is optimism a good plan?

IS OPTIMISM A GOOD PLAN?

If I asked you the question, “is wishful thinking a good prepping plan?”, you would probably chuckle right alongside me in deriding any deluded fool that thought a “I have a good feeling about today” attitude would help as the Four Horsemen were unleashed upon the land.  You would probably agree with me that Happy Thoughts don’t replace healthy skepticism and paranoid planning.  And yet, because Morons Is As Morons Does, most folks act-not jawbone, babble, daydream or plan-but they ACT like Gott Damn Optimistic Ollies.  You would think Wishful Thinking was their co-pilot. 

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I won’t even touch that crap about “if you could only have one book it would be the Bible”.  Hell, if I could only have one book I’d probably pick “Caveman Chemistry”.  Not to denigrate anyone’s faith.  As I’ve said many times before, I envy those who have religion to comfort them.  But to rely on God?  To think of him as “your co-pilot”?  God helps those who help themselves, and The Golden Rule, those are the only things you really need to know.  He doesn’t have time for your pathetic ass using him as a crutch. 

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Don’t think, hey, can you help me out here?  Give me the strength to persevere?  How about earning that, rather than begging for it?  Just saying.  I only bring this up because it seems at times that religion is used as a form of wishful thinking.  If your faith is strong enough, the way will be shown.  Well, call me a cynic or blind to your ways, but it seems to me that a better way would be to know The Way NOW.  And the way, my misguided pilgrims, is sweet paranoia.  What could go wrong, as long as you don’t burn bridges?

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Burning your bridges is kind of obvious.  Just go to YouTube and watch any episode of Doomsday Preppers.  Those idiots take a great thing in paranoia and turn it into Full Retard.  Actually, their bigger problem is that they are Yuppie Scum Preppers and so they overspend.  But they are so paranoid ( yes, I know, in a “fake, reality show” kind of way.  It is all scripted, or at least Propaganda Directed ) they want to be prepared for the worst.  Which is good.  But overspending, they can only pick ONE threat.  Over prepping for that makes them look stupid.

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Which seems to be the whole point of the show, in discrediting the movement.  Since they make money on it, helping out their comrades on the left is just a bonus.  Not that preppers need much help discrediting themselves.  They give the opposition plenty of ammunition.  Like, when they don’t have much ammunition.  The whole reason I flew off the handle this morning was after trolling Rawles and I came across one of his “prepper profiles”.  I actually love those, as it shows what huge fortunes are buying for survivalism ( the article was around the beginning of this month ).

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Just skimming, the retired couple was paying $3k a year in property tax ( you know, because in southern California that rural property tax is such a bargain ).  Under guns, it was “too numerous to mention”.  And then under ammunition, “$10k total”.  Wait, what?  Even if you only had twenty guns, which isn’t hard to do as I have nine and I’m both poor and almost never buy any, that is only 500 rounds per firearm.  Since my wager is on a lot of that being rimfire, most guns other than 22’s probably have about a hundred rounds each. 

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And this is a guy that has the retirement investments needed to pay California property taxes.  We won’t even talk about surviving in the state.  I wouldn’t want to do it, but it also cannot be considered impossible.  Just ill advised.  Even being a Yuppie Scum Survivalist, only prepped for an earthquake and absolutely nothing else ( I was so astonished with his ammo stats I didn’t even get to his food stockpile.  I shudder to contemplate ), just the fact you are living in California should mean you have a heck of a lot more ammunition on hand.

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The way that crap stain of a state is moving, ALL ammunition will be illegal or with a one thousand percent tax soon enough.  This guy doesn’t seem to have one paranoid thought bouncing around an empty skull.  Or, being Cali, he is so cowed by his Little Women threatening ruinous divorce he dared not prepare to any meaningful degree.  Most likely, though, he is simply reflected the soft skull thinking required to live there.  Hey, if you have plans, solid plans, to escape, no hate from me.  If the escape is just wishful thinking, consider me hateful.

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If you are just working one more year to your retirement, or have land elsewhere, no harm.  But most people who live there are brainwashed into thinking it is a great place.  I’ve known people living here in Elko working for the mines that whine and moan about missing California.  Thankfully, with the mine industry imploding ( did I already mention Newmont and Barrick forming a joint venture for a single operation here?  Next step, actual bankruptcy ) we will soon be free from those idiots.  Sure, I used to be them.  But in the 80’s!

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No one can possibly believe that 100-500 rounds of ammunition is good enough for one gun, and still be a prepper.  And no, I do not buy into the argument that you’ll never need that much ammunition since you’ll be killed right away.  If you think that way, you are NOT a pessimist.  You are NOT cynical.  Your wishful thinking HOPES that you die soon enough so you’ll be spared the expense of buying that ammo.  The ammo is just in case you don’t die.  You need to be paranoid enough for worst case, and that is, “I’ll need more ammo than I thought”. 

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And if you die?  In theory, a family or tribal member can use it.  And if not?  What do you care?  You’re dead.  But if you are still alive, against all odds, wouldn’t you feel pretty retarded with only a hundred rounds of ammo and only three hundred pounds of wheat left?  Renting, not buying but just renting on streaming service a brand new release movie can cost you more than a fifty pound sack of wheat.  Which feeds you over a month.  I know some of you are discretionary funds poor.

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I understand that.  I’ve been married to a ball buster that took my entire paycheck ( yeah, even when I was the only one working ), and I’ve been married to a whining shrew that would not shut the hell up unless I continued to shove alcohol down her throat ( thank all the gods for the current NOL.  We just had our fourth anniversary.  And I’ve never been happier.  Can’t you tell from my attitude? J ).  So I understand about being too poor to prep.  As long as you try your best and never pretend you have enough.

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Hoping for the best is the worst plan.  I know I am right about a total collapse, a 99.9% die-off and a centuries long Dark Age.  I have zero doubts.  The odds are good I might not live to see that.  But that doesn’t mean I HOPE that is the case and plan for that better outcome.  No, I plan for the worse case, which is it all falls off the cliff tomorrow.  Living in Nevada, you see an entire gambling culture.  It is pretty easy to see how often the house wins.  Don’t bet against the house.

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People bet they will have a job in thirty years, working at the mine to pay off a high mortgage.  Not as bad as California, as few places are.  But a starter house is over $200k.  To get under that, you buy an old ass mobile home.  Sure, it is on a foundation, but that is the most solid part of the paperboard house.  Yet they go for $150-$175k.  Talk about wishful thinking, both in the mortgage AND hoping that pig humper lasts as long as the mortgage.  People bet most of their paychecks that they will win playing slots in the casino.

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For those with me the longest, you recall I worked at that department fifteen years ago.  At first they had the old mechanical coin slot machines, but they quickly went to all digital.  We had access to player data as they used their rewards cards gambling.  Almost everyone lost money, big time.  My stepmom, doing better than most, winning prizes and bragging of her wins, was up a mere ten percent her best year.  That was on tens of thousands of dollars ( granted, she was replaying the winnings ).  The rest were losing.  The house ALWAYS wins.

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Don’t gamble, dumbass.

( .Y. )

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note: I might be way behind the curve here, but I just found out M.D. Creekmore has a You-Tube channel click here. 
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