Reinventing Collapse -Welcome to the U.S.S.A.

I got turned on to Dmitry Orlov by a friend. I read an article he wrote here. I found it fantastically written, pure, honesty, and a little gritty. Orlov presents the state of current affairs and how that is shaping our future. He also give some good advice on how to prepare for that future.

Certainly it is a point of view not shared by everyone. But after reading his article I decided to read his book “Reinventing Collapse”

It’s a rather simple concept. He lived through the break up of the U.S.S.R. In the book he compares different parts of society and culture in the U.S.S.R. to America today and makes some amazing insights. In Many cases we believe America can not fall apart, but the same feeling was true in the U.S.S.R.

Orlov goes over ideas like transportation, education, money, food, housing, family … etc… how each of these things were effect in the U.S.S.R. and what they might look like if the U.S.A. collapses.

It’s one of those books were if you have never thought about the idea of living in a collapsed nation, this will open your eyes and get your brain moving.

If It’s Not Raccoons, It’s Groundhogs!

Last year it was the Raccoons in the chimney that drove me mad. This years it’s the groundhog that has decided to have babies under the front porch.

Me and the kids the other morning sat and watched 6 babies and mommy eating in the front yard. Of course the kids are gushing over how cute they are. Jack even said. “Oh their just so cute I want to hug them” Which is not something that Jack says.

None of this would bother me, except the fact they have eaten my entire garden. Everything!. My lettuce, swiss chard, green beans, snap peas, carrots, all gone.

Jackson changed his tune when he saw they ate his cucumbers!.

He said “I can’t believe it, they ate my cucumbers”

I said ” I know Jack, they ate everything”

Jack replied ” Lets screw them in their heads”

Not so cute now are they.

Raspberry Jam Homeschooler

You could be a hippie, a yuppie, or consider your self granola or crunchy. But there is a new term I would like to broaden your horizons with.

Raspberry Jam Homeschooler

If you’ve never heard of the term, it’s because your not on the “in”. These people may be classified as people who don’t watch TV for six hours a day, Don’t use cellphones to check fantasy sports team, don’t twitter their exact location, don’t consider texting a primary language, or have less then 20 friends on facebook.

If you see someone who worries you about these anti-social behaviors, please take good notes. To help you classify these people refer to the helpful bullet points below. They might be a Raspberry Jam Homeschooler if they:

• Have no idea who the winner of American Idol is
• Have more toys made out of wood then Plastic
• Have only 1 TV
• Think they can educate their child better then the state
• Have canning jars, filled or emptied, or canning paraphernalia around the house
• Have a copy of the Bill of Rights or believe in the Constitution
• Live within 10 miles of a Grocery and still have a garden
• Can pronounce all the ingredients in the food they eat
• Have more fines on their library card then blockbuster card.

If you spot a Raspberry Jam Homeschooler in the wild, don’t be alarmed their not harmful, but you may observe some weird behavior.

Chia Thug

Nothing says summer fun more then growing your own Chia Saddam.

“…In Shallow Seas We Sail” Out Now!

The new album from Emery came out last week. It’s by far the best album of the year so far, at least for me. It’s better then coldplay and Dave Matthews, even better then Emery’s last album.

Check out their songs, Piggy Bank Lies, The Butcher, and Curbside Goodbye, on PureVolume

The New Starflyer 59 – Ghost Of The Past

On July 28th, Starflyer 59 will be releasing “Ghosts Of The Past.“

The double disc features 31 tracks of covers, b-sides, demos, and non-album versions of songs. Jason Martin’s haunting vocal display perfectly accompanies the atmospheric mood set by the dreamy guitar lines, creating a sort of glimmering magic that could only come from one of Tooth & Nail’s most gifted. Over ten albums deep, over fifteen years time, from the early guitar-heavy shoegazing era to the ethereal moodiness of The Fashion Focus years to the latest incarnations and recreations of themselves as keyboard-driven masters of chorus, this is and always will be a band who will deliver great songs with new sounds. “Ghosts Of The Past” stands out as the perfect addition to a SF59 fan’s collection, and also a perfect starting point for someone interested in diving into the bands impressive and extensive catalogue.

Taking The Nerd Plunge

I think I’m ready to take the nerd plunge

I’ve been eying Fedora, the new release for version 11 will be out in less then two weeks. I plan on giving it a test run.

I’ve already done a download and live boot of version 10. I liked what I saw.

The advantage of Fedora is it’s free, not like kind of free but totally free! and there are plenty of developers out there to make applications to go with them.

Like FireFox? yep that’s open-source. VLC for movies, OpenOffice for Microsoft docs. The list goes on.

Home Brew Taste Test

I have officially brewed 6 times now. This is the first 4.

Starting on the left, Irish Red Ale, Lemon Malt, American Pale Ale, American Brown Ale.

I have a Wheat beer that still has 2 days until it’s bottle conditioned, and I brewed what I hope will be a Chocolate Porter the other night.

As far as drink ability the Brown Ale is my best so far. The Pale Ale is ok for about half a beer, and the lemon Malt is decent if you add some kind of fruit to it, I used mixed berry.

I didn’t realize until the Brown Ale that I wasn’t using enough extract, which means you basically have a beer that taste a little watered down.

I hope I have fixed that problem with my most recent brews.

The Red Ale I don’t recommend and I think this weekend I will be cleaning out my beer supply of the”undrinkables”

No …. Sadly This Is Not A Joke

Too much bling? Give us a ring!” campaign

In a blatant BIG BROTHER move a new Kent Crimestoppers campaign targeting those living off the proceeds of crime was launched at Kent Police Headquarters in Maidstone on 19th May 2008, in South West England.

Kent Crimestoppers encourages people to turn their neighbors in, if they suspect they are living a lifestyle that isn’t supported by their income.They say the campaign will make spotting criminals easier to spot because of the recession.

The “Too much bling? Give us a ring!” campaign targets those who live far in excess of their income through the proceeds of crime. These individuals are responsible for undermining communities and destroying lives.

Gloucestershire’s Chief Crown Prosecutor Adrian Foster, Chief Constable Timothy Brain and Crimestoppers Board Member John Cripps holding the new ‘bling’ posters

There does seem to be a voice of sanity though.Ann Widdecombe, Tory MP and former Home Secretary said:

‘Is this a joke? If the police spent half as much time tackling crime and getting out on the beat as they do coming out with this ridiculous stuff, we’d all be better off.

The Swine Flu Distraction

Not to down play the significance of Swine Flu, but I’ve read and listened to a lot of different points of view in the last week. There are some interesting points out there that are not being talked about on mainstream news. Like:

• The Chaos in Mexico was boiling to a point of revolution, where even mainstream media was predicting an overthrow of the Mexican government. Now Mexico City is being shut down, Soldiers are patrolling the streets, and people are to scared to come out of their houses.

• The seasonal flu kills over 30,000 people a year in America. We have yet to confirm an American death. Yes, there was a boy in Houston, but if you read the article he was a Mexican toddler who was sick when he crossed the boarder with his parents to visit relatives in Texas. So why all the mass hysteria? Most Americans who have gotten the flu have been said to be mild, and they have recovered at home.

• Our media was starting to put pressure on the Obama Administration over the Bush torture memos. But with the swine flu scare, the media has swept that under the carpet. We should be having our own version of Nuremberg Trails for top level Bush Administration postilions. But instead we have constant updates of a flu outbreak.

• Swine Flu is in pandemic level 5. By states declaring a “State of emergency” States are qualified for federal money. The two states that declared the state of emergency: California and Texas. Two states that going bankrupt and could use any federal money they can get.Plus vaccine makers are free from immunity if mass vaccinations take place and deaths result from the vaccines.

• GDP declined 6% last quarter and over 5% the quarter before that. Thats pushes America into a “depression”. The media wants to do anything they can to avoid talking about the “D” word.

• Swine Flu outbreak is a good opportunity for government to test FEMA executive orders. Under a pandemic we fall under United Nations and World Health Organization rules.

• When the Swine Flu made it into the American News, We had No Secretary of Health and Human Services, No Surgeon General, and No Director of the Center for Disease Control. Decision on health and preparedness defaulted to the Department of Homeland Security….just that was interesting. There are still 15 openings at the department of Health, including Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.