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.
Joined: Jun 15, 2007 Posts: 594 Location: St.Albert, AB
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 4:44 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
I just turned 19 a couple months back, I'm sort of in a similar situation. I'm the oldest one in the family, I had a black belt in Karate by the time I was 12 (a day before my 13th birthday) and I got 80's for the vast majority of my schooling. I was in an 'over 125' IQ class in junior high school. I had a prominent position at our provincial Legislature by the age of 17 and had done two trips to Quebec to force myself to learn French (fairly close to bilingual after the second trip). I'm my parents 'golden egg'; I HAVE to do well to show the other 3 kids how things are supposed to be done.
But I can't. I finished my first year of college with terrible grades. I walked out of most of my econ classes. I tell my parents that I'm going to Europe and visiting ecovillages but they just think I'm doing the ol' teenage trip around the world and back home in 8 months routine. I could be back. I'd be surprised though. Nothing more than a fuel dependent suburb to come back to with parents too nervous to make any big decisions when the bush comes to shove.
I could never get up and say to my family, "Tomorrow I'm leaving to an ecovillage." You have to coax them into thinking you are still the young naive teen that just needs some travel time to figure things out. My flight to Quebec leaves in 8 days and I'll be visiting ecovillages throughout the province. From there I'll be going to Germany to visit ecovillages in Denmark and Norway. I intend to pick ONE to stay at before my money runs out. What else is there to do? Go to college and expect things to stay the same over the next 4 years while the price of oil has doubled in the last 12 months?
I believe that 2009 will be the last year to really find yourself a stable place to stay. No ecovillage is going to take in newcomers when costs are escalating and people are somewhat unsure of what to do. In 2010, England starts becoming a serious oil importer, Cantarell is in the dumps and Chinese-Indian growth is still steady. Visit some ecovillages or learn a post-peak skill...that's all you can do....(I'm in the same boat :D )
All the best,
Nicholai
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 4:48 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
joeltrout wrote:
MadScientist wrote:
name 1 reason?
He has less than $15,000 to his name, he does not own any land basically is living under his parents. Where is his source of income? One big expense he will incur is HEALTH INSURANCE. If you don't have health insurance and hurt yourself you are screwed financially. Even simple dentist bills can add up quickly.
Good point. But most medical insurers won't remain solvent. You need economies of scale for that, which they will lose. They also hold a lot of garbage debt, in the form of crap mortgages and other financial "instruments"
If the govt ever does initiate a make work project, the first thing they will do is restructure medical insurance, to provide very basic care for everyone, at a break even cost.
Get ready for a breakdown of the old system with a return to basic sanity, in a few areas.
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 4:53 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
Nicholai wrote:
I just turned 19 a couple months back, I'm sort of in a similar situation. I'm the oldest one in the family, I had a black belt in Karate by the time I was 12 (a day before my 13th birthday) and I got 80's for the vast majority of my schooling. I was in an 'over 125' IQ class in junior high school. I had a prominent position at our provincial Legislature by the age of 17 and had done two trips to Quebec to force myself to learn French (fairly close to bilingual after the second trip). I'm my parents 'golden egg'; I HAVE to do well to show the other 3 kids how things are supposed to be done.
But I can't. I finished my first year of college with terrible grades. I walked out of most of my econ classes. I tell my parents that I'm going to Europe and visiting ecovillages but they just think I'm doing the ol' teenage trip around the world and back home in 8 months routine. I could be back...I'd be surprised though. Nothing more than a fuel dependent suburb to come back to with parents too nervous to make any big decisions when the bush comes to shove.
I could never get up and say to my family, "Tomorrow I'm leaving to an ecovillage." You have to coax them into thinking you are still the young naive teen that just needs some travel time to figure things out. My flight to Quebec leaves in 8 days and I'll be visiting ecovillages throughout the province. From there I'll be going to Germany to visit ecovillages in Denmark and Norway. I intend to pick ONE to stay at before my money runs out. What else is there to do? Go to college and expect things to stay the same over the next 4 years while the price of oil has doubled in the last 12 months?
I believe that 2009 will be the last year to really find yourself a stable place to stay. No ecovillage is going to take in newcomers when costs are escalating and people are somewhat unsure of what to do. In 2010, England starts becoming a serious oil importer, Cantarell is in the dumps and Chinese-Indian growth is still steady. Visit some ecovillages or learn a post-peak skill...that's all you can do....(I'm in the same boat :D )All the best, Nicholai
Nicholai--Perfect example of survival of the fittest. Or survival of the ones having 10 fits over what they see down the road. Good luck, Golden Egg! Hope you get laid, wherever you end up! Oh oh...that might be a bit rude. Oh well, we're all boys after all....wait a minute!!
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 5:08 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
Nicholai wrote:
I'm my parents 'golden egg'; I HAVE to do well to show the other 3 kids how things are supposed to be done.
Agreed. family #1
Quote:
I finished my first year of college with terrible grades. I walked out of most of my econ classes. I tell my parents that I'm going to Europe and visiting ecovillages but they just think I'm doing the ol' teenage trip around the world and back home in 8 months routine.
What are you studying? incidentally this is the point where i enlisted in the USMC. I DONT recommend doing that, but I do appreciate the need to make "your own way in the world", at least for awhile. Young men need real challenges and adversity to see their true potential and our generation hasnt had much to offer in a lot of positive ways. Just more of the usual watch everyone get fat.
Quote:
What else is there to do?
Find what ignites your desire. So that you want to be the very best you can be every day. Women are pretty good at that /wink. But they're just one part of it all. If college doesn't make you feel that way, it's a waste of time.
In the mean time, get some income coming in. At least enough to "survive" on. IMO, small farming communities like are all over the great lakes region are every bit as good, if not better than an "ecovillage".
Quote:
or learn a post-peak skill...
this is really good advice. amazing opportunities ahead for young men with heart. _________________ "The future power is manpower"
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 5:41 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
MadScientist wrote:
Do you really want to try and prove that "living off the fat of the land" with your loved ones is "too good to be true" joel?
Do you own land? Do you own a house? Do you own a car? Do you own assets such as retirement? Do you pay property tax? Do you have homeowners insurance? Do you have car insurance? Do you travel? Do you have a computuer with high speed internet? Do you own (your answer here)?
What allows you to have these pleasures? Money
I am not saying he has to make 6 figures and own a 1,000 acre farm to be happy. But he can't expect to own property and fully provide for himself by with less than $15,000. He has to make money somewhere besides $9/hour.
I just don't like it when people milk taxpayers especially when they don't have medical insurance. People complain about the govt recently bailing out homeowners...well the govt has been bailing out individuals who don't have medical insurance for decades.
joeltrout
Joined: Mar 18, 2006 Posts: 1264 Location: Off with the Fey Folk
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 5:48 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
Hi kid (grin).
My advise is, ignore all of the above, grow a beard, find yourself (above all else) a partner who will love and care for you, enjoy sex, read lots of books (Hemingway, Steinbeck, Satre etc) travel the world, and have as many children as you can stand. You can bore the pants off people later...
Works for me (sorry, why is everyone looking cross?)
JP _________________ I see a dark sail on the horizon
set under a black cloud that hides the sun.
Bring me my broadsword and clear understanding.
Bring me my cross of gold as a talisman.
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 5:56 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
Nicholai wrote:
I could never get up and say to my family, "Tomorrow I'm leaving to an ecovillage." You have to coax them into thinking you are still the young naive teen that just needs some travel time to figure things out. My flight to Quebec leaves in 8 days and I'll be visiting ecovillages throughout the province. From there I'll be going to Germany to visit ecovillages in Denmark and Norway. I intend to pick ONE to stay at before my money runs out.
Who is paying for all your travel?
Nicholai wrote:
What else is there to do? Go to college and expect things to stay the same over the next 4 years while the price of oil has doubled in the last 12 months?
This isn't the first time oil has doubled. Hopefully your ecovillage has internet and you can get back to us in 4 years.
Seriously though, good luck.
joeltrout
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 5:57 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
joeltrout wrote:
MadScientist wrote:
Do you really want to try and prove that "living off the fat of the land" with your loved ones is "too good to be true" joel?
Do you own land? Do you own a house? Do you own a car? Do you own assets such as retirement? Do you pay property tax? Do you have homeowners insurance? Do you have car insurance? Do you travel? Do you have a computuer with high speed internet? Do you own (your answer here)?
What allows you to have these pleasures? Money
I am not saying he has to make 6 figures and own a 1,000 acre farm to be happy. But he can't expect to own property and fully provide for himself by with less than $15,000. He has to make money somewhere besides $9/hour.
I just don't like it when people milk taxpayers especially when they don't have medical insurance. People complain about the govt recently bailing out homeowners...well the govt has been bailing out individuals who don't have medical insurance for decades
you smell like lemming _________________ "The future power is manpower"
Joined: Dec 27, 2004 Posts: 13191 Location: naive idiot fantasy world
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 6:19 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
joeltrout wrote:
well the govt has been bailing out individuals who don't have medical insurance for decades.
Bailing them out by letting them go bankrupt from medical bills? Or what? _________________ "...powerdown so soft and fluffy you'll think you're living in a pillow." - jboogy
Joined: Oct 16, 2004 Posts: 1497 Location: Appalachian Foothills of Virginia
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:07 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
Cashmere wrote:
Skeymoore wrote:
Consider a career in renewable energy, such as wind power, solar power, or geothermal. These will burgeon in the next few years
I completely disagree with this statement. Wind/Solar/Geothermal are all for production of electricity.Electricity is not the problem.
When it gets to the point where coal becomes so expensive that blackouts become common, then wind/solar/GT will be far too expensive to implement. They are tangential players now and they'll always be tangential players.
The only future these technologies have is limited by the extent to which venture capitalists mistakenly invest in it or to the extent the .gov uses tax money to "subsidize" it.
I of course disagree with your scenario as being the most likely.
Carbon taxes, cap and trade, etc. will eventually limit our use of coal, and renewables are well positioned. Nuclear might have a large growth spurt, but it certainly isn't looking that way now, given that the NRC has withdrawn their temporary certification from the 'standardized' designs, sending nuclear design firms back to the drawing board.
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:58 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
Ludi wrote:
joeltrout wrote:
well the govt has been bailing out individuals who don't have medical insurance for decades.
Bailing them out by letting them go bankrupt from medical bills? Or what?
This is why emergency rooms are so crowded. ER have to accept a person and treat them. If the person cannot pay because they have no insurance then the people walk and the hospital foots the bill.
Here in LA illegals go to the ER if they have the flu or other minor illness because the ER has to treat them and give them meds. They cannot turn them away. And illegals are NOT the only ones who do that. Too many people rely on the govt for support because they don't make an effort to hold a job.
My wife and I mentor children from a housing project in LA and most all of the adults there are able to find work if they wanted to. But they don't. They would rather live in govt housing and govt health care. It really bugs me. It doesn't make sense for the govt to help people who could help themselves.
joeltrout
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 10:09 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
MadScientist wrote:
joeltrout wrote:
Do you own land? Do you own a house? Do you own a car? Do you own assets such as retirement? Do you pay property tax? Do you have homeowners insurance? Do you have car insurance? Do you travel? Do you have a computuer with high speed internet? Do you own (your answer here)?
What allows you to have these pleasures? Money I am not saying he has to make 6 figures and own a 1,000 acre farm to be happy. But he can't expect to own property and fully provide for himself by with less than $15,000. He has to make money somewhere besides $9/hour.
I just don't like it when people milk taxpayers especially when they don't have medical insurance. People complain about the govt recently bailing out homeowners...well the govt has been bailing out individuals who don't have medical insurance for decades.
you smell like lemming
So is that a yes or no?
Since you are arguing the point of living off the land then I assume you are living off the land. Is that a correct assumption.
So I figure you own acreage w/ a house free and clear, have livestock, poultry, raise you own fruits/vegetables, and don't rely on outside income from a "corporate job". If you don't live off the land then why encourage somebody to do something that you have never done.
Most people that have acreage w/ a house and are self-sustainable got there after years of work and saving money. I would bet there are very few people here that had their dream property/life when they were 17 years old. They had to work for it.
joeltrout
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 10:45 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
joeltrout wrote:
derekj wrote:
I wish I could wake in my shelter of some sort, go outside, pick a melon for breakfast, work in the garden, do something else productive for the rest of the day (like canning corn for the winter or repairing the bearings on my makeshift wind generator), and eventually sit around with my family and eat fresh white corn until midnight. To me, thats the perfect life. And maybe one day I can live that.
Sounds too good to be true....and it is for many reasons.
and then you go on to explain why YOUR dream is better than HIS.
If his main goal is to "maybe one day have a life like that" it is perfectly feasible. I know this is true because of my own life to date and more than a couple people I know. People who value family and god's green earth a lot more than money.
I think money is important. If it was a lot less important to a lot more people America and the world in general wouldnt be in the trouble it is now. Derek would obviously have to work at not only making enough income to survive, but also building wealth toward his ultimate goal...freedom with his family on his farm.
How many people here are building toward that exact same goal?
You're still in full blown denial Joel. Do you realize that? What have you done to prepare for post peak? _________________ "The future power is manpower"
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:16 pm Post subject: Re: I have a problem
MadScientist wrote:
and then you go on to explain why YOUR dream is better than HIS.
My dream isn't better but it has a laid out plan.
MadScientist wrote:
How many people here are building toward that exact same goal?
The key word is building which probably doesn't mean making minimum wage fullfilling somebody else dream of running a farm.
MadScientist wrote:
You're still in full blown denial Joel. Do you realize that?
Denial of what. Did you see my post above. Me and him are working toward the same goal.
MadScientist wrote:
What have you done to prepare for post peak?
This year I have purchased (along with my brother and parents) 140 acres of land next to the 160 acres our family already owns. I have been purchasing and storing precious metals over the last 5 years.
I started a career in the oil industry. I have been purchasing oil investments for the last 6 years.
I have spent several hundred dollars on materials ie books & magazines to gain knowledge.
I have been growing vegetables and fruit for most of my life. I have been buying monthly bulk orders of freeze dried food.
I set aside 40% of my income so I can fulfill my dreams later in life.
I know how to hunt and fish and currently have over 200 lbs of elk meat in the freezer. Not bad for a 25 year old kid but definitely not complete yet.
joeltrout
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