While working on a small solar project one of the things that I am trying to decide is whether I want the connections to be Anderson powerpole or wire terminal. The acceptable usage and history certainly shows I can not go wrong with the wire terminal. The reality is I believe that it might be better to use the Anderson powerpole.

For those that are not familiar with the Anderson powerpole they have gained popularity in the ham radio community and radio controlled vehicle market. They also can handle a lot more power than what I would be using them for. One of the stumbling blocks is that I have some blade type of connections already on some of the equipment. If I go with the powerpole connectors then I would have to have a transition point.

The ability to use the standard ring and blade connectors would ensure that I minimize the transition points. That can be a good thing. In this case the external connections would all be the traditional 12 volt cigarette type plug we are all familiar with. That should limit any disconnection events that the traditional connections can suffer.

In this case I am torn between the powerpole or wire terminal connection. I would appreciate any input any of my readers may have. I do not have a deep applied knowledge of the powerpole so it may be possible that I am missing something in the powerpole or wire terminal comparison. Please add your comment below so we can all learn.

A fairly amazing set of pictures shows that it can be a diverse plot but pictures can tell a story. There are many different data points that can be taken. This was a pretty diverse grouping of data, but it shows some interesting trends.

As usual the population of the United States shows where the groups are. That can be good during good times, however during troubled times it can also be a very negative thing. Imagine all those people looking for food.

What kind of data points would you like to see? I found it a little bizarre to focus on Domino’s Pizza. It would be fairly interesting to see the travel routes for the average consumers grocery purchases if you could accomplish it. I am certain the data points are out there, but it would be hard to assemble.

If you feel led to give to those in aid I hope you consider organizations like Samaritans Purse or UMCOR. They are dedicated to putting boots on the ground in the affected areas and delivering the goods to those in need.

There is some fantastic information. If you are not familiar with permaculture that is a no brainer. That subject alone can lead to a long discussion with anyone that walks the earth.

No matter where you are at in your preparations there is something you can find on that list the will improve your knowledge and skill set.

The general consensus is IRS and Obamcare is a poor union. I think the only people that may have thought it was good were the employees of the IRS. We know what they have been up to of late. Even though almost no one wanted them involved in health care our dimwits in Washington passed it anyway. I thought the great Mr. Bracken summed it up perfect with the following picture.

That sums it up pretty simply for me. Who ever wanted them together is absolutely nuts. Please fix it as the IRS and Obamacare is a poor union. We all know it and the shenanigans of the IRS prove it!

Given the almost daily admission this week by the Federal government how they have abused and trampled on our freedoms perhaps it a second look is needed after recent government admissions. I had seen this article questioning the existence of private contractors. Given what they are actually admitting perhaps more work needs to be done on this situation. Given the atrocities that they routinely pull off it should not come as any surprise to some people.

Anyone that does not think twice about the possibility has not heard about Operation Fast and Furious. There are not many people that would believe the Jack Boots aka BATF would try and funnel guns to Mexico and not have dire consequences. The reality is the trust was abused, tax dollars were misused, and people died at the hands of the BATF.

What really needs to be asked is what was the goal of Operation Fast and Furious? There is little doubt that if a bureaucrat felt that was OK then perhaps a little gunpowder and some pressure cookers would be acceptable to further their agenda. That is a scary thought but one that has some basis.

The reality is that if you are a government employee whose sole job is the regulation of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms you might not like that the latter in that job is not as controlled as the first two. Perhaps you would be willing to try some unconventional things too tighten the noose.

We certainly need a cleansing of the lifers in the government employ as the upper echelon has shown some poor judgment given these recent government admissions. The optimist in me sincerely hopes that these were not orchestrated by Federal employees, but the reality is we need to cut the head off the Federal government and it needs to start with clearing the lifers out.

There are very real reasons to prepare and this article reminds me that the breadbasket of the Confederacy is still ready today. This was a reporters article after talking to several people that were prepared in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. That area was the lifeline and Stonewall Jackson did his level best to keep it providing for the Confederate cause.
This article and the preppers that were highlighted show that even in today’s time that the breadbasket of the Confederacy is still ready to serve that need again today. If something happens there will be people that are prepared. This was the norm back then and many people in that area have never forgotten that.

No matter where you go in the Shenandoah Valley if you listen to the people you will see many of the traits from the past in today’s citizens. They are ready and able to provide now and the majority of them are going to have the minimum needed to outlast a small event. The breadbasket of the Confederacy provided for the citizens back in the 1860′s and they are ready if the call is heard again.

The advent of light emitting diodes or LED’s were guaranteed to spur innovation and now is seems kinetic power generates lighting. This could be a revolutionary thing if the price can be brought to a reasonable level. The article is out about Danielle Trofe’s revolutionary design showing the kinetic power of sand generating power for light. I am very interested in this for a couple of reasons.

The low amount of power that an LED needs to make light can lead to amazing things, but this will need to be seen to make a believer. This has a long lasting impact no matter where you want to deploy. If it would produce enough light it can be used here to reduce the amount of power. It also would allow those who do not have access to power to generate lighting with very little effort.

The effort that goes behind this design is no doubt amazing. It caused me to think about Thomas Jefferson and his seven day clock. Now with this technology he could have a seven day light. That would truly mystify even Thomas Edison who most credit as the inventor of record for the incandescent light bulb. This is truly a time of great change in the lighting industry that has not been seen since that time.

I will certainly be looking forward to learning more about Danielle Trofe’s design to see if it meets the hype. The reality is that if kinetic power generates lighting in a small desktop environment than the world has indeed entered a new time period. What things can you envision it to be used for? Please leave a comment below and let us know.

I was reading a fantastic article, which was Ham Radio Freedom by David Hathaway, and it brought up many great points that I never thought of. There is no doubt that Ham Radio operators can be tracked and I have seen some pretty cheap equipment that can be used to do it. It still takes people to actually locate the operator.

There is a reason that it is harder to track a Ham Radio operator. It truly is the last frontier of communication freedom that has a chance to reach out and touch someone. There is no doubt some very powerful encryption software that will lock down your message and be sent around the world very quickly.

No matter how quickly the message gets there as I have taught my boys effective communication means the other side has to get the message and understand it. We have seen events in Iran, Egypt, and Syria where the internet was killed to quash resistance. Do not think for one second they do not have a kill switch here.

If you know they have a kill switch how many have the skills to still get out there. There are dedicated Ham operators that practice everyday their communication skills. From their shack to almost any part of the world they ply their trade.

I would highly recommend reading Ham Radio Freedom by David Hathaway as he does a great job explaining how easy it is to reach out and touch the world with ham equipment.

In what can only be filed under proof positive that the United States has lost the way. I was reading how two boys in second grade were suspended for using pencils as weapons. Now to give even a deeper understanding this happened not far from of the largest Naval bases in the world. Evidently one of the boys Fathers is a retired Marine.

The boys were playing Marine and bad guy in the classroom and making shooting noises with their pencils. Completely understandable given the pride in a boy’s Father. There certainly was a better time to be playing guns though. I will give the children credit as it is reported that when the teacher said something they immediately stopped.

So really what the problem is that we have two normal boys that were misbehaving in class and immediately stopped when reminded by the teacher. The proof that we the United States has lost the way is how the school system responded. They seemed to believe that the boys brought too much violence into the classroom.

They further believe that boys do not play cops and robbers anymore and instead the children cringe in fear waiting for a drive by shooting or a school shooting. I guess I am never around normal boys that age. The ones that I see are playing cops and robbers and shooting things.

Have we really come that far that a make believe gun and noises traumatizes someone? That is a sad fact and shows that a nation of riflemen has descended so far. I for one am glad to still see boys playing the innocent games and I hope they will continue. I will make sure that I give it my best to bring the boys up the old school ways.