My girlfriend Colleen Murphy was out to visit THO today. We have not seen one another in a long time, but we stay in touch. Colleen is a very talented artist and amateur photographer. It was wonderful to spend the day with my kindred friend.
She took and shared some beautiful photos which I will be posting over the next days.
I am standing here in the sacred grounds, can you find the warrior peaking out of the sun? This photo is NOT edited in any way at all.
What is ubiquitous assimilation? This three minute clip from the 2011 film, Detachment sums up what it means really nicely.
I am pretty sure that no sensible person can argue about the fact that we live in a period of time where society suffers from ubiquitous assimilation in a way that is scarily similar to the Borg.
As a Tiny Houser, I would like to think that the Star Trek: Next Generation writers were wrong. The Borg are science fiction characters, right? Sadly, I don’t think the concept of them is really so far fetched. I think that most people claim individualism but really, in this society, your distinctiveness is not assimilated into the group; Borgists of the world have their distinctiveness written over, disposed of, like an old floppy disk.
This Borgism applies heavily to the way that we live. The marketing holocaust reaches into every area of our life right down to how we live. Really, I would like to believe that we do not live in a world where everyone is not madly consuming stuff. Taking way more than they need, building huge homes which they cannot afford, filling them with stuff that they also cannot afford… just because advertising, television, and social pressure are telling them that this will make them happy. Assimilate, assimilate, assimilate… shop, shop, shop… CONSUME!
The crazy that is packed into this doublethink is lost on most people. I can’t tell you how many people I have heard bragging about the fact that they LOVE to shop… Love to buy… Even LOVE to be capitalists! Funny but these people never seem that happy. The seem too busy, too rushed, with never enough time to sit for a coffee. They don’t have time to enjoy any moments. They explain that they “gotta get to work, gotta get to the mall… My life is too busy to stop” they say.
Ubiquitous assimilation/doublethink.
I encourage you to consider if any of this post applies to your own housing and/or your stuff collection situation. Does this apply your life in any way at all?
I am not saying that you should all buy land, build a Tiny House and set up a farm. This would be as absurdly Borgist (though not as wasteful or consumeristic) as the current big pile of crap in a big house. When everyone does the same thing it is conformity. a Tiny House may not fit your NEEDS. I am not asking you all to mould yourself into something that does not fit you.
The current way of life for most of us in the (so called) developed world is not something that every person should want to do… still, they do it. What I do ask is that you to consider is all that stuff really making you happy? Or, is the way you live your life being constructed and ruled by marketing. Are you living beyond your needs and if so, whom are you are making happy while complying with the ubiquitous assimilation to advertising and consumer culture?
It is obvious, that this constant assault of advertising has created huge social pressure because it has triggered in us the need to do better so that we can be measured by some artificially constructed corporate concept of success. It is human nature (for most of us) to want to be accepted and looked up to, but are we doing this in a way that is truly giving us a better quality of life? Are we happy? Are you happy?
I ask you, have you been Borged or are you still an individual?
Too, if you have just now come to understand that you have been Borged, are you already so much a part of the corporate collective that you can no longer escape it and find your individual route?
I am catching up on the Tiny House community while I am in Hamilton and I have the luxury of a full time internet connection.
I found this interview with Dee Williams. Dee has been living full time in her 84 square foot Tiny House (on wheels) in Olympia Washington, since 2003.
I think that she and I have more in common than having dogs named Rudi… but I have come to understand that we Tiny Housers all have things in common. I can’t speak for us all, but I have noticed, largely, that we do not wish to participate in consumer culture, we think about what we consume and we try to lead our lives simply and sustainably. More than once I have heard Tiny Housers speak to the issue of simplification because they want time with those who they care about, more than they want stuff in their lives.
“I think stuff is a huge distraction from your character” Dee Williams
I went to Brewer’s Marine in Hamilton yesterday afternoon and I have to say, it is a very cool store for a Tiny Houser like myself. Sadly, their webpage does NOT do them justice at all – it is not navigable unless you know who makes what you need. Still, they are very nice in when you visit them there and they have all sorts of GREAT Tiny Stuff for people who are downsizing (or for you smart folks that are started or are starting small). One of the really cool things was a tiny dish rack. I already have one that folds so I am good but if I would have seen this first…
Tim helped me out MASSIVELY with what I need. He tested each of the lights for brightness and counselled me about my wiring needs. He spent a full half hour with me so that I would get exactly what I need and be happy with my purchase. You simply don’t get service like this from huge corporations. Again, another reason why I buy from small business when I need stuff.
The 12v items here are the ones I purchased (They are in the order shown and listed below):
– waterproof connection box (which is where the wires from the battery will come in and become divided)
– LED spot light to light the dog garden (bright but a little costly)
– 16 gage coated wire ( I could save a few cents a foot using single wire but I thought this would be neater)
– 3 LED reading lights with rotating heads and build in switches. Two for the main floor and one for the bedroom.
– LED Tiny light for the Tiny In house
– LED 12 bulb interior/exterior light for the cloth porch
– LED interior/exterior-underwater for the North door
– 4 toggle switches for the lights that do not come with these built in
– 12v receptacle plug
The total cost was $427.70 which would be ~$100 less if I had not purchased the spot light for the dogs. Not cheap, but the items are guaranteed for 10 years and I am great at keeping receipts.
After I left there, I went to Guillevin which is a little electrical supply store to purchase 100 feet of metal (then PVC/both rodent and weather proof) coated wire to get from the solar panel to the battery case. I needed a hundred feet of this and along with the Marrettes the cost was $93.17. Holy expensive stuff that wire, but still, I have everything (I think) I need for the job now.
With the solar already hooked up, charged, working, tested and ready to go, the only thing that I have to do is install the stuff that I bought. It means that I have to tear THO apart to get this stuff installed. It will be a big mess, but I think I will do this one light at a time. As well, I think that having lights, real lights without the tiny battery waste is certainly a positive. Marine deep cells that I have for the solar system simply last a lot longer and are loads stronger; at least this is what I have read and understand to be true.
Anything I am forgetting? Any volunteers for the installation or anyone who wants to learn along with me for your own purposes?
We got a little rain this morning so the stone dust got packed in a little bit better. This allowed us to add another layer of stone dust to it. The neighbour kids stopped by and wanted to help so I suggested that they stamp the stones in. They happily stomped away. Thanks kids!
The stone is at about the height that want it now, so I think I need to add a little more to it still because it will compress more over the winter. It is just about level so I am thinking that I have to add a small slope away from the building in order to keep the water away. I am not sure how to do this as entire property slopes toward the other side of the house so the natural way is for it to go toward this side of the house. I have to think about this, but I think that I will have to slope it to the East. Also, I am accepting any advice you might have on the subject.
After working at this for a couple of hours I went with the kids over to a wonderful organic farm in Inverary, Ontario. We were reminded that the drought is not just something that effects farmers, it effects eaters. How true.
Her garden looks about a million times better than mine. She is producing all sorts of food for a CSA as well as baking bread and producing eggs for these baskets. Plus the animals… they all need care and attention at all times. Then the crops and the … it really never ends on a bio-diverse organic farm. The entire family seems only willing to stop for in order to have a short food break and then they are back to work.
Tiny House Ontario 