Kickin back and watchin

And that is just about the extent of what I have been doing the last week since my last post.

Not a whole lot to add to consensus amongst freedom lovers. Yes, there is more shit taking place within the world. Yes, London is burning
(For James D, LOL, you asked for it)
Yes, the Military is getting a handful of the Classic Shit. Yes, the world economy is teetering on the brink of implosion. , , ,,,, @$%%%!!!!!

I just haven't that much to say about it all since we have seen it coming, See more coming once this is expended, and When that gets expended, even more to boot.

Why bitch? Nothing I can do to stop it and in many ways, I kinda look forward to see what way history falls. There is no doubt about it, everyday that goes by, we watch further pages of history being written. The Tribulations of the world are coming faster and harder with decreasing lapses of stability. Only one thing to do and that is to "Grab your socks and hang on". We may get fucked in the processes we see, we may not, but the Events WILL unfold whether we like it or not.


OK, Now on to one thing that had been on my mind. I read Bill's post the other day and I have little to add to or disagree with. I would like to reach a little deeper into it with an example though. AND explanation of where things went awry in some sense.

Recently I was looking for a masons hammer. You know the ones, squared head, long pick like extension on the other side for chipping brick and mortar.
Tried to find a good one lately? Finding one is easy. Finding a GOOD one is much more difficult. Most of the ones that I found were Cast. CAST! Just how is a cast iron hammer supposed to withstand the rigors of breaking shit?
Oh, that's right, its not; its disposable so that when you break it you will return and get a new one.
Seems that is the round up of tools as of late. IF you are on a budget and looking for tools; you are pretty much SOL for quality. IF you find quality, you will pay through the nose for it. AND sometimes, that quality is only marginally better than the Chinese knockoffs.

Short story, I found my hammer. It wasn't cheap but it was reasonable, And, its about twice my age. If found it at a roadside stand here in the state by some guy that buys up estates and sells off the 'junk' he finds. Granted, I needed to find a handle for it but that is simple. This hammer still has the hammer marks in it from when it was forged. I will re-harden and temper it but this one should outlast me the same as it outlasted its original owner.

BUT, where did we go awry? INFLATION. This all goes back to that argument about the Federal Reserve. The way our economy is set up for "growth" is to grow debt. This works well for the "Box Store" up to a point but it really kills the little guy on the corner and especially hurts all of us. Our current economy is actually the killer of Capitalism. True Capitalism is beneficial to all parties involved and should be self sustaining. When one of the parties manipulates the system to their benefit, the balance quickly shifts like a load of bricks. The only reason it has taken a hundred years for that shift to take place was due to manipulation by the main parties in the scheme.

(On a side note: Bill, you are a capitalist, by the true meaning of what that means. You believe in honesty with your customers and treating someone with respect, as you show by your commentary about those that are robbing other preppers blind on the seeds. There is nothing wrong with making a profit, but the balance should be that all parties end up the better. )

Once the inflation starting making MASS PRODUCTION the only way to do business, the little guy and the mom and pops were destined to die. I like the nature of Industry standards such as we have with nuts and bolts and the like, but not at the expense of losing the brain power of all those that have to be absorbed by the "industry" to get by. There are many in the world that have solutions to problems but the systems are set up to squash them before they ever get off the kitchen table. You only need to look at history to see that. Look how many Private individuals filed for patents back in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Then compare that to the filings of the last 20 years. Most(though not all) are filed by corporate lawyers for some internal division of said corporation. The Hoops that one has to jump through to get a patent are horrendous. And they say it discourages frivolous inventions. (granted, there will never be a perpetual motion machine but to rule out the little guy while thinking they 'can't come up with original ideas' is just mean.)

Anywho, I have more on that line, it seems lame compared to the fires in the world but it is A symptom of what ails us.
Maybe when it all comes apart, guys like me will be able to float back to the surface and get the wheels back on.