Guys and gals, say hello to the Shorty. You can call him -sense, shortonbrains, senseless, minussense. But don't call him for dinner. I might get a stomach ache.

<Bowing Deeply>

Hallo.

This is what Carol said when she evacuated for Vermont.



LETHAL WATER SHORTAGES!!!!! Energy blackouts more often? What...she missed the Olduvai Gorge like the rest of us when it passed unheralded into history on Dec 31, 2008?

Here's another good one from the same page....



Now there is a Prophet of Peak who missed the corresponding heating oil crash last fall.

It comes from her "abandoning New Mexico" speech here.....

http://carolynbaker.net/site/content/view/516/3/

And a quote from her sudden move to Boulderville? (she didn't mention how much cheaper it was to relocate this year over last either.... )



OMG!!! THE WATER IN VERMONT IS POISONED!!! So which is worse....LETHAL water shortages, or POISONED WATER!!!! ( did she tell any Vermonters about this, the ones which AREN'T all dying from poisoned water? ). Did she alert the proper authorities?

http://www.vtwaterquality.org/

This is the same woman who cried hysterically when Ruppert left the country forever ( forever = 3 months or so ) to the loving arms of Hugo in Venezuela. And his relocation zone which Carol uses to justify her relocation back to the land of LETHAL WATER? Why.. LOS ANGELES OF COURSE!!! Land of sustainability!!

I swear...the longer the Peak Prophets type stuff, and write books, and put up web sites, the more you look at what they say, and what they do, and what actually happens, and what can you do but bust out laughing about how seriously they take themselves?

The relocation thing is where doomers spend the most time over-analyzing. My blog is a perfect example. We're all looking for a safe haven and like an episode of LA Law, you can make a really strong case for or against most places. The fact is that there is no perfect place, and so all you can do in the end is decide on a series of tradeoffs.

It's like the chick that thinks she can find the perfect man who is a combination of Fabio, Bill Gates, and Tom Hanks. It's not gonna happen.

As long as you are shopping around for shangrila, you're really not prepping for anything but being a post-peak nomad. For instance, I don't feel like I'm properly hunkering down because I'm still shopping for a location. So ultimately the shopping impulse is counter-productive. People who are in less than ideal locations but who have made the commitment to make their stand are ahead of the game of those who never stay somewhere long enough to unpack their boxes.

Absolutely agree. There is no perfect spot, and if there is it's probably too expensive. The best thing is to cover as many bases as possible in the choice and then get there and start making it work for you. In two short weeks at my new place I've already realised a huge range of possiblities that I hadn't considered prior to meeting some locals. You can't plan everything from your living room!

General Patton said something about a mediocre plan, executed with great vigor, being far better than a perfect plan executed too late.

I'm thinking that it is late in the game to be making big moves. I'm sure it can be done now, given the right resources and determination, but there is no time to waste, with the economy deteriorating ASAP. So saying, it would be well to either get busy and make it happen now, or decide to bloom where you are planted, IMHO.

What sad, bitter crap, but full of valuable lessons for those smart enough to see. (Like finding phosphorus in a turd pile . )

--Shorty hates rich Boulder. That's because it's attractive. We know what Capitalism and Free Markets do to attractive places. Capitalism raises the rents. Martha's Vineyard is valuable specifically because those crusty old New Englanders kept out Walmart, Target, corporate hotel development, etc. The residence of Martha's Vineyard maintained the rural infrastructure--no traffic lights for instance. It is also the bugout destination of choice among lucky New Englanders.

-Shorty like poor areas. He is right. With savings or an internet job, you could move to the old rust belt, like Western Pennsylvania (where my wife's family is from) Otherwise unattractive place (by modern standards) with old poverty, tired old towns, not groovy, difficult climate (rains and snows too much and too humid in the summer), few corporate retail or construction jobs, etc. This is the advantage: this place was first to go down hill--in the early 70's.. Everyone left. (And the smart ones, the hippies, left for the West Coast and Boulder and became rich Yuppies.)

--So housing and good old industrial building are incredibly cheap
--beautiful rural land with year round water,
--temperate climate to grow stuff (for only 6 months-but that is what livestock and canning is for).
-- Vast areas are depopulated. Lots of good people (among the tweakers, pill poppers (hillbilly heroin, pharmies, etc), religious fanatics) who are back to the land already.

This is what you do:
--cash out, sell and lighten your load--no possessions
--move to a decent town (for instance, Franklin PA.) move to cheap hotel, car camp, etc.
--make friends, find crummy job (better yet, live on your good internet job)
--move up look for land
--make more friends
--make more friends
--develop homestead.

Man, I need to follow you two around like a yard duty teacher.

This is the Planning forum, if you want to talk about what you are doing to prepare for the future you are welcome to share it here.

If all you have is snide bs to spread take it somewhere else.

Water. Preferably potable.

Get rid of debt. All of it.

Start playing with dirt.

And focus on what you wanted to be when you were in the Fifth Grade.

I've got the first three thankfully. I love the idea of being true to what your ideals were as a child. Apparently a lot of the psychological problems in adult life are due to a lack of harmony between reality and your childhood perception of the world. Get back to it and you are at peace.

It may be a bit late to become a soccer goalkeeper or a fighter plane pilot for me though.

I actually DO know a place to relocate to that is nearly perfect.

The only problem is that it is an 8 hour drive from where I live, and a short boat trip after that.

A few that are not QUITE as good, but suitable, within 1-2 hours drive and by boat.

Why not relocate there? Because there is no paying work?

If there's no paying work, or other way to make a living, it isn't really perfect....

Yeah, in the 5th grade I think I wanted to be a dentist like my Dad. A bit late to switch now, unless I go in for Ye Olde Dentistrie (and haircuts).

I'll only relocate if things get to the point where they are MadMax and making a living = subsistence farming... then any one of my 8 islands would be suitable. (defensible, not vulnerable to erosion, rich soil, fish available)

I guess that means we skip Vermont for the carcinogens, and everything in the west because of LETHAL shortages....

I'm fond of West Virginia, perhaps western/southern Tennessee?

I'm stuck here for the time being. Time to think about a defensible spot.

Recent events have shown me that you can only keep what you can defend.

We are in the process of "up armoring" our maple sugarhouse.

It has been attacked 5 times in the past 2 years, so this isn't just paranoia.

We put lexan over the windows, installed cameras, built a planter that should keep the evaporator from being wrecked by a bullet, and I'm putting 1/4" plate steel on the door.

It's actually a lot of fun to figure this kind of thing out.

I'm thinking of teaching a course next summer and including in it what I have learned about defense.

Other parts would be learning about woodlots, alternative energy and electric transportation.