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Summary
part 1 of a 2 part podcast
Youtube channel Suburban Biology created a video of building his RMH which is a copy of the Cooper Cabin RMH. It's an excellent video. Last March, the channel's owner visited and interviewed Paul; Paul has with permission stripped out the audio from that interview to make this podcast.
They start off with light bulbs, which goes back to the CFL debate/testing 20 years ago. Paul hates being the light bulb guy, but now he's the RMH guy. Paul revisits the issue of CFLs vs Incandescent. At the time it was politically expedient to support CFL sales via subsidies.
Next they talk about regulation. Is regulation a good thing? Paul states his position that if you have a humble home and a large garden, the whole of government and politics seems less important.
Paul recounts his life as a software engineer, at which he was pretty successful. After a while he got bitten by the permaculture bug and 20 years or so ago he stopped being a software engineer and started permies.com
The question of AI comes up. Everyone is worried about AI taking their jobs. If you have a humble home and a large garden you don't worry. They drift to the possibility of robots which can help with gardening and so on. Paul likes the idea of a robot that can look after him when he's no longer capable. Paul relates how bananacom revolutionized communications and made him famous overnight.
Paul offers his definition: permaculture is a more symbiotic relationship with nature so he can be even lazier. He recalls his first PDC, where he decided that permaculture was his future.
They talk about RMHs. Paul advocates for pebble style mass which is easier to move. In Montana the prices for various kinds of heating have gone up a lot, and people are concerned. The discussion moves on to WOFATI and thermal inertial.
Next Paul talks about the automatic backyard food pump.
Relevant Threads
SuburbanBiology's Youtube page
Paul Wheaton: Low input heaters, High output Gardens, Zero Sugar coating.
World's most efficient stove!!! Made of DIRT!!!
It is 2026 and incandescent is still better than LED
Rocket Mass Heaters forum
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This podcast was made possible thanks to:
Dr. Hugh Gill Kultur
Kyle Aster
Sasquatch
Bill Crim
G Cooper
Mehron Kugler
Bill Erickson
Julia Winter, world's slowest mosaic artist
Sean Benedict
Rita Bliden
Brent Lawson
Song Zheng
Dana Martin
David Lucey
Janelle
thomas adams
Clay McGowan
Shay Riggs
Dr. Jackie
Keith Kuhnsman
Cindi Duehmig
Banter Couch
Eric Tolbert
Paul Tipper
Paul F
Gerald Bernard
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