Stepping Off of the Grid? 114
torpor asks: "Has anyone on Slashdot ever stepped off of the grid? I don't just mean long yuppy vacations to pacified islands, but seriously gone from 'tech-dedicated' to 'doing my own thing in the middle of nowhere for a while'. It's that time of year again. I've killed my TV, and I'm finding myself looking for adventure and mayhem in distant quarters. Have any of you ever done this, and returned with interesting stories to tell?"
The Tech Jerk... (Score:5, Funny)
Yup, I'll be completely cut off from all my life-sustaining tech...
Except for my Sidekick, that is...that's all.
...and my digital camera...you know...to take pictures of Nature and all...and that's it.
...and my work phone...gotta have my work phone in case a server crashes or something...and that's it.
...and my work laptop...in case I have to VPN in to work...and that's ALL.
...and my personal laptop...after all, they're both in the same case...and nothing ELSE.
...except for my USB thumb drives...
...and my USB hub...
...and my wireless hub...
...and my external HDD...
...and my external DVD-RW...
*sigh*
Re:The Tech Jerk... (Score:2)
Re:The Tech Jerk... (Score:2)
That's one of the main reasons I'm going...among other things, I 've been getting complaints about the system running slow...read: spyware.
^_^
Re:The Tech Jerk... (Score:2)
Re:The Tech Jerk... (Score:2)
^_^
Re:The Tech Jerk... (Score:1)
Re:The Tech Jerk... (Score:2)
Re:The Tech Jerk... (Score:2)
It seems that I'm used to living in a state where the definition of "wilderness" does not include being in reach of a cell tower.
I'd mention the no-electricity thing as well, but I don't want to scare other slashdotters.
Seriously though: Divorcing yourself from TV/Computers/Internet only works if you can find something to fill your time that you enjoy more.
Re:The Tech Jerk... (Score:2)
Re:The Tech Jerk... (Score:2)
We go out for a 4 day holiday weekend with just the car (which we don't touch once we get there) our analog watches and flashlights - thats it. We pitch a tent, make a fire and just enjoy life. Oddly enough, when we come back, we're more relaxed than normal, even if I have to dig through 200 email a day to catch up.
Re:The Tech Jerk... (Score:2)
My fiancee and I went up to the Mackinac Bridge area about 3 years ago in preparation for the wedding. We had our cell phones for emergency purposes, but that was it.
The island was great, the bridge is an impressive engineering feat, and the people were much more relaxed.
Was/isn't a SciFi author doing that in Sri Lanka? (Score:3)
Arthur C Clark, maybe...?
Re:Was/isn't a SciFi author doing that in Sri Lank (Score:2)
Re:Was/isn't a SciFi author doing that in Sri Lank (Score:2)
Yeah but for a different reason... (Score:2)
Re:Yeah but for a different reason... (Score:2)
I'd answer that question (Score:2)
Re:I'd answer that question (Score:2)
Hey, I have a question for Ask Slashdot. "Are any slashdot readers in a coma? I'm thinking of entering a persistent vegitative state, any tips for me?"
Scout Camp (off the grid) (Score:1)
Other than my week-long absence from IRC, I loved it.
Wrong Audience (Score:5, Funny)
I'd suggest finding a local adventure (backpacking, etc.) store.
Anm
Re:Wrong Audience (Score:2)
You are clearly not young, urban or professional [wikipedia.org].
Re:Wrong Audience (Score:1)
It's MEC [www.mec.ca] all the way!
Cheers!
From the if-you-can-read-this-then-... dept. (Score:1, Redundant)
Or perhaps there are some out there who are essentially off-grid but still have access to it via non-traditional means. So where exactly do you draw the line?
I've wondered once or twice in the dead of night whether it might be good to step off the grid permanently, so that if the pessimistic peak oil predictions come true, I'll have already made the transition and won't be one of the billion newbies trying
Re:Military (Score:1)
No, I never returned (Score:2)
Nope. Long story short, too much mayhem, not enough adventure.
If you insist on trying this, I suggest avoiding moonshine, cliffs, drunk friends, and a dare. (But I'm sure there are other equally negative combinations.)
This post brought to you by MortISP, the #1 ISP in the Great Beyond.
Depends... (Score:1)
If by "stepping off the grid" you mean "gone on a two week bender" then, yeah. Heh, which segues into an old riddle:
Q: What did Abraham Lincoln say after a 3 month bender?
A: I freed who?
Boy was I way off! (Score:1)
Seriously though. I've thought about it but rarely would I have an opportunity to disconnect myself that to that level. Unless I go to my wife's native country where you're lucky to have power let alone a technogadget.
Have you considered...? (Score:5, Funny)
Actually, after watching that commercial for The Real Gilligan's Island where Mary Ann and Ginger smear coconut cream pie over each other and then wrestle in the shower -- maybe that's the way to go! Can you make an MP3 player out of bamboo, coconuts and a bicycle?
Nature blah blah vacation blah. (Score:1)
Re:Nature blah blah vacation blah. (Score:1)
Yet still I can see your post (Score:2, Funny)
Yeah, but the machines still found me.... (Score:2)
Not me, but someone I know certainly did. (Score:1, Interesting)
Someone I used to work with quit his job about one month ago. He worked as a Senior unix engineer / hacker - and had done so for a decade or so.
The reason? He wants to see the world. He's taking one to two years off - depending on how long the trip takes. He's going to visit as many countries and areas as he manages. He's been saving for this for a LONG time - and he's finally realizing his dream.
Now, what kind of guy is this? He's certainly a computer p
Off the grid for a long time. (Score:1)
Stepping off the grid (Score:5, Interesting)
Quit my job.
Almost emptied my bank account (just enough to keep it open) and had the cash saved safely.
Moved from my parents place to miscellaneous places under aliases and didn't use my real name.
Never went near "public" cameras.
Paid cash for everything.
Never logged onto the internet and used "my" name or email account... ever.
Didn't contact my family through means where they could trace me (unmarried, no holidays)
Worked jobs where I was paid under the table with my alias.
I did this all half-way across the country. You don't have any clue how much I loved it. New name, new face, new style of living. Hell, even this slashdot subscription I have was paid for by someone I don't know who has never met me in real life or online (except through slashdot). This "alias" of zoloto isn't linked to my real name in any way, shape or form... and that's the way I like it. (someone guessed at my name once thinking he was "cool" but it never worked for him/her)
It's great. It's too bad we can't do this anymore with our real lives since people (companies/govt too) openly share our information and collect "assurances" that we're credit worthy and an assett to society.
Re:Stepping off the grid (Score:1)
Why?
Re:Stepping off the grid (Score:3, Insightful)
Sounds like fun, but for a lot of geeks, maybe not practical. IE: to live and survive you need to make money somehow, and most of us (/. readership) work in computers, so you'd probably end up back in a job working with computers to make a "new" living. That kinda kills the "step off the grid" thing.
Of course, if the grandparent emptied their bank account to get $$ to live without working, then yea, go for it. Just make sure you have a job or s
Re:Stepping off the grid (Score:4, Interesting)
Figuring everything out as if I was starting fresh, new everything and looking for legal jobs was a great experience. I made enough money to live, eat, enjoy some small entertainment and go about my business. Bought a car, did everything under that name essentially keeping "my self" off the grid and this new person on for just a year.
Actually with common names such as Brown, Johnson, Smith and Thompson I was easily noticed, but just as quickly dismissed. Just like that cherry red van you say just a minute ago driving down the street... or did you?
See what I mean. It's all about disguise. Sometimes you have to keep it all out in the open, and keep the secrets locked-in-tight and no one will notice you.
Re:Stepping off the grid (Score:2)
Re:Stepping off the grid (Score:2)
Re:Stepping off the grid (Score:2)
I quit my job.
I go to southern Mexico, where I never have the option of going near "public cameras" or using anything BUT cash for 1 to 10 months a year.
While there, I rarely log onto the internet because it is virtually unavailable.
I contact friends and family through Mexican payphones with disposable national calling cards (I highly doubt that this is tracable, and its the cheapest and easiest way to get in touch internationally.)
When I'm not in Mexico,
Re:Stepping off the grid (Score:2)
Archaeological philandering isn't something I've considered on a conscious level, however it's definitely worth looking into for those so inclined to do so professionally. I do keep my options open.
Re:Stepping off the grid (Score:2)
Post college, I'd really like to leave 'the scene' for a bit. For my travels, I'd go to Europe and rent a small flat and live the European life. Supporting myself through bartending or being a waiter at some restaurant, maybe. Unfortunately, it might be a bit more difficult to do this, since I'd have to be using my passport to travel from the USA to EU.
Re:Stepping off the grid (Score:1)
Re:Stepping off the grid (Score:2)
most of what i'd have to say is in the forms of guidelines and won't be a "who hired me where" type of a thing.
for the moment all I can say is really find out what you can and can't do. not in, what you won't do etc. and look for jobs that way.
you have to be a hard worker with a good strong wide background in doing "work". take that as you will but for the moment it's all I can offer.
email me, use encryption (http://slashdot.org/~zoloto/pubkey [slashdot.org]) and we'll talk if you need any
geek corps + antarctica = (Score:2)
um, does fragging at 200 fps count as 'off the grid' if you're not running a server?
i hate to ask (Score:1, Redundant)
Re:i hate to ask (Score:2)
2) typed the article and submitted it using the USPS with no return address and a stamp a friend gave him
3) sent it to the editors (they publish anything...)
4) then a friend gives him a printout at -1 of everything people said.
win win situation...
how do you think I did this? Wait... I just exposed my time-mach^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H lie! Damnit!
this isn't even a question (Score:1)
Simplify, Simplify, Simplify... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Simplify, Simplify, Simplify... (Score:2, Insightful)
I'll bet you did it without electronics, but not without technology. You probably used a qualofill (sp?) sleeping bag and a ripstop nylon backpack on an aluminum pack frame and some freeze-dried food.
Make the same trip with a couple of wool blankets, a sack full of dried corn and forage for food on the trail (not that the USFS would appreciate that last part). That would be leaving technology behind.
[Disclaimer: you've still d
Re:Simplify, Simplify, Simplify... (Score:1)
Re:Simplify, Simplify, Simplify... (Score:1)
Not really. Wool blankets and a woven sack are both clearly technology; neither one grows directly on trees, and both arts took centuries to perfect.
And now that I think about it, both the wool and the corn are the result of thousands of years of artificial genetic modification, so they're advanced tech,
Re:Simplify, Simplify, Simplify... (Score:2)
Not to mention all that fancy dental work and tetanus vaccine. He's basically a cyborg. If someone honestly wants to go camping without technology, instead of just "playing camp" like some w
Re:Simplify, Simplify, Simplify... (Score:1)
Re:Simplify, Simplify, Simplify... (Score:2)
Last year when I was moving I was standing in the back of a 30 foot moving van during pouring rain and I slipped. I slammed against the wall of the truck, slid down to the floor desperately trying not to actually fall out of the truck onto the concrete below. At first I thought I was okay except for a number of bruises and scrapes. Everyone was asking if I was okay, and I said sure.
Re:Simplify, Simplify, Simplify... (Score:1)
Re:Simplify, Simplify, Simplify... (Score:1)
And let's not forget all of the camping techniques he may have learned over the years. Some of that could well be patented intellectual property. While he's getting the new lymph nodes installed, he should see if he can get a discount on a quick st
I'll be doing it in 25 hours (Score:2)
Re:I'll be doing it in 25 hours (Score:1)
Coca Cola [cocacola.com]
Pepsi- your other sponsorship choice [pepsinut.com]
Not Yet... (Score:2)
I wanted to get off the grid once... (Score:2, Funny)
Peace Corps (Score:2)
50' yurt, 12v power and WiMAX laptop... (Score:3, Informative)
I've found Yurts [yurtworks.com] to be an interesting architectural endeavour, and very affordable... not to mention the interesting psychological/environmental changes that one would experience living in a round building.
In a few years I plan to take advantage of Composting toilets [sun-mar.com], solar and exercised charged deep-cycle battery power, Solar Cooking [exoticblades.com], Efficient wood cooking and heating [efn.org] and whatever other kinds of natural/off-grid lifestyles I can find...
Let's not forget Intel's WiMAX [intel.com] technologies that should let me get my
Luckily I should be aquiring 5 acres of land for free or cheap in the next few years, which makes this whole thing much more feasible.
Re:50' yurt, 12v power and WiMAX laptop... (Score:1, Insightful)
Now if you've got tons of free wood to use then yeah, it's gonna be cheaper.. otherwise wood is pretty damn expensive (relative to energy output) if you have to buy it.
Exercised charged deep-cycle batteries? Hmmm, how much en
Re:50' yurt, 12v power and WiMAX laptop... (Score:2)
A human can put out a couple of hundred watts continuously, possibly 500 watts for a small amount of time. Five 3W luxeon LED's (with a suitable storage) could be run for 10 hours, if you pedal casually on a bike for an hour. Those can easily light up a large room or two.
Re:mnb Re:50' yurt, 12v power and WiMAX laptop... (Score:2)
52 days in the Utah wilderness (Score:2)
You certainly get to know the people you're with, as well as you
Re:52 days in the Utah wilderness (Score:2)
No, it wasn't Mormon-related at all (Score:2)
Re:No, it wasn't Mormon-related at all (Score:2)
You guys are lame :P (Score:4, Interesting)
I remember when I stopped by a town in NH and I saw the last week's newspaper in the trash. It read "Great 2003 Blackout!". It's amazing to have missed something like that. I even heard stories of hikers who didn't hear about 9/11.
I'm planning to do long hikes in the future, so that won't be the last time I'm off the grid. (I know some people who hiked without ID, I still had my DL).
Anyway, if any of you have question or are just interested, I have all the answers. You can e-mail me at aberkowi@student.umass.edu
Give it to the hot ones (Score:2)
If you plan on travelling around the US, I suggest being very friendly and getting a gun. Really. Hell, this is a good idea everywhere outside of
Re:Give it to the hot ones (Score:2, Interesting)
Get a concealed carry license for any state you plan to meet people in, unless you've got the balls to disconnect so completely that you never see an authority figure again. In most states that have enough wilderness to dissappear into, it should be very easy, even for a
Re:Give it to the hot ones (Score:2)
First, you can only get a concealed carry license in your state of residence, and it usually takes a while (e.g., about 30 days here in Oregon). Once you have it,
Re:Give it to the hot ones (Score:1)
http://urinalcakes.mine.nu/ [urinalcakes.mine.nu]
If you're up to it, get in touch at urinalhacker@gmail.com
Re:Give it to the hot ones (Score:2)
Other than the "really friendly" part, which is good advice, this is a remarkably stupid idea. In most countries you can end up in jail for a long, long time with no phone calls and no Vaseline. And how are you going to get your gun there anyway?
The rate of violent crime is higher in the USA than most other countries, so the safety question (at least wrt crime - there's always traffic and
Sorta-kinda-halfway (Score:1)
Living off the 'net (Score:2)
For short periods of time... (Score:2)
Quite fun, really. I get a lot of reading done, and wander around the woods.
App trail (Score:1)
I wound up getting sick after a week into it and needed to come off the trail after ten days and limit myself to day hikes. That was still enjoyable, but a huge let down.
That first ten days though, was amazing. I had a forty-five pound pack on my back, and only what I could carry went with me. No
Army life (Score:1)
Re:Army life (Score:2)
How would they answer? (Score:2)
go cruising in a sailboat (Score:1)
sail around the world for a few years (or more).
it can take a month to cross an ocean during which time you are totally self reliant
Cape May, NJ to Bermuda (Score:2)
Oh, and the islands are kinda cool - but in a different way.
easy enough (Score:1)
1 wallet w/ cash and credit card(s)
1 backpack
2 days worth of clothes
1 pair extra shoes
1 digital camera
1 map of the country
time
ride off the middle of nowhere, camp under the stars, snap a few pics, get lost, find yourself and return home when ready. nothinig like a good soul cleansing from time to time.
An on-topic meta-question... (Score:2)
So why do so many of us, on a site that by nature of the topics covered, have a VERY high dependance on a reliable supply of electricity, want to get away from the single best source of such a supply available (at least in the US)? This strikes me as somewhat paradoxical.
Personally, I'll admit a bit of paranoia in my motivation. I simply don
Re:An on-topic meta-question... (Score:2)
Re:An on-topic meta-question... (Score:2)
Think of it as being in line with things like the "slow"-food movement or "slow" movements in general. The tech and clutter doesn't make your life better, just busier.
People are simply finding that the rat race isn't all it's cracked u
New Mexico. (Score:1)
I've been thrown off... (Score:1)