Zero Hedge: Sheep being fattened up for the slaughter

Message from moi:

The public's answer? More of the same---witness Thad Cochran.

Published on Zero Hedge (http://www.zerohedge.com)

Home > The Keynesian End Game Is Near: No Escape Velocity This Year, Either

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The Keynesian End Game Is Near: No Escape Velocity This Year, Either

By Tyler Durden

Created 06/27/2014 - 19:50

The economic releases of the past few days are putting the lie to the Keynesian escape velocity myth. The latter is not just around the corner—-and 2014 is now virtually certain to mark the fifth year running when the boom predicted by Wall Street economist at the beginning of the year fizzled as actual results unfolded.

You may want to reach escape velocity out of the big cities.  There's going to be trouble eventually.

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Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-27/keynesian-end-game-near-no-escape-velocity-year-either

High cost of dentistry

Hey, if you don't have coverage for dental work, you'd better get it.  This crap costs a ton.  Unfortunately, I'm going to need some expensive services here.  That could mess up my plans.  There's a few options I can consider.  Not surprisingly, the cheapest alternative is the one that may not work.  The best alternative is the most complex procedure that costs the most.

Dental coverage could have been had under Obamacare, but I decided against it.  Oh well.  It'd be nice to charge Uncle Sam for this, but that would make me a hypocrite now wouldn't it?  I'm only carrying what I'm required to carry by law.  Irony of ironies that the government is making me pay for something I don't really need right now, but what I do need isn't covered.

I've got a couple weeks to decide.

One more post before leaving for next errand

Yeah, I said that I have a full schedule today, and so it is.

Now that the van is finished, I am sitting before the screen trying to think up a quick post before I go.  While I was at the shop, the discussion was about poker.   I was tempted to say the entire exercise was a complete waste of time ( talking about poker of all things ), but I kept my mouth shut.

If the discussion wasn't about poker, I would have talked to the shop owner about his RV.  Just some basic questions.  It wouldn't be useful for me because it doesn't have 4 wheel drive.  But how it works may be of interest to me.  He showed me this RV before, but that was when I didn't have any questions about it.  It seemed like a nice little outfit.  I recall it had a toilet and maybe a shower.  Nice little amenities in such a small package.  But it would sink like the Titanic in that soft sandy soil out in West Texas.  You have to keep it on that well beaten path.

On another note:  Barnhardt had a discussion about negative interest rates.  It doesn't surprise me the way things are going.  You are going to have to pay to deposit your money.  Makes perfect sense to me! /sarc  Her twitter link provides a story which shows the usual government propaganda about how great everything is, so not to worry!  I'm so reassured.

I'm not critical of Barnhardt, but the opposite, by the way.  Her analysis looks sound and is most likely correct.  But the great herd of unwashed masses are playing poker.  As Bart Simpson would say "Ay Caramba!"

We've got a shark and the "leaders" are telling us that the water is fine!  Yeah, right.

A short post about life

This post has to be short because I am pressed for time.  As I mentioned last night, I have a busy schedule today, so there won't be time for a lot of reading and then writing about that.

Instead of reading, I am thinking about the past a bit.  You know, sometimes I get the impression that someone I once knew years ago is coming here and sending me hints of her presence.  Yet, if she is doing this, she won't write--- neither in an email nor in a comment here on this blog.  If so, why not?

Now, you may think my imagination is getting away from me, and you may be right.  On the other hand, I have known women who sent out the hints and I KNOW that they were doing it.  Why do women act like that?  It has always struck me as completely self-defeating to send out a hint, but then not respond when I respond to it.  Quite frustrating and incomprehensible.  But as I noted once before on this here blog, there may well be good reason for that kind of behavior.  But it leaves me in a bad position.  What do I do about this?  Man up?  Puh leeze!  I am just a man, not a mind reader.  I don't know what you have on your mind if you won't say.  Not for a lady to say?  Then friggin' talk about the weather.  Just don't sit there like a knot on a log.

There's a little scene of how you can get a "pregnant pause".  It was from the movie As Good As It Gets, starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt.  She did manage to communicate, but not without difficulty.  She came all the way across town in the rain to tell Jack Nicholson's character that she wouldn't ever, ever sleep with him.  You know what?  I would really like that kind of candor.  Trouble is, there is no way in hell you are ever going to get that from any woman.  It would take someone unusual to do something like that.  Maybe even a bit crazy.  But on the other hand, what's wrong with it?  Hell, if you feel that way, why not say it and save a lot of time and effort?  I like things to be cut and dried.  Obviously, in this life, you don't get things the way you want.  You may have to make compromises and so forth.

On the other hand, if you do feel that way, why not say it?  Of course, it is not "lady-like" to say it.  OKAY, I GET IT.  Just stop it with the mystery, okay?  I don't like that.  All the hints and stuff make mystery and that ticks me off.  I like answers, not more questions.  Romance is ridiculous and highly overrated.  It's not all about skyrockets in flight and all that bullcrap.  Come to think of it, I think people prefer the bullcrap.  Maybe that's the reason this blog isn't successful.  People just can't nor won't handle the truth.

New problem emerges

This idea of going to live in this desert area is going to be a challenge, no question about it.  The results of the soil test were negative for clay, which means a number of things.  One, you can't make adobe bricks with the soil on hand.  Two, it may be a hazard because sand that gets deep enough will be hard to drive a vehicle upon it.  It will get stuck as the wheels sink into the sand.  You need wide profile tires, and most likely a 4 wheel drive vehicle.  Three, the sand can come loose, especially in high winds.  There are high winds in the area.  There may be frequent "sandstorms".  Four, erosion occurs because of the nature of the sand.  Not only from wind, but from rain.  The surrounding mountains will send water runoff down with a lot of force that will gouge out huge cracks in the sand.  Sometimes, an area can collapse altogether.  If this happens near a road, the road is washed out.

That last sentence allows me to segue into the most significant problem is I see for now.  You have to be able to transit into and out of the place, or you won't be able to do anything useful at all.  If roads gets washed out frequently enough, that will make the job all but impossible.  But roads do not have to be washed out to be a problem.  You can get stuck into a rut quite easily.  I noticed plenty of ruts in the road.  You really need a specialized vehicle to deal with these situations.  A horse?  You have to keep a horse fed, sheltered, and watered.  A horse may be OK if you are around all the time.  I can't be there all the time, or even much of the time at all.

A four wheeled vehicle for the double duty of working in as a delivery vehicle is an option.  I haven't checked that out as of this writing.  However, there are other options that I've looked into.  There's 4 wheeled ATVs, but these seem to cost a bit more than I would like.  Something really cheap like a toy scooter with a 50 cc gasoline motor might do the trick.  A "toy scooter"???   Yes, because it is cheap, relatively speaking, and I would only need it for special situations.  This one I was looking at has a 20 mile range, it claims.  More than enough to get back to town, if that is what I need to do.  No place to put cargo, unfortunately.  If you get stuck with your big vehicle, you may have to go fetch help to get out.  That's too expensive, so it may be wise to take along a scooter if traveling back is not an option.  The scooter can get you to town, hopefully, since it has the range.

Besides the roads washing out, the sand may be troublesome when trying to dig holes.  I noticed that when taking the soil sample.  The problem is that the hole fills in when you take out soil.  This means that the hole will cave in.  In other words, it won't be stable.  That's a problem I will have to solve later when I start upon that task.

Getting shelter up is really important.  If getting something up like a double wall to shield from the sun and wind, that would be a big plus.  A tarp could go over the top of it, when needed.  So, transit and getting a shelter in place are top priorities.  Each of these are complicated by the overabundance of sand.

Advance notice

Blogging will continue to be light.  I may put in some posts early in the morning, but around 8 am or so, I'm going to have to do some stuff that's been long overdue.

Do I need to go into details?  Yes, I suppose so.  I'm very bad at taking care of myself.  I didn't go to a dentist for a long time, and now I've got a problem.  Okay?  So, I'm going to have to take care of that problem.  This may be an ongoing series of visits for what could be a lot of dental work.  This will make the dentist happy and me not so happy.  But it has to be done.

Secondly, I'm going to have to do some maintenance work on the van.  So, tomorrow is pretty much booked.  How many posts I can do will be limited.

Soil test

On my trip out West, I managed to think of getting a soil sample to bring back home.  Yay, me.

Seriously, this is important.  I need to know what kind of soil is out there with respect to making adobe bricks.  If it doesn't have enough clay in it, that could be a problem.  Wish I had more samples.  I only got one.  It's like Lays potato chips.  ( You can't eat just one. )

I've already learned one thing from getting the sample itself.  The soil may be super sandy.  That makes sense.  If the mountains in the vicinity are mostly made of sandstone, then this accounts for all the sandy soil.  That place could have been a beach millions of years ago.

As of this writing, I've just placed a soil sample in a glass jar in a 2/3 to 1/3 ratio as indicated here.  I will let it sit overnight, and check the results in the morning.

Update:

RESULTS:   No clay in this soil.  Nearly 100% sand.  There was a top layer of what I could describe as "scum", which may be biological in origin.  This is useless for adobe bricks.

Peter Frampton - I'm In You (1977 Videoclip)

Don't know if I've posted this before.  Could've, but I may have decided against it.

Why?

The way people think and what they may say.  If you don't get it, then never mind.  I really shouldn't have to explain, and come to think of it, I won't.

The comments say it all.  Read through them, in case you're interested.  By the way, I like the song, or I wouldn't have put it up.

Why all the secrecy?

As those of you who are still with me, you may have noticed that blogging is rather light.

I've expressed a reluctance to disclose what I'm doing.  So, I'll just let the cat out of the bag.  Either way, the whole deal is a risky proposition.

What I've been doing is in connection to going off the grid.  It turns out that this land I've been talking about REALLY IS off the grid.  There's no power, no water, no electricity.  The place is so rural that it doesn't even have grocery stores for dozens, maybe over a hundred miles.  There is a hospital 50 miles away.

The flora and fauna of the area is not what you would consider prime for human consumption.  If you have an accident, you may not be able to get anyone to help you.  If you are alone, you may die.  This is very serious business with a lot of risk.

I bought the land.  I intend to occupy it.  But I realize in doing so, I am taking a lot of risk on my shoulders.  It will be necessary to be very, very careful.

It would be nice if I had some help.  But people are not likely to want to help me with this one.  My attitude is such that I don't seek help much and when I do, most of the time, it's refused.  I'm on my own.  Always have been.  Sure, I can get some help with easy things, but this is going to be tough.

I'm not asking for sympathy.  Just letting you know what the deal is in case you're interested.

I've explained in depth why I am doing this.  Maybe I am worrying too much about the future.  Perhaps I should stay where I am, and play it safe.  It is rather scary to go out on this land when there's nobody around for MILES.  I did it.  I took the risk and will again.  It might get me killed some day.  You never know.

It's all rather strange because it doesn't look as though I have to do this, but in another way, we may all have to do something like this if things really fall apart.  I'll be ahead of the game if I'm right.  If I'm wrong, I could be broke and/or dead.

US Economy Tanks In First Quarter

Legal Insurrection

Final revision of the first quarter GDP shows a 2.9% LOSS.  Another one of these, and we have an official recession, which is defined by two quarters of negative GDP growth.   We are being constantly reassured that this means nothing, but we've been constantly reassured that the economy is growing, which this shows that it is not.

The economic statistics aren't getting any better, really.  The economy should be booming in this part of the "recovery", but clearly it is not.  Now the Fed is starting to rein in the easy money.  They'd better or we're going to have "stagflation" soon.  In fact, it's already happening.

That should put Thad Cochran's victory in Mississippi into perspective a bit.  Here we got the ones in power getting "re-elected" without having done anything to earn that vote of confidence.

Political news

Getting caught up a bit from my research project.

While I was up to my keister in data analysis, it seems that Thad Cochran won in Mississippi.  Cochran is an Establishment Republican, whereas his challenger was a Tea Partier.  There's talk that blacks voted for Cochran.  This doesn't make sense to me because Mississippi has a closed primary.  In fact, this could have been fraud, if that's true.  In Texas, you cannot vote in a runoff if you didn't vote the first time.  Since blacks are said to have voted Cochran in, how is this possible?  Mississippi may be more of a closed primary than Texas, so how the hell can this happen?  Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if this was a ripoff.

If my theory holds, we may be in for some pretty rough times.  The reason is that the outcomes are now being rigged.  Could be that the administration helped do this one.  In other words, Obama now owns Cochran.  Since Obama doesn't really have an opposition, EVERYTHING is rigged.

Update a little while later:

RedState has this, which reads a lot like what I've been saying--- all about money.  Protein Wisdom reads a bit like what I have written above.  Power Line says that it was legal for anyone to vote in the primary runoff even if they didn't vote the first time.  The only stipulation is that they didn't vote in the Dem primary.  Conclusion:  It's about money.  People can be bought off and that is what's happening.

I've tended to ignore these posts

at Instapundit, but this one may be useful.  Only Homer Simpson would ever know why.  ( Inside joke, if you don't get it--- you don't watch the Simpsons, obviously.  Come to think of it, you may not get it even if you do watch the Simpsons.)

You may be amazed if you could read my mind right now.  But you can't, lol.

Posting has been light ( case study # ??? )

Howdy, buckaroos.  Well, I've been busy lately.  No time for the blog.  Now that I've settled back into my easy chair, I can write a little.  But I won't be writing about what I've been doing.  Not that it's a big state secret or anything.  It's just that it's my own private business and not everything has to be out here on the friggin' web.   But it is anyway, alas.  The only way I can share this and have some privacy is to just talk to another human being face to face, which I have done.

Not that I need approval, you see.  Perhaps it's just being human.  You want to be able to talk to another person.  ( a relative, in this case )

In case you may be wondering, it's not illegal.  It's not immoral.  It's probably not even fattening.  But it may be a bit nutty.  More than a bit, as a matter of fact.

I may post on this project in the future, but as of now, it will stay dark.

One year for Curiosity

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/06/24/curiosity_celebrates_one_martian_year_of_red_planet_wanderings/

Review of off-the-grid series so far

Prev   Next

Another post in the series of going off-the-grid.

There's has been so many posts on this subject now, that it is becoming necessary to organize it better.

Call it a belated Table of Contents post.  Organized into chronological order by category label of "how-to".
This link shall be placed in an update to the first post in the series.  This post will be updated with new entries as it becomes necessary.

Note:  This isn't all the posts in the series.  It is only an aid in locating them more easily.  The usual convention is to link from previous to next.  That way, you can proceed to almost anywhere in the series using the list of links below.

1. Introduction to the Off-the-grid series  ( not in chronological order!)
2. How to make a pvc greenhouse cheap!
3. How much will a solar electric system for my home cost?
4. Philosophical considerations
5. Nuts and Bolts
6. Well, well, well: Things to know when drilling for water in Texas
7. Nuts and Bolts, part deuce
8. Fire Pistons
9. Urine the money ( or out the money aka off the grid )
10. Lighting
11. Waste disposal
12. Practical primitive
13. More thoughts on going off the grid ( with some useful links )
14. Digging post holes
15. More on desert flora and fauna
16. Practice v Theory
17. Basic definitions for soil
18. Satellite phones, dirt bikes, and carports
19. Studying the water problem
20. Portable Solar Power Trailer
21. Quick post on hardiness zones
22. Idea about harvesting water
23. Lifesaver Jerry Can  ( out of sequence, but is nested within the water topic )
24. Additional info about desert plants
25. Feast or famine  ( rainfall during "monsoon" season out in West Texas )
26. Overview of Septic Systems
27. Plans are coming together nicely
28. Atmospheric water generators
29. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
30. Links for Texas' state standards on septic tanks
31. Grasspave2 and Gravelpave2 permeable paving
32. Uh, another alternative to handling waste
33. Storage shed
34. Tentative plans for solarium
35. Laboratory:  Browsing Storage Sheds
36. Power and water from the same source
37. Creativity called upon for solutions
38. closing carbon loop repost
39. Growing Spirulina, General Hydroponics, Strawberry Tower and Worm Composting Bin
40. Tumbleweed Tiny House Co.: This Video can Help You Build Your Dream Home
41. Magic Bus- A cargo van conversion.wmv
42. Solar Carport
43. Solarcabin: Off Grid Cabin 12 Volt Appliances
44. Humidifier experiment  ( has important link to obtaining stainless steel barrels )
45. Free And Virtually Unlimited Fuel To Heat Your ( how to make logs out of biomass)
46. How much area to devote to algae in order to make a gallon of fuel per day?
47. Auger Bit Extensions - Tools - IRWIN TOOLS
48. Laundry list for carport
49. How to pour a concrete slab
50. Activated Charcoal Powder For Water Filtration  ( this will be a spin off series that will link back to the main project.  Call it a sub project, as the entire project will need to be broken down into smaller projects.)
51. Walking Away
52. plan for moving out west
53. plan for next trip out to property
54. plan for living out west
55. Moonshot Blues
56. Buckling down as deadline approaches
57. Dometic 970 Series Portable Toilet for Camping
58. Getting late
59. Box van concept for RV conversion looking good
60. Plans being finalized [famous last words]
61. Coffin concept doubles as storage shed
62. Septic system thoughts
63. Septic system planning

Update:

Once again, it should be noted that this isn't all the posts.  May be able to find many more under the category label Brainstorms, like this one.  And this.  This one is the last one that isn't on this page as of 8/10/14.

Update:

Arrangement of posts by subject matter:

        Subject:                       List # above

• General  ( subseries summarized in one post )   1, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21,27, 37, 51,52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61
• Water                        6, 19, 22, 23, 25,28, 36,38, 44, 50
• Waste, Sewage          9, 11, 26, 32, 62, 63  ( grab bag of links )
• Electricity, power       3, 8, 10, 20, 36, 43, 45, 46
• Construction               2, 14, 34, 35, 41, 42, 43, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51,52,53,54
• Growing things, food   15,17, 21, 24, 29, 39, 46

The last in the main list will point to any spin-off series associated by subject matter.  NOTE:  Click on subject heading for most recent post   Table of Contents for that subject ( except General and Waste subjects).  General topic has a good link that summarizes subseries into one post.  Click on subject heading and take it from there.

More on desert flora and fauna

Prev    Next

Another post in the off-the-grid series.

EatTheWeeds: Episode 48: Saw Palmetto

The edible parts of the palmetto.  These kind of plants grow out in the desert, amongst other places.







Here's another video about cactus.



The Big Bend area has these plant species.  Not enought time has been spent on animals, though.  To get a handle on what might be available there, I consulted this website about the Big Bend area.

Interestingly enough, there may be gophers out there.  Gophers are edible.

Gophers, rabbits, and small animals are frequent prey of the coyote.  Coyotes are rarely seen, and are not considered to be game animals.  They can easily get over tall fences.  They can also prey on deer.

Summary:  There may not be very many game animals out there to hunt.  Peccaries may be one, and deer as the other.  Coyotes prey upon the smaller animals, but aren't useful themselves.  Gophers are a nuisance, but can be eaten.

Re: Iraq and The Left’s politics of Shut-uppery [Darleen Click]

Re: Iraq and The Left’s politics of Shut-uppery [Darleen Click]



After this, the left needs to be ones to be told to shut the f88k up.

Islamic Caliphate Is Born, World War III Has BEGUN!

Free Republic

comment:

All of it is as true as anything could be.  But even on Free Republic, the interest is almost nil.

What can you say?  You could get depressed, or say "screw it!", which is what I'm doing.

Report: Polish minister says US ties worthless

Free Republic

In a short transcript of the conversation, a person identified as Sikorski by the magazine Wprost tells former finance minister, Jacek Rostowski, that Poles naïvely believe the U.S. bolsters their security. Using vulgar language, the person argues that such beliefs are nonsense, and that the Polish-U.S. alliance alienates the Russians and Germans.--- AP

The comment section seems to confirm that opinion.  Actually, what does "Free Republic" have to do with defending other peoples' lands?

Not enough attention is being paid to defending our own lands.

The statement is probably correct, but those agreeing with it seem to miss the point.