Wednesday, December 7, 2016

consulation prize 1 of 2


CONSULATION PRIZE
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note: a dandy article on climate changes and your location:
http://www.doomsteaddiner.net/blog/2016/01/14/location-location-location/
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This was originally from a loyal minions comment, and I thank him for the near Zen like philosophical brilliance ( and I mean that, without sarcasm ).  Simply ( to paraphrase ):

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None of us have a very good chance of surviving the coming collapse and die-off.  You won’t survive long, regardless of the preparations you make, but at least you will have the satisfaction of taking some of the sons a bitches with you.

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At first it just sounds cool, a witty rejoinder.  But if you roll it around on your brain for a time, it takes on further nuances.  Not only does this attitude ( actually a philosophy ) put your mind at ease on a subject usually fraught with unmitigated fear, it is an actual “Jedi Mind Trick“.  This stuff isn’t exactly rocket science, but as reiterated else-when, we are so far out of touch with both nature and human nature ( thanks, Oil Age! ) that this is the kind of stuff most of us need to re-learn.  It used to just be common sense and now it is just me being a brilliant nerd king for bringing it up.  Look, this prepping stuff is simple as hell, even if it does usually fall under the standard “curse of the media darlings professing to singularly possess the unique wisdom your money will unlock”.  That is just a byproduct of the age we live in where there used to be so much surplus that anyone that wanted to could dedicate their lives to studying the most arcane subject matter, from the reproductive rituals of the dung beetle to the strategic importance of the Politburo’s bowel movement schedule, and be paid for it.  Specialization paid.  Generalization did not. 

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Of course, the problem with specialization, in a energy deficit age ( hence now failing to provide a security cushion for being wrong ), is that their obtuseness in all other matters of the universe not implicitly of their micro-specialty.  Lip service is occasionally given to “synergize” productivity by grouping specialists together from different fields, but unless the corporate culture rewards generalization it is usually all sound and fury and few results.  In almost any field pertaining to survivalism, specialization is at work and provides a micro rather than macro viewpoint.  That micro analysis is great at going into mind numbing detail about one very important thing, but nobody really has the capability of providing a Big Picture that is useable.  Everything is viewed with a microscope rather than a birds eye view.  Hence, we have a LOT of very scary information out there.  Which means that really, nobody knows what the hell is going to happen.  It makes for fear and loathing.

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Immersing yourself in information ( remember the info dump from just one gathering place, Gary North, pertaining to the Y2K?  I wasn’t on the Net as much then as now, but that kept me busy for over a year ) and deciding things for yourself is great, if you have the time and inclination, but not practical for everyone.  The better strategy seems to be to adopt a fatalistic attitude.  As in, “What the hell, I won’t live long, too much to go wrong.  But I’ll enjoy taking down as many of those turd knocking asshat mouth breathing bastards as I can before I go”.  It isn’t defeatism.  Not in the slightest.  It is embracing your fate so as to eliminate ( or at least, mostly subdue ) your fears.  Remember our earlier discussions on finding a mate?  If you are needy, you never will attract a functioning mate.  You have to let go of your desires, for them to come true.  As soon as your true ( not faked ) attitude is of indifference, the gals come knocking.  It isn’t because bitches and ho’s are contrary and difficult, although they are, but because a male unable to control themselves holds little attraction to a female.  No, it isn’t exactly fair ( which is where you go to sell your pig ), what with gallons of hormones dictating your every move except breathing, but life generally has a nasty habit of being unfair. 

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It is the same with fear.  Once you stop being afraid of dying, you tend to live longer.  The old guy who prays for the sweet embrace of death keeps on living in pain and fecal soaked Depends but the hypochondriac that lives in fear of germs will usually die of stress, a very sterile corpse in the coffin, still reeking of hand sanitizer.  It isn’t hard to figure out.  Those embracing germs build up an immunity and those not caring if they die or not have a lot less wear and tear on their immune system.  There have been plenty of studies showing ancient warrior societies embracing death performed better ( okay, so specialists studies do come in handy-one of the reasons we can’t shake the habit ) in battle.  Which also means, you find yourself in a bit of a Catch-22.  You can’t NOT prepare.  Even, or especially, once you become indifferent to your survival chances.  I like to blame The Fates ( northern European-I think-goddesses that weave the tapestry of your life ) as my muse. 

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If I fail to prep, I’ll live longer because the Fates will screw with me.  “Oh, my pretty [ they too enjoy my hair ], you didn’t store enough food?  Now you’ll live long enough to starve!  What, you didn’t store enough ammunition?  I believe I’ll send over armed hordes to attack you, while you still have food”.  I’m sorry, but even if you are stuck in the One True God paradigm, I still think you should pay attention and NOT piss off the Fates.  Never tempt them ( there is also Loki the Trickster and others who will delight in punishing the Optimists ).  Why do you think you still Knock On Wood when you don’t wish to have your voiced fears realized?  Keep away from black cats?  Throw salt over your shoulder?  It is because on a deep primitive level you KNOW to fear the delighted contrariness of those you fear to acknowledge.  We’ll finish up tomorrow.

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11 comments:

  1. Ha ha, I am living proof that generalists are doomed to meager incomes...though there have been perks along my journey through life, which rewarded me fabulously with income...until my usefulness expired and specialists inevitabily were called in to replace me.
    Always the same story, no matter how much my innovations earned big brother. What you do for me today is all that matters, yesterday means nothing....
    I've no regrets, I'm richer for the process.

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    1. Working for the idiots, who of course create job security for themselves through your efforts, isn't a regret of mine. There are few other jobs out there ( I know some swear by self-employment but I am not. When expertise is not always rewarded over other aspects it is hard to tie your wagon to the concept. My writing is a paying hobby, not employment ) except those. I would have regreted it if I had placed more importance in that kind of job.

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  2. I think that long term survival might be possible if one employs a few effective stealth strategies.

    One possibility is to incorporate a hidden safe room in your home (Take a cue from that nuttier than Victorian squirrel poop, Sarah Winchester).

    An underground shelter with a well hidden entrance could save you, possibly even if you lived in the suburbs. Just don't tell anyone about it like that dummy in The Twilight zone did.

    You could employ the hide in plain site strategy on your junk land by living in an awful shack (Think Jed Clampett's shack, pre-oil discovery; but if you have a daughter that looks like Elly Mae, you'd better keep her well out of sight) and playing the part of a poor mountaineer. Even still, in the event of the initial collapse, you would want to vacate the shack temporarily and head for deeper woods. Yes, I'm telling you to bug out, but the difference is that you're not trying to do so from a major population center. And don't leave any of your preps in plain sight at the shack. You don't want to make it so comfortable that someone decides to squat in it while you're away.

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    1. Temporary bugging out to the hills at barbarian attacks, then moving back, that is one thing. A smart back-up plan. It being a primary plan, Yuppie Scum bugging out, is stupid.

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  3. I prefer to think of it as murphy's law. A single point of failure will always fail in the worst possible way at the worst possible time - except when you expect it, then that will no longer be the worst possible and it will instead move onto something else as worst possible... So cover all the basics as you can and establish multi use insurance (why would anyone get 'hit by lightning insurance' when you can get 'storm insurance' instead for the same price or cheaper???).

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  4. it's "consolation prize".. no wonder you are a lousy writer...

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    1. Am I a lousy writer, or a lousy speller? I'm sorry I didn't go to college, get $20k into debt, major in English, all so I could give my non-paying readers a more polished product. No, really, I feel bad. Do you get enjoyment or learn something from by writing? Than it doesn't need to attain perfection.

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    2. I wouldn't let that comment bother you too much James. Most college graduates these days can't write as well as you, unless that graduate is an English major.

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    3. Of course, my retort was diminished after I included another spelling error :)

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    4. Aw, now I'm disappointed... I thought it was a clever pun, like some combination of "consul", an ambassador or Roman governor, with consolation.

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    5. On rare occasion, my whit astonishes even me. Alas, that was not such a time.

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