About Me

Thank you for visiting my site and wanting to know more about it’s author. As you probably gathered, my name is Jeff Whiteside. Some might know me as a communication engineer, others an activist, some a candle-maker or photographer, others a technology go-to guy and yet even others just an interesting person they came across in their travels.

I’ve debated for many years about having a “web presence” with my name as it virtually removes my privacy and causes me to have to filter content based on what I am comfortable with just anybody knowing about me. Up until now, my actual name has never graced one of my websites…I’ve gone by one of several pseudonyms. As of late, I feel I have some things to say that are important or interesting enough to risk that privacy and to publicly identify with the cause. For that reason, I will use this website as my personal sounding board and will put forth such information that I feel the world should see.

My personal interests vary rather greatly – but some current and past interests include candle & soap making, book binding, photography, survival, current events, monetary systems, general economics, conspiracies, politics, corporate mergers, 9/11, cooking, computers, communications, web page writing & development, movies, music, guns, motorcycles, off-roading, camping, hiking, natural medicine, religion, spirituality, and many others that I’m sure I’ve failed to remember. Some say I’m a jack of all trades…but it really comes down to the fact that I’m just interested in interesting things.

Around 1997, I decided that I wasn’t going to watch television. I very rarely watch television (it’s impossible to avoid in today’s society) and radio has little interest as well, with recorded albums satiating my passion for music. The overwhelming majority of my adult life has had little influence from television and radio. I do watch a fair number of movies and documentaries – but there I can very easily control what I will and will not watch. At the time I decided to severely limit my TV & radio intake, it was an interesting social experiment to see what would happen if I “unplugged,” as it were. The longer I did it, however, the less television & radio interested me and the better I perceived my life to be. I chose to get information through other outlets such as the print medium, talking to other people and the Internet. My view of the world radically shifted to one of a broader sense; a more informed view developed as I found myself having to “work” to inform myself, rather than having “facts” passively fed to me. I decided to create my own reality based on my experiences and have chosen to view the world by what I see and research, rather than what I hear or see on the television. It can be a little weird sometimes – to have no clue about that funny commercial, what happened on the popular shows and other social inferences…it is so embedded into our society…but overall, I find people respect my choice and desire to make similar changes in their own life.

I’m what I would call a hobbyist, meaning I’ve pursued a number of different hobbies/skills/trades in my personal time.  I’ve been a candle maker, a soap maker, a book binder, a craftsman, a rockhound, a gemstone maker, a cook, a beer brewer and have even tinkered around with my own electronics.  I find it interesting to teach myself and get decent at a new skill.  Every once in awhile, my interests change and I’ll find something new.

I have traveled fairly extensively, to 38 of the US states and nine countries.  One of my favorite things to do is get on the road and get somewhere new.  I’ve taken a number of what I’d call “epic journeys” where I’ll plan out a 3,000+ mile loop and go for it.  I’ve particularly gotten into the adventurous habit of not making any specific travel plans on these journeys…which is thrilling in it’s own right.  Having to figure out each and every day on a journey is a freedom from schedules and monotony that few enjoy.

I’ve also been online for quite some time – since the early days of modems (first was a 1200 baud) and Unix text-based Internet browsers. My first website, titled “Salt,” was started in about 1995 and it’s goal was to inform people of current events and other interesting news. I won several awards for the website but, unfortunately, it was ultimately abandoned. With the advent of CMS systems, it became MUCH easier and less time consuming to run a website. So, about a year or two ago, I created “Salt II”…but more aptly named it, “The Open Conspiracy” where I primarily focus on news of globalization, corporatism, economics, privacy & surveillance, ecological decline and other specific interests of mine.

Overall, I hope you enjoy learning about me and that you take something of interest away from your visit. I would enjoy your feedback – you can email me here.