Franklin Magic Square

Auspicious New Year to everyone...

The new year for us is a moment of planning, review, and consideration. What we accomplished in the year past, and what we hope to accomplish in the coming year---both personally and for the homestead---A new wind generator is on the list for 2013 especially since the new solar panels are up and running--continuing on the retirement budget for the next year is also a must--even tho i am still working----With the coming of the new year any survivalist/prepper wonders, will this be the year?  Will it, what ever it may be, happen this year? Am I ready?  We urban homestead as a life style, We resist overt capitalism daily, We strive to live unaffected by the strangeness of our surroundings consistently---none of which is based on fear of an event of some kind---we do what we do because independence, as best we can make it happen,  is the correct way of life, not from fear of some unknown approaching incident. 

The next Riddick film is a supposed go for release in 2013 ? 

I have had such poor results in anticipating the release of upcoming SF films lately that my spirit has been downtrodden to expect zero results..perhaps the new Riddick film will change this?

Resident Evil Retribution = Sucked.....what a piece of crap. Stay as far away from this film as possible........

I've begun expanding my personal music appreciation by purchasing used jazz cassette tapes from Amazon. Costing an average of $2.50 apiece I've entered the world of Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Thelonious Monk, and Dave Brubeck. I now combine my tape recorder collection with used jazz tapes and it is interesting that this style of music really does sound better off of tape....warmer....closer. I had never previously found jazz interesting---but as one ages of course one's tastes change---and perhaps i have become more open to new things. The low price of pre-recorded audio cassettes now makes collecting Jazz easy....Consumer products that are in the process of becoming extinct produce excellent bargains at the right moment..........

Just what the fuck can anyone say about the state that we are in? There is nothing that can describe the incompetence of all American elected officials, Department Secretaries or any "professional" politician or government bureaucrat in the recent dealings with the Fiscal Cliff. I expect nothing--we are---- simply----fucked. Now or later, it does not matter.

While attention is on the Fiscal Cliff problem, Congress passed a 5 year extension to the warrant-less wiretap Bush law on phones, mobile phones, email, pretty much anything, which can be put into effect against a citizen by simply claiming the purpose is counter terrorism--it goes to Obama's desk this coming month and without a doubt he will sign it---they want to know and keep track of what you are doing, saying and thinking and we are letting them--without a fight. 

"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to

be drunk to spend time with fools."

Ernest Hemingway

Chaitin's Omega

This past week was highly dysfunctional around me---My wife and I celebrate no holidays other than birthdays--so during holiday seasons I feel as if I am an anthropologist, living among a foreign culture while studying them. 
It may be the stress created by this stupidity of capitalistic buying frenzy---that makes American society even more bizarre during these holidays. People appear crazed and overloaded by the demands placed upon them by family and friends.

What if more people were like my wife and I and just totally, totally disregarded, ignored the demands....then your holidays would truly be holidays..

So to those of you not buying, not pretending it is great to see the relatives, not traveling in the worst weather because you feel like you have to....
to you we say happy holidays---to the rest of you chained like a dog to the holiday fence post---we say---hope you survive........

I was passed by about 5 Chevrolet Avalanches Friday on my commute home from work. 

All of them speeding and occupied by only the driver and carrying nothing in the rear cargo compartment---but then it suddenly struck me............

I have never, NEVER observed one of these fucking pig like vehicles carrying more than the driver and I have never observed one of these mall attack vehicles carry ANYTHING as cargo.....NEVER..........NOT FUCKING ONCE!!!
Every one of these vehicles were transporting a single person somewhere--a job which could easily be performed by a Smart Car....I am fully aware that we are a stupid culture here in the US---and that our dumb-o-meter is completely pegged out--but what idiot would spend, I am sure, a fortune on one of these fucking things? The headrest TV's are, without a doubt, tuned to honey-boo-boo.

Just purchased and on it's way here is a Sony TCS-580V....supposedly in almost new condition but missing the operator's manual and power adapter. The TCS-580v is quite the, analog recording studio in your pocket, system. A functioning, excellent addition to my tape recording collection. Slightly larger than two packs of cigarettes, and utilizing full size cassette tapes the TCS-580 can record in stereo in the field through built in microphones, or through numerous inputs, and of course playback in true stereo--think of it as a midget version of the large, cassette deck you had years ago in your component stereo system.

I am an unabashed. analog tape freak--owning multiple reel to reel, and cassette recorders. This is a wondrous addition to my collection that really works and that i put into use constantly... I am so happy to have it. 

The end of the world didn't show up for it's appointment----and honestly--inside way down there, we are all probably a bit disappointed. The 21st could have meant freedom from work, debt slavery, the end of the corrupted system we exist under...but it was a no show---they forgot to carry the 1 or something when they were working on the figures back in the Mayan times. 
Can't trust even ancient civilizations now....

Apparently there is a new Mad Max movie in process--Thomas Hardy as Mad Max and one of the few photo's of the film in progress== above---you never know about these types of projects tho---i'm hoping that this works out well....Mad Max made such an impression on the world in the 80's---you had to be there sort of to understand but it did...

After killing 22 people with tainted peanut butter and making hundreds sick--The Food and Drug Administration has slapped the New Mexico Southland corporation on the wrist and has now allowed them to reopen. The employee's in this peanut butter production facility could not wash their hands because there were NO sinks---I hope the owners of this place burn in hell.........and the FDA as well. Apparently you can kill over 20 people and get away with it as long as you use peanut butter and not a gun. 

kill 22 people and get to reopen?

"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean;

if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean 

does not become dirty."

Mahatma Gandhi

The Ishango Bone

With a burglary-homicide 5 blocks from my house and the Connecticut school
murders this week--we do not need to fear the Mayan Apocalypse---our sick fucking society will do ourselves in. We kill our own children routinely now---how can a society that in which this occurs survive? We have no answers only shock, dismay and sorrow combined with a feeling that this is all coming to an end someday. 

The Power Brokers continue to fiddle while we burn.

40 years ago this past week, was the last time humans walked on the Moon--right now we have only 3 people in space at the low orbit ISS---seems like quite a fail in the long run NASA....

I have a new community service project in progress and due to

this project it has been difficult to keep up with the laptop.

I do not expect this difficulty to continue for a long period of time---but there may be shorter blogs, and more time between postings for a time period.  

No worries eh...........

I usually have 3 notebooks with me at work---on days off--1 for sure. I note almost everything--ideas, thoughts, interesting words, sometimes phrases people use--books i want to read or movies i want to watch-----
I cannot exist without them. There is a box full of filled pocket moleskinne notebooks in my storage closet. This note keeping helps me on a day to day basis keep track of not only the world around me--but keeps me on targeted and focused....I've been thinking of timing daily requirements/protocols  with my chronographs.....i know---right now you are thinking rain man---no problem.

I love tape recorders...cassette, reel to reel...all species. Tape is warm sounding and easier to manage compared to digital recording which interests me not at all. I have several reel to reel recorders and a full case of 8" blank tapes in storage...I have begun stockpiling cassette tape as well since Sony announced this week that it has ceased manufacturing the cassette Walkman.
What i am desiring tho is their ProII TCD5 portable stereo cassette player/recorder as shown below.

This recorder was the favorite of illegal tapers at concerts..as well as at Grateful Dead performances...where tapers were welcome and have provided much of the Dead's  "From the Vault"  Cd's ...

These are, of course, incredibly hard to find, almost anything i desire usually is. I never desire the standard things in this world that others do. I have found one on Amazon for actually, a decent price used, I am standing by until i can purchase it. Needful things---how I love them and despise myself for desiring them all at the same time....

The pizza and DVD this week was the Bourne Legacy--I'll tell ya i loved this. Excellent trade craft, good script and on par with the rest of the  Bourne series in excellent hand to hand sequences....if you heard something bad about this movie--disregard those cretins---The Bourne Legacy is excellent.
Rent it, Watch it, eat pizza.

"The most dangerous creation of any society is

 the man who has nothing to lose."

James A. Baldwin

Euler's Number e

A very quiet week...incredibly boring at work----mentally I do much, much better with boring as compared with the workplace being actively stupid. So my mental state has been good lately---I have been attempting to balance getting things done with time for myself and it is difficult---but an ongoing project. Personal and home organizing goes on. 

The world is full of shattering incidents and events but we have become immune and bored to each new weekly danger. 

No complaints this week

There is nothing in the news to report on because.......................

Instantly after the Presidential election--people, concepts, problems which were all reported on as being a state of life or death--just disappear. Romney is an excellent example. For sure, i was tired of seeing/hearing about him, but--- push the lose button and suddenly a man, who some reported on as the savior of the country--is bound for the public relations gulag. Never to return. The entire system is an oxymoron. 

Our much loved, Eurovan camper has a transmission fluid leak. In olden days i would have just checked the fluid level and added more as necessary. In today's world there is no way for a consumer to check the transmission fluid levels---this is done by a VW computer at the dealer. So we are going to have to take it to the nearest VW dealer which is several hours drive away, leave it to have the transmission checked and repaired as necessary.
We surely love our camper and attempt to maintain it as perfectly as possible. This is just part of having excellent, but used, vehicles. You may not have a car payment--but things do go wrong and must be fixed. No matter tho---the cost for repair can never equal the capitalistic chains of a payment. 

What's the most common question on the Walking Dead?

Yassar Arafat is the only human who will look better after being buried for 10 years and dug up, than he looked when he was alive and walking around....

Our most recent pizza and DVD night featured the film LAWLESS. It was excellent, just excellent. A true story of 3 bootlegging brothers in the 1930's. Outstanding acting, perfectly filmed and a plot that will for sure keep you focused. This film did not seem to receive much PR and must have slipped through the cracks. During the credits they show actual photo's of the main characters-----an amazing story. I cannot recommend this movie enough. Be warned however that parts of it are realistically violent. 

"If you're going through hell, keep going!"

Winston Churchill