I think the key is people being rational. This is where society has its downfall many are not rational currently, I feel this will improve at more people cut themselves off from the programming 💯🐒
The non-aggression principle is so popular because of its simplicity. Homesteading quickly becomes full of dirty details. I wonder if there are some other ideas that also respect self-ownership but are much cleaner than homesteading. Or if there is more to be understood.
By the way what do you think of air and pollution. A river flows locally and a source of pollution can be found. But air is moving (almost) globally and it is almost impossible to find one source of pollution. It is more that everyone pollutes it a little and some people a lot.
Thanks for the insightful commentary. I've been homesteading since 2006. We purchased a farm property of 5.9 acres with well, septic, electric, and plankboard farmhouse built in the 1800's. We had the property deeded as "joint-tenants in entirety". There are 3 parties named, with my wife and I as one, my daughter as one, and an unrelated individual as the third owner. There is no geographical division of property, all owners own the entire property, and in the event of death the remaining owners continue to own the property in its entirety. This avoids the probate threat and also shelters each individual from bankruptcy proceedings threat possibly arising from other owners. As each owner owns the property in its entirety there can be no valid claim against the deed implemented by external force.
We as individuals equally split all expense per capital improvements and agree or reject these improvements unanimously. Each individual is free to bring whatever they are good at to the table and no entitlement mentality of expectations for others' time and interest is entertained. Taxes are split 3 ways as well. One owner built a cabin on a skid which qualifies it as a non-capital improvement and shipping containers are also not capital improvements. One owner has heavy equipment and with bucket loader, excavator etc built driveways etc. We shared whatever portion of labor we wanted to collectively gut lathe and plaster, build insulated walls, replace electrical service, complete rewire and replumb, install wood stove and the list goes on forever. We've got a 60ft x 110ft garden with fence built from treated lumber 4x4 posts 7 and one half feet tall. We bought a 1948 Case VAC tractor and a single furl plow, a wagon and set of drags. The chickens are completely free range no fences to keep them off the neighboring farms and like minded country folk get along here just fine. The work we do is as individual as we each are and on some things some of us have bragging rights. We got pride and work hard like we should. It's all voluntaryism.
I don't know of anyone 'round here that took possession of vacant land to homestead but our experiences in purchase and teamwork has been successful. In my opinion a commitment to no entitlement mentality and being sure to get pre-purchase agreements is absolutely essential.
59 years under my belt rolling with the punches has culminated in a diverse set of skills. Homesteading provides (requires?) constant review and expansion of skills which is facilitated so much by the internet. For instance one piece of heavy machinery, a diesel John Deere Track Loader we were using to push over 40 foot trees on a hillside was experiencing stall-outs where it couldn't be restarted. Removing and clearing fuel lines wasn't helping and so we were interrupted a day or so while I researched the symptoms online. It turned out there was a diaphragm in the fuel pump that had a reputation of disintegrating. It was known by some in the business that the pump would operate without it for possible years before terminal failure. We followed recommendations for removal of the diaphragm and it's been running still for years. We completed clearing the hillside of the pines by pushing them over and pulling them up with stump intact. We then stacked them atop each other creating a barrier along the game land access road that bordered our property. This provided a barrier against the junkie thieves known to be casing area farms stealing lawn tractors and anything else they could load out. We left deer crossing openings in strategic areas where view by folks in cars/trucks wouldn't reveal equipment or evidence of our presence on the property. This also enhanced the land as animal habitat for bear, turkey etc that are sensitive to the folks that would habitually stop and harass the wildlife.
Contrary to political opinion when the 600+ acres of farm land was purchased from private ownership using state land acquisition funds and set aside as "state game lands" the wildlife was relegated to constant abuse. The status quo now finds frequent patrol by state and county law enforcement attempting to curb meth trafficking, garbage dumping by townies, and a constant nuisance of townies whom are inclined to drive their car to the side of a spring fed pond and sink to the frame in mud. Of course then they need to be rescued and after so many years of increasing frequency of these events, the state passed regulations to ban any travel off the main dirt road. Worse yet they installed a big iron gate across the main road banning any motorized travel to the highest section of land with superior views. Hence the land is now transformed into a utility for the DEC and other law enforcement folks to fixate on raising revenue through parking tickets and other piracy. This devolution of mission from wildlife to piracy has manifest into a culture where DEC doesn't treat me like a customer, in fact they are swift to interrogate with suspicion when I answer their question "where did you park?" with my reply "I hiked in." It's like they've never seen a redneck. I do my best to establish dialogue explaining that I own the plankboard cabin at the bottom of the hill and share details of where I find game, but their mission is not about the game anymore, it's about revenue and control. I've not met one DEC officer with a seasoned demeanor. It's all kids barely out of high school predisposed to flex authoritative posture. The word for it is just "sad". I remember riding horse up that hill in 1973 and never imagined it would come to this. It's crystal clear why the Lacs are singing "it's about that time, for the American Rebelution".
I'm a strong supporter of the principles behind Virginia's Declaration of Rights, Section 13:
That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.
...
Everyone should have gear, know how to use it, and be ready. There's no reason to train with anyone outside your trusted friends and family too. If a call up needs to happen, the larger structure would easily be built at the time. We may live to see the day when a call up is made too. I don't wish for it to happen, but I'm preparing nonetheless.
The most likely spark will be a move to disarm people. That's what really started the first "rebelution" after all. I will not disarm and would rather be an outlaw than give up my military style weapons.
Do you use game cameras to secure your property? They at least help you get faces for the people who trespass.
finnian -
Cameras are essential, wired networks preferred. Wireless under dynamic conditions only (adds chaos element). The absence of an SSID broadcast facilitates false sense of security in the perp mind, especially if they've seen the SSID at other times. When game cameras are employed it's best practice to use multiple cameras to record perps that take or destroy cameras they find.
The primary use of technology is not to prevent perps from entering, but rather to ensure they don't leave. A seemingly vacant property, unlit, quiet with no sign of humans often has a sentry in the tree line. It's a spiritual experience to set under the stars at night. It's also good to be on the the grounds with LED spotlight long before dawn every day. Being that I sleep no more than 4.5 hrs per day and have no habit(s) of leaving the farm, it appears full-time risk to anyone casing the place. I'm also not the only owner securing the place and we operate independently at opposite ends of the farm. Occasional gunfire at night is also unavoidable.
Home security has become a redneck artform. Some folks are very proud of their craftsmanship. There's a neighbor 'cross behind a hill that has a hand painted sign at the end of his long dirt road driveway that reads "Trespassers Will Be Buried If Found". To my knowledge nobody has ever found any of them buried trespassers. All the world's a psyop.
LOL, that's a great sign. :) Yes, even inside your home, you should have hidden cameras. I'm almost done with my window's physical security post, and then I'll do cameras next in more depth. Inside cameras should include obvious ones and hidden ones, and even your own family shouldn't know about all the hidden ones. You can tell your lawyer about them, or have a dead man switch to notify people. Those cameras should of course only be in non-private places too. They protect you from the other camera data being confiscated or "lost" by officials of course.
Through discipline comes freedom. ~ Aristotle
I think the key is people being rational. This is where society has its downfall many are not rational currently, I feel this will improve at more people cut themselves off from the programming 💯🐒
Do no harm but stand your ground. Great video Larken.
The non-aggression principle is so popular because of its simplicity. Homesteading quickly becomes full of dirty details. I wonder if there are some other ideas that also respect self-ownership but are much cleaner than homesteading. Or if there is more to be understood.
By the way what do you think of air and pollution. A river flows locally and a source of pollution can be found. But air is moving (almost) globally and it is almost impossible to find one source of pollution. It is more that everyone pollutes it a little and some people a lot.
Larken,
Thanks for the insightful commentary. I've been homesteading since 2006. We purchased a farm property of 5.9 acres with well, septic, electric, and plankboard farmhouse built in the 1800's. We had the property deeded as "joint-tenants in entirety". There are 3 parties named, with my wife and I as one, my daughter as one, and an unrelated individual as the third owner. There is no geographical division of property, all owners own the entire property, and in the event of death the remaining owners continue to own the property in its entirety. This avoids the probate threat and also shelters each individual from bankruptcy proceedings threat possibly arising from other owners. As each owner owns the property in its entirety there can be no valid claim against the deed implemented by external force.
We as individuals equally split all expense per capital improvements and agree or reject these improvements unanimously. Each individual is free to bring whatever they are good at to the table and no entitlement mentality of expectations for others' time and interest is entertained. Taxes are split 3 ways as well. One owner built a cabin on a skid which qualifies it as a non-capital improvement and shipping containers are also not capital improvements. One owner has heavy equipment and with bucket loader, excavator etc built driveways etc. We shared whatever portion of labor we wanted to collectively gut lathe and plaster, build insulated walls, replace electrical service, complete rewire and replumb, install wood stove and the list goes on forever. We've got a 60ft x 110ft garden with fence built from treated lumber 4x4 posts 7 and one half feet tall. We bought a 1948 Case VAC tractor and a single furl plow, a wagon and set of drags. The chickens are completely free range no fences to keep them off the neighboring farms and like minded country folk get along here just fine. The work we do is as individual as we each are and on some things some of us have bragging rights. We got pride and work hard like we should. It's all voluntaryism.
I don't know of anyone 'round here that took possession of vacant land to homestead but our experiences in purchase and teamwork has been successful. In my opinion a commitment to no entitlement mentality and being sure to get pre-purchase agreements is absolutely essential.
Enjoy your day!
Woodchuck Pirate
aka Raymond J Raupers Jr USA
That sounds like an awesome setup!
Thanks finnian,
59 years under my belt rolling with the punches has culminated in a diverse set of skills. Homesteading provides (requires?) constant review and expansion of skills which is facilitated so much by the internet. For instance one piece of heavy machinery, a diesel John Deere Track Loader we were using to push over 40 foot trees on a hillside was experiencing stall-outs where it couldn't be restarted. Removing and clearing fuel lines wasn't helping and so we were interrupted a day or so while I researched the symptoms online. It turned out there was a diaphragm in the fuel pump that had a reputation of disintegrating. It was known by some in the business that the pump would operate without it for possible years before terminal failure. We followed recommendations for removal of the diaphragm and it's been running still for years. We completed clearing the hillside of the pines by pushing them over and pulling them up with stump intact. We then stacked them atop each other creating a barrier along the game land access road that bordered our property. This provided a barrier against the junkie thieves known to be casing area farms stealing lawn tractors and anything else they could load out. We left deer crossing openings in strategic areas where view by folks in cars/trucks wouldn't reveal equipment or evidence of our presence on the property. This also enhanced the land as animal habitat for bear, turkey etc that are sensitive to the folks that would habitually stop and harass the wildlife.
Contrary to political opinion when the 600+ acres of farm land was purchased from private ownership using state land acquisition funds and set aside as "state game lands" the wildlife was relegated to constant abuse. The status quo now finds frequent patrol by state and county law enforcement attempting to curb meth trafficking, garbage dumping by townies, and a constant nuisance of townies whom are inclined to drive their car to the side of a spring fed pond and sink to the frame in mud. Of course then they need to be rescued and after so many years of increasing frequency of these events, the state passed regulations to ban any travel off the main dirt road. Worse yet they installed a big iron gate across the main road banning any motorized travel to the highest section of land with superior views. Hence the land is now transformed into a utility for the DEC and other law enforcement folks to fixate on raising revenue through parking tickets and other piracy. This devolution of mission from wildlife to piracy has manifest into a culture where DEC doesn't treat me like a customer, in fact they are swift to interrogate with suspicion when I answer their question "where did you park?" with my reply "I hiked in." It's like they've never seen a redneck. I do my best to establish dialogue explaining that I own the plankboard cabin at the bottom of the hill and share details of where I find game, but their mission is not about the game anymore, it's about revenue and control. I've not met one DEC officer with a seasoned demeanor. It's all kids barely out of high school predisposed to flex authoritative posture. The word for it is just "sad". I remember riding horse up that hill in 1973 and never imagined it would come to this. It's crystal clear why the Lacs are singing "it's about that time, for the American Rebelution".
Here 'tis:
Woodchuck Pirate
aka Raymond J Raupers Jr USA
I'm a strong supporter of the principles behind Virginia's Declaration of Rights, Section 13:
That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.
...
Everyone should have gear, know how to use it, and be ready. There's no reason to train with anyone outside your trusted friends and family too. If a call up needs to happen, the larger structure would easily be built at the time. We may live to see the day when a call up is made too. I don't wish for it to happen, but I'm preparing nonetheless.
The most likely spark will be a move to disarm people. That's what really started the first "rebelution" after all. I will not disarm and would rather be an outlaw than give up my military style weapons.
Do you use game cameras to secure your property? They at least help you get faces for the people who trespass.
finnian -
Cameras are essential, wired networks preferred. Wireless under dynamic conditions only (adds chaos element). The absence of an SSID broadcast facilitates false sense of security in the perp mind, especially if they've seen the SSID at other times. When game cameras are employed it's best practice to use multiple cameras to record perps that take or destroy cameras they find.
The primary use of technology is not to prevent perps from entering, but rather to ensure they don't leave. A seemingly vacant property, unlit, quiet with no sign of humans often has a sentry in the tree line. It's a spiritual experience to set under the stars at night. It's also good to be on the the grounds with LED spotlight long before dawn every day. Being that I sleep no more than 4.5 hrs per day and have no habit(s) of leaving the farm, it appears full-time risk to anyone casing the place. I'm also not the only owner securing the place and we operate independently at opposite ends of the farm. Occasional gunfire at night is also unavoidable.
Home security has become a redneck artform. Some folks are very proud of their craftsmanship. There's a neighbor 'cross behind a hill that has a hand painted sign at the end of his long dirt road driveway that reads "Trespassers Will Be Buried If Found". To my knowledge nobody has ever found any of them buried trespassers. All the world's a psyop.
Enjoy your day.
Woodchuck Pirate
aka Raymond J Raupers Jr USA
LOL, that's a great sign. :) Yes, even inside your home, you should have hidden cameras. I'm almost done with my window's physical security post, and then I'll do cameras next in more depth. Inside cameras should include obvious ones and hidden ones, and even your own family shouldn't know about all the hidden ones. You can tell your lawyer about them, or have a dead man switch to notify people. Those cameras should of course only be in non-private places too. They protect you from the other camera data being confiscated or "lost" by officials of course.