Welcome to Provide Your Own - Living


Providing your own living is what we are all about. Your living is not what you do for money. Your living is what you do to live. Since everything in ProvideYourOwn is about living, information in this area are those things that don’t fit into other categories.

The Ultimate Makers Guide to Android Apps – Buy $1000 of equipment for $30

By Scott Daniels | Published: February 15, 2012
Samsung Acclaim

How would you like to buy dozens of gadgets and other useful equipment totaling over $1,000 for only $30?What’s the catch? There is no catch. It is simply the tremendous inherent value in today’s smart phones. Because of their built-in sensors, clever developers have created a large collection of apps, that replace a whole slew of equipment. Best of all, the controls and displays of all this equipment is far superior, often includes data logging and is completely self-contained in a small gadget that fits into your pocket.

My Story

I have wanted a tablet computer for over twenty years. Now that they have finally arrived I have been viewing them with a keen interest, but high-end tablets are too expensive for me. The looked really attractive, but I recently discovered an app that I couldn’t live without that requires bluetooth (more on this app later), which the Kindle Fire lacks. Mulling it over, I had an idea – what if I put the tablet on hold for a while, and instead see if I could buy a cheap, used Android phone.

I have heard about all the amazing things people could do with iPhones and Android phones, but … Read the rest

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The Hybrid Approach – A Little is Better Than Nothing

By Scott Daniels | Published: January 18, 2012
Wind Turbines

Whenever we set ourselves a goal to “go off grid”, whether the grid means electricity, water, food, or something else, we face a task that is in all probability high unlikely to be accomplished, and maybe impossible, at least at in the short-term. When we finally face that reality we usually become discouraged and just give up or file it along with our other pipe dreams. I have been there. I have also been learning an important principle – a little is better than nothing.

We must stop thinking in terms of “getting off the grid” and more in terms of gaining some measure of independence, no matter how small and then go from there. At first glance, this idea seems ludicrous. After all, if we are still attached and dependent on an electric grid, food supply grid, etc., we are still dependent on them. That is true, however, we must consider the level of dependence as well. When we account for that factor, we begin to see that any measure of independence, no matter how small, will not only lead to greater independence in the future (progress toward our goal), but also vastly increases our security by decreasing our … Read the rest

Also posted in Energy, Food | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Are Boy Scouts Anti-Makers?

By Scott Daniels | Published: December 9, 2011
Canstove

I was recently reading an article about soda-can stoves and was dismayed to discover that the Boy Scouts are more concerned about safety at all costs instead of providing a means for boys to be ready for any contingency. Despite the project depicted in the picture, the article states:

The Boy Scouts of America now prohibits “equipment that is handcrafted, homemade, modified, or installed beyond the manufacturer’s stated design limitations or use. Examples include alcohol-burning ‘can’ stoves, smudge pots, improperly installed heaters, and propane burners with their regulators removed.”

While I am not opposed to safe practices, our society has become such a worshiper of safety and security that we have become slaves of our current corporatocracy. The Boy Scouts prohibition of handcrafting such simple alcohol stoves in just another example of this lunacy. This type of thinking is exactly the kind that ProvideYourOwn opposes.

We want people, especially boys, to make their own stuff. While we don’t quite go as far as the tongue in cheek quip over at Make magazine – “poke your eye out”, we come pretty close. We don’t advocate avoiding risk, only unnecessary and foolish risks. We want people to become as self-sufficient as … Read the rest

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Here’s Real DIY Spirit

By Scott Daniels | Published: October 27, 2011
spiral_handrail

Hannu Vartiala has captured the real spirit of ProvideYourOwn.com. He needed a hand rail for his spiral staircase, and instead of buying the expensive factory one, he ingeniously fashioned his own out of… you’ll never guess – polypipe and then covered elegantly in leather. The polypipe was made rigid by filling with smaller dowels, then filled with epoxy. Check out his article for full build details.… Read the rest

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Following Your Passions

By Scott Daniels | Published: October 17, 2011

Steve Jobs was best known as a man who followed his passions.  With his recent passing, I found a commencement speech that he gave to Stanford University graduates provided an interesting view on his accomplishments. In his speech he reflected on his life, his successes and his failures. You can either view his address or read the transcript here. It is worthwhile reading or viewing.

Gary North recently wrote about his own impressions on Job’s speech. I have some of my own observations to offer as well.

Education

Regarding college education, Jobs found it to be:

  • extremely expensive
  • most of the courses to be of little value yet required in order to graduate
  • some courses were very useful and could be taken for free if not concerned with getting credit for them

These observations mirror my own regarding college. Now I know that education, especially college education is considered to be sacrosanct in this country, yet I find its value similar to what Jobs found it to be. The sole reason to pay for an expensive college education is not for the education value, but for the piece of paper that opens doors into the job market. The truth is, … Read the rest

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Getting Out of Debt – Finding the Best Advice

By Scott Daniels | Published: September 14, 2011

I don’t normally cover financial advice, but I wanted to pass along a tidbit I recently came across. A lot of people are big fans of Dave Ramsey. He has a strong personality, and a lot of people like listening to that sort of person. I think that explains his popularity more than anything – kind of a Rush Limbaugh for personal finances.

I don’t listen to his show, but I have met people who do and are big fans. One thing that has always troubled me is: here is a multimillionaire who sells expensive “get out of debt” materials to those who are in the greatest financial need. On top of that, he claims to be a Christian. I guess he never read the part of the Bible where it condemns those who profit by taking advantage of the poor. He could give the basic materials away for free and still be quite rich, but he doesn’t. He prefers to profit off the backs of the poor and needy.

Evidently, I am not only alone in this opinion. Gary North has recently published a scathing piece on this man and his financial advice. It is called How Dave Ramsey … Read the rest

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Are Certain Habits Holding You Back?

By Scott Daniels | Published: July 22, 2011

You may find the article Are Your Habits the Barrier to Your Online Success? useful. The author posits the idea that many of us have certain traits or habits that prevent our success. This lack of success may be in business, but it also may in other areas of life. The habits he mentions apply mostly to blogging success, but the idea raises the question: what personal traits or habits are preventing you from success in your job, your relationships, your life, etc.?

Maybe this idea will give you the inspiration to examine your life to see if there are any positive changes you can make to improve yourself. You might also want to ask some friends or family members what are some things you need to change. Such examination might be emotionally painful, but if you are earnest at change and success, it will be well worth it.… Read the rest

Also posted in Job | Tagged , | Leave a comment

15 Minutes a Day …

By Scott Daniels | Published: July 12, 2011

…can change your life. No, this is not meant as a trite phrase. I really do mean it. This idea was inspired by a short but sweet TED talk by Matt Cutts called Try Something New for 30 Days. After listening to the talk, I started brainstorming about what 30 day challenges I would like to do.

Here is my short list:

  • Clean room/office for 15 minutes every day
  • Practice my violin for 15 minutes every day
  • Work on learning Spanish for 15 minutes each day
  • Do something to give someone an emotional lift or encouragement
  • Work on a goal for 15 minutes every day, even if just to think about it

The last one – working on a goal, would actually be multiple 30 day challenges. Each one would be a goal I have wanted to do for a long time, but never got around to it, or can’t figure out how to accomplish it.

If you look at my list, most of the items are things I have always wanted to do, but never have done so – things like keeping a clean organized room, learning to play violin decently, learning Spanish, and other big goals. As … Read the rest

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Makers & Submarines

By Scott Daniels | Published: June 15, 2011

I found this wooden (yes, wooden) submarine project that I couldn’t resist sharing.What I found particularly fascinating was the well made video describing the project. This modest submarine is a re-creation of the first private submarine and one of the first subs of any kind ever made. The video provides a brief history of submarine development, and describes the chain of human inspiration (which includes Jules Verne) that led Simon Lake to create his unique vessel. It also describes the tremendous odds he had to overcome, and the great difficulty of his accomplishment.

This 8 minute video should be an inspiration to us all in our endeavor to be makers and providers. Check it out, and share your thoughts in the comments below. Also, if you have any stories of your own personal accomplishments where you overcome obstacles in meeting your goals, please share them as well.

UPDATE: Check out this man’s submarine story as well. If this poor Chinese migrant worker can reach his dreams, why can’t you? What’s holding you back? As his story attests, it is not lack of money or talent that restricts us, but we ourselves. It is time to throw off those shackles and … Read the rest

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Repairing Things

By Scott Daniels | Published: January 13, 2011

How many times have you thrown something away because some little piece of plastic broke? The item was perfectly serviceable, save for that cheap little plastic part. I can’t count the number of times it has happened to me. Times are tougher now. Many of us just can’t afford to throw away things because of such small issues. Not to mention the other downsides of a throw-away society – toxic waste, exploitative multi-national corporations, dwindling resources, etc. Which leaves us in a quandary. How do we fix these things?

That is where I bring good news. In most cases, you do not need to throw these things away anymore. You can repair them. Even if they are plastic. I just posted clear instructions, complete with photographs and even video on how I repaired a large hole in a plastic automotive part. You can view it here:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Repair-Plastic-Parts/

Repaired air handler cover for car

I also recently salvaged an expensive vacuum sealer machine which had a crucial plastic clip that broke off. I used super-glue to join it back on, and then reinforced it with hot glue. It works great now.

Another recent repair was to a used refrigerator we had bought. In many older refrigerators, the … Read the rest

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