Self-Reliant Living Newsletters
The following newsletters may present controversial subjects. This was a different point in my life, and my opinions may have changed, since then. However, I have kept these newsletters pure, to portray this particular time in my life. The opinions expressed herein may not be those of the webmaster, and may not be those of businesses participating on this web site.
Self Reliant Living Newsletters
2002 (Continued)
Living on $9000 a year
1st Quarter 2002
Chicks and Balances
Hello everybody! This month, the main focus of this newsletter will be raising your own chicks and the psychological effects of making a transition from living in a dependent society to becoming self-reliant. Most of my newsletters are light hearted, positive and flip. However, no matter how much we want life to be happy and easy, it does not always work out that way. So after a few laughs here at the beginning, read on for some of the emotional challenges of overcoming the addiction to dependency on "the system".
Support NEPA Businesses That:
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W e b M a r k e t i n g @ S u s t a i n a b l e P A . c o m OR ( 5 7 0 ) 3 1 3 - 8 6 9 5
Me: My name is... my policy ... is, I need to place a claim. My jeep was hit by a cow.
Rep: So, miss, where did you hit the cow?
Me: I did not hit a cow. The cow ran into me.
Rep: Sounds like you are trying to get out of being held responsible for the dent.
Me: No, I swear, the cow, running wildly, slammed into my jeep, which was stopped at the time...
Greetings from the land where gigantic potholes in the road are made by prairie dogs and jack rabbits. Honest, Mr. Insurance agent, I hit a prairie dog hole and it trashed my control arm and front suspension! OR Honest, Mr. Insurance Agent, I went into a slide when I hit a big pile of s___ in the road!
I hope our newest newsletter finds you all feeling a bit better, recharged and hopeful with the promise of a new year.
Pair of Rio Grande Turkey Chicks - My husband did not know I was going to get these, I told him they were mystery chicks. However, I was so excited that I could not keep the secret. We didn't know the sex, at first, but after just 2 weeks, the little things were doing these elaborate dances, that have lead me to believe that we do indeed have a breeding pair!
Australorp Chicks - These are an Australian strain of Buff Orpington. They are an excellent all around bird that is large, good egg layer, good brooder (will hatch and care for chicks), cold hearty and good eating. They are solid black as adults, and large as far as chickens go. I think we lucked out here also. I picked unsexed chicks randomly, and I think I came out with more than half of my 25 being hens! I just picked the chicks that seemed to be most active, and eating best.
Chinese Weeder Geese - Named Wallace and Wendolin (from Nick Parks' Wallace & Gromit - A Close Shave) . These geese are wonderful pets. They imprinted on us, and follow us everywhere. They go crazy when we come home, and want to be in our laps and be cuddled! Chinese Geese are supposed to make excellent, loyal watch dogs. They also will pull weeds from your garden. We purchased a male and female, so they have companionship, and can make babies, although this is not the reason we bought them. Caution to parents wanting to buy a cute pet for your children: Geese are VERY messy, their poop, splashing etc.
Brooding Hell
It is very difficult trying to maintain a constant warm temperature for chicks, when we do not have electricity and a regulating thermostat. I have had to spend a lot of time at home, especially on windy cold days, to be sure the temperature in the house was regulated properly using the propane heater, fireplace, and a home made Rubbermaid brooder heater. We piped ductwork through the top of the Rubbermaid's, and heated the ductwork with an oil lamp. Still, no thermostat. That worked while they were small enough to stay away from the duct work, but we had to dismantle it when they got old enough to jump or touch the very hot duct work. They were not smart, and did not learn when they burnt themselves.
In conclusion, either the chickens brood their own chicks, or we have to have electric brooders set up in an outside room.
Also, be sure to read up on brooding chicks, if you decide to do so. Even the shop that I bought them from, and feed shops, did not give me all accurate information that could have led to the demise of my chicks.
Finding Balance
Chicks
Chickens
Turkey
Brooding
Geese
Stress
Overwhelmed
Finding Balance
We have been through a lot the past 12 years of marriage. Much of this time has been spent weaning ourselves from the cities, high paying jobs, and general societal dependency.
It seems that self-reliance and independence includes three major components: Material, Financial and Balanced Lifestyle.
1) We went through the material phase, it was not easy, but I think we were better prepared for it than most people, since we had been living out of an RV and had to get rid of a lot of "stuff" to do so. We made the mental and emotional adjustment to having and wanting less. We realized that there was a big difference between "want" and "need" and now have a fairly well developed sense of what is essential and what is not. This is the first major step to being self-reliant and a minimalist. Other spots on the web site, I have a saying:
"I don't believe in buying many unnecessary things, because then, you have to increase income and many times that leads to increasing dependence on someone or something!"
Do you know what the Latin origins of the words "to employ" means? "To own". Nuff said.
2) The financial adjustment starts with cutting back on unnecessary items, and then paying off money owed. If you have less, and need less, you don't need to be so dependent on a the high paying job for everything. Pay off all credit, owe no one, and don't get into any more debt. This is a huge step for a lot of people, especially where a mortgage is involved.
3) After you have less, need less, and pay off the debt, one needs to find balance in this new lifestyle that is not always compatible with societies expectations or even our families expectations.
We are building our house with cash, no loan. So, we started out in a tent, cave, back of the truck, etc. while we were building our initial shelter. Our first enclosed shelter is a 20' diameter yurt style home. Good thing it is just my husband and me, we just barely fit all our appliances and essentials into it. However, it has all the necessities, including heat, and it is paid for. Building a house by yourself, for cash, is very difficult, hard labor. I lost 20 lbs in one month, and was eating more than normal. It is very time consuming, and requires many hours a day of work, in additional to normal chores and job.
So, 6 months later, I start my own Internet business. Well, it is going pretty well. Initially, the business required 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. So I neglected the house, and went for the business. Teeter-Tooter, the balance switches.
So, I live in a 20' diameter house, and also run an entire business out of it, file cabinets, computer networks, etc. A bit tight, and I started to get cabin fever, and get out of physical shape, gained back the 20 lbs. Teeter, Tooter...
After September 11, and the threat of global economic problems, bio-terrorism, mad-cow, etc., we decided we needed to spend more time on the house and starting a farm.
Well, as you can see from the beginning of the newsletter, we acquired 29 chicks. We also have 5 cats, 3 outside, 2 inside, all in a 20' diameter house. I clean all the chicks brooders, 3 times a day, run my own business, travel for my business and work on the house. Since the cats are angry about the chick invasion, they have been going out of their way to rebel and make an extra big mess. After dumping the contents of their entire litter box all over the kitchen floor this morning, I thought I was going to loose control. This concerns me, because normally I am a low keyed person, easy going. But I have been feeling like I am going to freak out lately...
Mind, body, spirit, house, personal space, home business, farming, security issues and other things. How do I juggle and balance all of this?
It was today I realized, that self- reliance is more than just financial preparation. We have adjusted to the financial preparation for many years now. It was material withdrawal, like drug withdrawal. After dealing with financial concerns, which a lot of this web site does, there is the emotional balance. I have not seen any books addressing this aspect of withdrawal from a dependent system.
I feel overwhelmed, out of control, confused, and unbalanced in mind, body, spirit, house, personal space, business and self-reliant farming. Yes, I have many good things that I did not have before, but I have to do a life re-balancing act. I think some of it is my feelings about 9/11 and current world events: they are not getting any better, and will probably get worse. We need to be prepared. I am sure people can give me all kinds of advice, but how do you choose which is the greatest priority?
Food
Shelter
Business/Money
Security
Health
So, we have just been working from 5:00a.m. to 10:00p.m. 7 days a week on all of it. I guess my business suffers most, because it requires me to be out on the road to earn money. I cannot do this more than 1 or 2 days a week. It certainly won't kill the business, but it is not helping it grow as quickly as I would like, either.
I try to address my health and home by working on the house for several hours in the morning, as part of a work out routine. This seems to work well, but I still have a lot of conflicts with time devoted to my business. Just a few days ago, I rekindled an old back injury, and now I won't be able to do much physical labor for a while.
In order for us to have our chick, food, and farm, we must also make our property more secure from trespassers and wildlife that could harm our livestock. This is another major project in addition to our building an extension on the house for chickens, storage and more.
It is a lot for 2 people. Fortunately, tomorrow, I am taking a day off. A client of mine is a professional fly-fishing outfitter, and he is taking me fishing. He said we can go for the whole day. I really need lessons, I'm not very good. I guess one could say that this day "off" is also a contribution to our self-reliant living lifestyle, providing food for ourselves. For now, though, I just need the relaxing time away, lower the hypertension, the stress, and be balanced, even if just for one day. (By the way, I had a great time on the fly fishing trip. The guide was excellent, professional, and caught a brown trout on his first cast of the day!)
In conclusion: We have taken on several monumental tasks at one time. It would have been nice, if we could have just built the house, then started the business, then started the small scale farm. Instead, we are working on the toughest part of getting all of these three things going, all at the same time. Our backs are a little stiffer, injuries and strains don't heal as quickly at 40, as they did 20 years ago. My recommendation is to try to take things, one step at a time, one day at a time. And if you have to do it all at once, at least now you can reflect back on this text and know that your feelings are probably pretty normal in your circumstances.
Newsletter 2nd Quarter 2002
Well, Excuse Me!
I hope you all still remember Steve Martin...
I have been holding back, but I am going to have a mini manifesto today. I try not to have too many manifestos, but this one has to come out...
Walking through rural, small town USA, Wal-mart, one of the stock clerks pushes me out of the way, saying "Excuse me". Next a lady with a shopping cart, forces herself out in front of me saying "Excuse me." Even when I have the valid "right of way" people always seem to be pushing me out of the way, bumping into me, forcing me over to the side, or stopping dead in front of me. Of course, they don't ask for permission, they blast through with a rude "Excuse me."
ex·cuse
Pronunciation
Key (x-skuse)
tr.v. ex·cused, ex·cus·ing, ex·cus·es
-
- To explain (a fault or an offense) in the hope of being forgiven or understood: He arrived late and excused his tardiness in a flimsy manner.
- To apologize for (oneself) for an act that could cause offense: She excused herself for being late.
The above definition was what I learned in school and when I was young. Generally, I believe that and excuse me or forgive me is best issued in cases where no deliberate offense was meant. I would like to declare yet another meaning, more valid for todays' excus-ees.
-
- Exclamation to force people out of ones way, without being punched back: She exclaimed "Excuse Me!" while pushing through the checkout line. (Translation: "Get the hell out of my way!")
- To apologize for (oneself) for an act that will knowingly and deliberately inconvenience others: She excused herself for deliberately knocking someone down, so that she may continue to be rude without paying the penalty for such behavior. or "Excuse Me."
Next time someone deliberately pushes, shoves, cuts you off, or whatever and blankly smiles and says "Excuse me..." take a minute to translate what the person is really saying, "Get the hell out of my way."
The preceding message is simply meant to bring a point to the forefront. It in no way is implying that you should develop "excuse me" Wal-mart shopping cart rage or punch any one.
Psychology of Killing Your Own Food
(Caution: This part could be disturbing to some people.)
Well, like a lot of folks out there, I lived most of my life thinking that meat came from the grocery store, nice and cut up, no blood, no personality, no big brown eyes...
Yes, I eat meat. No, I am not willing to become a vegetarian. I am one of those people who must eat meat, to regulate blood sugar problems. Yes, meat is expensive. Yes, meat has bacteria, hormones, antibiotics, Oreo cookies, and who knows what else.
So, as you may have already read in our last newsletter, we bought chickens, turkeys, and geese, for eggs and meat. They are not yet old enough for either purpose. But, the day still looms where we must take that first step and kill something.
I have killed, and will kill again, food that is. I have been fishing. One day, we were fishing and when unhooking a trout, it began to bleed profusely. I figured, no sense in throwing a dying fish back. Since it would die anyway, I was a little more at peace with the decision. I have heard all kinds of ways to kill fish. Some, I refuse to do, like gutting them alive, it is too much like "Braveheart". So, I put the fish deep in the ice in an ice bucket, and closed the lid. I did not watch it die. I figured, slowly freezing to death, would be the least painful way to die.
Since I did not watch it die, and it was the least painful death I could imagine, and it was a simple fish, I could do it. It was very difficult, still, the first time. We caught a lot of fish that day, and threw most of them back. However, when we had a hard time with dislodging hooks, we threw them in the ice.
I let my husband behead and gut them when we got home. I did not watch. However, I wrapped them in foil, with butter and salt tucked inside, and cooked them on the grill. I have never had trout that was so delicious! Thus, the guilt disappears a little more.
The next time we went fishing, it was a lot easier to throw the fish in the ice bucket. I started looking at how "chunky" they were, before putting them on ice. I kept some big ones, because they were big, not because they were wounded. My husband beheaded and gutted them again at home, this time I watched a bit. I could not wait to taste our grilled meal, that we had provided for ourselves.
I had to do all of this a little at a time, to work up to doing in the chickens. My husband is ready to do it, and I guess I kind of am. The nastiest roosters will go first, with the roosters that have malformed toes. I can do that, fairly easily. I don't like the ones with the toe problems. I don't want them breeding with my healthy hens.
Eventually, we will get down to killing roosters with pleasant dispositions and beautiful toes. Hopefully by then, we will have gradually worked our selves up to doing the food thing without a lot of remorse.
Some of you are probably laughing at me, calling me a "wimp". Others may be disgusted and wonder, "how can she do something like that?"
Remember this, I write these articles, for others like ourselves, that want to be as self-reliant as possible. It is not all easy, and there are a lot of psychological adjustments that go along with the whole self-sufficiency thing. I share this information, in hopes that others out there will be able to relate, and not feel alone with their feelings of guilt or doubtfulness about killing their own food.
I subscribe to Native American philosophy when emotionally dealing with the whole food "death" thing. Native Americans believe that all the creatures of the Earth have value, and are their brothers, not sub-life forms. Therefore, all beings are subject to respect. Just as the lion must eat the rabbit, the lion is very grateful to the rabbit, for giving its life, so that the lion may continue to live. Therefore, when we kill our food, we thank the trout for giving its life, so that we may continue to live. We honor the trout. We kill it in the best way we know how. We kill only what we will definitely eat. We do not kill for sport. We try not to waste anything. Scraps go to the cats.
Wilderness Home Self-Defense
We live in a remote area where it can sometimes take a while for help to arrive, after calling the Sheriff or 911. Unfortunately, also, many of the wilderness type criminals we encounter (poachers and drug runners) are related to local law enforcement. We accept that we are on our own, when dealing with criminal intent, in the immediate sense. We must protect ourselves. Therefore, we are armed with a variety of self-defense items, books, and training. We have both lethal and non-lethal weapons, alarms and knowledge.
I have recently learned from the local Game Warden, that the camera can be one of the most important non-lethal weapons against crime, where one is not immediately faced with death.
Pictures, especially instantly available Polaroid or digital blow ups, are very helpful to law enforcement. It makes their job easier. Here's how: Because there are photographs, it is not the criminals word against the Officers word. There is evidence. It is more likely, that the criminals will plead guilty, and pay their fines, without going to court, saving court costs, and adding fine revenue to the County. Additionally, the Officers will probably not have to go to court, where the only way a criminal defense attorney can make their scum bag clients look good, is to make law enforcement, victims and witnesses look bad. That is a load off everyone's mind. There is nothing worse than being a victim of a crime, and facing defamation and psychological rape at the hands of a criminal defense attorney.
Unfortunately, crime is everywhere. You could move out to such a beautiful, pristine, unpopulated place, and have to deal with trespassers, poachers, drug smugglers, etc. However, we learned long ago, scum bags are everywhere, especially isolated places where they think they can more easily get away with their crimes. Just as large cities hide people, so does wilderness. You must accept this inevitability, if you wish to live in a remote area. However, rest assured, encounters with scum bags in the wilderness, is far less frequent than in the city.
Self-Reliant Living Newsletter - 3rd Qtr 2002
The Politics of Rural Living Part 1
So, you want to move out of the big, bad city, and into the country where the air is cleaner, the grass is greener, wide open spaces, no crowds, low crime, friendly people.... Wait.... Stop. Been there, done that.
I continue to live in the country, because I know about the politics of living here. It has been a long, hard haul, through many rural locations throughout the country, over which we have gathered a number of experiences from a number of different places.
Rather than go into individual experiences, I have compiled a list of do's and don'ts when relocating to a rural area.
Do yourself a favor and learn from our experiences and save yourself some headaches. Here are a few guidelines:
1) There are social problems everywhere from the city to the most remote wilderness. Accept it, be aware of it, look for it and then deal with it. Don't let it take you by surprise.
2) There are certain types of individuals you want to stay away from in the city. There are also certain types you want to stay away from in the country. Don't let your guard down, just because you moved to a rural area.
3) Try to avoid homeowners associations that VOTE for the "good of the community", where you are in the minority. In our first house in South Park Colorado, There were only 2 full time family members in our association, out of about 50 owners. Anything a homeowners association votes for in a situation like this, benefits the majority, not the full time minority.
4) Make sure your rural home is on a county maintained road.
5) Be aware that in small communities, everyone knows everyone else, including the police. Try to handle problems with locals diplomatically, by yourself. Only call the police if absolutely necessary.
6) Make fencing one of the first improvements you make for your property. It helps eliminate cow and trespasser problems.
End of The Politics of Rural Living - Part 1. Until next quarter...
***
Killing a Rooster for the first time
Part of reevaluating our situation meant that we were going to reclaim some of the space we had given to our poultry operation. We were cramped in our little 350 sq ft dwelling, and the chickens had more than that to themselves. So, we decided to start eating the roosters, geese, and hold onto the egg laying chickens and maybe the turkeys. This would give us an extra 200 sq ft to spread into, and make the rest of our time more comfortable at the house.
So, I started checking out the rooster population. Daily, I had a struggle with one I called the "Mutant" it had deformed feet and could hardly walk. The other roosters were constantly picking on it and standing on top of it in a corner. I decided to let the Mutant out, so it could be away from the aggression of the others, before it met its fate. Well, when I tried to get it out, the other birds stepped off the top of it, its wings and legs were all sprawled out and twisted at its sides. I'm not sure how it got up and hobbled. But to make things worse, it was not doing well, and had soiled a lot of its feathers with a sickly, smelly, yellow diarrhea. The bird smelled like rot. I gagged just looking at it and smelling it. I could not deal with trying to keep it alive any longer. Nor could I bear the thought of eating the twisted smelly thing. So, I got my .22. Since I would not be eating it, I figured I would shoot it in the chest to kill it. I shoot. It turns around, looks at me, and sits on the ground, looking at me like, "Why did you do that?" So I ask it, "Are you going to die? Well?" I waited a bit and figured if I waited much more it could be suffering. I would have to shoot at the base of the skull, from behind. That did it. After some flutter, it died.
I did not know how to feel. On one hand, I felt like it was a mercy killing. I was okay with that, just call me Ms. Kavorkian, Mutant Chicken Mercy Killer. On the other hand, the mutation really disturbed me and I wanted it out of there. It was very difficult to keep the bird alive. I did not want it making the others sick. I also felt like a Nazi, killing because it was genetically inferior. What had I turned into? What next?
I felt nauseous, went into the house and drank a couple beers. In a weird way, I also felt like my first kill was a right of passage of sorts, but I still don't feel great about it.
***
Becoming a Vegetarian for the first time
Well, soon the time came to start killing the Roosters, to eat them. Wow, organic, home grown chicken meat. What a treat! We set up a kill area. We made a foot loop out of rope, to keep the rooster from escaping the area. Then we had a stake a few feet up in a straw bale. We would shoot the chicken in the back of the head and hang it upside down from the rope and stake to bleed it while it died. Pretty efficient.
Since I had already killed once before, I decided to help my husband. Actually, I laughed a lot at his awkwardness with the situation. How morbid. I watched him kill it, to assure him that the jumping around was normal and that he had done all right. I did not watch him butcher it.
I put it in the pressure cooker, cooked it, but I could not eat it. It was like when I was a kid, and my Mother would force me to eat something detestable (like her mushy meatloaf). I would gag on every mouthful, as I tried to swallow. I could not eat the chicken. It looked good, smelled good, and was probably a whole lot cleaner than the mass marketed ones in the grocery store. But every time I went to put some in my mouth, I saw the chicken hanging upside down by one foot, fluttering, blood gurgling out of the hole in its throat.
I told my husband I could not eat it and he was surprised. The brave, resilient, gun touting, Jeep driving, self-reliant, ass kicking, house building, woman he had married, could not eat her own organic chicken. I guess I reached another of those limits and was not feeling like forcing myself to deal with it.
I very seriously considered becoming a vegetarian. I could eat our eggs well enough. No more meat. Just egg drop soup, hard boiled eggs, deviled eggs, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, etc. I did not want any pork or beef either. However, I was still good with the trout and fish.
I would give it one more shot. Give it a few days. Since my husband can handle the task quite well, I let him pick out, kill and butcher the next bird, with no involvement on my part, except in preparing the cooking pot. Let me see the bird like it looks in the grocery store and cook it up. I was able to eat a little, this way. It also helped when I made a tasty chili chipotle barbecue sauce to douse the chicken in. I can eat it barbecued.
Even though I am back to eating a little meat, I don't know if I will ever be quite the same again. I will be experimenting with a low meat diet, protein from eggs, fish and dairy products.
I hope I did not gross too many of you out, and I hope the rest of you got a good laugh out of all of this. We are always here to share the ups and downs of our self-reliant adventures, so maybe you don't have to learn the way we usually do, the hard way.
Keep the dream alive and best wishes!
Self-Reliant Living Newsletter - 4th Qtr 2002
The Sale of our Self-Reliant Home & Business -- Space Shuttle Columbia
The Sale of our Self-Reliant Home
Well, in December 2002, we sold our home. We listed it in as an EBay Real Estate listing and it sold in the first month it was on EBay, as well as to the first people who came to look at it.
It was a difficult decision to sell such a unique home, in the wilderness, that we had poured so much work into. However, many of the hardships were taking their toll on our sanity and marriage.
When we first decided to move out to the country and be self reliant, we expected, that there would be trade offs. Like, we would not have a lot of modern conveniences and would live far away from everything, but in exchange, we would have fresh air, sunshine, peace, quiet, open space, etc.
However, self-reliant living was more complicated than we anticipated, and soon, the inconveniences began to outweigh the advantages. It is difficult to describe, but I will try. And of course, this is our own personal experience. Other people will experience such inconveniences and events differently than us, perhaps better than us. Who knows?
For a while, just being able to breath and sleep at night, was enough reason to go without a flush toilet, running water, and electric for a while. We both also lived in a very small space, about 320 square feet, for both of us and all our belongings. We kept a lot in storage, and some of it got ruined. Again, it was enough for a while, to breath, but after the first year we starting tripping over each other and each others things a lot. Then, in this same small space, I was starting and running an entire business. I did not even have room for a desk, only for my computer and one small filing cabinet.
Then, there were the rural politics, and our learning curve. Unfortunately, a few bad but powerful local bureaucrats, disliked that I created web sites for small area businesses. They were threatened by my popularity with the local businesses, and were afraid that I would run for office. (Definitely not what I had in mind... I was trying to get away from that sort of crap.) Their warfare was rude, crude and mean. They tried to put me out of business through slander, physical death threats, tried to set me up to get in trouble with the local police and even tried to force me to put them in my Will, so that they would receive my business in the event of my "untimely death". Having my own rural business was supposed to get me away from all the political crap associated with corporate America. Instead, things were worse, since we were outsiders, and the insiders were related to local law enforcement. There was no one we could trust to call.
In the summer of 2001, we thought of selling the house and business. We both felt stretched beyond what we could handle, both living in a remote house that we were still in the process of building, not many modern conveniences, and the political problems I was having with my business. Then came 9/11. We took the house off the market, and reconsidered our position. We were safe from terrorism where we were. Then there were family problems on my side, etc.
The little inconveniences began to build up, without notice, until we both reached our breaking point, and nearly divorced. I felt like I had gone completely insane.
I came to the conclusion, that life has a way of throwing enough curve balls, that it is essential to live as simply and comfortably as possible, so that we have the strength to deal with the curve balls when they come. Our self-reliant living adventure was far too complicated.
This newsletter is not big enough to explain all of the incidents and inconveniences that eventually almost led to disaster for both of our lives. Please check back for our book, which will give detailed insight to the psychology, politics and reality of our rural self-reliant experience. We can tell you things that we did wrong, things we did right, and what we would do next time.
So, yes, we sold the house, sold the business and are "decompressing" in an apartment in the center of the biggest town in the area (pop. 14,000). Our outlooks seem to be improving each day. Each morning, I get up and look forward, with great joy, to my hot shower. All I have to do is turn on the faucet...
I am slowly developing a somewhat different definition of self-reliant living...
***
Tribute to the Crew of STS-107, Columbia and the personnel of Kennedy Space Center.
The Space Program, being a part of the USA Federal Government, is quite a subject of controversy. However, I would like to step beyond politics and controversy, to an often overlooked aspect of the Space Program.
Our country does something that most countries can not do. We send people into space, regularly. We pick our best and brightest, pilots, scientists, doctors, etc., and send them off into orbit, strapped tightly into the biggest, most explosive scientific technological experiment in human history. Beyond politics, the Space Program is science and technology. The Astronauts that sign up for this experience are not signing up for politics. They are in search of science, technology, and a once in a lifetime thrill and experience.
Most people involved in science and technology do so for the good of mankind. It's not like they would discover a new way to grow antibodies in zero-gravity, and keep the method to themselves. They do all that they do to help humanity, both scientifically and technologically.
The Space Program has and continues to develop technologies all the time, that help us in our every day lives. The space shuttle orbiters are the biggest self-reliant living project going. Everything on board has to be filtered, recycled, run from battery storage, maneuvered to utilize the heat of the sun and the cold of space, and more. Many self-reliant living technologies have come out of the Space Program. How about other every day technologies, like that cool pump toothpaste dispenser, no squeezing or squirting toothpaste all over the place? Yes, NASA. How about the new foil and fire resistant insulation they use in NASCAR and regular automobiles as additional heat shielding and protection? NASA. There are thousands of inventions in use, in our daily lives that come from the Space Program.
NASA, since it is a federally funded entity, gives the general public the use its invention patents, so that taxpayers can benefit and start their own businesses using NASA technology. This is called the Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization. Please visit this link, for applications, information etc.
So, we lost some our finest explorers, on board of Columbia, as she burnt up on re-entry. There is controversy as to whether we should be sending live people into space. Maybe we should leave that question to the Astronauts themselves. Let us continue to give them freedom of choice and the freedom to live their lives how they choose. They are grown up, intelligent human beings that are capable of making their own decisions about their lives. I had the privilege of meeting Astronaut and Dr. David Brown, once. The break up of Columbia hit me very hard. I purchased a people magazine the other day, honoring the crew of Columbia. At the end of the article about David Brown, they had a quote from his girlfriend. She had previously asked him, "What if something happens up there?" David's response was, "Well, then I will die, doing something that I love."
It was David's dream and his choice. Dare I say that he was one of the few people that I know who lived the "American Dream"?
Yes, there are other controversies, problems, inefficiencies, etc. But, something must be going all right, if we are the only ones in the world being able to accomplish what we are. I'll be the first to say that things could be changed to be more efficient and effective. But, I am also one of the first persons who very strongly supports the USA being in space. It is not an easy problem to fix, but it is certainly one worth working for and keeping.
Some opponents to the Space Program complain about the tax dollars going into the Space Program. Well, we, the taxpayers, get a lot more out of the Space Program than most of us realize. In addition, lets just say we do away with the Space Program, don't you think the tax dollars "saved" would just disappear and be squandered elsewhere within the Federal Government? You and I, the taxpayers would not see any of it. At least, with the Space Program intact, we all reap the benefits of scientific and technological discoveries and inventions, MANY of which are relevant alternative energy inventions.
Others say that we need to focus more on the war at hand, than on the Columbia tragedy. Well, I welcome the Columbia news, morbid though it can be at times. It is science, it is technology, it is evolution and the future. War, simply sends humanity back into the stone age. I think we can do with less war, and more Space.
I am posting a bunch of great Space links. Please visit them and enjoy. Explore space, the Space Program, Technology Transfer and more, from the convenience of your home and computer. Most of all, let your representatives know that you support YOUR Space Program.
Kennedy Space Center Home Page
Florida Today Newspaper - Current Space Center News
Johnson Space Center Company Store - Cool items!
Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex and Gifts - Launch passes and more!
Space.com - Great information on new technology, experiments, Space news and more.
To Boldly Go...
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