Some Civic Benefit In What Lies Ahead
by ahansen
Unlike Ben, who apparently clears his desk every Friday, I have been known to go for several years without baring the curly maple of my own. When I do, it’s generally taken me at least a month of searching for lost notes and receipts to get the initial inspiration to clean it off, then another month of resentful contemplation of the task that awaits me. Finally, I’ll awake one morning, select the “Let’s Clean House” playlist on my iPod, crank the speakers up to ten and get to work.
I start by removing the globe, the computer, the telephone and the abridged OED. Then, (and here’s the good part,) I sweep the whole mess onto the floor with my forearm.
Dust clouds arise, glass shatters, pens and coins go skittering, and the cats have a field day. But by golly, the surface of my desk is empty and ready for cleaning. I can take my time and scrub it down thoroughly with Murphy’s oil, then wax it until the surface glows and the woods bring forth the aromas of the forest from which they were harvested. It’s a lovely thing.
Then, at my leisure and with a double-strength lawn and garden trash bag at my elbow, I sit on the floor and sort through the debris. It’s amazing what I can discard without even a twinge of conscience. (Why on earth would I want to save an empty plastic rice bag?) With such a lovely clean surface staring at me, I am loathe to put anything on it that doesn’t absolutely need to be there. It would be a shame to sully that magnificent piece of woodwork with anything so mundane as a piece of crinkled paper, let alone a collection of soiled socks.
One year ago yesterday, America had the opportunity to clean its financial desk a la ahansen. But we didn’t. All those carefully crafted pencil cups, the dovetailed file cabinets and the cunning little walnut boxes that hold the brass alphabet stencils are still sitting there on our national desk gathering dust and taking up space. Maybe in another few years….
Lost opportunities notwithstanding, the good people of this country seem to have come to a point where we’re starting to realize that what we have at this moment is probably as good as we’re ever going to get– and that’s not the sort of realization that makes us feel particularly charitable or neighborly. Our real net worth, our earning capacity, our output and income, are not likely to increase, and there is a very good chance they will deteriorate even further than they already have. Whether they reach critical mass remains to be seen, but in any case, it’s obviously the end of an era and we’re getting pretty cranky about the whole thing. Just look at all the unruly town hall meetings and the latest march on Washington. More to the point, civilian ammunition sales are some of the highest ever recorded.
Much has been said about the Hard Times that await us, and it’s harder still to argue that much good came out of the last Great Depression. But in spite of the cruddy mood that always overtakes me in September —I’m not sure if it’s the dry Santana winds, or just a conditioned response from of all those years of having to stop learning about things that fascinated me and go back to school to study stuff that didn’t— I’ll make an attempt to foresee some civic benefit in what lies ahead.
Why we NEED a New Depression.
Most obviously, we’ll reduce our footprint on the planet. I’m Malthusian enough to know that with increasing poverty and its inevitable disease and famine, comes die-off. Personally, I think it’s about time. There are too accursed many of us, and those of us there are, are soft and redundant.
We’ve become so specialized we can’t even cook our own food anymore, let alone produce it. We spend more on cosmetics than we do on education. And we let electronic devices raise our children because we’re too busy to stick around and talk to them ourselves. We even outsource the care of our own parents because we don’t want to be bothered with all the muss and hassle.
When our country loses its excess employment opportunities (and who would argue that candle-decorating shops are necessary employment) staying home to tend our families will become honorable again– and that will be a good thing.
When it becomes financially absurd to purchase a new $30,000 automobile every four years, or fill its tank with $8-a-gallon fuel, perhaps we’ll start thinking about how often we drive, and actually start walking for a change. Maybe with fewer cars and trucks on the road, kids can safely ride a bicycle to school or soccer practice instead of expecting to be driven by some consenting adult in a hulking Canyonero.
When homeowners realize that they have to make the choice between heating 5500 square feet or retaining their monthly communication and entertainment options, rooms will either be closed off or stocked with storytelling Grandmas. Or better yet, Grandmas who can tell stories and pay rent, too. Instead of staying together “for the sake of the kids,” couples may decide to stay together for the sake of the house.
Last night I watched a film on PBS about an English neurosurgeon who does outreach medicine in the Ukraine. He remarked that the cranial perforators (essentially a drill bit,) he’d brought with him from London are only used once and then discarded. They cost $130 apiece, and his hospital typically goes through about ten in a week. The Ukraine surgeon replied that in his clinic, they use one for ten years.
That sort of waste is repeated in everything from the mounds of uneaten foodstuffs in our garbage bins to the barely-used furniture we throw out when we change apartments. Then there is the mind-boggling profligacy of “Cash for Clunkers” or the “mothballing” of commercial and military aircraft. With the New Depression, this shameful behavior will cease as our resources dwindle, and we’ll have to start refurbishing what we already have– and making do without what we don’t. That might be a good thing, too.
As cheap supplies become more expensive and less available, we’ll think twice before purchasing a $45 “value” pack of razor blades. We’ll reuse our “disposables” and reheat our pizzas. Maybe we’ll buy a new battery for the telephone instead of springing for a whole new unit, and figure out a way to keep track of our children without buying the 10-year-old a cell phone.
There’s a good chance we’ll stop lodging our pet dogs in luxury spas while we’re out of town, and just pay a neighbor kid a couple of bucks to come over and feed them every afternoon. People will no longer plant designer palm trees in temperate climes and will begin researching apple cultivars for shade and food. Kitchen gardens will replace status landscapes, those hideous “water elements” will be repurposed as pet waterers and bird baths, and maybe tomatoes will even come to taste like tomatoes again. That would be a wonderful thing.
Best of all, the New Depression might force us to stop fetishizing consumption in favor of developing our knowledge and our talents— and use our newfound energies to fill our minds instead of our empty garage spaces. This time of tumultuous change may be just the kick in the collective butt we need to reconnect with our families and our neighbors and our communities; and maybe, just maybe, with the simple ideals that made our Country great.
Or we can just wait for September to be over.
Nice post Ahansen,
Although you and I disagree on alot of things, in this, we are on the same page. The extension of debt is only a concequence of a consumer driven economy, one that is only taking in and not giving enough out. Our country needs to create something again. Make something someone else wants to buy. I have always said the old manufacturing model should go away. We need to come up with something new.
In truth, people buying SUV’s and IPODS and phones and such dont bother me, it’s just that people are buying them without having earned the money first. With debt, I see it as money earned in the future, but money I dont have nonetheless. People are still living on the edge of their means and that is something a cultural thing is going to have to change. I dont advocate a minimalist lifestyle. I work hard for my money and god has given me life to enjoy. But we still have to show restraint with worldly pleasures and things, for they always fade away….
Good day…
You guys are all craaazzzy! The recession is over, didn’t you hear? Bernanke just said it, so don’t even try to argue with me. I won’t be here to reply anyway, I am off to the mall!
“Why we NEED a New Depression.
Most obviously, we’ll reduce our footprint on the planet. I’m Malthusian enough to know that with increasing poverty and its inevitable disease and famine, comes die-off. Personally, I think it’s about time. There are too accursed many of us, and those of us there are, are soft and redundant.”
How ’bout maybe a super flu that kills around 95% of the population. Or perhaps a large (but not too large) asteroid strike.
At midnight tonight I will attempt to call on the dark powers of the underworld to wreak havoc on humanity. In the end we’ll be the better for it.
I’d quibble with your 95%, (although the Mayans might not,) but both are extremely likely in the larger scheme of things. With a few notable exceptions, I don’t wish suffering on any living thing, Bill. But in our selfish oblivion we’ve certainly inflicted it on others and in our intellectual laziness allowed ourselves to rationalize our irresponsibility to future generations.
While you’re at it tonight, say hello to Mr. Cheney for me?
While you’re at it tonight, say hello to Mr. Cheney for me?
HAHAHahahahHAHAHAHA! Funniness!
Nice bit of writing, ahansen. I’ve often thought we need more extreme weather in California once in a while to humble us a little. But would it work? Naaaaah.
“With a few notable exceptions, I don’t wish suffering on any living thing, Bill.”
How do you reconcile that statement with this?
“I’m Malthusian enough to know that with increasing poverty and its inevitable disease and famine, comes die-off. Personally, I think it’s about time.”
You are aware that in such a scenario, the poor and the have-not’s are the ones who suffer the most, right? It’s an unfair, cruel, depraved world, and it really shows when the disease flows…
What makes you think I’m wishing ill upon the poor? In a wide-spread cataclysm, those who are able to live off the land, work with their hands, use “underground” economies, and rely on their family/tribal networks for supplies are a lot more likely to survive than the insular Wall Streeters amongst us. The “fittest” are not necessarily the richest.
That said, see my post below about reproduction demographics.
Have you never heard “the rich stay healthy, while the sick stay poor”?
You’ve never been shy about the circles you run in. Wealthy doctors, politicians, etc.- do you really understand financial hardship?
“rely on their family/tribal networks for supplies”
So yeah, the rich and well-connected. That’s not a meritocracy, Ahansen. It’s an aristocracy. Most people have only themselves to rely on, as their family ain’t got no dough and can’t hook them up with anyone special.
Ladies. Why the presumptions?
I’ve made an art form out of living on meager-to-non-existent income. I’ll put my “I’m-so-impecunious” creds up against anybody’s on this blog…and win.
And no, I didn’t get my “circles” from my family(!)
Not that it’s anyone’s business….
Presumptions? I’m only going by what you post. Horses in Malibu- I know how much horses cost. Vast acreage purchased to get away from it all, etc. That doesn’t come cheap. My BS meter is perking up.
Think what you will–creative finances and a willingness to work in the dirt are a thing of wonder. If you’d like to discuss the specifics of my personal history, please contact me offline? I’ll ask Ben to give you my contact info.
As far as the specifics of your personal history, ahansen, I’d love to read your memoirs (in a book).
I agree with the Malthusian diagnosis. There will be fewer people in the near future. I don’t wish ill specifically on the poor, the sick, the rich, or the healthy. I just wish there would be fewer humans, and I believe there will be. It won’t be pretty, because nobody is willing to take up population reduction as public policy, and it is not in the interests of any one nation to do so.
$h!t happens
Mama (earth) has a way of catching up with us. Like my friends in the Army love to say, “you can run but you’ll only die tired”
I’m an avowed “doomer” myself but I try not to fetishize it. I really just want to get on with gettin on and the sooner it comes the sooner we will know what it looks like.
I would hope that the mid atlantic region can weather the storm fairly well. It’s one of the reasons I stick around here, but the blindness and stupidity amongst the “haves” is as rampant as ever. Meanwhile, the “have not’s” are too damm busy just staying alive to notice how much worse it’s about to get.
Things are likely to get pretty ugly when people formerly of the first group realize that they are rappidly headed into the second.
I always think its too bad that people that claim “there are too accursed many of us” do not make good on their own advice.
I did skroodle. I had one child, and someday I intend to die. Will that work for you?
But in the meantime, Ben needs some help.
ahansen: That was a good response to a good inquiry. I was a little disturbed there too. I got your point though, Ben needs a little help…
Plus, otherwise, the post was of extremely high quality. Thanks for being a little part my life, ahansen!
And thank YOU for your good heart, ATE.
Ahansen,
When you say Ben needs help…I hear that to mean financial. If I’m off-base, just call me stupid.
But that opens a question I’ve longed to ask. The information I’ve gleaned here over the years has saved me hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I’ve given (gladly) to Ben a number of times over the years - usually in increments of 50 or 100 dollars. I always felt this was a weenie amount based on the value I get here by the excellent core of HBB smart folks - on all financial topics not just housing.
When I’ve sent $100 bucks I feel like a dufus based on the savings I’ve earned and I don’t think any of those payments have been acknowledged…which is OK as my Fidelity fund doesn’t thank me when I put money in their account either.
I guess the question is - I value all I have gleaned from this site and spend time here every day. I would be willing to pay a regular subscription fee if someone could set something up. I am in no way suggesting making this a pay site - but someone figure a payment matrix that would make this financially viable for Ben and then let us support that level on a voluntary basis.
My grandfather has told me about the depression, and I don’t wish it on anyone.
I agree with you skroodle. Anyone suggesting that we do and that a huge portion of the population dieing off would be a *good thing* is a group I need to back away from.
Cooking food to subsist off of doesn’t require much skill and living off the land doesn’t require you to be any kind of genius nor a particularly hardworker. It’s also romantic nuttery and nothing else that applies more ‘value’ to handwork than to knowledge work, while enjoying the fruits of both. Especially if you’re doing it in the middle of the day. Them’s working hours don’t you know.
I’m with you guys on the housing bubble - it pisses me off that a few got away with so much. I’d even agree that some of them even need to die. But indescrimintely killing some other majority to save mother earth, intrinsically to punish them for buying too much crap? That’s insane, and needs to be called out for the hubristic looniness it is.
I work hard for my money and god has given me life to enjoy.
This is my attitude as well. However, as far as spending money being necessary to enjoy life, no. To me, extracting value is a fun game: How much really tasty food* can I eat, how many books, how pretty and tasty of a garden can I have, how well can I work, how many good friends can I spend time with, while wasting as absolutely little of my money and effort as possible? As a result of this game, my life is quite pleasing to me. So, see! Laziness IS a virtue! Hooray!
Ahansen, very good post. I’m so pleased with the topic because ’stuff’ simply fascinates me. What people value and why, what people don’t value and why….waste makes me crazy.
Stpn2me, it does bother me to see people getting into debt in order to have more crap, but it bothers me MUCH more that there is so much waste involved in making more and more crap. Walking into the Dollar Store and seeing all those shelves loaded with shoddy crap usually sends me into a tizzy. Now that I think of it, walking into most stores and seeing all the shoddy crap sends me into a tizzy. So I guess it’s lucky I don’t shop for stuff much, or I’d be permanently tizzied up.
*Last evening I caught and ate a few termite queens, for example, to see what they taste like. They taste like flutter, just so you all know, so don’t bother.
Oly, “woodn’t” you know what termite queens taste like? By the way what do the heterosexual termites taste like? This has been eating at me for some time. It bugs me. I bet they taste “rotten” huh?
OK enuf.
I can understand a little of the stuff that the big time economic professors, madison ave and the gov’t think tanks spread about theories, advertisements and “the propensity to consume” .
In fact, a small time rancher/farmer that I know, mixes that STUFF with her compost and spreads it sparingly upon her fields every year.
Nyuk, nyuk, 8.
But, to be serious, 8, available termite snacks are mostly girls, probably heterosexual girls, but also probably all virgins, to answer your question. (Does that answer your question?)
I could only reach the outside, questing queens, I believe. And the taste was a disappointment, frankly. I would have hoped to eat one and then screamed like mad and pawed at my face and then mutated. Alas—all I did was say out loud ‘Fluttery’. and then go drink some beer and wander in the forest and stuff, like usual.
Ahansen, very good post. I’m so pleased with the topic because ’stuff’ simply fascinates me. What people value and why, what people don’t value and why….waste makes me crazy.
I agree completely.
The majority of posters here, regardless of our respective political alignments, socio-economic status, and so on, seem to be thrifty by nature, and that put us squarely at odds with the culture at large.
One’s relationship to “stuff” seems like a good place to begin when thinking about, as ahansen deftly puts it, a nation that’s been “fetishizing consumption” far too long.
However, as far as spending money being necessary to enjoy life, no.
I never said it was….I only implied that money wouldnt rule my life anymore and I am going to get it out of my life as quickly as I get it. Money should be an enhancement to your life, a tool to get as much fullfillment as you can.
Being in my line of work, it becomes all to apparent that life is fleeting, and saving money, while noble, necessary even, isnt the end all. I have seen enough people save all their lives, scrimp and save, do without and live the minimalist(sp?) lifestyle, pat themselves on the back and then die.
How people enjoy life is a matter of opinion. And alot of that is why the nation is in the trouble it’s in now.
I agree with most of you in that as I grow older, I see that all this “stuff” isnt needed. I dont want people to stop buyin things they want, I just want them to be able to afford them first…
The ones that will survive this Great non-Depression are those that have mastered the art of frugalitity and know the meaning of thrifty. And those that don’t, they won’t financially survive. The destruction of wealth has only just begun and those that are not prepared will suffer the most. If you can’t fix or make something with your bare hands, you are in for a rude awakening for your about to find out what “Survival of the fittest” really means. IThe truly skilled people, craftsman, doctors, dentist, farmers, auto mechanics, plumbers, etc, etc, and those that can “Make due without” that will survive. I don’t care how many fancy shoes or cars or things you have stored away, your doomed. Madoff and alike come to mind!!!!!!
I can’t tell you how blessed I feel that I was fortunate enough to have parents that were frugal, thrifty and excellent savers. Valuable lessons learned well. Living debt free is freedom. I tell every young person I know “Don’t be a debt slave” and “Save your money”. ALL good things in life are free, love, laughter and friendship. In my world there is nothing else.
I’m laughing as I read this, Oly. I just cooked up the one lousy artichoke I’ve been nursing all summer and found a family of earwigs floating in the pot. Rather than throw out all that good vegetable water, I thought of you and just dumped the rice in to boil along along with their mushy little carcasses. Protein is protein, after all.
You have taught me this.
Barf! What sort of conscientious person eats earwigs?!
*paws at tongue *
…And now, if you’ll please excuse me, I’m out to eat some more fluttery termites in this lovely golden eve, probably one of the last of the year.
Truly, though, ahansen, earwigs seem too…too…crunchy or substantial or something. Too earwiggy.
What started it was, I read a book called ‘Man Eating Bugs’. I just found it on a shelf. Didn’t even know I had it. A lot of my most exciting life events start when I read books I unexpectedly come across, I’ve noticed. Like that book about how gravity is but an illusion, for instance…
What the heck is ‘flutter’? Is that a ‘fluffernutter’ reference?
Go eat a termite queen and you’ll know exactly what I mean.
They taste just like they look: fluttery.
It’s one of those nuance thingies that us real gourmets know about.
*patronizing sniff *
Oh, I get you. I thought it was like ‘oleo’, the crossword favorite! I’ve swallowed a few bugs in my day, some were fluttery. I ate a lizard queen once, tasted like chicken.
I ate a lizard queen once, tasted like chicken.
Gasp!
Tell us more! Was this a pretty lizard queen?!
seemed so at the time…
“it’s just that people are buying them without having earned the money first.”
Explain exactly how that effects you in in anyway at all…..
AHansen, beautifully and factually written. The 5500sqft unecessary architectural abominations and gargantuan vehicles is a cultural phenomenon driven by Madison Ave marketers and financed by banks looking to enslave more people. There is nothing more obscene than a 400lbs sow wolfing down three double cheeseburgers and a triple thick, supersized shake in the front seat of a SLOBurban. It’s disturbing to watch and even more disturbing to thing that we had an unholy alliance of government and Wall Street circa 2001-2008 that championed this kind of disgust.
FWIW, most people I see at the wheel of the gargantuan SUVs are pencil thin trophy wives. The tubbys are usually in old beaters, at least around here.
“…….spend more on cosmetics than education.”
If you watch any TV at all, you would know that the proliferation of idiot airhead females (on TV programming of all types) makes it obvious that investing in cosmetics has a better return on investment than investing in education.
Same deal with athletics for men.
the proliferation of idiot airhead females (on TV programming of all types) makes it obvious that investing in cosmetics has a better return on investment than investing in education
Amen brother, but I think cosmetics and hair products bring us idiot airhead males on TV too!
That’s an element of Stephen Colbert’s persona, which is partly why it was so awesome when he got a GI haircut in solidarity with the troops while his show was in Iraq.
“investing in cosmetics has a better return than investing in education”
…no, I doubt it. Similarly, I doubt that athletics pay off better than mental sports. When I used to teach 9th grade, a majority of my male students thought they would grow up to be pro athletes. HAHAHAHAHHAAH…they just didn’t know enough arithmetic to understand how insane their ambitions were. And yeah, there are lots of female airheads on TV, but way fewer than the number of females in professions that require a college degree.
Tell us how you reallllly feel, exeter.
Just in time for today’s topic!
“Are outlet malls for suckers?”
http://tinyurl.com/qcpoox
What makes people shop?… the 55 million people shopping at outlet malls each year, Shell says, drive a total distance that “equals 440,000 circumnavigations of the globe.”
The extra time and resources sunk into the trip encourage a ready-to-spend mind-set even before your car is parked. “Psychologically, all this (effort) must be repaid in terms of purchases made,” Shell writes.
That’s how “Well, we drove all this way” turns into “Maybe I need a new toaster oven after all.”
Thus outlet shoppers put their faith in items that carry a certain luxury brand name, without understanding whether the items in hand are worth the money they’re paying.
This value confusion sets the stage for how outlet malls snare your business.
Seductive marketing
People are so seduced by the words “sale” and “discount,” according to a study detailed in “Cheap,” that they will buy an item that’s “on sale” even when they know that the same thing is selling for less elsewhere.
‘People are smart’. Yeah. Right.
Just slap a South Pole or Ralph Lauren logo on some piece of crap made in a sweatshop and it’ll sell.
I think of designer logos as the easter island heads of our time. Thousands of years from now, anthropologists will argue over what made us pay more for a shirt with someone else’s name on it. No one will be sure of the answer. (Are we?)
This is a subject that really annoys me. Branding. Used to be a brand was used to indicate authenticity. It helped you avoid copies and fakes. Now, branding is a marketing ploy. Imprint that logo on the human brain and you’ve got a customer for life. The target will then use any product that image is on.
Like Alpha said, people will wear their brands religiously even to the point of putting another mans name and number on the back of a team jersey. Every see Tommy Hilfigger clothes, sometimes the designer name is in giant letters across the garment. How about the sweats that young women wear with the designer name across the rear?
Branding should be the next evolutionary step for home builders. Beazer polo shirts with each new home purchase. Toll Bros. letter man jackets and sweat pants. Start building some customer loyalty now with the young so in the future they will buy your crummy house of sticks, regardless of it being built poorly.
Paco Underhill is a noted and very intelligent “Retail Anthropologist” (how’s that for an over inflated euphemism). During the bubble in consumption, he was on the speaking circuit making $20-$30K a pop. Now he says we need to get back to basics. He’s a consumer psychologist, a visual arts expert, and a sales increase expert.
When I was in Shopping Center Mgmt School, the new thing was outlet mall marketing psychology.
http://www.envirosell.com/
My favorite guy is Howard Davidowitz. If ever you would meet an honest retail analyst and consultant, he’s the man.
http://www.fundmymutualfund.com/2008/08/howard-davidowitz-only-realistic-retail.html
Olygal- I found my bath back brush at the Dollar Tree, and I love it. Mostly junk, I agree, but once in a while a treasure.
When I was in Shopping Center Mgmt School …
Wait, is that for real …?
What is it? How was it?
“My favorite guy is Howard Davidowitz. If ever you would meet an honest retail analyst and consultant, he’s the man.”
Howard Davidowitz is mad I declare!!!!!!
Give him a listen folks. He’s entertaining at a minimum. Great insight, highly intelligent, apolitical and a knockout delivery.
Not to mention brutally downbeat!!
ET-Chicago
I was given an opportunity to get out of my boring Accounting career and take a position in Mall Management. Yeah, there is a school where you learn about sales per sq ft, risk management, consumer psychology, and a host of other valuble skills. It’s not all “fluff”.
Howard Davidowitz is just a gem. I love his “Doom Porn”. He’s right on the money, but I wonder how he retains his retail clients. I am a destination shopper myself.
I was given an opportunity to get out of my boring Accounting career and take a position in Mall Management.
I had no idea these schools existed!
ET-Chicago
It was a University Business School in partnership with a professional organization.
I didn’t either. I’d love to see a movie about Mall Management school, maybe with Robin Williams or Bill Murray as Dean.
It was a University Business School in partnership with a professional organization.
Ah, gotcha — that makes sense.
What makes people shop?…
I also believe that people shop out of boredom. The mall has become the place for (young) people to socialize and hang out. Heaven forbid they should actually stay home and read a book.
Great post, btw.
I haven’t been in an outlet in nearly 30 years. My mother shopped in them when they were attached to a plant and sold seconds. As far as I’m concerned the current outlet malls are retail stores.
I haven’t been to an outlet since the summer before I entered college. Mom took me there to buy inexpensive seconds to wear to school.
inho (wink, wink) outlet malls are a gimmick. The regional malls are so McRetail. Been in one, been in them all. I miss the mom and pops in the smaller centers. They were mostly great families, trying to make a buck, and generally nice people.
Outlet malls are obsolete. The one in Loveland has about a 50% vacancy rate.
Bottom line, they overbuilt retail centers. We don’t need so many centers, or stores so close together. What a waste of land and resources, imo.
Outlet malls feed off of tourist and people who don’t know how to evaluate value=quality vs. price. They see outlet, and automatically think bargain.
It’s just another retail psychology venue, you’re right, wolfgirl.
In Colorado, that’s interesting. Why am I not shocked. Way too much retail, Howard Davidowitz is right.
Here in Boise we have an outlet mall down by the airport. The only store worth patronizing is the Bass shoe store - I actually buy most of my shoes there.
Oh My God exe, I simply love it! I love it so much!!
“There is nothing more obscene than a 400lbs sow wolfing down three double cheeseburgers and a triple thick, supersized shake in the front seat of a SLOBurban”.
Author: exeter.
Publish Date: September 15, 2009.
Copyrighted.
No reproduction allowed.
I am not sure if it was you, exeter, but I think you once accused me of being a “land whale” because I disagreed with you on something. — so not true . . . possibly I am in better physical condition than you, in fact. I have noticed a tendency to paint everyone as a “she-whale” etc., so you appear to have a huge personal issue with weight. I think someone’s opinion is valid to stand on its own regardless of their weight, so you can’t just fob someones opinion off as “it’s ok everyone, this person is probably a land whale, so we can disregard the intellect”.
innocent: If I offended anyone as well, I apologize. I was just funnin’ and I’ll rip myself before anyone else anyday. Believe me. i have several extremely high quality obese friends.
“I am not sure if it was you, exeter, but I think you once accused me of being a “land whale””
See as you’re using a unknown name, I can’t say. I apologize in advance in the event that I insulted you.
The rest of your post is pure conjecture.
Explain exactly how that effects you in in anyway at all…..
Well, seeing as how there is a credit bubble from these people borrowing beyond their means, the economy sucks and there is the threat of inflation and such. Actually, it effects everyone in one way or another…
There is nothing more obscene than a 400lbs sow wolfing down three double cheeseburgers and a triple thick, supersized shake in the front seat of a SLOBurban.
Here is where we differ. I feel it is that 400lb slobs right to be that slob. One of the reasons I serve is to ensure that the choices we make will always be there to be made. It’s called personal responsibility. Alot of views are that the choices we make everyday should be limited (i.e close all Mickie D’s and fast food) and I dont believe in that. I might not want to live like you do. It is not for you to judge. I just have a problem when that slob has a heart attack and expects my tax dollars to pay a health bill that they created. Paying for a child or an invalid who otherwise couldnt do it or themselves is one thing, but having my taxes go to someone who does it to themselves and then expects for society to pick up the tab is another.
Step: this ain’t against you, but, why do I find this so funny in context? I don’t know, but I am laughing my rear off at Step’s comment!
“Alot of views are that the choices we make everyday should be limited (i.e close all Mickie D’s and fast food) and I dont believe in that. I might not want to live like you do. It is not for you to judge. I just have a problem when that slob has a heart attack and expects my tax dollars to pay a health bill that they created”.
I guess I am Ate-Up.
Here is where we differ. I feel it is that 400lb slobs right to be that slob … I might not want to live like you do. It is not for you to judge. I just have a problem when that slob has a heart attack and expects my tax dollars to pay a health bill that they created.
There is a big difference between whether that 400 lb. slob has a right to be that way and whether or not we as a society tacitly encourage the choices that lead to more and more 400 lb. slobs, which, as you admit, is not a wise decision from a health and welfare standpoint.
One way or another, we as a culture pay for that obesity. While people have a “right” to be that way, that doesn’t mean it should be encouraged or accepted any more than, say, illicit heroin use is.
I’d rather stand up for the rights of the very fat (no, I am not very fat) and also stand up for my personal right NOT to pay for anyone’s health care except my own.
Who’s stopping you from standing up?
One way or another, we as a culture pay for that obesity. While people have a “right” to be that way, that doesn’t mean it should be encouraged or accepted any more than, say, illicit heroin use is.
Quit saying it so well, ET.
*takes a big bite of termite burger *
termite burger
Cooked locusts taste kind of like tortilla chips, with more texture. In 93 or 94 a massive locust invasion devastated north-east Africa, leaving destroyed crops and hunger in its wake. The immense destructive swarm made it as far as eastern Yemen, where the locusts were smoked and swatted out of the air, bagged, dried, roasted, fried and happily eaten by the local population.
(Everyone was happy except the population of western Oman, whose bags remained empty.)
I want some. Bring me some.
…Wait, no, I just read the rest of your post. I don’t want some locusts anymore.
Say, have you ever read about the locusts who wanted to eat all the Mormon crops, and then seagulls came and ate them all, because Jeebus told them to?
It’s a genetic legacy thingie!
…But does that mean I should eat seagulls?
*puzzled face *
I don’t want some locusts anymore.
Why not? Eating something that would otherwise devastate all your crops seems an elegant solution.
Speaking of Western Oman and Mormons, is the notion widespread among Mormons that Dhofar is the Land of Bountiful? Or is that just a fringe belief?
Oly, did you have any chapulines while you were in Mexico? They’re grasshoppers. I’ve had them on tacos. Kinda good, I guess. Intensely grassy.
The place I’ve ordered them (in my neighborhood) also has some kind of fried mealworm thing on occasion, but they’ve never been in available when I’ve been there …
Si. I ate them in a cemetery, in the company of the dead. (Dias de los Muertos)
And you know what? They didn’t like chapulines either. The census seemed to be that now everyone was dead, no one had to eat those things.
They’s too skittery, anyhow. Made my tongue itchy.
“Well, seeing as how there is a credit bubble from these people borrowing beyond their means, the economy sucks and there is the threat of inflation and such. Actually, it effects everyone in one way or another…”
No. The people borrowing beyond their means was a result of the credit bubble, not the cause.
Inflation? Where? When? I’m really looking forward to this one.
“I feel it is that 400lb slobs right to be that slob. One of the reasons I serve is to ensure that the choices we make will always be there to be made. It’s called personal responsibility.
I’m not sure about feelings. I either believe or I disbelieve. Aside from that… Maybe we should make heroin available so everyone can step up to the lame and worn out catch phrase “personal responsibility”.
Our country needs to create something again. Make something someone else wants to buy. I have always said the old manufacturing model should go away. We need to come up with something new.
Thank you, Stpn2me, for the above. And for your service to our country, imperfect though it may be.
And for your service to our country, imperfect though it may be.
Regardless how you feel about my service, the thanks is all that matters and very much appreciated….thank you..
He meant the country is imperfect, not your service.
“Our country needs to create something again. Make something someone else wants to buy. I have always said the old manufacturing model should go away. We need to come up with something new.”
Like what?
Like what?
Something the world needs. I think this renewable energy thing may be the next ticket. If we can make say some type of energy that can sit outside a home and power it for months on end off the sun, or wind, or something like that and it be inexpensive and viable. Something the world is willing to pay for. In order to get us back to work we need to build something. We need to stop looking for someone to hand us something to build. The loss of kids going into the sciences is starting to catch up with us. We need engineers, more of them and mathmaticians. I know it’s easier said than done. But we do need it. You can see it in the shift from math to the liberal arts. We have way too many socrates and not enough Einsteins. Our country needs innovation….
I heard recent stats that in terms of industrial manufacturing, the US is a net exporter. Things like computer chips, robotics, ships, tractors,etc. It was only once you added in consumer goods that the trade deficit ballooned.
An ambient temperature super conductor would be an excellent start….
I am getting very interested in solar power for a home and trying to take a house off the grid. I have seen a couple of “green” homes that come with them. I like hybrid cars but most are too small and not enough horsepower. I am eagerly awaiting the Toyota FT-HS later this year…
Mr Stp. I have been working on this myself. One thing I would say is no one system will fill your needs, I would have solar panels, wind, AND a back up generator for power… Insulate the piss out of the home.
Solar for hot water, recovery heat in flues etc.
Also, think of spiting the system something like an RV is built,
What about a roof tile system that has some type of solar mesh that produces energy? Each tile is a solar panel connected to the whole. I see the acres of roofs baking in the sun and keep wondering why we can’t take advantage of this perfect sun exposure.
and just pay a neighbor kid a couple of bucks to come over and feed them every afternoon.
I had to laugh my FAO at this one. There’s a neighborhood 12 year old girl who posted she will take care of dogs while owners go on vacation, mainly walking and feeding the animal a few times per day. The kicker, she “charges” $300 per week for this service, which is more than it costs to board FIDO at the local luxury pet hotel. Really, WTF is going on when the neighborhood 12 year old thinks her time is worth around 60 bucks an hour?
Could she be giving them psychotherapy at the same time?
Nah, not at age 12. Woof!
HOLY MOLEY!
Either you live in a neighborhood full of aspiring realtresses, or that is one self-deluded 12-year-old.
Well stated, Sir. Glad we could agree on the shape of the table! Thank you.
Okay, nesting is severely skewered today. This was posted early this AM to Step’s first comment. Sorry ’bout that, dude.
Aha! A Mrs. Kunstler, perhaps?
No, a Mr. ahansen.
Forgot the “he’s” in there.
Note to self:
YYYss responses require a preliminary cup of tea.
Mr. ahansen, outstanding post. (Didn’t know where ya was goin’ there for a minute re desk cleaning).
Step, I agree with you, and Oly I agree with you. (Big Deal, right?)
Very interesting. I’m a craigslist/ebay user, and I always go for used over new. It’s this habit. Friends think I’m nuts, but I end up getting more toys for the same amount of money. Now I’m starting to sell off some to fund the next batch. It’s very rare for me to enter a best buy. I almost freak out. I think, “Could I get this for half off used?”
Did you happen to notice CL prices getting more realistic on toys? Motorcycles, boats, cars, mowers, etc all seem like they have just dropped in the last two weeks. I am not talking accross the board as there are still plenty of ‘wishers’ out there, but I think forced-selling has started in earnest. I think we have entered the “next-leg-down” and nobody has caught on yet. Stay tuned…
You are so right. I’m looking for a little motorcycle and a little boat and people are sounding more desperate and prices are coming down. Still not where I want them to be, but closer.
I’m going to keep looking casually and wait til December, when people really, really want more money for Christmas AND it’ll have been raining solidly for a few months here—it’s hard to remember using a boat or motorcycle at that time. That’s when I’ve bought all my kayaks, in the middle of pouring winter. Great deals on all of them.
That is the way to do it. I always by air conditioners in the winter.
by= buy. Bye Bye!
Buy buy buy — wasn’t that a song by inSynch?
A song that comes to mind while reading this post is
“When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What’s Still Around” by Sting, which evidently was describing some kind of “Road Warrior”-type future:
Turn on my V.C.R., same one I’ve had for years
James Brown on the Tammy show,
Same tape I’ve had for years
I sit in my old car, same one I’ve had for years
Old battery’s running down, it ran for years and years
Turn on the radio, the static hurts my ears
Tell me, where would I go? I ain’t been out in years
Turn on the stereo, it’s played for years and years
An Otis Redding song, it’s all I own
When the world is running down
You make the best of what’s still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what’s still around
Plug in my M.C.I, to excercise my brain
Make records on my own, can’t go out in the rain
Pick up the telephone, I’ve listened here for years
No one to talk to me, I’ve listened here for years
When the world is running down
You make the best of what’s still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what’s still around
When I feel lonely here, don’t waste my time with tears
I run ‘Deep Throat’ again, it ran for years and years
Don’t like the food I eat, the cans are running out
Same food for years and years, I hate the food I eat
When the world is running down
You make the best of what’s still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what’s still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what’s still around
When the world is running down
You make the best of what’s still around
There is something cryptic about those lyrics. I don’t know what it is, exactly, but I do know there is something cryptic about those lyrics. When Sting was On, he was cool.
Sting’s done some good stuff, but some of it got too light and dreamy for me. None of his solo stuff ever touched his work with the Police, IMO.
I agree Grizzly. I don’t even think of the Police as even including Sting. I like a lot of sting stuff, just have it in a different category.
That is the way to do it. I always by air conditioners in the winter.
What’s an ‘air-conditioner’?
“What’s an ‘air-conditioner’?”
Well here in the San Francisco Bay Area it’s called fog. The natural air conditioner.
same up here in minnesota…
prices do seem to be moderating some on CL. Still some “wishers” out there, but I agree with Oly, the sellers do seem to be coming in lower with their asking prices.
Hey, I am looking for a boat too!! 14′-16′ aluminum boat with trailer and small engine (10 hp to 15 hp) for under $700. Seen some, but I think prices will get better once the snow flys and the seller thinks about having to store their boat over the winter again..
Oh, you must tell me how your boat-hunt goes!
As for me, I realized I need a real boat, with a real motor, when I fell asleep in my kayak this summer and was about in the San Juans when I woke up…
Jeeze, don’t even ask how pulpy my arm muskles was a day later.
Everytime Olygal mentions a motorcycle, I have these flashbacks of Peter O’Toole and the beginning of the movie Lawrence of Arabia ?
Oh well, if she wears a helmet, her Acme jet boots and a large CAPE, she might manage a safe 2 point landing.
I can even imagine Olygal shouting “No Prisoners!”
“This is a bar for British Officers!”
“That’s all right, we’re not particular.”
I can even imagine Olygal shouting “No Prisoners!”
“This is a bar for British Officers!”
“That’s all right, we’re not particular.”
Interestingly, I often shout these exact things.
Everytime Olygal mentions a motorcycle, I have these flashbacks of Peter O’Toole and the beginning of the movie Lawrence of Arabia ?
I’M A GOOD MOTORCYCLE RIDER.
…after all, I’m still here, right? Right. So there.
Its seasonal….We are entering the fall…Last shot at selling “anything” that needs decent weather to use…Price it right or plan on keeping it until May…
Same here..I smile more when I buy a good used product at a good price. I also like helping someone get rid of something they don`t need or maybe they need the money.
Lane
I like buying something old enough to have no possibility of it being made in China.
Pressboard…..right-on, 100%. I Do the same thing. Lately I have been buying very old stuff. Just bought a 1930 johnson out-board. Its a piece of art. Also bought a Hamilton-beach from the 50`s. The thing weight about 15-20 pounds. Love the good stuff. Same with tools.
Lane
Are kitchen aid mixers still made in the US? Ours is 20 years old and is as good as new. And we use it a lot.
Yes. I heard so on NPR the other day.
The throw away culture that our media led society has spawned is a disgrace. I have been recycling furniture for years. My latest acquisition is a Herman Miller/George Nelson dining set that I helped a guy dig out of his storage unit and promptly drove over to my amazing furniture restoration experts at A1 Upholstery in Santa Ana. The results are miraculous.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkylarue/sets/72157622378767840/
Vintage furniture can be purchased at the Goodwill or Salvation Army or from someone on Ebay or Craigslist that is exponentially better than ANYTHING you can find from a retail store today and you will literally pay pennies on the dollar. Even after paying for restoration, the cost is still fractional of what a comparable piece would cost new.
Wow, that is very nice!
P.S. Very well-written piece, ahansen.
Greenday has a song called “Wake me up when September ends”. It’s about Billy Joe’s dad dying, but the lyrics could translate easily.
In one of those merciful coincidences, eBay came on the scene shortly after my home burned to vapor– along with everything in it. I vowed that I would not purchase another new thing (okay, I DO buy unused food,) if I could find it used and in good condition elsewhere. (This precludes buying second-rate items to begin with.)
Other than my computer and an annual pair of Ugg boots, I’ve pretty much been able to stick to that promise.
Almost all of my clothing, accessories, furnishings, books, cookware, utensils, linens, and tools have come from re-sellers of some sort or another. Even toiletries and cleaning goods are available in bulk and at wholesale prices on eBay– and UPS delivers.
It takes a bit of research, and you may have to wait for a year or three before the exact right thing comes on the market at the price you’re willing to pay, but I doubt anyone would argue that I live in privation. I consider my lifestyle an amazing bargain!
Shhhhhh. Here’s a tip: Bidrobot is our friend.
ahansen: I am sorry to hear about your home burning. I went through it when Mom And Dad’s place burned down, about 15 years ago. They were underinsured too. ( I took care of that).
However, I will never forget the looks on their silent faces that evening, just staring off into space, silent.
Bad hit, for sure. Never forget it, either.
Well, I’m very sorry to hear about both instances, 8 and ahansen. I believe desertdweller suffered the same thing.
How terrible. I’m insured as far as that goes, but there are things I value FAR above the money value, family heirlooms, keepsakes…. To lose everything in a fire would be a desolating, horrifying experience.
Thank You Oly. I appreciate the comment, and I am sure ahansen does too, if she reads it.
Fire may be pretty, but it is not when your dwelling is destroyed by it.
I always draw the line at used underwear and toothbrushes.
I enjoyed your post ahansen. I solved the one desk clutter problem with two desks. I know I have them somewhere, if I can find them !
Anyhow here’s a Craigslist Hummer(Homer?) H3 For Sale ad that says it all.
“…Has only 52,000 milles I am seeling it because I need to pay some bills & this is the only way for me not to loos other things…”
http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto/1374464913.html
Funny Mikey!
For awhile there I was sore-tempted to carry a can of enamel paint with me so I could paint a “D” in place of the “H” on the tailgate placket of those damned things.
How about a bumper sticker reading “Hummers Suck”?
A neighbor’s compact car has a bumper sticker that says, “Nothing’s Dumber than a Hummer.”
No, thanks. I’ve never been one of that opinion. Err, wait, are you talking about a vehicle?
Haw!
What’s so significant about the Hummer? Do you harbor the same animosity towards a Suburban, or and Excursion, or some fancy schmancy Range Rover, or Porsche Cayenne?
It’s the military pretense that so annoys enviros. How could ANYone harbor animosity towards Porsche?
“It’s the military pretense that so annoys enviros.”
I wholeheartedly disagree. True enviro’s are more concerned about real effects such as greenhouse gas emissions, and less about perceived images. You’re an enviro? Then surely the 12 mpg of the Porsche Cayenne would elicit some animosity, right? That’s as bad as the Hummer H2 according to Motortrend.
What makes you think I’m an enviro? (Not that I’m not.) You seem to make a lot of assumptions about me, Griz. So far, not a whole lot of them accurate.
Just sayin….
“It’s the military pretense that so annoys enviros.”
Oh, so you’re not an enviro, you’re just making assumptions about them?
sigh
What is really bugging you Grizzly Bear?
Hypocrisy, pretentiousness, SFBG.
Funny, how we see things differently. Ahansen strikes me as non pretentious and far from being a hypocrite.
I’ve bought stuff on Craplist before, but more often than not at least in my experience, it hasn’t been worth the effort. My strategy on expensive purchases such as an espresso machine is to buy the best workhorse I can find and hold onto it forever.
Man, in terms of baby and kids’ stuff, Craiglist is soooooo worth it. A lot of that stuff can last years, but only has practical use for a few months per family.
We’ve purchased a fair number of things from there, we’ve sold a few items we didn’t want to give away (because of our own previous outlay), and we get/give the rest from/to our recycling network of friends.
I should have mentioned, with a little one on the way, that we’re definitely going to scour Craig’s List for some of the stuff on there.
Hey, congrats Debt! When is the little one due to make an appearance?
Buy only the best, they last. I have tools that are
over 45 years old and they perform as new. Much
better using inferior products that you have to
replace every few years.
I get great tools at the estate sales of old farmers. Some of those tools are freakin’ ancient. I am amazed at the durability.
Incidentally, I have an apple box in my garage full of arcane implements from the dusty, cobwebby barns and sheds of old farmer-guys that no one knows what they are. All sorts of prongs and screws and pokey bits…are they torture devices? A specific tool for planting peas when it’s a full moon on a Tuesday? No one knows. It’s a complete mystery. I like to fiddle with them sometimes.
Ummm, are you suuuuuuure you’re not a hoarder?
“…I get great tools at the estate sales of old farmers.”
Yep.
I honest-to-god got a box of hammers last week at team penning. Ball peens, prospecting, 6 pound. Amazing. Someone’s lifetime collection.
All for $10!
Ummm, are you suuuuuuure you’re not a hoarder?
No! It’s just one apple box of old, arcane, rusty, useless tools!
*gets all bug-eyed and crazed and clutches dead cat and moldy pumkin to chest *
Serious, though, Grizz. These are fascinating tools. What do they do? I had a party once and someone wandered out to the garage and came back inside holding the box all excited-like. It became a party-game, trying to guess what those bizarre things were. These were all smart professional types, over-educated and full of smart words, but we sat there gawping and fondling those things like iggerant cavemen. Helpless to understand. It was funny. Or else ironic. Or else both.
*gets all bug-eyed and crazed and clutches dead cat and moldy pumkin to chest *
LOL- you’re goofy.
I have some interesting tools from my dad’s stepfather, who was the town blacksmith of Santa Clara back in the early 20th century. All that’s left of the forge is one bellows, which I have.
The oldest things I own and use regularly are old guns. My uncle’s Colt Woodsman pistol was made in 1938 and is still a great shooter. The oldest rifle I have was made in the Imperial Armory of Peter the Great at Tula in 1896, and reworked by the Finns just before WWII into a match-target accurate rifle.
Marry me! I like kitties!* And food!
…well, what?! Ahansen is taking proposals right and left, after all. It must be because Autumn is coming. Time to fondle forges and oil guns and count cans of chicken noodle soup and stuff like that.
*Not MY kitties, understand. I don’t like my kitties. My kitties are little furry feral f**kers who hunt in a tribe, like lions. I like someone else’s kitties. In theory.
Ditto, Debtin. But if one comes up on eBay or a high-end disbursal sale, I’m all over it. Whenever possible, I buy industrial/commercial stuff instead of “luxury” brands geared more toward household use.
er, “dispersal.” And interesting slip there….
“some consenting adult in a hulking Canyonero.”
LOL.
yeah what this country needs is a good enema. But you’re more optimistic than I am about what comes next ahansen.
Simpsons reference
Oh. I don’t have cable.
I only use cable for my Internet connection. And, last year, I nailed Cox Communications but good. Why? Because they were also charging me for cable teevee, and guess what? I don’t even have a teevee.
You don’t need one. We have Youtube now:
DOT com./watch?v=sY9x_NbbFT0
I watch quite a few programs via the ‘Net. Also watch movies that way too.
Wise words in many ways. Not sure I agree about the “die off” part, however. We can cut a lot of fat, financially and otherwise, before anyone has to face that.
Die off doesn’t have to be cataclysmic. Already we’re seeing the populations of first world countries aging and reproductive rates dropping below sustainability. Those countries like Japan, who severely restrict immigration, are looking at real survival issues. Russia has similar challenges ahead. As does Italy.
Native US reproduction rates are now below replacement levels, and as it becomes more and more difficult to sustain our current lifestyles, I suspect people will have fewer and fewer children to offset the drop in income. As those of us who have reproduced know, it costs a lot of money to raise a child to maturity.
It’s not a huge leap of imagination to think that as 23 million baby boomers join Medicare with a diminished retirement nut and a significantly poorer taxpayer base to pay for it, they will not get the same quality of medical care their parents are receiving.
Barring global catastrophe, the loss will be generational, not abrupt.
But the problem is that those who can least afford them (inner city or developing world) have the most of them. Granted, they don’t tend to buy SUV’s and iPods, but they do tend to eat a lot of food and stuff.
Most of the poor I see are as big, or bigger, buyers of ‘bling’ as anyone else. There’s really so much fat we could cut in America before we start cutting our meat, that the thought of five or ten years of stagnation really doesn’t concern me at all. I agree with what I take to be ahansen’s point, that a little bit less could do us some good. Less is more, as many are about to learn the hard way.
Less is more, as many are about to learn the hard way.
But I already knew that less is more, and I went there the easy way. The slothful way, as a matter of fact, if I had to explain myself…
nice and slothy does it ev-er-y time…
…one more time…
Okay, true confession time: I was an only child.
When I was growing up, my parents’ decision to have (gasp!) just one was questioned on a regular basis. But that didn’t faze them. They don’t faze easily.
Any-hoo, what have I gained from being a (gasp!) only? Well, for starters, I don’t depend on other people to entertain me, bring me happiness, or otherwise complete my life. In addition, I love to read. Give me a good book and I’m checked out for a couple hours.
I also don’t equate alone with being lonely. Not at all.
A good read ahansen.
For myself, I’m already living your future vision now, by choice. It never made sense to me to throw out stuff that still works (or can be eaten*), or growing pretty flowers in a bed where tomatoes and lettuce can flourish. I think many of us here on the HBB will face the future with optimism, as we are already living the good life without the trappings of unneaded wealth.
* mmmmm, left over cold pizza
Well, how about pretty flowers that you can also eat?
My growing area that is deer-proof is quite small, so everything in my garden has to be multi-purpose. Pretty AND useful.
I’m confused. What is this “left-over pizza” of which you speak? Is that similar to the other imaginary substance, “left-over wine”?
HAH. If you should ever happen upon some, and you’re hungover-but-hungry, try this:
Grate some decent cheese onto the leftovers and put it in a toaster oven until the thing starts bubbling. Slice up a couple strips of bacon and fry the pieces, remove when brown, scramble an egg in a bit of the rendered fat, and throw the whole thing on top of the pizza along with some fresh chopped tomato, scallion, and whatever.
Serve with a breakfast beer.
One way or another it will relieve the queasy stomach.
You do sound tasty. It all makes sense now.
YUM!
…er…except with milk beverage.
Leigh
Hey, I read that recipe in Esquire! where’s your footnote?
This is a great post. I’m in my mid-30’s, and have chosen the smaller footprint items thus far in life. I also agree that this time to “tighten our belts” may help this country avoid the long slow decline into irrelevance.
That being said, the entitlement mentality that grips this country (I deserve it!) and the ammunition sales indicate that this might not be the option we choose.
“the entitlement mentality that grips this country”
I don’t think it’s just in this country. This is a pretty insightful and in fact frightening article I recently read in The Dail Mail.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1213212/The-ego-epidemic-more-inflated-sense-fabulousness.html
CarrieAnn: You bet it is, and you bet it is also true. Maybe it is the same way with guys, I don’t know. It’s crazy, I am not a bad looking guy, and it’s all money, “jump in the sack 2-tonight”, me, me, me, and past lovers. Amazing.
Take me back to grade school. I did better then.
What a fun read! Thanks, Carrie Ann. It’s true–narcissistic personalities seem to be on the increase. I’m glad I don’t know many people, men or women, who are narcissistic nutters. I do know one woman like this, though, and I enjoy pretending I’ve never met her, each and every time I meet her. It makes her ape-poop mad. It really does. She can’t really complain, what can she say without sounding like an idiot? ‘I insist you remember me, da*mmit!’ Instead she just vibrates with indignation. Which is, of course, why I do it.
Must…push…the…shiny…button…
Hahaahahah!
*sigh *
And thus we see that I’m not very mature. ‘Course, you all already probably have observed that.
Some old gal was being interviewed on NPR and she said she needed a lifetime supply of ammo? wtf? how does one measure such a supply, do you multiply your remaining lifespan by 4 or 5 bullets (or dead bodies) a day? I’m still baffled.
Being completely cynical, I would say this type of thinking plays right into the hands of the ruling elite of Wall Street. . .just like religion (pie in the sky in the by and by) has done for ages. . .keeps the masses tame (”let us be happy with what we have”). Just today I read that the elite are flying leased jets again at 25K a pop to avoid Swine Flu at “public” airports. Lehman falls, Goldman gets all their business, and most Lehman employees have already found high paying jobs. . .So far this “great recession” has only give those with real money the opportunity to buy stocks at cheap prices (and now have a 50% runup), buy companies at cheap of bankrupt prices (often with taxpayer money), and high net worth individuals the ability to scoop up foreclosed houses with cash, and rent them out.
We have syndicates here in SoCal buying 5 or 10 houses, fixing them up and renting them out. . .presto - 5 or 10 families no longer own, and a few people now own 10 or more homes.
Ten years, Mark, and our nascent aristocracy will face a generation of really really pissed off now-twenty-somethings. Look to the dissolution of the Soviet Union for a precedent. The government sold off its infrastructure to private entities, they consolidated into a mafia-like elite, and now are being “divested” by the public sector again. The alternative is armed insurrection, and if there’s one thing rich people hate, it’s armed insurrection.
The trick is to live with the options of a rich person without all the responsibilities and connivery the money entails.
Umm, Mark, if the evil syndicates are buying 5 or 10 houses at a time, it means that the people (so-called owners) originally “renting” them from the bank couldn’t afford them in the first place. Maybe if the government would allow economics to take its course, then housing would be more affordable again and more people could start owning.
Ahansen, a lovely post, as always. You’re right, there’re too many people in the world and too much consumption - but I disagree with conclusions… We don’t need a New Depression.
The global situation is now radically different from the 30s. Even then, the way out was the world war. Nowdays, the new world powers are rising, the fight for limited resources is just getting started, and the developed world will not survive a World War III.
America’s real estate - it’s arable land, fresh unpolluted air, forests and variety of mostly very nice climates (compared to the rest of the world) - is priceless. The world out there is not benign. The strong devour the weak. I’m afraid a new great depression will not mean a return to simpler values, instead it will bring about agression and wars, and very sad outcome.
There will eventually be a showdown between China and the US, and when that time arrives the US will fold, and like ancient Rome we will try to bribe the barbarians at the gates to go away, but it won’t work.
when that time arrives the US will fold ??
Not a chance in hell “unless” our own military turns on its citizens…Hand to hand combat throughout the country would occur….Freedom or Death…
Freedom or Death…
That statement brings a tear to my eye…
The appeasers will live on under tyranny, complaining in silence. I’m glad I wont live to see it. I will die in the battle..
“Hand to hand combat throughout the country would occur…”
That’s assuming the next big war will be conventional blood and gore warware.
I think future “wars” will be won by economic means and strategic planning to grab natural resources while undermining your target’s economy and productive capacity. We’re losing that war already.
Letting the country lapse into a depression will not help, either. Much as I dislike the current course of action, printing USD way to oblivion may be preferable to depression and deflation. Depression would be tantamount to curling up and dying without a fight.
Not a chance in hell “unless” our own military turns on its citizens
What military? We’re going to be broke and utterly dependent on China for everything, including the weapons our soldiers use.
“There will eventually be a showdown between China and the US, and when that time arrives the US will fold…”
On what fantasy do you base this on? Did you run away crying as a kid, or stand and fight?
Some of us egged them on, sold tickets, and took bets.
(And landed on Wall Street.)
Do you really think this nation of self entitled whiners will fight? Once the gov’t runs out of pork to hand out the US will fold like a house of cards.
FWIW, I have a 1st Dan Black belt in Taekwondo.
Yes, I do think we’ll fight. I’m also not really convinced that this is a nation full of whiners. I look to my circle of friends and see that we’re all fighters. It just seems that the whiners are the ones getting the airtime. You know, Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limpd*ck, for example. Anyway, congrats on the black belt. I’m afraid I wouldn’t stand and fight you. I’d have to pull out the gun and smoke you, my friend.
“I’d have to pull out the gun and smoke you, my friend.”
Sound like a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Oh, dear god, I hope we don’t end up like Rome. Ruled by barbarians, the populace makes do with great wine, great food, and great culture. People from all over the world flock to witness their suffering. I’ll live that way when they pry the assault rifle from my cold, dead ….
The horror…the horror….
And the whole place is in RUINS!
Has the Fed always propped up the housing market in the bust faze of a mania, or is this the first time?
market pulse
Sept. 15, 2009, 10:36 a.m. EDT
Bernanke defends crisis actions, upbeat on growth
Greg Robb WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) —
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said global regulators acted swiftly in the wake of last September’s financial crisis and succeeded in bringing the global economy back from the brink of collapse. There is no longer widespread fear of a financial collapse and economic activity is leveling out, he said. However, the recovery is likely to be slow, he said. Bernanke’s remarks, given to a forum at the Brookings Institution, a liberal think-tank, were the same as remarks he gave in August at the Fed’s annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
LOL.
Poor Ben makes Baghdad Bob look like a sage.
LOL, Good one and good post…
“There is no longer widespread fear of a financial collapse and economic activity is leveling out, he said.”
Has this guy ever looked at the Baltic Dry Index?
Never confuse people with the facts! We live for spin and hype.
And Boy does it show… Can anybody on a NYC bus use a cell phone with out swearing?
And cars never mattered much to me I almost always had a station wagon, and the women never seemed to mind because it was always clean and i didnt smoke.
—————————————————————
We spend more on cosmetics than we do on education. And we let electronic devices raise our children because we’re too busy to stick around and talk to them ourselves.
PERFECT way to recycle a McMansion…plus she will get SS food stamps ..
————————–
rooms will either be closed off or stocked with storytelling Grandmas
Another thought provoking musing from the amazing Ahansen
We averted a Depression only in the sense that the Big Folks (the crooks who created this mess) won’t suffer. Everyone else WILL get a Depression.
Oh, it won’t be called that - heavens no! And I bet the Recession will end early, long before any real growth returns, so that we can look forward to a “jobless recovery” while listening to prattling politicians, each richer than sin, telling us why we need to spend more while at the same time they busily get rid of our jobs and give our money over to other crooks.
We’ve become a dying culture, adrift in anger and apathy. After last year’s Bailout (the first one, since there have been Bailouts aplenty), with 90% of the people screaming “NO!!!” our Dear Leaders gave nearly a trillion dollars to crooked bankers and told we the people to shut up and hand it over. The money promptly disappeared, resulting in more Bailouts, of course, and when confronted by angry taxpayers, the crooks in charge were offended that we’d even dare ask where the money went. After all, in their eyes, everything we have belongs to them, so we shouldn’t be asking such questions. Just keep consuming and getting in debt like a good drone…
Inflation or deflation - it won’t matter in a way. We are bound to see inflation in needs as the population continues to consume everything and, to those in charge, inflation is a wonderful way to tax the sheeple without them knowing it. The only deflation will be in jobs, salaries, and hope for the future.
What is it Ben warned about on public radio? Repeating Japan. We avoided another Depression, at the cost of a decade plus of stagnation.
Which is worse? Well, compare WWII to Vietnam. WWII was worse, but shorter. Vietnam was not nearly as bad, but longer. And by the end of the latter, people were one heck of a lot more pissed off.
You’re comparing WW2 and Viet Nam from an American perspective. From the world’s point of view, there was no comparison.
Beautiful post. Will you marry me?
Of course, press, but you’ll have to wait in line until I work my way through this list of similarly demented supplicants. I’m running out of closet space in which to store those whom I’ve hung upside down and deposited my eggs into….
Thanks, hon.
Wasn’t my reply to Pondering? Your post was ok too I guess, ahansen
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
LOL, press. I KNEW you were smarter than that….
Pressboardbox: glad you liked it!
That’s the one upside to this mess - there are a lot of people out there with the same odd sense of humor and we can all get together on this blog and share it!
Careful where your comments nest, you might end up married to the wrong person. (Not that it probably wouldn’t work out just as well.)
Hmm…this post doesn’t ring true to me. How could you have cats and yet have stuff pile up on your desk? My little Dukie tosses everything off my desk on a daily basis.
I lived in my San Jose house for 25 years, and didn’t throw stuff out. It took me from June 2005 to March 2006 just to prune out all this stuff, and in the end far too much simply went to the dump. The lesson has been learned: I’m not going to accreet so much stuff ever again.
As my young son and I stared at the smoking ruins of what had been our home, he put his arm around me and said,
“Well, Mum. You know how you really REALLY hated to clean house…?”
ahansen: I got ya down here, and thought you were responding to me.
What a good boy/young man.
“As my young son and I stared at the smoking ruins of what had been our home…”
Whoa. For a moment I read this as “As my young son and I started smoking the ruins of what had been our home”, and I wondered if it was made of hemp.
ROTFL Griz. Beats snorting the carpets.
Done that before!
LOL, I see the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, Ms. Hansen.
Alas, dad, poor child didn’t. Worse, he banged his head a good one on the way down.
A&E has a really disturbing reality series called Hoarders on Monday nights at 10PM. The people in the show are actually sick rather than just messy, but it is fairly disturbing to see that a slightly overdone version of American consumerism (Clean House) is, at first glance, only a little less extreme than people who are psychologically ill.
I also subscribe to the spread it out on the floor to force yourself to deal with the accumulation of papers school. Wish it was guaranteed to actually make me do the appropriate filing and shredding within 2 to 3 hours. I’ve been known to let it go a bit longer than that.
Moving from a large one bedroom apartment to a smaller one bedroom apartment has been very good for getting rid of stuff. And being a skinflint is SUPER for not acquiring more stuff. Living close to the library helps too.
That show about the women that hoarded food was scary!
I think that one is the one that got me to reorg the freezer a week or two ago. Fortunately all I found was a little freezer burn.
The worst one so far (from a moral standpoint) was the couple with all the dead cats.
I saw that ‘Hoarders’ show! Once. The scifi movie was lamentably short of mutant bugs, so I was channel surfing and came across it.
Wow.
The hoarded food lady one WAS scary. I leaped up and cleaned out my fridge like mad after seeing it. I hate waste, as I’ve mentioned, and I eat like a starving vandal on the way to Rome, but still some food goes bad before I can eat it. Also—this part is what freaked me out—in the fall I often bring home gleanings from gardens and orchards with the intent to preserve it or make cider or whatever and I usually don’t end up using it all before it starts to go bad. Last fall I piled up pumpkins in my garage and indeed, the ones on the bottom got bruised and started to mold before I reached them. When I saw that rotten squash on that lady’s kitchen floor I thought ‘Jaysoos Kristos! Is this my future? NooooooOooo!’ I don’t think it is, because when I see rotting pumpkins I pick them up and chuck them in the compost and don’t cry and sob and try to resurrect them, but who knows when you start to go crazy in this way? is it incremental?
Those poor people are mentally ill. You could see that they did not perceive reality accurately. To them, this was a fine way to live.
I’m glad I missed the dead cat one. That’d made me worked up.
Hoarding is indeed a mental illness. I’ve known several people who have been afflicted.
“…I thought ‘Jaysoos Kristos! Is this my future? NooooooOooo!’ I don’t think it is, because when I see rotting pumpkins I pick them up and chuck them in the compost and don’t cry and sob and try to resurrect them, but who knows when you start to go crazy in this way? is it incremental?”
Yup, for sure Oly…. I give you 3-4 months max before you start talking to the rotting pumpkins and then try to administer IV’s and CPR on each other.
Take her away boyz
I have that same problem in San Jose. So I cured it by moving every 2 years. Amazing how I don’t ‘collect’ anymore.
Moving a lot will definitely make you a minimalist. Have I ever told you about my inflatable furniture fantsy? It involves helium…
it’s a ‘fantsy’ fantasy
..the good people of this country seem to have come to a point where we’re starting to realize that what we have at this moment is probably as good as we’re ever going to get–..
What we have is as good as it’s gonna get?
A few people have been saying that since the beginning of time, and have been dead wrong. People who say it now are wrong. Promoting the idea is wrong.
I’m all for poetic license, but if you’re seriously telling people that we’ve reached the pinnacle of development, and to throw in the towel, and to deliberately deny themselves whatever comforts of life you disapprove of, I gotta give this essay an F.
Optimism and/or pessimism are often “subjective hedonics”.
A sub of the “My World” gig…
The Art is to step outside of oneself, and gather quality information. I don’t know much. I do have a “worthless” (not so sure it is worthless now) M.S. in Sociology and a J.D.
I know enough to know I am stupid. So, I read. I read here and other blogs where credible information is presented.
I believe this country is going down. Period.
never go down on a period
I think Patrick Swayze got out at the top.
I agree with you press.
I disagree. There’s no way this planet can provide an American standard of living to every inhabitant. And as the gears of globalization continue to turn we will see the nations move to equilibrium in this regard. Our standard of living will continue to drop as our industries and jobs are offshored. We might never reach actual equilibrium, but we will move towards it.
Take automobile sales. Many now believe that the current level of sales is the “new normal”, as manufacturers close factories permanently and dealerships, many long time etablished one, go out of business due to a lack of sales.
We just had a spectacular dealer BK out here recently. It was a huge dealership, the size of a small shopping mall with several brands from Asia, Europe and North America. They weren’t paying off the loans on the trade ins and were suspended from selling for a few weeks by the state (the repair shops stayed open). They closed shop about two weeks later during the suspension. People had too come claim their cars that were in the shop, many still in a state of disrepair and undriveable.
Not the pinnacle of development, joey, the pinnacle of accrual. I’m about as big a luxury slut as they come, but not at the expense of my survival.
Sometimes enough is too much.
Just as long as it puts an end to “Lifestlyles of the rich and famous” and “MTV Cribs” type-shows. The pinnacle of bling was a hostile environment lacking taste the way the summit of Everest lacks oxygen. Can we please get to base-camp?
Just as long as it puts an end to “Lifestlyles of the rich and famous” and “MTV Cribs” type-shows.
Ah, those shows always make me feel like a richer person with a richer life, which I presume is not the intended effect.
I see MTV Cribs and think, “That’s a multi-million dollar house and (unsustainable) lifestyle? Boring!”
the pinnacle of accrual..
If your vision of the future is a world where “accrual” is limited, the most basic of human instincts stand against that vision.
In order for such a condition to spread, the use of force will be required… but surely you wouldn’t condone the use of force.. right?
—
I encourage everyone to continue to use new razor blades and dispose of disposables if it makes you happy. Open a candle shop if you want to, and trade in your clunker for a new car. Make a big “footprint” if it pleases you. Eat your peas or push them aside. Pursue happiness.
Good luck with that, Joey. If you think acquiring stuff is “the pursuit of happiness,” I would posit that ultimately you’re not going to be a very satisfied customer.
I think it’s healthy that people have a natural tendency acquire stuff. There’s security in having more than we need.
If you have two of something and one breaks, the other is available. If the kids have a layer of fat, they will survive a few lean days without food.
Who would argue against having more money than one needs?
—
Lots of people argue against other people having more money and stuff than they need, but that’s just idle chit chat (or would somehow be advantageous to those who propose it).
..but in the privacy of our thoughts regarding our personal wealth? ..people are far more sensible and honest.
I think it’s healthy that people have a natural tendency acquire stuff. There’s security in having more than we need.
Maybe a little more stuff. I have more pretty dishes and pretty linens than I need. I also started oiling and conditioning my winter shoes last weekend and stopped when I got to the 17th pair with a whole bunch more to go, so I can’t really cast stones in this matter, but LOTS of people have much, much, MUCH too much stuff.
Someone posted a good article here recently, about storage companies? it was recent. Gosh. Turns out there’s storage buildings everywhere, as we all know, and what they’re full of is…mostly junk.
Who was that? What article was that? Anyone got a link?
Compulsive hoarding (or pathological hoarding) is the acquisition of, and failure to use or discard, such a large number of seemingly useless possessions that it causes significant clutter and impairment to basic living activities such as mobility, cooking, cleaning, showering or sleeping. A person who engages in compulsive hoarding is commonly said to be a “pack rat”, in reference to that animal’s apparent fondness for material objects.
It is not clear whether compulsive hoarding is a condition in itself, or simply a symptom of other related conditions.[1] Hoarding unnecessary possessions may be referred to as syllogomania or disposophobia.
—-
here’s one special made for you, Oly..
Bibliomania is an obsessive–compulsive disorder involving the collecting or hoarding of books to the point where social relations or health are damaged. One of several psychological disorders associated with books, bibliomania is characterized by the collecting of books which have no use to the collector nor any great intrinsic value to a genuine book collector. The purchase of multiple copies of the same book and edition and the accumulation of books beyond possible capacity of use or enjoyment are frequent symptoms of bibliomania.
“I also started oiling and conditioning my winter shoes last weekend…”
Hold on- are there moving parts in these shoes?
here’s one special made for you, Oly..
Bibliomania is an obsessive–compulsive disorder involving the collecting or hoarding of books to the point where social relations or health are damaged. One of several psychological disorders associated with books, bibliomania is characterized by the collecting of books which have no use to the collector nor any great intrinsic value to a genuine book collector.
I can’t hear you.
*puts fingers firmly into ears *
La la la la….
Hold on- are there moving parts in these shoes?
Some. Maybe.
…look, I gots great shoes, okay? Good shoes need love and attention and, sometimes, also axle grease for fullest performance.
I confess I collect empty containers. Not just any containers.. mostly ones that can be well cleaned and then used to store.. well.. you never know what an empty container might be used for.
Glass is the best but some plastic ones are nice. I collect them until the space devoted to containers storage is full. Then I discard an old one for a new one, insuring I own an adequate and up to date supply, just in case I need a container for.. well.. you never know what an empty container might be used for.
OMG, Joey! Are you a long lost relative?
My mother had an entire ROOM full of jars, lidded cups, boxes, empty containers…just in case. She also collected used wrapping paper and ribbon. And foil. Oh, and paper bags. Huge stacks of them.
There was a lock on the door….
My secret shame.
And I had you pegged as a tulip eater, ahansen.
Hey, joey. Can’t the pursuit of happiness go beyond accumulating ’stuff’. One could imagine a stage where people in general, not just us ‘enlightened’ ones, might see that there’s more to life. (Isn’t the fear of socialism that, if the gov will provide everything for you, you won’t have to accumulate/hoard crap, just in case? How will that affect the hoarders/rich?)
Is wealth a form of hoarding?
OMG ahansen! A lock on the door!
It never occurred to me that someone can easily steal my containers. I’ve been so reckless.
..One could imagine a stage where people in general… might see that there’s more to life.
I see no evidence of that happening in our history. Today’s economic strife is far from an unusual situation. People have suffered much worse for their excesses, and yet whatever “lessons” learned or “stages” reached have apparently been forgotten.
Of course there is much more to life.. but that realization is very much a personal discovery and unlikely to occur to any group of people all at once, regardless of the stimulus.
—-
I believe we are very much controlled by our instincts. I think the quest to obtain more than we need or to “hoard” is instinctive. If we couldn’t drive 5 minutes and obtain whatever we need, there’d be one hell of a lot of hoarding.
Work harder than you must. Save for a rainy day. Be prepared for the unexpected. It’s about basic survival.
Managing people’s instinctive behaviors will, at the least, require some sort of punishment when behavior strays.. and that’s what I don’t like about it. Controlling consumption on a grand scale, if it doesn’t happen naturally, will require force.
We all agree that free markets regulate themselves just fine without intervention. I think it’s only fair to extend that courtesy to people’s personal behaviors wherever we can.
“…so reckless….”
I’m laffing so hard, joey, that the cats huffed up and ran under the sofa and hissed at me.
Thank you for that.
This is a thoughtful post, joey, and taken with sloth’s excellent question “is wealth a form of hoarding?” requires a more thoughtful answer than I can summon this late in the evening. I’ll think about it and get back to you on it.
But no, we do not “all agree that free markets regulate themselves.” In essence, that is why we are all here on this blog.
TBC.
No, it’s an A and here is why: We are not at the pinnacle of development by any means. What we have is a “spiritual hunger” if you get my meaning. We work and work. We become stressed and burn out. We die at an early age. We have a generally “lost feeling”. More and more money does not help. More and more stuff isn’t helping any better. Ahansen is describing that feeling along with all of the other posters and not just in this essay, either. What is being said is, that we are leaving our “humanness” behind. I’m seeing this in a lot of different venues and places. It is expressed in many different ways.
Me? I quit my nice, high stress job in defense. I made beaucoup money, and it sucked. I now teach physics in a small college in the south, and do research when I have time. I have time for my sons and my beautiful French wife of 23 years.
Money? It is but a means to an end.
Remark: The Chinese are working their tails off to make their country better and, ultimately, themselves. They are part of something bigger than they are which motivates them, in general. Money? See previous remark. I hope the Chinese don’t slide into “darkness”. They run huge risks.
Roidy
Human-ness cannot be left behind. Observe people. What you see is the human condition. It’s not faked. It’s just not what most people would expect.
People, on average, think they should be much better than they are. They think there is more to themselves and others.. that there is something missing or hidden. But there’s not.
This is why people strive to change or improve.. why some people work too hard and play too hard.
While some accumulate more and more “stuff” in their quest for enlightenment, someone else tries owning nothing and living in a cave. Eventually, if they’re lucky, they discover there’s nothing to search for.
We are what we are, not what we hope or think we are, or wish we could be. Realize that, and peace and contentment follows.
“…not what we hope…or wish we could be.”
And now you argue for mediocrity, too?
No dreams for YOU, kids. Forget those nasty aspirations of excellence. Go buy some disposable razors and work in a bank.
We are what we are. I dunno why you’d conclude we’re mediocre. Well, actually I do know, and just got finished explaining why.
ACH, I know what you’re talking about:
I hope that this conjecture of ahansen’s will be the case:
I periodically visit an African village. As such places go it is not bad off: a good water supply for agriculture and drinking, no AIDS problem, no fighting near, fairly close to a provincial capital with medical care, some employment, secondary and higher education boarding schools, a big market. I don’t glamorize them: they are materialistic, everyone wants whatever is new; they prioritize consumption and celebration over the maintenance of communal goods like their water system and generator; they don’t pay attention to atrocities happening elsewhere in their country.
But at the same time, they are lovely, kind, generous people who seem mostly happy, despite living a hard material life and having the usual life difficulties like illness, infertility, loss. Each person greets everyone they encounter in a room, outside, or on the road. They shake hands (or do a mutual hand to shoulder greeting), exchange pleasantries, chat a bit. And if it’s the first time they meet that day, they show DELIGHT at seeing each other again - including family members and neighbors that see each other EVERY day! Delight! (Ok, if people are in conflict over land or money or village politics, the pleasantries are perfunctory, but generally it’s like: “Wonderful, it’s a new day and here we are again!”)
One night I went with some villagers into the provincial capital to have supper with their relative who is an MD there, which was a special treat for everyone. Riding back in the middle of a windy sharp desert cold night, bouncing around over a horribly rutted dirt road in an ancient HiLux pickup, I was freezing in the cab with the driver. Everyone else of all ages was either in the open bed of the truck (ladies and children) or on top of a metal frame high over the truck bed (men). They were bumping along in the cold and talking, joking, laughing, singing, having a good time - happy to be together, happy to have seen relatives (the doctor’s wife and kids) they hadn’t seen in a WEEK, happy to have had an unusual evening out at the doctor’s home in the “city.”
Whereas in our country we have so much, but it seems when bad things happen we let them throw us off stride more and let worry and anxiety diminish or overcome our ability to enjoy our friends, families, neighbors, and communities - and even our own lives (too bad, since ultimately that’s all we have).
One night I went with some villagers into the provincial capital to have supper with their relative who is an MD there, which was a special treat for everyone. Riding back in the middle of a windy sharp desert cold night, bouncing around over a horribly rutted dirt road in an ancient HiLux pickup, I was freezing in the cab with the driver. Everyone else of all ages was either in the open bed of the truck (ladies and children) or on top of a metal frame high over the truck bed (men). They were bumping along in the cold and talking, joking, laughing, singing, having a good time - happy to be together, happy to have seen relatives (the doctor’s wife and kids) they hadn’t seen in a WEEK, happy to have had an unusual evening out at the doctor’s home in the “city.”
The rest of us should live life with such joy.
I wish I did.
I worry, about stupid and imagined things as well as about the kind of important things that informed discerning HBBers are concerned about while the sheeple graze contentedly until the shearing…
Gorgeous story, hip. Thanks for this.
Testify. Super story. Thanks.
“There’s a good chance we’ll stop lodging our pet dogs in luxury spas while we’re out of town, and just pay a neighbor kid a couple of bucks to come over and feed them every afternoon.”
I wouldn’t do this unless I wanted the dog to starve. Todays kids wouldn’t show up as they are too engrossed in constant texting of usless gibberish and video games paid for by Mommy & Daddy. I had to hire an adult who was motivated by the need to make a few extra $$ walking the dog and she proved not only reliable but even went out of her way to take the dog to play dates at the dog park.
I used to do dog-sitting. While some of the dogs were real sweethearts, most were bigger pains in the you-know-what than most people I know.
Am very glad to no longer be in that business.
Slim: your decision was dogmatic.
I think he was just barking up the wrong tree.
The most annoying thing I saw during the housing boom are parents spending butt loads of money planning huge parties for their 1/2/3 year old kids. Once I heard a couple spent around $10,000 and they were in their early 20 something with average income (<$80,000 for both). Crazy.
I’m seeing that on a lesser scale here..parents without a pot to pi$$ in lavishing new “toy” ATV’s on their little 3 yo, 4 yo studs. Like, every year a newer bigger model.
I can’t believe the crap they buy them, and the huge parties for a kid who’s not even into socializing with his own age group yet much less a yard full of adults.
Seriously, Montana. I see it here, too. What is that all about?
Hi Alena,
Greatly enjoyed your message; I appreciate what you have to say and how you say it.
To my mind, direct firsthand personal experience is the best teacher. I notice that we both had 40 year HS reunions this year, and so are close together in age. We both had the oppportunity to experience life in the USA in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s etc.
I grew up on a dairy farm in Orange County, New York. I learned that dairy farming does not generate a lot of extra cash or put your name in the newspaper. Cows need to be milked twice a day 365 a year so vacations and farming don’t go together. I learned that actions and inaction all have their consequences, known or unknown. Also, I realized didn’t want to spend the rest of my life dairy farming. I didn’t.
But in line with your post today, my early life taught me that there is no substitute for hard work, for planning ahead, for saving money, for listening to your elders, for doing the best you can, every day, with what you have to work with. Money does not guarantee happiness; and family, friends, and neighbors can bring exceptionally welcome relief to unbearable situations.
Today we live in a land that over time built its future on a shaky pile of debt. Consumption and spending far beyond what was necessary became normal. Today politicians and the media suggest it is possible to spend our way to prosperity. Evidently, managing our expectations is easier than managing the consequences of failed policy.
In short, Alena, I agree that a certain cleansing is inevitable, whether we like it or not. Whether we want it or not, it’s coming.
Good post blue.
ditto
Now this is the Blue I like and can agree with 100%.
You take care of yourself
Hey SF Gal,
Sometimes I’m like that bratty little kid on the train, screaming and carrying on, can’t sit still, everything’s a disaster and he can’t stand it.
Takes a while and then the kid realizes we’re all on the same train and when we get there, we’ll ALL be there.
Thanks; I bid you peace.
blue, that’s a nice explanation. Next time I get aggravated at something you post, I’ll think: “Hey, blue’s kind of ‘ate-up’ today.”
Whatever anyone thinks or says about anything, aggravation is a waste of energy anyway.
“I grew up on a dairy farm in Orange County, New York.”
Tell us more. When? What was 100 getting then? What size parlor? Bale or buy?
I was born in 1951 and by 1969 was out of high school and the farm and into college. This was in Mt. Hope township, between Otisville (where there is now a fine prison), and Middletown, where there still is not much. We didn’t have a parlor, had a De Laval collection system where you brought the stainless to the cows, with cans in the cooler at first and then upgraded to a bulk tank about 1964. Milked from 85-100 head. There was about 200 acres to mow and rake and bale which we did, but still had to buy feed supplement in those nice burlap bags that weighed about 100 pounds, or so it seemed. What we got for a hundredweight of milk I really don’t remember exactly (maybe around $5 or $6?) but I do know it varied with the butterfat content which was always higher in the springtime when the grass was greener and more clover to be found. What we produced got sold to a co-op. I didn’t want to get too closely involved with the financial end in those days for fear my Dad might expect me to start kicking in some to pay the bills if I knew how tight it really was…
Empathize cobalt,
I just this morning got in my winter hay supply. What a gawd-awful dusty, backbreaking PITA. I’m getting too creaky to stack 75# bags of 4-way anymore. Having to do it for the benefit of a bunch of putrid cows would be insufferable.
Plus, if I hadn’t gotten out of farming, I’d have to be milking cows now at 0420 Arizona time, instead of checking out Ben’s blog, PM prices, and news from Europe.
“…a certain cleansing is inevitable,…”
And I expect I’ll go out squeaky clean, cobalt. Thanks for this post; we’ve lived in “interesting” times, indeed.
According to Sonoma State University sustainabilty project; land usage worldwide.
To sustain the average American’s lifestyle requires 30 acres of land.
Next worst…Canada - 20 acres
Next EU - 15 acres
Developing world - 2 acres.
There are 8 acres per person on this planet.
So Americans can only survive, because the rest of the world uses so little.
But, the key is that all acres are *not* created equal.
Most of the US is temperate. Most of the soil arable and there is lots of water. And plenty of coast lines to boot.
How is that information of any use without knowing what they mean by “land usage”?
It has nothing to do with population density.. hmmm…
What super secret formula explains how those evil, greedy overweight Americans manage to gobble up so much of the earth’s precious land and natural resources by way of their wasteful, selfish lifestyle?
Nice work.
I am of the same camp. I drive a 97 Jeep, do not own a flat screen tv, no watch on my wrist, $10 haircuts and have no debt and almost a 1/2 mill cash in the bank, waiting for a screaming deal on a house and some investment props.
A wristwatch isn’t exactly a luxury item, you can get a decent one for 15 bucks at target.
$15? The dollar store by my house has quite a nice collection.
A wristwatch is a luxury when you’re as cheap as CVG.
I dont want to look like I have no taste. lol!
“Land of manana” hated watches any way.
FWIW, I don’t wear a watch either. I broke every single one I ever had.
I don’t bother wearing watches anymore. They don’t keep time when they’re on me for longer than 12 hours. My friends speculate that I emit some sort of uncanny time-warping field, but I think it’s because I often see a frog or a penny in some water and eagerly stick my hand in to get it, and then notice too late that I’m wearing a watch on that hand.
I have to keep track by my cell phone, which I do not keep attached to my person, or else it wouldn’t work either.
But it’s true—I notice how some people have an internal clock? I have none. Not even one speck of internal clock. I am the most deficient in internal time-telling of anyone I’ve ever met in my whole life. It could be an hour, it could 9 hours, it could be 5 minutes, unless I’m out where the sun is, I genuinely would not know. It’s all a figurative river, with eddies and bobbing up and down and so forth.
)
But, on the other hand, if you were to blindfold me, hang me upside down in a cocoon, beat me with riding crops and then fly me anywhere in the world and chuck me into the woods*, I could unwrap myself, get up, and set off unerringly for home, with no hesitation at all. I’ll know exactly what direction it is.
(After I killed whoever hit me with the riding crop, of course. AND bought some local shoes.
Weird, huh? It’s one of those ’silver lining’ trade-offs, maybe.
*This is, in fact, a fantasy of mine…
Haw haw!
I have to say (sheepishly) I collect watches and have paid retail for them. I have two Batman watches, a Superman watch that glows in the dark when you push on the stem, and a few Mickey Mouse watches. I’m always looking for a different or unique theme watch.
I don’t bother wearing watches anymore. They don’t keep time when they’re on me for longer than 12 hours. My friends speculate that I emit some sort of uncanny time-warping field I’ve known quite a few people with the same problem. All women. Each weird in a valuable way.
I have that problem with credit cards, so I stopped using them. Seriously, I demagnetize them or something, and for years I thought those swiper things were a flawed technology because they never worked for me.
I’ve also heard that eelskin has the same effect. Do your women friends have eelskins?
My cellphone tells me the time when I’m out. Clocksdo the same when I’m home. I did wear a watch in my pre-cellphone days.
“More to the point, civilian ammunition sales are some of the highest ever recorded.”
Don’t overlook the fact that this is due, in large part, to US gun dealers supplying munitions for the Mexican drug lords’ war on humanity.
Not to mention fear of Obama’s gun policies. Sales of guns and ammo went through the roof when he was elected.
Dont show this to the People In Orange County California
If they lost there home, now they live In apartment complexs or renting, still driving SUV’s, BMW’s, Porch Cheyeens, Desinger glasses, purses, watches, it hasn’t change at all here!
I’m better then you addittude..
And those that didnt buy a home In 05′ did the above anyways just to keep up!
Twue, twue, MikeD. I grabbed the kid and left Orange Country for good when my stepson’s classmate got a golf course for his bar mitzva. Sheesh.
I’ve always thought the bar mitzva crowd had one thing right. On high holy days they charge for a seat at the service. They get their $ up front. Smart move. All religions are a business.
The OC is just a big cage. Even the beaches are ruined now.
At least they still have Disneyland.
Can you name the truck with four wheel drive,
Smells like a steak, and seats thirty five?
Canyonero! Canyonero!
Well, it goes real slow with the hammer down,
It’s the country-fried truck endorsed by a clown,
Canyonero! Canyonero!
Hey, hey!
Twelve yards long, two lanes wide,
Sixty five tons of American pride!
Canyonero! Canyonero!
Top of the line in utility sports,
Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts!
Canyonero! Canyonero!
She blinds everybody with her super high beams,
She’s a squirrel-squasher, deer-smackin’ drivin’ machine,
Canyonero! Canyonero! Canyonero!
Whoa, Canyonero! Whoooooaaaa!
I kike the part where it runs a school bus off the road and the kids all salute the Canyonero.
Ha!
That’s the best song bastardization we’ve seen in awhile.
I want one.
Joey, you are INCORRIGIBLE!
heh..
Well, i been window shopping for a motor home for quite a while.. those lyrics sorta fit the bill. Whatever I end up with, even in the smaller range, is bound to be lots bigger than a Hummer.
@joeyinCalifornia
Your life in this world requires land use - I’m not so sure what’s so difficult to understand.
Eg. Americans are the most obese nation in the world. How do they become obese? By taking in more calories than they need. Where do calories come from? From produce which requires land( and water etc.)
Ditto energy - America makes up 5% of the world’s population but uses 40% of the energy resources.
Ditto trash - produces 33% of the world’s trash - which of course requires land(fill).
And so on…
You forgot the part about how violent Americans are.. shoot’em-ups are their favorite pastime. They’ve all got guns. So, if you’re in the USA, leave for your own safety. If you’re in some poor, foreign country that has little food available, better to stay there and starve than to get caught in the crossfire.
I’d still like to see that formula the child geniuses at Sonoma State dreamed up to satisfy their environmental wacko instructor’s agenda, but got a feeling it’s not for public consumption.
The rest of the world makes up 95% of the world’s population, uses 60% of the energy resources, most of whom do nothing much interesting with it except for perpetuating themselves?
I have a question about razor blades. I certainly don’t use them once and toss them. I shave with them until they noticiably are losing their edge - maybe 2 or 3 weeks worth of use. Isn’t this normal, or am I some sort of masochistic cheapskate?
Last night I watched a film on PBS about an English neurosurgeon who does outreach medicine in the Ukraine. He remarked that the cranial perforators (essentially a drill bit,) he’d brought with him from London are only used once and then discarded. They cost $130 apiece, and his hospital typically goes through about ten in a week. The Ukraine surgeon replied that in his clinic, they use one for ten years.
Maybe our tossing surgical parts is part of the overall practice of “defensive medicine”. Better toss after one use than get sued.
Razor blades are prone to rusting. While it’s not visible to the naked eye, a blade’s edge will begin rusting immediately when it contacts water and air.
A few square inches of hair and skin are not enough to dull a hardened, high carbon steel blade after a few shaves.
Look at a blade under a microscope, and the tiny rust pits on the edge are obvious, and that’s what will quickly dull it.
Same goes for potato peelers and similar tools.
So, by cleaning and drying a blade it will stay sharp a lot longer. I carry one disposable blade in my suitcase and musta used it 20 times over several years .. still sharp enough to use. Just don’t put it away wet.
Yeah I rinse mine out after use, shake it off, and leave it on the countertop. Here in the West the humidity is so low that I’m sure it’s completely dry in half an hour.
Here in the West the humidity is so low that I’m sure it’s completely dry in half an hour. Here in the Midwest nothing ever really gets dry.
masochistic cheapskate
Uh, we call that gleefully - perhaps even smugly - frugal here, dennis.
speaking of that $130 drill bit skull bone perforator thingy, which i guess is maybe a half-inch twist drill bit.. A fine little professional quality industrial bit is probably gonna cost me about $30 tops, and that’s expensive. That thing will be a precision bit, cut through miles of steel without resharpening and last just about forever if used properly.
I would guess that all medical instruments, machinery and supplies are equally over priced for whatever reasons.
Here price is inflated by 400% or more, and that drill bit might be a conservative example. That’s where I would concentrate a good portion of my efforts if I were charged with reducing the cost of medical care.
We’ve become so specialized we can’t even cook our own food anymore, let alone produce it.
Dinner tonight…
Sam’s Club had boneless pork loin on for $1.38/lb. I got the smallest one they had for about $7. Poach/roasted a chunk in wine/teriyaki and served it with applesauce and cottage roasted potatoes. Veggies included neighbor’s tomatos and my zuchini.
Tomorrow maybe pork sauted in Marsala with onions and mushrooms over a bed of noodles.
This afternoon I bit the bullet and went over to the Nampa Brewer’s Center. http://nampabrewers.com/Home_Page.php Got some yeast etc. to turn my Cab into wine. This is the first year of production for my Cab vines and I should get about 2 gallons of grapes - what’s that, a gallon of wine?
I will post this again as my initial pst had zero comments.
2009-09-15 17:32:48
Ahansen,
When you say Ben needs help…I hear that to mean financial. If I’m off-base, just call me stupid.
But that opens a question I’ve longed to ask. The information I’ve gleaned here over the years has saved me hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I’ve given (gladly) to Ben a number of times over the years - usually in increments of 50 or 100 dollars. I always felt this was a weenie amount based on the value I get here by the excellent core of HBB smart folks - on all financial topics not just housing.
When I’ve sent $100 bucks I feel like a dufus based on the savings I’ve earned and I don’t think any of those payments have been acknowledged…which is OK as my Fidelity fund doesn’t thank me when I put money in their account either.
I guess the question is - I value all I have gleaned from this site and spend time here every day. I would be willing to pay a regular subscription fee if someone could set something up. I am in no way suggesting making this a pay site - but someone figure a payment matrix that would make this financially viable for Ben and then let us support that level on a voluntary basis.
Hi Watching,
What I meant is that Ben is very busy and doesn’t have the time to post to and monitor the blog every day, so once a week I have been doing these guest posts for him. But absolutely. I don’t think he makes any money on this, and our donations mostly go for upkeep and bandwidth etc.
Why don’t you write to him directly and suggest this? I’m sure he appreciates your support. If everyone who reads the blog sent him even one percent of what it’s saved them over the years, Ben would be a wealthy man!
Thanks!
“We’ve become so specialized we can’t even cook our own food anymore, let alone produce it.”
Thank you, Norman Borlaug, for the fact that unlike my grandparents, my wife and I don’t have to devote upwards of 50 percent of our collective waking hours running a home food production operation.
* The Wall Street Journal
* OPINION
* SEPTEMBER 16, 2009
The Man Who Defused the ‘Population Bomb’
One of America’s greatest heroes remains little known in his home country.
By GREGG EASTERBROOK
Norman Borlaug—arguably the greatest American of the 20th century—died late Saturday after 95 richly accomplished years. The very personification of human goodness, Borlaug saved more lives than anyone who has ever lived. He was America’s Albert Schweitzer: a brilliant man who forsook privilege and riches in order to help the dispossessed of distant lands. That this great man and benefactor to humanity died little-known in his own country speaks volumes about the superficiality of modern American culture.
Born in 1914 in rural Cresco, Iowa, where he was educated in a one-room schoolhouse, Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work ending the India-Pakistan food shortage of the mid-1960s. He spent most of his life in impoverished nations, patiently teaching poor farmers in India, Mexico, South America, Africa and elsewhere the Green Revolution agricultural techniques that have prevented the global famines widely predicted when the world population began to skyrocket following World War II.
…
Norman Borlaug—arguably the greatest American of the 20th century … He spent most of his life in impoverished nations, patiently teaching poor farmers in India, Mexico, South America, Africa and elsewhere the Green Revolution agricultural techniques that have prevented the global famines widely predicted …
Erm, that’s one way to look at his accomplishments, I suppose.
Another is that he encouraged monocultured crops in place of genetic diversity; encouraged locals to spurn the crops that had sustained them for generations; encouraged heavy pesticide and water use; encouraged the profligate use of biotech, even in cases where its usefulness was dubious; encouraged cultivation that often didn’t make environmental sense for particular areas (e.g., high topsoil erosion, etc.); and paved the way for multi-national corporations to insert themselves into even the humblest backwaters of the globe.
Like many other mid-century evangelists of progress (Robert Moses comes to mind), Borlaug’s track record is decidedly mixed — at best. It comes as no surprise that the WSJ’s notoriously retrograde opinioneers would think otherwise.
So, too, would be the teeming millions of parents whose children didn’t die of starvation before their eyes, and the countries who finally had the economy to join the 20th century. But yeah. I’m conflicted on this one. As in all technologies, there is room for some serious tweaking.
* INVESTING
* SEPTEMBER 16, 2009
Forget Conventional 401(k)s; Think Goat Cheese and Fennel
By STEPHANIE SIMON
SANTA FE, N.M. — Woody Tasch wants to rewrite the gospel of financial growth.
A former venture capitalist, Mr. Tasch now travels the country warning that money moves too fast. Billions zip through global markets each day, bundled into financial packages so complex that it is hard to know what you own.
His antidote: A fundamental shift in our attitude toward investing. Taking a page from the Slow Food movement, which calls on consumers to take the time to savor home-cooked meals, Mr. Tasch dubbed his philosophy Slow Money.
(Ed Lobaugh fed his herd of 65 Nubian goats Thursday morning at the Old Windmill Dairy.)
The crux of the movement is persuading investors to put some of their assets into businesses they can see, smell and even taste — to measure growth not by the flashing numbers on a stock ticker, but by the slow ripening of a tomato.
That isn’t dramatic. But Mr. Tasch argues that investing in sustainable local agriculture will yield an enviable return — just not the type of return many are used to.
If all goes well, investors will see a modest 3% profit, maybe 6% over many years. But Mr. Tasch has a broader balance sheet in mind. The real dividend, he says, is diversity: In an era of industrial agriculture, where millions of acres are planted with the same variety of corn and millions of pigs are bred to be genetically similar, small local farms are the ultimate hedge fund. They preserve heirloom seeds and quirky breeds; strengthen the soil with organic nutrients; create local markets that connect producer directly to consumer.
…
Now that I live alone this house seems to big for just me . Actually I don’t live alone ,I have my dog still .
Can’t say that I don’t value creature comforts ,and I know that during my life I have been blessed with material abundance compared to a lot of people . I remember in my twenties I use to eat lobster at least once a week .I have no illusion that it isn’t lucky being blessed with being born
at a good time in the right place . Doesn’t mean that I didn’t work hard my whole life ,but shit, being born in America when opportunities were abundant was a blessing .
What bothers me the most is that the younger generations are being cheated regarding opportunity ,and with many other things .If people choose to live on less ,that is one thing ,but to not have opportunity to have whatever dream you have ,or be able to create ,is sad .
I was happy when I was younger when I had less ,but I still had a Country that allowed me the opportunity to have more if that was my goal .
In spite of Americans being brainwashed by advertising to consume ,
or keep up with your neighbor ,being poor is no day at the beach ,and
I would hope that the United State can maintain a strong middle class .
I
Good post Wiz. Are you thinking about down-sizing?
Also, yeah, it was great being a kid when I was a kid. Now everything is changed. I was lucky to have the chances to do the things I did.
The life of Bonanza and Andy Griffith were so much better in mind. Then the Beatles! Then playing sports in a little Christian town, (Greenville, Il),
Then the easy availability of low interest student loans for school, the roads were less congested, and I drove 100 miles each way to law school. We didn’t have a pot to pee in, but we were happy.
Ate-up…Don’t know if you will see this response to your response .
Yep ,I’m thinking of down=sizing ,but who in the hell can sell right now
without taking a big loss . My dog likes the place .
I have these forboding feelings too. Everything is going well relative to recent years, where I was stuck in a job that paid sporadically, to now where I get paid every two weeks like clockwork. (Amazing the difference that makes.) We sold and bought a less expensive house, our vacation home overseas is rented, our only debt besides 45% of the house is 0% credit cards… even the roses and the obviously correlated 401k are responding to my wife’s new vitamin treatment.
It feels like a huge layoff or another hurricane must be coming