[Heineken]

I'm certainly feeling better since I started this thread.

All of you, each of you, I thank for your wisdom and insights and remarkable perspectives.

I have something taped to a lamp that I should read more often. Here it is:

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

(source unknown)

[blukatzen]

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

(source unknown)

That is something my late mother had loved as well! It is something that I try to live by.

Glad you're in a better perspective!

XO,
Blu

[oowolf]

Hope you're not mixing benzo's with alcohol on a regular basis; that's REALLY hard on your liver,
dude. Anyone who drinks alcohol should be taking Silymarin for liver repair (Silibum marianum; milk thistle extract) Also a proven cure for hepatitis--an essential homestead plant.

[ReverseEngineer]

One philosophy I have always held to is that the minute you stop GROWING as a person is the minute you put one foot in the grave. Yes, its depressing to realize that so much of what you discussed int he past is coming true, but it does NOT mean its all over. It just means that NOW is the time everything you thought about will be put to the test. Now is the time you find out if your Preps really SUCCEEDED, in the sense that you really will have to make them WORK for you. Why did you spend allt hat time preparing if the real outcome here makes you passively resigned to the inevitable?

Be at Peace Heineken, you have fought the Good Fight. But do not give up yet. The Bunker is always there in your mind to go to, but it is NOT Bunker Time yet. There is still some Fight left in us all here, and its not time to give up the ghost until the Fat Lady Sings.

RE, I am going to print out this post from this thread, and keep it in a safe spot, for when the time is different from now, and society has descended somewhat to madness, I shall have this post, and take it out and read it.

It is full of hope, and compassion, and in turn, I send it back to you, mixed with my care and kind regards. It is the best we can..and should do as human beings with one another.

That is quite an honor Blu, and I return to you as well the good wishes and good thoughts.

In the words of Charles Dickens from aTale of Two Cities

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

The times ahead will try us all, in some it will bring out the worst in them, in others it will bring out the best in them. Despite the fact others here do not see things in such terms as Darkness and Light, as in the time of Dickens such things become manifestly clear.

The world and this board need men like Heineken, and if these words helped to buck him up some, this is a good thing. Whether you prep in physical terms or prep yourself in your mind's eye for what is to come through discussion on Peak Oil, what is done here is important. Far as I can tell, in few other places is the Truth spoken in no uncertain terms by so many who can see it. Heineken is one of those people, so are you. It bucks me up quite a bit to know there are other Good Men out there who see the truth, and are willing to speak it as they see it here. That also is a good thing.

See you on the Other Side.

Reverse Engineer

[Heineken]

Engineer, thank you.

I have seen changes in you since you joined.

Good job.

[Heineken]

Hope you're not mixing benzo's with alcohol on a regular basis; that's REALLY hard on your liver,
dude.

Most benzodiazepines (e.g., Valium) have a remarkably low toxicity profile. People who take huge overdoses of Valium in an attempt to commit suicide often fail.

As far as I know, combining benzodiazepines with alcohol potentiates their pharmacologic effect but is not particularly toxic to the liver.

One really bad drug to combine with alcohol is acetaminophen. That is murder on the liver.

My sense about alcohol is that in moderation it is not harmful and possibly beneficial. The cardioprotective benefits are compelling and backed by research.

The dose makes the poison, friend oowolf. That goes for water, even.

[Sixstrings]

Really, there is no need to mix alcohol and benzos. They both sort of do the same thing, but in combo are dangerous.

You're better off getting really drunk or taking too many benzos than playing games mixing the two. And even taking too many benzos is stupid, since the more you take the more you need (tolerance).

I must be an old fogey now, as I cannot understand playing games with drugs. Heck, you're in enough danger as it is taking things as prescribed.

[Quinny]

I understand the detachment issue.

I'm currently throwing myself into a new project and really enjoying it and being very productive but......

I sometimes look at myself and think WTF - it's all going tits up anyway, so why work so hard. When I say look at myself, it really is in a detached manner almost like I'm watching my actions.

I did a really good presentation to a group of salespeople the other day. End of the presentation they all flocked round really keen about what I'd been showing them. I was feeling quite pleased with myself, but simultaneously I was thinking about family and preps and the economy and peak oil and why're you wasting your time working. The fact the income is needed seems almost irrelevant sometimes.

[ReverseEngineer]

Engineer, thank you.

I have seen changes in you since you joined.

Good job.

I haven't changed Heineken. Your PERCEPTION of me has changed.

Reverse Engineer

[Ronin]

Hello Heineken,

I've come into this thread a bit late, you're all better.
Glad to hear it mate. I thought I'd share with you a piece of music that always helps me through dispassionate times, it is Tool- Parabol.

Keep on truckin

[emeraldg40]

Don't Fear the Reaper

Love that song thanks for the link

[Heineken]

Engineer, thank you.

I have seen changes in you since you joined.

Good job.

I haven't changed Heineken. Your PERCEPTION of me has changed.

Reverse Engineer

Yes, my perception of you, as shaped by what you write.

[Heineken]

Hello Heineken,

I've come into this thread a bit late, you're all better.
Glad to hear it mate. I thought I'd share with you a piece of music that always helps me through dispassionate times, it is Tool- Parabol.

Keep on truckin

Can't say I'm ALL better, but I heartily thank you for your kind words.

[ReverseEngineer]

Engineer, thank you.

I have seen changes in you since you joined.

Good job.

I haven't changed Heineken. Your PERCEPTION of me has changed.

Reverse Engineer

Yes, my perception of you, as shaped by what you write.

Without doubt, because I have an outrageously dramatic style of writing, quite a few people here misperceive what I write, but as time goes by, more and more people here on Peak Oil have come to understand it. I am greatful that I have been able to achieve that now. So was the case on my own board, it took me quite some time to get people to understand the meaning behind the drama.

You know, I can write plain prose, but its not an accurate reflection of how I think. I do perceive life as a grand drama, and so I write to reflect that. Read for the underlying meaning, as you would seek the meaning in Shakespeare, its all couched in Comedy or Tragedy. I am no Shakespeare, but I do my best to evoke emotion and to ferret out the deeper truth that lies beyond the plain prose, the facts and the figures of depleting oil supplies and a shrinking Dow Jones Industrial Average.

I write to satisfy mainly my own muse, the reactions I get sometimes can be incredibly vitriolic, I am used to it. Read for the meaning, enjoy the entertainment value of it. Or if you disagree, take me on. Its what I live for.

Reverse Engineer

[Heineken]

RE, some of your commentary has a bombastic air that I think turns many off, because it is perceived as egotistical. Perhaps you don't intend that, but that is how it comes off---less frequently now than formerly, perhaps, which is what I was getting at in my earlier post.

Consider writing with your audience more strongly in mind.

[ReverseEngineer]

RE, some of your commentary has a bombastic air that I think turns many off, because it is perceived as egotistical. Perhaps you don't intend that, but that is how it comes off---less frequently now than formerly, perhaps, which is what I was getting at in my earlier post.

Consider writing with your audience more strongly in mind.

I'm quite aware the style is bombastic Its over the top in some cases, periodically I get reprimands for going too far. Thing is, it gets people's emotions riled up when you do this, and that gets you to underlying truth. You do not get this if you write to appeal to the masses or "make friends".

I DO consider the audience when I write Heineken. I often write with the specific goal of pissing off people Its the only way you get responses out of people that come from deep inside, from the soul. You write plain prose, you get a lot of boring platitudes. I'm not interested in that stuff.

Anyhow, I try to make it entertaining and I try to make it informative, or at least question well the information before me since I don't know near as much about some of these topics as others here do. As to the style it comes off my keyboard with, well you can love it or hate it, but about nobody would say its boring stuff

Reverse Engineer

[Heineken]

RE, I don't agree with the reasoning behind your communication strategy, but I respect you for standing by it. Be who you are.

I believe in the power of humility, restraint, and brevity. For me, language framed in that way communicates with more force than your preferred approach.

I submit that exaggeration and excess weaken rather than strengthen communication. This is an irony perhaps, but it is ineradicably true and is the path of our greatest writers, such as Hemingway.

[dunewalker]

I believe in the power of humility, restraint, and brevity. For me, language framed in that way communicates with more force than your preferred approach.

That works best for me as an audience. As soon as I lose rapport with the writer/speaker, I turn off their message. I think RE can influence a different audience with more humility--an audience that may actually have a more constructive reaction to his message. I think why Heineken's, as well as my, impression of RE's writings has improved is because we have made the effort to see the wisdom in much of what he writes and have been willing to let the egotism flow by the wayside. Others may not have as much time or patience.

[ReverseEngineer]

I submit that exaggeration and excess weaken rather than strengthen communication. This is an irony perhaps, but it is ineradicably true and is the path of our greatest writers, such as Hemingway.

I'm not a big fan of Hemingway. I take most of my inspiration from Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, the King of Gonzo.

I understand your perspective, I just don't agree with it. Anyhow, it appears to me that despite what problems you have with the style, you have come to understand the underlying meaning, so perhaps now you can just enjoy the paint job for its entertainment value

Reverse Engineer

[Pops]

Just so I know, are we talking about Heine's or RE's thoughts now?