[WildRose]

Welcome, shyienemo!

I had the pleasure of visiting Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai last year. My son is studying Mandarin in our Canadian city.

I would love to return to your country and see more of it, but I don't know if I will ever get there again.

I was just looking at some photos of Chengdu on the net; it looks lovely.

It's nice to have you aboard. I'll be looking forward to hearing your viewpoints.

WildRose

WildRose,
You visited more cities in China than I did.
I always stay in Chengdu and cities of Sichuan province.
Any time you wanna come back either visiting or working, I just warmly welcome you. If you're trying to get your son a faster schedule on Mandarin, tell me what I can do and I will be very happy to do everything I can.
If you like the city of Chengdu and want to see some pictures of any places, just tell me, I may go there and take pictures for you. That's ok for me.

Thank you, shyienemo, I just may take you up on that!

[argyle]

Hi,

About time I tell something about me.. Been lurking here since 2005 and just recently posted my first ones in some topics (of which I have atleast some knowledge -> farming, but not energy sector)

Live and work in Belgium, in a small village of +- 1500 residents in a larger area of 12000 residents. Although Belgium is rather "urbanised" I live in a fairly rural area with lots of farmland and woods.

Married since 2005, and we (31yrs and 30yrs) have one 7.5mth old son now, and probably going for number two somewhere in 2010.

We live on a 2 acre lot, with a Low Energy Home (natural gas) but has been equiped with solar hot water and pv-panels (which covers more then our needs). I have actually build our home all by myself, including bricklaying, sanitation, electricity, roofing,.. except a few things like window-making. We have a very small mortage because of it, but still keep it as there are a lot of tax-reduction-incentives from the government. We are able to pay off most at once of it if the need arrises. (wife works for the government).
House is also equiped with a high efficiency wood furnace. (we own woods, since we would need about 2 cords to keep our house comfortable warm (current standards) a year, but don't really NEED heat except for a few very cold winter days - atm it's more for the fire (cosy) then for the heat (as long as NG is cheap enough)). We have our own well (potable water) and rainwater collection system. There is a small creek nearby.

We do have a large garden with our parents (retired farmers, but who still own all the land and some cattle, farming equipement,..), but planning to setup my own garden including a large greenhouse as soon as I'm finished fencing the property and doing the driveway (planned for this year).
Going to keep some chickens, rabbits, geese, goats and possibly some cattle aswell. (probably dexter cattle as a hobby, but they are dual purpose animals if the need arrises).

The purpose of us being self-sufficient and energy-sufficient is dual. One I do believe in PO, although I'm not sure how that will unfold (as nobody prob. is) and two, to have a low impact on our planet as possible, without sacrifising all comfort (by eating local, investing in energy efficiency, recycling, living better with less,...). Roughly to have a footprint < 2.1ha, which would be sustainable according to some/most studies.

Wife is not really PO aware, although she does believe in energy shortages/price spikes. Most our preps are done in the "green" theme / oil price spikes, but they suit themselves very well to prep for PO aswell.

btw, anyone into alcohol distilling (planning to weld my own fractional stainless steel still out soon)?

[Ferretlover]

Welcome (officially) to PeakOil.com, Argyle. Since you've been lurking for awhile, you probably know your way around the website fairly well, but if you have any questions, ask any Moderator or Admin.

[kpeavey]

About time you spoke up.

[argyle]

Thanks folks! :D

[Grautr]

Hi Argyle,
Are you in Belgium Limburg? If so your not far from me.

I've been fermenting my own alcohol for a couple of years now. I know a man localy who sometimes works with copper and was thinking of asking him to make an alembic for me. Hows your still comming along?

[argyle]

Hi Argyle,
Are you in Belgium Limburg? If so your not far from me.

I've been fermenting my own alcohol for a couple of years now. I know a man localy who sometimes works with copper and was thinking of asking him to make an alembic for me. Hows your still comming along?

yup, I'm from that area..

i'm still looking for the stainless steel tubes to weld it all together.. don't wanna buy them brand new (expenseive) but looking into left-overs from a business..

[Grautr]

I think Limburg (Dutch and Belgian) is as good a place as any to ride out the comming storm. Far better than the London suburbs where I was born anyway. The local agriculture seems very diverse and plenty of woodland still around.

I've noticed some Belgian villages are trying to stop outside developers comming in and building big ugly houses all over the place. I think this is happening in both Waloonian and Flemish provinces. How do they feel about this where you are?

Personaly I dont blame the locals for being upset when some city dweler turns up and builds some modernist monstrosity next to the village church but it also has the potential of going to far.

[argyle]

I think it's very open for anyone to come, as long as there is available land and you follow the building codes (which are pretty lenient anyway)

I think there were some issues with a village around the river meuse, because there is a very pitoresque village wich was being ruined by some very modern buildings, other then that, I don't know any instances of this happening..

[bodigami]

(...)Married since 2005, and we (31yrs and 30yrs) have one 7.5mth old son now, and probably going for number two somewhere in 2010.
(...)

my buddhist blessings to your less-than-1 child.

[RobW]

Hi,

I believe in PO, but I'm not sure how it will all play out. I'm would like to become part of or form a group of like minded people to discuss ways to prepare. Even if it doesn't happen I'd like to acquire the skills to live a simpler life closer to the land anyway.

[coyote]

Welcome Rob. Lots to read and talk about here. Dive on in and don't mind the sharks!

[Ordinary Average Guy]

Well...where to begin?
I'm 37, married, with a 7 year old son.
I've been following peak-oil and related news stories for about 5 or 6 years now, but I really only "got it" a few days ago. I now see things the way they truly are...it's like I've been asleep my entire life, and I have now, finally, woken up only to realize that I've been dreaming. I'm very much appreciative that I have become "aware", I just feel so bad for how long it took me to come around. My wife and son will be depending on me for their very survival and I've wasted so much precious time. But, I suppose it's as they say, 'better late than never'.
We live in the city of Edmonton, which is located in the province of Alberta, Canada. The climate here, if you're unaware, is one of extreme cold for many months of the year. It is not uncommon for the temperature to hit -40 (C and F.....the same at this temp apparently, who knew? I love google )and simply remain at that temp for weeks on end. This scenario could happen over about 3-4 months of the year.
I am a certified tradesman, currently employed as an electrician, and also have certification as a roofer. In both trades I have extensive experience in all areas: residential, commercial, and industrial. My wife is a teacher at our community playschool, who previously worked mainly in retail.
I've been reading the forum here occasionally for a few years. I mainly stay informed of current events by looking through the breaking news section of latoc. I have been a regular, almost daily, visitor to Matt's website. In fact, I tried to post this msg at latoc's forum earlier because I feel that I owe it to Mr. Savinar, out of some kind of 'debt of gratitude' feeling I have towards him since I first began to understand the nature of the situation by reading his description of peak-oil which begins "Dear Reader, Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon." I registered at his site, but unfortunately I cannot post until the account is verified and approved, so I'll write what I have to say here. I have to write it somewhere, I need to get it out to people who know what I'm talking about.
Two nights ago my wife and I ended up in a deep discussion about our (near-term) future and what it is likely to hold for us. I was astonished to realize several things...she 'gets' it too(!), and she has begun to take small steps to improve our chances of surviving short term disruptions of service of electricity, water, etc. She hasn't really done much, just stocked up on the amount of food we keep in the house, bought a few extra blankets, stocked up on candles (which I thought ,ignorantly, were only for decoration), and agreed when I suggested we buy two crank-rechargeable flashlight/radio jobbies. Now that I really get it I can see that she has done so much more than I have to prepare. I used to keep 6 five gallon jugs of water downstairs and cycle through them, but I let that slide about a year ago. I'll be filling them up first thing in the morning now that I think of it. It'll be a good time to explain to my son that we need to prepare for certain unforeseeable circumstances now so that we will be ready if (when) the events occur.
I have really not done anything so far to get ready, how could I have been so blind? I have read countless news articles that should have had my 'spidey senses' tingling (on fire), but I just now got it. I think maybe part of the reason I was so slow to catch on is that the problem is so overwhelming that my brain just couldn't fully accept the situation as a reality.
While my wife and I were talking, I realized that she is very aware of the implications of resource depletion. How could we have never had a real, meaningful discussion of this earlier? She said that she really didn't like to think of the consequences, so didn't talk about it. And I guess it was similar for me. Oh well, we can't change the past.
Last fall our neighbor had some extra topsoil they needed to get rid of so my wife agreed to take it. I wheelbarrowed (I don't think that is really a verb) the topsoil into our yard, and covered it with a tarp to keep weed seeds out. The idea was that I would build a raised garden for her this year. I haven't. She asked me yesterday if we could just plant veggie seeds into the pile of topsoil as it is now.
I feel so unprepared, so many possible scenarios play through my mind. What do I do if somebody breaks into my house in the middle of the night, looking for food? What do I do if I hear somebody outside raiding a garden we'd tended to for several months and are relying on to survive through the winter? What will we do if we lose power in the middle of winter when the temperature drops to -30C for several weeks? What about when I can't find work and run out of money? How do I explain to my 7 year old son that the world he has known all his life is disappearing? What happens when the power has been out for a couple weeks, and others in the neighborhood realize that we still have food, water, etc? Do I buy a gun? Do I teach my son to shoot it if I do buy one? So many things to consider.
I asked my wife if she would like to move to a warmer place, where the winters are rainy instead of extremely cold. She's not loving the idea...her parents are close to us here and she's reluctant to leave them behind. Besides, the area I'm thinking of would not allow me to earn what I can here, and we have debts to pay off.
One odd thing that happened the other day was that I stopped worrying. I realized the wisdom in the saying that you shouldn't worry about anything; if you can change it, change it; if you can't, you can't. As a result, the last couple days have been some of the best days I can remember...in my life. I have always had worries of some sort or another, but now they're gone. I also get the feeling that I'm not alone in this regard. The people I work with, my wife, friends...even people on tv seem to be catching some kind of worry-free, relaxed, awareness. It's almost as if we actually have the ability to change the world so that the doomsday scenario doesn't have to happen. Or it could just be that my new way of looking at the world results in me seeing the same old things in a new way...but I don't think that's it. It almost feels as if humans are going through some kind of "shift of consciousness" or something. Anybody else sensing this?
Anyway, it's just after 3:30 a.m.here and I can't think anymore. I'll check in tomorrow and fill in some more details.

[vtsnowedin]

Welcome!!!
You may have been lurking here longer then I have been on the board as I'm still a relative newbie, so I won't try to give you a road map to stuff you have already read.
No need to worry your son about peak oil. Being prepared for winter in Canada is reason enough to have a stock of food in five gallon pails and other survival stuff looks remarkably like camping and fishing gear.
First priority is to stock up so you can get by thirty to ninety days without power or going to a store.
Next priority to is to get out of debt.
Winter, Layoffs, Peak oil, Economic collapse with riots, Makes no difference, being prepared is a lot better then not.

[SpringCreekFarm]

Since you're a tradesman you're likely good at improvising and have a much better chance at surviving this mess than say an investment banker. Welcome.

[Grautr]

Hi,
Im a tradesman too, a bricky. That your qualified in two trades is probably a good point. You have the knowledge to diversify on different situations and this will help you deal with future possiblities.

That your Misses is on board too is a great help, I wish mine was but she still insists on believing the MSM that there will be a recovery from the economic mess. Yeah sure there might be but it will be so short lived most of us are not going to notice it.

Help your Misses with the garden even if you dont have a strong interest in it. If she has the greater interest let her read up on it, how to grow different vegies and fruit, build a compost etc and you can help with the heavy work of moving soil around. She will appreciate your suport.

Welcome to the forums and dont forget your trade knowlege can also help out other people here.

[Ordinary Average Guy]

Good Morning.
First of all, thanks for the warm welcomes and words of advice. I agree that due to being a tradesman I may have a slight advantage in certain areas. I have thought in the past about learning how to set up wind and micro-hydro generators. That priority has increased substantially now. I wish we lived in an area with fast flowing water since hydro seems to be the best option for sustained power generation. I suppose we could use several solar panels since that is really our only option here, but I worry that solar panels on our roof will be a beacon to others in the area and will identify us as being prepared.
I wasn't able to sleep much last night, I woke up after about four hours and immediately my mind began to ponder our predicament and returning to sleep is impossible. We need a new bed, this one is getting extremely uncomfortable. I've been putting off buying one though because it is so expensive and I really want to pay back our debt first. I think I might just bite the proverbial bullet and go buy one today.
My mother contacted my sister three days ago and informed her that she was in need of help. Her boyfriend of several years has just died and she was very much dependent on him. She has no practical experience in any area that will allow her to earn enough to make it alone. She had her first child when she was 19 and when I was about 6 she and my father separated. She spent a lot of years trying to recapture her lost youth and would go out and party for days, leaving my brother, sister, and myself home alone to fend for ourselves. Our utilities would get cut off regularly and we had little in the way of food. As I grew up my mother and I never really got along, I was a very angry child...we were poor and I blamed her for it. Even as an adult I find it very difficult to interact with her. Seven years ago she was evicted from the house she was renting and showed up on our doorstep. She needed a place to stay until she could find a new job and get back on her feet. This happened while our son was still a newborn, and the stress I was under was nothing less than extra-ordinary. My wife and I were renting a one bedroom basement suite at the time, so my mother got a spot on our living room floor. My poor, beautiful wife spent the next six months living in an extremely awkward situation, as my mother and I would not even speak to each other toward the end. One day I came home from work and "expressed my discontent" to my mother in a blunt and hurtful way. I feel bad now, but she was doing absolutely nothing to better her situation and I was tired and stressed and wanted to start my own family without her being there. She wasn't helping with our baby, wasn't contributing anything financially and wouldn't speak to us and I was fed up. So that night she slept outside in her car. I let her. In the morning I asked her to come inside. Several weeks later she moved out, I still don't know where she went at that time, I was just relieved that it was "somewhere else".
The reason I write this is to help you understand why I'm reluctant to offer my own mother a place to stay, it just sounds so cold. My sister is going through a divorce right now and has her own problems to deal with. She also has never really gotten along well with our mother as an adult. Our younger brother is barely able to take care of himself so he won't be able to help her. However much I wish the situation weren't happening, it is and I need to deal with it. I know that she will most likely end up living with me and my family, we are better able to cope with the extra financial burden than my sister is.
I suppose it is time to bury the hatchet with her anyway and put the past behind us, it's just one of those things that's easier said than done. And I'm not so sure she will be receptive to the idea of starting fresh, forgetting the past, and living a new and different lifestyle. Anything short of that would result in much stress, anger and hostility in my home and that's the last thing we'll be needing as we shift into our new way of living, whatever that turns out to be.
Anyway, that's my rant for this morning, thanks for listening, I feel a little bit better now. You guys make great listeners .

p.s. Even though I'm facing this new and improved challenge, I'm not worried. We'll do what we can to prepare for this as well and deal with whatever happens. I love my new self.

[Ordinary Average Guy]

Hi Rob, and welcome. I have also just joined the site and am really just beginning to earnestly prepare. The best advice I can think of to give you is to read. Read everything related to PO until one day something in your mind goes *click* and you really see it. I don't think you will really prepare with the proper sense of urgency until you really know that this is for real. I only recently experienced this shift in perspective, and I've been reading about PO for 5 or 6 years....maybe I'm just slow? Anyway, in the meantime your best bet is to research this site, and others like it, and take what steps you feel will help you sleep at night a little more securely.
And don't stress yourself out about how bad things are, or are going to get. We live on Paradise Planet, never forget that. Sure we've really screwed it up, but that doesn't mean we can't kick this old girl back into shape one day. Be grateful for all the good things in your life and try not to dwell on the negatives...I'm sure you have enough problems already and don't need to compound things by stressing out. Things are going to change, but I like to think that every ending is just a new beginning.
Good luck and take care,
Shawn.

[bodigami]

Welcome. Don't overdose on the gloom ! It's more satisifying to try and fail than sit around and complain, IMHO.

[bodigami]

Welcome. Don't overdose on the gloom ! It's more satisifying to try and fail than sit around and complain, IMHO.

We have tried and failed. And complaining is better than satisfying . . . it's fun

It's fun in the same way that premature orgasm is only premature for one of those involved. Would you like some organic, hormone-free cheese with your whine ?

Hehe this is why we are in this stinking mess. How self centered.

I can see the failed bank CEO's and directors talking the same waffle. What are they complaining about we did ok.

The "system" has failed and failed big time. It has a ways to go before it reaches bottom.

jey, just pay me in grams of gold and we are collaborators in a proffesional project that last n months.

*rough voice of watchmen* clears throat

"if this is a joke, then i want to be the fvk'in joker!"