A couple of buddies of mine from down in Houston (long term Peoplenomics subscribers) were up here in the hinterlands this week looking at property near us. Believe me when I tell you these are 24 kt. solid guys who have nice professional situations and high incomes down in oil patch country, but they’re also super bright and looking at backup plans
For them, that means looking at areas which are able to build local self-sufficiency and (no surprise here) they ended up looking at one parcel just up the street (goat path?) from us.
As often happens, another reader email popped in which gets to the same kind of strategic planning decision-making processes and it says in part:
“I have asked you before but I fear I may have asked you the wrong question. And before I clarify let me say thy I know that nothing you write can/will/or should be construed as financial advice, yadda yadda, and all that.
Regarding the potential upcoming crash, I asked you what I should do with some cash I had on hand, and you replied via one of your posts, in so many words, continue investing in prepping. This I know and agree is excellent advice, but here’s where I’m unsure.
You see, I already have a good deal of food stored – almost as much food/water/first aid/prepping items/books as my 875 sq. ft. Jacksonville Beach (I know, I know – ocean front property) attic can hold. I am formally studying permaculture design and am already trying to become a better gardener, learning about sowing and saving seeds, harvesting, etc. I have been actively learning about herbal remedies and plants, and am learning to do as many things ‘old school’ as I can.
So prepping I am, as much as I can do outside of my corporate, fulltime tech job.
I do have some cash available (about 75k), and my house and all my possessions are already paid off. The only thing I am trying to find now is a reputable place where I can buy bullion, as currently I have none. Do you know where I can safely purchase a single gold and silver coin? I sure hope you have some ideas…
But, my real question is about my cash. I am doing all that I can and buying all I have space for, and using some of my cash to purchase training. Since I have some left over, what would you do with your cash if you found yourself in a very similar position, given the potential upcoming tank-pocalypse?
Hypothetically of course.
Fortunately, this is a hypothetical answer: If someone came to me and said “I know how to do permaculture and I’m looking for where to park some cash, I would sure hit the www.unitedcountry.com website. I clicked on their “nationwide” search tool and put in one bedroom and $75,000 for a top price and 20 acres of land and came up with way more than 200 properties to choose from.
Now, I don’t usually do free commercials for folks, but here’s a search hint: Put in a minimum price of $25,000 because that will weed out all the listings which don’t have a price (and some of a gazillion or more). In fact, for giggles, I put in a nationwide search for 20 acres, minimum one bedroom, and $50,000 and under and still came up with five properties including a few that looked promising.
What they have in common is this: they are generally rural, generally mobile homes, but if you’re serious about really “doing it” then this is one place to consider parking your money.
I’m doing a collection of articles from various Peoplenomics reports over the past dozen years which will include all the hints and kinks about buying rural land and maintaining some income while getting out of the rat race.
Which gets me to the simple answer: If you are looking for a survival platform, there are lots of them out there, some are dirt cheap and can be made into grand permaculture spots and somewhere in here I should point out that in addition to the two boys from Houston, Oilman2 has 36-acres or so down in the Crocket, Texas area about 45-minutes south of us where he’s planning permaculture, too.
If you figure that I’m a huge fan of rural life, other than my own rifle range, huge ham radio antenna farm, solar panels, and being able to step outside and pee wherever I feel like, then yes, you’d have figured it out.
Try almost anything on that list in a big city – especially if you live under the thumb of condo Nazis (or their antenna-busting HOA equivalents) and you’ll find out soon enough just how “free ‘Merica” is lately.
Even though we’re still looking at moving back to the PNW to be closer to our kids, a long-term summer rental (if funds permit) is a much better option than moving, since moving costs are so damn high.
If I were looking for property in today’s market? I’d be looking to buy something complete with tractor, tools, and so forth because acquisition and transportation costs are so high.
With a little diligence, and $60K, I would have a free and clear rural place to spend off time, an office away from corporate settings, and once there, I’d find a postal carrier job, or something on that order. Why, postal workers in rural areas make really good money and the secret anywhere to getting a job is just opening your eyes and looking for a situation where someone needs something done.
If you have any leftover money after that, let me know…I’m always willing to help people spend money.
On investing, if you want to play paper abstractions in commodities, call JB at www.fortwealth.com. To buy a lone gold or silver coin, two choices: Kitco (click any of the charts above to get to their site) and California Numismatic Investments (CNI) which is out in Inglewood, CA and has a website at www.golddealer.com. I’ve used both and no problems.
Damascus Glassworks Watch
Latest from our friend G.A. Stewart on the situation:
It looks like this news story (“Washington has asked Greece for permission to use its military bases in Kalamata and Souda for a possible strike on Syria “ confirms the following Nostradamus Quatrains:
Nostradamus Quatrain I-74
After having tarried they wander into Epirus (Greece),
The great relief will come towards Antioch (Syria)
The curly haired black [king] strives strongly for the Empire [of Aquilon/NATO]:
Bronzebeard [Aenobarbe] will roast on a spit.Nostradamus Quatrain V-16
The Sabaean tear (Saba, Saudi Arabia) no longer at its high price,
Human flesh by death burned to ashes:
The isle of Pharos (Egypt) invaded by the Crusaders [NATO],
When at Rhodes (Greece) the harsh specter [of war] appears.
Thursday’s WuJo in the Toolshed
Longtime reader “Bones”, a former Marine, had one of the more interesting experiences in a while on the WuJo/collapsing reality front this week:
I mow the yard every four or five days, just to keep things looking decent around here. Living in town and having worked in landscaping and landscape maintenance during my misspent youth, I’m particular about our landscaping. If we lived in the country, I wouldn’t be quite so particular about he looks of the landscaping. Anyway…
After mowing the yard, I run the line trimmer. When I’m finished with the mowing and trimming, I put the mower away and hang the line trimmer in the tool shed and call it a day. By that time, although I’m not -quite- as ancient of days as some folks, I’m too crippled up and worn out to mess with maintenance. I never service the mower or line trimmer until just before I use them. This means that the gas tanks are always empty, or almost empty, when I get ready to use them. Yesterday, when I pulled the mower and line trimmer out to use them – the gas tanks were both full. How they got full is a complete mystery. Not that I’m complaining, mind you.
These days, I’m more or less used to such ‘wujo’ events, but they still offer a bit of mystery and wonder. I’m firmly of the opinion that when we lose our sense of wonder, that we’ve lost something valuable and important. Never lose your sense of wonder.
I just gotta ask Bones: Was there any gas missing from the jug you keep on hand to refill the power equipment? I’d sure like to find a way to teach my old pickemup-truck that trick…if you could just jot down the secret recipe, that would be great.
Wujo 2: No “Humming in the Rain?”
Remember all the stories about that Taos, New Mexico hum? In fact, there have been so many reports of “the hum” that there’s now a whole Wikipedia section on it over here.
Fast forward to an email this week which brings a fine question:
Hi George,
I am one of the 15 percent of the population that can hear that annoying hum from time to time that has been described as either a piece of diesel powered heavy equipment or a large truck idling outside somewhere or as it sometimes presents itself as an industrial vacuum system, like the ones used to transport dust or particles from one part of the manufacturing process to another. I have also been in the radio or audio production business for many years and sounds are one of those things that fascinate me.
I sent you a few observations on the hum last year, which you published, where I speculated that the hum was actually a phased sound wave that was probably multi-harmonic. I am sure you remember from the old analog production studio days where you would take an identical recording on two reel to reel machines and then start them simultaneously and then vary the speed slightly to get that phased sound. That’s what the hum sounds like to me. The diesel truck sound is a variation of the steady vacuum sound but with a faster phase cycle.
I have speculated that since you can only hear the hum indoors that it is somehow a wave of different frequency that is being reproduced at a lower, or perhaps higher frequency resonance that is within the human range of hearing. Or perhaps it is actually an extremely low frequency RF wave that is being interpreted by our inner ear as an actual sound. Similarly to the ELF waves that are being used by the military and others to induce sounds or voices inside the heads of their “test subjects”.
As I continue to try and put the pieces of this puzzle together, I awoke this morning to the sounds of silence. It was very quiet and no hum to be heard, just the usual ringing of the tinnitus that I hear all the time, probably the result of wearing headphones too many years. I simply ignore the high pitched ringing that I hear constantly and filter it out most of the time. The hum is quite different in pitch and is easily separated from the high pitched ring.
So when I awoke and heard nothing, (except the usual tinnitus) it was almost a shock. Then I realized that I did hear something and that was a very gentile rain falling outside, identified mostly by the dripping of water off the roof onto the shrubs outside my window. Then I got to thinking, have I ever hear the hum when it was raining? I am not talking about a deluge or even a downpour where the sound of the rain produces a white noise that masks other sounds. Just when the air is super saturated with moisture. The answer is I can’t. It always seems very quiet to me when those conditions are present.
Which brings me to the whole point. Is it just me or is there a literal blanket of silence that occurs when there is a very high moisture content to the air? I don’t recall the hum being present when high moisture content saturated the air. I wondered if other readers had experienced similar observations.
Perhaps there is something to the supersaturated air that dispels and or absorbs the ELF radiation or whatever it is and basically short circuits it.
Just wondering,
Marion
I have to admit, Marion, I have no clue. But if you’re a “hummer hearer” please let me know if you hear it when the humidity is really high, or when its raining…that might be an interesting clue to pursue…
End-Times Stress Effect?
From reader Rick
I’m not one to ascribe causation to coincidence,
particularly as I can be as myopic and forgetful as
the next guy…
But, out of the blue, for the last two days, I have been
contacted by guys I haven’t heard from in 45 years in
VietNam and my wife is getting “friend requests”
from people she knew in high school.
There’s no obvious aspect that I can see. These were
never close relationships.
No clue, Rick. No one ever contacts me anymore unless they want money and I have call blocking on the kids now as a result, lol…just kidding. (* Sort of: the call blocking will come off after birthday season passes. Or when the Fed approves a bailout for the National Bank of Dad…)
Around the Ranch: Sourdough Questions
OK, I have my sourdough from the Alaska starter and I popped it into a sterilized container, two cups water, two cups of flour and set it outside for a couple of days where it would hit a high of 90F or so and not get below 75, or so, at night.
After two days, it only smells like wet flour. Somehow, this strikes me as wrong. Maybe a hint of alcohol, but that was after being left overnight again on top of the water heater so it should be about 80F all the time.
If you have any expertise on how a new starter should smell (other than about like a bottle of Elmer’s glue) please send along advice.
One of my friends suggested a second starter, and toss in a grape because that has different yeasties on it, but so far, no joy by the smell of things. I will sniff again today and try mixing up a batch of flapjacks this afternoon, but not looking too encouraging yet.
Write when you get rich, break even, discover a legal tax dodge, or find a quick way to make a few million….
George george@ure.net