Regulations.

It seems everything has some kind of regulation to restrict it's use.

Reminds me of the old Five Man Electrical Band song "Signs". In order to do what you want with what you own you have to comply with the laws and the regulations as the result of the laws. The land we are building on is unrestricted and there is no zoning but to build a house we have to involve the county building department and the statewide building code is enforced. We could pitch a tent and live there, it would be legal from the building departments standpoint but the health department would have a problem with waste disposal. You need water so we could collect water from run off or get it from a stream both which are illegal according to the EPA at which point the health department becomes involved because the purity of the illegal water is now in question. By building a tiny house on a utility trailer we are outside of the purview of the building department, the septic system is in and the well will be drilled in a few weeks so we have eliminated the EPA and the health department but we do fall squarely into DOT regulations and there is no getting around that. 

The simplest thing I can think of is a kids lemonade stand but that has to be FDA approved and a vendors permit paid which brings in the local health department. Even the simplest of things are restricted by back door regulations. Pay checks are almost non existent, no one pays with cash, no federal agencies issue checks - direct deposit - which gives some one access to your bank account. Are we formulating a conspiracy theory here ? All I am saying is think about it. Little pieces one at a time is how a puzzle is put together, how much of the puzzle has to be put together for you figure out the end result.

Don't you wish things were different

Look at Detroit to see how things will be in your neighborhood.

We have put it off for as long as we can and even though we can still afford our lifestyle we won’t be able to for the next 6 years. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Our grocery bill keeps going up along with utilities, insurance, taxes, gas and even the one thing we have paper on, our house in Missouri where the mortgage payments increased by $360 this year because of insurance and property tax increases. We started a new business last year that will lose money for the next two and a half years, other than that we are pretty much on fixed income.

We have known our economic woes were coming since 2007 and even tried moving out of the county to lessen the impact on our diminishing ability to produce revenue because of old age. We have been hoping the government would do the right thing and lower the tax rate, promote oil and gas exploration, rebuild infrastructure, cut back on spending, get immigration under control, promote small business, anything to move us in the right direction. Now it’s too late. Watch the stock market for a correction, pay attention to what is happening with foreign governments especially in Asia and the EU, when one fails there will be a domino effect that will trigger the deflationary trend the Federal Reserve is so worried about. It could happen today or any day between now and 15 months from now. I can’t see how it can be avoided, I could be wrong but we have decided to consolidate now and hope we can be done before things start getting really messed up.

We moved into a cash position several years ago, hedged our bet with land and 2 small entrepreneurial enterprises which left us renting a place to live for the last 4 years. The only thing left is to shed the rent by moving to the property where we are currently building a house but the house won’t be ready for at least 18 more months. I’ve got 2 months to build something legal and ready to live in - stay tuned to see how that turns out.

Build a House on a Trailer ???

I don't have to go outside to know what the weather is like. I can look out the window, look at a calendar to see what season it is, look up a forecast, I could even ask someone who has been outside. Using that same type analysis anyone can tell what the economy is doing, look at the stock ticker, read the numbers on unemployment, look at the data on GDP, see what kind of deficit we are running, check out all the new taxes that have been passed ( there is a real good one coming next month ). So could you tell me why, with all the information at our finger tips, can no one see the bad economic times that are right on our door step. During the cold war everyone built bomb shelters, building codes take into consideration weather and seismic forecast, lots of folks go into debt to take advantage of a good sale and the most popular thing to do in this guaranteed bleak economic forecast is to buy guns and ammunition. I am all for protecting what is mine but from whom ? If you think from the government your an idiot, they have been taking your stuff for years and you haven't done diddly. You don't stand a snowballs chance in a sauna, put your money into prepaid funeral expenses. Now burglaries and personal protection - that's a whole nother story and you better be talking to whatever law enforcement is in your area about what you can or can't do.

I've read and heard so many stories about this wild west mentality that I can't help but think that most of this gun mania comes from folks who have watched too many movies and have no clue about the real world. Kind of like being presented all the facts about impending gloom in the economy and buying guns to ward off the lifestyle change that is sure to happen. Didn't the price of work boots double in the 70's, the sales were to kids who had no intention of working, they thought they looked cool. I think the gun mania is the same kind of deal which presents a really big problem all by itself. So now when a law enforcement issue arises on any level the issue isn't talked or argued about it is met by lethal force. We cause our own problems.

Point of No Return

Probability Theory

I mentioned in passing on an audio file that I could tell you the day that what everyone is expecting in the economy would happen will happen and I can. Like everything else there is a point in time when things change but no one notices. After a while you realize that was the thing that changed everything. When Clinton was president he passed the Affordable Housing Act, that was the day things changed in residential real estate, allowing people who couldn’t afford a house to buy one anyway. It was popular but unsustainable, no one did anything about it until it crashed the system ( by the way they are pushing this same agenda again ). Well being able to tell you when the system will crash again is one of those type deals. It’s just a matter of time and manipulation as to when the system collapses after the event that changes everything happens. You’ve said you what to know so here it is - the day that this administration signs on to an agreement with the IMF and their 188 member nations to replace the dollar with the SDR as the reserve currency of the world. This happened at the G20 in April 2009 when our president endorsed the global plan and a democratically controlled congress went along with it. There has been a lot of manipulation since then and if you folks would pay attention once in a while you would see how this plays out. It’s not some grand conspiracy they have been flying by the seat of their pants for the last 5 years but it is starting to come together.

Washington D.C. is a direct reflection of the nation, No one knows what to do so they flock behind a popular ideology. They don’t know how to implement so they use the shotgun approach and when something sticks they go with it. If they had any idea of where they were trying to go they could have achieved their objective 4 years ago. This is the story of politics, the blind leading the blind, self interest above all else. The end results are that we give up more freedom, pay more taxes and allow the government more power to control every aspect of our lives. Call it what you want, all I know is that I don’t subscribe to the ideology that is being rammed down our throats and I object to paying more taxes to pay for it.

Now we have reached a point where we are being forced to do the wrong thing to affect change but that is a subject for another conversation.

New Poll.

It seems that a new poll has been published about how people view themselves and the results are pretty telling about our society. 96% of the people polled view themselves as average to above average intellectually. These are the same folks that don't know who the Vice President of the United States is, they think Obamacare is free, the Federal Reserve is a public institution and don't know the IMF from BRB or some other useless acronym. I know that this self inflated opinion depends on your point of reference but if you believe you are at least as smart as everyone else it shuts down the desire to learn and that my friends is exactly why the population in this country is so stupid. Totally dependent on other people to tell you what to think and easily manipulated by a good lie.

This is nothing new but it does point to a much greater self deception than in the past. Unfortunately this almost unanimously thought concept of intellect has never been more prominent than in the very people we elect to represent us in the Federal Government. We believed the lies and now we suffer the consequences but somehow it is not their fault - are you kidding me ? I am not so sure the population has the ability of independent thought or are we so intent on fitting in that we have lost the instinct for self preservation ? Maybe the new self preservation is gaming the system, 35% of the population has some type of government assistance. This doesn't include Social Security or Medicare - we paid into to those - this is welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, subsidized health care, subsidized housing loans ..... etc. Who in the heck do you think pays for this stuff ?

Don't for a minute think that I am subscribing to the idea that we have been duped by some slick talking politicians or that there is some grand plan to socialize our country. The truth is that we are stupid and it is far easier to be stupid and blend in than to do the research and fight back. It is far easier to forget the skin we have in the game .......wait, maybe the 96% of the people polled don't have skin in the game. What ever the excuse the facts are the facts. Politicians are stupid, they don't think past whatever stupid idea they have and never consider the consequences. At this point in our history they are taking advantage of a dumbed down populace never thinking about consequences but taking all the power and money they can get away with. It isn't some grand plan it is simply taking advantage of the situation.

   

Trying to accumulate.

There are so many tool and hardware items I still have to replace but today's quality really sucks. The bottom line is that no one really cares and as time passes no one knows the difference. Like the quality of life everything is being down graded with very little resistance.

Barb dragged me to an auction the other day and here is what I got - yesterdays trash and happy to have it.

I've been thinking lately.

I know this is an unusual condition for me - to be thinking but never-the-less I have been know to do it once in a while. The thought process was about how much easier it is to figure stuff out when Barb helps. I always ask for her opinion but after I think I have it figured out. We are polar opposites as far as life experiences are concerned but surprisingly synonymous on life issues. Barb carries complete dominance of her life experiences as I do mine but because we are both headed in the same direction we get along - a lot better than most. The reason that a person who by all rights should be a staunch liberal and a person who should be a stalwart conservative can occupy the same space at the same time is because neither one of us has the inflexibility of ideology. Ideology is the ignorance of society.

Ray started this post but has gone out to check on the chickens and I've noticed he is way over his head on the direction of this post so I'll see if he notices the following.

We started making audios together to reflect what goes on in our discussions.  We have differing views on many topics and our conversations involve a back-and-forth exchange of ideas.  What you hear on the audios is not a reflection of our everyday conversations, because we are aware that we are recording and stay on-topic.  I assure you that this doesn't happen in real life. The audios do reflect the give-and-take that goes on when we talk.

Ray and I are different, as different, as my Gramps would have said, as chalk and cheese.  We share some traits,  Common sense is one of them, We can look at an event and what the reactions are to it, and recognize the nonsense for what it is.  Additionally, we have the common goal of being able to take care of ourselves as we grow older.

So when you hear one of our audios, you are hearing us pretty much as we really talk to one another. I'll try to get better at it as we continue.

Turn your back and this is what you get. The chickens, that Barb was so worried about in a thunder storm, are fine and in the time it took to drive 16 miles she's taken over my blog. Truth be told I am glad she contributed. Anyway you can click the link to check out our latest.Conformity or Common Sense

When the tide turns.

I don't know about you but I know I have been waiting for the tide to change in this country for 5 years. A case in point was the Annual Washington Correspondents Dinner last night. I don't like watching the news so I skimmed over an article this morning, some AP release. I know it is Sunday and I should be reflecting on other things but because I read some of the stuff from this gathering of folks who are supposed to cover the news on a daily basis of the guy making the yokes, now I am mad. This stuff isn't funny, all I can see is the real intent of the supposed funny comments. Changing his slogan from " Yes We Can " to "Ctrl - Alt - Del" is not funny but it is the truth. Control the media, Alter our behavior and Delete our way of life. Does that sound funny to you ? Do you think it is coincidence that Boehner wants to appoint a Select Committee on Benghazi 4 days ahead of his hotly contested primary in Ohio ? None of this stuff is funny. How about this - while this administration says it wants to stop the confrontation in the Ukraine by imposing sanctions on a couple of people while the head of the IMF threatens to withdraw the $17 billion loan to the Ukraine if they don't fight Russia.

If the tide doesn't turn soon the key note speaker at the Annual Washington Correspondents Dinner will raise my blood pressure so high I will have a heart attack - you think maybe I have the basis for a law suit ?

You can check out the progress on the house building and other stuff by clicking this link Exterior Sheathing