“We Are Slaves to Technology. Here’s What To Do If You Want to Break Free”

by | Apr 22, 2016 | Conspiracy Fact and Theory, Emergency Preparedness, Headline News | 62 comments

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    This article was written by Joshua Krause and originally published at Ready Nutrition.

    Editor’s Comment: Are you taking time to unwind, to simplify and to just be? It isn’t hard to get overwhelmed and caught up in smart phones and computer screens. Often in public, it is difficult to go anywhere without seeing large groups people using their phones as they walk, drive, eat or talk. Digital life governs real life for much of society.

    Dependence on this lifestyle is dangerous and naive. Letting yourself lose touch with the physical world around you will render you helpless to any major crisis when ingenuity and adaptive skills are required, and experience can often make the difference. 

    Stop Being a Slave to Technology: Here’s How to Unplug

     by Joshua Krause

    If you could pluck any of your ancestors from any period of time in history, and send them to the world we live in now, they would be in for quite a shock. All of the technology that we have at our disposal would seem like magic to them. The diseases we can cure and prevent, the speed with which we can communicate with anyone around the world, the devastating weapons we use to defend ourselves with, and the machines we use to travel from place to place, would all leave them in awe.

    They’d have to pick their jaws up from off the floor after they see what kinds of energy we use, and I’m not even talking about nuclear power. For people who relied on firewood for most of their energy needs, the cost and energy density of crude oil would blow their minds. I’m sure that seeing the accessibility of food in our society would cause a similar reaction in their minds. The idea that some people in the West only need to work a few hours a week to cover their food and energy costs, would leave your ancestors shaking.

    And then they would meet us. The residents of this magical high-tech world.

    They would see people who spend more time staring and laughing at their ghostly screens, than they spend interacting with other human beings. They would meet us, a generation of people who are terrified of the sun, and who can’t step outside without slathering themselves in odorous creams (or who barely spend any time outside at all). They would be introduced to people who can’t find their way home or solve any practical problem without first consulting the computers in their pockets. They would come face to face with a society that is willing to sacrifice privacy for high-tech convenience.

    They would see a society full of people who are completely out of touch with nature, and completely helpless without all of their gadgets. And more importantly, they would discover how incredibly stressed and unhappy many of us are, despite the wonders at our disposal.

    Truly, we are slaves to technology. Here’s what you should do if you want to break free, and get back in touch with your humanity.

    Stop Multitasking

    Multitasking is the bane of the modern world. We clean the house with the TV on in the background, we text on our phones while we eat dinner, and we talk on those same phones while we drive. People in the modern world are obsessed with cramming as many tasks in their day as they can, and they pride themselves on their ability to multitask. And even though most of us like to believe that we’re getting a lot done and that we’re really good at multitasking, in reality we all really suck at it.

    Every scientific experiment that has tested people on their ability to multitask, has shown that it’s not an ability any of us have. Anytime we try to tackle more than one task at a time, we perform across the board. Unfortunately, the gadgets we own have made it incredibly easy for us to get distracted. We use our gadgets as a crutch and an excuse for when we don’t want to do the task at hand. So stay focused and do one thing at a time. You’ll do a better job, you’ll learn more, and you’ll enjoy yourself more.

    Get Back in Touch With Nature

    Despite how far civilization has advanced over the years, human beings still have pretty much the same brains and bodies that we had when we were hunter gatherers. In a sense, we are an anachronism. We live in this sophisticated, high-tech wonder world filled with 9-5 jobs, cars, phone bills, taxes, and gadgets, but we’re still the same people who used to spend the majority of their days in nature.

    At heart, the outdoors is where we really feel comfortable, yet we live in a time where most of us, especially our children, spend so very little time there. Our brains were never designed for the task of staring at screens for 11+ hours a day, and we’ll never be truly happy if we don’t set the phone down and spend some time outside. We evolved in the outdoors. It’s where we belong. If we don’t set aside time to be away from the hum our gadgets, and to enjoy nature, we’ll never really feel fulfilled or satisfied. It might even make us a little crazy.

    Try to Remember How You Killed Time Before The Internet

    If you’re old enough to remember what life was like before the proliferation of the internet and smartphones, or if you’re young but you remember what life was like before your parents gave you access to those technologies, then you’re in luck. You actually have some sense of how normal human beings are supposed to behave when they don’t have anything important to do.

    Do you remember what you used to do when you weren’t working, doing chores, or studying? Did you doodle or write? Did you play the guitar? Did you tinker with stuff lying around the house? Did you go for a walk around the neighborhood? Those are the sorts of things that people used to do when they didn’t have anything important on their plates.

    These days we feel compelled to fill every waking moment with electronic entertainment. We act like boredom is a crime, and the only way to stay out of jail is to check our email and watch another episode of whatever is on Netflix. We have to keep our brains in a constant state of hyper-stimulation. We fear quiet, contemplative activities. If you really want to unplug from technology for a while, then you have to teach yourself to not reach for digital entertainment every time you find yourself with an empty moment. You have to kill that knee jerk response, and learn how to enjoy the things you do, not the things you watch other people do.

    Quit Using Gadgets to Solve All your Problems

    Undoubtedly, the internet is one of the most useful things that humanity has ever invented. Having that vast library of information at our fingertips is a godsend whenever we have a problem that needs solving. It’s provided a voice for countless ideas and people who would never have had a voice in the past. Unfortunately, it’s also making us stupid.

    Whenever we have a problem, we’re faced with two solutions. Figure it out ourselves and learn a thing or two along the way, or if this problem is out of our depth, we enlist the help of a friend or we hire a guy to fix it. If the problem arises again in the future, we know who to call. We all have a ‘guy’ that we refer to when a car or a computer needs fixing.

    We also treat the internet as ‘that guy.’ We refer to it anytime we need to fix something, or find directions, or remember an obscure fact. Every time we do that, our ability to remember and our ability to learn, dies a little. We know that if any given problem shows up again, we can just look it up. Our brains don’t bother to retain knowledge when we know that it can easily be recalled for us at the click of a button.

    In the future, always try to do it yourself first before you ‘look it up.’ Try to remember a phone number before you look for it in your phone. Try to remember that witty quote before you search for it on the internet. Take a shot at finding your way home before you refer to your GPS. Your brain is like a muscle, and if you never bother to use it, you will lose it.

    Do Nothing At All

    I dare you. No, I double dog dare you, to do nothing at all. Do you even remember the last time you just sat alone in silence for a while? Have you stopped to consider how crazy it is that most people can no longer stand to be alone with their own thoughts? That’s not an exaggeration. The inability to withstand silence is a sign that you’re a slave to technology.

    Scientists have conducted experiments where they place people in a room with blank walls, by themselves for 15 minutes, and tell them to just sit and enjoy their own thoughts. A third of the participants admitted to cheating and checking their phones. Most of them admitted that it was an unpleasant experience. Then they introduced a device that would give these participants a voluntary electric shock. Two thirds of the men and a quarter of the women in this study chose to shock themselves out of pure boredom. Many of us would prefer physical pain over doing nothing at all. That’s freaking sad.

    If you really want to stop being a slave to technology, then every once in a while you should take time out of your day to do nothing at all. You don’t have to fill every moment of your waking life with vapid entertainment. Meditate, or stare at a wall, or quietly think about your future. It’s a normal, healthy part of being human, and our technology has robbed us of our ability to quietly be ourselves. So take back the reins, unplug yourself for a while, and enjoy being human again.

    ——–
    This article was written by Joshua Krause and originally published at Ready Nutrition.

    Joshua Krause was born and raised in the Bay Area. He is a writer and researcher focused on principles of self-sufficiency and liberty at Ready Nutrition. You can follow Joshua’s work at our Facebook page or on his personal Twitter.

    Joshua’s website is Strange Danger

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      62 Comments

      1. call me a “slave to technology” if you want.
        If I want to know what the gov’t is doing TO ME, I can read the LIBERAL local paper, listen to the LIBERAL local news, or go online and read alternative (REAL) news there.

        I could cook my food on a campfire, but I prefer the technology of a stove.

        I could weave my own thread and make my own clothes, but that would really be a waste of time that I’ll technology do for me.

        (I don’t have a cell phone, though, since they’re a CHAIN that I don’t want to have)

        • ESPN Fires Curt Schilling for stating that men should use the mens restroom and women should use the womens restroom.

          How did it fucking come to this?

          Why do the companies we work for fucking think they own us and can suppress free speech?

          I am calling for a boycott of all unessential goods and services.

          Fuck corporate Amerikkka.

          • Acid, you nailed it.

          • read the book Future Crimes and you’ll NEVER touch a cell phone, computer, smart t.v., or hve them anywhere near you again

            you are being watched

            • I’ve read it. You’re correct. You have to be completely ignorant to think you’re not being tracked. Try doing ANYTHING anonymously these days – try not having a driver’s license, providing your true residence address to .gov, owning real property without being found online, keep your address private, buy anything anonymously like utilities, phone service, etc.

              Your right to privacy has already been robbed from you. Read the book.

            • Indeed we are and more than anyone would ever know.

              I work as a developer and only stay on windows because i write software to block it from calling home which is no easy task since Microsoft uses eight host processes to hide what DLLs are running in the background.

              My work could keep up with back-door bill on windows eight but i am becoming stuffed on windows 10 because microsoft is locking developers out so that we become script kids and no longer able to write real code.

              We now have supper, supper hidden folders that were even if we find them we cannot delete the files and processes that we cannot kill plus the registry is being locked so you cannot change values even if you can grant permissions to the key/folders

              Killing process SiHost just results in windows demanding a reboot when it’s not a core process so what can you do when you know that Windows bypasses it own firewall and many of the low level API calls into windows return function pointer to pork pies

          • That’s why everybody needs to get off the Grid and away from their life entrapment schemes. Put your Words into Action. I have NO Utility Bills Period. Just Property Tax. Every thing else is Paid for, and I am self insured. No Fire or hazard Insurance, I am the Fire Dept, and I am 911. And my No Trespassing signs are enforced by Rule 12g and 9mm. Besides still buying Food from a store, a cell phone, Sat Internet, and gas to drive, not much else I do is on the Grid. And that is pretty much less than essentials.

            You want to Smell Freedom? Get off the Grid, and become Self Employed. That’s how you pay yourself First.

            WWTI…

        • I had my house updated for three months to sell, no PC, no TV, internet on the phone only…decided the upgrade was wonderful so not selling but not taking back the TV or PC, printers or office stuff. Radio, reading and yes, staring at nature in my backyard is on my list of things to….unplug and live again.

          • I don’t understand this comment. You didn’t have a PC, TV, etc., but then you said you’re not taking them back. Please elaborate.

            As for your backyard… what is a backyard? Is there a website to order those? Sarcasm!!!!!

        • This article doesn’t even make sense in the first few paragraphs. The Author keeps referring to “They” even in its own paragraph, and then you have to go up paragraphs to find out Who is he referring “THEY” to, and it is “Anyone.” Ever hear of Who, What, When, Where, Why and How, when you write an article..??

          So according to this Author, “THEY and ANYONE” is the same people as the Subject. Dont forget that.

          btw/ I got a “D” in Highschool English Class. I wasn’t too keen in reading about Greek Mythology, And my cersive hand writing sucked, and that was before computers. I write like a Architect Drafter in printing. Greek Mythology is about the same as the other book of fables called the Bible. I do enjoy Greek Art and Imagination that went on in the Colosseum, and History. Greek Mythology is like a Soap Opera Drama.

          AnyWho!! Then…

          ~WWTI…

      2. Yes we are. Now saying this, you should know how to live with out it.

        There is nothing wrong with technology this is how we move forward. You just have to know how to use it to your advantage!

        Sgt.

        • I assume this article is available offline in paper form?
          .
          ..

          Yeah, I thought not.

        • Lived off the grid twice in my lifetime, first time I was still active-duty and further from the base than I’d rather had been, but it turned out to be a primo spot to retire, defend (if anyone even finds it) and just live …electricity is still considered a luxury by many, as they do running water …that’s a miracle to people from India.

      3. The one thing i really like about technology is the ease that research can be done.
        Living not on the lower 48 it is harder to aquire specialized hardware, tools, and related equipment, the net allows me to buy and build things that would have required lengthy phone calls and wait times and tons of wasted time. Now i can search for what i need when i have time and in many cases order it without much trouble at all and in most cases its delivered to my doorstep.
        Its a shame tech is also used for ill.
        Such is human nature.
        To me it is just another tool and is also entertainment, hence my constant unwanted presence in places like this!

      4. We are witnessing the birth of a new species – Phono Sapiens. I’m 61 yrs old, never had or will have a cell phone. Just bury me with the dinosaurs, I don’t like the direction things are headed; and I’ll die before I let them put a chip in me.

        • Speaking as a college professor, I am SURE your social skills are immeasurably higher than those of my 20-year-old students. They go out to dinner and all sit around the table staring at their phones in silence. It doesn’t matter whether they’re A-students or D-students, they don’t know how to have a normal human conversation. Funny how that works…

      5. Some times the enemy seems omnipotent and too big to defeat. Overwhelming. You are only one person. You can’t do everything. But you can do something. Do that something, and all the rest of us individuals should do what we can do. Cumulatively, it will be enough to defeat the totalitarian ogre. Act accordingly. But act.

      6. My favorite time of the day is between 0430 and 0630.

        It is so quiet, i can hear myself think.

        I do not feel the need to remain “connected” all day long. Short periods of internet news, SHTFplan type sites, and etc. are nice, but I stay busy with chores from dark to dark, and forget about technology.

        I coexist with technology, but not a slave to it. I enjoy certain TV shows and movies, but I record them and watch them on my time schedule, not the networks’.

        I am very addicted to electricity and indoor plumbing, though.

        • Ben –

          Indoor plumbing/electricity are nice things, but I believe this article is more directed to those people who can not live without their damn Smart Phones & Tablets.

          If I could have it my way – I’d smack every damn person who can’t keep their face out of their phone. Whether it’s at the Doctors Office, at Work, at Funerals(very disrespectful), walking, driving … etc.

          It is these kinds of Zombies who will think life is over, if these items became useless.(Grid Down/Service Shut Off)

          • FTW…

            I am more fascinated than frustrated with tech zombies.

            I think that this dependency could be used as another control tool, along with food and water access, during a time of “crisis”.

            I don’t think people will have to be rounded up into FEMAville. I think they will walk in the front gate, asking for ramen, a big gulp, and a wall charger outlet.

        • I am totally with you on that mindset, Mr Raines.

          I am usually up by 4:30 am each morning. I enjoy the fact that the wife is snoring away, the little terrier is snoring away, and i get no “chin music” from either one for a few hours.

          i do cover a lot on the computer in those three hours or so, and feel ready to tackle the day. Since being retired and not in the best physical shape these days…aka bad back/diabetes/high BP/etc., I do enjoy a quick am nap sometimes after breakfast, if nothing is pushing on the agenda.

          Doing some things on the computer such as bible study and SHTF/Steve Qualyle site scan, I’m good to go on my daily internet fix. Sometimes i get back on SHTF and read and comment in the afternoon, but it is not out of necessity.

          A while back I took a break from all internet activity for a couple months, and it was actually good for the soul.
          Sometimes the articles on the coming collapse and the fear mongering can become a tad overwhelming and life consuming.

          At this point, I have very little left to explore in the areas of prepping, from any site, so it is mainly entertainment and a self fulfilling kind of attachment to the many internet friends i have found on this site.

          I have always had a drive, or sort of unction to help others and sometimes that drives me to try to help some that come here that may need some advice or clarification on spiritual matters. Some don’t like it at all, but many have voiced their opinion that they appreciate what i do.

          Soon, hopefully, all my efforts will be concentrated more towards the grass roots level of teaching and helping, so my time will be spent on that effort entirely, if…the Holy Spirit continues to guide me in that direction and all the framework is available for it to happen.

          People feeling overwhelmed by too much info, should take up a hobby sport such as fishing, or something else outdoors and shut down all the internet connections.

          TV is another area that can cause too much interference in our lives and should be taken in moderation.

          • PWTW…

            I think your control of technology is similar to mine.

            You sound patient and generous. Those are good qualities.

            I am old and tired and must practice moderation in everything.

            Especially patience and generosity.

        • Ben
          Am definitely a fan of electricity, Maui Electric will vouch for that

          • Kula…

            I am betting that you do not waste electricity, or water.

        • good post Ben. My phone can’t feed the chickens, cut the pastures, cut wood, garden, etc. so We get some time away from it. I must admit though that too often while relaxing I reach for a laptop. Don’t really know how to use my phone though. today I was driving and it started yelling directions ant me I about shit myself. Hell, I still use map books. I don’t even know if they make them any more.

          • skeptic…

            I hear you.

            I use my phone as a phone, mostly. I dropped the home phone years ago. I use the mapquest/navigation app occasionally, but have road atlas, and maps to rely on.

            The last time I drove from LA to ohio I used AAA trip tix! (1989).

      7. And people wonder why I took up blacksmithing…
        part of it was to get outside, and get away from GODDAMN computers. Wonder why I don’t post much here, or anywhere else, anymore?… yup. I noticed a couple years ago, my family, at Christmas, sitting around like GODDAMNED ROBOTS, clicking at each other and laughing to themselves, and I was appalled, frightened, and saw our humanity going down the drain.
        Blacksmithing brings it all back into focus, as Kula said above, technology was supposed to free us from slavery… but, for the same reason I went Galt 25 years ago, it is not, it is turning us into cyborgs, easily manipulated and like sheep led to the slaughter.
        Blacksmithing is the basis of all tool making, and technology was just another tool. But I saw the trend all those years ago, that tech would be put to evil purposes where ever men of money and power wanted to put it.
        Blacksmithing is a metaphor for all life in the original knowledge of ‘Earth, Air, Fire and Water’. From earth we draw materials, with fire and air we shape it, and water we turn it into something hard and long lasting, and not a single computer was used in the process.
        One day, it will be where we are left, when technology is seen for what it is, a byproduct of oil. Or, you think, plastic is just laying around on the ground? When oil is depleted, technology must deplete along with it. Will they “think of something”? Well, Intel is showing us their cards, by laying off 12,000 Americans and replacing them with 14,000 H1b’s. This mirrors my own experience with Microsoft, who did the same thing years ago. F*k them, I don’t use Microsoft anything. Or Apple, because all these big corporations, are antiAmerican, antihuman, I know, I used to be a manager at a Fortune 100 ‘Big Pharma’ outfit. I went Galt because I saw the Truth, they are all liars, cheats, shills, and racketeers, with only one God, Mammon/Materialism/Money.
        Their idea of improving the human condition subtracts the spiritual nature of man, in fact, ridicules any notion of such a thing. But in the end, we must arrive at a place where we “pound our swords into plowshares, and our spears into pruning hooks, and neither learn war, anymore”.
        Learn to do something, anything, with your hands, and your heart and your mind, together, and see your internal transformation into what we used to call; Human.

        May the Force be with you.
        🙂

        • Never thought i would see you using the Lord’s name in vain.
          But, then again, nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to people and animals.

          Never would have thought a panther would take up residence in one of my permanent hunting stands either, but it has. It has left it’s scat piles and claw marks to prove it. Even though people say they are not common in Southern Appalachia, we have had the big cats since the 60’s in our neck of the woods.

          I have only twice seen one, without any doubts, in my backyard.
          But many times I have seen their tell tell signs and felt their presence.

          • God Damns, in the Ancient sense of a Curse. But, modern’s wouldn’t understand that, would they? No, because we are all dumbed down by politicans, bankers, educators, scholars, and preachers… money is their true god, while they pay lip service to The Creator.

            This is calling down a curse upon the applications of computers being put towards nefarious purposes, it is not “using the Lord’s name in vain”. Stupid preachers would say that, because they use fear to control you.
            Using the Lord’s name in vain, would be those who say;
            “Jesus H. F*king Christ”.
            And I have been guilty of that, but I try not to. In this case, God Damns the usage of technology, and He even tells you this in that book you love. As in, those who do not have the Mark cannot buy or sell…
            When they eliminate cash, what, pray tell, do you think they will do? Oh, wait, computer digits? So they can do whatever perfidy they want, in the dark?
            Then it will be; GOD, DAMN THEM ALL.
            (Notice the comma?)

            • The commandment “Thou shalt not take the name of of the Lord thy God in vain” has no reference to cursing per se…

              The true meaning of the phrase is that we are not to commit acts of evil and ascribe them to God.

              http://www.dennisprager.com/worst-sin/

        • @Piper

          I can’t resist…

          “May the Forge be with you…”

          <bb

          • 🙂
            Halleluyah…
            May the Earth, Air, Fire and Water,
            bend to your will.

      8. “We Are Slaves to Technology”

        A person who can not & is unable to live without Technological gadgets are SLAVES!

        Unfortunately … many people in our society have become completely useless and lazy due to these advances.

        After all … it becomes a personal choice for an individual if they rather choose the “easy” way or the “hard” way of doing things.

        Most people these days are willing to choose the Easy Way. Look around … nobody wants to learn anything, they rather have the information come to them – whether said information is legit or not.

        Practically nobody cooks anymore – Drive Thru Lanes and GMO Boxed goods is fine for their standards.

        Most people do not want to or don’t know how to fix common things. They rather have somebody else do it or replace said problem.

        The Dumbing Down of America has worked in the favor of TP
        TB … Most of the populace in America are borderline fk’n retarded!

        • I had 15 bean soup with onions, garlic and a can of rotell mixed in. Also had rice and cornbread with it. That is a meal that will fill you up and is healthy to eat. Because of this site, I am exploring different things to eat and do to make myself self-sufficient and not break my wallet. Thanks to all who post here with positive ideas to real problems.

          slowjoe

          • I had the same soup the other day. Soaked them over night after rinsing six times. Cooked them for many hours, still gave so much gas, wife almost couldn’t stand to be around me. I love beans, but they don’t love me.

      9. “The diseases we can cure and prevent”. Let me fix that to reflect reality, the diseases we can cause and prolong, there I fixed it. If I could I would go back a century or more in a heartbeat. This “modern” world sucks. There is no time to relax and reflect because money is the only thing worth chasing for most people. People nowadays would just as soon run you over than to say hello. Back then and now ain’t even close, this is dog eat dog.

      10. I’ll keep my tech thank you. Love it. I live out in the sticks and have fiber optics. If I want to get in touch with nature I just step outside my front door and got all I could ever want.
        Or look out my window. See deer, hawks, bald eagles, rabbits, bobcats. Trees and hills. I see the milky way at night.

        As to tech, it’s a useful thing. So why give it up because some KNOW IT ALL says so. BS. I think for myself.

        Tech is fine and living close to nature is a great way to live. Since I have both, I’ll give it up when it goes away as in EMP or TSHTF.

        But why give it up when it can enhance your life. The internet has become crap, granted, but is still useful.

        If I need learn something like what a wild edible plant looks like ( I know a lot but hardly all), how to do practical things around the homestead, I have it all at my finger tips. Why give that up ???

        I need a recipe to smoke ribs, hit the internet and learn how to do it.

        A life close to nature with the tech benefits to me is the ultimate in quality living. I know because I am living it.

        • hilljack33,
          Yes, and so will I… but, like you, I live in the woods, and keep my tech at arms length, as a tool, not a diversion or obsession. I personally do think that multitasking is a soul killer, and only nature calms the beast within.
          Kids, want things easy now. They don’t want to learn, or do, anything that conflicts with their little screens. They are becoming lazy little shits, with an attitude. I am a ‘dinosaur’, and they are repelled by those ‘walls of text’, meaning books. They don’t think there is anything out there that they can’t learn by Google or watching a video… sad. Instead of searching for Truth(in my day), we now search for the most trivial and nonsensical crap. And they wonder why employers don’t want to employ them? But if parents force them and hold their feet to the fire, they are ‘abusing’ them…
          We are losing ourselves, and that portends bad things in the future.
          I will keep my internet, but I use it for information purposes, and I don’t even own a smart phone. The kids think its because I’m stupid, but I was a robotics engineer, they don’t understand. They will not, until they grow up, and then it’ll be too late.

          PS: I’m only posting more today, because there is a thunderstorm outside… 🙂

        • Good points.

          Just received my new trailer hitch (frame mount) class 3, for the mini van. I wasn’t sure about the correct hitch being shipped, because the part # did not match to what i ordered by. also the instructions sheet for mounting gave a year model that was seven years difference.

          Went online and started looking up the same hitch via Reese.
          I ordered it thru Walmart.com, and knew their part # would be different. When the hitch did not match with the Reese hitch website #, I began to worry. That is exactly why I did not cut off all the packing material, in case i needed to return the darn thing.

          I was about to contact Reese Hitch, when i saw a mfg name at the bottom of the “mounting” instruction sheet. Googled the name. voila’, it came up and gave me a dist./mfg retailer link to Reese. On that site I was able to link the correct year model to the Hitch # I had been shipped.

          All is well after about 10 minutes on the net. It is information like this, that makes the internet so valuable and fun. I will feel much better tomorrow, after I remove all the packing, back the van up on the ole grease rack, and install hitch.

          I have had nothing but good things to say about Walmart.com.
          Most of my items are shipped free, and arrive three to six days earlier than they said. I ordered this hitch on Tues. am. The expected arrival date was noted as the 27th. No problem cause I will not need until the following week for a fishing/camping trip. The hitch had arrived yesterday while I was gone and was leaning against the side of the garage door, when we returned.

      11. It’s going to interesting to see how people handle life without their electronic shackles.

      12. Hanging with some friends and family at the beach. They were all passing around the sunscreen.

        I said I’ll pass, I don’t believe in it, and I think it’s bad for your health. They all looked at me like I was nuts. I said I brought light colored, loose fitting long sleeved shirts and pants plus a hat. When I’ve clocked a safe amount of sun I’ll cover up. I did.

        When I went snorkeling I wore clothes that covered but let me swim. After a week, every other person was burned and in pain, except me. I had a nice natural tan that won’t peel, because I didn’t overdo it.

        Having the right clothing to protect under all conditions is part of sensible preps.

        If you put on SPF 30 and sweat in the sun, or swim in the water, is it still SPF 30 an hour later, or are you playing roulette with a first degree burn?

        • Plan twice – I don’t know for certain if it’s still SPF 30 afterwards, but I do know this;

          Almost all sunscreens contain alcohol, as well as toxins, some of which enter the bloodstream. I only put a tiny dab here and there of sunscreen on my nose, lips and ears and shoulders, where I know I’ll burn and also don’t go out in the sun everyday.

          A Dermatologist once told me “Some of the alcohol and toxins in the products we spray (including hairspray and insect repellent) on or near our skin, as well as the alcohol or toxins in lotions/creams smeared on our skin gets into our bloodstream”… not all, but some.

          Some of the alcohol and toxins in these products that enter the bloodstream, and quite often within only a few seconds, can cause immune system problems. People who routinely smear themselves in sunscreen and other lotions or sprays are slowly weakening their immune system.

          I play it safe and get some sunlight, but mostly stay out of the sun. On the beach I sit under a beach umbrella. Some sunlight is healthy, but baking in the sun is not safe. IMO, white people with dark tans all summer, year after year, are skin cancer waiting to happen.

          • Two of my oldest and once sexiest girl friends, soaked up the rays like a sponge for twenty five years. They sure looked good with all those little bikini tan lines stretched out on the sun pad across the back of my Sea Ray cuddy, while they were younger…until they got to be about 49 and the leathery skin started to wither and sag.

            Both were life long cigarette smokers and now they look eighty, but have not even made it to sixty yet. They have rich assholes for husbands so everybody gets what they deserve.

            I used high PF sunscreen, even though I knew my body was taking in some toxins. But; my body has purged all those toxins and my skin is still taunt, as it was when i was 45.

            If I’m gonna be in the sun on the beach fishing for several hours, I use 50 SPF. and a loose fitting white T-shirt, which gives about 15 SPF to the non treated areas.

          • You’re absolutely right. A great rule of thumb is, “If you wouldn’t eat it, don’t rub it on your skin”. Anyone who has any doubt about this advice, only needs to remember that all kinds of pharmaceuticals are administered by way of skin patches. Your skin definitely absorbs what you put on it. Just read the list of ingredients on any skin lotion, there are many chemicals with 25- letter names in those products, which are probably setting us up for all kinds of weird illnesses. Hats and protective clothing have always worked for me, and I’ve made it to my 50s without my skin looking like an old leather handbag. A little olive oil or coconut oil is what I use any time dry skin is a problem.

            • I like that rule, if you won’t eat it don’t rub it on your skin.

      13. Most important thing to do” Stay off the internet.

      14. I think I’ll go hunt this full moon tonight, I like my 30-06 and scope.

        • That full moon rise tonight was breathtakingly beautiful!!

      15. Multitasking is a myth. You can only focus on one thing at a time. Same with looking at things. Put two objects about a foot apart and look at one of them. You will see the other, but it will be blurry, now shift your focus to that. Same results. I know many here shoot weapons. Front sight post clear, rear sight and target blurry. You shift focus rapidly when acquiring a target, but end up with a clear front sight when the weapon goes off.

        When multitasking, what you are really doing is shifting focus between all of the things you are trying to do. It may be very rapidly, but shifting focus is what happens. The more tasks, the more shifting. Try it sometime and see if I’m wrong.

      16. I agree: lacking situational awareness is a big fail for today’s generation. It is why I support a draft and national service to wake young people up.

        As for technology, we are seeking first-round seed funding to launch our range of personal protection/weaponized smartphones. These are totally state-of-the-art: we use DNA resonance technology (that can detect threatening races and individuals), sensors that can ‘smell’ and ‘sniff’ the environment for explosives, and come with the capability to disable or harm threats. This includes pulse waves, mind-fuck waves, thought-jammers, DNA shredders, etc.

        As an example, you are standing on a subway platform at 1 am and some hommies are coming along. Immediately, the phone detects a threatening DNA and goes into combat mode. As they approach and begin to engage in threats and threatening behavior, the phone starts to send out mind-jamming waves. One of the thugs pulls his pants down and starts masturbating. His fellow thugs are like ‘wtf’??!! Their assault is disrupted and you make your escape.

        Another scenario: you are jumped from behind on a dark street. The phone kicks into action and starts mind-fucking. As it mind-fucks, it also gets ready to discharge a jolt of electricity. As the mugger gets close, it detects him and sends out the shock wave. It also dials 911 and sends a live, real-time account to the police which is admissible in court. With the mugger on the ground, the phone then places a force field around the mugger until the police arrive. This is 22st-century stuff for the 21st century.

        • Support the draft? You would force my grandchildren to become cannon fodder for the UN , Agenda 21 and NWO? A pox on you. Not one child should ever be conscripted to fight in bankers wars.

      17. Yes I like technology. I like hot and cold running water. We carried out water from a spring and never had electricity until 1962. The out house is dam cold in winter and full of wasp and flies in the summer. A freezer is much better than the springhouse. Frozen meat is much better & easier that salty cured smoked meat. Canning on a hot wood stove in the summer turned the womens skin to leather. A freezer is much better. I like my welder,air compressor ,drill press and other shop tools . My 4 post lift is mighty handy. Electric light,s are much better than a coal oil lamp or a candle. Air cond is pretty nice also. Yes I know how to live without. I just really know the difference. I did have a cell phone when I was driving truck. Got rid of it when I quit. I like shopping online and getting the best price. Especially when there is no sales tax. within the last half hour I killed and dressed 4 tame rabbits. Cut them up and put them in the freezer. That is really handy.

      18. Facebook is CIA information gathering.

        Picture a Natzie gather info to use to take you to a concentration camp.

        Picture a Communist crackdown. Everyone who has read certain books, knows people who have read those books, or knows somebody who knows somebody who wants to be your friend on Facebook is going to a Concentration Camp.

        Whether or not there where gasings of interned people in the past, I guarantee there will be mass exterminations in the future. Actually there already are. Heroin kills. Crack cocaine kills. Processed, denatured, toxic food kills. But a speedier more efficient method would be ideal for our Natzies/Commies on the other end of the CELL.

        • Everything you Dopes Post on Facebook, becomes the property of Facebook. FaceBook Inc = FBI Facial Recognition Profiling Program. Then you are sold marketing BS too. Because Dopes Buy a lot of BS.

          Bernie Sanders quote on the Radio just said, the US Spends $80 Billion a year on housing Prisoners.

          Yep Bernie, The 1980’s Reagan Installed Drug Was is a Total Costly Fleecing Failure, still fleecing the public for the Governments fascist buddies, the Private Prison Inc. How much personal property was stolen by the Government in Asset Forfeiture programs? Most States confiscate property before the person is even convicted of any crime. What a Country!!

          ~WWTI… Starve the Beast!!! Get off the Grid.

      19. Break free from technology?

        I’m sure Mentally Il Kim Sung could help with that…. just by lobbing an EMP over our way.

      20. Instead of making electronics the enemy, use them to serve you.

        I stopped using satellite (was $156 a month) and switch to the raspberry pi KODI. I found all I ever watch was fox news and the history channel. $156 was way too much for that!

        Free live tv, movies and anything else you can think of.

        Here is a short introductory video.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJFnARZijeI

      21. Get yourself a homestead and work it. You won’t have time for most of this crap.

      22. having modern conveniences that save time, money and labor Allows me to work my homestead . I can work it quicker and much more efficiently. Instead of spending at least a hour canning the rabbit meat. I froze it in a few minutes. A zip lock bag cost less than the energy required to wash jars and heat up a canner.

      23. People would rather shock themselves than spend 15 minutes in silence doing nothing! What about 15 minutes in prayer and hearing from God? No wonder our country has spiritually devolved the way it has.

        I spend an hour a day grazing my 2 ewes and lambs in a vacant lot. Supposedly I am doing it also to pray for my country. I find I do tune in to nature a lot of that time also. I am getting really good at telling when they are going to give birth after failing my first year and losing one of twins. This year I had it within hours for both ewes and have 3 living lambs to show for it.

        • “What about 15 minutes in prayer and hearing from God?”

          Which ever God you subscribe to. I agree and spend 30 minutes a day in silent meditation.

          Or taking a couple minutes here and there when working the homestead to just gaze upon what nature has created and be grateful for all I have.

          I use technology for my benefit, I don’t let it rule me and while I’d miss some of the convenience, it wouldn’t ‘drive me under’ if it wasn’t available anymore.

      24. Moderation in all things. I find it interesting that this rant against technology is sent out via the internet. Perhaps the author should deny technology & go preach his message on a street corner; you know, face to face communication. As for not utilizing the internet to learn how to do things, that’s ridiculous. If I wanted to bake a cake I had never made would I not consult a recipe? If I needed to fix my car would I not consult the good old Chilton’s? That’s called education, my friend. One can use progress without being a slave to it.

      25. Two issues with technology. The first is the belief by some that every bit of technology brings a benefit. Second is relying on technology for all things we do. The more we connect the greater the inbuilt cumulative catastrophe. This means if the ‘supergrid’ goes down life will come to a grinding halt. I call it the supergrid as all types of networks (finance/payments, commerce, gas, electrical, supply chain, transport, etc.) are being increasingly interconnected. If is goes down all types of basic services will grind to a halt. Not being able to use your iThingy will be the least of the problems for their narcissistic users.

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