Morning,

Just getting my routine going.

made a fire, tea, left overs, emails,

And watched a few bushcraft videos..

Guitar is next, but thought Id write as I was sipping my tea...

Thinking about gear junkies, and all the grear thats been left behind in my life... Some thru misfortune.. Other stuff because I got things I liked better etc...

Misfortune has been the worst factor. And its been invariably linked to the affects of other humans on me, via my naive nature, and how humans really are..

The older I get, the more I realize the dichotomy that is the human animal..

I also realize that keeping one's materialism minimal promotes mobility.. That the less I own, the easier it is to leave bad situations..

And if I were more contempory, Id limit what I owned to my vehicle's ability to transport it in one trip....

Having no vehicle, im kind of lost between worlds, from what I can pack on my back, to what I can maybe get some help moving with someone else's pickup etc...

I notice that I invariably have too much stuff, and always want more...

And that others seem to have the mental affliction even worse than I do...

So I try to at least think about my materialism in its order of priority in a refugee situation..

That a crisis is also another method of shedding excess stuff..

I went thru a nasty divorce, and another failed longer term relationship..  Both times, what I owned got reduced drastically.. But looking back, I see that I should have gotten rid of much more than I lost being processed..

I think the easy cure, would be to run a fairly constant yard sale.. Or just to constantly try to give things away...

The problem is that its really too easy to get stuff..  All you have to do is some slavery..

So theres a balance point somewhere between going along with the game,  and getting free of it...

A lot of my excess materialism is from trying to improve what I have. One ends up still holding onto the lesser items and it builds up over time...

Another curse, is good deals.. Sucked into plenty of excess materialism via that route..

I suspect if one survives the collapse, wars, plagues etc.. That there will be so much materialism around that it wont be much of an issue for awhile..

People will raid houses with desicated corpses in them for what ever they want to pack off..

And its not a sure thing that I or you wont be one of the corpses..

Especially if we try to stay on our hoard when wisdom dictates otherwise..

Which is why Im looking forward to some up coming give away opportunities in my life..

And why if I can I will improve my transportation situation....

And now when I buy things, mobility factor is most often a  criteria...

Anyway, wanted who ever who happens to read this to think about materialism versus mobility.. And that in whats coming, what you can get for yourself may be worse than what you can keep from getting...

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Afternoon, looks like the afternoon wet season rain soon..

Watched some bush craft videos this morning, I find they put me in a good frame of mind...

Sad the educational system seems to be turning out people who have problems speaking now..

But what should one expect? 12 years to learn what one could learn in less than half that time if system was really effective...

Surely another sign of the slide into collapse?

I see a lot of people really going overboard on gear, paying way too much for stuff because their vanity really doesnt know whats practical..

Small axes over $100, knives at $200 and up..

But they think the more they spend, the better they are...

I see it different; that if they really knew their stuff, theyd know a cheaper axe with good temper will do everything their spendy one will..

Except brag...

And I find I like making knives and other gear better than buying them..

Id think a bush craft type with top quality gear was impressive, if he wasnt making house payments..

Id rate them more, by time in the brush than cost of gear...

Its an old syndrome Ive written about before, guys using purchases because its all they can do. Tied into the system by the gonads...

My advice, is to think of the word "decent" and go for a balanced life..

Get decent quality tools, thats all you really need, and the more you can make yourself the better.. The more you buy, the less you learn, the more you spend, the less you know...

And if you arent actually working your way out of the system, your chances of surviving its demise are small..

No doubt there will be hundreds of thousands of $100 axes, rusting, radio active, and with charred handles in the rubble because their Mommy wouldnt let them get out in time...

The Chernobyl videos on you tube are eye opening..

I wouldnt live within a hundred miles of a nuke anything..

The nearest nuke target to me is about 6 hours driving time..

Almost far enough...

Just had lightning hit close, flash and bang at same time, so within 50 yards or so...

Not uncommon.. Likes the springs and creeks on my mountain... I dont go to the spring in thunder storms..

More lightning here than any place Ive ever seen.. Takes out a lot of cattle and horses...

Its hitting all around me now.. But Im likely OK, springs above me..

Have been experimenting lately with bees wax on steel tools.. To prevent rust.. I like it...

One knife I did buy was a paratroopers hook bladed pocket knife.. For use as s refugee grains harvesting knife..

Paid $6... Locals didnt know what it was..

Im keeping an eye on the Iran thing..
Once, nearly 40 years ago, I came into a port, Simbawang Singapore, and there was an Iranian Destroyer in the berth ahead of ours...

It was an old WW2 British Destroyer by its lines and guns...

It had extra weapons added everywhere.. And the Ship was immaculate.. The quarter deck watch was armed with sub machine guns..

They looked like a bad news military..

So I dont think Id bad mouth them.

Its the meanest dog that bites the hardest...

Anyway, I see a bunch of gadget head survivalist types...

Rescue whistle heads...

Only use I could think of for whistles, is so everyone could converge on the Federal building at the same time..

I have a whistle, but consider that its for signaling friends who've separated for some logical reason, or for sounding an alarm...

And its a metal whistle..

Plastic tends to be temporary stuff...

One thing Ive learned about materialism, is getting too much stuff is easy, getting the right stuff is hard.. And the right stuff is invariably the most practical for the job, not the most expensive, or the most advertised, nor what everyone else is buying...

It can only be learned via experience.. Which means the less practical items you try along the way should be given to those behind you on the learning curve..

I find desire to be a really bad vice...

Its incredibly powerful..
So I try to only desire the right stuff...

It takes a lot to get me to want something now..




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