Technology and Society

[checking]

Don't venture near a "black hole". It is the ultimate squeeze play that you seem to be pondering.

[malleefarmer]

one of the biggest growers around these
parts 12 to 15 thousand tonne wheat and
about 4 to 6000 tonne canola didnt until
this harvest have mobile or even
computer, relied on his wife to read
daily faxes and his bank which he is
always in credit to advise him on the
over the counter swaps etc.
massive on farm storage and cash sales
but he finally got a "new fangled mobile
phone" this year
suprisingly only in his mid fifties
pooled grain "pools there for the
kiddies to swim in dad was against them
so was grandpa" lol hes a real
chareacter

[freewheat]

I am a strong believer in self
sufficiency and bucking the techno trend
as many on here know. How many of us
anymore could feed ourselves when things
go south? I figure a precious few. I am
learning "new" old skills like
gardening, hog raising, milk production,
right along with the new technologies
that do nothing to grow, store, and live
off of my own food.

I love this bucking the trend! I am 36
years old, and I am getting a milking
goat (maybe two) soon, to save us about
3000 bucks a year in milk and cheese,
and give us 100 pounds of great meat.
All at a cost of about 20 cents a day
for feed. And the cost of not going away
and spending two weeks in Oahu or las
Vegas. For shame, my kids will have a
goat, chickens, pigs, horses, sheep, and
a garden to learn to take care of, while
their peers, yes even on most farms
today, sit there like zombies staring at
the latest gadget.

Yup, I'm bucking the trend and loving
it. Loving my 2007 flip phone too, my
1993 tractor that is steered with my
arms, and my wrenches.

LOL! Loving it!!!! Loving life. The more
I go "backwards", the more I realize I
have been missing in life. Thankfully my
wife is awesome and "gets it".

The one thing I am missing out on, is I
have no neighbors, no friends who "get
it". They are after more things.
Electronic schtuff that makes you lazy
and non-self sufficient. You can't raise
a hog with a blinking I phone or
whatever they are called nowadays. When
money is worthless, they will have no
clue how to survive. I strive to not be
this way... I will not do this to my
family. I do wish I had a nearby
neighbor who a guy could run ideas by.
But my neighbors do not have the 5
minutes a day to feed and water the
hens. They do have time to curl, to
chase land all over the country, but no
time to grow a bit of food. Sucks to be
them, IMO.

[malleefarmer]

freewheat your wealthier than most in non
monetary terms good onya cobber

[tweaker101]

I often wonder what my Grandpa would think of my life?....would he be amazed or sadened?. We buy most of the food that comes in the house with an ever shrinking amount being produced by us. In his day they were entirely self sufficient and the only thing that caused them any trouble would be mother nature...as it still does today. Freewheat I envy you in doing what you are doing...and I may start to go back to "basics" as my family's life would get better. I think that most of society does spend to much time wasting time on technology...this is hard for me to say as I have spent most of my work life bring technology in many homes. Maybe if everyone would put down the IPhone,IPad,game systems etc they might be suprised that a simple conversation can be had with out texting or internet..

[dirtgirl]

Gotta say that I love the quality of life that technology affords me. All the modern conveniences I have mean that I have more of the valuable resource called time. I use that time to raise my family, generate income, volunteer, and enjoy recreational pursuits.
I think it's fantastic that global food production is so efficient that less than 10% of our income goes to purchasing food. Food is so cheap to buy! If I consider the time it would take me to raise chickens, pigs, goats and a garden I could never justify it. It would be an inefficient use of my time. The only way I could justify it would be to consider it a hobby.
Freewheat - How does your goat save you $3000 a year in milk and cheese? I have three kids and I spend less than $800/yr on milk and cheese. If I spent $3000/yr on milk and cheese I would have to give up every modern convenience I have and do hard physical labour everyday or else my butt would be as broad as a barn!
The best thing about the good old days is that they are good and gone...

[Hopperbin]

Freewheat drinks 1.4 gallons of milk a day. He must have a big family.