This is an article from several years ago by someone who saw what happened there first hand as things went from bad to hellish. Here are some interesting pointers to remember:

1) Those that want to harm you/steal from you don’t come with a pirate flag waving over their heads.

2) Neither do they start shooting at you 200 yards away.

3) They wont come riding loud bikes or dressed with their orange, convict just escaped from prison jump suits, so that you can identify them the better. Nor do they all wear chains around their necks and leather jackets. If I had a dollar for each time a person that got robbed told me, “They looked like NORMAL people, dressed better than we are”, honestly, I would have enough money for a nice gun. There are exceptions, but don’t expect them to dress like in the movies.

4) A man with a wife and two or three kids can’t set up a watch. I don’t care if you are SEAL, SWAT or John Freaking Rambo, no 6th sense is going to tell you that there is a guy pointing a gun at your back when you are trying to fix the water pump that just broke, or carrying a big heavy bag of dried beans you bought that morning.

And then there’s this:

Once the SHTF [shit hit the fan], money is no longer measured in money, but you start seeing it as the necessary goods it can buy. Stuff like food, medicine, gas, or the private medical service bill.

To me, spending 500 dollars on beauty products, and to make it worse, on a guy? That’s simply not acceptable.

The way I see it, someone with that mentality can’t survive a week without a credit card, no use in even considering a SHTF scenario. And this guy is a firearms instructor?… probably the kind of guy that will say that a handgun is only used to fight his way to his rifle… and his facial night cream…

Once you experience the lack of stuff you took for granted, like food, medicines, your set of priorities change all of a sudden. For example, I had two wisdom tooth removed last year. On both occasions I was prescribed with antibiotics and strong Ibuprofen for the pain. I took the antibiotics (though I did buy two boxes with the same recipe just to keep one box just in case) but I didn’t use the Ibuprofen, I added it to my pile of medicines.

Why? because medicines are not always available and I’m not sure if they will be available in the future. Sure, it hurt like hell, but pain alone isn’t going to kill you, so I sucked it up.

Lot’s more words of wisdom on dealing with a collapse if you read the whole article. Just in case.

Found by Brother Uncle Don

Click pic to get your inner bacon on

From the people who brought you Baconnaise, bacon flavored popcorn and, of course (who could forget?), Mayonnaise Wrestling! At least it isn’t also covered in chocolate. Or chicken fried. Or both.

And tonight is the night for the world famous Bacathalon!

New evidence suggests that the correlation between atmospheric carbon and warming may not be as clear as previously believed

Global warming is an extremely sensitive topic. Some ardently believe that man is pushing our planet towards global ruin, while others believe that proponents of anthropogenic warming theory are pushing the global economy towards financial ruin. Surprisingly, though, the evidence is not as black or white as either group would like you to believe.

A recent study looking at atmospheric carbon when combined with a recent summary of global atmospheric temperatures over the past 30 years sharply illustrates this uncertainty.

Why do I have a feeling Al Gore won’t be happy about this part:

With the international community puzzling over expensive climate change legislation, it is important to consider carefully what landmarks by which to gauge “success” amid the uncertainty of cyclic variation. Furthermore, critics and proponents aside, the wisest approach seems to be to avoid schemes that throw money into the wind, such as carbon trading or carbon sequestration.

The Copenhagen talks are going nowhere.

“You mean we could have gotten married in Texas where they have a get-out-of-hell-free law?”

An example of what happens when politicians meddle in things they have no business in.

Texans: Are you really married? Maybe not.

Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages erroneously endangers the legal status of all marriages in the state.

The amendment, approved by the Texas Legislature and overwhelmingly ratified by Texas voters, declares that “marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.” But the trouble-making phrase, as Radnofsky sees it, is Subsection B, which declares: “This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.”

Architects of the amendment included the clause to ban same-sex civil unions and domestic partnerships. But Radnofsky, who was a member of the powerhouse Vinson & Elkins law firm in Houston for 27 years until retiring in 2006, says the wording of Subsection B effectively “eliminates marriage in Texas,” including common-law marriages.

[...A]nother constitutional amendment may be necessary to reverse the problem.

“We’re supposed to pay out, too? Quack!”

This could be a new method (if not already in place) for insurers of all policies to save (ie, make) money. No coverage for a severed limb unless you provide the limb and whatever (and/or whoever) cut it off. No payout for a damaged car from a hit and run unless that driver & unrepaired car can be produced.

A mother whose daughter was murdered is suing American Life Assurance of Columbus (AFLAC) because it has refused to pay the death benefit on life insurance the daughter applied for shortly before her death.
[...]
In November 2004, AFLAC denied the claim due to “insufficient proof of loss” stating that it required the name of the person charged with the homicide. In 2009, AFLAC closed the file, while the investigation into the death of Michelle Williams remains open.

Sounds like a good reason to take the day off.

Twenty-six percent (26%) of employed adults say they have seriously thought that someone in their workplace was capable of mass violence, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Most working adults (64%), however, say they have not seriously thought a co-worker would be capable of such violence. Another 11% are undecided.

One-in-three men (33%) say they have held that thought before, compared to only 17% of women.

Forty-three percent (43%) of government workers say they have felt a fellow employee was capable of mass violence, more than double the number among those who work for private companies.
[...]
Just 22% of all Americans believe stricter gun control laws would reduce the number of workplace shooting sprees. Most (58%) adults say stricter laws on gun ownership would not help this problem, while another 19% are undecided.

They want to start off with soft sells and travel related items, but you know it won’t stop there if this is successful. Imagine hard sells on insurance, ShamWows and, of course, Viagra for those thinking of joining the Mile High Club.

Air travelers in the United States are already paying for sandwiches and drinks, pillows and headsets. So, as airlines look for more ways to help their bottom lines, they have started asking the next logical question: Why not sell limousine services or even tickets to Broadway shows?
[...]
Other airlines declined to talk on the record about their plans, but nearly all the major carriers acknowledged that they were working on expanding retail offerings.
[...]
“Look at what’s going on in airports,” he said. “Anytime you have customers who are captive, who have nothing better to do, they’ll shop.”

The technology making the onboard sales possible is being provided by GuestLogix, a Canadian company that sells the credit card readers and sales software to the airline industry. A brochure promoting its products describes onboard retail as unique because “operators are able to lock their doors with their shoppers still inside.”

In an interview, Brett Proud executive vice president of global sales and client support for GuestLogix, described the jetliner as “a retail space that is probably the biggest retail opportunity ever uncovered,” adding, “It’s huge.”

The drug companies feel (and have a pill for) your pain. They just don’t want to share in it.

Even as drug makers promise to support Washington’s health care overhaul by shaving $8 billion a year off the nation’s drug costs after the legislation takes effect, the industry has been raising its prices at the fastest rate in years.

In the last year, the industry has raised the wholesale prices of brand-name prescription drugs by about 9 percent, according to industry analysts. That will add more than $10 billion to the nation’s drug bill, which is on track to exceed $300 billion this year. By at least one analysis, it is the highest annual rate of inflation for drug prices since 1992.

The drug trend is distinctly at odds with the direction of the Consumer Price Index, which has fallen by 1.3 percent in the last year.

Drug makers say they have valid business reasons for the price increases. Critics say the industry is trying to establish a higher price base before Congress passes legislation that tries to curb drug spending in coming years.

Former Vice President Al Gore’s global-warming speech Saturday night at Mizner Park drew about a thousand attendees, as well as more than 200 loud protesters.

Stationed outside the Mizner Park Amphitheater, the protesters jeered at Gore as he took the podium and at those walking into the open-air venue to listen to the speech.

“This is the most dangerous crisis we’ve ever faced,” Gore said of climate change. He spoke over a chorus of boos from protesters, who were monitored by at least a dozen uniformed city police officers.

Many of the protesters were with the groups Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow and South Florida Tea Party, the latter of which feels that Gore’s views will eventually lead to increased taxes and flawed business legislation.

The protesters carried drums, bullhorns and posters. One read “Practice what you preach,” accusing Gore of not living a green lifestyle. Another poster read “The masses follow the asses,” depicting the protesters’ opinion that Gore’s message is not backed by scientific evidence.

Your tax money at work. As to how the market gets its wares, did you ever read the book or see the movie, Catch 22, with its military entrepreneur Milo Minderbinder? Guess this is what they mean by ‘nation building.’

First came the Brezhnev Market. Then the Bush Market.

Now Afghans are beginning to call their notorious bazaar full of chow and supplies bought or stolen from the vast US military bases by the name of the current American president, a modest counterweight to his Nobel Peace Prize.
[...]
The small market, tucked behind a commercial building in the northwest side of the city, is a US taxpayer’s nightmare. [...] Inside, two assistants were stacking hundreds of bottles onto a wall of shelves full of Gatorade. Shelves on the other walls were jammed with Quaker Instant Grits, Aunt Jemima syrup, McCormick spices and the giant cans of vegetables used in chow halls.

All around were stalls offering cases of MREs (meals-ready-to-eat), new-in-the-box military cots and goods usually sold on base stores, such as American-made shampoo, military ID holders and the huge plastic jars of the food supplements used by bodybuilders.

One shop offered an expensive military-issue sleeping bag, tactical goggles like those used by US troops and a stack of plastic footlockers, including one stenciled “Campbell G Co. 10th Mtn Div.” Another had a sophisticated “red-dot” optical rifle sight of a kind often used by soldiers and contractors.
[...]
NATO officials know about the market, and an ISAF spokesman, Capt. Mike Andrews, said that if any sensitive equipment turned up for sale, security forces would take action.

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Check out the slideshow.

The young stripper wrapped herself around a chrome pole inside a giant Plexiglas box on the back of a rolling truck.

Heather “Passion” Matson, 21, beckoned drivers and pedestrians on the [Las Vegas] Strip with her skimpy outfit, come-hither smile and suggestive moves that included flipping upside down with legs spread. Even under the Strip’s chaotic neon, the lone pole dancer encased beneath a bright, stagy light drew wide-eyed stares late Tuesday night. Couples stopped, pointed and smiled. Cameras flashed. Carloads of people gave her thumbs-up signs.
[...]
The all-nude clubs Déjà Vu Showgirls and Little Darlings began hauling dancers up and down Las Vegas Boulevard a couple weeks ago to lure patrons, whose numbers have dwindled in the recession. [...] Commissioner Steve Sisolak said he opposes live entertainment on wheels because he thinks it’s far more distracting to drivers than static images such as billboards mounted on trucks. Although he has received some complaints about the risqué element, he considers that a lesser concern.
[...]
Matson said she hopes the mobile stage works as intended. She estimates her income has dropped by 75 percent in the past year.

“I used to make $800 a night,” Matson said. “Now I’m down to $200.”

UPDATE: The stripper truck is no more.

Nothing teaches kids the importance of following rules like creating pointless ones for harmless fads — protected by free speech provisions of the Constitution (which the school hopefully teaches) no less — that would die out quickly if they said nothing. This will now live on for years and foster disrespect for important rules.

It started like this:

A new four-letter-word has some teenagers in Danvers afraid they might get their mouths washed out with soap.

The word is… meep.

Some say it was those pesky Muppets who started it. Remember Beaker? Some say it was the Road Runner. [...] But Danvers High School principal Thomas Murray doesn’t care who started it, he just doesn’t want to hear it on school grounds. Murray called every student’s home with an automated message and sent out a mass email banning the word from school.

“Please be advised that any student who has the letters ‘meep’ on their clothing or uses the words verbally will face suspension from school…the police are monitoring this situation as well.”

The police? Really?

Apple 1 computer for sale.
Perhaps the best condition, best documented Apple 1 in existence.

Any Apple 1 is rare but this unit has impeccable provenance and is so clean…it literally may be the best surviving Apple 1.

Provenance:
Included in this sale are the following items to provide complete history and provenance for this unit:

o The original invoice for the sale, dated December 7, 1976. The sales person, Steven, is presumed to be Steve Jobs.

o A letter, typed on plain notebook paper and signed by Steven Jobs. Though undated, the letter refers to sending the buyer a dealer application in January or February, 1977.

o The original packaging in which the computer shipped, with a return address of Steve Jobs’ parents address at the time.

o Photographs of every owner of this unit. The original owner was photographed holding the computer, the next owner did the same and the current owner took his picture with both the system and with Steve Wozniak

(btw, When Steve Wozniak saw this unit he told me that the first batches of Apple 1’s used a brand of chip they later replaced because they blew out easily. He said those chips were on this unit, which is probably why the unit didn’t boot in the mid-80s.)

Interesting that this comes as Xbox sales are declining and PS3 sales climbing. Will this help MS sales because the ban is permanent and users will have to buy a new Xbox or will these users abandon the console?

Yesterday, news broke that Microsoft had banned a massive amount of players from its Xbox Live service which is available on its popular Xbox 360 gaming console. According to reports, the banned players had one thing in common — they had modified their console’s hardware or firmware to carry out unauthorized activity such as installation of an alternate OS, playing out of zone media, or running pirated software.

Initially, the estimates pegged the number of banned users at 600,000. Now CNET is reporting that over 1 million players have been banned from the service. That’s a pretty incredible number as Xbox Live only has 20 million subscribers. That means that approximately 1 in 20 players has been banned, or roughly 5 percent of the service’s total population.

The ban coincided with the release of Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on Tuesday, and many are speculating that the rampant piracy of the game before its release triggered Activision to demand action from Microsoft. Pirated copies were widely floating around torrents sites over the weekend, and players with modified consoles may have taken it out for a spin ahead of release.

Banned machines are showing up on eBay and elsewhere, often without warning they are banned machines.