Yet Another New Year's Day 2568

Here on the Far Side, all is abuzz with activity getting ready for Chinese New Year (Imlek).  My wife's family is Chinese-Indonesian, so the holiday coming up is always cause for festivities and traditions.

On Saturday evening, wife, mother-in-law and I went on a shopping excursion to Pacific Place, which is a highly over-rated and overpriced mall in downtown Jakarta.  I had one goal in mind, though: hit Kemcik Grocery Store.  This is about the only place in Jakarta to get many of the food items that I once took for granted.  For example, I bought, for only the second time in nine years, some Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing.  Yes, folks, that is a gourmet item here, and I paid $7/bottle for the privilege.  I think it's worth it for the rare treat.  I also had to indulge in Peter Pan Peanut Butter, fresh dill and sage (to hold my over till my next crop comes in), and a couple of wedges of fine Brie cheese (French not Australian).

Mostly the outing was part of the New Year tradition of new experiences.  My mother-in-law, being a little old lady from a small town in north-central Java, has never seen so many bizarre things, like a fine wine shop and Smucker's jelly (though they didn't have my grape).

We capped off the evening with another rare experience: the Hard Rock Cafe.  Neither my wife nor mother-in-law had ever been there, and it was my third trip in nine years.  We gorged on smoked ribs and chicken, and a massive plate of beef nachos, which mum loved because of the jalepeños.

It's all part of the preparation and tradition of Chinese New Year.  Later today (Sunday) I have to get a hair cut (next to my favorite shwarma joint) and trim my nails, and probably buy new underwear.  The tradition is everything must be renewed before the turning, so new clothes, cutting old hair and nails, house-cleaning, etc., is all part of the deal.

This year is symbolized by the Shadowy Red Hot Cock, or Yin Red Fire Rooster if you prefer more traditional notation.  It is said that this year will be one of "new beginnings" and "awakenings."  Just speculating here, but it seems that we are off to just such a start, even though the year officially begins on 28 January 2017, at roughly 0800 GMT, or slightly West of Jakarta.

The Chinese have one major weakness - they are highly superstitious.  If you are doing business with Chinese individuals or companies, you would do well to consult Chinese astrology for the date and time of meetings, and maybe even the birthday of the lead negotiator.  It could give you an edge knowing whether they will or won't sign contracts, or if they will be passive or aggressive at the table.  Chances are that the folks on the other side of the table have done the same and will act/react accordingly.

So anyway, there are a number of pork festivals occurring around the country to celebrate New Year.  Pork, or course, is a Chinese passion, even more so than dog.  In a predominantly Islamic country, you can imagine all the whining and complaining going on, even though this ritual has gone on for centuries - even before Islamic raiders overran the islands, bringing their religion with them.  I, for one, don't wait for a particular time of year.  I celebrate pork every single time I can find it.

Hell,the Pork Festival, which sounds vaguely suggestive, changed its name to the Imlek Culinary Festival because after centuries of the same annual ritual, the Muslims decided to get sensitive this year.  I guess they forgot that Islam is an invader too.

So, the malls are festooned with red archways, banners and lanterns.  It is especially fortuitous that this year is the Red Cock, since the color red symbolizes luck and prosperity, and is the traditional color of the New Year.

The 28th of January being the official beginning of the lunar year means that the relatives will bundle up the young 'uns and go to the houses of all the other relatives so the children can beg for Angpao.  After clasping their hands together and wishing everyone Gong Xi Fa' Cai (恭喜發財), the adults hand them small red packets stuffed with crispy fresh bills.  Note the bills have to be crispy and new.  You can't get rid of your old soggy bills this way.  This means my wife will have to run to the bank this week to obtain a stack or two of brand-new, hot-off-the-presses 2,000 and 5,000 notes, and then we will spend an evening stuffing envelopes.

One rule - the kids can't look in the envelopes until they get home so there won't be any complaining about amounts.  If I wanted to, I could exchange some of my old soggy notes for fresh crispy ones and no one would know who did it, but my wife would never let me get away with it.  Even though the packets are anonymous, she is just sure everyone would suspect me.  Can't imagine why.

Everyone also prays fervently for rain on New Year's Day, as that is an omen of good luck and fortune for the coming year.  So far, in the nine years I've been here, it never fails to rain, though I have yet to receive the empire I so richly deserve - still waiting on the fortune part, but can't argue with the luck.

Oh, I almost forgot all the lion and dragon dancers.  These are elaborately costumed dancers who go around in both the malls and neighborhoods (though the mall costumes are in better shape) and beg for handouts - traditionally an orange or two shoved in the mouth of the creature.  This dance is accompanied by lots of clashing cymbals and clanging chimes to ward off the evil and mischievous spirits.  The noise certainly makes me run away.

It's a fun and interesting time of year, and is one of the four New Year's Days celebrated in these parts - Roman, Muslim, Hindu and Chinese.  The Hindu version comes at the end of March this year, while the Muslim version is celebrated a month after Ramadhan.  Take the days off whenever you can get them, I always say.  In fact, we are going to Bali the weekend before Hindu New Year to soak up some of that culture, too.  It's not quite as fun as the others, though it has some interesting public displays which we will get to in due time.

Enough for now.  I am worn out shifting around the house avoiding the Cleaning Brigade.  All part of Life on the Far Side here, deep in the jungles of Borneo.  Here's hoping it rains on your parade!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Get Your Yang Red Fire Monkey On!

Gong Xi Fat Cai!

Come with us now to the year 4712, the year of the Red Fire Monkey!  At some point on the 4th of February, the Moon reached its synodic point on the sky and the month of the Tiger began, as it has for the past 4,712 years.  By rotation, this is the year of the Monkey, in the 12-year cycle of animal signs, and the Monkey is red and burning...or something like that.  I haven't been able to find whether this is a yin or yang year, but if memory serves, its the latter.

So, for all you fung shui fans out there, what does all this mean (besides a two-week long party and some holiday time in parts of the world where this is important)?

Well, since its a monkey year, playfulness, mischievousness and chaos are favored.  Throw in some red fire, and you have a rather volatile mix.  According to the prognosticators who follow this sort of thing...er...religiously, that means wild rides in the stock markets, economic upheaval, forest and range fires, and diseases will mark the news this year.  Sounds dire, but as the old Chinese saying goes, "In crisis, there is opportunity."

If you live in California, and you believe that fung shui means moving your furniture around and paying top dollar for consultants, this is not for you.  If you know that fung ahui is about balancing the forces in your life in order to take advantage of things like crises, then read on.

According to fung shui reasoning, this is a fire year, therefore one must balance the other four elements against it in order to maintain harmony in one's life and see clearly when opportunities come.  If you are not familiar with the five elements, we are not talking about Luc Besson's film, but rather Earth, Fire, Water, Wood, and Metal.

This also applies to colors.  In Chinese astrology, colors have modifying effects on the elements, as well as their own powers.  This being a red year, the color enhances fire, which is red.  However, red has the power to resist evil spirits, so it is possible to use the color's powers to ameliorate the forces of the monkey.  It's one of those wonderful circular arguments that Chinese astrology and philosophy are so good at presenting.

Thus, for those who are not able to harmonize the forces in their lives in accordance with the rules of fung shui, you will see your personal finances leaking out, employment and health become major issues, and fire-related disasters become prominent occurrences in your life.

For those who are able to harmonize, you will be able to at least ward off the negative effects, and at best take advantage of the positive ones.  Your success in this regard depends a lot on your own sign, mineral balance and color based on your birth particulars.

I put little stock in all this, whether East or West, though I subscribe to the idea that astrology is a degraded form of a much more complex ancient science that has been lost over the ages.  There is probably a kernel of truth buried in a bunch of gobbldy-gook that we can take away from this.

A word of caution, though.  If you do a search on red fire monkeys, you'll see a lot of predictions of market crashes and virus problems.  One should note that a search in December of last year had none of this kind of talk.  It is only since January and the rise of Zika virus and the fall of the financial markets that mention has been made of these things.  In other words, it is a matter of "post-dictions" rather than predictions.  I would have been a lot more impressed had those market and virus references shown up a priori.

In any event, let's assume some predilection in world events that follow yang (light), red, fire, and monkeys.

Yang represents the lit side of a mountain or the peak of a wave.  It is the positive of the pair, in the sense that magnets or electricity have positive and negative poles.  It is neither good nor bad, and it needs the opposite to exist.  The only real effect of this is to remind us to balance it in order to avoid being swept away.

Along with yang, red and fire imply heat.  Heat implies rapid action, boiling, stirring.  It also means life and growth.  Red is the color of luck or good fortune.  Fire can be either destructive or life-giving, and also symbolizes knowledge.  The monkey is intelligent, watchful, chaotic and mischievous - known for stealing things (especially food) but usually in a playful way.

So, we put all this together:
Yang is light and warmth;
Red is luck and good things (as well as warding off evil spirits);
Fire can destroy or give life and renewal;
Monkey brings chaos and playfulness.

Thus, the year of the yang red fire monkey could indicate renewal, light and good fortune, but it will come in the guise of chaos and destruction.  Things will look pretty glum in the midst of it, but something good is coming out of it.  If we take the old Chinese saying noted above, then we should look for the silver lining (to mix East and West) within any crisis.  Since fire is fed by wood and quenched by water, those elements will have a lot to do with the direction events take.  Therefore, crises that have wood somewhere in the mix will tend to get bigger, while those with water will tend to fade away.  The sharp and prepared observer will look for these elements surrounding the various problems that will spring up this year, and so know how to react and find the opportunity within them.  Luck and good fortune are favored, so the observer is likely to get something good out of the crises if he or she reacts correctly.

One word of caution: astrology and horoscopes have traditionally been used to interpret large-scale events involving aggregates of people (nations, markets, etc.).  They don't really work on an individual level.  They also don't foretell events.  What they do is provide tools for interpreting events as they unfold and possibly seeing likely trends and outcomes that one can use for advantage.

It's a fun pass-time and not really something to take too seriously.  I like to dabble in it out of curiosity.  In the coming year, I will likely test the foregoing by doing exactly what I mentioned here, and trying to predict outcomes based on interpretation.  From time to time, I will update this to see how it's doing.

Here's something to look at.

The Zika virus comes from the tropics.  The tropics are characterized by light and heat (fire).  We can expect this story to grow.  This compounded by the fact that Zika was first discovered in monkeys (!) in the Zika forest (!) of Uganda and is spread by day-active mosquitoes (!).  So, we have monkeys, heat/fire, wood and light (yang) all mixed into this one, along with the strong possibility of chaos, which could also be interpreted as mischievousness on the part of some group.  Keep in mind that this only refers to the STORY of Zika, not necessarily the virus or illness itself.

If this scenario holds true over time, then we can expect the solution to involve tiger (opposite of monkey), water (quenches fire) and yin (darkness).  Maybe Eli Lily and Company (tiger, water) comes up with a vaccine?  Curfews issued for day-time hours?  Cure involves lots of water?  I might just throw a bet on Lily/Roche.  Just a game to play in this year of the monkey.

In any event, Happy New Year and let us know if you strike it rich balancing the fung shui of the year 4712.  Couldn't hurt to have a little red around you, except at funerals or when writing your name.

Oh No, Not Again!

We just got the Christmas decorations stowed and everything cleaned up from the holidays. The hangover is still clearing and what happens?

It's NEW YEAR again!

The preparations run apace for the next holiday season, just two days hence. This one is called Imlek in Indonesian, or Chun Jie in Chinese. It's the Lunar New Year, which is celebrated across Asia and in Chinatowns all over the world.

This year is Year of the (metal) Rabbit, the Hare, or in some places, The Cat. Wikipedia tells us:

The Rabbit ( 兔 ) (also translated as Hare) is the fourth animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. The Year of the Rabbit is associated with the earthly branch symbol 卯.

Rabbit people are considered warm, friendly, creative, and so forth. Pretty much any warm fuzzy word you associate with rabbits, other than food, applies to people born in this sign. All I can think of is grilled with rosemary and butter.

There are a number of rituals associated with Imlek/Chun Jie. Most, if not all, involve invoking good luck and properity. All certainly involve renewal and fresh.

What that means for me is that all the water tanks have to be emptied and scribbed. The front porch has to be cleaned up and organized. And most importantly, the billfold must be pried open and money must flow out.

Everyone must have new clothes to wear on the day (Feb. 3) and the bed must have new sheets and all the left-overs have to be thrown away and fresh provisions loaded in. The biggie is that all the bills have to be paid and the credit cards up-to-date before Thursday. No outstanding debts.

OK so far...

Then there's 'angpao,' where every unmarried child receives a cash gift, which must be enclosed in a red and gold envelope, which (of course) need to be purchased because last year's supply is used up.

The original practice is a lot like Halloween. Kids go from door to door wishing good luck and properity in return for little red envelopes with cash. Seems a damn sight nicer than trick or treat, at any rate.

Her job is to make sure the house is cleaned stem-to-stern. From the rafters to the front threshhold, everything must be spic-and span. The maid has been put on double duty and Momma is supervising the interior renewal.

Just as well. I have enough problems already.

Then there's the special food. There's multi-layer cakes, and some kind of special cake that looks, feels and tastes like a sponge. The most important thing in the feast, which means the family all gathers and eats like, well...pigs. I'm not yet privvy to the full menu. Since I had Thanksgiving, I'm required to sit down and shut up and eat what's put in front of me.

I failed to mention my job of decorating. I had to hang the red and gold lanterns on the porch. Those cost a pretty penny. These aren't the cheapy crap you buy back in the States for a dollar. These are nice and expensive. Key word...expensive.

There's the money tree. It's a small, fake tree not unlike a 'bonzai' tree, but it has silk blossoms and invokes a tree that blooms all over China in the spring.

Did I mention that Imlek is not really called New Year, it's the Spring Festival. In many ways, it's similar to Easter, which is named after the goddess Ester, who was all about fertility and all that mating stuff.

It's no wonder the Indonesians call February the 'month of love,' since there are spring festivals and Valentine Day and all those ancient rites of breeding.

Oh, there's also the haircuts. Everyone has to have a hair cut, no matter how superficial. If you are bald, I suppose you can trim your eyebrows. Just cut something off of your head, preferably that doesn't bleed.

If you are Buddhist, there's an additional step whereby you bundle up some prayer papers and sweep the body from top to bottom, to get rid of bad luck and evil spirits.

All in all, it's a highly complex set of rituals which require significant preparation (and cash outlays). Everything is designed to bring good luck and chase away evil spirits. Even the use of firecrackers is based on the idea that evil spirits are scared of loud noises. Thus the use of bells, as well.

Momma's making all the food by hand. Nothing canned or store-bought. When I cooked up a storm for Thanksgiving, I think I threw down the gauntlet, so now she must out-do the foreigner, since everyone who ate my cooking raved and ranted about how good it was. She will NOT be out-done!

Meantime, I'm trying to put my office back in order, since it was turned upside-down this morning to clean out every nook and cranny. I can't find a damn thing, and I had to re-cable everything just to get online to file this report.

At any rate, I'm off to finish my chores and chow down on some rather tasty looking snacks on the table. I've got my afternoon beer working and I'm feeling rather energetic. Maybe I'll re-arrange the storeroom and change the paper in the cat nest (ugh).

Everything old is new again, as they say.

Happy Year of the Pig! May your pork get eaten, I always say. I'll fill you in on the menu, once I've had time to digest.

Gong Xi Fat Cai!

Ghost Of Nixon Comes A'Callin'

Over at George Ure's UrbanSurvival site (link on sidebar), there's a couple of reader email from folks down in my old stompin' grounds of Houston, Texas, bemoaning the appearance of The China Daily newspaper on their lawns every morning. They are spooked by this and as a matter of pride, dump the paper in the recycling bin.

Ugh! Americans are so xenophobic and narrow-minded.

Here, these folks are getting a free gift from the Universe: a tool to learn about their greatest economic rival in the world today. What do they do? Treat it like nuclear waste and cry about how the Chinese own the country.

Get over it. Every since Nixon went to China in the 70s, America has been losing the War of Money. Now they just want to roll over and die while complaining that the ammo they need to fight back keeps falling on their grass.

No wonder America is losing...

Little Bammy offspring has the right idea. She's learning Mandarin and practicing with every Chinese Premier she meets. If there's one example that the Obamas have set that is worth following, it's that one. Go down right this minute and enroll in Mandarin class. It will be the best investment in your personal competitiveness toolbox you could possibly make.

You see, after Nixon went to China and 'opened' the doors to commerce, the Chinese embarked on a nationwide (even Asia-wide) campaign to learn English and study western capitalism. There was no whining about how the Americans were so far ahead of the game and owned the bases and ball. There was only the idea of learning everything they could about the adversary and then using it against them.

Classic Sun Tsu, if you ask me, which you didn't, but I told you so anyway. It's all in the Art of War, a fine book that every American should be devouring, along with their Mandarin classes.

They should also be sucking up every resource on Chinese astrology and superstitions. You see, the Chinese have two major weaknesses: they are superstitious as hell, and they love to gamble. Why is that important? Because they always make major business decisions based on the horoscope, and they occasionally bite off a little more risk than is wise because they love the challenge of sheer luck.

When it comes to football, Joe Sixpack can tell you every nuance of the QB's game, what his strengths and weaknesses are, how fast he gets tired, what risks he's likely to take.

But when it comes to the culture that is jacking his job, buying up his food and energy supplies, and taking over his country? All he can tell you is whether or not he likes egg rolls, which aren't even Chinese food.

If you want to beat an adversary, you learn how they think, what they are likely to do in any situation, and how they make decisions. You learn what motivates them and what frightens them. In short, you do to them what they have been doing to you for decades.

Back in the 70s, it was the Japanese who were hijacking our economy. There were 'Buy American' stickers on cars and movies about the Japanese taking over Joe Sixpack's factory (remember 'Take This Job and Shove It'?).

Now people are whining about getting free copies of The China Daily on their porch in the morning. They can't 'Buy American' because they shipped everything overseas, lock, stock and barrel. They willingly handed the adversary everything they needed to kick our butts, and now they are crying in their soup. C'mon.

If you were to face down a Chinese businessman to compete for a contract, don't you think it would be handy to know that he is deathly afraid of the number 4? Wouldn't it be helpful if you knew that he wouldn't make a move until a certain date while he waited for the stars to line up, thus giving you some wiggle room? Wouldn't it be nice to know that he wasn't going to do anything major between the dates of February 3rd and 12th?

And most of all, even if you couldn't speak Mandarin (which I can sympathize with), wouldn't it be helpful if he couldn't talk to his associates in another language and shut you out? What advantage would it give you to be able to understand what they are talking about, especially if they thought you had no idea what they were saying?

Take some of your unemployment money down to the bookstore and pick up a Mandarin textbook. The spoken language is fairly easy, as far as grammar goes. The pronunciation is problematic, but you only need to understand, not speak. Seems to me that would be a tactical advantage for the ambitious entrepreneur.

Studying the culture, one would discover that this New Year (Chun Jie or 春节) is the Year of the Pig/Boar, which denotes fertility and virility. It is an auspicious sign to your adversary, and thus he might be willing to take more risks, feeling lucky and all. Certainly, that would offer opportunties to the aware businessman across the table.

You might also learn about 'angpao' and the colors denoting 'luck' and 'properity.' Knowing this information, you could manipulate your adversary by using the colors red and gold on things which you want them to chose, such as your application or bid. You would also know when your adversary is trying to manipulate you, or at least the Fates.

I could go on and on. Certainly, you don't need to take my advice. You're American and you know everything, right? You are owed properity because of your citizenship, right? The world is required to hand you the bankbook and the reigns of power simply because you were born in North America, right? You have no other responsibility for your success, right?

Hell, if for no other reason, knowing a few key phrases in Mandarin, like, "Do you want more tea, Sir," would at least curry favor with your new boss next year. You might get his attention and rise quickly to be his personal servant in the office, thus gaining you better 'angpao.'

Up to you. But, if the Universe was throwing a free lesson on how my adversary is thinking and what he finds important, on my front doorstep every morning, I sure as hell wouldn't be burning it.

The McCarthy-ist acolyte, Richard M. Nixon, became the ambassador who unlocked what was then a closed and mysterious society in the opposite hemisphere. As Spock famously said in Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, "Only Nixon could go to China." Well, those doors swung open and unleashed a behemoth that now owns your job and your wealth.

What are you going to do about it? Whine and complain because the kid down the street bought better bases and balls, and now everyone wants to play with him?

No.

You're gong to beat him at his own game.

Now get off your bleassed assurance and get out there and learn some Mandarin, some Chinese culture (and I'm not talking about the local buffet here), and learn whatever it takes to get the jump on them.

First order of business: buy a copy of Sun Tsu's The Art of War, or just read it online. You can bet that your adversary has.

Khrushchev said that the west would sell Communism the rope by which they would hang us. He was right, only the Chinese figured out how to do it. That's why the Russians are cozying up with them right now.

Oh, the the Chinese custom has the family name first, so when addressing your new boss, be sure to say, "早晨好， 先生," using the first name.

Might want to learn the Mandarin keyboard, while you're at it.

Gang Xi Fat Cai!

Ujan Imlec terus properiti!/If it rains on Chinese New Year, then a prosperous year!

The countdown has begun to New Year on February 3. One of the fun parts of living in Asia is that you get about 4 or 5 new year's celebrations throughout the year. On rare occastions, you can even get two Muslim new years in one calendar year.

Beginning on Feb. 3 (Imlec or Sin Tjia), unmarried youths will run around for two weeks, clasping their hands together and saying (loudly), "Gong Xi Fat Cai!" Then they hold out their hands and expect 'angpao,' or a small cash gift from the elders.

We end the day (here) with the deliciously greusome headline from CNN: Giffords Heads To Texas. The headline writer over there should either be fired or given a raise, depending on your disposition.

Having just finished George's daily column over at UrbanSurvival.com, our thoughts turn to 'revolution,' and what's ahead for this New Year. Seems some of his readers are taking him to task for showing all the myriad ways we are being screwed by the PTB/PTW, but he stops short of promoting open revolution against the usurpers.

It's a rather simplistic and hot-headed view to promote open revolution. One need only to read up on Washington's time at Valley Forge to get an idea of how much fun it is. And there's always the chance you'll lose, to be forever know in history as the bad guys.

Any kind of warfare is deeply destructive. It destroys both sides. Men at war aren;t tending to matters of home and hearth. There's supply chains to worry about, and many other basic problems with the open revolution idea. Cast your eyes upon Greece, Tunisia, and soon other European countries. Even small clashes destroy businesses, homes and property, and it's not limited to the combatants; it hits every level of society.

Revolution is a dangerous hobby by any measure. The potential enemy controls the purse strings, has public perception on their side, aided and abetted by a lapdog press, and has a rather eyep-popping arscenal of weaponry. Honestly, to go head-to-head with that kind of enemy is more or less suicide.

At this point, it's time to read Sun Tsu's 'The Art of War.' In the face of overwhelming odds, it's time to use the 'passive-aggressive' maneuver. In stead of a direct clash that you will surely lose, both in physical and psychological terms, one needs to find the weaknesses of the enemy and start pushing on them repeatly.

We have only to survey history to see how these things turn out. Those who steal the power don't give it up without a big fight. Power is a drug. It is highly addictive because those who have it have anything they want. If you want to take away their power, you take away all of their addictions and decrease them to the level of the commoner. How would you react?

Even non-violent confrontation is not without pain. Ghandi and King are prime examples. One spends a lot of time cooling the heals in jail, if not being outright tortured.

In the extant situation, there are still many weapons at the disposal of the commoner that do not involve the shedding of blood on either side (though no guarantees THEY wouldn't take some). The biggest and most glaring weakness on the part of the enemy is the economy.

THEY have spent years trying to convince the rubes that there is only one game in town. Where black markets have sprung up, they were controlled to give THEM control over that, as well. THEY have spent considerable time and effort to convince the masses that investment is only done through the rigged markets, where, like Vegas, the house always wins.

The easiest and most effective way to fight back is so simple as to be almost laughable. Withdraw all funds from the stock markets and banks. Problem solved. It's that easy. At the very minimum, stop contributing to retirement accounts and write off what's in them, since you'll never actually see that money, trust us.

Instead, take that money, put it into real assets like land, gold, food, etc. Start amassing things that really pay off, things that exist in the real and physical world. Shun paper like it's going out of style, which it is.

Stop using ATMs, credit cards and any other electronic form of payment. If you can't pay cash, you don't need it. Keep one card for emergencies, of course, but pay it off and let it sit in the closet. Get some farm land and put a couple of cows on it. You might get a tax break that way, and you have a cheap weekend get-away, as well as a great investment for the future (which is sooner than you think). You can always butcher the cows later for a six-month supply of protein on the hoof.

Invest in skills, hobbies and tools that can be turned to income in the event of bad economic times (like the ones that are coming). Learning to build with wood and having a good selection of hand-tools that don't require electricity seems like a very valuable investment. Weekend smithing sounds like fun, would be quite valuable if horses become the norm again, and you'd be one of the few with the skill, making you one of the highest paid folks around.

Having a supply of non-hybridized seed and knowing things like French intensive gardening could give you ample food supplies out of a back yard. Learn canning while you're at it, so you can sock away the bounty.

Other things, like candle-making, shodding, sewing...all those skills we gave up for machines a few generations back, might end up saving the lives of you and yours. And no need to do all of them. Just pick one and get really good at it.

Spending money on things like solar power, composting and the like, seems to me to have a far greater return than a 401(k). And no one can take away what you know, and would have a hell of a time taking away things in your yard. But a stack of paper stored somewhere you have no idea where, or worse, a stream of 1s and 0s? Even safe deposit boxes ain't. THEY can lock the doors and shoot anyone who tries to get in. And remember, the bank keeps the second key. Why not jack out a hole in your foundation and drop in a safe? Sounds a helluva lot safer and more accessable to me.

What all of this does is makes you independent. Figure out where THEY have control over your life, and take steps to cut that link. THEY control the electricity you use, so make your own. THEY control the food supply lines, so grow your own. THEY control the water you drink, so find another source.

Just this week, the city water supply stopped for 24 hours. No notice, no reason, just stopped with no idea when it would come back. When it started flowing again, it was brown with dirt. Fortunately, we have about 300 gallons stored all over the house in barrels, but even that would eventually get used up.

However, there is a well directly under the dining room floor. It's bee unused for a while, but still works. On payday, we're paying the $100 to hook it back up to the house supply. With a flip of a valve, we can have the city supply or the house supply. We're also putting a manual pump option into the line.

The roof of the house is about 2/3 translucent corrugated panels, so our garden is on the third floor, safe and sound.

The upside to all this is that it removes THEIR power over you. You have voluntarily handed it over for years, now it's time to take it back. Set up co-ops, and trade and barter whenever you can. It wouldn't be long before T?HEY are panicked, because you no longer need THEM.

Is it easy? No, but it's more productive than destroying everything to make a point, and likely getting killed in the process. When THEY see what you're doing, THEY will act, but at that point, you have the moral and legal right to defend yourself. Just mobbing up and destroying stuff does not put Right on your side.

THEY are managing perceptions, and so must you. You must make sure that others looking in will be forced to conclude that you have the moral high-ground.

In fact, that gives us an idea to launch a global 'off the grid' day, in which everyone prepares to spend 24 hours without using any of THEIR services. I can't imagine a more effective and non-violent statement than to show THEM we don't need 'em.

We'll have to noodle that one. Might make a helluva pursuit.

So with that, we'll leave you with an Indonesian lullaby. We can't type the tune, but the words are fun enough. Kinds along the lines of babies crashing out of trees due to broken limbs. We always wondered why the baby was up a tree in the first place.

Mina bobo,
Mina bobo,
Kalo tidak bobo,
Gigit nyemuk.

There there sleep
There there sleep
If you don't sleep
The mosquito will bite.

If you have any ideas about "Global Off-The-Grid Day," we're happy to hear them! Viral campaigns can be so much fun!