I may start a flame war with this one, so have your fire extinguishers ready. :-)
First off, relax. You didn't say anything wrong; you weren't being a jerk or an a$$. Welcome to the board. :-)
It's a sad truth that alternative energy is not easy, nor cheap. I have my house off grid because I love the independence. The power grid here is completely unreliable, and even if it were, I like being self sufficient.
The first step in going off grid is reducing your current energy usage. Is every bulb in your house fluorescent(compact or otherwise), or a horribly inefficient incandescent? Incandescent bulbs are actually space heaters that produce light as a byproduct of their main function, making heat. Do you turn lights off when you leave a room? Is your house well insulated? Weather sealed doors and windows, insulated hot water pipes and furnace ducts? Insulated hot water heater? Timer on your water heater to shut it off when everyone's asleep? Lots of things can be done. Much easier to save an amp of power than to generate an amp of power.
I recommend that you visit (http://www.otherpower.com), the site that started all of this. LOTS of great info there. Stick around, you'll have fun.
Demetri