Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
Theres always a ‘barometer’ that one industry uses to guage another, or that one group of academics will use to measure something about a demographic. For example, the sale of firearms and magazines before an election is usually a good indicator of how people think thigns are going to go…really huge jump in sales means that a Democratic winner is thought of as being a real possibility. Republican? Less but still increased sales.
I am sure that somewhere theres some relationship between the people you see in WalMart (and what they are purchasing) and the perceived condition of the economy. When you see normal people instead of the usual, obese, fat-fingered, filthy looking trailer denizens strolling the aisles you know that maybe Joe Average is showing a little more concern about the outflow of cash. I just got back from there and there was a Jag in the parking lot. Sure, maybe the rich got rich by being thrifty…or maybe theyre starting to see the writing on the wall.
And now, according to the news, the plan is to give ‘free money’ to people with the admonishment of ’spend it now!’. Think about the utter Third-World, Banana Republic bizarreness of that. The economy has hit such a dire stage (or is about to) that the .gov feels the best hope is the unprecedented shoving of cash into peoples hands with the hope they will spend it. I dont know alot about economics but I know alot about being desperate and this sure seems like a desperation play.
Given that the next President of the US is going to be one of four people whom I think will not be beneficial to my existence, Helicopter Ben’s money drop plan, the continued increase in prices of oil and food, the recent announcement that jobs have been lost for the first time in several years, and the fact that it looks like if it isnt a recession (which it sure looks like we’re already in ) its going to be stagflation….I think its time to circle the wagons and be extraordinarily careful with the finances.
I just keep feeling that sensation that something bad is about to happen and when it does I’ll be wishing that I had done something right now.
Need. More. Food.
you also need to get your power supply in order.
I know, I know….and the kicker is that theres an ‘alternative energy’ design/building shop three blocks from my shop. http://www.solarplexus1.com/index.html
am i going to have to drive my car all the way to montana to hold your hand or what? just go to walmart and buy a single 12v marine battery. i’m sure you already have jumper cables and a running car.
if you do that you’ll start learning to use 12v and what it can and cant do. once you get started you’ll hate yourself for not starting sooner.
this is your mission.
1. go to walmart
2. get 12v marine battery.
3. get cheap flood lights like you would bolt to the front of a truck. (lowest power ones you can find, you’ll be using these things inside)
4. if you want to really go all out get the cheapest car radio you can find with cheap speakers. or if you have a radio in the house that uses a power adapter, look on the adapter to see what voltage the adapter converts to.
just make it happen damnit. go to walmart now and buy a battery. no more putting it off.
in fact you know what, your looking for battery 27dc-6
its a 12v battery so you only need one of them.
Eh…dammit, now youre gonna make me go to the bunker and check. hang on a sec…theres a 27dc 115 amp/hour battery down there right now. Theres also the usual alligator clamps that go onto the terminals and end in a cigarette-adapter. Theres a handheld floodlight to plug into that as well as a Radio Shack DC adapter with various terminals to fit other DC devices.
So, yeah, theres a bare bones ghetto minimum there. What Im after, however, is something to run LED lights and a transmitter for about two weeks without recharging, and then can be recharged off of a solar panel (trickle charged, really) or charged off a generator.
I just picked up “Electronics for Dummies” and a few other books. In addition to the Solar Plexus place three blocks from my shop, three blocks in the OTHER direction is a Batteries Plus that sells all sortsa batteries.
Fate, it seems, demands my action.