Off the grid

[sensitive type]

Today something happened that really caught me off guard. I was at Costco doing a little shopping with my mom. We had our cart filled and ready to pay when it was brought to our attention that all the registers were down and the entire store was not accepting any credit cards or plastic- only cash.. i never thought that this would be a hurdle for me, having absolutely no cash. Mind you, I had money, in my bank account but no cash currency. A storm has compromised our electronic systems here in Cleveland, my internet has been completely off for over twenty-four hours now, that means no tv, no landline phone and no camera or access to Alexa and that kinda scared me last night cause the landline and camera i use when im away to check on my mom... we are totally in the dark right now. imagine the implications if this was a statewide blackout?.. its crazy. covid and this together it make you start thinking what could happen if someone wanted to cripple the nation, all they gotta do is turn off the power..

 

[MacNfries]

I wish everyone would give it some thought. These internet attacks along with the covid viruses should wake people up to the possibilities of how the next World War will be fought. The USA has shown, unfortunately, that we're majorly vunerable in both categories. Soldiers & planes may become only the "clean up" after all our systems go down & disease strikes us dead. Plus, the American people, as divided as they are now, will most certainly turn on each other for a brief time to blame the other side.
So easy for the American people to become so frightened that they turn on each other. With the country being so divided, it'd be a perfect time to implement such a strategy. Reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode.

The Twilight Zone (Classic): The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street - Quick To ******* - YouTube

 

[uslover609]

We would be fucked simple as that. More and more things going to tech. We started to carry cash with us. Not SAMs club Costco type cash but for bread milk that stuff. Home Depot Lowe’s and get a generator wont help with tv or Internet but could keep you from having to dump the fridge and freezer into the trash in another 12 hours

 

[The Arranger]

Today something happened that really caught me off guard. I was at Costco doing a little shopping with my mom. We had our cart filled and ready to pay when it was brought to our attention that all the registers were down and the entire store was not accepting any credit cards or plastic- only cash.. i never thought that this would be a hurdle for me, having absolutely no cash. Mind you, I had money, in my bank account but no cash currency. A storm has compromised our electronic systems here in Cleveland, my internet has been completely off for over twenty-four hours now, that means no tv, no landline phone and no camera or access to Alexa and that kinda scared me last night cause the landline and camera i use when im away to check on my mom... we are totally in the dark right now. imagine the implications if this was a statewide blackout?.. its crazy. covid and this together it make you start thinking what could happen if someone wanted to cripple the nation, all they gotta do is turn off the power..

I read an article a few years ago on the subject of the security of the North American power grid. It seems a electrical engineer working on his or her PHD had studies the question. When it came time to defend his research and get his or her PHD the government classified the work in national security interests. The story was that to take down the entire grid would require less than a dozen points. The subject was even covered on the tv show NCIS.

 

[The Arranger]

I wish everyone would give it some thought. These internet attacks along with the covid viruses should wake people up to the possibilities of how the next World War will be fought. The USA has shown, unfortunately, that we're majorly vunerable in both categories. Soldiers & planes may become only the "clean up" after all our systems go down & disease strikes us dead. Plus, the American people, as divided as they are now, will most certainly turn on each other for a brief time to blame the other side.
So easy for the American people to become so frightened that they turn on each other. With the country being so divided, it'd be a perfect time to implement such a strategy. Reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode.

The Twilight Zone (Classic): The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street - Quick To ******* - YouTube

I am not a prepper. I do however live in the country where we have power issues due to weather. So in 2000 I installed both a wind generator and solar panels with the idea of connecting up to the grid and selling my excess power back to the power company. They wanted $5000 a pole and I would not be allowed a battery back up system. Would need ten poles to connect. Well that killed that idea. Then the black out of north eastern America happened. Well I was one of the few that had power. Which meant I had tv. Air conditioning, also had satellite tv and internet as it had a generator back up. My freezer and root cellar paid off big time. As for fuel well I had gas and deseal for the farm equipment. Had to put a lock on the pumps after people were willing to steal if I would not sell.

 

[The Arranger]

Today something happened that really caught me off guard. I was at Costco doing a little shopping with my mom. We had our cart filled and ready to pay when it was brought to our attention that all the registers were down and the entire store was not accepting any credit cards or plastic- only cash.. i never thought that this would be a hurdle for me, having absolutely no cash. Mind you, I had money, in my bank account but no cash currency. A storm has compromised our electronic systems here in Cleveland, my internet has been completely off for over twenty-four hours now, that means no tv, no landline phone and no camera or access to Alexa and that kinda scared me last night cause the landline and camera i use when im away to check on my mom... we are totally in the dark right now. imagine the implications if this was a statewide blackout?.. its crazy. covid and this together it make you start thinking what could happen if someone wanted to cripple the nation, all they gotta do is turn off the power..

Ok. A few years back we had a nasty storm in our area. power lines down poles smashed. Homes flattened. The wanted $1000 per pole to come in my drive way from the road. One pole for ever 50 feet and the drive way is 500 feet.

it did not take me too long to go off the grid. Also had them remove their equipment from my property as they were not paying me rent.

at first neighbours were pissed. Well the entire area is now green power. Both wind and solar power with natural gas back up. I now shop on line. Now just waiting for electric trucks to come down in price.

 

[hoping hubby]

Ok. A few years back we had a nasty storm in our area. power lines down poles smashed. Homes flattened. The wanted $1000 per pole to come in my drive way from the road. One pole for ever 50 feet and the drive way is 500 feet.

it did not take me too long to go off the grid. Also had them remove their equipment from my property as they were not paying me rent.

at first neighbours were pissed. Well the entire area is now green power. Both wind and solar power with natural gas back up. I now shop on line. Now just waiting for electric trucks to come down in price.

You say "a few years back" you decided to go off grid after a storm took down your power poles and it would have cost $1k per pole to replace.

But just back in December...literally in the previous post on this thread you claimed you never went "on grid" back in 2000 because it would have cost $5k per pole to install power to your place.

Having trouble keeping your stories straight????

 

[The Arranger]

no not at all. The 5 k price was for a new installation for my cottage / retreat. The problem was the amount of back fill (gravel required) due to high water level. The 1 k price was to replace the existing poles that came down due to a storm. My experience off the grid living with my vacation home led to my decision to go off the grid when I rebuilt my family home. Had to talk with both my local building group, the power company and my insurance company. The power company was the only one that threatened a law suite. The family home was built in stages between 1875 and 1895 When there were no building codes. The new one is ICF (insulated Concrete Forms) and SIP (Structal Insulated Panels) that have Hurricane Ties keeping them in place. With a metal roof. It cost me a bit more about 30k over what the insurance covered however it has been worth it. Just for the record I lived in the cottage for a year while this was sorted out. My biggest problem was not what you would think. My home was a historical heritage zoned home and had to look like a farm home.

on a side note my wind turbine looks like a mid west wind mill like you see in the cowboy movies. The solar panels are built onto the side of my driving shed (garage for my tractor) which cannot be seen from the road. Something the zoning committee insisted on.

At the time of the storm I was a work in a storm shelter. In the end I lost a few things that I cannot replace like a kitchen table that my great grand ******* built and some China. The family bible was luckily in for rebinding in a book store. A singer sewing machine was found a mile away and needed repair of the wood parts. The local singer repair guy had his ******* make the needed repairs. Which if I guess cost more than the machine originally cost at $200. Money well spent. The shop has a lot of religious customers who live off the grid. Quakers and such.