The problem with having a big soft horsey nose is that when you get a cold it holds a huge amount of goo. I feel like my sinuses are full of hardening rubber cement. ;p
Heh. Sounds like my Dad's old torture remedy. You take a mixing bowl and fill it half way with boiling water from the teakettle. Add some strong source of menthol, like a quarter tsp. of peppermint oil (not extract, oil.) Put a towel over your head and sit over the bowl, breathing the steamy vapors for ten or fifteen minutes.
I think it mostly felt better just because you got to stop after a while. And I even love peppermint. ;p
That reminds me of something. During Y2K I perused lots of Survivalist websites and usenet groups. I came to the conclusion that I'm not really a survivalist. I don't think that after the collapse of civilization I, and my friends, will emerge with our SKS or M1 Garand rifles from the woods and rebuild the world. An older hippie lady I knew at the time said, "Sounds like your getting ready for the Great Depression"
I liked that, self sufficency, but not Sieg Heil. ^_^
I'm relieved. The notion that the only way to save the world is by having a lot of firepower always bothers me. The situation that would have been created had Y2K really turned out the way the doomsayers predicted should in fact have been something like the Great Depression, rather than civil chaos.
It's true, in inner city areas there are a lot of people who have no idea how to survive without a bunch of infrastructure that they take for granted without understanding it. But I don't think the social fabric would have been subject to total breakdown. In fact, I pictured something like Samuel R. Delany's book Dhalgren, in which even the inner city continues to limp along, made up of a lot of people who simply refuse to accept the fact that things have changed, and a few people who choose, in one way or another, to take advantage of the change.
Your exactly right. We are very prone to a doomsday scenerio whenever something moves us, as Americans, out of our comfort zone. The church and the media both love to play to that because really it sells. The reality is that, as you say, people limp along and keep putting one foot in front of the other.
One thread on usenet summed up my thinking about Y2K perfectly, it went something like, "Okay, so the world ends and everyone bugs out to the woods. Do /you/ really want to be sleeping in the woods with millions of people that have never had to go a day without food, who now have military grade rifles, and you step on a twig at two a.m. trying to pee?
XD
A better survival strategy is to try and make society a place worth staying in.
Yes. And the ones who would be most dangerous under those circumstances are also the ones who wouldn't last long at all. Take that inner city guy equipped with hand grenades and a rifle, dump him out here in a rural area. Assume that the electricity is off indefinitely, and the telephones aren't working. That means not only no heat, but no running water. He may know how to shoot that rifle without blowing his own foot off, but he probably doesn't know how to clean and cook a squirrel so that it's reasonably safe to eat. He knows nothing about balanced diet because he has always lived off food someone else prepared, either fast food junk or what his mother or another female did. I doubt he knows how to start a fire once he runs out of matches. I doubt he knows how to purify water enough so that he doesn't get dysentery or worse.
For the first week or so, we have some risk from a large number of these types trying to survive. The second week they are all getting weak from hunger or already sick from infection. In a month, most of them are dead or dying if they haven't figured it all out or hitched up with someone who has the skills.
Bad things might happen in society, I don't question that. Gangs of thugs who manage to survive will be a major threat, at least for a while. I mentioned Samuel R. Delany's book Dhalgren and of course there are others. Another really good one, written well before Y2K but based on exactly the sort of effect we might have seen, is Ariel by Steven R. Boyett. Both assume a situation in which certain kinds of advanced technology simply stop functioning, while the other basic laws of physics remain the same. Edgar Pangborn wrote a whole series of novels and stories set in a post-apocalyptic United States that also showed how it might be centuries after the collapse.
THAT is my nightmare. A society thats /so/ dependent on infrastructure that the infrastructure itself becomes the target.
With the recent pet food fiasco I'm now waiting for our food supplies to be targeted.
*four thousand people die eating food bought at Walmart Superstores...in other news, Dennis Miller adopts Anna Nicoles child...*
The thing is, people think that they could just take a shotgun with slugs and hunt deer for their families. During the Great Depression deer populations literally disapeered in areas and only /now/ are starting to come back.
Its a hard binary choice. Either you make friends with your neihbors and live together...
Whats the old saying? "We either hang together or hang?"
I believe it goes "Either we all hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately." Benjamin Franklin said it at the signing of the Declaration. Alas, today the same quote is used by both the extreme right and the extreme left to justify their hatred of each other.
Those of us who live out here in the country know how we have to cooperate with at least some neighbors and somehow tolerate the rest. Folks who live in cities are the ones who are really isolated, both from the truth and from each other.
Here's a better idea *pushes you into a sauna room and throws a bottle of eucalyptus oil onto the hot stones, dashes out and locks the door* Breathe deeply breathe deeply :)
Hey there you ol' horsie... How come you sound all down in the dumps? To me, you've got no reason at all to be feelin' down...! You have that absolutely lovely place, you've got your partner who obviously care a lot about you.. And you have a job that you like! Were's thataltivo that I liked to follow in his daily chores and striving's? C'mon man! cheer up! I wish I could just come over and help you dig up those hydrants and replace them! Me and vimsig would bring some home made buns, and we'd have a party! Sometimes your blog is ever so interesting and then..... stop whining, you ol' bastard.... I really like your writing, you're an upright and true person, you like the down-to-earth skills. So do I.. You'll probably hate me for posting this, but I had to... Stay happy and strong!! Your Scandinavian supporter Mikael
Thanks for the cheer-up. We've both been really sick for what seems like a month now, though finally it's starting to clear up. That's probably what you've noticed, more than anything else. If spring will just hurry up and move a bit more here, things will look brighter for sure.
Daffodils are starting to open, but it seems like we haven't seen the sun for days again. Raining now in fact. We have a hose from the house to give us water in the barns for the moment, but, yes, we will have to dig up those hydrants soon. So there's bills and there's illness. That's the cause of the depression. Still, I don't really get all that depressed, or stay down for very long. Just stay tuned.
For instance, I need to get photos and post them of the stuff I've been making. Waiting for the sun so I can do that.
my interest in wool processing started with the fact that farmers around begun turning their beef production into mutton business. No one gets paid for the wool, they infact have to pay to get rid of it! We thought that we'd make it into something useful. I've learnt how to spin, vimsig already knew how to knit, and there you have it! All the work that goes in to make an object that "homemade" makes it priceless, you couldn't possibly charge the proper price for it. But boy do I like the fact that i can make yarn that beautiful with my own hands! I also like cooking, bake bread, and occasionally brew my own vodka (shame on me!) I work professionally with my hands in the tiling business, I'm not a bad joiner, I do like making all sort of things with my hands.. Here's an idea: Digging, any reasonable ablebodied person can do, right? Why don't you and Gary spend an afternoon dig around those hydrants, then change them yourself. It's just wrench tools and maybe some sealant that you'd need. Feed me and all your other friends the proceedings, and we all benefit! I'd like to be there to help out, just the task I love to help out with. Glad to hear your umpf is still there. Ride on, Altivo, you're the Man!
Ha ha. Digging is hard and painful work. I'll do it in the garden when I have to, but digging down through six feet of hard packed lime and gravel would probably wear a couple of shovels out as well as ourselves. Neither of us is comfortable or confident of our plumbing ability either, and the last thing I want is to have to dig it up and do it yet another time because I didn't get it right. Electrical wiring I can handle, we can both paint and do simple carpentry, but we resist plumbing and especially in such hard to reach areas.
Much of the wool grown around here is thrown in the compost heap too. I thought that was just typical of the US, though, where waste is so rampant. There is demand for handspun yarn, but still not enough to make it pay the prices it should. Of course, it doesn't help that most of the sheep being raised are not breeds selected for wool or even dual purpose use, but strictly the fast weight gain meat breeds. Their wool isn't worth much more than compost.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2007-03-31 11:46 pm (UTC)And a humidifier with a teaspoon of salt in
the water.
Or not.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-01 12:07 am (UTC)I think it mostly felt better just because you got to stop after a while. And I even love peppermint. ;p
no subject
Date: 2007-04-01 12:18 am (UTC)XD
no subject
Date: 2007-04-01 12:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-01 02:03 pm (UTC)perused lots of Survivalist websites and
usenet groups. I came to the conclusion that
I'm not really a survivalist. I don't
think that after the collapse of civilization
I, and my friends, will emerge with our SKS
or M1 Garand rifles from the woods and
rebuild the world. An older hippie lady
I knew at the time said, "Sounds like your
getting ready for the Great Depression"
I liked that, self sufficency, but not
Sieg Heil. ^_^
no subject
Date: 2007-04-01 02:26 pm (UTC)It's true, in inner city areas there are a lot of people who have no idea how to survive without a bunch of infrastructure that they take for granted without understanding it. But I don't think the social fabric would have been subject to total breakdown. In fact, I pictured something like Samuel R. Delany's book Dhalgren, in which even the inner city continues to limp along, made up of a lot of people who simply refuse to accept the fact that things have changed, and a few people who choose, in one way or another, to take advantage of the change.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-02 01:49 pm (UTC)a doomsday scenerio whenever something moves
us, as Americans, out of our comfort zone. The
church and the media both love to play to that
because really it sells. The reality is that,
as you say, people limp along and keep putting
one foot in front of the other.
One thread on usenet summed up my thinking about
Y2K perfectly, it went something like, "Okay,
so the world ends and everyone bugs out to
the woods. Do /you/ really want to be sleeping
in the woods with millions of people that
have never had to go a day without food, who
now have military grade rifles, and you step
on a twig at two a.m. trying to pee?
XD
A better survival strategy is to try and
make society a place worth staying in.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-02 02:57 pm (UTC)For the first week or so, we have some risk from a large number of these types trying to survive. The second week they are all getting weak from hunger or already sick from infection. In a month, most of them are dead or dying if they haven't figured it all out or hitched up with someone who has the skills.
Bad things might happen in society, I don't question that. Gangs of thugs who manage to survive will be a major threat, at least for a while. I mentioned Samuel R. Delany's book Dhalgren and of course there are others. Another really good one, written well before Y2K but based on exactly the sort of effect we might have seen, is Ariel by Steven R. Boyett. Both assume a situation in which certain kinds of advanced technology simply stop functioning, while the other basic laws of physics remain the same. Edgar Pangborn wrote a whole series of novels and stories set in a post-apocalyptic United States that also showed how it might be centuries after the collapse.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-02 04:05 pm (UTC)/so/ dependent on infrastructure that the
infrastructure itself becomes the target.
With the recent pet food fiasco I'm now
waiting for our food supplies to be
targeted.
*four thousand people die eating food
bought at Walmart Superstores...in
other news, Dennis Miller adopts
Anna Nicoles child...*
The thing is, people think that they
could just take a shotgun with slugs
and hunt deer for their families.
During the Great Depression deer
populations literally disapeered
in areas and only /now/ are starting
to come back.
Its a hard binary choice. Either you
make friends with your neihbors and
live together...
Whats the old saying? "We either hang
together or hang?"
c.c
no subject
Date: 2007-04-02 04:26 pm (UTC)Those of us who live out here in the country know how we have to cooperate with at least some neighbors and somehow tolerate the rest. Folks who live in cities are the ones who are really isolated, both from the truth and from each other.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-03 02:04 am (UTC)*does yeoman's work to try and change that, at
least in his local*
no subject
Date: 2007-04-04 09:31 am (UTC)Here's a better idea *pushes you into a sauna room and throws a bottle of eucalyptus oil onto the hot stones, dashes out and locks the door* Breathe deeply breathe deeply :)
no subject
Date: 2007-04-04 10:04 am (UTC)*Whickers... achoooo!
Date: 2007-04-01 12:08 am (UTC)So true, so true! *Huge horsey sneeze, snot all over the shop*
Whoops, sorry!
Blacksnip
Re: *Whickers... achoooo!
Date: 2007-04-01 12:35 am (UTC)Re: *Whickers... achoooo!
Date: 2007-04-01 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-01 01:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-01 01:59 am (UTC)Actually, I'm so weak and wobbly, it wouldn't be safe by myself. Now if a big strong wuffy were to go in with me in case I needed help...
no subject
Date: 2007-04-01 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-01 02:36 am (UTC)Hi there
Date: 2007-04-01 05:44 pm (UTC)How come you sound all down in the dumps?
To me, you've got no reason at all to be feelin' down...!
You have that absolutely lovely place, you've got your partner who obviously care a lot about you..
And you have a job that you like!
Were's that
C'mon man! cheer up!
I wish I could just come over and help you dig up those hydrants and replace them! Me and
Sometimes your blog is ever so interesting and then..... stop whining, you ol' bastard....
I really like your writing, you're an upright and true person, you like the down-to-earth skills. So do I..
You'll probably hate me for posting this, but I had to...
Stay happy and strong!!
Your Scandinavian supporter
Mikael
Re: Hi there
Date: 2007-04-01 06:16 pm (UTC)Daffodils are starting to open, but it seems like we haven't seen the sun for days again. Raining now in fact. We have a hose from the house to give us water in the barns for the moment, but, yes, we will have to dig up those hydrants soon. So there's bills and there's illness. That's the cause of the depression. Still, I don't really get all that depressed, or stay down for very long. Just stay tuned.
For instance, I need to get photos and post them of the stuff I've been making. Waiting for the sun so I can do that.
that's more like it!
Date: 2007-04-01 08:07 pm (UTC)We thought that we'd make it into something useful. I've learnt how to spin,
I work professionally with my hands in the tiling business, I'm not a bad joiner, I do like making all sort of things with my hands..
Here's an idea:
Digging, any reasonable ablebodied person can do, right?
Why don't you and Gary spend an afternoon dig around those hydrants, then change them yourself. It's just wrench tools and maybe some sealant that you'd need. Feed me and all your other friends the proceedings, and we all benefit!
I'd like to be there to help out, just the task I love to help out with.
Glad to hear your umpf is still there.
Ride on, Altivo, you're the Man!
Re: that's more like it!
Date: 2007-04-01 08:48 pm (UTC)Much of the wool grown around here is thrown in the compost heap too. I thought that was just typical of the US, though, where waste is so rampant. There is demand for handspun yarn, but still not enough to make it pay the prices it should. Of course, it doesn't help that most of the sheep being raised are not breeds selected for wool or even dual purpose use, but strictly the fast weight gain meat breeds. Their wool isn't worth much more than compost.