#439 - Off the Grid in Oregon: How Living Without Power Shaped an Electrical Engineer

In this episode, Dillon traces his path to electrical engineering back to an unusual origin: growing up off the grid on 38 acres in rural Oregon. He walks through the real-world mechanics of running a homestead on wind, solar, hydro, and propane — and why the math on green energy rarely pencils out without government subsidies. From windmill blades that shatter at 100 mph to abandoned turbine graveyards outside Palm Springs, he makes the case that most people advocating for renewable energy have never actually had to live with it. The conversation also touches on the surging demand for electrical engineers and electricians in the data center industry, the spotted owl controversy that gutted Pacific Northwest logging towns, and why CO2 limits don't make sense to someone who learned the carbon cycle in third grade.