3/28/2023, 7:00 PM (US Eastern time) VIRTUAL Bryan Emerson '83 describes the thrill of off-grid living while his wife, Laura, sets the record straight. They'll share how they decided to leave their high-rise home in Houston and move to an off-grid log cabin in Alaska, 45 miles from the nearest road. While Bryan had grown up camping, hunting and fishing in Wisconsin, Laura felt totally unprepared to move to bush Alaska. Join them as they share their story and hear how Laura adapted to her new remote environment and now shares words of caution, condolence, empathy, and advi ..read more

Stove pipe creosote, 3 months' use Note:  After reading this article, readers may ask themselves, “How long has it been since I cleaned my chimney?   Our off-grid log home is heated by a Drolet wood stove that burns spruce and birch almost 24/7 during the coldest winter months.  Fast, hot fires burn more cleanly than do slow, cooler fires because of the speed and temperature of the smoke that rises and exits through the stove pipe.  Wood that is less than optimally dry* or letting fires cool down, go out, and then restarting them frequently contribute to smoke co ..read more

Airplane pilots are aging out, with new pilots below replacement levels.  Management firm Oliver Wyman estimates a deficit of 8000 commercial pilots now, rising to 30,000 by 2025. This is particularly true for the tiny subset of float plane pilots, who comprise just 3% of total pilot numbers (including my husband).  The 2021 FAA statistics counted 161,459 private pilots, so we can infer fewer than 5000 float plane pilots in the country.  Most of them are in Alaska, which has far more seaplane bases (140) than any other state in the country (Florida has only 44).  As these ..read more

  On October 25, we awoke to a silent, frozen lake.  No water lapping at the shore, no ducks tempting our dog.  Ten noisy flocks of geese (50 -100 birds each) flapped southward on that day alone.  They knew it was high time to head out.  How far do they fly in a day? Where do they find water -perhaps rivers - which freeze later?   Given our weather, I was astonished to see a float plane fly north several days later when I outside was in the wood fired hot tub, and wondered, “Where the heck is he going?” NORTH????  It had to be a river.    ..read more

  Capitalism, Environmental, and Social Governance don’t always quite fit well together.  Bryan Emerson has found a way to do both.  He and his wife Laura gave up the hustle and bustle of city life to go off the grid deep in the forests of Alaska, an area so remote it can only be accessed by seaplane.   As an angel investor and investment banker since 2000 and serial entrepreneur since the 1970s, Bryan Emerson has developed a network of over 46,000 investors, entrepreneurs, and business professionals.  Most are fellow finance professionals who run venture funds, privat ..read more