Leaving off at last week's craziness, by the end of the week, I was ready to drop off the grid.
The latest theme might be considered a version of survivalism. The system is going to fail. Might as well be prepared for that.
Al Fin: "Cowboy Commentary", aka "Eat your veggies" The Flag banner is posted in order to defy those who would make patriotic symbols illegal or disreputable.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Hashtags
I'm a real dummy when it comes to that. I've seen them, but I didn't know what the hell they were or what they were for.
This gave me a short tutorial on the subject.
My impression is that it will allow you to see where the herd is or where it is going. I'm not into herd mentality. I guess this explains my lack of interest in hashtags.
This gave me a short tutorial on the subject.
My impression is that it will allow you to see where the herd is or where it is going. I'm not into herd mentality. I guess this explains my lack of interest in hashtags.
Nuts and Bolts
Part 5 of series about living in a conex. Part 4 was here. Next up right here.
I've got all this in my head. It's a matter of getting it into print.
Now, how do you put this conex into the ground? I'm think you dig about a 40 foot long hole with a ramp at ground level that goes down into it. The ramp will be needed for a big vehicle that will go down the ramp and deposit the conex into the hole. The hole will be about 8 feet deep, 10 feet wide, and 40 feet long ( plus the ramp). May want to use gravel for the ramp so the big truck won't sink down into the soft ground and get stuck.
I see these big trucks exchanging out these big trash dumpster thingies all the time. The nuts and bolts of doing that is no biggie. The conex is a lot like a big dumpster thingie. Question: You will want the sliding door to be on top, not on the side. This means you'll have to lay it sideways. Can this work? Answer: I'm not sure. If not, you'll have to alter the conex so that it can be accessed from above.
Now, what about filling up the conex will furnishings and everything? That will be done through the doors of the conex. Finally, there will be a porta-can that will serve as a bathroom. The wastes will be processed as indicated in an earlier post. You will have access to the "can" from the door of the conex. The "bathroom" will be a different room altogether, just like in a conventional home.
The ramp will be filled in after all the interior work is done. When everything is done, there will be an opening from above that allows entry into the conex. I'm thinking a narrow staircase like I see when I go on a delivery to Jones Hall here in Houston. They've got one of those kind of staircases there. ( The general public won't see this, as it is accessible to employees and contractors like me only ). A narrow staircase won't take up much space and will allow an old fart like me to not have to climb up a ladder.
As far as all that dirt that has to be removed, I'm thinking a lot of it can go right back where you took it out. But there will be plenty left over. What to do with that? Don't know yet, but I'll think of something. You want everything to look as good as possible and be functional.
Ergonomically, it may be uncomfortably like a trailer park home. One advantage is that it will not be in a trailer park if I can help it. Secondly, it will be cheaper as a trailer home is too darn expensive to run the climate controls. That's why it's being buried. If burying it isn't possible, it's a show stopper.
The nuts and bolts of making a big hole like this will require some thought as well. You don't want a cave in, so it will have to be reinforced.
The timetable to all this? I've got several years before I retire. It's possible to go at this slowly and then pick up the pace once I get near that age. Lots of stuff can happen before then, though. I'm thinking the final financial analysis should take place before I start committing funds and time on it.
Lots of things can and do happen that can change the timetable. On the short end, I could start occupying it in less than a year.
The preliminary study only requires that financial analysis. I have to figure out if I can afford it. Even with the money saved by doing it this way, I still may be short on funds.
Update:
A preliminary analysis ( very preliminary ) shows that it will get a lot easier when I start getting those SS checks. Before that time, it will be a challenge.
I've got all this in my head. It's a matter of getting it into print.
Now, how do you put this conex into the ground? I'm think you dig about a 40 foot long hole with a ramp at ground level that goes down into it. The ramp will be needed for a big vehicle that will go down the ramp and deposit the conex into the hole. The hole will be about 8 feet deep, 10 feet wide, and 40 feet long ( plus the ramp). May want to use gravel for the ramp so the big truck won't sink down into the soft ground and get stuck.
I see these big trucks exchanging out these big trash dumpster thingies all the time. The nuts and bolts of doing that is no biggie. The conex is a lot like a big dumpster thingie. Question: You will want the sliding door to be on top, not on the side. This means you'll have to lay it sideways. Can this work? Answer: I'm not sure. If not, you'll have to alter the conex so that it can be accessed from above.
Now, what about filling up the conex will furnishings and everything? That will be done through the doors of the conex. Finally, there will be a porta-can that will serve as a bathroom. The wastes will be processed as indicated in an earlier post. You will have access to the "can" from the door of the conex. The "bathroom" will be a different room altogether, just like in a conventional home.
The ramp will be filled in after all the interior work is done. When everything is done, there will be an opening from above that allows entry into the conex. I'm thinking a narrow staircase like I see when I go on a delivery to Jones Hall here in Houston. They've got one of those kind of staircases there. ( The general public won't see this, as it is accessible to employees and contractors like me only ). A narrow staircase won't take up much space and will allow an old fart like me to not have to climb up a ladder.
As far as all that dirt that has to be removed, I'm thinking a lot of it can go right back where you took it out. But there will be plenty left over. What to do with that? Don't know yet, but I'll think of something. You want everything to look as good as possible and be functional.
Ergonomically, it may be uncomfortably like a trailer park home. One advantage is that it will not be in a trailer park if I can help it. Secondly, it will be cheaper as a trailer home is too darn expensive to run the climate controls. That's why it's being buried. If burying it isn't possible, it's a show stopper.
The nuts and bolts of making a big hole like this will require some thought as well. You don't want a cave in, so it will have to be reinforced.
The timetable to all this? I've got several years before I retire. It's possible to go at this slowly and then pick up the pace once I get near that age. Lots of stuff can happen before then, though. I'm thinking the final financial analysis should take place before I start committing funds and time on it.
Lots of things can and do happen that can change the timetable. On the short end, I could start occupying it in less than a year.
The preliminary study only requires that financial analysis. I have to figure out if I can afford it. Even with the money saved by doing it this way, I still may be short on funds.
Update:
A preliminary analysis ( very preliminary ) shows that it will get a lot easier when I start getting those SS checks. Before that time, it will be a challenge.
Philosophical considerations
Part 4 of the series on living in a conex. Part 3 was here.
Getting free of the grid is getting free of the money-god that has overtaken this culture. The less you need the grid, the less you need the money-god. The government is the money-god. Those who run the government want you to worship them. They want to act as Gods with respect to you and your own life. They want you to worship and adore them. They want you to serve them, and not the other way around. The money-god is like the Death Cult that I wrote about. It only leads to death of a culture. It worships Death, and is Death.
I think these thoughts are getting pretty close to the truth, even though the truth is a slippery thing. If you've got the truth, then the truth will set you free. Currently, we are not free, and consequently so much that we hear is nothing but a bunch of damned lies.
Update:
The philosophy is now covered. The feasibility was covered in the first 3 posts. The financial part may still be tough because there's still a need for a bunch of dough ( by my standards). After that has been figured out, the nuts and bolts of actually getting it done needs to be scoped out. If all goes well, I could be doing this thing.
Getting free of the grid is getting free of the money-god that has overtaken this culture. The less you need the grid, the less you need the money-god. The government is the money-god. Those who run the government want you to worship them. They want to act as Gods with respect to you and your own life. They want you to worship and adore them. They want you to serve them, and not the other way around. The money-god is like the Death Cult that I wrote about. It only leads to death of a culture. It worships Death, and is Death.
I think these thoughts are getting pretty close to the truth, even though the truth is a slippery thing. If you've got the truth, then the truth will set you free. Currently, we are not free, and consequently so much that we hear is nothing but a bunch of damned lies.
Update:
The philosophy is now covered. The feasibility was covered in the first 3 posts. The financial part may still be tough because there's still a need for a bunch of dough ( by my standards). After that has been figured out, the nuts and bolts of actually getting it done needs to be scoped out. If all goes well, I could be doing this thing.
How much will a solar electric system for my home cost?
Part 3 of living in a conex series. Previous post here. Next post here.
If you are going to live in a conex, it may well be preferable to go off the grid. One thing you'll eliminate is the dependence upon electricity. As usual, we want to know the costs of this means of power.
It looks like a very costly sum indeed. In order to get that number down, it may be necessary to go on a power diet. The biggest costs that I have on my electricity bill is for heating and cooling. By burying the conex, we may be able to avoid a lot of that expense and get by with a lot less energy.
Also, we may be able to use biological sources for energy. I covered these in the green trucker posts.
Biological sources of energy could be used for sewage treatment. If you remove the need for sewage treatment, you can save on the use of water and not need water pumped in.
I was thinking of using pyrolysis of human waste for the production of syngas to be used for further pyrolysis of future wastes. In other words, use the energy contents of the waste in order to treat the waste.
The rest of the water treatment will be on a future post. Update: Never mind! I've got a link right here to a way to get all the water we need.
Update ( 9/17/2014):
A lot of posts have come and gone in this series and my plans have been refined. I'm adding the following links of posts that covered the issue in more detail.
At present, I am leaning towards a gasifier with a stirling engine that will burn the syngas. The envisaged system will be able to supply electricity while recycling water and carbon. Oorja fuel cells will require a bit more processing, which will complicate things a bit.
As a reminder, the electric needs can be calculated with some advice from a pdf I bought from Lemar Alexander. ( the same guy who builds tiny houses )
next
If you are going to live in a conex, it may well be preferable to go off the grid. One thing you'll eliminate is the dependence upon electricity. As usual, we want to know the costs of this means of power.
It looks like a very costly sum indeed. In order to get that number down, it may be necessary to go on a power diet. The biggest costs that I have on my electricity bill is for heating and cooling. By burying the conex, we may be able to avoid a lot of that expense and get by with a lot less energy.
Also, we may be able to use biological sources for energy. I covered these in the green trucker posts.
Biological sources of energy could be used for sewage treatment. If you remove the need for sewage treatment, you can save on the use of water and not need water pumped in.
I was thinking of using pyrolysis of human waste for the production of syngas to be used for further pyrolysis of future wastes. In other words, use the energy contents of the waste in order to treat the waste.
The rest of the water treatment will be on a future post. Update: Never mind! I've got a link right here to a way to get all the water we need.
Update ( 9/17/2014):
A lot of posts have come and gone in this series and my plans have been refined. I'm adding the following links of posts that covered the issue in more detail.
- Amazon link for a windmill system--- not written about yet, but am adding it here anyway.
- amazing homemade gasifier uses wood pellets
- Oorja fuel cells
As a reminder, the electric needs can be calculated with some advice from a pdf I bought from Lemar Alexander. ( the same guy who builds tiny houses )
next
How to make a pvc greenhouse cheap!
Part 2 of the series about living in a conex. Part 1 is here. Part 3, which is next, is here.
The idea is to put the greenhouse on top of the buried conex. You'd enter the home through the greenhouse. The greenhouse will be used to grow food. Enough of these greenhouses around the property will enable you to grow enough food to support yourself, and maybe earn a small income.
Trying to pattern this a bit after Jules Durvaes ideas.
Update:
Some of these ideas have already been posted here. Here's a few things to consider in going with the greenhouse that will be raising your own food
next
The idea is to put the greenhouse on top of the buried conex. You'd enter the home through the greenhouse. The greenhouse will be used to grow food. Enough of these greenhouses around the property will enable you to grow enough food to support yourself, and maybe earn a small income.
Trying to pattern this a bit after Jules Durvaes ideas.
Update:
Some of these ideas have already been posted here. Here's a few things to consider in going with the greenhouse that will be raising your own food
- Edible algae coming to a rooftop near you
- Raising Ducks
- How to raise chickens
- Strategy for mining asteroids, part XVI ( includes posts about hydroponics and raising animals)
next
Friday, May 16, 2014
Next Big Future: Putin Screwed Up - Ukraine built about 600 of Russ...
Next Big Future: Putin Screwed Up - Ukraine built about 600 of Russ...: The R-36 (Russian: Р-36) to SS 18 Satan is a family of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and space launch vehicles designed by the...
Ukraine has a lot of influence over Russia's weapon systems, it says here. You don't say?
Ukraine has a lot of influence over Russia's weapon systems, it says here. You don't say?
Home again 5/16/14
Home, again Jiggedy jig
My eyes were tired today. Good thing there was a break in the middle of the day. All I wanted to do was to sleep.
But I'm fully awake now. Let's see if I can finish this post before I fall asleep.
Towards the end of the day, I got a brainstorm. But this one wasn't about space nor energy. This one is about what I'm going to do when I reach retirement age. This is not too far off now, and I really don't have a plan. Well, that's nothing new. All my life, I haven't had a plan. Whatever plans I had didn't work anyway, so what difference is there?
Anyway, the plan is to live in a conex. What?!? Are you crazy? Well, I thought that was decided already.
Nope. I'm working on the idea and I think it may have merit. I've seen these things converted into offices and such. It's not that big of a stretch to make a house out of it.
But why the hell would you want to live in one of those things? To save money. If you build a house, you will need a crapload of money. One of these should be a lot cheaper and will have plenty of structural strength.
But wouldn't it be uncomfortable? Yes, but I'm thinking about that. Instead of putting it on a lot somewhere, I figured I would bury it. What?!? Bury it! Are you... ok, never mind. The reason for burial is to keep the sun off of it and it would stay nice and cool. But how would you get into and out of the darned thing? I'd have a rollup door on the side, so the thing would lay down with the rollup door facing up. There'd be a ladder leading out of it and into it.
What about plumbing, lighting and so forth? These all require a lot more thought. I haven't gotten that far with the idea. Give it some time.
This will be a new series. The new posts will cover the other facets of the structure as I flesh it out.
Now, I can sleep. Maybe.
Update:
This update is over a month later. There have been many, many posts, and it has become necessary to have a Table of Contents post.
Update ( 9/17/14):
It should be pointed out that the conex idea went out the window and has been replaced by other ideas. One of these is by building a tiny house. I put this update in so as to inform any casual passers by that this series is not about living in a conex, it is about living off-the-grid.
next
My eyes were tired today. Good thing there was a break in the middle of the day. All I wanted to do was to sleep.
But I'm fully awake now. Let's see if I can finish this post before I fall asleep.
Towards the end of the day, I got a brainstorm. But this one wasn't about space nor energy. This one is about what I'm going to do when I reach retirement age. This is not too far off now, and I really don't have a plan. Well, that's nothing new. All my life, I haven't had a plan. Whatever plans I had didn't work anyway, so what difference is there?
Anyway, the plan is to live in a conex. What?!? Are you crazy? Well, I thought that was decided already.
Nope. I'm working on the idea and I think it may have merit. I've seen these things converted into offices and such. It's not that big of a stretch to make a house out of it.
But why the hell would you want to live in one of those things? To save money. If you build a house, you will need a crapload of money. One of these should be a lot cheaper and will have plenty of structural strength.
But wouldn't it be uncomfortable? Yes, but I'm thinking about that. Instead of putting it on a lot somewhere, I figured I would bury it. What?!? Bury it! Are you... ok, never mind. The reason for burial is to keep the sun off of it and it would stay nice and cool. But how would you get into and out of the darned thing? I'd have a rollup door on the side, so the thing would lay down with the rollup door facing up. There'd be a ladder leading out of it and into it.
What about plumbing, lighting and so forth? These all require a lot more thought. I haven't gotten that far with the idea. Give it some time.
This will be a new series. The new posts will cover the other facets of the structure as I flesh it out.
Now, I can sleep. Maybe.
Update:
This update is over a month later. There have been many, many posts, and it has become necessary to have a Table of Contents post.
Update ( 9/17/14):
It should be pointed out that the conex idea went out the window and has been replaced by other ideas. One of these is by building a tiny house. I put this update in so as to inform any casual passers by that this series is not about living in a conex, it is about living off-the-grid.
next
Stream of Consciousness Post 5/16/14
Hmm. Not sleepy tonight. Here I am posting something and it's pretty dang early. Okay, so what gives?
Not feeling sick. So, it's not that. No, just thinking. Once my brain gets going, sometimes it's hard to stop it. So, I'm thinking.
I trust thinking. I don't trust feeling. Yet my thoughts have fooled me when I should have listened to my feelings. Go figure.
Seems like I'm running into a brick wall, and I don't get it. Lots of cognitive dissonance. Just as the psych theory suggests, I'm trying to reduce the dissonance, but that's where I run into the brick wall.
I don't like banging my head against brick walls. It's only only good for a headache. Headaches don't do anything for me.
Or maybe another metaphor would work better here. Got a burr under my saddle. If this old cowboy is going to stay in his saddle, better get rid of that burr. One way or another, it's going to have to go.
Update:
Here's a thought: What you see is what you get.
Not feeling sick. So, it's not that. No, just thinking. Once my brain gets going, sometimes it's hard to stop it. So, I'm thinking.
I trust thinking. I don't trust feeling. Yet my thoughts have fooled me when I should have listened to my feelings. Go figure.
Seems like I'm running into a brick wall, and I don't get it. Lots of cognitive dissonance. Just as the psych theory suggests, I'm trying to reduce the dissonance, but that's where I run into the brick wall.
I don't like banging my head against brick walls. It's only only good for a headache. Headaches don't do anything for me.
Or maybe another metaphor would work better here. Got a burr under my saddle. If this old cowboy is going to stay in his saddle, better get rid of that burr. One way or another, it's going to have to go.
Update:
Here's a thought: What you see is what you get.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
The Ice Is Gonna Break! - The Dead Zone (8/10) Movie CLIP (1983) HD
The ice is a metaphor for the purposes of this post. You will have to think about that one. I don't have time to explain that one. Time to go.
Update:
Now that I've got a little time here, let's just say that the economy is the ice. It is so highly leveraged that any shock will send it back into recession or worse.
Update:
Now that I've got a little time here, let's just say that the economy is the ice. It is so highly leveraged that any shock will send it back into recession or worse.
On not expending good money after bad
I supported Focus Fusion because I believed that Eric Lerner has a good concept. But I'm not a physicist, so I can't evaluate it like a trained physicist can. I am going on faith that he has a good and worthy idea.
What if he doesn't? In that case, he is either lying or he is honestly mistaken.
I could have given more to Focus Fusion, but I can't be certain that he is right. So, I kept the donation down to a relatively low level.
If Lerner is lying, then he is what I call a moneygrubber. These are people who put money before principle or morality. They obey the laws of their god, the money-king.
I don't think Lerner is such a man. Some people might think he's just a kook. That's possible, but if it isn't?
The costs are low, the potential benefits are staggering. It's worth the chance. That's why I donated.
I wish I could convince EVERYBODY to throw in whatever you can, and help this man.
What if he doesn't? In that case, he is either lying or he is honestly mistaken.
I could have given more to Focus Fusion, but I can't be certain that he is right. So, I kept the donation down to a relatively low level.
If Lerner is lying, then he is what I call a moneygrubber. These are people who put money before principle or morality. They obey the laws of their god, the money-king.
I don't think Lerner is such a man. Some people might think he's just a kook. That's possible, but if it isn't?
The costs are low, the potential benefits are staggering. It's worth the chance. That's why I donated.
I wish I could convince EVERYBODY to throw in whatever you can, and help this man.
Austin Powers - Sexy Bitch
Comic relief.
But I really am a sexy "bitch" in spite of what I look like. Hey, you gotta believe in yourself.
But I really am a sexy "bitch" in spite of what I look like. Hey, you gotta believe in yourself.
Things that might have been
One of those things was a molten-salt reactor. Another one was the nuclear thermal rocket.
One thing that did get built was a partially reusable launch system---the Shuttle. However, the Shuttle could have and should have been better.
There was a plan to use the Saturn V rocket engines in a design for the Shuttle. The lower stage of the Saturn V would be converted in order that it could return to the launch site. The conversion was to make it into a type of rocket plane/booster that could lift the Shuttle to a certain altitude and velocity, then separate, and return to the launch site. It could have worked and the moonwalking astronaut, Edwin Aldrin, was in support of it, if I am not mistaken.
However, it never got built. The government, in all its wisdom, decided to build a new rocket engine and solid rocket boosters instead. With that decision, they pretty much doomed the idea of a fully reusable rocket launch system.
Elon Musk is using that same idea with his Grasshopper concept. It won't be the same as what was envisioned, but the concept is similar in that the first stage will return to the launch site. Instead of flying back, it will power itself back as a rocket, and land vertically.
Musk's system is much lighter weight and much less ambitious. The Shuttle, in contrast, was much too big. As I've discovered in my study of the rocket equation, mass is the big enemy of space flight. You MUST get the weight down. The Shuttle weighed over 200k pounds. Much, too much weight.
Instead of what they built, they could have built a smaller Shuttle with much less payload capacity. The smaller shuttle would need a smaller booster to get to the needed altitude and a nuclear thermal engine would have been able to get the Shuttle itself the rest of the way, PROVIDED THAT IT DIDN"T GET TOO HEAVY.
All of this was possible 40 years ago. Our leadership failed us when they came up with a system that was much more expensive and less capable than what it could have been.
Am I reaching anybody out there?
Hope so.
One thing that did get built was a partially reusable launch system---the Shuttle. However, the Shuttle could have and should have been better.
There was a plan to use the Saturn V rocket engines in a design for the Shuttle. The lower stage of the Saturn V would be converted in order that it could return to the launch site. The conversion was to make it into a type of rocket plane/booster that could lift the Shuttle to a certain altitude and velocity, then separate, and return to the launch site. It could have worked and the moonwalking astronaut, Edwin Aldrin, was in support of it, if I am not mistaken.
However, it never got built. The government, in all its wisdom, decided to build a new rocket engine and solid rocket boosters instead. With that decision, they pretty much doomed the idea of a fully reusable rocket launch system.
Elon Musk is using that same idea with his Grasshopper concept. It won't be the same as what was envisioned, but the concept is similar in that the first stage will return to the launch site. Instead of flying back, it will power itself back as a rocket, and land vertically.
Musk's system is much lighter weight and much less ambitious. The Shuttle, in contrast, was much too big. As I've discovered in my study of the rocket equation, mass is the big enemy of space flight. You MUST get the weight down. The Shuttle weighed over 200k pounds. Much, too much weight.
Instead of what they built, they could have built a smaller Shuttle with much less payload capacity. The smaller shuttle would need a smaller booster to get to the needed altitude and a nuclear thermal engine would have been able to get the Shuttle itself the rest of the way, PROVIDED THAT IT DIDN"T GET TOO HEAVY.
All of this was possible 40 years ago. Our leadership failed us when they came up with a system that was much more expensive and less capable than what it could have been.
Am I reaching anybody out there?
Hope so.
Why support focus fusion?
Why not is the better question.
Maybe an economic collapse won't be avoided. Certainly, focus fusion won't prevent one. However, it may help enable a recovery.
We should already have molten-salt reactor technology. I'm thinking it was blocked because the powers-that-be cannot wrap their minds behind the idea that energy prices must fall. Instead, they are blocking new energy ideas so as to keep us on the old system, which is failing us. It could fail in a spectacular fashion.
The reason for the failure is the zero-growth mindset that views the inventions of mankind to be some type of problem that must be solved as opposed to the inventions being the solution. One of those solutions was a molten-salt reactor, which could have given an energy price cheaper than coal and cleaner than any fossil fuel technology now in existence. What about nuclear wastes? With a molten-salt reactor, the wastes could be reduced by two orders of magnitude. Certainly, an improvement worth pursuing, right? Wrong. It could replace existing big energy companies, and these guys don't sit around idly and let their fortunes be destroyed by the new tech. So, the new tech is suppressed.
Cold fusion and now aneutronic fusion is a couple more technologies that the "leadership" isn't much interested in. Not because they won't work, but because there's a good chance that they will.
That's what people need to wrap their minds around. They've got this idea that the government is working in their interests. Wrong. They are working in their own interests.
Energy is the key. With cheap and abundant energy, many things become possible.
Maybe an economic collapse won't be avoided. Certainly, focus fusion won't prevent one. However, it may help enable a recovery.
We should already have molten-salt reactor technology. I'm thinking it was blocked because the powers-that-be cannot wrap their minds behind the idea that energy prices must fall. Instead, they are blocking new energy ideas so as to keep us on the old system, which is failing us. It could fail in a spectacular fashion.
The reason for the failure is the zero-growth mindset that views the inventions of mankind to be some type of problem that must be solved as opposed to the inventions being the solution. One of those solutions was a molten-salt reactor, which could have given an energy price cheaper than coal and cleaner than any fossil fuel technology now in existence. What about nuclear wastes? With a molten-salt reactor, the wastes could be reduced by two orders of magnitude. Certainly, an improvement worth pursuing, right? Wrong. It could replace existing big energy companies, and these guys don't sit around idly and let their fortunes be destroyed by the new tech. So, the new tech is suppressed.
Cold fusion and now aneutronic fusion is a couple more technologies that the "leadership" isn't much interested in. Not because they won't work, but because there's a good chance that they will.
That's what people need to wrap their minds around. They've got this idea that the government is working in their interests. Wrong. They are working in their own interests.
Energy is the key. With cheap and abundant energy, many things become possible.
What to do about the coming economic collapse
There is bound to be one. The latest economic statistics weren't all that good. The GDP numbers could be revised downward, and if they are, we've got the first quarter of negative GDP growth. Then you will be halfway there to an official recession.
In normal times, a recession is preceded by an inverted yield curve. However, since interest rates have gone to zero, plus the practice of quantitative easing, we are in new territory. Without the inverted yield curve, you may think you are safe. That may be a mistake. In fact, I think it is a big mistake.
If there's a recession with QE still going on and interests rates at zero, what does that say? There could be a sudden realization that we are heap big doodoo kemosabe, and the markets may crash.
So, if all this comes to pass, what to do?
While I was still reading Chris Laird, he suggested stocking up on food. If the crap hits the fan, food may be hard to come by. You are going to need to eat. Money may not be any good, so how do you get any food? That's the point. You will need to store some food. However, that will only last for awhile. What happens when you run out? You will be in the same boat as everyone else. By the way, that's the optimistic outcome. The pessimistic outcome is that someone discovers your food stash and takes your food away from you. You may not last long even if you do have food stashed away. I figured that Laird's suggestion, while appearing sound, has some serious defects.
We have been taught to be individuals. This is so ingrained in our psyche, it is not going to help us in an emergency. We have to unite and help each other. Otherwise, many of us will die. That sounds pretty dire, but you have to face the facts. This system is so highly leveraged that one misstep will send the entire house of cards falling down. In fact, every recession is just like that. This last one was like that. The answer should have been less leverage, but we got more leverage instead. The next recession will be a humdinger, if my theory is correct. The theory is that we are heading directly towards zero growth and have been doing that for decades. Once we arrive there, how can things be leveraged? It can't and it will implode, just as Ann Barnhardt has been saying.
We have to unite and help each other out. You can do this by looking into growing your own food. In fact, this was one of Laird's suggestions. He said to get a farm. But saying and doing is two different things. How in the world can you get buy a farm? It takes money for that and for me, that's a big problem.
It turns out that you can raise plenty of food on a small amount of land. I've covered that in a previous post. Lots of people are going to need to follow that example. In fact, most people are going to have to follow that example. How much land do you need? This guy feeds a family of four and generates 20k in revenue on just 1/10th of an acre. Somehow, if you are going to survive the coming catastrophe, you are going to need to get at least this much land and start learning how to farm. Once again, that's a big problem for yours truly. But I may be able to solve it.
It's not good enough for just me to solve it though. What happens after you've got your little old farm and the collapse comes? When the collapse comes, there will be roving bands of hungry people who will be like locusts. They will eat something because everybody has to eat. It may well be that your farm will find its way on the path of one of these roaming locust swarms. You have to join together in a security network of self-sufficient farmers. You will have to be armed so that you can discourage anybody from trespassing on your property.
This may sound hard-hearted, but if people insist upon being stupid and not taking heed, you have to defend yourself. People need to stop listening to "leaders" who are going to get everybody killed. If you insist upon being stupid, you will have to pay the price. The smart people will unite and help themselves. That's how you survive the coming collapse.
If the entire country were to unite, we could survive as a nation. But that will take leadership, and there isn't enough of that these days. The politicians are only interested in the next election You should be interested in more serious things.
In normal times, a recession is preceded by an inverted yield curve. However, since interest rates have gone to zero, plus the practice of quantitative easing, we are in new territory. Without the inverted yield curve, you may think you are safe. That may be a mistake. In fact, I think it is a big mistake.
If there's a recession with QE still going on and interests rates at zero, what does that say? There could be a sudden realization that we are heap big doodoo kemosabe, and the markets may crash.
So, if all this comes to pass, what to do?
While I was still reading Chris Laird, he suggested stocking up on food. If the crap hits the fan, food may be hard to come by. You are going to need to eat. Money may not be any good, so how do you get any food? That's the point. You will need to store some food. However, that will only last for awhile. What happens when you run out? You will be in the same boat as everyone else. By the way, that's the optimistic outcome. The pessimistic outcome is that someone discovers your food stash and takes your food away from you. You may not last long even if you do have food stashed away. I figured that Laird's suggestion, while appearing sound, has some serious defects.
We have been taught to be individuals. This is so ingrained in our psyche, it is not going to help us in an emergency. We have to unite and help each other. Otherwise, many of us will die. That sounds pretty dire, but you have to face the facts. This system is so highly leveraged that one misstep will send the entire house of cards falling down. In fact, every recession is just like that. This last one was like that. The answer should have been less leverage, but we got more leverage instead. The next recession will be a humdinger, if my theory is correct. The theory is that we are heading directly towards zero growth and have been doing that for decades. Once we arrive there, how can things be leveraged? It can't and it will implode, just as Ann Barnhardt has been saying.
We have to unite and help each other out. You can do this by looking into growing your own food. In fact, this was one of Laird's suggestions. He said to get a farm. But saying and doing is two different things. How in the world can you get buy a farm? It takes money for that and for me, that's a big problem.
It turns out that you can raise plenty of food on a small amount of land. I've covered that in a previous post. Lots of people are going to need to follow that example. In fact, most people are going to have to follow that example. How much land do you need? This guy feeds a family of four and generates 20k in revenue on just 1/10th of an acre. Somehow, if you are going to survive the coming catastrophe, you are going to need to get at least this much land and start learning how to farm. Once again, that's a big problem for yours truly. But I may be able to solve it.
It's not good enough for just me to solve it though. What happens after you've got your little old farm and the collapse comes? When the collapse comes, there will be roving bands of hungry people who will be like locusts. They will eat something because everybody has to eat. It may well be that your farm will find its way on the path of one of these roaming locust swarms. You have to join together in a security network of self-sufficient farmers. You will have to be armed so that you can discourage anybody from trespassing on your property.
This may sound hard-hearted, but if people insist upon being stupid and not taking heed, you have to defend yourself. People need to stop listening to "leaders" who are going to get everybody killed. If you insist upon being stupid, you will have to pay the price. The smart people will unite and help themselves. That's how you survive the coming collapse.
If the entire country were to unite, we could survive as a nation. But that will take leadership, and there isn't enough of that these days. The politicians are only interested in the next election You should be interested in more serious things.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Home again 5/14/14
Home, again Jiggedy jig
Fighting that traffic on the way home, I tell ya. Where do all these people come from? Oh, yeah. There's about 5 million people in the Houston area. It seems sometimes that a lot of them are in the same place at the same time. Just glad to get home in one piece.
Sometimes I feel like this when I'm trying to get some ideas across on this here blog. The other side of the conversation may not even laugh like that or do anything at all at times, or so it seems. But sometimes, I get the feeling I'm making some headway. When I do, I feel good about it.
Fighting that traffic on the way home, I tell ya. Where do all these people come from? Oh, yeah. There's about 5 million people in the Houston area. It seems sometimes that a lot of them are in the same place at the same time. Just glad to get home in one piece.
Sometimes I feel like this when I'm trying to get some ideas across on this here blog. The other side of the conversation may not even laugh like that or do anything at all at times, or so it seems. But sometimes, I get the feeling I'm making some headway. When I do, I feel good about it.
SHOCKING Hidden Meaning of VERTIGO
As Spock would say, "Fascinating". How did Hitchcock figure all this out? With this narration, he manages to show that he really was the master of the bizarre.
Who'd a thunk that a guy could get a woody from a gal changing her hair a little?
Who'd a thunk that a guy could get a woody from a gal changing her hair a little?
Cost-benefit argument for focus fusion
The benefits of achieving practical fusion power generation are immense. Such an energy source would eliminate the threat of climate change as well as the many environmental drawbacks of other energy sources. Fusion power could ultimately save trillions of dollars in energy and environmental costs. By contrast, an increase of fusion research funding to include alternative devices and fuels would cost only an additional $300 million per year—30 cents per year per person. This is a tiny amount of money considering the benefits.--- [emphasis added ] source: Open Letter on Fusion
The crowdfunding campaign will last only for about a month. Be sure to go visit and make a contribution if you haven't already.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Anger Mgt
This guy really does have psych issues if the doctor can get him to sing this song on a busy bridge in a big city.
Video SparkNotes: Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream summary
I'm still trying to figure this one out and I've read it before. Time's up, gotta go.
update:
Checking our the video just now gave an unexpected surprise. Looks like a completely different video than the one I posted.
The one I posted wasn't about Spacex. It wasn't consistent with what I wrote.
update:
Checking our the video just now gave an unexpected surprise. Looks like a completely different video than the one I posted.
The one I posted wasn't about Spacex. It wasn't consistent with what I wrote.
Energy is the key
Yes, energy is the key to the next level of civilization. Get that key, and things will improve dramatically.
I believe that. I will act upon that belief and so I have. I gave 300 bucks to the Focus Fusion crowdfunding drive.
My perk will be an autographed copy of Eric Lerner's book. I think I'll get a shout out and a tee shirt too. Yay me!
Better yet, congratulations to ourselves if this happens in our lifetimes. It will really change the world. I believe it. I wish I could get enough people to believe it so that we can make it happen.
The world will be a better place if we had cheap and plentiful energy. Every economic boom begins with this. The world will become a more peaceful place.
Sounds too good to be true? Sure, it does. But why not go for it? What the f**k, huh? What do you have to lose but a few bucks? Every little bit helps.
I believe that. I will act upon that belief and so I have. I gave 300 bucks to the Focus Fusion crowdfunding drive.
My perk will be an autographed copy of Eric Lerner's book. I think I'll get a shout out and a tee shirt too. Yay me!
Better yet, congratulations to ourselves if this happens in our lifetimes. It will really change the world. I believe it. I wish I could get enough people to believe it so that we can make it happen.
The world will be a better place if we had cheap and plentiful energy. Every economic boom begins with this. The world will become a more peaceful place.
Sounds too good to be true? Sure, it does. But why not go for it? What the f**k, huh? What do you have to lose but a few bucks? Every little bit helps.
Oh please. Would you just stop it already?
As I've often stated, this blog is about solutions, if it is about anything. That may be boring though. After all, why write if you can't attract an audience? Why write at all? It brings me back to why I started the blog at all. But to tell that deeply may require a bit of self-disclosure that I don't feel comfortable about.
That allows me to segue into a bit of self-disclosure that doesn't go too far. I tend to worry more than I should. One of the ways that I learned to deal with that is by reading a self-help book. In the case for the dealing with the habit of worry, I read Dale Carnegie's book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. Not only did I read this book, but I became so fanatic about it that I recorded it on tape to listen to while I drive my truck during the day. Or, I was listening to it way back then. That was nearly 30 years ago, by the way.
One of the techniques went something like this: try to imagine the worst thing that can possibly happen. Then begin to work on trying to improve upon that situation. If the thing that's worrying you seems a bit overwhelming, the mere fact of getting yourself to start doing constructive things to help improve the situation will be helpful in alleviating worry. Sorry, I don't have any examples to relate. Just to say that it is a part of my habits now. Any time I see a problem, I just look for ways to improve upon the situation. Things don't build up to a point where I am a nervous wreck over a problem. I don't think I worry nearly as much as I used to.
That book was one of many that I read 30 years ago after a particularly painful period in my life. Oh, that's a little too personal. Okay, I'll go ahead anyway. Why worry about that? yuk, yuk Yes, a sense of humor can help too.
I was really depressed about my failures in life. Seems like I've always cared about being a "success" in life. But what's success anyway? You have to define it. Being rich is one way, and I would have liked that. Obviously, I never achieved that. Ironically, one reason is that I've stopped worrying about not being rich. I learned to stop worrying about being rich! What a joke. I'm so good a not worrying about getting rich that I won't ever get rich.
Yet, in spite of learning not to worry about the lack of success, I began this blog. I began this blog because I had one of those moments where I thought--- gee, I am better than this. Why the hell am I driving a truck for a living? I felt a little bad about myself and began to do something about it. I started writing a blog that nobody reads. Hah, hah, hah! Big help that was. So, now I worry about not having a big audience. Will it ever end, this worrying?
Yes, I took down the donate button. I wanted to make money with the blog, but as usual, my ideas for making money don't seem to work too well. So, stop worrying about it, and take the button down. So, it's gone. Happy now? No.
Still, I'd like an audience. Well, I think I've got one. It's just not very big. One way to improve upon that situation, and to stop worrying about it, is to try to make a connection with my audience. If I were to get a bit personal about myself, would that help? It might, but it might hurt too. Worrying about bad outcomes may paralyze you into doing something constructive to improve upon whatever it is that is worrying you. But you have to do something. Going round and round in circles just won't do. Another technique for conquering worry is to get busy. My days are pretty full. Now I can start worrying about my health because I work too hard! Oh, my.
I am starting to worry a little that this may be sounding a bit like a Woody Allen script.
That allows me to segue into a bit of self-disclosure that doesn't go too far. I tend to worry more than I should. One of the ways that I learned to deal with that is by reading a self-help book. In the case for the dealing with the habit of worry, I read Dale Carnegie's book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. Not only did I read this book, but I became so fanatic about it that I recorded it on tape to listen to while I drive my truck during the day. Or, I was listening to it way back then. That was nearly 30 years ago, by the way.
One of the techniques went something like this: try to imagine the worst thing that can possibly happen. Then begin to work on trying to improve upon that situation. If the thing that's worrying you seems a bit overwhelming, the mere fact of getting yourself to start doing constructive things to help improve the situation will be helpful in alleviating worry. Sorry, I don't have any examples to relate. Just to say that it is a part of my habits now. Any time I see a problem, I just look for ways to improve upon the situation. Things don't build up to a point where I am a nervous wreck over a problem. I don't think I worry nearly as much as I used to.
That book was one of many that I read 30 years ago after a particularly painful period in my life. Oh, that's a little too personal. Okay, I'll go ahead anyway. Why worry about that? yuk, yuk Yes, a sense of humor can help too.
I was really depressed about my failures in life. Seems like I've always cared about being a "success" in life. But what's success anyway? You have to define it. Being rich is one way, and I would have liked that. Obviously, I never achieved that. Ironically, one reason is that I've stopped worrying about not being rich. I learned to stop worrying about being rich! What a joke. I'm so good a not worrying about getting rich that I won't ever get rich.
Yet, in spite of learning not to worry about the lack of success, I began this blog. I began this blog because I had one of those moments where I thought--- gee, I am better than this. Why the hell am I driving a truck for a living? I felt a little bad about myself and began to do something about it. I started writing a blog that nobody reads. Hah, hah, hah! Big help that was. So, now I worry about not having a big audience. Will it ever end, this worrying?
Yes, I took down the donate button. I wanted to make money with the blog, but as usual, my ideas for making money don't seem to work too well. So, stop worrying about it, and take the button down. So, it's gone. Happy now? No.
Still, I'd like an audience. Well, I think I've got one. It's just not very big. One way to improve upon that situation, and to stop worrying about it, is to try to make a connection with my audience. If I were to get a bit personal about myself, would that help? It might, but it might hurt too. Worrying about bad outcomes may paralyze you into doing something constructive to improve upon whatever it is that is worrying you. But you have to do something. Going round and round in circles just won't do. Another technique for conquering worry is to get busy. My days are pretty full. Now I can start worrying about my health because I work too hard! Oh, my.
I am starting to worry a little that this may be sounding a bit like a Woody Allen script.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Help fund Focus Fusion and change the world
Fusion Crowdfunding is launched! (via http://lawrencevilleplasmaphysics.com)
On May 6th, LPPFusion and Focus Fusion Society launched are Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign! Between now and June 15th, when the campaign ends, we plan to raise $200,000 to fund our crucial beryllium electrodes, vital to our final push toward net energy…
Mr T vs Mr Rogers. Epic Rap Battles of History #13
aka Obama v Romney
The nice guy lost that battle, what about this one?
The nice guy lost that battle, what about this one?
Better late than never ( repost 11/2/12 BEFORE the election )
Note:
Just to show that I'm not making this stuff up, I repost this piece right here that shows that enough information was available to hold Obama accountable for Benghazi before the election. Romney and the commentariat didn't hammer this hard enough. They should have been bitching like crazy over this. But they wanted to watch polls instead.
Read it and weep...
You take good news when you can get it. Even if it is a bit late.
We've now got Pat Buchanan's seal of approval. Yay.
The guys with the big names like Pat Buchanan are now saying what those of us in the trenches have been saying all along. Now he is in there with us. Yeah, he's welcome. But a little late.
This same Pat Buchanan was comparing Obama to Ronald Reagan. The same Pat Buchanan all but elected this creep. Thanks a lot.
Just to show that I'm not making this stuff up, I repost this piece right here that shows that enough information was available to hold Obama accountable for Benghazi before the election. Romney and the commentariat didn't hammer this hard enough. They should have been bitching like crazy over this. But they wanted to watch polls instead.
Read it and weep...
You take good news when you can get it. Even if it is a bit late.
We've now got Pat Buchanan's seal of approval. Yay.
On June 11, the British ambassador's motorcade was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, wounding a medic and doctor. The next day, the ambassador was gone and the British Benghazi post was closed....On Aug. 16, a cable went to the State Department describing the imminent danger, saying the compound could not defend itself against a "coordinated attack."...Catherine Herridge of Fox News, who unearthed the Aug. 16 cable, calls it the "smoking gun."
Yet, on Oct. 11, Joe Biden, during the vice presidential debate, asserted, "We weren't told they wanted more security there."
The guys with the big names like Pat Buchanan are now saying what those of us in the trenches have been saying all along. Now he is in there with us. Yeah, he's welcome. But a little late.
This same Pat Buchanan was comparing Obama to Ronald Reagan. The same Pat Buchanan all but elected this creep. Thanks a lot.
The Day Obama’s Presidency Died
Belmont Club via Free Republic
Good write up. Obama had a failure and can't own up on it. It only compounds the original failure.
The day the Republic may have died is when the opposition, Romney, could not recognize this and exploit it. I bitched long and loud about the preoccupation with polls and such.
All Romney really needed was to hold Obama accountable for his failure at Benghazi and he would have made the case for his election. But he went "bean bag" on us and he failed. The failure goes beyond Obama, Romney, and the commentariat.
We need to wise up and wise up fast. This is getting too dangerous.
Good write up. Obama had a failure and can't own up on it. It only compounds the original failure.
Cohen and Gooch propose that all military failures fall into three basic categories: failure to learn from the past, failure to anticipate what the future may bring, and failure to adapt to the immediate circumstances on the battlefield.Fernandez writes persuasively that Obama failed on all three counts in Benghazi. That's the day his Presidency died, he writes.
The day the Republic may have died is when the opposition, Romney, could not recognize this and exploit it. I bitched long and loud about the preoccupation with polls and such.
All Romney really needed was to hold Obama accountable for his failure at Benghazi and he would have made the case for his election. But he went "bean bag" on us and he failed. The failure goes beyond Obama, Romney, and the commentariat.
We need to wise up and wise up fast. This is getting too dangerous.
McLaughlin Group‘s Eleanor Clift : ‘Ambassador Stevens Wasn’t Murdered’
mediaite via Free Republic
Are these people evil or just stupid?
I'd some some are evil, the others are just stupid.
At the very, very least, this is an error in policy that was covered up long enough for Obama to get by the election. It is very clear that the administration, at the very least, failed to grasp the worsening security situation and act accordingly. The excuses are just big excuses. It wasn't a lack of money. It wouldn't have taken any additional money to grant diplomatic immunity to the extra Marines. This was denied in order to leave a "lighter footprint". This is the same kind of thinking that was used in Somalia in the Black Hawk Down incident. The Black Hawk Down incident is what led Osama bin Laden to think that America could be beaten. You have that, and then you have these people doing the same doggone things all over again that led to the 911 attacks. To let this happen on the anniversary of 911 was absolutely unforgivable.
Remember, this assessment is a KIND and GENEROUS assessment. You could go much further and start reaching some really dark conclusions here if you were so inclined.
Still, the Democrats won't fess up and come clean. Then get statements like this and you really have to wonder about these people.
Are these people evil or just stupid?
I'd some some are evil, the others are just stupid.
At the very, very least, this is an error in policy that was covered up long enough for Obama to get by the election. It is very clear that the administration, at the very least, failed to grasp the worsening security situation and act accordingly. The excuses are just big excuses. It wasn't a lack of money. It wouldn't have taken any additional money to grant diplomatic immunity to the extra Marines. This was denied in order to leave a "lighter footprint". This is the same kind of thinking that was used in Somalia in the Black Hawk Down incident. The Black Hawk Down incident is what led Osama bin Laden to think that America could be beaten. You have that, and then you have these people doing the same doggone things all over again that led to the 911 attacks. To let this happen on the anniversary of 911 was absolutely unforgivable.
Remember, this assessment is a KIND and GENEROUS assessment. You could go much further and start reaching some really dark conclusions here if you were so inclined.
Still, the Democrats won't fess up and come clean. Then get statements like this and you really have to wonder about these people.
Cast Away (I HAVE MADE FIRE)
Survival situation. How to make a fire. He goes a little nuts when he starts talking to "Wilson". Isolation like that is a hazard to your mental health. People will do strange things when they are isolated.
I think the movie was well researched. Why watch it? It might be hard to understand why anyone would want to watch a movie like this. I guess you could just try to imagine yourself in such a situation and what would you do?
I think the movie was well researched. Why watch it? It might be hard to understand why anyone would want to watch a movie like this. I guess you could just try to imagine yourself in such a situation and what would you do?
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Black Hawk Down
If anybody paid attention to this movie, which was said to be accurate about the event, Democrats would be in a lot of trouble. Er, I should add that people actually need to think about what's in the movie here.
There's a resemblance to Benghazi here. The Clinton administration wanted a lighter footprint in Somalia. That meant they went into this battle without the weapons that they needed to prevail. It was not as if the weapons were unavailable. It was a decision by the Clinton administration not to use the weapons.
Because of what happened in Somalia, Osama bin Laden sized up the United States and concluded that we could be beaten. This was the inspiration for the 911 events.
Democrats then and now will try to evade responsibility forever for this. As long as people have their heads up their asses and continue to believe their bullshit, we will continue to have problems like al Qaeda. The terrorists think we are weak and we are if we won't hold these people accountable.
No way in hell that Hillary Clinton should even be considered as President. Just as Obama shouldn't even have been considered. When this happened with Clinton, he should have lost the next election. We pay for the lack of accountability. The payment for Obama's actions could well be a really big terrorist event. Or war.
Get a clue, people.
There's a resemblance to Benghazi here. The Clinton administration wanted a lighter footprint in Somalia. That meant they went into this battle without the weapons that they needed to prevail. It was not as if the weapons were unavailable. It was a decision by the Clinton administration not to use the weapons.
Because of what happened in Somalia, Osama bin Laden sized up the United States and concluded that we could be beaten. This was the inspiration for the 911 events.
Democrats then and now will try to evade responsibility forever for this. As long as people have their heads up their asses and continue to believe their bullshit, we will continue to have problems like al Qaeda. The terrorists think we are weak and we are if we won't hold these people accountable.
No way in hell that Hillary Clinton should even be considered as President. Just as Obama shouldn't even have been considered. When this happened with Clinton, he should have lost the next election. We pay for the lack of accountability. The payment for Obama's actions could well be a really big terrorist event. Or war.
Get a clue, people.
Experimenting with fonts, colors, ideas
Arial font ( normal ) Large largest
Courier font largest, large, normal
Georgia font normal, large, largest
Helvetica font normal, large, largest
times largest, large, normal
trebuchet normal, large, largest
verdana font largest, large, normal
That's all the fonts, let's look at colors:
red
orange
yellow
green
tourquoise
blue
purple
lavender
To write a post using a different color scheme and font is possible, but should I bother with this? Up to this point in the history of the blog, no. Suppose this would make any difference in anything?
You'd need to know something to be able to pull it off without making it look tacky. This already looks tacky.
More pictures? Videos? People may prefer something pleasing to the eye, but am I really interested in doing that?
Possibly. Not necessarily with pictures, but with music. Music? Yeah. But it wouldn't be something already posted on the Youtube. It would be me.
The problem with that though, is that it would take enormous amount of time to practice some music before I "performed" it. I use the word perform with a bit of caution. I don't consider myself a musician, not even an amateur one. At one time though, I practiced a lot with the guitar. This did not make me a good guitarist by any stretch of the imagination.
Back to normal font. I think I'll put up something about how to play a piece. I've seen a lot of those on the youtube.
They didn't have youtube when I was a teenager. This stuff is a great resource. Kids should appreciate how great this is.
Courier font largest, large, normal
Georgia font normal, large, largest
Helvetica font normal, large, largest
times largest, large, normal
trebuchet normal, large, largest
verdana font largest, large, normal
That's all the fonts, let's look at colors:
red
orange
yellow
green
tourquoise
blue
purple
lavender
To write a post using a different color scheme and font is possible, but should I bother with this? Up to this point in the history of the blog, no. Suppose this would make any difference in anything?
You'd need to know something to be able to pull it off without making it look tacky. This already looks tacky.
More pictures? Videos? People may prefer something pleasing to the eye, but am I really interested in doing that?
Possibly. Not necessarily with pictures, but with music. Music? Yeah. But it wouldn't be something already posted on the Youtube. It would be me.
The problem with that though, is that it would take enormous amount of time to practice some music before I "performed" it. I use the word perform with a bit of caution. I don't consider myself a musician, not even an amateur one. At one time though, I practiced a lot with the guitar. This did not make me a good guitarist by any stretch of the imagination.
Back to normal font. I think I'll put up something about how to play a piece. I've seen a lot of those on the youtube.
They didn't have youtube when I was a teenager. This stuff is a great resource. Kids should appreciate how great this is.
Stereotypes ain't what they used to be
My brother was visiting with me yesterday. He is a big fan of South Park, which is not exactly something I am familiar with. He wanted to look at the videos on Youtube. What I saw there was pretty rotgut stuff, but that's not what this little ditty is all about.
One video there was so bad that I just wished my brother would just leave. So he did.
Not to be done with my brother just yet, one other thing we were looking at was All in the Family sitcom of the seventies. There was one in which Archie Bunker called England a "fag" country. A lot of that stuff Archie was saying seemed pretty ridiculous. But this ain't about Archie Bunker either. Perhaps Archie Bunker was funny for his time, but that stuff is over 40 years old now. We have moved on.
My brother left and I got to thinking about a movie I saw recently. Actually, I had to buy it off Amazon, so now I own the darned thing. It's the romantic comedy called As Good As It Gets. I don't watch many of these types of movies. It was made in the nineties, but I missed it at that time. I saw something on the web that made me think it was worth watching, and so I had to buy it to see it. Anyway, it turns out that we ( in this culture ) may well have moved on still more since that time. There was a type of stereotyping in that movie with respect to the homosexual character in it. Not like Archie Bunker, but still there. Evidently, we had made some "progress".
The stereotyping may have helped push a message back then that is seducing the country into accepting the premises the left is trying to sell. The premise is that homosexuals are just like us. It used a stereotype of homosexuals being rather passive and sensitive creatures that wouldn't hurt a fly. If you made a movie like that now, the homosexuals may not approve of it because of the stereotype being used. But it was useful to them at that time and they probably didn't mind that one bit. There was this one movie, Basic Instinct, in which the homosexuals didn't like too much and were quite vocal about it. But we've moved on. We are so much more "progressive" now.
Now you've got Obama congratulating the first openly "gay" NFL player. Congratulations for what?
The NFL is a pretty tough business. Wusses are not going to make it there. Thus, the new "gay" guy ain't no wuss, like the character "Simon" in the movie As Good As It Gets. This seems to conflict the stereotypes of the former years mentioned above---but the same ones as we've "grown" from. As I mentioned before in an earlier post, the leader of the Brownshirts in Nazi Germany was definitely a homosexual. Not a wuss either. Not to mention the guy I wrote about yesterday, who didn't fit the stereotypes, and who had effeminate mannerisms, but was also the father of several children.
You can't judge things according to stereotypes. You never could. But somehow, what seemed okay before is not so okay today. And may not be tomorrow. Something about this is making me suspicious.
One video there was so bad that I just wished my brother would just leave. So he did.
Not to be done with my brother just yet, one other thing we were looking at was All in the Family sitcom of the seventies. There was one in which Archie Bunker called England a "fag" country. A lot of that stuff Archie was saying seemed pretty ridiculous. But this ain't about Archie Bunker either. Perhaps Archie Bunker was funny for his time, but that stuff is over 40 years old now. We have moved on.
My brother left and I got to thinking about a movie I saw recently. Actually, I had to buy it off Amazon, so now I own the darned thing. It's the romantic comedy called As Good As It Gets. I don't watch many of these types of movies. It was made in the nineties, but I missed it at that time. I saw something on the web that made me think it was worth watching, and so I had to buy it to see it. Anyway, it turns out that we ( in this culture ) may well have moved on still more since that time. There was a type of stereotyping in that movie with respect to the homosexual character in it. Not like Archie Bunker, but still there. Evidently, we had made some "progress".
The stereotyping may have helped push a message back then that is seducing the country into accepting the premises the left is trying to sell. The premise is that homosexuals are just like us. It used a stereotype of homosexuals being rather passive and sensitive creatures that wouldn't hurt a fly. If you made a movie like that now, the homosexuals may not approve of it because of the stereotype being used. But it was useful to them at that time and they probably didn't mind that one bit. There was this one movie, Basic Instinct, in which the homosexuals didn't like too much and were quite vocal about it. But we've moved on. We are so much more "progressive" now.
Now you've got Obama congratulating the first openly "gay" NFL player. Congratulations for what?
The NFL is a pretty tough business. Wusses are not going to make it there. Thus, the new "gay" guy ain't no wuss, like the character "Simon" in the movie As Good As It Gets. This seems to conflict the stereotypes of the former years mentioned above---but the same ones as we've "grown" from. As I mentioned before in an earlier post, the leader of the Brownshirts in Nazi Germany was definitely a homosexual. Not a wuss either. Not to mention the guy I wrote about yesterday, who didn't fit the stereotypes, and who had effeminate mannerisms, but was also the father of several children.
You can't judge things according to stereotypes. You never could. But somehow, what seemed okay before is not so okay today. And may not be tomorrow. Something about this is making me suspicious.
Efficiency sounds great until its YOUR job being eliminated
There was something in this NRO piece that got my attention. I've written before on the subject with respect to the invention of self-driving vehicles. If enough of these vehicles get built, that could be the end of my job as a delivery driver. So, I wrote something to the effect that it looks a whole lot different when you are on the receiving end of this kind of event. Sure, you're all for it if it makes your life more convenient, but what about the other guy?
Junk mail is a pain in the neck. But electronics has all but eliminated the other types of mail that the Post Office used to handle. If it weren't for junk mail, the Post Office would be in even bigger trouble than what it is already. Personally, I'd like to keep the Post Office. I'd like to have a backup system that can deliver mail if the computer networks go down. If there's an EMP attack, we may be fortunate to have a few things that still work. If the Post Office still worked in that scenario, we'd still have a way to conduct some types of business and communications. Don't close down the Post Office.
Here's the quote:
Junk mail is a pain in the neck. But electronics has all but eliminated the other types of mail that the Post Office used to handle. If it weren't for junk mail, the Post Office would be in even bigger trouble than what it is already. Personally, I'd like to keep the Post Office. I'd like to have a backup system that can deliver mail if the computer networks go down. If there's an EMP attack, we may be fortunate to have a few things that still work. If the Post Office still worked in that scenario, we'd still have a way to conduct some types of business and communications. Don't close down the Post Office.
Here's the quote:
Never mind the benefits of Outbox — happy customers, tons and tons of recycled paper, and, not least, the promise of relieving the USPS of the burden of actually moving many tons of paper across the country, in various petroleum-powered vehicles that so worry our environmentalist friends, only to see it directly deposited into the trash — the titans of junk mail did not want to end up in the physical equivalent of a spam filter.--- Kevin WilliamsonNot all "progress" is good. Try taking a really close look sometimes.
Mel Brooks Blasts Political Correctness: 'Blazing Saddles' Couldn't Be Made Today
Breitbart via Free Republic
Huckleberry Finn has been banned. The list gets longer all the time.
Why should we bow to PC? They are walking all over the rest of us. Where's their respect? They have no respect for traditional culture. Why bow to them?
There's no such thing as "gay". It is a political decision to "come out". It's wrong and it feeds the monster that's destroying us all.
"They can't make that movie today because everybody's so politically correct. You know, the NAACP would stop a great movie that would do such a great service to black people because of the N-word," says Brooks.Yeah, and they blank out the word "faggot" in the song by Dire Straits:
Huckleberry Finn has been banned. The list gets longer all the time.
Why should we bow to PC? They are walking all over the rest of us. Where's their respect? They have no respect for traditional culture. Why bow to them?
There's no such thing as "gay". It is a political decision to "come out". It's wrong and it feeds the monster that's destroying us all.
Dozens of protesters ride in off-limits canyon
ap story via Free Republic
Looks like it may be a mistake. Nevertheless, a case can be made that the government is seizing a lot more land than is necessary. In this case, if you were to look at all of the facts, there may be some claim to a legitimate protest. But taking motorized vehicles into the area wasn't really necessary. This kind of protest can backfire.
The group's act of defiance marks the latest illustration of growing tension between angry rural Western residents and the federal government over management of public lands...The canyon is open to hikers and horseback riders.
Looks like it may be a mistake. Nevertheless, a case can be made that the government is seizing a lot more land than is necessary. In this case, if you were to look at all of the facts, there may be some claim to a legitimate protest. But taking motorized vehicles into the area wasn't really necessary. This kind of protest can backfire.
Passive resistance as a political tool
Those of us on the so-called "right" need to smarten up a bit about tactics. You don't have to be a tough guy to win these battles. The civil rights movement of the sixties was successful without violence. Martin Luther King followed the example of Mahatma Gandhi, and managed to keep the high moral ground in the face of injustice. Consequently, they were able to win some victories for their movement. Those of us on the so-called "right" should adopt some of these tactics.
Let's take an example cited by Ann Barnhardt in a recent post of hers. She pointed out that nobody did anything about the fact that the school board had a man arrested for doing nothing but expressing his civil rights. He objected to pornography being pushed on his daughter without his knowledge and consent. The school should not be doing this kind of thing, and the appropriate response should not be an arrest of the man for expression of his objection to how his daughter was being "educated".
Abuse of power is to be expected. But the reaction needs to be such that the moral high ground is maintained. The man needs some support obviously, so several people could have gone with him to this meeting. When the Gestapo tactics started, they could have supported each other by continuing their objections without fighting. When they are arrested, they can just refuse to walk out with the officer as this man did. They could force the officer to carry him out bodily. This may require two or more officers for each protester. This could overwhelm a police force in no time if there are many protesters.
However, if the man goes bonkers and starts fighting, he could be branded as a "domestic terrorist", and thus lose the moral high ground.
The so-called "right" needs to organize these activities so as to gain maximum publicity that will harm the left's intention to pollute the minds of the young with their propaganda. If they try to get rough, make this backfire on them. It worked for the civil rights movement in the sixties. It can work again.
Let's take an example cited by Ann Barnhardt in a recent post of hers. She pointed out that nobody did anything about the fact that the school board had a man arrested for doing nothing but expressing his civil rights. He objected to pornography being pushed on his daughter without his knowledge and consent. The school should not be doing this kind of thing, and the appropriate response should not be an arrest of the man for expression of his objection to how his daughter was being "educated".
Abuse of power is to be expected. But the reaction needs to be such that the moral high ground is maintained. The man needs some support obviously, so several people could have gone with him to this meeting. When the Gestapo tactics started, they could have supported each other by continuing their objections without fighting. When they are arrested, they can just refuse to walk out with the officer as this man did. They could force the officer to carry him out bodily. This may require two or more officers for each protester. This could overwhelm a police force in no time if there are many protesters.
However, if the man goes bonkers and starts fighting, he could be branded as a "domestic terrorist", and thus lose the moral high ground.
The so-called "right" needs to organize these activities so as to gain maximum publicity that will harm the left's intention to pollute the minds of the young with their propaganda. If they try to get rough, make this backfire on them. It worked for the civil rights movement in the sixties. It can work again.
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