Dear Doktor Howl:

[Doktor Howl]

It's been an awesome winter!  I didn't have to get on the roof once.  Never lost power. 

It's hard to get worked up over shit I can't control these days.  So I, personally, have been channeling my energy into shit I can control, or at least have some significant sway.  It may not be posting on the internet.  But it also isn't doing nothing. 

*shrug*

Pretty sure I never accused anyone of doing nothing.  Pretty sure I was talking about PD.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

People talk about maybe, and places to go. I think they may not understand maybe OR places. I know places.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

It's been an awesome winter!  I didn't have to get on the roof once.  Never lost power. 

It's hard to get worked up over shit I can't control these days.  So I, personally, have been channeling my energy into shit I can control, or at least have some significant sway.  It may not be posting on the internet.  But it also isn't doing nothing. 

*shrug*

Pretty sure I never accused anyone of doing nothing.  Pretty sure I was talking about PD.

Meh, who cares about nothing happening. No thinking, no doing. Nothing.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

Truth be told, New England had a beautiful winter, unseasonably warm.  I think the only major snowstorm was on Halloween, and I was in New Orleans that day.

That usually means the next winter is going to be a bitch.

New Orleans on Halloween? Fun, but didn't something at least piss youoff? Parking lot vomit?

[LMNO]

When Team Vodka assembles, riff raff take flight.

[Doktor Howl]

It's been an awesome winter!  I didn't have to get on the roof once.  Never lost power. 

It's hard to get worked up over shit I can't control these days.  So I, personally, have been channeling my energy into shit I can control, or at least have some significant sway.  It may not be posting on the internet.  But it also isn't doing nothing. 

*shrug*

Pretty sure I never accused anyone of doing nothing.  Pretty sure I was talking about PD.

Meh, who cares about nothing happening. No thinking, no doing. Nothing.

I care.

Hell, I was just out in the smoking area, thinking about how a few of us here have pretty good lifestyles.  We have it better than 95% of America, I think, though we're certainly not 1%ers.  And it occurred to me that there is no good reason everyone shouldn't have it as good as me.  Or LMNO.  It occurred to me that there IS enough to go around.  There is NO sane reason that anyone should work their asses to the BONE, and still have to sweat the house note.

Of course, there IS a reason.  It's just not a sane one.  It's that 3 million people have $7,980,000,000,000 worth of other peoples' stored work, and the people that worked, 302,000,000 people, get to keep a whopping $20,000,000,000 to divide amonst themselves.

How the fuck does a 1%er even NOTICE how much money they have? They get almost 30,000,000 dollars a year, AVERAGE (and that's not distributed in a linear fashion...most of that is actually in the top tenth of a percent), for doing FUCK ALL.

How does that NOT piss someone off?

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

It's been an awesome winter!  I didn't have to get on the roof once.  Never lost power. 

It's hard to get worked up over shit I can't control these days.  So I, personally, have been channeling my energy into shit I can control, or at least have some significant sway.  It may not be posting on the internet.  But it also isn't doing nothing. 

*shrug*

Pretty sure I never accused anyone of doing nothing.  Pretty sure I was talking about PD.

Meh, who cares about nothing happening. No thinking, no doing. Nothing.

I care.

Hell, I was just out in the smoking area, thinking about how a few of us here have pretty good lifestyles.  We have it better than 95% of America, I think, though we're certainly not 1%ers.  And it occurred to me that there is no good reason everyone shouldn't have it as good as me.  Or LMNO.  It occurred to me that there IS enough to go around.  There is NO sane reason that anyone should work their asses to the BONE, and still have to sweat the house note.

Of course, there IS a reason.  It's just not a sane one.  It's that 3 million people have $7,980,000,000,000 worth of other peoples' stored work, and the people that worked, 302,000,000 people, get to keep a whopping $20,000,000,000 to divide amonst themselves.

How the fuck does a 1%er even NOTICE how much money they have? They get almost 30,000,000 dollars a year, AVERAGE (and that's not distributed in a linear fashion...most of that is actually in the top tenth of a percent), for doing FUCK ALL.

How does that NOT piss someone off?

Minor thread drift, but why isn't anyone doing something like this here?
Oh, yeah, it's america. Never mind.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/16/greece-on-breadline-cashless-currency

[Doktor Howl]

It's been an awesome winter!  I didn't have to get on the roof once.  Never lost power. 

It's hard to get worked up over shit I can't control these days.  So I, personally, have been channeling my energy into shit I can control, or at least have some significant sway.  It may not be posting on the internet.  But it also isn't doing nothing. 

*shrug*

Pretty sure I never accused anyone of doing nothing.  Pretty sure I was talking about PD.

Meh, who cares about nothing happening. No thinking, no doing. Nothing.

I care.

Hell, I was just out in the smoking area, thinking about how a few of us here have pretty good lifestyles.  We have it better than 95% of America, I think, though we're certainly not 1%ers.  And it occurred to me that there is no good reason everyone shouldn't have it as good as me.  Or LMNO.  It occurred to me that there IS enough to go around.  There is NO sane reason that anyone should work their asses to the BONE, and still have to sweat the house note.

Of course, there IS a reason.  It's just not a sane one.  It's that 3 million people have $7,980,000,000,000 worth of other peoples' stored work, and the people that worked, 302,000,000 people, get to keep a whopping $20,000,000,000 to divide amonst themselves.

How the fuck does a 1%er even NOTICE how much money they have? They get almost 30,000,000 dollars a year, AVERAGE (and that's not distributed in a linear fashion...most of that is actually in the top tenth of a percent), for doing FUCK ALL.

How does that NOT piss someone off?

Minor thread drift, but why isn't anyone doing something like this here?
Oh, yeah, it's america. Never mind.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/16/greece-on-breadline-cashless-currency

Cottage industry & barter.

That's pretty bad.

[MMIX]

It's been an awesome winter!  I didn't have to get on the roof once.  Never lost power. 

It's hard to get worked up over shit I can't control these days.  So I, personally, have been channeling my energy into shit I can control, or at least have some significant sway.  It may not be posting on the internet.  But it also isn't doing nothing. 

*shrug*

Pretty sure I never accused anyone of doing nothing.  Pretty sure I was talking about PD.

Meh, who cares about nothing happening. No thinking, no doing. Nothing.

I care.

Hell, I was just out in the smoking area, thinking about how a few of us here have pretty good lifestyles.  We have it better than 95% of America, I think, though we're certainly not 1%ers.  And it occurred to me that there is no good reason everyone shouldn't have it as good as me.  Or LMNO.  It occurred to me that there IS enough to go around.  There is NO sane reason that anyone should work their asses to the BONE, and still have to sweat the house note.

Of course, there IS a reason.  It's just not a sane one.  It's that 3 million people have $7,980,000,000,000 worth of other peoples' stored work, and the people that worked, 302,000,000 people, get to keep a whopping $20,000,000,000 to divide amonst themselves.

How the fuck does a 1%er even NOTICE how much money they have? They get almost 30,000,000 dollars a year, AVERAGE (and that's not distributed in a linear fashion...most of that is actually in the top tenth of a percent), for doing FUCK ALL.

How does that NOT piss someone off?

Minor thread drift, but why isn't anyone doing something like this here?
Oh, yeah, it's america. Never mind.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/16/greece-on-breadline-cashless-currency

They do Stella http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_exchange_trading_system
but it probably interferes with all that worship of the mighty dollar thing that seems so popular over there [and pretty much everywhere else, come to that]

[Doktor Howl]

It's been an awesome winter!  I didn't have to get on the roof once.  Never lost power. 

It's hard to get worked up over shit I can't control these days.  So I, personally, have been channeling my energy into shit I can control, or at least have some significant sway.  It may not be posting on the internet.  But it also isn't doing nothing. 

*shrug*

Pretty sure I never accused anyone of doing nothing.  Pretty sure I was talking about PD.

Meh, who cares about nothing happening. No thinking, no doing. Nothing.

I care.

Hell, I was just out in the smoking area, thinking about how a few of us here have pretty good lifestyles.  We have it better than 95% of America, I think, though we're certainly not 1%ers.  And it occurred to me that there is no good reason everyone shouldn't have it as good as me.  Or LMNO.  It occurred to me that there IS enough to go around.  There is NO sane reason that anyone should work their asses to the BONE, and still have to sweat the house note.

Of course, there IS a reason.  It's just not a sane one.  It's that 3 million people have $7,980,000,000,000 worth of other peoples' stored work, and the people that worked, 302,000,000 people, get to keep a whopping $20,000,000,000 to divide amonst themselves.

How the fuck does a 1%er even NOTICE how much money they have? They get almost 30,000,000 dollars a year, AVERAGE (and that's not distributed in a linear fashion...most of that is actually in the top tenth of a percent), for doing FUCK ALL.

How does that NOT piss someone off?

Minor thread drift, but why isn't anyone doing something like this here?
Oh, yeah, it's america. Never mind.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/16/greece-on-breadline-cashless-currency

They do Stella http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_exchange_trading_system
but it probably interferes with all that worship of the mighty dollar thing that seems so popular over there [and pretty much everywhere else, come to that]

The problem isn't the dollar.

And barter economies leave you with the standard of living of, say, your average 1300 CE English yeoman.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

It's been an awesome winter!  I didn't have to get on the roof once.  Never lost power. 

It's hard to get worked up over shit I can't control these days.  So I, personally, have been channeling my energy into shit I can control, or at least have some significant sway.  It may not be posting on the internet.  But it also isn't doing nothing. 

*shrug*

Pretty sure I never accused anyone of doing nothing.  Pretty sure I was talking about PD.

Meh, who cares about nothing happening. No thinking, no doing. Nothing.

I care.

Hell, I was just out in the smoking area, thinking about how a few of us here have pretty good lifestyles.  We have it better than 95% of America, I think, though we're certainly not 1%ers.  And it occurred to me that there is no good reason everyone shouldn't have it as good as me.  Or LMNO.  It occurred to me that there IS enough to go around.  There is NO sane reason that anyone should work their asses to the BONE, and still have to sweat the house note.

Of course, there IS a reason.  It's just not a sane one.  It's that 3 million people have $7,980,000,000,000 worth of other peoples' stored work, and the people that worked, 302,000,000 people, get to keep a whopping $20,000,000,000 to divide amonst themselves.

How the fuck does a 1%er even NOTICE how much money they have? They get almost 30,000,000 dollars a year, AVERAGE (and that's not distributed in a linear fashion...most of that is actually in the top tenth of a percent), for doing FUCK ALL.

How does that NOT piss someone off?

Minor thread drift, but why isn't anyone doing something like this here?
Oh, yeah, it's america. Never mind.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/16/greece-on-breadline-cashless-currency

They do Stella http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_exchange_trading_system
but it probably interferes with all that worship of the mighty dollar thing that seems so popular over there [and pretty much everywhere else, come to that]

The problem isn't the dollar.

And barter economies leave you with the standard of living of, say, your average 1300 CE English yeoman.

So you end up trading a pot of beans for some dried beans so you can make more beans?

I've been in the US my whole life and I've never heard of LETS.

[Doktor Howl]

So you end up trading a pot of beans for some dried beans so you can make more beans?

Well, the guy in the article paid what he needed by doing some electrical work.  This is where we run into Henry David Thoreau's error.

The parts he used to make the repairs had to be manufactured.  The resins, wire, molded parts, etc, that go into a simple relay all take a manufacturing base that cannot be managed on barter, simply because of the necessary complexity of the manufacturing processes.

So you can coast for a while, using a barter system...Until the parts to repair the machines run out.  Then, overnight, you are back in the middle ages.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

So you end up trading a pot of beans for some dried beans so you can make more beans?

Well, the guy in the article paid what he needed by doing some electrical work.  This is where we run into Henry David Thoreau's error.

The parts he used to make the repairs had to be manufactured.  The resins, wire, molded parts, etc, that go into a simple relay all take a manufacturing base that cannot be managed on barter, simply because of the necessary complexity of the manufacturing processes.

So you can coast for a while, using a barter system...Until the parts to repair the machines run out.  Then, overnight, you are back in the middle ages.

Oh, boy. Dirt floors and rancid meat. 

But they're keeping it at about 50% cash and 50% barter...that wouldn't help?

[MMIX]

So you end up trading a pot of beans for some dried beans so you can make more beans?

Well, the guy in the article paid what he needed by doing some electrical work.  This is where we run into Henry David Thoreau's error.

The parts he used to make the repairs had to be manufactured.  The resins, wire, molded parts, etc, that go into a simple relay all take a manufacturing base that cannot be managed on barter, simply because of the necessary complexity of the manufacturing processes.

So you can coast for a while, using a barter system...Until the parts to repair the machines run out.  Then, overnight, you are back in the middle ages.

You know I don't think that anyone anywhere ['cept maybe a few weirdo idealists who really, really, haven't thought it through properly] is suggesting that it would be a really cool thing to just power down the grid and walk off into some hippy dippy sunset. But like it or not we need to be looking for new and innovative ways to maintain ourselves as a species. 

[Doktor Howl]

So you end up trading a pot of beans for some dried beans so you can make more beans?

Well, the guy in the article paid what he needed by doing some electrical work.  This is where we run into Henry David Thoreau's error.

The parts he used to make the repairs had to be manufactured.  The resins, wire, molded parts, etc, that go into a simple relay all take a manufacturing base that cannot be managed on barter, simply because of the necessary complexity of the manufacturing processes.

So you can coast for a while, using a barter system...Until the parts to repair the machines run out.  Then, overnight, you are back in the middle ages.

Oh, boy. Dirt floors and rancid meat. 

But they're keeping it at about 50% cash and 50% barter...that wouldn't help?

As long as you can afford to manufacture or import parts, etc.

Which isn't looking good, in Greece's case.