Homestead mailing list

[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Rob wrote:

> Lynda uses some type of microwave internet, a line-of-sight thing. 
> You are in a valley, Is there any place around your valley that some
>  type of repeater could be put on the ridge?  This line of thought 
> gets you turned into an ISP company for the valley.... There are 
> other line-of-sight options which are tough in a valley.

No, my ridges are national forest land.

> In Minnesota (7 years ago) the telephone co-op ran fiber optics to 
> all it's customers, out here PUD3 is running fiber optics but is not
>  going everywhere, just to selected areas. The local phone company 
> just started offering DSL at our place and then there is Comcast who
>  does everything out here through a coax cable.

> I'd ask at the local utilities to see if anything is on the horizon 
> or even being talked about (political promises for the us little 
> people are a very long shots). See what folks have to say about 
> satellite comms (warnings, limitations and things to look for) then 
> I'd call the satellite companies.
>
> You have made the decision, that's often the hard part.

Good-glad you the system is gonna work for you.  I've been told that
there are no plans to EVER upgrade out here due to the small number of
people who live here. They could never justify the infrastructure costs.

I've heard rumors that long range planning puts my land under water.
The ridges all around me are natural dams, and this is valley would be a
rather deep reservoir.  I'd like to see some kind of 50-100 year plan.
Do these things exist?
My county has, I think it was a 15 year plan for growth.  I looked at it
before I bought here, and saw nothing near me. Almost 12 years here now,
and only two houses have been built, and since one store closed, we are
actually further away from gasoline, food, or conveniences than we were
when I moved here.   It is hard to believe, but some mornings, I can
drive for 15 minutes before I ever see another car!  That's pretty good
for anywhere in Georgia!

--
Many of our greatest American thinkers, men of the caliber of Thomas
Jefferson, Henry Thoreau, Mark Twain, William James, and John Muir, have
found the forest an effective stimulus to original thought.
Bob Marshall