Below is a list of websites from 2014 and previous years that are the most popular. I am going to try and make an effort to make similar posts in the future, for 2015, 2016, etc - but only listing the popular posts from those years.
This post, being the first of its kind lists both 2014 posts and those years prior. They are listed in order, starting with the Most Popular.
25 Examples of Off the Grid Homes + Green Architecture - 2013.
How to find off the grid homes - 2012.
The Treehouse Idea - 2011.
How to Buy, Design and Build your own Shipping Container Home - 2014.
PVC Longbows and Double Limbed Bow - 2013.
8 Real Estate Websites that Specialize in Off The Grid Homes - 2014.
How to make your own Bowfishing Reel - 2014.
Making a Homemade Crossbow - 2014.
100th Post of Project Gridless - 2014.
Tillering and Staining my New Longbow - 2014.
As you can see by the order of popularity and the topics, the real estate topics relating to Green Homes, Sustainable Architecture, how to make your off grid home, etc, are the most popular posts. Coming in a close 2nd is posts about archery, bow making, bowfishing, etc.
One post which was surprisingly popular is the 100th Post of Project Gridless. I guess because it is an overview of previous posts, similar to this one.
Welcome to Project Gridless!
Hello! Project Gridless is dedicated to off the grid living, foraging / hunting / gardening for food, traditional survival skills and modern tips for alternative energy. Please Follow, Subscribe or Like.
The Heart of Robin Hood / Merry Survivalists?
"The Heart of Robin Hood" is a theatre production which is in Toronto at the
Royal Alexandra Theatre (260 King Street West) from December 23, 2014 - March 1, 2015. Ticket prices vary between $45 and $105.
History is full of theatre productions of Robin Hood and you can read up on the history of Robin Hood in theatre productions on Mirvish.com. Expect to see lots of archery, swordplay, swashbuckling and singing.
And possibly even some survivalism. I don't know. I haven't seen it yet, but I will be. The set production alone should be interesting judging from what I have seen on YouTube (see the video of the Robin Hood set from when it was in Manitoba).
Was Robin Hood and his Merry Men survivalists?
It is an interesting idea. A band of outlaws / highwaymen living in the woods, preying on the rich who pass by the roads nearby. Wood skills, archery skills and a dose of swashbuckling.
If you watch Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) the 'Merry Men' even build treehouses and bridges in the trees, effectively a village in the trees for their defense.
Given time such a 'village in trees' might eventually look more like Lothlorien (the elven town from The Lord of the Rings).
But whatever. Robin Hood's knowledge of traps, hunting, ambushing targets and skill with a bow would give Rambo a challenge. (Or possibly beat Rambo easily. Who would win in a game of woodsman skills / fight.)
We leave you to decide whether Robin Hood should be considered to be a survivalist. If such a person ever existed.
Royal Alexandra Theatre (260 King Street West) from December 23, 2014 - March 1, 2015. Ticket prices vary between $45 and $105.
History is full of theatre productions of Robin Hood and you can read up on the history of Robin Hood in theatre productions on Mirvish.com. Expect to see lots of archery, swordplay, swashbuckling and singing.
And possibly even some survivalism. I don't know. I haven't seen it yet, but I will be. The set production alone should be interesting judging from what I have seen on YouTube (see the video of the Robin Hood set from when it was in Manitoba).
Was Robin Hood and his Merry Men survivalists?
It is an interesting idea. A band of outlaws / highwaymen living in the woods, preying on the rich who pass by the roads nearby. Wood skills, archery skills and a dose of swashbuckling.
If you watch Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) the 'Merry Men' even build treehouses and bridges in the trees, effectively a village in the trees for their defense.
Sort of like the treehouses below.
Given time such a 'village in trees' might eventually look more like Lothlorien (the elven town from The Lord of the Rings).
But whatever. Robin Hood's knowledge of traps, hunting, ambushing targets and skill with a bow would give Rambo a challenge. (Or possibly beat Rambo easily. Who would win in a game of woodsman skills / fight.)
We leave you to decide whether Robin Hood should be considered to be a survivalist. If such a person ever existed.
Money Shuffling Companies and Unhappiness
I find great joy doing DIY projects. I get a great deal of fulfillment and happiness from building things with my own hands. Earlier today for example I put on some of the finishing touches on a new flatbow and then took it out to the garage to practice with it (and test its accuracy).
Years ago I worked at a series of what I call "money shuffling companies". They included a pension company, an insurance company, a stock portfolio brokerage and several other companies that don't actually build anything. Each of these jobs were very unfulfilling and regardless of how much money or paper I shuffled around working there, I never felt like I had accomplished anything.
Instead I developed the belief that I - and everyone else working there - was leeching off the rest of society. Syphoning off money as we shuffled the money around, performing a service that could and probably should be done by a computer program.
At least 90% of the work could be done by a computer program. Much of the work I did there was data entry (which could have been replaced by a scanner and a robot to feed the scanner), the sorting of files and folders onto shelves of records (which could have been replaced with digital records), the delivery of files (could be done by a robot with a bar code scanner), and the boxing up of old files (which should just be recycled thanks to the digital records).
The only staff member needed would be a robot repairman and people (lawyers, doctors, experts) that could not be replaced by a robot... Although to be honest, if we replaced lawyers with robot lawyers I think we would be making a great step towards real justice.
There were many other people working there that were likewise unnecessary. Accountants, human resources, management. All of these occupations would be made obsolete if most of the staff were replaced by computers. Accountants doing payroll for hundreds of employees? Not needed. HR for hiring new employees? Not needed. Management for twiddling their thumbs and firing employees? Extremely useless.
And middle management? Pffff!!!
So what would all the people put out of work by computers and robots do with themselves???
Farm, hunt, build things, science, build robots, become astronauts maybe, explore the laws of nature and the universe. Gain a sense of fulfillment by actually accomplishing things instead of just shuffling paper and money around. Imagine all the things society could accomplish if we wasted less time shuffling money and paper around.
Imagine for a moment if you wasted 35 years of your life working for an insurance company - knowing that your job could and should be replaced by a robot - and knowing the insurance companies primary employees are lawyers there to reduce the amount given to people who signed up for insurance. In other words, screwing over people the company rightfully owes money to.
And then one day the company fires you in favour of a younger employee who can be paid half as much.
Wouldn't you feel like you spent most of your life working for an greedy corporation that was solely motivated by money and had no interest in helping customers?
Having wasted your life, you would likely think back to past opportunities where you could have changed your life and found something you know would have been more fulfilling. It might have been paid less, it might have been hard work physically (building things often are), but you would have been happy, physically buff (a nice bonus), and have job security.
Some people go through many years working in an office and dying of boredom and unhappiness. Such people often dream of giving up the city life, moving to the countryside to become farmers, adopting a nomadic lifestyle, buying a cabin up north - but many of these people never do because of fear, laziness or commitments they are unwilling to break. eg. Taking your spouse and kids and moving to a place far away in the wilderness seems like a huge risk when compared to staying in your comfort zone in the city and working in a concrete office building shuffling money around.
So my advice for those people who seek a life with more happiness and more of the great outdoors? Get a hobby that takes you outdoors. Canoeing, camping, archery, bowhunting, woodscraft, tracking, bird watching, dog sledding, etc. At least then you are only wasting X number of hours per week in an office place and you are finding your fulfillment in other ways.
Mankind wasn't meant to waste their lives away inside concrete blocks. We crave the outdoors. We crave the wind in our face, swimming in crystal blue lakes and the thrill of exploring the wilderness.
Years ago I worked at a series of what I call "money shuffling companies". They included a pension company, an insurance company, a stock portfolio brokerage and several other companies that don't actually build anything. Each of these jobs were very unfulfilling and regardless of how much money or paper I shuffled around working there, I never felt like I had accomplished anything.
Instead I developed the belief that I - and everyone else working there - was leeching off the rest of society. Syphoning off money as we shuffled the money around, performing a service that could and probably should be done by a computer program.
At least 90% of the work could be done by a computer program. Much of the work I did there was data entry (which could have been replaced by a scanner and a robot to feed the scanner), the sorting of files and folders onto shelves of records (which could have been replaced with digital records), the delivery of files (could be done by a robot with a bar code scanner), and the boxing up of old files (which should just be recycled thanks to the digital records).
The only staff member needed would be a robot repairman and people (lawyers, doctors, experts) that could not be replaced by a robot... Although to be honest, if we replaced lawyers with robot lawyers I think we would be making a great step towards real justice.
There were many other people working there that were likewise unnecessary. Accountants, human resources, management. All of these occupations would be made obsolete if most of the staff were replaced by computers. Accountants doing payroll for hundreds of employees? Not needed. HR for hiring new employees? Not needed. Management for twiddling their thumbs and firing employees? Extremely useless.
And middle management? Pffff!!!
So what would all the people put out of work by computers and robots do with themselves???
Farm, hunt, build things, science, build robots, become astronauts maybe, explore the laws of nature and the universe. Gain a sense of fulfillment by actually accomplishing things instead of just shuffling paper and money around. Imagine all the things society could accomplish if we wasted less time shuffling money and paper around.
Imagine for a moment if you wasted 35 years of your life working for an insurance company - knowing that your job could and should be replaced by a robot - and knowing the insurance companies primary employees are lawyers there to reduce the amount given to people who signed up for insurance. In other words, screwing over people the company rightfully owes money to.
And then one day the company fires you in favour of a younger employee who can be paid half as much.
Wouldn't you feel like you spent most of your life working for an greedy corporation that was solely motivated by money and had no interest in helping customers?
Having wasted your life, you would likely think back to past opportunities where you could have changed your life and found something you know would have been more fulfilling. It might have been paid less, it might have been hard work physically (building things often are), but you would have been happy, physically buff (a nice bonus), and have job security.
Some people go through many years working in an office and dying of boredom and unhappiness. Such people often dream of giving up the city life, moving to the countryside to become farmers, adopting a nomadic lifestyle, buying a cabin up north - but many of these people never do because of fear, laziness or commitments they are unwilling to break. eg. Taking your spouse and kids and moving to a place far away in the wilderness seems like a huge risk when compared to staying in your comfort zone in the city and working in a concrete office building shuffling money around.
So my advice for those people who seek a life with more happiness and more of the great outdoors? Get a hobby that takes you outdoors. Canoeing, camping, archery, bowhunting, woodscraft, tracking, bird watching, dog sledding, etc. At least then you are only wasting X number of hours per week in an office place and you are finding your fulfillment in other ways.
Mankind wasn't meant to waste their lives away inside concrete blocks. We crave the outdoors. We crave the wind in our face, swimming in crystal blue lakes and the thrill of exploring the wilderness.
Bowhunting from a Treehouse
Bowhunters / archers pay attention.
Ever fallen or nearly fallen from a tree stand way up in the tree because you were cold and needed to climb down to get more coffee?
Or just fallen out of the tree for whatever reason, regardless of whether you were cold or if there was hot coffee involved?
Next time, instead of using a tree stand - build a treehouse instead!
Imagine sitting inside your treehouse. Relaxing. Safe from falls. Your coffee handy. Bowhunting magazines to read. Beer if that is what you prefer to drink. And windows from which you can look out as you wait for the deer to pass by.
Maybe even a balcony on which to stand and shoot at the deer.
Well then take a gander below at the collection of photos of bowhunting treehouses various other bowhunters have built over the years. It doesn't even have to be pretty. It just has to work. Obviously you would need to build this on your own property. That should go without saying.
Ever fallen or nearly fallen from a tree stand way up in the tree because you were cold and needed to climb down to get more coffee?
Or just fallen out of the tree for whatever reason, regardless of whether you were cold or if there was hot coffee involved?
Next time, instead of using a tree stand - build a treehouse instead!
Imagine sitting inside your treehouse. Relaxing. Safe from falls. Your coffee handy. Bowhunting magazines to read. Beer if that is what you prefer to drink. And windows from which you can look out as you wait for the deer to pass by.
Maybe even a balcony on which to stand and shoot at the deer.
Well then take a gander below at the collection of photos of bowhunting treehouses various other bowhunters have built over the years. It doesn't even have to be pretty. It just has to work. Obviously you would need to build this on your own property. That should go without saying.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Popular Posts during the Last Year
-
Okay so " Outdoor Boys " is a YouTube channel created by Luke (last name unknown) and frequently featuring his sons and his wife. ...
-
This list is mostly for my personal reference, with respect to dating old Bear bows. They are sorted by the years released. If you know of a...
-
Wood Homemade Bow Press So awhile back in October I made a note of writing a post titled " How to Make a Homemade Bow Press "....
-
Honestly the process of buying shipping containers is easy. They cost between $2,000 and $5,000, depending on where you buy from and size....
-
Here is a list of laws for bow hunting in Ontario. #1. You must be over 16 years of age and have a valid Ontario Outdoors Card. #2. You ...
-
Now because there are many types of bows I have decided to limit this particular list to ONE PIECE recurve bows. In the future I may do a 2n...
-
Within the sport of archery there are people who make their own bows and their own arrows. Such is the norm with many sports, there is alw...
-
So I was repairing a compound bow for a client, in this case the Bear Cruzer shown below, and I decided it was an excellent opportunity to c...
-
Okay so to find the year of my "new" recurve bow, a vintage Ben Pearson Renegade , I needed to do some in-depth research. During...
-
For years now I have been pootahing the idea of going bear hunting because I felt that bear hunting is mostly for people who are interested ...
Search This Blog
Learn more about archery in Toronto by visiting the Toronto Public Archery Range Facebook page
or by joining the Canadian Toxophilite Society.
This Week's Popular Posts
-
This list is mostly for my personal reference, with respect to dating old Bear bows. They are sorted by the years released. If you know of a...
-
So I was repairing a compound bow for a client, in this case the Bear Cruzer shown below, and I decided it was an excellent opportunity to c...
-
Wood Homemade Bow Press So awhile back in October I made a note of writing a post titled " How to Make a Homemade Bow Press "....
-
Let us pretend for a moment that you are the type of person who likes to travel and are okay with eating fish on a regular basis (because ...
-
Honestly the process of buying shipping containers is easy. They cost between $2,000 and $5,000, depending on where you buy from and size....
-
Here is a list of laws for bow hunting in Ontario. #1. You must be over 16 years of age and have a valid Ontario Outdoors Card. #2. You ...
-
I am a big fan of DIY homemade archery targets, so when a guy and his son mentioned making archery targets out of old tires and foam, I aske...
-
Q Hi there! I have a vintage " Barnett wildcat C5 crossbow " the string's broken needs being replaced , can you fix it ? ...
-
Within the sport of archery there are people who make their own bows and their own arrows. Such is the norm with many sports, there is alw...
-
Submitted by Sam Jacobs. Written by Jake Beaty. Editing Additions in Red. Living Off-Grid: A Guide to Self-Sufficiency Do you dream of l...