Posts from — June 2009

…on a mission from God The best movie car chase for my money is not Bullitt, not Vanishing Point, not even The French Connection.  For a virtuoso display of evasive driving,  there is no equal to the fabulous Blues Brothers classic mall chase – and it has the best music as well.  The Brothers’ ex-cop car with “cop shocks and cop springs” was made for the job.

There’s a serious point to this – living off-grid, never rely on the cops to bail you out if there’s trouble – whether from local rednecks who just don’t like you all the way up to marauding gangs.  In the event of a major social collapse, they will come flooding out of the cities looking for your food and water, so better get ready with this eight point plan: (more…)

Ready for anything

If, like us, you wonder what you would do in a real Emergency, you’ll appreciate this handy list of Bug-out Bags – each one packed with everything you need in a sudden survival crisis.

Bugging out is survivalist slang for leaving your home to go somewhere safe. To do so, you’ll want a bug-out bag (or BOB) full of survival supplies for the road; a bug-out vehicle (or BOV), to get you out of the impact zone and through traffic as quickly as possible; and a bug-out location (or BOL) stocked with provisions to get through whatever crisis is occurring.

So, in short, WTSHTF (When The Sh** Hits The Fan), you’re going to want a BOB to put in your BOV to go to your BOL, where you’ll pray it isn’t the EOTWAWKI – The End Of The World As We Know It.  Here’s the list: (more…)

Right place, Wong time CANBERRA – THE closure of an Australian Federal Government off-grid energy rebate scheme 18 months early has removed all support for the solar sector and left industry plans in disarray, a solar power trade body (the Clean Energy Council) has claimed.

In a further setback to eco policy, hundreds of employees in the emerging solar PV industry face immediate layoffs as a direct result of last weeks decision by the Senate to defer the government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) bill. (more…)

Now I’ve gone and done it, (a Texas phrase), this is such a rare thing to happen to me, I am sick. There I said it. About 4 days ago I could feel my throat getting sore, this does happen from time to time, but usually it lasts 3 days and is very mild. Not so this time, I  have been coughing so much that it feels like someone is punching me in the chest. I haven’t had a fever though, just this miserable cough. Now is as good a time as any to try out some herbal remedies. (more…)

What in the wide world of sports do Freegans do all day while the rest of us are working?

They live for free, don’t earn money, so presumably once their basic needs are satisfied they sit around with their pals by day, and party by night, right?

Not so, says Mark Boyle from Bristol UK (pictured), self-styled chief of the tiny Freeconomist movement.

Here he outlines his typical 168 hours week – (our comments in brackets after each item): (more…)

Box full of hot air Demand for microgeneration equipment is set to soar in response to massive increases in domestic energy bills, says a new report.  But there is a danger that consumers will be tricked into buying the wrong gear by internet scammers such as Earth4Energy.

UK household energy spending could rise four-fold to nearly £5,000 a year within a decade, making all forms of alternative energy generation far more attractive says the  study (more…)

Global warming means droughts, and Americans have experienced plenty of those recently. Here is what you can do to prepare for a long hot summer:

Rain water harvesting is simply diverting the flow from downspouts to a barrel. Devices are available to divert water back to downspouts when the barrel is full.  You can collect 0.62 gallons (not 6 gallons as stated earlier – thanks Don for pointing it out)  of rainwater from one inch of rain on one sq ft of surface area. For example, Central Ohio averages 37 inches of rain yearly.  On 1,000 square feet of roof  that’s 22,200 gallons of water per year.

(more…)

Prefab cabins are the quickest way to a luxury off-grid existence.  Prices can be relatively high compared to doing it yourself, but the pay-off is somewhere quick, andjust as beautiful as the surroundings.

There has been a mushrooming of interest from architects in designing prefab off-grid homes in recent years.   (more…)

Food, it’s one of the things we can’t live without. It’s a necessity to be sure, but it is so much more than that. It can bring families together, it can bring a smile to your face when you remember a special meal, food or recipe and the memories associated with it. Food is often regional too, to my fondest memories are of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy (lots of gravy), fried okra and biscuits (with lots of butter, and no, I’m not talking about cookies). If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m proudly from Texas. (more…)