Like the illusion of Wall Street, with its vast and powerful investment banks, now shuttered, China too is an illusion perpetuated by the Globalists that gave us the 15,000 mile Caesar salad, poisoned cat food and lead based paint on babies' pacifiers. Like the illusion that money would come from thin air to always push housing prices higher, China has spent a generation pursuing its illusion. Pursuing an unattainable dream to be like the West, while 6000 years of its carefully shepherded top soil blows into the sea.
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 6:03 pm Post subject: Post Peak University
I've been angling towards going back to uni this fall, but realizing that I will have to plunge myself $10k into debt to finish, I've started hitting the brakes. So far I haven't needed a degree to get a decent job- finishing school is purely for personal edification, and useless degrees are a time-honored tradition in my family But yeah, ten grand in hock to the US govt. I'm back in the Northwest now and my expenses are comfortably below the poverty line, letting me pursue more time-consuming projects. So I'm exploring other options.
After looking at the crossover between things that have captured my interest lately and the threads in this section of the forums, I'm thinking about doing an intensive year- or two-year project. I'm living in a nice house where the landlord has approved any and all gardening and rainwater-collection projects, and the rent is so low my partner and I don't forsee moving at all unless bugging out comes into play.
(Plausible) projects I'm kicking around:
Forest gardening (nice wooded backyard, backing up to a city park)
Composting
Building raised veg beds
Rainwater-collecting
City chickens!
Home canning/preserving
Beekeeping
Now, as a renter, I can't go full-on homesteader like some people, and I'd like to include some more academically-inclined topics, since the goal is to spend a year really self-educating. What are some other subjects I can add to this list?
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 8:11 pm Post subject: Re: Post Peak University
Well, how about a good study of the history of your area, followed by a detailed study of the geography (rivers, watersheds, general topography, types of soil, etc) there? Also, I myself have had an idea at the back of my mind to try to learn about basic meteorology because one day we won't have the Weather Channel any more. I'm too reliant on just switching on the radar to see if a storm's coming - and I'd like to learn how to read the signs myself. So that might be a good idea too.
Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 4:35 am Post subject: Re: Post Peak University
Laurasia wrote:
Also, I myself have had an idea at the back of my mind to try to learn about basic meteorology because one day we won't have the Weather Channel any more. I'm too reliant on just switching on the radar to see if a storm's coming - and I'd like to learn how to read the signs myself.
Reading the signs yourself is dead easy. Learn to recognize the types of clouds, and to identify where the wind is coming from. That's all there is to it.
The only problem is that you can't predict for longer than a day. There are some long-range rules of thumb that can give you an idea of what the season is going to be like, but that varies from place to place, and you'd better ask local farmers about those.
Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 4:47 am Post subject: Re: Post Peak University
Doly wrote:
There are some long-range rules of thumb that can give you an idea of what the season is going to be like, but that varies from place to place, and you'd better ask local farmers about those.
Thats a good idea. They also know tricks to suggest when is going to be dry and sunny. Good for harvesting and making hay for example. Something to do with leaves being up turned on trees and that sort of thing.
Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 3:32 pm Post subject: Re: Post Peak University
I've decided to sneak into some of the larger lecture courses at the local uni this fall... first on the list is Atmospheric Science 101. So far these look the most interesting:
If there's a hundred other people, no one will care whether I'm there, and I don't care about the credits. Maybe education can be free after all? Or maybe I'm just a freeloader. Oh well. No homework means more time for the garden and the bees.
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But yeah, ten grand in hock to the US govt. I'm back in the Northwest now and my expenses are comfortably below the poverty line, letting me pursue more time-consuming projects. So I'm exploring other options.
