ShopTalk Sunday: Electroculture Experiments Begin!

Awe crap! I don’t need another hobby, really, do I?  Unfortunately, this one just sort of sneaked up on me when my attention was diverted elsewhere. “What is Electroculture?” The best “quick read in” is my friend Robert A. Nelson’s RexResearch site summary and overview paper here: Electro-Culture: Stimulation of plant growth with electricity, magnetism, … Read More

ShopTalk Sunday: Ben Dover’s Shop Economics, Tour d’ Works

Money first.  Then a ton of interesting projects that keep us busy.  We’ll do a “photo-stroll” around the shop (as of Tuesday morning) so you can get more of a feel for what Making and Doing are like outside the confines of cubicles and 300 square-foot living spaces.  And why retired is usual just tired. Hosed … Read More

ShopTalk Sunday: Garden Prepping, Eats & Treats

Someone stole an hour of our lives overnight.  Running the clock forward with Daylight time which is so scammy… We don’t have a “measure, cut, join, finish” project to revel in today.  Because the weather was perfect Saturday to take on the greenhouse rework.  See, over the winter it grew and grew and turned into … Read More

Bipolar Markets, Commissar Biden, and Marsala

Bipolar disorder is a great place to start.  Although, like gout, BPD does come with some benefits.  Like super creativity – depending on where you are in the cycle.  Over on the subscriber side, I’ve been working on the market BPD indicator.  Which as the preopen today was trying to tell us: On the subscriber … Read More

FoodTalk Sunday: $249 Chocolate Chip Cookie

The ShopTalk Sunday column is about making things to eat.  But not just any things.  There’s the whole aspect of doing of things to perfection woven into the mix, too. Which leads directly to Tuesday’s disaster which rippled to within inches of becoming a $249 Chocolate Chip Cookie. However, many “Foodie” things are “cooking” here. 1- We will … Read More

CPI, UFOs, EoW?

Yes, we’re figuring things are going seriously off the rails, and we are holding a (painfully expensive so far) short position against the market going into today.  We think it’s way overpriced. Why?  (CPI) Well, that’s a good one, ain’t it?  We are at an illogical point, even up through the futures this morning before the … Read More

Football Does Our Work

Since the world is freakin’ crazy, it’s easy to find ways to entertain the herd of sheeple.  Pro sports is one such tool. I mean, when you think about it, Sports is a HUGE made-up monetization.  While there are some values (*teamwork, practice, striving for excellence) most of it can be learned from watching a … Read More

Fed Dread, Obama’s Ukraine War, III in the Wings

Content Theft Notice:  Check your address bar.  If it shows a whole article and does NOT begin https://urbansurvival.com, then you are supporting copyright thieves. We have complained to the offending site’s hosting provider. Great self-discovery opportunity for you, too: Do you support crime?  Copyright scammers? Breaking Ukraine will also get F-16s: Fighter concession debate has … Read More

Closing the Books on 2023: Not Very Good

A little “mood setting” is in order. Too many years as a rock & roll (and country) newscaster doing mainly mornings, teaches music first, then news. Perhaps “Wrap it Up” by Sam & Dave would work?  Or, perhaps, the “Long and Winding Road” would be better?  Well, to each their own. For us, Abba is more … Read More

2023: Our Post-Civilization Planner

Since I’ll be on Coast-to-Coast with George Noory, and since markets in the U.S. are taking this Boxing Day off, what better time to sit back with a fresh cup of coffee and ponder the three major agenda items that all 8-billion humans face a week from now when New Year’s Eve shows itself. The CLOCK IS … Read More

ShopTalk Sunday: Red-necking Winter, User Dark Theme

Detailed User Note and Follow up first:  User Theme is now adjustable.  That little “crescent moon and stars thing” in the lower right of the screen.  If that icon is black background, you are in Normal (light) theme.  If the icon is white background, then you are in dark mode. People like me who have … Read More

Black Friday, Musk Promises, Our Prized Leftovers Recipe

Today’s column is long.  So read it for a while, till our writing causes you to nod off.  Leave the tab open and come back to it later.  It’s a dopamine recovery tool for habitual Black Friday click addicts. Here’s why – after 364 days the rest of the year – about 70 percent of … Read More

ShopTalk Sunday: Greenhouse Chinese Diesel Heater Install

Some time back, I told you I was going on a buying binge for inexpensive Chinese “parking heaters.”  These are similar to the Webasto and Espar units that have kept truckers warm for decades.  Thing is, these are about 1/1oth the price. In fact, since my shop is part hardware store, off a compact enough shop to make … Read More