The LOTS Project

09/28/2026

Well, this episode is a little different.

After 906 episodes and nearly five years of hitting **Go**, The LOTS Project Morning Show is taking a break—at least until the first of the year.

The show has started feeling more like an obligation than something I want to do, and that isn’t a good reason to keep forcing it.

I explain the decision in this episode, along with what I’ll still be working on and where you can keep up with everything.

It wasn’t all serious. Summer finally backed off, the in-laws helped us make a huge jump on the cabin, and I somehow spent $325 on somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 marbles.

I may have found a profitable resale niche. I may have purchased several thousand tiny jobs. We’ll see.

Have you ever stepped away from something you still enjoyed because it had started feeling like an obligation? Did the break bring you back—or show you it was time to move on?

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7jKNaBZbNNhunwZiTio10G
YouTube Link: https://youtube.com/live/2Nz8DWlC9Bk

If you want updates during the break, the email signup is at https://thelotsproject.com and the Telegram chat is at https://t.me/LOTSChat.

09/14/2026

Mitch McConnell made it to the Senate today, or they found a spot on body double.

09/14/2026

Episode 905 is up.

This week turned into one of those shows where a bunch of completely different topics ended up circling the same idea: **reality doesn’t give a s**t about your perfect plan.**

The cabin is moving slower than I wanted because this summer has been brutally hot—and after looking at the numbers, it really hasn’t just been in my head.

That led into the new solar video about designing around limitations. Roof space, weight, budget, equipment you already own, what you’re actually trying to accomplish...sometimes you don’t get to design the “perfect” system. You design the best system you can inside the box you’ve got.

Then we got into the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and the absolute flood of conspiracy posts that took over my feed.

Some of it raises interesting questions. Some of it is completely off the rails. And 25 years later, I’m still perfectly comfortable saying: **I don’t know exactly what happened.**

Also:

• Will Mitch McConnell actually show back up?
• Why I had to stick my phone in a refrigerator to finish filming
• Four years of Starlink
• Free Bitcoin through Cash App
• And a local “crime wave” that turned out to be...people looking for their lost puppy.

Normal Monday around here.

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0jTb7x9KHUicU7bBrPrjIs?si=tvZDbP_XQiqd04Cw2z91Gg

📺 YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/fd7imX_gwA8

What did your social feeds look like around the 25th anniversary of 9/11? Mostly remembrance—or wall-to-wall theories?

09/08/2026

This damaged solar panel still shows 48 volts. Does that mean it's still good? Not even close.

Voltage alone doesn't tell you what a solar panel can actually produce.

09/08/2026

Buying solar equipment is the easy part.

Figuring out what all the numbers mean, what works together and whether that used panel is actually any good—that’s where people get lost.

I’m building a free DIY Solar Hub that starts with the electrical basics and works toward designing, building and testing complete systems using real equipment.

Right now it covers:

• Volts, amps, watts and watt-hours
• How to read a solar-panel label
• Series vs. parallel wiring
• Our real off-grid solar projects
• The tools and equipment I actually use

New lessons and project updates will be added as the builds continue.

Start here:
https://thelotsproject.com/solar/

09/07/2026

Four years ago, we were traveling with a cellular router and multiple SIM cards, but some of the places we actually wanted to stay didn’t have enough signal to support Kori’s remote job or my content production.

Starlink changed that.

Today, Kori can work through a VPN, join Teams meetings, make Wi-Fi calls and transfer large files while I upload videos, livestream and operate online businesses—all from our RV at a rural Tennessee property.

It hasn’t been perfect. We’ve had two dishes replaced, damaged two cables, experienced brief interruptions during heavy thunderstorms and watched the price of our Roam Unlimited plan climb to $175 per month. Other Starlink plans cost less, but we need the ability to travel with ours.

We still couldn’t maintain our current work or lifestyle without it, and I recommended Starlink for years before there was any referral reward.

I finally put our complete four-year experience in one place:

https://thelotsproject.com/starlink/

Full disclosure: The page includes my personal Starlink referral link. Eligible new Residential or Roam customers who order through it receive one free month during their second month. If the referral qualifies, I receive a $100 Starlink service credit.

If you already use Starlink, what has your experience been?

09/07/2026

The first indication that I'd misjudged the tree was when it clamped down on my chainsaw.

That's not generally the direction you want things to be going.

So I ended up with a 45-foot-ish tree leaning the wrong way, my saw stuck in it, some ratchet straps that weren't getting the job done, an 8-ton bottle jack and a 4x4.

What could possibly go wrong?

This week's LOTS Project Morning Show also gets into:

• A Starlink deal that could get you a free month of service
• A Cash App promo for $20 in free Bitcoin
• My new video on testing used solar panels
• The new DIY Solar Hub
• A woman who apparently took a s**t on the floor at Kroger and just…left
• And a quick “where the hell is Mitch McConnell?” before wrapping up

Pretty normal Monday morning.

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1AQIFpyt8tKDbFheV1nlRj?si=xjCK_-PFRbW5l9lBk-2AqQ

Watch the replay on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/7ZJdLb5IJ_E

Question for the tree people:

Once that saw pinched and you realized the tree was loading backward, what would YOU have done?

09/06/2026

A used solar panel can show voltage and still be junk.

The damaged panel in this test produced 48.1 volts—which sounds encouraging until you see that it made only 49.4 watts. The baseline panel tested under the same conditions produced 120.3 watts.

If you’re considering a stack of used panels, here’s how to inspect, test and compare them before handing over your money.

Watch the full test:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPRKL6iKFwY

09/04/2026

Do you know what they are?

09/03/2026

The DIY Solar Hub is live.

I’ve been building a permanent home for all of The LOTS Project solar content instead of leaving useful information scattered across YouTube, old posts and social media.

Right now, the hub includes:

• Solar electrical basics: volts, amps, watts and watt-hours
• How to read a solar-panel label
• Solar panels in series versus parallel

But this is only the beginning. I’ll be adding used-panel testing, system sizing and design, batteries, inverters, tools, equipment reviews, field notes and complete real-world system builds—including the main property system and the smaller shed utility system.

This isn’t somebody else’s shopping list rewritten for clicks. It’s what I’m learning, testing, building and using on the property—with the limitations, mistakes and actual results included.

Learn it. Design it. Build it.

https://thelotsproject.com/solar/

Learn the fundamentals, follow complete solar projects and see what actually works through real equipment tests, troubleshooting and field results.