how far is too far? 2

HOW FAR IS TOO FAR 2

Crackhead is as crackhead does. Crackheads are pretty damn stupid. Crackheads without money are even more stupid. Hell, look how stupid people without money are ( Depression era folks putting up with FDR's unConstitutional Soviet policies ). Now, add crack to that. Crackheads will risk getting shot, trespassing on rural land ( where a pissed off homeowner has the option of shooting and shoveling ), after busting up their old beater car on washboard roads, and using half their black market payday on gasoline going out there. My point being, right now even crackheads can get to your place.

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Since they are desperate, and stupid, yes, they will drive 45 minutes to steal a couple of rusted propane tanks ( which are worth, at most, $20, the difference between a new tank, filled, and an exchange tank, filled. I got a few illegal valve type tanks over the years from the thrift store, then exchanged them for the new type, but others quickly caught on to that and the supply dried up ). Which goes to show you that $3 a gallon gas is the “new” one dollar gas poor people used to rely on to survive.

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Compared to most other things, inflation hasn't been unkind to gasoline. Even if gasoline has matched everything else ( rent, food, wages ), most vehicles do get much better mileage ( how hard is it, really, to increase mileage, when you just make the car out of plastic? ), giving most folks a net increase in bang for their buck ( although, then you see a wash with vehicle and repair cost. But a real poor dude buying garbage used cars can negate that, and probably the insurance cost also ). Crackheads only operate in the “now”.

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Of course, a lot of folks out of necessity also act as a crackhead, removing long term cost considerations, deferring maintenance on their home to pay the mortgage after their hours are cut, for instance. One would trust that you will not allow yourself to be placed in this position, being smarter than the average bear. Right, Boo-Boo? Not that you have any more resources than the average worker, but you do understand the concept of exponentially decreasing standards of living being a necessity. And budgeting to plan for exactly that. Sad Panda, but that includes your fuel use.

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To me, this includes two important considerations. Transportation and home heat. You know how I got around that. Buying a lot closer to town ( so my bicycle commute was 45 minutes rather than over two hours, or even far better but still exhausting after a busy workday, the lot a bit over an hour away from town ), and digging down to get the Earth Battery effect. The hole was “free” to dig ( as it was dug manually ), and a 6x16 structure was only a grand in lumber and insulation ( not much point in the “hole” thing if you don't insulate the roof ).

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What did I do prior to this? I bought lots of land I deemed too far away. That is how strong my conviction on Peak Oil is-I bought four pieces of land that I walked away from at a loss, because they needed carbon fuel transportation. Why did I buy them in the first place? Well, it isn't just Peak Oil, but also finances. By the grace of Baby Jesus, I filed for bankruptcy just months prior to the laws changing. And yes, even though I was only hurting the banks I did feel like a derelict doing it.

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But even with that, 70% of my take home pay was going to child support. I knew I was a couple of paychecks away from homelessness. I bought the land in desperation, as a Better Than Nothing strategy. It sucked, the first lot. It was twenty miles away from surface water. I knew that wasn't going to cut it, but it gave me some peace of mind for unemployment. And it was only about $400. The next lot, I went from Arizona to Arkansas. Not because I wanted to move there, but because it was only twenty minutes from town. A town with no jobs, of course. In retrospect I probably should have kept that one.

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Of course, at the time, I had seven more years to go on the support, so it was a job or jail. So I kept looking. The next property was only five miles from employment, with a smaller town right on the property line, but alas, Peak Oil would have been Peak Diversity Mobs from one hour up the road in Dallas, so no thank you. Resigned to the necessity, I figured Nevada was going to have to be it ( a large part of that was lower moving costs, 300 miles rather than 2k ). Meaning, I had to now factor in winter. The whole time I had been looking at just transportation by bicycle.

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The Nevada lots were purchased in order, furthest to closest to town. Yes, normally you want to move further away. But I had to work. Even now, self employed, I have to factor in transportation. I have only been more and more convinced of Peak Oil, the more I read and the more time that passes underscores my conviction. THE primary question is ALWAYS, how do I survive without carbon fuels. Note that the question is not, how do I live without oil AFTER the collapse. It is, how do I survive as oil is too expensive to use as we are now.

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Life won't be Business As Usually on Tuesday and on Wednesday you wake up and the apocalypse is underway, lawyers hanging from lampposts and rat BBQ'ed over the living room furniture wood fire. There is a transition time, and it starts with you losing your job. It doesn't preclude the banks or the cops or government occupation forces. First, you need to be close enough to your job, if the price of gas skyrockets. Then you must be able to keep your home if you lose that job. Then, it is nice not to freeze to death come winter. That is why that Colorado valley is such a crappy place to live poor now. Without a job, how do they get into town? Most of the lots now for sale are past bicycle range.

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Winter heat is easy. You just need a cabin underground, or an Earth Tube ( ten foot down, a hundred foot long, 6 inch pipe-no smaller diameter!-to be effective enough for that above ground dwelling. It can even be a passive draw, for Forever Heat/Cooling at a nominal cost. Adding home insulation will help with the comfort level. And note, the pipe doesn't need to be straight if you don't have that length on the property ). In light of the aforementioned crackheads, I would advise that the two ends of the Earth Tube be metal rather than plastic, as the cretins will destroy stuff as well or in lieu of stealing.

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I've had it happen to me. If there is nothing to steal, they get pissed off you wasted their time, effort and gasoline, and will start beating on stuff until tired. This is the kind of ass you are dealing with today. I wouldn't call it an Entitlement Mentality, as much as a Vandal Mentality ( as in the old timey tribe of barbarians. Or at least, the way the Romans viewed them, fairly or not ). Crackheads are a tribe, even if only a bunch of sad and pathetic Bush Bitches. Remember, tribes self-justify bad behavior by viewing non-tribe members as sub-human.

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Now, the bright side of this is that as oil becomes unaffordable ( even if only because of unemployment ), the crackheads SHOULD, in theory, retire to the urban zone as they too lose transportation. Then your only danger is when you lock up your bike to go grocery shopping. I don't know if they make any lock better than the tools that defeat them. A ten to fifteen mile bike ride ( about the furthest I would suggest for an older minion using pedal power alone, for a once a week trip ) then turns into a three hour walk. But of course, this is all about Least Evil choices, isn't it?

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This isn't as fun as AR's, FLIR scopes, freeze dried unicorn rectum or solar powered cement fortresses atop a mountain, is it? Yeah, this prepper crap is getting down right aggravating. And I'm just the guy to stir that bubbling pot of crap, aren't I? You are very welcome.

( .Y. )

( today's related Amazon link click HERE )

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note: Archer Garrett is writing again.  I loved his work ( more militia porn than PA ).  HERE is his daily news site, which is always listed at my web page.  But more importantly for today's subject, HERE is his newest book.  Alas, we might differ in what we enjoy reading, so HERE is a free section of the first book in the series.  You can decide yourself. 
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note: SR, I probably don't deserve your generosity.  Many, many thanks for the PayPal donation.
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