DIY
Free Open Source Compact Car (FOSCC): Build a Street-Legal DIY Car From Salvage Parts for Under $10,000
Open-hardware plans for a street-legal DIY compact car: salvaged 4-cylinder powertrain on a builder-welded steel frame for under $10,000.
Offgrid
Technoagriculture
Bioshelters in 2026: Passive-Solar Food Production Proven at Scale in China, Unproven in the West
Bioshelters promise year-round food at minimal energy. In 2026, passive solar scales to 810,000 ha in China but stays unproven in the West.
Philosophy
Output Concentration Risk: Why High-Performing Systems Become Fragile
A system is not truly diversified if one crop, supplier, product, technology, or sector generates most of its output.
Engineering
Helical Piles and Screw Foundations: Capacity, Corrosion, and Cost
Helical piles, ground screws, and adjustable piers: load transfer, torque-to-capacity, corrosion, and cost against concrete.
Energy
Plastoline and Microwave Pyrolysis: Assessing Julian Brown's Plastic-to-Fuel Claims Against the Peer-Reviewed Science
Separating the peer-reviewed science of microwave pyrolysis from the unverified 110-octane, carbon-negative claims behind Plastoline fuel.
Batteries
What Is the Voltaic Pile? How the First Chemical Battery Worked
Learn how Alessandro Volta’s voltaic pile worked, how it was built, and why it became the first practical chemical battery.
Science
DIY Alpha Radiation Detector: PIN Photodiode Build Under $30
Build a working alpha radiation detector with a decapped PIN photodiode and charge-sensitive amp for under $30. Includes the paper-sheet test.
Offgrid
DIY Push Sickle-Bar Mower: Open-Hardware Plans / Recycled Salvage
Open-hardware plans for a push sickle-bar mower: salvage-first BOM, honest physics, and why a ~$120 electric-assist build beats a $4,000 BCS.
Sustainability
Soil Chemistry for Off-Grid Homesteads: pH, Moisture, Crop Selection, and Basic Outdoor Growing
A practical guide to soil pH, moisture testing, crop preferences, and outdoor soil management for off-grid homesteads.
Offgrid
3D Printing for Off-Grid Homesteads: Practical Repairs, Tools, and Open-Source Libraries for Resilient Communities
How off-grid communities can use 3D printers for repairs, tools, sensor mounts, archives, and open-source local manufacturing.
Philosophy
Solar Energy and the 5% Rule: Why Off-Grid Homes Need Redundant Backup Power
A practical guide to solar overpaneling, backup generators, battery storage, and three-pillar energy redundancy for off-grid homes.
Water
How to Build a Self-Contained Wastewater Treatment IBC Tote System: A 150 GPD Design Guide
A hybrid MBBR plus UF train fits a 275-gal IBC footprint, draws 2 kWh/day, and meets NSF/ANSI reuse grade. Aeration energy is the binding constraint.