a fairly large central Illinois city and hooked up to all the utilities city living offered. Since those days I’ve lived in many places. An Adobe house that was totally passive solar with panels to heat the air in the winter and keep the water hot. A passive solar house at 7000 feet elevation in a major national forest. Problem was the well kept going dry and a new well was over half a million dollars to drill. I’ve live in a house on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and a pretty self contained house on the Gulf of Mexico.
    Our decisions fit the circumstances we are presented with. Very few of us can live totally self contained. But we can sure live with a lot less. And we can manage our life without all the conveniences we think we need. I recently built a townhouse, 4 units connected in a box. A box divided into 4 equal parts. Tons of insulation. Courtyards shielded from wind and weather and big enough for 20 narrow raised bed gardens to grow food. A water collection system for roof water runoff for the plants. Appliances that are small and serve the purpose of function not just show pieces in a decorator kitchen.

    [SNIP – Please keep comments to 500 words or less. Longer comments can be split into multiple posts. -JC]

    • taw, Your story is so very interesting. I’m so glad that you posted it. Thanks!

    • Sounds divine, taw, …can I come live with you? 😉

  10. On cheep (and if desired off mains electric) Internet (while it is still worth having…) I’ve been experimenting on using a Cell phone as a tethered internet connection- much as I hate cell phone tech it actually works pretty well. You use the USB cable to feed internet into your actual computer- a Raspberry pi 400 will run off one of those mobile phone power banks and do just about everything most people do for a hundred bucks…email, word processing web surfing and media.

    You should be able to use this set up in a tent in the woods, (assuming your bathed in cell phone rays at that location) and I bet that most people could just drop their internet provider and get by with phone internet tethering. ‘Visible’ mobile is the only US provider that I know that provides ACTUAL unlimited data, but it has a few ‘quirks’… still, pretty cheep.

    USB tethering to a mobile phone… you CAN use blue tooth but who wants to sit in a sea of bluetooth? 🙁
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjL3HTeVnbY

    You can use an old tablet or phone if you dont want to buy a battery powered monitor
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nui8kXvUAys

  11. Wow, James Corbett!! Without listening yet, I’m way excited to find archives of Homepower Mag!! The online Internet Archive won’t give me anything, hopefully their own site will.
    I’ve felt guilty for years for losing the last copy of one of my mates’ books published by them, titled “Heaven’s Flame”. It’s a long story, some of which is explained at the beginning.
    In any case, thank you. This is immensely important and personal to me.
    Just as Y2K was coming on….no comment…I was making these amazing cardboard solar ovens while camping down on the Sacramento River outside of Mt. Shasta, with three of my children. All done by hand for about eight dollars at the time.

    Couldn’t get any of the folks freaked out about Y2K to go for them tho. I figured they just couldn’t imagine having to actually attend to it and turn it toward the sun, as they were busy with their “jobs”. The poor folk weren’t too worried. As a friend later remarked to me, to delighted laughter, we were sent a letter from the food stamp department suggesting we stock up on three months worth of food, and this brilliant woman with a math masters remarked “Sure!! How about you kick down three months worth of food stamps?!” Call us “single mothers ” if you like, but it took two to tango, and I call it abandoned children.
    But, you learn a lot about the sun by using one. And Joe’s design is simply genius.
    I was instigatory to his first interests in developing them. I cooked an acorn squash in one his housemate had made, (before tragically passing) on the winter solstice in San LUis Obispo, Ca. I kept the hull, brought it to the Survival Gathering as part of my altar, and he was moved on by this.
    I brought one to the International Survival Gathering in So. Dakota in July of 1980.A previous wood model Joe made that winter.
    Later, he used to bring large ones to the Rainbow Gatherings ( I wasn’t a part of these), and became known there as “solar Joe”.

    • There are so many interesting commenters on this site, and you certainly are on of them. Thank you for sharing.

  12. I had a map that listed nations by population density. Two of the wealthiest most opulent countries also had the highest density per sq.km.: Monaco and the Vatican. close on their heals at the top of the heap was the Netherlands, where Ive lived for a year and can report that they live in a very civil way that also includes mod con’s for most. Then there’s India, not high on the list, where I also lived for most of 3 years. In places there was horrific poverty, but that was not the norm. yes, many had less access to machine assisted living, but the spirit and general health was strong.. Point here is that population by volume is not seem to be the problem. Access to clean water is a major factor from which many effects follow. But the pressure amoungst people and life quality seemed to be more about behavior, attitude & entrained habits. Putting aside those who’ve been stolen from abused and killed, awareness of the whole imprint of ones choices is often whats lacking, or like aunty sez: “either your part of the clean-up or part of the mess”

    doing more with less is an obvious step for all to take, like uncle sez “drop anchor”. take a moment to be less manic, plant a rose and see if it will bloom for you, Get medieval if you fancy, at the end of the day george jetson and fred flintstone are probably both gonna morph into something we cant yet see either because we forgot or because our imaginations are overwhelmed with obstacles, like the lama said: “dont feed the obstacle”.

    Theres plenty of space on earth for our species but not for our habits.

    • edit: my map was from the 80’s,, I just checked a current list of density by country,, Monaco is still illustrating my point, but it turns out Netherlands and India are now close, albeit not near the top,,

      I still think that the point is valid, that we have plenty of space and a preponderance of bad habits.

    • that was a very interesting read.

      my simplistic sense is that the behavior, attitude & entrained habits have been largely programmed into populations by self-appointed social engineers, playing off people’s taste for the material; the engineers thus seeking to make themselves rich and to gain increasing control. It also seems to be natural for people to flock towards these kinds of leaders cum social engineers so it’s hard to say what people would do naturally… if it would be excessive consumption or harmony with nature or total technocratic tendencies…? I guess it would resemble what we see today. If the social engineers push towards austere, technocratic neo-feudalism, then that’s what humans will embrace following a constant current for constant improvement, a constant denouncing of the moment to head towards a “better future”… the build back better syndrome…

      and Fun (sort of emblematic) fact: the Lama loves Rolex:

      https://www.rolexmagazine.com/2012/04/dalai-lama-rolex-keeping-time-of-his.html

      • Apparently his holiness’ fondness for luxury watches is not confined to Rolex:

        Following Google’s GQ magazine article lead explaining that;

        “At the age of six or seven he received his first pocket watch from President Franklin D Roosevelt, a Patek Philippe ref 658, via two intelligence agents from the US Office Of Strategic Services, one of whom also happened to be Leo Tolstoy’s grandson, as part of a diplomatic exercise.”

        I was directed toward this interesting little historical tidbit from the National Archives, Pieces of History:

        The Allies were desperate to find a land route that would reconnect China and India. The task fell to two OSS men—Ilia Tolstoy, the grandson of Leo Tolstoy, and explorer Capt. Brooke Dolan. To complete the land route would require traversing Tibet, and to traverse the hidden country required the permission of a seven-year-old boy, the Dalai Lama…

        …Tolstoy proceeded through the tradition of offering gifts to the Dalai Lama—bread and butter followed by an image of Buddha, a religious book, and a chorten (a Buddhist reliquary). Then, for the first time in history, he made direct contact between the Dalai Lama and the President of the United States by passing a letter written by FDR to the young leader.

        After half an hour of discussion, the men left. A week later, they received the permission they were seeking to cross Tibet. It was the first such permission granted in 22 years, according to Tolstoy.

        No mention of luxury timepieces unless it was in the presidential letter or the Buddhist Reliquary.

        gq-magazine.co.uk/watches/article/dalai-lama-rolex-day-date

        https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2011/02/08/the-oss-and-the-dalai-lama/

        …anyhow, dunno exactly why I’m spending so much time on this Tibetan timepiece trivia…

        …and funny how I capitalized Rolex but not his holiness’…? 😯

        • Just yesterday, I read a piece of Tolstoy in my notes. I mean the ‘actual’ Leo Tolstoy. Seeing how the letter, of which this is an excerpt, was written in 1908(!) the man was quite the seer:

          “New justifications [for the state] have now appeared in place of the antiquated, obsolete, religious ones. These new justifications are just as inadequate as the old ones, but as they are new their futility cannot immediately be recognized by the majority of men. Besides this, those who enjoy power propagate these new sophistries and support them so skilfully that they seem irrefutable even to many of those who suffer from the oppression these theories seek to justify. These new justifications are termed ‘scientific’. But by the term ‘scientific’ is understood just what was formerly understood by the term ‘religious’: just as formerly everything called ‘religious’ was held to be unquestionable simply because it was called religious, so now all that is called ‘scientific’ is held to be unquestionable.”
          [A Letter to a Hindu, written in 1908]

          • Yes, prophetic as if Human societies simply keep repeating the same patterns again and again and again ad infinitum…

            A student told me yesterday that he was very allergic to cults and cult leaders and even mainstream religions because they control and manipulate people.

            When I said I thought that so-called “Man-Made Climate Change” was the new religion he looked shocked and horrified and vigorously denied it

            as if I’d uttered blasphemy.

            • I think you’re right especially allopathic medicine. The longer the training the deeper the indoctrination. Most doctors I know do not think their own thoughts about healthcare.

        • I just spent the last hour reviewing dalai lama watch stories too,,?
          his watch wearing may be a message to those who keep secrets, or it can be a combo fetish for the mechanical beauty plus the reason many sadhu’s in India wear watches. I lived with one in the Rajastan desert. he wore a watch but rarely a day would pass that he wouldn’t proclaim “what time?” “time finished” “as you like time sally”. the fancy knock-off watch was one gesture/detail that never added up, so I chucked it in the figure-it-out-later basket.

          As for his holiness, its probably ok to not capitalize because I dont think he’s incorporated; he does have a body and all, but they did jab it,, on that topic Amritanadama, who has done miraculous work to help people (and may well be incorporated) has her clinics jabbing people, though I couldn’t find if she had been? Those facts are hard to make sense of, but then I dont wear a watch. damn gotta run I’m late.

          • damnably late! Now, iconoclasm and collective obsessions with holy timepieces aside, back down the rabbit hole with ya, lickety split!

            (I bet you were just writing the same exact thing!)

            Gracious! Hamsterwheel calling!

            X-)

  13. Another idea for the solutions-watch category:

    The current generations are lost. What should and can be done is to inculcate our future generations, our young, against fear. Fear is the most problematic of all the mind-poisons.

    I guess this would have the biggest positive effect on future generations. Feasible as this idea is, why has the sane part of modern society never tried it out? I guess this idea is too religious for modern people. But this simple feat does not necessarily imply religious dogma does it? In times like this, maybe it would help to see what the broad field of spirituality has to offer. The good bits at least.

    • If it was still a bit fuzzy to me to guess which side you are peddling (consciously or unconsciously) – it is not anymore. Thanks for you coming out so clearly 😉

      Well what can I say, nomen est omen…

    • Sorry, even though you are definitely not worth an afterthought, I cannot resist…

      So, the nonsense you say, condensed in one sentence, is this:

      While we are being horrendously exploited in a massive scale by fear mongering evil bastards every f…ing day in real, which is possible only due to our constant fear and existential angst, alas, never forget:
      Fear is very, very, very important for us because we could get robbed, raped, tortured and grizzly mutilated at any moment which is soooo much worse!

      You are one litte Fear Porn bitch are you not? lol

      Hope you are paid well for it…

      • Grow up.

        Courage is not acting in absence of fear, but doing the right thing despite of it. We do not need to be “inoculated” against fear, but ignorance.

        • some like to reduce motives down to “the one” issue, one point: “all choices are driven by love or fear”. but as described above, fear is useful or also an impairment.

          I think of fear as a primal force, but what is it that causes the resulting vector to be constructive or destructive?

          perhaps as the I Ching puts it: “prepotent systems of arrangement”.

          “I feared he’d shoot me so I shot him first, but now I’m afraid that It might have been the wrong thing to do”

          He let go of the fear that he might miss, and without a higgs-boson of hesitance, let fly the baseball at a record setting speed, so fast that the batter froze in fear.

          fear of fear, like desiring to not desire, is an ouroboros, in my experience that can be released or shunted or transmuted; I’d bet that most experience epiphany through or just after that kind of event.

          mkey, I agree that “ignoring” is the habit that needs attention; & its a well worn mantra, but I’d add to that a jab in the psychic guts to degauss the 4 negative energies: ignorance, hatred, greed & pride, which all are present in the arch negative, jealousy.

    • Fact Checker is right. Fear is intrinsic, normal and necessary to the human condition. Though overcoming irrational fears, or setting aside rational fears to accomplish great things and outstanding feats of valor are laudable, eg. running out into an open field under enemy fire to drag a wounded friend to safety.
      In the scriptures we are commanded to” Fear God”, and to NOT fear him who can kill ONLY the body…
      “Courage comes when a passion, a conviction, a desire for an outcome, is larger than the fear, and therefore you make the choice to act. And the uncomfortable part, the fear, is not going to go away over time. Yet you learn to sit with the discomfort and work through it, rather than go around it.” Oprah Winfrey: “Real courage is being afraid but doing it anyway.”( Hey, don’t give me sh*t for quoting Winfrey, LOL!)

      • What kind of authoritarian old testament god do you refer to?
        In fact, we should not fear god as well – especially NOT HIM. God should be loved but never feared. God fearing people are willful slaves. There is nothing spiritual about them.

        You should read your Tolstoy. In modern times, the state poses like the religious authority of late. Just another protection money scheme of the financial mafia. God and the state will protect you, if you fear them.

  14. If only the collective consciousness of the resistance, could manifest a rebirth of suppressed and stolen energy systems.
    The torus, perhaps, at the root of all energy forms, is a point of focus. As is extracting energy from the ether as Mr Tesla suggests. But there is even more hidden technology out there as well…

  15. Thanks James and Bob for the interview. I wish this technology and information was available when I was young.

  16. Solution: Make your own metal parts with 3D printing
    Making a bolt with double threads – DOES IT WORK? – Lost PLA metal casting – 3d print to solid metal
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v96LTfmtDPU
    With 3D printing and a furnace it is possible to create very complex metal parts.
    In this case the maker uses Brass and Aluminum.
    Not as strong as steel, but it is a good start.

  17. We cannot control whether things will go our way or not, but we can learn to control our own minds, our responses, and our own conduct, and in this way gradually find a genuine liberation from all fear.

    ALL fear.

    All fears
    And all infinite sufferings
    Arise from the mind.

  18. Regarding propane, it is not the perfect solution people seems to think. In fact, I consider it my weak link. I live in a strawbale house with passive and active solar. I am also grid tied. My sole source of heat is a wood stove. I have plenty of woodland for wood. Sounds like I am set, right? Not so, because I heat my water with propane and I have a generator which runs on gas, diesel, or propance. I also rely on gasoline for my chainsaw.

    So what happens when the grid goes down? No one can deliver propane because without electricity no one will be able to get the gasoline/diesel needed to deliver it to me. I will have to fall back on my rocket stove to heat small amounts of water and will not be able to get fuel for my generator. And I am too old to be manually cutting wood without a chainsaw.

    Life will be very different for all of us if the grid goes down, even if we live off the grid.

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