by Aaron Rene Carvajal | Jun 24, 2015 | Design & Innovation, Dome Homes, Freedom, Geodesic Domes, The Future
What is the real world? Those that don’t understand how to navigate through it are very vulnerable, which is why most people ultimately conform to fit into the framework of society. It was recently discovered that humans have been making fire for about 400,000 years. So civilization is really quite new and hardly the whole of human history. We are in a state of metamorphosis with the rapid rise and unprecedented power to communicate and share ideas. We believe that an incredible opportunity has arisen that will allow us to rewrite our own definition of what constitutes civilization. Food, water, shelter, security, and the innate need to be together are at the root of what creates community. When we handle these needs in a more reasonable and responsible way, the form and function of civilization will start to transform as well. How can this happen if those with dissenting ideas are the yet un-molded young and those considered too stubborn or stupid to be of any real use in today’s economic end all, number-centric paradigm?
We have always and will always be at war. History repeats itself right? It’s a dog eat dog world, survival of the fittest, individual empowerment, you deserve it all and will get it if you work hard and don’t give up. Those that don’t understand or accept this reality are children, radical, crazy, or lazy. They have no worth to civilization and fall into the category of idiots. Indeed this word comes from the Greek word diōtēs – meaning one who did not understand their role as part of community, “a person lacking professional skill”, “a private citizen”… self-centeredness and concerned almost exclusively with private—as opposed to public—affairs. Wikipedia
The United Nations just announced that the number of refugees worldwide indicates a world in an unprecedented state of chaos. This seems to point to a world unaware or not concerned with the global community. This seems to be the height of idiotic. Borders and budgets mean much more than health and happiness. Private property rights stump everything else – even human life and liberty. With proposed laws to ban protests popping up across the U.S.A, now even constitutional rights are outlawed to protect private property. Instead of addressing the obvious unrest, pass a law to sweep it under the rug. This affront to freedom is easily imposed with citizens “educated” from birth to count, categorize, define, and assign a number and value to everything except one’s own sacred birth rights.
Most respectable folk believe they are part of world progress and are contributing to their community with their daily work. At a close glance this seems so. But If one stands back and observes the whole world situation it becomes apparent that the result of private concerns has raped the earth, clouded the concerns of community, and openly detests humane perspectives emerging from a discerning and maturing civilization. If you are either unable or unwilling to live within the currently prescribed path, then you are a child, crazy, a hippie, or a hobo. Our mission is to blaze a new trail and reconcile reality for those willing to travel a new direction. If you fall into this category, then our developments in disrupting housing with an affordable, portable, solar, self sustainable geo dome home may interest you.
We just partnered up with the Fremont MakerSpace in Fremont, CA as a home base for the final development of our project. Check it out at fremontmakerspace.com
by Aaron Rene Carvajal | May 27, 2015 | Freedom, Geodesic Domes, Sustainability, The Future
A few days ago at lunch my friend asked me what science experiment I would perform if I could choose anything at all. My response was this: What would happen if everyone on Earth was focused on the exact same thought and feeling – at the same exact time. Would the physical world change – even if for a moment? We laughed, but realized this may very well be possible really soon. Everyone on Earth will have a smartphone in the coming years, so a simultaneously experienced video broadcast could really happen – and achieve this experiment. The next day we happened to watch Disney’s newest movie Tomorrowland. This scenario doesn’t happen in the movie, but the premise of a reality created by our imagination is certainly nothing new to Disney. No spoilers ahead.
Tomorrowland, like many other science fiction futuristic films, shows our current day as the end of times. It was good to see the topic of the future approached in such an entertaining way, while still broaching the big issues of our time. The emphasis on a future filled with incredible technology is not so far fetched considering the incredible changes upon us. The latest special effects are spectacular and fresh, but the storyline of “believing” is in the bones of Disney. Most of their movies seem to have very similar premises: the archetypical bad guys or world threatening crisis beat by the underdog powered by truth, heart, and courage.
The big take away from Tomorrowland is that the future is in our hands. This may seem like hot air, and not seem like anything profound or special at all. We all know this. We are independent, self willed and in control of our destiny. We are free and at the pinnacle of progress. Our technology will come to the rescue and science will be our savior. But if this is the case, then why are conditions getting increasingly worse for earth’s health, and seriously threatening life for future generations. All the while there appears to be many well funded organizations and powerful governments tackling the problems. yet the headlines keep getting more disturbing with each passing day.
What will the land of tomorrow really be like? Will some fantastical story unfold like we see in Disney’s latest sci-fi adventure. Is the world of a better tomorrow just a fantasy – or to be molded by our own hands? This is the important question this latest movie poses. It is nothing new to ponder these macro matters, but perhaps the time has come to dream up solutions. Walt Disney famously said, “If you can dream it you can do it.” He also said, “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” Disney has done what it does best, and has framed the solution in fantasy. It is up to us to remove it from the realm of fantasy and truly “believe”.
by Aaron Rene Carvajal | Apr 26, 2015 | Design & Innovation, Dome Homes, Geodesic Domes, Sustainability, The Future
It seems everything is getting disrupted these days with clever apps and new business models that harness the new digital landscape. Cheaper taxis and multitudes of ways to communicate are nice, but the status quo has yet to be shaken to it’s core. Bitcoin offers a monetary disruption, and a significant second is housing. Buying and maintaining our boxes seems to be a lifelong endeavor. We don’t believe it has to be. A little scratch of the head reveals there are lots of alternatives emerging that could end the 30 year mortgage, a paper chain commitment most folks still consider the American dream.
We’ve been pursuing a new way to build a solid inexpensive home now for nearly 2 years. At the dawn of our first prototype we got a wonderful surprise. Power is one of the biggest challenges we’ve faced on our road to a new self sustainable housing model. You’ll see our current power cell design uses old lead battery technology packed in recycling bins. Multiple units with heavy batteries are needed in our first power source plan. Everything just changed now that the new and exciting home battery was just announced by none other than Tesla.
Jeff Evanson, Tesla’s investor relations director notably revealed that CEO Elon Musk believes rivals’ batteries “suck”. So starting last year testing began with SolarCity customers in 230 houses in California, and 100 out of the state. Early reports said the battery will cost $13,000 and would be installed 1.5 feet off the ground and need about a foot of space around the perimeter. The April 30th announcement revealed a 6 inch thick wall mounted battery that is a real good looker that comes in different colors too! The cost is an affordable $3,500 for a 10kWh unit and a cheaper $3,000 version with a 7kWh capacity. Solar power is ideally stored in this beautiful clean and quiet milestone to the future.
The new battery will be available for home and large scale needs, and is capable of being controlled via smartphone or web applications, Charging happens via solar, the grid, or generators, and can feed power back to the grid. Initial beta users are reporting making $10 – $12 a month selling power back to the utility company. Now that is a nice reversal of roles. This wonderful new Tesla home battery is a perfect companion to power our portable and completely self sustainable dome homes.
The future is certainly upon us, and it is looking pretty good right about now. With changes happening so quickly, it seems our initial dreams of disrupting housing are getting closer to reality with each passing month. It seems the world is ready for the big solutions and we are excited to offer our contributions. We look forward to building our first prototype dome home powered with Tesla batteries. Soon a truly free and independent dome home community will sprout and show a clear path off the grid. The solutions are already here, we just have to reach out and grab them.
Dome Home with Tesla Battery
BEFORE: Lead Acid Batteries
by Aaron Rene Carvajal | Mar 8, 2015 | Design & Innovation, Dome Homes, Education, Freedom, Geodesic Domes, The Future
Why go round instead of square? For starters take a look at how nature designs everything. The movement and momentum of life happens on a platform based on the circle. There aren’t really any straight lines or squares in the growth of life and movement of the heavens. So why do we build most everything using squares or straight lines? We don’t live in MineCraft, so we may want to explore the world of circles and natural ratios to build our future homes and products. Here are just a few very good reasons why this makes sense.
The geo dome structures weigh less when completed because of the air-mass inside the dome. When it’s heated warmer than the outside air, it has a net lifting effect -like a hot-air balloon. This is almost unnoticeable in smaller structures, like houses, but as geodesics are based upon spheres, the effect increases geometrically with size. So you’d be able to notice it in a sports stadium, and a sphere more than a half mile in diameter would be able to float in the air with only a 1 degree Fahrenheit difference in temperature.
“The Geodesic Dome is, simply stated, the strongest, lightest and most efficient means of enclosing space yet devised.” American Institute of Architects. This says it all, but here are some more reasons. Geodesic domes use about a third less building materials for some substantial savings. The primary factor affecting efficient use of materials and energy in a structure is its shape. Think of a soap bubble. A sphere represents the smallest amount of material surface area needed to enclose a given volume of space. A divided sphere becomes one of the most efficient shapes known to enclose a given floor area.
The lower the total outside surface area (walls and ceilings) the greater the efficiency in energy use for heating and cooling. A dome has approximately one-third less surface area to the outside than a box-style structure. The amount of surface area exposed to the elements has a much greater impact on energy efficiency than insulation values. Efficient airflow inside a dome adds to the energy savings further; the curved surface of a dome provides a natural circulation of internal air. Outside the dome, the round shape provides an aerodynamic effect; so wind passes over the dome with less resistance. In comparison, a box-style structure provides a flat barrier to wind, creating positive wind pressure and suction. Ever notice how a door will slam shut when a door to the outside is left open, or air blows in from under a closed door?
The nature of the spherical design provides strength because the stress is shared evenly by all the points of the structure. The dome shape allows resistance to movement from earthquakes, high winds, and spreads stress from snow load evenly throughout the structure. The geometry of the triangle offers additional strength to the dome shape. Interior advantages of the dome include greater freedom of floor plan design, high ceilings, and even light, heat, and sound distribution. Domes display superior light characteristics as spherical shapes tend to amplify light while rectangular shapes tend to trap light. Acoustical advantages include more even sound distribution and less outside noise infiltration.
Most interesting and important are recent studies that show that the full spectrum of energy waves are available in the center of a dome. In a box, the energy waves are blocked. Thus the saying, “I feel like I am boxed in…” We seem to know instinctually and feel physically the comfort of being inside a dome. The importance of the natural energy waves all around us is just beginning to be understood. Lastly, let’s not forget they are simply good looking and cool.
by Aaron Rene Carvajal | Nov 21, 2014 | Education, Freedom, Geodesic Domes, The Future, Uncategorized
My first computer class was learning DOS. It stands for Disk Operating System and was the dominating PC platform until about the year 2000. It is a simple logical language that transformed into the super computing power we have today. All graphics were very square. Even circles were jagged. Pre internet computers had all sorts of useful programs and some neat games too. But today we have supercomputers in our pocket with internet, limitless social connection, and real life games. A computer’s processor, memory, and hard drive work in the same way our brain’s cortices communicate. Our brain – powered with the heart as a power supply – is the ultimate super computer. This begs the question: What program are we running on it?
We spend our lives stuffing the brain with endless facts and images that program the brain just like any software. It happens our entire lives, from the day we are born until the day we die. We have short term memory that is like Random Access Memory (RAM), an important part of processing in a computer – and the brain too. If you don’t clear your RAM cache regularly – your computer will indeed crash eventually. We put great emphasis on memorization, counting, and categorizing, but how about clearing our cache? It seems some are starting to crash considering the daily headlines of the “new normal”.
What are these facts, figures, and beliefs? Science says they are not a reflection of what is real – on the contrary – what is real is a reflection of our collective display. What we display is bound within the boundaries of our software programs. Our education is a program of sorts for sure. Forget the past science, social studies, and economics classes – they are like DOS running and limiting a supercomputer. So what can we do? It is impossible to unplug from the main frame of society – right? This feeling of inevitability is an intrical part of the program we run on today – a virus that has attached to our supercomputer.
This virus is absolutely necessary to maintain the manifestation of the grid system we live in and support daily with our feelings, actions, and the words we give breath. The understanding and discernment of the fact that we are not just observers – but creators, can affect everyone and everything. If our program didn’t tell us we had to abide by the history of the world, that people are greedy and violent – we might create a world where we use our supercomputer to build a new platform that works on an open source transparent model. Let’s call it Life 2.0.
We regularly run programs to calm our spirit and give us hope. These are the music, movies, and art of life. It is time for more: Life 2.0 is a new improved operating system built with the latest features that take advantage of our awesome processor and wireless capabilities. Yes – we have a wireless modem too! In Life 2.0 we get out of the boxes we “live” in and enjoy the full range of wireless service available in a geodesic dome. If you feel like you are in a box and want out – join us.
by Aaron Rene Carvajal | Oct 6, 2014 | Education, Geodesic Domes, The Future, Uncategorized
Many alive today watched the 1960’s TV re-runs as children in the 1970’s, the neon shine of the 1980’s, the network’s News/War shows of the 1990’s on, and the global digitization of the 2000’s. Somewhere along the storyline of progress emerged a society of latch key kids, mass shootings, militarized police, continuous war, genocide, and loads of depressed folks that are desperately trying to “find themselves.” In the pursuit of profit we’ve been persuaded to consume copious amounts of sugar, eat tortured animals with a side of poisoned produce; all while participating in an economy that desecrates earth, air, water, and soul. Despite all this progress – decades of song and cinema lament the variety of anxieties humans increasingly face. In the “First World” countries it takes 30 years to get “educated” and situated, then another 30 years of mortgage payments. “Third World” people are outright disenfranchised slaves. It is time for a “Better World.”
We decided to discontinue our contributions to the status quo and create the most simple and inexpensive path to real freedom. We believe 30 years a slave is way too long to secure the basic needs of life. We are embarking on the building of an open source self-sustainable magnetic dome homestead. This includes a dome home kit that is super strong, ultra comfortable, and can be built in a day. Solar power, water capture, composting toilets, and grey water gardens make it a closed loop, self sustaining way of living. We are setting up our first projects in off grid areas that have abundant sun, legal water capture, and inexpensive land.
We aim to demonstrate a way to create a better world every day – instead of being a peg in a machine that is repeating the past. Our ultimate goal is to show how every action of every day can contribute to a different world. Our priceless time and attention are free and focused when we decide what world we will create every day with every breath. This is no longer Disneyland talk – but solidly apparent quantum physics. Asserting our profound influence on reality is the foundation for freedom and our most valuable currency.
Human beings are profoundly social and influenced tremendously by their environment. The latest studies in genetics show how one can become a murderous sociopath or loving person – all depending on the support and influences of childhood. Social statistics and now science – clearly confirm the epigenetic connection. The only true correctional facility is a cohesive community that cherishes everyone. This is only attainable if the basic needs of life are available for all. Our dome homestead will give a real life example of how this is easily possible – and really is a matter of choosing to live the future today.
Earth’s oldest culture – the Aborigines of Australia, believe the dream world is more real than this material world. Considering the eternal nature of love, family, and community – it seems reasonable and right. Our energy can contribute to the eternal, or obsess on the fleeting material world of fear based competition for funny money. After 30 years a slave to our current system and it’s tenets, it is clear that there is a better way than the prescribed progress.
