When people talk about “getting off the grid,” the image that usually springs to my mind is the full-on pioneer fantasy: selling the house, buying 40 acres in the bush, installing solar panels, drilling a well, raising chickens, and growing enough potatoes to survive the next ice age.
So good! Small town living alleviates this madness in so many ways. Please DM me when you visit your sisters again - beers on me. That also helps (temporarily).
Bitcoin is available at ATM machines. Located at seedy variety stores. Found online. Anonymously. You must create your own wallet. Quite simple actually. The entire point of bitcoin was the anonymous part. ending the ability of the state to wage war. Not an investment opportunity. An exchange medium that by-passed the central control grid. The starvation of statism. Ultimately the ascendancy of free thinking humans.
I have very little Bitcoin, but I was experimenting with having it as a payment option for therapy clients. I use Exodus, and if I wanted to buy more BT and get it in my wallet, it defaults to MoonPay, which will allow me to buy BT and pay for it with an Interac bank transfer directly from my bank...which would make investing in BT very, very easy.
So when I tried to set it up, I fell into this trouble as described in the article. It actually ended up WORSE than the article states...all of this crap is insane.
I’m not an expert. My understanding is that if you have a wallet (Not linked to any bitcoin trading house) you simply hold up your phone and your client scans in the bitcoin. Or can type in your wallet address.
I have paid for stuff this way though I’ve never received any bitcoin myself. Despite having a handsome mug and a six pack.
Yes, paying, or having people pay you, this way is easy. It is when I want to invest something myself that it gets difficult. Banks in Canada do not care for Bitcoin and, of course, have "made up" all sorts of security hoops you have to jump through the buy BT.
I am a wimp. It would not be easy for me. But if I were not married, I do believe I would buy a trailer on a few acres, buy a few dogs, and sit on my patio watching the sunset, eating a can of beans out of the can each night.
So true. I think the system put my poor Mother in her grave. She just couldn't cope with the endless press 3 then press 4 then omg...I'm just gonna hang up!
What was even worse was when you finally did get to speak with a human they were in Pakistan or some other God-forsaken place with an accent so strong they were unintelligible. I used to try to help my 90+ year old uncle navigate the quagmire until even I couldn’t understand the babble coming from the other end.
Yep. The US gov is driving me crazy with the quickly escalating verification requirements.
I tried to access my Social Security account online. My identity was verified last year (and previous years), but they want more this year. Every few months I would get on and try. Each time I gave more of what they wanted. When I finally gave in to the “we need a video of your face” (GRRR!) it wouldn’t accept it. I had submitted to their evil demands and they said no!!
I explained this to my son who needed me to get proof of income so I can move, and now he’s going to take me to the VA office personally, I called the local social security office and they are mailing their part.
I hear you!!! This is utterly insane. And there is really nothing we can do; we have to comply, or we will lose our social security check, which of course is not acceptable.
I honestly believe it will come to that, a huge drop off in people collecting their benefits, and no one doing anything about it. It is irritating beyond measure for me, but there are many people out who simply CANNOT comply because they have no idea how to do all that they ask... to "create a "video" of themselves, or take a "Selfie, holding their ID, with it in focus, and close enough for the camera to read the tiny text, or turn their head in such a way that is acceptable" ...they will just give up, go lay down in their bed, with no heat because their electricity was turned off because they didn't understand what was going on with they came to replace their meter with a smart meter...not because they refused, but simply because it was beyond their comprehension what was going on...they will lay in their bed, fall asleep, and freeze to death..."Good," the authority says, "Another one down we don't have to pay scoical security, or medicaid to...."
Great piece ! I feel your pain ! I see this “ intentional “ agro starting at the fringes , the walls moving into the mainstream yes like a slow boil . Most will be unaware.
Todd after all that frustration that you endured with no success that company/service still has all those personal details you shared, I bet. The world we find ourselves in is ruthless and dystopian to say the least. I absolutely hate giving over any information these days, knowing that someone/somewhere is using it, in some way. The 40 acres in the bush sounds cool with a romantic twist as you suggest but I wouldn't last long enough for a bear to eat me. I really liked the show, "The Little House on the Prairie" though.
I had a supervisor once who was a real outdoorsy guy...he went on a major month-long hike/camping retreat once a year. Once, while he was deep in the woods looking for a place to bed down for the night, he found a cave and set up his sleeping bag close to the entrance. In the middle of the night, he woke up, wondering if some bear would lumber into its lair, find him there, and eat him. He shrugged and went back to sleep, thinkng, "Well, if that happened, it would be a good way to go."
Regarding the personal data snatch. I have to say I am past that. I figure they are going to get it some way or another. I have resigned to the fact that if that is the way I leave this world...with them finding me through all the data I've given them, it will just have to be the way it is. I had a friend tell me, "At least you will know there is some clone of yourself still walking the streets once you are dead"...nice...
God yes. When I was a kid, I used to amuse myself while waiting for the bus by figuring out how many years of my life I would spend waiting for the bus. Now it's how many years of my life I will spend trying to get through these interminable, soul squeezing application, verification, etc. processes online. And I dont have that many left!
So good! Small town living alleviates this madness in so many ways. Please DM me when you visit your sisters again - beers on me. That also helps (temporarily).
Bitcoin is available at ATM machines. Located at seedy variety stores. Found online. Anonymously. You must create your own wallet. Quite simple actually. The entire point of bitcoin was the anonymous part. ending the ability of the state to wage war. Not an investment opportunity. An exchange medium that by-passed the central control grid. The starvation of statism. Ultimately the ascendancy of free thinking humans.
Silly idea. Too bad most folk didn’t get it.
Peace
I have very little Bitcoin, but I was experimenting with having it as a payment option for therapy clients. I use Exodus, and if I wanted to buy more BT and get it in my wallet, it defaults to MoonPay, which will allow me to buy BT and pay for it with an Interac bank transfer directly from my bank...which would make investing in BT very, very easy.
So when I tried to set it up, I fell into this trouble as described in the article. It actually ended up WORSE than the article states...all of this crap is insane.
I’m not an expert. My understanding is that if you have a wallet (Not linked to any bitcoin trading house) you simply hold up your phone and your client scans in the bitcoin. Or can type in your wallet address.
I have paid for stuff this way though I’ve never received any bitcoin myself. Despite having a handsome mug and a six pack.
In the fridge……. Lol
Yes, paying, or having people pay you, this way is easy. It is when I want to invest something myself that it gets difficult. Banks in Canada do not care for Bitcoin and, of course, have "made up" all sorts of security hoops you have to jump through the buy BT.
I think learning to radically simplify is a good idea. It is so much easier, so much saner, and also accomplishes what you are talking about here.
I am a wimp. It would not be easy for me. But if I were not married, I do believe I would buy a trailer on a few acres, buy a few dogs, and sit on my patio watching the sunset, eating a can of beans out of the can each night.
So true. I think the system put my poor Mother in her grave. She just couldn't cope with the endless press 3 then press 4 then omg...I'm just gonna hang up!
Sorry to hear that. But this is a formidable problem, and only getting worse...the "press 3, then press 4" thing has graduated to AI chat...
What was even worse was when you finally did get to speak with a human they were in Pakistan or some other God-forsaken place with an accent so strong they were unintelligible. I used to try to help my 90+ year old uncle navigate the quagmire until even I couldn’t understand the babble coming from the other end.
That situation, fortunately, will disappear with AI Chat Bots...even the Pakistani outsource will be out of a job soon.
Yep. The US gov is driving me crazy with the quickly escalating verification requirements.
I tried to access my Social Security account online. My identity was verified last year (and previous years), but they want more this year. Every few months I would get on and try. Each time I gave more of what they wanted. When I finally gave in to the “we need a video of your face” (GRRR!) it wouldn’t accept it. I had submitted to their evil demands and they said no!!
I explained this to my son who needed me to get proof of income so I can move, and now he’s going to take me to the VA office personally, I called the local social security office and they are mailing their part.
I’m so sick of this world
I hear you!!! This is utterly insane. And there is really nothing we can do; we have to comply, or we will lose our social security check, which of course is not acceptable.
I honestly believe it will come to that, a huge drop off in people collecting their benefits, and no one doing anything about it. It is irritating beyond measure for me, but there are many people out who simply CANNOT comply because they have no idea how to do all that they ask... to "create a "video" of themselves, or take a "Selfie, holding their ID, with it in focus, and close enough for the camera to read the tiny text, or turn their head in such a way that is acceptable" ...they will just give up, go lay down in their bed, with no heat because their electricity was turned off because they didn't understand what was going on with they came to replace their meter with a smart meter...not because they refused, but simply because it was beyond their comprehension what was going on...they will lay in their bed, fall asleep, and freeze to death..."Good," the authority says, "Another one down we don't have to pay scoical security, or medicaid to...."
Yes, exactly
Great piece ! I feel your pain ! I see this “ intentional “ agro starting at the fringes , the walls moving into the mainstream yes like a slow boil . Most will be unaware.
Exactly.
Todd after all that frustration that you endured with no success that company/service still has all those personal details you shared, I bet. The world we find ourselves in is ruthless and dystopian to say the least. I absolutely hate giving over any information these days, knowing that someone/somewhere is using it, in some way. The 40 acres in the bush sounds cool with a romantic twist as you suggest but I wouldn't last long enough for a bear to eat me. I really liked the show, "The Little House on the Prairie" though.
I had a supervisor once who was a real outdoorsy guy...he went on a major month-long hike/camping retreat once a year. Once, while he was deep in the woods looking for a place to bed down for the night, he found a cave and set up his sleeping bag close to the entrance. In the middle of the night, he woke up, wondering if some bear would lumber into its lair, find him there, and eat him. He shrugged and went back to sleep, thinkng, "Well, if that happened, it would be a good way to go."
Regarding the personal data snatch. I have to say I am past that. I figure they are going to get it some way or another. I have resigned to the fact that if that is the way I leave this world...with them finding me through all the data I've given them, it will just have to be the way it is. I had a friend tell me, "At least you will know there is some clone of yourself still walking the streets once you are dead"...nice...
God yes. When I was a kid, I used to amuse myself while waiting for the bus by figuring out how many years of my life I would spend waiting for the bus. Now it's how many years of my life I will spend trying to get through these interminable, soul squeezing application, verification, etc. processes online. And I dont have that many left!
I used to think about the same kind of weird stuff. "How many times will I flush a toilet, and how many more times will I do it"