Topic: You Can’t Take It With You

[Pandora]

One of Rush Limbaugh’s latest shows begins with this taunt.

   "If you’re in the DC area, are you happy you don’t have an electric car? Yeah, with the power outages, are you happy you don’t have an electric car? Because two million, five million, three schmillion, whatever. Aren’t you glad you don’t have an electric car? By the way, how are those windmills working out for you? How are the windmills and solar panels working out? Are they running your air-conditioning for you? As you sit there and sweat away, how are things doing in the nation’s capital? All those windmills are really working out, huh? Solar panels, yeah, man, that’s the future. There you are, sitting there, sweating, stinking like a stuck pig for three days, and it’s gonna be this way for another week. It’s a good thing you don’t have an electric car or you couldn’t get around, you couldn’t escape. Isn’t it amazing."

It brought back memories of a barbecue I attended a couple of months with a political figure in Australia. He maintained that current policies failed to take into account the fact that while Oz had a lot of coal resources, it was still dependent on imported oil for moving-around fuel. An international disturbance, he said, would be distinctly unpleasant for those accustomed to sipping white wine along the beautiful beaches of the Australian East coast. With regard to the cars, I have little doubt that the machine shops and panel beaters would do a land-office trade producing conversions that my father told me about in World War 2. The coal-fired car. In Japanese occupied Philippines they were fueled, not by coal, but by dried coconut husks. It was slow, hell on the engine (you have to carbon-blast the cyclinder bores frequently) and it probably doesn’t meet EPA emissions standards.

[Photo:  Gassify the coal and then feed it to the engine]

But it worked, kind of and sort of, so you can see where Limbaugh might have a point. Modern man is tremendously dependent on the infrastructure to keep him going. Where once the majority of people lived on the farm, and were independent in the short run from civilizational disruptions, modern man lives entirely on the grid. He buys food from the Store, gets his power from the Electric Plug and his protection from the Station House.  What happens if the Store, Electric Plug, Wi-Fi point and Station House ain’t there no more? Even for a couple of weeks?

Keith Veronese, writing an entertainment column asks: who would want to survive the collapse of civilization? “Would you want to survive, and emerge into the post-apocalyptic wasteland? Would the positives of playing a role in a new society outweigh the loss of creature comforts? Or would you rather just go out with the majority of the human race? ”

What self respecting liberal would want to live  in a world where maybe only Rush Limbaugh is playing on the radio? Well in that event, they can console themselves by acknowledging that Limbaugh got some things right.  In his own way Rush was talking about something Belmont Club readers are familiar with: The Design Margin.

The Design Margin is rooted in the notion that life is uncertain; that since things have often collapsed in the past and may collapse again we actually need to have more reserves than we think.  Asteroid strikes, wars and natural calamities happen — and with far more frequency than the space alien invasions that Paul Krugman suggests we prepare against.

Bad times are frequent events.

The idea that the office on the corner will always be able to dispense Government Cheese does not reflect the normal historical experience. Rather it reflects that peculiar period of stability and prosperity which followed the end of the Second World War: the Pax Americana, which the Left hates. Our civilizational attitudes have been formed on the basis of the exception, not the rule.

But though they may hate the Pax Americana, the Greens probably can’t live without it. Can’t live without the Ipods, the connectivity, the store-bought food, the cafe-bought lattes — all the ugly things made by private industry. And by paring down the redundancies in the system as wasteful and unsightly; by reducing the energy reserves of the system in favor of such fairy schemes as windmills and carbon trading the Greens have made the system far less robust than it could have been. Because they are never going to need the Design Margin. Ever. Until they do.

Veronese writes, “I wouldn’t last long in a Mad Max-style world — the most complex thing I can do to my car is replace its refrigerant. I’d probably die in the first couple of months — or once my glasses broke, whichever came first.”

But I think Veronese is wrong. He might survive; survive by doing things which are unthinkable to him now. But if he made it through he would have a new respect for the Design Margin.

Years ago I had a Jewish friend whose father had survived the war in Europe and emigrated to America. When my friend reached late adolescence, his father, who had become a prosperous doctor in America, beckoned his son with a furtive gesture. He led the young man to a closet. And in it were a packed suitcase, a stout pair of shoes, an overcoat and a hat. “I want you to know,” he told his son, “that if you need to run, it’s all here ready to go.” He looked at his father and thought to himself that the experience of the war had created an indelible paranoia. The old man could not get it into his mind that the Nazis were gone and that he was safe from it for all time in the Midwest.

Perhaps the old Jew knew something we have forgotten. That we are not safe because of some natural condition. We were safe for only so long as the Pax Americana endured. Remove that, undermine that, dismantle that — remove the Plug, the Store and the Station House — and all the bets were off.

Business practices, probably coming from tax policy and warehousing costs, are big on the "JIT Marketing Philosophy" - Just In Time inventory delivery.  One little glitch in the infrastructure due to any number of possible things, and the shelves and gas tanks stay empty if and until the trucks arrive.

When I buy milk, I buy it by the 4-gallons to the case and freeze two of them.  Usually, I ask for a whole boxed case fetched from "the back"; often there are none.  It's all out in the refrigerator on the store floor.

Increasingly, grocery store shelves have lots of spaces left empty until a delivery truck brings the goods, which, as the spaces are empty (ya can't sell what ya don't have) means to me the "JIT" isn't all that timely.  It is this spectre which led me to begin my own "self-storage system"; a list of fifteen items results in regularly coming home with eleven or less of them.

More and more, pharmacies operate on the same principle.  One can get a prescription partially filled "until", or not at all "until", particularly if it isn't frequently requested.

When I was younger, I wasn't aware of certain changes, particularly demographic-wise, until I grew up a little, stood still and looked around.  Today, I'm a lot more aware, in real-time, of the changes and it makes me anxious.

[Pandora]

A dismaying comment ...

9. Cowboy

I was at a Cub Scout camp last week, camping along the Virginia – West Virginia border. I got home from camp just in time for the lights to go out, and spent almost 3 days with power out all over my town. From this I’ve decided that when the grid goes the next time, I’d rather be in the hills than in the town.

The Cub Scout camp was Olympic themed, having events based around Homer’s Odyssey, and I had ample time in the woods to reflect on that great work. Its major theme is a surprising one to moderns, it’s one that goes almost unnoticed. But once you’re turned onto it you see it on every page, in every one of Odysseus’ encounters. This theme is the abuse of the guest-host relationship, the abuse of goodwill. This is the greatest sin for Homer, it marks the beginning of the Illiad (the Rape of Helen) and the end of the Odyssey (the Death of the Suitors) and every step of the way for Odysseus’ travels.

There I was, surrounded by a group of very ‘nice’ people. These were Northern Virginia yuppies and professionals with their boys, and this was Cub Scout mission striving to reflect all the wholesome values transmitted by that laudable moral institution, the Boy Scouts of America. On the whole, the edifice fell apart repeatedly. I saw and heard adult leaders at all times during the night, keeping would-be sleepers awake through their revelry – even walking through camps while hollering across to other camps. Lord help us when scant resources came into play, as happened everyday when we showed up at the mess hall to submit to camp cook’s ritual attempt at poisoning us. The mad dash to secure provisions at times left whole packs deprived of meals as more aggressive packs swept in to maximize their partakings. At the cell phone charging station in the admin lodge, people were unplugging phones of others not around in order to free up the outlets for their own use. At every point it was required, and this was required a lot, the concept of standing in line and waiting turn went straight out the window. It was dog-eat-dog.

Odysseus may well have slain them all, and these were the ‘nice’ folks. In less technical, less specialized societies, a premium is placed upon goodwill and guest-host relations. Our insular nature is a luxury and a privilege, I thought as I imagined what would happen if the lights did not come back on. How would I get 250 miles south to my family homestead, but by fighting every step of the way? With no safe harbor, no good hosts, no trustworthy fellow travelers?

I fear the truth is that a fragile, thin veneer of civility, too easily shattered, encases the modern man who, in his core, is lawless and governed by seeking advantage. The necessary lessons so foremost in minds of Homer’s audience have long ago gone unlearned.

[Weisshaupt]

We are becoming 3rd world... partly because Obama is encouraging the third world come to us- both via immigration and economics, but mostly because we, as a people have reached that civilizational climax where luxury is more important than  the respect, hard work, and individuality that got us to this point.

In my own field of telecommunications,  I have seen the quality of the planning drop, the quality of the people drop (many from overseas) , and just the overall professionalism go out the window. What does that mean for you - worsening voice quality, dropped calls, routing problems and unreliable 911 services. The same is happening everywhere.
A lot of the "good people" got out of telecommunications during the tech bubble  Bust and didn't return. But now, 10 years later, very few ""good people" are coming up through the ranks. In  a world with 15% unemployment, one would think filling positions with qualified people would be easy - especially if you are willing to hire someone who has been out of work a while. My company is taking over 8 months on average to fill reqs.

Its gonna be a long slow slide.  Meanwhile the limp wrist-ed latte sipping morons  are complaining that Apple isn't special enough anymore
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/07/iphone_google_glass_apple_s_tech_innovation_has_gotten_boring_it_s_time_for_something_new_.html

[Alphabet Soup]

I fear the truth is that a fragile, thin veneer of civility, too easily shattered, encases the modern man who, in his core, is lawless and governed by seeking advantage. The necessary lessons so foremost in minds of Homer’s audience have long ago gone unlearned.

Welcome to the real world.

The fact is no matter how enthusiastically they were drilled into, you manners and courtesy are conscious choices. They can be turned on - and off. I remember the conversations I had wit my dad where I tried unsuccessfully to explain why the rules that he grew up with no longer worked. Intellectually he understood what I was telling him but emotionally I may as well have been trying to convince him I could fly.

And I recall the movie Roadhouse where the Patrick Swayze super-bouncer character is instructing his new crew on proper conduct. "If someone calls you a name - be nice" he says. "If they spill a beer on you - be nice". His crew is looking at him like he is telling them to let whomever walk all over them. "Be nice - right up to the time when it's time to not be nice" Swayze continues, "I will tell you when the time comes to not be nice".

The implication becomes clear: don't sweat the small stuff; don't fight every stupid little fight. But when that magic line is crossed don't be afraid to do what you need to do to defend yourself and keep the order.

I hope "cowboy" way paying attention.

Edited for clarity

[Glock32]

This is a corollary to the "let's assume everything you say about me is true" adage: the Left has no idea just how well developed my reptilian brain is. If they're going to see to it that civilization is laid low, then I'm going to see to it that that's exactly what they get.

[LadyVirginia]

My husband and I have had these conversations for years.  Back when we started working you did your job and you were very reluctant to ask for special consideration (a day off, leave early).  Recently my husband was assigned a staffer who told him he couldn't stay late on certain days to get a project done.  Why? Because the guy said he coached softball.  My husband being nice said I'll see what we can do to work around it (because as he said he didn't want the kids to suffer from not having a coach).  Turns out the guy was on an adult league and he was one of the coaches!  My husband has had staff tell him they're going on vacation and they do nothing to get work done before they leave.  My husband on the other hand will stay late and go in on the weekends to clear his desk before taking off.
Dear husband can't do anything about it because HR backs the staffers every time.

He keeps saying to me "it's not like it used to be".

Work used to be what you did to pay rent and food.  Now work is what you do to buy your toys and someone else pays for the boring stuff like insurance, rent, food.

[Pandora]

This is a corollary to the "let's assume everything you say about me is true" adage: the Left has no idea just how well developed my reptilian brain is. If they're going to see to it that civilization is laid low, then I'm going to see to it that that's exactly what they get.

My prescription reading glasses broke last week.  I was cleaning the left lens and the frame holding the right lens just snapped at the hinge.  They're only two years old, so I took them -- do we call it them because they're two lenses? -- to the eye doc's office where the frame was pronounced dead, by the same oblivion, about which I told the tale here, who had no idea what the prefix "poly" meant in terms of lens composition.

This time, because I was pissed about the lack of choice in new frames -- you can have any shape you want as long as it's rectangular  -- she tried to tell me that, yes, there are round frames, and pointed at a rectangular one with slightly rounded corners.

 

Then she sassed me; when I said "Jaaane, she replied, "Pandoooora.

I relate this because in a world past, and in the world coming, her careless disregard for the truth -- in plain f**king sight -- and her blatant disrespect for me and my ability to see it, would and will merit a fierce slap in the face.

Am I overreacting?  I don't believe so.  This is just a small example of what's going on, right now, in every of life's endeavors, people behaving as though reality, commonsense, and good manners have no connection to them at all.

[warpmine]

I know what you mean, Pan. My wife comes home from shopping to complain about the same thing...no choices and the ones that are don't fit(clothes) don't fit any of us right up to the 3 yr old. Getting old with the terrible quality from the turd world right to th extremely low stocks the stores have on hand.

[BigAlSouth]

Modern man is tremendously dependent on the infrastructure to keep him going. Where once the majority of people lived on the farm, and were independent in the short run from civilizational disruptions, modern man lives entirely on the grid. He buys food from the Store, gets his power from the Electric Plug and his protection from the Station House.  What happens if the Store, Electric Plug, Wi-Fi point and Station House ain’t there no more? Even for a couple of weeks?

Thus, an explanation of the red state/blue state map by county. Every single urban area in America is blue, blue, blue. If they were not able to suck the bennies off the federal tit, they would be dead in 48 hours. (Mostly by their fellow blue state urbanites in the inevitable food wars of the coming apocalypse.

[BigAlSouth]

My prescription reading glasses broke last week. 

Pan, may I introduce you to Zenni Optical. Got a headache looking at all the choices online. Bought two pairs with prescription progressive lenses, one tinted for sunglasses, for about $115.00. You can get single vision reading glasses for about $25, including shipping. Takes about 10 days.

zennioptical.com

[Pandora]

My prescription reading glasses broke last week. 

Pan, may I introduce you to Zenni Optical. Got a headache looking at all the choices online. Bought two pairs with prescription progressive lenses, one tinted for sunglasses, for about $115.00. You can get single vision reading glasses for about $25, including shipping. Takes about 10 days.

zennioptical.com

Thanks, BAS.  I will take a look there.

[Libertas]

My prescription reading glasses broke last week. 

Pan, may I introduce you to Zenni Optical. Got a headache looking at all the choices online. Bought two pairs with prescription progressive lenses, one tinted for sunglasses, for about $115.00. You can get single vision reading glasses for about $25, including shipping. Takes about 10 days.

zennioptical.com

Thanks, BAS.  I will take a look there.

I've talked to people at work about these that have order from them, outfit run out of China, thus the low prices.  But sometimes the quality suffers, but at these prices just order another, or put two orders in.  I haven't yet but I will sometime this year.  Want some backup specs in case TSHTF.

As for the general theme of this thread, the veneer will come flying off sooner or later.  The treatment confronting Proglodytes is going to be especially harsh, as it should be.

[LadyVirginia]

My prescription reading glasses broke last week. 

Pan, may I introduce you to Zenni Optical. Got a headache looking at all the choices online. Bought two pairs with prescription progressive lenses, one tinted for sunglasses, for about $115.00. You can get single vision reading glasses for about $25, including shipping. Takes about 10 days.

zennioptical.com

Thanks, BAS.  I will take a look there.

I've talked to people at work about these that have order from them, outfit run out of China, thus the low prices.  But sometimes the quality suffers, but at these prices just order another, or put two orders in.  I haven't yet but I will sometime this year.  Want some backup specs in case TSHTF.

As for the general theme of this thread, the veneer will come flying off sooner or later.  The treatment confronting Proglodytes is going to be especially harsh, as it should be.

My doc gave me a new prescription for glasses and told me to fill it if I felt I needed it.  I didn't really notice a difference from my old one but I'm thinking I'll fill it just in case. I don't like buying from China but if all come from there then I'll go cheapest.

[AlanS]

I get my reading glasses from Dollar Tree or Everything's A Dollar. At a buck a piece, I'll buy 6-7 pair at a time if they have that many in my magnification. Keep a pair in my truck, a couple at home, couple at work, and one pair with me.

[Pandora]

I get my reading glasses from Dollar Tree or Everything's A Dollar. At a buck a piece, I'll buy 6-7 pair at a time if they have that many in my magnification. Keep a pair in my truck, a couple at home, couple at work, and one pair with me.

That's why I'm not climbing the walls right now -- using the purse pair.

[LadyVirginia]

I'm not so lucky --if only I could buy a dollar pair ---I'd have 'em all over the house like I do scissors, tape and sunglasses