Getting Buzzed in the New Year

If I hadn't already been on every federal watch list before, then my latest online search made certain of my place. I mean that if searching for Russian Nuc's for sale on craigslist doesn't light up some Homeland Security computer, then nothing will.

If you followed the right link and didn't get lost down the rabbit hole, you would realize that I'm finally getting started in apiculture. According to UPS, my first hive will arrive tomorrow and by May or April, I will need some bees to call it home. A nuc hive seamed the best way for a beginner to get off to a good start. Wish me luck!

REAL

Part of the "Problem"

"Too much capitalism does not mean too many capitalists, but too few capitalists." - The Uses of Diversity, 1921 - G.K. Chesterton


If you are waiting for the so-called "recovery" to bring jobs your way, I would advise against holding your breath. Let me list a few thoughts to ponder.

Inflation - Forget the "official" rate, its a lie and a joke. Rising commodity costs combined with a reduction in shipping indicate that inflation rather than demand is causing prices to rise. The continues to devalue the dollar in an effort to increase exports, unfortunately most of the basic machine tool equipment is priced in the Yen or the Euro. Yep, a lot of the items we need to grow industry cost more. It's not as bad if your job description includes saying "You want fries with that", but the type of post-WWII prosperity requires manufacturing and that requires capital. Capital that we buy in non-dollars and pay for with less valuable dollars.

A jobless recovery is a oxymoron and anyone touting this as a good thing evidently doesn't work for a living. This is a large corporate view point. Warren Buffet and Chinamart both are doing fine in this so-called recovery, but I bet you are not. Large companies automate rather than hire people, a lot of jobs disappeared to robots and computers and they aren't coming back. The company I work for would rather spend a half-million dollars on robots then hire more people, so I know what I'm talking about.

There is more to this thought, but it's snowing and I have to head out, so maybe later.

R.E.A.L

The "Ben Bernank" Cartoon Video

This explains a lot. Enjoy this carton that was on Gary North's web site

Getting My Fix

It's not that I'm a gun nut, rather I'm an engineer needing a tool fix. And contrary to some peoples opinion, a gun is just another tool. No magic voodoo changes this collection of steel and composite from a tool to some evil phallic symbol that corrupts the mind and changes a peaceful, law-abiding person into a ravening mass murderer. If you can't grasp that concept, please go back to playing with your yourself and let the adults get back to their discussion.

I'm going through trying to buy a house right now, driving 900 miles every weekend, and working 50 to 60 hours, and moving out of an apartment. I tell you that so that you might understand that my posting is going to be a bit sporadic for a while. Sorry, but real life has to take precedence over blogging.

Part of that real life involves setting up a water filter system and as soon as I have the actual experience under my belt, I'll pass it on. I will also be building a lightweight, high volume, and portable water filter for under $70. As always, I want to get that actual experience in hand before telling you how to do something. As I always say, "Reality is the ultimate test of any theory." Till then hang tight and keep your powder dry.

R.E.A.L.

Even a Manic-Depressive has His Up Days

I know that I'm supposed to be all doom and gloom, but even a manic-depressive has his up days. This is one of my better days. In fact, it's been nothing short of incredibly good. My personal experience with corporate America has always been less than pleasant, so I've come to expect the worse and I've rarely been disappointed.

This year started off with me losing my job of eight years. I've always worked hard and had never been fired or laid-off. Until April 3, the longest that I had been unemployed in the past 15 years was 4 days. Financially it wasn't too bad because I never carried more debt than was in my bank account. Between my food storage and gardening, there was never any doubt about being able to put food on the table. I don't have a problem buying used and haggling about prices is fun, so I was OK money wise. The problem was emotional. Why me and those fucking bastards were two very common thoughts.

As the saying goes, " living well is the best revenge", and this is very true. I ended up getting a contract engineering job one state over. It paid enough to make having and apartment and driving 850 miles every weekend worthwhile. Still I am 425 miles from my wife and son and only get to see them on the weekend. Sucks, but a man does what he has to in order to take care of his family.

Well, today I got a permanent offer from the company I was working for. I went into the meeting to review my offer expecting to get a low offer. I mean they were paying me "X" with no benefits, so I assumed that I would get a lower number with benefits and at best it wold balance out. Imagine my surprise when the offers was significantly larger. When I say significantly larger, I mean somewhere in the neighborhood of 30% more than I was making.

I signed the offer before they could change their mind.

R.E.A.L. happy

New Decade, Same Idiots

At the start of a new year, I have less reason for optimism for this country. The lesson of the last decade was to never underestimate the damage a heard of thundering idiots can cause. Wars for empire, bailouts for billionaires, stratospheric debt, and now government run health insurance.

Enough! I've burnt out my outrage and there is nothing left but apathy as far as what is happening to this country. I'll still vote, but it's past time when I'll worry if it will do any good. I'm going to dig in deeper, do more to shelter my family from the shit storm that surrounds us. With that in mind, here is a list of my new years resolutions.

1. Become a better secret squirrel - I'm moving to another state and changed jobs. This gives me a chance to undo some of the mistakes I've made as far as keeping my preps secret. I made the mistake of letting people I worked with know about this blog and many of the preps I made. Not this time. As far as the people I work with goes, I'm just another Joe Consumer living in la la-land.

I'll keep blogging, because there is not much I can do about Big Brother watching me now. Nothing on the Internet is private, and the damage is already done. What I won't do is allow people in my local area know what I'm doing. If I ever need my emergency supplies, those will be the greatest danger.

2. Loose weight and get in shape - I've really let my self go these past 6 months. Living in an apartment and falling into that work-couch potato cycle has been hard on me. I've gained fat and lost muscle to an alarming degree. As I near 40, my body goes to hell rather quickly now and I've got to get the decent under control. But more than losing weight, I've got to build up muscle tone and improve my overall fitness.

It takes more than a low-whatever diet and exercise to reach this goal. I've got to make changes that help me to stay on track. One of the first things is to get out of that apartment. I am working on that as we speak. Found a nice place out in the country that needs work, for a price I could afford. Hopefully, I can close by Feb. 1 and since it's a foreclosure, there is no shortage of work to do. You can expect me to blog a lot more about this in the future.

The second is motivation. Seven years ago I quit smoking and one very valuable lesson I learned form that is that no one can do it for you and you have to want to do it for yourself. No amount of bitching or preaching by others will work, it has to be something you decide to do for yourself. I reached that point when I realised I couldn't manage a 10 mile hike without feeling like I was dieing. I feel the same way about my physical shape now.

3. Learn new skills - I have a short list of three new skills that I'm determined to start learning in the upcoming year. Bee keeping, a martial art, and masonry. I can do a little bit of each of these right now, the goal is to become more proficient than the average person. Mastering these skills will take years, but for now it's time to start focusing on improving.

I'll finish up by wishing you and yours a happy and prosperous new year. 2010 and beyond looks like we will all be living in "interesting times" as the old adage goes, so take care of yourself, cause no one else is going to do it for you.

R.E.A.L.

Go Help Someone Else

Part of why I started this blog is to record my mistakes. I know that most people don't like to be reminded of their errors, but learning from your mistakes when they are minor, is the key to avoiding major ones later on. So here goes.

I of all people with my anti-government and libertarian beliefs should know better than to trust any of my money to a government program, and that failure on my part just cost me $900. When I was with my previous employer, I had been using a Medical Savings Accounts program to save money for deductibles and other medical expenses that were not covered by my insurance. It seemed like a smart play at the time. I knew it was a use it or lose it proposition, so I didn't put any more into it that I though I would need.

Up till this point everything is fine. Then, back in April, I lost my job. That's when I found that I could not turn any expenses in after April 3, my last working day at Flowserve. Before April, I didn't have much, after April, I had several thousands in medical expenses. More than enough to get reimbursed the full $900 I had put into it. Short of committing fraud, I now have no way of getting that money back now.

Well, paint my face red and spank my but I'll not make that mistake again! I'm not talking about just MSAs, but anything were the government wants to "help" me out by holding my money for a while. No MSAs, 401ks, IRAs, and as much as I can manage it, no income tax refunds. I can't get away from paying taxes, but I'll minimize how much they withhold from my check.

With the national debt rising faster than even the printing presses can keep up with, I'll not trust anymore of my hard earned money to Uncle Sam then I have to. It's an awful lot like trusting your wallet to a meth head. Nothing good is going to come of it.

I can save money on my own, thank you very much. Go "help" someone else.

R.E.A.L.