its just camping

ITS JUST CAMPING


Well, Judith hinted around that she might shop through my Amazon links if I treated her right. And I don’t think she meant I should insult and berate her, which just about takes all the fun out of things. And I don’t think she meant I should be politically incorrect ( The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History ). Such as by telling the following joke. A man was hideously disfigured in a car accident, which included losing his man parts. He went to talk to a plastic surgeon about an implant. The doc showed him a six inch long model. “Doc, that would be an improvement, but I was hoping for something bigger.” The doc pulled out the nine incher. “Doc, to be honest, my face is so ugly, I’ll really need something to attract the ladies. What else do you have?” So the doc showed him the whopper twelve inch implant. “Damn, that’s more like it! Ah, do you have that in white?”

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Here’s another joke. Two sober Irishmen walked out of the bar.

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Okay, I know we’ve talked about moving off grid before, and how simple it is. I’m pretty much just recycling here. When the tie-dyed Birkenstockers do it, they are saving Mother Earth ( Mother Earth and Her Children: A Quilted Fairy Tale ). When I do it I’m just being redundant. Writing this blog is weird. I thought I had burned out on subject matter almost a thousand articles ago. Then I got a second wind. And a third, etc. You just have to bear with me when I repeat. Sooner or later I’ll surprise you with something better. And it isn’t like you pay attention anyway. If I repeat something fifty times, maybe you’ll take notice somewhat. I would like to write fiction, but if I devote more time to that it is either a lot of investment ( a generator [ ETQ TG1200 1,200 Watt 2 HP 2-Cycle Gas Powered Portable Generator ] for charging the batteries ), and/or a time sink that might never pay off. It took me long enough just to make a few extra bucks writing non-fiction. We’ll just have to see. If I repeat too many times here I’ll have no choice but to try just for my own enjoyment and sanity.

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People seem to make a huge deal about moving off grid ( Off the Grid: Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government, and True Independence in Modern America ). And yet, everyone loves to go camping. Moving off grid is just a long camping trip. And unlike camping, where you are stuck with the supplies you brought, permanent set-ups can improve in living conditions. Which, by the way, underlines the importance of not waiting until the very last second to move. Then you WILL be stuck with just your initial equipment. And I think everyone off grid will agree with me that you never get it right the first time. If you move now, not only do you save a lot of money by not paying the bankers you have the time to get things right. It was trial and error for me as far as finding the best meals without a refrigerator, the optimal number of solar panels ( Sunforce 50044 60-Watt Solar Charging Kit ) for the local climate, the best sawdust toilet, the best shower equipment, the best winter clothing, how much propane was needed, the best indoor lighting, even the best way to make coffee. I could have survived on what we originally brought out but it wouldn’t have been as comfortable. You noodle the best plans, make equipment lists, daydream potential problems. But nothing will give you the final answer besides boots on the ground first hand experience.

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That said, however, you are basically doing nothing more than going camping ( SE Home Camping Car Travel Emergency -12 LED Push On Light ). That is it. You can buy your land sight unseen, sell the last of your junk, move hundreds of miles away, and there will be no reason to worry about your final destination. It is just a campground. We’ve all gone camping. You shouldn’t act like there is a huge unknown “thing” waiting for you. You can screw up on the equipment, encounter asshat neighbors, have a hard time finding a job, but the act of setting up shelter and taking care of necessities ain’t friggin rocket science. Whether a tent or a trailer or car living ( Ten Consecutive Years Living In Cars: Living, Traveling, Camping, Attending College and Performing Surveillance in Cars---and Loving It! ) while you build, camping is camping. You stay under shelter, keep warm at night, cook your food and haul out your trash. Any idiot can do it. Crackheads can do it, although they do seem to have a screwed up feedback loop as far as weather and sanitation. But they can at least set up the basics. Off grid ( Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream ) is simple. Given a close enough town and either savings or a ready job, anyone can start immediately and make their own mistakes and correct them. You don’t have to read a hundred manuals on it. Unless you are living vicariously through others. Then I guess you can’t get enough reading. Off grid has all the comforts of home, you are just scared off by being different.

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I know, the women faint at the prospect of non-flushing waste. The livestock shudder at the prospect of living as nature intended and the children formulate open rebellion if their electronic teets are disconnected. But with plenty of propane ( Sapien Arms Airsoft Propane to Green Gas Adaptor with Silicon Oil ), and slight rationing of water, off grid is not so different than town living. All that is required is you to say, “piss on it” and do it. Off grid requires no extra skills, only the willingness to endure a slight bit of discomfort ( oh, the horrors! Having to slip on a sweater instead up adjusting the central air. How barbaric ). And in return you save a butt load of money. You are gaining, not giving up. And once there, post-apocalypse planning is a lot easier. No BOB ( Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before It's Too Late ) is necessary, your food supply is at hand. Every dollar invested helps you now rather than going to another area to sit around and wait to be sabotaged. I kick myself for not doing it a heck of a lot sooner. Twenty years would have been nice. So, yes, I understand your hesitation and reluctance. I was there, too. But having made the move, it turns out to be one of the smartest things I ever did. Despite my decision to live more primitively than you would, the positive far outweighs the negative. For one, I don’t fear the collapse anymore. I’m in place, supplied, and years ahead as far as surviving economically.

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My e-mail is jimd303@netzero.com
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