This is the first in a series on Living Off the Grid. If you’re off the grid, send us your story. If you dream about living off the grid, read on.  

When Paula and Matt built their home on a rural Vermont back road 11 years ago, the cost of running a utility line was about the same as buying a minimal amount of solar panels (enough for a couple without kids to get by): $10,000. The couple chose solar. “We have never regretted that decision,” Paula says. “We now have 1.5 kW in solar power, and this is perfect for our needs–most months, anyway!”

Paula and Matt started out with a 600-watt system, which forced them to think wisely when they designed their home and purchased appliances. “We built a house with plenty of natural light!” Paula says. As the family grew to four, Paula and Matt installed more panels to support a dishwasher, a front-loading washer, a (rarely used) gas dryer, a Sunfrost refrigerator, an efficient DC freezer and a computer. In winter, the family cooks and heats water on a wood cookstove, which Paula also fires up on summer mornings to prep veggies for quiche (baked in the toaster oven) later in the day.

Paula says the family has enough power to do everything it wants and needs to do. The only drawback she sees to off-the-grid living is that when parts break, wear out or get hit by lightning, the power’s off until that part is fixed. In 11 years, the system’s batteries have worn out and the inverter inexplicably burned up. “My advice is that families plan ahead for expenses like these, which can run a few thousand dollars,” Paula says.

She doesn’t miss monthly utility bills, power outages, coal or imported oil. “What I like most is that we have a constant awareness of what electrical power is, where it comes from, and how much we are using,” Paula says. “Our sons have grown up living off-grid, and their simple acceptance of this lifestyle is also one of the best things about it. I think many people on the grid view going off-grid as a sacrifice. But it doesn’t have to be!”

  

Paula and Matt designed their home to get lots of natural light. 

 

Solar panels feed the family’s electricity needs, and gardens feed the family. 

 

Paula is living the good life. 

 

Cooking and cleaning up for a family of four takes a lot of wood. 

 

These kids dig living off the grid. 

Mortgage rates ease for first time in a month

Borrowers rush to beat FHA premium increases

By Inman News, Thursday, April 21, 2011.

Inman News™

Mortgage rates eased this week for the first time in a month, as signs of inflation remained subdued, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.8 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 21, down from 4.91 percent last week and 5.07 percent a year ago.

This year, rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans have ranged from 4.71 percent in early January to a high of 5.05 percent in February. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit an all-time low in Freddie Mac records dating to 1971 of 4.17 percent during the week ending Nov. 11.

"Low inflation is keeping mortgage rates at bay," said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft in a statement. "The core consumer price index rose just 0.1 percent in March, below the market consensus forecast. The 12-month growth rate in core prices was 1.2 percent, which is also rather low by historical standards."

Freddie Mac’s survey showed rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaging 4.02 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from 4.13 percent last week and 4.39 percent a year ago. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage hit a low in records dating back to 1991 of 3.57 percent in November.

Rates on 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans averaged 3.61 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from 3.78 percent last week and 4.03 percent a year ago. The 5-year ARM hit a low in records dating to 2005 of 3.25 percent in November.

Rates on 1-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 3.16 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from 3.25 percent last week and 4.22 percent a year ago.

Looking back a week, a separate survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed demand for purchase loans was up a seasonally adjusted 10 percent during the week ending April 15 compared to the week before.

The increase in purchase loan applications to the highest level since Dec. 3 was largely due to a 17.6 percent increase in applications for government-backed loans, the MBA said. Borrowers were likely motivated by a scheduled increase in FHA insurance premiums, the group said.

Despite the surge in demand, purchase loan applications remained 11.4 percent below the level seen at the same time a year ago, the MBA said.

Requests for refinancings were up 2.7 percent from the week before, but accounted for 58.5 percent of mortgage applications, the lowest share since May, 2010.

MBA economists expect rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans will average 5.1 percent during April, May and June, and climb to an average of 5.6 percent during the final three months of the year.

In an April 14 forecast, MBA economists predicted that rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans will rise more gradually next year, to an average of 6 percent in the final three months of 2012.

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You Couldn’t Make It Up: The Dangers of Misunderstanding the Power of the Internet

I recently wrote a guest post on why Common Sense is so vital within any SEO campaign as, unfortunately, this is something that seems to be dwindling in recent generations. So following on from that slightly, I want to discuss how the power of the internet has greatly affected lives across the globe; simply by misusing what is the most powerful tool today.

The internet can make people that wouldn’t have necessarily become famous, worldwide superstars, one news story can become a trending topic on one of the most widely known social mediums in a matter of hours, and relationships, jobs and sanity can all be taken with one click of a button.

Here are some funny, sad and downright stupid examples of why the Internet must be used wisely.

Facebook: The number one passion killer.

Since the arrival of Facebook and the word got around, it’s since overtaken Google as the most visited website in the world. For the most part, people use it for chatting, the occasional profile snoop and of course, organising intimate social events in the wide open space of the worldwide web.

Unfortunately, some people have decided that they’d rather use the website to pick up dates, which is fine; except when they are already ‘In a Relationship’.

Recent studies have shown that many marriages have ended in divorce due to Facebook infidelity. Whether it’s by finding previous love interests or simply striking up new ones by ‘Poking’ ‘Lol’ing or ‘Liking’, the truth is the number of people thinking they are being discreet (again by using the WORLD wide web) are rudely mistaken. Private messages and outright flirting via Facebook has decreased trust within relationships and increased the legal fees for divorce lawyers.

So, next time you wish to ‘Poke’ the boy from school who always had lovely blue eyes and borrowed a pencil from you in Maths, think of your partner on the sofa next to you, probably snoring, farting or both, and perhaps weigh up whether it’s really worth it?

The YouTube Success: “Leave the Camera Alone!!”

You may not know the names Chris Crocker, or the kid from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, or even Harry and Charlie. But I bet if I mentioned “Leave Britney Alone!”,  Star Wars Kid and “Charlie bit my finger!” you’d all know exactly what videos I was talking about.

As annoying it is to know who these people are, they prove outright what power the internet has over the destiny of some people in the world. Whether or not you yourself have seen these videos, you’ll most certainly have heard someone talking about them; most likely from watching Channel 4’s RudeTube.

The sad thing is, they haven’t just had their 15 minutes of fame – they are online for life. So next time you think about uploading a video or your friend skateboarding with a firework in his back pocket, maybe just rethink about the consequences and keep in mind the mental affect this will have on your future children.

Call a Doctor: Or just get an online Medical diagnosis

Even i f you are normally a rational person in everyday life, finding something abnormal on your body may spur irrational panic. Unfortunately, this is where every computer should be buried and never dug back up.

Sadly more often than not the first thing people do is log on, type in the abnormality and self-diagnose their rash, lump or spot; often with frightening consequences.

Whether you know of a ‘reliable’ website or not, the internet is the worst place to turn when calmness is required; it’s likely to provoke the complete opposite. If you are ever in doubt in regards to your health, go old school and pick up the phone, make a doctor’s appointment or if in a real emergency, get down A&E rather than relying on Wikipedia.

Email: To, CC, BCC and downright foolishness.

We’ve all done it. Sent an email to the wrong person and then sent a follow up email explaining that we’ve sent it to the wrong person; just in case they didn’t know.

However, there has been recent news in the UK of two men being suspended from their place of work due to emails regarding one of their female flatmates.

Harry and Sebastian swapped emails discussing Jenni, the ex-girlfriend and current flatmate of Harry. Sebastian was interested in dating Jenni and was finding out if Harry would mind. Unfortunately Harry CC’d Jenni in on the emails in which he used offensive language to describe her and the fact they didn’t get on.

As with everything online, it didn’t take much for this to then go viral which then led to the suspension.

Lesson learnt; if you don’t want the whole world to know what you think of someone – don’t put it in black and white.

So, whether you want instant fame and to be mocked in a satirical episode of a new 20th Century Fox cartoon, or like to feel the fear of dying from what is actually prickly heat rash, then the internet is the perfect tool to carry on using without common sense. However for those of us that are mostly sane, we’ll keep using it for finding great holiday deals, arranging house viewings and researching the latest Jamie Oliver recipe.

I hope I’ve highlighted just some of the misuses of the internet and I promise you there will be more; just make sure it’s not you I’m reading about next, please.

Written By:

Jenny Pilley | Internet Marketing | @crearegroup

Jenny Pilley is head of the Content Writing team at Creare who specialise in SEO, web design, ecommerce, internet marketing, email marketing and video production.

More Posts By Jenny Pilley

• http://profiles.google.com/swedisgnom D.L.SARGENT theSwedishGnome

  WOW awsome…and so true, you hit it on the head!

• http://twitter.com/LaurynDollBaby Lauryn Doll Baby

  “Facebook infidelity”: Now that is a new one!

• http://twitter.com/ian_williams Ian Williams

  “think of your partner on the sofa next to you, probably snoring, farting or both, and perhaps weigh up whether it’s really worth it?”

  Not the most compelling deterrent!

  Always amused when guys try to pick up your girlfriend on Facebook. You’re sitting there, reading their messages, “Hey babe, you deserve better, OMG…yadda yadda bla bla bla.”

  I miss university-only Facebook. Frankly the whole thing fell apart when they let the commoners in.

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This guest post is by Marcie Hill of The Write Design Company .

Facebook has taken the Web by storm in a very short period.  In addition to being the highest ranking social networking site, it is the second most visited site in the world according to Alexa, the popular blog measuring tool.  Facebook’s popularity is so great that it unseated Google as the king of the Web one day in 2010.

Even though Facebook offer relationships, fun, and exposure, following are five reasons why I think your self-hosted blog is more valuable than your Facebook Page.

1. You can control your own media and space

You have limited control on Facebook. You have access to the profiles and pages you create, but having access isn’t the same as ownership.  And your design options are minimal. Your blog, on the other hand, is your space to do what you want, when you want, how you want.  From design to set up to content.

I recall a time when Facebook sent a message to their millions of members information them of content ownership.  Apparently, anything shared on Facebook belonged to them.  After loads of protests and opposition, the social networking giant backed down. I am not convinced.  Generally speaking, if you do not own something, you cannot control it.  If Facebook shuts down or suspends your account, you will not have access to the content you entered.  Thus, your self-hosted site is definitely a better option for media creation.

2. You can reach a very targeted group

People who sign up to receive your blog updates tend to be most interested in the content you provide.  It is more likely that this group will convert to loyal followers. You can have all the fans you want on Facebook, but if those people are not taking interest in what you share on your blog, all you have is a big remote fan base on someone else’s site.

3. You have the chance to get paid for advertisements

On Facebook, you have to pay to get your message to your targeted group.  On your blog, people have to pay you to get their message across to your audience.  Because you control the site, you determine the type of ads you want, how long you are going to let them run and how much they should cost.

4. You can rank high on Google

If someone conducts a Google search on your name or company, your Facebook pages may appear within the top five search results.  That’s impressive.  However, if you blog quality content consistently, your site will also rank within the top five—or at least on the first page.  Even if your self-hosted site appears below your Facebook page in the search results, at least you own the site.

5. Everybody is not on Facebook

Some people may never join Facebook; others are leaving.  Even with these transitions, people will always have access to your blog.  You don’t want to alienate people who are likely to support you just because they’re not on Facebook.

Above are five reasons why I think your self-hosted blog is better than your Facebook Page. Use Facebook as a means to an end—not as an end in itself. Use it to make contacts and drive traffic back to the site you own and control.  Remember, if you don’t own it, you can’t control.  And you will never own Facebook.

Marcie Hill is the Founder & President of The Write Design Company help clients develop creative conversations that will lead to long-term online and offline relationships.  She also shares information on culture, education, employment, health and youth programs and activities on her community site, Shorty: Your Chicago South Side Resource.

Facebook recently surpassed tech giants like Google and Microsoft in customer engagement, the statement not only elicits awe but is also enough to prove the growing clout of social network marketing. If industry reports are to be believed, there are more social networking accounts today than the total number of people in the world, with 4.5 billion active accounts. People are yearning to be a part of the social networking phenomenon; this has led to the unprecedented dominance of social network marketing in the advertising world which is forever on the lookout for new mediums to get advertorial messages across.