I wrote a rant the other day. It was about how people frequently make claims that some "god" gave them this or that right, and how I find such proclamations to be disgusting in that they are totally without any evidentiary support and are simultaneously self-serving. (It's an excuse that is pulled out whenever difficult questions are asked. A "Get Out of Jail Free" card.) I sent it to a friend for comment before foisting it upon the world at large. He offered some excellent commentary.

I don’t recall how I came upon it, but I have spent far too much time mulling the various messages offered by the essay You Weren’t Meant to Have a Boss. In an effort to move on and get something productive done today, I hereby announce my intention to fob off at least a few of them on to you readers.

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about bartering; and it occurred to me the other day that I have been remiss in discussing it in a proper context. That’s what I’m going to attempt to do today.

I have a friend who is into guns in a big way. He has been since before he was old enough to buy one without his mother's permission. He loves to shoot. He also is a computerphobe. He son gave him a computer. He refuses to use it. We were talking the other day and he noted to me that among his shooting friends, almost none of them use the computer. To me, this is mind-boggling. It is like choosing not to read or some such thing. But so it is with this group of people.

TONIGHT, January twoth, 2008, and each night hereafter for about eight nights, there is a free series of interactive discussions on something called "The Journey." I cannot vouch for this one way or the other, and some parts of me say that it's mega "woo woo" while other parts of me say, Cool stuff! It's a form of personal inquiry and cleansing on an emotional and cellular level, maybe, if I get it right. I have a friend who has been studying it now for quite some time and is a certified practitioner in the method and it has done wonders for her.

Happy New Year, everyone! We’ve been having a lot of fun the past several days, which culminated—after a very full day of baking for me yesterday—in a raucous, chaotic, fun New Year’s celebration. Lobo’s cell phone started pinging regularly in the late afternoon our time, with texted New Year’s wishes from friends in Belarus; it continued somewhat as the transition swept this continent, and also bled over into some phone calls. That was a pleasant, fairly sustained addition to the celebratory mood. The snolfs once again had a piñata, filled not with candy but with other treats—coupons from Lobo and me for various goods or services (like taking their turn at dishes), money, and real money (junk-silver quarters)—it resisted the onslaught longer than any of its predecessors, then provided some enormous ersatz party hats once it did succumb to the stick.

So, we had a very nice holiday celebration. Underneath much of it, however, and beginning around Thanksgiving, I’ve felt a current of change beginning within me. Those of you who’ve been around a good while know that I am not in the habit of making new year’s resolutions—my position has always been if change is needed or desired, it should be undertaken then, not left to wait for a “special” turn of some arbitrary time-marker. On the other snakey coil, if one comes up from the bottom of the pool near one of those special dates, delaying changes simply for the sake of avoidance of the date would be just as silly. Thus it is that I’m starting to shed some old, now unhelpful ways today ... consider yourself forewarned: self-indulgent rambling ahead.

Lord Acton said, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Kevin Barrett wrote a very interesting article on "ponerology." Last night my mind piped up and asked me if I'd even considered that perhaps sociopathy is a function of one's position in the pecking order rather than the apparently current belief that it is something an individual is either blessed with (sarcasm intended) or not. My experience on this planet leads me to believe that this question may be worthy of consideration.

Wendy has long been into frugality and voluntary simplicity, a way of living which is becoming more and more popular as the economy tanks. We see reflected in the blogs. Many people, who do not normally talk about frugality are now doing so. Two examples are Karen de Coster and J. D. Tuccille (Wendy has linked to them as well) I have also seen it in some tech blogs I read. In short, this is becoming a very popular topic.

However, as good as all the advice may be, there is something missing. Planning. It is fine to cut coupons, but we cannot since they are not offered in Costa Rica. It is also fine to turn your thermostat way down, but I do not have a thermostat. In fact, my heating and air conditioning costs are exactly zero, so this is not an area I can save in. Likewise, I can give good advice on cutting back your food costs, but it would involve living in a year-round temperate climate and growing 80% of your own food. Not applicable to many people.

When the snow first started falling days ago, Darlin’ Daughter stated, with that absolute certainty that’s characteristic of youth, “We’re going to have a white Christmas!”. I explained to her that even though we had a lot of snow and the temps were cold, there were several days ’til Christmas still, that the weather was atypical, and not likely to last throughout that span. She remained adamant.

The snow didn’t completely melt off, and I awoke today to a few flakes dancing down to earth. That has now escalated to a full-fledged snowfall, with several inches expected to accumulate. She will be thrilled.

So I'm in the line at Safeway this afternoon. I bought two pineapples, 2 bags of cranberries, a small bag of fresh string beans, and a honeydew melon. I had this stuff on the belt. I look behind me, and the lady next in line is loading her stuff on the belt behind my stuff. She had a pineapple, 2 bags of cranberries, a small bag of fresh string beans, and a honeydew melon. Now, I will admit that I had TWO pineapples and she only had one, but.... come on now. Has that EVER happened to you? EVAR?????

Happy F'ing Holydaze!

Winter is arriving in fine style here, as those of you who read the news and/or follow the weather know. As I mentioned earlier, we got a lot of snow earlier in the week, and yesterday evening, the winds picked up and more snow started flying. It almost feels like I’m back in Wyoming! Except Wyoming doesn’t have the monster evergreens that are everywhere ... nor the green that persists here, even this late in the year.

Well. I must’ve done something right by the weather spirits this year. I have been privately commenting on how much I’ve missed the snow—and as if on cue, the other day we got a decent (for here) accumulation. Amazingly, it’s stayed cold enough for it to mostly hang around. I awoke this morning to cloudy skies and a slightly thicker blanket of snow; and now, the snow is flying thick and fast—enough to compete with any plains or upper midwest snowstorm. The forecast is calling for 3–6 inches today, with a little more possible overnight.

I don’t remember which snolf it was, but one of them started the now common use in our family of a sarcastic “No, Never!” in response to outrageous statements. So, of course, that was the first thing that popped into my head upon reading the headline Are Paulson and Bernanke Lying to Us?. The gist of the article:

A new report from financial consulting firm Celent argues that there is no credit crisis, and that the publicly available data from the Federal Reserve Bank directly contradicts the doom-and-gloom public statements made by its chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. ....

According to Celent, Bernanke and Paulson are either misleading us with their data or they are grossly overstating the credit situation in their quest to solve a specific set of problems within a small subset of the financial industry.

The juicy details of the article come between these opening and near-closing paragraphs, and it’s worth the time to peruse—for those who have the stomach for such subjects, that is.

And of course, the fact that there are only a handful of online media covering this story is pure coincidence. Surely it has no relation whatsoever to the ongoing saga of one Mr. Madoff, does it?

“No, Never!”

I just came across a very interesting story, courtesy of Strike the Root, which relates to a recent anarchist questions post. It’s worth considering because it highlights the justification for regulations before the days of “It’s for the children!” became the rallying cry—and it highlights the danger of relying on tradition or religion as a means of getting some relief from gov’s depredations.