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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill on the Hill who wrote (3928)	4/16/2006 5:37:16 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24213

he is still a neighbor? Part time; they have a Berkeley (natch) contingent where he lives part of the time. Ever see SuperNiner on the football games? Dude cruising the stands with his banjo, wearing a superman cape and a propeller beanie? That's Stacey; he's part of that group. Jammed with him one nite :>) themonthly.com Hey; I made Wavy laugh at a joke once :>) That was a good day. He's turning 70. Bobby Weir is gonna take my dawg to the party. Wavy Gravy,70th Birthday,Bob Weir,Ratdog,Mickey Hart,Linda Tillery,Hamza el Din,Prescott Circus,Seva Foundation Saturday, May 20, 2006 (6:00 PM) seva.org Summers, he's up here running his summer camp. campwinnarainbow.org They used to do a rock festival up here; the Pig Nic. As Leary was dying, Kesey repainted Further, and they all came down here for the final party. Kesey and the crew did a "tweener" set. Dressed up as the Wiz of Oz, did "Gloria" from the top of da bus.

To: Bill on the Hill who wrote (3928)	4/17/2006 11:44:53 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24213

Peakguy, My short term financial goal is to have a six months "emergency fund" in my savings account and a six-month "catastrophe fund" in physical gold and silver. If the shit was to really hit the fan like total grid collapse, there would still be commerce/barter/trading and I suspect gold/silver coins and jewelery are as likely to be accepted as anything else. (Liquor, dope, cigarettes, ammo, and condoms other good items.) Best, Matt [ Parent \| Reply to This ] dizzysaurus on Mon Apr 17 at 5:09 PM EST I recommend Toilet Paper. Hundreds of rolls of all qualities ;-) Do you really think it would get that bad? I got swept up in that feeling for a while, but I think "it" will be a fairly slow deepening depression. I don't think we're heading for a cliff's edge just yet. I still have a lot of toilet paper though! [ Parent \| Reply to This ] [new] thelastsasquatch on Mon Apr 17 at 5:54 PM EST No one - the cornucopians to the doomers knows how this will pan out - we could have slow crash, no crash at all or steep crash due to some unforseen disruption. If a nuke went off and rendered strait of hormuz oil unexportable, we would be looking at New Orleans nationwide in a matter of weeks. Because no one knows, its best to diversify ones assets to have the largest % chance of having the largest impact with lowest risk. I have 5% of my assets in gold and silver coins, bullets and guns, and freeze dried food. Maybe its too much - maybe not enough-but lets me sleep at night. Some of my former wall street clients have over 100 million dollars in a broad array of investment accounts all over the planet - but they have ZERO real assets - many of them own gold, but only in the futures market or through some commodity trust - this is an example of diversification in one system, where owning hard assets and other investments is diversification BETWEEN systems. Silver one ounce coins or bars will probably be best, as they can buy small things and are easily recognized. The things that give people immediate dopamine will also be in high demand - coffee, sugar, cocoa, alcohol, marijuana, opium, tobacco, etc. And I must add that my biggest asset is the flexibility and health of my brain - it continually allows me to adjust to new information and plan accordingly - anyone who is wed to one pre-ordained view of how this will pan out is probably being too dogmatic. Other than things will probably be less pleasant and easy as they currently are. Investment wise, this was a "peak oil" day in the markets - Gold up $18, Silver up .50c, oil and gas to new highs, stocks mkt selloff, us dollar down almost 2 euros, etc. I continue to think that the major impact of peak oil will be a financial one - Im already talking to average people that are changing plans for summer and cutting back because gas is so high. I am short alot of stocks, like RTH - the retail stock ETF. I dont know how the economy will withstand the new credit card rules, softening of real estate mkt and higher gas prices. Tangentially, wealth is A/D ==> assets over desires. one can increase wealth by increasing assets or decreasing desires or both. Most 'desires' come from evolutionary impulses for novelty and relative fitness. In essence, we like things that are novel and new because our ancestors that found extra food and new things tended to outproduce and have more resources for their offspring. Today, when the energy leverage of the planet is so high, our universe of 'expected rewards' is nearly infinite. If we have 2 houses, we think we need 3. If we have too much missionary style sex, we need doggie style - if we eat too much mac and cheese, we crave sushi. In a world of declining energy resources, the 'novelty availability' grabbag will be much smaller. Those who recognize this, and understand neuroscience a bit should be able to reduce the disparity between expected and unexpected reward and be happier with simpler things, that can be had with or without oil. In sum, diverisfication exists in traditional markets, in hard assets, as well as in the neural framework of what makes us happy and satisfied as humans. theoildrum.com