Been awhile. Kinda miss ya…. but, well, not much to say, really….not much news.
I am busy….busy as hell, actually, but not really working hard…..chopping wood, entertaining….making crude benches and tables….plumbing….pretty ordinary stuff….the stuff of living OTG to be sure but, on the other hand, OTG is not like it USED to be….nowadays, OTG is pretty cushy. Let’s be honest: any doofus can do this. I am living proof.
But, if my presence here is not sufficient to prove it can be done, get this: I bought an air conditioner AND a microwave!
I know, I know…“Dave! That is not breaking news. In fact, it might be FAKE NEWS!”
And, you’d be right. Appliances newly acquired are not news. Not in the ordinary sense, anyway. But, but, but….on the heels of that non-news is the accompanying equally as-non-news that I have not run my gensets since May (yes, I start them all the time but that’s because the nature of carburetors is constipation and they need cleaning out or ‘using’ to keep them functional). I have NOT used the gensets because the sun has kept us going and that includes the air-con, the microwave and all the other mod-cons we spoiled doofuses now employ while trying to pretend we are wild and crazy OTG’ers. AND we have an electric freezer coming (the old propane gave up the ghost).
Bottom line: Sal’s going soft on me.
Still, there is some news.
We do NOT have a grocery store. Not yet. Maybe never. But that’s OK because we now have an organized ‘tele-shop’ where the store is given a list of maybe 6 different OTG customers requirements. They fill the list and deliver the ‘shop’ to the water taxi. The water taxi delivers them to the community dock and we divvy it all up at that time. Having $100.00 worth of food delivered to the dock costs me say, $115.00 (give or take a dollar). To go to town and do it myself would cost me out-of-pocket easily $35.00 and the REAL math is that it would cost me $100.00 (gas, ferry, wear and tear, insurance and then add something for 4 hours at least of line-ups).
If I go to town at all, I stock up and the grocery shop would be at least $300-400 dollars (more if you count wine) so we can’t do a direct cost analysis but what I have done says the tele-shop is cheaper and way, way easier on me. This way, I can ‘shop’ once every two weeks from the comfort of the living room and pay $15.00 twice ($30.00) and save all the aggravation. Plus some produce and dairy remain fresher.
Bonus: Everything Wine flies in a few cases every once in awhile and the delivery is free.
And the doctor comes to the island once every two weeks.
Costco flies in prescriptions free.
The barge delivers lumber, gasoline and propane (NOT free but cheaper than me going to get it myself).
We now have a ‘home-care- person on the island who ‘lends a hand’ to the elderly and infirm.
Seriously…..this ain’t hard.
……that’s probably why I have no news. I am living the life of Riley.
Our Off the Grid Home 
Very civilised. Hope you get some rain soon.
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Oddly, we have had plenty of rain but not so much that the batteries get low. Plenty of sunshine with perfectly timed intervals of rain. Seriously? This is paradise!
Only ONE problem……so much heaven, so much paradise, so much perfection, a grouchy negative guy has nothing to complain about…..thus…fewer blogs ☺
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Shhh. Keep it a secret.
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Good to hear from Dave. I check your blog a couple of time a day in expectation of a new post. All your planning and hard work continues to pay benefits. Clean energy has benefits and you are reaping them. Have you considered getting blender?
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Got blender, rice cooker and all sorts of cushy aids but didnt list them all. Tools are big users! I was remarking with another OTG friend the other day and he has been OTG longer and more basic the whole time…..until the past decade as he added more panels and got better batteries. Solar changed everything. Amazon added to it. And wine delivery is the cherry on top. As soon as they get good cheap batteries, people will quit BCH or grid tie in at a nominal swap rate. You could net neutral pretty quick..
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Well, it’s a function of solar panel power (we have 2100 watts) plus batteries (we have 400 amp hours) and of course use. Our usage is getting up there….I will guesstimate 5kw hours a day on average?..maybe 6 or seven on a laundry day. But we are getting (on average) easily 1 kw per hour for more than 5 hours in the summertime. We are maxed out but balanced with our maxing in. The system is jus right. Your’s sounds like old batteries or not enough panels. Most likely it’s the batteries.
The water taxi departs from CR. They will deliver 200 pounds for $55.00. Our bi-weekly order is around 50 pounds or about $15.00. If no one else orders, I pay the whole $55 – minimum charge. But since delivery #1 we have had enough neighbours to share it. And more are joining in.
When you think about it, everyone going in separately to get much the same stuff isn’t efficient, green or fun. If I never go to town again I’ll be OK.
Tell me your electrical system components…..
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E-commerce sure makes OTG life “easier “ these days. 😄
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No question. And it’s as much a mindset change for us as it is a societal one. E-com has been around and, of course, everyone got a gee gaw from Alibaba or Amazon but it really started with books and now we not only more comfortable with it, we LOOK for that service firgas
I still chop, carry, lift, fix, make, make-do and schlep more than an urban guy my age but e-com is helping me do that, too, because I now have more time.
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Who the heck is Riley?
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The phrase is an old, old one from before WW1. It means living ‘the good life’. My recollection is from the mid-fifties TV sitcom of the same name.
My own life is pretty bloody good. I live ‘like Riley’. My cauliflower runneth over.
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Hi David,
Somehow I’ve lost your email address. hopefully you’ll get this
Roger
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You guys are sounding positively ‘soft’.
Ha ha…. great that you are enjoying the good life.
Trev and Judy from traffic grid xxx to xxxz x 6 hrs x omg
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O…M…G
Valhalla has arrived.
AC and Microwaved popcorn… OTG?
Say it aint so.
Mind you.
If you can live like an Urbanista and still be OTG…..
You’ve won.
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Thankyou, Noncon, that’s how I feel about it. I have refrigerration. I drive a good (old) car, watch Netflix and still enjoy a nice glass of wine. We eat like kings, sleep in a comfortable bed and contribute to the nonsense of the internet. Life is good. One can GET OUT and still bring a few comforts with ’em. We did.
But it is NOT about what goodies you can bring with you, it’s really about all the poison and madness you get to leave behind. This is the good life….positive stuff? YES. Negative stuff? Much, much less. The ‘balance’ is better.
WAY better!
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I grabbed a coffee at McDonald’s today about 8am and had to wait about 10 minutes…..for a coffee…..wth?????….. the guy ahead of me was a delivery driver for “Skip the Dishes” and was picking up a HUGE order of breakfast for one house….
I asked him what was the stupidest order he has delivered so far, ” A bag of gourmet cookies.”
People cant be bothered to sit in a Drive Through at McDonalds anymore…. society is ripe for a civilization ending, cell phone scrambling, Solar Flare……. :0
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Missing your posts, OTG or otherwise. – Margy
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SEPT 1st !
You skipped August ?!?!/!?!
OTG busy beavers?
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Kinda…mostly…..we’ve had family, guests, Wfers, events, numerous big chores and, right now, we have the boat hauled out and we are painting the bottom. So ‘workload’ is a legitimate excuse…….
……..but not entirely true…..the REST of the truth is me simply not writing because my ‘writing pipes’ are either clogged or the source has gone dry…..don’t know….just no words coming out from the tap…..?
Is there anything to say about Trump that hasn’t been said? Trudeau? Anything about climate change you don’t already know? Anything about institutionalized corruption? My opinion/view is currently obscured by the blatantly obvious….a vast epidemic of stupidity, greed and denying reality that defies logic, survival and goodness…..
Greenland is melting, the Amazon is burning, we are incarcerating children, shooting up schools and lying, cheating and conspiring to GET money……could we BE any stupider?
Plus…..after the boat is relaunched, I have a small 16 foot bridge to build….
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“a vast epidemic of stupidity, greed and denying reality that defies logic, survival and goodness…..”
Geez.
I thought i was the only curmudgeon that felt that way. 🙂
May we live in interesting times…….
The 16 ft “Bridge Over the River Why?”
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The house is built on a 30 degree rock slope. To get under the house, you go down outside stairs and then cross a little bridge that connects the stairs to the lower deck. That bridge is getting a bit shaky…..time to rebuild it. This time, properly. I am currently at the nap stage. Thars when i nap and ponder how to do it. Lately the nap stage has been unconscious……
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Testing! My last (long) epistle has been sent to cyberspace
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WordPress has rejected me, along with my (saved) password, I’ll try again, with a little brevity.
All along I thought you were just enjoying summer! I too have a bridge problem that is at the pondering stage, as it’s been too wet/hot to get the actual building stage. I have a 30 foot access to my abode that is nearing the unusable stage due to traffic, weather and age. Don’t know whether to rebuild or redeck. After pondering complete I’ll let you know the results.
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Pondering helps with the procrastination……..but doesn’t build the bridge…..😆…….two good Wfers is what you need. Sal and I built our dinky 16-footer…..it’s great. Good thing we didn’t ponder too long. It was rotten. No idea how I crossed it. Must have defied every known law of physics…..the rebuild was more overdue than I thought.
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Game on!
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Waddya mean…..? Game on? Who’s playing……?
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Federal Election called today.
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Ahhhh…the running of the bulls__t. Where the innocent fools get gored and trampled by the dim but powerful.
I suppose the spectacle is somewhat interesting but……to what end? Blood in the streets.
I am currently wondering…..is there anything new in the world – other than deeper plumbing the depths of ignorance and stupidity? Same old, same old…..everyday….except…..well…..this solar/electrical thing is pretty interesting. Baufang et al. I have thoughts on bicycle hubs……
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Ms May has momentum and might be getting into the ten seatt range with a few on Vancouver Island.
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This election is painful.
Trudeau is “outed” as a hypocrite.
Big deal.
He should just call all the rest of the Leaders hypocrites and continue.
None of them are talking about our ballooning defict.
Rainbow crosswalks and bullying….
We deserve this load of vapid poseurs ……
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This is why I never vote in any election. Silly waste of time. Choose your gangster. Yeah, right.
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Ok Dave. Nothing in August. Nothing in September. I need a little update on how you two are doing. Don’t make me beg…
Ted
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