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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> Now that is hard-core!

I greatly admire the ethics and independence of using hand, rather than 
power tools. Certainly a good idea to be as self-sufficient as possible. 
Much self-satisfaction.

Hard labor day after day is a criminal sentence. I think Scott Nearing 
would have lived longer if he had given his body an easier time of it. 
Looking forward to yet another day of drudgery is antithetical to long life.

If one has a very small and/or very energy-efficient house with an 
efficient wood-burner, then maybe it could work long-term. I have tried 
doing it. I own three cross-cut saws and a bow saw as well as axes, wedges 
and mauls. Takes a lot of time. I like the sounds of the woods that hand 
sawing allows. Lots of Zen moments. Ah, well, each of us needs to work our 
way through the various experiences. We live, learn, enjoy or not, and evolve.