It's new years eve !

Wish I still had that damned dangerously fun black powder cannon !
The one we welded up in high school and used for years afterward.
Not the one that we blew the back off of it.
Not the one that we had to attach a rake too the bottom to keep it from blowing back like a missile at us.
The one where we couldn't quite get the weld right so when we accidentally welded a hole in the thing we then welded a 1/4" x 2 x 2 plate "patch" over the hole. One that we had just 'customized' and bent, I think it might have been on an anvil but I would have to do a verification of that with the other who was there, to roughly the shape of the cannon
The one where if you didn't hold it just right the black powder started falling out around the edges of the patch.
We tended to use as long a wick as possible to provide us ample time to run the hell away from it before it went off. Except for that time when we didn't have any wick left but we did have a lot of beer and, um, "other stuff" so we made a wick out of toilet paper and black powder.
Yes, it did work, sort of, and we didn't even die! Although James was questioning that for a moment since he was the one who actually lit the wick. Actually he still questions it I'm sure

Safety was always first on our minds of course (cause that's what we were thinking of while fiddling with the thing.)
But we were never inebriated at all. [disclaimer]
Lets' see, what did we shoot out of that thing any way.
Rocks,
glass,
ball bearings,
Hot sauce bottle bombs with a pre-lit wick. (yes the wick has too be slightly longer than the cannons wick and the timing for lighting is also crucial.
adjustable wrench,
ok how about etc. you get the point.
Admittedly we mostly simply overloaded it with powder and newspaper for a "blank" shot just to listen to and watch the big bang.
We once tried an experiment and called a friend about a half mile away across the field and through the woods.

Somewhere thereabouts ya know?

We loaded one of those "blanks", aimed it in the general direction of his house and BANG! he called seconds later to explain how his windows shook. I'm not really sure why we didn't just stay on the phone? But

We celebrated with more...

It was fun and harmless. Well, it was fun.

And we named it Armageddon.
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Whee fun ride on the Dow right now. breaking Newss! We'll let you know what that is as soon as we try to fix it. We suspect that it shouldn't be too l

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Merry Recession Christmas

Well here I sit waiting for the kids to get up so they can hit the tree and unwrap all the few packages that are under it this year. Few packages? Yes, few packages. As a matter of fact the only packages that are under that little tree are the ones who came in for the holidays from other peoples places for the kids.

No No No, wait. We're not destitute. But we are conservative and frugal in this uncertain time so I made a deal with the kids. And they actually have gotten pretty excited about it. Yes, we are going shopping as a family for Christmas this weekend when I suspect the retailers will be simply drop kicking that unsold crap out the door for pennies on the dollar. Hey! what better time to quickly use up a gift card or 2 also. Better hurry, who knows how long before the store that is supposed to redeem that card goes into bankruptcy. That's pretty much what seeded this whole post christmas holiday shopping spree idea anyway. We've got to get out into the mess anyway to quickly redeem a couple cards so LETS GO! What a feeding frenzy we are in for.

That's not to say we haven't been doing some of the traditional christmas stuff leading up to it. We never do go overboard on all the hoopla that society has forced upon us for this holiday but we do have a tree. I fought around in my head a little about what the hell to do about that this year. And then I saw it, sitting there in it's cardboard box all lonely in the corner of the entrance to the store. I hadn't noticed it there on my way in.
No,I didn't get us a live tree, (or a cut and dying one). I saw a small 4 ft made in a China sweat shop stupid little plastic tree with dust on the box in a bin in the corner of the rather large entryway for more than half off the already discounted price and I snagged it. Well, I should say I picked it up, went back inside the store and paid for it.

I guess I sort of felt a little like Charlie Brown when he brought that sick little tree back for the rest of the kids. But it turned out great. You see, I think we might have, no actually I know that we have just exactly 2 small glass christmas tree globe ornaments. That's it that's all. So we pulled out the yarn, the scissors, the popcorn thread and needles, the crayons and markers and glue, the bag of little plastic eyes, and most of all we brought out our family camaraderie and imaginations and we decorated that stupid little plastic sweat shop tree.
But to give credit where credit is due I should say the kids happily created stuff and decorated that stupid little plastic sweat shop tree and I helped seed some ideas and offer some help as they needed it.

And we love what that Stupid little plastic sweat shop tree has become with it's popcorn and yarn garlands, it's snowmen cut from wrapping paper, (wrapping paper left over and saved from last year no doubt so I squeaked out of that purchase as well this year by being a pack rat with intent), it's yarn octopi with plastic eyes, it's 2 small glass orbs, and it's little pc of white paper rolled in a tube and an angel drawn on it to top off the tree.

We stood back, looked at that tree, smiled, and hugged each other.

And nothing could beat that for this holiday.
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Cashing in on the APOCALYPSE

Feeling down and depressed by all the fear mongering going on by the political, financial, environmental, and theological doomsayers?

Have you like many others been convinced that the apocalypse is soon to be upon us?

NOW there is a reason to embrace the apocalypse with open arms! And be sure to open your wallets as well for the coming wave of wealth to be created by the end of times.

I have invested and so should you! Hey! we've got the best seat in the house of history for this action packed mess of doom! Therefore I have been searching out ways to "GET RICH ON THE APOCALYPSE" while sitting back and watching the show!

So lets go! Times a wasting! especially when there's not much of it left.

While I am still looking for a mutual fund which focuses on buying TIME there are a couple apocalyptic funds out there already and my investment is already bucking the system to prove overall gains in an otherwise down market.

Global water fund


Global alternative energy fund


Global buying time fund
whoops, doesn't exist yet but we're working on it.

buy time (definition)- act so as to delay an event or action in order to gain an advantage

money moneY monEY moNEY mONEY MONEY!


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The coming retail bailout? etc..........

I have a theory. I can't help but think that in part the reason the big 3 auto manufacturers are so aggressively pursuing this bailout package right now before the end of the year is because they have a better chance of securing it right now. That is I mean before the end of the christmas season. It might be a lot more difficult after the big retailers etc. try to get a chunk of it as well after this.

I know I'm not going to buy a bunch of that plastic crap produced everywhere else on the planet for the sake of artificially propping up the root of the problem anyway.
Does anyone else at all see that the root of the problem is simply that we just don't produce anything any more? And in order to fill the void of true substantial real production of tangible assets we have created a system of false currency that is nothing more than one of those pyramid schemes that finally falls when the scam is found out??? A Smoke and mirrors scheme that attempts to hold onto validity when what's real has already left the building?
Back in my youth in the eighties I remember getting simply weird looks or even downright "what ever's" when mentioning anything about the coming problem of our loss of productivity and manufacturing. I mean, I remember sitting in at a political action sort of meeting mentioning that the most important thing that can be done for this country is to do anything possible to keep our industry here in the U.S. because we can't sustain ourselves as simply a consumer and service driven economy. Silence,
just silence
as they stared at me and changed the subject.
WHAT! Maybe it was that I was a long haired eccentric radical sort of individual in a room of helmet haircuts and fake jewelry. Maybe it was because I was so much younger than all those self serving special interest laden fux. Maybe it's because I called them shortsighted that they couldn't get it.
For whatever reason I never went back to that room full of idiots. Instead I screamed at as much of the world a possible as loud as possible as often as possible utilizing as much amplification* and ticket sales we could garner as until it became impossible because I had to get to work producing something tangible. *[I'll link this reference at the bottom of this post]

And NOW! as I have produced something for many years I want to start screaming and mentioning those unmentionable things again I am yet again stifled. How? because now after a few decades of pilfering our dollar and regulating our industry to death, and creating subservient needy sheeple through our educational system and 'entitlements', those few dollars I have accumulated and subsequently been massively devalued by those same self serving special interest laded manipulating fux don't go far when falling on robotic sheeple ears.

What happened to the bootstraps that we as a people and nation used to be able to pull ourselves up by and get to doing that thing that so many thought impossible? Whatever it was that we decided that we thought we wanted that to be. They are now made in china and when we try to pull them up they break, releasing a whole myriad of cancer causing particulates. Well at least that way we can continue to subsidize the pharm industry to research what's wrong with us and how they can help medicate our minds so that we don't get depressed and worry about the problem.

Maybe we should be medicated and depressed when we see the aliens coming with hungry stomachs. There are a lot of us, a whole lot. I hope they don't treat us like we did the buffalo so long ago. I mean, if they're going to see us as stock, remember, we're not infinite. Please look at us as a sustainable resource. But don't let us think for ourselves too much. It could lead to dissent. Which might cause us to get up from our couches and actually do something about the problem.

Wow, hindsight is 20/20 when your head is being shoved right up it.
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* BLOODBATH

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Global Warming VS pollution in general. The skewing of a reasonable debate.

Just for the point of clarification. I live in An earth sheltered home.I just thought that before I get into the meat of the subject here that I dispel first any forethought that I am any kind of greenie, tree hugger, etc etc etc, or something. As a matter of fact I am very much not any sort of radical such as that. I live here, bought this place, and believe in this type of structure for very few reasons. It just makes damn sense from a variety of viewpoints. Number one is savings of the almighty dollar and the desire to NOT pay the subsidized, government created monopolistic utilities any more than I need too. And, I love the location and setting.
I'm frankly sick of the hypocrisy. I take the stance that pollution, in just about every definition, including that which causes an exacerbation of the greenhouse effect, effects us in a whole myriad of ways. First and foremost it is a direct infringement on our personal well being.
Now, to further clarify something. I do think the world is warming up. Do I think it is all at the root our own cause? Of course not. I'm sick and tired of the media touting only part of the issue to cause such alarm. Look at the facts of science. THE WHOLE DAMNED SOLAR SYSTEM IS HEATING UP! Yes, all of it! this is not just a problem on earth and I really don't care at all if it's a cyclical event or not. (I will not fall trap to any argument otherwise that purportedly justifies itself by our cold summer here. Those are also easily explained if any one feels the need to do the research. But I will not get into that discussion or argument here as it really has no viable application to this post.) It is everywhere in our solar system. The issue here is that we are producing enough pollution in a variety of fashions that exacerbates the problem intensely. It just confuses me no end that people cannot or will not get it! The debate is ludicrous. The debate should not be how can we stop global warming, The debate should be how can we limit pollution in general? this is a personal property issue! If what a company or individual does effects me then I want the legal recourse to sue their asses off. That's right, stop dumping crap into the atmosphere for me and my children to breathe, drink and ingest, to rain back down on us, to exacerbate the effect set into motion by Ra.
Yes, I'll accept not being able to go to the store to buy yet more frivolous crap that I don't really need anyway. Sorry if that hurts the economy a bit by limiting the amount of useless crap we manufacture for our consumption. At least we'll be saving some of our resources for the future generations.
Well, at least that way we won't have as much of a problem and controversy of giving the mining companies rights to drill or exhume in the future. After all our resources are essentially depleted I don't think any one will have any problem letting them mine the massive piles of trash and garbage we have so conveniently built out of our natural resources.
Hey! maybe they can mine all the gasses we have put into the atmosphere as well! why mine Jupiter's atmosphere in the future for the gas! Just keep pumping it into our own so that we can mine it here!
This of course after we've all but eliminated ourselves by filling the atmosphere with enough elements to justify the investment to mine it.
Oh, and that brings up yet another problem doesn't it? Is all of this really caused by the simple math that there are just way too many of us?
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