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Monday, June 29, 2009

Random Videos

Here's something fun, a few random videos we just took. I found an old camera, it does only slightly better than the camera I sent back not too long ago, so check these out and enjoy.








Wretha

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Friday, June 26, 2009

More Visits

Since I have come public with my story, I have received visits from multiple government agencies, including the department of homeland security, the FAA, USDA, department of energy (DOE), and the social security administration. I haven't even listed some of the other gov sites, but I don't believe the other ones are a problem (NASA, several state sites...)

EDIT
now the census bureau is visiting me, see the updated graphic

Some of you might think I'm being paranoid and picture me wearing a tinfoil hat, but after what has happened so far, I think I have a right to be concerned, WHY would any of these government agencies be visiting my site??? Here is a cut-n-paste from my tracker with all the information, the agency, where they came from (Mayberry, 2 of these came from your site...), the dates, times and such, and no, this time I am not obscuring the IP addresses. Click for a full size image.



I just don't know what to think about all of this, should I be afraid of MY government? Should I be fearful about a knock on my door? Why would the PTB be concerned about someone like me? I have done nothing wrong, I have exercised my RIGHT to free speech, I have been very quiet about my political views, preferring to post messages about my off grid life, does that make me an enemy of the state?

Wretha

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test post

Test post, my blog has been "locked" due to possibly being a spam blog by Blogger, and it is in danger of being deleted within 20 days, per Blogger, I have completed the proper form to unlock this blog, but it seems that I am not allowed to post anything. I am testing that now. Click on the pic for a larger image.

Why in the hell would my blog suddenly be locked? I'm not saying this is a conspiracy, but darnit! It sure looks suspicious. I have been running this blog for over a year and a half with no problems, and now when I post a couple of articles that get lots of hits, boom, my site is locked, IE I can't post anything. Apparently the site is still visible, I just can't post a message.

I am testing this right now to see if this message goes through. The date and time of this posting is: Friday, June 26, 2009 at 1:37 pm CDT

--EDIT--
OK, it seems that my test post came through ok, they are just making me type in a captcha code before I can publish, but they are is still the threat of deleting my blog in 20 days. I hope Blogger does their job and clears this up.

Oh and if you don't believe this has happened, click on this link:
http://www.blogger.com/unlock-blog.g?lockedBlogID=2306303306134956607
That is my Blogger ID. OK, now that it is unlocked, that page just says this blog is not locked, this is the URL they gave me though when it was locked.

After reading about how blogs are classified as spam, I just learned that it is not only their spambots that identify possible spam blogs, blogs can be flagged by people, I wonder if that is what happened? Did a live person flag my blog? If so, who did it? Some private citizen who doesn't like what I'm writing about? Or maybe someone else?

Oh, and to the person who questioned whether or not these government agencies have indeed visited my blog, yes, I have proof and post it in previous messages, I use a tracker on my blog and that's how I know they have been on my site, along with a plethora of other government entities, most I'd say are benign, it's the one from the dept of homeland security/border patrol that makes me nervous, the fact that they are the ones who sent the letter, yeah, I think it MIGHT be related. I mean, seriously, why would they be visiting my blog?


Wretha

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OK, Here Is The Whole Story

Wow, first I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has emailed me and shared this story on their blog, I am overwhelmed by the amount of support I have received from my internet family, I am truly touched.

I can't believe how this has really taken on a life of its own, I realize that my first message about this government trouble was vague, that's mainly because I was shocked, a little frightened, and at a loss to know exactly how to react.

I sincerely apologize if my first message caused undue excitement with anyone, that was certainly not my intent, I just wanted to make sure that something got out about this, just in case...

Now that a day has gone by, and I can look at this with fresh eyes, my perspective has changed a bit on this matter. that along with all the support I have received here and elsewhere has made me feel a lot better. I wanted to wait until I found out a little more information about this issue before posting the full story here, but this has caused such a brouhaha all over the net, I wanted to go ahead and fill everyone in on what is going on.

First, I don't really think my blog is in danger of being shut down, at least I hope not, I just wanted to make sure at least part of this story got out there just in case the feds decided to pull the plug on my site (oops, what site???), I doubt that would really happen, but I didn't think I would be receiving that letter in the mail either, that along with the fact that the agency responsible for sending that letter HAS visited my blog on several occasions, I assume that it is probably related.

OK, now to the issue. Here is the deal, I have been buying cigarettes from Europe (European made for Europeans), I have been doing this for a year and a half. I typically order between X and X cartons at a time, the time before last, I ordered X (more than usual) cartons, mainly because it is getting more and more difficult to pay for these, the overseas companies have a hard time keeping credit card vendors and other payment methods for any length of time, I didn't understand until now what that is. Our wonderful government has requested that the merchant account (credit card payment places) not do business with these overseas cigarette sellers, so each time I have ordered cigarettes, I have had to pay with a different method, I have paid with my bank card, PayPal, AlertPay, bank transfers, each time I got my cigarettes with no problems.

EDIT
I chose to remove the exact number of cartons I order, I don't want to give "them" any more ammo to use against me than I have to.

So this time I had decided to order more cigarettes than usual to make sure I would still have plenty of cigarettes and not run out before my next order, in case the next order took longer than usual to come in, it could take anywhere from 2 weeks to a month to come in. Anyhoo, I ordered X cartons, I suspect that is when I was flagged by the gov, or it could have been when I was blogging about how to order cigarettes from overseas, maybe that is what drew the attention of homeland security and the border patrol. I am in no way selling, trading or bartering with these cigarettes, they are strictly for personal use. The latest order of cigarettes never arrived, but this letter did.

I received a letter from the border patrol/dept of homeland security stating that my cigarettes had been intercepted, Here is what the letter said, I highlighted key phrases that I find interesting:

U.S Customs and Border Protection

Informed Compliance Notice for Cigarettes Imported Through the Mail
6-18-2009

Dear Madan/Sir:

This is to notify you that the U.S.Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had interdicted a U.S. Mail package addressed to you that contains cigarettes. Please be advised that the Imported Cigarette Compliance Act of 2000 (Act), which was codified under Title 19, United States Code, Section 1681, et seq. (10 USC1681, et seq.), imposed strict requirements for the lawful importation of cigarettes. This shipment does not compl with these requirements. The cigarettes are desctibed as follows

Reference# CIG-4701-86046 Description: Cigarettes 1 Box(s)

Cigarettes imported in violation of this Act are subject to seizure and forfeiture under the provisions of Title 19, United States Code, Section 1681a. However CBP has decided to allow you the option of voluntarily abandoning the property to the Government after which it will be destroyed in accordance with Title 41, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 102-3 (41CFR 102-36). You can elect to do nothing in response to this notice. If you elect to do nothing, the cigarettes will be considered abandoned after 30 days and destroyed. Finally, you may elect to request that CBP commence seizure and forfeiture proceedings to allow you the opportunity to engage in a formal legal process to petition for the return of the property. Please be advised that no relief from seizure is vailable unless you prove the cigarettes were not imported in violation of the Imported Cigarette Compliance Act of 2000 and all other applicle laws.

Enclosed is an election of proceedings document. Please indicate your election, sign, date, and return the document to the address indicated on the document. Please note that future attempts to import cigarettes in violation of the Imported Cigarette Compliance Act of 2000 may result in personal penalties or criminal prosecution.

Please be aware that numerous Internet web sites are dispensing inaccurate information regarding the legality of cigarette shimpents into the United States. For further information, visit our website at http://cbp.gov and do a search for "Importation of Cigarettes" to read CBO's public directive regarding this subject.


***************
end of letter

I tried going to their website and did the search they suggested, and NOTHING relevant comes up. When I look this up on the internet, I get conflicting information from the official gov sites. I don't know whether or not I should send in the form to contest this, they don't say what it is I have to do to prove that I'm not in violation, I can't even find that the stated violations are! What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

So far, what I have found indicates that it is legal to import cigarettes that are made in other countries (not made in the USA for import outside the USA, that has a whole different set of rules), I can import cigarettes for my own personal use, not for sale or resale which I am not doing, these are for personal use, but how do I prove that??? I can find lots of info relating to American citizens traveling outside the country and bringing back cigarettes purchased from duty free shops, but that is not what I am doing, there is a different set of rules/laws governing importing cigarettes for personal use, I just can't make heads or tails out of it.

I believe this is ultimately about money, taxes to be precise, every carton of cigarettes I purchase from another country is money that doesn't go into the government coffers, and that is something that upsets the powers that be.

This IS the same agency that has visited my blog, I have posted 2 messages about tobacco, the first was telling people how to buy cigarettes from Europe and save money, the other was about growing your own tobacco plants. I suspect that those two articles raised some flags with the powers that be, not only am I getting the benefits of not paying high prices and taxes for cigarettes, I am teaching other people how to do it. It is still possible that the visits from this government agency and the letter I received from the same agency are not related in any way, but I doubt that now.

I realize that not everyone is going to be sympathetic about the fact that this is about cigarettes, and I can appreciate that point of view, I do not smoke, this is for Mountain Man Bob, I wish he would quit, but as long as he chooses to do this, it's one of his very few vices, I will do everything I can to find the cheapest, legal way to buy these, and for now at least, buying them from Europe is the cheapest route, they cost about half what you would pay in the states. Before you make a judgment about what the item is about, remember that if the powers that be can stop me by using bullying scare techniques from LEGALLY purchasing a legal product for personal use, then eventually they can and will go after something you do care about, whether it be vitamins, herbs, alternative medicine, your choice of which doctor you want to go to, heirloom seeds, growing your own food (plants or animals), I could go on and on. This is about our individual freedoms that are being whittled away piece by piece under the guise of "we are doing this for your own good".

Oh, and one more thing, I am not trying to solicit money for this, now if you like my blog, feel free to donate or check out some of my sponsors, but that is not the purpose or motive of this post. I know that I mentioned in the first message that I don't have the money for a legal council, I assure you that was not a plea for funds, I doubt I would get enough to even begin to cover the costs of getting a lawyer and pursuing this. I would however, accept free legal advice or legal assistance on this matter.

Please feel free to spread this news around, the more people who are aware of what is going on, the better.

By the way, the cigarette company I am dealing with in all of this is treating me very well, they have gone above and beyond the call of duty on this issue and another issue I had on a previous order, if you are interested in knowing who this company is, email me and ask, and I'll give you the URL.


Wretha

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

I Was Right! Now What?

Well, for those of you who thought I was being paranoid about certain government entities visiting my site (not spying, doing it in the open), I'm NOT paranoid, and yes, it turns out that I was right to be worried about their motives. The one I was most concerned about has been back to my blog several times, now I know what they were fishing for. I wonder what the other .gov's and such are looking for?

I received a letter from said agency that has shaken me, it has also infuriated me, I don't know what to do for now, all I can say is this is unacceptable, I have done nothing wrong. It's possible that the multiple recent visits to my blog have nothing to do with the letter I received, but I seriously doubt it.

I'll write more about this in the coming days after I find out a bit more information about this development.

I can understand why some of the other blogs I frequent have shut down, when that big thumb is hovering over your head, it can be scary to stand firm and wait for that giant thumb to come down.

For now, I am not planning on shutting this blog down, I have done NOTHING wrong and I will not run away, so if in the future you come back and find this site gone, I can assure you that it was not my wish to do so.

Now, I'm going to try to scrub off the big target that seems to have been painted on me, it might take more hot water and soap than I have right now, I hope I have some skin left when it's all said and done.

Why in the hell can't the powers that be just leave us alone and let us live our lives in peace?

Before you get too concerned about me, I don't think anything is going to happen to me, AS LONG AS I DO NOTHING and let things go, AND stop doing what I was **LEGALLY** doing, my other option is to contest this, meaning I have to prove a negative, I have to prove that I was not doing something illegal, I don't have the money to get a lawyer to look at this, much less contest it. Believe me, the wording in the letter is ominous and menacing at best. From what I have discerned from different places, even if I contest this and win, they can do this to me again and again, as many times as they wish to.

The bureaucratic websites are a major pain to navigate, and IF you can find what you are looking for, one site says one thing, another site says the complete opposite. One site says I CAN do this, another site says I CAN'T do this, which one do I believe?

Dammit! I didn't want this site to become political, that's not what this site is all about.

To those employed by the formerly stated gov type sites who are looking at my blog on YOUR BREAK or downtime AND are merely personally interested in the info on this blog, please visit my blog on your own time on your own computer at HOME, please stop visiting me on your work computers, I have enough gray hairs on my head, I don't want any more because of this, I have nothing against you personally, I welcome all genuinely interested (in off grid living) visitors, OK?

Are there any lawyers or legal professionals out there who would like to look at this for me and tell me if I even have a fighting chance? Apparently this sort of thing has been going on for many years, this has happened to lots of people, and I haven't found one that fought back, all of them, that I read about on line just gave up without as much as a wimper. I just want to know what the law really says about this and what my rights are.

Be watching for more info about this

to be continued...



Wretha

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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Questions About You

I am curious about you, yes you my loyal readers and the one hit wonders who never come back and everyone in between. You have (hopefully) read all about me, now I want to know about you. So tell me who you are, tell me how you found me, tell me where you live (as much as you want to divulge, country, state, city...), are you living off grid now? Do you want to live off grid? Are you doing anything to get where you want to be? What percentage have you gotten toward living the life you want? Copy the following questions and answer what you want to, you are under no obligation to answer every question, just answer the ones you are comfortable answering.

Male or Female

Single, married, kids?

Age (range is fine)

Education

Employment, what do you do?

Hobbies?

Location, country, state, city

How did you find me?

About how long have you been reading my stuff?

Have you been here before?

Are you coming back?

Do you live off grid now?

Do you want to live off grid?

How close are you % to living the way you want to?

If you want to live off grid, what does your family think about this?

Why are you interested in this lifestyle?

What do you want me to know about you?

What are your goals?

If you really want to do this, what is stopping you right now?

Are you actively prepping or not?

Is there anything you would like to know about me that I haven't covered on my blog? I can't guarantee that I'll answer, but ask away. :)

What are your hopes and dreams?

Add anything else you want to here,

*************************************
Thanks so much, I appreciate each and everyone of you who visit my site, I have gotten to know some of you, but most of you remain a mystery to me, and that's ok, as I said, you are under no obligation to answer any of these questions. If you want to reply but don't want everyone else to read it, you can reply via email and I promise to keep it private.

wretha(at)gmail(dot)com


Wretha

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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

What Is Wrong With This Picture? (edit-response added)

OK, so it's not a picture, but you get the idea.

I have attempted to keep this blog non-political, and with a few exceptions I have succeeded, anyone who has followed my blog for any amount of time should figure out that I am a Conservative with Libertarian leanings, leave me alone and I'll leave you alone and all that... But when I saw this

PETA Protests Obama Fly Murder

President Obama's billionth TV interview got a lot of laughs, when he killed a fly in the middle of talking to CNBC this week. But PETA had a few words for the President about it, and advice on how to treat flys better in the future.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1857715/peta_protests_obama_fly_murder.html

My first thoughts were "What the ...?" I think PETA is serious about this, what are they thinking? Perhaps this was all one big publicity stunt, either way, I'm not a fan of PETA, I am not a fan of Obama, I am not a fan of anyone telling me how to live my life, give us some basic rules to live by, let's say something along the 10 Commandments, keep other countries from invading us and leave the rest up to us, We The People.

OK, that is enough political stuff for now.

EDIT
I found a perfect response to this, read it here:
http://smartgirlnation.com/2009/06/22/flies-revolt-swarm-white-house/


Wretha

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Monday, June 22, 2009

Off-Grid Medicine - Horehound

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.



Read the rest of the story here:
http://www.off-grid.net/2009/06/21/off-grid-medicine-horehound/

To read all of my messages on Off-Grid.net, click here:
http://www.off-grid.net/section/wretha/


Wretha

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Food-Recipes-Memories

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.


Read the rest of the story here:
http://www.off-grid.net/2009/06/20/food-recipes-memories/

To read all of my messages on Off-Grid.net, click here:
http://www.off-grid.net/section/wretha/


Wretha

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Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dad's, Pop's and Father's out there!

Oh, and hate to break it to you, but I have the best one of them all! Love you Dad!




Wretha

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Friday, June 19, 2009

Score! Another Harbor Freight Coupon

Here it is, another VALID Harbor Freight coupon, they just sent me one not too long ago, I didn't expect another one this soon, but here it is













Go here
http://www.harborfreight22.com/save/?r=4631_4583
to sign up for your own Harbor Freight coupon and their email newsletter.




Wretha

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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

It's Hot!

In the heat.Image by Andi♥ via Flickr

Holy crap it's hot. Yeah, I know, I live in the high desert, it's supposed to be hot, I have gotten spoiled though, it's usually mild, warmish but as soon as you find some shade it's almost cool. At least at night it gets cool, all but cold. It's been hot inside the sky cabin the last couple of days, the only place that is tolerable is in front of the computer, it's right next to the window and there is usually a breeze, the other place is under the house. I have been working on Mountain Man Bob to fix me up with somewhere to sit or lay down under there, if I had that along with some power for my computer, I'll be a happy camper. At least the humidity is low.

I have also been working on Mountain Man Bob to put in more ventilation on the sky castle, we have lots of windows, but they open from the bottom like most windows, it does nothing for the heat that collects in the ceiling, and it does build up, we need a way to let that heat out.

This is the hottest part of the summer for us, so if we can just get through this part, it will get better. Gotta go shampoo my hair, it's a work day for me, if you can call what I do at the country store work, sitting on the porch talking to my favorite locals... ;)




Wretha

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Monday, June 15, 2009

Brain Game

This is something fun I found on YouTube, I wrote about it on my other blog, check it out, it's a fun brain game, and you just may learn something about yourself.

http://thingsthatgobumpinthenights.blogspot.com/2009/06/brain-game.html


Warning before you visit my other blog, you just might learn something about me that you didn't know, some of you may say OH Yeah! Some of you might say WTF? Hehehehe. It's just the other part of my life, no more or less real than this part of my life, if you think I'm nuts after scanning through that blog, some might think I'm nuts for pooping in a bucket and living off grid too. ;)

Wretha

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Feedjit-yet again

Each time I think I have that darned Feedjit licked, I run across another blog that uses it and there it is, listing my town name AGAIN! OK, so it seems that just blocking the cookies doesn't do it, I'm not giving up, my privacy is worth more than that to me.

I did more searches about blocking Feedjit hoping to find something new (besides my posts), and I found a little gem on Feedjit's own website, it seems that Feedjit users were having trouble getting Feedjit to show on their site if they used a particular ad blocker, and Feedjit was even kind enough to include the URL for this particular ad blocker. Here it is:

http://adblockplus.org/en/

This is an ad-on specific to Firefox, install it and tell it you want to block Feedjit by going to a site that uses Feedjit, rightclick on Feedjit and block it, or you can add the Feedjit URL directly into the filter in the tools tab on the top of the browser. The nice thing about this addon is it only blocks what you tell it to block, it doesn't block everything willynilly.

Unfortunately this will not work with IE, I haven't found an addon for IE that I like, if you know of one, please let me know here.

Wretha

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Friday, June 12, 2009

How To Block Feedjit - Final Edition-UPDATE

OK, when I wrote the post about blocking Feedjit, I was on my neighbor's computer, this morning I blocked Feedjit on my computer, I went to a site that uses Feedjit and sure enough it did not show my visit, but at the top it still showed my town name, GRRRR! The good news is, I believe that only shows on my computer, not on anyone elses, but that still wasn't good enough, but with a bit more digging, I figured out how to COMPLETELY prevent Feedjit from working, period, no matter if you are using Firefox or Internet Explorer.

Firefox users, click on
Tools
.....Options
.........Privacy
.............(cookie) Exceptions
In the box, type in the website you wish to block and click "block", here is the list of everything I added:
feedjit
feedjit.com
http://feedjit.com
*feedjit.com
*.feedjit.com

That might be overkill, but I didn't want any version of their site to get through.

Next I use an addon called NoScript, you can find it here
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722
Besides being great for a multitude of things, you can tell it to always block certain sites, I went to the feedjit.com site, I clicked on the NoScript icon on my page and told it to block feedjit.com, next I told it that feedjit.com is an untrusted site. Now anytime I go to a website that uses the feedjit widget, their widget doesn't even appear on the page, it never loads, therefore it never shows anything about me!

I just found an even simplier Firefox addon called YesScript
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4922
If you want to use that instead of NoScript, then use it, I prefer NoScript, but YesScript may be easier to use.

**************************

IE users, go to feedjit's website, then on your browser click on

Tools
.....Internet Options
..........Security
...............Restricted Sites
....................Sites

In the box, make sure it shows the feedjit website, if it doesn't, be sure to type it in, then click "add". You should see *.feedjit.com and http://*.feedjit.com, if you don't, type it in manully and click "add". Now when you go to any site that uses the feedjit widget, it will not even load, therefore it should never show you as a visitor.

If you are using any other browser, I can't give you detailed help, but there should be a way to block specific websites in the options.

Take THAT Feedjit!


Wretha

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Thursday, June 11, 2009

More “As Seen On TV”

The other day I was talking to a friend and we touched on the subject of the Pump-n-Seal gadget, I have had mine for a while, but I must admit that I haven’t been using it as much as I should. So I pulled it out and waited for an opportunity to use it. I didn’t have to wait long. Yesterday, I was cutting up an apple and only ate half of it, I needed a way to store the other half. You know what happens to apples, without chemical intervention (an acid, lemon juice, vitamin C…), apples quickly begin to turn brown, they oxidize.


Read the rest of the story here:
http://www.off-grid.net/2009/06/09/more-as-seen-on-tv/

To read all of my messages on Off-Grid.net, click here:
http://www.off-grid.net/section/wretha/


Wretha

Thanks for visiting, Please leave all comments on the Off-Grid site or the EarthPower site instead of here, thanks!
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Updates And The New Shed

Here’s an update on what has been going on with us. Things have been going pretty well, we have been living here, 100% off grid for a year and a half. We have fallen into a regular routine, I cook, clean, garden, work at the Country Store and other miscellaneous things, Mountain Man Bob works on the sky castle and the various things that make our lives better and easier. We have gone from living in a 1 room cabin, with 2 out of the 4 walls being 2 layers of building plastic, with no heat or running water, actually we slept in a tent inside the cabin because the cabin would not keep out insects. When we first got here, it was December, and it was cooooold! I know it got down to at least 14 degrees F, overnight, with the winds blowing a gale, we didn’t have our wood stove installed yet, we put all of our canned goods inside the tent in hopes that our body heat would keep the cans from freezing. We have come a long way baby!


Read the rest of the story here:
http://www.off-grid.net/2009/06/06/updates-and-the-new-shed/

To read all of my messages on Off-Grid.net, click here:
http://www.off-grid.net/section/wretha/



Wretha

Thanks for visiting, Please leave all comments on the Off-Grid site or the EarthPower site instead of here, thanks!
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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

How To Block Feedjit - Final Edition

If you have been following this blog, you know how I feel about Feedjit, I have been looking for a way to block Feedjit from seeing my browser. I have now found a way to block it and keep it from seeing my browser, even when I visit a new site that uses Feedjit.

Actually Feedjit is a good concept for most people, on both sides of the browser, the way Feedjit works is it shows your visitors, in real time, where they reside (which is my personal pet peeve), where they came from (to get to your site). My problem and many other peoples' problems with Feedjit is the fact that it displays your town name. Some people get a kick out of seeing their town name displayed on another person's website. But some people don't like it, especially if you live in a small town.

Feedjit did realize that not everyone enjoys seeing their town name plastered on every site that uses Feedjit, so they did make an attempt to protect your privacy, you CAN tell Feedjit to ignore your browser, the problem is, you have to do it AFTER you have visited the site and your town name is still showing on the list until it rolls off, and if you clear your cookies then you have to do it all over again. You have to do it for EVERY site you visit that uses Feedjit, and if you go to a new site that uses it, it will still show your location until you tell it not to...

I contacted Feedjit and explained the issue and asked if there was a way to prevent any site that uses Feedjit from seeing your browser BEFORE the fact, they never replied. So I found another way to trick Feedjit into not showing YOUR location, you go into Feedjit and tell it that you live in a different location, unfortunately you can't make up a name, fortunately there are some pretty creative town names out there to choose from. Until now, I had choses a name that expressed my opinion of Feedjit, you can read about it here. The only problem I had about doing this was I felt bad when I visited a nice, child friendly site and my "location" appeared on their blog until it rolled off the screen.

So now, I found a way to block Feedjit from showing my location, either my real location or my "alternative" location, and it's so simple I can't believe I didn't figure it out before.

Just go into your browser settings, find the place where you control cookies, and tell your browser to block feedjit.com, after I did this, I searched for cookies that contain the name Feedjit and I deleted them. Now when I go to a website that uses Feedjit, it shows my visit, BUT it doesn't show my LOCATION, it merely says I'm from the United States, it does show my browser and OS and how I got to that site. I don't mind that information being public, just DON'T SHOW MY TOWN NAME!

Why is that a problem for me? It's simple, I live in a very, VERY tiny town, I also blog about my off grid life, many people are reading about my life, I also list a lot of like minded sites on my blog that I visit on a daily basis, I frequently comment on these blogs. On my blog, I am very discrete about my exact location, I do not list any town names or anything that would pinpoint where I live. A dedicated stalker (and yes, they do exist) in theory, could figure out where I live by doing a bit of research, I will not say how this could be done for the same reasons it's not good to tell people how to build a bomb, some idiot would actually try it. So, no, I don't want my town name plastered on the sites where I visit. Now I know how to remedy the situation, and I hope this helps other people too.

Wretha

Thanks for visiting!
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Saturday, June 6, 2009

Looking for a Harbor Freight coupon?

Holy crap, is everyone in the world looking for Harbor Freight coupons? It sure seems that way, not too long ago, the biggest reason people found this blog was because they were looking for some way to make a DIY water filter, now it seems that everyone and their dog is looking for a HF coupon.

Sorry to disappoint, but the coupon you are looking for (and found through the search engine) has expired, you can try this though http://www.harborfreightusa.com/html/usa_cpnsave.html
Perhaps that will scratch your HF coupon itch. :)

Oh, good news, maybe, I found another Harbor Freight coupon, this one doesn't have an expiration date that I can see, so maybe this one will really scratch your HF coupon itch.










Let me know if this works, or not.

UPDATE:
I have been informed that this coupon is no longer accepted by HF, bummer... I got this email from one of my readers, thanks!

Pisano Insurance


Jun 13

Nope .. they don't take the coupon. They said they got an email from HO a few months ago telling them to stop taking it. But they did have sympathy on me when they turned it down and gave me a 15% coupon off the item I was hunting..Thanks again.
Charles

Pisano Insurance Agency
P.O. Box 1389
Jensen Beach, Fla 34958
ph@ 772-337-5472

Even though the coupon is defunct, it seems that Charles was still given a discount, so give it a try, the worst that can happen is nothing, perhaps you will get lucky like Charles and walk out with another discount. :)

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If this is your first visit, I am glad you are here, feel free to look around, this blog is all about my life as lived 100% off grid, this journey started about a year and a half ago and we are still going strong. Our lives are pretty simple, we live in a small sky castle (I used to call it a cabin, but Mountain Man Bob doesn't like me calling our abode a cabin, plus it's gotten a bit bigger from when we first started, so I had to change the name), we live in the sky castle, on the side of a mountain, in the high desert of far west Texas. and yes, Texas does have mountains, just barely, we are at about 5750 feet (according to Google Earth). It's high enough to make your ears pop and make it harder to breathe when walking around. ;)

Leave me a comment and let me know if HF accepts this coupon or not.






Wretha

Thanks for visiting!
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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Bittersweet Sunrise

Ahhh, if only I had a camera that would/could capture the beautiful colors I am seeing right now. I am usually sleeping at this time, I am not a morning person, really never have been, I am very much a night owl. I awoke sometime during the night and couldn’t go back to sleep. I didn’t do a marathon session on the computer yesterday or last night because of the rain we have been having, it has really put a damper on the solar panels, so not much power=not much computer time. Oh well, it’s OK, I have found other ways to entertain myself...


Read the rest of the story here:
http://www.off-grid.net/2009/06/02/bittersweet-sunrise/

To read all of my messages on Off-Grid.net, click here:
http://www.off-grid.net/section/wretha/

To read all of my messages on Earth Power News, click here:
http://www.earthpowernews.com/

Wretha

Thanks for visiting, Please leave all comments on the Off-Grid site or the EarthPower site instead of here, thanks!
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