The net effect of technology is a mixed bag, with one major side effect:
An entire generation of youth have become inept, largely helpless and dependent upon gadgets and devices that ‘just work’ with no knowledge of how they work. And most have no clue whatsoever about what to do if these high tech things break – or God forbid, if things go “dark” in society.
While the tech revolution of the past few decades has put the tools of innovation in everyone’s reach, many simply aren’t reaching at all for answers. They are waiting to be spoonfed new toys and electronics.
That pretty much makes the future bleak, at least in general outlook.
That’s the general take away presented by Professor Danielle George, who specializes in Radio Frequency Engineering at the University of Manchester in the UK. The Telegraph reported on her warnings:
Young people in Britain have become a lost generation who can no longer mend gadgets and appliances because they have grown up in a disposable world
[…]
under 40s expect everything to ‘just work’ and have no idea what to do when things go wrong.
[…]
Unlike previous generations who would ‘make do and mend’ now young people will just chuck out their faulty appliances and buy new ones.
“We’ve got a lost generation that has grown up with factory electronics that just work all of the time.
And much more is going to waste than just electronic gadgets… it is basically everything.
A University of Missouri study published in 2014 found that sewing, too, was going out the window, and tons of textile waste along with it:
In 2012, Americans created more than 14.3 million tons of textile waste. Much of this waste is due to clothes being discarded due to minor tears or stains–easily repairable damages if the owners have the skills and knowledge to fix them.
The National Defense Resources Council highlighted how some 40% of food is wasted by consumers and dumped in landfills:
Getting food from the farm to our fork eats up 10 percent of the total U.S. energy budget, uses 50 percent of U.S. land, and swallows 80 percent of all freshwater consumed in the United States. Yet, 40 percent of food in the United States today goes uneaten. This not only means that Americans are throwing out the equivalent of $165 billion each year, but also that the uneaten food ends up rotting in landfills as the single largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste… Reducing food losses by just 15 percent would be enough food to feed more than 25 million Americans every year at a time when one in six Americans lack a secure supply of food to their tables.
Pathetic? Unfortunately. And dangerously close to system wide.
We are at a time when most everyone is texting, talking, Twittering and Facebooking constantly with little relevant knowledge about the real world around them.
It goes along with the decline of manufacturing and engineering jobs, American-made goods and an overall loss of skills in a generation oriented towards the services industry and the information age. There has also been a crippling blow to our standards for education, news media and the informed voter, despite more time and money being thrown at all of it.
But it isn’t all doom and gloom. This professor set out to inspire a fresh take on how to repair and repurpose old electronics to inspire new crafts, devices and ways of putting things to work in the post-everything world.
I want young people to realise that that they have the power to change the world right from their bedroom, kitchen table or garden shed.
“Today’s generation of young people are in a truly unique position. The technology we use and depend on every day is expanding and developing at a phenomenal rate and so our society has never been more equipped to be creative and innovative.
Professor George is among those encouraging and sharing so-called “home hacks” – ideas to reconfigure and invent, typically using just a bit of basic knowledge of electronics:
“But there is now a big maker community who are thinking hard about what we do with all of these gadgets. They are remaking and repurposing things.
During the lectures she will also demonstrate how to send wireless messages using a barbeque, control a firework display with a laptop, use a torch to browse the internet, turn a smartphone into a microscope, how to turn a washing machine into a wind turbine, and how Lego can solve a Rubik’s Cube.
Hundreds of websites have emerged in the last few years where users post ideas about home hacks and electronics.
This mentality mirrors the few and the proud who have taken on prepping as a lifestyle… by first recognizing that – at so many different levels – this system is designed to fail and won’t last, and second, by taking steps to prepare for the worst, store supplies, create contingencies and build alternative and makeshift devices to survive and even thrive.
Learning to repurpose and reuse things that are broken, tossed out, or not normally used that way is essential to the survival mentality – at an individual and societal level.
Here’s just one example, from a SHTF commenter using the 1984-inspired handle “Winston Smith”:
Now for a shortwave radio. Most preppers will tell you to buy a good, name brand model. I agree with them but I also know that it is not realistic in the beginning. Instead, I will suggest an unorthodox approach that will let you hear strong international stations for less than $20. Go to E-Bay and find a Kchibo KK-9803 10 band world receiver. Yes, it’s cheap and Chinese but it does actually work. Now, go to Wal Mart (or any other store, for that matter) and buy a metal Slinky. While you are there, get a piece of wire and two alligator clips in the automotive section. Next up, buy a tin of Danish butter cookies (and eat them!). What do you have? Well, you have a Slinky monopole antenna, a receiver that can pull in strong stations like BBC World Service, China Radio International or Voice of Russia and a Faraday cage. To put it all together, stretch the Slinky out as far as it will go while still returning to it’s original shape. This can be done inside a house or in a tree if you have to. Next, attach the wire to the alligator clips and then use the clips to attach one end to an end of the Slinky and the other to the top of the antenna of the radio. Now, you have the ability to hear news reports in English from around the globe. When you are done, wrap the radio in a rag or old tee shirt and place it in the cookie tin. It is now (somewhat) insulated from an EMP. My cookie tin also includes a solar batter charger I got from Harbor Freight and some rechargeable batteries, but that setup was another $15-20. Usually I just run it off of some batteries I got from IKEA for $1.99 a 10 pack.
There is an endless list of skills that are on the verge of being lost to the younger generations that are of direct importance to any prepper making the best of what is on hand or can be found and obtained, particularly in a crisis.
Here are a few helpful resources to start your thinking, doing and recreating:
5 Ways to Make Candles From Household Items
Top 12 Homemade Firestarters For Survival And Camping
How-To Make A Multi Key Utility-Key 18-in-1 Tool
17 Great Ways to Utilize 2-Liter Soda Bottles for Survival
8 Home Security Hacks Every Household Should Learn
SHTF Life Hacks: Secret Prepper Tip List
Candles, Clean Water, Fire, Mosquito Repellant, Solar Oven, Compass and Oil: 7 Survival Life Hacks That Could Save Your Life
And the food waste? Learn to make do, as with other basic skills we need to reclaim.
Rather than waste all that food, put it to good use. Prepper Daisy Luther explains her perspective on the art of “repurposing leftovers.” From scraps, to soup, puree, casseroles, pie and more, there is much that can be done with seemingly unwanted or useless food waste.
If you can serve your family one “freebie” meal per week that results in a savings, for a family of 4, of about $10 – $520 over the course of a year. It doesn’t sound like much until you add it up, does it?
I think this also applies to relationships as well.
Absolutely
It’s a damned shame we don’t throw out something else that doesn’t ,nor ever, worked a day in its life….
politicians
and
bankers
Problem is..the landfill for proper disposal of above said items would be eternally contaminated..
possee
The future of a species has always relied on its ability to adapt and mold to new situations in evolving and changing environments. While the general flow of events is based on natural law within the confines of expansion and entropy, they are consistent and logical yet dynamic in flow. Only those that can “evolve” with those changes emerge as the survivors.
Same shit, new day…
Is that all you can come up with?
Why even come here?
Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one and they all stink.
Same shit, new day…
i really shouldn’t reply to such silliness but here goes…
oh come on now, just go blow it out your ass somewhere else.
Im an Electrical Engineer. Went to school in the late 70’s early 80’s. Most people I went to school at that time can take a pile of parts and make many simple to complex products without any trouble.
However the new guys coming up seem to have little experience or drive to make or fix things. They are great at TC/IP, internet, games and things like that but couldn’t build or fix the hardware to operate it.
Prepper Daisy Luther explains her perspective on the art of “repurposing leftovers.”
Repurposing leftovers? Only femi nazi libtards and online twits talk like that.
Leftovers are leftovers. Use them as is or add to something else.
ht tp://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/11310456/Goodbye-to-one-of-the-best-years-in-history.html
WORLD SAFEST, RICHEST, HEALTHIEST IN HISTORY!
This is the main headline I seen on Drudge as soon as I left this article a minute ago…..LoL
I guess it all depends on perspective and attitude 🙂
Do they all stink, I wouldn’t know but apparently you do.
have you read Life With Adam & Eve?
No, but I’ve read the Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth many times…
Same shit, new day…
Sorry but I think this is crap!
I think it depends on what socio-economic group you belong to. “Make do and mend”is a slogan that never went away for some of us. Way too many people just plum can’t afford to chuck stuff away on the flimsiest of excuses.
I can’t be alone in spending many an hour watching youtube videos to learn how to fix some appliance or complete some house maintenance task over the years.
This correspondence course costs a tidy penny but I can vouch that it has been worth it imho for homeschoolers http://www.windmillweb.co.uk/KIDSTUFF/Frontpage.htm. It gives a basic grounding in electronics & the critical thinking/problem solving that they don’t seem to cover in schools nowadays. I do try and find free resources whenever possible but occasionally it is worth making a smart investment and I do consider this one to be well worth it.
You can’t fix stupid.
This entire society was hoped for and was purposely designed by the Central Planners. That is the “Big Picture”.
It’s how you enslave a people or in this case humanity (because it’s gone global) to rely on Gubmint or those responsible for those gadgets. And now most gadgets are so complex, you can’t take them apart without damaging something. Apple is the biggest offender of this by making all of it’s gadgets harder and harder to take apart without special tools.
Going forward this trend will only get worse but the Central Planners just love having the sheeple look to them for all the answers.
If I had it to do all over again, I’d get into electrical or HVAC. Especially HVAC. But the people that will make it in the end will definitely be those that can work with their hands. Id love to see anything in Silicon Valley that could build a house.
I don’t think that theory holds true for Humans, SS.
Humans have an inherit nature to adapt to their surroundings and influences. Their DNA from parents, and their way of upbringing causes them to act accordingly.
There is no “evolving” as you say. Humans have never “evolved”. Yes they sometimes change and adapt to the times, for better or worse; but, they don’t evolve to become smarter or dumber.
The smarter or dumber part comes from DNA, surroundings/upbringing, and motivation factors.
It doesn’t matter how motivated a person is, if the DNA and upbringing isn’t there, they will never rise to the same potential as a person that has better genes, and upbringing.
In other words…”you can’t fix stupid”. Some people just don’t have the cognitive ability to use common sense.
I should know, i am married into a family like that. Example: wife’s aunt, our neighbor. Retired University Professor from the “old school”. She worked her way thru college and kept working for her PHD.
She is book smart, but dumb as a rock about common sense things.
She began recycling before it was ever popular, and whole communities got in on it. That is good to a point.
But, she is so locked in with her ideology about being “good for the earth”, and the “green” idealism, she can’t differentiate where good and bad meet, or offset each other.
She even collects others’ Christmas wrappings from the trash bins to re-use. She is a millionaire. She saves every last scrap of paper to recycle. Paper is a renewable resource from pulp producing trees. It has many people’s livelihoods attached to it. Producing paper products, is good for the economy and people in general, (As long as paper mills use non polluting manufacturing procedures).
Glass,plastic, and metal, especially aluminum, isn’t, so recycle all we can.
She put up a solar electric array that costs tens of thousands of dollars. She already had solar collectors to preheat all her water and provide 80% of her heat source.
The whole solar voltaic system will burn out before she ever gets it fully paid for because she was only paying about $50.00, on average, for monthly electrical expense, to begin with. Just her and her disabled husband.
She is hardcore democrat, but claims to be Christian. She works tirelessly during campaign and election time to promote the democratic agenda, while not recognizing or caring, that she is pushing a pro-
abortion, pro-homo, anti-Christian agenda.
My point is, as a species, people don’t “evolve” to any particular point of becoming smarter, or adapting to changes for their survival. If that were true, then the PHD woman would be more concerned with her “eternal survival” than, saving a few trees, and survival of the planet. She just “thinks” she is smarter by pushing and promoting, a pro-democrat/green(which is their hoax/scam) agenda. She is at risk of losing her soul because of it.
We are “conditioned” to a point of being “dumbed down”.
A liberal agenda thru media,schooling, and political correctness, causes that dumbing down to become more widespread and prevalent in the last and recent generations.
If people were “evolving” as a smarter species, they would have figured it out already and gathered the masses to displace liberalism as the priority living factor in today’s society, and put God and His Word, first and foremost, as daily learning and living, principles.
Notice, i didn’t say religion. Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s a way of life. The only way to the Father. Without Christianity/belief in the Saviour Jesus Christ as Son of God, there is no living; just meandering thru this world without concern for the eternity and “gambling” on survival.
pwtw
If we bury you ass up, I’ve got a place to park my bike.
Robin Williams
(1951 – 2014) comedian & actor
Same shit, new day…
You are a pitiful shell of a person.
A trolling, lonely, soul; lost in space and time, i presume.
If you find it hard to laugh at yourself, I would be happy to do it for you.
Groucho Marx
(1890 – 1977) comedian, actor & television host
Same shit, new day…
Passin, I have to agree. Sad but true. Excellent post.
Religion another superstitious hoax designed to dupe the gullible. Now give another 10% of your pay for another helping spoonfull of BS. My Lucky 8 Ball says my rabbits foot is the best luck u can carry besides my Beretta PX4 SubCompact that will truely save me.
“Make it go…” – Pakleds, Star Trek, Next Generation
I think part of the problem is that there is only a limited amount of both intellectual capacity and time most people have in their days. People adapt to use the things most relevant to their environment. In the past, there was a fairly limited amount of technology people had to know to use so there was time for the overflow necessary to innovate. Today things change so quickly that it is almost impossible to keep learning enough new things just to stay behind at the same level. Add to that the availability of cheap basic products (appliances, etc.) that take far less time worked to purchase than they did before and it’s no wonder that these skills are becoming lost to time. Plus, most products today have either been built to not last or have been made to become obsolete fairly quickly. In the end, the combination of these things has come to make people very dependent on consumerism.
Do I live this way? Yes and no. I have never been a strong believer in credit and have never really had much of an income so I have always been forced to innovate, rebuild and repurpose. When I wanted an iPod I bought two broken ones off E-bay for $10 a piece to learn how they worked. (I got both working again for next to nothing). When I needed a vacuum cleaner I bought two broken Kirbys and built one for less than $25. If I need a mower, edger, etc. I just find one that a throw away consumer leaves at the curb on trash night, take it home and fix it- usually for under $10. Even my vehicles are generally built by me. I’m also gathering parts for a 3D printer so that I can make all the silly little plastic parts that tend to render most modern things garbage.
Now I do like shiny new things too, but I try to buy them with longevity in mind. I like to have vehicles with long production histories that have proven their design in developing nations rather than the one with the latest, greatest smartphone interface, etc. Even still, I am not anywhere near as good at repair and reuse as people of the older generations seem to have been, and am absolutely horrible at it compared to the Cubans! Convenience has a way of stifling innovation.
Possee, it’s probably better to burn those corpses anyway.
“A University of Missouri study published in 2014 found that sewing, too, was going out the window, and tons of textile waste along with it:”
I know this is off the wall but has anybody else checked out the Mormons’? it would appear that these people are pepper’s. They even have a chain of stores where you can buy prepping supplies.
The reason I bring this up is that I heard a friend of my grand daughters who is a Mormon complaining how when she goes to camp she has to take sewing class’s. What else are these people doing?
BigB
BigB,
The Mormons incorporate prepping into their faith. I have a Mormon friend. They understand the practical need to be prepared. The faithful Mormons have at least 3 months (usually more) of food storage for their family.
They have classes and programs to educate people (classes are open to the public) how to become more prepared. These include financial planning, being thrifty, canning, food storage, sewing, cooking, gardening, first aide, solar cooking, etc.
A local Mormon church has a preparedness fair every year. It is open to the public and they have displays, handouts, and demonstrations on different topics.
The average, everyday, common place Mormons are good people. My grandmother was born and raised Mormon. No better person ever walked the earth in our time. a truly compasionate and humble person.
She hadn’t been indoctrinated into the beliefs of the upper echelon of Mormons that believe in becoming a God of your own Universe when you move on after this life.
That is some really mucked up thinking and not anywhere near the teachings of the one and only God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
KY Mom, spot on about the Mormons. Although I don’t agree with certain parts of their doctrine, they are some of the best preppers out there, bar none.
Its more about self sufficiency, faith in the Lord, right along the lines of what this article says is missing today,
Thanks, I’m going to check out those class’s.
BigB
Big B also get the book
LDS Preparedness Manual Handbook 2:Provident Living
Got mine from Amazon but I think you can download for free from the Mormons.
Here is one place to download the manual:
ht tp://thesurvivalmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/LDS-Preparedness-Manual.pdf
Having large families 🙂 so no nursing home needed; food and survival gear for a year; electronics/ ham radio training; missions work, and the list goes on. I wish more Christian churches would be so pro-active….I don’t agree with Mormon theology, but have a number of good Mormon friends and Ham buddies….
The Mormons here in Idaho are prepping to feed their flock in a big way. My brother-in-law just sold 40 acres to an LDS group that is buying chemical free farmland. They told him this effort is backed by the church and their intent is to grow crops using ‘old fashioned’ methods with church members being hands-on.
They plan to care for their own.
NO what they plan is to run out everyone who is non mormon
they are for lack of another term a CULT !! plain and simple don’t be fooled by there down to earth act they will stab you in the back and steal everything not nailed down.
and i know from experience trust me
i had to go to there cult leader and Make him get on one of his so called flock and make the jerk pay for a house he bought.he thought i would gift it too him in the name of there phoney god.
so much for there honesty BS. next time you meet a Mormon ask them about the Mormon wars killing ranchers for the land and some families still have that land today that their ancestors murdered folks to get
ask them why they refused to allow blacks to join there church till the US govt forced them into it and then the great prophet in slc had a “Vision ” and ask them why they claimed that all blacks had the mark of Cain ( or able ) depending on which Mormon you talk too and could NEVER belong to the church
ask them why for 100 plus years they were never allowed to drink coke or Pepsi or any caffeine drink but after the church bought enough shares that they almost control pepsico ( the prophets again ) suddenly had another vision and now they can drink only Pepsi
and if you really want a laugh ask them about how each male will have his own planet and his children ( males ) will also have their own planets but he is the master of his children in the after life.
ITS just as bad as the Muzzies and their 72 virgins BS.
just that BS
they are as bad as the Scientology religion and all its bull
the Mormons claim an angel gave there so called leader golden tablets and that’s the basis of the whole scam But he lost them !!! REALLY angels golden tablets a magical hat that he would look into for clues. i think south park had it right
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=06jF1EG8o-Q
More Bs
stop being gullible folks think for your self
and know your enemy
LOL – RE: The Photos above. Cooking a Hot Dog? Looks like another CIA Torture program on Food. Seriously anybody ever try that? It would probably make the hot dog explode. And then who wants to eat a fried tube of sodium fill guts and left over parts from animals anyway. And what hot dog will keep without refrigeration? Sounds like a quick way to food poisoning.
I would rather cook most food over open flame on a stick, or with my cast Iron Dutch oven type camp cookware.
I cooked hot dogs like that in the 1980’s. Yes, they cook, they split a little, they taste terrible. We decided we did not want “electrocuted” hot dogs. Give me an open flame every time.
Red thumb asshats. Another worthless push button do nothing function for the lazy dolts.
WWTI
As your father I feel it is time for some more training. Hopefully I do not have to discipline you. You get a lot of read thumbs for your attitude my son. Just maybe I can help you with that.
deja vu.
It goes to the faux ‘green’ credentials of the millennials as well. They clutch their copies of Naomi Klein’s books while being the perfect, indebted consumers of ephemera and electronic crap. They have no stamina or resilience, as we have seen as they riot at the drop of a hat if things become just a little bit uncomfortable. They have not been tested, blooded or earned their place in this world. Gen X made the Internet, the WWII generation invented computing: what have gen Y and the millennials done?
Frank
Here’s some food for thoughts…
According to the October jobs report, more than 92 million Americans — 37% of the civilian population aged 16 and over — are neither employed nor unemployed, but fall in the category of “not in the labor force.”
The share of 16- to 24-year-olds saying they didn’t want a job rose from an average 29.5% in 2000 to an average 39.4% over the first 10 months of this year.
source*
pew research
NOVEMBER 14, 2014
Given the facts..
37% of the entire working age population not employed???
Yet
the corporation spouts a healthy 5.2% unemployment rate
go figure..
possee
More proof Posse that the government is cooking the books. If the economy is so healthy then why does the Fed keep the interest rate at close to zero (whatever that means) and are still printing out 80 billion dollars per month? Most of which is going to the banks to pay off defaulted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans from 6 years ago.
Plus you all haven’t heard this but being in the industry I will tell you that there is now another very big wave of foreclosures in process. All those loan mods they made to save peoples houses four years ago were all variable interest loans and now the interest has been raised to the point that once again the people cannot afford the payments, that and the true unemployment numbers.
BigB
@BigB
Foreclosures of the (loan mods) have already started.
Two different friends refinanced 4 years ago and just lost their homes. Both were kicked out of their houses a week before Christmas.
Signs of the “end” times, Ghostrighter.
o “Everything is backwards; everything is upside down. Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the major media destroy information, and religions destroy spirituality.”
~ Michael Ellner
US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data show over 600,000 homeless Americans on any given night. Including nearly 140,000 children. Over 57,000 veterans
According to the National Center for Homeless Education, over one million homeless children attend public schools.
America’s hunger crisis is real. A daily reality for nearly 50 million people. Affecting around 13 million families. Mostly hardworking ones. Foregoing beneficial nutritious meals in order to make interest/rent payments towards housing.
Not earning enough to live on. About 16 million children don’t get enough to eat. One in six Americans face hunger.
So do one in five children. Missing meals is commonplace. Nutritious balanced diets for growing millions don’t exist. Belly-fillers substitute.
Food stamps provide a woefully inadequate $1.40 per person per meal.
Food banks supplement recipients when monthly benefits run out. Most often around 10 days or more before month’s end.
Vital benefits are being cut when most needed. US resources go for war-making. Corporate handouts.
Massive public and private corruption in high places takes its toll.
Thirdworldizing America is official policy. Privileged interests alone benefit. Social inequality is institutionalized.
Millions struggle daily to pay rent. Service mortgages. Handle medical bills. Heat homes. Cover transportation costs. Manage increasingly more expensive daily expenses.
On October 31, Fortune magazine headlined “Wealth inequality in America: It’s worse than you think.”
In a London School of Economics and Political Science web site article, showa increased income inequality in America over the past four decades.
“From the Great Depression in the 1930s through the late 1970s there was a substantial democratization of wealth. The top 1% owned about 7% of the total household wealth.
The trend then inverted, with the share of total household wealth owned by the top 0.1 percent increasing to 22% in 2012.
“The top 0.1 percent includes 160,000 families with total net assets of more than $20 million in 2012.”
“A large portion of this increase is due to an upsurge in the labor incomes earned by senior company executives and successful entrepreneurs.”
The wealthiest 160,000 families own as much wealth as the poorest 145 million families. It’s about 10 times as unequal as income.
University of Michigan research shows wealth inequality doubled since 2003. America’s top 5% has 426.5 times the wealth of bottom 25% households.
Other studies show America’s top 1% has more wealth than the bottom 95%. The 400 richest families have as much as the bottom 50%.
A new Pew Research Center (PRC) study found an unprecedented wealth gap between middle and upper-income Americans.
“In 2013, the median wealth of the nation’s upper-income families ($639,400) was nearly seven times the median wealth of middle-income families ($96,500), the widest wealth gap seen in 30 years when the Federal Reserve began collecting these data,” said PRC.
America’s rich have a median net worth nearly 70 times greater than low-income families.
Data show a disproportional wealth gap along racial and ethnic lines.
White household wealth is 13 times greater than for Blacks. Ten times more than for Hispanics.
Tens of millions of working age Americans wanting jobs can’t find them. Middle income households are fast disappearing.
“The foul stench of corruption and hypocrisy that emanates from Washington is the smell of a dying country,” says Paul Craig Roberts.
From 2007 – 2009, average real family income declined 17.4%. It’s more than any period since the Great Depression. Wealthy Americans recovered and then some. Conditions for most others went from bad to worse.
Data show a disproportional wealth gap along racial and ethnic lines. White household wealth is 13 times greater than for Blacks. Ten times more than for Hispanics.
The difference is called “work ethics”
BigB
of course
re mod at a price
foreclose again
these assholes make money in every angle
and we’re left holding the bait
as usual
possee
It’s much worse Posse. The banks have got a real good deal going on.
When the homeowners default, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have to pay them off. Built into the loan is an agreement that in case of a default the bank will continue to service the loans for a monthly fee plus any and all collection costs. They are making billions off these foreclosed homes every month at the expense of the taxpayers.
Worse yet the majority of these homes are never seeing the light of day in terms of being sold as they would depress the equities of other homeowners across the country. Can you imagine what would happen to home prices if all of a sudden millions of homes went on the market?
That is why you see so many homes standing empty for years on end. That or they are being bulldozed like in Detroit and the entire loan is being absorbed by the American Taxpayer.
BigB
Yep, and owned by who?
The Federal Reserve, aka joosters.
Yes Passin, owned by the Federal Reserve who has used them as security for the people and countries who have purchased Treasury notes! People need to realize that the Fed has essentially sold our country down the river to prop up the bankers.
BigB
Possee
You ain’t seen nothing yet.
In my neighborhood it’s the renters. They can take a refurbished home and turn it into a slum house in six months. Forget about keeping the yard up and trash all over. They do not care about nothing! Had one family set up a Yard Mechanic job in his garage and turned it into an oil field. You will not believe the crap that gets put out on the street when they finally leave. Home gets screwed up with animal smells and feces.
The underbelly of this nation is ROTTEN. You just wait and see what happens.
Damn I can agree with that. I have a rental with puttingheads in it right now. Absolutely worthless.
Just like the thumb sucking crybabies here wanting a button to push here, to vote for thumbs up and down. Its lazy people who can’t seem to form a basic sentence like, “I Agree WWTI”. Or they just vote down, then run away like cowards afraid to express why they disagree. OH Well,… the great culling will dispose of the lazy sissys first…. Natures way of weeding out the weak DNA genes.
If you can’t ignore the “thumbers”, than you must be one.
i could care less about thumbs, up or down. It is a sort of childish mentality to follow thumbs of approval. Who cares.
If I take the time to write something of value, someone will learn something from it or learn something by trying to research to disprove it. It isn’t about self- satisfaction thru approval; it’s about sharing and helping educate others while learning and educating ourselves in the process.
pwtw
WWTI. You done pissed me off a few stories ago. My husband even
Asked me what I was mad at. I’m thumbing u down now just to listen
to u snivel & whine like a 5 year old. I used to like reading ur stuff. Not
Anymore. Alls u do is start shit now.
If u don’t like the conversation someone’s having. Stay out of it. Move on.
I wish Eppe would’ve just ignored u. I liked the jokes. Don’t know why
he couldn’t but o well. It’s ur business to tell him stop telling jokes
& we need to talk about what u want to talk about. Here’s ur only reply
from me. Screw you. The rest will be thumbs u puss.
Sorry to everyone else. I usually try to be nice on here. I just
hate bullies
It can’t be just a “bully” thing. The reason I say that is; there are a lot of serious hard core dick head pricks that have and do post on here over the years and appear “intelligent” or maybe a better word is “educated” and they seem to be well liked by all accounts. And bullies in my world of understanding are not well liked at all.
Just sayin
Why aren’t you going by your previous handle, ANON BS? You are WAY too thin skinned and easily offended for this site, let alone when the shtf!
Ya. I’m not anon bs or anyone else on this site. I just post when
I got something to say. You are probably WWTI just to see if I’d answer.
Not thinned skinned or easily offended. There’s just no way I’d waste my day
arguing with5 year olds. Anyways. Here’s an answer for ya WWTI. Look up 3 spots.
Maybe
I’m sorry there lady but by ALL indications of your previous posts to are indeed ANON B.S. You let your emotions rule your thinking process and your writing style was just too damned similar to your other posts here, as you’ve shown yourself to be a giant badge licker.
I applaud you lady. You nailed his punk ass to the wall.
Any woman that is strong enough to call a dickhead a “puss”, gets my vote.
Sometimes I agree with you wwti and I can appreciate your point of view. A thumbs up is really just a head nod to agree with what was posted.
A lot of times your just a mean prick so that’s why you get thumbs down from me. I don’t feel I have to explain that every time but if that’s what you want you got it.
Thumbs down from me because your being a mean prick.
Dear lord please forgive me for calling wwti a mean prick.
You got it half right, Buck.
He is a “miserable” prick.
How can I say that. I have a lot of his mean, stupid comments saved in my library for reference material.
Why does it matter? Cause when he lets his stupid mouth overload his donkey, and makes death threats, like he did to eppe, I can fire it back for the whole community to see what he is really made of.
I scavenge fans from the side of the road and basically re-lubricate them. They just get dust in the works and stop spinning.
I will say this. Much IS designed to fail in short order.
Sierra Dave, Ever try to see if you can make a Wind Mill out of all those fans to generate energy from the motor. In a reverse fashion.. I bet YTube has some vids on that. Maybe you can charge up batteries with it.
When SHTF – Necessity will be the Mother of Invention.
I haven’t. I think most of these don’t have magnets in them. They use AC to create an electro-magnet and then the coils powered by AC work off that.
A few times I made a passive windmill out of the blades from a burned out motor.
I once asked a Briggs and Stratton engineer why their walk-behind lawnmower engines were designed so as to have such a short life. His answer: How many hours does the average lawnmower get used in five years? I did the math. 200 hours is typical.
Engineers design to meet the market. That’s why you can’t replace the battery in an iPhone. The Apple fanboi will want a ton of new features to puff up their egos long before the original battery life is used up. So eliminate the battery door, solder the battery to the motherboard, and save a dollar per phone in mfg. cost.
Another little engineering tidbit: What was the design life of a WW2 P-51 Mustang airframe? Answer = 400 hours. Kinda demands extra respect for the guys who keep those things in the air 70 years later, doesn’t it?
Compare with modern airliners.
No doubt Old Couch. I have a Lad mower I bought new about 11 yrs ago. Still starts first pull and the oil still looks pretty clean. I did change the air filter cause greasy grit seems to find its way to the filter.
Couriosity is dimminished every time we tell to “Stop it!” when they try to find out how stuff works. Babies drop things to see if it works every time. Children naturally want to know how things go. Adults don’t want to deal with it. Daydreaming is considered “wasting time”. I could go on and on, but we get the children we raise.
Use a torch to browse the internet?
Thank goodness she’s English (where “flashlights” are called “torches”). If she were American and she said that, I would be very concerned.
The youth of today have no choice but to throw things out rather than horde. They have no home, no job, no hope, and no future. Imagine dealing with that.
CND
Waiting for the New Hitler to arrive.
This article is such a waste of space. It tries to make some claim about the youth of today being ‘dangerously close’ to loosing the skills to fix things, and then proves itself wrong with a discussion about the burgeoning DIY movement. This is no more than a classic ‘young people these days’ argument from some old fogey. Who do you think made the wordpress technology that so many preppers use to communicate?
Any survivor will tell you that it is skills are more important than things. You have the technology today to share those skills because kids of today invent those technologies. We certainly face problems of over consumption and waste generation, but re-purposing those technologies for a shtf scenario would be a much more interesting article than griping about the ‘youth’ of today.
Anon, Just go ask your teenage kid to go change an air filter in the car, or change a tire, and just watch him /her fumble for hours. Its the parents responsibility to teach their kids how to do stuff. However in many cases, the parents are just as dumb, its the blind leading the blind.
You can get a kid to do anything until you pry the device from their cold, useless hands, and still all they care about is when they get their device back!
After the grid goes down….well, that will be interesting!
Fine by me…in just a few short years those of us that are in the repair/technical service business(of pretty much any product) will finally get paid what we are worth!
We grew up with “junk/parts” piles out by the sides and backs of buildings.
The only differnece for me as an adult is that i keep most of my junk/parts piles, under roof.
I have ben accused of being a pack-rat,hoarder, and downright junky person because of my pieces and parts piles. Everytime i haul something to the salvage yard or landfill, i remember a piece or part that i could have used for a project.
Yep, those junk piles may harbor a few extra snakes and mice, but the savings from reduced property values sure can buy a lot of d-con.
As a frugle, re-manufacturer, fabricator of sorts; one can remodel and reshape pieces and parts to make something work again, or invent/create something that would have normally cost way too much to afford to buy.
It is a lost art, almost. We are a dying breed, wnc-mtn,boy.
Thems “parts piles”… :)…no junk here!
thats what I tell folks here who demand I scrap the “junk” I keep…recycling on a grand scale,thats what keeps this farm running!
No you won’t, because some of these worthless kids are going to invent robots to fix everything.
BJ, you have been watching too many futuristic movies, like star wars and transformers.
Robots are made with working mechanical parts. Anything that is mechanical will eventually wear out and/or break.
Not putting much faith into those bots finding parts and repairing themselves.
Reb will still be plowing the back 40 while the bots sit and spin on their little wheels. Intelligence and computers can only work with what they have “on board”, and not too many bots pulling a parts wagon around.
Anyone buying into the “robots will replace humans” junk, is part of the missing link…..the part of the sausage turd link that went down the river.
We don’t waste any food or food scraps…none goes to a landfill. What we don’t eat, dog gets a chance at. What he don’t eat, chickens get. I built one of my composts inside the chicken fence. Dump them over and they pick and scratch out what they want. Next year the compost is put on the garden.
I used to rebuild treadle sewing machines and resell them to the local Amish. I kept one of the Singer “Red Eye” machines when I quit restoration.
This past spring my wife learned how to sew with one by being invited into a local Amish quilt “club”. Unusual for an “English” to be asked to participate. They made 12 quilts and sold them at auction for over ten thousand dollars total. Earn while you learn.
The only reason I learned to fix most of my vehicles and appliances was because I could not afford for someone else to do it. You can now fix or build most anything with the use of internet instructions. I have built photovoltaic and hot water panels and systems at my place by using the internet.
Kids are not learning how to fix things because their parents are not showing them. Get them away from the blue light and out into the yellow light and make them get their hands dirty.
That was my first thought too, JRS, we throw no food away, same order too, except 9months outta the year there are pigs here and they get thier share. I couldn’t imagine throwing out that much food!
Not much gets thrown out here, we HAVE to fix things.
That’s cool about the wife sewing quilts with the Amish, and made money too! Awsome!
my BOL is with my 21 family Mennonite church.
Between this site and my Sisters in Christ, I have learned a lifetime in the past 5 yrs.
It’s a throw away world we now live in. Folks we know it will not last much longer.
MTCFMF!!//RIP America.
Boo-Hoo. Just another manifestation of free market capitalism. Stop complaining you bunch of Obamaite commies.
Dazed and confused, go f#$% yourself! There’s no commies at this site.
We don’t build things to last because it is more profitable to make them cheap and disposable. My grandparents bought a freezer that lasted over 50 years and was working when they both passed. There are far to many cases where short term profit drives the world. We will pay for this recklessness soon I fear.
You nailed it 100% with that comment right there. I was thinking the same thing as I read the article, and the one product that jumped into my mind was first, Sierra Dave already mentioned. For years now we have crabbed about the cheap plastic products that are designed NOT to last….like fans.
Boy, have we become a throw-away society. Wasteful too.
Fixing things has three components. Material, tools, and skill. Small material like nails, screws, nuts, bolts, washers, gaskets, “O” ring gaskets and seals, go a long way in fixing things. Tooling to do the job. Can you thread a pipe end or flare a gas line end? Know what a torgue or Phillips tip is. Then the knowledge to remove and replace or just repair the item.
I do not know how much electrical items can be repaired if it involves circuit boards. Wires, plugs batteries and a fuse would be my limit in that field.
Innovation and adaptability might save the day.
All those computer monitors and electronic components get shipped to third world countries and dumped in open raw pits where the mercury seeps out into the water sources. The poor mostly native children sit out in the hot sun extracting silver, gold and other scrap out of each circuit board. Here are a few articles on this tragedy:
Watch this Sad Video: Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/ghana804/video/video_index.html
On the outskirts of Ghana’s biggest city sits a smoldering wasteland, a slum carved into the banks of the Korle Lagoon, one of the most polluted bodies of water on earth. The locals call it Sodom and Gomorrah.
Correspondent Peter Klein and a group of graduate journalism students from the University of British Columbia have come here as part of a global investigation — to track a shadowy industry that’s causing big problems here and around the world.
Toxic ‘e-waste’ dumped in poor nations, says United Nations
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/dec/14/toxic-ewaste-illegal-dumping-developing-countries
Mac Maybe you can embed and share this video link above. Digital dumping ground.
LOL. These red thumbers are ignorant. I am sure none of them even watched the video or learned anything. Peebrain push button thumb sucking dolts.
For every Red Thumb, I take it as a Badge of Honor, just reaffirms how much more ammo I am glad I bought over the last few years, for the great culling coming up soon. No tolerance for thumb sucking dolts.
Wwti… You want everyone to play nice with you but refuse to play nice yourself.
Red thumb from me because your being a mean prick.
That was some good info about the digital dumping though. I learned something from you. Thank you.
Yawn, who cares?
Very true in what is written………Hmm, he could have also included that this generation treats personal relationships the same way in my opinion.
Had the technology been around in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s & 90’s there would of been no difference in the relationship thing. The divorce and personal relationships didn’t just all of the sudden fall off the cliff.
If you want to repair something usually the cost to repair as opposed to new is a no brainer. New is cheaper and is planned that way by the manufacturers to keep people coming back. Refrigerators,ovens,washers and dryers among other things is like that. Not everybody has the skills,tools or ability to fix these. Better to learn how the older stuff our parents used work. Their generation made stuff to last and easy to fix. Youtube is a good source to learn how to fix stuff or build.
Good point! It may make sense to repair favorite clothes or shoes, but not appliances. I wait and wait until an appliance is extremely out of date, and then buy a new one. Every time I have done this, I have bought an appliance that is better and much cheaper than its predecessor. Take the TV: had one from the 1990s and hung on until last year to get a new one. Paid half the price of the old one and got a massive Smart TV that is way better than the old TV. Same with a stove. Once paid $4,000 for my first computer to mostly word process. The thing had as much computing power as a rabbit’s fart and the screen was just black with green letters on it. It was crap but it was state of the art at the time. Last year I bought a Mac for half that cost and the thing is the most awesome laptop I have ever had.
It is possible to be cynical about politicians and financial fraudsters but it is not possible to be cynical about technology: it has genuinely advanced over the past two decades.
Refrigerators are a good repair option. The defrost timer is the most likely problem and it is a simple fix. The fan that blows across the hot side is next and slows to a stop after 10 years or so. I had a repair guy tell me to put a couple drops of mobile 1 on the bearings and it will be better than a new one. He was right. Compressors rarely go bad.
Another point about compressors on cooling units.
it’s the stopping and starting that wears them out and uses the most energy. it wasn’t that way growing up.
If it was running, it was consuming $$, or at least that is what our grandparents thought.
Frank, Yep brings back some memories. My first computer was like 80 Mega-herts $2900. I still have the original sales receipt for a conversation piece and laugh. I did a barter trade for most of that first computer, though so I beat him up pretty good on what I traded him.
That is a similar complaint observation that Bill Gates makes, how come cars are not getting cheaper year after year, like computers?
Frank, I stopped buying new appliances when I found out they plan to have them all internet controlled and monitored in the future.
Since I refuse to cooperate, I want RETRO stuff.
OLD appliances. OLD clothes without RFID tags. OLD cars without GPS monitoring and tracking. I like old furniture, when it was still made of solid wood.
Things that don’t have computers in them, because they don’t NEED computers in them to work.
I don’t want my refrigerator telling me when my milk has expired. I can decide that for myself, thank you very much…
When I was a kid, before my dad took old appliances to the dump, he said take it all apart and strip all the sheet metal screws and other usable parts out of it. This benefited me in several ways, 1. I learned how things work by disassembling them, and 2. also the collection of valuable parts. Ever go to Home depot to buy just a handful of sheet metal screws? Like a Dollar. I have coffee cans of all sorts of parts, screws, nails, hinges, locks, fasteners, pulleys, switches, wire, handles, misc parts, so when I need something I dig, and no doubt I usually have the part to fix or adapt to something else. This is how creativity will get those through the hard times, when SHTF. I also have gone to yard sales and estate sales for years, buying a whole tool boxes of tools, parts, fasteners, for just a few dollars. Pick the goodies out and donate or sell the rest. As a Guy, you can never have enough tools, regardless of what your wifey says. lol And why Guys need their own space tool shed to escape to, to make projects in.
Good informative and useful comment WWTI.
Thanks BJ. Just goes to show you who the real haters are on here. I post a nice comments and they tag it. Idiots. they even red thumbed you. They tag it then run like sissys. I laugh. Bring on SHTF.. sissys will get slaughtered.
Mac, good call in spotlighting this trend, it is more important than most realize.
WWTI Great comments. – Let’s teach and learn. – All Ages invited.
I too save parts and what not, not enough yet, yard sales here I come. Anyway here are some good resources for DIY.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy.aspx
http://www.thediyworld.com/DIY-Rocket-Stove-Make-Your-Own.php
http://www.offthegridnews.com/
http://www.offgridworld.com/
http://lifehacker.com/
http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page
This might be something communities could do if they quit bickering. (NOTE – I am grouchy too about things) – Pissed really. Deep breath…new day…such is life.
http://www.resilience.org/stories/2014-12-16/how-a-startup-d-c-purchasing-coop-saved-members-1-million
Be well,
Scout out.
We do the same thing, and we inherited my FIL’s tools, machinery and hardware. He also had stuff from hIS dad! He used to teach black smithing during WWII at Ft. Lee, VA….I will not throw stuff like that out! And my hubby can use all of it, and I’m a woodworker….heaven, I’m telling ya!
Old tools, old machines, fasteners, etc… These are worth far more than their weight in gold. I would bet that 99% of these treasures are USA made–another BIG PLUS for salvaging and storing them.
Borodino, last summer at a flea market I found 2 of the old hand-crank drills with wooden handles in good working order. Paid only $20 for both of them. They were a little stiff at first but after spraying WD40 on the gears they work like a charm. I tested both of them drilling holes through a slat in my wood fence with no problem.
As a Gal, I can never have enough tools, regardless of what anyone else says…
Too many tools?…theres an convoluted idea eh….no way too have too many tools! 🙂
WWTI Don’t understand why anyone down thumbed your post. At my dads old farm there is coffee can after coffee can after coffee can of nuts, bolts, washers, locking washers, fencing nails. He saved metal and wood from everything. When they closed USA Motors, Emerson electric gave everything away inside the building. When we took inventory after he died, their must be 100+ sheets of metal, angle iron, I beams, steel columns to build shelving and the shelving to go with it. I can’t even begin to comprehend the potential of all that stuff (though my husband has surely been dreaming). If 1 is none and 2 is 1, what the heck is a bakers dozen?
Well you ain’t been around here very long, or you are a little slow.
Most of the thumbs down wwti gets, along with those like him, are because most folks know him for what he has posted in the past and don’t like him…no matter what he says.
WhoWuddaThunkIt,
Great post!
fix something??? …. just ask the average Joe under 30 to change a car tire …. Good God you might as well be asking them to assemble a nuk ….
Definitely one of the best prepper articles I’ve seen on this site. Gets the creative juices flowing. I looked at all the links provided and bookmarked some of them. I’d really like to see how to pick a combo lock with a piece of aluminum. Maybe I missed it. Anybody got a good link? I also liked the 1 about the AAA batteries, for some reason that never occurred to me and I’m pretty good with kimche rigging things.
Look up the Hackaday site: http://www.hackaday.com
In the long run it will be how much you can do without.
Will it be worth the effort to expend time, energy and material to fix the item.
@ slingshot
That’s true but in a shtf scenario there will be 2 kinds of people. The haves, and have nots. Which one you become may well be dependent upon your ingenuity. The ability to mcgyver things could pay off as a type of barter mechanism.
ED.
Think junkyard or land fill.
All we have now, is a system designed for the “Haves” and “Have-mores.” And the rest just have to wait for the trickle down. No worry though, the Revolution is brewing. The percolator is percolating. Soon the rest of the sheep will wake up when their backs are against the wall and smell the coffee.
I agree
How things have gone from being a convenience to a necessity. Do we need an electric can opener when we have a hand crank type. Computers where we now work from home. Everything has sped up and time compressed. So what’s the speed limit on the road? Who cares, everybody speeds. We don’t have the time to fix things. Then we either throw them away or in some cases, have somebody else fix it for us.
This is a multi-generational problem with American society.I am the youngest of 5 kids & my parents were raised during the depression and had very little, us kids were taught: how to repair things, sewing, cooking, baking, auto mechanics, etc…My best friend in elementary school was the oldest of 3 kids, was the first in the neighborhood to have cable TV, video games, etc…He used to have me fix his bike.
Now these same people are grand parents who do not possess any repair skills to hand down to their kids or grand kids.
I used to torture my son by turning off the distractions and have him help work around the house doing what needed to be done. His current hobbies include: building computers, sewing, baking and repairing what he can around the house.
My advise is to drag your kids away from their electronic crack and make them do old fashioned chores around the house to earn the privilege of using their devices.
Ned, Electronic Gadgets are like pacifiers for kids. It takes no effort to play with a gadget opposed to learning human relationship skills. The older I get the less patients I have dealing with idiots. If I see they have no curiosity skills to learn anything, then I stop right there and stop wasting my time. Its just like trying to get your family interested in prepping, and why it is required for survival coming up. Some will never get it. So from now on, I am only interested in the III% who are on board. For the others, if you still didn’t get it in the last several years, Schools over for you, and you are all on your own to parish stoopid sheep.
I just picked up a 50 LB bag of Dry Black Beans for $30.89 and going to store much of this in Mylar bags with O2. absorbers, and put them in 5-gal buckets with the Gamo lids. I found a friend who has access to a Restaurant Wholesale Food Supply Co, even way cheaper than Sams Club. Sams stopped selling dry bags of beans earlier this year, which probably cut into their canned beans profits. The food is nearly 1/3 less than the cost of regular grocery store prices. I may set up a business license for catering, just to be able to buy at this super cheap pricing. Also bought 5Lbs of Jumbo Frog legs for $19 – 9 Lbs of chicken wings for $29. Chulula Hot sauce only $3 a bottle compared to about $8+ in grocery stores. Just shows you how much mark up is in food, and in Restaurants and Grocery stores. Or just may set up a mini convenience store and resell the food 4 to 5 times the cost.
I have wanted to start my own business since the late 90’s and was told by business people that it was a great idea but would depend on location and demographics. But I have always been afraid to and really don’t have a clue how to go about getting it going.
when i seen your term ‘Electronic Crack’ i had to laugh a friend turned me on to that term early 80’s, here is another one ‘Vididiot’ those addicted to the electronic games.
I still think the 1960’s electric football game board was a flop. You could sit there for minutes watching those players jump all over the place waiting for something to happen. So How about those GB Packers last night? I think the Bucs threw their game yesterday so they can get a first Draft pick next year. loosers.. They only won 2 games this year. Pathetic.
You’re right.
What are the High Priority fixes?
Car
Computer
Toilet
Generator
Refrigerator
Chainsaw
Motorcycle
Truck
Air condition and Heat
Stove
Well
This brought back memories. I remember back before the “plug and play” on computers where you had to manually set cpu voltage and bus frequencies, I/O addresses, IRQ’s, etc. And with the MFM / RLL drives, you had to low level format, etc.
It was fun back then! Back in the old DOS / Unix days!
Kids today would probably not want any computer if they had to actually learn even a basics of how they work.
Don’t the schools today teach students to convert Binary to Hex in their heads? Probably not.
These stupid car makers who are making cars connected to the Internet are all set up for hacking. Some hacker can hack into your car and shut off the Braking and steering system. Good luck on your future wild ride. Hackers already can locate your car via the on board computer, remotely unlock the vehicle and remotely start the vehicle and drive away. Then the driver thief, then turns on his WiFi GPS tracking signal blocker and gets away.
I think the car manufactures are going to use Internet based cars to track your movements and habits and also used as a tool so the government can tax your miles you drive. Big Bro is already over this, any way to scam a buck off of stoopid people.
WWTI, I don’t have that worry since I don’t make enough money to qualify for any loans. Haven’t had my own vehicle since 2001. Company vehicle only. All I ever had before that was old technology which I bought for cash from a private owner every time. Never had a car note in my whole life. I kept those older vehicles running myself. Economically, I had no choice anyway.
Braveheart,
Something here really stinks. You’ve just said in a recent post you gross 45k annually. Let’s see now, you’re single, no dependents, no outstanding debts and you can’t get credit or a loan? That’s a load of crap there buddy, credit companies LOVE to have borrowers who fit that bill. I believe you probably have an unpaid judgement against you outstanding, even people who have filed for bankruptcy can get loans after 7 years if not sooner, so you’re lying about something here because the story you tell just does NOT add up.
Anonymous, what I said about my income is true. It’s also true I am single, no dependents, no outstanding debts of any type. No repossessions, no foreclosures, never even been in a bankruptcy. I’m not lying about anything. For a few years back in the 90s I did try to get access to credit, in some cases even with a co-signer, but still couldn’t get anything. Somehow it just wasn’t meant to be for me and debt to get together. Back then I was willing to bite that bullet but couldn’t get near it. Nowadays I just don’t care about it. I’m happier being debt-free and can get more preps at one time than I would’ve been able to otherwise. There is a certain advantage to being debt-free. If I had to buy my own vehicle again today, it would still have to be from a private owner, using cash, and be something from the 80s or 90s. There’s not a dealer or lender anywhere that will let me get something. I used to think it was a load of crap when my credit applications were rejected, but what could I do? The creditors can reject anyone’s application they choose and not face any consequences for it. When my last vehicle I owned in 2001 quit on me, my employer told me to quit buying cars that, as he put it, were on life support. Well, 1. such cars were all I could hope for and 2. NOBODY was going to let me use credit for a car or anything else, period. So he offered me a company truck, with the company covering maintenance, gas, insurance, etc. so I jumped on it and have never regretted that move. 3. when I had old cars, I knew how to extend the life of them since I had no other choice. In the game of life, you learn how to play whatever card you are dealt to the best of your ability or otherwise you don’t make it. There’s no asking for some other card. It doesn’t work that way. I managed with old cars from when I was 16 all the way up until 2001 when I got my first company vehicle. the card I was dealt was called living without credit and I believe I have played that card very damned well. I don’t have any kind of debt that could prevent or even slow down my prepping, I consider my prepping top be my top priority and I won’t sacrifice that for anything. Nothing I want or need bad enough to give up a chunk of my income for any kind of debt. you can say what you will but I don’t regret being debt-free for 1 minute. it’s an awesome feeling.
I think the people that grew up in the 50s have a far better
chance of survival now then the generations that followed.
Stand by folks our skills are about to get tested.
Shhhhh! I make a lot of money off of folks who can’t do anything. The down side is that they think our custom work can be over-nighted.
We build, and modify, furniture and structures with custom ‘Hidey Holes / Rooms’. The really disheartening thing is how few want to learn how to work, and how many think the things we do are too much like work.
The world will soon be full of starving theoreticians. That’s OK–The best way to maintain Op Sec, is to rely on the ignorance and laziness of others…
Had to love it when one of my kid’s friends asked why anyone would can their own food, and gave a lecture on the ‘evils’ of hunting and fishing, as they were eating those things, at my table. In their world, food comes pre-wrapped, and at the expense of others.
I see a lot of them who won’t even qualify as gravediggers, because they are so out of shape and uninformed.
For me it is learning style. I can read til the cows come home and it won’t help much. I can watch videos and that helps more and gets me started…..but I just don’t/can’t learn like I can from another person….then I am a sponge to water…..especially if it is something that really interests me.
Does your business have a website link?
California used to have the best education system in the US back in the 50’s. Now they are ranked at or near the bottom. What happened? The socialists took over the system and also the demographics of the student body changed radically. Who knew?
I recycle everything except a very few things that cost me $2 a year as “garbage”. This throw away society also includes dumping cats and dogs which I have rescued over the years.
What is someone’s trash may be a treasure to me. Being practical is not cool in todays society.
Bless you Woogie. We also have taken in dumped animals and they are a hell of a lot more valuable than most people.
You know we have all heard of “Peak Oil.” How about “Peak People,” those in America who got all the benefits of growing technology and jobs over the last 60 years, and all the wonderful societal benefits. Those in the age group of mid 60’s years old and up, have their homes paid off, many have fully paid pensions, get to fully draw off of, full Social Security, Medicare, have a hefty savings, pay little to no taxes, and then they try to lecture you, why you can’t seem to save any money like they did. I tried to explain to my Mother how much in Taxes I have to pay every year. She had no idea,…I pay more in taxes than she collects from all her benefits packages. I tell her, how would you like to buy the government a car every year, like I have to in taxes paid? I was fortunate enough just to get my own auto paid off this year finally. We just keep moving forward doing the best we can.
This is why when grandchildren come to stay for a week we learn to do something like make jam, bread, can, cut fire wood, ID & pull weeds in garden, sew on a button etc. Hopefully they will remember some of this in adult life
Canadagal, your grandchildren will appreciate all that you have taught them. Maybe not today but definitely tomorrow. Just the fact that you are sitting down with them and giving them your time and attention speaks volumes. Not one of my grandparents taught me one thing about their world. I wish they would have and I wish I had asked. They are now not of this world and I have many questions that I wish I had asked. Give information freely. Wether it is solicited or not.
The brain dead dumbed down COWARD PUSSY ZOMBIES in the Stasi Fascist GENOCIDAL shithole of filthy vile Murica could not take a shit without an app on their I IDIOT 5/6/7/8/9/10/11 NSA tracking device the COWARD PUSSY ZOMBIE trash stare at playing mindless games ALL DAY LONG in the Corporatist Fascist vile shithole of the world
Hey Ron. Watched this Video last night. This Guy Nails it.
Watch “WHY I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING – BECAUSE FUCK EVIL” on YouTube- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7CouziYjmg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
There are a few of us brave enough to know exactly what the fuck is going on in collapsing fascist GENOCIDAL MUrica.
When we were kids my Dad would make us dissemble appliances that went out in the trash to salvage the fasteners which we sorted and put in jars. At a minimum we seen how things were put together.
Now a days the youth have terrific computer skills which are very important. Necessity as they say is the motherhood of invention. They’re in an entirely different world than the one we grew up in. They win in their world, we win in ours.
As an engineer, I can attest to the fact that many devices are not designed to be “user repaired.” The complexity of many devices prevents the average user from troubleshooting and fixing problems other than simple I/O errors (idiot operator). The test equipment required to troubleshoot devices on the bench usually costs tens of thousands of dollars and then one has to know the details of what they’re looking for. Sorry, but in today’s world, we’re accepted functionality at the expense of complexity and a “toss it when it breaks” mentality.
Scott
I worked with a lot of Engineers usually EE and ME. The best were Kings Point Graduates Merchant Marine Academy. They were like pipe fitters, electricians and instrument techs with an education.
Met an Engineer a Graduate of MIT in CE that married a neighbor. Literally he was threading a nut on a stud backwards trying to put his kids bike rim back on the frame. The guy could probably do calculus in his head.
Last Monday, table saw motor broke. Replacing it costs $385.00. Took it apart. Bearing locked up. Ordered new brushes and bearings. Total cost: $35.00 (Only because I had to order a minimum of 10 bearings). Otherwise, cost would be $18.00 to fix.
Need to heat old bearing, pull it, press new one on arbor. Let’s see how it goes. If I can fix this, i can save $360.00.
I love it! Hubby had to replace a Cheap Chinese motor on our brand new never used harbor Freight tile saw. Fortunately, he knew what to do, and how to do it, and he did it, so now I can finish tiling my kitchen walls and countertops! 😉
Got some 20 year old yuppies that moved into the farm next to ours. They don’t cut their own grass, clean their own house, or do their own laundry. Their garden, which produced big time for the previous owners, was a mass of weeds last growing season.
From conversations we’ve had with them they drink a lot of beer, smoke pot, and watch a lot of TV.
During last winter’s record snow falls, they didn’t once clear their driveway. Often their trash cans sit on the curb for weeks, or they just throw the trash into their backyard.
One good thing is that they are better than the folks who ran the secret Meth lab before them, from the same house.
Is it me, or does the younger generation seem more violent as well? From what I’ve been told, up here in Minnesota farm country the “after school brawls” are as bad as the savages who live in the city ghettos?
Sounds like ‘Garage Logic’ to me. (grin)
I pretty much agree with this article. While most of you who follow this site are equipped with survival knowledge and skills you should remember that you belong to unique group. This article is about the other (90%) who live in the cities. (I know, some of them are in the country) City folk throw away a lot of useful stuff. They are ‘conditioned’ to consume. “Cant do that if you are constantly repairing stuff.” Waste is the unfortunate side effect of civilization. In order to have an ‘economy’ you need production, continuous production. So consumerism is paramount to production. It is “having your cake and eating it to.”
The lack of ‘ingenuity’ in the world today can be attributed directly to the poisons in our civilization. Floride in our water, chem trails in our sky’s, the lack of nutrition in the grocery store’s are but a few of these poisons. The oppression o our leaders, the unrest of our people, and the indifference f bankers and CEO’s are all symptoms of the same disease, civilization. Everything you can name as bad is a side effect of civilization. But civilization itself is not to blame in toto. No, civilization is a ‘two edged sword. One edge is good and one is bad. Either side need’s management and that is where the ‘rub’ lies. If good rules things are good, if bad rules things are bad. So simple that even I can understand it. The problem is that evil/bad never rest’s and good nap’s too often.
Question. You have heard that “the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world that he doesn’t exist”. Hogwash! He never did any such thing. His enemies new better, his minions knew better, so at best he was only able to convince the common folks. So this was not the greatest trick he ever pulled. So what was it, this trick that deceived the world? The answer an e found in The Book of Genesis with the story of Eve. What satan convinced Eve of was that she cold make her own rules, in short “Rule” herself. And this is what she taught Adam. Later, satan, in order to destroy Gods creation he put us on the path of evolution, Political evolution. He gave us (and this may piss you off) “REPRESENTATIVE RULE”. In his excellent book “The Third Paradigm” Professor Charles Wiseman points out that the natural evolution of a Republic is to become a democracy, and the natural evolution of democracy is to become socialistic and morphing into communism. I would say that current world events prove him right.
For you professed Christians who follow this site I offer you this. You have heard “The Law of God was nailed to the Cross with Christ and done away with.” More Hogwash!! No government, no despot, and no King can rule anything without laws. When Jesus returns to reign whose laws do you think He will use? The 120,000 laws on the federal books or the 742 (aprox) laws statutes and judgments of the Bible? Wen you say the Lords Prayer do you not say “Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done’? What is a Kingdom if it is not a government? What is His ‘will’ if it is not His Commands, Statutes, and Judgments. You want to get right with God? Start by obeying His law. For those of you who do not believe but wan to help turn this world around, just start obeying His law and the faith will come, when the faith comes soon follows the belief, Who knows you yourself may find yourself turning round with the world.
Forgive me my rant this morning and God bless.
Born in the early 50’s and growing up on the farm. You learn how to work on things by watching the older folks fixing things.
I’m one of these guys that likes to take thing apart and putting them back together. There are things like new cars I can’t fix when it comes to the use of computers on them. Cars from the early 80’s back I can take apart and put them back together. Now you need specialty tools. ECT.
My Brother-In-Law born in the early 60’s can’t fix any thing. Great guy and very good to my little sister, but dumb as a box of rock when it comes to repairing thing.
Boys and girls that take things apart and put them back together they put on Ritalin today. because they can’t set still they want to be doing something with there hands. This is a Damn shame. When I was growing up the would have to plug me into Ritalin to slow me down.
A.S.M.S.
Sgt.
I was born in the early 60s
Will try to fix anything, tired of the throwaway stuff, is a bit frustrating how poorly built stuff is.
Ever watch the movie Idiocrary?
Think about how things are built today. My grandparents had an old Fridgadare (spelling) refrigerator that had the little sheet metal “freezer”. It was the old type curved on top. They bought it new just after WWII. We got it in the late 1970s and used it as a second fridge in the garage when they both passed away. My dad gave it away to the fire house as a beer fridge in 2001 when Mom passed and he moved to a smaller home. It was vnever repaired. It weighed a lot more than a modern fridge twice its size. My friend in the air conditioning business said they were overbuilt like a tank but used considerably more electricity. Back in that day one sheds a tear at the thought that, “Made in the USA” meant that it was bar none the best made in the world and in 1946 or 47 it might have been the only.
Oh just called dad. That fridge is still running.
Whatever happen to “Junkyard Wars” and “Robot Wars”.
Robot Wars were like a demolition derby. Has some bad ass robots. Lots of creativity.
I went to a trade school in the 80s so that I could be an electronics technician, specifically for avionics, at the time. After that I had six years of experience repairing various avionics devices down to the component level. Part time alongside that, I repaired business band two-way radios. I hold a FCC general radiotelephone license and a technician class ham license. One of these days I’ll get the next step up ham license.
Several years ago, my cordless phone made in the 90s went bad – the ear piece quit working. I put an ohmmeter on it and it showed an open circuit. I looked the part up online, ordered it for twelve bucks, and a few days later had my phone working again. I wanted to fix it instead of throw it away. That phone is still working today.
I have two pair of stereo speakers from the late 80s that have so many years on them the woofers dry-rotted around the cones. I replaced the woofers with newer, better ones.
In today’s modular replacement / whole device replacement world, the fun is gone out of troubleshooting to the component level. One either throws away the device, or replaces a whole module (network card breaks, swap it out with another one).
I miss the component-level repair days. These days I have several certifications to show the world I know something about computers.
You can buy just the foam rings to fit around the speaker cones and install them using a video from YouTube. I’m going to do that repair on a couple of large speakers I bought almost 30 years ago. The foam rings fell apart, so I’ll just replace the rings for around $30.
Yeah, I heard about those kits, but wasn’t sure I had the patience for it. Definitely cheaper though.
I’ve got an old Radio Shack component stereo from 1978 I bought new. The only thing on it not working is the light for the radio dial but it still plays like a champ. Even the old 8-track player still works. One day I’m going to look for the part to get that light working. It’s the only thing I have left from the years when my wife was alive so I won’t part with it.
I still have a few various radio shack (Realistic) components. Back in the 80s I purchased several stereo components there. Also purchased various piece-parts over the years. I will hate to see them close.
It’s a crying shame that everyone is so specialized in the narrow field of knowledge these days. A specialist being an expert at one particular thing will win the job every time over a generalist a little know-how at a lot of things. As for the kids, throw the cursed TV out the window and ban facebook. Has the fluoride destroyed all of the inquisitive minds?
Toxic China’s search for Electronics Gold Pollution
Zog Amerika’s junk, is a Asian villagers Gold!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHTWRYXy2gE
pk
I can fix or repair most anything basicly out of a life of nessessity…Ive noticed a big change over the last coupla decades in the quality/workmanship/material of stuff in general…and the increased complexity of the items regardless of whatever it may be…I swear they’ed put computer chips/relays/ect in a muffler if they could,many of these computer things seem designed to fail after a set amount of time,many times Ive found that a simple by-pass or elimination of the offending chip is all it takes to fix an item.
Alot of it I think is the manufacturers of things today dont want folks fixin things,they want you to buy a new one…failure seems to be built in,it makes them money when you have to take it to one of their “certified”repairmen/centers,sad that people dont care that theyre being made into good little consumers lining up to be milked of their blood sweat and tears so that some corporations bottom line can impress a few investors somewhere…sad,but only fixable by individuals who decide they wont be part of the system and decide they can do it on their own. REB
Chip….ahhh the chip.
I turned a few wrenches 4 decades ago when I was involved in drag racing. Horse Power was increased with breathing and compression. Basically its cam, carb, intake manifold, pistons and headers. Today the young guy says, “chip”.
What is sad is the conventional components to increase power have been refined but they still are in the end what gets the job done. The young guy today gets an answer without fully understanding the question. Given one or two more generations and then take out the computers and your off to the stone age as far too few could make older technology work. With a lack of books and manuals as encyclopedias are now paperless the knowledge may well disappear.
The above would make one hell of a movie like, “The Omega Man”.
The education system is a failure in Canada. If you are a parent or concerned citizen who needs a voice to speak out against the incompetence of the Toronto District School Board, follow this blog:
https://canadaparents.wordpress.com/
The Canucks are too flouridated to speak out against educator incapacity and unprofessional teachers.
On the other side of this the only time I actually have to buy anything is when I’m after a relatively new piece of technology like a high end GPU for my PC.
I have, for years, picked up the “broken” electronics others are planning to throw out and fix them with very little time and money spent.
The best score ever was a new desktop PC, worthless integrated GPU but fairly high end aside from that, and the only thing wrong with it was the motherboard power supply had come loose. One click and a $1500 PC was mine without spending a dime.
Now I just need to find someone who is clueless and has bought a PV system so I can finally go totally off grid.
Some electronics are easier to fix than others, and with the low prices of some things, you can’t blame youth for not wanting to bother to repair things.
I see lots of used/broken electronics sold online. I pretty much never buy my computers new. Let’s face it though, a lot of manufactures plan obsolescence into their items. Try to replace a tablet or lcd screen.. you see that they are all veryy specifically sized and rarely interchangeable. Try repairing a laptop and find that items are nestled tightly w/10 different size screws.
I also grew up in the 70’s. I have a degree in Electrical Engineering, but also studied applied science. In my household we were expected to know how to fix it if it breaks. From stereos, TV, lawn equipment, pluming, AC electrical wiring, etc. My “younger” friends will typically have me fix their broken stuff. This is a dangerous trend in a society that is close to breaking down completely. The Nerds could inherit the earth!
Unfortunately most things that are made today aren’t meant to be fixed. It generally, usually, always is way too expensive to buy and repair it yourself or get a repair technician to repair it. Its best to just buy another new one. I am from the generation that repaired thing on a contant basis unil it was ready for the trash heap. Things are not made with durability and long life in mind.
High tech stuff (and, really, everything made by Big Business and mostly “Made in [Communist] China”)is purposely made to be esoteric and not repairable by anyone other than Big Business or their supplicant cronies or captive subsidiaries. Woodsmanship is the more sustainable set of skills that are essential for survival but, again, are woefully lacking in so many modern people. Of course, the genetically-modified gang has the intention of rendering Nature totally obsolete by genetically-modified contamination of natural flora and fauna. Those Big Business oligarchs and their henchman Government intend to perfect their monopoly of everyhing they’ve gotten everyone dependent on through wiping out agriculture and the potential for wilderness foraging and making everyone dependent on their esoteric sea-based aquaculture. That’s the main reason they covet the dream of finding another planet on which they can send slave farmers from here and keep the masses here on Earth totally dependent on their extraterrestrial production of necessities which they will have made extinct and nonexistent here on Earth. “And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:18) “Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.” (Revelation 18:8-20)